diff --git "a/PMC_clustering_506.jsonl" "b/PMC_clustering_506.jsonl"
new file mode 100644--- /dev/null
+++ "b/PMC_clustering_506.jsonl"
@@ -0,0 +1,865 @@
+{"text": "Frantz's tumor of the pancreas is a rare phenomenon, and it accounts for 1\u20133% of all neoplasms of the pancreas. Its percentage is much higher in younger persons, especially in younger women, as compared to the rest of the population.The present study describes a 32-year-old female patient in whom a preoperative imaging diagnosis confirmed a mass in the junction of the pancreas' body and tail. Based on the anamnesis, the preoperative diagnosis, and the patient's general status, the decision was made to performed laparoscopic enucleation of the pancreatic tumor. The operation and postoperative recovery passed without complications. Definitive histopathological and immunohistochemical findings confirmed a solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas.Depending on the localization and the size of the tumor, surgical options range from typical and atypical resections of the pancreas to minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as local excision and enucleation. Laparoscopic procedures have a comparative advantage in cases of enucleation and resection of the pancreas. The low frequency of recidivation and a favorable prognosis, even after repeated surgery, are additional reasons for favoring the laparoscopic approach over the classical surgical approach.A minimally invasive surgical approach should be applied whenever the dimensions and the localization of the tumor permit it, bearing in mind all the benefits and advantages that this surgical technique offers. \u2022Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas, is known as Frantz's tumor.\u2022Around 1,000 cases of Frantz's tumor have been described.\u202232-year-old patient underwent laparoscopic enucleation of an 18 mm pancreatic tumor.\u2022Laparoscopic enucleation is a feasible option for the treatment of these masses. It mainly occurs in younger individuals, predominantly women . Frantz'Ultrasonography (USG) of the abdomen is the initial diagnostic method; nevertheless, computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen are much more precise and superior methods. Frequently, CT and MRI can indicate the presence of a mass in the pancreas, which has the characteristics of cystic degeneration, bleeding within the cyst, and the presence of a capsule . DiffereThe only curative treatment modality is surgical treatment. Within this modality, the available options range from resection procedures on the pancreas, depending on the tumor's localization, to a minimally invasive surgical procedure on the pancreas in the form of the enucleation of these neoplasms .The present study aims to present a rare disease of the pancreas, which was treated safely and efficiently by applying laparoscopic enucleation with all the benefits this approach offers when used appropriately. A review of the literature is also performed. The work has been reported in line with the SCARE guidelines .29. No other alterations were encountered. An abdominal ultrasound was done, without any abnormal findings, so an MRI was ordered, detecting a focal area with a distortion in the parenchyma, diagnosing an 18 mm pancreatic mass in the junction of the corpus and tail of the pancreas. There were no signs of infiltration of the surrounding vascular structures and no connection to the duct of Wirsung  . A drainPostoperative recovery went uneventful. The abdominal drain was removed on the third postoperative day. On the fourth postoperative day, the patient was discharged from the hospital with normal laboratory findings. A month after surgery, ultrasound imaging of the patient's abdomen was performed, and without abnormalities. At this time, laboratory analyses were also performed, and the results were within the normal reference ranges. Six months after the operation, a follow-up MRI of the abdomen was conducted without any abnormal findings. The patient is currently on her 12 month follow-up without complications nor recurrence.Definitive histopathological and immunohistochemical findings confirmed a solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas. The tumor did not show cytological or histological elements of malignancy .Fig. 3Hi3The solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas was first mentioned in the literature in 1933 . HoweverThese tumors most commonly remain asymptomatic or cause non-specific complaints, regardless of their size. In addition to the compressive effect on the surrounding structures and the occurrence of a palpable mass in the abdomen once they reach a specific size, occasional acute or chronic pain, loss of appetite, vomiting, and a loss in body mass, may also occur .In the patient described in the present study, symptoms were present around two months, in non-specific pain below the left costal arch. The pain was of lower intensity, more discomfort in that part of the abdomen, and occasional intensification in the pain scale.Appropriate diagnosis plays an essential role in deciding on further treatment. The initial diagnostic methods applied are US and CT of the abdomen. A heterogeneous lesion can be seen in the latter, which often demonstrate a peripheral enhancement of contrast, characteristic of the fibrous pseudocapsule. MRI of the abdomen is a more sensitive method than CT . Some auFrantz's tumor has a low malignant potential. There are rarely metastases, and they are most commonly localized in the liver. Even when there are metastases, the overall 5-year survival is around 97% .Surgery is the only and primary curative form of treatment. Depending on the localization and the size of the tumor, surgical options range from typical and atypical resections of the pancreas to minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as local excision and enucleation . LaparosDue to the favorable localization of the tumor, its size, and bearing in mind all the advantages of a minimally invasive surgical approach, we chose a laparoscopic enucleation of the tumor, which went uneventfully.4With its mainly non-specific symptomatology, Frantz's tumor represents a diagnostic challenge and is usually detected as a coincidental finding during other examination procedures. As it mostly occurs in the younger population, especially in younger women between 18 and 35 years old, one must consider the best therapeutic approach to treat this tumor. Laparoscopic enucleation is a feasible option for the treatment of these masses.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal on request.All procedures performed in this study were reviewed by Ethics Committee and complied with the principles laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki.This research group did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez-Urquijo.Conceptualization, D.E.; V.M; M.G.U; Writing-review and editing, B.T, M.V; N.G; D.J Literature review, M.B.; V.M; M.G.U; B.T Writing draft, M.V.; M.G.U, D.E.; Supervision, M.G.U.Not commissioned, externally peer-reviewed.Ethics Committee of the Clinical Center of Tecnologico de Monterrey.Laparoscopic Enucleation of Frantz's Tumor of the Pancreas: Case Report and Literature Review to be conducted.DECISION: We approve the academic clinical work No. 01134TM.Date: 26/01/2021.Name of the registry: Laparoscopic Enucleation of Frantz's Tumor of the Pancreas.Unique Identifying number or registration ID: NCT04728750.https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04728750.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): None."}
+{"text": "We investigate the secure degrees of freedom (s.d.o.f.) of three new channel models: broadcast channel with combating helpers, interference channel with selfish users, and multiple access wiretap channel with deviating users. The goal of introducing these channel models is to investigate various malicious interactions that arise in networks, including active adversaries. That is in contrast with the common assumption in the literature that the users follow a certain protocol altruistically and transmit both message-carrying and cooperative jamming signals in an optimum manner. In the first model, over a classical broadcast channel with confidential messages (BCCM), there are two helpers, each associated with one of the receivers. In the second model, over a classical interference channel with confidential messages (ICCM), there is a helper and users are selfish. By casting each problem as an extensive-form game and applying recursive real interference alignment, we show that, for the first model, the combating intentions of the helpers are neutralized and the full s.d.o.f. is retained; for the second model, selfishness precludes secure communication and no s.d.o.f. is achieved. In the third model, we consider the multiple access wiretap channel (MAC-WTC), where multiple legitimate users wish to have secure communication with a legitimate receiver in the presence of an eavesdropper. We consider the case when a subset of users deviate from the optimum protocol that attains the exact s.d.o.f. of this channel. We consider two kinds of deviation: when some of the users stop transmitting cooperative jamming signals, and when a user starts sending intentional jamming signals. For the first scenario, we investigate possible responses of the remaining users to counteract such deviation. For the second scenario, we use an extensive-form game formulation for the interactions of the deviating and well-behaving users. We prove that a deviating user can drive the s.d.o.f. to zero; however, the remaining users can exploit its intentional jamming signals as cooperative jamming signals against the eavesdropper and achieve an optimum s.d.o.f. P is the total average transmitted power. The s.d.o.f. have been considered in the literature in many multiuser channel models, such as helper wiretap channel [X-channel [Y channel [Physical layer security techniques allow secure transmission of information (in absolute sense) without the need for encryption keys . Consequ channel ,14, mult channel ,15,16,17 channel ,20,21,22-channel ,24, half-channel , compoun-channel , diamond-channel , MIMO wi channel , multius channel ,31,32,33 channel .In this work, we investigate extended versions of BCCM, ICCM, and MAC-WTC channel models. Information-theoretic security for discrete memoryless interference and broadcast channels with confidential messages were studied in . BCCM co1/2 . ICCM coach user . With anser [1/2 . In bothexact sum s.d.o.f. and the entire s.d.o.f. region, respectively, of the MAC-WTC. The exact sum s.d.o.f. of a K-user MAC-WTC is In MAC-WTC, which was introduced in ,35, multK(K\u22121)+1 . The achaltruistic and follow a prescribed transmission policy in order to maximize the sum secure rate of the entire system. In this paper, we investigate BCCM, ICCM, and MAC-WTC channel models in the case of selfish and malicious behavior, where the users/helpers do not perform the system-wide-optimal altruistic behavior but apply a selfish strategy and/or take sides by aiming to help one user and potentially hurt the other. These new models are extensions of the ones studied in [All these works assume that all nodes are udied in ,5,13 andBCCM with combating helpers, there are two helpers, where each helper takes the side of one of the receivers and at the same time aims to hurt the secure communication to the other receiver. The two helpers have contradicting objectives and hence are combating. Helpers in this model do not coordinate with the transmitter as in [In the first model, which is the er as in . We use er as in , which ier as in  in a recper user , as if bICCM with selfish users, there is an external system helper. In this model, the users do not coordinate as in the optimal strategy in [In the second model, which is the ategy in  instructategy in . There iMAC-WTC with deviating users, we first consider the case where M out of K users deviate by not transmitting cooperative jamming signals. We start by evaluating the achievable sum s.d.o.f. when the remaining users do not change their original optimum strategies. We show that the sum s.d.o.f. of the system decreases, and deviating users do not benefit from their actions. Then, we consider two possible counterstrategies by the remaining users: In the first strategy, all users decrease their rates to ensure that all message-carrying signals are protected by the remaining cooperative jamming signals, and leakage s.d.o.f. is zero. We show that, in this case, the individual s.d.o.f. of the deviating users increase. Hence, deviating users gain at the expense of well-behaving users. In the second strategy, we allow the leakage s.d.o.f. to be nonzero but constrain leakage in a single dimension. We show that, although the sum s.d.o.f. of the system is lower than in the case of the first counterstrategy, this strategy decreases the individual s.d.o.f. of the deviating users and increases the s.d.o.f. of well-behaving users. Next, we consider a more severe form of deviation by considering one user turning malicious and sending intentional jamming signals. As this deviating user has infinite power, it can wipe out all communication, secure or otherwise, if it sends Gaussian signals. For the sake of a meaningful formulation, we restrict the strategy set of this deviating user to be of structured signaling and alignment type. Under this restriction, we formulate the problem as an extensive-form game [In the third model, which is the orm game . We showOrganization: In n is the length of the codeword. Each message ith receiver, while being kept secure from the jth receiver, X and Y, and ith receiver. The s.d.o.f. P is the transmitter power constraint In BCCM, the transmitter has two private messages one of the receivers. The input/output relations for the BCCM with combating helpers Ycombating as they maximize the s.d.o.f. of one user only, while hurting the other user by sending jamming signals. The transmitter acts in even transmission frames, and helpers respond in odd frames. Each node has perfect channel state information (CSI) and knows the actions of others at the end of every frame. We require that the action of a helper does not hurt its own receiver (in terms of s.d.o.f.) if no new jamming signals are produced by the other helper. Consequently, we formalize the role of the ith helper as:jth user in the kth transmission frame, where k is odd. On the other hand, the transmitter does not take the side of any of the users and maximizes the sum s.d.o.f. of the system, i.e., transmitter\u2019s role in even encoding frames is:The helpers are k, all secure and jamming signals are picked from PAM constellation set We use recursive real interference alignment as the achievable strategy for our model. At encoding frame ith helper sends a structured jamming signal Frames 0 and 1 are considered transient frames. For frame 0, the transmitter performs the optimal strategy in the presence of helpers  and sendThen, the received signals are:Although The transmitter knows that a new irrational dimension is generated within frame , \u03b22 see . The recConsequently, the system retains full s.d.o.f. .If To calculate the s.d.o.f., we need the following lemma.Lemma\u00a01.If every message-carrying signal is protected by a cooperative jamming signal, then the s.d.o.f. is given by:where Proof.\u00a0From , the folkth frame at receiver 1, and P. Hence, the probability of error converges to zero as Let ry as in  as:(20)Since we designed the coding scheme at each frame so that Now, we are ready to formally calculate the resulting s.d.o.f. from the recursive real interference alignment in the following theorem.Theorem\u00a01.For BCCM with combating helpers under the constraint of not decreasing the s.d.o.f. of their own receivers due to helper actions, the s.d.o.f. of each user evolves as:i.e., the combating behavior is asymptotically neutralized.Proof.\u00a0k. For the base step Using Lemma 1, we have rms with . For k=2k is odd and For the induction step, assume that Solving these two equations gives ith receiver, while being kept secure from the jth receiver, Z. Inputs satisfy power constraints ith receiver in the kth transmission frame, and In ICCM, each transmitter has a message selfish and malicious. User i maximizes the individual s.d.o.f. at receiver ith user\u2019s role is:less stringent than in the BCCM model, since in the ICCM model, we allow the users to hurt their own receivers if they hurt the other receiver more. On the other hand, the system helper does not take the side of any of the users and maximizes the sum s.d.o.f. of the system:The users are Similar to the BCCM, we propose using recursive interference alignment using the PAM constellation selfless strategy as in [All nodes perform the optimal gy as in . The traThe received signals at both receivers are as in :(36)Y1[0i maximizes j keeps its strategy as in frame 0. Each user prefers to jam the other user directly, even if it results in partial decrease of its own s.d.o.f. (by creating an extra dimension at its receiver), since in this case, it can drive the s.d.o.f. of the other user to zero and maximize the s.d.o.f. difference. Thus:User Hence, the received signals in this case are:Both users know that their communication links are jammed during frame Consequently, k is odd/even. If k is odd, each user chooses to jam all dimensions of the other user\u2019s secure signals. This choice leads to k is even, each user takes advantage of the generated jamming by the other user plus the extra jamming signal from the system helper to protect more signals.The s.d.o.f. differs based on whether Theorem\u00a02.For the ICCM with selfish users in the presence of a system helper, assuming that users maximize the s.d.o.f. difference for every transmission frame, the s.d.o.f. evolves as:i.e., selfishness eventually precludes secure communication.Proof.\u00a0k is even. This follows by induction: For i jams all secure dimensions of user j in frame i in frame k to protect From , the ratk is even and expression Y1=\u2211Z, which is also subject to the power constraint Kth user without loss of generality, see k are: In the second part of the section, we consider a severe form of deviation where one user transmits intentional jamming signals. To distinguish that user and its jamming signal, we denote its channel input as M users have deviated from the optimum strategy in [Consider that ategy in  Xi=t C . The conhosen as :(55)Q=P1Consequently, the received signals are see :(56)Y1=\u2211Let j}. From ,15, the For the first term M dimensions lack cooperative jamming signals, i.e., we have For the second term Substituting (62) and (67) into , and takThat is, the sum s.d.o.f. decreases by timal in . This afIn this section, we consider two achievable schemes resulting from two different responses of the remaining users.In this achievable scheme, all users decrease their secure rates, i.e., decrease the number of message-carrying signal components to ensure that all of them are aligned with cooperative jamming signals. Specifically, the first Consequently, the received signals are see :(70)Y1=\u2211Let es using , after cThe components of Since all message-carrying signals are jammed by cooperative jamming signals, we have Substituting (75) and (79) into , and takThe resultant sum s.d.o.f. is less than the optimal in . Howeverategy in .In this achievable scheme, we allow one rational dimension to be leaked. This dimension is not secured by a cooperative jamming signal. This results in the ability of injecting an extra message-carrying signal component for each user. All these extra signals are aligned in the same rational dimension at the eavesdropper. The transmitted signals are see :(81)Xi=\u2211Although the sum s.d.o.f. in this case is smaller than in , the indKth user) sends intentional jamming signals. The deviating  user is restricted to using structured signals. In this section, we show that, when the malicious user acts, it can drive the sum s.d.o.f. to zero. However, when the remaining users respond, the sum s.d.o.f. is raised to In this section, we consider a more severe form of deviation, where a user (say the N rationally independent dimensions In any encoding frame, each user sends its message-carrying signals Then, the jammer designs structured jamming signals Consequently, the received signal at the legitimate receiver is:Hence, each message-carrying signal is aligned with a jamming signal. Let Hence, N dimensions:Since structured jamming signaling suffices to jam the system, the jammer sends structured signals in Users make use of the generated jamming signals to hide extra secure signals from the eavesdropper. Users send:We note that the received signals at receiver K-user MAC-WTC with M external altruistic helpers, as a result on its own. We note that this Further, since every message-carrying signal is protected by a cooperative jamming signal, We introduced three new channel models, namely, BCCM with combating helpers, ICCM with selfish users, and MAC-WTC with deviating users. These new models aimed at studying the effects of selfishness and malicious behavior on the secure rate in networks. We investigated the achievable s.d.o.f. in these models. The presented schemes are only achievable; new role-based converse arguments are needed.For the BCCM with combating helpers, we formulated the problem as an extensive-form game. We assumed that each helper wants to minimize the s.d.o.f. of the other receiver without sacrificing the s.d.o.f. of its receiver and analyzed schemes that employ recursive real interference alignment. In this case, we showed that the malicious behaviors of the combating helpers are neutralized and the s.d.o.f. of both users converge to For the ICCM with selfish users, we changed the objective function of the users to maximizing the difference of the s.d.o.f. between the two users. By similar analysis to BCCM, we showed that the selfishness precludes any secure communication, and the s.d.o.f. of two users converge to zero.Finally, for the MAC-WTC with deviating users, we considered two types of deviation: First, in the case when some of the users stop transmitting cooperative jamming signals as required by the optimal scheme, we evaluated the corresponding s.d.o.f. and proposed counterstrategies to respond to the deviation. Second, we investigated an extreme form of deviation, where a user sends intentional jamming signals. We showed that although a deviating user can drive the sum s.d.o.f. to zero, the jamming signals can be exploited as cooperative jamming signals against the eavesdropper to achieve an optimum s.d.o.f."}
+{"text": "Streptococcus sanguinis, S. gordonii, S. oralis, and S. mutans were used as streptococcal bacterial strains. These bacterial cultures were grown for 24 h on CpTi and TZP. The number of bacterial adhesions was estimated using an ATP-bioluminescent assay, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of the adhered bacterial specimens was performed. No significant differences in surface roughness or wettability were found between CpTi and TZP. In XPS analyses, outermost layer of CpTi included Ti0 and Ti4+, and outermost layer of TZP included Zr4+. In the cell adhesion assay, the adherences of S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis to TZP were significantly lower than those to CpTi (p < 0.05); however, significant difference was not observed for S. mutans among the specimens. The adherence to CpTi and TZP of S. mutans was significantly lower than that of S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis. These results were confirmed by SEM. S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis adhered less to TZP than to CpTi, but the adherence of S. mutans was similar to both surfaces. S. mutans was less adherent compare with the other streptococci tested in those specimens.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adherence of streptococci to disks of titanium  and zirconia . CpTi and yttria-stabilized TZP disks with a mirror-polished surface were used as specimens. The arithmetic mean surface roughness (Ra and Sa) and the surface wettability of the experimental specimens were measured. For analyzing the outermost layer of the experimental specimens, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was performed.  Periodontal diseases are the result of an infection process in microbial colonization referred to as dental plaque. The dental plaque is primarily formed by early-colonizing bacteria (Streptococci), following which it is formed by late-colonizing pathogenic bacteria . Some lain vitro papers which focused on attachment of late-colonizing anaerobic bacteria in peri-implantitis [Peri-implantitis is defined as a pathological condition occurring in the tissues surrounding dental implants, characterized by inflammation of the peri-implant connective tissue and progressive crestal bone loss . In termlantitis ,9. Howevlantitis . CurrentStreptococcus sanguinis, S. gordonii, S. oralis, and S. mutans, were detected in subgingival and submucosal plaque samples in peri-implantitis [Recently, streptococcal species, including lantitis ,12. It iSince the 1990s, Zirconia (zirconium dioxide) has been gradually used in dentistry. Compared with other ceramics, zirconia, particularly tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (TZP), exhibit superior biomechanical properties, including a high toughness of fracture and bending strength . These pin vivo and in vitro studies have been performed; however, the results reported have been controversial concerning the numbers of adhered bacteria on CpTi vs. TZP [in vivo study, compared to CpTi abutments, TZP abutments revealed lower plaque accumulation and less BoP (bleeding on probing) [S. gordonii and few reports of S. oralis. S. sanguinis is also under discussion. Therefore, it is important to assess whether the adherence of Streptococci is dependent on the material properties of CpTi and TZP.In terms of microbial colonization and biofilm formation on TZP compared with CpTi surfaces, both  vs. TZP , 15\u201317. probing) . Howeverprobing) ,15\u201317. AThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the adherence of streptococci to disks of CpTi and TZP, and compare the adherence to CpTi with that to TZP.CpTi  and yttria-stabilized TZP  were used in this experiment. CpTi specimens measuring 13 mm in diameter and 0.5 mm in thickness were used. They ground gradually with silicon carbide paper down to 1,200 grit, following which they were polished with 3-\u03bcm diamond pastes and 0.06-\u03bcm colloidal silica. TZP specimens measuring 13 mm in diameter and 0.5 mm in thickness were also used. They were ground with 70- and 45-\u03bcm diamond disks, following which they were finely polished with 9- and 3-\u03bcm diamond pastes and 0.06-\u03bcm colloidal silica. A polishing machine  was used. They were cleaned by ethyl acetate, acetone, and distilled water, ultrasonically. Then, the washed disks were sterilized in an autoclave . The sterilized disks were stored for at least 24 h until use in dry conditions.The surface roughness was characterized using a 3D measuring laser microscope . The arithmetic mean of the departures of the roughness profile from the mean line and defined for a profile  was measured with measured length 4 mm and cut-off value 0.8 mm. In addition, the arithmetic mean of the departures of the roughness area from the mean plane  was measured with measured area 645\u00d7645 \u03bcm and Gaussian filter size 80\u00d780 \u03bcm.Five specimens from each group were tested.The surface wettability of the specimens was measured by a contact angle meter , using double distilled water. Contact angles were measured at three different locations on each of the five samples, 15 s after application of the droplets. The volume of the distilled water drop was kept at 4 \u03bcL. Five specimens from each group were tested.XPS analysis was carried out to determine the composition of the outermost surface and chemical shift using an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer  with an X-ray source of Al K\u03b1 (monochromator), 15 kV and 15 mA to determine the intensity of Ti, O, and C for the CpTi specimen, and Zr, Y, O, and C for the TZP specimen. The binding energy of each spectrum was calibrated with a C1s of 285.0 eV.S. sanguinis ATCC 10556 , S. gordonii ATCC 10558, S. oralis ATCC 35037, and S. mutans ATCC 25175 were used. The bacteria were grown on plates containing Brain heart infusion  and 1.5% agar (Wako) for plate cultures. Pre-culture was performed in an anaerobic chamber  at 37\u00b0C for 1 day. A single colony on the plate was cultured in BHI broth for further 24 h. A fresh culture, following liquid culture for another 4 hours, was used for the adherence experiment. The optical density of every bacterial suspension was regulated with BHI broth to 0.2 at 660 nm by a spectrophotometer . The bacteria for subsequent experiments were grown on disks in 24-well plates.In terms of streptococcal species, The number of adherent bacteria to the disk surface was measured using an ATP-bioluminescent assay with a commercial kit . Following incubation with bacteria for 24 h, all bacterial fluids on the disks were removed and washed with PBS. BacTiter-Glo reagent was applied to the disk surface at 200 \u03bcL. Following this, the activity of ATP in the solution was measured using an automatic luminometer , and the relative luminescence was determined. Seven specimens from each material were used and at least three experiments were performed.The streptococci were cultured as described in the cell adhesion assay above. Following culture on the disks, the specimens were fixed with 1.25% glutaraldehyde in PBS for 2 h at room temperature. Then, the specimens were washed three times with PBS, and dehydrated using a graded ethanol series . The specimens were freeze-dried, sputter-coated with Au\u2013Pd, and observed using SEM .The results are expressed as the mean \u00b1 standard deviation. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism . The data were tested by Shapiro-Wilk test and they were parametric. The data were analyzed using the student\u2019s t-test, and probability (p) values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. In the cell viability assay between the materials, one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey\u2019s multiple comparison test, was used.The Ra and Sa values of the experimental specimens are shown in The contact angles on the experimental specimens against double distilled water and a cross-sectional view of the water droplet are shown in The results of the XPS analyses of the outermost surface of as-polished CpTi and TZP are shown in S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis on TZP were significantly lower than those on CpTi (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in S. mutans between the specimens. The differences in bacteria are shown in S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were significantly higher than that of S. mutans (p < 0.05).The cell viability of the four streptococcal strains examined in this study that adhered after 24 h was measured by the relative light unit (RLU), as shown in S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis, the same findings as in the cell viability assay, that bacterial adherence on TZP was significantly lower than on CpTi, were confirmed by SEM  were applied. The results indicated that S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were less adherent to TZP than to CpTi, although the adherence of S. mutans to the former was similar to that to the latter. S. mutans was less adherent than the other streptococci tested in those specimens.The present In material assessment, Ra were 0.021\u20130.022 \u03bcm for CpTi and TZP disks. It was reported that Ra of a representative commercial Ti abutment, standard Br\u00e5nemark abutment, was 0.21 \u03bcm. It indicated that a reduction in surface roughness (less than a roughness of 0.2 \u03bcm) had no major effect on the bacterial attachment ,20. It wS. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis to TZP were lower than to CpTi; however, the difference was not observed in the adherence of S. mutans between the specimens. In a previous in vitro study, it was reported that S. sanguinis adhered more to CpTi than to TZP specimens [S. gordonii and S. oralis adhered more to CpTi than to TZP specimens. Song et al [S. epidermidis adhesion was positively correlated with the stiffness of this material, with Young\u2019s modulus of 0.8\u201380 MPa. Besides adhesion, Saha et al [Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis grow better on softer  than harder  thin polyelectrolyte multilayer films. In the present study, S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis may have adhered more and grown faster on CpTi  than TZP . As the Young\u2019s moduli of the materials in the present study were far from those of previous reports, the direct influence of Young\u2019s modulus may be limited. The underlying mechanism still remains unknown, however, it becomes clear that the material stiffness affects bacterial adhesion and the physiology of the adhered cells [In the cell adhesion and SEM assays, the adherences of pecimens . In adding et al  investigng et al . Thus, bng et al . The isong et al . According et al . Reportsng et al . It was ng et al . Therefong et al  suggesteha et al  found thed cells .S. mutans to CpTi was similar to that to TZP. It has been reported that S. mutans exhibits a similar behavior in sandblasted acid-etched CpTi and machined CpTi surfaces [The present study found that the adherence of surfaces .S. mutans was less adherent than S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis to the CpTi and TZP disks. There may be two reasons for this. First, in general, it is reported that there are sucrose-independent and sucrose-dependent attachments in S. mutans. A higher concentration of sucrose exposure increases adherence compared with that in the absence of sucrose for S. mutans [S. mutans is sucrose-independent. This may have caused the reduced adherence of S. mutans. Second, compared with culture without disks in a 24-well plate, the adherence of S. mutans was ~20 times higher without disks than with the CpTi and TZP disks (Sup 1). Therefore, the reduced adherence may be due to the presence of the CpTi and TZP disks.In the comparison to each species, . mutans . In thisS. mutans, culture medium that does not contain sucrose may influence the result of the adherence assay. However, S. mutans was detected in subgingival and submucosal plaque in the peri-implantitis site,8 and the culture in this environment can be sucrose-independent.As a limitation to this study, in the culture of S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were less adherent to TZP than to CpTi, although the adherence of S. mutans was similar to both CpTi and TZP. S. mutans was less adherent to CpTi and TZP compared with the other streptococcal species. It is possible that streptococci are relevant to peri-implantitis as early-colonizing bacteria on the machined TZP and CpTi abutment surfaces, to which attachment is difficult. In the future, effective prevention of peri-implantitis may be possible if it is possible to remove streptococci, the early-colonizing bacteria, as target. Further investigation is required to investigate the properties of late-colonizing pathogenic bacteria adherence following early-colonizing bacteria adherence.In the present study, S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were less adherent to TZP than to CpTi, although the adherence of S. mutans to TZP was similar to that to CpTi. S. mutans was less adherent compared with S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis.S1 FigS. mutans was ~20 times higher without disks than with the CpTi and TZP disks.Compared with culture without disks in a 24-well plate, the adherence of (TIFF)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Periploca sepium, as well as the relationship between these factors.Sand burial plays an irreplaceable and unique role in the growth and distribution of vegetation on the Shell Dike Island in the Yellow River Delta. There are still some unknown on the effects of sand burial on the morphology, biomass, and especially the stoichiometry of P. sepium. Shallow sand burial shortened the emergence time and improved the emergence rate, morphological and biomass of P. sepium compared to deep burial and the control. Burial depth significantly affected the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents of the leaves. With deep burial, the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) and carbon/phosphorus (C/P) ratios decreased firstly and then increased with depth, while the nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N/P) presented the contrary trend. Correlation analysis showed that the stoichiometry of N/P was positively correlated to morphology and biomass of P. sepium at different burial depths. Structural equation model analysis revealed that N was the largest contributor to P. sepium biomass.Shell sand burial depth had a significant influence on seedling emergence, growth, and biomass of P. sepium. Stoichiometry has an important influence on the morphological formation and biomass accumulation.Optimal burial depth is beneficial to the seedling emergence, growth and nutritional accumulation of  The Shell Dike Island, which locates in the southwest coast of the Bohai Sea in China, is formed by the confluence of the Yellow River and the Bohai Sea Estuary. It is the only shell dike in the world produced by the coexistence of old and new shells. The dike formed from the shells and debris of shellfish living in the intertidal zone, which has been carried by waves and deposited near the high-tide line. The wildlife resource in the dike and surrounding intertidal wetlands provides rich biological diversity and, is vital to studies of biodiversity and marine ecology . AffecteSowing and afforestation are important methods to restore the vegetation of the sandy land . CompareCarbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are the three main biological elements in plants , and theP. sepium, a deciduous shrub, is a dominant species with excellent medicinal value and plays an important role in the ecological protection of the Shell Dike Island. Due to human and natural factors, the distribution of P. sepium on the Shell Dike Island decreased. Therefore, it is important to study the physiological and ecological factors affecting P. sepium to protect and restore the ecology of the Shell Dike Island. Previous studies of the Shell Dike Island mainly focused on plant physiology, soil physical and chemical properties, and the biological diversity [P. sepium seedling could be influenced by elemental stoichiometry. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of shell sand burial depth on the seedling emergence, morphology, biomass allocation, and nutrient content of C, N and P in leaves. Our specific objectives were to: (i) quantify the response of seedling emergence, morphology, and biomass allocation to shell sand burial depth; (ii) determine how leaf C, N, P concentrations and the leaf C: N: P ratio respond to different burial depths; (iii) identify the relationships between C, N, P concentration and total biomass. Our results would provide scientific support for the coastal environmental restoration. Further, it will provide a reference for judging how the stoichiometry affect plant biomass.iversity , 16. HowP. sepium seedlings first increased and then decreased . Burial depth of 4\u20135\u2009cm inhibited seedlings emergence, emergence rate was only 26.7% of the depth of 5\u2009cm, which was significantly lower than the untreated control .With increasing shell sand depth, the emergence rate of sed Fig. . There wP. sepium was suitable for shallow burial depth. Burial depth significantly affected the initial emergence time of P. sepium seedlings . These results showed that shallow sand burial was beneficial to P. sepium for shortening the time of first emergence.Burial depth had a significant influence on the seedling emergence process. Increased sand burial depth generally led to slower emergence rates Fig. . The emengs Fig. . The shoSeedling height, base diameter, leaf number, the third leaf area, root length and primary root number were measured for plants buried at different depths. Increasing shell sand burial depth initially led to increasing seedling height, but deeper burial depth resulted in decreasing height Fig. a. The plP. sepium varied with shell sand depth, the number of leaves initially increased with depth but decreased at larger depths  was observed at 3\u2009cm burial depth, but this did not differ from the 2\u2009cm treatment group. The leaf area of the control group was 1.52\u2009cm2, and did not differ from the 5\u2009cm treatment group.The leaf characteristics of ths Fig. c. Leaf nths Fig. d. The laP. sepium .Burial depth had a significant impact on the growth of the underground part of ium Fig. e; the roium Fig. f. The 0\u2009P. sepium dry weight were shown in Table The effects of different shell sand burial depths on P. sepium first increased with burial depth and then decreased .The overall and above-ground biomass of sed Fig. a, and diium Fig. b. In terP. sepium leaves did not vary with burial depth, but the N and P contents first increased and then decreased with burial depth , with a standardized path coefficient of 0.96. This result showed that the N element in the leaf was the major contributor to the biomass of P. sepium, while C and P did not play a significant role.The relationships between the C, N, and P contents, total biomass and burial depth were further analyzed by structural equation model Fig.\u00a0. It is rP. sepium, both of which are susceptible to external factors. Therefore, the experiment on the response of the seeds and seedlings to the depth of shell sand can reflect the survival, formation and distribution of P. sepium under shell sand burial.Sand burial influences the growth and distribution of vegetation on the Shell Dike Island in the Yellow River Delta, and plants have a certain tolerance limit to sand burial. If this factor does not exceed the tolerable limit of the plant, it will promote plant growth and development. However, if the burial depth exceeds tolerable limit, it will inhibit the normal growth and development of the plant . Seed geP. sepium have small material energy. When buried too deep, it is impossible for the seeds to unearth properly due to energy material depletion. Previous study has shown that excessive burial depth reduced the permeability of shell sand, led to seed dormancy, and affected the formation of seedlings [P. sepium leaves under sand burial, indicating that the stoichiometry of the leaves also played an important role in seedling morphology. This role may be very significant due to the fact that variation in the burial depths changed the microenvironment at the time of seedling emergence, and that seeds are sensitive and critical to changes in environmental conditions, and thus, affecting the morphogenesis of seedlings.The relationship between the burial depth and the rate of seed germination and seedling emergence is important for quantifying the effect of shell silt accumulation . Our reseedlings . Deep bueedlings . Light ceedlings , 26. WatP. sepium is distributed more to the stem when buried at 2\u2009cm, resulting in an increase in above-ground biomass and a decrease in the proportion of below-ground biomass. This is consistent with studies which showed that sand burial changed the biomass distribution of seedlings and induced seedlings to allocate more resources to the above-ground or below-ground parts. For example, sand burial can reduce the biomass ratio of Nitraria sphaerocarpa on the ground and increase the biomass ratio of underground roots [Scaevola plumieri, sand burial improves stem growth and the replacement of leaf area [Sand thickness has an important influence on the biomass distribution of plant seedlings . The resnd roots . In Scaeeaf area . Howevereaf area . These seaf area .P. sepium in the present study. These results showed that burial depth had a significant effect on the nutrient utilization of P. sepium seedlings. Although the C content in P. sepium leaves was the largest at 2\u2009cm depth, the difference between the treatment groups was not significant. The contents of N and P, however, first increased and then decreased with depth. At 2\u2009cm, the contents were the largest and the differences were significant. These results indicated that P. sepium regulated the N and P inputs of the leaf tissue, but not the content of C to ensure its normal life activities under the sand burial.During plant growth and development, the accumulation of biomass is inseparable from the contents of C, N, and P . In thisP. sepium leaves. The changes of biomass and N and P content were similar with depth. The above indexes reached their maximum values at 2\u2009cm depth, indicating that this is the optimal depth for biomass accumulation and nutrient utilize. Other studies have shown that stoichiometry affected the distribution of plant biomass, high N content can increase leaf photosynthesis, increase the accumulation of assimilation products, and significantly reduce the root stem ratio . Conversely, low N content increases the plant R/S [P. sepium leaves was unrelated to R/S. Thus, the stoichiometry of P. sepium leaves plays an important role in the accumulation of biomass during the seedling stage, but does not play a decisive role in the distribution of biomass during growth. This may be due to the fact that sand burial changes the soil microenvironment around plant roots, such as nutrient, which has an important impact on the distribution of plant biomass [Studies have shown that N and P in plants promote photosynthesis and growth and that the contents of N and P in the leaves are closely related to the chlorophyll content . N or P lant R/S . In this biomass . However biomass , 38.P values [P. sepium leaves were higher than the global average levels except the 2\u2009cm burial group in the present study [P. sepium leaves was less than 14. According to the theory of nutritional restrictions [P. sepium seedlings are mainly limited by N. Judging from the N/P of P. sepium at different burial depths, the N/P was the highest at the 1-2\u2009cm depths. These results demonstrate that shell sand burial at1\u20132\u2009cm is the most favorable for P. sepium nutrient absorption.The C/N and C/P of plant represent the ability of the plant to assimilate and accumulate C, which reflects the nutrient use efficiency of the plant body. The use of nutrient elements by plants can be reflected by its C/N and C/P values . The C/Nnt study , 41. Thirictions , the groP. sepium life cycle. Future work should investigate how depth affects other stages of growth, development, and adaptation of P. sepium.The influences of different shell sand depths were investigated for seedling emergence, growth and nutrient utilization in the present study. However, we did not examine the dynamics of burial depth in different periods of the P. sepium showed similar patterns of variation with increasing shell sand burial depth. The leaf ratio of P. sepium first decreased and then increased with depth, while the root ratio showed the opposite pattern, and the stem ratio did not vary except at 2\u2009cm depth. (3) The C content of the leaves did not change with increasing depth, but the N and P contents initially increased and then decreased. The contents of N and P in the leaves increased first and then decreased. The C/N and C/P first decreased and then increased with depth. The opposite pattern was observed for N/P. (4) There was a strong correlation between the stoichiometry of the P. sepium leaves and the seedling morphogenesis and biomass, indicating that the stoichiometry was an important factor in P. sepium seedlings morphogenesis and biomass accumulation. The study of stoichiometry and growth adaptation of the dominant plants on the Shell Dike Island under sand burial is of great importance to coastal environmental restoration efforts.There is a direct relationship between the depth of burial and the germination of seeds and seedling emergence. The proper burial depth can provide suitable environmental conditions for the seedling emergence. The seeds may fail to emerge as lack of oxygen or excessive mechanical resistance when the burial depth is too great. The depth of burial not only affects seedling emergence, growth and morphology, but also the seedling\u2019s absorption of nutrient elements. The results of this study demonstrated that (1) shallow burial (1\u20132\u2009cm) was conducive to seedling emergence, as emergence rate decreased with increasing depth. (2) The morphological characters and biomass of P. sepium seeds and shell sand were collected from May to October 2016 at the Shell Island and the National Nature Reserve in Binzhou . The seeds were collected in the experimental area of the Shell Dike Island. P. sepium is a deciduous shrub of the Asclepiadaceae family according to the Flora of China, which was formally identified by Professor Jingkuan Sun in our laboratory. The experimental techniques and plant materials used were strictly adhere to regulations of the People\u2019s Republic of China on nature reserves. Ripe P. sepium seeds were naturally dried and stored at 4\u2009\u00b0C. A voucher specimen has been deposited at the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University . The shell sand was sifted to remove impurities.P. sepium seeds were dibbled in a plastic basin filled with shell sand for each pot. Each treatment was repeated 3 times. The depths of seed burial were 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5\u2009cm, according to the methods described by Mou et al. [Thirty u et al. . The seeu et al. , 45).P. sepium were fully ground to assess the C and N contents using a Vario EL III Element Analyzer . The P content of the leaves was determined by molybdenum-antimony anti-spectrophotometry (perchloric acid - concentrated sulfuric acid) [After characterization of the physical parameters, the roots, stems and leaves were packed into self-sealing bags. Then, these materials were washed with distilled water and dried to constant weight. The dry weight of each part was measured and the leaves of ic acid) .Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 19.0 software . One-way ANOVA and Duncan multiple contrasts were conducted for significance analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was performed on the leaf stoichiometry and the morphological and biomass measurements. Structure equation model was used to analyze the relationship between depth, total biomass, and the leaf contents of C, N, and P by AMOS 17.0.2 software . The structure equation model was tested using the maximum likelihood (ML) method and the root-mean\u2014square-error of approximation (RMSEA) indicator was used to evaluate the model fit. Origin 9.0 software  was used to draw the figures.Additional file 1: Fig. S1. Effects of different burial depths on the first emergence time of P. sepium. Different letters denote significant differences at P\u2009<\u20090.05."}
+{"text": "T. b. gambiense. Our study aims to update our understanding of T. b. gambiense in local vectors and domestic animals of N.W. Uganda.Large-scale control of sleeping sickness has led to a decline in the number of cases of Gambian human African trypanosomiasis (g-HAT) to <2000/year. However, achieving complete and lasting interruption of transmission may be difficult because animals may act as reservoir hosts for Trypanosoma species were identified in tsetse from a subsample of 2184 using PCR. Primers specific for T. brucei s.l. and for T. brucei sub-species were used to screen cattle, pig and tsetse samples.We collected blood from 2896 cattle and 400 pigs and In addition, 6664 tsetse underwent microscopical examination for the presence of trypanosomes. T. brucei s.l.. Of these samples 24 cattle (61.5%), 15 pig (60%) and 25 tsetse (62.5%) samples had sufficient DNA to be screened using the T. brucei sub-species PCR. Further analysis found no cattle or pigs positive for T. b. gambiense, however, 17/40 of the tsetse samples produced a band suggestive of T. b. gambiense. When three of these 17 PCR products were sequenced the sequences were markedly different to T. b. gambiense, indicating that these flies were not infected with T. b. gambiense.In total, 39/2,088  cattle, 25/400  pigs and 40/2,184  tsetse, were positive for T. b. gambiense positives in cattle, pigs and tsetse accords with the low prevalence of g-HAT in the human population. We found no evidence that livestock are acting as reservoir hosts. However, this study highlights the limitations of current methods of detecting and identifying T. b. gambiense which relies on a single copy-gene to discriminate between the different sub-species of T. brucei s.l.The lack of  Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the parasite responsible for the disease. Our study found T. brucei s.l. in local cattle, pigs and tsetse flies, with their respective prevalences as follows, 1.9%, 6.3% and 1.8%. Further analysis to establish identity of these positives to the sub-species level found that no cattle, pigs or tsetse were carrying the pathogen responsible for Gambian sleeping sickness. Our work highlights the difficulty of establishing the absence of a disease, especially in an extremely low endemic setting, and the limitations of some of the most commonly used methods.The decline of annual cases of West-African sleeping sickness in Uganda raises the prospect that elimination of the disease is achievable for the country. However, with the decrease in incidence and the likely subsequent change in priorities there is a need to confirm that the disease is truly eliminated. One unanswered question is the role that domestic animals play in maintaining transmission of the disease. The potential of cryptic-animal reservoirs is a serious threat to successful and sustained elimination of the disease. It is with the intent of resolving this question that we have carried out this study whereby we examined 2088 cattle, 400 pigs and 2184 tsetse for  Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. Similarly, East African sleeping sickness or Rhodesian HAT (r-HAT) results from an infection caused by T. b. rhodesiense. While T. b. rhodesiense has long been known to have a primarily zoonotic lifecycle, T. b. gambiense is considered to be largely anthropophilic with the parasites largely circulating between tsetse and humans only. T. b. gambiense has been identified in domestic animals such as pigs, sheep and goats [T. b. gambiense some of which were shown to be infective to tsetse. These observations suggest that it may be possible for animals to act as reservoirs hosts for T. b. gambiense [T. b. gambiense caught in areas without cases of g-HAT [T. b. gambiense has significant consequences if elimination by 2030 is to be achieved [th century there have been three major outbreaks of sleeping sickness resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Crucially the third outbreak occurred after intense control efforts had reduced the number of HAT cases to near-elimination levels [The term \"human African trypanosomiasis\" (HAT) is used to describe two diseases that are clinically, geographically and parasitological distinct. The majority of HAT cases 98%) occur in West and Central Africa and are referred to as West African sleeping sickness or Gambian HAT (g-HAT) indicating the geographical range of the disease and the protozoan parasites responsible, nd goats , 2 as wend goats , 4. Simiambiense \u20137 and pl% occur in levels . The thrT. b. gambiense, and the evidence that tsetse can become infected through animal hosts, it is not known if zoonotic cases of T. b. gambiense act as cryptic reservoirs that play a role in sustaining transmission of gHAT. Modelling studies [Despite the well documented reports of animals infected with  studies \u201313 have  studies .T. b. gambiense from animal-infective T. b. brucei [T. brucei sub-species, although possible, has limited sensitivity, as single copy regions of the genome must be targeted [T. brucei s.l. will need to be assessed to verify there is enough DNA present to undergo the less sensitive sub-species PCR assay [T. brucei s.l. lack sufficient DNA to undergo the sub-species-specific detection assay.A limiting factor to analysing the role and importance of non-human hosts is the type of diagnostic method used to detect the presence of trypanosomes. Classically, microscopic detection of parasites in blood of a human is regarded as evidence of infection. However, for animal hosts this method is unable to distinguish human-infective . brucei . Molecul. brucei . Howevertargeted . IdeallyCR assay . To dateCR assay . It is lAn alternative to molecular methods are serological techniques including the card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (CATT) and the trypanolysis (TL) test, however the CATT can produce false positives due to malaria and transient trypanosome infections , 20.The T. b. gambiense in N.W. Uganda. These assays were used to screen the local vector population and two potential, animal-reservoir populations; cattle and pigs. This work was carried out in a large-scale, using molecular methods to first identify cases of T. brucei s.l. and subsequently the sub-species of T. brucei with PCR assays.Here we use currently available molecular assays to determine the presence or absence of T. b. gambiense infection, although three participants did test positive for having had T. b. gambiense in the past [The North West of Uganda has nine districts, Nebbi, Arua, Koboko, Yumbe, Moyo, Adjumani, Maracha, Amuru and Gulu, of which Arua, Koboko, Yumbe, Moyo, Maracha, Amuru and Adjumani have historic sleeping sickness foci . Recordsthe past .In this study tsetse were caught in the district of Koboko and screened for trypanosomes and in both Koboko and Arua cattle were sampled and screened for trypanosomes. No sampling for tsetse was carried out in Arua due to a vector control programme being carried out in this district . Pigs weA total of 12,152 tsetse flies were caught along the Kochi River in the district of Koboko over a period of 16 months from April 2013 to July 2014. To catch tsetse, pyramidal traps  were depOf the tsetse caught, 6,664 were dissected at the field laboratory (333842N-269418E) to screen for trypanosomes in their mouthparts, salivary glands and midguts . Followietal. [After transportation to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, at room temperature, samples were stored at 4\u1d52C until DNA extraction, after which the samples were stored, in a separate fridge, at 4\u1d52C. Each individually-preserved tsetse tissue underwent DNA extraction, previously described in Cunningham etal. . BrieflyT. brucei s.l. using the FIND-TBR primers (27). Alongside the cattle sampling, in August 2013, 400 pigs were sampled from seven sites across in Arua  vein. Blood was collected with three 50mm heparinised capillary tube which collected 35\u03bcl of blood. Two tubes were centrifuged at 8,000 rpm for three minutes and the buffy coat layer examined as a wet preparation at x400 magnification using a compound-microscope with a dark-field filter. The contents of the third capillary tube was transferred to a Whatman FTA card  and left to air dry before it was heat sealed in a foil pouch with a packet of silica gel to ensure the sample remained desiccated.To extract the DNA from the FTA card, a modified version of the method described by Ahmed was carried out as follows: 10x 2mm hole-punches were taken from each bloodspot, using a Harris micro-punch. The punches were then washed three times in 1ml of distilled water and then 135\u03bcl of a 1% Proteinase K/10% Chelex TE suspension was added to each batch of 10-hole punches. These were then incubated at 56\u1d52C for an hour followed by 93\u1d52C for 30 minutes. In total 14 sampling sites  were useT. brucei s.l.. Tsetse were processed with a nested multiplex primer set that targeted T. brucei s.l., T. congolense and T. vivax, whereas cattle and pig samples were screened with the FIND-TBR primers [etal. [T. congolense and T. vivax as well as T. brucei. The outer nest utilised the previously published forward and reverse primers that target the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the trypanosome genome [T. congolense Kilifi (accession number U22317), T. congolense Forest (accession number U22319), T. congolense Savannah (accession number U22315), T. brucei s.l. (accession number JX910373), T. vivax (accession number U22316), T. godfreyi (accession number JN673383) and T. simiae (accession number AB742533). A new universal forward primer and three species-specific reverse primers were designed and used in a multiplex. The location of the new primers are shown in a diagrammatic form in relation to the universal primers designed by Adams etal.  to 433bp (T. congolense Savannah and T. congolense Forest). The products for T. brucei s.l. and T. vivax measure 342bp and 139bp, respectively  from tsetse.The PCR reactions were carried out at a final volume of 25\u03bcL each containing the following reagents: 2.5\u03bcl of 10X PCR Buffer , 200\u03bcM of each of the deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs) , 1.2mM of MgCl2 , 0.4\u03bcM of both the forward and reverse primers and 10\u03bcL of BIOTAQ Red DNA Polymerase (Bioline). The first reaction of the two nested PCRs and standard PCR used 5\u03bcL of DNA template. For the nested PCRs second reaction 1\u03bcL of the PCR product from the first reaction was used as the template. The primers used to detect T. brucei s.l. positive samples using either the multiplex ITS primers or the FIND TBR-PCR primers [T. b. gambiense species specific primers (TgsGP) [T. brucei s.l. positive samples were not identified down to the sub-species due to the lower sensitivity of the TgsGP primers [Following the detection of  primers , the pos primers . The FIN primers  whereas  (TgsGP) , target  primers , 36.T. brucei s.l. there was a need to determine what sub-species of T. brucei the sample belonged, be it T. b. brucei, T. b. gambiense or T. b. rhodesiense due to the significance of the presence of a human infective sub-species. The PCR assays for positive identification of T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense rely on the amplification of a single copy gene unique to either the West or East African parasite. If neither Gambian or Rhodesian HAT is detected, then it can be assumed the organism present is T. b. brucei. However, due to the difficulty of reliably amplifying a single copy gene, and therefore the low sensitivity of the two sub-species specific assays, there was a chance that a negative result occurs due to insufficient target DNA. To help increase the confidence of a negative result it was possible to determine if there was sufficient quantity of DNA by running an assay that amplifies a single copy gene ubiquitous to all three sub-species. The multiplex designed by Picozzi et al [T. b. rhodesiense. The multiplex consisted of universal Trypanozoon primers that target the T. brucei s.l. single copy gene, phospholipase C (PLC), as well as primers that target the serum resistance associated gene (SRA) for T. b. rhodesiense. Among the variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes there are regions with some sequence identity to the SRA gene. Between the VSG and SRA genes there is an internal deletion within the SRA genes that allows it to be distinguished between any VSG amplification and SRA amplification. Two pairs of primers were designed that amplify across this deleted region to allow for clear size distinction between a SRA PCR product and a VSG PCR product. The combination of primers results in the amplification of a 324 bp product for all Trypanozoon species, a 669 bp product for T. b. rhodesiense and a >1 Kb for any VSG products amplified  tsetse were positive for trypanosomes comprising 73 single midgut infections, 69 single mouthpart infections, nine mixed mouthpart-midgut infections, a single salivary gland-midgut infection and six cases where all three tissues were infected with trypanosomes. Of the 2,877 blood films examined from cattle, trypanosomes were identified in 568  samples, however, it was not possible to identify down to the species level using the microscopy methods.T. brucei s.l.. The number of tsetse positive for the three Salivarian species of trypanosomes were as follows: T. vivax 46/2184 , T. brucei s.l. 40/2184  and T. congolense 58/2184 . Of the T. brucei positive tsetse, seven had a single positive mouthpart, nine were single salivary gland positives, 20 were single midgut positives, two were mixed salivary gland and midgut positive and the remaining two had all three tissues positive. Only the presence of T. brucei s.l. in the mouthparts deviates from the accepted life cycle of this trypanosome and is either due to a transient presence of trypanosomes that have passed along the proboscis during a feed or the result of cross contamination between tissues during dissection  cattle and 25/400  pigs examined using the FIND-TBR primers were positive for ssection .Of the 2,184 samples screened with multiplex ITS primers, trypanosomes were observed by microscopy in 62 samples (49 flies), comprising 30 midguts, four salivary glands and 28 mouthparts. Of the microscopy positives the molecular assay identified 48 of 62 positive tissues, .T. brucei s.l. positive cattle, pig and tsetse samples were processed using the T. brucei s.l. multiplex assay to screen for T. b. gambiense, T. b. rhodesiense and the number of samples with enough DNA to detect down to a single-copy gene. While not expecting to identify any cases of T. b. rhodesiense the inclusion of a positive control for the East African form of the disease acts as another quality control , 15 (60%) and 25 (56%) were positive for the PLC gene, respectively, suggesting that sufficient DNA was present to detect DNA from T. b. rhodesiense or T. b. gambiense if it were present.The 103  control . None ofT. b. gambiense primer, TgsGP. Among the cattle and pig samples there was no amplification of a 308 bp product however 17 tsetse samples produced a band approximately 308 bp in size.The samples that proved to have enough genetic material for the amplification of the single copy PLC gene were then screened using the sub-species-specific T. b. gambiense using the NCBI database resulted in only a 90% identity and a query cover of 16% Of the 17 bands, a subsample of three were sent for sequencing to determine the specific product size and sequence. The samples were sent to SourceBioscience using both forward and reverse primers. The results of the sequencing showed that the three bands sent were identical and that the product was 281 bp (inclusive of primers) in length. The sequence when aligned against reference sequences for T. b. gambiense in local tsetse, cattle and pig populations from N.W. Uganda. The successful identification of T. b. gambiense would suggest that transmission of sleeping sickness in the area was continuing and the identification of the disease in either cattle or pigs would help resolve the role of animal reservoirs in the transmission of the disease.The aim of this paper was to determine the prevalence of T. brucei s.l. positive by PCR 56% were found to have enough DNA for the amplification of a single-copy gene region. Sixteen produced faint bands of approximately 300bp, comparable in size to the expected band size for T. b. gambiense. However sequencing results showed that the size of the product generated by the samples was smaller than the expected size at only 281bp compared to the expected 308bp sized product. There was also significant variation in the 281bp sized sequences compared to T. b. gambiense sequence. Based on the sequencing results these positive samples cannot be unequivocally identified as T. b. gambiense.Of the 40 tsetse samples identified as T. brucei gambiense, this could be due to T. b. gambiense no longer being transmitted in the area or that our sample size was too small to detect T. b. gambiense. Despite being understood as the sole vector of gHAT [T. b. gambiense under laboratory conditions have often proven unsuccessful [T. b. gambiense may be as low as 1 in 4,000 flies [T. b. gambiense being found, the tsetse population studied were actively transmitting T. b. brucei. Third, the TgsGP primers cross-reacted with DNA from an unidentified source and produced a band, similar in size, to T. b. gambiense, this raises concerns about the specificity of the TgsGP primers are and the potential for erroneously reporting the presence of T. b. gambiense.Three conclusions arise from the tsetse survey, the first is that despite screening 2,184 tsetse, no tsetse were found to be positive for  of gHAT  the prev of gHAT , 41 and ccessful . Studies00 flies . HoweverT. brucei or T. congolense similarly of the positive mouthparts all were infected with either T. congolense or T. vivax with no mono infections of T. brucei s.l. identified, although in cases of mixed infections T. brucei s.l. was detected in the mouthparts.T. brucei s.l. however there was one instance of a single T. congolense infection. The presence of a mITS positive does not indicate an infection of a specific tissue by the trypanosome detected but merely the DNA, which could be a transient trypanosome, free floating DNA or DNA introduced during the dissection step; previous studies have found similar results [The infected salivary glands were predominantly positive for  results . Althoug results , howeverT. b. gambiense infections nor where there any cases similar to those found in the fly samples, where non-target DNA was amplified. However, cases of T. b. brucei were found in both animal populations with pigs proving to have the higher prevalence of T. b. brucei infection. This is typical of trypanosome epidemiology which has been shown to be highly localised in other studies [T. b. gambiense in the two animal populations sampled correlates with a previous study carried out in the same area [No animal samples (pig or cattle) produced a band of either 308bp or 281bp when screened with the TgsGP primers, indicating that there were no zoonotic  studies . The lacame area , indicatame area , 46, andT. b. gambiense [T. brucei sub-species [T. b. gambiense are limited due to the practical aspect of conducting these assays in the field and the limited diagnostic markers available. As mentioned previously the sensitivity of T. b. gambiense specific PCR is limited to detecting a single copy gene, although it is possible that the sensitivity TgsGP PCR could be improved if the PCR was nested. However, how much more sensitive this assay would be is not known and it is likely that the sensitivity would remain lower than that of both the ITS and TBR PCR assays. Some molecular assays attempt to overcome this problem by relying on the human serums ability to lyse all salivarian trypanosomes (except for T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense) therefore any T. brucei s.l. identified in a human sample would be one of the two HAT species [T. brucei species group. Using this method any positives would have to be one of the two HAT species, however as the treatment of the two diseases differs and the only option to try and identify if it was an East or West African sleeping sickness infection would be to try and determine the geographical location of where the individual was infected. This approach would also only be limited to humans and could not be used in either xenodiagnoses or screening animals, as all three T. brucei sub-species could be present in the vector or animal populations. To put these differences of sensitivity in perspective, we can look at the limit of detection (LoD) of the number of trypanosome per mL, between multiple diagnostic methods (The diagnostic methods used in this paper involved both microscopy and PCR, of which only PCR has the potential to discriminate sub-species of ambiense , 34. The-species , 17, 34. species . This al methods ..T. b. gambiense in both the human, vector and local animal populations is sorely needed if the hope of eliminating sleeping sickness by 2020 is to be achieved. The importance of such a new diagnostic is also relevant to answering the question of potential human reservoirs of disease. Typically, HAT is still described as being a fatal disease if left untreated, leading to a general view that there are little to no human-reservoirs. However, there is evidence that the disease can remain un-detected for prolonged periods of times in asymptomatic humans, raising the very clear possibility that humans may themselves be cryptic reservoirs of disease [The lack of a highly specific, sensitive and field-friendly assay that is capable of screening for  disease . WithoutT. brucei s.l.. Despite not finding T. b. gambiense in the tsetse population of Koboko vector control has been calculated to being essential to reach the elimination goal of 2030 [This lack of positive samples reflects the overall low prevalence of the disease and the continued decrease in the number of cases in Uganda . This st of 2030"}
+{"text": "Phobocampe confusa, a Nymphalini specialist, responsible for high mortality rates in charismatic butterfly species in Europe (genus Aglais). We studied its ecology and genetic structure in connection with those of its host butterflies in Sweden. To this aim, we gathered data from 428 P. confusa individuals reared from 6094 butterfly larvae  collected over two years (2017 and 2018) and across 19 sites distributed along a 500 km latitudinal gradient. We found that P. confusa is widely distributed along the latitudinal gradient. Its distribution seems constrained over time by the phenology of its hosts. The large variation in climatic conditions between sampling years explains the decrease in phenological overlap between P. confusa and its hosts in 2018 and the 33.5% decrease in the number of butterfly larvae infected. At least in this study, P. confusa seems to favour A. urticae as host. While it parasitized nests of A. urticae and A. io equally, the proportion of larvae parasitized is significantly higher for A. urticae. At the landscape scale, P. confusa is almost exclusively found in vegetated open land and near deciduous forests, whereas artificial habitats are negatively correlated with the likelihood of a nest to be parasitized. The genetic analyses on 89 adult P. confusa and 87 adult A. urticae using CO1 and AFLP markers reveal a low genetic diversity in P. confusa and a lack of genetic structure in both species, at the scale of our sampling. Further genetic studies using high-resolution genomics tools will be required to better understand the population genetic structure of P. confusa, its biotic interactions with its hosts, and ultimately the stability and the functioning of natural ecosystems.The biology of parasitoids in natural ecosystems remains very poorly studied, though they are key species for their functioning. Here we focused on  Most biological studies of parasitoids have been done in the context of biocontrol in agricultural ecosystems. Such focus on parasitoids specialized on pest species, however, has limited our knowledge on the biology and function of parasitoids in natural ecosystems. For example, only a few of the over 100,000 ichneumonid species estimated are identified to date ,3,4. ThuIt is generally accepted that parasitoid species are sensitive to the interactions and population dynamics of their hosts and have their own habitat requirements . HoweverPhobocampe confusa is an important parasitoid of charismatic butterfly species in Europe (genus Aglais). In Sweden, P. confusa represents the second cause of larval mortality due to parasitism in A. urticae and A. io, after the tachinid Pelatachina tibialis [P. confusa is an ichneumonid of the Campopleginae subfamily. It is a solitary endoparasitic koinobiont, that is, the female lays an egg in the body of its host, which continues to function and feed until the parasitoid larva emerges, in this case before the pupation of its host. The parasitoid overwinters as a pharate adult in the cocoon [Aglais io, Aglais urticae, Araschnia levana, Nymphalis polychloros, and Polygonia c-album [P. confusa has not yet been systematically studied.tibialis . P. confe cocoon . As in H c-album , most ofP. confusa with one of its main host, A. urticae, to explore the potential biotic constraint induced by the host on the parasitoid and its dispersal. Here, we studied the ecology of P. confusa and document how it interacts with its host butterfly species. We aimed to (i) identify the temporal constraints imposed by the phenology of its main host species in Sweden, A. urticae and A. io, (ii) investigate preference of hosts, and (iii) better understand the distribution of this parasitoid species in the landscape. In addition, as the population dynamic of parasitoids are likely to be closely linked to that of their hosts, (iv) we characterized and contrasted the genetic structure of Phobocampe confusa has been recorded to parasitize several Nymphalini species but in the vast majority of the recorded cases, P. confusa emerged from two nettle-feeding butterfly species, Aglais io and A. urticae. Aglais urticae and A. io are widely distributed over most of Sweden. These species are closely related butterflies [A. urticae are partly bivoltine, depending on the weather conditions, with larvae observed in the field from May to the end of August. Populations of A. io are univoltine in Sweden and their phenology is slightly more restricted than for A. urticae, with larvae observed from late May to early August. Both Aglais species overwinter as adults.terflies  and showA. levana, has occasionally been reported to be parasitized by P. confusa. Its spatial and temporal distribution overlaps greatly with that of A. urticae and A. io. As with A. urticae and A. io, it almost exclusively feeds on nettle (Urticae dioica). The species is also batch-laying, but with comparatively reduced batch size of 10 to 40 eggs. It is an obligate bivoltine species, with larvae observed in the field from June to early September. A. levana overwinters in the pupal stage.Another Nymphalidae species which has recently established in the southern half of Sweden , A. levaA. io, A. urticae, A. levana, and V. atalanta, sampled over two years (2017\u20132018) and across 19 sites distributed along a 500 km latitudinal gradient in Sweden , regions (south versus north), and years. The measure of the phenological overlap is a continuous variable, varying from zero, if the time windows during which the parasitoid and the host do not overlap, to one, if these two periods are identical. The phenology of P. confusa and its host butterflies were constructed from the distribution of the number of individuals of P. confusa and the number of butterfly nests collected over all the weeks of sampling, at a site and for a given year. The phenological overlap was modelled using a linear model. The initial model included all the two-way interactions and model selection followed a backward elimination procedure. The phenological overlap between j and for year i between P. confusa and a host butterfly, or overlap parasitoid-host index (OPH), is the sum over the sampling weeks k of the minimum between the standardized abundance values of P. confusa  and the host  (Equation (1)). For P. confusa, standardized abundance data  refers to the number of individuals (NP) collected for a given sampling week k, at site j and for year i, and expressed in proportion of the total number of individuals of that species collected on all the samplings at the site j for year i (Equation (2)). For the host butterfly species (A. urticae or A. io), standardized abundance data refers to the number of nests collected for a given sampling week k, at site j, and for year i and expressed in proportion of the total number of nests of that species (NH) collected on all the samplings on the site j for year i (Equation (3)). The overlap index (OPH) is a parsimonious measure of the phenological overlap under the hypothesis that the parasitoid does not benefit from a surplus of resources [P. confusa and each of its hosts, were sampled at a site within a given year.Specifically, the phenological overlap at a site esources . The pheP. confusa attack rates on its two main host butterflies, A. urticae and A. io, in two ways. First, we studied the proportion of butterfly nests parasitized by P. confusa. This analysis was restricted to butterfly nests sampled within the time window of occurrence of P. confusa (see P. confusa was observed within a given year (n = 359 nests). Second, for the butterfly nests parasitized by P. confusa, we examined the proportion of larvae parasitized per nest by P. confusa (n = 145 nests). The proportion of butterfly nests parasitized, and the proportion of larvae parasitized by P. confusa per nest, were modelled with a binomial error distribution and a logit link function to model the number of nests and larvae parasitized out of the number of nests sampled and the number of larvae sampled in each nest. We analysed variations in parasitism rates according to butterfly host, region, larval instar at collection, the phenological overlap, the year and week of collection, and the total number of butterfly nests of both host butterflies (A. io and A. urticae) occurring in the week of sampling. Based on the nature of the distribution of such data over time, and preliminary exploration of the data, we included a quadratic term for the sampling week and phenological overlap. We also included the two-way interactions between the butterfly host and the region, the year, the larval instar at collection, the total number of butterfly nests at sampling, and the two-way interaction between region and year. Because few nests were collected at 1st instar, we pooled them with nests collected at 2nd instar. Model selection followed a backward elimination procedure. Model diagnostics were assessed using the R package DHARMa [We investigated differences in fusa see  and at se DHARMa .P. confusa. Using the models selected in the analyses of the proportion of butterfly nest parasitized and the proportion of larvae parasitized by P. confusa per nest (see above), we estimated the additional variance explained when including land cover variables. In the analyses, absences were informed by including data on butterfly nests collected at sites where P. confusa was not observed (n = 31), but that were sampled during its period of activity (https://www.naturvardsverket.se/). To assess the effect of land cover on the propensity and intensity of parasitism, we computed each metric within buffers of increasing radius  around each sampled nest. All metrics were calculated with the R packages sf [P. confusa per nest, were modelled with a binomial error distribution. Model selection followed a backward elimination procedure and model fits were assessed using the R package DHARMa [We examined how habitat heterogeneity and fragmentation influenced the distribution of activity . Land cokages sf  and rastkages sf . The lane DHARMa .P. confusa and A. urticae were studied using two types of molecular markers, a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit (CO1) mitochondrial gene, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). AFLPs have been commonly used to study the population genetic structure of species since the publication of the method by Vos et al. [The genetic structure of Swedish s et al. . Althougs et al. ). P. confusa collected across 15 sites, and from abdomenal material of 87 adult A. urticae  collected across 8 sites spread across the latitudinal gradient using the NucleoSpin\u00ae 96 Tissue kit (Macherey\u2013Nagel)  and we measured concentrations of about 30 ng/\u00b5L.DNA was extracted from whole body tissue of 89 adult y\u2013Nagel) . After ehttps://www.fluxus-engineering.com/sharenet.htm). We used a maximum parsimony algorithm to infer the most parsimonious branch connections between the haplotypes.We sequenced the fragment of the CO1 gene proposed as a standard DNA barcode for animals  using LCP. confusa, only diploid females were used. Male Hymenoptera are haploids and carry only half of the genetic information that diploid females do. For this reason, using a mixture of both males and females could lead to ambiguous results. In addition, we genotyped only one individual per butterfly nest sampled in order to avoid genotyping related individuals which would, potentially, reduce the genetic variability of our sample. We kept only non-ambiguous AFLP results, which led to a total of 39 P. confusa AFLP genotypes and 86 A. urticae AFLP genotypes.To study the nuclear genetic variation of \u00a9 software (Applied Biosystems). Eight individuals of P. confusa, and 12 individuals of A. urticae were genotyped twice to estimate the genotyping error rate. AFLP genotyping followed the protocol described elsewhere [We obtained the AFLP fragments from 600 ng of genomic DNA, digested successively with the TaqI and EcoRI restriction enzymes . The digested DNA was incubated at 37 \u00b0C for 3 h in the presence of adapter pairs corresponding to both types of restriction sites and T4 DNA ligase enzyme  before amplifying them by two successive PCRs using the EcoRI-A and TaqI-A primers, during the pre-selective PCR, and TaqI-AAC and EcoRI-AAC (FAM) primers, during selective PCR. The separation of the labelled AFLP fragments and the acquisition of the raw fluorescence data was performed by the \u201cGenomics\u201d platform of the Henri Mondor Institute by capillary electrophoresis (Applied Biosystem) in the presence of the LIZ 500 size marker. The obtained AFLP profiles were calibrated and analysed using the GeneMapperlsewhere ,32,33.a priori information about individual origin. We ran 5 replicate runs, with the number of clusters, K, ranging from 1 to 15, of a model of correlated frequencies, i.e., taking into account the similarity of the frequency of alleles between populations. We ran 100,000 iterations and sampled every 100 iterations.The genetic diversity statistics, i.e., the proportion of variable markers and gene diversity based on Nei\u2019s formula , were caP. confusa individuals emerged from larvae collected from 146 different butterfly nests  and from 1 to 82 in 2018 . The species was absent from two sites in both years, site 31 and Odensj\u00f6. Additionally, P. confusa was not present in Ljungby and site 915 in 2017, and in 2018 it was absent from the sites 284, 569, 63, and \u00c5sv\u00e4gen. In our laboratory conditions, P. confusa adult emergence rate was of 29.0% with a total of 124 individuals that emerged, 48 males, 72 females, and 4 that we failed to sex. All the emergence of adults of P. confusa occurred within the year of its cocoon formation. The absence of emergence after winter diapause is probably the result of suboptimal husbandry of wintering cocoons.nd years . Across Phobocampe confusa is a solitary parasitoid, laying one egg per larval host in most cases. Nevertheless, we observed one case where a larva of A. io was parasitized by both P. confusa and the tachinid Blondelia nigripes. Aglais urticae and A. io were the two main hosts of P. confusa among the four butterfly species we sampled. 231 P. confusa larvae egressed from the 2254 A. urticae larvae collected, 196 out of the 2259 A. io, and 2 out of the 1583 A. levana.P. confusa and that of its host butterflies differs significantly among hosts and between regions and years . In the south, the phenology of P. confusa coincides better with that of A. urticae than with that of A. io . This difference between regions is consistent between the two years of sampling. In addition, we observe that although P. confusa rarely parasitizes A. levana (only two cases have been recorded), in the south where this butterfly is distributed, its phenology overlaps that of P. confusa in a manner comparable to the overlap observed with the native species A. io . The proportion of larvae parasitized by P. confusa per nest also varies with the larval instar at collection , deciduous forests, and artificial surfaces (building and road) . AlthougP. confusa, we obtained 88 sequences of a 613 bp fragment of the CO1 gene (GenBank Accession Numbers MT524354-MT524441). We detect 5 haplotypes . We detect 11 haplotypes . In turn, the variation in climatic conditions explains a large part of the observed decrease in phenological overlap between P. confusa and its native hosts. This decrease was most pronounced in the northern region, where we also observed in 2018 a shift toward the spring of the phenologies of the butterfly species  to 8.05% in 2018 (7 out of 84 native butterfly nests sampled). In addition to the importance of the overlap between the phenology of the host butterflies and P. confusa, the probability of detecting a case of a nest parasitized by P. confusa is strongly influenced by the larval stage at the time of collection and was highest for the nests for which the larvae were collected in the fourth larval instar. From larvae monitored in our laboratory rearing conditions (23 \u00b0C and 22L:2D light regime), we evaluate the time window of attack of a larval host by P. confusa to be of about a week (see SM 2). This time window of attack is most certainly longer in the wild, the mean temperature being lower, and probably longer for A. io than A. urticae due to its longer development time. We did not find any difference between native species in the probability of a nest to be parasitized; however, the intensity of parasitism, taken as the proportion of larvae parasitized per nest, differs between species and is significantly higher for A. urticae than for A. io. This result suggests that, at least in this study, P. confusa seems to favour A. urticae as host.The total number of larvae parasitized by cies see  and resuP. confusa. This aligns with previous studies showing that specialist species, as is the case for P. confusa, are particularly sensitive to climatic unpredictability [A. levana has recently established in Sweden, probably as a result of climate warming [A. levana larvae parasitized by P. confusa. This low level of parasitism might be explained by the enemy release hypothesis [A. levana is a potential host for P. confusa and the phenologies of these two species greatly overlap in Sweden, suggesting that A. levana could provide a refuge for P. confusa at a time when the native hosts are rare. Future monitoring of parasitism in A. levana and comparative data on the attack rate by P. confusa on A. levana in other parts of the butterfly\u2019s range, and where the species are known to co-occur, would be insightful in that respect.The large between-year variation in climatic profile highlights the potential impact of warming on our study system. Climate change is a challenge for ectothermic species such as parasitoids and their butterfly hosts. As they do not produce heat, their development and survival rely on the temperature of their habitat . In Swedtability ,41. Howetability  reportedtability . Most imtability ,43,44, ctability , as show warming . Here, wpothesis ,47, whicP. confusa, preferentially occur in habitats characterized by vegetated open land and where deciduous forests are found in the close vicinity. At a scale of 10 m radius around the butterfly nests sampled, the surrounding habitat of 87.4% of the nests included open vegetated land and for 58.5% deciduous forests. Association with these habitats might partly be explained by the pattern of distribution of nettles, Urtica dioica, the  host plants of these butterflies. Nettles, common in northern Europe, are found in a diverse range of habitats but preferentially in nutrient-rich soils and in sites with moderate shading [P. confusa. The probability of a butterfly nest to be parasitized by P. confusa decreased significantly with increased proportion of artificial surface, but the proportion of larvae parasitized per nest significantly increases. Other studies have shown that parasitoids suffer from environmental changes such as habitat fragmentation and habitat loss , which has a significant negative impact on the propensity of a nest to be parasitized. The mechanisms by which artificial surfaces influence the distribution of P. confusa are difficult to assess and would require further investigation. Among potential explanations, the alteration (and unevenly so) of the nutritional content of nettles at close proximity to human habitation, or habitat fragmentation, may alter the parasitoid\u2019s searching behaviour and ability to find a nettle patch and/or this proximity might be associated with higher mortality during the overwintering period, weakening the local populations . ,49. P. ciewed in ). The hiiewed in ,5.P. confusa. Here, we show that the CO1 genetic diversity is extremely low in this species, at least within the geographical scale of our study. We found only five different haplotypes which diverged by no more than 3 mutational steps  are more likely to have a history of inbreeding [P. confusa at the geographical scale of our study. In comparison, the CO1 genetic diversity observed in our samples of A. urticae was higher, with a total of 11 haplotypes  and the non-coding control region of the nuclear genome showed that at the scale of the distribution of the species high gene flow is the primary factor shaping its population genetic structure [To date, no genetic data have been made available for al steps . The lacbreeding . This laplotypes . Althouge et al.  have sugtructure .P. confusa and that of its host, since the dispersal ability of the host A. urticae is larger than the geographical scale investigated in this study. Although AFLPs were successfully used in this study , high-resolution genomics tools, such as restriction-site DNA sequencing , could Phobocampe confusa, a parasitic hymenopteran which represents one of the most species-rich insect groups [P. confusa was misidentified as Hyposoter horticola), although the species causes high mortality rates in very common and charismatic butterfly species probably throughout Europe. In particular, we showed that the occurrence of P. confusa relies on its phenological match with its host butterflies. It attacks similarly nests of A. urticae and A. io; however, the proportion of larvae parasitized per nest in our study was higher for A. urticae. Within our sample, the species occurred preferentially in vegetated open land and showed a high dependence on the occurrence of deciduous forests in the near surroundings. Artificial surfaces, however, seem to have a negative impact on the distribution of P. confusa. The genetic analyses did not reveal a genetic structure in our study population, and further work is required to understand what is structuring the population genetics of P. confusa, and to understand its dispersal abilities and its biotic interactions with its hosts. Such knowledge is crucial to further our understanding of the factors and mechanisms shaping the stability and the functioning of natural ecosystems, including for conservation efforts.In this study, we focused on t groups , to provt groups  (in whic"}
+{"text": "Pinuskoraiensis, Corylusmandshurica, Quercusmongolica and Prunussibirica in temperate forests of Northeast China and investigated the fate of the seeds in spring and autumn. The analysis showed that the hoarding strategies of the rodents varied substantially between seasons. The seeds were consumed faster in the spring than in the autumn. More than 50% of the seeds in the two seasons were consumed by the 16th day. It took 36 days to consume 75% of the seeds in the spring and 44 days in the autumn. The rate of consumption of the seeds in the spring was greater than in the autumn, and the rate of spread of the seeds was greater in the autumn. The distances of removal for the consumption and dispersal of seeds in the spring  were both shorter than those in the autumn . In addition, the fate of different seeds varied significantly owing to differences in hoarding strategies. The seeds of the three preferred species, P.koraiensis, C.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica, were quickly consumed. More than 90% of the seeds of these species were consumed. Only 21% of Pr.sibirica seeds were slowly consumed, and the two seasons had the same seed consumption rate patterns: the consumption rate of P.koraiensis seeds was the highest, followed by C.mandshurica, then Q.mongolica, and finally Pr.sibirica. The median removal times of the two seasons were different, but the rules were the same: P.koraiensis was the shortest, followed by C.mandshurica, and the third was Q.mongolica. In both seasons, the most predated in situ seeds were those of P.koraiensis; the most hoarded seeds were those of C.mandshurica, and the most unconsumed seeds were those of Pr.sibirica.To explore the differences in hoarding strategies of rodents for different seeds in various seasons, we labeled and released the seeds of  Rodents play an important role in the process of plant seed dispersal and regeneration . Seed diThe hoarding behavior of rodents is a special type of feeding behavior; it is a vital adaptive strategy for many rodents during periods of food scarcity , 2020. TPinuskoraiensis (Pinaceae), Corylusmandshurica (Betulaceae), Quercusmongolica (Fagaceae) and Prunussibirica (Rosaceae) are common forest trees in the study area, and their seeds are the main food resources for rodents. In this study, four types of labeled seeds were released in the spring and autumn to investigate the predation, dispersal, and hoarding of seeds by rodents to understand the patterns of utilization of various seeds by rodents and the existing seasonal laws in the natural environment. Our goals were to provide theoretical and practical guidance to explore the interaction between rodents and many large-seed plants. We hypothesized the following: i) Because of the lack of food resources in the spring and abundance of seeds in the autumn, there are seasonal differences in seed dispersal, and seeds released in the spring will be consumed more quickly and in greater quantities than those released in the autumn; ii) to meet the different needs, more food is taken in the spring, and the amounts of dispersal and distance are greater in the autumn; and iii) rodents have predation preferences, and different seeds have various fates with the preferred seeds being consumed faster.The Northeast China temperate zone is rich in forest vegetation resources and is an important resource of species and bank for seeds. Rodents not only damage forest resources by their predation on vegetation and seeds, but also promote the regeneration of vegetation by scatter-hoarding food . PinuskThe study was conducted from April to November, 2018. The research site was located in a forested area of the Sandao Forest Farm , Mudanjiang City, located at the northern end of the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China, the east vein of the main ridge of the Zhangguangcai Mountain. The climate is a temperate and cold continental monsoon climate with four distinct seasons and a hot rainy season. The maximum temperature is 37 \u00b0C. The minimum temperature is -44.1 \u00b0C, and the annual average temperature is 2.3\u20133.7 \u00b0C. Approximately 100\u2013160 days in the year are frost free. The first frost in most areas appears is in late September, and the last frost is in late April to early May. Precipitation is concentrated in June to September and varies from 400 mm to 800 mm.P.koraiensis, Q.mongolica, Larixgmelinii, Piceakoraiensis, Abiesnephrolepis, Betulaplatyphylla, Tiliaamurensis, T.mandshurica, Juglansmandshurica, while the brush included primarily C.mandshurica, Loniceramaackii, Acanthopanaxsenticosus, Trichosantheskirilowii, and Syringareticulata. The rodents in forests were highly abundant and diverse, largely dominated by different combinations of species, with Apodemuspeninsulae, A.agrarius, and Clethrionomysrufocanus being the dominant species.The experiment was conducted in secondary coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest that had been least disturbed. Common canopy tree species included P.koraiensis, C.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, and Pr.sibirica that had been selected in the field study experiment were tagged using an electric drill whose bit is 0.5 mm in diameter, to make a hole at one end of the seed. A thin red plastic sheet was cut into a 3 cm \u00d7 1 cm rectangular plastic plate : seeds not eaten or removed from the station1. Intactin situ (PS): seed kernels eaten at the seed station2. Predation3. Predation after removal (PR): seed kernels eaten after removal4. Intact after removal (IR): seeds not eaten and abandoned on the surface of ground after removal5. Hoarded after removal (HR): seeds buried in the soil or humus layer after removal6. Missing after removal (MR): seeds removed but not found7. Consumption: With the exception of IS seeds, the fate of other seeds is defined as consumption by rodents.8. Predation: PS and PR are defined as predation (PS + PR)9. Dispersal: IR, HR, and MR are defined as dispersal. However, there were no data records for the survey indicators of the missing seeds, so they could not be calculated during the inspection and comparison (IR + HR + MR)MRT) of the seeds: the time at which 50% of the seeds were removed (expressed in days), which was used to compare the seed removal rates in both types of vegetation.10. Median removal time . Before the data analysis, the data was tested for normality and equality of variance using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Homogeneity-of-variance tests. Data were treated with respective nonparametric tests depending on whether they met the assumptions of normality. A Cox regression was used to analyze the seed survival rates, factoring in both seasons\u2019 type and seeds. The Kruskal\u2013Wallis H test (nonparametric) was used to compare the significant differences among the four seed species. The Mann\u2013Whitney U test (nonparametric) was used to test the differences between the different seasons and different seed species. The data are represented as the mean \u00b1 SD. The values are considered statistically significant at th day. Most seeds  preferred by rodents were depleted over time, and most of the seeds not favored (Pr.sibirica) were IS. Therefore, when the curve survival ratio approached 20%, the curve flattened, and the trend of seed consumption became smaller.According to the analysis of the seed survival curve Fig. , the earW = 32.395, df = 1, P < 0.001). Most of the seeds of Pr.sibirica were not consumed, and the trend of consumption gradually slowed at approximately 20% of the curve.According to the analysis of seed survival curves in different seasons Fig. , the treP.koraiensis, C.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica had similar trends of consumption, but the rates of consumption were different , with Pr.sibirica seed consumption being slow. The consumption rate laws of the four types of seeds in the two seasons is as follows. The consumption rate of P.koraiensis was the highest, followed by C.mandshurica, then Q.mongolica, and finally Pr.sibirica. .According to the analysis of survival curves of four types of seeds in the spring and autumn Fig. , the conZ = -0.508, P > 0.05). After the animals found the seeds, they chose different ones based on their preferences and performed different operations, resulting in various fates of the seeds. The sequences of the earliest consumption time of seeds in the spring and autumn were both as follows: C.mandshurica was the earliest, followed by P.koraiensis, then Q.mongolica, and finally Pr.sibirica. There were no differences in the earliest consumption time among P.koraiensis, C.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica in different seasons . The earliest time of consumption of Pr.sibirica was significantly later than that of the other types of seeds in the spring and autumn  . The times for 50% of the seeds to be consumed varied for different seeds. Spring and autumn showed the same pattern: P.koraiensis had the shortest time, followed by C.mandshurica, while Q.mongolica had the longest time. However, there was no significant difference between the three types of seeds . The rates of consumption of the Pr.sibirica seeds did not exceed 50% during the spring and autumn studies. The autumn study led to the discovery that some of the Pr.sibirica seeds released in the spring remained at the seed station. The consumption curve estimated that the time when 50% of the Pr.sibirica seeds were consumed should exceed 150 d  was estimated based on the survey data of the seed station after predation , while there was no difference for C.mandshurica . The latest time of Q.mongolica removal was significantly later than those of P.koraiensis  and C.mandshurica  in the autumn.Less than 100% of the seeds were consumed during the study. Therefore, the average removal time of the three types of seeds , predation in situ (PS), predation after removal (PR), intact after removal (IR), hoarded after removal (HR), and missing after removal (MR) were 14.20%, 41.52%, 13.59%, 1.45%, 11.07% and 18.17%, respectively. In the autumn, the proportions of seeds with corresponding fates were 25.14%, 8.47%, 7.92%, 5.28%, 19.58% and 33.61%, respectively . P.koraiensis accounted for the most predation in situ seeds (57.90% in the spring and 44.26% in the autumn), followed by Q.mongolica (31.62% in the spring and 34.43% in the autumn). C.mandshurica had the largest proportion among the hoarded seeds (64.17% in the spring and 46.10% in the autumn)  than in the autumn 16.39%). The total seed dispersal rate of seeds was higher in the autumn (58.47%) than in the spring (30.69%) .The transport distances of seeds by P.koraiensis , C.mandshurica , Q.mongolica  showed no seasonal differences in the transport distances of PR. Pr.sibirica seeds (7.73 \u00b1 3.36 m in the spring) showed no PR of data records during the autumn study.The three species of seeds Z = -2.008, P < 0.05). The dispersal distance of P.koraiensis seeds was significantly greater than that of the other three types , and there was a difference between the other three types . The dispersal distance of P.koraiensis seeds in the spring (3.89 \u00b1 2.05 m) was significantly shorter than that in the autumn (7.97 \u00b1 5.33 m) . C.mandshurica seeds  , Q.mongolica seeds  and Pr.sibirica seeds  showed no seasonal differences in the diffusion distances . The dispersal distances of seeds were greater than the transport for predation distances .The seed dispersal distances in the spring and autumn were 4.15 \u00b1 3.52 m and 4.87 \u00b1 3.94 m, respectively, and the dispersal distance in the spring was significantly shorter than that in the autumn . According to the Handling Costs hypothesis  in both the spring and autumn. Pr.sibirica has a small amount of predation and dispersal, indicating that there are some key factors that cause animal rejection. We hypothesize that it may be caused by the amygdalin compounds contained in almonds. This hypothesis requires an in\u2013depth study. Different seeds vary in their diffusion distances, which is another type of selection difference exhibited by the rodents for different seed characteristics.The differences in seed characteristics and the animal\u2019s needs will affect the hoarding behavior of animals, which manifests as preference for food selection . Small apothesis , seeds obenefits . C.mandongolica . TherefoRodents change their predation and hoarding behavior strategies based on different seasons and foods. These animals adopt different foraging strategies so that the consumption of seeds has obvious seasonal differences. Food resources are scarce in the spring, and rodents spend more time foraging than in the autumn. Spring seeds are consumed in greater numbers and more quickly than in the autumn. In the spring, to meet the immediate demand for a supply of energy, rodents predate on more seeds. In the autumn, the abundance of seeds increases. To ensure the necessary food demand for winter survival, rodents disperse more seeds to different locations for hoarding, and the dispersal distance is relatively larger. For different seeds distributed in the same region, rodents will identify and judge the characteristics of the seeds, resulting in various fates for the seeds. Handling seeds in different ways leads to obvious predation preferences, and usually seeds that are rich in nutrients and easily handled are prioritized. Seeds with hard and thick seed coats are hoarded the most intensively."}
+{"text": "Geochemical Transactions is dedicated to Professor Donald L. Sparks, the S. Hallock du Pont Chair in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, and the Director of the Delaware Environmental Institute, at the University of Delaware (UD), in celebration and honor of his life-long research interests and achievements in environmental soil chemistry. Dr. Sparks is the recipient of the 2015 American Chemical Society\u2019s Geochemistry Division Medal for his highly influential and transformative work in soil and environmental geochemistry, his outstanding record as an educator and mentor, and his service to the geochemical community. Dr. Sparks received his B.S. in Agronomy in 1975 and M.S. in Soil Science in 1976, both from the University of Kentucky, before he obtained his Ph.D. in Soil Science in 1979 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Sparks has received numerous awards, including UD\u2019s Francis Alison Award, the Liebig Medal from the International Union of Soil Sciences, the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Sterling Hendricks medal, the Northeast Association of Graduate Schools Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award, the Soil Science Research Award, the M.L. and Chrystie M. Jackson Soil Science Award, and the American Society of Agronomy\u2019s Environmental Quality Award.Over the past 30\u00a0years, Dr. Sparks\u2019 research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of the fate of toxic metals and plant nutrients in soils, and of chemical reactions at solid-water interfaces. His research utilizes synchrotron X-ray and other spectroscopic techniques to determine the forms of the metals and nutrients in the soil at the molecular scale, revealing how they interact with mineral surfaces and accumulate in plants. Such information determines the mobility, toxicity, and bioavailability of contaminants in the soil and is useful in developing effective strategies for soil remediation. As we began to plan this honorary Special Issue, we invited experts and colleagues who share this scientific sphere with Dr. Sparks. The resulting Special Issue highlights important challenges in environmental geochemistry and soil chemistry and introduces current advances in these areas. We have also brought together a series of research articles exemplifying recent developments in state-of-the-art experimental and computational approaches to understanding mineral\u2013water interfaces.2), using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, aqueous Fe and Mn analyses, and 57Fe M\u00f6ssbauer spectroscopy, and describe the continuous redox chemistry between Fe(II) and Mn/Fe oxides [0.5Fe2.5O4) and minium (Pb3O4), that were found in proximity to a former Cu-smelter in Timmins, Ontario, Canada [The Special Issue starts with Dr. Sparks\u2019 feature article, which introduces the increasing importance of soil chemistry in climate change and in critical soil interactions with nutrients and emerging organic contaminants such as antibiotics, hormones, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Dr. Sparks has provided future research directions as well as challenges and opportunity in environmental soil chemistry . In soile oxides . By expee oxides . Then, se oxides , Sundmane oxides  discuss e oxides \u00a0and Hamie oxides \u00a0investige oxides . Nickel,e oxides  and Gou e oxides . Fan et e oxides . In addie oxides . Furthere oxides . Another, Canada . The SpeGeochemical Transactions, and\u00a0Dr. Sherestha Saini, Senior Editor of Springer Nature\u2019s Environmental Sciences Journals,\u00a0have kindly helped in handling the manuscripts. We hope that this Special Issue will reach the broader environmental soil geochemistry community. Lastly, thank you, Dr. Sparks, for your leadership in environmental soil chemistry and for inspiring many of us.Thinking back to our first solicitations for the Special Issue, we were impressed by the enthusiasm from the geochemical society, which reflects Dr. Sparks\u2019 dedication and leadership in environmental soil chemistry. We are grateful to have this support from our colleagues and excited to share this Special Issue. To facilitate its dissemination, Mr. Samuel Winthrop and Mr. Jan Margulies, Journal Development Editors of"}
+{"text": "Dermacentor occur, Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor reticulatus. When the spatial distribution of both species in Germany was studied comprehensively for the first time in 1976, D. marginatus populations were recorded along the Rhine and Main river valleys in southwestern Germany, while D. reticulatus was very rare. In the last 50 years, however, a considerable range expansion of D. reticulatus has been noted in several European countries. To assess the current distribution of Dermacentor spp. in Germany, citizens were asked to send in ticks suspected to belong to the genus Dermacentor or that were of \u201cunusual\u201d appearance. From February 2019 until February 2020, 3,902 Dermacentor ticks were received in total. Of those, 15.48%  were identified as D. marginatus and 84.24%  as D. reticulatus, while 11 specimens could not be identified to species level. The majority of D. reticulatus specimens was collected from dogs , while D. marginatus was mostly collected from horses . Our results confirm that the adults of both Dermacentor species are active all year round. D. reticulatus specimens were sent in from all federal states except the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, while D. marginatus specimens were only received from locations in southwestern Germany. Overall, data obtained from this citizen-science study show that D. reticulatus has significantly expanded its range, especially in northern Germany. Regarding D. marginatus, new locations northwest of the previous range were detected, although the distribution has remained rather stable as compared to D. reticulatus. The spread of D. reticulatus, the vector of Babesia canis, is of major importance for veterinarians and dog owners in terms of canine babesiosis outbreaks or endemization in hitherto B. canis-free areas. Thus, veterinarians and veterinary students need to be informed about the new situation to be able to give adequate advice to dog owners on the extended D. reticulatus range and appropriate control measures.In Europe, two tick species of the genus  Dermacentor is represented by two species, Dermacentor marginatus  and Dermacentor reticulatus . The range of the ornate sheep tick, D. marginatus, extends from Portugal in the west throughout southern Europe and northern Africa into Central Asia. The species' southern and northern distribution limits are currently considered to be in Morocco and at the northern extension of the Rhine basin in Germany  has recently been proven  is the main vector for TBEV in Europe, the virus has repeatedly been isolated from D. reticulatus in a TBEV-endemic area in Germany  data or postal code], the involvement of potential hosts, and details about the circumstances under which the tick was discovered. To increase motivation to participate, citizens were informed about the tick species of their specimen(s).Ticks were identified to species level using detailed morpho-metrical keys provided by Arthur , Siuda , and EstThe accuracy of the reported locations where ticks were found was categorized based on the details provided by the senders as follows: (i) the accuracy was estimated to be high if there was a high probability that a natural habitat of the collected tick was in close proximity to the location where it was found. For example, a high accuracy was assumed for ticks collected from cattle and horses, which did not leave their pasture in the days before an infestation was detected, as well as for ticks found on vegetation, but only when the sender provided a GPS reference or precise address. (ii) A medium accuracy was assumed for unengorged ticks found on dogs or humans during or immediately after a walk, as well as for ticks from cats or wild terrestrial animals, or if the location met the criteria for a high accuracy ranking but was reported only in the form of a postal code. (iii) The reported location was considered to be of low accuracy in cases of engorged ticks found on dogs or ticks found in an unsuitable habitat (e.g. inside a house), as the origin of these ticks was often unclear. (iv) If no information on the location or the circumstances of tick detection was provided or the ticks were detected on dogs or humans travelling large distances, the accuracy was categorized as unknown.via the rworldmap package  specimens, D. reticulatus was sent in much more frequently than D. marginatus . The remaining 11 specimens (0.28%) could not be identified to species level, as essential morphological features had been destroyed. The sex ratio of D. reticulatus was almost 1:1 [48.65% females  vs. 51.32% males ]. In addition, one D. reticulatus nymph was received (0.03%). In contrast, slightly more female than male D. marginatus were sent in [56.79% females (343/604) vs. 43.21% males (261/604)].From mid-February 2019 until the end of February 2020, 3,902 ticks of the genus D. reticulatus and one D. marginatus, the federal state of origin was unclear due to travel activity of the senders. With the exception of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, D. reticulatus was collected in all federal states of Germany   . Compareaarland)  and Naucaarland) , several Germany . The spal et al.  and Liebl et al. . Howeverl et al. .D. reticulatus and 596/604 D. marginatus specimens, information on the month of collection was provided. Both Dermacentor species occurred throughout the whole year. Most D. reticulatus specimens were found in September  and October 2019 , while smaller peaks occurred in March 2019 , May 2019 , and February 2020 . In comparison, D. marginatus numbers showed a peak in March 2019  and February 2020   .D. reticulatus and 526/604 D. marginatus). The majority of ticks were attached to or crawling on  hosts, especially dogs  and horses . While D. reticulatus was collected more often from dogs  than from horses , D. marginatus was more common on horses  than on dogs . Both species were also detected on humans . In 18 cases, citizens reported having been bitten by the ticks . These ticks were often attached to the scalp. Detailed results on host association or collection location, respectively, are shown in Information on host association was available for 3,061/3,902 ticks , Stuttgart, Mannheim, Freiburg, and Karlsruhe . In this context, however, it has to be kept in mind that citizens were asked to participate in the study via press releases, which were covered by various regional and national media. Regional media coverage was probably enhanced in the vicinity of the involved research institutions (located in Hanover and Stuttgart); thus, the clusters near Hanover and Stuttgart may reflect this bias in media attention. Nevertheless, D. reticulatus was detected for the first time in the greater Hanover area, where occurrence was also verified by flagging of questing ticks in 2019 (data not shown). In addition, the data indicate several other potentially new locations outside the hitherto known range, especially in northwestern Germany. D. reticulatus was even found in the northernmost part of Germany, on the island of Sylt in the North Sea (~8.34\u00b0 E/54.91\u00b0 N). Two independent submissions of unfed male ticks from Sylt indicate that a D. reticulatus population may be present on the island. However, Sylt is also a popular tourist destination, and it cannot be entirely excluded that the unfed male ticks did not originate on the island, but reached it together with traveling dog hosts.The obtained data show notable clusters of D. reticulatus occurrence was noted in the eastern part of Germany, around the federal state of Berlin. Interestingly, the citizen-science data do not confirm the presence of D. reticulatus in the area between the cities of Leipzig and Berlin, where the species was previously reported .The present study shows that The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.CS, GD, UM, MD, AS, and AL designed the study. UM and CS coordinated the study and communicated with media representatives. MD designed the website. LC-D, MB, and GD contributed collected ticks. AS, MD, AL, KF, and LC-D identified tick species. AS, MD, AL, KF, SM, DT, and CRS participated in communication with the public and individual citizens as well as data handling. MD and AS drafted the manuscript. All authors participated in data interpretation, reviewed the manuscript draft, read, and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Legionella spp. and other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs), including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii, are normal inhabitants of natural waters, drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing. Thus, humans are regularly exposed to these pathogens. Unfortunately, Legionella spp. and the other OPPPs share a number of features that allow them to grow and persist in premise plumbing. They form biofilms and are also relatively disinfectant-resistant, able to grow at low organic matter concentrations, and able to grow under stagnant conditions. Infections have been traced to exposure to premise plumbing or aerosols generated in showers. A number of measures can lead to reduction in OPPP numbers in premise plumbing, including elevation of water heater temperatures. Legionella pneumophila is a member of a group of waterborne opportunistic pathogens that surround humans. Others in the group include the bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), Mycobacterium abscessus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii, and the amoebae, namely, Acanthamoeba spp. Collectively, they are called opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs). Humans are continually exposed to these opportunistic pathogens as they colonize and persist in drinking water in homes, apartments, schools, hospitals, and offices.P. aeruginosa wound and urinary tract infections occur in hospitals and present treatment problems because of P. aeruginosa\u2019s intrinsic resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants [L. pneumophilia lung infections have been linked to hotel stays [Acinetobacter baumannii was found responsible for infections in injured U.S. troops in the Middle East [The infections caused by the OPPP can be in the lungs, skin, or bloodstream depending upon the point of entry of the infecting microorganism. They are called opportunistic pathogens as they infect that proportion of the population with risk factors. Those risk factors include older age, injury, surgery, immunodeficiency due to infection , cancer, or chemotherapy, and prior lung damage due to infection, smoking, or exposure to dusty occupations. The infections can be acquired in hospitals  or in the community at home, at work, at play. For example, fectants  and L. pel stays . Acinetodle East .L. pneumophila, a life-threatening pneumonia, and Legionnaires\u2019 disease must be reported to health officials, so we know that there were at least 10,000 cases in the United States in 2018 [M. avium, the estimated numbers are quite high; namely, 180,000 in the United States [M. avium was over USD 425 million [P. aeruginosa infections in hospitals with an estimated cost of USD 767 million [Infections caused by  in 2018 . As for d States . The est million . In 2017Legionella and the other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) is that they are all colonists of drinking water, not contaminants. Contaminants, such as the fecal bacterium Escherichia coli, do not grow or survive in drinking water, they die the further away they get from the site where the water was polluted. In contrast, Legionella and the other OPPPs survive, grow, and persist in natural and drinking water; that is their home. For example, the numbers of M. avium increase in the distribution system between the water treatment plant and homes, offices, and hospitals [P. aeruginosa was shown to grow in hospital distilled water [The first common, shared characteristic of ospitals . Furthered water .Legionella and the other OPPPs. They are adapted to growth and survival in flowing water systems and are particularly adapted to survival, persistence, and growth in the \u201cbuilt environment\u201d, particularly in hospital and household plumbing.Natural soils and surface waters are the ultimate sources of M. avium, P. aeruginosa, S. maltophilia, and A. baumannii are significantly more resistant to chlorine than is Escherichia coli, the bacterial standard used to gauge disinfection efficacy. Strains of P. aeruginosa, particularly the mucoid variants, are chlorine-resistant [A. baumannii isolates [M. avium is approximately 1000-fold more tolerant to chlorine than is E. coli [E. coli cells are killed in 5 min. In contrast, to kill 99.9% of M. avium cells, the exposure duration would have to be above 80 h. Although M. avium is an extreme example of disinfection-resistant waterborne bacteria, the other OPPPs are also resistant. The consequence of disinfectant-resistance amongst the OPPPs is that they are not killed by water treatment processes and enter the water distribution systems where they grow and are transported to homes, apartments, hospitals, schools, and elder care facilities. The OPPPs have no competition for nutrients from the chlorine-sensitive fecal contaminants in water, so all, even though limited, organics are available to L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, and the other OPPPs.The second common character of the OPPPs is their disinfectant-resistance. In the United States, water from surface rivers and lakes is transported by gravitation or pumped to treatment plants where total microbial and pathogen counts are reduced by a series of steps, including precipitation and disinfection. The most common disinfectant used in the United States is chlorine which is an effective killer of microorganisms\u2014except the OPPPs. esistant  as are misolates . M. aviu E. coli . At a coP. aeruginosa where isolates from patients and hospital water and wastewaters are resistant to both antibiotics and disinfectants [P. aeruginosa [M. avium to antibiotics and disinfectants is due to the presence of the thick, lipid-rich outer membrane of Mycobacterium spp. that provides an impermeable layer to hydrophilic compounds such as antibiotics and disinfectants [In addition to disinfectant-resistance, there is an interesting coincidence of disinfectant- and antibiotic-resistance amongst the OPPPs. This has been particularly investigated in fectants . One rearuginosa . Rather fectants .L. pneumophilia and the other OPPPs are colonists of human-engineered water systems. Their source is natural waters and soils where they have been subject to selection for growth under low nutrient conditions. Thus, these opportunistic pathogens are quite able to survive and proliferate in plumbing in hospitals and homes. They grow and survive under a wide range of conditions, including high temperature  and low oxygen . P. aeruginosa was shown to persist in premise plumbing of buildings [S. maltophilia was recovered from hospital tap water [M. avium was shown to grow under low-nutrient, oligotrophic conditions in a pilot water distribution system [M. avium increase as the water is transported through the distribution system pipes to homes and hospitals [E. coli and other enteric pathogens, OPPP numbers increase from the source due to the inability of those fecal pathogens to persist in the low nutrient conditions of drinking water. Passage through the water heater provides an opportunity for growth of L. pneumophila and M. avium and stagnation leads to increases in OPPP numbers as many have means to grow under microaerobic conditions as is the case for M. avium [P. aeruginosa that can use nitrate (NO3\u2212) as a terminal electron-acceptor in the absence of oxygen [As noted above, uildings ,16, S. map water , and Aciap water . M. aviun system . Growth ospitals . Unlike M. avium , or evenf oxygen .L. pneumophila and the other OPPPs is their propensity to attach to surfaces where they grow to form biofilms\u2014layers of cells imbedded in an extracellular matrix. All OPPPs readily adhere to surfaces and form biofilms including: L. pneumophila and P. aeruginosa [B. cepacia [S. maltophilia [A. baumannii [P. aeruginosa) or lipid . Biofilms are formed in both plumbing and in infected patients. The extracellular matrix serves as a barrier to exposure of cells to antimicrobial agents; namely, antibiotics in infected individuals and disinfectants in drinking water systems [P. aeruginosa in biofilms is governed by oxygen concentrations [Another shared characteristic of ruginosa , B. cepa cepacia , S. malttophilia , and A. aumannii . Surface systems . Antibio systems  and disi systems , are una systems  so that  systems , so the trations .Mycobacterium genus, namely, M. avium, M. chimaera, and M. abscessus\u2014the major human pathogens. Mycobacterium spp. cells are surrounded by a long chain (C60-C80), lipid-rich outer membrane [M. avium or M. abscessus cells/mL, greater than 1000 cells/cm2 can be detected on stainless steel, PVC, glass, and galvanized surfaces [M. chimaera cells resulted in an apparent loss of 99.9% of the cells within 5 min due to their adherence on the pipes, tubes, and walls of the heater\u2013cooler [P. aeruginosa is also an avid biofilm former [The star performers of biofilm formation are the members of the membrane  that maksurfaces . Furtherr\u2013cooler . Similarm former .L. pneumophila, P. aeruginosa, M. avium complex, and the other OPPPs are readily phagocytozed by amoeba, including Acanthamoeba, Vermamoeba, and Hartmanella [L. pneumophila was demonstrated in Acanthamoeba castellanii [L. pneumophila and other OPPPs in human phagocytic cells is a direct consequence of selection for survival and growth of ARMs in amoeba and protozoa [tmanella ,32 and ptmanella . One reatmanella ,34. OPPPtmanella  or by cotellanii . As was protozoa ,34.L. pneumophila share the same environments and coincident isolation of amoeba and L. pneumophila are frequently reported. Whether that coincident recovery of both amoeba and L. pneumophila is an indicator of obligate dependence of L. pneumophila for survival, persistence, and growth in drinking water or is simply a result of microorganisms sharing the same habitats remains to be proven. This sharing of the same environments, namely, human-engineered water systems, is found with M. avium and the other OPPPs. However, L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, and S. maltophilia are found in the absence of amoeba and protozoa. It would be valuable to identify biomarkers of OPPPs that are signs of prior growth in amoeba or protozoa. For example, would there be changes in mycobacterial outer membrane lipids or proteins originating from the amoeba or protozoa? Such markers would permit further examination of the relationship between free-living amoeba and protozoa and L. pneumophila and the other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens.Amoeba and Acanthamoeba polyphaga to increase the species variety of Mycobacterium spp. isolates. Following inoculation of a water sample with and without starved cells of A. polyphaga and incubation for 4 days, isolation of triple-washed amoeba cells lead to recovery of a greater variety of Mycobacterium species isolates compared to the un-inoculated control .It is possible to mix drinking water samples with T. pyriformis carrying M. avium was able to grow from a low-density inoculum . Possibly, the intracellular M. avium cells supplied fatty acids to T. pyriformis permitting growth from low cell densities.The association between OPPPs and amoeba and protozoa may be mutually beneficial. Tetrahymena spp. fails to grow from low-density inocula unless the medium was supplemented with a variety of compounds, including fatty acids . HoweverL. pneumophila, M. avium, and other OPPPs, there are several other interactions that have been observed between P. aeruginosa, Mycobacterium spp., and L. pneumophila that deserve further exploration [In addition to the interaction between free-living amoeba and protozoa and loration ,38.Mycobacterium spp. by the salmon-pink pigmented Methylobacterium spp. [An example of interaction between waterborne opportunistic pathogens is the exclusion of ium spp. ,40. Specium spp. . Both arium spp. ,42 and tL. pneumophila [L. pneumophila in biofilms [Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a wide range of secondary metabolites that are antimicrobial . For exaumophila , or stimbiofilms .L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, and other OPPPs love premise plumbing; it is an ideal habitat for their survival, growth, and persistence. First, premise, as it is farthest from a treatment plant, has a low residual disinfectant concentration. Enough perhaps to kill and inhibit growth of fecal coliforms, but not enough disinfect to kill or inhibit the growth of L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, and other OPPPs. Second, pipes in plumbing offer a high surface to volume ratio that is ideal for surface adherence and biofilm formation. A common feature of OPPPs is their predilection for surface attachment and growth in biofilms. The rather slow growing L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, and other OPPPs attach to surfaces and therefore do not get washed out of the plumbing. Further, biofilm protects microbial cells from whatever disinfectant is present. Third, sediment collects in the water heater and provides nutrient for microorganisms. Fourth, water in premise plumbing is regularly heated  and distributed throughout the structure  where it cools to an optimal temperature for OPPP growth . Recirculating hot water systems in apartment and condominium buildings and hospitals provide optimal temperatures for growth of L. pneumophila and OPPPs. For example, highest numbers of M. avium  have been recovered from water samples collected from high-rise apartments and condominium buildings in New York City [L. pneumophila and other OPPPs is that they all grow at low oxygen levels . As the water in mornings has been heated, conditions are ideal for growth in household, hospital, and healthcare plumbing. Remember, while we humans are away, the microbes grow in plumbing and reach high numbers.ork City . Fifth, L. pneumophila, M. avium [P. aeruginosa [A. baumannii [Pathways of transmission of OPPPs include: aerosolization, drinking water, and coming in contact with water. Humans are exposed to OPPPs through all three pathways at home, at work, or in hospitals. Aerosolization refers to the generation of water droplets from water. Most commonly, those aerosols are inhaled leading to lung infections. As the water could carry M. avium , P. aeruruginosa ,48, A. baumannii ,50, or oaumannii ,51, humiaumannii , aeratoraumannii , from draumannii , fish taP. aeruginosa [P. aeruginosa can persist in sterilizing solutions and be introduced to skin or wounds directly [S. maltophilia hospital infection outbreak was traced to a S. maltophilia-colonized disinfectant solution [S. maltophilia infection in a hospital [Contact with water colonized with OPPPs can lead to infection. Solutions of skin surface disinfectants can become colonized by OPPPs, particularly ruginosa . Due to directly . In a sisolution . Hospitahospital .The home environment can have unexpected sources of OPPPs. Kitchen sponges have been shown to harbor \u201cmassive\u201d colonization of Acinetobacter spp. . ChilledMycobacterium chimaera aerosols that infected patients undergoing cardiac surgery [M. chimaera cells that had colonized the water cycle of the instrument. The M. chimaera strain was introduced during final testing of the instrument before transmission.Sources of OPPPs abound in hospitals and healthcare centers. In addition to patient room showers and sinks, patients are exposed to aerosols generated by therapy baths, patient manipulations, and medical equipment. Medical equipment that has been shown to be aerosol sources of OPPPs include bronchoscopes and heater\u2013coolers. Heater\u2013coolers are water heating and cooling devices used in operating rooms to cool patients and warm blood during periods of time when the heart may be stopped and oxygen\u2013carbon dioxide exchange is performed outside the body. In 2015, one manufacturer\u2019s heater\u2013cooler was shown to be the source of  surgery . AlthougL. pneumophila, M. avium complex, and other OPPP infections [L. pneumophila, M. avium P. aeruginosa and other OPPP infections occur in both community and healthcare settings, how is monitoring to be implemented?In light of the burden for medicine to do no harm and the enormous cost of fections , it is oL. pneumophila infections require notification to public health officials, only New York City, New York, and the Veterans Administration require monitoring of L. pneumophila. No monitoring is required for the other OPPPs. Upon discovery of outbreaks, samples are collected to identify OPPP sources and count numbers, but with the exception of L. pneumophila, the numbers are not of particular value. Source tracking is of value, but in the absence of well-established dose\u2013response values for M. avium, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, and S. maltophilia infections, there is no guidance for action levels. Further, enumeration of E. coli, fecal coliform, and heterotrophic plate count bacteria numbers do not serve as surrogates of OPPPs [P. aeruginosa as a surrogate indicator for OPPP presence [Although of OPPPs ,59. Perhpresence .Mycobacterium spp. cultivation due to their ridiculously slow growth and the loss of samples due to overgrowth by other microorganisms. However, disinfectants do kill Mycobacterium spp., so their use reduces the sensitivity of detection. Further, even in Mycobacterium spp., different species have significantly different susceptibilities to disinfection [Two other problems emerge when considering monitoring for OPPPs. First, what samples should be collected ? Second, as other microorganisms are present in drinking water, should samples be disinfected and what disinfectants should be employed? Decontamination is widely employed for nfection .L. pneumophila, M. avium complex, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, and S. maltophilia infections on public health, whereby prior planning and remediation after outbreaks are required. Both can be effective. First it is important to point out that the OPPPs share many characteristics in common, such that their numbers reflect reactions to similar conditions. Those shared characteristics can identify measures to design away from constructing OPPP-friendly buildings or perform remediation to reduce OPPP numbers in existing structures. Although it has not been proven for all the OPPPs, it is hypothesized that reductions in the numbers of L. pneumophila, M. avium, P. aeruginosa, A baumannii, and S. maltophilia will consequently reduce the number of OPPP infections. It is with that unproven hypothesis that the following recommendations are presented.There are two approaches to reducing the impact of Homes, apartment buildings, condominiums, hospitals, and health care facilities can be designed to avoid creating ideal growth centers for OPPPs. The current interest in \u201cGreen Buildings\u201d has been challenged by listing the green building characteristics that will actually promote OPPP growth and persistence . For exaM. avium. It was noted that homes with water heater temperatures equal to or lower than 125 \u00b0F (50 \u00b0C) had Mycobacterium spp., but in homes with water heater temperatures at 130 \u00b0F (55 \u00b0C) or higher seldom had Mycobacterium spp. [M. avium patients in Wynnewood, Montgomery County, PA, allowed us to raise their water heater temperatures to 130 \u00b0F (55 \u00b0C). Numbers of M. avium in their water samples were measured and, by 12 weeks, 10 out of 10 households no longer had M. avium [M. avium and quite possibly L. pneumophilia and other OPPPs is to raise water heater temperatures to 130 \u00b0F (55 \u00b0C) or higher.There are a variety of measures that might reduce OPPP numbers based on logic. One remediation measure has been tried and proven to reduce numbers of ium spp. . Based oM. avium . Thus, oMycobacterium spp. [Mycobacterium spp. in showerheads being the strongest predictor of Mycobacterium spp. infection in residents [As showerheads have been shown to be rich in ium spp. ,46 and wesidents , it has M. avium and other Mycobacterium spp. grew in GAC filters, such that the GAC filter became the source of M. avium in the water [Granular activated charcoal (carbon) (GAC) filters, which are effective at removal of chlorine, metals and organics, do not prevent the passage of OPPPs, as the pores are too large. In fact, a study at EPA showed that he water . One can"}
+{"text": "Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens that affect dogs and humans all over the world. Serbia is considered an endemic country to both forms of dirofilariasis, although most of the population is concentrated in the north of the country. The aims of this study were to show the prevalence of D. immitis and D. repens in dogs and the seroprevalence in humans compared to previous studies in Northern Serbia. In total, 346 dog sera samples and 265 human samples were analyzed. Dog blood samples were analyzed using the modified Knott's method to check whether there were Dirofilaria spp. microfilariae and serum samples were checked by a commercial D. immitis antigen test. Human serum samples were analyzed with a non-commercial ELISA for detection of specific anti-D. immitis, anti-D. repens, and anti-Wolbachia IgG antibodies, and confirmed by western blotting. The overall prevalence for Dirofilaria spp. in dogs was 29.19%. The overall prevalence for D. immitis was 26.30%. The percentages of D. immitis and D. repens microfilaremia in dogs were 25.72 and 1.45%, respectively, while D. immitis./D. repens microfilaremia co-infections were also 1.45%. The overall seroprevalence for Dirofilaria spp. in humans was 3.77%. The overall seroprevalence for D. immitis was 1.51, 1.13% for D. repens, and for D. immitis/D. repens co-infections was 1.13%. The results indicate that D. immitis and D. repens are present in dogs and humans in the province of Vojvodina, in the northern part of Serbia. It is most likely associated with the presence of many rivers, the climate, and presence of mosquitoes in the area, so there could be a real public health risk.Dirofilariasis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused mainly by  Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens. Dirofilaria immitis causes heartworm disease in canines and pulmonary dirofilariasis in humans, whereas D. repens causes canine subcutaneous dirofilariasis and ocular/subcutaneous dirofilariasis in humans. Both parasites are transmitted by culicid mosquitoes, which inoculate larva 3 into definitive hosts in both animals and humans. For that reason, dirofilariasis is considered a veterinary and public health problem , although most cases are asymptomatic  lies between Hungary, Croatia, and Romania. This northern part of the country is largely plains with a continental climate and a lot of rivers. Summers are hot and have lengthened over time due to climate change, so temperatures over 14\u00b0C usually last even through to the end of October. Winters are less and less cold and there has not been much snow during the last several winters. All this means that the mosquito season is prolonged from March to October. The air humidity during the warm period of the year is mostly high, meaning that the conditions for the development of mosquitoes are appropriate. During springtime there is a lot of rain and often in some parts of the country there are floods.Figure 2). There is also an artificial canal system called Danube\u2013Tisa\u2013Danube Canal. It covers the total area in Vojvodina of about 12,700 km2 and it consists of a number of canals. This Canal is a unique hydro-engineering system for flood control and hydrotechnical management, forestry, water supply, wastewater evacuation, navigation, tourism, fishing, and hunting. Besides these purposes, it also represents a substantial amount of water, convenient for development of mosquitos.In the province of Vojvodina there is the Danube river, which crosses the country from east to west, while the Tisa river flows from north to south, and there are smaller rivers all around the region  were obtained from dogs analyzed by several veterinary clinics  and 265 Dirofilaria spp. microfilariae in the blood of the animals included in the study. Morphological characteristics of microfilariae  were used in order to differentiate D. immitis and D. repens microfilariae  according to the manufacturer's instructions. There is no commercial laboratory test of any kind for D. repens in dogs.Dog blood samples were analyzed by applying the modified Knott's technique  to checkfilariae . Dog serD. immitis, anti-D. repens, and anti-Wolbachia IgG antibodies with some modifications  and 1:100 serum dilutions were used to detect the presence of anti-DiSA and DrSA IgG antibodies. Sera samples diluted at 1:40 with a recombinant form of the Wolbachia Surface Protein (rWSP) were used to detect the presence of anti-rWSP IgG antibodies. In both cases, goat anti-human IgG (H+L) conjugated to horseradish peroxidase  was used at a 1:4000 dilution. Easy Reader  was used for measuring optical densities (OD) at 492 nm. The cut-off point (OD = 0.8 for DiSA and DrSA and 0.5 for rWSP) was determined by calculating the mean value + 3 standard deviations (3SD) of 50 serum samples obtained from dogs and clinically healthy humans (negative controls) who belonged to an area free of D. immitis and D. repens. When both non-commercial ELISAs gave positive results for the same serum sample, that human sera were considered positive. Additionally, by using western blot analysis performed according to a previously described methodology (D. immitis (17\u201322 kDa) and for D. repens (43\u201370 kDa).Human serum samples were analyzed using a non-commercial ELISA for detection of specific anti-ications , 31, 32.hodology , 33\u201336, D. immitis, D. repens, and co-infections were manually georeferenced by GPS at the point of capture. Georeferenced positive data for both hosts are shown in the map.The ArcGIS Pro online software was used for the construction of a map of the sampling area. All layers of relevant environmental information  were included and symbolized for a better understanding of the map. All dog and human samples infected with p < 0.05.The SPSS Base 18.0 software for Windows was used for the data analysis. The descriptive analysis of the considered variables was carried out studying the proportions in the qualitative variables. To compare proportions, Chi-square tests were performed. In all the cases, the significance level was established at Dirofilaria spp. in dogs was 29.19% , 1.45% for D. repens microfilaremia, and 1.45% for D. immitis/D. repens microfilaremia co-infections . There are significant differences between the prevalence for D. immitis infected male and female dogs with a higher prevalence in male dogs, whereas the prevalence of D. repens was higher in females (p < 0.05).The overall prevalence for s 29.19% . The oveDirofilaria spp. in humans was 3.77%. These results are shown in D. immitis was 1.51, 1.13% for D. repens, and 1.13% for D. immitis/D. repens co-infections. All positive cases were detected in males with significant differences (p < 0.05) for D. immitis (1.92%) and D. repens (1.44%), but not in co-infection (1.44%). All positive samples via western blot analysis are shown in The overall seroprevalence for D. immitis between the 20\u201340 range and the other ranges, the seroprevalences of D. repens between the over-40 age group and the other ranges and the seroprevalences of co-infections between the 20\u201340 age group and the other ranges (p < 0.05).By age, there are significant differences between the seroprevalences of D. immitis and D. repens in the northeast of the country.Regarding the geolocation of the positive samples of both dogs and people on a map , all of Dirofilaria spp. species have developed limited mutual adaptation , taking into account that this region has been considered endemic for some time. Furthermore, the aim was to identify the potential risk of infection of the human population in an endemic area.The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence in dogs and the response to anti-D. immitis and D. repens , the previously reported seroprevalence was 22.9% for D. immitis and the presence of D. repens microfilariae was 39.34%  and co-infections (3.2%) (D. immitis infections and a decrease of an infection with D. repens in recent years (D. immitis infection between the dog population and the wild canid population. Meanwhile, D. repens was found to circulate mostly in golden jackal and red fox populations (In the current study, a prevalence of 26.30% was observed in dogs infected by s 39.34% . In Bulgnt years \u201323 whichulations .Dirofilaria spp. in humans was 3.77, 1.51% for D. immitis, 1.13% for D. repens, and 1.13% for D. immitis/D. repens co-infections. This is the first time these tests have been conducted in this region of Serbia. Human cases originating from D. repens have only previously been reported in the region of southeastern Serbia (D. repens and D. immitis polyproteins specific antibodies, respectively, and 2.3% in individuals with specific antibodies to both species (D. immitis, 0.2% for D. repens, and 0.9% for both parasites (D. repens cases reported (With regards to the human population, the seroprevalence for n Serbia , 40, 41. species . Similararasites . In addireported .D. immitis and D. repens in the northeast of the country are close to cities where cases of dogs and humans had already been reported (Both animals and infected people were geolocated in the immediate vicinity or in a relatively close environment of potential mosquito breeding areas, which poses a risk to those areas. The two cases of humans infected by reported  and werereported .D. immitis and D. repens are present in dogs and humans in the province of Vojvodina, in the northern part of Serbia. It is most probably associated with the presence of many rivers, the climate, and the presence of mosquitoes, so there is a real public health risk. Serology studies in humans can be very useful for indicating the exposure to Dirofilaria spp. in a healthy population in order to obtain useful data on the epidemiological scenario of human dirofilariasis in Serbia and in Europe. That exposure was confirmed in the current study. Further studies addressing the control of dirofilariasis in the dog population are needed to reduce the risk of infection in the human population.In conclusion, the results indicate that All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.Ethical approval was not provided for this study on human participants because People data don't require permission, everyone has verbal consent. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin. Ethical review and approval was not required for the animal study because the blood samples were taken during a regular blood checkup of the dogs and the consent was gained from the owners so there was no need for the ethical approval. Written informed consent for participation was not obtained from the owners because Verbal consent of client owned dogs.SS and RM designed the study and wrote the manuscript. MS, DM, IH, AP, SO, and MR performed the fieldwork, collected the data, and performed the experiments. All authors participated in the discussion of the results, corrected, read, and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer AG declared a past co-authorship with one of the authors SS to the handling editor."}
+{"text": "Crossaster  and its distribution. The correct citation is: Ringvold H, Moum T (2020) On the genus Crossaster  and its distribution. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0227223. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227223A colon is incorrectly placed in the species name in the article title. The correct title is: On the genus C. squamatus, the dorsal skeleton is scale-like, formed by irregularly shaped plates with little or no membranaceous spaces, as seen in the MAREANO specimens (C. multispinus (C. papposus, and also described by Clark [30].In the \u201cMorphology\u201d subsection of the Results, there is an error in the first sentence of the third paragraph. The correct sentence is: In pecimens , and wittispinus  consistsThe captions for"}
+{"text": "The MLST website at University College Cork moved to University of Warwick in 2013 and was subsequently superseded by EnteroBase, which can be accessed at http://enterobase.warwick.ac.uk [The authors, however, now recommend using short read sequencing which is handled at ck.ac.uk .https://pubmlst.org/organisms.Another URL in the original publication at PubMLST is now also no longer operative, and a general overview of MLST databases in general can be found at"}
+{"text": "Anisakis simplex s.s. infection and has been used for the treatment and prevention of anisakiasis in humans. However, the molecular mechanism of action of IVM on A. simplex s.s. remains unknown. Herein, tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and extensive liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis were used to identify the effect of IVM on the proteome of A. simplex s.s. in vitro. During the study, 3433 proteins, of which 1247 had at least two protein unique peptides, were identified. Comparative proteomics analysis revealed that 59 proteins were differentially regulated (DRPs) in IVM-treated larvae, of which 14 proteins were upregulated and 38 were downregulated after 12 h of culture, but after 24 h, 12 proteins were upregulated and 22 were downregulated. The transcription level of five randomly selected DRPs was determined by real-time PCR as a supplement to the proteomic data. The functional enrichment analysis showed that most of the DRPs were involved in oxidoreductase activity, immunogenicity, protein degradation, and other biological processes. This study has, for the first time, provided comprehensive proteomics data on A. simplex s.s. response to IVM and might deliver new insight into the molecular mechanism by which IVM acts on invasive larvae of A. simplex s.s.Ivermectin (IVM), an antiparasitic drug, has a positive effect against  Anisakis. This parasite habitually parasitizes adult marine mammals. Intermediate and/or paratenic hosts of the larvae are crustaceans, cephalopods, and fish .,50.49,50eptidase .Trichinella spiralis) survival and growth under albendazole stress, which might be helpful for a parasite to adjust to drug stress [A. simplex s.s., downregulation of peptidase-type proteins during IVM treatment is probably an important strategy to survive antiparasitic treatment.The studies confirming this research show that downregulation or inhibition of putative endopeptidase bli-4 expression might be beneficial for parasite (g stress . This prFurthermore, some of the DRPs obtained have been considered as potential vaccine candidates and drug targets for treating helminthiases, e.g., endochitinase 1, myosin, Kunitz inhibitor protease, or TIL domain-containing protein  51,52,5,54. AddiIntriguingly, in the present study we found that IVM did not significantly modulate xenobiotic-metabolizing proteins. Proteins such as glutathione S-transferases, xenobiotic reductases, and cytochromes P450 modulate the biological activity and behavior of many drugs, including anthelmintics. The effects of anthelmintics can often be abolished by these enzymes when the drugs are metabolized into an inefficient compound . The dosA. simplex s.s. to IVM, as evidenced by the over-regulation or modulation of both proteins and transcripts, and larvae survival after IVM treatment. It appears that the role of IVM is limited, in this case, to being a modulator of the immune response and being involved in the cross-talk between parasite and host.Our results are inconclusive, testifying to the nonsusceptibility of A. simplex s.s. L3 larvae might be less sensitive to IVM and that this drug is not efficient at this larval stage and/or in this species. We think that the findings presented in our study could have important implications for using ivermectin against A. simplex s.s. and will contribute to a better understanding of the changes in parasite metabolism under the influence of this drug. To summarize, the present study shows the list of proteins of the L3 larval stage of A. simplex s.s. modulated by IVM. Interestingly, xenobiotic-metabolizing proteins were not identified as significantly modulated when comparing IVM-treated vs. control samples. Our results are the first to give extensive proteomic information on the response of A. simplex s.s. to IVM. A total of 59 differentially regulated A. simplex s.s. proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS analysis. Some of the proteins are primarily involved in cuticle synthesis, maintenance, remodeling, and degradation, as well as in hormonal regulation of molting and intracellular trafficking of molecular compounds and regulators. IVM does not have an impact on A. simplex s.s. motility and survival but, in our estimation, suppresses the parasite\u2019s ability to evade the host\u2019s natural immune defense mechanisms, which was confirmed by the list of differentially regulated proteins.The most important findings, in our opinion, of this study are that To gain more biological and clinical significance, our findings must be further validated in a functional model of Anisakis infection."}
+{"text": "Psychiatry Res. Neuroimaging 259, 54\u201359. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.11.002.\u201dIn the original article, there were errors. The MRI system and parameters were described incorrectly. Furthermore, the reference for . Detailed information on the MRI parameters was as follows: the same as our previous report (Ota et al., The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Spartina alterniflora, the native ecosystem has undergone great changes. The successful invasion of S. alterniflora reduced the biodiversity of the YCNR, changed the structure and function of the local ecosystem, and eventually led to the degradation of the ecosystem and the loss of ecosystem function and service. Fully understanding the impact of an alien species invasion on YCNR succession is an important prerequisite for protecting and restoring the wetlands.The Yancheng coastal natural wetlands (YCNR) are well-preserved silty tidal flat wetlands in China. Due to the severe invasion of In this study, remote sensing, GIS technology, and a cellular-automaton Markov model were used to simulate the natural succession process of native ecosystems without being affected by alien species. By comparing the landscape of the YCNR with the model simulation results, we gained a better understanding of how alien species affect native landscape-scale ecosystems.S. alterniflora occupied the mudflats and expanded seaward. The whole area expanded and moved seaward with an average annual movement of 58.23 m. Phragmites australis seemed to dominate the competition with S. salsa communities, and the area gradually expanded with an average annual movement of 39.89 m. The invasion of S. alterniflora changed the native ecosystem\u2019s spatial succession process, causing the S. salsa ecosystem to be stressed by ecosystems on the side of the sea  and that of land . The area of the seaward-expanding P. australis ecosystem has been declining. Under a reasonable protected area policy, human activities have enhanced the succession rate of the P. australis ecosystem and have had a small impact on the ecological spatial succession of S. salsa and S. alterniflora.During the natural succession of the coastal native wetland ecosystem in the YCNR, the pioneer species  Spartina alterniflora was introduced to the Yancheng coastal intertidal zone in 1979  are a wetland type that grows and develops in the muddy intertidal zone. Affected by ocean tides, the natural wetland landscape is mainly composed of Phragmites australis marshes, Suaeda salsa marshes, and mudflats; it develops from land seaward, and it is parallel to the coast  Markov model was used to solve two scientific problems on the landscape scale. First, how would the natural landscape of the YCNR develop without Spartina invasion? Second, how does S.\u00a0alterniflora structurally affect local landscape succession?The Aichi biodiversity target 9 and Sustainable Development Goal 15 targets clearly state that to better protect the diversity of local native ecosystems, we need to address problems such as ionality . HoweverS.\u00a0alterniflora invasion on the natural wetland landscape in the intertidal zone of Yancheng, reasonable control of S.\u00a0alterniflora, and protection of the native natural landscape system.These two scientific issues have important practical guidance for a deep understanding of the impact of S.\u00a0alterniflora invasion in Yancheng was selected as the sample area  under appropriate conditions, such as less than 20% cloud cover; and (c) at low tide, so that S. alterniflora could be seen growing in the intertidal zone. On the basis of the vector boundary of the study area, a remote-sensing image was cropped in ENVI software and enhanced. The FLAASH atmospheric-correction module was used to apply atmospheric corrections to the remote-sensing image. The FLAASH settings are as follows: (1) coordinates of the scene centre point: it was found from the corresponding HDF file; (2) sensor type: Landsat 5, 7 or 8; (3) altitude: the average altitude of the sample area; (4) flight date and time: it is Greenwich mean time, which can be found in the corresponding HDF file; (5) atmospheric model: mid-latitude winter; (7) aerosol model: rural; and we used the default values for the remaining parameters. The geometric-precision-correction module was used to combine the field control point with the image geometry school. The 8 obtained images were visually interpreted. Water, roads and aquaculture ponds were very easy to distinguish. The NDVI threshold was used when interpreting vegetation. The above raw data were obtained from the International Scientific Data Service Centre (http://www.gscloud.cn). On the basis of remote sensing images from 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2017  between September and December, when and 2017 , we moniS. alterniflora non-invasion scenario. The Markov model is stochastic and mainly used for the simulation of landscape and land-use changes . Community succession occurred at all times in the wetlands. A new Suaeda grew on the mudflat, while other Suaeda populations were replaced by P. australis. From 1990 to 1995, 784.70 hectares of new Suaeda bonata grew on the mudflat, while 790.39 hectares of S. salsa was replaced by P. australis. From 1995 to 2000, the 448.26 hectares of mudflat succeeded in becoming S. salsa, and the 534.68 hectares of S. salsa turned into P. australis. From 2000 to 2005, only 30.71 hectares of mudflat succeeded to S. salsa, and 256.58 hectares of S. salsa changed to P. australis. Between 2010 and 2015, only 46.34 hectares of mudflat area was transformed into S. salsa, and 237.11 hectares of S. salsa changed into P. australis.The cellular automaton Markov model simulated the succession of native landscapes without invasion . The simP. australis to S. salsa to mudflats. Regarding the change direction . It is particularly important to carry out relevant research to restore a suitable living environment for native species. S. salsa provides food, water, and habitat for rare birds, such as red-crowned cranes. Artificially expanding S. salsa can reduce the harm of species invasion. In addition to knowing the harm posed by a species invasion to an ecosystem, the competition between native species is noteworthy. The S. alterniflora invasion might accelerate P. australis succession, and it is necessary to understand the driving mechanism to protect S. salsa and maintain ecological balance and wetland biodiversity in the tidal flat.S. alterniflora invasion is likely to have changed the succession characteristics of the native natural wetland landscape system. According to the CA-Markov model simulation results, the area of P. australis and S. salsa marsh wetlands increased each year when S. alterniflora was not introduced. However, under the influence of S. alterniflora, the area of P. australis marsh-wetland area slowed its spread, and the area of S. salsa marsh wetland decreased each year.The S. alterniflora invasion changed the original natural wetland landscape succession direction. Without being invaded by S. alterniflora, the P. australis marsh wetland basically did not move in the land section, and the offshore end moved seaward at a speed of 50 m/year; the near-land section of the S. salsa marsh wetland moved seaward at a speed of 34.91 m/year. The offshore section moved seaward at a speed of 51.80 m/year. When the S. alterniflora marsh wetland had an agglomeration effect in 2005, it forced the S. salsa wetland to move toward land and change its succession direction.Our results suggest that S. alterniflora and P. australis inhibit the development of S. salsa. P. australis inhibits the expansion of S. salsa toward land, and S. alterniflora is likely to inhibit the movement of S. salsa seaward.10.7717/peerj.10400/supp-1Table S1Unit: mClick here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.10400/supp-2Table S2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.10400/supp-3Data S1Software ArcMap can be used to access this raw data.Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-019-56073-y, published online 19 December 2019Correction to: The Acknowledgements section in this Article is incomplete.\"We thank Caroline J. Sands  for the bioinformatic support of the NMR post processing pipeline. Many thanks to Andrew Hemphill  for helpful comments on the manuscript. The study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation . D.R. was a recipient of the Karl Enigk Stiftung, Hannover, Germany, for parts of the project.\"should read:\"We thank Caroline J. Sands  for the bioinformatic support of the NMR post processing pipeline. Many thanks to Andrew Hemphill  for helpful comments on the manuscript. The study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation . D.R. was a recipient of the Karl Enigk Stiftung, Hannover, Germany, for parts of the project. JVL is funded by MRC New Investigator Grant (MR/P002536/1) and ERC Starting Grant (715662).\""}
+{"text": "Author Contributions:In the original article, there was an error. A statement on author contribution was incorrect. A correction has been made to the ZW and FK contributed to conception, design of the study, and corrected the manuscript. LB collected the experimental data and wrote the manuscript. ZW, MvZ, LB, DS, SvS, MS, and SA-R contributed to data analysis and experimental execution. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read and approved the submitted version.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Candida biology. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how the papers \u201cUse of ichip for high-throughput in situ cultivation of uncultivable microbial species\u201d by D.Ching-Hsuan Lin works in the field of  Candida biology. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how the papers \u201cUse of ichip for high-throughput in situ cultivation of uncultivable microbial species\u201d by D. Nichols, N. Cahoon, E. M. Trakhtenberg, L. Pham, et al.  and \u201cA new antibiotic kills pathogens without detectable resistance\u201d by L. L. Ling, T. Schneider, A. J. Peoples, A. L. Spoering, et al.  made an impact on him by inspiring him to explore new bioactive antimicrobial compounds with his collaborators.Ching-Hsuan Lin works in the field of  For example, drug development is a time-consuming, costly, and complex process. To translate fundamental scientific discoveries to clinical impacts, a multidisciplinary team is key to success. The breakthrough iChip technique certainly inspires scientists in academia like me to devote themselves to the discovery and development of new antimicrobial agents again. It certainly has impacted my career, leading me to change the research focus of my academic career. Currently, more than half of my laboratory projects are for applied science in the discovery and identification of new antifungal compounds and new therapeutic methods for the treatment of fungal infections via multidisciplinary collaboration.Starting a career in research as a Principal Investigator, my work was focusing on the"}
+{"text": "Escherichia coli. FQs are broad spectrum antibiotics with high tissue penetration, and ease of use. Therefore, given the concerns existing about drug resistance, we aim to review the latest findings about resistance patterns to levofloxacin (LVX) along with other FQs in E. coli infections in different parts of Iran. Evidence shows that quinolones have been used in Iran for nearly 50 years, and that 0\u201365% of E. coli isolates show resistance to FQs. In the western parts of Iran, the highest rate of resistance to LVX (66.7%) has been reported among patients having urinary tract infections with E. coli isolates. Few studies and information exist on the antimicrobial resistance of E. coli to LVX in different geographical locations of Iran. However, the findings of various studies on this subject show that E. coli resistance to LVX is more in the western part of Iran than in central and southern regions, but it is similar among inpatients and outpatients. Therefore, it is reasonable advisable to limit the overuse, inappropriate prescription, and self-medication of LVX to prevent the induction of FQ-resistant strains. Accordingly, in order to obtain a clearer image of resistance to FQs, especially LVX in E. coli in Iran, more extensive investigations in different geographical locations and periods of time are required. In addition, antimicrobial stewardship would be helpful in this regard.Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are widely used in the treatment of infections caused by  The therapeutic effects of antibiotics are on the decline at an alarming and inevitable pace similar to the phenomenon of global warming  reported antibiotic resistance as a \u201cmajor global threat\u201d in 2014. According to a report by the UN-affiliated agency on 30gly high .E. coli is a major human pathogen that causes urinary tract infections (UTIs), enterocolitis, and septicemia in humans. Over 10 pathotypes of E. coli have been identified to date, and different pathotypes could cause similar diseases through various mechanisms  and a mechanism of action . They inA gyrase .FQs serve as bactericidal drugs by inhibiting DNA replication and transcription. Both DNA strands are interconnected within the bacterial cell. For bacterial division, two strands of DNA should be separated from each other. To facilitate the separation of the strands, DNA gyrase helps strands get detached and rejoined , 29. ThuChlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, E. coli-induced diarrhea, Campylobacter jejuni and Shigella spp.  to another (31.75% in 2009) (E. coli in North American countries in addition to the high resistance of E. coli to LVX suggest that at least it would be preferable not to choose LVX as the first line of treatment in complicated UTIs (It has been verified that in 2009) . Studiested UTIs .E. coli  was the most frequent bacterium in urine cultures. In their studies, E. coli was shown to be sensitive to nalidixic acid in 16 out of 20 samples (80%)  .E. coli resistance to LVX have given inconsistent results. The report by Haeli et al. (2013) is the first available Iranian study to have investigated the LVX resistance pattern of E. coli in parallel with other FQs. They claimed E. coli resistance to LVX was 12.5% in Tehran population in the time period of 2009\u20132011 . In their study, 66 out of 240 isolates (27.5%) produced ESBLs , 55E. coE. coli to FQs, especially LVX, has been more or less examined in Iran. Such studies indicate that E. coli strains isolated from UTI exhibit the highest rate of resistance to LVX among other samples. However, LVX resistance was different in various geographic regions of Iran. The antimicrobial resistance of E. coli to LVX was higher in the western provinces of Iran, such as Lorestan  in the western regions  in different periods of time, which have reported the pattern of E. coli resistance to LVX. According to this study, antimicrobial resistance to LVX has fluctuated between 33.3% and 100% during 2013 to 2018  and in a limited geographical region. According to the literature, although LVX has not been used for a long time in Iran, the resistance of"}
+{"text": "Delia spp. (Robineau-Desvoidy) , of which, to date, there are no studies on the correct identification of associated species, as well as the range of hosts. In an integrated pest management program, it is essential to know this information to design and implement adequate phytosanitary measures. Plants infested by Delia spp. were collected in the states of Guanajuato, Puebla, and Mexico from June to November 2017 and March to December 2018 in commercial plantations of cruciferous crops , B.napus L., and Raphanussativus L.) as well as some cruciferous weeds  in the edges of these crops. The two species found in this study, Deliaplanipalpis (Stein) and Deliaplatura (Meigen), identified using male genitalia was corroborated by molecular techniques. Both species emerged from all the sampled hosts, except for C.bursa-pastoris and L.virginicum. The association of the two species in cruciferous crops and weeds, provides valuable information for the management of these insects not only in cruciferous crops but other ones that are strongly attacked by D.platura.Soil pests of cruciferous crops in Mexico have been gaining importance in recent years; such is the case of  Anthomyiidae, commonly called root maggots , latrine flies (Fannidae), and dung flies (Scathophagidae)  . The larhagidae) . They cahagidae) , and thehagidae) .According to Delia (Robineau-Desvoidy), such as D.radicum (Linnaeus), D.platura (Meigen), D.planipalpis (Stein), D.florilega (Zetterstedt), D.floralis , and D.antiqua (Meigen) , D.arambourgi (Seguy), D.flavibasis (Stein)) (D.echinata (Seguy), D.cardui (Meigen), and D.brunnescens (Zetterstedt)) . In general, they attack a larger diversity of plant species than their common name indicates  . Also in(Stein)) , and minrstedt)) . Certainndicates .Delia spp. cause to vegetables, cereals, ornamentals, and forest species is considerable. An example of this is D.radicum, one of the most studied species and considered the primary pest of several crops of the Brassicaceae family in temperate latitudes (35\u201360\u00b0N) of North America, Europe and Asia (Brassicanapus var. napobrassica (L.) Rchb.), the problem becomes acute because there are few authorized pesticides, such as diazinon and chlorpyrifos (The damage and Asia . In Canarpyrifos . Additiorpyrifos  and wherrpyrifos .Plutellaxylostella (Linnaeus)) , cabbage looper (Trichoplusiani (H\u00fcbner)) , cabbage worm (Copitarsiadecolora (Guen\u00e9e)), and cabbage aphid (Brevicorynebrassicae (Linnaeus)) . Contamination by several biological stages of these pests, as well as their excretions, affects the quality or health of the produce. There are also other secondary pests that, if they are not adequately managed, can have a negative impact on yield and quality of the harvest , Puebla (2 772 ha), and Michoac\u00e1n (2 225 ha). Mexico is considered the fifth world producer of broccoli and cauliflower . In the  harvest , 2013b.Delia spp.) have occurred in crucifers. However, the identification of these insects has not been sufficiently supported, and identification has only been to the genus level. There are reports from the state of Guanajuato which mentioned flies of the genus Hylemia (= Delia) associated with maize and beans, as well as with crucifers (Hylemia sp. (= Delia)  .Delia species complex associated with broccoli , cabbage (B.oleracea var. capitata), and cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis) crops principally and to determine their range of cruciferous hosts as well as the type of damage they cause.Because integrated management of any pest requires reliable diagnosis and, given the economic importance, the difficulty of identifying this group of insects and the lack of research to date in the country, this study posed the following objectives: to identify the Delia species for identification were collected in cultivated and wild crucifers from June 2017 to December 2018 in the states of Guanajuato, Puebla, and Mexico. The crops included in the collections were broccoli , cabbage (B.oleracea var. capitata), and cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis), as well as turnip (B.napus L.), radish (Raphanussativus L.), and other wild crucifers such as wild radish (Raphanusraphanistrum L.), field mustard (Brassicacampestris L.), London rocket (Sisymbriumirio L.), shepherd\u2019s purse (Capsellabursa-pastoris L.), and Virginia pepperweed (Lepidiumvirginicum L.) For the cultivated crucifers, 10\u201315 plants with symptoms of wilting were selected in each lot, as well as less developed contiguous plants and some apparently health plants. Wild crucifer plants were selected at random within and on the outer edges of commercial crops; these plants generally did not show wilting symptoms, and the sample size varied from 5 to 20 plants, depending on their abundance in the crop as a consequence of weed control. The plants on which Delia larvae were detected were extracted intact together with the soil adhered to the roots. Later, all the plants collected from the same farm were grouped and placed into 2\u20133 L plastic bags and labeled with locality, date, and host, separating cultivated from wild hosts. The age of the crops from which infested material was collected ranged from 20 to 70 days after transplant to the field. In the case of wild crucifers, the specimens collected ranged in maturity from seedlings to plants with flowers and seeds. The material was transported to the Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of the Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco, State of Mexico, and confined. The samples were kept in a rearing chamber at a temperature of 26\u00b12 \u00b0C, 60\u00b120% relative humidity, and photoperiod of 12:12 (light:dark) until adult emergence. As the adults emerged, they were separated by sex and morphotype for each sample.COI) (BOLD) (http://www.barcodinglife.org) in the public database Delia of Mexico (https://doi.org/10.5883/ds-domex) and all sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession numbers MT888006\u2013MT888030). The sequences of at least 550 base pairs were grouped using the BOLD aligner. Intraspecific and interspecific distances were calculated in BOLD using the distance model Kimura 2 parameters (K2P)  was conducted in the Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of the Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo. The keys and illustrations by COI)  of 25 adrs (K2P) .The specimens are deposited in the National Center for Phytosanitary Reference, Division of Plant Health, SENASICA, Tec\u00e1mac, State of Mexico. Adult and larval specimens were also provided to the entomological collection of the Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo. Moreover, the specimens used for molecular identification are in the insect collection of Bishop\u2019s University, Quebec, Canada.Deliaplanipalpis and D.platura emerged from both cultivated and wild hosts. The number of adults of D.planipalpis was greater than D.platura in 89% and 88% of the cases, respectively. Both species emerged from all the hosts except from C.bursa-pastoris and L.virginicum where no damage from larvae of Delia spp. was observed when these were collected.Tables Deliaplanipalpis (Stein) and Deliaplatura (Meigen)  Fig.  using maomyiidae . The extura Fig. .D.platura belong to BOLD:AAA3453, one of the two different barcode index numbers (BIN) for this species. This population is found almost exclusively in the New World  crops are generally found at the base of the plant feeding on the root crown, damaging the main stem and the root system and causing the plant\u2019s death or notably delaying its growth. Moreover, galleries resulting from larva feeding can be seen in the main stem as well as orifices through which third instar larvae exit to pupate in the soil  (= Deliaradicum L.), once they locate the crop, remain on the edges during the morning and in the afternoon move into the crop to oviposit and finally return to the edges of the crop at sunset.During field observations, we were able to confirm the presence of adult Delia were identified, Deliaplanipalpis and D.platura, which were found associated with broccoli , cabbage (B.oleracea var. capitata), and cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis), as well as in radish (R.sativus) and turnip (B.napus). The extent of damage caused by Delia spp. larvae depends on plant age and crop type. For example, in B.oleracea, Delia spp. can cause plant death, delay growth, or make the produce unfit for commercialization because of damage caused to the harvestable part, as also for R.sativus and B.napus.Two species of Deliaplanipalpis and D.platura larvae generally feed on the same plant and pupate in the soil near the plant root or in the same germination substrate that remains adhered to the roots. In the wild crucifers R.raphanistrum, B.campestris, and S.irio, which are alternate hosts, it is also common to find both Delia species feeding on the same plant. However, they do not cause plant death, even in the seedling stage.D.planipalpis is the species that first invades healthy plants and, as damage by the feeding larvae progresses, D.platura is later attracted by the volatiles emitted by the plant. Nevertheless, study is needed to determine the possible volatile compounds emitted during decomposition of plant tissue caused as by the feeding of D.planipalpis larvae and to identify the moment when D.platura arrives. This kind of basic information is useful to design specific phytosanitary measures to control D.planipalpis, not only on cruciferous crops, but even on other crops that are strongly attacked by D.platura in some regions of Mexico.Given the field observations, it is likely that"}
+{"text": "Flora of Murmansk Region (published in 1953\u20131966) and the Red Data Book of Murmansk Region . These publications did not take into account the main part of the herbarium collections kept at the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve, which are the basis for numerous local publications that appear scattered and, therefore, little accessible nowadays.The present-day demand for digital availability of distributional data in biodiversity studies requires a special effort in assembling and editing the data otherwise scattered in paper literature and herbarium collections, which can be poorly accessible or little understood to present-day users and especially automatic data processors. Our project on developing the information resource for the vascular plant flora of Murmansk Region, Russia, includes processing and making digitally available all the data on the taxonomy and distribution of this flora. So far, published distribution maps are limited to the old set in the We present a complete dataset of all holdings of vascular plants in the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve, totalling 10,218 specimens collected during 1947\u20132019, which are referable to 764 species and 19 subspecies. All specimens were georeferenced with the utmost precision available. This dataset offers a complete and dense coverage of the Nature Reserve's territory ; these data are little represented in herbarium collections elsewhere. Nature protection requires complete and up-to-date inventories of the protected object. Inventories are based on vouchers, which support the research and ensure the opportunity for quality control in future studies . This aith among all registered Russian collections .The Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve (KAND) is a curated scientific collection that is a repository for voucher specimens  collected in the Nature Reserve and its adjacent areas. With its 80-years-long history, the Herbarium contains ca. 16,000 specimens. These holdings place the Herbarium fourth amongst the botanical collections of Russian nature reserves and 85Currently, the KAND herbarium is one of the key botanical collections from Murmansk Region of Russia. Despite its importance, the collection is little accessible due to its remote location in Kandalaksha, a small town in northern Russia, far away from major botanical centres with taxonomic activities . Another factor hindering the use of its collection was the former lack of curation and, consequently, the insufficient level of accessioning of older collections.Flora of Murmansk Region  and N.E. Bogdanova , explored the Kem-Ludy Archipelago in 1962  and the Flora of Murmansk Region  continued her studies on the flora of the islands of the Kandalaksha Bay, which were started in the 1980s and culminated with her PhD degree . A numbeIn the 2000s, new botanists were employed at the Nature Reserve. During 2002\u20132004, V.N. Zherikhina (Plyusnina) studied the islands of the Severnyi Archipelago , the KovCarex sp.) were made in 2007 in the Kandalaksha Bay. The most active floristic exploration took place in the Porya Bay during 2009\u20132014 . Targeted collections of sedges  studied plant communities on the islands of the Porya Bay and the Srednie Ludy Islands. In 2017, M.N. Kozhin organised an expedition to the islands of the Olenii, Severnyi and Kibrinskii archipelagos and to Molochnitsa Island near the Kovda Peninsula, with participation of E.O. Golovina, S.A. Kutenkov  and D.A. Zakharchenko .In the latest decade, students from the Moscow State University actively and regularly visited the Nature Reserve. In 2009 and 2010, E.A. Gryaznova collected nearly 150 specimens in the vicinity of Luvenga. Since 2012, a student summer camp has been organised by M.N. Kozhin in a few areas of the Kandalaksha Bay. Some students, supervised by Kozhin, based their work at the Nature Reserve: E.I. Vuzman worked on the islands of the Luvenga Archipelago in 2016\u20132019  and E.V.Altogether, ca. 4,000 herbarium specimens have been collected since 2008. These collections were deposited at KAND , MW, H and KPABG.History of collectionFlora of Murmansk Region , RussiaMikhail N. Kozhin .Alexander N. Sennikov .Andrey V. Matveev .2, of which 70% is sea waters. From its inception, the Nature Reserve was intended for protection of seabirds and sea mammals whose colonies use limited-size coastal areas. As a result, the Nature Reserve is a network of comparatively small areas, separated by the distances of hundreds of kilometres. In 1975, the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea, where most of the Nature Reserve\u2019s archipelagos are located, was included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance as a habitat for water birds.Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve is located in the northwest of European Russia and consists of 13 separate areas . The tundra vegetation is typical for the Barents Sea areas of the Nature Reserve and occurs in a narrow belt influenced by the arctic climate, as dwarf-shrub and dwarf-shrub and lichen communities, whereas islands in the White Sea are covered by the northern taiga zone, represented by pine and spruce-dominated forests .This territory lies almost completely north of the Arctic Circle and its climate is mostly subarctic with a minor influence of the polar climate along the northern coast and in the northern islands . The yeaThe current project aims at digital representation and publication of the data on the distribution of vascular plants as represented in the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve. Data from herbarium specimens were captured into the database and complemented with georeferences , which is maintained at the Moscow State University.Hieracium, Ranunculusauricomus s.l., Taraxacum) remain incomplete.The original identification, when available, was verified for each specimen. Recognised taxonomic experts were involved in difficult cases: Yu.A. Alexeev, K.P. Glazunova, V.S. Novikov (Moscow State University), A.A. Bobrov , P.G. Efimov and N.N. Tzvelev . Identifications in apomictic groups  originated from the territory of the Nature Reserve.The land size of the Nature Reserve totals 20,947 ha. This figure has never been stable; during its history, the territory of the Nature Reserve fluctuated significantly, mostly with expansion by gradual inclusion of new areas or some extra land (islands or mainland coast) adjacent to the existing protected areas .The territory of the Nature Reserve is subdivided into four forest districts ('lesnichestvo' in Russian), of which three are situated on the White Sea and one is located on the Barents Sea. Herbarium collections are organised according to these forest districts Table .The Barents Sea Forest District is made up of three areas. The Ainovy Islands Fig.  are a grIn the White Sea, the greatest number of specimens originated from the Severnoe Forest District Fig. , Table 1The Velikii Island Forest District is situated south of the Severnoe Forest District Table . VelikiiKem-Ludy Archipelago (protected since 1957), a southern extension of the Velikii Island Forest District, is the only part of the Nature Reserve situated in northern Karelia. This territory is well sampled, but most of the relevant herbarium specimens are kept at MW due to the botanical research conducted by students and teachers of the Moscow State University.th century  was collected from the territories immediately adjacent to strictly protected areas. Many of such specimens were collected in the vicinity of Dalnie Zelentsy near the limits of the Barents Sea Forest District  and spermatophytes (incl. Magnoliophyta and Pinophyta), which were collected and stored at the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve (KAND). Altogether the collection is represented by 80 families, 307 genera, 764 species and 19 subspecies of vascular plants. The most species-rich families are Asteraceae (82), Poaceae (73), Cyperaceae (70), Rosaceae (51) and Caryophyllaceae (38).The dataset covers all taxonomic groups traditionally treated as vascular plants, i.e. In the herbarium collections, plant names are accepted according to Data range: 1949-5-30 \u2013 2019-9-07.The dynamics of collecting activities in the Nature Reserve has been highly uneven Fig. . During Herbarium of Kandalaksha Strict Nature ReserveKANDDried specimens of vascular plants are mounted on sheets of drawing paper by sewing and gluing by gummed strips of adhesive paper. Each specimen is labelled and numbered with a running number that is used for databasing. Specimens are inserted in folders and stored in wooden cabinets.Herbarium specimens are curated as a single item. Specimens within a certain species are further organised according to territories, with the following codes in current use. 0. Locality unknown. Strictly protected areas (green labels): 1. Severnoe Forest District, 2. Velikii Island Forest District, 3. Terskoe Forest District, 4. Barents Sea Forest District. Adjacent areas (yellow labels): 1a. Adjacent area of Severnoe Forest District, 2a. Adjacent area of Velikii Island Forest District, 3a. Adjacent area of Terskoe Forest District, 4a. Adjacent area of Barents Sea Forest District.OtherCreative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 LicenseVascular plants in the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve (KAND)https://doi.org/10.15468/vebcs31Vascular plants in the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve (KAND)33FB3726CF-6CB3-5E0B-B9EC-527261AAD79210.3897/BDJ.8.e59731.suppl1Supplementary material 1Vascular plants in the Herbarium of the Kandalaksha Strict Nature Reserve (KAND)Data typeoccurenceFile: oo_464278.txthttps://binary.pensoft.net/file/464278Mikhail N. Kozhin, Alexander N. Sennikov"}
+{"text": "Toxoplasma gondii infection in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potos\u00ed. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection and the sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral, and housing characteristics associated with this infection in the general population in Matehuala City, San Luis Potos\u00ed.There is not previous report about the seroepidemiology of T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay \u201cT. gondii IgG\u201d kit . All sera with seroreactivity to T. gondii IgG were further tested for anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies by a commercially available enzyme immunoassay \u201cT. gondii IgM\u201d kit .This cross-sectional study was performed from January to April 2018. In total, 636 subjects  were included. Anti-This study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee of the General Hospital of the Health Services in Matehuala City, Mexico.T. gondii IgG antibodies. Twenty-two (40.7%) of these subjects positive for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were also positive for anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies.Of the 636 subjects studied, 54 (8.5%) were positive for anti-T. gondii infection in general population in the northern Mexican city of Durango was found , and negatively associated with ham consumption . Other sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral, and housing characteristics were not associated with T. gondii infection. Consumption of goat meat has been associated with T. gondii seropositivity in Mexico. In a study of patients suffering from epilepsy in Durango City, a positive association between T. gondii seropositivity and consumption of goat meat was found (T. gondii seropositivity and ham consumption found in this study suggests that ham consumption was not an important contributing factor for infection in the population studied.In the current study, we searched for risk factors associated with as found . On the T. gondii infection in San Luis Potos\u00ed, Mexico, we reported a low seroprevalence of this infection in the general population in Matehuala City. Consumption of goat meat was an important factor associated with T. gondii infection in the population studied. Results may help in the design of optimal preventive measures against T. gondii infection.In this first study about the epidemiology of"}
+{"text": "Aedes albopictus and Aedes triseriatus, both inhabit areas where La Crosse virus is found. Infection of Aedes albopictus by the parasite Ascogregarina taiwanensis and Aedes triseriatus by the parasite Ascogregarina barretti can decrease a mosquito\u2019s fitness, respectively. In particular, the decrease in fitness of Aedes albopictus occurs through the impact of Ascogregarina taiwanensis on female fecundity, larval development rate, and larval mortality and may impact its initial competitive advantage over Aedes triseriatus during invasion.Mosquitoes are vectors for diseases such as dengue, malaria and La Crosse virus that significantly impact the human population. When multiple mosquito species are present, the competition between species may alter population dynamics as well as disease spread. Two mosquito species, Aedes albopictus and triseriatus population dynamics and competition with a focus on when Aedes albopictus is new to an area. We build a compartmental model including competition between Aedes albopictus and triseriatus while under parasitism of the gregarine parasites. Using parameters based on the literature, we simulate the dynamics and analyze the equilibrium population proportion of the two species. We consider the presence of both parasites and potential dilution effects.We examine the effects of parasitism of gregarine parasites on Aedes albopictus will decrease the initial competitive advantage of the species over Aedes triseriatus and increase the survivorship of Aedes triseriatus. We find Aedes albopictus is better able to invade when there is more extreme parasitism of Aedes triseriatus. Furthermore, although the transient dynamics differ, dilution of the parasite density through uptake by both species does not alter the equilibrium population sizes of either species.We show that increased levels of parasitism in Mosquito population dynamics are affected by many factors, such as abiotic factors (e.g. temperature and humidity) and competition between mosquito species. This is especially true when multiple mosquito species are vying to live in the same area. Knowledge of how population dynamics are affected by gregarine parasites among competing species can inform future mosquito control efforts and help prevent the spread of vector-borne disease.  Aedes albopictus and Aedes triseriatus, and the competition between them [La Crosse encephalitis virus (LACV) can cause brain swelling and lead to severe neuroinvasive disease in children under 15 . While ieen them , 4. FemaAedes (Ae.) albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is native to subtropical regions of southeast Asia and is a common vector of arboviruses such as Dengue fever virus, West Nile virus, and La Crosse encephalitis virus [Ae. albopictus in the USA was in Houston, Texas, in 1985 [Ae. albopictus has spread throughout the continental US and now occupies much of the southern and eastern US, stretching from Texas to New Jersey [Ae. albopictus is known for its ability to adapt to a range of climates and to be a strong competitor to other species that share larval habitats [Ae. albopictus [Ae. albopictus were infected with the La Crosse virus [is virus . The fir in 1985 , 8. Sinchabitats . In 2001bopictus . Fourteese virus .Ae. triseriatus, known as the eastern tree hole mosquito, is native to the eastern US. Ae triseriatus is the primary vector for the La Crosse virus [Ae. albopictus will bite both small mammals and humans, making it more likely to infect human\u2019s than Ae. triseriatus, whose preference is for small mammals [se virus , 4, a pase virus , 3. Ae. Ae. albopictus is the superior competitor compared to Ae. triseriatus [Ae. triseriatus when a quarter of the mosquitoes present were Ae. albopictus and a 20% drop in Ae. triseriatus survival when half of the mosquitoes were Ae. albopictus. In Ho et al. [Ae. albopictus was not significantly altered by competition, the development time of Ae. triseriatus was increased when in a shared habitat with other Aedes species. Moreover, Ae. albopictus larvae inhibit egg hatching of other species such as Ae. triseriatus, while there is no significant inhibition on their own species [Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus was suggested [Ae. albopictus did much better in tires, but did worse than Ae. triseriatus in treeholes [Several laboratory studies have shown that seriatus \u201319. In Bseriatus , they sho et al. , the aut species . Howeverreeholes .Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus are parasitized by Ascogregarina (As.) taiwanensis and Ascogregarina (As.) barretti, respectively. Ascogregarina are intestinal protozoan parasites that inhabit the gut of the mosquito throughout its life cycle [Ae. albopictus are infected with As. taiwanensis [Ae. albopictus by As. taiwanensis lengthens larval development time for both male and female mosquitoes, reduces adult female fecundity, increases larval mortality, and reduces egg laying and hatching rates [Ae. albopictus was not significantly affected by As. taiwanensis [Ae. triseriatus, one study found 80% of their collected sites harbored As. barretti. Treeholes showed more infected sites than tires [Ae. triseriatus are infected [Ae. triseriatus when infected by As. barretti [As. barretti on Ae. triseriatus mortality. While As. barretti impacts the fitness of Ae. triseriatus, its effects are mostly dependent on resource availability [Ae. triseriatus development time is increased significantly, but with sufficient resources there is not a significant difference. Another study showed a significant difference in survival of Ae. triseriatus infected with As. barretti compared to those uninfected [fe cycle , 21. Thewanensis . Infecting rates , 23. Howwanensis . For Ae.an tires . In continfected . Developbarretti . Howeverbarretti  showed ninfected .Aedes population dynamics accounting for parasitism of Ae. albopictus by As. taiwanensis and Ae. triseriatus by As. barretti. Our model formulation encodes competition between the two species of Aedes using the Lokta-Volterra model, a basis for many inter-specific competition models [Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus [Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, there appears to be a lack of studies evaluating reproductive interference between Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus. Livdahl and Willey [Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus using a Lokta-Volterra model to explain how possible competition affects them in either tree holes or tires. This model was then extended to include La Crosse spread [Ae. albopictus in the recent resurgence of LACV.In this work, we build a mathematical model of n models \u201331 inclun models , 32\u201334. n models , a two-sbopictus . Howeverd Willey  comparedAedes mosquitoes individuals and does not occur from parent to offspring [The life cycle of gregarine parasites mimics that of their host: each stage of its development is analogous to a stage within mosquito development. See the inset in Fig. ffspring . Initialffspring , 38.Fig.Ae. albopictus habitats are unlikely to be contaminated with As. taiwanensis, new populations of Ae. albopictus can initially escape parasitism. This lack of parasite infection in newly established populations gives the mosquito a potential competitive advantage over Ae. triseriatus [Ae. albopictus will provide insight into the competition between the two mosquito species and subsequently help to deepen understanding of the spread of mosquito-borne infectious disease. In this study, we examine whether the parasitism of Ae. albopictus by As. taiwanensis decreases the mosquito\u2019s competitive ability enough to alter the dynamics between the two Aedes mosquitoes. We build a compartmental model of the interactions of the two mosquito species and the effect of the parasites As. taiwanensis and As. barretti. We parameterize the model from published literature, simulate dynamics, investigate a wide parameter space, and examine the effects of parasitism.Since new seriatus , 22. KnoAe. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus  decreased fecundity, (ii) increased development time, and (iii) increased larval mortality. This provides a potential decrease in the competitive advantage of Ae. albopictus over the population of Ae. triseriatus as Ae. albopictus becomes established in a new area.We constructed a four-compartment model of mosquito population dynamics including larval and adult stages of both atus Eq. . We simperaction \u201342. We uAe. albopictus  was set at 60 as was used for a study performed in 200\u00a0ml of water [Ae. triseriatus, we set the proportion of females, Ae. albopictus showed less variation, The model includes four compartments: larval found in . The parmentclass2pt{minim per day , 46. Devbopictus , 47, 48.bopictus , 18. In nt rates , 47, 48,ectively , 50. The and 0.6 . In the Ae. albopictus on Ae. triseriatus , a proportion of < 0.01; in category (2), a proportion of 0.01 to 0.2; in category (3), a proportion between 0.2 and 0.4; in category (4), a proportion between 0.4 and 0.6; in category (5), a proportion between 0.6 and 0.8; in category (6), a proportion between 0.8 and 0.99; in category (7) a proportion > 0.99. We than did a sensitivity analysis on the parameters to account for uncertainty and variation in parameters by the partial rank correlation coefficient [We performed a parameter sweep by sampling ranges of the parameters using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) in Matlab . We condentclass1pt{minimafficient .Ae. albopictus, we focused on investigating the effects of the parasite. We repeated the LHS including the parasite parameters for Ae. albopictus. We also performed sensitivity analysis on the 100,000 samples, which included varied parasite effects. The mortality and fecundity parasite parameters were varied from 1 to 4, and the development time parasite parameter varied from 1 to 16, where a value of 1 meant the parasite has no effect and a value of 3 meant a three-fold increase of the associated parameter value. This means that mortality or development time is increased or fecundity is decreased compared to the value without parasitism.After sampling the space of the 12 parameters in the model in the absence of parasitism in Ae. albopictus parasite parameters with Ae. triseriatus fixed at either a high or low parasite effect. We compared effects on female fecundity, larval development rate, and larval mortality to see how these different combinations led to different outcomes in terms of the proportion Ae. albopictus in the final population. We extended the range of the parasite parameters so that all were varied from 1 to 10.To examine the varying effects of parasitism, all parameters were fixed as listed in Table Ae. japonicus and Ae. triseriatus there was a dilution effect on the amount of parasitism. Ae. japonicus decreased the number of As. barretti by consuming the parasite and not propagating it [p is the proportion of a species. We choose a linear function for simplicity. Notice that if A recent study by Westby et al.  showed tating it . We consy et al. , they seAe. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus both have minor effects of parasitism, both have more severe effects, and only one has a severe effect and the other minor effect. See Table We then consider four cases by choosing different maximum parameters for parasitism, Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus without parasitism. We consider two separate environments: tire and treehole. The difference between the two scenarios is the Lokta-Volterra competition parameters . Only 3.5% of the total 100,000 samples lead to categories in which Ae. triseriatus has a larger population than Ae. albopictus . A further 10.5% of the simulations fall into coexistence with approximately equal amounts of both species (category 4). For a small number of simulations (5%), Ae. albopictus completely eliminated Ae. triseriatus without parasitism (category 7), but the most common scenario was for Ae. albopictus to be the dominant species and strongly limit the population of Ae. triseriatus.To account for known variability in parameters, we examine dynamics across a broad parameter space using a LHS with the ranges indicated in Table y 6 Fig. a, where Ae. triseriatus, we find that there is a strong shift in scenarios to where Ae. albopictus is the dominant species  and 9.9% of situations lead to elimination of Ae. triseriatus (category 7). Ae. triseriatus only has a greater proportion than Ae. albopictus in approximately 1% of the parameters sampled.If we increase the effect of parasitism in ies Fig. c. In thiAe. albopictus in the dynamics, we greatly increase the parameter space where Ae. triseriatus is the dominant species. We use LHS but include the parameters for parasitism: Ae. triseriatus completely eliminates (category 1) Ae. albopictus in approximately 15.0% and 15.3% of the simulations for low and high Ae. triseriatus parasitism, respectively. However, in 30.7% and 24.4% of the simulations Ae. triseriatus is the dominant species , and the sum of all categories where Ae. albopictus will be the dominant species is reduced to 54.7% and 64.8%  with low and high parasitism for Ae. triseriatus, respectively. The total simulations with outcomes in categories 5, 6, and 7 are similar to the amount in only category 6 without Ae. albopictus parasitism. With parasitism of Ae. albopictus, category 6 still has the most outcomes, but the outcomes spread out. Overall, we see that without parasitism Ae. albopictus will be the dominant vector; however, once parasitism takes place Ae. triseriatus can become dominant.When we include the effects of parasitism for entclass1pt{minimaAe. triseriatus. Recall the difference between the two scenarios is the competition parameters . For Ae. triseriatus to be the dominant species, there must be very high effects of all three parasitism parameters affecting Ae. albopictus, regardless of Ae. triseriatus\u2019 level of parasitism.In the tire scenario . When the effect of fecundity is set to 5 . Without any parasite effects on development time  for each parameter with respect to the final proportion of Ae. albopictus at 2000 days. In the case without parasitism, we find that all parameters have a significant impact on the model : death rate of adult Ae. albopictus, Ae. albopictus larval development time, Ae. triseriatus larval development time, Ae. albopictus; and death rate of adult Ae. triseriatus, In the case without parasitism, the parameter with the most influence  is the competition parameter Ae. albopictus. The death of adult Ae. albopictus, Ae. albopictus larval development time Ae. albopictus birth rate Ae. albopictus larvae all have a magnitude of PRCC values greater than When we introduce the parasitism parameters into the LHS, we see that the parasite\u2019s effect on development time Ae. triseriatus, all parameters have a much lower effect, as indicated by the lower magnitude of the PRCC value. The parameter with the greatest magnitude PRCC (0.1666) is the Lokta-Volterra competition parameter Ae. triseriatus and no parasite effect on Ae. albopictus. In general, the trends of PRCC values for the parameters are similar to those with a low effect of parasitism on Ae. triseriatus. See Additional file When we consider the LHS with a high effect of parasitism on e PRCC 0.666 is thAe. albopictus larvae under dilution. We use this in our dilution formula Ae. albopictus starts with a high parasite effect. In this case, Ae. triseriatus initially has a greater population before Ae. albopictus becomes the dominant species.When we consider including dilution effects into parasitism, we find that the equilibrium values appear to be identical to the case without dilution. To ensure comparison of equivalent cases, we find the equilibrium proportion ium Fig. . In Fig.ium Fig. . While tAe. albopictus. From the system of equations, there are four possible equilibria: extinction of mosquitoes, competitive exclusion with each species type present, and coexistence. The equilibrium equations can be found in the Additional file Ae. triseriatus and Ae. albopictus, respectively. These are given by:Ae. albopictus and Ae. triseriatus. This is multiplied by the inverse of the adult death rate, i.e. the expected life span of an adult mosquito. Together, these terms are the total expected number of eggs a female will lay in her lifetime. The final term has the development rate . While Ae. triseriatus is the primary vector for the virus, evidence suggests that as Ae. albopictus becomes more established, it can transmit LACV just as effectively as Ae. triseriatus [Ae. albopictus often occurs in urban or para-urban settings, it can act as a bridge vector for LACV to the human population. While La Crosse encephalitis is not widespread across the US, it is one of the most common mosquito-borne pediatric diseases in the country [Evidence suggesting that endemic infection of seriatus , 12. Imp country . LACV inAe. albopictus by As. taiwanensis impacts its competition with Ae. triseriatus. Both Aedes mosquitoes are potentially competent vectors for a number of human arboviruses, and insight into the dynamics of these two species could help inform future disease mitigation efforts. Without parasitism due to As. taiwanensis, Ae. albopictus has a large and distinct competitive advantage over Ae. triseriatus in some environments. As Ae. albopictus is an often invasive generalist species, its domination over native Ae. triseriatus in the absence of mitigating effects, such as parasitism, is likely. Our results suggest that the competitive advantage of Ae. albopictus, in the absence of parasitism, is so great that if the species has even the slightest edge over Ae. triseriatus, it will dominate given enough time. From our parameter sweep, 86% of the scenarios resulted in Ae. albopictus being the dominant species, with few scenarios leading to Ae. triseriatus as the dominant species, under low parasitism on Ae. triseriatus. When we increase the effect of parasitism of Ae. triseriatus to a high level, Ae. albopictus is dominant in 94% of the scenarios. Even in treeholes where the competition effect from Ae. triseriatus is greater, Ae. albopictus remains the dominant species. This is consistent with previous results [Ae. albopictus by As. taiwanensis, we observe a decreased overall fitness of the species and negative effects on its competitive ability. Previous empirical results corroborate our findings [Ae. albopictus. The greatest effect is observed when there is a combined effect on female fecundity, larval development time, and larval mortality. As we increase the effects of the parasite parameters we see that the proportion of Ae. albopictus decreases and leads to elimination of Ae. albopictus when parasitism is extremely high.We aimed to determine the extent to which parasitism of  results , 16, 23.findings . To be cAdditional file 1. Equilibrium and supplementary figure.Additional file 2. Code.Additional file 3. Generated data."}
+{"text": "AbstractTonatiasaurophila, includes three subspecies: Tonatiasaurophilasaurophila (known only from subfossil records in Jamaica), Tonatiasaurophilabakeri , and Tonatiasaurophilamaresi . The last two subspecies are an attractive example to test predictions about the historical role of the Andes in mammalian diversification. Based on morphological descriptions, morphometric analyses, and phylogenetic reconstruction using the mitochondrial gene Cyt-b and the nuclear exon RAG2, this study evaluates the intraspecific relationships within Tonatiasaurophila and the taxonomic status of the taxon. The three subspecies of T.saurophila are recognizable as full species: Tonatiabakeri, Tonatiamaresi, and Tonatiasaurophila. The latter is restricted to its type locality and possibly is extinct. Tonatiabakeri, in addition to being larger than T.maresi, is morphologically distinguishable by possessing an acute apex at the posterior edge of the skull, a well-developed clinoid process, and relatively robust mandibular condyles, and by lacking a diastema between the canine and the first lower premolar. The genetic distance between T.bakeri and T.maresi is 7.65%.The Stripe-headed Round-eared bat,  Tonatia Gray, 1827  includes two species: T.saurophila and T.bidens. This genus is widely distributed from the southern Mexico to northern Argentina and Paraguay  described Phyllostomachildreni, a species with similar characteristics to V.bidens, based on a single specimen without a precise location in South America. Concurrently, Lophostoma based on a specimen of L.silvicola collected in Bolivia, the only species he included in the genus  in two caves in Jamaica . Later, T.saurophila as a subspecies of Tonatiabidens. The synonymy of Lophostoma under Tonatia was not challenged until studies of G-banded karyotypes, allozymes, and albumin immunology ; T.saurophilabakeri, distributed from southern Mexico southward into South America to northern and western Colombia, northwestern Ecuador, and Venezuela (west and north of the Cordillera de M\u00e9rida); and T.saurophilamaresi distributed in Venezuela (east and south of the Cordillera de M\u00e9rida), the Guianas, northeastern Brazil, and along upper Amazon basin of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil , of which 31 were collected in localities west of the Andes, and 106 from localities east of the Andes  and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). Factorial points of these multivariate tests were graphically plotted in morphospace to show relationships between subspecies. All tests were done using the statistical software package PAST v. 1.0  and the Recombination Activating Gene (RAG2) were amplified and sequenced for this study. The following primer pairs were used for the Cyt-b gene: forward primer glo7L and reverse primer glo6H, and for RAG2: forward primer RAG2-F1 and reverse primer RAG2-R1. Thermal profile for the Cyt-b PCR followed RAG2, PCR followed Tissue samples from 15 specimens stored in the protocol , modifiehttps://www.geneious.com), and aligned using the ClustalW tool. We calculated interspecific and intraspecific genetic distances using software MEGA v. 7.0 (BI) the best substitution models for Cyt-b were: first position K80+G, second position HKY+I and third position GTR+I. For RAG2 they were: first and second position HKY+G and for third position K80+G, while for the Maximum Likelihood Analysis (ML) substitution model used was GTR. The ML analysis was conducted using RAXML  in Tracer, with ESS > 200 considered as satisfactory and plotting the \u2013ln L per generation. After analyzing convergence, chain mixing, and sampling, the first 1000 trees sampled were discarded as \u201cburn-in\u201d. The remaining trees were used to obtain a consensus tree by 50% majority rule. To evaluate the monophyly and phylogenetic relationships of our Tonatia samples, several phyllostomines were selected as outgroup (Table www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank).Sequences were edited using Geneious R11  share similar morphometric characteristics that separate them from specimens from Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil and individuals from eastern foothills of the mountain range in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (Tonatiasaurophilamaresi), which form morphometrically independent groups . CCL, GLS, CIL, MTRL, MANDL, and ZB are variables that contribute the most in discriminating these two subspecies  from a dorsal view of the skull, the posterior edge of the cranial cavity in ess Fig. ; (2) in eri Fig. ; (3) in ger Fig. ; and,  nested within the clade of T.s.maresi. The exon RAG2 topology for T.s.maresi did not record these two clades. The sample FN641681 identified as P.discolor (Costa Rica) is located within the clade of T.s.bakeri  and east of the Andes (T.s.maresi) is 7.65% \u00b1 0.65. The clades of T.s.bakeri and T.bidens exhibit a genetic differentiation of 13.66% \u00b1 1.12, and the clades of T.s.maresi and T.bidens differ by 13.52% \u00b1 1.02  exhibit values between 3.51% and 5.88% , collected in 1919\u20131920 by H. E. Anthony  in \u201cWallingford Roadside Cave, Balaclava, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, British West Indies.\u201d The specimen is a partial mandible from the cave deposits.Adult, sex undetermined. Deposited at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 147207), collected in 1919\u20131920 by H. E. Anthony  from the same locality as the holotype. A second partial mandible from cave deposits.Adult, sex undetermined. Deposited at the American Museum of Natural History , collected in 1919\u20131920 by H. E. Anthony from Dairy Cave, Dry Harbour, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. Fragments of rostra only (no lower jaws). The type series and this material are the only specimens available of T.saurophila.Adults, sex undetermined. Individuals of undetermined sex, deposited at the American Museum of Natural History  includes the entire rostrum, except the extreme anterior end, almost the entire hard palate, and the roots of the teeth except the incisors. Also, the anterior border of the orbit rises obliquely to join the dorsal border. This subfossil also has a slightly bulbous forehead and the presence of an anterior lobe on the last premolar.The holotype is a partial mandible. The mandible is comprised of the entire dentary bone except for the end of the angular process. All three molars are present along with the last premolar. Complete dental formula of the mandible can be determined from alveoli. There are two small roots, a large canine root and a single small incisor root in front of the last premolar. Also, the coronoid is moderately high. The last premolar is anteriorly squared and therefore the middle premolar is relatively larger . The subMeasurements of the holotype taken by Tonatiasaurophila is smaller than any other species within the genus. Tonatiasaurophila differs from Tonatiabidens in having the axis of the talonid of m3 running not obliquely in a lingual-labial direction but straight anteroposteriorly, in having a somewhat more bulbous forehead, and in possessing a well-developed posterior lobe on the last premolar . Herein, we recognize T.bakeri and T.maresi as full species, and support that T.saurophila be considered as an extinct monotypic entity, as only subfossil specimens have been recorded in 1920, and there have been no new records since then.In 1951, Koopman and Williams considered the fragmentary subfossil material found in the Jamaican caves as a new species. Then, Taxon classificationAnimaliaChiropteraPhyllostomidaeWilliams, Willig & Reid, 1995654527AF-33FC-5FD4-A370-97258F312F55TonatiasaurophilabakeriTK22573. No paratypes were designated by Adult male, deposited at the Museum of Texas Tech University (TTU 39120), collected on 31 January 1983 by R. J. Baker , 6 km SW of Cana, Dari\u00e9n, Panama, 1200 m. Prepared as skin and skull by M. S. Hafner. Karyotype reference number Tonatiabakeri is distributed from southeastern Mexico southward into South America to northwestern Ecuador, northern Colombia, and northern Venezuela (west and north of Cordillera de M\u00e9rida). The southernmost records of the species are located in the Province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador . The hairs on the top of head have white tips forming a pale stripe between the ears. Ventral pelage is paler than dorsal pelage; hairs are fawn with lighter tips, but around the throat the fur has a lighter and more uniform color. Dorsal and ventral pelage is dense. Dorsal hairs are longer (12.0 mm) than ventral hairs (5.0 mm). The proximal third of the forearm is covered by short hair , as well as base of the thumbs and proximal side of the feet. The proximal ventral margins of the uropatagium and wing membranes have sparse short hair. The skull of the holotype is complete and in perfect condition, presenting a well-defined sagittal crest.Tonatiabakeri and T.maresi differ from T.bidens in the presence of a clear line of short fur on the top of the head between ears, a secondary process in the mastoid that partially obscures the base of the bulla (unique within subfamily Phyllostominae), a larger gap between lower canines, a lower crowded appearance of the premolars, and a narrower postorbital constriction. Tonatiabakeri differs from T.maresi in its narrower breadth across the lower incisors , collected on 12 July 1969 by R. J. Baker  in Blanchisseuse, Trinidad and Tobago. Prepared as skin, skull, and partial postcranial skeleton by S. L. Williams. No paratypes were designated by Tonatiamaresi is restricted to South America. It occurs in Venezuela (east and south of Cordillera de M\u00e9rida), the Guianas, northeastern Brazil, and along the upper Amazon basin of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, as well as in the South American islands of Trinidad and Tobago . The hairs on the shoulder have white tips and, like the hairs behind the ears and around the base of the neck, present a white base (tricolored). The hairs on the top of head have white tips forming a pale stripe between the ears. Ventral pelage is grayer, and paler, than the dorsal hair and has white tips. The throat region has a uniformly colored hair. The body is densely furred, with the dorsal hairs longer (12.0 mm) than the ventral hairs (5.5 mm). The forearm presents shorter hairs on the proximal half of its length, with the ventral surface being more densely furred. Short, sparse hairs occur on the inner margins of the ventral surfaces of the uropatagium and the wing membranes; short hairs also occur on the thumbs and feet. The skull of holotype is complete, and in perfect condition.Tonatiamaresi are smaller than those of T.bakeri and T.bidens. Additionally, T.maresi can be distinguished from T.bakeri by its wider breadth across the lower incisors  were found in specimens of Tonatia in the Reserva Natural La Palmita, Department of Casanare, in the Colombian Llanos. This locality occurs within the range of T.maresi  and Anoura (Glossophaginae) is estimated to have occurred 22 Ma ago , especially in the Northern Andes  to colonize Central America and some Caribbean islands, including Jamaica  have been identified as T.maresi on the basis of their morphometric characteristics. Morphometric differences were found between subfossil samples of T.saurophila and specimens of T.bakeri and T.maresi . For example, in T.saurophila the mandibular toothrow length and the coronoid height are smaller than in T.bakeri and T.maresi. These facts support the recognition of Tonatiasaurophila (formerly classified as T.saurophilasaurophila) as a full extinct species, with a distribution restricted to Jamaica.Despite numerous bat surveys throughout the West Indies in recent years, no new records of In the Neotropics, more studies on the richness, distribution, and conservation status of the species are urgently needed. Diversity of better-known groups should be studied continuously and consistently, given increasing rates of habitat loss and global climate change. In bats, some of the recently described species were formerly recognized and treated as synonyms or subspecies until extensive mammal collections reviews showed that they were indeed different species . The conT.bakeri and T.maresi to the species category, the genus Tonatia now includes three extant species, including T.bidens, and one extinct species.With the elevation of"}
+{"text": "The contribution of smaller herbaria has been steadily growing over the last few years due to cost reduction, usage of platforms and solutions developed by the leaders. A web-resource the Moscow Digital Herbarium  and 39,448 specimens have fully-captured label transcriptions (61.6%). Based on these data, we give a detailed overview of the collections including spatial, temporal and taxonomic description of the dataset. The official name of the collection is the Skvortsov Herbarium of the Main Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences (acronym MHA). In 2020, the Herbarium was named after the well-known Russian botanist Alexey Konstantinovich Skvortsov (1920\u20132008), who was the scientific supervisor of the MHA Herbarium for 36 years.2 in the newly-constructed main lab building. A group headed by V.N. Voroshilov formed the herbarium staff. Upon formal establishment, the MHA Herbarium received an almost complete set of exsiccates \u201cHerbarium of the Flora of the USSR\u201d from the Komarov Botanical Institute (Leningrad) and all botanical collections from the Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology (Moscow), including duplicates of important Moscow collections by D.P. Syreyshchikov, the first curator of the Moscow University Herbarium. These initial holdings were supplemented by the collections from Voronezh and Moscow Oblasts by V.N. Voroshilov, B.M. Kulkov and V.A. Shtamm .The location of the herbarium in the center of European Russia obliges us to create a regional herbarium\u201d . SkvortsSome Russian-language references describe the main milestones in the history of the MHA Herbarium . As of J2) in the main lab building of the Garden. Duplicates and unmounted backlog are stored in several rooms (120 m2) at Botanicheskaya Street, 33-4 within a ten minute walk from the main building. The Herbarium of bryophytes is also stored at Botanicheskaya Street, 33-4 in several rooms (180 m2).The Herbarium of vascular plants is located in two halls . There are eight curators and researchers, a mounter and three employees who are digitising and filing the specimens. The staff members conduct field research across Russia in Tver, Tula, Kaluga, Belgorod, Rostov, Saratov, Volgograd, Orenburg Oblasts, Kalmykia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Stavropol Krai, Yakutia etc. The total duration of expeditions is ca. 240 person-days per year. Fresh collections by the employees form 70% of new accessions. Other accessions come from exchange, gifts and old backlog.Recent digitisation activities in Moscow and Eastern European sections allow us to detail the list of collectors, the time and place of their work, the number of the collected specimens and their taxonomic composition.1. Moscow section holds 49,621 specimens and covers two subjects of the Russian Federation\u2014the City of Moscow and Moscow Oblast. The section is completely imaged and curated as a separate unit due to the geographical location of the Herbarium and high intensity of field research in the area.2. Eastern European section covers plant collections from European Russia, the Urals, the Baltic countries, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Western Kazakhstan . The section does not include Moscow Region, the Caucasus and the Crimea. Today, the section contains 101,034 specimens, incl. 14,288 imaged specimens (14.1%). Thus, statistics on taxonomic and temporal coverage, collectors and collection dates for this section are based on a 14-percent sample that covers pteridophytes, conifers and most monocots.\"Flora of Moscow\" Information System on Moscow Digital Herbarium web-platform (research project #19-34-70018).The MHA Herbarium holds vast collections from the Moscow metropolitan area (City of Moscow and Moscow Oblast) collected in the last 70 years, whereas the Moscow University Herbarium (MW) holdings are fairly evenly distributed in time over a period of 200 years. Altogether, MW and MHA have 130,000+ specimens from the Moscow Region, which make it the most densely-sampled territory across Russia. The idea of the research proposal was to digitise and precisely georeference this large dataset for proper understanding of changes in the flora around the City of Moscow through time and space. From March to October 2019, the MHA Herbarium team imaged 49.7K herbarium specimens of vascular plants at 600 dpi using Microtek 1600 Object Scan. In the next few months, 78.6% of them were georeferenced.Further, the MHA Herbarium published online 15K images of its Eastern European collections (imaged earlier in 2017-2018), which are especially strong in the semi-arid flora of the Lower Volga Region. The MHA Herbarium collections are fully available in GBIF, Moscow Digital Herbarium and newly-established \"Flora of Moscow\" website (https://moscow.depo.msu.ru). At the moment, MHA Herbarium is the second largest imaged herbarium of Russia.To schedule and perform the digitisation of the MHA Herbarium, we used five key stages by pre-digitisation curation and staging,specimen image capture,specimen image processing,electronic data capture,georeferencing specimen data.1. Pre-digitisation curation and stagingThe section curator reviews all incoming physical accessions for meeting the basic requirements of the herbarium specimen. A specimen should be a high-quality dried plant  with a label bearing identification, collection site, habitat, collection date and collector. After that, unmounted new material is frozen at a temperature of \u201330\u00b0C for 14 days as a quarantine procedure against specific herbarium pests and then mounted. New collections are counted  right after mounting. Sorting and incorporation of new material takes place once a year, usually in the autumn-winter period. Right before imaging, pre-ordered self-adhesive barcodes with an acronym and a seven-digit number (e.g. MHA 0 002 094) were attached to the herbarium sheet.Eastern European section. In December 2017, with the purchase of a specialised scanner Microtek ObjectScan 1600, we began the imaging of vascular plants in the MHA Herbarium. Since the specimens from European Russia and adjacent states constitute the largest and most used section of the Herbarium, we decided to start imaging from this section. If there were two or more taxa on a single sheet, they were remounted on separate sheets.Moscow section. From March to October 2019, the Moscow section of the Herbarium was imaged in line with the work under the RFBR grant \"Information system Flora of Moscow on the platform of the Moscow Digital Herbarium\" (under A.P. Seregin). The imaging of the Eastern European section was suspended for this time. Within the framework of the project, N.M. Reshetnikova (MHA Herbarium) and S.R. Mayorov (Moscow University) thoroughly revised the taxonomy of all Moscow specimens. After that, we checked the nomenclature on the folders and corrected it against the accepted backbone.2. Specimen image captureSpecimens were imaged in accordance with international standards with a resolution of 600 dpi and a colour checker (24 colours). After scanning, each image was automatically renamed according to the barcode served as an unique identifier. In total, 14,274 specimens of the Eastern European section were digitised in 2017\u20132018. Imaged Eastern European collections at that time were stored on external discs without online access.The Moscow section was scanned more intensively under the time limit from March to October 2019. Every day, two to three operators worked on the single scanner in shifts. For each shift lasting four to five hours, 140\u2013160 specimens were digitised. Thus, 300\u2013400 specimens were imaged per day per scanner. In total, the herbarium team imaged 49,621 specimens within eight months and completed the mission.During the imaging, we encountered a number of minor issues:Some specimens have large plants covering partly or fully the label text. The specimens were imaged as they are, whereas the labels will be captured not from the image, but from the physical specimen later.Sometimes two different species were mounted on a single sheet. In such cases, if possible, the specimens were remounted on to two sheets. If the remounting was impossible or impractical, the single sheet was scanned, but the image was duplicated and each file was assigned an additional digit (\"-1\" or \"-2\") to facilitate unique identifiers for each species.Labels of a larger size widely used in the exsiccates \"Herbarium of the flora of the USSR\" were often folded during mounting. We tried to remount such labels to make text fully available on images, but in some cases, the label partly covered the plant.In some cases, two or more parts of the same large plant were mounted on several sheets bearing a single label and further notes like \u201csheet #2\u201d, \u201csheet #3\u201d etc. These sheets were initially inserted into the cupboards after being fastened with a removable paper clip. However, they have been mixed over time with other specimens, so now it is impossible to trace the correct label for these multiple \u201csheets #2\u201d.3. Specimen image processingWhile scanning, the operator started a new directory for every species and named it against a folder name. Before uploading the images into the Moscow Digital Herbarium, the structure of the directories was converted into a table of metadata. Thus, for each accession, the initial metadata included ID (barcode identifier), taxon name from folder without taxonomic authors and the geographic code of the area.Catalogue of Life (CoL), from which the complete accepted name, synonymy and hierarchical list of supraspecific taxa were downloaded for every entry.The taxon name, according to the protocols of the Moscow Digital Herbarium, was automatically matched with the latest version of the Publication of images with brief metadata is a powerful tool for rapid online access to the scanned herbarium collections. This approach was largely used in Paris where the largest herbarium of the world was imaged and published online . SimilarAfter online publication of the Moscow Region specimens in the Moscow Digital Herbarium and GBIF, other sections of the MHA Herbarium will undergo the same procedure. Thus, to date, 64008 images of specimens of vascular plants from the MHA Herbarium are available online.4. Electronic data captureAfter online publication of the images and associated brief metadata, we link the records with existing full-label data capture of 7,087 specimens of the Moscow section (14.3%) made earlier by T.G. Nosova and I.A. Kravtsov in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. For the remaining 42,534 specimens, the operators of the Moscow Digital Herbarium entered mandatory metadata\u2014the collection date, the first collector, curatorial area and coordinates (if present on the label).Similarly, a table with full-label data capture for 11,716 specimens from Eastern Europe (82% of the scanned ones) made by E.A. Karakina and B.L. Oshovskaya was uploaded as well. For the remaining 2,572 specimens, the operators of the Moscow Digital Herbarium and employees of the Garden entered additional mandatory metadata.Thus, the minimum obligatory set of metadata available for all digitised specimens of the MHA Herbarium in this dataset include barcode ID, complete taxonomic information, collection date, the first collector, curatorial area and geographical coordinates (if available on the label). Additionally, 18,803 specimens had full-text inscriptions of labels (29.4%) due to earlier efforts.the GBIF contract (2019) made full-text transcriptions of 4,617 specimens from the City of Moscow and Moscow Oblast.Further full-text data capture was carried out by the operators of the Moscow Digital Herbarium for specimens collected within the City of Moscow . An operator entered the label data from the scanned image into an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with 30 standard fields (including some pre-filled ones to avoid mistakes). Additionally, a commercial partner under After data entry, the scientific supervisor of the Moscow Digital Herbarium checked the spreadsheets for technical issues by a set of automatic, semi-automatic and manual operations. The IT-team, using the data migrator programme, then converted data from the Excel spreadsheet to the PostgreSQL database of the Moscow Digital Herbarium for further data storing and retrieving. This stage also includes some automatic checks of data consistency.As of May 2020, the full text of labels has been entered for 39,448 specimens of the MHA Herbarium (61.6% of the imaged ones)\u201427,783 specimens of the Moscow section and 11,665 specimens of the Eastern European section. Full-text label transcriptions help to optimise the further georeferencing by combining labels with identical text into groups.5. Georeferencing specimen dataThe operators of the Moscow Digital Herbarium and the Garden employees carried out manual georeferencing with further implementation of the ISTRA system , several lines of the code being written in JAVA. This code is integrated into the Moscow Digital Herbarium and unavailable as a stand-alone product.The first algorithm of the ISTRA system combines the specimens into the groups according to the matching of the captured label text. In this case, there are two options for combining\u2014complete matching mode and letters-only mode. The results do not differ in accuracy from the manual georeferencing. The second algorithm of the ISTRA system forms the specimen groups according to the matching of three fields\u2014collection date, collector\u2019s surname and curatorial area. Within the walking-day route, the standard georeferencing accuracy in most cases does not exceed 5 km. Further data refinement will help us to replace automatic georeferencing with the more accurate manual one.In both cases, the operator inserts the coordinates manually and the system sets the coordinates automatically for all specimens of the group. The first algorithm takes precedence over the second one. In all cases, we save the log file and note the georeferencing method in the form of the standard disclaimers:captured from the label;set manually by the operator;set automatically by matching of the label text;set automatically by matching of the collection date and collector.Yandex.Maps, Google Maps, Wikimapia, SAS.Planet etc.) for modern specimens, whereas historic collections are georeferenced using the libraries of scanned maps  following the principle \u201ccollection date = map date\u201d. Coordinate precision (rounded to 100 m) is set and stored for each manual georeferenced point.Manual georeferencing is carried out using standard e-cartographic libraries (Complete georeferencing of the specimens from the City of Moscow was a key task in 2020 for the Moscow University team (according to the Moscow project), whereas employees of the MHA Herbarium georeferenced specimens from Moscow Oblast and Eastern Europe (starting with the most prolific collectors). In total, 50,324 specimen have been georeferenced (74%), including 49,732 specimens from Russia.For 7,414 specimens, the coordinates were taken from the label (14.7% of the number of georeferenced ones), for 10,849 specimens (21.6%), they were set manually and for 32,061 specimens (63.7%), they were calculated automatically using the ISTRA system.The Eastern European section of the MHA Herbarium has its focus on European Russia Table . The mosMoscow Region forms its own section in the MHA Herbarium. This is due to the location of the Garden in the City of Moscow. One of the initial missions of the Herbarium was precise documentation of the local flora, including long-term observations of both native and alien plants. Based on these materials, standard flora and checklists were published by the Garden staff in collaboration with Moscow University .The Lower Volga Region was one of the focus areas for A.K. Skvortsov, his graduate students and the Herbarium employees. This activity resulted in the published volumes of the \u201cFlora of the Lower Volga\u201d . The CenGeographical coordinates for the dataset frame are given below.44.5 and 77 Latitude; 19.5 and 69.5 Longitude.The dataset covers vascular plants of Eastern Europe, both native and alien species. There are also some specimens of cultivated plants, especially from the Moscow Region. The Moscow section is completely digitised and can provide figures on the taxonomic representation of the MHA Herbarium collections, whereas 14% of the the Eastern European section has been digitised and, therefore, information on its taxonomic composition only shows which families have been digitised so far.The Plant List (TPL), superseded shortly by Plants of the World Online (POWO). A similar approach was subsequently used before imaging of the Eastern European holdings with some deviations emerging from either the standard regional flora or new taxonomic monographs  currently enumerates 2,363 taxa of vascular plants, including both wild and unintentionally-introduced plants  were imaged. In addition, the genus Crataegus (Rosaceae) was digitised out of sequence.PLEASE FILL IN TRAIT INFORMATION HEREThe Moscow and East European sections of the MHA Herbarium were launched in the second half of the 20th century and collections continue to grow in the 21st century. The mean year of collection for the digitised specimens of the entire MHA Herbarium is 1976. The mean collection date shows in which regions the Herbarium was currently active and from which areas, in particular, there is fresh material for DNA studies or adequate collections of recently-spreading alien species. From the majority of regions, new collections have come evenly since the foundation of the MHA Herbarium. They have an average collection date of 1975\u20131978 Table .In recent decades, collections came mainly from four Regions\u2014Rostov Oblast, Lower Volga Region, Central Region  and Central Forest-Steppe Region (mainly Belgorod Oblast). These are the places of the fieldwork of the current Herbarium employees, as well as the above-mentioned expeditions across the Lower Volga Region of the 1990s. On the contrary, there have been no significant accessions from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, as well as some regions of European Russia in recent decades.1. Moscow section. In this section, 49,550 specimens have collection date after 1890. Their temporal distribution over decades is given in Fig. The peak of 1920s resulted from the transfer of earlier collections by D.P. Syreishchikov. The original collections of the Moscow section of the MHA Herbarium dated back to the period 1945\u20132018 with two peaks of major accessions\u20141960s and 1980s.In the 1960s, the main collections came from V.A. Shtamm , A.K. Skvortsov , V.V. Makarov , G.P. Rysina (831), E.I. Kurchenko (549), A.P. Khokhryakov (445), A.A. Nekrasov (356), E.E. Gogina (181), V.S. Drozdova (153) and N.K. Shvedchikova (143). This was the time of active studies of the native flora and the publication of the standard guide by In the 1980s, the most important Moscow collections were gathered by the MHA Herbarium employees M.S. Ignatov , V.D. Bochkin , V.V. Makarov , A.N. Shvetsov (577) and A.K. Skvortsov (512). Lesser contributions were made by V.B. Kuvaev (391), L.A. Deistfeldt (117), N.V. Kostyleva (108), A.E. Matsenko (91) and A.V. Shcherbakov (65). In this period, intensive studies of the alien flora of the Moscow Region resulted in the checklist by 2. Eastern European section2.1. Lower Volga Region. At the moment, 3,244 specimens from this Region have been digitised so far. We assume that the total volume of collections from the Lower Volga is 23,170+ specimens. Figures given below are based on 3,145 digitised specimens (14% of the collection volume) having a collection date after 1890. Their temporal distribution over decades is given in Fig. Notable collections from the Lower Volga began to arrive in the mid-1970s, but the peak of the major accessions stretched over the 1980s and 1990s. Especially large collections were made in 1982, 1986, 1989\u20131990 and 1993\u20131994.In the 1980s, the major collections came from N.B. Belyanina (2500 estimated number of specimens/350 digitized), V.D. Bochkin (990/139), V.A. Sagalaev (670/94) and G.Yu. Klinkova (460/64). In the 1990s, the most important collections from the Lower Volga were accessed from V.A. Sagalaev , G.Yu. Klinkova , V.D. Bochkin , I.A. Shantser (830/116), A.K. Skvortsov (790/110) and S.R. Mayorov (230/41). These figures are based on the senior collectors mentioned in the labels, but in 1993, a top-record year, an expedition supported by the U.S. National Geographic Society collected at least 5,100 specimens (716 digitised) during a many-month trip across the Lower Volga Region and Western Kazakhstan performed by V.A. Sagalaev, G.Yu. Klinkova, I.A. Shantser, V.D. Bochkin, A.K. Skvortsov, M.Yu. Polonskaya, M.V. Kostina, V.V. Dzhanaeva and others.2.2. Other Eastern European regions. Amongst other Eastern European collections, the most noticeable are those from the Central Region  , the Central Forest-steppe Region   and the Northern Region . Their temporal distribution over decades is given in Fig. Central Region have two peaks\u2014in the 1970s  and in 2000\u20132010s . In the 1970s, the main collections were received from V.V. Makarov (820 estimated number of specimens/115 digitised) and A.K. Skvortsov (290/41) and in the 2000\u20132010s from N.M. Reshetnikova , A.P. Seregin (940/132), A.V. Krylov (740/104) and A.A. Shmytov (320/45). The most sampled area is Kaluga Oblast which has been intensively studied by the Herbarium staff. This resulted in the publication of the standard regional flora  and in the 2000s . In the 1960s, the main collections were acquired from V.V. Makarov , A.P. Khokhryakov (330/46) and A.K. Skvortsov (230/32) and in the 2000s from N.M. Reshetnikova , A.K. Mamontov (790/110) and A.P. Seregin (340/47).The collections from the Northern Region are distributed more evenly across decades. Two peaks can be noted\u2014in the 1950s\u20141960s  and in the 1980s . In the 1950\u20131960s, the main collections came from A.K. Skvortsov (850 estimated number of specimens/119 digitised), V.I. Sobolevsky (460/64), A.P. Khokhryakov (290/41) and in the 1980s from Konovalova (350/49), Smirnova (340/48) and Proskuryakova (340/47).Accessions from the Otherhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The licence covers images of the herbarium specimens deposited in https://plant.depo.msu.ru/ and available in GBIF, as well as their metadata.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 Licence .The staff collected later accessions directly from the Garden (Ostankino in Moscow) and various areas across the Moscow Oblast \u2013 V.N. Voroshilov (1940\u20131950s), T.N. Evtyukhova (1940s), V.A. Shtamm (1940\u20131960s), G.P. Rysina (1960s) and B.M. Kulkov (1940\u20131950s). The donations of V.I. Sobolevsky (1950s), A.A. Nekrasov (1950\u20131960s), A.I. Manin (1960\u20131970s), A.P. Khokhryakov (1950\u20131960s) and others from different areas of the Moscow Region enriched the section as well.In 1970\u20131990s, V.V. Makarov, M.S. Ignatov, A.N. Shvetsov, V.D. Bochkin, E.E. Gogina, and A.E. Matsenko made the largest collections across the Moscow Region due to the research missions of the Garden employees devoted to rare and endangered plant species, audit and organisation of the protected areas with a focus on the districts west of Moscow.The Garden staff also intensively studied the alien flora of the Moscow Region. This resulted in the special collections by A.K. Skvortsov, V.V. Makarov, M.S. Ignatov and A.N. Shvetsov, expanded later by V.D. Bochkin assisted by S.R. Mayorov, Yu.A. Nasimovich and Yu.K. Vinogradova. Their collections became the basis of monographic reviews on the alien flora of the Moscow Region .E.I. Kurchenko (Serpukhov District), N.M. Reshetnikova (Ruza District), V.B. Kuvaev (Znamenskoye near Moscow), Yu.A. Nasimovich with L.A. Deystfeldt  donated their collections from the Moscow Region (Skvortsov and Belyanina 2005). In the last decade, K.Yu. Teplov transferred large collections of rare plants from the locations across the Region.2. Eastern European section. The collection consists mainly of specimens which the Garden staff collected during field trips since the 1950s. Initially, herbarium vouchers accompanied living plants and seeds collected in the wild for the displays of the Garden. This documentation activity was later supplemented by extensive floristic and taxonomic studies, conservation research and monitoring of alien species.2.1. Lower Volga Region. The flora of the southeast of European Russia is the most fully represented regional flora of the Eastern European section. The Region known as Lower Volga includes Volgograd, Astrakhan and Saratov Oblasts and the Republic of Kalmykia. This is a predominantly semi-arid steppe region. The list of collectors includes 136 surnames . In 2010s, the collection activities were continued by N.Yu. Stepanova assisted by A.V. Kuvaev (Severtsov Institute) and I.N. Safronova (Komarov Institute) during their floristic studies of the Kuma-Manych depression and the Caspian Lowland.A vast amount of material helped to critically assess the current state of the flora of the southeast of European Russia and with the publication of two volumes of the \u201cFlora of the Lower Volga\u201d . The thi2.2. Other areas. The MHA Herbarium covers all regions of Eastern Europe within the former USSR with varying degree of completion. Table Moscow Digital Herbarium is available online  and graduate student A.K. Mamontov . Collections by V.N. Voroshilov (Voronezh Oblast), V.V. Makarov (Tambov Oblast) and A.P. Khokhryakov (Penza Oblast) should also be acknowledged.A large number of specimens from the Western Region (Smolensk and Bryansk Oblasts) were also made mainly by the herbarium staff . Yu.E. Alekseev from Moscow University donated his collections from Bryansk Oblast as a gift.Collections from the Central Region are associated with lengthy floristic studies by N.M. Reshetnikova in Kaluga Oblast expanded significantly by A.K. Krylov by the study of alien plants , A.P. Khokhryakov and M.T. Mazurenko (Bashkiria). A.K. Skvortsov also collected a lot in the 1950s in the Denezhkin Kamen Reserve (Sverdlovsk Oblast) and Zlatoust (Chelyabinsk Oblast).Major collections from the Important collections from other areas include:Northern Region\u2014A.K. Skvortsov , T.M. Smirnova , M.S. Ignatov ;Rostov Oblast\u2014N.Yu. Stepanova (Kumo-Manch Depression and adjacent areas);Western Siberia\u2014A.K. Skvortsov ;Lithuania and the North-Ukrainian Region\u2014V.V. Makarov."}
+{"text": "Abutilon fruticosum is one of the endemic plants with high medicinal and economic value in Saudi Arabia and belongs to the family Malvaceae. However, the plastome sequence and phylogenetic position have not been reported until this study. In this research, the complete chloroplast genome of A. fruticosum was sequenced and assembled, and comparative and phylogenetic analyses within the Malvaceae family were conducted. The chloroplast genome (cp genome) has a circular and quadripartite structure with a total length of 160,357 bp and contains 114 unique genes . The repeat analyses indicate that all the types of repeats  were present in the genome, with palindromic occurring more frequently. A total number of 212 microsatellites were identified in the plastome, of which the majority are mononucleotides. Comparative analyses with other species of Malvaceae indicate a high level of resemblance in gene content and structural organization and a significant level of variation in the position of genes in single copy and inverted repeat borders. The analyses also reveal variable hotspots in the genomes that can serve as barcodes and tools for inferring phylogenetic relationships in the family: the regions include trnH-psbA, trnK-rps16, psbI-trnS, atpH-atpI, trnT-trnL, matK, ycf1 and ndhH. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that A. fruticosum is closely related to Althaea officinalis, which disagrees with the previous systematic position of the species. This study provides insights into the systematic position of A. fruticosum and valuable resources for further phylogenetic and evolutionary studies of the species and the Malvaceae family to resolve ambiguous issues within the taxa. Abutilon Mill. [Abutilon fruticosum is reported to have medicinal values; all parts of the plant are used in the treatment of various ailments including ulcers, leprosy, inflammation of the bladder, piles, bronchitis, rheumatism and jaundice [Abutilon and the family Malvaceae has not been reported. According to the available literature, there has been no study that tried to address the phylogenetic position of the species at any taxonomic level where the species belong. As the plant is of medicinal and economic importance, there is a need to report its plastome sequence for conservation purposes, for authentication and to resolve its systematic position.The genus on Mill. ,2, whoseon Mill. , is conson Mill. ,5, with on Mill. . The syson Mill. ; hence, on Mill. . Memberson Mill. . In addion Mill. . The plaon Mill. ,11,12. Ajaundice ,13,14. Tjaundice . DespiteAbutilon belongs, is one of the largest families of angiosperm. It comprises ca. 4225 identified species distributed in 244 genera [Gossypium, Abelmoschus, Hibiscus, Firmiana, Bombax, Theobroma, Craigia and Talipariti.The family Malvaceae , to which 4 genera ,16. UntiGenetic information is a reliable source of understanding evolutionary relationships among species at various taxonomic levels . The genetic information in the chloroplast genome contains sufficient information for comparative analysis and studies of species diversification because of the presence of functional genes which have a vital role in plant cells . The chlAbutilon fruticosum were obtained for the first time using Illumina sequencing technology, and the complete chloroplast genome was assembled using NOVOPlasty3.8.1. The features of the cp genomes were analyzed and compared with other Malvaceae species to provide resources for identification and evolutionary, phylogenetic and population genetics studies of the taxon.Here, the whole genome data of A. fruticosum has a circular and quadripartite structure with a total length of 160,357 bp. The plastome has four distinct regions which are a small single copy (SSC), a large single copy (LSC) and a pair of inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) which separates the SSC and LSC  were present in the plastome of A. fruticosum (A. fruticosum. The majority of the repeats were between 20 and 29 bp (87.75%) in size, followed by 30\u201339 bp (8.16%) and 50\u201359 bp (4.08%) long repeats. In the first location, the intergenic spacer harbored 61.22% of the repeats. The tRNA contained four repeats (8.16%), and eight repeats (16.32%) were located in the protein-coding genes. The length of repeated sequences in the A. fruticosum chloroplast genome ranged from 10 to 69\u2009bp, analogously to the other angiosperm plants [Malva parviflora has the highest number of palindromic repeats (25), while Sida szechuensis has the lowest with 17. A. fruticosum and M. parviflora have the same number of forward repeats\u201421 for each of them. T. populnea has the highest number of reverse repeats (9), while M. parviflora has the lowest (3). Complement repeats were found to be the least numerous types of repeat across the genome in A. fruticosum, in S. szechuensis and in M. parviflora, occurring once. In the plastome of T. populnea, there were three complement repeats.The program REPuter was used to identify long repeat sequences present in the uticosum . The anauticosum . In totam plants ,42,43. IA. fruticosum in this study (There were short repeats of nucleotide series (1\u20136 bp) that were dispersed through the whole genome called microsatellites (SSRs). These short repeats in the plastid genome were passed from a single parent. As a result, they are used as molecular indicators in developmental studies such as genetic diversity and also contribute to the recognition of species ,45,46. Ais study . The majis study . Poly-A is study . The intis study .E. attenuatus and A. paniculata had the highest number of mononucleotides with 107 and 104, respectively. Pentanucleotides were not found in the plastome of B. prionitis, E. attenuatus, A. knappiae, B. ciliaris and R. breedlovei, while hexanucleotides were only present in B. prionitis, R. breedlovei and A. knappiae.The rate of occurrence of SSRs among the plastomes of the five species of Malvaceae was compared ; the comA. fruticosum as a reference. The alignment showed that the genomes are highly conserved with some degree of variation. The coding regions are more conserved than the non-coding regions and the inverted repeat regions are more conserved than the single copy regions  (M. parviflora) to 163,121 bp (A. esculentus). The genes rps19, rpl2 and trnH were located at the junctions LSC\u2013IR and SSC\u2013IR of the compared cp genomes with the exception of A. esculentus. The cp genome of A. fruticosum is different from the other cp genomes by having the ndhF gene in the reverse strand and in the junction of SSC and IRa. The ycf1 gene is located on the SSC\u2013IRa border in the A. esculentus, M. Parviflora, S. szechuensis and T. populnea cp genomes and extends into IRa with 959 bp in A. esculentus. The cp genome of A. esculentus is unique by having the rpl16 gene on the LSC\u2013IRb border and the rps3 gene on the Ira\u2013LSC border. The cp genome of S. szechuensis has the smallest IR region, at 25,288 bp, while A. esculentus has the longest, at 28,009 bp. The ndhF gene is found on the IRb\u2013SSC border of A. esculentus, S. szechuensis and T. populnea.Generally, angiosperms retain the structure and size of the chloroplast genome ; howeveropulnea) . The lenpetD of A. fruticosum vs. T. populnea, psaI of A. fruticosum vs. S. szechuensis and rps12 of A. fruticosum vs. T. populnea, A. fruticosum vs. S. szechuensis and A. fruticosum vs. T. populnea  and nonsynonymous (dN) substitutions and the dN/dS ratio were calculated using DNAsp among the plastome of six species of Malvaceae to detect whether the 80 shared protein-coding genes were under selective pressure. The results show that the dN/dS ratio is less than 1 in almost all of the paired genes except populnea . This inpopulnea . Some ofA. fruticosum in the family, the complete plastome sequences of 10 species belonging to Malvoideae were downloaded from the GenBank database. In addition, two species, C. yunnanensis  and Bombax ceiba , used as an outgroup, were also downloaded from GenBank. The downloaded cp genomes and the plastome of A. fruticosum were aligned using MAFFT. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using the Bayesian inference approach. The results reveal . A similar tree was obtained in a previous study using ITS [A. fruticosum is closely related and sister to A. officinalis. This result is incongruent with the earlier systematic position of A. fruticosum and S. szechuensis. Previous studies [Abutilon was placed in Malveae together with Malva and Sida by various researchers [Abutilon , Malva , Sida  and Altheae ; Hutchinson, later revised Abutilon , Malva and Altheae . Here, my results disagree with all the previous tribal positions of the genera. The tree showed that Abutilon is closely related to Altheae (with strong support) and Sida, which was reported as a sister to Abutilon, is in a different clade. Additionally, Malva and Altheae are also in different clades but were included in the same subtribe by previous classification. Based on the result in this study, I proposed the exclusion of Altheae from the tribe Malvae and its placement in Abututileae. Comparative analysis in this study A total amount of 1.0 \u03bcg DNA was used as an input material for the DNA sample preparations. Sequencing libraries were generated using the NEBNext DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina following the manufacturer\u2019s recommendations. The genomic DNA was randomly fragmented into 350 bp long sequences. The raw reads were filtered to get the clean reads (5 Gb) using PRINSEQlite v0.20.4  and werehttp://lowelab.ucsc.edu/tRNAscan-SE/) [Genes were annotated using DOGMA  . The poscan-SE/) . The circan-SE/) .The relative synonymous codon usage values (RSCU), base composition and codon usage were computed using MEGA 6.0. Possible RNA editing sites present in the protein-coding genes of the cp genome of Malvaceae species were determined using PREP suite  with 0.8Abutilon fruticosum chloroplast genome using the online software MIcroSAtellite (MISA) [https://bibiserv.cebitec.uni-bielefeld.de/reputer) [Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the e (MISA)  with thereputer)  with defA. fruticosum as a reference in the Shuffle-LAGAN mode [The complete chloroplast genomes of six species of Malvaceae were compared with the program mVISTA  using thGAN mode . The borA. fruticosum was compared with the cp genome of M. parviflora, S. szchuensis, T. populnea and A. officinalis.DNAsp v5.10.01  was usedCraigia yunnanensis (Tilioideae) and Bombax ceiba (Bombacoideae), were downloaded from GenBank. The downloaded sequences were aligned with the sequenced cp genome of A. fruticosum using MAFFT v.7 [The complete chloroplast genomes of eleven Malvoideae and two species, AFFT v.7 . The datAFFT v.7 . jModelTAFFT v.7  was used"}
+{"text": "Ayyaz et al.  have repAyyaz et al. have reported various important actions that were taken whilst setting up the COVID-19 facility in the prison such as temporary stoppage of the admissions of new prisoners, testing of inmates and staff for COVID-19, caring for prisoners who were COVID-19 positive and taking preventative measures such as providing sanitizers for handwashing and contact tracing to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection amongst prisoners, staff and visitors to the prison and providing healthcare to the prisoners who had COVID-19 [The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in little more than 23 million confirmed cases and about 0.8 million deaths globally, as of 24th August 2020 . These pIt is therefore imperative to prioritise the most vulnerable people in COVID-19 testing and healthcare provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides prisoners, there are many other vulnerable people such as patients with longterm conditions and elderly in care homes, people in shelter homes / houses, orphanages and similar other dwellings, mental health patients in psychiatric centres and mental health institutions and hospitals, and refugees and displaced people in camps and detention centres. These disadvantaged and vulnerable people must need special attention and priority in testing for COVID-19 and providing them necessary healthcare onsite is also imperative.Not commissioned, Editor reviewed.No fundingNot applicable because this is a commentary on an article published in the Ann Med Surg.Not applicable because this is a commentary on an article published in the Ann Med Surg.1. Name of the registry: N/A.2. Unique Identifying number or registration ID: N/A.3. Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): N/A.Study conception, planning and design; All authors.Literature identification and review: S.G.S. Shah.Manuscript drafting: S.G.S. Shah.Manuscript review and intellectual input: S.F.H. Shah and S. Awais.The Guarantor is the one or more people who accept full responsibility for the work and/or the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish. Please note that providing a guarantor is compulsory.Syed Ghulam Sarwar Shah (S.G.S. Shah)Authors declared no conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Nosema ceranae is a worldwide distributed midgut parasite of western honey bees, leading to dwindling colonies and their collapse. As a treatment, only fumagillin is available, causing issues like resistance and hampered bee physiology. This study aimed to evaluate ApiHerb\u00ae and Api-Bioxal\u00ae as treatments against N. ceranae. The efficacy was tested using two qPCR methods based on the 16S rRNA and Hsp70 genes. In addition, these methods were compared for their aptitude for the quantification of the infection. For this, 19 colonies were selected based on the presence of N. ceranae infections. The colonies were divided into three groups: treated with ApiHerb, Api-Bioxal with previous queen caging and an untreated control. All colonies were sampled pre- and post-treatment. The bees were analyzed individually and in duplicate with both qPCR methods. All bees in the pre-treatment tested positive for N. ceranae. Both treatments reduced the abundance of N. ceranae, but ApiHerb also decreased the prevalence of infected bees. Analysis with the 16S rRNA method resulted in several orders of magnitude more copies than analysis with the Hsp70 method. We conclude that both products are suitable candidates for N. ceranae treatment. From our analysis, the qPCR method based on the Hsp70 gene results as more apt for the exact quantification of N. ceranae as is needed for the development of veterinary medicinal products. Apis mellifera) caused by Nosema ceranae , it is likely that garlic is the major ingredient responsible for the ApiHerb effect detected on the intestinal microflora of the honey bees.The quantitative ApiHerb composition is patent-protected and, therefore, it has not been disclosed. However, the label reports, in decreasing order, dextrose, garlic  and efficiency ,37. The equences . The flufication . In addie nature . These rHsp70 is a single-coding gene in a highly conserved region of the N. ceranae genome, which results in accurate quantification [Hsp70 gene, therefore, seems more appropriate for the evaluation of efficacy against N. ceranae. On the other hand, fication ,55. In tN. ceranae with sustainable methods. The products used in this study, however, were not developed for the treatment of N. ceranae. For an extension of use, further research is necessary. In a first step, a scientifically based optimization of parameters like the concentration of active substances, treatment period, and posology is still needed. Studies are needed to elucidate the mode of action against N. ceranae of oxalic acid as well as the compounds in ApiHerb.Despite the wide-spread use of fumagillin in many places, we demonstrate that it is possible to efficiently control an emergent pathogen like Varroa destructor [Given the increasing importance of Nosemosis Type C worldwide, safe veterinary medicinal products to control this disease become urgent. In this context, standardizing the protocols with a guideline for the development of these products is an evident requirement. Until now, such a guideline only exists for the registration of treatments against the parasitic mite structor . With ho"}
+{"text": "Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a ubiquitous and opportunistic microorganism and is considered one of the most significant pathogens that produce chronic colonization and infection of the lower respiratory tract, especially in people with chronic inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), and bronchiectasis. From a microbiological viewpoint, the presence and persistence of P. aeruginosa over time are characterized by adaptation within the host that precludes any rapid, devastating injury to the host. Moreover, this microorganism usually develops antibiotic resistance, which is accelerated in chronic infections especially in those situations where the frequent use of antimicrobials facilitates the selection of \u201chypermutator P. aeruginosa strain\u201d. This phenomenon has been observed in people with bronchiectasis, CF, and the \u201cexacerbator\u201d COPD phenotype. From a clinical point of view, a chronic bronchial infection of P. aeruginosa has been related to more severity and poor prognosis in people with CF, bronchiectasis, and probably in COPD, but little is known on the effect of this microorganism infection in people with asthma. The relationship between the impact and treatment of P. aeruginosa infection in people with airway diseases emerges as an important future challenge and it is the most important objective of this review. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a ubiquitous and opportunistic microorganism that represents the paradigm of chronic bacterial infections, where pathogens weaken a host\u2019s defenses and adapt and evolve in order to persist  has been reported ,9,18,20. decline . People ctively) . Similarg people . However in FEV1 . In contioration .P. aeruginosa, the degree of dyspnea, poorer lung function, the number of exacerbations, bronchial hyperreactivity, greater structural damage, daily bronchorrhea, respiratory insufficiency, and symptoms of anxiety and depression [P. aeruginosa had a quality of life 18.2 points higher than those without [P. aeruginosa have presented higher scores for anxiety [Quality of life is a very important parameter in the evaluation of the overall impact of bronchiectasis ,166 and,pression ,166,167. without . A highe without . Similar anxiety .P. aeruginosa, and some functional parameters were factors independently associated with mortality [A multi-variant study by Loebinger et al. was one of the first to evaluate factors that influence the survival of people with bronchiectasis. It included 91 adults with a follow-up of 13 years and found that age, quality of life, CBI by ortality . Howeverortality .P. aeruginosa was confirmed in Finch\u2019s review [P. aeruginosa. The overall odds ratio for CBI by P. aeruginosa was 2.95 . The nature of this type of study does, however, preclude any control of all the confounding factors involved, due to the heterogeneity of the design of the studies that it covered.The poor prognosis associated with CBI by s review , where tP. aeruginosa in 2596 bronchiectasis adults (15% with CBI by PA) in 10 centers in Europe and Israel, with 5 years of follow-up. These authors showed that CBI by P. aeruginosa is not independently associated with mortality unless it is also associated with two or more exacerbations.Araujo et al.  analyzedP. aeruginosa for prognosis has been reflected in the three multidimensional scores that have been validated to assess the severity of bronchiectasis and predict both exacerbations and mortality: the FACED [P. aeruginosa as a prognostic item, with a score ranging from 1 point in FACED (0\u20137) and E-FACED (0\u20139) to 3 points in BSI (0\u201326).The importance of CBI by he FACED , E-FACEDhe FACED , and BSIhe FACED . All thrP. aeruginosa has also been associated with radiological progression. One study by Park that included 155 people with bronchiectasis with a follow-up of over 5 years observed radiological deterioration, as quantified by the Bhalla score for computerized axial tomography. The multi-variant analysis showed the factors involved to be a lower BMI and isolations of P. aeruginosa [CBI by ruginosa .P. aeruginosa, and the number of hospitalizations. Patients with CBI by P. aeruginosa gave rise to mean annual costs roughly as high as those derived from those with severe bronchiectasis (8654.40 \u20ac) [People with bronchiectasis engender high healthcare costs, which, according to a Spanish multi-center study by De la Rosa , are ind54.40 \u20ac) .P. aeruginosa [Increased local and systemic inflammation is related to the bacterial load in people with bronchiectasis, but it is independent of this load in those with ruginosa .P. aeruginosa has a significant impact on people with bronchiectasis, owing to its prevalence and clinical consequences, as well as its microbiological characteristics. It features as an item on multidimensional prognostic scores and constitutes a phenotype in its own right. More studies based on data from patient registries and biological markers are required, however, to clarify the involvement of P. aeruginosa in the natural history of bronchiectasis.In conclusion, CBI by P. aeruginosa comprising the administration of systemic antibiotics followed by inhaled colistin  [PA isolations have a negative impact on a non-CF bronchiectasis patient ,135,171 ter, UK)  reportedP. aeruginosa [Despite the limited amount of data available, the main clinical guidelines recommend the use of inhaled antibiotics for treating an initial infection by ruginosa ,13.P. aeruginosa, inhaled tobramycin has achieved a temporary eradication in some cases [As regards CBI by me cases ,180,181 me cases ,179,180,me cases ,181, a dme cases . A contrme cases  found reP. aeruginosa), reported a slower decline in lung function and improvements in the quality of life, without any reduction in the rate of hospitalizations. Another small, uncontrolled retrospective study [The first published study on colistin, in 18 people  . It obseed study  showed aP. aeruginosa, the geographical locations in countries with distinct cultures and health systems, the varying times and proportions of people with macrolides, the absence of reliable methods for measuring adherence to treatment, and differences in the definitions of exacerbation, in the numbers of previous exacerbations, and in the antibiotic schedules and nebulization systems.The combination of colistin and tobramycin has been associated with shorter hospital stays and a need for antibiotic treatments, as opposed to monotherapy . StudiesP. aeruginosa suggest that there are reasonable grounds for their use, and accordingly this is recommended in the main guidelines [Although the clinical benefits of inhaled antibiotics have not been as consistent in bronchiectasis as they have been in CF, the general consensus is that the negative repercussions and high prevalence of idelines ,155.P. aeruginosa accounts for 4\u201315% of all the PPM capable of inducing CBI in COPD [P. aeruginosa, multiple courses of systemic antibiotics or steroids, more advanced disease, bronchiectasis, current smoking habit, and a previous stay in an intensive care unit [P. aeruginosa and poor outcomes in people with COPD is more controversial. Jacobs et al. prospectively studied 181 people with COPD, 40% of whom had PA isolation. Both the first isolation and multiple isolations of P. aeruginosa were linked to higher mortality [P. aeruginosa is not associated with higher mortality in people with COPD. As regards exacerbations, Rosell et al. [P. aeruginosa was associated with a greater number and severity of exacerbations, regardless of the bacterial load. However, Murphy et al. [P. aeruginosa  was associated with an increased incidence of exacerbations. More recently, Ekl\u00f6f et al. [P. aeruginosa, and they found that P. aeruginosa strongly and independently predicted an increased risk of hospitalization and all-cause death. However, some of the analyses of the exacerbations and mortality related to P. aeruginosa obtained their microbiological samples during an exacerbation period [Cross-sectional studies have shown that  in COPD ,194. Mulare unit ,197,198.ortality  concludel et al. , after py et al.  concluden period ,207,208.P. aeruginosa is a marker of disease severity or a cause of exacerbations and rapid deterioration in people with COPD. Although there is still no clear answer to this question, Martinez-Solano et al. [P. aeruginosa found in COPD has a frequent turnover of different clones distinct from that found in CF , with the mucoid form being most frequent.One of the most interesting debates at the moment is whether o et al.  have proo et al. , which sA better understanding of the influence of PA infection on COPD morbidity and mortality in outpatients, and the experience gained from treating both bronchiectasis and CF, would help us to implement specific therapies and new procedures for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of PA infection in people with COPD.P. aeruginosa in bronchiectasis and people with COPD but only a few have evaluated the isolation of bacterial pathogens in the respiratory secretions of people with asthma. People with severe asthma can present both bronchiectasis and CBI by various pathogens, but they are often not subjected to a microbiological study, thereby complicating the management of their disease and hindering a successful therapy [P. aeruginosa the development of bronchiectasis. People with coexisting bronchiectasis and asthma tend to be older, with a longer duration of asthma, greater airway inflammation and functional decline, more frequent exacerbations and, therefore, greater disease severity [Many studies have been published on CBI by  therapy ,211. In severity ,218,219.severity . The respiratory microbiome has been shown to play an important role in the response of people with asthma response to treatment. A study by Durack et al. observed that people who responded badly to inhaled corticoids had greater dysbiosis in the respiratory microbiome, while those who responded favorably had a respiratory microbiome similar to that of healthy controls .P. aeruginosa also proved to be a predictor of mortality (OR: 1.67 1.35\u20132.06). Dimakou et al. [P. aeruginosa and H. influenzae. All the people with pathogens in their sputum had bronchiectasis, and this group was also taking more antibiotics than the group without bronchiectasis. Mao et al. [P. aeruginosa in the respiratory secretions of 19.7% of the 214 adults under study . Zhang et al. [P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. The presence of positive cultures was associated with a longer duration of asthma and exacerbations in the previous year. Overall, few studies have evaluated bacterial isolations in the sputum of people with asthma. One study undertaken by S\u00e1nchez-Mu\u00f1oz et al.  analyzedu et al.  studied o et al.  investigg et al.  studied Padilla et al.  studied P. aeruginosa in 19%. The presence of bronchiectasis and the use of high doses of corticoids to treat ABPA  were the factors that predisposed these people to respiratory infections. Another study by Tomomatsu et al. [P. aeruginosa and a further 6 (24%) CBI by atypical microbacteria. They all received treatment with moderate or high doses of inhaled corticoids, and two-thirds of them also received systemic corticoids. However, no other reports of such a high prevalence of concomitant infection in people with asthma and ABPA have been published outside Japan. This could be because the people were more elderly and the appearance of ABPA later in life made them more vulnerable to chronic respiratory infections.The isolation of bacteria in the respiratory secretions of people with asthma has also been associated with the presence of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) . A studyu et al.  evaluateIn short, few studies to date have investigated the isolations of bacterial pathogens in the sputum of people with asthma. There have been increasing reports, however, of bronchiectasis in these adults, mainly in elderly people with long-term asthma and poorer control of the disease, as well as a weaker functional state. Analysis of the presence of bacterial pathogens in these adults\u2019 sputum could be a worthwhile field of exploration for improving the management and evolution of their disease.P. aeruginosa and chronic respiratory diseases (particularly COPD and non-CF bronchiectasis) has answered some questions, but these publications have also opened up new issues that need to be tackled in the coming years [P. aeruginosa is merely a marker of the severity of non-CF bronchiectasis and COPD, or whether it causes an increase in the number of exacerbations. If the latter is the case, then early treatment could prevent these exacerbations and improve the prognosis. We also do not know whether their poor prognosis is necessarily mediated by the presence of exacerbations, or whether it is worsened by CBI by P. aeruginosa when people present few exacerbations, or none at all. An answer to this question could also open up possibilities of early treatment for people with CBI since at the moment some guidelines recommend that CBI should only be treated in the presence of exacerbations. Another point that has yet to be clarified is whether CBI by P. aeruginosa in people with COPD has the same clinical, prognostic, and therapeutic implications, regardless of any association with bronchiectasis.The progressive increase in studies on the relationship between ng years . Large-sWith respect to asthma, we need to establish whether the concept of CBI is applicable here, as this would involve stronger symptoms and a poorer clinical evolution. If this was the case, it would, therefore, be necessary to define the patient phenotype, or degree of asthma severity, that would mark the threshold for conducting studies aimed at diagnosing CBI.P. aeruginosa by people with bronchiectasis and COPD in hospital settings [P. aeruginosa will present a better or worse prognosis or a higher or lower number of exacerbations. Ideally, these biomarkers should also enable us to determine the effectiveness of treatment for exacerbations. Advances of this kind would allow us to introduce personalized management of adults with CBI.Furthermore, in the light of the growing threat of CBI by resistant bacteria, healthcare administration needs to take into account the possibility of transmission of settings , as has settings ,229. Thesettings ,155. SimFinally, further studies are required to determine whether the progressive development and standardization of techniques for identifying the pulmonary microbiome  can impr"}
+{"text": "Phloeotribus rhododactylus feeds mainly on the shrub Cytisus scoparius. Other host plants include Spartium junceum, Cytisus sp., Ulex europaeus, Calicotome sp., Coronilla emeroides, Genista florida, Adenocarpus complicatus, and Ficus carica. Phloeotribus rhododactylus seems to have a stable range that is centred in Western Europe and extends to Eastern Europe. Its abundance is highest in Western Europe and decreases to the east, which coincides with the distribution of the host tree, Cytisus scoparius. Even though Cytisus scoparius is an invasive plant in agricultural and natural ecosystems out of Europe, Phloeotribus rhododactylus has not been found in any of the areas invaded by Cytisus scoparius.The abundance of bark beetles is generally explained by resource-related parameters. The bark beetle Phloeotribus rhododactylus feeds mainly on the shrub Cytisus scoparius. The range of P. rhododactylus extends from Spain in the south to southern Sweden, Denmark, and Scotland in the north. Its range to the east extends to Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, but single localities are known further east in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. It is clear that the range of the beetle matches that of its main host. C. scoparius is adapted to Mediterranean and coastal climates, and its range is limited by low winter temperatures. P. rhododactylus is, therefore, rare in Central Europe. It infests either individuals of C. scoparius that have been damaged by mammalian herbivores or snow or that are drought-stressed. Although C. scoparius is an invasive plant in agricultural and natural ecosystems, P. rhododactylus has not been found in any of the areas where C. scoparius has invaded.The bark beetle  Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) includes both bark and ambrosia beetles and represents species of major economic and ecological importance in forests worldwide ,2. Most Although weakened trees  are highly attractive to Scolytinae, healthy trees are rarely attacked , and lesThe absolute majority of Scolytinae beetles perforate the bark of trees and dig galleries near the cambium, but bark and ambrosia beetles differ in their feeding strategies. Bark beetles are mostly monophagous or oligophagous species that feed directly on phloem tissues , whereas ambrosia beetles are polyphagous species that feed on fungi that they introduce and cultivate in their galleries  and on xylem ,9,10,11.Phloeotribus rhododactylus  because information on its hosts was lacking [Scolytinae have been studied more than any other group of forest insects, but most investigations have been restricted to only a few pest species; see . The abu lacking .Phloeotribus rhododactylus feeds mainly on the shrub Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link, 1822. Other host plants include Spartium junceum L., 1753; Cytisus sp., Ulex europaeus L., 1753; Calicotome sp.; Coronilla emeroides Boiss. & Spruner, 1843; Genista florida L., 1759; Adenocarpus complicatus (L.) J. Gay ex Gren. & Godr., 1848; and Ficus carica L., 1753 [. This bark beetle was previously reported to occur mainly in Western Europe and, to a lesser degree, in Central Europe, where its occurrence diminishes to the east [C. scoparius is known to occur in most areas in Central Europe, P. rhododactylus has been considered rare in Central Europe [L., 1753 ,16,17. Tthe east . Althougl Europe . P. rhododactylus in Europe and to determine whether it remains rare in the Czech Republic. The objectives of the current study were to summarize the occurrence of Phloeotribus rhododactylus feeds under the bark of the branches of Cytisus scoparius, Spartium junceum, and other shrubs. The larval corridors are long and sparse. It has only one generation per year. It flies in May, the larvae mature during the summer, and new beetles hatch at the end of the summer. The new beetles remain where they hatch for an extended period of maturation feeding and then overwinter [www.cnspg.cz/mince/index.php).erwinter . The exiP. rhododactylus. The spriroacetal, (E)-conophthorin, which has previously been reported from Hylesinus varius  [Taphrorychus bicolor  [P. rhododactylus. The antennae of P. rhododactylus, however, provided no clues about P. rhododactylus pheromones due to experimental difficulties with antennal preparation [Little is known about the pheromone communication of s, 1775)  and Tapht, 1793) , was ideparation .Phloeotribus rhododactylus may be a vector of the fungus Geosmithia langdonii , although the latter authors studied only one specimen of the beetle [e beetle .Geosmithia sp. is a yeast and is found much less frequently in bark beetles in comparison with other yeasts or ophiostomatoid fungi [Geosmithia sp. is also able to produce enzymes that can degrade lignocellulose-like substances [id fungi . Geosmitbstances . The yeabstances ,27. At tbstances . In contbstances .Overall, yeasts are important to bark beetles; i.e., they affect beetle competitiveness and production of semiochemicals, serve as a food supplement, and influence the distribution of microorganisms that can affect the beetles in the subcortical environment ,31. YeasCytisus scoparius, the common broom or Scotch broom, is a perennial leguminous shrub native to all Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East [C. scoparius typically grow to 1\u20133 m (3.3\u20139.8 ft) tall, rarely to 4 m (13 ft), with main stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) thick, rarely 10 cm (3.9 in). The shrubs have green shoots with small deciduous trifoliate leaves 5\u201315 mm long, and in spring and summer, they are covered in profuse golden yellow flowers 20\u201330 mm from top to bottom and 15\u201320-mm wide.dle East . Plants This species is adapted to Mediterranean and coastal climates, and its range is limited by cold winter temperatures. Especially the seeds, seedlings, and young shoots are sensitive to frost, but adult plants are hardier, and branches affected by freezing temperatures regenerate quickly ,40,41.C. scoparius is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils at low altitudes, tolerating very acidic soil conditions [C. scoparius is an invasive plant in agricultural and natural ecosystems. In France, it is often considered an occupying species that preferentially colonizes abandoned pastures [nditions . In somenditions . Over sopastures .P. rhododactylus has been already known in Western and Central Europe for a long time. In most countries, the first records date back to the 1950s, and only in few countries has it been reported later in the second part of the 20th century  in the south and to southern Sweden, Denmark, and Scotland in the north. The range to the east extends to Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, but single localities are known further to the east in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece . Although C. scoparius is found almost everywhere, its distribution is uneven, and the sizes (areas) of the stands are not known. We suspect that large areas of C. scoparius, especially large areas that are near other large areas, have an increased probability of containing P. rhododactylus. The absence of large stands of C. scoparius in eastern Czech Republic probably explains the absence of P. rhododactylus in that part of the country (J. Holu\u0161a observ.).C. scoparius branches in each of the 15 localities in which C. scoparius occupied more than 0.1 ha. P. rhododactylus occurrence was determined based on the presence of galleries , in 2020, the first author inspected more than 10 weakened or dead alleries A and exialleries B. Rods wcalities D at altin region . Under sn region ,101.Phloeotribus rhododactylus seems to have a stable range that is centred in Western Europe and extends to Eastern Europe. Its abundance is highest in Western Europe and decreases to the east, which coincides with the distribution of the host tree, C. scoparius. P. rhododactylus is a rare species in Central Europe. It occupies trees or shrubs that have been damaged or that are drought-stressed. It is possible that weak pheromone communication and weak interactions with fungi also contribute to its rare occurrence.P. rhododactylus can apparently be explained by resource-related parameters.As is the case for abundance of most bark beetles , the abu"}
+{"text": "The lecture will be given by the2019 Baltes Award recipient, Allison Bielak, PhD, FGSA, of Colorado State University. The recipient of the2020 Baltes Award is William J. Chopik, PhD. The Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology recognizes outstanding early-career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology. The award is generously funded by the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation."}
+{"text": "Testudines, being assessed the serum biochemistry profiles, and body and tail biometry of Trachemys scripta elegans and Trachemys dorbignyi bred in interaction in the semiarid region of the S\u00e3o Francisco river valley.This study aimed to assess fundamental biochemical values of healthy animals and to provide useful data on comparative physiologies of Serum biochemistry variables , and biometry values of the body (mass [body mass (BM)], maximum curvilinear length [carapace length (CL)], and width [carapace width (CW)] of the carapace, maximum curvilinear length [plastron length (PL)], and width [plastron width PW] of the plastron), and the tail  were measured after 24 h fasting.T. s. elegans displayed higher BM, CL, CW, PL, PW, AST, TP, albumin, and globulin values. T. dorbignyi displayed higher values of glucose, TLT, and PrCL. Variables aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total protein (TP) in T. s. elegans and glucose in T. dorbignyi explained most of the variance between the species and could serve to distinguish them.T. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi shall be explained by biometric variables, AST, TP, and glucose, which characterize interspecific differences. Our results point out terms of reference for these species bred in captivity in the semiarid region of Brazilian Northeastern region and serve as a model for the comparative intra- and inter-species physiology and as a base for the health assessment of these species.We conclude that most of the differences between  Trachemys scripta elegans is a native species from the south of USA, and Northern Mexico. In Brazil, it is considered as an exotic and invading species, being, at the same time, the most frequently commercialized as a \u201cpet.\u201d The illegal dissemination of the species is a problem that has been described in many countries, which includes it at the top of the 100 worst invasive species in the world ) and width (carapace width [CW]) maximums of carapace; and length (plastron length [PL]) and width (plastron width [PW]) maximums of plastron  and included aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), creatinine, urea, glucose, TP, total globulin, albumin, and albumin to globulin ratio (A/G ratio). The TP was measured by the modified biuret method and spectrophotometric reading at 550 nm. Albumin was determined by the modified bromocresol green method and spectrophotometric reading at 630 nm. Total globulin value was calculated by the difference between the values of these variables and, after this, the A/G ratio was calculated. Serum activities of AST and ALT were obtained by the modified Bowers & McComb method and UV/IFCC Kit for determination of total creatine kinase in serum sample, with spectrophotometric reading at 340 and 405 nm, respectively. Creatinine was assessed by end-point reaction using the enzymatic method and spectrophotometric reading at 546 nm. The glucose concentration was measured using the glucose liquiform\u00ae commercial kit .The biochemical analyses were carried using commercial kits (Labtestwww.cran.r-project.org).Descriptive analyses of the mean\u00b1standard error (SE) were performed. Student\u2019s t-test (a=5%) was used to assess the differences among the results of the samples for the studied species. The F test to identify if the variances are homogeneous was performed before Student\u2019s t-test. To establish the limits of each species for biochemical parameters, confidence intervals were constructed for the averages (a=5%). BiPlot analysis with principal components was used to determine which biochemical parameters are responsible for the greater explanation of the variance found, and thus to be able to differentiate the species. A radar chart was drawn to describe the biochemical profiles of the species graphically. Statistical analyses were performed using the software R 3.3.1. , confidence intervals, and differences between groups is reported in T. s. elegans displayed a larger size (p<0.05) in comparison with T. dorbignyi. In this last species, only the parameters TLT and PrCL were higher (p<0.05) than in the former. PoCL displayed no significant differences between the species  [T. dorbignyi seems to have suffered from the competition with T. s. elegans in relation to food sources and perhaps even hunting pressure, since it presented BM, CL, CW, PL, and PW values similar to those of males of the same species bred in the extreme south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul [T. s. elegans presents great adaptive capacity and invasive power, needing only standing water, a place for sunbathing, and a climate without extreme variations for its adaptation, as provided during this study.We suppose that regular supply and quality of food in captivity fostered the growth of  Brazil) . In conte do Sul . These rT. s. elegans were included in this interval, but they were higher than those of Caretta caretta [Chelonia mydas [T. dorbignyi, AST mean values were excluded of this interval and were significantly lower (p<0.05) than those in T. s elegans. As both species were housed in the same environment and submitted to the same handling and feeding, we shall infer, the lower AST values in T. dorbignyi are due to interspecific differences.Analysis of the AST is not deemed to be a specific test, once it is found in all tissues in reptiles, with the highest concentration in liver and muscles. Its increase shall be observed in generalized diseases infectious and toxic hepatitis, biliary obstruction, cirrhosis and hepatic steatosis, hemolysis, selenium/Vitamin E deficiency, and intense muscular exercise . In sea  caretta ,22, and ia mydas . These dia mydas , and amoia mydas , such asT. s. elegans. It is believed that heat stress may have caused some tissue damage and increased the ALT levels [T. dorbignyi. The AST/ALT ratio in this species ranged from 0.87 to 0.94, suggesting the presence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [T. s. elegans the AST/ALT ratio ranged from 6.82 to 13.89, which seems to be indicative of liver fibrosis [C. caretta [C. mydas [On the other side, ALT is a more specific marker of hepatic lesions. As being more concentrated in the hepatocytes than in other tissues, it is used in the control of hepatopathies, lung abscesses, and carbon compounds poisoning . The varT levels  in T. doepatitis . On the fibrosis . As comp caretta , and lowC. mydas .TLT and PoCL are relevant for the evaluation of sexual dimorphism in both studied species, being this measure in males higher and less, respectively, than in females . These cT. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi. High urea value shall be observed in case of high protein diet, or due to excretion renal rate or the conditions of the liver of the animals [Kinosternon scorpioides [C. caretta [C. mydas [T. s. elegans displayed a positive correlation between the concentration of urea and BM, TLT, and PrCL. In T. dorbignyi, urea concentration was positively correlated only to PrCL. This datum had never been described earlier in the literature. PrCL measurement is usually higher in males to ease the accommodation of the penis in the cranial portion of the tail, and to benefit its exposition and introduction inside of the female cloaca.Ureotelic species, such as reptiles, have the end product of nitrogen metabolism, uric acid instead of urea; thus, most reptiles present normal values for urea of <15 mg/dL . However animals . The mearpioides , but low caretta  and C. mC. mydas . T. s. eT. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi had similar mean creatinine concentrations, and in both, the values were lower than 1.0 mg/dL, as expected in reptiles [C. caretta [C. mydas [T. dorbignyi, we observed a positive correlation between creatinine concentration and muscular mass. This finding has been observed because plasma creatinine derived from the catabolism of the creatinine which is present in the muscular tissue, thus the concentration of plasma creatinine decreases in case of atrophy of the muscular tissue or associated diseases, or in case of prolonged or intense physical exercises. The significant positive correlation between creatinine and BM, CL, CW, PL, PW, and PoCL in T. dorbignyi allowed us to infer that the values of serum creatinine in females are higher than in males, as females of this species are larger [T. dorbignyi were in competition with T. s. elegans for food sources and/or suffering hunting pressure for them.reptiles , having reptiles . The mea caretta , and mucC. mydas . In T. de larger  and haveT. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi agree with the values considered normal in reptiles (3.0-8.0 mg/dL) [T. s. elegans could be associated with interspecific differences. The mean TP values observed in T. s. elegans were like those of K. scorpioides [C. caretta [T. dorbignyi presented mean values similar to those of C. caretta [Total serum protein (TP) values observed in both 0 mg/dL) . As bothrpioides  and high caretta ,22. T. d caretta ,22. Thes caretta .T. s. elegans, which presented concentrations slightly higher than those of C. caretta [C. mydas [T. dorbignyi was lower than that described in C. caretta [C. caretta [The main function of albumin produced in the liver is to stabilize the level of fluids inside the vessels. In healthy reptiles and mammals, albumin represents the main protein fraction . The ave caretta ,22 and lC. mydas . The con caretta ,22 and h caretta . The litT. s. elegans were significantly higher than in T. dorbignyi. These values were similar [C. caretta and lower than those of C mydas [T. s. elegans and in T. dorbignyi, globulin was higher than albumin so that the differences in the PT values reflected the variations occurred in this fraction, in agreement with previous findings [Globulin is determined from the difference between TP and albumin. When the concentration of globulin is high, it inhibits the synthesis of albumin in the liver to maintain the blood protein concentration constant, and, as a consequence, maintain the osmotic pressure constant. As observed with albumin and TP, the serum values of the globulin in  similar  or highe similar  than tho C mydas . In bothfindings . The posfindings .T. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi, which was similar to the results obtained in C. caretta [C. mydas [We observed no significant difference in A/G ratio between  caretta , slightl caretta  and sligC. mydas .T. dorbignyi displayed mean glucose values significantly higher than those of T. s. elegans, and higher than those of K. scorpioides [C. caretta [T. s. elegans  and T. dorbignyi  are representative of the general population of these species. The intervals we described in T. s. elegans are quite similar to those of C. mydas during rehabilitation  [T. dorbignyi (229.30-558.20 mg/dL), and in just 11% (3/28) of T. s. elegans (200.60-209.20 mg/dL). Similar ALT values in both the species ruled out the hypothesis of Type 2 DM, suggesting that the higher values of glucose we observed in T. dorbignyi could be associated with the differences in the metabolic response and stresses associated with the competition for foods, and hunting pressure caused by T. s. elegans.rpioides  and C. c caretta . Conside; 145.0) . The ser; 145.0) . Acute s; 145.0) ,31 and v; 145.0) . In thisT. s. elegans, AST and TP values were higher, with lower glucose levels, and in T. dorbignyi, AST and TP were lower, with higher levels of glucose. In turn, the radar chart of the biochemical profile (T. s. elegans and glucose in T. dorbignyi.The biplot analysis of the main component  highligh profile  highlighT. s. elegans and T. dorbignyi. This work is the first one on biochemical parameters for these two species bred in captivity in the semiarid Northeastern region of Brazil in an interaction situation. The biochemical variables AST, TP, and glucose explained most of the variability between the two species: Higher levels of AST and TP in T. s. elegans, and of glucose in T. dorbignyi. These values were influenced by biometric differences, interspecific metabolic response and, in the case of glucose, also by the stress caused by the invasive power and hunting pressure caused by T. s. elegans. The results of this research may serve as a model for the comparative physiology inside and among species and may serve as a base of study for these species. These findings may, therefore, be used to identify biochemical disturbances and to follow physiologic adaptations required to the animals to face environmental changes.The results of this study culminated with the establishment of reference intervals of serum biochemical variables for the species AG: Substantial contribution to the concept and design of the study; contribution to data collection, interpretation, and contribution to manuscript preparation and critical revision. VNS: Substantial contribution to data collection, and contribution to manuscript critical revision. MDF: Contribution to data collection and critical revision. MMQ; ACC; ICP: Substantial contribution to data collection and data analysis. FMC: Substantial contribution to the statistical data analysis and interpretation and critical revision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "T. gondii) infection and suicide are contradictory. This paper aimed to resolve this uncertainty by conducting a meta-analysis.Findings on the association between Toxoplasma gondii  higher than those without this infection. The test for publication bias was not statistically significant, which indicates the absence of likely publication bias.Out Of 150 initial studies, 15 were included in the meta-analysis. Odds of suicide in people with T. gondii infection is a potential risk factor for suicide. To reduce cases of suicide attributable to T. gondii infection, it is recommended to implement some measures to prevent and control the transmission of the disease.This study confirms that  Suicide, as one of the major health threats for humans, leads to more than 800,000 deaths globally each year, such that one person per second dies from suicide. Therefore, suicide accounts for 1.5% of all deaths [Many risk factors increase the risk of suicide. The mental disorders, misuse of drugs, mental states, cultural factors, family, and social and genetic conditions elevate the risk of suicide .Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is one of the most common parasites in humans. This parasite exists in approximately one-third of the world\u2019s population and also more than 40 million people in the United States [T. gondii -contaminated food, vegetable, water, and muscle cysts present in undercooked meat and also congenital infection is the most common route of disease transmission [T. gondii in the skeletal muscle and brain tissue, leading to psychiatric complications [T. gondii infection may lead to changes in the behavior of its hosts [T. gondii infection may cause reduced Intelligence Quotient (IQ) [T. gondii infection affects the behavior of humans, such that recent clinical data demonstrate that T. gondii infection antibody may play a role in the pathophysiology of suicide. The studies documented that these elevated levels of cytokines are associated with depression and suicide [d States , 4. The smission \u20137. Infecsmission , 9. Thissmission \u201312. Moreications . The tacications . It has ts hosts , 4. It hent (IQ) , personaent (IQ) , and psyent (IQ) . T. gond suicide .T. gondii infection and suicide are not consistent. While some studies claim that there is no association between suicide and T. gondii infection [T. gondii infection and suicide, we may identify persons with an increased probability of suicide and thus find ways to prevent it.However, the results of the studies on the association of nfection , 19, somnfection . One of T. gondii infection with suicide and to evaluate whether T. gondii is associated with the risk of suicide or not.The present study aimed to provide a summary estimate for the association of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) tool was applied to conduct this study.The protocol was registered in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (No. 9710256386).T. gondii infection (as a predictor) and suicide (as outcome) in all age and sex groups of the population. In this process, we did not set any time limitation on the selection of the studies.Based on Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study type (PICOS) principles, we selected the analytical studies  that reported an association between Medline, ISI, and Scopus databases were searched to retrieve the related studies up to 25 March 2019. Moreover, we searched the reference list of the screened studies to find the missed studies.T. gondii  were used to construct a search strategy for each database. In Pubmed, we searched for studies using Mesh terms. In Scopus, the search was done on title, abstract, and keyword. In Web of Sciences, the studies were searched based on the topic.Two major keywords including suicide  AND T. gondii with a suicide. Two independent reviewers searched the databases and then screened the title, abstract, and full text of the studies to choose the relevant studies. The disagreement between the two reviewers was resolved by a third person.We selected those studies that assess the association of An EXCEL sheet was designed to extract the required data of the selected studies. The sheet included the name of the first author, year of publication, country of the study, age, sex, sample size, and effect size of the association.Newcastle and Ottawa statement (NOS) checklist was applied to assess the quality of the studies.Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) was determined as the effect size for this study.2 statistics and chi-square tests were used to assess the existence of heterogeneity among the studies.The final selected studies were included in the meta-analysis. A random-effect approach was used to combine the studies and produce one single estimate. IWe used Egger and Begg test to investigate publication bias in reporting the results.Figure\u00a0T. gondii infection with a suicide, and eight studies did not find any significant relationships between T. gondii infection and suicide. By contrary, one study found a protective association between T. gondii and suicide.Table\u00a0The strongest and the weakest associations were reported by Dickerson (2.41) and Okusaga (1.14), respectively.T. gondii infection and suicide was 1.43 , which is statistically significant  in assessing the existence of publication bias, indicating the absence of publication bias in the study.The Begg test was not statistically significant (2 test demonstrated a moderate heterogeneity (I2\u2009=\u20090.71). Therefore, we used a random-effect model to perform the meta-analysis. In addition, Beg\u2019s test was not significant, which indicate absence of publication bias (P\u2009=\u20090.26).Examining the degree of heterogeneity among studies using the IT. gondii infection with suicide using ecological studies. This study showed that after adjusting potential confounders, there is a significant association between seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and suicide rate among European countries [In the qualitative phase, one study assessed the association of ountries .T. gondii infection and suicide. Combining the results of 15 eligible studies, we confirmed that developing T. gondii infection may increase the risk of suicide by 43%. Therefore, individuals with T. gondii infection had higher probability to suicide than without T. gondii infection. Although, strength of the obtained risk in our study is not very substantial, it is a remarkable risk should be considered.In this paper, we presented the result of meta-analysis for the association of T. gondii infection with mood disorders such as schizophrenia [T. gondii is associated with mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, suicide attempt, depression, and other neuropsychiatric diseases [T. gondii with Suicide rates in women, it revealed that there is a positive association between rates of infection with T. gondii and suicide in 20 European countries and suicide is more common in women of postmenopausal age [The literature has been provided the evidence for existence of association of ophrenia , bipolarophrenia , 34 and ophrenia . In a rediseases . Moreoveusal age  .T. gondii infection with behavioral changes well. After proliferation of this protozoan parasite in different organs during the acute phase, the parasite preferentially forms cysts in the brain and establishes a chronic infection that is a balance among parasite\u2019s evasion of the immune response and host immunity. Different cells of brain, such as neurons and astrocytes, can be infected. In laboratory surveys using non-brain cells have showed deep effects of the infection on gene expression of host cells, containing molecules that increase the immune response and those involved in signal transduction pathways, suggesting that similar effects could happen in infected cells of brain. T. gondii infection also appears to affect signaling pathways in the brain. Consequently, chronic infection reactivation with the parasite (rupture of cyst and proliferation of tachyzoites) in the brain may play a role in the onset of the disease [T. gondii act on suicide behavioral through two pathways: disturbance in dopamine synthesis and activation of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) that reduce amount of serotonin in brain [T. gondii compared with those without a suicide [T. gondii antibodies and suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenia, which is consistent with reports on associations between T. gondii and suicidal behavior in patients with mood disorders [T. gondii infection plays a role in the higher later occurrence of suicide in lifespan [T. gondii infection and suicide is reinforced by the relative tropism of T. gondii cysts in greater density in the amygdala nucleus or the frontal cortex, which are normally involved in regulating behavior [T. gondii and suicidal behavior. First, T. gondii induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines  by activating lymphocytes and macrophages [T. gondii [T. gondii, cytokines are produced, leading to an increase in the activity of enzymes kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) and indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO). In the metabolism of the amino acid tryptophan, KMO and IDO are restricted. Tryptophan evacuation via the kynurenine pathway  limits the growth and spread of infection [The studies explained the mechanism of association of  disease . In factin brain . The stu suicide . Moreoveisorders , overallisorders , 31. T. behavior . The folrophages . Interfe. gondii . In respnfection . Moreovenfection . Changesnfection , 43. Finnfection , 44.T. gondii infection with suicide, especially on mechanisms of pathogenesis of T. gondii infection in suicidal behavior in required. Furthermore, updating the review articles about T. gondii infection and suicidal behavior without time and language limitations is suggested.In this study, we had several limitations. One major limitation of the present study is that we just included English language studies and overlooked non-English ones. Therefore, we cannot assess the effect of non-English studies on our results. Second, we included only studies had full text, and therefore, we excluded the studies without full text. However, it seems that more investigations on the association of T. gondii infection in a suicide. Therefore, considering the consequences and complications of T. gondii infection such as suicide, control, prevention, and its treatment, this parasitic infection must be highly considered.Despite the mentioned limitation, this study provides important clues to inform policy-makers about the serious role of T. gondii infection and a suicide. T. gondii significantly increases the risk of a suicide. Therefore, to reduce the risk of the suicide associated with T. gondii, it is recommended to take some measures to prevent and control of transmission of T. gondii.Our study is the first meta-analysis and systematic review to assess the association of"}
+{"text": "This corrigendum serves to recognise the contribution of Dr. Mark Lammers, who was erroneously not given authorship in the original version of the paper. Lammers. This corrigendum does not, however, alter the authorship of the species itself.In a recent publication , Dr. Mar"}
+{"text": "There are errors in the Competing Interests statement. The correct Competing Interests statement is as follows: C. Lamirel, N. Valin, J. Savatosky, A.-S. Alonso, J.-P. Vincensini, L. Salomon and I. Cochereau have no disclosures to report. F.-X. Lescure has received funding for lectures from Gilead Sciences and MSD France; and to travel to meetings from MSD France, Astellas and Eumedica. P. Girard has received support to travel to meetings and accommodations from Bayer and Leo Pharma. P.-M. Girard has received honoraria for participation on international advisory boards from Gilead, ViiV Healthcare and Abbvie, and honoraria for speaking engagements from Janssen and BMS. A. Moulignier has received research support from the Association Nationale de Recherche sur le SIDA (ANRS), funding for lectures from Biogen Idec and Norvartis, and to travel to meetings from Biogen Idec and Teva Pharma. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare."}
+{"text": "One Health (OH) is an integrated approach, formed inclusive of using multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for humans, animals, and the environment. The increasing proximity between humans, livestock, and wildlife, and its role in the transmission dynamics of mycobacterial infections, necessitates an OH approach in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. The challenge remains as humans, livestock, and wildlife share resources and interact at various interfaces. Therefore, this review explores the potential of the OH approach to understand the impact of mycobacterial infections in Tanzania in terms of lessons learnt and future perspectives.Available literature on OH and mycobacterial infections in Tanzania was searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Articles on mycobacterial infections in Tanzania, published between 1997 to 2017, were retrieved to explore the information on OH and mycobacterial infections.The studies conducted in Tanzania had have reported a wide diversity of mycobacterial species in humans and animals, which necessitates an OH approach in surveillance of diseases for better control of infectious agents and to safeguard the health of humans and animals. The close proximity between humans and animals increases the chances of inter-specific transmission of infectious pathogens, including drug-resistant mycobacteria. In an era where HIV co-infection is also the case, opportunistic infection by environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), commonly known as mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT) may further exacerbate the impact of drug resistance. NTM from various sources have greatest potential for diverse strains among which are resistant strains due to continued evolutional changes.A collaborative interdisciplinary approach among professionals could help in solving the threats posed by mycobacterial infections to public health, particularly by the spread of drug-resistant strains. The One Health (OH) concept is a recent iteration of the One Medicine concept that was first established in the 19th and 20th centuries using the term coined by Calvin W. Schwabe (1927\u20132006) . This isThe OH concept gained momentum in 2003 during the avian influenza pandemic threat HPAI-H5N1) that killed 339 people and caused a global economic loss of an estimated USD 20 billion . The lesN1 that kThis review seeks to address the mycobacterial infection and challenges associated with its control and diagnosis through One Health approach. Further, it highlights the disease situation, lesson learnt and future perspectives in the control and prevention of mycobacterial infection in Tanzania.Mycobacterium, consisting of more than 150 well-characterized species, infects both humans and animals [M. tuberculosis complex), comprising of M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. canettii, M. africanum, M. pinnipedii, M. microti, M. caprae, (the dassie and the oryx bacillus), and the recently discovered M. mungi, are known to be causative agents of tuberculosis in animals and humans. However, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), also known as environmental mycobacteria, have gained importance in recent years due to the emergence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Other mycobacterial species, including M. leprae, M. ulcerans, and M. paratuberculosis, also pose a threat to public health.Disease surveillance using the OH approach has recently been a subject of immense interest due to the emergence of infectious diseases that might be caused by close proximity between animals and humans. The genus  animals , 8. All  animals , 10. MycMycobacterium is based on its role as the causative agent of zoonotic diseases, including tuberculosis in animals (bovine tuberculosis) and humans. Katale et al. [The public health importance of the genus e et al.  tested te et al. . Recentle et al. , 13. Howe et al. .M. tuberculosis is primarily a human pathogen with a potential for infecting a wide range of hosts, including wild animals [M. tuberculosis strains isolated from humans revealed a variety of M. tuberculosis strains with the predominance of a few successful genotypes, namely, the Central-Asian-strain (CAS), T, Latin-American-Mediterranean (LAM) and East-African-Indian (EAI) families, indicating unlinked transmission chains [M. tuberculosis population, rather than from imported strains [M. tuberculosis strains in Tanzania seems to co-exist with variations depending on the location of the samples within Tanzania. In the Tanga region of northern Tanzania, the EAI and CAS family genotypes appear to be predominant [M. tuberculosis families, is dominated by the CAS family in Dar es Salaam. Other TB strains recorded were LAM (22%) and EAI (17%). Beijing and T-family genotypes, as well as importation of strains, were suggested to be a minor problem. Nevertheless, despite the dominance of the CAS strain in Dar es Salaam and Tanzania in general, there were variations in the TB strains within M. tuberculosis families [M. tuberculosis has been reported to be found in low proportion [ animals , 15 and  animals , 17. In n chains . These s strains . This sedominant . Furtherdominant  reportedfamilies . Althougoportion , 19, itsoportion , 22 and oportion . In addioportion . The chaoportion .M. tuberculosis at an accelerated rate [M. tuberculosis strains in different regions within Tanzania might be attributed to a cosmopolitan population with frequent migration and travel [Nearly all the TB strains identified all over the world have been isolated in East Africa , an indited rate , 26, 27.d travel , 20. Thid travel .M. bovis is a multi-host pathogen capable of infecting a wide range of hosts including humans [M. bovis infections in animals have been conducted using the single comparative intradermal tuberculin test (SCITT) [M. bovis isolated from the human-animal interface areas indicated no clear evidence for recent cross-species transmission of M. bovis between humans, livestock, and wild animals in Tanzania [M. bovis isolates belonging to the SB0133 spoligotype isolated from wildlife had 45.2 and 96.8% spoligotype pattern agreement with novel SB2290 and SB2289 strains from indigenous cattle, respectively [M. bovis at the livestock-wildlife interface. This association could mean that wild animals acquire M. bovis infection from domestic animals rather than vice versa, as strains with more spacers are evolutionarily older than those with few spacers. Moreover, it was suggested that there was a spillback of M. bovis infection from wild animal reservoirs to livestock, or micro-evolutionary events of M. bovis in cattle populations in the ecosystem. It could also be argued that the observed genetic structure of M. bovis resulted from evolutionary events taking place in cattle populations outside the study area, possibly where the prevalence of the disease was higher and that the M. bovis strains were merely imported into cattle and wild animal populations in the Serengeti ecosystem [M. bovis infection due to occasional interactions such as sharing of pasture and water sources with livestock. Similarly, livestock could acquire infections from wild animals that may be reservoirs of certain transmissible diseases [g humans . Such brg humans . In Tanz (SCITT) , 31\u201335,  (SCITT) , and mol (SCITT) , 37, 38, (SCITT) . The moldiseases . In 2013M. gordonae, M. interjectum, M. intracelullare, M. sherrisii, M. avium. spp., and M. fortuitum have been found in humans [M. simiae, M. confluentis, M. neoaurum, M. nonchromogenicum, M. terrae, M. thermoresistibile, M. genavense, M. gilvum, M. intermedium, M. poriferae, M. spaghni, M. kansasii, M. gastri, M. indicus pranii, M. hibernae, M. engbaekii, M. septicum, M. arupense, M. peregrinum, M. moriokaense, M. palustre, M. goodie, M. gordonae, M. smegmatis, M. fortuitum, M. phlei, M. flavescens, and M. avium intracellulare have been isolated from indigenous cattle [M. lentiflavum and M. intracellulare have been reported in wildlife species [M. avium complex (MAC) were predominant in most of the countries, followed by M. gordonae and M. xenopi. Mwikuma et al. [M. intracellulare, which causes disease in immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent subjects [M. bovis patients and 27 (41.5%) M. tuberculosis patients [M. sherrisii and M. avium complex sequevar M. avium complex-D have been diagnosed in HIV-infected patients in northern Tanzania [Previous studies conducted in Tanzania had have reported a variety of atypical mycobacteria in culture isolates from humans , 42 and n humans , 41, 46,s cattle , 41, 44  species  reporteda et al.  also fousubjects . The memsubjects . In nortpatients . It is wM. bovis has been isolated from human in cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis [M. bovis, and 27 (41.5%) M. tuberculosis [M. bovis isolate from cattle and five isolates from human, of which there was evidence of overlap between DNA fingerprints of M. bovis between cattle and human. However, the control and prevention of zoonotic infections including mycobacteria possess a challenge due to weak surveillance systems in our local settings attributed by lack of policies harmonization and limited resources for diseases control. Therefore, there is need for synergy of veterinary and medical policies in the control of tuberculosis in our local settings [In Tanzania, rculosis , 50, livrculosis , 37, 51 rculosis , signifyThe accurate diagnosis of mycobacterial species is complicated and an ongoing problem that has passed through a number of stages, from the testing of drug susceptibility in the mid\u20131980s, to use of nucleic-acid probes in the late 1980s, nucleic acid amplification (NAA) in the mid\u20131990s, and DNA sequencing at present . These nMycobacterium. In many countries, microscopic examination techniques help in the detection of M. tuberculosis, culture-based methods are the cornerstone for diagnosis of TB, and detection of drug resistant strains is the simplest method for the presumptive diagnosis of TB [Mycobacterium. Therefore, there is an urgent need for highly sensitive, specific, and rapid diagnostic techniques that can be performed at the point of care for the identification of M. tuberculosis and NTM disease. The WHO emphasizes TB disease to be resistant to pyrazinamide - one of the standard first-line medications used to treat TB with risk for patients being often misdiagnosed and receiving ineffective treatment being not uncommon. As such WHO proposes advocacy on developing strategies to improve food safety, developing capacity of the animal health sector to reduce the prevalence of TB in livestock and identification of key populations and risks pathways for transmission of zoonotic TB to break the chain of transmission [The conventional microscopic examination, culture, and drug susceptibility testing (DST) of sputum samples are the most common diagnostic techniques for the detection of the genus is of TB . Howeversmission . Some NTsmission . Timely smission . The recsmission . Howeversmission . Thus, ssmission .Infections with mycobacteria are subjected to other challenges, including co-infection with other pathogens, development of drug resistance, and increased incidences of NTM infections both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Global incidences of mycobacterial infections have increased in recent decades due to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic. Co-infection by HIV and TB accelerates the decline of immunological functions, leading to subsequent death if left untreated . HIV infDisease epidemics of zoonotic nature including other agents than mycobacteria, can better be controlled and managed through joint OH multidisplinary approach. This has been learnt in epidemics such as Anthrax, Ebola, rabies and Rift Valley fever outbreaks where various key player involvement is necessary to put the situation under custody. The prevention and control of infectious diseases depend on the early recognition of the causative agents and a prompt response. Recently, a number of initiatives to address the various aspects of infectious disease in humans and animals have been established in Tanzania. For example, the SACIDS has been a role model for the surveillance of a variety of infectious diseases, including mycobacterial infections. It is worth noting that other OH initiatives such as One Health Central and Eastern Africa (OHCEA) and AfriqueOne have supported research activities that also focus on infectious diseases of humans and animals in Tanzania. Therefore, to advocate for the OH approach in disease surveillance, intersectoral collaboration among stakeholders, government sectors, and society are necessary to address the factors of health and well-being of humans and animals . In EastOur experience shows that the OH approach brings healthcare professionals to a common platform that could improve cooperation during the surveillance of diseases. This approach could facilitate the implementation of objectives of OH, through improvement of the status of the education system, administrative structures, and legislation . Thus, tIn conclusion, the zoonotic importance of mycobacterial infection and the possibility of co-infections with other pathogens highlights the need for collaborative efforts among professionals in terms of sharing of research and resources, to ensure cost-effective control of diseases. Therefore, it is important to establish consistent communication among professionals in order to undertake joint actions toward the prevention and control of emerging zoonotic diseases including mycobacterial infections. Moreover, universities and research institutions should take a lead to change the mindset of young scientists to reduce insularity when it comes to controlling of infectious diseases of public health importance. It is worth noting that synergy among medical, veterinary, and environmental professionals in the surveillance of diseases could reduce cost and improve information sharing. However, the main concern is whether these professionals are willing to work on a common platform, something that might necessitate a change of attitude in order to achieve the best outcome."}
+{"text": "The most common causes of loss and diarrhea in rabbit farming are nutritional errors and coccidiosis. The infection can spread rapidly throughout a breeding area, reducing the rabbit population, and causing heavy losses. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the system of animal management on the extensity and intensity of infection by Eimeria of farmed rabbits, together with the effect of the sex, age, and breed of the rabbits themselves.The study included 91 rabbits  from eight domestic  farms from Poland. The prevalence and intensity of coccidial infection were determined by the Willis-Schlaf and McMaster coprological methods. The species were determined based on oocyst morphology: Their shape, color, form index, the presence or absence of micropyle and cap, and the presence or absence of residual, polar, and Stied\u00e9 bodies.Seven species of Eimeria were isolated from the tested rabbits: Eimeria magna, Eimeria media, Eimeria perforans, Eimeria stiedae, Eimeria coecicola, Eimeria exigua, and Eimeria irresidua. Most infections were found to be of relatively low intensity. No significant differences in the extensity of Eimeria protozoan infection were observed with regard to sex. However, rabbit age had a significant influence on the extensity of infection by E. magna and of Eimerian protozoans combined. The greatest extensity was observed in rabbits aged below 6 months. For all species of Eimeria, greater extensity was observed among rabbits kept in groups than individually. The system of rabbit management also had a significant influence on the intensity of infection. Those kept in groups demonstrated a significantly higher mean intensity of infection of E. magna and all Eimeria species combined than those kept individually.Our findings indicate that Eimeria protozoa are a common occurrence on small-scale rabbit farms. As coccidiosis treatment does not always give good results, prevention is very important in the fight against this disease. It is necessary to develop a new preventive paradigm that pays special attention to the factors that promote the spread and development of infection in domestic  farms from Poland. For example, it would be recommended to use large, dry, bright rooms with access to the sun, as these are conducive to preventing the occurrence of coccidia infections. Rabbits are commonly farmed for their meat or hides; however, both juvenile and adult rabbits are subject to invasive diseases and parasite infections. Both can have varying influences on the health of the rabbits and the cost-effectiveness of their farming, and are responsible for the greatest losses. The scale of the problem depends to a certain degree on the intensity of farming, with rabbits kept at high densities being more seriously affected than those kept individually ,2.Eimeria. Coccidiosis can occur in intestinal or hepatic forms, and can quickly spread, thanks to the direct and short developmental cycle of coccidians [Eimeria. Clinical coccidiosis is characterized by apathy, chronic, or acute diarrhea, dehydration and reduced weight gain due to poor food use and decreased appetite, often resulting in death [The most common causes of loss and diarrhea in rabbit farming are nutritional errors and coccidiosis; the latter of which is caused by protozoa of the genus ccidians . Young rin death . The infThe majority of rabbits kept commercially in Poland are reared on domestic  farms. However, as such fragmentation is typically more prone to biosecurity errors, such systems are at higher risk of the parasite infection. Hence, to minimize the threat of such infection, it is important to use correct biosecurity procedures and to design and implement appropriate prophylactic programs.Eimeria of farmed rabbits, together with the effect of the sex, age, and breed of the rabbits themselves.The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the system of animal management on the extensity and intensity of infection by The tests were performed on feces samples taken from farmed rabbits. Under Polish law, this study was exempt from the need to obtain Local Ethics Committee approval.The study was conducted from September to November 2019 and included 91 rabbits  from eight domestic  farms from Poland. The rabbits were kept in cages stored in the open air, under a roof or indoors. The floors of the cages consisted of wooden grates or welded mesh. The rabbits were fed farm fodder consisting of cereals , bran, dry roughage (hay), and root crops  as well as green fodder.Feces samples were collected from each animal. For this purpose, plastic sheets were placed under the floor of the cages. Individual fecal samples were collected in plastic bags, transported to the laboratory, and stored at 4\u00b0C until analysis.The prevalence and intensity of coccidial infection were determined by the Willis-Schlaf and McMaster coprological methods .2Cr2O7) [The species were determined based on oocyst morphology: Their shape, color, form index, the presence or absence of micropyle and cap, and the presence or absence of residual, and polar and Stied\u00e9 bodies. Identification was also performed based on their time of sporulation, facilitated in a wet chamber at 24-26\u00b0C in a 2.5% aqueous solution of potassium dichromate . The influence of selected factors  on the extensity of Eimeria were isolated from the tested rabbits: Eimeria magna, Eimeria media, Eimeria perforans, Eimeria stiedae, Eimeria coecicola, Eimeria exigua, and Eimeria irresidua. Detailed data on the extensity of the infection with regard to individual species of Eimeria are presented in Seven species of Eimeria protozoan infection were observed with regard to sex. However, rabbit age had a significant influence on the extensity of infection by E. magna  and of Eimerian protozoans combined . The greatest extensity was observed in rabbits aged below 6 months , E. media , E. exigua , and of all the protozoan combined . The highest extensity was observed in New Zealand White and French Lope rabbits, and the lowest in Vienna Blue and Californian White; however, this may be due to the low number of individuals of the latter two. The system of animal management had a significant influence on the extensity of infection by E. magna , E. media , E. stiedae , E. irresidua , and all protozoa combined . For all species of Eimeria, greater extensity was observed among rabbits kept in groups than individually  was found among the females, and E. coecicola infection among the males  (Significant differences in the mean intensity of  p=0.02) .E. magna and combined Eimeria infection. Both demonstrated significantly higher intensity (p\u22640.05) among rabbits aged <6 months compared to those aged 6-12 months , while the New Zealand Whites displayed significantly higher intensity of infection for all Eimeria combined than the mixed breeds (p\u22640.05). The Vienna Blue and California White specimens infected with E. stiedae, E. coecicola, or E. exigua were not included in the statistical analysis due to the very small number of specimens   .The conditions of animal management have a significant influence on the state of infection of farmed rabbits and the course of parasite infestation -9. ParasEimeria oocysts following stool examination. However, it is not unusual to identify a small number of oocysts in rabbit feces during the microscopic examination, and their presence does not confirm the presence of disease. In addition, number of oocysts excreted by the host is not always correlated with the presence of disease. This is due to the different pathogenicity of individual Eimeria species. The pace of coccidiosis depends primarily on the age of the animal and the virulence of the coccidia species. This is confirmed by our present observations, which revealed no clinical symptoms of disease in rabbits with high-intensity infections.A diagnosis of coccidiosis is confirmed by the presence of a very large number of E. stiedae was found in 16.48% of the tested rabbits and E. perforans in 29.67%. These species are particularly dangerous for rabbits. E. perforans is known to be responsible for intestinal coccidiosis, characterized by seizures, paralysis, and the subsequent death of the animal, while E. stiedae has been linked to hepatic coccidiosis which, in severe cases, damages the liver, and bile ducts, resulting in death [in death ,12.Eimeria combined was found to be 74.72%; however, some variation has been recorded in previous studies. Ili\u0107 et al. [Eimeria extensity of 50.65%, while Elshahawy and Elgoniemy [et al. [E. stiedae infection (3.34%). Similarly, Abdel-Baki and Al-Quraishy [Eimeria in a Saudi Arabian study, and Nosal et al. [The extensity of infection for all \u0107 et al.  reportedlgoniemy  reported [et al.  reportedQuraishy  reportedl et al.  noted vaE. perforans and E. coecicola between male and female rabbits. These findings confirm those of Pakandl et al. [et al. [A significant difference was found in the infection intensity of l et al.  and Pape [et al. , who alsEimeria among sucking rabbits younger than 19 days. Coccidiosis typically affects younger rabbits aged 5-6 weeks, immediately after weaning, when the young rabbits possess low resistance to infection. The weaning phase is hence a critical period and may lead to significant losses. In addition, the strength of infection intensifies mainly during the perinatal period and before weaning, which is associated with a considerable decrease in immunity. Older rabbits are typically carriers of coccidians [et al. [The age of the rabbit also appears to have a significant influence on the extensity of infection in this study. The greatest extensity was found in rabbits under 6 months of age, and only occasional infection was observed among those aged <3 weeks. Pakandl and Hl\u00e1skov\u00e1  reportedccidians ,21-25. S [et al.  reportedEimeria infection, particularly E. magna, E. media, E. stiedae, and E. irresidua. Significantly greater extensity of infection was observed among rabbits kept in groups than those kept individually. In addition, the rabbits kept in group\u2019s also demonstrated greater mean intensity of infection by E. magna, as well as by Eimeria in general. Similarly, Okumu et al. [et al. [Eimeria protozoans due to their short developmental cycle. Sadzikowski et al. [The system of management also has a significant influence on the extensity of u et al.  also rep [et al.  noted thi et al.  reportedE. magna and all Eimeria combined than those aged 6-12 months. This is probably due to the fact that different species of rabbit coccidia parasitize different sections of the intestine, and hence the immune response to infection may differ between them [E. perforans, E. media, and E. irresidua induce changes in the duodenum and jejunum, E. magna and E. intestinalis in the iliac gut, and E. flavescens in the cecum and colon. In rabbits, OPG values below 2000 oocysts per gram of feces are considered safe [E. intestinalis, E. flavescens, and E. stiedae as the most pathogenic species, E. magna, E. irresidua, and E. piriformis as pathogenic and E. perforans, E. coecicola, and E. media as the least pathogenic.Rabbits with age below 6 months demonstrated significantly higher mean intensity of infection by een them . E. perfred safe . Varga [red safe  listed EEimeria is resistant to changes in environmental conditions and disinfectants, which almost makes it impossible to completely eliminate them; therefore, cages and water and feed containers should also be regularly cleaned and disinfected, and the feces of rabbits should be regularly checked for the presence of parasites.On small-scale farms, coccidiosis can be controlled by the systematic replacement of litter, keeping cages dry, avoiding excessive density of rabbits, using age-rearing systems, as well as by maintaining appropriate temperature and humidity in the cages, and isolating sick individuals. However, Eimeria protozoa are a common occurrence on small-scale rabbit farms. As the coccidiosis treatment does not always give good results, prevention is very important in the fight against this disease. It is necessary to develop a new preventive paradigm that pays special attention to the factors that promote the spread and development of infection in this type of farm. For example, it would be recommended to use large, dry, and bright rooms with access to the sun, as these are conducive to preventing the occurrence of coccidia.Our findings indicate that BP designed the concept of research, performed the parasitological analysis, drafted the manuscript, analyzed, and interpreted data. AT designed the concept of research, drafted the manuscript, and revised the manuscript. RP designed the concept of research, performed the statistical analysis of all data. EJ designed the concept of research and coordinated the collection of the samples. PS, BS, and PSa collected the samples and data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Veterinary World remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published institutional affiliation."}
+{"text": "COI) sequences was developed for identification of five members of the Barbirostris Complex which occur in Thailand: Anopheles barbirostris s.s., An. dissidens, An. saeungae, An. wejchoochotei and An. barbirostris species A3. Anopheles campestris was not included in the assay due to the lack of unequivocal sequences. Allele-specific primers were designed for specific nucleotide segments of COI sequences of each species. Mismatch method and addition of long GC tail were applied for some primers. The assay provided products of 706 bp for An. barbirostris s.s., 238 bp for An. dissidens, 611 bp for An. saeungae, 502 bp for An. wejchoochotei and 365 bp for An. barbirostris A3. The assay was tested using 111 wild-caught female mosquitoes from Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia (Sulawesi) and Thailand. The results of the multiplex PCR were in complete agreement with COI sequencing; however, one of three specimens from Bhutan and all 11 specimens from Indonesia were not amplifiable by the assay due to their distinct COI sequences. This, together with the distinct rDNA sequences of these specimens, suggests the presence of at least two additional new species in the Barbirostris Complex.A multiplex-PCR assay based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ( Anopheles barbirostris van der Wulp, a member of the Myzorhynchus Series of the subgenus Anopheles Meigen, was formally described in 1884 from a single female collected in eastern Java, Indonesia .Anopheles campestris, first described from specimens collected in Rantau Panjang, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia . The species . An. barCOI sequences is a reliable assay for identification of five of the six species of the Barbirostris Complex, i.e., An. barbirostris s.s., An. dissidens, An. saeungae, An. wejchoochotei and An. barbirostris species A3. In places like Thailand where An. campestris may be rare or absent, our multiplex-PCR assay is unlikely to be compromised. Further, as the two putative new species in Bhutan and Sulawesi based on distinct COI sequences were not amplified by our allele-specific primers, their presence would not compromise the validity of the test for identification of the five species for which it is designed. When applying the test to specimens from a new location, it would be advisable to do some initial DNA sequencing to make sure that only these five species are present. In some countries where the five species do not occur, modifications of the assay should be performed to detect those species that are present. However, it is understood that unrecognised species may not produce a PCR product in electrophoresis; hence, further collections, DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses are required in these cases.The multiplex PCR based on"}
+{"text": "Agrilus mali Matsumura, and the poplar pest A. fleischeri Obenberger are studied and analyzed. Based on the examination of museum collections and literature sources, the diagnostic characters to distinguish both species from their congeners are discussed, the comprehensive databases of records of the exact collecting sites are compiled, and detailed maps of their ranges are generated. Occurrence of A. mali in Japan is not confirmed. Outbreak sites of A. mali in Xinjiang most likely represent the newly forming invasion areas; their proximity to the wild apple stands in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan is a direct threat to Kazakhstan and adjacent countries. Sites damaged by A. fleischeri in Liaoning are situated within its native range; the outbreaks were likely triggered by the switch from indigenous to introduced poplars. The results of the study will facilitate the correct identification and monitoring of the pests in case of their findings in new areas.Knowledge of the diagnostic features and native ranges of invasive pests is vital for their correct identification and monitoring. In this regard, the diagnostic characters and geographical ranges of two potentially invasive Asian buprestid species: the quarantine apple tree pest, Agrilus mali Matsumura, and the poplar pest A. fleischeri Obenberger. Based on the examination of museum collections and literature sources, we compiled comprehensive databases of records of the exact collecting sites for both species and generated detailed maps of their ranges. There are 51 documented localities for A. mali in the Russian Far East and East Siberia, Mongolia, China, and the Korean peninsula, and there are 53 documented localities for A. fleischeri in the Far East and Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Japan. No evidence of the presence of A. mali in Japan was found. Outbreak sites of A. mali in Xinjiang in the 2000s most likely represent the newly forming invasion areas; their proximity to the wild apple stands in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan is a direct threat to Kazakhstan and adjacent countries. Sites damaged by A. fleischeri in Liaoning are situated within its native range; the outbreaks were likely triggered by the switch from indigenous to introduced poplars. This situation is similar to the early stages of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) invasion.Our goal is to analyze the known geographical ranges and diagnostic features of two potentially invasive Asian buprestid species: the quarantine apple tree pest,  Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888, into North America [Agrilus Curtis, 1825 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilinae) [Agrilus anxius Gory, 1841, is a quarantine pest included on the A1 quarantine list of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization  [Agrilus, two Asian species with high outbreak and range expansion potential also attract particular attention: the quarantine pest of apple and some other fruit trees, an apple buprestid Agrilus mali Matsumura, 1924, and the poplar pest A. fleischeri Obenberger, 1925 [Agrilus mali is on the quarantine lists of the Russian Federation, Eurasian Economic Union [Agrilus fleischeri is on the A2 list of pests recommended for regulation as quarantine pests [Knowledge of the native range of invasive pests is vital for their monitoring, understanding their biology, modeling potential invasive distribution, and searching for natural enemies for biological control programs ,2,3. Fol America ,5,6 and  America ,8,9, therilinae) , which p France) . Among rer, 1925 ,13,14. Aic Union , and EPPic Union . Agrilusne pests .Agrilus mali was originally described as a destructive pest of cultivated apple trees in Korea [A. mali was introduced in the Ili River valley  from Shandong via apple seedlings and later caused extensive tree mortality in the wild apple  Roem.) forests in the Tien Shan Mountains [Malus sieversii is a wild apple tree species native to Central Asia and distributed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Northwestern China. It is regarded as a key ancestor of the domestic apple tree [A. mali has killed millions of wild apple trees and infested more than 80% of the total area of wild apple forests in the Ili valley [A. mali in Japan [in Korea , and thein Korea , with biountains ,20,21,22ple tree ,13,22. Sin Japan ,13,23,24Agrilus fleischeri is also native to Asia but its known range is much more extensive than that of A. mali and includes West Siberia and East Kazakhstan [A. fleischeri is frequently cited as a subspecies of the well-known European poplar pest A. ater  [A. fleischeri caused severe damage in poplar tree plantations, especially the nonindigenous cultivar P. nigra var. italica in the Liaoning province of China [zakhstan ,25. In Rs, 1767) . Recentlof China .A. mali and A. fleischeri can be regarded as potential invaders posing a real threat to native and cultivated woody host plants not only within but also outside their native ranges. To develop preventive measures against their further distribution, to model possible mechanisms of invasion, and to identify effective measures of control, including biological control agents, it is necessary first to study the native ranges of potential invaders. The knowledge of diagnostic features is also crucial for the timely identification of the potential invaders.Thus, Agrilus species, we compiled databases comprising 51 localities of A. mali and 53 localities of A. fleischeri in East Eurasia, totaling 104 documented localities . Additional information on the documented localities of A. mali and A. fleischeri was compiled from the personal communications of collection curators [The sources of information were mainly the specimens deposited in the collections of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences  and the National Museum  , from the Russian Far East, China, and Japan , and we also consulted with Japanese buprestid expert Tahakaru Hattori [To confirm or exclude the presence of ications ,13,23,24 Hattori .Terminology used in the morphological descriptions follows that reported in ,45.jenissejensis Obenberger, 1924.Synonym: Sinuatiagrilus Alexeev, 1998; sinuatus species-group Jendek, Grebennikov, 2011.Taxonomic position: subgenus Diagnosis. Body A: lengthA. mali to distinguish it from other members of subgenus Sinuatiagrilus (sinuatus species-group) are the presence of three pairs of tomentose spots on elytra and an aedeagus structure. Additionally, it differs from A. sinuatus (Olivier) . Compared with A. sachalinensis Obenberger, it differs based on its smaller size and the presence of white tomentose spots on elytra. Compared with A. zhelochovtsevi Alexeev, it differs based on the presence of tomentose spots on elytra and an absolutely different aedeagus structure.Comparison. The most important diagnostic characteristics of Olivier) F\u2013J, whicA. zhelochovtsevi is a synonym of A. sinuatus sachalinensis. However, in our opinion, supported by comparison of male genital structures and external morphological characteristics, A. zhelochovtsevi, A. sinuatus, and A. sachalinensis belong to three different species, and subgenus Sinuatiagrilus needs a taxonomic revision.Note. According to Jendek ,46, A. zMalus spp.; M. domestica Borkh., M. pumila Mill., Pyrus sp. (Rosaceae) [Malus spectabilis (Aiton) Borkh., M. prunifolia (Willd.) Borkh., M. asiatica var. rinki (Koidz.) H. Ohle, M. baccata (L.) Borkh, Sorbus sp., Prunus sp. (cherry), Cydonia oblonga Mill. (Rosaceae), Emmenopterys henryi Oliv. (Rubiaceae) [Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem.  [Juglans and Salix are erroneous [Emmenopterys require verification. Data for Sorbus can refer to A. mendax Mannerheim, 1837.Host plants: osaceae) ; Malus sbiaceae) ; Malus sduction) ,13,49. Rrroneous ; referenGeneral distribution. Russia , Mongolia, China , North Korea, and South Korea .A. mali is widely distributed throughout continental East Asia, from the Russian Far East  and the Korean Peninsula  on the east to East Siberia , which is the northern part of the range; Central Mongolia  and Gansu Province of China on the west, and Sichuan province on the south. However, there are no documented localities or records from Japan. We could not find the exact localities of A. mali within some administrative units of Russia (Khabarovskii Krai) and China  although A. mali was reported from these territories [Documented distribution. As can be seen from the map compiled from 51 documented localities and records from literature sources ; Table 1ritories ,46.kochi Th\u00e9ry, 1942; fleischeri kurosawai Obenberger, 1940; fleischeri nipponicola Kurosawa, 1963; tscherepanovi Stepanov, 1954.Synonyms: Uragrilus Semenov, 1935; spinipennis species-group Jendek and Grebennikov, 2011.Taxonomic position: subgenus Diagnosis. Body A: lengthA. fleischeri is very similar to European poplar pest A. ater  , blackish coloration with white tomentose spots, presence of pygidial process, male genital structures, and some other characteristics [Comparison. In habitus, s, 1767) F\u2013J. It w species ,46. Agrieristics ,24.Populus laurifolia Ledeb., P. sieboldii Miq., Salix schwerinii E.L. Wolf  (synopsis) [Populus davidiana Dode, P. nigra var. italica Munchh. (introduced) [Host plants: ynopsis) ; Populusroduced) .General distribution ; Table 2A. fleischeri is much more extensive than that of A. mali (A. fleischeri within Amurskaya Oblast and Buryatia Republic (Russia), North Korea, and South Korea although it was reported in these territories [Documented distribution. The range of  A. mali . It exteritories ,46.A. fleischeri comes close but does not overlap with the range of European A. ater. The latter is distributed throughout almost all of Europe but its eastern limits are still poorly known. According to the materials in ZIN, the easternmost locations of this species are situated in Northwest Kazakhstan , Orenburgskaya Oblast, and near Irgizla in Bashkortostan, Russia. It can be assumed that the eastern boundaries of the A. ater range are the Ural Range and the Ural River. The identification of the specimen from North Kazakhstan [A. fleischeri than A. ater based on the findings of the first in closely situated Tyumenskaya Oblast of Russia [Note. In the westernmost part, the range of zakhstan  needs vef Russia .A. mali in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China, in which massive outbreaks in the wild apple, Malus sieversii, were observed [A. mali in the Korean Peninsula fit its native range well, which contradicts the hypothesis that it was introduced there together with the apple seedlings from Liaoning province of China [The numerous documented localities of observed ,13,20,22of China .A. mali in Japan as some sources report [We failed to find any evidence confirming the occurrence of s report ,13,23,24A. mali in the Ili River valley in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China to the indigenous stands of M. sieversii in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan means a direct threat to the forest resources of the adjacent Kazakhstan and the other countries of Central Asia.The proximity of the invasion hotspot of A. fleischeri in the Liaoning province of China [Populus davidiana) to introduced  poplars with a subsequent outbreak is more likely than invasion or range expansion. The current situation with A. fleischeri is rather similar to the early stages of the invasion of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis. First, it switched from the indigenous host on the cultivated nonresistant American ashes in Eastern China and the Russian Far East [Outbreak sites of of China  are situFar East ,51, servFar East  and the Far East ,54.Agrilus mali and A. fleischeri, are compiled based on the documented records for 51 and 53 localities, correspondingly.Distributional maps for two potentially invasive buprestid species, A. mali, is distributed over the continental East Asia from the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and the Korean Peninsula to Mongolia and Eastern Siberia; however, its occurrence in Japan is not confirmed.A dangerous quarantine pest of wild and cultivated apple trees, A. mali on Malus sieversii in Xinjiang likely represent a newly forming invasion area, which indicates the expansion of its range; their proximity to the wild apple stands in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan is a direct threat to Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.Massive outbreak sites of Agrilus fleischeri is more widely distributed in the Russian Far East and Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Japan than was assumed earlier; its westernmost limits come close but do not overlap with the range of the closely related European poplar pest A. ater.A. fleischeri in Liaoning (China) are situated within its range; the local switch from indigenous to introduced poplars is the most likely reason for the outbreak. Thus, there is no reason to claim an expansion of its native range. The situation is similar to the early stages of emerald ash borer invasion and A. fleischeri should be monitored as a potential invasion threat.Outbreak sites of"}
+{"text": "Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-019-13300-4, published online 21 November 2019.Correction to: The original version of this Article omitted from the author list the 4th and 5th authors, Grant Cox and Ross Mitchell, who were both at Curtin University. Consequently, the corrected version of the Acknowledgements removes the following from the original version: \u2018and Ross Mitchell\u2019. In addition, the following was added to the Author Contributions: \u2018G.M.C. and R.M. were involved in an early attempt of this study.\u2019. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article."}
+{"text": "Evaniidae from India have not been studied in depth and hosts of many species are unknown. Out of 31 world genera, only five genera  are reported from India. Based on the collection deposited in the Hymenoptera section of Zoological Survey of India , here we are describing a new species of the genus Zeuxevania.Taxonomy and diversity of Zeuxevaniahubenisp. nov. is described, based on a female specimen collected from Kadaludi Bird Sanctuary, Kerala, India. The new species is compared with Z.curvicarinata (Cameron), as well as Z.kasauliensis (Muzaffer) and a key to Indian species, based on females, is provided. The type specimen is deposited in the National Zoological Collection, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India.A new evaniid species  Zeuxevania was erected by Evaniadinarica Schletterer, 1886 as its type species. Two genera, Parevania and Papatuka were recently treated as junior synonyms of Zeuxevania  evenly distributed; nucha not elevated.Legs  . In comparison with Z.kasauliensis .Cameron) , but difuliensis , it diff"}
+{"text": "Ma HY and Jia J performed the experiments. Ma HY and Jia J analyzed the data. Wang C, Zhao LL, Sun Y and Li WH contributed analysis tools. Guo HQ and Zhao H provided critical inputs on design, analysis, and interpretation of the study. All the authors had access to the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript as submitted."}
+{"text": "Euphoniaaffinis at the genetic, morphological, and ecological levels. Three subspecies have been described: E.affinisgodmani, distributed in the Pacific slope from southern Sonora to Guerrero; E.affinisaffinis, from Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula to Costa Rica; and E.affinisolmecorum from Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi east to northern Chiapas (not recognized by some authors). A multilocus analysis was performed using mitochondrial and nuclear genes. These analyses suggest two genetic lineages: E.godmani and E.affinis, which diverged between 1.34 and 4.3 My, a period in which the ice ages and global cooling fragmented the tropical forests throughout the Neotropics. To analyze morphometric variations, six morphometric measurements were taken, and the Wilcoxon Test was applied to look for sexual dimorphism and differences between the lineages. Behavioral information was included, by performing vocalization analysis which showed significant differences in the temporal characteristics of calls. Finally, Ecological Niche Models were estimated with MaxEnt, and then compared using the method of Broennimann. These analyses showed that the lineage distributed in western Mexico (E.godmani) has a more restricted niche than the eastern lineage (E.affinis) and thus we rejected the hypotheses of niche equivalence and similarity. Based on the combined evidence from genetic, morphological, behavioral, and ecological data, it is concluded that E.affinis (with E.olmecorum as its synonym) and E.godmani represent two independent evolutionary lineages.The integration of genetic, morphological, behavioral, and ecological information in the analysis of species boundaries has increased, allowing integrative systematics that better reflect the evolutionary history of biological groups. In this context, the goal of this study was to recognize independent evolutionary lineages within  The integration of genetic, morphological, ecological, and behavioral data in systematic studies provides information on the evolutionary history of species and their populations, allowing a better assessment of species limits , as wellAOU (American Ornithology Union) and the IOC World Bird List .Species limits on birds have been studied using different approaches, including the use of morphological characters , coloratDNA sequences have been useful to complement morphological and geographical information. Phylogenetics, molecular clocks, diversification rates, genetic populations and coalescence analyses have documented that geological complexity, heterogeneity of the environment, and climatic oscillations may have influenced patterns of genetic diversity, demography and divergence within species . On the Euphoniaaffinis is a member of the family Fringillidae, subfamily Euphoniinae . In Mexico, the species is distributed along both slopes, from Sonora in the west and San Luis Potosi in the east, south to Central America (AOU 1998). Euphoniaaffinisgodmani Brewster, 1889 is endemic to western Mexico and is distributed from Sonora to central Guerrero. Euphoniaaffinisaffinis Lesson, 1842 is distributed from eastern San Luis Potosi, southeastern Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla and north-southwestern Oaxaca and the Yucatan Peninsula to Honduras, and on the Pacific Coast of Central America from Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica. The morphological characteristics that distinguish both subspecies are the subcaudal covert feathers, which are white in E.affinisgodmani and yellow in E.affinisaffinis in both males and females . Currently, there are no studies of intraspecific limits for the species described in Euphoniinae. However, there is morphological and biogeographic evidence that the number of species is underestimated, with several species having wide ranges of distribution and more than one morphotype. Also, E.xanthogaster of similar magnitude to that between recognized species. Taken together, these observations indicate that species limits studies in Euphoniinae are needed.honiinae . Euphonirinitiis . Like al America : fig. 1. Chiapas ; howeverEuphoniaaffinis using four types of characters, multilocus genetic data, morphometric data, behavioral, and environmental niches. Based on the allopatric distribution of subspecies E.a.affinis  and E.a.godmani (West of Mexico), as well as in the distinctive character of subcaudal feathers, we expect to recognize at least two independent evolutionary lineages that can be proposed to elevate at the species level.In the present work, we applied integrative taxonomy to identify the independent evolutionary lineages within Euphoniaaffinis subspecies using multilocus genetic data. 2) Associate the genetic variation and divergence times with historical geographic processes and barriers. 3) Describe the pattern of morphometric, behavioral, and environmental variation in Euphoniaaffinis, and associate it with genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships. Hence, our hypothesis is that multiple independent evolutionary lineages exist within the Euphoniaaffinis complex, and our objective is to define them with the integration of multilocus genetic data, morphometric, behavioral, and environmental data. Furthermore, we discuss a potential promotion of those lineages to species status.Our goals were to: 1) obtain a phylogenetic hypothesis for Euphoniaaffinisaffinis and four from E.affinisgodmani; for the outgroup we obtained one tissue sample from Chlorophoniaoccipitalis, two from Euphoniachlorotica, one from E.luteicapilla and one from Haemorhousmexicanus  following the manufacturer\u2019s protocol. We amplified five molecular markers: one mitochondrial ND2  and four nuclear genes ODC .Genomic DNA was isolated using the Qiagen DNeasyBI), using a partitioned dataset including the four nucleotide genes ODC, MUSK, GAPDH, and BRM; ND2 was partitioned by codon position  nucleotide diversities (\u03c0), and Fst. Genetic distances were obtained with MEGA 5  with TRACER v1.6  using Beast v1.8 . As poinCER v1.6 . FinallyCER v1.6 , we did CER v1.6 .https://github.com/almamelisa/Euphonia-affinis-complex): Museo de Zoolog\u00eda Alfonso L. Herrera (UNAM), Colecci\u00f3n Nacional de Aves-Instituto de Biolog\u00eda (UNAM), Moore Laboratory of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Louisiana Museum of Natural History, Academy of Natural Sciences, Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Delaware Museum of Natural History. The morphometric measurements , bill width (BW), bill depth , wing chord , tarsus length (TL), and tail length . All measurements were taken only by the first author to avoid bias in the process using a dial caliper with a precision of 0.1 mm, except for tail length, which was taken with a millimeter ruler and in three independent events. To obtain our final data set we averaged the three independent events for every measure. Since both our molecular phylogenetic results and our analysis of the previously proposed plumage color differences do not provide evidence of E.affinisolmecorum as an independent evolutionary lineage, we decided to analyze morphometric variation, vocalization, and ecological niche only between E.affinisaffinis and E.affinisgodmani.Six morphometric measurements of 355 specimens  were taken from the following collections , so we evaluated these variables differences between the lineages in a separated way for males and females with the Unpaired Two-Samples Wilcoxon Test. The rest of the variables were evaluated jointly for both sexes and also with the Wilcoxon test. With the previous arrangement, we also did a Principal Component Analysis based on the correlation matrix with the R package Factominer (L\u00ea and Husson 2008). Graphs were generated in R package Factorextra (Kassambara and Mundt 2016). All the scripts and input data are in https://github.com/almamelisa/Euphonia-affinis-complex.The normality was tested with the Shapiro-Wilk test of normality in R . Since, Euphoniaaffinis calls from the Xeno-Canto  open access database. We used only call recordings in which the subspecies was identified and in which Euphonia was identified as the foreground species. We visualized and measured spectrograms of these recordings using the Raven Pro 1.6 software . We visually inspected the spectrograms, and from each recording we selected one call section that did not overlap with any background vocalizations or other sounds. In recordings where more than one call variant occurred , we selected one of the most frequent type. The most common call type for this species consists of a short series (2 to 4 notes) of whistled notes with decreasing pitch. Since recording conditions were not standardized, we only took frequency and duration measurements, which are not heavily affected by distance. We measured low and high frequencies (LowFreq and HiFreq), change in frequency (DeltaF), duration of call (DeltaT), number of notes (Notes) and emission rate . All measured variables were rescaled by log transforming them.We obtained 19 recordings of PCA) to explore the relation between the two groups in multivariate space. All the scripts and input data are in https://github.com/almamelisa/Euphonia-affinis-complex.Unpaired Two-Samples Wilcoxon Test were carried out on individual variables to test for differences between the two groups. We also performed a principal component analysis  for each evolutionary lineage herein identified, we plotted the record points onto the biogeographic provinces of the Neotropical region , the parameters were 0.05 proportions of omission, 50 random points percentage and 500 iterations. Also, in MaxEnt, we made four models projections one in the M area of each lineage and the remaining three were made to obtain the paleodistribution; we projected the ENM in the last maximum glacial period  considering two general circular models: MIROC-ESM (Hasumim and Emori 2004) and CCSM  in the web tool Niche Tool Box  and the other comprised samples from eastern Mexico and Central America (E.affinisaffinis and E.affinisolmecorum)  Fig. . The sisE.affinisgodmani and 10 that included samples of E.affinisaffinis and E.affinisolmecorum separated by 77 permutations. ND2 had the highest total haplotypic diversity , during the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene , the split between Carduelinae and Euphoniinae was 12.9 Mya , the Euphoniinae origen was 8.5 Mya , and Carduelinae diverged 8.1 Mya  while our point of calibration was 17.1104 Mya with a 95% HPD , WC (Wing Chord), and BD (Bill Depth) , BL (Bill Length), and BW (Bill width) we found significant differences between both groups . On the other hand, we found that the emission rate of E.a.affinis is much lower than that of E.a.godmani, on average 2.9 notes/s versus 5.09 notes/s. These differences are statistically significant . The first two Principal Components together explain 78.75% of variance. The first PC separates both groups unambiguously , this indicates a good fit of ENM\u2019s. According to the Jackknife test and contribution variables obtained by MaxEnt, the most important variable for E.affinisaffinis model was BIO 15 , and the variable BIO8 (mean temperature of wettest quarter) for E.affinisgodmani. We present the ENM predictions in four levels in Fig. E.affinisgodmani has a limited ability to predict its ecological niche in the geographic areas where E.affinisaffinis is distributed, while E.affinisaffinis projected its ecological niche on a large geographic area of distribution for E.affinisgodmani.Our models obtained a high mean value for AUC (Area Under the Curve) ratio values and statistically significant, 1.68 for E.affinisaffinis showing a reduction in their environmental suitability along the present distribution, with predictions in areas like the Yucatan Peninsula and the western coast of Mexico with a gap at the western coast of the Tehuantepec Isthmus, unlike Present predictions where Central America has only small patches with predictions for E.affinisaffinis , for both lineages, the areas with high environmental suitability increased with respect to LGM, for E.affinisaffinis it including the western Yucatan Peninsula, the Central western Mexican coast, and the Tehuantepec Isthmus to the western coast of Central America. For E.affinisgodmani, the prediction areas are the West Mexican coast and the western Yucatan Peninsula.The third part is the projection of the models in Last Glacial Maximum conditions , for nis Fig. . For E.PCA exhibit a large niche of E.a.affinis, while E.a.godmani exhibits an ecological niche compaction. A total variance of 83.67% is explained for the three principal components, with 41.04% for PC1, 29.886% for PC2 and 12.733% for PC3 . In contrast, the niche similarity test between E.affinisaffinis and E.affinisgodmani shows that they are less similar than expected by chance stat. nov.F037708E-FA1B-51D7-A987-9399E74EE2D5TanagraaffinisRev. Zool. 5: 175. Lesson 1842, TanagraaffinisaffinisCooper Ornithol. Soc. Pac. Coast Avifauna 33: 298. ; Miller et al. 1957, EuphoniaaffinisaffinisOcc. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State. Univ. 59: 3. ; Dickerman, 1981, EuphoniaaffinisolmecorumOcc. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State. Univ. 59: 4, syn. nov. Dickerman, 1981, Males. Yellow forehead, back black with bluish to violet glow, black throat, yellow from chest to belly, yellow subcaudal coverts feathers . MorphomFemales. Forehead olive-yellow and gray, olive-green back. The throat is olive-yellow, with a yellow belly, subcaudal coverts feathers also in yellow . MorphomThrough Gulf slope of Mexico from Nuevo Leon, S Tamaulipas and E San Luis Potos\u00ed to N Chiapas, Yucatan Peninsula, E of Guatemala, Belize to N Honduras; in the Pacific slope from W Oaxaca, Mexico to NW Costa Rica .Taxon classificationAnimaliaPasseriformesFringillidaeBrewster 1889stat. nov.574F8B5D-3A64-5496-B4C2-24678FB5532DEuphoniagodmaniAuk 6: 90. Brewster, 1889, TanagraaffinisgodmaniCooper Ornithol. Soc. Pac. Coast Avifauna 33: 298. ; Miller et al. 1957, EuphoniaaffinisgodmaniOcc. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State. Univ. 59: 1. ; Dickerman, 1981, E.affinis with white undertail coverts feathers . E.godmani, and yellow undertail coverts in E.affinis, E.affinisolmecorum proposed by E.affinis.We provide molecular, morphological, behavioral, and environmental niche evidence supporting the existence of two evolutionary lineages within the E.affinis complex at species level. The first is the reciprocal monophyly between E.affinis and E.godmani found in the multilocus analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear genes, where the samples of E.affinisolmecorum are included into E.affinis. These results agree with the proposals by Ridgway and Friedman (1901) and the taxonomic proposal of Euphonia species close to the E.affinis complex .Our analysis revealed significant differences between E.godmani and E.affinis while we found that there is little divergence in spectral structure or frequency measurements. E.godmani emits call notes at a significantly faster rate than E.affinis. Many bird species are highly sensitive to temporal cues in recognizing conspecific vocalizations , which suggests that while call structure and frequency in this complex has been conserved, variation in tempo could be an important cue in conspecific recognition.Our results show that there are significant differences in the temporal characteristics of calls between Euphoniaaffinis and E.godmani represent two different lineages with no significant conservatism in their ecological niches (west vs. east). The env-PCA, also, showed a larger ENM for affinisE , respect to E.godmani, also the western lineage has a limited ability to predict its ENM in the geographic area of E.affinis. The western coast of Mexico is characterized by a highly contrasting dry season vs. a wet season over the year, this characteristic is unique with respect to the eastern tropical area, so E.godmani has become restricted to these conditions. These results are similar to other taxa with sister lineages distributed along the Pacific and Atlantic slopes in Mesoamerican . It is interesting that E.godmani shows a reduction in ecological niche, while E.affinis presents a broader ecological niche. That may suggest a scenario where E.godmani was able to invade the western area of Mexico, and, in the absence of ecological competition from other Euphonias, it adapted and specialized to the floristic resources, as well as to the temperature and precipitation conditions of the area. While E.affinis conserved a broader ecological niche, as reflected in its geographical distribution, allowed it to explore more regions and resources, even in the presence of different species of Euphoniinae.E.godmani (western Mexico) and E.affinis  occurred ~ 2.6 Mya (1.5\u20134.0 Mya HPD 95%), a range between the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. During the Pliocene, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Transmexican Volcanic Belt finished emerging, which made the Pacific Slope drier than the Atlantic slope, due to the hillside effect . Additionally, the drier conditions were favored by meteorological phenomena that made the Pacific coast warmer than the Atlantic coast in the northern hemisphere (Becerra 2005E.affinis and the origin of dry forests. The first evidence is the age of 2.6 Mya when the West and East lineages diverged during the late Pliocene, which coincides with the establishment of dry forests in Western Mexico. The other evidence is the adaptation and restriction of the environmental niche of E.a.godmani to the environmental conditions of Western Mexico. Other biogeographic events of Mesoamerica that shaped the biota were the closure of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene and the orographic changes in the Atlantic slope by the last raise of Transmexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Madre Oriental. However, the Atlantic Slope shows a wide mosaic of environments and ecosystems (E.a.affinis.Lineage divergence between misphere . These eosystems , in contE.affinis, probably due to isolation events and environmental adaptations, which in turn could accentuate the present differences in morphological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological characteristics previously described.In addition to the consequences of the orographic changes of the Pliocene, during the Late Pliocene, global and continuous cooling periods were frequent, and during the Pleistocene the climatic oscillations were defined by glacial and interglacial periods . During Euphoniaaffinis species complex and understand the speciation process (E.a.affinis and E.a.godmani and we found a similar pattern in morphometrics, vocalizations, as well as in ecological niche data. So, we can conclude that our data support the consideration of E.affinis and E.godmani as two species.We incorporated different kinds of information to help us identify lineages within the  process . We have"}
+{"text": "Anita Saxena was not included as an author in the published article. The corrected Author contributions statement appears below.The authors apologize for these errors and state that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.ST, AG, NP, and AS research idea and study design. MK and AM data acquisition. ST, MK, AG, and NP data analysis/interpretation. ST, CE, and MK important intellectual content during manuscript drafting. Each author have read and approved the final version of the manuscript, accepted personal accountability for the author's own contributions, and agrees to ensure that questions pertaining to the accuracy or integrity of any portion of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved."}
+{"text": "Betulatatewakiana, a dwarf birch distributed in Hokkaido of northern Japan, is an endemic species or a synonym of B.ovalifolia broadly distributed in northeast Asia. The endemic hypothesis is based on the idea that B.tatewakiana is diploid while B.ovalifolia is tetraploid and that they are separated based on the ploidy level; however, no chromosome data have actually been published before. Resolving the taxonomic problem is crucial also in judging the conservation priority of B.tatewakiana in a global perspective. Our chromosome observation revealed that B.tatewakiana is tetraploid as well as B.ovalifolia. We also conducted morphological observations and clarified that B.tatewakiana is morphologically identical to B.ovalifolia in white hairs and dense resinous glands respectively on adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces, in which they differ from closely related species in the same section Fruticosae. We conclude that the hypothesis that B.tatewakiana is a Hokkaido endemic based on the ploidy level is not supported and that B.tatewakiana should be merged with B.ovalifolia.It has been controversial whether  Betulaovalifolia Rupr. is a dwarf birch found in wetlands , the chromosome observations were made with plants grown from seeds collected in Sarabetsu mire and Olga in Russian Far East. However, the materials were not mentioned in B.tatewakiana and B.ovalifolia. Thus, no published information exists about the ploidy level of B.tatewakiana and B.ovalifolia based on chromosome observations.The taxonomic problem of omosomes  and has omosomes . On the traploid . AshburnB.tatewakiana, we focused on the confusion about the ploidy level, because this is the cause of the taxonomic controversy. We conducted chromosome observation and determined the ploidy level. We also conducted morphological observations of B.tatewakiana. Regarding B.ovalifolia, there are two closely related species in the same section Fruticosae, i.e., B.humilis Schrank and B.fruticosa Pall. Betulaovalifolia is distinguished from the two species by white hairs on the adaxial leaf surface (vs. glabrous in B.humilis and B.fruticosa) and by densely resinous glands on the abaxial leaf surface (vs. lack of glands in B.humilis)  . In prevido Fig. . As a reido Fig. . Open dil levels . WhetherB.tatewakiana from six and five individuals from Sarabetsu and Nishibetsu mires in Hokkaido, Japan; seeds of B.ovalifolia were collected from one individual in Sikhote\u2013Alin Nature Reserve in Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East  in the herbarium of Hokkaido University Museum (SAPS) and our collections of 51 and 45 plants from Sarabetsu and Nishibetsu mires, that were deposited in the herbarium of Hokkaido University Botanic Garden (SAPT)  and 3 individuals had ca. 56 chromosomes . In B.tatewakiana from Nishibetsu mire, 4 individuals had 56 chromosomes  and 1 individual had ca. 56 chromosomes (Yuki Shiotani 27). In B.ovalifolia from Primorsky Krai, 1 individual had 56 chromosomes (Koh Nakamura 14198).Somatic chromosomes at metaphase were approximately 1.0 \u00b5m long in both ana Fig.  and B.olia Fig. . The cenB.tatewakiana has white hairs and dense resinous glands respectively on the adaxial and abaxial leaf surface  and ca. 56 (four samples) chromosomes . For this reason, B.tatewakiana is highly likely to be tetraploid. Our chromosome count of B.ovalifolia was 2n = 56. This is consistent with the flow cytometric study that suggested that B.ovalifolia from the Asian continent is tetraploid B.tatewakiana M.Ohki & S.Watan., J. Jap. Bot. 34: 329 (1959). Type: Japan, Hokkaido, Sarabetsu village: 18 August 1958, H. Suzuki and M. Ohki, s.n. \u2261 Type. Russia. Khabarovsk region: Mandshuria, 25 July 1855, R. Maack, s.n. Betulatatewakiana is recognized as a synonym of B.ovalifolia as discussed above, and thereby it is not a Japanese endemic species. Hereafter, the Hokkaido populations are called B.ovalifolia. Because B.ovalifolia is broadly distributed in northeast Asia, i.e., Russian Far East, northeast China, North Korea, and northern Japan, the conservation priority of the species may not be high in a global perspective. On the other hand, the Hokkaido populations represent the only island populations disjunct from continental populations. The species had likely moved southward during glacial periods and retreated northward in warmer periods, and the Hokkaido populations are considered to be relict populations (B.ovalifolia is distributed only in Sarabetsu and Nishibetsu mires and deserves conservation as national resource. On the other hand, if there exists gene flow among Hokkaido and continental populations, effective conservation should be planned considering genetic connectivity with populations abroad. Population genetics of B.ovalifolia in northeast Asia for conservation is the topic of our future investigation.ulations . The Hok"}
+{"text": "GYG1) cause an adult\u2010onset polyglucosan body myopathy. We report here a patient presenting with late\u2010onset distal myopathy. We wish to highlight this rare clinical phenotype of GYG1\u2010related myopathy and the histological clues leading to its diagnosis.Mutations in glycogenin\u20101 ( PGBM can stem from mutations in GYG1 is also expressed in cardiac muscle, and cardiomyopathy has occasionally been reported in GSD XV, with or without skeletal muscle involvement.Age of onset of GSD XV varies widely, ranging from childhood to the 70s.2S. N., J. T., D. P., and K. T. declare that they have no conflict of interest. M. M. receives compensation as associate editor of Neurology Genetics.Stefan Nicolau: Data collection and writing of the first draft of the manuscript. Jennifer A. Tracy, David J. Pisapia, Kurenai Tanji: Biopsy interpretation and critical review of the manuscript. Margherita Milone: Data collection, supervision and critical review of the manuscript; serves as guarantor for this article, accepts full responsibility for the work and the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish."}
+{"text": "In this paper, we study a novel deterministic and stochastic SIR epidemic model with vertical transmission and media coverage. For the deterministic model, we give the basic reproduction number  To the best of our knowledge, vaccination is one of the most effective ways to treat and prevent diseases. It has been used to restrain diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, rubella, mumps, pertussis, measles, hepatitis B and influenza . For insi et al.  presentee et al.  discuss ate see \u201317). In . In \\docate . Denote Throughout this paper, we let There is a unique solutionof model . We . We 40])"}
+{"text": "Several free-roaming dogs can be easily found in the public areas of Bali. They go out in search of foods and friends and defecate everywhere. In general, these groups of dogs do not receive good healthcare from their owners and are generally threatened by some disease-causing organisms, especially helminths. This study was conducted to identify and measure the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) that cause infection in free-roaming dogs in Bali Province, Indonesia.A total of 1611 fresh dog fecal samples were collected from all areas of Bali Province and subjected to qualitative fecal examination using flotation techniques to obtain STH eggs.Ancylostoma spp., Ascaris spp., and Trichuris spp. Ancylostoma spp. had the highest prevalence of 37.8%, followed by Ascaris spp. and Trichuris spp. at 6.02% and 0.87%, respectively. Multiple infections of these worms were also recorded. The polyparasitism prevalence of Ancylostoma spp. and Ascaris spp. was 3.85%, followed by that of Ancylostoma spp. and Trichuris spp. at 0.5% and that of Ascaris spp. and Trichuris spp. at 0.06%. There were no altitude-wise differences in the prevalence of STH infection.The incidence of STHs in free-roaming dogs was 38.36%. However, three types of STHs were identified, including The prevalence of STHs was high in free-roaming dogs. This finding necessitates more serious attention as it affects both animal and public health. Dogs cannot be separated from human life, and they are often referred to as the Best Friend of Man. Petting a dog, apart from being a hobby, can provide several benefits for the owner. According to some research, a dog used as a pet can have a positive impact on psychology and health . In BaliIn contrast to the benefits provided, the maintenance patterns of allowing them to roam tend to have adverse effects on the health of the community as well as other animals . As a reAncylostoma spp., Ascaris spp., and Trichuris spp. [Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ancylostoma caninum, and Toxocara canis [Moreover, parasitic worms that commonly infect dogs belong to the nematode species . These tris spp. . They arris spp. . Some tyra canis . STHs inra canis .T. canis was reported to infect Kintamani dogs in the Sukawana Village area with a prevalence of 22.22% [Ancylostoma spp. in tourist areas was reported as 34% [In Bali, several studies have reported the prevalence of worms that infect dogs. For instance, f 22.22% . The pred as 34% . HoweverThe study only used the dog fecal samples which were collected from the residential alley, street, or other public places. Hence, ethical approval was not necessary.This research was conducted from February to November 2019 in the province of Bali, Republic of Indonesia.An observational design with a cross-sectional method was used in this study, and the subjects were the free-roaming dogs in the province of Bali. The study sample was fresh dog feces collected from the subjects. Fresh stools were collected in the morning around the residential alley, street, or other public places and were stored in 10% formalin before being examined at the laboratory . The BalStool examination was performed by a floating concentration method using a saturated NaCl substance . The conThe following formula was used to measure the prevalence of STH , and theThis study demonstrated that the prevalence of STH infection in free-roaming dogs was high (38.36%) . To the Ascaris spp. and Trichuris whose respective prevalence rates were 6.02% and 0.87% , Ascaris spp. (6.02%), and Trichuris spp. (0.87%). Moreover, polyparasitism occurs in multiple infections caused by Ancylostoma spp. and Ascaris spp. In addition, the difference in altitude does not affect the prevalence of STH infection. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the high prevalence of STH infection in free-roaming dogs in Bali is consistent with the life cycle of the parasite in the investigated area.The prevalence of STH infection in free-roaming dogs in Bali was high (38.36%). The STHs causing infection in dogs in Bali were KKA: Designed the study, performed the laboratory work, analyzed the data, and wrote the \u00admanuscript. MSA: Designed the study, collected the samples, performed laboratory work, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. NAANS: Collected the samples, performed laboratory work, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. WARW: Collected the samples, performed the laboratory work, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. JKA: Collected the samples and performed the laboratory work. WNFG: Analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. IBMO: Performed the laboratory work, and analyzed the data. MS: Performed the laboratory work, and data analysis. NKB: Analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Spodoptera frugiperda first emerged in China in 2019, and therefore the information on indigenous natural enemies of S. frugiperda has been limited in China. In this study, we reported that a dipteran species was observed to infest S. frugiperda collected from maize fields in four different regions of China. Further morphological and molecular recognition identified all the flies as Megaselia scalaris. The findings of this study will improve our understanding on natural enemies to S. frugiperda and potentially provide new ideas for integrated pest management strategies in China.The invasive pest Spodoptera frugiperda first emerged in China in January 2019 and has, to date, migrated to 29 provinces and municipalities in China, causing heavy crop damage in large areas. As a response to this invasive species from the environment, some indigenous natural enemies have been discovered and reported after S. frugiperda invasion. In this paper, parasitic flies were collected and identified from S. frugiperda collected in the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Henan provinces and the Chongqing municipality in China. By using both conventional and molecular approaches, we were able to show that all the parasitic flies of S. frugiperda identified in the four regions were Megaselia. scalaris, and that they attacked the pest larvae and pupae. This is the first report on an indigenous Chinese Megaselia species that has parasitic ability against the invasive pest S. frugiperda, potentially providing new ideas for pest control in China.The invasive pest  Spodoptera frugiperda originated in the Americas and migrated to the African continent in 2016. It was first discovered and reported in China in January 2019 . T. TS. fru results  construc results A and COIlts (COI B gene seS. frugiperda invaded China, Chinese researchers have conducted investigations to identify natural enemies that are able to parasitize S. frugiperda. Egg parasitoid wasps [S. frugiperda larvae were found and reported [S. frugiperda were observed and caught in four regions of China. Morphological and DNA barcode identification confirmed that all the fly specimens collected in the four regions were of the species of M. scalaris.Since id wasps ,21 and sreported ,13. In tM. scalaris is active in a wide range of geographical regions and usually feeds on decaying organic materials [M. scalaris. It has been reported that adult M. scalaris can break into the hive and lay eggs in the hive; the larvae of M. scalaris then hijack the food of bee larvae, therefore hindering the growth and development of bee larvae [Parastagmatoptera tessellata and Triatoma brasiliensis could be parasitized by M. scalaris [M. scalaris can feed and grow in the host\u2019s body. In our study, a similar phenomenon of M. scalaris parasitizing S. frugiperda in various regions of China was observed. The emergence of eggs on the epidermis of S. frugiperda larvae and pupae (S. frugiperda pupae (S. frugiperda larvae (S. frugiperda. The emergence of flies (S. frugiperda. All these results indicate that the indigenous species M. scalaris can parasitize the new invasive pest S. frugiperda in the wild in China. To our knowledge, this is the first record of M. scalaris infesting wild S. frugiperda in China. There have been a few previous reports of this fly infesting other insects in the wild [M. scalaris may play various roles in the ecosystem in addition to being saprophages, such as being parasitic to insects.aterials . It has aterials , and thee larvae . Koch anscalaris ,26; the nd pupae B\u2013D, and da pupae E and thea larvae F demonstof flies A in the the wild ,27,28,29S. frugiperda, several native Chinese insects are reported to be parasitic and predatory to the new invasive pest S. frugiperda. However, their potential applications as biological control agents remain unclear and deserve further investigation. In terms of developing effective IPM strategies for controlling S. frugiperda in China, biological control, protection, and utilization of natural enemies should be given priority for reducing the use of pesticides. Therefore, there needs to be further investigation and exploitation of natural enemies in China to aid the development of subsequent IPM strategies.In consideration of biological control to S. frugiperda in the wild in China. Both conventional and molecular methods identified the dipterans as M. scalaris. This is the first report on the native species M. species infesting S. frugiperda in China. Further investigations on the infestation of S. frugiperda by M. scalaris are warranted and such studies can potentially provide new directions for the integrated pest management strategies in China.In this study, we reported that some dipterans were able to infest invasive pest"}
+{"text": "Xylocopavirginica , has been recorded from Canada, albeit restricted to southern Ontario and Quebec. However, a single female specimen identified by Hurd in 1954 as X.varipuncta Patton, 1879 from British Columbia is in the C.A. Triplehorn Insect Collection at The Ohio State University (OSUC), suggesting that this species was accidentally introduced into coastal western Canada. As wood-nesters, many large carpenter bees are likely capable of expanding their range great distances by natural and unnatural transport methods while nesting inside suitable substrates, the presumed mode of transport into western Canada, and likely elsewhere. The ease at which the nests are transported has likely contributed to the nomenclatural and distributional ambiguity surrounding this species due to morphological similarities of specimens from North America, Hawaii, and several South Pacific islands.Only one species of large carpenter bee, X.varipuncta from continental North America. Furthermore, these DNA barcode sequences also match those of specimens identified as X.sonorina Smith, 1874 from the French Polynesian and Samoan Islands, thus fully supporting the opinion of X.sonorina, a species described from and likely introduced to Hawaii is the oldest name available, X.varipuncta is here placed into synonymy. Additional research will be needed to trace the timing and pathway of introduction and establishment of X.sonorina; it is presumed that the species is native to the southwestern United States but has been established in Hawaii since the mid-1800s. It is also established in French Polynesia, the Samoan Islands, and likely other south Pacific islands, with additional records of occurrence from Java, New Zealand, and now Canada.By comparing DNA barcodes of specimens from the western United States to specimens from Hawaii, we confirm the early opinion of P.H. Timberlake  that spe Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 , are large bumble bee sized bees that typically excavate nesting cavities into wood, bamboo, or the woody stems of plants , a single female identified as X.varipuncta Patton, 1879, collected from Capilano Canyon near Vancouver, British Columbia by R.C. Osburn in 1949 . This unpublished Canadian record was also not included in the recent review of the subgenusNeoxylocopa Michener, 1954 . It is assumed that finding multiple specimens from the same collecting event increases the likelihood that the material was not mislabeled.To confirm that the specimen of Xylocopa in the Barcode of Life Data (BOLD) System  System , includi) System . Sequenc Islands  using vaSmith, 1874720FBA9B-6BE1-5A96-804E-1A2E9609DE79XylocopasonorinaHolotype \u2640. HAWAII, Sandw[ich]. Isl[and].\u201d , and two specimens of Trichiosomatriangulum Kirby, 1837 . The latter species at least is widespread in North America, including ranging into British Columbia.We are confident that the specimen identified as cta Fig.  from BriX.varipuncta generated in this study from western North America matched those from Hawaii, but also those from specimens in BOLD identified as X.sonorina Smith from the islands of Huahine-It and Mo\u2019orea in French Polynesia, and Apia in the Samoan Islands, further supporting the opinion of DNA barcodes from specimens of X.sonorina has a long and interesting history, largely impacted by its arrival and subsequent establishment in Hawaii; in fact, the type locality of this species is Hawaii , south into Central and South America, and the West Indies, and also two additional subspecies, aeneipennis  in Arizona, and cubaecola Lucas, 1857 in California. The latter two subspecies of X.aeneipennis is now considered a valid species from South America (Suriname), and X.cubaecola is a valid species endemic to Cuba  previously identified as X.aeneipennis by X.varipuncta from the continental United States, an opinion shared by T.D.A. Cockerell  into synonymy with X.b.sonorina.Though na Smith  and X.ssonorina , a specisonorina , though X.sonorina, and subsequent misidentifications of material from Hawaii has had serious implications. Though there is only one species of Xylocopa known from Hawaii (see X.sonorina named five years previous) as X.aeneipennis, the species known from Suriname mentioned above. This error is likely why X.aeneipennis for Hawaiian material  which share DNA barcodes with specimens identified as X.sonorina from the islands of Huahine-It and Mo\u2019orea in French Polynesia, and Apia in the Samoan Islands  are presumed native to the Gal\u00e1pagos  are probably more suitable for long distance travel than larger bees .It is entirely possible that a nest with at least one specimen of ood e.g.  from thepossible . In oceapossible  providedpossible , with lopossible  or greatpossible  with decpossible . HoweverXylocopa being intercepted at other locations; X.virginica was collected in Nottingham England from nests built in wood. Megachilexylocopoides Smith, 1853 (Megachilidae)) have been intercepted at the Canadian border, but have not been recorded as established (Much faster travel time of materials containing bee nests is obtained via commerce, which is likely the main means of introduction today. Recently, a carpenter native to Japan and China was found in California , suggestablished .X.sonorina is now known from British Columbia, no subsequent work has confirmed its establishment in Canada (see Once arriving to a new location, some bee species can succeed even with very low numbers of colonizers. nada see . Considenada see . Interesnada see  and morenada see . Donovan"}
+{"text": "Lawsonia intracellularis, an obligately intracellular enteric bacterium, infects intestinal epithelial cells, but may also be found within macrophages in the intestinal lamina propria of affected pigs. Macrophages play an important role in host defense against infectious agents, but the role of this cell in L. intracellularis infection is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the permissibility of macrophages to L. intracellularis infection in vitro. Pure culture of L. intracellularis was added to swine peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages. Viability of intracytoplasmic L. intracellularis was evaluated at different time points by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Potential replication of L. intracellularis in macrophages was also evaluated by qPCR. By TEM, phagocytosis L. intracellularis within of phagolysosomes were observed 1-hour post-infection (hpi) and bacterial structures in binary fission at 48 hpi. The number of intracellular bacteria was determined at 1, 4, 24, 48, and 72 hpi by qPCR in infected macrophages and compared to the number of intracellular bacteria from culture in McCoy cells. In both cell lines, the amount of L. intracellularis was decreased at 4 hpiand increased at 24 hpi. The number of intracellular bacteria continued to increase in McCoy cells over time. This is the first study showing interaction, survival and propagation of L. intracellularis in macrophages. These findings are critical to establish an experimental model for future studies of the pathogenesis of porcine proliferative enteropathy and the potential persistence of L. intracellularis in macrophages during chronic infections. Macrophages play an important role in innate and adaptive immune responses against invading pathogens. They contribute to the elimination of microorganisms and are capable of presenting antigens to T cells. In addition, macrophages may serve as an escape route for some bacterial species, as intracellular bacteria may remain viable and potentially proliferate and/or disseminate in the host , 2.Lawsonia intracellularis is a microaerophilic, obligately intracellular bacterium that causes porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE)  findings, we hypothesized that L. intracellularis can survive and propagate in macrophages [L. intracellularis organisms within phagolysosomes in cultured macrophages, free in the macrophage cytoplasm, and in binary fission. These results indicate that L. intracellularis has the ability to survive and propagate inside macrophages. However, despite the capacity of L. intracellularis to survive within the macrophages as shown in the present study, only fortuitous cases of L. intracellularis infection are associated to extra intestinal lesions [L. intracellularis indicate that the survival of L. intracellularis in macrophages is not related to the dissemination of the bacterium to extra intestinal tissues, as already described for other intestinal gram-negative bacteria [L. intracellularis to survive intracellularly whether in epithelial cell or macrophages are as still required.nd birds . L. intr in 1993 . Due the in 1993 , researcprevious  e 23 finrophages . The preprevious  e 23 fin lesions . These rbacteria , 28. DirRhodococcus equi and Coxiella burnetii [R. equi survive and proliferate within intracellular environment by blocking the acidification of the phagolysosome [C. burnetii delays the fusion process between the phagosome and the lysosome [Listeria monocytogenes [Franscisella tularensis [Edwardsiella tarda [L. intracellularis pathogenesis.The survival of bacteria in phagolysosomal compartments has been observed in other species, such as burnetii , 29. R. lysosome . On anotlysosome . Binary lysosome . Howeverytogenes , Franscilarensis , and Edwla tarda , are knoL. intracellularis survival within the macrophages may also be related to the persistence of the microorganisms in the host, which results in the chronic presentation of the disease. Therefore, the elimination of L. intracellularis for long periods, as previously demonstrated by Guedes and Gebhart and Stege et al, may be a source of dissemination of the pathogen in the herd [the herd , 35.L. intracellularis has the capacity to proliferate at low levels within the macrophages, but other methods should be used in future studies to confirm this hypothesis. Our findings do not corroborate Lawson et al. [L. intracellularis needs mitotically active cells for its proliferation. L. intracellularis is a unique bacterial species, with several peculiarities obligately intracellular microorganism, requires specific microaerophilic atmosphere that make it difficult to grow and manipulate under laboratory conditions. Therefore, evaluation of L. intracellularis survival and its quantification inside the cells is not possible using conventional assays used for studying other bacterial species [L. intracellularis potential to survive and to replicate within macrophages, therefore, it represents the first step towards the understanding of the persistence of the organism in chronically-infected animals.To assess the bacterial numbers in the macrophage cultures over time, qPCR was performed. This technique detects DNA sequences with good sensitivity and specificity but lacks the ability to differentiate metabolically active and inactive microorganisms. In addition, the chronological evaluation was performed by using samples from different wells, which can result in numerical variations from well to well. Nevertheless, from the results obtained, we can hypothesize that n et al.  findings species , 37. TheL. intracellularis is able to internalize and survive within phagolysosomal environment of swine macrophages. In addition, this is the first study to report the binary fission of L. intracellularis free in the cytoplasm of swine macrophages. These findings are critical to establish an experimental model for future studies the pathogenesis of porcine proliferative enteropathy and the potential persistence of L. intracellularis in macrophages during chronic infections.In conclusion, our results showed that S1 FigL: lysosome; N: nucleus; rER: rough endoplasmic reticulum.(TIF)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Dear Editor,We appreciate the comments of Dr. Naem and Dr. Al-Kurdy. This case report emphasizes that local methotrexate injection may become the treatment of choice for cervical ectopic pregnancies in the near future. Injection of methotrexate in a cervical pregnancy with advanced gestational age (11 w) and CRL of 41 mm makes this case unique. This is the most advanced cervical pregnancy in the literature where methotrexate has been administered and resolved the pregnancy without further intervention . The comAs Dr. Naem and Al-Kurdy mentioned, it is usually the main concern of the patient to preserve her fertility . ConservOur patient had almost a symptom free follow up after methotrexate injection, so on the 7th day of her procedure she was offered to discharge with the intention of decreasing hospital stay. The pattern of the hCG decline in our patient, where hCG values normalized after 90 days from the injection, was similar with the other studies ,5.Success of systematic methotrexate injection is related to absence of fetal cardiac activity, level of hCG , gestational age smaller than 9 weeks and a crown-rump length(CRL) of <10 mm . Yet, weOverall, local methotrexate injection is a safe method to practice in cervical pregnancies with minimum complication risk, regardless the gestational age, presence of fetal cardiac activity and CRL.None.None.None. Our paper is in the format of letter to editor.None. Our paper is in the format of letter to editor.Our paper is in the format of letter to editor. It is a response to the letter to editor which referred to our article \u201cConservative management of 11 weeks old cervical ectopic pregnancy with transvaginal ultrasound-guided combined methotrexate injection: Case Report and Literature Review\u201d written by the authors listed below:Ipek Betul Ozcivit, MD.Ismail Cepni, Prof. MD.Kubra Hamzaoglu, MD.Hakan Erenel, MD.R\u0131za Madazl\u0131, Prof. MD.N/A.Ismail Cepni, Prof. MD."}
+{"text": "Anisakis. In Europe, Anisakis pegreffii has been detected as the causative agent, although the sibling species Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (s.s.) is also known to cause the disease in other parts of the world, and discrepancies exist regarding their respective pathogenic potential. In Spain a high number of cases has been recorded, with marinated anchovies being the main source of infection, although no specific diagnosis has been documented in humans. In this study, we analyzed three cases of anisakiosis in patients from Barcelona (Spain) who had consumed undercooked hake. All patients described epigastric pain and several larval nematodes were removed endoscopically from their stomachs. Larvae were morphologically characterized as third-stage larvae of Anisakis simplex sensu lato (s.l.) and molecularly identified as A. simplex (s.s.) by means of PCR RFLP of the ITS region of the rDNA and sequencing of the elongation factor1 alpha1 (EF1 \u03b1-1) nDNA gen. This study represents the first specific identification of Anisakis larvae in clinical cases of anisakiosis reported in Spain. Specific molecular diagnosis is of crucial importance for assessing the health risk of Anisakis sibling species. Hake consumption stands out as a risk factor for anisakiosis, since this fish species can be highly parasitized.Anisakiosis is a fish-borne disease with gastrointestinal and/or allergic symptoms caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked fish parasitized with nematode larvae of the genus  Anisakis, although Pseudoterranova and sporadically Contracaecum species can produce pathology, in this case known as anisakidosis [Anisakiosis is caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked fish and cephalopods parasitized with larvae of anisakid nematodes. The main causative agents of the disease are species of akidosis . Dietaryakidosis . Anisakiakidosis ,4,5,6,7.akidosis ,5,6,8. Fakidosis ,10. The akidosis .Anisakis species, in consumed fish can also trigger allergic reactions of different degrees of pathogenicity, due to IgE-Anisakis hypersensitivity, the symptoms ranging from moderate, such as urticaria and angioedema, to severe, including anaphylactic shock [The most frequent forms of anisakiosis are gastric and intestinal. In these cases, third-stage larvae L3) adhere to and penetrate the mucosal layer of the stomach or intestine, causing epigastric and/or abdominal pain and usually nausea and vomiting ,12. The ic shock . In gast adhere tic shock ,12. A. simplex (s.l.): A. simplex (s.s.) and A. pegreffii. The two species have a wide defined distribution, however their range of localization overlaps in some basin waters, such as the Spanish Atlantic coast and the Japanese Sea. The third species within the A. simplex (s.l.) complex, Anisakis berlandi, which has a discontinuous distribution in the Austral region, has not been implicated in the disease [The main species implicated in human anisakiosis belong to the complex  disease .Anisakis species, such as those of the A. simplex (s.l.) complex [Anisakis species can cause anisakiosis in humans [A. simplex (s.s.) is more resistant to gastric acid than A. pegreffii and has a higher rate of penetration in the stomach, small intestine or colon wall [Anisakis genus level or as A. simplex (s.l.) [In the last two decades, the use of molecular methods as PCR RFLP, DNA sequencing or, more recently DNA microsatellites, has improved the specific identification of larvae of morphologically non-differentiable  complex ,13,14. Tn humans . Specifin humans . Some aulon wall . Despitex (s.l.) ,17,18,19Anisakis larvae obtained from three human cases of gastric anisakiosis, caused by the consumption of undercooked hake, were characterized and for the first time in Spain the causative species were molecularly identified.The aim of the present study was to perform a specific diagnosis of anisakiosis and thereby shed light on the species-related health risk for humans. Two women aged 45 and 49 years and one man aged 21 suffering acute epigastric pain were attended in three hospitals in the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, in the North-East of Spain, in January 2019. The three patients declared they had consumed fresh undercooked hake at home within 24 h before their hospital admission. In all cases the fish was purchased in a supermarket chain, although the capture zone is not known. During the medical examination, 12, 5, and 1 nematode larvae were detected adhered to the mucosal layer of the stomach of the three patients, respectively, and in the former a thickening of the gastric antrum was observed. The larvae were endoscopically removed, and the symptoms remitted spontaneously. All nematodes were preserved in 70% alcohol, and 7 specimens from the first patient, 5 from the second and 1 from the third were available for analysis.HinfI and HhaI [The morphology of the larvae was studied microscopically . For moland HhaI . The eloand HhaI .A. simplex (s.l.), based mainly on the presence of a mucron at the caudal end and an elongated ventricle with an oblique posterior end. The specific patterns obtained by PCR-RFLP, using HinfI and HhaI, showed that all the larvae studied belonged to the species A. simplex (s.s.), differentiating them from the other two sibling species A. pegreffii and A. berlandi (A. simplex (s.s.) (KT825685) [The larvae from the three patients were morphologically identified as L3 larvae of berlandi . In addiT825685) . SequencAnisakis-specific IgE [Several cases of gastric, intestinal and allergic anisakiosis have been reported in Spain in recent years, the first one being documented in 1991 . Most ofific IgE ,24,25.A. simplex (s.s.) has been frequently detected in fish species commonly consumed in Spain caught in the North-East Atlantic, including the Alboran Sea region, and shows only a sporadic presence in Mediterranean fishes, specifically those caught near the African coast [A. pegreffii, on the other hand, is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, but has also been reported in fish caught off the North-East Atlantic coast [A. simplex (s.s.) as the causative agent suggests that the hake consumed was caught in the North-East Atlantic region. In fact, in the epidemiological studies on hake from North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean, A. simplex (s.s.) was not found in the Mediterranean hosts [None of the documented clinical cases in Spain report specific identification of larvae. an coast . The sibic coast ,26. Compic coast . All patan hosts .A. pegreffii larvae have been molecularly identified in human anisakiosis cases [A. pegreffii is endemic [A. simplex (s.s.) being the main agent in Japan and A. pegreffii in Korea [Anisakis species observed in fish between capture zones [Elsewhere in Europe, in Italy and Croatia, only is cases ,28. In tin Korea ,29. The re zones .A. simplex (s.s.). Nevertheless, the presence of A. pegreffii in Mediterranean fishes widely consumed in Spain implies that this parasite species would be also involved in the disease. The health risk posed by both sibling species should be assessed by more frequent use of molecular specific diagnosis in clinical cases of anisakiosis. The results of this study also highlight hake consumption as a risk factor for the disease, as this species of fish can be heavily parasitized [The results presented here constitute the first species-specific identification of larvae implicated in human anisakiosis in Spain. In the three studied cases all the larvae were identified as asitized ,30. Cons"}
+{"text": "Scientific Reportshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43515-w, published online 06 May 2019Correction to: In the original version of this Article, Supplementary Video 1 was published in an incorrect format.In addition, the email address for Anna Z. Komisarczuk quoted in the original version of this Article has been changed. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to a.z.komisarczuk@ibv.uio.no.These errors have now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the Article, and in the Supplementary Information that now accompanies the Article."}
+{"text": "Picramnia and Alvaradoa, with the recent addition of a third genus, Nothotalisia, described in 2011. Only a few species of the family have been the subject of DNA-related research, and fewer than half of the species have been included in morphological phylogenetic analyses. It is clear that Picramniaceae remains a largely under-researched plant group. Here we present the first molecular phylogenetic tree of the group, based on both chloroplast and nuclear markers, widely adopted in the plant DNA barcoding. The main findings are: The family and its genera are monophyletic and Picramnia is sister to two other genera; some clades corroborate previous assumptions of relationships made on a morphological or geographical basis, while most parts of the molecular topology suggest high levels of homoplasy in the morphological evolution of Picramnia.Picramniaceae is the only member of Picramniales which is sister to the clade )) in the rosidsmalvids. Not much is known about most aspects of their ecology, geography, and morphology. The family is restricted to American tropics. Picramniaceae representatives are rich in secondary metabolites; some species are known to be important for pharmaceutical purposes. Traditionally, Picramniaceae was classified as a subfamily of Simaroubaceae, but from 1995 on, it has been segregated containing two genera,  Picramnia Sw. and Alvaradoa Liebm., were separated as Picramniaceae family [Most flowering plants families described by the end of the 18th century have proven to be robust, stable groups. However, molecular tools have also been used to find less stable assemblages. One example of this is Simaroubaceae, a family in the Sapindales which was long suspected of being \u201cnon-natural\u201d [e family .Picramniaceae Fernando and Quinn is a rosid family ofca. 50 known species. They are dioecious, neotropical plants, with alternate, pinnately compound leaves, minute flowers with stamens opposite the petals, and a syncarpous gynoeceum with an inconspicuous style . It is tDue to their small, actinomorphic flowers, bitter bark, and pinnately compound leaves, they were initially placed in Simaroubaceae . HoweverPicramnia [Alvaradoa [Picramnia is small or mid-size trees that grow either in the lower stories of moist tropical forests  or in more dry habitats, from Mexico and Caribbeans to Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina. Some of them (like the northernmost Picramnia pentandra Sw. from South Florida) frequently grow as shrubs. Gross morphology of Picramnia is rather uniform and non-distinct, this was probably a reason of some notorious mistakes. One of examples is that Hispaniola generic endemic Casabitoa perfae described as a plant with putative affinities to Phyllanthaceae, is actually identical to Picramnia dictyoneura (Urb.) Urb. and Ekman [Picramniaceae was formerly circumscribed with two genera, icramnia  and Alvalvaradoa . Picramnnd Ekman .Alvaradoa is significantly more xerophilous and shrubby, with wind-dispersed fruits . The range of distribution of the genus is conspicuously disjunct: Mexico and Caribbeans , and Bolivia, Argentina, and South Brazil, as depicted by Thomas [y Thomas .Nothotalisia W.W.Thomas [TalisiaAubl. (Sapindaceae). Nothotalisia, like some species of Picramnia, includes mid-size forest trees that exhibits a broad distribution, from Panama to Peru, and likely associated with wet tropical forests of Choco and Amazonia. Interestingly, Nothotalisia appears not to be rare in collections: For example, it is abundant in herbarium samples collected in the Darien province of Panama . In all, we believe that diversity of Picramniaceae is far from being exhausted, and we can always expect new discoveries.Recently, the third genus, W.Thomas , was disGumillea Ruiz and Pav. [Gumillea auriculata Ruiz and Pav. reminds Picramnia but the plant bears stipules and bisexual flowers. Even though there is no recent specimen of that plant nor any molecular data, the morphology of inflorescence, flowers, and leaves suggests a relationship to Picramniales. The structures described and illustrated as \u201cstipules\u201d look like pseudostipules found in some species of Picramnia  Jans.-Jac.) where petiole is reduced and modified basal leaflets deflected to protect axillary buds [We should mention here also the monotypic and Pav.  which miand Pav. . This geary buds ,16.Only a few species of Picramniaceae have been the subject of DNA-related research, and there are no molecular phylogenetic analyses so far. No generic subdivision was established; even the total number of species is not absolutely clear. Apparently, Picramniaceae remains an under-researched group.To fill this gap, we performed a broad sampling of the group, aiming at collecting as many tissue samples as possible to amplify several widely used DNA barcoding markers in order to cover the species diversity in the group. We believe that our reconstruction of phylogenetic trees may become a basis for future studies in the group.We collected 276 tissue samples  from repOur strategy was developed with an idea of the broadest sampling. We typically obtained multiple samples per species and attempted to extract DNA and sequence our markers multiple times until we reach satisfactory results. As we work with under-studied group, it was also especially important to provide photographic vouchers for each sample, and to be sure of the correct identifications, so either determination from known experts or our own determinations were preferred. At the end of this process, only a few species were missed from our samples, and most of them are either rare or local. As of today, our sequencing list contains 41 species, which is about 80% of the supposed group diversity. Most of them are newly sequenced material, only eight species represented with information in the public databases (GenBank and BOLD). In all, we were able to increase the amount of available information five-fold. Due to the apparent problems with identification, we always trusted our samples first. To improve the quality of databases, we constructed the working classification of Picraminiaceae , which nDNA extraction of the Picramniaceae herbarium samples was not always straightforward. Less than 20% of herbarium samples, fresh or old, yielded the DNA of the appropriate quality. We believe that the main reasons are the conditions of their collection and preparation. We were able also to extract DNA from living samples (collected in silica gel or just air-dried) taken from 8 species, and in all these cases the DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing were successful.The DNA extraction was made using NUCLEOSPIN Plant II Kit , which we believe is a good trade-off between efficiency and simplicity. We improved the protocol to increase the lysis time to 30 min and employ thermomixer on the slow rotation speed (350 rpm) instead of a water bath. We used Nanodrop 1000 Spectrophotometer , to estimate concentration and purity (the 260/280 nm ratio of absorbance) of DNA.trnL-F [rbcL [We employed three of the most widely used barcoding DNA markers, chloroplast trnL-F  and rbcL-F [rbcL , and nuc-F [rbcL . The latTo make this research portable and expandable, we automated most of the steps with the\u201cRipeline\u201d workflow . This isLeitneria floridana Chapm. (currently included in Simaroubaceae), Kirkia acuminata Oliv. (Kirkiaceae) and Talisia nervosa Radlk. (Sapindaceae), or with L. floridana alone. To stabilize the tree and to increase branch support, we used the hyper-matrix approach [With the help of Ripeline, we were able to create the super-matrix, which includes all three DNA markers and obtain maximal parsimony (MP) and Bayesian (MB) phylogeny trees. Maximum parsimony analyses were run with the help of R phangorn package  using paapproach  and concNo morphological matrix is available for the whole family, so one of the most straightforward ways to assess its morphological diversity was to use the hierarchical components of identification keys . To see Datasets, scripts, trees for individual markers and other information used in preparation of this publication are available as one zip archive from the first author\u2019s Open Repository . We encoPicramnia and Nothotalisia + Alvaradoa, with sufficient (close to 100%) support.With the outgroups mentioned above, Picramniaceae formed a stable clade. First branches  are PicrAlvaradoa subovata Cronquist and A. puberulenta (Monach.) Sleumer form the first clade whereas West Indian species\u2014the second clade. Alvaradoa amorphoides Liebm., which grows in Mexico and Florida, is basal to West Indian species.This part of the tree is strongly supported . South ANothotalisia peruviana (Standl.) W.W. Thomas and N. cancellata W.W. Thomas form the stable clade to  P. andrade-limae Pirani + P. elliptica Pirani and W.W. Thomas + P. bahiensis Turcz. + P. grandifolia Engl. (latter two with less confidence); (3) P. dictyoneura Planch. + P. sphaerocarpa Planch. and (4) P. glazioviana Engl. + P. parvifolia Engl.; (5) P. oreadica Pirani + P. ramiflora Planch. + P. campestris + P. juniniana J.F.Macbr. However, some lower supported groups also make sense, especially (6) P. excelsa Kuhlm. ex Pirani + P. gracilis Tul. + P. nuriensis Steyerm. +P. tumbesina Cornejo.Generally, there is much less stability in that part of the tree. Many clades are not reliably supported. The most supported are the following groupings: (1) Picramnia are still missing in our molecular dataset. To test the possible placement of these species, we used the hierarchical component of identification keys together with phylogeny trees and employed k-nearest neighbor machine learning with bootstrap to point on possible sister species. Since super-species level classification is not developed, we decided to return trios of putative neighbor species which the highest bootstrap confidence  and bicarpellate (part of Picramnia) are likely advanced character states. There is no visible pattern for the position of inflorescence : anciens sessile flowers and fruits, although pedicellate flowers occur in some specimens. It is a widespread, mostly Amazonian species that reach Central America; therefore, its closer relationship to Central American to Andean species  makes sense on a geographical basis. P. ramiflora, however, is a quite disjunct species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.Pirani ,16 propoP. thomasii )) is morphologically heterogeneous, with a mixture of species bearing pentamerous flowers (P. latifolia and P. thomasii) and species with trimerous or tetramerous flowers (the other two). This fact implies that even though the numbers of sepals and petals have a consistent relevance for species recognition within the genus, often used in keys  nested with P. hirsuta W.W. Thomas and P. teapensis Tul. (3\u20134-merous); (b) P. elliptica and P. grandifolia (5-merous) closely related to P. bahiensis and P. andrade-limae (3-merous); (c) P. excelsa (3-merous) nested within a clade with P. sellowii and P. guianensis (both 5-merous), along with P. sphaerocarpa which is particularly polymorphic producing 3\u20134\u20135-merous flowers.The clade formed by , ,36, P. tPicramnia, as well as to generate assumptions of relationships, concern to the inflorescence type and position  Planch., which bears profusely branched thyrses. In the same way, racemose P. elliptica and P. grandifolia here emerged within a clade with P. andrade-limae and P. bahiensis; both provided with thyrses.Other morphological features that have long been used in the taxonomy of n e.g., ,31); the; thePicrP. glazioviana and P. parvifolia proposed by Pirani [P. parvifolia as is P. excelsa [Araucaria forests of Southern Brazil, did not emerge in that same clade. Such reasoning may also be pointed to P. glazioviana, which is quite similar and sympatric to P. ciliata in the Brazilian coastal moist forests, but this latter emerged near the base of the molecular tree. P. andrade-limae and P. bahiensis also have trimerous flowers with peculiar obcordate petals and assumed as related to the aforementioned Atlantic Forest group with P. glazioviana [Nonetheless, some assumptions of relationships previously made on morphological grounds are here corroborated by the molecular data. For example, the close relationship between y Pirani , based o excelsa , both syzioviana , but emeP. oreadica did not emerge together, but the fact that each of them is currently ascribed to distinct allopatric subspecies may be considered here [cerrados of Central Brazilian Plateau [P. guianensis would be nested in the clade including P. oreadica and P. campestris, because they share a special type of indumentum on the ovary (peculiar clavate trichomes), and are all mostly related to sandy or rocky substrates. These species live mostly as heliophytic shrubs, contrasting with the typical understory habit prevailing in the genus. However, the fact the P. guianensis emerged in another clade, that feature may have appeared independently. P. ferrea Pirani and W.W.Thomas, unsuccessfully sampled in this analysis, could probably belong to the P. guianensis clade on a biogeographical basis, or the P. campestris clade on morphological grounds .Astonishingly, the two samples of red here . These a Plateau , known sPicramnia. On the other hand, as we pointed out previously, it is remarkable that parts of the topology seem to be more or less geographically structured since two clades are mostly composed of Bolivian to extra-Amazonian Brazilian species. Another clade is mostly composed of species ranging from Darien (Panama) to Peru extending to the Amazonian region. In contrast, the next two clades are composed of a mixture of species, either showing the latter distribution pattern or species ranging from Central American to the West Indies. Even though we are aware that the definition of these areas of distribution is somewhat artificial, they are mostly in agreement with biogeographical regions and provinces previously proposed for the Americas [Picramnia may reflect some of the geomorphological, climatic, and ecological grounds that helped to shape or drive the history of the neotropical biota.Hence, there is some evidence which corroborates previous assumptions of relationships made on a morphological basis, while most parts of the molecular topology suggest high levels of homoplasy in the structural evolution of Americas . The spaEven with extensive sampling and continuous sequencing efforts, our data is still incomplete. Only 20% of our sequencing efforts ended with reliable sequences. GenBank data generally lack sequences of Picramniaceae. Some rare species are still not sampled.Nevertheless, we think that our phylogeny results might serve as a backbone for future research. Our best hope is that this work represents the beginning of the second, molecular stage in Picramniaceae research. One of the most apparent next steps is to check how morphology and DNA go together, the molecular \u201cweight\u201d of traditional morphological characters."}
+{"text": "Resilience is defined as a personal quality that enables growth in knowledge, understanding and self-actualization in the face of adversity and life disruptions. Low levels of resilience can dispose older adults to higher risks for negative health outcomes in the aftermath of traumatic events. However, we have limited knowledge of resilience among minority aging populations. This study aims to examine the presence and levels of resilience and its sociodemographic correlates among U.S. Chinese older adults. Data were drawn from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly, an epidemiology study of U.S. Chinese older adults in the Greater Chicago area. Guided by a community-based participatory research approach, a total of 3,036 Chinese older adults aged 60 and above participated in face-to-face interviews from 2015 to 2017. Spearman\u2019s rank-order coefficient was utilized to test correlation. A 10-item validated Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson resilience scale was used to assess resilience. In our sample, 59.7% were female, and the average age was 75. The mean resilience score was 26.9, ranging from 1 to 40. U.S. Chinese older adults who were younger, male, married, had higher education and income, fewer children, better health status and quality of life, and improved health and have lived fewer years in the U.S. reported higher levels of resilience. Future longitudinal research is needed to investigate the protective effects of resilience among older Chinese Americans against mental and physical distress."}
+{"text": "Crotalus genus stand out. Out of more than 40 species in the country, nine are found in Zacatecas: C.aquilus, C.atrox, C.basiliscus, C.lepidus, C.molossus, C.polystictus, C.pricei, C.scutulatus and C.willardi. Although these reptiles are important, due to their relevance in terms of ecology, cultural use and public health, their conservation is impacted by multiple factors, such as habitat fragmentation and indiscriminate killing. Thus, most species within this genus are found in some type of risk category at both the national and international level. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential distribution and diversity of rattlesnakes at the municipal level in the understudied state of Zacatecas. To do this, we analyzed and described the global distribution of nine rattlesnake species by building species distribution models, which determined their potential distribution based on a set of ecological variables and presence records. The resulting models were used to assess the diversity of rattlesnake species potentially present in each municipality within the state. Thirty-nine (67.24 %) out of fifty-eight municipalities registered at least one rattlesnake species. Fresnillo, Sombrerete and Valpara\u00edso were some of the municipalities showing greatest diversity. Moreover, C.atrox, C.lepidus, C.molossus and C.scutulatus were the most widely found species in the state. On the other hand, C.basiliscus, C.polystictus, C.pricei and C.willardi were rarely spotted and so, information on their distribution patterns within Zacatecas is limited. Finally, the areas having the largest potential for the distribution of these species were defined. These findings should make field work much more time- and cost-effective, facilitating the collection of in situ data that are useful for management and conservation plans of these species in Zacatecas.Mexico is home to a large number of reptile species and has one of the greatest diversities of venomous snakes, among which the rattlesnakes pertaining to the  Crotalus genus are noteworthy. As of 2018, this genus is comprised of 47 species, with 42 of them found in Mexico, among which 27 are endemic (Uetz 2018). Recently, there have been several studies on the herpetofauna in the central and northern regions of Mexico, in which Zacatecas is located. This state is one of the largest and shares its borders with eight other states , their natural history (LC) risk category. Conservation threats mainly originate from the fragmentation of their habitat derived from land use changes, as well as hunting and illegal trade . These are based on the assumption that the distribution of a given species is the result -at least within a short time frame- of a balance between undisturbed factors, i.e., a (pseudo)-equilibrium between the biotic entities and the physical characteristics To determine the potential distribution of rattlesnakes in Zacatecas, we gathered records on their global presence. In order to do this, we conducted queries in the databases of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility: aquilus  and C.bacatecas . Finallystrada 2041) by elCrotalus genus reported in Zacatecas, two groups of study were established: 1) species endemic to Mexico and 2) species non-endemic to Mexico . The second polygon comprised the entire Mexican territory together with the southernmost states of the United States of America, namely, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. This was done to include those species whose distribution range is also present in this portion of the USA .According to sdm, version 1.0.46, implemented in the R software, which assembles and evaluates models using 15 algorithms: BIOCLIM, BIOCLIM.DISMO, BRT, CART, FDA, GAM, GLM, GLMNET, MARS, MAXENT, MAXLIKE, MDF, RF, RPART and SVM. This provides the potential distribution of a given species or community. For each species, we used all available presence points, in addition to several background points created randomly within the modelling extent, so that the proportion of presence points was 30 % for all species , to keep only informative variables in the models. Finally, any non-significant variables that might remain in the model after this process were eliminated , which is considered a standard method to evaluate the discrimination capacity (i.e. differentiating the locations where presence and non-presence has been recorded) of predictive distribution models, avoiding the subjectivity of choosing a classification threshold. The value of AUC depends on the ratio of presence and the size of the area to be modeled, as pinpointed by . Thus, the field work in this study comprised a total of 48 localities throughout 22 municipalities within the state. These 22 municipalities were chosen randomly to include various regions throughout the state. Moreover, in these municipalities, we selected localities situated within the areas of greatest suitability as predicted by the models. A map of Mexican localities was overlapped to the potential distribution maps to conduct this geographical selection . Field wC.scutulatus to 84 records for C.willardi throughout their distribution range. The latter species, along with C.basiliscus and C.pricei, had the lowest number of available presence records, as opposed to C.molossus, which was the species with the greatest number of records in Zacatecas , bio_14 (precipitation of driest month), bio_19 (precipitation of coldest quarter), altitude, land cover and slope. Anthropogenic influence, which intuitively includes the direct influence of human beings on ecosystems , impacted the presence of C.atrox, C.lepidus, C.molossus and C.scutulatus. Rock types and edaphology were less relevant at the time of model preparation. On the other hand, variables such as bio_06 (min temperature of coldest month) or bio_10 (mean temperature of warmest quarter) were not selected in any of the distribution models.In the species distribution modeling, the most informative environmental variables for the models were C.aquilus  exhibits an extensive potential distribution within Zacatecas  and one more unpublished record for C.aquilus were added. According to the compilation of total records, Sombrerete and Valpara\u00edso were the municipalities exhibiting the highest rattlesnake diversity, with six different species being reported, followed by Fresnillo, with five different species. The municipalities of Chalchihuites, Concepci\u00f3n del Oro, El Plateado de Joaqu\u00edn Amaro, Genaro Codina, Guadalupe, Mazapil, Monte Escobedo and Pinos reported four species each. The municipality of Zacatecas, where the state capital is located, has the presence of three species of this genus. Although there are no occurrence records for rattlesnakes in 19 municipalities, according to the SDM, all municipalities have the minimum conditions for the presence of rattlesnakes. It is noteworthy that C.molossus has reported presence in 24 municipalities and C.lepidus and C.scutulatus in 23 municipalities, as opposed to C.pricei and C.willardi, reported in only two municipalities.Thirty-nine (67.24 %) out of the fifty-eight municipalities Table  have at C.aquilus, C.pricei and C.willardi.The model building area spanned the entire known distribution range of these species, so as to cover all possible habitats where the species might be found . HoweverC.aquilus exhibited presence records in Huanusco, Nochistl\u00e1n de Mej\u00eda and Pinos. Likewise, the SDM identified the municipalities of Cuauht\u00e9moc and Genaro Codina as potential areas for the occurrence of this species and the municipality of Pinos was also indicated as a potential area of occurrence, which is demonstrated with the presence record reported for this area.C.basiliscus was pointed out as a frequently spotted species in the region. Given that this organism is easily mistaken for C.molossus, we only considered records backed up with specimens and the knowledge that C.basiliscus prefers zones around 1,000 meters above sea level, which are the sites where georeferencing data were obtained. This is in agreement with the information reported by During our post-modelling field work, further occurrence records were collected. Moreover, when interviews were applied to individuals from different communities, C.atrox, C.lepidus, C.molossus, C.scutulatus, C.pricei and C.willardi, which is consistent with the literature and data obtained, since the first four species do not seem to have any problem to occupy habitats in close proximity to both urban and rural areas. In relation to this, presence records of C.atrox and C.molossus were obtained within populated areas, sightings of C.lepidus and C.molossus were also registered in the hills of Los Alamitos and La Virgen, which are located next to the largest and most populated urban area in the state. Sightings of C.lepidus in the aforementioned regions occurred in steep slopes and predominantly rocky soils, being the first variable (i.e. slope) among the ones selected for the construction of the SDM. Human presence is not an obstacle for the sighting of C.atrox and C.scutulatus, or at least for their transit in the vicinity of noisy urban areas with dense housing and transportation infrastructures. Indeed, some of the documented records for C.atrox are in paved and dirt roads. Moreover, C.atrox and C.scutulatus as two of the most important species in medical terms in Mexico, due to the large amount of snakebites caused by them. Those two species presented the greatest number of presence records and their distribution range is extensive across the USA and Mexico, including the state of Zacatecas.Human influence was one of the most widely used variables for the construction of potential distribution models for C.pricei in Zacatecas are scarce and SDM points out regions in northeastern Zacatecas, specifically the municipalities of Concepci\u00f3n del Oro, El Salvador and Mazapil, as those with a high distribution potential. This may be due to the fact that these municipalities have mountain ranges whose altitudes are higher than 2,900 meters above sea level  was confirmed in the state of Zacatecas: C.aquilus, C.atrox, C.basiliscus, C.lepidus, C.molossus, C.polystictus, C.pricei, C.scutulatus and C.willardi. In addition to the confirmed records, there is available indirect information on their presence in many areas, including personal communications, unverified sightings and detailed descriptions of specimens matching the physical characteristics and ecological requirements of the species. However, it is necessary to confirm their presence in these zones.Based on the obtained records and the field work, the distribution of nine rattlesnake species (We recommend applying greater field work efforts in areas where no occurrence records have yet been identified for these species, as well as for organisms that showed the lowest number of records, particularly in the areas with a higher potential for presence. Likewise, we strongly advise conducting field work during the July-October period, since this will increase the sighting probability. We also suggest updating models once additional occurrence records have been registered.Crotalusmolossus and C.atrox, species, which were found in these areas.Results obtained from the distribution modeling of these species generally agree with field work verification, making it possible to prioritize field efforts more effectively in different localities. During field work verification, multiple night sightings of rattlesnakes were noted, both alive or run over by vehicles on the roads, being the latter one of the major causes of death of these species in the state. This piece of information was merely gathered for This paper represents substantial contribution to the knowledge on rattlesnakes in Zacatecas. Their occurrence records are shown and zones with greatest diversity within the state are inferred. Moreover, this study indicates the potential distribution areas of these organisms. This material will be of major help for the implementation of strategies on public health issues, as well as for the proposal of management and conservation plans for these species.We believe that this study could be used by individuals wishing to conduct future projects related to rattlesnake conservation in Zacatecas. We also encourage the publication and incorporation of new occurrence records that contribute to gather further information on these organisms in the state."}
+{"text": "In the current supplement, we are proud to present seventeen relevant contributions from the 6th International Work-Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (IWBBIO 2018), which was held during April 25-27, 2018 in Granada (Spain). These contributions have been chosen because of their quality and the importance of their findings. IWBBIO 2018 Conference seeks to provide a discussion forum for scientists, engineers, educators and students about the latest ideas and realizations in the foundations, theory, models and applications in the field of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering. One of the main objectives of the conference is that research in the bioinformatic field can reach the medical application. The conference sought to focus on diverse fields to create multidisciplinary researches integrating areas like biomedical engineering, computer since, mathematics, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, statistics or biomedicine [Computational proteomics. Analysis of protein-protein interactions. Protein structure modelling. Analysis of protein functionality. Quantitative proteomics and PTMs. Clinical proteomics. Protein annotation. Data mining in proteomics.Next generation sequencing and sequence analysis. De novo sequencing, re-sequencing and assembly. Expression estimation. Alternative splicing discovery. Pathway Analysis. Chip-seq and RNA-Seq analysis. Metagenomics. SNPs prediction.High performance in Bioinformatics. Parallelization for biomedical analysis. Biomedical and biological databases. Data mining and biological text processing. Large scale biomedical data integration. Biological and medical ontologies. Novel architecture and technologies  for Bioinformatics.Biomedicine. Biomedical Computing. Personalized medicine. Nanomedicine. Medical education. Collaborative medicine. Biomedical signal analysis. Biomedicine in industry and society. Electrotherapy and radiotherapy.Biomedical Engineering. EComputer-assisted surgery. Therapeutic engineering. Interactive 3D modelling. Clinical engineering. Telemedicine. Biosensors and data acquisition. Intelligent instrumentation. Patient Monitoring. Biomedical robotics. Bio-nanotechnology. Genetic engineering.Computational systems for modelling biological processes. Inference of biological networks. Machine learning in Bioinformatics. Classification for biomedical data. Microarray Data Analysis. Simulation and visualization of biological systems. Molecular evolution and phylogenetic modelling.Healthcare and diseases. Computational support for clinical decisions. Image visualization and signal analysis. Disease control and diagnosis. Genome-phenome analysis. Biomarker identification. Drug design. Computational immunology.E-Health. E-Health technology and devices. E-Health information processing. Telemedicine/E-Health application and services. Medical Image Processing. Video techniques for medical images. Integration of classical medicine and E-Health.The list of topics in the successive Call for Papers has also evolved, resulting in the following list for the present edition:Prof. Joaquin Dopazo, Fundacion Progreso y Salud, Clinical Bioinformatics Research Area, Sevilla, SpainProf. Luis Rueda, Professor, School of Computer Science, Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics Lab, Windsor Cancer Research Group, University of Windsor.Dr. Anagha Joshi, Bioinformatics Group Leader, Developmental Biology Division, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UKProf. FangXiang Wu, P.Eng, SMIEEE Professor, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK Canada.Prof. Jiayin Wang, Professor, Xian Jiaotong University, China.In this edition of IWBBIO, we are honored to have the following invited speaker:These plenary lectures strengthened the aim of this conference for the diffusion and the discussion of high quality researches from some of the most recognized scientists in these fields.During IWBBIO 2018 several Special Sessions will be carried out. Special Sessions will be a very useful tool in order to complement the regular program with new and emerging topics of particular interest for the participating community. Special Sessions that emphasize on multi-disciplinary and transversal aspects, as well as cutting-edge topics are especially encouraged and welcome, and in this edition of IWBBIO 2018 a total of eleven special sessions have been presentedThe IWBBIO 2018 has continued as a two-track conference, increasing the number of sessions to a total of 25 oral and 1 poster session. It received more than 210 contributions which were reviewed by at least 3 referees from our estimated program and steering committees. The conference continues accepting both full and abstract submissions for presentations. However, it still maintained a high rate of full contributions against abstracts. IWBBIO 2018 received more than 180 attendees from diverse European nationalities  but also overseas countries like United Stated, Korea, China or India.Those contributions which were considered more relevant taking into account the evaluation and opinion of reviewers and chairmen were then invited to participate in this supplement for the BMC Bioinformatics journal . In the present issue of BMC Bioinformatics journal, it is a pleasure to present you these contributions that provide a clear overview of the thematic areas covered by the IWBBIO conference, ranging from theoretical/review aspects to real-world applications of bioinformatic and biomedical engineering.The first paper authored by Xin Guan et al. , presentThe articule by Osama Hamzeh et al.  has usedThere is an important effort of the scientific community in the development of methods to predict new disease genes from protein-protein interaction networks (PPIs). However, PPIs change during the life of the cells (dynamic) and, therefore, only the use of static PPI networks can affect the performance of the algorithms. In the paper presented by Ping Luo et al. , the autIdentification of conserved interactions between proteins and ligands that are reused across a protein family it is a key factor in understanding molecular recognition processes, also facilitating tasks such as the design of effective drug. The advancement in the promotion of computational algorithm to support our understanding of the ligand-receptor recognition process is of fundamental importance in the biological processes. The contribution by Vagner S Ribeiroy et al. , presentJan Fostier  proposedIn the contribution by Yixuan Wang et al. , authorsIn the manuscript by Michael G Sadovsky et al. , a clustFollowing, the paper by Sara Nasiri et al.  address The paper authored by Renzo Angles et al.  presentsFollowing, the paper presented by Hayman Saddik et al.  suggestsThe paper by G.V. Zhikhareva et al.  presentsWenting Wu et al.  address The subject of the paper by Ayca Kirimtat et al. - exploriThe next article, by Ana Cernea et al. , is devoSimulation of microfluidic devices for the analysis of blood samples is a great tool for optimizing these devices, requiring a sufficient degree of simulation accuracy. Accuracy is ensured by measuring appropriate values which inform about the course of the simulation and can also be measured in a real experiment. The paper from Hynek Bachraty et al.  presentsIn the paper by Annarita Fanizzi et al.  an automFinally, Cristina Soguero-Ruiz et al.  address The articles presented in this special issue provides insights related to Bioinformatics and Biomedicine Engineering. As Guest editors, we would like to express our thankfulness to all the authors contributing with their high quality researches to the achievement of this supplement. Also, we are very grateful to expert scientists that have actively collaborated with their recommendations and suggestions to review and improve these contributions. We specially thank to Mr. Omar El Bakry for his excellent and constant support with the publication and edition of this supplement. It has been an honor for us to participate in it. We finally invite authors and readers of this supplement to submit their recent works to future editions of IWBBIO, which will be announced at http://iwbbio.ugr.es. We wish the readers can benefit from insights of these relevant papers, and contribute to these rapidly and dynamics growing areas."}
+{"text": "Spartina alterniflora is an invasive plant on the coast of China that replaces native vegetation and has a serious negative impact on local ecosystems. Monitoring the spatial distribution of S. alterniflora and its changes over time can reveal its expansion mechanism, which is crucial for the management of coastal ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to map the distribution of S. alterniflora in Zhejiang Province from 1985 to 2015 using a time series of Landsat TM/OLI images and analyze the temporal and spatial patterns of expansion of this species.S. alterniflora in Zhejiang Province was extracted, and the temporal and spatial changes in the distribution of S. alterniflora were analyzed. The classification accuracy was 90.3%. S. alterniflora has expanded rapidly in recent decades after being introduced into southern Zhejiang. Between 1985 and 2015, S. alterniflora increased its area of distribution by 10,000 hm2, and it replaced native vegetation to become the most abundant halophyte in tidal flats. Overall, S. alterniflora expanded from south to north over the decades of the study, and the fastest expansion rate was 463.64 hm2/year, which occurred between 1995 and 2005. S. alterniflora was widely distributed in the tidal flats of bays and estuaries and expanded outward as sediment accumulated.After analyzing the distribution of coastal vegetation, the vegetation index was calculated based on Landsat images for 4 years . According to a threshold determined based on expert knowledge, the distribution of S. alterniflora cover in Zhejiang and can contribute to the control and management of this invasive plant.This study reveals the changes over time in  Spartina alterniflora Loisel. is a perennial halophyte that is native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America and predominates in local salt marshes [S. alterniflora is generally considered beneficial in ecological restoration because of its well-developed underground structure, high salt tolerance, high reproductive capacity and rapid growth [S. alterniflora was intentionally introduced as an ecological engineering species into China for sediment accumulation, land reclamation and saline soil amelioration [ marshes . S. alted growth . For thiioration .S. alterniflora can perform ecological functions and provide economic benefits [S. alterniflora was employed to solve river-shore crumbling near a sluice in Zhejiang Province in 1986. The planting successfully solved this problem, costing only 800 Yuan, and withstood typhoons and floods [S. alterniflora marsh on the canal bank prevented more than 100,000\u00a0m3 of sediment per year from migrating downstream [S. alterniflora is used as animal fodder and fish feed [Experiments have shown that benefits , 4\u20136. Cod floods . The S. wnstream  proved tish feed , 8, 9 anS. alterniflora has greatly expanded in distribution in the coastal salt marshes of China [S. alterniflora quickly expands on bare beaches and competes with native plants, invading their habitats and replacing them. Areas of Scirpus mariqueter Wang et Tang and Phragmites australis Trin. ex Steud. and young mangrove swamps have been invaded by S. alterniflora. Research shows that the species richness of benthic macroinvertebrates in S. alterniflora swamps is reduced because its invasion alters the physicochemical properties of the sediment [S. alterniflora communities is too high and the altered habitats are no longer suitable for them [S. alterniflora, and biodiversity is reduced [S. alterniflora impedes the development of local aquaculture and tourism and hinders water-based transportation [S. alterniflora was listed as one of the top 16 invasive alien species by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China in 2003 [Since its introduction, of China , 10. An of China \u201314. Oncesediment . Some enfor them . Therefo reduced , 18. In ortation , 20. Theortation , 21, 22. in 2003 .S. alterniflora threatens local ecosystems and causes extremely large losses to the regional economy [S. alterniflora can be found in most of China\u2019s coastal areas [S. alterniflora has become a hot topic for ecologists and biologists at home and abroad.Biological invasion has a strong influence on Earth\u2019s ecosystems and is considered one of the three most pressing environmental issues \u201326. S. a economy . At presal areas , 27. Accal areas  stated tS. alterniflora in China\u2019s coastal areas. However, there are few studies on the monitoring of changes in S. alterniflora distribution, with most such studies limited to monitoring the distribution of S. alterniflora in a given year. The lack of long-term sequential monitoring of S. alterniflora not only limits our understanding of the invasion mechanism but also restricts the decision-making of government departments. To better understand the expansion mechanism of S. alterniflora and prevent its further invasion, it is necessary to map its distribution and monitor its dynamic changes. Therefore, this study employed a time series of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)/Operational Land Imager (OLI) images to monitor the dynamic changes in S. alterniflora in the coastal areas of Zhejiang Province, China. Specifically, the spatial distribution of S. alterniflora in Zhejiang Province from 1985 to 2015 was mapped, the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of S. alterniflora expansion were analyzed, and the changes in S. alterniflora in bays and estuaries were analyzed. This study documents the temporal and spatial changes in S. alterniflora invasion on the eastern coast of China, providing important data for the ecological study of S. alterniflora.Over the years, scholars have conducted many studies on the invasion of 2. The tidal flats are mainly distributed in Hangzhou Bay, Sanmen Bay and Yueqing Bay. In 1983, S. alterniflora was first planted in the tidal flats of Yuhuan County and then introduced to other places along the coast. Over the past 30\u00a0years, S. alterniflora has rapidly expanded and become the main salt marsh vegetation along the coast of Zhejiang Province.Zhejiang Province is located in eastern China Fig.\u00a0a. It hashttps://glovis.usgs.gov/app). The principles of remote sensing image acquisition included (1) selecting images taken between May and November, which is the growth season of S. alterniflora and (2) selecting high-quality images without cloud cover. Table\u00a0The data collected in this study included remote sensing images, vector data such as administrative boundaries, field survey data and literature data. Remote sensing is an effective tool for monitoring changes in Earth\u2019s surface and is suitable for coastal wetland monitoring and vegetation monitoring \u201330. Sincincluded  selectinS. alterniflora community as determined visually in the field was marked on a Google Earth map with polygons. In addition, the positions of S. alterniflora plants were recorded using GIStar 710, a hand-held geographic positioning system device . Field surveys provide important location information for visual interpretation and classification of remote sensing images. A large number of Chinese and English research papers and statistical yearbooks were reviewed to obtain information about the distribution of S. alterniflora. In addition, detailed consultations were conducted with local people through field investigations.From May to November in 2015, field investigations were conducted in coastal areas of Zhejiang Province. The All remote sensing images were preprocessed with ENVI 5.3 software, including radiometric calibration, atmospheric correction and image-to-image registration. The Fast Line-of-Site Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes  method wS. alterniflora grows only in intertidal zones with high salinity and does not exist inland. In addition, there are dikes along the coast of Zhejiang Province that can prevent waves, which form an obvious artificial boundary between tidal flats and inland areas. S. alterniflora , which can express vegetation characteristics, was calculated. Analysis revealed that during the growing season, the NDVI of S. alterniflora was higher than that of S. mariqueter, which was quite low. Therefore, according to their NDVI differences and previous studies [S. alterniflora. Then, Google Earth images were used for postprocessing, unambiguously misclassified land types were modified, and the final spatial distribution of S. alterniflora was obtained. Images from 2010 and other periods were processed in the same way. According to the field survey, 300 verification points were randomly selected for verification, a confusion matrix was used to evaluate the performance of the classification, and overall accuracy was used to assess the classification accuracy.The growth environments and spectral characteristics of  studies , 29, an S. alterniflora from all images by ENVI 5.3 software, a distribution thematic map was constructed using ArcGIS 10.2 software, and the distribution changes were analyzed using the overlay function. The area of S. alterniflora within the administrative area of each city in each period was determined using ArcGIS 10.2 software. To better understand the expansion of S. alterniflora, based on the classification results of the previous step, the change in S. alterniflora was detected. In this study, the percentage (%) of the area and total area of S. alterniflora in different regions were calculated for various years. The total expansion area per decade was calculated, and the annual expansion area was defined as (Xj\u2009\u2212\u2009Xi)/(j\u2009\u2212\u2009i), where Xi and Xj are the areas of S. alterniflora in the prior year i and the subsequent year j, respectively.After extracting S. alterniflora in different areas along the coast of Zhejiang Province. Bays are typically surrounded by land on three sides, exhibiting a U-shape or arc shape. The bays in Zhejiang mainly include Hangzhou Bay, Yueqing Bay and Sanmen Bay  to the southernmost point (Wenzhou) along the coastline  of the Landsat TM imagery and because vegetation with an area of less than 900\u00a0m2 could not be accurately identified from the images.Table\u00a0S. alterniflora had expanded to 1827.63 hm2, mainly concentrated in Wenzhou, with an area of 1096.74 hm2, accounting for 60.01% of the total area. In 2005, the total area of S. alterniflora was 6464.07 hm2, and the species was mainly distributed in Ningbo, with an area of 3706.47 hm2. By 2015, the area of S. alterniflora reached 10,038.15 hm2, and the species was mainly distributed in Ningbo and Taizhou.By 1995, the area of S. alterniflora spread widely along the coast from 1985 to 2015, with the area increasing by 10,000 hm2 and an average annual growth area of 334.61 hm2  images to extract areas of S. alterniflora with high precision. However, the cost of purchasing high-resolution images is high, and much work is needed to extract S. alterniflora areas on a regional scale.Landsat data are the most commonly used data for monitoring vegetation on a regional scale. However, the resolution of the data is relatively coarse (30\u2009*\u200930\u00a0m), there are many mixed pixels, and vegetation areas less than 1000\u00a0mS. alterniflora and need to be used according to the data and actual conditions.Different classification methods also lead to certain uncertainties. It is widely believed that object-oriented methods are more accurate than pixel-based methods, but it is difficult to determine the optimal scale for object-oriented segmentation. Variables such as spectrum, texture, shape, and expert knowledge all contribute to the extraction of S. alterniflora. S. alterniflora was concentrated in intertidal zones that are periodically submerged by seawater, and its area was affected by tidal water. In Fig.\u00a0S. alterniflora was almost submerged in tidal water, and (b) and (d) are images of low-tide periods, when S. alterniflora grew well and was widely distributed. Remote sensing satellites have a defined visitation cycle and cannot obtain images of the same location every day. For example, the Landsat satellite takes images of the same place every 16\u00a0days. At the same time, if the weather conditions are not good, the images covered by clouds are almost impossible to use. When the study area is large (covering multiple scenes) and multiperiod changes are of interest, it is difficult to ensure that the acquired images are from the same low-tide period.In addition, tides are an important factor in the uncertainty of mapping Spartina alterniflora rapidly expanded in tidal flats and was removed in some areas by local residents [S. alterniflora in the same year vary among studies, as do S. alterniflora mapping results in the same year. Lu et al. [S. alterniflora in China, but their results differed because of the study differences in the types of data acquired and in the study periods. It is difficult to say whose research results are more accurate because S. alterniflora has been changing dynamically and lacks reliable historical monitoring data. Future research may require more high-resolution data or the use of multiple data sources, as well as new methods such as machine learning, to more accurately monitor the invasion of S. alterniflora.esidents . Therefou et al. , Liu et u et al.  and Mao u et al.  monitoreS. alterniflora. According to the literature, we summarize the main factors affecting the expansion of S. alterniflora. First, S. alterniflora has high tolerance to salt, flooding and temperature. S. alterniflora is a typical halophyte, with a salinity suitable for growth of 1% to 2%; this species can tolerate high salinity of up to 6%. In a saline environment, S. alterniflora adopts a salt-repelling strategy; it can also secrete salt [S. alterniflora are densely covered with stomata, and the highly developed aeration tissue transports oxygen to the underground part to relieve the oxygen deficiency caused by flooding [S. alterniflora can accumulate a large amount of soluble sugars.Many factors affect the invasion of ete salt . The leaflooding . This spS. alterniflora facilitate its rapid expansion [S. alterniflora can grow axillary buds on the nodes of its stem and on underground stems, which can emerge from the soil surface and form new plants under suitable conditions [Second, this species has a high reproductive capacity. The high seed yield and high germination rate of xpansion . In addinditions . Clonal nditions , 38.S. alterniflora. There are no special growth requirements in terms of soil, and S. alterniflora can grow in clayey, loamy and silty soils. In China, silt and muddy tidal flats in coastal areas are rich in nutrients and are widespread. The tidal power, geology, climate, soil conditions and seawater salinity in these areas are quite suitable for S. alterniflora growth and reproduction. At present, there are no local, natural enemies that can control the growth and spread of S. alterniflora in the tidal flats of China. The imbalance of natural ecological competition has led to the uncontrolled proliferation of S. alterniflora. Due to the lack of natural control mechanisms, S. alterniflora can rapidly expand due to its strong growth ability [Third, the suitable habitat and lack of natural control mechanisms in this region promote  ability .S. alterniflora in this region. S. alterniflora has played an important role in reducing coastal erosion and promoting reclamation, and for this reason, its introduction was extended from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian Provinces to all coastal areas. Natural media such as tides and winds also influence the dispersal of S. alterniflora [S. alterniflora can be unintentionally transferred through a variety of human activities, such as shipping and certain forms of land transport [Finally, intentional introduction and natural media promote rniflora . In addiransport .S. alterniflora. Summer currents flow from south to north, carrying the plants and seeds of S. alterniflora northward. Once S. alterniflora reaches new tidal flats, it can quickly settle and occupy the flats, grow extensively, and invade the native vegetation community.Muddy tidal flats are widely distributed along the coast of Zhejiang Province, providing suitable growth environments for S. alterniflora has serious consequences for local ecosystems. Accurate monitoring of the invasion is essential for coastal ecological protection. In this study, we proposed a simple and effective method to map the spatial distribution of S. alterniflora in Zhejiang Province in China, using a time series of Landsat images from 1985 to 2015. The results showed that the total area of S. alterniflora in Zhejiang was approximately 10,038.15 hm2 in 2015 and that the species was mainly distributed in bays, such as Hangzhou Bay, Yueqing Bay and Sanmen Bay, and estuaries, such as the Oujiang, Aojing, and Feiyun River estuaries. In recent decades, S. alterniflora has expanded rapidly, with the highest expansion rate between 1995 and 2005, reaching 463.64 hm2/year. During the invasion from south to north, the extent of expansion varied among regions, with Ningbo exhibiting the greatest expansion. This study provides multitemporal distribution data for the study of S. alterniflora invasion in Zhejiang, revealing the temporal and spatial dynamics of the invasion process and helping the government control S. alterniflora.The rapid invasion of China\u2019s coastal areas by"}
+{"text": "Glycyrrhiza L. (Leguminosae), is a medicinal herb with great economic importance and an intriguing intercontinental disjunct distribution in Eurasia, North Africa, the Americas, and Australia. Glycyrrhiza, along with Glycyrrhizopsis Boiss. and Meristotropis Fisch. & C.A.Mey., comprise Glycyrrhiza s.l. Here we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history in Glycyrrhiza s.l. using sequence data of whole chloroplast genomes. We found that Glycyrrhiza s.l. is sister to the tribe Wisterieae and is divided into four main clades. Clade I, corresponds to Glycyrrhizopsis and is sister to Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng. Meristotropis is embedded within Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng, and these two genera together form Clades II\u2013IV. Based on biogeographic analyses and divergence time dating, Glycyrrhiza s.l. originated during the late Eocene and its most recent common ancestor (MRCA) was distributed in the interior of Eurasia and the circum-Mediterranean region. A vicariance event, which was possibly a response to the uplifting of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau, may have driven the divergence between Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng and Glycyrrhizopsis in the Middle Miocene. The third and fourth main uplift events of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau may have led to rapid evolutionary diversification within Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng. Subsequently, the MRCA of Clade II might have migrated to North America (G. lepidota) via the Bering land bridge during the early Pliocene, and reached temperate South America  by long-distance dispersal (LDD). Within Clade III, the ancestor of G. acanthocarpa arrived at southern Australia through LDD after the late Pliocene, whereas all other species (the SPEY clade) migrated to the interior of Eurasia and the Mediterranean region in the early Pleistocene. The MRCA of Clade IV was restricted in the interior of Eurasia, but its descendants have become widespread in temperate regions of the Old World Northern Hemisphere during the last million years.The liquorice genus,  Glycyrrhiza L. is commonly known as the liquorice genus . Later, taxonomists treated both Meristotropis and Glycyrrhizopsis within Glycyrrhiza (Glycyrrhiza s.l.\u201d Previous molecular phylogenetic studies supported that Glycyrrhiza s.l. was an early branching clade of the inverted repeat-lacking clade (IRLC) of Papilionoideae  and, therefore, did not represent strong molecular evidence. Thus, the infra-generic phylogeny of Glycyrrhiza and its relationship to Glycyrrhizopsis and Meristotropis require further investigation.Despite its large economic and cultural importance, generic and species delimitation in  from 13  to 36 , through the Russian Far East, Mongolia and northern China (as well as Sichuan and Yunnan of southwestern China) (G. acanthocarpa J.M.Black), including the states of Queensland, South New Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia   to southustralia . Only twd States  and G. af Turkey  and Centf Turkey , respectGlycyrrhiza: Eurasian-North American disjunction  genomes to (1) reveal the infra-generic relationships of Glycyrrhiza and test the phylogenetic positions of Glycyrrhizopsis and Meristotropis and (2) estimate the divergence times of lineages and reconstruct their biogeographic history. This study will provide a robust phylogenetic framework for resolving taxonomic problems in Glycyrrhiza as well as for sustainably using and developing consumable products from the genus.In the present study, we inferred the phylogeny of Glycyrrhiza s.l., including all the species, except for the rare Glycyrrhizopsis syriaca Turrill, accepted by Glycyrrhiza s.l. Outside of Glycyrrhiza s.l., within the IRLC clade, we sampled eight species representing five genera within tribe Wisterieae sensu Hylodesmum podocarpum (Candolle) H.Ohashi & R.R.Mill as the outgroup. Most sequences for the study were obtained from field-collected or herbarium specimens and were new to this study  J.Compton & Schrire, Glycyrrhiza astragalina \u2013 1 and Wisteria floribunda (Willd.) DC. were obtained from the DNA and Tissue Bank, Kew1. In addition, we downloaded sequences of Lotus japonicus (Regel) K.Larsen and Robinia pseudoacacia L. \u2013 2 from GenBank  Poir. were removed. We also extracted 75 protein coding sequences  from the annotated genome and concatenated them with Geneious Prime  analyses using IQ-TREE v.1.6 . The analysis with priors only is important for revealing the actual marginal distributions of priors, which may differ from those set for the analysis due to complex interactions with other calibrations and the tree process, i.e., birth-death model, herein . In the Glycyrrhiza s.l., we used the Dispersal-Extinction-Cladogenesis model , forming a clade  with Wisterieae . This large clade was sister to all other sampled IRLC.We present the phylogenetic tree with Bayesian posterior probabilities (PP) and ML bootstrap (LBS) values on the BI tree branches . The phyGlycyrrhiza s.l. (clades I\u2013IV), all of which were highly supported with PP = 1, LBS = 100%. Clade I contained Glycyrrhizopsis flavescens  and Glycyrrhiza asymmetrica Hub.-Mor., and was sister to all other Glycyrrhiza s.l., which correspond to Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng . Within Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng, Clade II was comprised of two well supported species, Glycyrrhiza astragalina  and G. lepidota . Within Clade III, G. acanthocarpa was sister to all other species, comprising G. echinata, G. macedonica Boiss. & Orph., G. pallidiflora Maxim., G. squamulosa Franch., and G. yunnanensis Cheng f. & L.K.Tai ex P.C.Li, which formed a clade  and was regarded as the \u201cSPEY clade\u201d hereafter. Clade IV consisted of 13 species and included a nested clade comprising Meristotropis bucharica (Regel) Kruganova and M. kulabensis Masl. , which were sister to the rest of Clade IV . The next diverging clade within Clade IV comprises G. foetida Desf., Meristotropis triphylla Fisch. & C.A.Mey, and M. xanthioides Vassilcz  and the remaining eight species constituted the \u201cGAU clade\u201d .We recovered four main clades within Glycyrrhiza s.l.-Wisterieae clade  during the late Eocene, and Clade I and Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng diverged at 17.05 Ma . The split of the ancestor of Clades II and III and that of Clade IV was dated to 5.36 Ma  around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, followed by the divergence of Clade II and Clade III at 3.53 Ma . Within Clade II, the South American Glycyrrhiza astragalina and North American G. lepidota split at 2.55 Ma . On the other hand, at around 2.82 Ma , the most recent common ancestors (MRCA) of the Australian G. acanthocarpa separated from the SPEY clade within Clade III. The crown group of Clade IV began to diverge in the late Pliocene . Subsequently, the FOT clade and the GAU clade diverged at 2.83 Ma . More recently, the FOT clade and the GAU clade started to split at 0.67 Ma  and 0.93 Ma , respectively.All the PP values on our BEAST tree are 1.0, except for the Glycyrrhiza s.l. . The MRCA of was Clade I was restricted in circum-Mediterranean region (coding: C), and that of Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng spanned from Russian Far East and northern China to the Caucasus region . Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng split into the MRCA of Clades II and III, spanning eastern Asia and North America , and that of Clade IV (Node 6), which was distributed in the interior of Eurasia (coding: B). Subsequently, the MRCA of Clade II expanded to South America , while the ancestor of Clade III remained in eastern Asia  and subsequently migrated to Australia . As for Clade IV, most of taxa were confined in the interior of Eurasia (coding: B), while a few groups, including the MRCA of the FOT clades (Node 8), and the MRCA of G. glabra and G. glandulifera Waldst. & Kit., spread back to the circum-Mediterranean region (coding: BC). Also within Clade IV, G. uralensis, dispersed to eastern Asia (coding: AB).Our DEC analysis  indicateGlycyrrhiza belongs to the IRLC  within Glycyrrhiza  occurred at 8\u20137 Ma, leading to a cooler climate and aridification of inland Asia  and subsboundary : the MRCboundary .Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng underwent rapid diversification and reached the New World and Australia within a short period during Pliocene. The ancestor of each of Clades II and III separated at ca. 3.53 Ma, and the crown groups of Clades II and III diverged at ca. 2.55 Ma and ca. 2.82 Ma, respectively  rapid uplift of the QTP. The uplift yielded aridification of the Asian interior and the formation of the Loess Plateau, which may have facilitated speciation of the Eurasian Glycyrrhiza sensu Meng  seems to favor an LDD hypothesis rather than one of gradual range expansion. This is especially true due to intervening habitats across the Americas that may have been unsuitable for the ancestor of this group and would have served a barrier to gene flow along with distance following an LDD, also supporting the rapid speciation event . A more common pattern was observed for SPEY clade, for which the MRCA was located in eastern Asia  and westwards to Mediterranean region (G. glabra and G. glandulifera) within the last million years  can be found in the article/LD and JW designed the research. H-FC financially supported this study. LD, EA, KE, PL, H-FC, and HH collected the samples. Z-RZ carried out the experiment. AH and CS performed the data analysis. LD, AH, and JW discussed the results and wrote the draft. All authors agreed on the contents of the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Cistus albidus, Cistus salviifolius, Rubus ulmifolius and Quercus ilex showed the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity was higher in the extracts of Cistus and Q. ilex obtained by ultrasound, as was the antihypertensive activity. Antimicrobial activity was also higher in the extracts obtained by ultrasound from C. salviifolius and Q. ilex plants against bacteria and from Cistus ladanifer against yeasts. Therefore, it can be concluded that, with the ultrasound extraction of phenolic compounds from C. ladanifer, C. albidus and Q. ilex plants, it is possible to obtain extracts with important functional properties, so they could be studied for their use in food with the aim of obtaining healthy and safe products, favouring the sustainability of the environment of the Dehesa Extreme\u00f1a.This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of two methods (agitation and ultra-sound) for extracting phenolic compounds from 15 native plants. Plant species collected in the Dehesa of Extremadura were used. The antioxidant, antihypertensive and antimicrobial activity of the phenolic extracts was investigated. Significantly different results were obtained when comparing the two extraction methods, with the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds found for ultrasound extraction. In addition, the extracts obtained for  Lavandula stoechas, Malva sylvestris, Rosmarinus officinalis /(C \u2212 B).The extracts were diluted in 40% methanol  was obtained by linear interpolation from the graphical representation of the fractional activity vs. the phenolic extract concentration. IC50 is the phenolic concentration (\u00b5g/mL) required to decrease ACE activity by 50% under the assayed conditions, graphically obtained where Vi inhibitor/Vi control = 0.5.Target cell suspensions  were prep < 0.05). In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) on the correlation matrix of the variables was performed using SPSS for Windows, 203 version 21.0 .Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using SPSS for Windows, version 21.0 . Descriptive statistics of the data were determined, and the differences within and between groups were studied by one-way and three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and separated by Tukey\u2019s honest significant differences test . Cistus is an aromatic plant highly valued for its functional properties, among which the phenolic compound content is remarkable. In the study performed by Abu-Orabi et al. [C. salviifolius ranged from 111 to 183.8 mg GAE/g, and in the leaves from 126 to 393 mg GAE/g. In our study, one of the plants that presented more phenolic compounds was Q. ilex, corroborating with many studies that have demonstrated a high content of these bioactive compounds, as presented by Amessis-Ouchemoukh et al. [Furthermore, comparing the plants it can be observed that i et al. , the conh et al. . Hadidi h et al.  also obtThe antioxidant activity analysed by the two methods, DPPH and ABTS, and the antihypertensive activity determined by the ACE inhibitory activity of the extracts obtained from the plants are presented in p < 0.05): between 91.23 and 2363.34 mg Trolox/100 g for DPPH and 154.62 and 2306.17 mg Trolox/100 g for ABTS. In addition, when analysing the activity according to the plants, Cistus and Q. ilex were the ones with the highest values, meaning that those plants showed the highest antioxidant activity. Furthermore, it can be observed that the extracts with the highest antioxidant activity were not those with the highest total phenolic compound concentrations, which may be due to the different compound compositions [Cistus is one of the plants with greater beneficial properties, among which its antioxidant activity, related to its phenolic compound content extracted mainly with ethanol is highlighted [Q. ilex, which is reported in this study and supported by other studies such as that by Arina and Harisun [In general, it can be observed that the ABTS values were higher than those provided by the DPPH method , which mositions ,38. The hlighted . Among t Harisun , who obtCistus multiflorus, Malva sylvestris, R. ulmifolius, Q. ilex, Morus alba and Urginea marina using ultrasound had a lower IC50 (p < 0.05) than those extracted by agitation. This means that, with a smaller amount of these compounds, the ACE activity is reduced to half and ultrasound is more effective as an extraction method. However, within the plants, it can be observed that species of the genus Cistus, among them C. albidus, C. ladanifer and C. salviifolius, were the ones with a lower IC50, with values between 5.85 \u00b5g/mL (C. ladanifer) and 21.69 \u00b5g/mL . Additionally, R. ulmifolius, with an IC50 of 65.40 \u00b5g/mL, was also found within these plants with lower IC values. This activity is directly related to the phenolic compound content, so that the higher the amount of these bioactive compounds, the higher the ACE inhibitory activity. This fact has been confirmed in this study and in others such as the one presented by Chaudhary et al. [Hypotensive activity, expressed as IC50, measures the amount of any substance needed to inhibit 50% of ACE. y et al.  on severp < 0.05).C. salviifolius and Q. ilex presented a greater inhibition capacity on the six pathogenic bacteria studied (p < 0.05). The rest of the plants belonging to the genus Cistus  presented a greater inhibition capacity against Salmonella choleraesuis. R. ulmifolius presented a greater inhibition capacity against Listeria monocytogenes, S. aureus and E. coli.Concerning the study of the plants\u2019 effect, it can be observed that L. monocytogenes, L. innocua and S. choleraesuis.Regarding the extraction method, greater inhibition capacity was obtained through ultrasound against three of the six bacteria studied: Cistus is highlighted for its antimicrobial capacity. This agrees with the results obtained by Mahmoudi et al. [Cistus, observed higher activity against E. coli. It is commonly known that Gram-positive bacteria are more susceptible to natural extracts and Gram-negative ones are less sensitive to natural extracts. Nevertheless, there are exceptions in which Gram-negative bacteria are more susceptible than Gram-positive ones towards some natural extracts [E. coli.The concentration of extract also affected this activity, since the higher its concentration, the higher its inhibition capacity, with 2 mg/mL being the concentration with the greatest antimicrobial capacity against the six bacteria studied. Therefore, the genus i et al.  who, aftextracts , highligQuercus extract contains metabolites belonging to various chemical groups; the phenolic compounds  are the most representative. Other groups include carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids, carboxylic acids, and other secondary metabolites, terpenoids and alkaloids [Q. ilex and another Quercus spp. [E. coli and S. aureus. This activity depends on the species and the extract obtained, as well as the method of acquisition [In addition, lkaloids . Some ofcus spp. . The antuisition .Based on the results, it is possible to state that the antibacterial activity is influenced by the method of extracting phenolic compounds, the concentration and the plant extract used.p < 0.05).Cistus ladanifer showed a greater inhibition capacity against the four studied spoilage yeasts and C. albidus showed greater capacity against K. fluxuum, P. carsonii and Z. bailii .e et al.  demonstrTherefore, as previously stated for antibacterial activity, based on the results, antifungal activity is influenced by the method of extracting phenolic compounds, the concentration and the plant extract used.Finally, the PCA developed with the different parameters studied, to determine the relevance of each parameter in the plant extracts obtained with the two extraction methods used, is shown in Q. ilex extracts extracted by ultrasound (U) and those of C. ladanifer extracted by both methods (A and U) are located on the negative and positive axes, respectively, of the main component 1 defined by antimicrobial activity against yeast, explaining 57.79% of the total variance. The M. sylvestris extracts were associated with the main component 2 , with the positive part defined by antimicrobial activity against B. cereus bacteria.Cistus, especially C. ladanifer and C. albidus, and Quercus (Q. ilex), were the ones that presented the highest number of phenolic compounds, and highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. It was also possible to observe that the extracts of the genus Cistus, highlighting C. ladanifer extracted by ultrasound, were the ones that presented the best results for antihypertensive activity, since the concentration (\u00b5g/mL) of extract necessary to inhibit 50% of ACE is lower, which explains why the IC50 is in the opposite plane for these plant extracts.Among the observed results, it can be highlighted that the extracts obtained by ultrasound from the plants belonging to the genera Cistus albidus, C. salviifolius, R. ulmifolius and Q. ilex were the ones with the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity was higher in the Cistus and Q. ilex extracts obtained by ultrasound, as was the antihypertensive activity. The antimicrobial activity was also higher in the extracts obtained by ultrasound from C. salviifolius and Q. ilex plants against bacteria and C. ladanifer against yeast.In general, when the two extraction methods used to obtain phenolic compounds were compared, it was found that there were significant differences, with the highest values found for ultrasound extraction. In addition, the extracts obtained from C. ladanifer, C. albidus and Q. ilex, it is possible to obtain extracts with significant functional properties, so that they could be studied for their use in food with the aim of obtaining healthy and safe products, favouring the sustainability of the Dehesa Extreme\u00f1a environment.Therefore, it can be concluded that, by ultrasound extraction of the phenolic compounds from the plants"}
+{"text": "Lactobacillus brevis is the most common bacteria that causes beer spoilage. In this work, a novel electrochemical immunosensor was fabricated for ultra-sensitive determination of L. brevis. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were firstly electro-deposited on the electrode surface for enhancing the electro-conductivity and specific surface area. Ionic liquid was used for improving the immobilization performance of the immunosensor. After optimization, a linear regression equation can be observed between the \u2206current and concentration of L. brevis from 104 CFU/mL to 109 CFU/mL. The limit of detection can be estimated to be 103 CFU/mL. Lactobacillus and Pediococcus. Lactobacillus brevis is the most common bacteria isolated from spoilage beer, which causes more than half of beer spoilage problems. It is also one of the beer spoilage bacteria which has been studied deeply 3\u2212/4\u2212 was used as a probe. It can be seen from ct compared with other electrodes, suggesting the electro-deposition could significantly enhance the electron transfer rate. Then, a clear increase of the Rct was noted after the immobilization of anti-L. brevis. It indicates the successful modification. A further increasing of the Rct has been observed with the immobilization of BSA, L. brevis, HRP-anti-L. brevis and L. brevis, suggesting the successful modification of each step. The increase of Rct during the sensor fabrication is due to the formation of barriers during the antibody-antigen reaction [ct slightly, suggesting the ILs is an ideal candidate for enhancing the loading performance of the electrode.reaction ,35. On tThe effect of CV scan rate on the immunosensor can be used to investigate the electron transfer type on the electrode surface. The acidic or alkaline condition can influence the activity of the antibody ,37,38,392O2 concentration on the immunosensor. The increase of the H2O2 concentration can significantly enhance the sensing performance on the beginning stage due to more H2O2 participating in the enzymatic reaction [reaction ,41,42. TL. brevis and L. brevis on the immunosensor. The increase of the incubation time can significantly enhance the sensing performance on the beginning stage. The current change reached a plateau after 40 min. Therefore, 40 min incubation has been used for study. L. brevis and HRP-anti-L. brevis on the immunosensor. Similarly, the increase of the incubation time can significantly enhance the sensing performance on the beginning stage. The current change reached a plateau after 30 min. Therefore, 30 min incubation has been used for study.L. brevis. As shown in current increased along with the the concentrate of L. brevis from 101 to 1010 CFU/mL. The increase of the \u2206current is due to more L. brevis being absorbed on the electrode surface, which consequently increased the HRP-anti-L. brevis absorption. Then, the HRP-anti-L. brevis could catalyze the H2O2 reduction and contribute to the signal. A linear regression equation can be observed between the \u2206current and concentration of L. brevis from 104 CFU/mL to 109 CFU/mL. The limit of detection can be estimated to be 103 CFU/mL. L. brevis immobilization in the future work.The sensing performance of the immunosensor was investigated under the optimum conditions. 9 CFU/mL of E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis. As shown in L. brevis is significantly larger than that of the sensor towards E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis, suggesting the proposed immunosensor had excellent sensing performance. In order to test the use of the proposed immunosensor in beer samples, commercial beer has been tested by replacing the immobilization of L. brevis. No \u2206current was observed during or after the sensing indicating no detectable L. brevis is found in commercial products. Then, standard addition method was applied during the immobilization process. Five individual immunosensors were fabricated using beer mixed with 105L. brevis during the immobilization process. An RSD of 7.21% was detected among the five measurements, suggesting the proposed immunosensor can be applied for sensing L. brevis in real beer samples.The specificity of the immunosensor has been tested using 10L. brevis detection. AuNPs were electro-deposited on the electrode surface to enhance the electrochemical performance of the immunosensor. Then, ILs was coated on the immunosensor for enhancing the immobilization performance. Due to the sandwich construction, the proposed electrochemical immunosensor can linear detect L. brevis from 104 CFU/mL to 109 CFU/mL. The limit of detection can be estimated to be 103 CFU/mL.In this work, an ultra-sensitive electrochemical immunosensor was fabricated for"}
+{"text": "As a tribute to Professor Oleg B. Ptitsyn, we organized an interview with Professor Akiyoshi Wada held in Tokyo in the middle of September 2019. Both Professor A. Wada and the late Professor O. B. Ptitsyn greatly contributed to the field of protein biophysics, and they played leading roles in establishing the concept of the \u201cMolten Globule state\u201d 35\u201340 years ago. This editorial is intended to recount, as accurately as possible, some episodes during the early days of protein research that led to the discovery of this state, and how this concept was coined the \u201cMolten Globule state\u201d and came to be widely accepted by biophysicists, biochemists, and molecular biologists. Professor A. Wada coined the name \u201cMolten Globule state\u201d during a discussion with Professors O. B. Ptitsyn and C. Crane-Robinson at the International Symposium on Peptides, Polypeptides, and Proteins, held in Galzignano, Padova, Italy, in June 1982. At the time, proteins were considered either folded or unfolded, but several researchers\u2014including the groups of A. Wada and O. B. Ptitsyn\u2014had noticed the presence of a compact, globular, folded state with conserved secondary structures but fluctuating sidechains [Apparently, both the A. Wada and O. B. Ptitsyn groups swiftly adopted the term Molten Globule state. The name Molten Globule state first appeared in 1983 in a paper published by M. Ohgushi and A. Wada, describing a compact, partially denatured state of Cytochrome c . AfterwaIt is sometimes instructive to recall how a scientist, or a group of scientists, are led to initiate a line of research. Let us recall the early motivation for studying a compact denatured state with conserved secondary structures in the laboratory of A. Wada at the University of Tokyo. A. Wada\u2019s study of secondary structures originated at the time when he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Paul M. Doty at Harvard University, where he measured the intrinsic viscosity and specific rotation to characterize the helix\u2013coil transition of polyglutamine polypeptides upon pH titration .In retrospect, several aspects of the research on the Molten Globule state appear to be related to the experiments performed in Doty\u2019s laboratory, and this could explain why the Molten Globule state of Cytochrome c was observed despite it appearing only under very un-physiological conditions . Indeed, pH titration was used for monitoring the pH denaturation of polyglutamine polypeptides, and adding salt was a natural idea for lowering the electrostatic repulsive interactions and trying to stabilize the protein structure.Molecular Biology of the Cell, 6th edition, Garland Publishing Inc; Finkelstein and Ptitsyn, Protein Physics: A Course of Lectures, 2nd edition, Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier Science).Records indicate that the name \u201cMolten Globule state\u201d was coined in 1982 during the meeting in Padova, but the phenomenon itself was observed earlier by other groups. Interestingly, the paper published in 1981 by D. A. Dolgikh et al. . Indeed,The research group of A. Wada, which was affiliated to the Department of Physics at the University of Tokyo, was keen to apply modern physical measurements to the analysis of biological systems (for example, Ohgushi and Wada\u2019s paper reports high-resolution NMR spectra of Cytochrome c  as well Equipment enabling multi-wavelength measurement is now commonly available, but at the time, they were often home-built. Building such an apparatus certainly necessitates, besides technical expertise, a strong belief, and a vision for the wealth of information that can be deciphered by quantitative and large-scale biophysical measurements. Perhaps it is this vision that led A. Wada to envision the sequencing of the human genome and later initiate structural genomics projects.O. B. Ptitsyn further developed the concept of the Molten Globule state from a theoretical viewpoint with his colleagues Drs. A. V. Finkelstein and E. Shakhnovich, among many others, and further refined his experimental observation of the Molten Globule states with Dr. V. N. Uversky and many other experimentalists. Professor O. B. Ptitsyn published over 300 research articles, many of which were published in Western journals at a time where communication was cumbersome, and firmly contributed to shaping many aspects of protein biophysics as we know it today. During his endeavor, he met and influenced many Japanese protein scientists on several occasions .Let us finish this tribute by stating that all appreciated his deep scientific insight, and his kind and warm personality. Here, we reference only publications published during the early days of research on the Molten Globule. We are fully aware that the list of references could be more exhaustive, and we direct interested readers to a recent, more comprehensive review on the Molten Globule concept, which can be found in ."}
+{"text": "C. albicans complex. Although C. africana, as a part of the complex, is considered to be mostly responsible for the development of vulvovaginal candidiasis, it may be associated with a wider clinical spectrum. Oropharyngeal candidiasis\u00a0(OPC)\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0fungal\u00a0infection\u00a0of the oral cavity caused by\u00a0the members of C. africana as the causative agent of oral candidiasis. Furthermore, in vitro antifungal susceptibility test indicated the full susceptibility of all C. africana isolates to caspofungin. However, the data were also suggestive of the resistance against fluconazole and amphotericin B. Caspofungin was used as the main antifungal agent for the treatment of oral candidiasis, resulting in the improvement of thrush in patients. The resistance of C. africana to fluconazole and amphotericin B suggests the necessity of performing in vitro susceptibility testing on the isolates for the selection of appropriate antifungal agents. This report described two cases diagnosed with oral candidiasis during the receipt of treatment for malignancies. Conventional and molecular tests were performed on the samples collected from the patients\u2019 oral cavities. The test results revealed C. africana as an emerging non-albicans Candida species and its antifungal susceptibility profile is crucial to select antifungal prophylaxis and empirical therapy for oral candidiasis in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. As the findings indicated, the achievement of knowledge regarding  non Candida species is considered a risk factor for\u00a0invasive candidiasis infections . F bp  [ 9Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed using the broth micro-dilution method based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document M27-A3/S4  10]..10].C. africana in patients with cancer. There are many studies indicating that C. africana can be responsible for vulvovaginal candidiasis [ C. africana isolates from patients with vulvovaginal inflammation and reported that all C. africana isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, fluconazole, and caspofungin [ C. africana isolates were susceptible to the commonly used antifungal agents [ C. africana in patients with respiratory infections was resistant to amphotericin B and fully susceptible to fluconazole and caspofungin [ The present report described two rare cases of oral candidiasis caused by idiasis  , 11. N agents  . In anoofungin  .C. africana-induced oral candidiasis in HIV-infected patients. In the mentioned study, all of the cases (n=4) were susceptible to amphotericin B, caspofungin, and fluconazole [ C. africana. According to the epidemiological and clinical data, C. africana has a worldwide distribution. This species has been identified in patients residing in Italy, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, Chile, Senegal, and Nigeria. This species particularly colonizes and infects human vagina. However, there also some reports regarding the etiologic role of this species in the development of some life-threatening diseases, such as candidemia in adults and renal diseases in newborns. Nonetheless, the clinical significance of C. africana remains unclear. The worldwide distribution of C. africana and case reports of serious infections warrant the implementation of more studies in the future [ There is only one study reporting onazole  . In our future  .The colonization in the cases presented in this study may have occurred in the hospital from an unknown origin or as a result of contact with vaginal secretion before admission. In the current study, fluconazole was used as a prophylactic agent to protect the patients against invasive fungal infections. In addition, antifungal susceptibility test was performed for caspofungin, fluconazole, and amphotericin B. In agreement with a previous study  , two is Candida\u00a0species to echinocandins has increased, this antifungal agent has remained the preferred first-line class of drug for invasive candidiasis. Moreover, most of Candida species are susceptible to this antifungal agent [ Although the resistance ofl agent  . Howevel agent  . Candida species in patients with cancer [ In contrast to all aforementioned studies  - 13, o cancer  . Howeve cancer  - 13.In the current study, one of the isolates was found to be resistant to amphotericin B. This finding could be justified with a previous study demonstrating that the yeasts isolated from the patients undergoing chemotherapy had significantly higher MICs to amphotericin B than the colonizing isolates recovered from immunocompetent patients  .Oral candidiasis is one of the major complications in patients with malignancies. Mucositis with odynophagia may also occur in patients receiving chemotherapy, which is indistinguishable from esophagitis. The OPC is a symptom that is predictive of the involvement of the esophagus. Endoscopy and sampling could be used for diagnostic purposes; however, they were frequently postponed due to patient conditions, such as bleeding, critical illness, and thrombocytopenia  . In casC. africana from thrush in patients with malignancies in Iran. The acquisition of knowledge regarding the emerging non-albicans Candida species  and their antifungal susceptibility is necessary to decide on the antifungal prophylaxis and empirical therapy of oral candidiasis and even invasive infections in the cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.This study was the first report concerning the isolation of E. L., M. M., and S. A. developed the concept anddesigned the study. D. D. performed sample and datacollection. E. L. and A. F. carried out laboratoryexaminations, as well as data analysis andinterpretation. M. M. R. and R. G. H. performed the literature search and prepared the first draft of themanuscript. E. L. and S. A. carried out the finalrevisions of the manuscript.There are no conflicts of interest.This study was financially supported by theInfectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine ResearchCenter of Shahid Beheshti University of MedicalSciences, Tehran, Iran. Research approval wasobtained from the Ethics Committee of ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences (IR.SBMU.RETECH.REC.1398.208)."}
+{"text": "Anopheles (Cellia) subpictus sensu lato (s.l.) is a major secondary vector of malaria in Sri Lanka. The sibling species composition in this species complex in Sri Lanka remains debatable. Compensatory base changes (CBCs) in the secondary structures of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) are reliable sources to predict sexual incompatibility among closely related species. The objective of the present study was to investigate the An. subpictus s.l. populations in Sri Lanka using the CBC analysis. Mosquito DNA was amplified and sequenced for the ITS2 region. The sequences were annotated using ITS2 Database. ITS2 secondary structures were constructed and analyzed for CBCs using various bioinformatics tools. The ITS2 regions consisted of two different lengths, 575 bp and 480 bp. The two CBCs and three hemi CBCs identified in the present study suggest that there may be at least two sexually incompatible sibling species. In conclusion, it is likely that there may be only two reproductively isolated sibling species in the An. subpictus species complex in Sri Lanka. However, due to high divergence of ITS2 in these species, it is reasonable to assume that they may be undergoing a speciation event to separate as a distinct species.The mosquito  Plasmodium. Having a long-documented history of malaria, the country experienced the most devastating epidemics in the period of 1934\u20131935 D3 [15] aD3 [COI , which ce stages , indicate stages , changine stages , it is rAn. subpictus has a complicated history. As reported in 1966, the then subspecies Indefinitus separated from Subpictus as a distinct species, namely Anopheles indefinitus [An. subpictus, An. sundaicus and An. vagus belong to Pyretophorus Series. It has been shown that the species An. vagus, An. indefinitus, An. subpictus and An. sundaicus are hard to discriminate based on morphological characters [Anopheles pseudosundaicus in Southwestern India [An. subpictus s.l. and is taxonomically close to An. subpictus and An. sundaicus [An. pseudosundaicus.The taxonomic status of efinitus . The spearacters . Moreovern India . This spundaicus . HoweverAn. sundaicus s.l. is an important vector of malaria in islands and coastal areas of Southeast Asia [An. subpictus species B in the East coast of Sri Lanka were in fact the members of the Sundaicus complex based on genetic similarity to An. sundaicus s.l. [An. subpictus and An. sundaicus placed in close proximity (An. subpictus B and An. sundaicus but it indeed indicated close genetic affinity of An. vagus to An. subpictus A and An. sundaicus to An. subpictus B.ast Asia , but it ast Asia , analysicus s.l. . The ITSroximity . This waAn. subpictus species B and An. sundaicus sequences analyzed (An. sundaicus is morphologically different to An. subpictus due to presence of speckling, i.e., black and white scaled regions alternatively occurred in legs [The CBC analysis indicated that there were no CBCs between Sri Lankan analyzed . Even th in legs .An. subpictus s.l. in Thailand and Indonesia were distinct but genetically more related to An. subpictus sibling B in Sri Lanka [An. subpictus sibling B and An. subpictus in India, suggesting that their reproductive isolation, hence, potential separation as a distinct species. However, further studies are required to confirm this speculation.Additionally, ITS2 sequence comparison with sequences published by Wilai et al.  imply thri Lanka  (MultiplAn. subpictus species complex in Sri Lanka has undergone significant updates since 1996. However, the present study confirms the early studies by Abhayawardana et al. [An. subpictus s.l. in Sri Lanka is composed of two sibling species A and B. The presence of CBCs in their ITS2 secondary structures corroborate that they are two sexually incompatible species. The highly divergent ITS2 secondary structures also suggest that A and B are highly divergent from each other, thus they may be undergoing a speciation event to separate as a distinct species. However, this notion warrants further investigation in terms of analyzing more DNA loci including mitochondrial markers and single-copy DNA markers. Moreover, it is recommended to examine this mosquito complex for morphological, genomic and ecological variations and speciation information at different time points which may span from years to decades, to observe the outcome of the potential evolutionary processes ongoing with the species complex.The sibling species composition of a et al.  that An."}
+{"text": "Anopheles funestus to malaria transmission in the urban environment is still not well documented. The present study assesses the implication of An. funestus in malaria transmission in two districts, Nsam and Mendong, in the city of Yaound\u00e9. Adult mosquitoes were collected using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light traps (CDC-LT) and human landing catches from April 2017 to March 2018 and were identified morphologically to the species level. Those belonging to the Anopheles gambiae complex and to the Anopheles funestus group were further processed by PCR to identify members of each complex/group. Anopheline mosquitoes were analysed to determine their infection status using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Bioassays were conducted with 2\u20135-day-old female Anopheles funestus and An. gambiae s.l. to determine their susceptibility to permethrin, deltamethrin and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Six anopheline species were collected in the peri-urban district of Mendong: Anopheles gambiae, An. coluzzii, An. funestus, An. leesoni, An. ziemanni and An. marshallii; only four out of the six were recorded in Nsam. Of the two members of the Anopheles gambiae complex collected, An. coluzzii was the most prevalent. Anopheles coluzzii was the most abundant species in Nsam, while An. funestus was the most abundant in Mendong. Both Anopheles funestus and An. gambiae s.l. were found to be infected with human Plasmodium at both sites, and both were found to be resistant to DDT, permethrin, and deltamethrin. This study confirms the participation of An. funestus in malaria transmission in Yaound\u00e9 and highlights the need to also target this species for sustainable control of malaria transmission.The contribution of  Anopheles gambiae and An. coluzzii are the most important malaria vectors in the city centre ), 65% (95% CI [48.3\u201386.4]) and 76% (95% CI [53.4\u2013104.3]) mortality rate, respectively]. Concerning An. gambiae females, they were resistant to DDT, deltamethrin, and permethrin at both sites with a mortality rate varying from 0% to 62.5% .The study objective was to assess the implication of  records , 46, as iae s.l. . Anophelsettings , 50. Thegetation . Its pregetation . Anophel country  and in m country , 16, 61.An. funestus, particularly in Mendong, were recorded with a sharp increase at the onset of the rainy season. The abundance of An. funestus during this period could be due to the extension of swamps associated with growing vegetation at their edges, which increased breeding opportunities for An. funestus. Similar observations were reported elsewhere [Anopheles gambiae s.l. was present all year long at both sites; however, there were high densities recorded during the short rainy season (April\u2013June).Increased transmission of malaria due to changes in mosquito biting behaviour has been reported in previous studies . High splsewhere . AnophelAn. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus were resistant to permethrin, deltamethrin, and DDT. These findings were consistent with studies conducted across the country reporting rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in these vector populations [An. gambiae s.l. populations to insecticides was similar between the two districts and may suggest similar selective pressure at both sites. In Cameroon, the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in vector populations is thought to result from selective pressure exerted by the frequent use of treated nets, sprays, and coils in households and pesticide use in agriculture [An. funestus populations in Cameroon [An. gambiae s.l. populations from Cameroon [Both ulations , 38. Theiculture , 45. AltCameroon , 67, 68,Cameroon , 44, 58.Anopheles funestus belongs to a group of nine morphologically similar species [An. funestus, An. rivulorum, and An. leesoni, have been reported in Cameroon [An. funestus and An. leesoni in both districts. This is the first time An. leesoni has been reported in the city of Yaound\u00e9. Interestingly, two An. leesoni were also found to be infected. Although An. leesoni is frequently reported across the continent, it is considered to have a limited role in malaria transmission [ species , which c species , 32. ThrCameroon , 41. Molsmission , 26. HowAn. gambiae complex, both An. gambiae and An. coluzzii were recorded. Anopheles coluzzii was the predominant species at both sites, representing 87.85% and 53.97% of the total species in Nsam and Mendong, respectively. These data were in accordance with previous studies reporting a heterogeneous distribution of these species in the city of Yaound\u00e9 [Within members of the  Yaound\u00e9 , 59.A high malaria transmission rate was recorded in both districts and likely suggests an elevated malaria transmission risk in both the centre and the city periphery. According to Robert et al. , the annAn. funestus in the urban environment. In the case of Yaound\u00e9, where vectors display high pyrethroid resistance, different species take part in malaria transmission, and hotspot areas are well identified. The implementation of an integrated control approach combining larvicidal or environmental management by draining urban swamps, with improvements in urban planning, and promotion of the use of treated nets could be indicated for the control and elimination of malaria vectors in Yaound\u00e9.The present study highlights challenges affecting malaria control in the urban environment and confirms the important epidemiological role played by"}
+{"text": "Burn injuries and their consequences are the most important health problems in advanced countries. Prediction of the final outcome of patients with widespread burn injuries in clinical decision making, relief of illness, and optimal allocation of hospital resources for these patients is important and will be helpful in the process of effective triage, implementation of effective therapeutic and surgical interventions, quality control and evaluation, treatment planning, informing the patient's family about the final prognosis and comparing the effectiveness of the therapeutic interventions. Considering that burn injuries are a major concern in children's age groups and require special management and attention, the initial assessment and prediction of the final outcome of children with burn injuries in the implementation of specialized care and reduction of the probability of mortality is an important step for the treatment of these patients. Baux indexes have credible credibility in predicting burn mortality. The purpose of the present study is to determine the value of Revised Baux (R. Baux) and Pediatric Baux (P. Baux) indexes in predicting the probability of mortality, requiring intubation and admission to ICU in a sample of all children in the burning ward of Sina-Tabriz Hospital.This descriptive-analytic cross sectional study was carried out in the 6-month period from April to September 2017 in a sample of all children in the burning ward of Sina-Tabriz Hospital. Inclusion criteria include patients less than 12 years of age admitted to the pediatric burn ward and criteria for information exodus are incomplete records. The data were collected in a valid and reliable checklist based on demographic information and specific burn information such as percentage and extent of burn, complications of patients during hospitalization and final outcome. Baux Indexes were calculated for the patients under study. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 17.0. We determined predictive value, sensitivity, specificity and cut-off points of R.Baux and P.Baux for outcome of Children admitted with Burn Iinjuries. P value less than 0.05 is significant.Of the total of 213 admitted children, 59.60% were male. Most of the children  had burns of 2 and 3. 1.6% of children died. The rate of intubation of children with burns in this study was 7.4%. Increasing one point in the R.Baux and P.Baux criteria, despite a constant burn percentage, increased the chance of a patient's death by 43.1 and 42.1, respectively. Increasing one point in the R.Baux and P.Baux criteria, despite the fact that the percentage of burns remained constant, increased the chance of requiring intubation of the patient by 23.1 and 22.1 times. Spearman correlation coefficient between burn percentage and R.Baux and P.Baux was calculated to be 0.928 with P <0.001. The R.Baux point and P.Baux point are related to the probability of motility and intubation. Also, the percentage of burns is related with the likelihood of need for ICU and correlates with P.Baux and R.Baux. Therefore, using the points obtained and the percentage of body burns, it is possible to reduce the mortality of children with burns with special care and care.Burn, Children, R.Baux, P.Baux"}
+{"text": "Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an antimalarial drug also known to have anti\u2010inflammatory and antiviral effects. The antiviral action of HCQ has been a point of interest for many researchers because of its mechanism of action and the potential use it could have during the current COVID\u201019 pandemic. However, HCQ can cause QT interval prolongation. The current therapies used in COVID\u201019 are changing as the pandemic develops. The aim of this article is to promote a validated risk score for QT prolongation in multidimensional assessment of COVID\u201019 patients, especially in elderly and polypathological patients.  For instance, we have to evaluate how drugs included in polytherapy interact with HCQ metabolism. Indeed, HCQ is substrate for cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (enzymes responsible for the metabolism of many drugs) and HCQ can interfere with other drugs.Finally, smoking has previously been suspected to interfere with the bioavailability of HCQ.The findings from Mehra3In our opinion, in clinical practice, the use of HCQ in the frail elderly must be used in a prudent way. ECG control is fundamental given the unpredictability, and it is prudent to correct electrolyte disorders and, where possible, avoid or minimize use of other drugs known to prolong the QT interval in relation to comorbidity and polypharmacotherapy.The current therapies used in COVID\u201019 are changing according to the developing pandemic. Further study of the need for QT interval monitoring is needed before final recommendations can be made. Therefore, our article has been created to describe how multidimensional assessment, combined with a valuation of drug\u2010interaction risk in polypathological patients, remains a priority in the therapeutic management of all patients, including those with COVID\u201019.Nothing to disclose.Conceptualization: A.C., C.M., and G.R. Data curation: A.C. and G.R. Formal analysis: A.C. and C.M. Writing and original draft preparation: A.C., G.R., and C.M. Writing, review, and editing: A.C. and C.M. Supervision: A.C., C.M., and G.R. All authors agreed on the final text."}
+{"text": "Echinococcus, initially by providing a workable and practical taxonomy and subsequently determining transmission patterns in endemic areas. This review summarises the taxonomy and nomenclature of species of Echinococcus and provides an update on ME investigations of the ecology of Echinococcus transmission, particularly in areas where more than one species of Echinococcus is maintained in cycles of transmission that may interact.Molecular epidemiology (ME) is the application of molecular tools to determine the causation of disease. With infectious diseases, such as echinococcosis, this applies to identifying and characterising the aetiological agents and elucidating host range. Such an approach has been very successful with the causative agents of echinococcosis, species of  Molecular epidemiology (ME) has revolutionised our understanding of infectious disease transmission. It provides laboratory and analytical tools that can characterise infectious agents in investigations focused on the aetiology of infectious diseases. ME is therefore a powerful resource in both outbreak situations as well as ongoing surveillance activities, particularly with investigations of emerging infectious diseases. ME plays an important role in both human and domestic animal health, and increasingly with infectious agents of wildlife in the context of disease emergence and conservation .Echinococcus. When considering the epidemiology of any infectious disease, understanding its aetiology is central. With echinococcosis, this has been problematic in many endemic areas where different host species are involved and there is a need to understand their role in transmission [Echinococcus present [Echinococcus [Echinococcosis, a global disease of which there are two forms, cystic and alveolar, is caused by the cestode parasite smission . This is present . Moleculnococcus ,3. This nococcus ,5.Echinococcus requires two mammalian hosts to complete its life cycle: a carnivore as a definitive host and a herbivorous or omnivorous intermediate host, which may include humans. It has a wide host range, particularly of intermediate hosts, and host specificity varies between species of Echinococcus . In addition, the situation is often compounded in areas where there is the possibility of spillover between domestic, rural, or urban cycles of transmission and cycles involving wildlife [E. granulosus in previously uninfected wildlife, macropod marsupials and dingoes [nococcus . The sitwildlife . Such sp dingoes . In thisEchinococcus has a long history of taxonomic and nomenclatural confusion, particularly regarding the species level taxonomy [Echinococcus in areas where multiple host species are infected has only recently been interpreted with confidence.The formal naming of a species is a prerequisite for effective communication which is particularly important when the species in question are of public health importance and require coordinated control efforts. taxonomy . This hataxonomy . Thus, tEchinococcus should be split into ten species  and host preference  [In the past, three genotypes were identified within the species oes, G3) ,14 has pE. equinus and E. ortleppi both involve dogs as definitive hosts and horses and cattle as intermediate hosts, respectively [E. ortleppi is infective to humans. Their high host specificity probably explains why both species do not have a broad geographical distribution and occur sporadically, since access of dogs to the metacestode stages in horses and cattle is infrequent, particularly as public health measures have improved in endemic areas. However, recent ME studies have demonstrated that transmission of both species is still occurring in Turkey [E. ortleppi and E. granulosus [The life cycles of ectively . Both spn Turkey , Africa,n Turkey . Interesanulosus .Echinococcus maintained in cycles involving wild and farmed cervids, moose , elk (wapiti) (Cervus elephas), and reindeer (caribou) (Rangifer tarandus), domestic pigs, and camels as intermediate hosts has long been recognised as distinct from E. granulosus [Echinococcus, G6, 7, 8, and 10, are maintained in these life cycles [anulosus . ME stude cycles . These se cycles ). Althoue cycles ).E. canadensis [E. canadensis [E. intermedius and E. canadensis [E. intermedius had been previously proposed for the species in pigs and camels . The oreference ), where eference ), retaineference ).E. canadensis are principally restricted to their wildlife hosts, wolves and cervids in North America and Scandinavia, and occasionally infect humans [E. intermedius occur principally in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, often where E. granulosus is also endemic, and are maintained in domestic cycles and are infective to humans [E. intermedius is likely to increase as further ME surveillance is undertaken. For example, recent reports from a number of West African countries, including Nigeria, suggest that the genotype G6 of E. intermedius is the dominant species due to the large involvement of camels [Both genotypes of t humans . In conto humans . The knof camels  and therE. canadensis in wild canids in Quebec and Maine [E. canadensis, coyotes are more likely to contaminate urban green spaces and peri-urban environments than wolves.In a study of nd Maine , the autE. oligarthra and E. vogeli. Recently, however, molecular surveillance in Argentina using mitochondrial and nuclear markers has extended the host range of E. oligarthra to include agoutis (Dasyprocta azarae), ocelot , and puma (Puma concolor) [E. oligarthra maintained and transmitted in sylvatic cycles in Argentina.Little is known about the geographical distribution and host range of the two sylvatic species in South America, oncolor) , as wellE. oligarthra and E. vogeli have been reported to infect humans [E. vogeli infections in domestic dogs.Although both t humans , their zt humans  demonstrE. multilocularis from Europe, Asia, North America, and China, resulting in a number of different strains that are referred to in the literature as: European, Asian, Mongolian, and North American [Studies over the last decade have demonstrated a great deal of genetic diversity between isolates of American ,3,26. ThE. multilocularis may be more virulent than indigenous sylvatic strains in North America. Recent ME studies suggest that the European strain of E. multilocularis was recently introduced into Canada with domestic dogs or red foxes, followed by establishment in wildlife [E. multilocularis long-established in central North America, European-type strains may be less intermediate host-specific and may have more zoonotic potential. Epidemiologically, many more human cases of E. multilocularis are observed in Europe compared to Canada, where only one autochthonous case was reported before 2013 [There is now growing evidence that the European strain of wildlife . ME detewildlife . This suore 2013 .In China, ME studies suggest that there is more than one genotype of the Asian strain, with genotype 1 possibly being the most pathogenic and infective to humans .E. multilocularis via the red fox has been well documented throughout Europe and Japan [E. multilocularis in urban areas of North America [E. multilocularis [The urbanisation of nd Japan . A simil America . Like thocularis ,28.Echinococcus multilocularis, which is seemingly restricted to parts of China [E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus in the eastern Tibetan Plateau [This enigmatic variant of of China , remains Plateau .Echinococcus. Although morphology can be used to differentiate between adult worms of the different species, this approach is often not practical given the difficulties in recovering adult specimens and the associated public health risks involved. Molecular tools also allow species identification from eggs in faeces. For example, during a faecal survey of E. granulosus in wolves and dogs in the Southern Italian Alps, E. multilocularis eggs were unexpectedly detected by molecular analysis in four faecal samples from at least two shepherd dogs, and in five wolf faecal samples [E. ortleppi and E. multiloculalris was also identified in two wolves. Similarly, co-infections of E. multilocularis and E. canadensis were reported in coyotes and red foxes in Alberta, Canada, using real-time PCR [E. canadensis, and discriminated between the G8 and G10 genotypes, finding single and mixed infections of these genotypes in both canid species [Molecular epidemiological studies have been instrumental in identifying and describing cycles of transmission involving more than one species of  samples . Co-infetime PCR . Another species .E. granulosus was considered to be the most widespread species, with E. ortleppi present but with an apparently much more localised distribution. Although infections in lions was known to occur for many years, it is only relatively recently that adult worms from lions were characterised using molecular tools and confirmed to be a distinct species, E. felidis [E. felidis is not confined to a sylvatic cycle and has been identified in domestic dogs in Kenya [E. granulosus, E. intermedius, and E. ortleppi in dogs, including some mixed infections [It is only recently that ME studies have been undertaken in Africa and they have revealed an interesting and more complicated situation than originally envisaged. Initially,  felidis . Interesin Kenya . ME studfections .Echinococcus maintained in transmission cycles [The situation in China is complex, with multiple species of n cycles ,7. HowevEchinococcus are maintained in sympatric cycles of transmission, and humans are at risk of infection, it is important to determine the species responsible for clinical infections. This will aid clinical interventions and management [Echinococcus from hydatid fluid of patients in northern and western China. One isolate from a patient was E. multilocularis and another E. intermedius, and the other 22 isolates examined were all E. granulosus.In endemic regions where multiple species of nagement  but alsonagement  were ablE. granulosus and 24 with E. intermedius (G6 genotype) [E. granulosus in the liver and right lung, and E. intermedius (G6) in the left lung, was detected [In another recent ME study in south east Iran of 42 echinococcosis patients, 18 were infected with E. multilocularis. For example, genotypic diversity in alveolar echinococcosis patients was demonstrated, with most infected with the Asian genotype 1 [E. granulosus, one by E. intermedius, and 31 by E. multilocularis [E. granulosus versus E. multilocularis was shown to be common in the cases investigated, and the authors conclude that molecular diagnosis is essential for the confirmation of human echinococcosis in the area [Similar studies in China are starting to reveal a complex diversity of infection patterns in humans infected with notype 1 . The autnotype 1 . In anotocularis . Misdiagthe area .Echinococcus. As a consequence, a practical and informative terminology has been developed for use in epidemiological studies. Importantly, we now have the tools that can be applied in epidemiological investigations. As discussed, these are proving valuable in elucidating life cycles and transmission patterns in endemic areas. This will be of most significance in areas where multiple cycles of transmission operate and where there is the possibility of mixed infections. In terms of clinical management, molecular tools will increasingly inform and guide public health measures. This will be particularly useful in patients diagnosed with echinococcosis but for which the causative species is not known nor whether infection may be due to more than one species of Echinococcus. Genotypic diversity within species can now also be detected and correlated with virulence, thus foreshadowing the development of clinically relevant markers.Molecular tools have had a major role in resolving the taxonomy of"}
+{"text": "Various seismic analysis methods are being used to predict the response of structures to earthquakes. Although nonlinear dynamic analysis (NDA) is considered an ideal method to represent the most realistic behavior of a structure among these various methods, correct results can be derived only when the analysis model is carefully developed by a knowledgeable person. It is particularly important to properly implement the behavior characteristics depending on the reversed cyclic load in the NDA of a building made of reinforced concrete (RC) moment frames. This study evaluated the hysteresis model suitable for NDA of existing RC moment frames, and 45 analysis models were reviewed, in which the pivot, concrete, and Takeda hysteresis models were applied differently to beams and columns. The pivot model was evaluated as the most reliable hysteresis model for each structural member by comparing and analyzing not only the responses of the entire frame but also the responses of column and beam members focusing on energy dissipation. However, this model can have practical limitations in that the parameters associated with the reinforcement detailing and applied loads need to be defined in detail. The analysis model applying Takeda to the beam, which predicted the average response at a reliable level compared to the reference model, was identified as a practical alternative when it is difficult to apply the pivot model to all frame members. The Northridge, Kobe, and Kocaeli earthquakes highlighted the limitations of conventional approaches that elastically estimate the response of structures to earthquakes . AccordiIn NDA conducted for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, the behavioral characteristics of members such as pinching, stiffness degradation, and strength degradation depending on the reversed motion can have a significant influence on the response of the structure. In particular, when the seismic-force-resisting system is composed of moment frames, it is more flexible than the shear walls or braced frames, and the behavior of the entire structure is dominated by the hysteresis characteristics of these frame members as it needs to resist seismic forces through the frame action of columns and beams. Therefore, it is important to apply a hysteresis model that can adequately represent the actual behavior of the frame members when performing NDA for the existing RC moment frames.Various forms of hysteresis models have been developed to date to represent the behavior of RC frame members under reversed cyclic loading. Many of these models have been designed to estimate the frame behavior based on the ductile flexural characteristics ,4,5,6, aIn this context, we conducted a study to provide useful basic data for selecting an appropriate hysteresis model for NDA of an existing building with an RC moment frame system. To this end, the details of the analysis models prepared for standard schools widely constructed in the 1980s were examined, comprising 45 cases in which pivot, concrete, and Takeda hysteresis models were applied differently to beams and columns. The responses of the entire frame, followed by the responses of the members in the order of columns and beams, were compared and analyzed, focusing on energy dissipation from the NDA results. Subsequently, the hysteresis models suitable for analyzing the RC moment frame were evaluated, and the most reliable or practical model was identified.ETABS , a commeThis study was conducted on existing buildings; analysis was performed on standard schools constructed in the 1980s with RC moment frames in Korea. Although there are several types of buildings ,23,24, tFive analysis models were prepared for each type by applying the hysteresis models to beam and column members differently for the three types of analysis structures, as shown in As the analysis model was a three-story low-rise building, NDA was performed using three recorded ground motions with dominant acceleration in the short-period region: El Centro, Northridge, and Taft. Prior to the scaling of the selected ground motions, NSA was conducted for each type to pre-evaluate the overall characteristics of the structure. The NSA results for Type 1 considering an earthquake with a 2400-year return period  showed tmaxV), maximum displacement (maxD), base shear\u2013displacement curve, energy dissipation, and behavioral characteristics of individual members were compared and analyzed after first evaluating the appropriateness of the analysis results. Five analysis models prepared for each type of structure were analyzed for the three ground motions, resulting in a total of 45 results. The results are described based on Type 1 unless otherwise stated in this section.The NSA and NDA results were first compared for each analysis model. The maximum base shear , Type 2 P.C. , and Type 3 T.P.  showed relatively significant differences from P.P., the differences were relatively small when compared to the difference shown by Type 3 C.P. .The Out of the 45 analysis results, we mainly analyzed the models and types that showed a relatively significant difference from P.P., excluding cases showing elastic behavior. The base shear\u2013roof displacement curves for the representative models of each type are shown in tE) shown in The cumulative dissipated energy over time for each type of El Centro ground motion in the X or Y direction is shown in tE is presented in tE value of the P.T. model was up to 78.0% higher than that of P.P., and the T.P. model also showed higher results than P.P. (3.1\u201321.0%). In contrast, P.C. and C.P. showed up to 58.7% and 18.6% lower tE than P.P., respectively.A case where the results for a ground motion (or direction) different from that shown in According to the NDA results, in terms of the entire frame, although the overall responses of the analysis model did not show significant differences from those of the reference model, P.P., the energy dissipation in some models showed a rather significant error. In terms of energy dissipation, the models that showed similar results to the reference model were in the orders of C.P., T.P., P.C., and P.T.No distinct differences were found between the analysis models in the overall response. This section and the subsequent section present comparative analyses of the behavioral characteristics of the representative members constituting each model. As shown in tE is shown in tE values of C.P. and P.T. were up to 70.2% and 68.1% higher than that of P.P., respectively, whereas P.C. and T.P. showed up to 83.9% and 23.6% lower tE, respectively. For the column members, the models in the orders of T.P., C.P., P.T., and P.C. were compared as models with similar moment\u2013rotation curves with the reference model P.P. having small differences in tE.For the entire structure shown in tE of the column in P.C. was lower than that in P.P. Likewise, the relative difference in energy dissipation characteristics, evaluated using each hysteresis model applied to the beam and column members, influenced the energy dissipation of individual frame members. Moreover, it can be expected that the energy dissipation characteristics of the beam members are opposite to those of the column members.The energy dissipation of column members, depending on the applied hysteresis model, showed slightly different patterns when compared to the results of a previous study  and thosThe moment\u2013rotation curves for the beam member are as shown in tE values; the tE of the P.C. model was up to 30.7% higher than that of P.P. T.P. also exhibited a maximum difference of 34.4%, showing a higher result than P.P. In contrast, C.P. and P.T. showed up to 88.5% and 46.2% lower tE values than P.P., respectively. In terms of energy dissipation, the models with small differences to the P.P. model were in the orders of P.C., T.P., P.T., and C.P., and the energy dissipation characteristics of the beam members were generally opposite to those of the column members, as predicted earlier.Regarding the behavior under quasi-static cyclic loading, a previous study reported that the pivot model showed results that were close to the experimental results . Based o\u03b1 related to the stiffness and \u03b2 affecting pinching using regression analysis on a database of numerous seismic tests [\u03b1 and \u03b2 requires calculating factors ak and bk, which are influenced by the reinforcement detailing of the sections and the applied axial load on the members. In other words, considerable time and effort are required to develop an analysis model because each member must be input separately after calculating the longitudinal reinforcement ratio, volumetric shear reinforcement ratio, and axial load ratio of all the members. The practicality of applying the pivot model can be significantly limited if the number of members increases as the scale of the analysis structure increases. Therefore, a hysteresis model that does not require parameter setting or is simple to set parameters while showing relatively reliable results is also required from a practical perspective.Although the pivot model can similarly predict the behavior of existing RC frame members in this way, parameters to represent the hysteresis characteristics need to be defined when applying them in an analysis model. Sharma et al. proposed parameters ic tests . As showIn this study, C.P. and T.P. were the analysis models that showed results that were close to the reference model P.P. in terms of the response of the entire frame . In the A study was conducted to identify an appropriate hysteresis model for NDA of existing RC moment frames. The pivot, concrete, and Takeda models were applied differently to beams and columns for the three types of structures analyzed, and NDA was performed in the X and Y directions for 45 analysis models involving the three ground motions. The results were comparatively analyzed in terms of the entire frame and the individual members, and the conclusions are summarized as follows:(1) All analysis results showed the most significant differences in terms of energy dissipation, and the order in which the response of the entire frame was close to that of the reference model P.P. was in the orders of C.P., T.P., P.T., and P.C. In addition, T.P. for columns and P.C. for beams were found to be the analysis models that evaluated the energy dissipation similarly while having similar moment\u2013rotation curves to those of P.P. Accordingly, the pivot model was considered the most appropriate hysteresis model for each structural member.(2) Although the energy dissipation of the entire frame was considerably influenced by the dissipation characteristics of the concrete and Takeda models themselves, the energy dissipation of individual members was related to the relative difference in the dissipation characteristics evaluated by each hysteresis model applied to beams and columns. Likewise, the energy dissipation pattern of individual members, depending on the applied hysteresis model, is different from that of the entire frame as the connected beams and columns behave in relation to each other within the frame.(3) Although the pivot model was the most reliable hysteresis model for both beams and columns as observed in preceding studies, parameters related to reinforcement detailing and applied loads need to be predefined to apply them to the analysis model. The T.P. model, which best predicted the average response while showing a narrow variation in the energy dissipation evaluation compared to P.P., could be a practical alternative in situations where it is difficult to apply the pivot model to all frame members."}
+{"text": "Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes hexagonus are vectors of tick-borne diseases and play an important role in the persistence of tick-borne diseases. The aim of the study was to determine the risk of exposure of domestic cats and dogs to the attacks of Ixodid ticks, to tick-borne infections with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti and Toxoplasma gondii in the city of Zakopane and the surrounding area. In 2017\u20132018 ticks were collected from a total of 10 domestic cats and 88 domestic dogs. Selected pathogens of tick-borne diseases were detected by PCR and nested PCR. The study material contained 119 I. ricinus and 36 I. hexagonus. The molecular examinations showed the presence of A. phagocytophilum in 3.8%, B. microti in 24.5% and T. gondii in 4.5% of the all ticks. In addition, in the study area, there is a high potential risk of tick-borne infection by B. microti, and a low potential risk of exposure to A. phagocytophilum and T. gondii infection.The mountainous and foothill areas, in which the city of Zakopane, the capital of Tatra County, is located are characterized by continuous weather changes, lower air temperature, persistent snow cover, and poorer vegetation than in the lowlands.  The geographical location of Zakopane, numerous tourist and walking routes, a large number of wooden architecture monuments, landscape diversity, and climatic and medicinal values are undoubtedly the advantages of the city, which is visited by more and more tourists from Poland, Europe and all over the world every year. The fauna of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Tatra County is hardly known. Due to the adverse habitat and climatic conditions, such as high weather variability, low annual air temperatures and ever lower air temperature as altitude increases, as well as frequent rainfall, persistent snow cover, and consequently poor vegetation, these areas are not a convenient habitat for ticks. Moreover, the Tatra National Park is a protected area that makes it difficult for researchers to access.Ixodes ricinus  is the most common among the 19 tick species found in the Polish fauna. The species attacks numerous mammals, birds and reptiles. I. ricinus can be a vector and/or reservoir of many pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia sp.3. The second tick species widespread throughout Europe, and therefore probably also in Poland is Ixodes hexagonus , which feeds mainly on hedgehogs, weasels, foxes and domestic dogs7. Like I. ricinus, the tick can be a vector and/or reservoir of many pathogens, e.g. B. burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum and Babesia sp.7. Domestic cats and dogs can be hosts of both tick species8. In Poland, these domestic animals are mainly attacked by five species, i.e. I. ricinus, Ixodes crenulatus , I. hexagonus, Ixodes rugicollis  and Dermacentor reticulatus 9.It is known that B. burgdorferi s. l. and A. phagocytophilum, as well as to the infection of Babesia microti and Toxoplasma gondii in the selected areas of Tatra County. The approach of gathering data on the distribution of (zoonotic) vector-borne diseases through a veterinary survey is consistent with the \u2018One Health\u2019 concept10.Due to the great medical and veterinary importance of ticks and close contact between human and domestic animals, an attempt has been made to determine the exposure of cats and dogs to tick infection, as well as to a potential tick-borne infection with Zakopane, is the highest located city in Poland , situated in the Podtatrzanski Trench, between the Tatra Mountains and the Beskids, in one of the largest mountain ranges in Europe\u2014the Carpathian Mountains. The urban part stretches from 750 to 1000\u00a0m a.s.l., the administrative boundaries of the city contain a part of the Tatra Mountains with the highest point\u2014the peak of Swinica (2301\u00a0m a.s.l.), as well as Gubalowka (1120\u00a0m a.s.l.), and the central point of Zakopane is located at an altitude of 838\u00a0m a.s.l.1 and Nowak-Chmura7 were used to identify the ticks. Next, molecular testing for the presence of selected pathogens was performed. DNA was isolated from 155 ticks using the ammonium hydroxide method11. Then, the concentration was measured spectrophotometrically at the wave length of 260/280\u00a0nm. The pathogens in the material were detected by PCR and nested PCR. For detection of B. burgdorferi s.l., Maximo DFS-Plus polymerase  and flagellin gene specific primers were used12. Taq DNA polymerase  and two pairs of specific primers for the 16S rRNA gene were applied to detect A. phagocytophilum13. The protozoa of B. microti and T. gondii were detected with two pairs of specific primers for the 18S rRNA gene and Maximo DFS-Plus polymerase  and for the B1 gene with the use of Taq DNA polymerase 15. The amplification and re-amplification products were separated electrophoretically on 2% ethidium bromide stained agarose gels. Then, the gels were visualized in ultraviolet light. The following reaction products were treated as positive: 482 base pairs [bp] for B. burgdorferi s. l., 932\u00a0bp and 546\u00a0bp for A. phagocytophilum, 238\u00a0bp and 154\u00a0bp for B. microti and 531\u00a0bp for T. gondii. Statistical analysis was performed using CSS-Statistica for Windows 10. Statistical significance was accepted at a p value of less than 0.05. The results were analysed using an \u03c72 tests.The research material was obtained from domestic cats and dogs in 2017\u20132018 from March to September in cooperation with the veterinary clinic in Zakopane. The ticks were collected from animals using tweezers and placed in tubes with 70% ethyl alcohol. In addition, after the collection, an original form was completed with the following information: date of collection, animal breed, sex, age and the city of collection. Then, individual ticks were determined for genus, species and developmental stage. The keys by SiudaWe declare that all testing methods have been carried out in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. We declare that all experimental protocols have been approved by the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice and Pedagogical University in Cracow.Each dog and cat owner has agreed to collect material (ticks) from their animals and give informed consent to publish the results of the collected material.I. ricinus was the dominant tick species, with 119 females collected from 90 animals, including 8 cats and 82 dogs. 36 I. hexagonus ticks were also collected, including 15 larvae, 13 nymphs and 8 females. The presence of this tick species has been demonstrated in 8 animals, including 2 cats and 6 dogs. The infestation by I. ricinus usually occurred in May, while it was least often reported in March and September . A. phagocytophilum was found only in 3.4% of female I. ricinus ticks. On the other hand, protozoa of B. microti and T. gondii were reported in both tick species. B. microti was reported in a much higher percentage of I. ricinus and I. hexagonus individuals than T. gondii .In total, the pathogens were found in 26.0% of I. hexagonus contained B. microti (46.7%), whereas T. gondii was found in a similar percentage in both juvenile forms .Mainly larvae of ms Table . The difI. hexagonus collected from cats and dogs were statistically significantly more often infected with B. microti than with T. gondii .Generally, Babesia microti was found in 28.1% of the ticks collected from dogs. A. phagocytophilum and T. gondii were found in 3.9% of the I. ricinus females . In addition, single cases of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti as well as A. phagocytophilum and T. gondii were reported in the ticks collected from dogs . T. gondii was demonstrated in 7.1% of the larvae and in 7.7% of the nymphs of this tick species. Generally, hedgehog ticks collected from cats were statistically significantly more often infected with B. microti than with T. gondii .As for I. ricinus was the predominant tick species infesting domestic dogs and cats, followed by the I. hexagonus. This is analogy with other studies in Europe19. The research conducted so far in the areas of southern, south-eastern and central Poland on the occurrence of ticks in domestic cats and dogs confirmed that dogs are usually infested by I. ricinus. Moreover, it has been shown that, in addition to the species mentioned above, other tick species may occasionally infest these animals. These include I. hexagonus, D. reticulatus, I. crenulatus22. In Poland, however, studies on the frequency of tick infestation of domestic cats have shown I. ricinus, I. hexagonus, I. rugicollis and Ixodes apronophorus  to be main attackers with I. ricinus definitely dominating in numbers24. To date, three tick species have been found in Zakopane and the Tatra National Park: I. ricinus, I. hexagonus and I. trianguliceps25. Officially, the first I. hexagonus was collected in the Tatra National Park from the red vole (Myodes glareolus) by Jan Rafalski in 19641. I. trianguliceps is a species associated with rodents. In 1980, however, Haitlinger noted a single I. trianguliceps larvae feeding on the common weasel 26. Later, an individual of this species was collected from the red vole (Myodes glareolus)25. The studies confirmed the occurrence of I. ricinus and I. hexagonus in Zakopane and the surrounding area and the possibility of infection of domestic cats and dogs. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that I. ricinus is the species most often attacking domestic animals. Selected regions of the Polish Carpathians, including the Island Beskids, are areas of the common occurrence of the tick I. ricinus, recognized in medical and veterinary sense as the most dangerous tick in the Polish fauna of these parasites, and are also the habitat of other tick species, including Carios vespertilionis, Ixodes lividus, Ixodes simplex, Ixodes trianguliceps, Ixodes rugicollis, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes vespertilionis, Ixodes crenulatus29. In the Czech Republic, research was undertaken to check for the occurrence of tick-borne disease pathogens among I. ricinus in mountain areas and it was found that this tick species was recorded even up to a height of 1270\u00a0m a. s. l.30. Slovak tick researchers suggest that under the influence of global warming the upper limit of occurrence of these parasites is changing and now I. ricinus ticks can be found even at an altitude of up to 1460\u00a0m a.s.l. and I. hexagonus up to 1800\u00a0m a. s. l31. In 2004 and 2006\u20132011 studies were carried out to check the expansion of ticks to higher altitudes in the ecosystem of Little Fatra (northern Slovakia) and their infection B. burgdorferi s.l. The number of infected ticks decreased from 38.5% at the lowest altitude to 4.4% at the highest altitude32.Research on the presence of ticks in domestic animals, especially cats and dogs, is carried out around the world, including Europe. In this study B. burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum, B. microti and T. gondii showed that in both tick species most individuals were infected with B. microti. T. gondii was found in a significantly lower percentage of I. ricinus and I. hexagonus ticks. The values obtained are much lower than those received by Asman et al.33 in Tarnowskie G\u00f3ry County. The researchers showed the presence of B. microti in 42.6% of the individuals, while T. gondii was in 98% of the ticks. In addition, these protozoa have been demonstrated in ticks collected from both cats and dogs33. Contrary to the studies conducted by Asman et al.33, B. microti and T. gondii have been shown in I. ricinus ticks collected only from dogs, and in I. hexagonus species collected only from cats. However, like in the analyses of ticks conducted in Tarnowskie G\u00f3ry County, both these protozoan species were found mainly in I. ricinus females. This confirms the thesis that, apart from the nymph, this developmental stage is the main epidemiological threat for protozoa33. Ticks may play a large role in the transmission of T. gondii, but this requires further research.Molecular tests for Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found in a much smaller percentage of I. ricinus individuals and was not reported in I. hexagonus. The values are much lower than those obtained by Kr\u00f3l et al.8 who demonstrated the presence of this rickettsia in 21.3% of I. ricinus ticks and in 8.1% of I. hexagonus individuals collected from cats and dogs in the agglomeration of Wroclaw. Other research conducted in south-eastern Poland also showed a high percentage of I. ricinus ticks infected with A. phagocytophilum24. On the other hand, the values presented in this work are only slightly higher than those obtained by Zygner et al.21 in central Poland. Similar studies conducted in several European countries on the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens, including A. phagocytophilum, in ticks collected from domestic cats and dogs, also showed a higher percentage of I. ricinus individuals infected with A. phagocytophilum19. The studies carried out in the Netherlands revealed a twice lower percentage of I. ricinus ticks infected with this rickettsia than in presented work, while the presence of A. phagocytophilum in I. hexagonus individuals was significantly higher5. There are also cases of Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. in ticks collected from domestic animals. The research conducted by Schreiber et al.17 in Germany showed the presence of this spirochete in 11.6% of I. ricinus and in 11.2% of I. hexagonus ticks collected from cats and dogs17. Studies conducted in The Netherlands and Belgium showed the presence of B. burgdorferi s. l. in 7.2% and 10.1% of I. ricinus individuals, respectively16. Several years of research conducted in urban areas of the Carpathian regions of Slovakia and Poland and their peripheral part, showed that specific Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. IgG antibodies, were found in 50% of 256 dogs, 6.9% of 29 cats from East Slovakia (Inner West Carpathian) and 42.6% of 68 dogs from the Lublin district34. Similar studies carried out in several European countries have shown the presence of this bacterium mainly in I. ricinus ticks collected from cats. Studies conducted in France also demonstrated the presence of B. afzelii in I. hexagonus tick collected from a cat19. The research carried out in Poland has shown that the occurrence of this bacterium in ticks collected from animals may range from 6.2% in I. ricinus in central Poland to 22.8% in D. reticulatus in south-eastern Poland24. 'The absence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in ticks collected from domestic animals in Tatra County may result from the fact that an increase of altitude is related to a decrease in the number of ticks infected with this bacterium, as shown by Taragelova et al.32.I. ricinus ticks collected from vegetation, but the percentage of such ticks in the population is very low37. Also, there are cases of such coinfection in ticks collected from domestic animals33. The research conducted in Tarnowskie G\u00f3ry County by Asman et al.33 showed the co-occurrence of B. microti and T. gondii in more than 40% of I. ricinus ticks collected from cats and dogs. Moreover, co-infection was reported mainly in female I. ricinus ticks collected from dogs. On the other hand, Kr\u00f3l et al.8 demonstrated the coexistence of 2 or even 3 pathogens in a single I. ricinus tick, with A. phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. most frequently found in co-infection. The ticks collected from dogs in Tatra County showed coexistence of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti as well as A. phagocytophilum and T. gondii in only two I. ricinus females. However, coexistence of these pathogens was not observed in the ticks collected from cats, which may result from a small number of ticks collected from these animals.It is commonly known that ticks can be vectors and/or reservoirs of more than one pathogen. There are cases of co-occurrence of two or three pathogens in I. ricinus and I. hexagonus ticks. In addition, the study revealed a potentially high risk of tick-borne infection of B. microti and a low risk of exposure to a tick-borne A. phagocytophilum infection and T. gondii invasion in the study area. Moreover, the results show possible coexistence of A. phagocytophilum and both B. microti and T. gondii in I. ricinus species. However, it cannot be excluded the possibility that some individuals may have been pathogen-positive because of feeding on an infected (asymptomatic) animal. The lack of Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. in the material may be due to a generally low percentage of ticks infected with this bacterium in the study area, and this may result from the geographical location.The research indicates that potentially unfavourable environmental conditions for ticks in Tatra County do not prevent domestic cats and dogs from a high risk of exposure to the infestation by"}
+{"text": "Macaca fuscata displays characteristic behaviours, such as stone handling, locomotor behaviour, gait position, and intermittent bipedalism. Differences in characteristic behaviours among primate species/genera could be explained by anatomical details of the body. However, the anatomical details have not been well studied in Macaca fuscata. Arterial models could be one of the anatomical bases for the phylogenetic and functional differences among species, since the arterial supply could be associated with the muscular performance, especially locomotor behaviour. In this study, five thoracic limbs of Macaca fuscata adults were dissected to analyse the vessels. Patterns of arterial distribution in the thoracic limbs of Macaca fuscata were compared with those in other primates. The results indicated that the arterial distribution in the Japanese monkeys was more similar to those in Macaca mulatta and Papio anubis, which is consistent with phylogenetic similarities. However, compared with Papio anubis and other macaques, there were anatomical differences in several points, including (1) the origin of the common, anterior, posterior circumflex, and profunda brachii, and (2) the origins of the collateralis ulnaris artery. The comparative anatomy of the arteries in the forelimb of Macaca fuscata, along with the anatomical studies in other primates, indicated characteristic patterns of brachial artery division and the number of the palmar arches in primates, which is consistent with the phylogenetic division among New World primates, Old World primates, and apes. Macaca fuscata) have been used as experimental animals in physiological studies and in many other studies on their ecology, zoology, and behaviour [Macaca fuscata. In general, Macaca fuscata display some behavioural characteristics compared with other primates of the genera Macaca because of their geographical isolation . Furthermore, they show other specific behaviours, such as heating their bodies in hot water spas in winter, fur colour [Japanese monkeys , and finally proposed a hypothetical theoretical explanation for an arterial model in M. fuscata to be compared with those in other primates, including New World primates , M. mul. anubis , 19, 30,. anubis , and mod. anubis . FinallyM. fuscata adults were dissected at the Laboratory of System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Japan. Nine adult S. libidinosus specimens  were used to check other previous publications about these primates [S. libidinosus previously dissected were analysed for the purpose of this work, which was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee from the Federal University of Goi\u00e1s, Goi\u00e1s State, Brazil .Five thoracic limbs of primates , 25\u201329, S. libidinosus.The dead bodies/pieces were provided by the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. In a complete body, both forelimbs were dissected plus three more separated limbs, two right, and one left, totalizing 5 forelimbs, 2 right, and 3 left ones. These animals suffered a natural death in the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University. One complete body and three forelimbs were kept frozen, and afterward, they were sent to Toyama University where they were placed in boxes and immersed in 10% formaldehyde, as for M. fuscata were dissected and S. libidinosus was studied, with an emphasis on arteries, and photographed with a digital camera (Canon SX610 HS). For the other primates, the data were obtained from literature mainly from Manners-Smith [Papio and M. mulatta; Swindler and Wood [Papio, Pan, and modern humans; Gibbs [The forelimbs of rs-Smith \u201320 for Nand Wood  for Papis; Gibbs  for all s; Gibbs  for modes; Gibbs .M. fuscata was quite similar, permitting a unique description of these animals. The few differences were commented on in the general discussion just for one separated limb, i.e., for 20% of the limbs. Remarkable differences were not observed in the right and left forelimbs of the same animal. The running and vascular irrigation of each specific artery was described in comparison with other primates.The arterial model for the five thoracic limbs of M. fuscata, the axillary artery is the continuation of the subclavian artery gives off the subscapularis, circumflexa scapulae, circumflexa humeri, and thoracodorsalis arteries in the arm and continues as the brachial artery , and modern humans [S. libidinosus, P. troglodytes, G. gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, H. lar, and humans. However, in M. mulatta, the axillary artery was reported to emit branches including the circumflexa humeri, profunda brachii, collateralis radialis, and collateralis ulnaris [P. Anubis, the branches are collateralis media, profunda brachii, collateralis ulnaris, circumflexa humeri cranialis and caudalis, and brachialis [C. goeldii, a short trunk was observed, which forms the thoracoacromialis and thoracic lateralis arteries [In l artery . The orin humans , 32, 35. ulnaris , and in M. fuscata, the subscapularis artery emerged from the axillary artery, and it did not emit the collateralis ulnaris and radialis arteries, as in P. anubis and M. mulatta  used in this study, displayed important differences from other primates. In  mulatta .M. fuscata, as well as in C. goeldii, S. libidinosus, M. mulatta, P. anubis, all apes, and modern humans [S. libidinosus , which arteries , 27, 32.arteries \u201320, the P. anubis and M. mulatta, the profunda brachii, collateralis ulnaris, radialis, ulnaris, brachialis superficialis, and interossea communis arteries [P. anubis, the other branches are the dorsalis ramus of recurrens ulnaris, cranialis and caudalis interossea, and antebrachialis superficialis , giving off both recurrens ulnaris [Gorilla), collateralis ulnaris, radialis, ulnaris, recurrens ulnaris dorsalis, and palmaris rami (as a variant from a common trunk in 50% of P. troglodytes and Asian apes), interossea communis (P. troglodytes), interossea cranialis (for 33% of P. troglodytes), and interossea caudalis  [In detail, the brachialis artery gives off, in arteries , and onl ulnaris . In apes H. lar) .In modern humans, the brachialis artery branches are the profunda brachii, nutricia humeri, collateralis ulnaris, radialis, ulnaris, recurrens ulnaris dorsalis ), and interossea communis arteries  Table 1.M. fuscata observed in this work, but the ulnaris artery gives off the interossea communis  and H. lar [C. goeldii, the axillary artery emits a large trunk that is the origin of the subscapularis and collateralis radialis arteries [S. libidinosus, the circumflexa communis artery can originate from the axillary, radialis, or from a big trunk in common with other arteries of the arm [Pongo pygmaeus, this artery also originates from a common trunk with the profunda brachii [P. troglodytes and Asian apes , the circumflexa scapulae in African apes (P. troglodytes and G. gorilla) and H. lar, and the subscapularis in P. troglodytes and H. lar [The circumflexa humeri cranialis and caudalis arteries originate from the subscapularis artery. In one case, it emits the profunda brachii  in the ated here , 30, 32,idinosus  and Pongpygmaeus  and emitarteries . In S. l the arm . In Pong brachii  and emitM. mulatta, the circumflexa humeri emit only both circumflexa humeri cranialis and caudalis in M. fuscata, which is different from all apes where the profunda brachii could be a ramus from the trunk of the circumflexa humeri  and emits the collateralis radialis artery .In s artery , but the foramen . In S. ls artery , from th. anubis , from thn humans . Hill ci goeldii , which oS. libidinosus [M. mulatta and P. anubis; the collateralis radialis and collateralis media in all apes; and the collateralis radialis and collateralis media arteries, as separate branches in modern humans [M. fuscata, and an origin of the collateralis radialis at the circumflexa humeri trunk artery was found in one case (20%).In other primates studied here, the profunda brachii gives off the collateralis radialis artery in idinosus ; collaten humans . The braM. fuscata  and gives off the collateralis ulnaris, recurrens radialis [P. anubis, M. mulatta [Pan paniscus, G. gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, and H. lar), and modern humans [C. goeldii, it is called the superficialis brachialis [M. mulatta and P. anubis [The radialis artery originates from the brachialis artery and emits the recurrens radialis, ramus carpeus dorsalis, ramus dorsalis for the pollicis (princeps pollicis), digitales for second digiti (index artery), arcus palmaris superficialis, and interossea communis together with the ulnaris in  fuscata , 5 and 6radialis , and ramradialis . The rad mulatta , apes  .S. libidinosus [Pan paniscus, G. gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, and H. lar, the radialis artery emits branches for the arcus palmaris superficialis [P. anubis, M. mulatta, and M. fuscata.The origin of the radialis artery is identical in all the primates studied here, except for some cases of idinosus . Howeverficialis , while iM. fuscata originates from the brachialis artery and emits the recurrens ulnaris, the interossea communis together with the radialis, arcus palmaris superficialis, and ramus carpeus palmaris , collateralis media, collateralis radialis [S. libidinosus [S. leucopus [P. anubis, M. mulatta [Pan paniscus, G. gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, H. lar, and modern humans [P. anubis [The ulnaris artery in palmaris . Accordiradialis , interosradialis . It goesidinosus  and S. lleucopus , 34, andleucopus . The uln mulatta , Pan pann humans , while i. anubis .G. gorilla and Asian apes; digitales for second digiti (index artery) and ramus carpeus dorsalis in G. gorilla and Pongo pygmaeus; contributes to the arcus palmaris superficialis and profundus, interossea communi in P. troglodytes; and the interossea cranialis, ramus carpeus dorsalis, ramus carpeus palmaris, arcus palmaris superficialis, and profundus in all apes and modern humans [The ulnaris artery emits the ramus dorsalis for the pollicis (princeps pollicis) in n humans .In modern humans, the ulnaris artery emits the recurrens ulnaris, interossea communis, ramus carpeus dorsalis, ramus carpeus palmaris, and arcus palmaris profundus .S. libidinosus, the ulnaris artery originates from the brachialis artery in all primates studied here [P. anubis [M. mulatta, and M. fuscata, where the radialis artery has a more important or identical role in the superficial palmar arch. Interestingly, the interossea communis originates from an anastomosis of both ulnaris and radialis arteries, as a case not cited for the other primates studied here . Exceptagothrix , 19, 42,Saimiri [Sapajus [S. leucopus [C. goeldii [Nycticebus [Cebuella, Callitrix, Ateles, Allouata, and Callicebus [The presence of the supracondylar foramen with the medianus nerve and ulnaris artery coursing through it was cited for Saimiri , 19, Sap[Sapajus , 19, 27,leucopus , and C.  goeldii  in the Nllicebus .Felis in relation to the existence of this feature and the reason for derivative primates  do not present with this characteristic.Despite Ankel-Simons  citing tIf the supracondylar foramen could generate bone protection for a medianus nerve and ulnaris/brachialis artery in a fragile position , maybe because the modifications of the curvature of the forelimbs bones in the evolution , howeverP. anubis [M. mulatta [M. fuscata. In P. troglodytes, the brachialis divides more distally than in P. anubis [M. mulatta. In all apes, the brachialis divides at the level of the elbow joint [In . anubis  and M. m mulatta , the bra. anubis  and M. mow joint , and in ow joint . Thus, tThe anatomy of the brachial division seems to coincide with primate evolution, since primate evolution is associated with the descent from the trees  and alsoIndeed, the morphological structure of the arcus palmaris and size of brachial artery size should be taken into consideration for a more detailed analysis of the vascularization of the forelimb in primates, since the size of the brachialis artery is associated with the structure of the arcus palmaris. New World and Old-World primates display proximal division from the brachial artery and have the presence of one palmar arch, while apes and modern humans display division of the brachial artery around the elbow fossa and have two palmar arches. For example, it is possible that larger blood pressure drops in the branches  would permit only one palmar arch in New World primates. Further, detailed simulation of blood flow will be required based on the actual sizes of the brachialis, radialis, and ulnaris arteries, as well as palmar arches. Indeed, the fact of the crown hominoids possibly to abduct the arm above the shoulder indicates a need for more accurate biophysical studies about the blood flux in the vessels of the primates .Sapajus [The vessels displayed a very unsteady arrangement across individuals and different antimeres in the same individual, which is more often observed in veins . This isSapajus , 25.An interesting case of different distribution cited here occurs in Lorisiformes, that is the existence of a vascular bundles of the main artery generating 50 small ones.Here, we present three different models of arteries in the upper limbs of primates with regard to the height of the brachial division which may be associated with locomotor behaviour and taxonomy.M. mulatta [M. fuscata in this work. The third model refers to apes and modern humans with more terrestrial locomotion that display more distal division of the brachialis artery and the existence of two palmar arches in the arcus palmaris  the origin of the common, cranial, caudal circumflexa, and profunda brachii and (2) origins of the collateralis ulnaris arteries in M. fuscata were different from those in P. anubis and other macaques.The present study indicated that the overall arterial distribution in M. fuscata proposed the three arterial patterns in the forelimb in terms of length of the brachial artery and number of palmar arches in the arcus palmaris. These data led to a taxonomy confirmation of the differences of classification of the groups of New World primates, Old World primates, and apes.Second, the comparative anatomy of the arteries in the forelimb of"}
+{"text": "Lactuca L. species belong to the Asteraceae family and these plants are traditionally used for therapeutic purposes around the world. The dried milky latex of L. serriola is known as \u201clettuce oil\u201d and is used as a sedative in Turkey. This study aimed to evaluate the sedative effects and analyze the chemical compositions of latexes obtained from some Lactuca species growing in Turkey. The sedative effects were evaluated through various behavioral tests on mice. For this purpose, latexes were obtained from L. glareosa Boiss., L. viminea (L.) J. Presl and C. P, L. mulgedioides (Vis and Pan\u0107i\u0107) Boiss. and Kotschy ex. Boiss., L. saligna L., and L. serriola L. The latex from L. saligna showed the highest sedative effects, whilst L. serriola and L. viminea latexes also displayed significant sedative effects compared to the control group at a dose of 100 mg/kg. However, the latexes from L. glareosa and L. mulqedioides did not exhibit any sedative effects on mice. Characteristic sesquiterpene lactones  were determined qualitatively and quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Lactucin was identified as the main component. Sleep is the state of rest that is necessary for all people to lead healthy lives. Many physical, environmental, psychological, and physiological factors can positively or negatively affect the quality and quantity of sleep. Insomnia is considered an important health problem because of its negative effects on people\u2019s quality of life and it often has psychiatric or medical causes . ChronicLactuca is a taxon that contains important species and this genus is widely distributed throughout the world and has been consumed by people since ancient times. L. biennis (Moench) Fernald is used as an analgesic, antidiarrheic, antiemetic, and antihemorrhagic, as well as for heart diseases and gynecological diseases; L. canadensis L. is used as an analgesic, sedative, and stimulant and treats eye and kidney disorders, orthopedic diseases, skin diseases, and warts. L. intybacea Jacq. ex Murray is applied as a decongestant, laxative, tonic, and depurative, and treats arthritis, hepatitis, and gout. L. muralis (L.) Fresen is used as a narcotic, sedative, and antispasmodic. L. sativa L. is taken as an aphrodisiac, sedative, cardioactive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic, and sedative, and it treats asthma, fever, and hyperglycemia. L. indica L. is used for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. L. capensis Thunb is used for treating sores, ulcers, leprosy, eczema, and the milky latex of L. virosa L., known as \u201clactucarium\u201d, is taken as a sedative-hypnotic [Lactuca species have shown that these plants have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, and anxiolytic effects [Lactuca species. In particular, lactucine-type guaianolides are the most representative constituents [hypnotic ,6,7. Bio effects ,11,12,13tituents .L. virosa latex and they were specifically responsible for the sedative-hypnotic effects of lactucarium. Several studies on lactucin and its derivatives have confirmed that these compounds have sedative effects. In addition, it has been noted that lactucin and lactucopicrin are active substances that promote sleep, because they bind effectively to the GABAA receptor [Lactucin and its esters were first found in receptor ,16.Lactuca species grown in Turkey. The sedative effects of the latexes obtained from L. serriola, L saligna, L viminea, L. mulgedioides, and L. glareosa were investigated using traction, fireplace, holeboard, and thiopental-induced sleeping tests. In addition, the presence and amounts of the sesquiterpene lactones lactucin and lactucopicrin and their dihydro derivatives were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is the first report on the sedative effects of latexes obtained from these Lactuca species.The aim of this study was to evaluate the sedative effects of milky latexes obtained from five L. virosa, L. serriola) has traditionally been used as a sedative. In Turkey, the dried milky latex of L. serriola is known as \u201clettuce oil\u201d and is used as a sedative [Lactuca species grown in Turkey were investigated by various in vivo methods on mice. The latexes were also analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography for characteristic compounds thought to be responsible for this effect.In Europe, the dried milky latex of wild lettuce , which are characteristic constituents of the eriments ,15,16. TL. serriola (57.53249 \u00b1 0.27 mgstd/glatex), followed by L. saligna, L. viminea, and L. glareosa in descending order. Lactucopicrin was only detected in the latex from L. saligna (0.61729 \u00b1 0.02 mg std/glatex) and all the other reference compounds were also found in the latex from L. saligna  whilst the highest level of 11\u03b2,13-dihydrolactucopicrin was seen in the latex from L. glareosa (0.75238 \u00b1 0.01 mg std/glatex). In L. mulgedioides, none of the compounds of interest was detected.Sesquiterpene lactones were identified by retention times. Quantification was achieved by the measurement of the peak area at 260 nm and by comparison with standard calibration curves . The hig saligna . The 11\u03b2L. serriola was considerably higher than the amount of lactucin detected in L. saligna, the sedative effect of the latex from L. serriola was lower than that of the latex from L. saligna.Although the amount of lactucin detected in Lactuca species are used in folk medicine for stomach problems, pain relief, and inflammation. Furthermore, it has been reported to have anticonvulsant, sedative-hypnotic, and antioxidant properties [L. sativa displayed a remarkable sedative effect [L. sativa enhanced sleeping time and acted via the GABAergic system [operties . Sutrisne effect . Additioc system .Lactuca genus. However, few studies have been reported with latexes from Lactuca species. The latexes of L. mulgedioides, L. saligna, L. viminea, and L. glareosa were examined for the first time in this study. Sessa et al. noted that important information about the sesquiterpene lactone content of the latex of L. sativa, was obtained and they reported that the major sesquiterpene lactones of Lactuca species are 15-oxalyl and 8-sulfate conjugates of guaianolides, such as lactucin, deoxylactucin, and lactucopicrin [In the literature, the quantitative analysis of sesquiterpene lactones has been reported for various species of copicrin . In thisL. sativa and our plant material, L. serriola [The literature shows that different amounts of latex are found in different vegetation stages of the plant. It has been reported that the sesquiterpene lactone content is highest during bolting. However, in our study, all the latexes were collected during the flowering stage because the amount of latexes of plants was high at this stage. The lactucin amounts were compared with the literature and a significant difference was observed between serriola . The resL. sativa were investigated using the pentobarbital-induced sleeping test by Kim et al. and the amounts of lactucin and lactucopicrin in the extracts were determined by HPLC. A stronger sedative effect was observed in the seed extract of L. sativa which contained more lactucopicrin [The sedative effects of 70% ethanolic extracts of the leaves and seeds of different varieties of copicrin . In anotcopicrin . In addicopicrin .L. serriola (LSE) whose lactucin content was significantly higher  had no higher sedative effect. The lactucopicrin compound was found only in L. saligna (LSA) and a high sedative effect was observed in this latex. In L. viminea (LM), no components we analyzed were seen in this latex and accordingly no sedative effect was obtained. These results confirm that lactucin-type guaianolides are responsible for the sedative effects.According to our study results, in order to understand the mechanism of the effects of the compounds, further studies should be carried out. Our results showed that the sedative effect is not caused by lactucin, because the latex of We can understand from these results that lactucin and lactucopicrin likely have a synergistic effect in increasing sedative activity. Moreover, other components of latexes that we did not detect may also be responsible for the sedative effect. Therefore, in-depth structural determination and characterization studies should be carried out for all of the main components of latex, which will help elucidate the compound or compounds responsible for the sedative effect.Lactuca species were collected from different habitats in Central Anatolia during the flowering period from July to September of 2018 for the extraction of latex. The obtained plants  were authenticated by Prof. Dr. Ergin Hamzaoglu from Gazi University.Firstly, various The stems of the plants were wounded with a scalpel and the milky latex was released onto the plant surface. The latex was then collected in glass bottles. This process was repeated three times and the samples were stored at \u201320 \u00b0C until the moment of the analysis.g for 10 min. The obtained supernatant was then filtered through a 0.45 \u00b5m membrane filter. The extracted latexes were analyzed by liquid chromatography using an Agilent 110 .The collected latex samples were extracted with methanol and centrifuged at 16,000\u00d7 18 column  with a CH3CN/H2O gradient over 40 min at 1 mL min\u22121 and 40 \u00b0C. The solvent mixture consisted of acetonitrile (solvent A) and water (solvent B). The portion of A was increased from 12% to 95% in 37 min gradually, then returned to the initial conditions in 2 min and the percentage of B was decreased from 88% to 5% in 37 min and then returned to the initial conditions.Samples were injected into a reverse-phase (RP) CMale BALB/c mice (25\u201330 g) were obtained from Kobay Animals Laboratory . The animals were allowed to adapt to the laboratory conditions for 3 days before the experiment. In this process, the animals were housed with a 12-h light, 12-h dark cycle with standard laboratory chow and tap water.Each test group consisted of six mice and all the studies were performed conferring to the international rules regarding the animal experiments and biodiversity rights .In all the tests, samples were administered intraperitoneally in a 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) suspension at a dose of 100 mg/kg. In the control group, only 0.5% CMC was administered.Lorazepam  was used as a reference drug and it was administered to the mice intraperitoneally at a dose of 1 mg/kg.The traction test was applied to the mice to evaluate the sedative effects of the test materials using the method described by Courvoisier with Laroche and Rousselet ,22,23,24The test samples and lorazepam as a reference material were administered to the mice intraperitoneally. An hour later, the mice were placed horizontally with their forepaws on a taut rope. Normally a mouse hanging on the rope will lift its hind legs, whilst mice that fail to lift at least one of their hind legs to reach the rope are considered to be sedated. In addition, the behavior of the animals was recorded during the experimental period.The method developed by Hoffman was applied to the mice ,26.The test samples and lorazepam as a reference material were administered to the mice intraperitoneally. An hour later, each mouse was placed in a 30-cm long vertical glass tube. Typically, a normal mouse attempts to escape within thirty seconds, whilst mice that do not make any attempt during this period are considered to be sedated.The method developed by Clark et al. and File and Hoffman was applied to the mice ,28.The test samples and lorazepam as a reference material were administered intraperitoneally to the mice. An hour later, the mice were placed in the center of a perforated board. The perforated board test was carried out using a wooden board of 40 \u00d7 40 \u00d7 25 cm with evenly spaced holes. The number of times the mice inserted their heads into the holes was recorded.The method developed by Aziz and Khan was applied to the mice ,30,31.Thiopental (a sub-hypnotic dose) was administered to the mice (60 mg/kg) intraperitoneally, then after 30 min the mice were treated with the test samples. The time from the application of the test samples to sleep and the time from sleep to waking was recorded.p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001.The data obtained from the animal experiments were evaluated using one-way ANOVA statistical tests. In addition, the test and control groups were assessed using Student\u2013Newman\u2013Keuls post hoc tests. The results were compared with those from the control and reference groups. Statistical significance is expressed as *"}
+{"text": "Ureteral stenosis after percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) of renal tumor is a rare but severe complication, and its risk factors are not apparent.This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for stenosis of ureter after MWA treatment of the renal tumor that is a rare complication.P < 0.05 is considered significant.Data of 211 patients who underwent MWA for the treatment of renal tumor were retrospectively analyzed from September 2006 to August 2019. Demographic characteristics, clinical features, ablation parameters, and outcomes were analyzed to find out the potential risk factors of this complication. P = 0.225) or ablation zone (P = 0.089) is not related to this complication. Postoperative urine routine  and R.E.N.A.L. score (P < 0.001) is related to this complication. But after multivariate logistic analysis, only R.E.N.A.L. score (P = 0.004) is associated with this complication. The location and growth pattern of tumor and the energy of ablation were not related to this complication independently.Six of 211 patients developed ureter stenosis, and the rate of this complication is 2.84%. The median time of emergence of hydronephrosis was 226  days. Univariate analysis shows the distance between ureter and tumor (The stenosis of the ureter after MWA of renal tumor is not associated with the tumor size, location, or the distance between the ureter and tumor and ablation site independently. But R.E.N.A.L. score is associated with ureter stenosis after MWA for the treatment of renal tumor, which combines the information of location, depth, and size of tumor. Preoperative evaluation of the tumor is necessary for avoiding ureter stenosis. Further studies should focus on these risk factors of this complication. The renal tumor is one of the fatal urological malignancies. The incidence of the renal tumor has been growing. However, the survival rate of the renal tumor has increased , 2. AlthMicrowave ablation (MWA) for the renal tumor is a minimally invasive therapy, which can be performed under the guidance of ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) during the operation or percutaneously directly. It has been proved in the previous study that MWA can achieve a similar effect and lower rate of complication compared with laparoscopic radical nephrectomy and open radical nephrectomy \u20138. The rThis study is approved by institutional review board at Chinese PLA General Hospital. This retrospectively study enrolled the 211 patients in the Interventional Ultrasound Department of Chinese PLA General Hospital from September 2006 to August 2019 who had undergone MWA for the treatment of renal tumor. All the patients had signed the informed consent form. The institutional database was queried to identify incident patients and collect baseline clinical data including age, sex, comorbidity, lesion location, ablation time, ablation power, the maximum diameter of the tumor and ablation zone, preoperative, postoperative and follow-up imaging examination, and laboratory examination. Our study was approved by the institutional review board. The collected criteria were as follows: (1) conformed to the treatment guidelines of NCCN , (2) refAll the patients are treated with percutaneous MWA under US guidance by experienced doctors. The microwave unit  is capable of producing 100 W of power at 2,450 MHz. An automatic biopsy gun with an 18-gage cutting needle to puncture the biopsy for two to three times to achieve tumor tissue was used, followed by 1% lidocaine local anesthesia . A protective temperature-measured device was inserted to control the temperature of the surrounding tissue. The antenna was then inserted into the mass and placed at a proper location under US guidance. After antennas were placed, intravenous anesthesia was administered by a combination of propofol , and ketamine  via the peripheral vein.Hydrodissection technique is a protective measure to reduce the heat injury of surrounding tissues, and this method has proven its efficiency to avoid the damage to the intestinal tract and renal sinus around \u201316. For Preoperative imaging examination, such as US, contrast-enhanced US, and contrast-enhanced CT/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was retrospectively analyzed to determine the tumor location, the diameter of the tumor, and the relationship between the lesion and adjacent structure. The distance between the ureter and tumor or ablation site was measured on MRI/CT. Postoperative first urine routine was collected to analyze potential risk factors. Postoperative imaging examination was retrieved to measure the diameter of the ablation zone and judge if there was stenosis of ureter and secondary hydronephrosis and record the occurrence time of complication. For patient 2, hydronephrosis was detected by US 180 days after ablation, and she accepted percutaneous nephrostomy . Patient2 test or Fisher exact test for categorical variables and Mann\u2013Whitney U test for continuous variables. Variables in which P value is less than 0.2 or clinically considered meaningful were included into multivariable logistic regression. The statistical analysis was calculated by SPSS 18.0 software package  and R (version 3.6.1). P < 0.05 was considered significant. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted by R (version 3.6.1).The data were expressed as median or mean \u00b1 SD. The correlation between this complication and clinical characteristics was analyzed using a \u03c7Six of 211 patients developed ureter stenosis, and the rate of this complication is 2.84%. The characteristic baseline is given in U test P = 0.093, 0.099), ablation power and time , total energy (P = 0.739), and postoperative urine white blood cell  were unrelated to this complication. The distance between ureter and tumor or ablation zone  was unrelated to this complication. Increased postoperative urine routine  and R.E.N.A.L. score (Mann\u2013Whitney U test P < 0.001) were related to this complication.P < 0.001), diameter of tumor (P = 0.093), and ablation zone (P = 0.123), postoperative urine routine , the distance between the ureter and tumor (P = 0.225), or ablation zone (P = 0.089), and total energy (P = 0.739) were included in the multivariate analysis of risk factors. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, only R.E.N.A.L. score (P < 0.001) was related to this complication. The ROC curve is shown in After univariate risk factor analysis, R.E.N.A.L. score (Stenosis of ureter after MWA for the treatment of renal tumor is a rare complication. Rarely had literature reported this complication. Chen et al.  had publOur results showed that the R.E.N.A.L. score is associated with this complication. In contrast to previous research, which concluded the location of the tumor and growth pattern were independent predictors of developing stenosis of ureter . Our resThere are still some limitations to this study\u2014first, the nature of the retrospective study, which might affect the evaluation of outcomes. Second, because the stenosis of the ureter remote from the ablation site after MWA is a rare complication, the series of this complication is still limited; the power of evidence of risk factors is still low. Third, the experience of doctors and single-center study could impact the outcome.In conclusion, R.E.N.A.L. score is associated with ureter stenosis after MWA for the treatment of renal tumor, which combines the information of location, depth, and size of tumor. Preoperative evaluation of the tumor is necessary for avoiding ureter stenosis. Moreover, the combination of various preoperative protective methods might be sufficient to reduce the rate of this complication such as preoperative double-J stent placement, hydrodissection technique, and retrograde cold saline perfusion. In addition, the postoperative remedy is also necessary to decrease the degree of stenosis of the ureter.wjpdabao@gmail.com.The datasets analyzed in this manuscript are not publicly available. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of PLA General Hospital. Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.JW: protocol and project development, methodology, data collection, manuscript writing, and manuscript editing. JY and ZC: protocol and project development, and methodology. ZH and XY: protocol and project development, and data management. KL and PH: data collection and management. FL and PL: protocol and project development, and manuscript review. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Y. Martin Lo, and Wiley Periodicals, LLC. The withdrawal has been agreed because the article was published in error while it was still under peer review. The article has now been rejected and is withdrawn. The authors bear no fault, and we apologize for the error.The above article, published online on 18 January 2022 in Wiley Online Library (10.1002/fsn3.3087. This duplicate has now been deleted and its DOI redirected to this version of the article.Correction added on 24th November 2022, after initial online publication. A duplicate of this article was published under the DOI:"}
+{"text": "Anopheles species allowed evolutionary comparisons of the immune response genes in search of alternative vector control of the malarial parasites. Now, with the Anopheles aquasalis genome, it was possible to obtain more information about the evolution of the immune response genes. Anopheles aquasalis has 278 immune genes in 24 families or groups. Comparatively, the American anophelines possess fewer genes than Anopheles gambiaes.s., the most dangerous African vector. The most remarkable differences were found in the pathogen recognition and modulation families like FREPs, CLIP and C-type lectins. Even so, genes related to the modulation of the expression of effectors in response to pathogens and gene families that control the production of reactive oxygen species were more conserved. Overall, the results show a variable pattern of evolution in the immune response genes in the anopheline species. Environmental factors, such as exposure to different pathogens and differences in the microbiota composition, could shape the expression of this group of genes. The results presented here will contribute to a better knowledge of the Neotropical vector and open opportunities for malaria control in the endemic-affected areas of the New World.Anophelines are vectors of malaria, the deadliest disease worldwide transmitted by mosquitoes. The availability of genomic data from various  Annually there are 229 million cases that result in nearly half a million deaths worldwide, affecting mainly pregnant women and children [Anopheles sp. Among more than 400 known species of Anopheles, 41 are recognized vectors worldwide, 9 of which are found in the Americas, including Anopheles aquasalis, the primary malaria vector of coastal Central and South Americas and the Caribbean Islands [Malaria is a severe public health problem in several tropical and subtropical areas. It is caused by parasites of the genus children . The disAnopheles vectors to transmit Plasmodium  are well studied and have been characterized in established African and Asian models such as An. gambiae s. s. and An. stephensi [Plasmodium in the vectors, and three-quarters of the total ingested parasites die inside the midgut at the start of their life cycle [The biological characteristics influenced by variations in the ability of tephensi \u20135. The dfe cycle . Changesfe cycle ,8.Plasmodium's life cycle in the mosquito [Several families of innate immune genes control the mosquito response to pathogens. They can influence vector competence, allowing or preventing the development of mosquito \u201311. Alsomosquito ,13.Plasmodium infection and transmission through the synthesis of anti-pathogen molecules, including those expressed after activation of immune signalling pathways. Several components of the IMD (immune deficiency) and TOLL signalling pathways influence the development of murine and human Plasmodium in different anopheline species such as An. gambiae s. s., An. stephensi and An. albimanus [Anopheles Plasmodium-responsive Leucine-Rich Repeat-2 (APL2), and fibrillin-9 (FBN9) [An. stephensi for the continuous expression of REL2 was carried out, allowing the generation of mosquitoes highly resistant to P. falciparum infection [It is assumed that the vector's immune response is predominant in controlling lbimanus ,15. For 9 (FBN9) ,15. Cons9 (FBN9) ,15. Basenfection .An. gambiae s. s. and An. stephensi mosquitoes, proteins dual oxidase:peroxidase and NADPH-oxidase domains (DUOX) and heme peroxidase 15 (HPX15) participate in catalysing the cross-linking of the mucin layer that delimits the food bolus avoiding the direct contact of the intestinal epithelium with the gut microbiota. The silencing of HPX15 increased the expression of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) protein, the main effector regulated by the JAK/STAT pathway, eliminating both P. berghei and P. falciparum through the TEP1 protein [P. berghei in A. gambiae s. s. [An. stephensi since it does not affect the NOS expression [Likewise, immune mechanisms responsible for microbial homeostasis in the mosquito and molecules related to the structural maintenance of the peritrophic matrix have been described as limiting factors for developing plasmodia ,18. In A protein \u201321. On tpression .In this sense, pathogen recognition components are so important in the sporogony cycle of the malaria parasite within the mosquito that they have become candidates for the production of transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) or genetic modification in the anophelines ,24. As hPlasmodium highlight the importance of understanding the functioning and participation of distinct genes involved in the immune response process. In the future, this knowledge may help raise mechanisms for malaria control. The exciting issue about these data on genetic modification targets or candidates for transmission-blocking vaccines is their conservation among anophelines [Anopheles. Although, in this genomic comparison, intrinsic evolutionary characteristics of the groups or families of genes related to the immune response in anophelines have been recognized. Phylogenetic comparisons could reveal the existence of agonist or antagonist genes against plasmodia in American anophelines, which were detected in African or Asian anophelines in functional experiments [Studies about the interaction between mosquito vectors and phelines ,22,25. Weriments .An. aquasalis to study the composition of the immune response gene families and to make phylogenetic comparisons among four anopheline species of mosquitoes whose genomic data is available. This work is based on homology comparisons with the genes of the immune response of An. gambiae s. s., An. albimanus and An. darlingi, in addition to using the neighbour-joining (NJ) methodology to make evolutionary inferences with the immune response components identified in An. aquasalis.Nevertheless, most of these results were raised from restricted groups of Old World anophelines, which limits what is known about these genes in the neotropical malaria vectors. In the present study, we used the recently annotated genome of the neotropical mosquito . 2. 2.1Anopheles aquasalis mosquito comes from the colony established in the laboratory of Medical Entomology at FIOCRUZ-MG. An. aquasalis protein sequences were obtained from genome annotation (GCA_002846955.1) [An. aquasalis immune response proteins were identified in the genome and annotated proteins by tBLASTn and BLASTp  searches against Anopheles gambiae s. s. immune response proteins available at the ImmunoDB database  [The 46955.1) . Putativon GCA_0046955.1 [et al. [An. aquasalis were characterized with the Conserved Domains Database (CDD) database or Interproscan online tool [An. gambiae s. s. as a control [We used amino acid sequences described by Cao et al.  as modelet al. . The proine tool ,32. Moti control . Other p control ,35.. 2.2An. gambiae s. s. immune response proteins were retrieved from the ImmunoDB. Protein sequences from the new world mosquitoes An. darlingi were also downloaded (Coari AdarC3.8), An. albimanus  and from An. gambiae s. s. (PEST PEPTIDES AgamP4.12) from the VectorBase database website (https://vectorbase.org/) [Culex quinquefasciatus as a species within the Culicidae family, little related to the Anopheles genus, and the An. stephensi mosquito, a species of the Cellia subgenus. Thus, the mean of each family of immune response genes was calculated from the information of the six mosquitoes and the loss or gain of genes was expressed with the standard deviation for each species [se.org/) . To carrse.org/) . The physe.org/) . Finally species .. 3An. aquasalis genome [An. aquasalis genome (BioProject PRJNA389759) has 162 944 Mb, distributed in 16 504 scaffolds (N50 14 431) and according to BUSCO analysis, has a completeness of 96.2% of complete single-copy genes, 0.04% complete and duplicated, 2.3% fragmented and 1.5% missing genes. A total of 12 446 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome and used for the characterization of the components of the immune response.The data used in this study come from the annotation of the s genome . The assAn. aquasalis genome , unlike An.gambiae s. s., which had approximately 130 more immune response genes. We observed that such differences compared to the An. gambiae s. s. is concentrated in two gene families, fibrinogen-related protein (FREP) and CLIP-domain serine protease (CLIP). While An. gambiae s. s. has 46 FREP proteins, we found only 17 in An. aquasalis. For CLIP proteins, An. gambiae s. s. has 97 annotated proteins, while An. aquasalis has 57 such genes.Two hundred and seventy-eight proteins were identified as of putative immune response function in the Culex quinquefasciatus as an external group, we can observe groups of expansions in An. gambiae s. s. . In New-World anophelines, we observe contractions in leucine-rich immune protein (LRIM), gram-negative binding proteins, prophenoloxidases, C-type lectins and Niemann-Pick C2 proteins (MLD2) compared to An. gambiae s. s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Regarding specifically An. aquasalis, our attention is drawn to the loss of peptidoglycan recognition protein, serpins and LRIM proteins, as much as the gain of peroxidase and autophagy-related proteins. In the following sections, we will focus on the results of the classic and conserved pathways and those gene families that showed remarkable gains or losses in An. aquasalis.To facilitate the visualization of gene number variation in each immune-related gene family, we performed a heatmap analysis . The hea. 3.1Plasmodium [An. gambiae s. s. are present in An. aquasalis, An. darlingi and An. albimanus, here an orthologous relationship between each individual member of the family was checked  and the subgenus Cellia (An. gambiae s. s.), a new copy emerged for the African mosquito. A result that was also observed when carrying out the phylogenetic tree with the sequences of 18, STAT2 arises in several of the species of the Cellia subgenus and even in representatives of the Anopheles subgenus. In addition, the absence of STAT2 was not exclusive to American anophelines; the Asian species An. sinensis, does not have a copy of this gene .Among the exciting events to highlight was the duplication of the STAT gene  in his gene . In An. c), An. aquasalis and An. albimanus had orthologues of the well-known JNK cascade proteins shared with An. gambiae s. s., but An. darlingi seems to have lost the PUCKERED gene, a negative regulator of this pathway. It is possible that, in An. darlingi, the PUCKERED gene has its role performed by the dual phosphatase gene since both genes have the same regulatory role in insects such as the fruit fly D. melanogaster [An. aquasalis signaling pathways share identity values with An. gambiae s. s. above 41%. . Within the An. aquasalis annotation, the predictions of the IMD genes, the transcription factor regulator PIAS, TRAF6 , and the NOS genes were fragmented over several scaffolds or missing. Therefore, their predictions were made manually.In the JNK signalling pathway c, An. aqnogaster . Further. 3.2An. aquasalis, different from the 18 genes identified in An. gambiae s. s. The loss of genes was manually reviewed. The SRPN7 and SRPN13 genes from An. gambiae s. s. had a low identity value  in the BLAST alignment against the An. aquasalis genome. Furthermore, this comparison revealed a low score for SRPN7 (102) and low coverage for SRPN13 (12%), making it impossible to annotate these genes manually.A total of 15 genes of the serine protease inhibitor family (serpins \u2013 SRPN) were found within the genome of An. albimanus serpins was identified. Most An. aquasalis sequences have values above 52% of identity with An. gambiae s. s.   .Figure . 3.3Besides the proteins from the signalling pathways, superoxide dismutase (SOD) was another group of highly conserved genes in the anophelines. Four genes of this family were identified in all mosquitoes with one-to-one orthologues , with hi. 3.4An. aquasalis six PGRP were identified, a result similar to the finding in other anophelines, where the composition of this family is from five to seven genes [An. aquasalis had identity values above 75% compared to their orthologues in the mosquito An. gambiae s. s. and at least the identity values are above 59.8%; in this group, the orthologue of AgamPGRPS2 in An. aquasalis was fragmented across several scaffolds and was manually annotated. Despite having many single-copy orthologous groups among the four species (LD/LA/S1/LB Groups), in the S2/S3 group, it was impossible to identify orthologues with the AgamPGRPS2 and AgamPGRPS3 proteins for American mosquitoes . In general, there were orthologues one by one in several of the groups identified. However, evolutionary analysis suggests the loss of LRIM-5, 8A, 9, 15 and 26 in An. aquasalis. An. gambiae s. s. was the species that had the most gene expansion in this family, mainly in the subgroup of long proteins (a).The proteins with leucine-rich repeats of the immune response (LRIM) are abundant in anophelines; in escribed a. In genproteins a.Figureb,c; electronic supplementary material, table S1). It was common to find proteins from the two subfamilies between the tree clades without differentiating between the two groups.The LRIM family has been subdivided into four subgroups according to their structural characteristics and previous evolutionary analyzes. They are recognized as lengthy, short, without coiled-coil and transmembrane ,46. The figure 8An. aquasalis, only one member of these proteins with transmembrane parts was identified (group 16). The other anophelines had a more significant number of copies of them, as evidenced in An. gambiae s. s.. These proteins are closely related to the subfamily of long LRIM, with both having a common origin. The long proteins were represented by three groups, composed chiefly of single-copy orthologues for the four anopheline species for two of their genes and the expansion of the APL1 group in An. gambiae s. s. and one copy too much in An. aquasalis was evident (a).Also, the proteins with transmembrane regions (with coiled-coil domains) were represented by groups 15 and 16 in anophelines. In  evident a.b). Likewise, the distribution of each motif can be observed in figure 7c, highlighting that most of the Leu repeat motifs were before the red and yellow motifs, with the conserved residues of Trp and Cys delimiting the LRR domain.As pointed out previously, in the LRIM proteins, the leucine-rich repeats (LRR) domain has a particular distribution pattern of residues essential for identifying some proteins of this group with poor identity values ,47. In tfigure 8. 3.6An. gambiae s. s., up to 46 genes have been identified, and the mosquito An. aquasalis has 17 FREP proteins. Our evolutionary analysis showed four significant expansions in the FREP family in anophelines. The expansions EI and EIII are exclusive of An. gambiae s. s.  genes have heterogeneous abundance in anophelines. In ae s. s. . Convers. 4Cellia and Anopheles subgenera [Anopheles divergence.Conservation of proteins at the amino acid and copy number levels is frequently associated with essential genes for the organism's survival and fitness, considering the classical pathways. At first glance, it is possible to observe that the most conserved gene families (concerning copy numbers) were the immune pathways , with 1 : 1 orthologues in almost all anophelines. Proteins of the IMD, JAK/STAT, TOLL and JNK pathways are among the most studied proteins in anophelines. Their importance in the process of vector/parasite interaction has been demonstrated in many insect vectors. The disruption of any of these main pathways by gene knockout or silencing leads to an inability of the vector to defend against pathogens. Interestingly, in anopheline species, duplication in the STAT transcription factor of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway is recognized for some of the members of the ubgenera ,49. Our An. aquasalis and An. gambiae s. s., SOD3 isoforms have emerged to regulate ROS at specific times and in conditions to combat pathogens in the midgut during blood digestion [Another highly conserved family of proteins identified here relates to the metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) products, as in the case of superoxide dismutase proteins (SOD). This group is universally present and is believed to have arisen long ago in prokaryotes from increased oxygen production in the atmosphere ,51. In Aigestion ,53. The igestion ,54.An. aquasalis and An. gambiae s. s., we observed that some gene families  have similar numbers of genes (in a 1 : 1 orthologous relationships). Among the American anophelines, the only species with the same number of autophagy proteins of An. gambiae s. s. was An. aquasalis. The only exception was the ATG12 gene, which was found in two copies in the An. gambiae s. s. genome [An. aquasalis, An. darlingi and An. albimanus) had only one copy of these genes.By way of the conserved orthologues between . genome , while tArabidopsis thaliana for the ATG12 isoforms and represents a clear example of sub-functionalization. As demonstrated in A. thaliana, where in long periods of starvation and darkness, the silencing of both ATG12B and ATG12A genes resulted in increased mortality. According to the results, any of the two ATG12 is sufficient for the association of ATG8 with autophagic bodies. In addition, its expression changes during the life cycle of the plant, with ATG12A frequently expressed in old plants and ATG12B in young A. thaliana tissues [Several components responsible for regulating the catabolic process of autophagy have been conserved in several phyla of eukaryotes such as plants, worms, arthropods and mammals \u201358. Even tissues .An. darlingi. This protein participates in the final phase of autophagosome formation. In its absence, there is no direction for constructing the pre-autophagosome structure [An. darlingi may be due to the existence of another protein that can activate autophagosome formation, or it is necessary to annotate ATG8 in this mosquito [ATG8 was one of the proteins conserved in all anophelines except for tructure ,58. Thermosquito .An. gambiae s. s.. The emergence of extra copies in An. gambiae s. s. may be related to a greater capacity for regulating the apoptosis process [An. gambiae s. s.. Previously it was shown that galectins underwent an expansion process almost exclusive to mosquitoes, suggesting an influence of hematophagy and exposure to different pathogens for the diversification of this type of recognition receptors in culicids [Interestingly, other proteins, such as caspases and apoptosis inhibitors related to apoptosis processes, have expanded copy numbers in  process \u201363. Regaculicids ,65.An. gambiae s. s. galectins, there are data on their participation in infections made with Gram-positive bacteria and with P. berghei, GALE6\u20138 also increased its expression during exposure to the alphavirus ONNV, GALE8 being an important antagonist of the virus, here these galectins are well related in a clade in which An. gambiae s. s. exhibited a duplication precisely with GALE8/9 [An. aquasalis presented a higher number of 1 : 1 orthologues to An. gambiae s. s. than other American anophelines. In summary, by simple parsimony, it is possible to conjecture that An. aquasalis and An. gambiae s. s. present a conserved ancestral catalogue of genes, with unexpected losses in other American anophelines.In  GALE8/9 ,66. Fina GALE8/9 ,19,22,67 GALE8/9 , such asAn. gambiae s. s. and Ae. aegytpi [Plasmodium control since in An. gambiae s. s. PGRPS2 participates in the reduction of P. falciparum and P. berghei [An. aquasalis), C-type lectins, MLD2 and scavenger receptors. Interestingly, for the last two, their functions are not limited exclusively to the immune response, and their diversification could be due to each organism's metabolic or sensory needs [An. gambiae s. s. and An. stephensi MLD silencing increases the oocyst number of P. falciparum and P. berghei in the midgut, reinforcing the hypothesis previously raised that MLD possibly prevents sterol uptake by parasites [Pattern recognition proteins (PRPs) underwent gene gain and loss dynamics ranging from conserved copy number clusters to extensive species-specific diversifications. For example, in the Gram-negative binding protein (GNBP) and PGRP families, conservation was observed for a few orthologues with possible losses in American mosquitoes. Genes identified as PGRPS2 and GNBP2/3 could have implications in limiting the growth of populations of exogenous bacteria functionally recognized in  aegytpi ,69. The  berghei . Some PRry needs ,72. Alsoarasites ,74.Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, and they are specific for each virus or even for serotypes [An. gambiae s. s. with P. berghei in the proteins CTL4 and CTLMA2, these two lectins type C protect the malarial ookinetes from melanization [An. albimanus, the protective action of these proteins against plasmodia does not exist, and, according to our analysis based on the phylogenetic data, it is suggested that this functional difference is related to the lack of a true orthologue of CTL4 by the American species [As in other insects, CTL proteins (C-type lectins with a single CRD domain) have the most significant diversification in anophelines. In other mosquitoes, it is known that these proteins participate in the homeostatic balance of the microbiota, preventing the activation of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) . The diverotypes \u201378. The erotypes . This agnization ,81. Howe species .An. gambiae s. s.. This phenomenon was highly accentuated in the FREP family, a previously recognized group with rapid divergence and relaxed evolutionary constraints in insect lineages such as Diptera [Plasmodium [Drosophila, serving as opsonization molecules to control microbes and pathogens, triggering lysis, phagocytosis or melanization [An. gambiae s. s. concerning proteins related to TEP1, which is associated with controlling the microbiota and the fight against pathogens derived from blood meal [An. gambiae s. s., but not in An. albimanus [An. aquasalis, only one LRR was recognized under the same conditions. However, most of the An. gambiae s. s. LRIMs were present in the New World mosquitoes being 17 of 27 clades composed of single-copy orthologues. Characteristically, Toll receptors showed the same division of three subgroups identified in the insect genomic comparison [P. falciparum in An. gambiae s. s. and has orthologues in the other anopheline species [An. aquasalis and An. albimanus, transcriptomic studies indicate little activity of TOLL receptors against Plasmodium after ingesting a blood meal, even if the TOLL signalling pathway is activated [The species-specific diversifications were much more abrupt in the PRP of the FREP, TEP, TOLL and LRIM families in the four studied anopheline species, especially in  Diptera . FREPs aasmodium . TEP is nization ,85. Therood meal ,86. Inteood meal . LRIMs albimanus ,47,87. Imparison . The div species \u201390. In Activated ,91. ThusAn. gambiae s. s. in subfamilies B and E [An. darlingi and An. albimanus. In mosquitoes such as Ae. aegypti and An. gambiae s. s., it is widely studied how serine protease with CLIP domains actively regulates melanization as a defence mechanism against bacteria, fungi and parasites [An. gambiae s. s., non-catalytic CLIPs are recruited with the TEP1/LRIM1/APL1C complex. This process mediates the accumulation of the complement system on the surface of microorganisms [Ae. aegypti, for example, CLIP29 and CLIP30/31 paralogues activate the TOLL signalling pathway along with the SERPIN2 protein acting against the fungus Beauveria bassiana [A few authors have asserted that expansions in the families related to the modulation process of the immune response are widespread ,64,92. I B and E , also obarasites ,93\u201396. Irganisms ,96. Alsorganisms ,98. Somerganisms . SpeciesAn. aquasalis. The PPO-6 clade is associated with the melanization of plasmodia in refractory strains of An. gambiae s. s. and An. stephensi [P. berghei in An. gambiae s. s. by the activation of the PGE2 protein. Moreover, in An. dirus, PPO4 has an antispasmodic effect independent of the melanization [The prophenoloxidase (PPO) system is a hemolymph-based complex of enzymes that, when activated, generate peptides and adhesive proteins, mediating many of the defence functions in arthropods. The expansion of PPO in mosquitoes is well-known. There is a discussion that a series of duplication events have led to the current number of proteins in the culicids ,99,100. tephensi ,99. Howenization ,102.An. aquasalis, the primary malaria vector of coastal Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands. The An. aquasalis mosquitoes used in this study are from a well-established colony that has also analysed the interaction process with murine and human malarial Plasmodium strains. The results raised here will contribute knowledge of the study of a Neotropical vector, which may open opportunities for future malaria control in the malaria-endemic areas of the New World.Overall, the results presented in this study indicate a variable pattern of evolution in the immune response genes of the studied anopheline mosquitoes. Environmental factors, such as exposure to different pathogens and differences in the composition of the microbiota, could shape the expression of this group of genes. This study formulated a catalog of the evolution of immune response genes in"}
+{"text": "Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. The disease is characterized by a varied course; therefore, the basis for diagnosis is laboratory methods. Currently, a two-tiered serological test is recommended, using an ELISA as a screening test and a Western blot as a confirmatory test. This approach was introduced due to the relatively high number of false-positive results obtained when using an ELISA alone. However, even this approach has not entirely solved the problem of false-positive results caused by cross-reactive antibodies. Many highly immunogenic B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins are recognized nonspecifically by antibodies directed against other pathogens. This also applies to antigens, such as OspC, BmpA, VlsE, and FlaB, i.e., those commonly used in serodiagnostic assays. Cross-reactions can be caused by both bacterial  and viral  infections. Additionally, a rheumatoid factor has also been shown to nonspecifically recognize B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins, resulting in false-positive results. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully interpret the results of serodiagnostic tests so as to avoid overdiagnosis of Lyme disease, which causes unnecessary implementations of strong antibiotic therapies and delays in the correct diagnosis.Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by spirochetes belonging to the  Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (B. burgdorferi s.l.). Currently, on the basis of phylogenetic similarity, there are about 21 genospecies within the B. burgdorferi s.l complex; however, due to the attempts made to identify and describe new strains, it is believed that this number is not final [Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by bacteria included in the Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia bavariensis, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), Borrelia lusitaniae and Borrelia spielmanii. For many years, it was believed that Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. was the only causative genospecies of Lyme disease in North America. However, in recent years there have been more and more reports suggesting that Borrelia bisettii and Borrelia mayonii may also cause Lyme disease in the USA and Canada [Not all bacteria belonging to this group cause borreliosis. In Europe, there are six genospecies causing the disease in humans, i.e., d Canada ,3,4.B. burgdorferi s.l. are ticks of the genus Ixodes, and it is the area of their natural existence that determines the zone of Lyme disease occurrence. There are four main species of ticks that transmit Lyme disease to humans: Ixodes scapularis in the eastern United States and Canada; Ixodes pacificus in the western United States; Ixodes ricinus in Europe and Asia; and Ixodes persulcatus found only in Asia [B. burgdorferi s.l. when feeding on vertebrates that are reservoirs for pathogens. After B. burgdorferi s.l. enters the arachnid\u2019s body with blood, the spirochetes localize in its midgut. The increase in temperature and the change in pH inside the tick, accompanying the blood collection, are stimuli for B. burgdorferi s.l. to start expressing a new gene pool. This allows the spirochetes to migrate from the midgut to the tick\u2019s salivary glands, from where they enter the body of a new vertebrate host (including humans) together with the saliva [The vectors transmitting  in Asia . Ticks be saliva ,7. Lyme disease was first described in the population of Lyme, Connecticut, USA. Rheumatoid-like arthritis was noted in them, which mainly affected children . HoweverB. burgdorferi s.l. does not produce classic toxins or other recognizable virulence factors that directly cause damage to the host tissues. Therefore, it seems that multisystemic disorders are caused by too strong immune reactions to bacterial components [mponents . In the mponents ,14,15. B. burgdorferi s.l. about 3\u201330 days after the tick bite [B. burgdorferi s.l. representatives [B. afzelii is associated almost exclusively with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA). B. garinii and B. bavariensis are often associated with neurological symptoms, and B. burgdorferi s.s. mainly causes Lyme arthritis (LA) [The most characteristic manifestation of early Lyme disease is a skin lesion called erythema migrans (EM), which appears in about 60\u201390% of those infected with ick bite ,16. At tick bite ,18. If tick bite ,15. One ick bite ,19,20. Tntatives . Therefotis (LA) ,23,24.B. burgdorferi s.l. in clinical samples and the difficulties in their cultivation, indirect tests based on the detection of class M and G antibodies are most often used [B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins used in them and nonspecific antibodies contained in human sera, make diagnostics difficult, leading to overdiagnosis of Lyme disease. This has serious implications for patients who are then subjected to unnecessary strong antibiotic therapy, and the correct diagnosis is delayed, which can lead to catastrophic consequences.Due to the fact that the symptoms of Lyme disease are not specific enough to allow for a correct diagnosis, laboratory assays play an important role here. As direct methods have many limitations connected with the presence of a very low number of ten used . UnfortuThis article presents the problem of cross-reactions in Lyme disease serodiagnostics leading to false-positive results and discusses possible solutions to this problem.B. burgdorferi s.l. are microareophilic, Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the type Spirochaetes [B. burgdorferi s.l. cell: the outer lipid membrane with many surface lipoproteins, the periplasmic space, the flagellum and the inner cytoplasmic membrane forming the protoplasmic cylinder. The flagella and peptidoglycan layer are located in the periplasmic space [The ochaetes ,27. Due ochaetes ,29. The ic space ,29.B. burgdorferi s.l. consists of a linear chromosome and numerous circular and linear plasmids. The chromosome mainly encodes the housekeeping genes and its sequence is quite strongly conserved within B. burgdorferi s.l. Plasmids carry genetic information responsible for the virulence and pathogenicity [B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates have a complete set of them. Only the cp26, cp32 and lp54 plasmids are necessary for the survival of the bacteria in the environment; therefore, they are present in all B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates and show a relatively high degree of conservation of the nucleotide sequence. The rest of them have low conservation and are quite easily lost, which is associated with a great difficulty in the laboratory cultivation of fully virulent strains of B. burgdorferi s.l. [The complete genome of genicity . So far,eri s.l. ,31,32. B. burgdorferi s.l. are also characterized by a very diverse proteome. The bacteria have the ability to change their surface antigens as an expression of adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Different proteins are present on the surface of the pathogen\u2019s cell during its existence in ticks and vertebrates. The production of proteins necessary for mammalian entry and colonization usually begins in response to changing conditions during a tick\u2019s blood meal. An increase in temperature and a decrease in pH are a signal to start the migration of spirochetes to the salivary glands of arachnids and the production of new proteins needed for transmission [Due to the complicated structure of the genome, smission ,33.Borrelia proteins, the best known are surface antigens, which fall into two main categories: lipoproteins, which are anchored to the outer membrane by lipid moieties at the N-terminus, and integral outer membrane proteins (OMPs), which are anchored by transmembrane domains [B. burgdorferi s.l., which is influenced by the location of almost all known genes encoding OMPs on the chromosome. They are mainly responsible for functions necessary for the survival of the bacterial cell, such as obtaining nutrients or resistance to antibiotics [B. burgdorferi s.l. It is mainly the expression pattern of plasmid-encoded lipoproteins that changes throughout the life cycle of the spirochete in response to changes in environmental conditions. This indicates that surface lipoproteins play an important role in virulence and host\u2013pathogen interactions, and they have also been shown to be involved in host immune response evasion. This opinion is supported by the observation that the loss of plasmids correlates with the decrease in B. burgdorferi s.l. infectivity [Among all  domains . OMPs aribiotics ,35. Lipoectivity ,36,37.B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins is provided in A brief description of the most immunogenic B. burgdorferi s.l. in the collected samples and the long waiting time for the result. The above-mentioned limitations mean that this method is mainly used in the case of patients with dysfunctions of the immune system [For most bacterial diseases, the direct detection of pathogens via culture is considered the gold standard. Unfortunately, this approach is not used in the diagnosis of Lyme disease due to the very high growth requirements of the spirochetes, the low number of e system ,63,64.B. burgdorferi s.l. were selected in the WB test. It has been established that for the detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) the most useful antigens are OspC (p23\u2013p25), BmpA (p39) and FlaB (p41), and the test is interpreted as positive when there is a reaction to at least two of them [B. burgdorferi s.l. are the main source of antigens in both methods.Currently, a two-tiered serodiagnostic approach is recommended in the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Due to their high sensitivity and low cost, ELISA tests act as screening tests. However, a positive result does not mean a reliable diagnosis of Lyme disease, as ELISA tests have a fairly low specificity. The Western blot (WB) is used as a second-stage confirmatory test, because, due to the ability to distinguish individual protein bands, it is much more specific. In order to achieve the best diagnostic utility, the most reactive and characteristic antigens produced by  of them . However of them . Whole-cHowever, the serodiagnosis of Lyme disease affects several problems; one of them is the serologic window\u2014the time needed for the immune system to produce specific antibodies against pathogens during primary infection. IgMs appear first in the host organism; it takes place about 2 weeks after infection, while the production of IgG usually begins after 3\u20136 weeks, and they replace IgM as the disease progresses. As the infection continues, the immune response gradually matures so that the sensitivity of serological tests during the later stages of the disease increases significantly ,67. B. burgdorferi s.l., and the low degree of preservation of amino acid sequences of proteins among them also have a negative impact on the effectiveness of Lyme disease serodiagnostics. This problem is particularly relevant in Europe, where there are as many as six genospecies pathogenic for humans. Most of the immunogenic proteins are heterogeneous, and thus the use of WCL with only one genospecies as antigen preparations in serodiagnosis carries the risk of obtaining a false-negative result [B. burgdorferi s.l. It is also problematic to obtain WCL containing all of the most immunogenic antigens, as some of them are produced only in vivo [B. burgdorferi s.l. produces many proteins homologous among microorganisms, which carries the risk of cross-reactions and leads to false-positive results in serodiagnostic tests. The lack of specificity of diagnostic tests for Lyme disease prompted the introduction of a two-tiered testing strategy in 1995 [Another limitation is the great genospecies diversity of e result ,32,68,69 in vivo ,70. The  in vivo ,71,72. A in 1995 ,74.B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies that caused the infection, which will simplify the interpretation of diagnostic assays. Recombinant proteins are already used in many commercially available serodiagnostic WB and ELISA tests , recomLine Borrelia IgG/IgM (Microgen), Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE (Euroimmun), the ZEUS ELISA Borrelia VlsE1/pepC10 IgG/IgM Test System  and the C6 Lyme ELISA kit  and displace native B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins. The results obtained by the researchers indicate that recombinant proteins or synthetic peptides have the potential to solve some problems affecting the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Careful and thoughtful antigen selection can reduce cross-reactivity and allow test sensitivity to be independent of the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex, they are often added in variants from different genospecies for serodiagnostic assays. Thanks to this, it is possible to detect diseases caused by different representatives of B. burgdorferi s.l. with one test. C6 is a 25 amino acid peptide derived from VlsE. Its sequence is conserved among B. burgdorferi s.l., and therefore C6 is widely used in immunodiagnostic assays [The most widely used in commercial diagnostic tests are DbpA, OspC, VlsE and synthetic peptides C6 and pepC10. DbpA and VlsE proteins are mainly used in the detection of IgG antibodies. Due to the high variability of DbpA within the c assays . OspC anc assays . The specificity of the two-level serological tests in research studies exceeded 99%; however, under these conditions they were performed by highly efficient reference laboratories. Many reports indicate that in real clinical practice two-tiered tests show a much lower specificity ,74Although there are many guides that accurately describe the symptoms of Lyme disease at its various stages and the diagnostic tests that ought to be implemented, these recommendations are often ignored. This results in ordering tests for Lyme disease in cases where there are no clear medical indications for it, which increases the rate of falsely diagnosed Lyme patients. Therefore, serodiagnostic testing should be avoided in individuals who are not at risk of being bitten by a tick or who have only very general symptoms  ,77. TherThis is especially true for IgM detection as these are first-line antibodies. Therefore, their presence is often associated with the acute phase of infection. Nevertheless, their reactivity is often nonspecific because IgM is produced when the immune response to the foreign antigen is still immature. IgM should therefore only be used in cases of suspicion of early Lyme disease, i.e., in cases of NB lasting <6 weeks or Lyme carditis (LC). Other clinical symptoms, like LA and ACA, are manifestations of late borreliosis and appear after at least 6 weeks. Therefore, in these cases tests focused on the detection of more specific IgG should be carried out .B. burgdorferi s.l. Studies have shown that in some regions of Europe in high-risk groups  the prevalence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens is even over 50%, which means that a positive test result does not always mean that the disease is active [The usefulness of serological tests is also influenced by the high prevalence of anti-B. burgdorferi s.l. antibodies. This is especially problematic in Europe, as according to a 1995 WHO report the whole continent ought to be considered the endemic area of s active ,80,81.B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens that were mainly recognized by specific IgM many years after infection were OspC and FlaB. This means that antibodies to proteins such as DbpA (p18), BmpA (p39), p45, p58 and p66 have disappeared over time [It also turns out that false-positive results may be due to the long duration of the anti-Borrelia antibody in the body. Kalish et al. (2001) studied 79 patients who had been diagnosed with Lyme disease 10\u201320 years earlier and now showed no signs of active infection. Using a two-tiered test, it was shown that as many as 25% of them had specific IgG and 10% had specific IgM . The B. ver time . Howeverver time .There are several infections/diseases that can be misdiagnosed as Lyme disease or vice versa. The most problematic are syphilis, relapsing fever and viral infections caused by Epstein\u2013Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Furthermore, people positive for rheumatoid factor (RF) are also often misdiagnosed with borreliosis ,85,86,87B. burgdorferi s.l. This group includes such species as Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia hispanicaBorrelia duttonii and Borrelia recurrentis. These bacteria can be divided into lice-borne fever Borrelia (LBRF) and tick-borne relapsing fever Borrelia (TBRF). TBRF Borrelia are typically transmitted by soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros. Currently, it seems that only Borrelia miyamotoi is transmitted by hard-bodied ticks; likewise, B. burgdorferi s.l. LBRF is caused only by Borrelia recurrentis [Borrelia may be found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica and is a serious public health problem in some parts of the world. LBRF is reported mostly in Africa and single cases in Europe occur mostly among refugees. During the development of relapsing fever, many nonspecific symptoms  and neurological disorders  may occur. Some of them are similar to the symptoms of Lyme disease, so the clinical differentiation of these two infections is impossible in most cases. It is worth remembering that EM does not appear during relapsing fever, which is one symptom that allows easy and undeniable differentiation of these diseases. In the past, B. hermsii whole-cell lysate was used for relapsing fever diagnostics; however, too much antigen similarity between the two groups of bacteria caused a large number of false-positive results. Nowadays, qPCR is mainly used to diagnose relapsing fever. Also, serological tests based on the glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (GlpQ), absent from B. burgdorferi s.l., have been developed [Relapsing fever Borrelia (RFB) are the bacteria closely related to urrentis . TBRF Boeveloped . Treponema pallidum. Serological tests for syphilis at all stages of infection remain the mainstay of diagnosis. Antibodies against T. pallidum antigens often react with B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins, particularly with ELISAs when WCL is used as the source of antigens. This is due to the close phylogenetic relationship of the two pathogens; this cross-reactivity is strongly related to shared flagellar antigens [B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins, such as OspC, BBA64, BmpA, FlaB, OspF and OspC, BBA64, BmpA, FlaB and OspF in IgG [B. burgdorferi s.l. does not appear to lead to a false-positive syphilis test [B. burgdorferi s.l. and T. pallidum can be minimized by incubating the sera with Reiter treponema preparations. However, this procedure did not eliminate all nonspecific interactions [Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by spirochetes antigens . In the F in IgG . So, it lis test . It has ractions ,92.Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Gram-negative, intracellular bacteria. The main route of transmission of A. phagocytophilum is a bite of Ixodes ticks. Despite the apparently ubiquitous presence of A. phagocytophilum in ticks and animal reservoirs, confirmed clinical cases of HGA in Europe are rare compared to the rest of the world. It has been shown that sera collected from HGA patients show cross-reactions with B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins, such as OspC, BBA64, p37, FlaB, VlsE, OspA, OspC and OspF in the M class of antibodies and OspC, p37, FlaB, OspA and OspF in the IgG. Interestingly, despite the detection of these nonspecific antigen\u2013antibody reactions, ELISA tests performed on the WCL did not give false-positive results [B. burgdorferi s.l. and A. phagocytophilum antigens is not always due to cross-reactions. People who live in Ixodes tick endemic areas and who experience multiple tick bites are probably exposed to the transmission of different pathogens. It is possible that a patient with an HGE infection was previous exposed to B. burgdorferi s.l. or vice versa and may produce antibodies to both pathogens. Furthermore, co-infections in humans and vectors have been confirmed [Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), formerly known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, is caused by  results . Howeveronfirmed ,94. Theronfirmed ,95.Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis by ingesting contaminated food or water or from direct infection through blood transfusions. The infection may be asymptomatic, but, in some cases, reactive arthritis similar to LA caused by B. burgdorferi s.l. may develop. The most commonly affected joints are the knees and ankles; but other joints, such as those of the toes, fingers, and wrists, may be involved. As in the case of Lyme disease, the diagnosis via cultures is not very sensitive; therefore, serological tests detecting antibodies specific to Yersinia antigens may be helpful [Yersinia outer proteins (YOPs) [B. burgdorferi s.l.-specific antibodies and the YOPs in Western blots. For anti-Borrelia IgG, cross-reaction was detected with YopH, YopB, V-ag, YopD, YopN, YopP and YopE, and it was detected for IgA with YopD [Borrelia serum samples with this observed cross-reactivity contained IgG against FlaB and specific IgG and IgM against OspC. It may prove that there is antigenic similarity between OspC and FlaB antigens of B. burgdorferi s.l. and YopD of Yersinia and that two-way cross-reactivity is present. It has been shown that p60, FlaB, OspA and OspC B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens are highly cross-reactive with anti-Yersinia sera [People get infected with  helpful ,97. The s (YOPs) . Cross-rith YopD ,97. All nia sera ,97. In tB. burgdorferi s.l. In the studies conducted by Panelius et al. (2002), the percentage of patients with a positive EBV result in the OspC ELISA was initially as high as 73%; however, this cross-reactivity was limited by the addition of sodium thiocyanate and dropped to 46%. Unfortunately, the effect of decreasing nonspecific reactions was not seen with sera specific for syphilis and rheumatoid factor [Epstein\u2013Barr virus is a gamma herpesvirus causing infection in humans worldwide. The prevalence of EBV is very high; about 90% of adults are infected with EBV. Most infections occur in young children and are asymptomatic or cause nonspecific symptoms . It was d factor .Herpesvirales. Usually, CMV infection is asymptomatic, but in people whose immune system is defective or immature, such as newborns, people with an overgrowth and patients with AIDS, it can be a serious problem. The virus is highly distributed and the worldwide prevalence of CMV has been estimated at 83% (66\u201390%) [B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens [B. burgdorferi s.l. WCL showed a specificity of only 60% for the detection of antibodies in class M. The low specificity in tests with the use of CMV sera was due to the cross-reactivity of IgM with the OspC and FlaB (p41). In addition, it was shown that anti-CMV IgG recognized such B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens as OspC, FlaB, BmpA and VlsE [Cytomegalovirus belongs to viruses in the order (66\u201390%) . This meantigens ,101. Somand VlsE .B. burgdorferi s.l. [B. burgdorferi s.l and other unrelated pathogens, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. These antibodies can persist in the circulation for up to 3 months. False-positive results for Lyme disease were obtained not only in the EIA tests but also in the more specific Western blot. Therefore, there is a possibility that an acute B19V infection could be misinterpreted as Lyme disease [Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a small, single-stranded, nonenveloped DNA virus. In adults, it can cause joint pain or arthritis with pronounced morning stiffness that may imitate LA caused by eri s.l. . Acute B disease . One of  disease . B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens, including LA7 (p22), BBA64 (p35), p37, BmpA, OppA2, VlsE and OspC [One of the most common symptoms of late borreliosis  is Lyme arthritis. LA shares common clinical features and a synovial histology with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which means the clinical symptoms are often indistinguishable. Recommended serological tests might also lead to misdiagnosis due to the presence of RF, which is present in the serum of patients with arthritis  and otheand OspC ,106,107.and OspC .B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens, like p37, BmpA, OspF and OspC, occur; however, this phenomenon has not been fully understood [Additionally, it was observed that in patients with oral infections cross-reactions with derstood ,108. B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens, trying to increase the specificity of diagnostic tests [The problem of cross-reactions in the serodiagnosis of Lyme disease has been known for a long time. In the early 1990s, a study was carried out to identify cross-reactive ic tests . ResearcB. burgdorferi s.l. during their persistence in tick organisms. Nevertheless, numerous studies have demonstrated the presence of antibodies against these proteins in the sera of individuals afflicted with Lyme disease. OspA has even been included as a specific band in the WB reference assays [A. phagocytophilum, T. pallidum, Yersinia, E. coli and B. hermsii may unspecifically bind OspA and/or OspB [OspA and OspB are among the proteins that can lead to false-positive results in serodiagnostic tests for Lyme disease. This is rather surprising, considering that they are produced by e assays ,66,85. I/or OspB . Additio/or OspB . Another/or OspB . It has /or OspB .B. burgdorferi s.l., it has been shown that individuals with various infections and disorders may develop antibodies that nonspecifically bind to the OspC protein [B. burgdorferi s.l. and is maintained at a high level by continuous stimulation with cross-reactive autoantigens or with antigens from other microorganisms or environmental factors. Diet can also contribute to this, as the PKKP motif can be found in the glutathione transferase of important crops, such as common wheat and barley [Another protein with well-described cross-activity is OspC. Although widely applied as an antigen in commercial diagnostic assays for detecting both IgG- and IgM-specific antibodies of  protein . These d protein . Moreoved barley .Treponema spp. Especially conserved among these bacteria are the fragments at the ends of the protein ; the central part of the antigen shows higher variability [FlaB p41) shows a high sequence identity of about 40% with flagellin proteins of iability . FlaB sh shows a iability . Howeveriability .B. miyamotoi variable major proteins (Vmps) belonging to the variable large protein (Vlp) family, which are VlsE homologues. B. miyamotoi is the etiological factor of TBRF, transmitted by Ixodes ticks and likewise B. burgdorferi s.l. Cross-reactions of anti-B. miyamotoi antibodies against the C6 peptide were confirmed in a study with experimentally infected mice [B. miyamotoi and B. burgdorferi s.l. occupy the same endemic region, so it should be noted that the C6 peptide alone does not allow serological differentiation between the two tick-borne diseases. Therefore, in order to distinguish borreliosis from B. miyamotoi infection, a two-stage examination is necessary, along with a critical evaluation of the clinical symptoms [In silico analyses showed that the C6 peptide was similar to domains within the ted mice . This crsymptoms .Chandra et al. (2011) reported that about 20% of healthy individuals with no history of Lyme disease had IgG antibodies to p66 , which iB. burgdorferi s.l. antigens, such as BmpA, BBA64, OspF, LA7 and OppA2, has also been proven  are nonspecific, making it impossible to diagnose it properly on the grounds of the clinical picture. For this reason, laboratory methods are the basis for Lyme disease diagnosis, where detection of specific IgM and IgG is the most common . The serB. burgdorferi s.l. proteins [T. pallidum [Yersinia [It is these nonspecific interactions that impose the currently recommended two-tiered algorithm in the serodiagnosis of Lyme disease, increasing the costs of routine diagnosis of Lyme disease and extending the time necessary to make a final diagnosis. It seems that the most problematic in the current approach is the WB, which is time-consuming and difficult to automate. In addition, its reading, as already mentioned, is subjective, which leads to significant discrepancies between laboratories ,77,78,79proteins ,109,123.proteins  and T. ppallidum ,90 and YYersinia ,97,124 bKnowledge about cross-reactivity is mainly obtained as complementary information when determining the diagnostic utility of new tests based on recombinant proteins ,86,108. It is therefore necessary to conduct comprehensive, wide-ranging research using uniform standards. This will allow for the clear identification of infections/disorders and antigens that may potentially cause cross-reactions in the serological diagnosis of Lyme disease, which will allow diagnosticians to be better prepared to interpret the results. Additionally, it is necessary to follow official recommendations during the diagnostic process. It is important to remember what symptoms are the manifestation of late borreliosis and then perform only detection of highly specific IgG.B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins, a specific one-stage assay superior to the standard two-tiered assay has not yet been developed [B. burgdorferi s.l. and not cross-react with immunoglobulins specific for other antigens.Moreover, the creation of new diagnostic tools may contribute to solving this problem. It has been shown that the use of selected recombinant proteins instead of WCL in serodiagnostic tests can significantly reduce the rate of false-positive results ,108. Deseveloped ,78,79. Eeveloped ,126. Howeveloped ,128. ThiB. burgdorferi s.l. [B. burgdorferi s.l. and eliminate those commonly found in antigens of other pathogens. Already, in the example of VlsE and FlaB, it has been shown that the proper selection of protein fragments allows for increasing the specificity without reducing the sensitivity of the immunoassay [The easiest and most widely available approach for designing new specific antigens for the diagnosis of Lyme disease is the analysis of amino acid sequences of proteins. Currently, there are a large number of databases containing the amino acid sequences of proteins from many organisms. The most popular are UniProt  and NCBIeri s.l. ,132 protunoassay ,134.Even greater possibilities in the selection of fragments for the construction of chimeric proteins are provided by B-cell epitope mapping, which allows for detailed knowledge of the distribution of immunodominant fragments and potential cross-reaction fragments ,136. TheComputational methods predict the existence of potential epitopes based on such physicochemical properties as hydrophilicity, solvent accessibility, flexibility, turns, polarity, antigenicity and surface exposure. In general, computational epitope prediction methods can be divided into two groups depending on whether the input is only the amino acid sequence of the antigen or its tertiary structure. These methods using the three-dimensional structure of the protein are characterized by a greater regularity; unfortunately, it is not always possible to use them due to the fact that the spatial structure of many proteins is not known . HoweverThe information provided by empirical techniques is much more complete and reliable. Experimental B-cell epitope mappings involve methods such as peptide microarray , X-ray c"}
+{"text": "An 8-year-old previously healthy female was initially found to have a small pit on her nasal dorsum. The lesion developed local infection and she was initially treated with antibiotics 2 years prior to the current presentation. The lesion was diagnosed as a dermal sinus tract, and surgical removal was conducted at an outside hospital. In retrospect, the preoperative work-up imaging showed an occult intraosseous nasal bone extension; however, this was not appreciated at the initial surgery. She experienced repeat infections and underwent a second surgery with exploration under the nasal bones; however, the patient experienced recurrent post-operative local infections. The family presented to our institution for a second opinion.On review, the head CT demonstrated an intraosseous cystic lesion completely hidden in the nasal bone Fig. . The lesTo date, no previous reports have documented a case with intraosseous dermoid cyst which was completely hidden in the nasal bone. An extension of the dermoid cyst below the nasal bone has been identified in 10% of patients in a large series of nasal dermoid cysts  previousWritten informed consent was obtained from the parent of the patient for publication of the details of their medical case and any accompanying images. This study protocol was reviewed and the need for approval was waived by the Boston Children's Hospital Institutional Review Board.The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.Design of the manuscript: Yusuke S. Hori, John G Meara, and Mark R. Proctor; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data: Yusuke S. Hori, John S. Albanese, John G. Meara, and Mark R. Proctor; drafting the manuscript: Yusuke S. Hori; and revising the manuscript: Yusuke S. Hori, John G. Meara, and Mark R. Proctor.All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author."}
+{"text": "Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu stricto and Rhipicephalus linnaei has been confirmed. Both species are found in sympatry in the southern United States, northern Mexico, southern Brazil, and Argentina. The objective of this work is to evaluate the projection of the potential distribution of the ecological niche of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in two climate change scenarios in Mexico and the border with Central America and the United States. Initially, a database of personal collections of the authors, GBIF, Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference, and scientific articles was built. The ENMs were projected for the current period and two future scenarios: RCP and SSP used for the kuenm R package, the ecological niche of R. sanguineus s.l. It is distributed throughout the Mexico and Texas (United States), along with the border areas between Central America, Mexico, and the United States. Finally, it is observed that the ecological niche of R. sanguineus s.l. in the current period coincides in three degrees with the routes of human migration. Based on this information, and mainly on the flow of migrants from Central America to the United States, the risk of a greater gene flow in this area increases, so the risk relating to this border is a latent point that must be analyzed.In America, the presence of  Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex) of Afrotropical and Palearctic origin . Unlike mechanistic models, correlative models use global variables (for example: bioclimatic variables based on temperature and precipitation) to explain the potential distribution of a particular species [The most complete study based on the terms of ecological niche construction and model uncertainty was carried out by Alkishe et al. . This ste et al.  used aroe et al.  used 593e et al.  made a fr Mexico . Then, Sr Mexico  used a tand time . We used species ,31.R. sanguineus could increase in areas experiencing warmer and/or longer summers, consequently increasing the risk of transmission of zoonotic agents  [R. sanguineus complex in regions of northern temperate Europe [R. sanguineus s.l. ticks is uncertain. This should not be left aside when we analyze the impact of R. sanguineus s.s. and R. linnaei.Another similarity between both studies  is that kettsii) . On the e Europe . HoweverRhipicephalus for Mexico presents a few useful data [R. sanguineus s.s. and R. linnaei). It is important to note that in previous studies in Mexico using the amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial 16S-rDNA gene, it has been shown that R. linnaei is the most widely distributed species in the country, described in 10 states of the Neotropical region, in contrast with R. sanguineus s.s. which is restricted to the Nearctic states of Sonora and Chihuahua [R. sanguineus s.s. limits its zone of sympatry with R. sanguineus s.s. in a couple of Mexican states. Since in the present work, only the morphological records prior to the generation of the taxonomic keys of Nava et al. [R. sanguineus in Mexico is projected. This may be due to building the ecological niche with all the variables taking into account this complex species. It is very important to highlight the need to be able to define the limits within the species complex, taking into account ecological, genetic, and morphological issues. An essential point in the construction of the ecological niche is the feasibility of the kuenm R package to be able to establish different sets of variables and to be able to evaluate the best model among all of them. This was one of the limitations of the study by S\u00e1nchez-P\u00e9rez et al. [R. sanguineus complex based on ecological, genetic and morphological issues but from the point in view of using the same individuals to assess those aspects. Finally, something that has not continued is a review of the areas where the potential distribution exists to find out if the report is true positive or false positive. This information could be useful to validate the ENM used.The ENM of the genus ful data , emphasihihuahua . This isa et al.  and Slapa et al.  are avaia et al. , we havez et al. . In the R. sanguineus s.l. in the Americas, with emphasis on the Southeastern United States [R. sanguineus in Mexico and the border with the United States. When we evaluate the RCP\u2019s and SSP\u2019s scenarios, we can observe that there are areas that overlap between both models, which helps us to have less uncertainty when interpreting the results. In R. sanguineus is scarce, except Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatan Peninsula and Texas (United States). Currently, comparisons have been made between different general circulation models in different climate change scenarios. However, in this paper, we compare the last two IPCC reports (RCP\u2019s and SSP\u2019s) [R. sanguineus s.l. In Alkishe et al. [R. sanguineus complex. Therefore, it is crucial to be able to have an ecological niche based on morphological, genetic and ecological characteristics and to be able to participate in decision making in different areas.Our results of the ENM of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are similar to those proposed by Alkishe et al. . Howeverd SSP\u2019s) . The cone et al. , they maR. sanguineus has yet to occupy its entire potential range for current climatic conditions, although there is already evidence for the tick expanding in range. Previous studies have shown that R. sanguineus s.s. tends to establish itself in temperate regions in Brazil, Argentina, the United States, and Mexico, so in these four countries, the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens changes radically compared to countries in South and Central America in which only one of these species circulates. For this reason, the niche model is a priority on a regional and/or local scale [Our results are complementary to what was presented by Pascoe et al.  in theiral scale ,4. Our sR. sanguineus s.l from cattle in five municipalities of Chiapas. These ticks were found to be infected with R. rickettsii and Rickettsia felis in the municipalities that correspond to the human migration routes . Therefore, there is an urgent need to carry out active acarological surveillance on the southern border of Mexico. On the Northern border of M\u00e9xico, the state of Arizona is a focal point between both countries. Recently, Brophy et al. [R. sanguineus s.s. as a vector of R. massiliae, whereas R. linnaei is a vector of R. rickettsii. For this reason, and given previous findings of both bacterial species across the state of Chihuahua, the outlook for the transmission of a broader range of pathogens increases, for which reason distribution models based on the future are a priority. They will be used to identify risk regions that should be considered for the implementation of differential diagnostic methods for the species of pathogens that both tick specie may be carrying regionally. A clear example is Haemaphysalis longicornis, which transmits the pathogen Theileria orientalis var. Ikeda. This species is native to Asia; however, it has recently invaded the United States and has the potential to invade Mexico [Recently, Danis-Lozano et al.  collectey et al.  found the Mexico .R. sanguineus was found in cattle. Finally, based on this information, and mainly on the flow of migrants from Central America to the United States, the risk of a greater genetic flow in this area increases the risk on this border. This is a latent point that must be analyzed. According to R. sanguineus s.l.; however, these migration routes highlight the latent alarm associated with the displacement of this tick, as it belongs to the migrant caravans that constantly leave Tapachula, Chiapas, looking for its border with the United States.In recent years, the Comisi\u00f3n Nacional de Ayuda a Refugiados has increased the number of migrants who are carrying out their process in the different offices in Mexico. In the year 2021, approximately 110,000 registered migrants were identified; however, the number of unregistered migrants may be higher . ApproxiR. sanguineus s.l. for Mexico and the border of the United States. The information collected is the most recent in terms of the construction of the ecological niche. Our results have a high suitability in the large regions of Mexico, and in different scenarios (RCP\u2019s and SSP\u2019s) the increase is greater. The routes of human migration could be areas of movement of ectoparasites throughout the Mexican territory. Therefore, we sound the alarm regarding the need for control measures for active acarological surveillance on the northern and southern borders of Mexico, in order to resolve the challenges as soon as possible.This article is one of the first to focus mainly on"}
+{"text": "Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis for 14 days was assessed used 16S amplificon sequencing. The results showed that the four probiotics caused changes in the composition and structure of the gut microbiota in mice, but they did not cause changes in the diversity of the gut microbiota. These results provide a strong basis for the preparation of probiotics and theory regarding their targets.The overuse of antibiotics has led to an increase in resistant bacteria and unnecessary culture contamination. As one of the best green pollution-free antibiotics, probiotics and their preparations have become research hotspots. The different effects of different probiotics on gut microbiota are still unclear. In this study, the gut microbiota of mice treated with Lactobacillus acidophilus (La), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lp), Bacillus subtilis (Bs), Enterococcus faecalis (Ef), LB broth medium, and MRS broth medium. We sequenced 16S rRNA from fecal samples from each group 14 d after gavaging. According to the results, there were significant differences among the six groups of samples in Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Desferribacter (p < 0.01) at the phylum level. Lactobacillus, Erysipelaceae Clostridium, Bacteroides, Brautella, Trichospiraceae Clostridium, Verummicroaceae Ruminococcus, Ruminococcus, Prevotella, Shigella, and Clostridium Clostridium differed significantly at the genus level (p < 0.01). Four kinds of probiotic changes in the composition and structure of the gut microbiota in mice were observed, but they did not cause changes in the diversity of the gut microbiota. In conclusion, the use of different probiotics resulted in different changes in the gut microbiota of the mice, including genera that some probiotics decreased and genera that some pathogens increased. According to the results of this study, different probiotic strains have different effects on the gut microbiota of mice, which may provide new ideas for the mechanism of action and application of microecological agents.Probiotics, also referred to as \u201cliving microorganisms,\u201d are mostly present in the genitals and the guts of animals. They can increase an animal\u2019s immunity, aid in digestion and absorption, control gut microbiota, protect against sickness, and even fight cancer. However, the differences in the effects of different types of probiotics on host gut microbiota composition are still unclear. In this study, 21-day-old specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice were gavaged with  The gut microbiota and the host complement each other and are indispensable in the intestinal tract of animals . The gutEscherichia and Klebsiella [There are many factors that can influence gut microbiota. Diet plays a key role in the regulation of gut microbiota composition. Different diets can cause different changes in the composition of gut microbiota . Antibioebsiella . With thebsiella . Becauseebsiella . Some prebsiella .Lactobacillus and its subspecies are widely used in food processing, preservation, and fermentation. Because most Lactobacillus have the biological characteristics of acid and bile salt tolerance, they can utilize their good characteristics in the intestine [L. acidophilus and L. plantarum are currently widely used in food as safe probiotics [B. subtilis [E. faecalis can tolerate relatively severe environments, such as pH 9.6 and high concentrations of salt, and is often used in fermented products [As commonly used probiotics, ntestine ,16,17. Lobiotics ,19. B. ssubtilis  can prodproducts . Therefoproducts ,23,24.L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. subtilis, and E. Faecalis, which act as probiotics on the gut in the body, the differences in the effects on gut microbiota are still unclear. In this study, mice were orally gavaged with a fresh bacterial culture of four probiotics with specific concentrations, and changes in the gut microbiota of the mice were analyzed.As for L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, B. subtilis, and E. faecalis; the Kunming mice  in this study were fifteen days old and pre-fed for one week (21 d old) for the test. The animal experiments performed in this study strictly followed the national guidelines for experimental animal welfare announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People\u2019s Republic of China in 2006 ) and were approved by the Animal Welfare and Research Ethics Committee at Qingdao Agricultural University, Shandong, China . An LB broth medium and an MRS broth medium  were used in the study.L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, B. subtilis, and E. faecalis were incubated for 6 h, 8 h, 10 h, 12 h, and 14 h. L. plantarum and L. acidophilus were incubated in a warm oven with an MRS broth, while B. subtilis and E. faecalis were incubated in a shaker with an LB broth at 180 rpm/min. The turbidity of each bacterium was measured at different incubation times .Thirty-six mice of approximately the same size and weight, eighteen males and eighteen females, were selected and divided equally into six groups.L. plantarum (Lp) and L. acidophilus (La) were selected as the test groups where the MRS broth medium was selected as the control group (MRS). B. subtilis (Bs) and E. faecalis (Ef) were selected as the test groups where the LB broth medium (LB) was selected as the control group. Bacterial liquid and broths were administered in quantities of 0.1 mL/animal and gavage took place at 17:00 BST daily.Gavage was administered to each group of mice separately and continued for 14 d. The experiment was conducted for 14 d, and at the end of the experiment, fresh feces from each group of mice were collected separately and transferred to a \u221280 \u00b0C freezer for storage.Total microbial genomic DNA samples were extracted using an OMEGA Soil DNA Kit (D5625-01)  following the manufacturer\u2019s instructions, and they were stored at \u221220 \u00b0C prior to further assessment. The extracted DNA was determined in terms of quantity and quality using a NanoDrop ND-1000 spectrophotometer  and agarose gel electrophoresis, respectively.The quality DNA was sent to Personal Biotechnology Co., Ltd.  for sequencing of the bacterial 16S V3V4 region.Sequence quality control and splicing were performed using the DADA2 method. QIIME2(2019.4) and R software were used to analyze the taxonomic composition, \u03b1-diversity, and \u03b2-diversity of the samples.L. plantarum and L. acidophilus still grew rapidly after 6 h of incubation. The proliferation of bacteria started to slow down after 8 h of incubation. The growth of B. subtilis and E. faecalis slowed down after 6 h of incubation. The proliferation of bacteria almost stopped after 8 h of incubation. In this study, the selected bacterial liquid was cultured for 8 h, and 0.1 mL was used, with the concentration of bacterial liquid being \u2265108 CFU/mL.The results in The results show that the sequence lengths were mainly distributed as follows: 405 bp; 406 bp; 424 bp; 425 bp; 429 bp; 430 bp. The numbers were 41,115; 11,065; 16,081; 50,169; 9203; 128,783.As shown in p < 0.01). Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were dominant in the Bs group; Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were dominant in the Ef group. Compared with the control LB group, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria in the Bs and Ef groups did not change significantly (p > 0.05). A few Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Deferribacteria were detected in the LB group, where Actinobacteria and Deferribacteres were significantly higher than those in the Bs and Ef groups (p < 0.01).To study the effects caused by the four probiotics on the gut microbiota in mice, the top ten species with relative proportions at the phylum level and the genus level were selected, and a small number of species were classified as other species to evaluate the distribution of gut microbiota composition in mice. The species composition at the phylum level is shown in Lactobacillus was present in all six groups. Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Blautia, Lachnospiraceae Clostridium, and Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium were dominant in the La group. Lactobacillus, Shigella, Blautia, Ruminococcus, Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium, and Clostridiaceae Clostridium were dominant in the Lp group. Compared with the control MRS group, Lactobacillus and Lachnospiraceae Clostridium in the La group were significantly higher (p < 0.01) and Bacteroides was significantly lower (p < 0.01). Lactobacillus, Shigella, Blautia, and Clostridiaceae Clostridium in the Lp group were significantly higher (p < 0.01), and Ruminococcus was significantly lower (p < 0.01). Lactobacillus and Ruminococcaceae Ruminococcus were dominant in the Bs group. Lactobacillus, Prevotella, Shigella, Bacteroides, Blautia, Ruminococcus, and Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium were dominant in the Ef group. Compared with the control LB group, Ruminococcaceae Ruminococcus in the Bs group was significantly higher (p < 0.01), and Prevotella, Bacteroides, Ruminococcus, Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium, and Lachnospiraceae Clostridium were significantly lower (p < 0.01). Prevotella, Shigella, Blautia, and Ruminococcaceae Ruminococcus in the Ef group were significantly higher (p < 0.01) and Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium, and Lachnospiraceae Clostridium were significantly lower (p < 0.01).The species composition at the genus level is shown in Lactobacillus was significantly higher in the La and Bs groups than in the other two groups (p < 0.01). Blautia and Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium in the La, Lp, and Ef groups were significantly higher than those in the Bs group (p < 0.01). Bacteroides and Prevotella had the highest proportion in the Ef group. Blautia had the highest proportion in the Lp group. Shigella in the Lp and Ef groups were significantly higher than those in the other two groups (p < 0.01), and Shigella was higher in the Lp group. Clostridiaceae Clostridium in the Lp group was significantly higher than in the other three groups (p < 0.01). Lactobacillus accounted for the highest proportion in the Bs group.Compared with the four experimental groups, The rarefaction curves indicate the magnitude of the effect of sequencing depth on the diversity of the observed samples. The results are shown in In order to assess the effect of four probiotics on the diversity and richness of the intestinal microbial community in mice, this study characterized the richness by the Chao1 index and the diversity by the Shannon and Simpson indices, and the individual indices of the samples are shown in p < 0.01). The diversity was not significantly different from the MRS group (p > 0.05). The abundance of Bs and Ef groups was significantly higher than the control LB group (p < 0.01). The diversity was not significantly different from the LB group (p > 0.05).Relatively high Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson indices indicated high bacterial richness and diversity. In this study, the abundance of the La and Lp groups was significantly higher than in the control MRS group (p > 0.05). The richness of the Bs group was significantly higher than that of the Ef group (p < 0.01). Both the La group and the Lp group were significantly higher in richness and diversity than the Bs and Ef groups (p < 0.01).Compared with the four test groups, there was no significant difference between the La and Lp groups (p < 0.05) \u22120.108); LB group . There were different clusters in all six groups of samples, and the distance between the six groups of samples was large. NMDS uses rank ordering, and the farther the distance between two points, the greater the difference between the microbial communities in the two samples, and vice versa, as shown in p < 0.05). \u22121.178); MRS group ; Bs group ; Ef group ; LB group . The greater distance between the six groups of samples in the NMDS analysis indicates that the difference in community composition is more significant (p < 0.01).To show the variability and similarity of microbial communities among the six groups of samples, this study used the principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) method and NMDS analysis. PCoA was used to expand the sample distance matrix in the low dimensional space after projection and to retain the distance relationship of the original samples to the maximum, as shown in L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. subtilis, and E. faecalis on the structure and diversity of the gut microbiota in mice.According to the available studies, animal gut microbiota mainly includes bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa and viruses, which maintain the gut microecological balance in the host and interact with the host, thus influencing the host\u2019s physiology and health . The balL. acidophilus can increase the proportion of Firmicutes, Lactobacillus, Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium, and Lachnospiraceae Clostridium in the gut and reduce the proportion of Bacteroides. L. plantarum can increase the proportion of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Lactobacillus, Shigella, Blautia, and Clostridiaceae Clostridium in the gut and reduce the proportion of Ruminococcus. B. subtilis can increase the proportion of Lactobacillus and Ruminococcaceae Ruminococcus, and reduce the proportion of Prevotella, Bacteroides, Ruminococcus, Erysipelotrichaceae Clostridium, and Lachnospiraceae Clostridium. E. faecalis can increase the proportion of Prevotella, Shigella, Blautia, and Ruminococcaceae Ruminococcus and reduce the proportion of Lactobacillus and Lachnospirace Clostridium.The results of this study show that. L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. subtilis, and E. faecalis could significantly increase the richness of the gut microbiota in mice. The effects of L. acidophilus and L. plantarum were more obvious. In addition, the four strains did not significantly affect the diversity of the gut microbiota in mice. The colony structure was greatly affected by the four species.Lactobacillus and decreased the abundance of Bacteroidetes, Vibrio spp., and Ruminococcus [L. plantarum increased the abundance of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Lactobacillus and decreased the abundance of Bacteroidetes, [B. subtilis can increase the abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Lactobacillus [E. faecalis can increase the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Ruminococcus and decrease the abundance of Proteobacteria [p < 0.01). In this study, although the four probiotics added did not have a significant effect on flora diversity, it was found that the four experimental groups differed significantly in their flora structure when analyzed between the groups.In previous studies, probiotic strains have been shown to be able to maintain the stability of the gut microbiota and interact with the intestinal microbiota by competing for nutrients, such as oxygen, through antagonism and cross-feeding in the gut . The usenococcus ; in otheoidetes, ,31; B. sbacillus ; E. faecbacteria . This isB. subtilis after colonization and the formation of an anaerobic environment, resulting in an increase in the abundance of anaerobionts such as Lactobacillus. In general, Firmicutes are associated with the ratio of Bacteroidetes and the susceptibility to disease states [E. faecalis may reduce the abundance of these two clades.In the present study, the increase in the abundance of Firmicutes may be related to the increase in beneficial bacterial species, such as Lactobacillus . Notablye states , but in Shigella [E. faecalis could inhibit the growth of Shigella and alleviate the symptoms caused by Shigella, which differed significantly from the results of the present study, probably due to the use of Blautia, which is a newly discovered potential probiotic, the abundance of which is influenced by some prebiotics [Blautia may be influenced by L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, and E. faecalis; B. subtilis did not increase its abundance, and whether its growth is influenced by the growth of B. subtilis needs to be studied. Prevotella is abundant in the body as a key player in the balance between health and disease [L. acidophilus can increase the abundance of Prevotella [L. plantarum can decrease the abundance of Prevotella and Bacteroides [B. subtilis and E. faecalis can increase the abundance of Prevotella [In addition, the present study found different variations at the genus level, with increased abundance of Shigella  in the LShigella ,38 and iShigella ,40 testsebiotics . In this disease . It has evotella , which iteroides ,44, and evotella ,46. All L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. subtilis, and E. faecalis, were gavaged into mice. The study showed that the four probiotics exerted different effects on the structure and richness of the gut microbiota in the intestines of the mice, and the study elucidated the mechanism of probiotic interactions in the intestine, which further provided a strong basis for the preparation of probiotics and theory regarding their targets.In this study, four probiotics:"}
+{"text": "Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is an important pest of stored products and at the same time a species with great potential as food and feed that has recently attracted increasing interest as nutrient source. Future predictions show a massive increase of insect meals\u2019 production in the near future, therefore, as expected in the case of other durable stored products, insect meals may get infested by insects during their storage. In this context and as a continuance of our previous study on the susceptibility of meal of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to storage insect infestations, the objective of this study was to test the susceptibility of A. diaperinus meals to infestations of three stored products pests, namely A. diaperinus itself, T. molitor, and the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). The population growth of the three species was evaluated on pure A. diaperinus meal, as well as on A. diaperinus meal-based substrates with different percentages of wheat bran . Our results showed that all three insect species tested were able to grow and develop on the A. diaperinus meal-based substrates evaluated, giving in a short time high population densities. This study confirms again our initial theory for insect infestations during storage of insect-based products.The lesser mealworm,  Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is an important pest of stored products that has been found infesting dozens of agri-industrial commodities (A. diaperinus is among the first list of species that had been authorized for aquafeed production in 2017 in the European Union (EU) [Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), and the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)  , but theproducts .T. molitor meals to infestations caused by different stored product beetle species, including T. molitor itself. The rationale behind this study was simple: if there is an infestation in insect rearing units, then control can be a very complicated procedure, and any control methods should be extremely selective  (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), which is a major pest of stored products with global distribution  was used. T. molitor and A. diaperinus were weekly supplied with fresh potatoes and apples, respectively, as a moisture source. T. castaneum and T. molitor were kept at 26\u00b0C, 55% relative humidity (RH), whereas A. diaperinus was kept at 30\u00b0C and 55% RH. All insect species were kept at continuous darkness. The adults used in the tests were <1 month-old.All insect species used in the bioassay were reared at the Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly. Specifically, A. diaperinus meal preparation late-stage larvae were used, after harvesting them by separating them from the feeding substrate with sieving. Larvae were frozen at \u221220\u00b0C, chopped using a stainless-steel mill , dried for 72 h at 60\u00b0C, and finally sieved with an 1-mm opening sieve. The insect meal produced was stored at \u221220\u00b0C until the initiation of the bioassays.For the T. castaneum, T. molitor, and A. diaperinus was evaluated in a series of laboratory bioassays, in which pure A. diaperinus meal was used, as well as mixtures of it with wheat bran in different percentages. Specifically, five substrates based on insect meal were evaluated: 100% A. diaperinus meal (0% wheat bran), a mixture of 75% A. diaperinus meal and 25% wheat bran, a mixture of 50% A. diaperinus meal and 50% wheat bran, a mixture of 10% A. diaperinus meal and 90% wheat bran and 100% wheat bran . Wheat bran was selected as substrate ingredient, as it is a major feed commodity, commonly used for animal livestock feeding  were placed into the vials, using different vials for each species. All vials were then placed at the proper conditions for each species mentioned above and were kept there for 65 d. In the case of T. molitor and A. diaperinus, a slice of potato and carrot, respectively, was placed inside the vials twice a week to cover the insect moisture needs. After 65 d the vials were opened for the evaluation of the progeny production and the produced adults , larvae, and pupae were counted. As a direct measure of population growth, for all species, the instantaneous rate of increase was calculated using the following equation: ri = ln(Nf/No)/\u0394T, where Nf was the final number of individuals, No was the initial number of individuals, and \u0394T was the change in time, i.e., the duration of the experiment. Positive values of ri suggest a growing population, ri = 0 shows a stable population, and negative ri values specify a population in decline  was counted in this treatment by the end of the bioassay , as the total number of the produced individuals ranged from 154 to 358 at the termination of the bioassay, corresponding to instantaneous rates of increase ranging between 0.031 and 0.044. Significantly higher instantaneous rates of increase were recorded on the mixtures of the insect meal with wheat bran, i.e., on the substrates with 10, 50, and 75% A. diaperinus meal, than on wheat bran alone. The population growth of T. castaneum, expressed as total number of individuals at the end of the bioassay, as a function of the percentage of A. diaperinus meal in the substrates was best described by a quadratic equation   . Additionificant . A quadrT. molitor among the substrates tested for all life stages examined, with the exception of dead adults  showing the ability of T. molitor to grow and develop on this substrate. However, the total number of individuals was lower on this substrate at the termination of the trial than on the rest of the substrates tested, differences though were significant only with the 50% A. diaperinus meal. For the latter substrate, at least 24-fold increase of the T. molitor population was recorded at the termination of the bioassay. As far as the instantaneous rates of increase of all substrates are concerned, those ranged between 0.035 and 0.048, with the value of the substrate with 50% insect meal being the highest one (0.048). The population growth of T. molitor, as a function of the A. diaperinus meal percentage in the tested substrates, was best described by a quadratic equation , were not able to develop on 100% T. molitor insect meal , in comparison with whole grain kernels (T. granarium (While we are unaware of the possible source of infestation, we hypothesize that care should be taken in the raw materials, as these may contain various stored product insects, that can subsequently expand to the standard insect rearings. From the three species tested here, modities , constit kernels . Even if kernels , and thu kernels . Monitor kernels , but theranarium .A. diaperinus meals can be easily infested by A. diaperinus itself, but also by T. castaneum and T. molitor, that can easily build high population densities in a very short period of time. The actual impact of such a damage in the final product is poorly understood, and should be examined more thoroughly, chiefly in terms of certain quality characteristics. The increase in production of insect-based products for food and feed necessitates the need for improved storage, under the same principles that storage happens in other durable commodities, like wheat, rice, and maize. Apart from minimizing insect infestations, improved storage technologies can be adopted to be used for insect-based commodities, in conjunction with improved food security attributes.The present work provides data that show that"}
+{"text": "Smartphone interventions effect in pediatric subjects on the day of surgery: a meta-analysis Li L, Ma J, Ma D and Zhou X. (2021) Front. Surg. 8:759958. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.759958A Retraction of the Systematic Review Article The journal and Chief Editors retract the 16 December 2021 article cited above.Following publication, concerns were raised regarding abnormal similarities with the contents of other articles published by unrelated research groups. A subsequent investigation, which was conducted in accordance with Frontiers' policies, raised strong concerns over the authorship of the articles, resulting in a loss of confidence in the findings presented in the article.The authors have not responded to this retraction.This retraction was approved by the Chief Editors of Frontiers in Surgery and the Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers."}
+{"text": "Aspleniumtrilobum Cav. was identified. The plants were found growing on the bark of a Myrceugeniaparvifolia (DC.) Kausel tree in a small swamp next to specimens of Drimyswinteri J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. . Several previously unrecorded species were found, including Carexcf.excelsa Poepp. ex Kunth, Chusquea cf. quila Kunth, Ercillacf.spicata (Bertero) Moq., and Boquilatrifoliolata (DC.) Decne., highlighting the importance of exploring and documenting this biodiversity hotspot. The discovery in this wilderness area extends the distribution 86 km north on the continent, which was previously limited to the east of the municipality of Penco in the Biob\u00edo region . This paper presents an observed specimen, its locality, and associated species.The biodiversity hotspot of central Chile is home to a high proportion of endemic species, but some of these species are inconspicuous and not easily observed. During a botanical exploration in the Los Queules National Reserve (Chile), a population of  Asplenium L. is one of the fern genera with the greatest species diversity and geographical distribution. This genus and Hymenasplenium (at least 66 species) comprise the family Aspleniaceae, with Asplenium known for its remarkable species richness , while the southern limit is in Laguna San Rafael, Ays\u00e9n Region   Baill.). The forest on the hilltops is mainly dominated by Nothofagusglauca (Phil.) Krasser and Nothofagusobliqua (Mirb.) Oerst. In the wetter areas, species such as Aextoxiconpunctatum Ruiz & Pav., Cryptocaryaalba (Molina) Looser and Persealingue (Ruiz & Pav.) Nees make up the dominant canopy layer.The Los Queules National Reserve is administratively located in the municipality of Pelluhue, in the Maule region Fig. . It coveA.trilobum  Kausel individual with a remarkably large diameter of about 40 cm at breast height, which is an unusual attribute for this species, located at 404 m a.s.l.  Gasper & Salino, Luzuriagapolyphylla (Hook.) J.F. Macbr., Carexcf.excelsa Poepp. ex Kunth, Chusqueacf.quila Kunth, Myrceugeniaexsucca (DC.) O. Berg, Myrceugeniaparvifolia (DC.) Kausel, Drimyswinteri J.R. Forst. & G. Forst., Hydrangeaserratifolia (Hook. & Arn.) F. Phil., Ercillacf.spicata (Bertero) Moq., Rhamnusdiffusus Clos, Boquilatrifoliolata (DC.) Decne., and Ugnicandollei (Barn\u00e9oud) O. Berg.The site is located on the eastern edge of the wilderness area, about 60 metres from forest plantations. The accompanying species were Carexcf.excelsa  are new records for this wilderness area (Ercillaspicata in the study area is highly plausible, as it is one of only two species within its genus. Chusqueaquila is also highly possible, as its morphology is clearly different from the only Chusquea species previously recorded at the site: C.cumingii. However, the identification of these species still needs to be confirmed. In a similar case, although Carexaphylla Kunth and Carexexcelsa L. have been reported from nearby wild areas (C.excelsa. If confirmed, this would be the first record of this genus at the site.It is important to note that lsa Fig. a, Chusquila Fig. a, Ercillata Fig.  and Boquess area . The speld areas , the plaThe importance of botanical exploration in advancing our taxonomic knowledge is inestimable. However, many biodiversity studies have shown a marked accessibility bias, with sampling favouring areas close to major roads and other access routes, leaving interior and remote regions largely undersampled . This saNew species and distribution records are frequently detected in previously explored areas e.g. . This hiA.trilobum in Chile may be more extensive than we know. The discovery of A.trilobum in the Los Queules National Reserve, and the detection of other previously unrecorded species in the area, underlines the existence of a diversity and distribution of species yet to be explored and understood in these ecosystems. Consequently, the development of inventories and basic research in under-explored areas, such as ravines and forest remnants, should be promoted. Finally, it is crucial to encourage the training of advanced human capital in botany, taxonomy and genetics, areas that have received little attention from the Chilean State.In the context of this study, it is possible to suggest that the distribution of"}
+{"text": "Balangia and Duyunaspis represent related Cambrian oryctocephalid trilobites from South China, are comprehensively discussed over the ontogeny, and the results show that, from B. balangensis via D. duyunensis to D. jianheensis, their exoskeletal morphology shows a directional evolution. Based on the direction of evolutionary changes in the development of Balangia and Duyunaspis, we speculate that Duyunaspis likely evolved from Balangia instead of Balangia evolved from Duyunaspis, as was previously assumed. This inference is also supported by the phylogenetic tree. This research provides not only a better understanding of the mechanisms of evolution in trilobites, but also new insights for the relationship between developmental evolutionary changes and phylogeny in trilobites.The evolution process can be reconstructed by tracking the changes in the dynamic characters of life cycles. A number of related trilobites from the Cambrian of South China provide additional information for the study of trilobite evolutionary patterns, which has been hampered by previous incomplete fossil record though. Here,  This ime.g.,\u00a0e.g.,\u00a0Phylogenetic tree provides a possible solution for the determination of ancestries . The conThe effaced trilobites provide phylogenetic information, and certain morphological characters of trilobites appeared repeatedly throughout their history . Thus, tDuyunaspis  in this study are housed at the Guizhou Research Center for Palaeontology (GRCP). The phylogenetic position of D. paiwuensis is not discussed in this article due to its small number of specimens, unclear stratigraphic range . The number of pygidial segments is present in two or three types at the same degree  are almost identical to those of the other morph in the same meraspid degree. Thus, the average ontogeny pathways for D. jianheensis can reflect the changes in morphological characters during ontogeny. The case of B. balangensis and D. duyunensis are similar to that of D. jianheensis. Based on that, possible ontogenetic pathways of B. balangensis and D. duyunensis are shown in The ontogenetic pathways of pathways . Referripathways  was derinheensis . Two segDuyunaspis jianheensis, which can approximately be regarded as isopygous. It could be inferred that it might be isopygous in the M1 , D. duyunensis had a pit-like glabellar furrows. The fourth pair of glabellar furrows (S4) is indistinguishable throughout the ontogeny. Though unconspicuous in the early stage, the inter-ring furrow in the pygidium developed at the M1. The type of facial suture changes from proparian (M0\u2013M6) to gonatoparian (M7\u2013M8) and finally to opisthoparian (M9\u2013H)  . The antn (M9\u2013H) .Balangia balangensis was nearly the same size as the cephalon, being isopygous  to reconciled meraspid periods with different numbers of pygidial segments , for these morphologic changes are progressive (with the thoracic segment increasing) rather than sudden. Here by using the ontogenetic pathway of The postembryonic developmental stages of trilobites are delineated based on the development of articulations between segments . A seriee sample . The oryenomenon . So, theenomenon . Degreesenomenon  and ellienomenon  trilobite.g., glabellar furrow, occipital furrow, and axial furrow) are usually augmented during the ontogeny or clade of a group  trend  in the shape of the glabellar and the anterior border are both representation of ontogenetic sequences and possibly evidence of phylogeny. In addition, D. duyunensis and D. jianheensis both changed progressively from isopygous to micropygous during the ontogeny , while the isopygous condition  is more likely to occur in the early stratigraphic range   to D. duyunensis (proparian\u2013gonatoparian\u2013opisthoparian). In fact, this change is the result of the intersection between the end of the posterior branch of the facial suture and the cephalon from the lateral margin of the head, which progressively approaches to the posterior margin of the cephalon. Generally, the facial suture type remained the same in ontogeny. Considering that D. duyunensis is largely variable in the facial suture type during the ontogeny  trend . The graontogeny . Balangieries 2) . The numxpressed , it chanontogeny , the varnheensis , the promoulting . FurtherBalangia might have derived from Duyunaspis based on heterochrony. As a potential pattern for an evolutionary change, the key issue in heterochrony is to determine the ancestral-descendant relationships and the timing of sexual maturation , the co-occurrence of B. balangensis and D. duyunensis in the same strata in Banglang Formation is clearly incompatible with the second element proposed by B. balangensis and D. duyunensis  from D. duyunensis. The developmental evolutionary changes of phenotypic traits appear to be directional in B. balangensis, D. duyunensis, and D. jianheensis, therefore, we believe that the clade B. balangensis\u2013D. duyunensis\u2013D. jianheensis (yunensis . Nearly yunensis  trilobit species , and thuyunensis  implies nheensis  is reasoBalangia balangensis\u2013Duyunaspis duyunensis\u2013Duyunaspis jianheensis in terms of the cephalon morphology, size of the pygidium relative to the cephalon and the trunk segments number in developmental evolutionary change. Furthermore, according to the four common elements in the speciation process, the lowest datum of B. balangensis is higher than that of D. duyunensis, which is probably caused by the incompleteness of the fossil record. We speculate that Balangia is not necessarily the descendant of Duyunaspis, on the contrary, Balangia may be the ancestor of Duyunaspis. This inference is also supported by the phylogenetic tree.There is a directional gradual evolution of 10.7717/peerj.15068/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.15068/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.15068/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.15068/supp-4Supplemental Information 4Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Notobitus meleagris (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae). The results show that there were eight subtypes of sensilla on the antennae of the nymphs and 11 subtypes of sensilla on the antennae of the adults. With the growth of instars, the type, quantity, and size of the sensilla gradually increased. Sexual dimorphism did not appear in the type of sensilla but existed in the length and diameter of some sensilla. In addition, we also discussed the functions of different types of sensilla through previous published studies, which will be helpful for further research on the behavioral and biological control of N. meleagris.In this paper, we used scanning electron microscopy to describe the morphological types, number of sensilla, and their distributions on the antennae of each nymphal instar and adult of Notobitus meleagris  is a serious pest of bamboo shoots in China, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore. The antennae of the nymphal instars and adults of N.meleagris are involved in communication among individuals and finding the host plants. In order to understand the morphology of antennal sensilla, their types, and the distribution of sensilla on the antennae of nymphal instars and adults in N. meleagris, we studied the morphology of antennal sensilla with a scanning electron microscope. The antennae of the nymphs and adults comprised the scape, pedicel, and two flagellomeres. Four types and eight subtypes of sensilla were identified in the nymphal instars , whereas those of the adults had five types and eleven subtypes of sensilla . There are significant differences in the number, type, and size of the sensilla in different nymphal instars, which increases with the increase in nymphal instars. There was no sexual dimorphism observed in the adult sensilla; however, the length and diameter of St.3, Sb.2, and Sb.3 were sexually dimorphic. The potential functions of each sensillum were discussed based on the morphology and distribution of the antennal sensilla and were compared with similar published studies. Our results provide primary data for further research on the behavioral mechanism, green prevention, and control of N. meleagris.The bamboo bug  Notobitus meleagris (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Coreidae) is an important pest of bamboo shoots and is distributed in China , India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore [N. meleagris in a year, and they overwinter in weeds or bark as adults. The occurrence period is in line with the bamboo shoot growth period. In April, the adults of the overwintering generation begin to move [N. meleagris are gradually increasing. In severe cases, >20 individuals are simultaneously present on each bamboo shoot . Our findings provide basic information regarding the sensory-communicative system of N. meleagris nymphs and adults, their behavioral mechanisms associated with biological control, and the host selection and management of N. meleagris.During the investigation, we found that N. meleagris , Duyun City, Guizhou Province, on 29 August 2021.Ten individual adults with each nymphal instar of eleagris  were colThe photographs of the morphological characteristics of the antennae in the adults and nymphs were acquired using a Canon camera  equipped with a Canon EF 100 mm F/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens, with Godox MF12 Twin Flash used as a light source. Antennae were individually photographed under an ultra-depth-of-field 3D microscope , and the pest parameters of each instar were determined.N. meleagris adults and nymphs  at 4 \u00b0C for 24 h. The antennae were carefully detached from the head using tiny-tipped forceps and were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde for 24 h. After fixing, ultrasonic cleaning was performed for 15 min. The samples were rinsed thrice with phosphate buffer . Serial dehydration was performed with 30%, 50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% ethanol; the samples were dehydrated at each concentration for 20 min and then at 100% for 1 day. After dehydration, the samples were dried in an electric blast dryer at 40 \u00b0C for 6 h and placed on the sample holder with conductive adhesive based on different observation surfaces. Finally, ion sputtering gold plating was performed for 2 min. The shape and number of sensilla on the entire antennae and segments of the male and female adults, as well as each nymphal instar, were photographed using SEM , and the length of each sensillum was measured.We anesthetized t-tests in SPSS 22.0 software  and expressed as mean \u00b1 standard error. Kolmogorov\u2013Smirnov tests were used to assess the normality of the data, and Levene tests were used to determine the homogeneity of variance. Data conforming to the normal distribution and showing homogeneity of variance were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey\u2019s method was used for multiple comparisons.Scaler software , associated with the SEM system, was used to measure the length of each sensillum and identify and enumerate the antennae of the adults and nymphs. The identification and naming of the antennal sensilla were performed as previously described by Schneider and Zacharuk ,43. The N. meleagris comprised the scape, pedicel, and two flagellomeres. The total antennal length of the nymph and adult was measured between 3422.86\u201316587.89 \u03bcm , sensilla basiconica (Sb), sensilla chaetica (Sc), and sensilla coeloconica (Sco). Based on the differences in size and external morphological characteristics, St was divided into three subtypes , Sb was divided into two subtypes (Sb.1 and Sb.2), and Sc was divided into two subtypes (Sc.1 and Sc.2). Each sensillum showed various distributions among the nymphal instars.Among the three St subtypes, St.1 was the most abundant on the antennal surface in each nymphal instar and was distributed in the second flagellomere. The number of St.1 on the antennae of the first to fifth nymphal instars was 231.0\u20131226.3 . They arAmong the two Sb subtypes, Sb.1 was distributed vertically in the second flagellomere of all the nymphal instars. The number of Sb.1 on the first to fifth nymphal instar antennae was 8.6\u201343.1 . They arAmong the two Sc subtypes, Sc.1 was strictly distributed in the scape, pedicel, and first flagellomere of all the nymphal instars. The number of Sc.1 on the antennae of the first to fifth nymphal instars was 90.9\u2013552.8 . They arSco.1 was distributed vertically in the second flagellomere of all the nymphal instars. The number of Sco.1 on the antennae of the first to fifth nymphal instars was 1.2\u201319.8 . They arThe antennae of the adults were observed via SEM, which revealed seven types of sensilla: St, Sb, Sc, Sco, and sensilla campaniformia (Sca). Based on the differences in size and external morphological characteristics, St was divided into three subtypes , Sb was divided into three subtypes , Sc was divided into two subtypes (Sc.1 and Sc.2), and Sco was divided into two subtypes (Sco.1 and Sco.2). These 13 subtypes of sensilla were distributed in the antennae of both the male and female adults; however, the size of these sensilla varied between the sexes.Among the three St subtypes, St.1 was distributed in the second flagellomere of the adults. The number of St.1 on the antennae of the males and females was 1683.7\u20132058.8 . The shaAmong the three Sb subtypes, Sb.1 was distributed in the second flagellomere of the adults. The number of Sb.1 on the antennae of the males and females was 101.5\u2013120.1 . The shaAmong the two Sc subtypes, Sc.1 was distributed in the scape, pedicel, and first flagellomere of the adults. The number of Sc.1 on the antennae of the males and females was 737.6\u2013960.1 . The shaAmong the two Sco subtypes, Sco.1 was distributed in the second flagellomere of the adults. The number of Sco.1 on the antennae of the males and females was 30.3\u201340.5 . The shaSca was oval-shaped and clustered at the base of the scape in adults. They consist of an oval plate with an ecdysial pore, situated inside a tight columnar socket. . The lenThere were four types and eight subtypes of sensilla on the antennae of the nymphs; St.2 and St.3 were unique to the fourth and fifth nymphal instars, whereas Sb.2 was unique to the third, fourth, and fifth nymphal instars. Except for the abovementioned four sensilla, the other sensilla were shared among all the nymphal instars. Additionally, five types and 11 subtypes of sensilla were identified on the antennae of the adults. There was no sexual dimorphism among these types, and Sb.3, Sco.2, and Sca were unique to the adults.N. meleagris nymphs to adults gradually increased from 5 to 11. The structure and type of these sensilla were similar to those of other Hemiptera insects [N. meleagris, particularly in the nymphs, can be divided according to antennal segments. The types of sensilla in the first, second, and third antennal segments were identical, whereas the types of sensilla in the fourth antennal segment differed remarkably from those in the other three segments (N. meleagris had the highest number and density of sensilla, indicating that it plays an essential role in sensing in N. meleagris. The length of the antennae increased with the increase in the instar stage, with altered morphology and a gradual increase in the types and number of sensilla. However, N. meleagris nymphs lacked Sb.3, Sco.2, and Sca, suggesting that these three sensilla are related to the sexual maturity of N. meleagris. There was no sexual dimorphism in the types and numbers of sensilla in N. meleagris, except for the length and thickness of St.3, Sb.1, Sb.2, Sb.3, Sc.2, Sco.1, and Sca. It is speculated that these sensilla play an essential role in the mating or oviposition behavior of N. meleagris.We identified St.1, Sb.1, Sc.1, Sc.2, and Sco.1 on the antennae of the first and second nymphal instars. The antennae of the third nymphal instar had Sb.2 in addition to the sensilla present on the antennae of the first and second nymphal instars. The antennae of the fourth and fifth nymphal instars had St.2 and St.3 in addition to the sensilla present on the antennae of the third nymphal instar. The antennae of the adults had Sb.3, Sco.2, and Sca, in addition to the sensilla present on the antennae of the fourth and fifth nymphal instars. The subtypes of sensilla in the  insects ,29, withsegments . The fouN. meleagris is similar in appearance to those described for Riptortus pedestris [N. meleagris; therefore, the ability to perceive pheromones is stronger in higher instar stages. Additionally, Sb.1 is similar in appearance to those described in Pyrrhocoris sibiricus [N. meleagris showed sexual dimorphism, which may be related to the oviposition behaviors of the females. The sensilla chaetica of N. meleagris is similar in appearance to those described for Apolygus lucorum [N. meleagris, and usually protects other receptors [N. meleagris is similar in appearance to those described for Eocanthecona furcellata [N. meleagris nymphal instars and is speculated to be the main sensilla through which they sense external temperature and humidity. The sensilla campaniformia of N. meleagris is similar in appearance to those described for Gerromorpha [N. meleagris, that is to say, the mechanical reception of the adult is stronger than that of the nymphs [N. meleagris adults have a stronger ability to perceive signals than nymphs. The specific functions of different sensillum subtypes should be further verified by conducting detailed electrophysiological studies on single sensilla.The antennae are the principal organs of the insect sensory system. Various sensilla form essential functional elements to screen and select environmental factors and perceive chemical, mechanical, and physical signals ,45. Sensedestris , which iedestris ,47,48 anedestris , with paedestris ,51. Howeibiricus , and senibiricus , which oibiricus . The len lucorum , which ieceptors ,55,56. Frcellata , which ircellata ,58. Sco.romorpha , found iromorpha ,35,59. Te nymphs . This alN. meleagris and a basis for blocking the function of sensilla and controlling N. meleagris through synthetic pheromones. This could lay a theoretical foundation for the green prevention and control of insects and aid in forestry plant protection.Receptors are the primary means of communication between individual insects and the environment; moreover, insects use sensilla to locate their partners and host plants . In addi"}
+{"text": "Author Contributions, author Xiaotong Liu was erroneously excluded.In the published article, there was an error. In the Author Contributions, paragraph 1. This sentence previously stated:A correction has been made to \u201cCH, RZ, and XiyL contributed to conception and design of the study. CH organized the database. RZ and XiyL performed the statistical analysis. HL and GH wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SL and XiaL wrote sections of the manuscript. CH, XiyL, and XW contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.\u201dThe corrected sentence appears below:\u201cCH, RZ, and XiyL contributed to the conception and design of the study. CH organized the database. RZ and XiyL performed the statistical analysis. XiaL wrote sections of the manuscript. CH, XiaL, XiyL, and XW contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.\u201dThe authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Despite the high incidence of appendicitis, accurate diagnosis of suspected appendicitis has long been challenging, with a high rate of negative (unnecessary) appendectomies in clinical practice. Mohamed and colleagues have tried to identify laboratory biomarkers for diagnosing suspected appendicitis, which is a very important topic in a clinical setting. However, there was no sample size calculation of the minimum number of samples required in this study. The authors applied a limited number of participants in the normal appendix group n=2, compliBesides, they reported relatively high diagnostic accuracy of circulating fibrocyte percentage  in the diagnosis of uncomplicated appendicitis, and similarly high diagnostic accuracy of neutrophil\u2013lymphocyte ratio in the diagnosis of uncomplicated appendicitis et al.Multiple types of computed tomography (CT), have shown similarly high diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis of appendicitis, with a pooled high sensitivity of 89\u201397% and specificity of 93\u201395%Overall, there is still no enough evidence that laboratory biomarkers could act as an alternative to CT imaging. Lose-dose CT should still be preferred for the diagnosis of suspected appendicitis in current clinical practiceNot applicable.C.-D.Z. was partly supported by the China Scholarship Council (201908050148). R.Z. was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61976249). These funding sources had no role in the study design, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, in the writing, and in the decision to submit the article.R.Z.: writing and editing. Z.-M.Z.: editing and revision. C.-D.Z.: conceptualization, writing, editing, revision, and submission.The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report.Not applicable.Chun-Dong Zhang.The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Not applicable."}
+{"text": "As the critical component of automotive engine coolant, ethylene glycol (E.G.) significantly matters in heat dissipation. In this study, the key aim is to investigate the heat transfer behaviour of E.G. as nano-additives base fluid. The heat transfer capability of E.G./SiC nanofluid (N.F.) was experimentally and theoretically evaluated via transient hot wire methods and equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulation, respectively. M.D. simulation exhibited a great ability to accurately forecast the thermal conductivity of N.F. compared with the experiment results. The results confirmed that the thermal stability of N.F. is relatively greater than that of E.G. base fluids. An improvement mechanism of thermal conductivity and thermal stability under an atomic scale via the analysis of mean square displacement (MSD) and radial distribution function (RDF) calculation was elaborately presented. Ultimately, the results indicated that the diffusion effect and the increasing transition rate of liquid atoms are responsible for thermal conductivity enhancement. Fluids with excellent heat transfer performance are urgently required due to the continuous development in industry and academia fields . In the 2/E.G. hybrid N.F.s were fabricated, and the heat transfer of the hybrid N.F.s was studied by Toghraieeret al. [Temperature and nanoparticle concentrations are critical physical quantities affecting fluid\u2019s thermal conductivity because they are closely related to Brownian motion and other important thermal factors ,18,19,20eret al. , who inderet al.  presenteIn addition to experimental investigation of thermal conductivity, regression fit analysis was utilized to predict thermal conductivity, including the most famous Maxwell and Einstein models. However, such simulation analysis based on experimental data can only speculate or estimate the underlying mechanism without firm evidence. Fundamentally, the key reason for the increase in thermal conductivity cannot be well analysed from the microscopic level. Conversely, molecular dynamic simulation can reasonably predict the thermal conductivity and analyse the microscopic atomic motion to achieve convincing mechanisms. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) and EMD methods were the widely used two simulations for evaluating the heat transfer characteristics of N.F. NEMD simulation was adopted by Zhou et al.  to invesE.G., as the main component of automobile coolant, is critical to the cooling system of automobile engines because the heat dissipation performance of the engine was related to the E.G. fluids ,30. TherThis paper aims to reveal several thermal conductivity improvement mechanisms for N.F.s with diverse concentrations at varying temperatures. Thus, the EMD means was employed to model and simulate the glycol/SiC N.F. system and the heat transfer performance was discussed. It was profoundly revealed the diffusion behaviour of SiC nanoparticles in E.G. from the micro scale. Eventually, the active adsorption layer between SiC and E.G. base liquids promoted the improvement of thermal conductivity.\u22121 [\u22121 may be assigned to the C-Si vibration mode of SiC. In addition, the stretching vibration peak at approximately 3414 cm\u22121 may be attributed to the O-H formation from the water molecule in the air.For the exploration of the morphology and size distribution of SiC nanoparticles used, TEM as well as SAED characterisation under different locations, were conducted in \u22121 . The traThe thermal conductivity of pure E.G. and 0.1\u20131% N.F. at different temperatures were derived by the EMD simulation approach and compared with the experiment results using transient hot wire methods. t is the time, The MSD is used to measure the bias between the location of particles\u2019 motion over time. This phenomenon is a standard method to analyse the dynamic characteristics of the N.F. system. The formula for calculating MSD is as follows:The diffusion coefficient can be calculated to account for the aggregation and adhesion of the nanosystem. The MSD curves of the total atoms in the whole E.G./SiC N.F.s system with various molar fractions under diverse temperatures are depicted in The RDF reflects the fluid microstructure and reveals the aggregation behaviour of different atoms in the fluid. Molecular dynamics, a multidiscipline technology combining mathematics, physics and chemistry, is a simulation method using Newtonian mechanics to simulate and calculate the motion state of microscopic molecule for obtaining a series of macroscopic physical quantities, such as thermal conductivity, friction coefficient, dynamic viscosity, velocity, temperature, shear stress and other parameters. With the development of simulation, M.D. simulation has been gradually adopted by multiple researchers to remedy the shortcomings of experimental methods. The movement law of atoms was accurately detected by M.D. analysis, and it elucidated the reasons for the improvement of dispersion behaviour, rheological behaviour, thermal performance, and friction performance from the atomic scale. This paper uses the open-source software LAMMPS 64-bit 29 October 2020 . A large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator was considered for the simulations to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of pure E.G. and E.G./SiC N.F.s with different concentrations.Prior to the model construction, the SiC and E.G. structure cells can be seen, as shown in r is the equilibrium bond distance, E1 and E2 are the stretching and bending energy, \u03b8 is the equilibrium value of the angle, and To achieve the reliability, creditability, and precision of the simulation results, several force fields between atoms are carefully chosen. Lennard-Jones (LJ) Long range Coulomb force potential for C-C, O-H, Si-Si interactions with a cut-off distance of 10 \u00c5 was used. This force field is suitably extended on the basic of LJ potential, which increases the Coulomb pair interaction between atoms, making the output results more accurate. The formula of this force field can be expressed as follows:V denotes the volume, Bk denotes the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature, <xJ(0)xJ(t)> is the heat flow autocorrelation function.First, the entire simulation system needs to be balanced for several ns to obtain a constant temperature of 300\u2013350 K in the NVT ensemble using the Nose Hoover thermostat. Then, EMD operation is conducted in the NVE ensemble to calculate the thermal conductivity and heat flux. In this EMD method, the thermal conductivity is calculated by heat flux. The method for calculating the heat flux is based on the contribution of atoms in the designated group. It can be used to measure the heat flow through a group of atoms , and the thermal conductivity can be calculated by Green Kubo formula as follows:\u22124 \u00c5) in Lammps. Ovito software  was used to post process the simulation results.For the detection of M.D. model effectiveness, the equilibrium relaxation of E.G./SiC N.F.s with different molar fractions at different temperatures under initial conditions was calculated between the time steps of 0\u2013250 ps. In this investigation, the thermal conductivity of E.G. was simulated by the EMD method. The CVFF force field is used in the simulation research system. The molecular optimisation function determines the bond length and angle of the E.G. molecule. Finally, SiC cells are introduced to obtain E.G./SiC models with molar fractions of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1%. The conjugate gradient method eliminates unreasonable interactions in the system and minimises the energy. Then, the Nos\u00e9 Hoover hot bath method is used to relax for 1 ns under the constant pressure and temperature (NPT) ensemble. The temperature gradient is accordingly set . The pressure is set as standard atmospheric pressure. Then, after withdrawing the NPT ensemble, the simulation was relaxed for 1 ns under the constant volume and temperature (NVT) ensemble. When the whole system reached equilibrium, the NVT ensemble was removed. The system finally runs 200 ps under the micro-canonical ensemble (NVE) to obtain the kinetic energy, potential energy, and potential force of atoms. The heat flow density through the energy contribution of atoms in the group is calculated and sampled every 1000 steps. Finally, we connect the heat flow density J with the autocorrelation set average of the thermal conductivity k through the Green-Kubo formula, and the thermal conductivity is accordingly calculated. The time step is set as 1 fs. Periodic boundary condition (PBC) is chosen in the simulation system, the Leap Frog algorithm is used for the equation of motion integration, and the long-distance electrostatic interaction calculation needs to be matched with PPPM , and E.G. is obtained from Shanghai Aladdin Bio-Chem Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China. The detailed physical parameters of SiC nanoparticles were displayed in In the preparation of N.F.s, a conventional two-step method was applied. First, SiC nanoparticles were added into E.G. base fluid, and the mechanical dispersion, including high-pressure homogeniser and magnetic stirrer was used. Under the premise of mechanical stability, ultrasonic dispersion is carried out to further improve its dispersion stability, including ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic bath dispersion. In this way, stable N.F.s are well prepared. The detailed preparation process is shown in In nanoparticle characterisations, we use TEM  to detect the particles\u2019 average diameter, overall distribution, and aggregation conditions in E.G. fluids. XRD  and FTIR  were used for the crystal construction, chemical bonds, and micro-valence change. In the manufacturing process of N.F.s, a high-pressure homogeniser and magnetic stirrer are used to mix nanoparticles and base liquid physically. The ultrasonic energy generated by the ultrasonic disperser due to the cavitation role makes the N.F. uniform and stable. Finally, the prepared N.F. is put into the ultrasonic bath for re-stablisation. Thermal stability of N.F. and E.G. was assessed by TGA analysis conducted by Thermogravimetry meter . Thermal conductivity meter  is experimentally used to measure thermal conductivities of N.F. and base fluid via a transient hot wire method. Each experiment was performed by 3 times and the average with standard deviations were taken.This study explores the heat transfer capability of E.G. and reveals the enhanced mechanism of E.G. thermal conductivity by adding SiC nanoparticles via an EMD simulation under varying temperatures and concentrations. Based on the results and discussion, the primary conclusion can be presented as follows:Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed that the SiC/E.G. N.F.s appear thermally stable compared with the E.G. alone, which is mainly attributed to the small size effect caused by SiC nanoparticles addition.The E.G./SiC N.F. thermal conductivity was predicted and simulated using M.D. simulation. Most of simulation values of the thermal conductivity increased with the increasing temperature except the several contrary results. In addition, compared with the E.G. solution alone, thermal conductivity of SiC N.F. was improved, by up to approximately 5.4% and 7.3%, for experiment value and simulation value, respectively, which showed a credibility for simulation results.The MSD curve proves that the addition of nanoparticles greatly accelerates the movement velocity of liquid atoms in N.F.s, widens the diffusion layer, and improves the diffusion efficiency. The interface effect and the soaring motion of liquid atoms are the fundamental reason, rather than the Brownian motion improvement, for improving thermal conductivity.RDF analysis confirmed that the microscopic structure of E.G. base fluid changed from the liquid phase into a solid\u2013liquid state due to the introduction of SiC nanomaterials, which may also be the reason responsible for the enhancement of thermal conductivity."}
+{"text": "Correlation analysis between required surgical indexes and complications in patients with coronary heart disease by Tao M, Yao X, Sun S, Qin Y, Li D, Wu J, Xiong Y, Teng Z, Zeng Y and Luo Z (2022) Front. Surg. 9:948666. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.948666A Retraction of the Original Research Article Following publication, the publisher uncovered evidence that several false identities were used in the peer-review process. The assignment of false reviewers was confirmed by an investigation conducted in accordance with Frontiers' policies and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.The investigation also uncovered concerns about the presentation and validity of the data in the article. The authors did not respond to contact regarding the data presented in the article.This retraction was approved by the Chief Editors of Frontiers in Surgery and the Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers.The authors did not respond to contact regarding this retraction."}
+{"text": "Based on data from three imported mpox cases in South Korea, the overall attack rate was determined to be 1%, while a secondary attack rate of 14% was estimated in the high-exposure group. In East Asia, mpox was initially detected in June 2022 (South Korea) among returning travellers who had engaged in sexual activity with men from Europe. As of May 2023, several European countries had reported a single-digit incidence of mpox infections, seemingly indicating the end of the epidemic.,A recent study demonstrated the importance of prioritizing public health and social measures, including mpox vaccination of high-risk subpopulation, to reduce mpox transmission across the community.We collected publicly available data on mpox cases from Korean public health authorities . Based oWe measured the overall attack rate, which is the probability that an infection occurs among susceptible individuals, and the secondary attack rate in the high-exposure group and estimated the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the bootstrap method .The overall attack rate based on the first three imported cases was found to be 0.9% . After stratification by degree of exposure, the secondary attack rate was estimated at 14.2% among contacts in the high-exposure group . However, no transmission cases were identified in the intermediate- and low-exposure groups .The secondary attack rate provides useful information on how the interactions in a specific setting relate to the transmission risk. Our findings suggest that mpox transmissibility from the first three imported cases to the South Korean population was low and that mpox transmission was potentially driven by the high-exposure group. This finding is consistent with those of previous studies in that the major risk for mpox transmission was associated with a high degree of exposure, including sexual contact.Notwithstanding, this study has certain limitations. First, behavioural heterogeneity might have influenced the estimation of the attack rate. Thus, further research involving a greater number of cases with contact-tracing data is warranted to avoid possible bias and to reduce CI width. Second, a secondary mpox infection from the imported case occurred during medical practice.The continual estimation of mpox transmissibility is important for evaluating control measures against mpox. A comparison of transmissibility estimates according to different mpox-exposure levels and modes of transmission  is warranted. Furthermore, with the easing of SARS-CoV-2-related international travel measures in Asian countries,This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea of the Ministry of Education (NRF-2020R1I1A3066471).S.R. conceived the study. D.L., H.D., A.C., M.-K.K. and B.C. were involved in data collection and assimilation. D.L., S.C., H.D., A.C. and S.R. performed data analysis, discussed the results and drafted the manuscript. All authors have critically read and approved the final manuscript.Dayeong Lee , Sangbum Choi , Hyunkyung Do , Achangwa Chiara , Min-Kyung Kim , BumSik Chin , and Sukhyun Ryu Conflict of interest: S.R. was supported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (contract numbers: 2023020748C-00 and 2023040522C-00). All other authors report no potential conflicts of interest.This study did not require institutional review board approval or informed consent because all data used are anonymous and are publicly available on websites.The data underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.Supplementary_Materials_taad080Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "China. The correct affiliation is College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, P.R. China.These details have been corrected only in this correction notice to preserve the published version of record."}
+{"text": "Brachystele Schltr.  comprises 20 species distributed from Mexico to Argentina, with 10 species found in Brazil. Anatomical studies of Orchidoideae Lindl. have been scarce, and the anatomy and histochemistry of Brachystele are still largely unknown. In this study, we conducted a characterization of the vegetative organs of B. guayanensis (Lindl.) Schltr. using standard anatomical and histochemical microtechniques. In this study, we provide the first information about the anatomy and histochemistry of Brachystele. The studied species was observed to display anatomical characters commonly found in the vegetative organs of representatives of the Cranichideae tribe . Others can be interpreted as adaptive strategies conditioned by the environment and their terrestrial life form ; and raphides). In this study, cataphylls, and the presence of spiranthosomes in leaves, including stomatal guard cells, as well as alkaloids in these structures, are anatomically described for the first time in Orchidaceae. The presence of hyphae and pelotons in the stem of B. guayanensis is described for the first time in Cranichideae. Histochemical tests confirmed the presence of lignin, proteins, and alkaloids, the lipidic nature of the cuticle, starch grains stored in spiranthosomes, and the composition of the raphides. Alkaloids were observed in abundance, particularly in the roots, suggesting a potential role in defense against pathogens and herbivores, as well as potential medicinal activities, as seen in phylogenetically related groups to Brachystele.The orchid genus  Orchidoideae Lindl. (Orchidaceae) is monophyletic and comprises approximately 3650 species and 208 genera, distributed throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the Old and New World ,2. In BrIn anatomical terms, Orchidoideae is poorly studied since most of the species sampled in previous studies ,10 occurBrachystele Schltr.  comprises 20 species distributed from southern Mexico to northern Argentina [Among the genus of Orchidoideae, rgentina ; 10 specrgentina . The taxrgentina ,17.Brachystele are currently limited to the work of Bernal et al. [B. widgrenii (Rchb.f.) Schltr. However, there have been no histochemical studies of any Brachystele species, although some medicinal properties of B. dilatata (Lindl.) Schltr. and B. unilateralis (Poir.) Schltr. were mentioned  in ethnobotanical studies [Anatomical descriptions of the vegetative organs of l et al. , who exa studies ,19.B. guayanensis (Lindl.) Schltr.  Ormerod and Zeuxine strateumatica (L.) Schltr. by Andreota et al. [Aa paleacea (Kunth) Rchb. f. and Pterichis multiflora (Lindl.) Schltr. by Corredor and Arias [B. guayanensis  Rolfe and Gomesa crispa (Lindl.) Klotzsch ex Rchb. f. According to these authors, the strategic positions of these structures contribute to the maintenance and (re)colonization of internal tissues, serving as important sources of inoculum for adventitious roots extending from the rhizome, corroborating the findings of Pridgeon [Eulophia epidendraea C.E.C. Fisch., Malaxis acuminata D. Don, Oreorchis indica (Lindl.) Hook. f. and Rhizanthella gardneri R.S. Rogers). Such structures were also found in the rhizomes of epiphytic and rupicolous orchids of the Epidendroideae (Promenaea rollisonii (Rchb. f.) Lindl. and P. xanthina Lindl.) by Pedroso-de-Moraes et al. [B. guayanensis is first reported for Cranichideae. According to some authors [Fungal hyphae and pelotons were observed to be concentrated mainly in the more peripheral portions of the cortical parenchyma g, which Pridgeon  for terrPridgeon , Uma et Pridgeon  and SuetPridgeon  for Epids et al. . In this authors ,47,48, t authors ,50,51. M authors ; increas authors , and conBetween 28 and 45 scattered collateral vascular bundles can be observed internally, surrounded by a parenchyma sheath i, which Brachystele guayanensis has transversely circular roots of variable calibers (Pelexia dolichorhiza Schltr. (=Pachygenium pteryganthum (Rchb. f. and Warm.) Szlach., R. Gonz\u00e1lez and Rutk.), Prescottia colorans Lindl. (=P. stachyoides (Sw.) Lindl.), and Sauroglossum elatum Lindl. Moreira and Isaias [calibers a, which calibers b,c. Our d Isaias  reportedd Isaias , Pridgeod Isaias , and Chod Isaias  noted thBrachystele widgrenii, Lankesterella caespitosa (Lindl.) Hoehne, L. ceracifolia (Barb. Rodr.) Mansf., Pelexia orthosepala (Rchb.f. and Warm.) Schltr, and Sacoila lanceolata (Aubl.) Garay. by Bernal et al. [Cranichis candida (Barb. Rodr.) Cogn. by Andreota et al. [Aspidogyne Garay and Microchilus C. Presl. by Bona et al. [Simple, unicellular trichomes, such as those observed here c, were rl et al. ; for Craa et al. ; and fora et al. . Accordia et al. , Andreota et al. , and Bera et al. , simple The root cortex consists of 18\u201320 layers of rounded parenchyma cells of varying sizes with innumerable small, triangular intercellular spaces d. In addThese characters are frequently observed in Orchidoideae ,21,56. IB. guayanensis are uniseriate and composed of rounded, elliptical cells with thin walls. The cells of the exodermis are slightly thickened , are responsible for renewing their aerial portions and help prevent pathogens and herbivores from reaching the vascular system  and causing local and/or systemic damage.According to Sut et al.  and Bulpd Nakata  and Vizzd Nakata  for pland Nakata  for the B. guayanensis indicates its potential as a medicinal species. Further (bio)phytochemical investigations could be informative, including the subsequent isolation and toxicity testing of any bioactive substances and the characterization of their chemical nature.Among the bioactive substances found in Orchidaceae species are alkaloids  and nitrogenous heterocyclic organic molecules derived from the secondary metabolism of amino acids . More than 100 types of bioactive alkaloids have been identified in over 2000 orchid species ,81. ThesB. guayanensis (I.S. Santos 1160 and 1161).For the anatomical studies, samples of vegetative organs  from five adult individuals of yanensis  were colv/v) [\u00ae digital camera attached to a Leica DM500\u00ae microscope, using Motic 2.0 Image Plus Software.The collected samples for anatomical studies were fixed in 70% FAA  in hermetically sealed containers for 48 h. After this period, they were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol . For thev/v) . They wev/v)  and mounv/v) . For theFor histochemical studies, in natura samples obtained at the time of collection were stained with the following reagents: Coomassie blue and xylidine ponceau ,90 for dBrachystele. The studied species exhibit foliar, cauline, and root characters shared with other Cranichideae species . Others can be interpreted as adaptive strategies that have evolved in response to the environment and their terrestrial life form, including cuticle thickness, the presence of amphistomatic leaves, fibers, and lignin for internal tissues support, fleshy roots with reduced velamen compared to the cortex, the presence of trichomes to increase water and nutrients absorption, and raphides for calcium reserve, osmotic and ionic regulation, detoxification, and defense. In this study, the cataphylls are received in anatomical terms for Orchidaceae, in addition to verifying that the tiny starch grains are aggregated in spiranthosomes throughout the vegetative systems of B. guayanensis, and such structures, as well as the alkaloids, are first referred to leaves, especially for the stomatal guard cells. The presence of hyphae and pelotons in the stem of B. guayanensis are first described for Cranichideae. We believe that such fungal structures, located in the peripheral portions of the rhizomes, are important strategies for the maintenance of internal tissues and the efficient inoculation of still young adventitious roots. In addition, the presence and abundance of alkaloids and raphides in the reserve organs (roots and rhizomes), as well as in the guard cells of the stomata, may be associated with defense against herbivores and against the entry and systematization of pathogens and diseases, since its reserve organs are more durable than the aerial ones and are responsible for the maintenance and renewal of its aerial parts by storing water and other energy reserves , and the stomata for configuring an entryway for harmful microorganisms. Additionally, B. guayanensis is likely to be a potentially medicinal species, mainly due to the abundance of alkaloids in its roots and rhizomes, similarly to phylogenetically related groups of the family. Furthermore, this study reveals the importance of anatomical and histochemical studies, in particular, directed to neotropical orchids that are poorly studied, guiding the development of studies with different aspects, especially biochemical and phytochemical studies.In this study, we have provided the first information regarding the anatomy and histochemistry of"}
+{"text": "P. harmala, T. ramosissima, and P. reptans. The suitability of the tDNAs for molecular studies was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the fragments of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) in nuclear DNA and the trnL-F region in chloroplast DNA. Some significant differences were found between the tDNAs extracted by five extraction methods. With the exception of P. harmala, where the PCR of both the ITS fragments and the trnL-F region worked successfully in all DNA samples, but only the ITS fragments, not the chloroplast trnL-F region, were amplified in the DNA samples of T. ramosissima and P. reptans. The chloroplast trnL-F region was amplified only in DNA samples extracted from fresh and dried leaves of the three studied herbs using the commercial kit. Gene All kit, the main CTAB method, and its modified protocols were the less time-consuming protocols that yielded DNA suitable for downstream PCR vis-a-vis the modified Murray and Thompson method.Extracting high-yield, high-quality DNA from plant samples is challenging due to the presence of the cell wall, pigments, and some secondary metabolites. The main CTAB method, two of its modified protocols (beta-mercaptoethanol or ammonium acetate were eliminated), the modified Murray and Thompson method, and the Gene All kit were statistically compared based on the quantity and quality of the total DNA (tDNA) extracted from fresh and dried leaves of three medicinal herbs  Medicinal herbs and their products are of health and economic value. Extraction of high-quality DNA is required to study the genetic, morphological, and ecological characteristics of medicinal herbs . The extPeganum harmala L. (Zygophyllaceae), Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. (Tamaricaceae), and Potentilla reptans L. (Rosaceae) were investigated. P. harmala, known as espand in Persian, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to the arid regions of North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Pakistan, and India [P. harmala has been traditionally and commonly used for medicinal and psychoactive purposes [P. harmala is traditionally used as an antiseptic by burning its seeds [P. harmala has many other pharmacological properties, including analgesic, anticonvulsant, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor [T. ramosissima, called gaz in Persian, is a halophytic herb [T. ramosissima is used as a skewer [Tamarix species are useful in leucoderma, spleen disorders, eye diseases [T. ramosissima has been shown to possess antibacterial, antioxidant, astringent, appetizing, and invigorating properties [P. reptans is a perennial plant from Caspian and Iranian-Turanian regions and is common in Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Iraq, the former Soviet Union, Turkey, and North Africa. This herb is common in Azerbaijan, Boyer-Ahmad, Gorgan, Gilan, Kohgiluyeh, Lorestan, Semnan, and Tehran provinces of Iran [Potentilla has been known for its therapeutic properties since ancient times. Extracts from the aerial or underground parts of P. reptans are used in traditional medicine against bacterial [In the current study, three medicinally important herbs, including nd India . The hernd India . Since apurposes . In Irants seeds . The herts seeds . P. harmntitumor , 16, antntitumor . T. ramotic herb  that pretic herb  and is wtic herb . Becausea skewer . The Tamdiseases , and woudiseases . T. ramooperties , 23. P.  of Iran , 24. Theacterial , fungal,acterial . P. harmala, T. ramosissima, and P. reptans using five extraction methods: the main CTAB method [trnL intron and trnL-F spacer in the chloroplast genome [trnL-F region is one of the most common chloroplast markers. trnL(c) and trnL(f) primers are used to amplify specific sequences of tRNA genes in the chloroplast [Against this background, the present study aims to compare the quality of the extracted total DNA (tDNA) from fresh and herbarium samples of B method , two modB method , 29, andB method  and the t genome  were amporoplast , 33.Herbs: Fresh and dried leaves of P. harmala, T. ramosissima, and P. reptans were studied. P. harmala was collected on July 17, 2018, a Tuesday, on our way from Shahrood to Azadshar . On the same day, T. ramossissima, known commonly as salt cedar, was collected on our way from Damghan to Sari above Cheshmeh Ali (Semnan province). Finally, P. reptans, commonly known as creeping baby's breath, was collected on August 3, 2018, a Friday, from field margins in Sari . Dr. Atefe Amirahmadi (Ph.D. in Plant Biosystematics) identified the plants. The specimens of P. harmala (Amirahmadi: 2048.), T. ramosissima (Amirahmadi: 2539.), and P. reptans (Amirahmadi: 2666.) were kept in the herbarium of Damghan University. The young leaves which were free of wounds and pests were isolated. Once they had been washed with distilled water, some of the leaves were frozen to -80\u00b0C, and the rest were dried at room temperature.DNA extraction: Using five methods, the total DNA was extracted from dried and fresh (stored in the freezer) leaves. The three main extraction methods included the CTAB method [B method , the modB method , 29 and Main and modified CTAB methods: In the main CTAB method [B method , 0.25 g The first modified CTAB method differed from the main CTAB method in that no BME was used. In the second modified CTAB, only 76% ethanol without ammonium acetate was used to wash the DNA pellets. The modified Murray and Thompson method: In this study, the modified method of Murray and Thompson published by Riahi et al. in 2010 [ in 2010  was usedGene All kit method: The total DNA was also extracted using the Gene All kit  as per the instructions of the kit. The quantity and purity of the extracted tDNA were determined using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer  at 230, 260, 280, and 320 nm. The absorbance ratios of 260/280 and 260/230 were calculated for the evaluation of DNA purity and the detection of protein and non-protein contamination, respectively ,35. The trnL-F region in the chloroplast genome. Of the different trnL-F regions in the chloroplast, trnL (UAA) (c) and trnF (GAA)(f) were analyzed [The quality of the tDNA extracted from the fresh and dried leaves of the studied herbs was examined by the PCR of the ITS fragments in the nrDNA and the analyzed . Table 1analyzed . trnL-F region was the same as the main PCR program used for the nuclear region, except for the annealing temperature, which was 57\u00b0C for the chloroplast sequences. For amplification of the target sequence, 500 ng of DNA was used per 20 \u00b5l reaction volume containing 10 \u00b5l of 2X Ampliqon Master Mix 2SO4, 3.0 \u00b5M MgCl2, 0.4 \u00b5M dNTPs, 0.05 units \u00b5L-1 Amplicon Taq DNA polymerase, inert red dye, and a stabilizer) and 10 picomoles of each forward and reverse primer. Five \u03bcL of the PCR products were electrophoresed on a 1.5% agarose gel. The size of the PCR products on the agarose gel was determined using a DNA molecular weight marker.P. harmala by the five extraction methods was significant in terms of the concentration of the tDNA and the A260/A230 ratio. For T. ramosissima, a significant difference between the extraction methods was found only in terms of the A260/A230 ratio for the dried leaves. In comparison, only the tDNA extracted from the dried leaves of P. reptans by the methods studied showed significant differences in terms of both the concentration of the tDNA and the A260/A230 ratio. For a more detailed investigation, the paired comparisons were made with the Mann-Whitney test which has been shown in There was no significant difference between the tDNAs extracted from both fresh and dried leaves of the studied herbs using each of the five extraction methods . When thP. harmala, the highest and lowest concentrations of the tDNA extracted from the fresh leaves were obtained using the modified Murray and Thompson method and the Gene All kit, respectively. In comparison, the first and second modified CTAB methods gave the highest and lowest concentrations of the tDNA extracted from dried leaves, respectively. As for the A260/A230 ratio of the tDNA extracted from the fresh leaves, the second modified CTAB and the main CTAB methods resulted in the lowest and highest non-protein contaminants. However, for the dried leaves of P. harmala, the modified Murray and Thompson method and the main CTAB method ranked first and last, respectively. In the next step, the results of the five extraction methods that showed a significant difference were compared to determine the best method for DNA extraction from fresh or dried leaves of each herb. As shown in T. ramosissima, the second modified CTAB method and the Gene All kit resulted in the highest and lowest A260/A230 ratio  and lowest (0.48\u00b10.070) ratios with the second modified CTAB method and the Gene All kit, respectively. For the fresh leaves, the highest (1.21\u00b10.300) and lowest (0.46\u00b10.035) ratios of A260/A230 were obtained with the second modified CTAB method and the Gene All kit, respectively.The only parameter that changed significantly for T. ramosissima did not change significantly across the extraction methods  and dried (1.25\u00b10.170) leaves, respectively. The ratio of A260/A280 of the DNA extracted from  methods . The higP. reptans, the five extraction methods differed significantly in the concentration and A260/A230 ratio of the DNA extracted from the dried leaves (both p=0.034), but not for the fresh leaves  from the tDNA extracted by all extraction methods studied. trnL-F region in the chloroplast genome of P. harmala, T. ramosissima, and P. reptans, respectively. As expected, the PCR products were amplified at 700 bp with the tDNA extracted by all extraction methods examined. However, the PCR of the trnL-F region gave no results using the tDNA extracted by the main CTAB method, the first CTAB method, and the modified Murray and Thompson method from fresh or dried leaves of T. ramosissima when the main PCR programs  Poir. In this method, which resulted in intact DNA successfully amplified in PCR, the concentrations of CTAB, NaCl, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and BME were increased, phenol was used to eliminate proteins, and the incubation time was decreased at lower temperatures [BME is a reducing agent that can remove tannins and polyphenols and denatures proteins by reducing disulfide bonds . In manyeratures .P. harmala, such as Zygophyllum coccineum L., Zygophyllum album L.F., and Zygophyllum aegyptium A. Hosny using a modified CTAB method similar to the main CTAB method used in this study. They successfully used the extracted DNA for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD).Hammad and Qari  extracteT. ramosissima and P. reptans. Not all research teams, though, have access to centrifuges or ultracentrifuges necessary for the isolation of intact chloroplasts and direct extraction of cpDNA from them.The chloroplast genome (cpDNA) can provide a wealth of information on plant phylogeny, molecular ecology, population genetics, and evolution. The extraction of cpDNA and the nuclear genome usually reduces the quality of the cpDNA -48. TherIn the present study, plant samples were homogenized without liquid nitrogen. Despite its great influence on the quality of DNA extraction, researchers performing DNA extraction often try to exclude liquid nitrogen from their protocols to save money, as tight research budgets do not allow such extravagances. Extreme care must also be taken when using this substance in a laboratory. It is highly toxic and poses a hazard to the user -51. Ali P. harmala [T. ramosissima [P. reptans [T. ramosissima and P. reptans was not determined. The second shortcoming is that only the extraction protocols were performed in three replicates. Therefore, it was impossible to analyze the results' normality and apply parametric methods. Despite all these shortcomings, this study is important for two reasons: 1) we statistically compared the results from five different extraction methods, and 2) the results apply to laboratories that have the same limitations as we do.This study is one of the few studies that have been statistically analyzed. However, it has several major shortcomings due to a lack of equipment and adequate research funding. The most important deficiency was the lack of detailed phytochemical analyses. We did not examine phytochemicals in any of the fresh or dried leaves. However, in other similar studies on these herbs, researchers have found useful information on  harmala , 52, T. osissima , 21, and reptans , 53. It Damghan University for the financial support of this study.The authors would like to thank The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."}
+{"text": "Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae are vectors known only from the mainland. Understanding vector bionomics in the district is necessary for planning and targeting effective vector control. This study aimed to provide information on abundance, seasonality, and Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite infectivity of malaria vectors in Nchelenge, including islands.Over a decade of vector control by indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) distribution on the mainland, and only LLINs on islands had a minimal impact on disease burden in Nchelenge district, northern Zambia. P. falciparum circumsporoites by ELISA were performed. Mosquito counts and relative abundances from the islands and mainland were compared, and household factors associated with vector counts were determined.Mosquitoes were collected in 192 CDC indoor light traps set in 56 households between January 2015 and January 2016. Morphological and molecular species identifications and Anopheles funestus sensu lato (s.l.) and 248 female An. gambiae s.l. The highest proportion of An. funestus (n\u2009=\u20094090) was from Chisenga Island and An. gambiae (n\u2009=\u2009174) was from Kilwa Island. The highest estimated counts per trap for An. funestus s.l. were from Chisenga island,  and from the dry season . For An. gambiae the highest counts per trap were from Kilwa island  and the rainy season . The highest estimated annual entomological inoculation rate was from Chisenga Island with 91.62 ib/p/y followed by Kilwa Island with 29.77 ib/p/yr, and then Mainland with 19.97 ib/p/yr.A total of 5888 anophelines were collected during the study. Of these, 5,704 were female There was varied species abundance and malaria transmission risk across sites and seasons. The risk of malaria transmission was perennial and higher on the islands. The minimal impact of vector control efforts on the mainland was evident, but limited overall. Vector control intervention coverage with effective tools needs to be extended to the islands to effectively control malaria transmission in Nchelenge district. Anopheles funestus sensu stricto (s.s.) and An. gambiae s.s. These studies have established that An. funestus is widely distributed and has a population peak during the dry season, while counts of An. gambiae remain relatively and consistently low throughout the year and are more abundant near Lake Mweru on the western border of the district [An. funestus s.s. and only S-form An. gambiae, with populations exhibiting varied insecticide susceptibility to carbamates, pyrethroids, and DDT [The use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), and intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) in the last decade has led to successes against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa \u20135. Sadlydistrict \u201312. The  and DDT \u201315. It iDuring the study period, cases of malaria reported between January and December 2015 for all age groups from Chisenga and Kilwa Islands rural health centres were 4, 282 and 8, 439, respectively (Nchelenge DHIS). These represented cases per 1000 people of 375 and 746 for Chisenga and Kilwa islands, respectively. Nchelenge Health Centre on the mainland reported 9360 cases with an incidence rate of 476/1000 (Nchelenge DHIS). For each health facility, almost half of the cases  were in children 0\u20135 years old.An. funestus s.s. complete mitogenome [Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite infection rates, and how these data may impact current and future malaria control strategies in the district. The study period was January 2015 to January 2016 as part of the Southern and Central Africa International Centres of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR), a research collaboration set up to study malaria transmission and the impact of control interventions in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Given the enormity of malaria incidence in Nchelenge District, critical data is needed to better understand the underlying factors leading to the lack of success of malaria control in Nchelenge, especially in the context of malaria elimination . Data ontogenome , which iNchelenge District is located in northern Zambia in Luapula Province Fig.  at the mNchelenge is largely a rural district with an estimated human population at the time of the survey of 147,927 . The maiIndoor residual spraying and bed net distribution form the main vector control interventions conducted in Nchelenge by the national programme. The IRS programme is normally conducted between September and December of each year. During the study period, IRS with pirimiphos-methyl (Actellic\u00ae 300CS) was conducted in 2014 and 2015, and a mass campaign for LLIN (Olyset\u00ae) distribution took place in October 2014.2 grids [Satellite imagery of the three islands from Google Maps and an ARCGIS image of mainland Nchelenge District were overlaid with 1 km2 grids . Grids wThe collection of mosquitoes was conducted using CDC light traps hung indoors approximately 150 cm above the floor at the foot end of the sleeping space. A total of 192 traps were set indoors during the entire study period. A total of five rounds of collection were conducted, as follows: First rainy season: 32 households (HH) in January 2015 and 36 HH in March 2015. During the dry season, 37 HH were recorded in July 2015 and 42 HH in October 2015. Finally, the second rainy season 44 HH in January 2016 Each of the selected households was sampled a minimum of one and a maximum of five times (Table An. funestus sensu lato (s.l.) and An. gambiae s.l. were processed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and circumsporozoite ELISA.All anopheline mosquitoes collected were morphologically identified by standard identification keys to species groups upon collection in the field , 21. TheAn. gambiae s.s. were completed by PCR, as previously described [Mosquitoes were dissected at the thoracic and abdominal joints into the head,\u00a0thorax, and abdomen. DNA was extracted from either a leg or abdomen and processed by PCR for species identification , 23. Theescribed .An. funestus clades. The P. falciparum sporozoite infections were determined by the circumsporozoite ELISA assay pf-210 [P. falciparum sporozoite rate was calculated as the number of mosquitoes detected with P. falciparum sporozoites out of the total tested by circumsporozoite ELISA [TaqMan PCR, as previously described , identify pf-210 , 27. To y pf-210 , and thete ELISA . The bitThe mosquito counts were entered in Excel sheets and exported to R and STATA 15  for analysis. Morphological data were used for the analyses of species abundance and distribution. Only data from households sampled at least three times were included in the analyses of the seasonal and spatial abundance of vector species. The species PCR data were used to compare vector species infection rates and their spatial and seasonal occurrence.P. falciparum sporozoite infection rates in Anopheles species were seasonally and spatially compared and predicted by logistic regression analysis. QGIS version 3.10.2 was used to create maps and plot proportions of mosquito counts as well as P. falciparum infection rates.Variations in total female anophelines collected from each site were evaluated separately for each of the two vector species by multilevel mixed-effects negative binomial regression with household as a random covariate. The covariates of fixed effects were season and site of collection. Marginal effects and means of vector counts were predicted for the season and site of collection. The Anopheles funestus s.l. = 5323, An. gambiae s.l. = 249, Anopheles coustani s.l. = 4, and unidentified = 3.A total of 5888 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected indoors from 56 households in 14 villages Fig. A totalAn. funestus s.l. collections and 97 traps recording zero An. gambiae s.l. collections. The maximum count of An. funestus s.l. in a single light trap was 497 from Chisenga Island, and the maximum for An. gambiae s.l. was 30 from Kilwa Island  were dominant over An. gambiae s.l. (n = 238) across all study sites (Table An. funestus s.l. (n = 4090), and Kilwa Island had the highest proportion of An. gambiae s.l. (n = 174).unt n = 540 were dAn. funestus s.l. and 0.499 to 3.083 for An. gambiae s.l. , and those of An. gambiae were so with Kilwa Island . There was a significant reduction in the estimated An. funestus count during rainy seasons 1 and 2, IRR = 0.189, p < 0.001, and IRR = 0.069, p < 0.001, respectively , but the count increased during rainy season 2   successfully amplified 978 (88%) of the specimens processed. DNA from 131 specimens did not amplify.An. funestus s.s. (n = 773) and Anopheles leesoni (n = 10) as members of the An. funestus group. Further mitochondrial DNA analysis of An. funestus s.s. revealed the existence of Clade I (n = 736) and Clade II (n = 37), as previously reported [An. gambiae s.l. PCR analysis of specimens revealed only An. gambiae s.s. (n = 195). Further processing by TaqMan hydrolysis PCR to determine the M-form (Anopheles coluzzii) and S-forms revealed the S-form of An. gambiae s.s. as the only member of the complex collected.Identification of species by PCR showed reported . The An.P. falciparum sporozoite ELISA result on the first run. When the homogenates were heated to remove false positives, 25 still came out positive. The P. falciparum circumsporozoite ELISA showed positive results in An. funestus s.s. Clade I, 18 (n = 736), and An. gambiae, 7 (n = 195). No sporozoites were detected in An. funestus s.s. Clade II (n = 37) or An. leesoni (n = 10).A total of 30 specimens gave a positive P. falciparum infections were found in both primary vectors, An. funestus s.s. and An. gambiae s.s., from Kilwa Island and the mainland. For Isokwe Island and Chisenga Island, only An. funestus s.s. was found infected with P. falciparum. Using the foraging rates based on the count of mosquitoes and household occupants the annual entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were estimated for each collection site. The EIR for Chisenga Island was 91.62 infectious bites per person per year (ib/p/yr), all of which came from An. funestus s.s. Kilwa Island's EIR was 29.77 ib/p/yr, with species contributions of 21.21 ib/p/yr and 8.57 ib/p/yr from An. funestus s.s. and An. gambiae s.s., respectively. Mainland EIR was estimated to be 19.97 ib/p/yr, with An. funestus s.s. contributing 18.12 ib/p/yr and An. gambiae s.s. giving 1.85 ib/p/yr.In the study sites, P. falciparum sporozoites-infected vectors were detected in both dry and rainy seasons . The odds of infection with P. falciparum in vectors were lower on Chisenga Island compared to the mainland . The odds of infection in vectors were higher on Isokwe Island compared to the mainland , and higher on Kilwa Island compared to the mainland .Seasonal and spatial comparisons in on Table  in the tAn. funestus s.s. Clade I infection with P. falciparum sporozoites during the study was 0.042 . The estimated probability of infection in An. gambiae s.s. was 0.020 . Seasonal predicted probabilities of infection with P. falciparum in vectors were: dry season 0.021 , rainy season 1, 0.015 , and rainy season 2, 0.073 .The estimated probability of P. falciparum sporozoites in the two primary vectors of malaria, An. funestus s.s. and An. gambiae s.s., in Nchelenge was determined. There were significant differences in the abundance of An. funestus s.l. on Chisenga Island and of An. gambiae s.l. on Kilwa Island compared to the mainland. The An. funestus s.l. was more abundant during the dry season, and the An. gambiae was abundant during the rainy season. Predicted probabilities for P. falciparum infection were significant for both An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s., with An. funestus s.s. showing a slight edge over An. gambiae s.s. When the two vectors were considered together, the predicted probability of a malaria vector for infection with P. falciparum during both the dry and rainy seasons was significant. The estimated annual entomological inoculation rate, which is a measure of human exposure to the risk of malaria transmission, was highest on Chisenga Island with 91.62 ib/p/yr, followed by Kilwa Island with 29.77 ib/p/y, and lastly Mainland with 19.97 ib/p/yr.This study determined the spatial and seasonal abundances of the two primary vectors of malaria in Nchelenge, including islands. The infection with Anopheles funestus s.l. dominated and was more abundant during the dry season, in agreement with previous findings [An. funestus s.l. compared to either Kilwa Island or the mainland. The highest counts of An. gambiae s.l. were recorded from Kilwa Island. These findings seem to reflect local differences in the ecologies of these different study sites, which may be important for targeting control interventions [These results show a dynamic entomological picture driving malaria transmission in the district. The results obtained here both confirmed what was already known about Nchelenge and provided new insights about the malaria vectors on the islands. At the time of this study, the only form of vector control for the islands was net distribution. findings , 12. Thiventions , 31.The findings of this study are in support of prior studies that assessed household risk factors for mosquito abundance on the mainland , 12. MosP. falciparum sporozoites. Anopheles funestus s.s. contributed to transmission at all study sites during the dry season and on Chisenga Island during the rainy season. In contrast, An. gambiae appeared to drive transmissions during the rainy season on Kilwa Island and the mainland. The mainland and Kilwa Island were the only sites where both vector species were found infected with P. falciparum. Despite their relatively low numbers, An. gambiae had comparable rates of P. falciparum sporozoite infections with the more abundant An. funestus s.s. on both Kilwa Island and the mainland. This demonstrated that An. gambiae made substantial contribution to malaria transmission in Nchelenge, a fact that needs to be considered when designing and implementing vector control interventions. This study found no P. falciparum-infected Clade II An. funestus s.s. This was in contrast with the prior study by Choi et al. [The parasite sporozoite rates observed suggested variations in spatial intensity but a sustained, perennial risk of vectors infected with i et al.  on the mAn. funestus s.s. and An. gambiae s.s. The EIR is an important indicator of the intensity of malaria transmission in an area. A reduction in EIR is one of the indices used to measure the impact of vector control activity [Two previous studies, one intensive and another extensive, both conducted in 2012 and 2013, made comparable estimates of the EIRs for the Nchelenge mainland with different calculations of the human biting rate , 12. Theactivity , 37. Thiactivity , 39. TheTwelve months of concomitant malaria incidence data were obtained from health centres (HCs) servicing the three individual collection study sites. According to these data, malaria incidence was highest on Kilwa Island HC, then on the mainland Nchelenge HC, and lowest on Chisenga Island HC. In contrast, Chisenga Island had the highest estimated EIR, followed by Kilwa Island, and then the mainland. In an area with high vector counts, the discrepancy between estimated EIR and reported malaria cases may be due to the unreported cases that get treated at home within communities. No prevalence studies were conducted in the present study, nor had they been conducted before on the islands. For the islands in Nchelenge, local factors including ecology, demographics, malaria control use, and mosquito bionomics would need to be considered in the estimation and interpretation of the EIR. Monitoring how EIRs would be affected would be important in the evaluation of the scale-up of the malaria control package on the islands of Nchelenge.An. funestus s.s., and a relatively low abundance of An. gambiae, including island sites for the first time. In sites and periods where both vector species were involved in malaria transmission, sporozoite infection rates were comparable, thereby adding to a higher risk for malaria transmission. The combination of IRS and LLINs on the mainland might have a very minimal impact on malaria transmission. Sustained vector control at all the sites should be emphasised with expanded coverage of intervention on the islands. Non-chemical mosquito bite control and prevention options should be considered for Nchelenge. Continued research on the vectors, the parasites, and the human host at different sites is required to fully understand the burden and effectively target control in different areas of Nchelenge.Consistent with prior studies in Nchelenge District, this study reports a high abundance of the primary vector,"}
+{"text": "Xylella fastidiosa , the grapevine Pierce\u2019s disease agent, is an American native bacterium, considered among the more dangerous invasive pathogens for grape, olive and stone fruit trees in Europe and Asia. Xylella fastidiosa is vectorized by sapfeeding insects, such as the native Eurasian spittlebugs Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris. Knowledge of the distribution and habitat preferences of X. fastidiosa vectors and other potential vectors is an essential element of contingency plans against future X. fastidiosa invasions. Our work presents the results of extensive sampling of P. spumarius, N. campestris, N. lienatus and Lepyronia coleoptrata in the Autonomous Community of Murcia (SE Spain) in 2020. We performed habitat suitability models of these species using bioclimatic, landscape and topographical variables. Distributions of P. spumarius, N. campestris and N. lineatus in the Murcia region are mainly driven by bioclimatic and landscape composition variables. The more suitable habitats are in the coldest and wettest areas with a high proportion of forests, possibly related to the summer migratory movements. Instead, all three species are absent from large areas of the region, including the southern third, where models predict no suitability. The results could be a useful tool for contingency planning against a possible X. fastidiosa invasion. Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris are the main vectors of the invasive bacteria Xylella fastidiosa and key threats to European plant health. Previous studies of the potential distribution of P. spumarius reveal that climatic factors are the main drivers of its distribution on the Mediterranean Basin scale. Other local studies reveal that the landscape could also have a role in the distribution of both species of P. spumarius and N. campestris. Our work is aimed at understanding the role and importance of bioclimatic and landscape environmental factors in the distributions of the vector and potential vector species P. spumarius, N. campestris, N. lineatus and L. coleoptrata on a regional scale across the Autonomous Community of Murcia (SE Spain), a region with relevant environmental gradients of thermality and crop intensity. We used sweeping nets for sampling 100 points during eight months in 2020. Using bioclimatic landscape composition and topographical variables, we carried out habitat suitability models for each species using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). Distribution results for P. spumarius, N. campestris and N. lineatus indicate a gradient in habitat suitability, with the optimum in the coldest and wettest areas in landscapes with a high proportion of forest. All three species are absent from the southern third of the study region, the hottest, driest and most intensively cultivated area. These results are useful and should be considered in contingency plans against possible invasions of X. fastidiosa in Mediterranean regions. Xylella fastidiosa (Wells), puts representatives of this suborder in a category of important crop pests worldwide. Three species of Aphrophoridae are recognized vectors of X. fastidiosa in Europe: Philaenus spumarius  [Neophilaenus campestris  and P. italosignus  [Neophilaenus species, Lepyronia coleoptrata  or Cicadella viridis , have been confirmed as vectors in Europe [The spittlebug includes a group of sapfeeding species of the suborder Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera), composed of five families: Aphrophoridae, Cercopidae, Clastopteridae, Epipygidae and Machaerotidae, whereby in the nymphal stage they produce a protective foam cover, like saliva. Their ability to act as a vector of viruses, phytoplasmas and bacteria, such as the invasive pathogen s, 1758) , Neophile, 2000) . No othen Europe .Xilella fastidiosa is the most important pathogen for olive and stone fruit crops in Europe and Asia [X. fastidiosa has been detected in most parts of all of the Balearic Islands (except Formentera), infesting more than 30 vegetal species. In 2017, almond trees infected with the bacterium were detected in mainland Spain, in Alicante province (Eastern Iberian Peninsula). This outbreak currently covers an area of 4.611 ha, infecting 21 vegetal species [and Asia . The bacand Asia , Spain : from abiotic (pluviometry and temperature) to biotic factors (abundance of the host plant Cistus monspeliensis). The way that the climatic drivers determine the distribution of d et al. , predictd et al.  and Lagod et al.  indicatea et al.  concludeo et al.  reporteds et al.  concludeP. spumarius and N. campestris, and other putative vectors such as N. lineatus and L. coleoptrata, on a regional scale. Our results could be a useful tool for focusing regional management strategy against the future invasion of X. fastidiosa in southeastern Spain areas with a high vector presence, instead of areas where they are absent.Our work is aimed at understanding which environmental factors on the regional scale, mainly among bioclimatic and landscape factors, drive the habitat suitability and distribution of the vector species 2 of the Autonomous Community of Murcia. This area is located in a dry Mediterranean climate in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula  to select 100 random points located in the natural\u2013tree crop interface along the study area. The random procedure for the selection of the points was performed using the vectorial basic functions of QGIS [To survey the complete study area and cover the whole flight period of the species, we designed a network of 100 random sampling points. We used vector layers of tree crops and natural or semi-natural vegetation of the Murcia region . The procedure was modified after Morente et al. . We applWe used Raster, maptools and ggplot2 ,19,20 inhttps://www.worldclim.org/, accessed on 1 November 2022). Other bioclimatic datasets such as Chelsa  were previously tried and the preliminary results seemed redundant with the WorlClim results; consequently, only the WorldClim dataset was used in this work. Raw vector layers of crops, vegetal formations and geoseries were obtained from https://www.miteco.gob.es/ (accessed on 1 November 2022) and processed using QGIS to obtain raster maps of densities of different environmental units. A digital terrain model (DTM) was downloaded from http://centrodedescargas.cnig.es/, accessed on 1 November 2022, for the calculation of slope and ruggedness index using QGIS. All raster maps were calculated to a detail of ~1 km2 (30 arc s). We used three kinds of spatial data: bioclimatic, landscape and topographical, proportion surfaces of tree crops and natural or semi-natural vegetation, presence vegetation geoseries and topography . BioclimCollinearity between variables was avoided using cluster analysis included in the Raster package  in R 2121. Highldismo and ENMeval packages in R [Distribution models of species were created using the ges in R ,23, whicges in R ,27,28,29ges in R ,25). We ges in R ,26) to sges in R . Five reges in R .Additionally, all of the models were post-evaluated using the dataset \u201cPres-Abs-Spain1\u201d , a binarP. spumarius (7.76%), 338 N. campestris (3.93%), 530 N. lineatus (6.17%) and 216 L. coleoptrata (2.51%) (P. spumarius (in 29 points), 0.44% to 48.3% for N. campestris (in 35 points), 0.3% to 66.7% for N. lineatus (in 19 points) and 0.64% to 31.9% for L. coleoptrata (in 4 points).We collected 8581 specimens of Fulguromorpha and Cicadomorpha, and of which, 20.37% corresponds to vector or potential vector species, that is, 666 specimens of  (2.51%) . ConsideX. fastidiosa vectors, P. spumarius and N. campestris were collected during almost the entire sampling time, from spring to late autumn. It is remarkable to see the lack of captures of both species around mid-summer. The populations of P. spumarius show that a clear peak of collections was recorded in mid-June. These capture levels decline from the mid\u2013end of October to mid-December. Instead, N. campestris shows two clear peaks of captures, with the first in late spring and the second in mid\u2013late autumn, while during summer and early fall, their populations remain, with a few individuals in the sampled areas.The temporal evolution of catches of these species are shown in N. lineatus and L. coleoptrata show different capture patterns. Unlike the vector species, N. lineatus was collected in greater numbers from mid-summer to early autumn, with a clear peak in late August. For the rest of the sample period, it was collected in a low number of specimens but somewhat in a greater quantity than its congeneric N. campestris. However, L. coleoptrata was captured in smaller numbers, mainly from mid-June to mid-July and in mid-September. Null or very few insects were collected from this period.However, the potential vectors L. coleoptrata, which was exclusively restricted to the northwestern area. The vector species P. spumarius and N. campestris show similar distributions, although with some differences  provides the main contribution (12%). The response curve obtained for this variable indicates that S. spumarius is rare in landscapes without a forest and more common when the forest proportion increases , explains the 99.5%  less than 15 \u00b0C, mean diurnal range of temperatures more than 13 \u00b0C, null presence of irrigated stone fruit crops and high density of forests.The best model for he 99.5% . The resN. lineatus is explained by a model incorporating only five variables  to very scarce in the marginal distribution sites . These values are lower for P. spumarius but higher for N. campestris than those reported by Bodino et al. [P. spumarius and 20.6% of N. campestris for populations in Apulia  and 73.8% and 14.7% for both species, respectively, in Liguria .All four species are relatively common in northern and northwestern areas and turn rare to absent toward the southern study area. Considering all of the capture data from all of the samples, the number of individuals of these four species is close to a quarter of the total number of captures. The abundance of the vectors o et al. . These aP. spumarius specimens in California vineyards , with a sampling effort of 75 sweeps/plot, i.e., 0.228 insects per sweep. This value is close to our maximum mean yield of 0.247 P. spumarius/sweeps per plot (49.5 specimens/200 sweeps per plot). Considering that P. spumarius is invasive in North America [P. spumarius in California vineyards as in southeastern Spain cannot be denied.The progressive rarefication of these species toward southeastern areas could be because this geographical zone constitutes the end of the distribution of the four species. Beal et al.  reported America , possibl America ,34, it iP. spumarius, N. campestris and L. coleoptrata in late spring and autumn, with a shortage in summer. Tsagkarakis et al. [P. spumarius in Greece. Morente et al. [All of the species considered in our work are univoltine, although the results of our captures seem to be the opposite due to the two adult capture peaks in s et al.  and Dross et al.  obtainede et al.  do not fe et al. ,37. Our Neophilaenus campestris has the same pattern of summer migration behavior as P. spumarius, as Bodino et al. [N. lineatus, which shows a clear peak in mid-summer, evidencing that the species remains in the agro\u2013natural interface during the summer dryness. Unlike congeneric species, this behavior may be related to life strategies to reduce interspecific competition, an issue that must be resolved in further work.o et al.  reportedo et al.  corroborP. spumarius and N. campestris overlap, and both species are absent from the southern third of the study area. The occurrence pattern of N. lineatus seems to be more restricted. Both species were captured in two separate areas, in the northwestern and northeastern parts of the studied region. The most restricted distribution corresponds to L. coleoptrata, captured only in four points located in the northwestern end of the region. So, it is very plausible that the distribution limits of these four species cross the southeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula.The hypothesis of distribution limit is also sustained by the results of the spatial distribution of captures, showing wide areas where the four species are absent. The main parts of the distributions of P. spumarius, N. campestris and N. lineatus are explained by the MaxEnt models, but for L. coleoptrata, any model explains its distribution because of the low number of occurrence points. The distribution of P. spumarius is driven mainly by bioclimatic and landscape composition variables. Thus, the maximal habitat suitability is located in the coldest sites, the wettest sites in summer and landscapes with a high proportion of forest areas. So, the model explains the null suitability of this species in the warmest and driest areas, landscapes without a forest and areas with a relatively high proportion of citric crops. The model explains the absence of P. spumarius in wide areas of the studied territory, i.e., in transformed landscapes due to intensive crops. Physiological limitations of P. spumarius related to temperature were revised by Cornara et al. [P. spumarius. Nevertheless, the authors remark that additional factors such as landscape structure, intensive crops and human disturbances must be important in their distribution. Our results indicate that the species are absent in the warmest and driest areas without forests, where intensive crops are established. Nevertheless, islands of favorable conditions  allow for the presence of this species. Following our data, in landscapes with traditional or non-intensive crops, in a forest mosaic matrix, where the summer dryness permits the maintenance of vegetal resource diversity, P. spumarius finds its maximal habitat suitability. The relation between ecosystem diversity and summer migrations of this species should be investigated in further research.The regional distributions of a et al. , reportia et al. . Obviousa et al.  refer toN. campestris incorporates 11 variables, although it is mainly explained by a single climatic variable: precipitation variability. The other ten variables only contribute residually to the explanation. Neophilaenus campestris has narrow preferences for areas with low precipitation variability in the study area. Then, N. campestris evidences low specialization for its habitat, only requiring landscapes with enough precipitation stability, possibly related to the maintenance of vegetation refuges for assuring migration during the summer.The distribution model of N. lineatus describes preferences for landscapes in the cold mesomediterranean domain, with relatively high precipitations in summer, in a mosaic with a high proportion of bushes, and with relatively low variation in annual precipitations. However, this description of the landscape is not different from that of the previous species (P. spumarius and N. campestris) and could not be used to explain why N. lineatus does not migrate outside of the cropland field borders during the summer, as our data show. On the other hand, unlike both former species, the model of N. lineatus does not show rapid changes, possibly evidencing a greater eurioic strategy. This species has usually been captured near small permanently wet environments, such as irrigation ditch losses or small phreatic waterlogging, that maintain small patches of permanent vegetation. Possibly, the fine distribution of this species is not dependent on the regional climate but on the presence of habitats with permanent plant resources, which act on a more detailed scale than that of the landscape.The model of P. spumarius in southeastern Spain. In fact, Godefroid and Duran [P. spumarius and N. campestris presence in southwestern Spain. The mesoscale of landscape variables is possibly more suitable for understanding the distribution on a regional scale. Our models evidence a north\u2013south gradient, mainly driven by the temperature, quantity and stability of precipitation and the proportion of forests, with high to zero habitat suitability, compatible with a distribution limit for P. spumarius, N. campestris and N. lineatus throughout the study area. Thus, approximately, the southern third of the region could be considered to have an absence of three species. These results constitute a useful tool and should be considered in contingency plans, given the possibility of the invasion of X. fastidiosa in southeastern Spain and other semi-arid areas, allowing one to focus on areas where the vector species are present.Incorporating landscape factors improves the accuracy of the previous model proposed by Godefroid et al.  for P. snd Duran  proposed"}
+{"text": "Ectoparasitic entomoses cause serious economic losses to small-scale farmers. Parasites have both direct and indirect impacts on hosts. Domestic goats are a common target of infestation with ectoparasitic insects. This study aimed to identify the species of ectoparasitic insects in domestic goats in Bulgaria.The study was performed in 34 farms from 29 settlements in 16 regions of Bulgaria. A total of 4599 goats from eight breeds, naturally infested with ectoparasitic insects were included in the study. The goats were inspected with a magnifying glass for the presence of skin changes , eggs and adult ectoparasites. The detected insects were collected individually with tweezers and preserved in containers with 70% ethanol. Over the study period, 5,651 insects were collected; their species, sex, and developmental stage were identified by their morphological features and biometric measurements.Linognathus stenopsis Burmeister, 1838; Linognathus africanus Kellog and Paine, 1911; Bovicola caprae Gurlt, 1843; Pulex irritans Linnaeus, 1758; Hippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758; and Lipoptena cervi Linnaeus, 1758. Linognathus stenopsis were the most prevalent, followed by B. caprae and P. irritans. In detected lice populations, female insects were more numerous; female: male ratios ranged from 2.2 to 7.2 and imagines prevailed over the nymphs. In fleas, male imagines were more numerous than females (1:0.8).Six species from 5 genera were detected: L. stenopsis, L. africanus, B. caprae, and P. irritans were encountered in more than 40% of surveyed farms, situated in 68.75% of regions in Bulgaria. The most intense infestation was by species from the Linognathus genus (907 insects), whereas the highest extensity of infestation was registered for P. irritans (32.3%). This study detected P. irritans as the only flea species.The study demonstrated that the species  Ectoparasitic entomoses cause serious economic losses to small-scale farmers. Parasites have both direct and indirect impacts on hosts. The direct effects are due to blood loss, skin inflammation and irritation, as well as toxic effects and allergic response, whereas the indirect impact comprises anxiety, disturbed feeding and rest, self-mutilation of pruritic animals . DomestiLinognathus and Bovicola  [Linognathus species Linognathus stenopsis Burmeister, 1838 and Linognathus africanus Kellog and Paine, 1911 are specific for domestic goats. Three Bovicola species are also species-specific: Bovicola caprae in goats, Ballota limbata, and B. crassipest in Angora goats. Touleshkov [L. stenopsis and B. caprae. The following fleas from order Siphonaptera were reported to infest goats: Ctenocephalides canis Curtis, 1826 [Pulex irritans Linnaeus, 1758 [Ctenocephalides felis Bouche, 1835 [Hippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758, Lipoptena cervi Linnaeus, 1758 and Melophagus ovinus Linnaeus, 1857.Phthirapterosis in goats is mainly caused by species from the genera malinia) . The Linuleshkov  reportedis, 1826 , Pulex ihe, 1835 , specieset al. [B. caprae and L. africanus was similar with respect to male to female insect ratio . The analysis of age structure of fleas is difficult due to the free living stages , and deposition of eggs not only on the host but in the environment as well [Data about the population structure of lice-infesting goats are scarce. According to Santos et al. , the sex as well .B. caprae, 3 \u2013 only with L. stenopsis, and mixed infestation with both species was detected in 22 farms.The extensity of infestation (EI) measured in percentage gives information on the spread of the parasite amongst the examined population of animals, indicating the proportion of infested animals of all investigated subjects. The high EI of Phthiraptera and Siphonaptera infestation suggests that they are a serious concern for goat farms , 14. In et al. [Damalinia limbata of 295 in one-week-old goat kids that increased to 3,392 a month later. The same authors reported II with L. africanus exceeding 12,000 insects in one-month-old goat kids. According to Fomicheva [B. caprae ranged from 189 to 296. The extreme motility of fleas makes the determination of II very difficult, which is probably the cause of the lack of literature data. According to Christodoulopoulos and Theodoropoulos [et al. [P. irritans in domestic goats and goat kids in Greece was 7\u201310 insects in adult goats and 10\u201315 insects in goat kids.The intensity of infestation (II) is the number of parasitic individuals of a certain species (determined directly or indirectly) found on a sole host . In highet al.  found a omicheva , the mea [et al. , DI withSo far, such a large-scale study in our country has not been conducted. The obtained results will throw light on the seriousness of the problem with ectoparasitic insects in goats and help to build prevention strategies. That would lead to containment of their spread to minimize losses due to reduced productivity and death of the animals.This study aimed to determine the species composition and spread of ectoparasitic insects in domestic goats in Bulgaria and to present detailed information on their population structure, intensity and EI.Ethical approval was not required for this study; however, each animal was examined without any harm to the animals. Verbal consent was obtained from the owners before the study.The study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2019 in 34 farms from 29 settlements in 16 regions of Bulgaria. It included 4,599 domestic goats belonging to eight breeds naturally infested with ectoparasitic insects. The farms were located in regions with various altitude. The prevailing climate in Bulgaria is transitional, between temperate continental and continental Mediterranean. The average annual temperature in the country is between 10\u00b0C and 14\u00b0C. The average January temperature is \u22121\u00b0C and the average July temperature: 24\u00b0C\u201326\u00b0C. The average annual precipitation is 550\u2013600 mm.The visit to the farms was paid after the owners alarmed for strong anxiety and pruritus in goats. Before the examination, the owner (caretaker) of animals was requested to fill in a questionnaire giving information about the housing technology, veterinary services, parasitological problems, and anti-parasitic treatment of the herd. In all herds, the animals were reared in a mixed farming system: From spring until autumn, the goats grazed on pasture and during the winter, they were housed indoor.One-tenth (10%) of the animals in each herd were examined as per the methods described in previous studies , 19. TheThe identification of ectoparasitic species was done according to Price and Graham ; Wall anL. stenopsis was elongated, whereas in L. africanus it had a prominent ocular bulging. The female gonopods of L. africanus were round and lacked the process described in L. stenopsis. In male L. africanus the gonopods had a pair of terminal tubercules with setae. The male gonopods of B. caprae were cone-shaped, densely covered with short bristles. The species had two terminal flaps close to the genital opening [The shape of the head in  opening .P. irritans was round without ctenidia, but had a distinct ocular seta. The genal margin was supplied with a much reduced spine [The head of ed spine .H. equina was based on a pale median patch on the scutellum extending from the prescutum to the mesoscutum as well as the presence of a pale border on the prescutum and apico-lateral corners of the mesoscutum. Pale medium bands were present on the tibia of the mid and hind pair or legs [The species identification of  or legs .et al. [2 and multiplying the sum of all parasites by 100. The type of infestation was determined in the laboratory according to number, species, sex and developmental stage of insects.The II with lice was determined using the method of Brown et al.  by countet al. [The DI with fleas was established by the system of Christodoulopoulos et al. . The aniThe EI for each parasitic species was determined by examination of goats and detection of the number of infested animals in each herd.\u00ae SPSS\u00ae statistics 26.0 software  [The 95% confidence intervals for numbers and relative proportions of ectoparasitic insect species and for regional distribution of insect species in Bulgaria were calculated by routine methods of descriptive statistics with IBMNY, USA) .L. stenopsis Burmeister, 1838, L. africanus Kellog and Paine, 1911, and B. caprae Gurlt, 1843); Order Siphonaptera with a single species  and Order Diptera with two species .A total of 5651 insects were collected from naturally infested goats and their species, sex, and developmental stage were determined. Six species from three orders were detected: Order Phthiraptera with three species .The number of imagines  exceeded that of nymphal stages, but sex distribution demonstrated that the number of females was greater than that of nymphs, whereas the number of males: Lower than nymphs\u2019 number. Out of the examined 4599 goats from 34 farms, 2608 goats from 29 farms were infested with one of more parasitic insect species.The results about the type of infestation were also interesting. Data from Linognathus species was from 0 to 2930 insects. No infestation was found in 6 regions. The highest mean intensity of infection was recorded in Rousse (2930 insects), Sliven (2460 insects), and Blagoevgrad  is highly indicative for the spread of the parasite; it may be compared to that of the bloodsucking lice from the genus Linognathus (31.7%) (Tables-4 and 6).Data for the infestation with The aim of the present study was to identify the species of ectoparasitic insects on domestic goats and the population structure, intensity and EI with found species. Its results would facilitate the diagnosis, prognosis of future economic losses and implementation of timely measures for control of these entomoses.L. stenopsis, L. africanus, and B. caprae are globally spread [P. irritans in countries with moderate climate [P. irritans as the only representative of all flea species. Its spread, however, was highly variable from a regional point of view. This may be explained by the fact that the temporary parasitism by fleas makes them strongly dependent on abiotic environmental conditions. Hippobosca equina is not a highly host-specific parasite encountered in Europe and Bulgaria [The lice species y spread . Our stu climate . DetaileBulgaria , so its et al. [et al. [B. caprae imagines than that of males. A similar sex ratio was observed for representatives of the family Linognathidae. It was 1:3.5 for L. stenopsis with adult: numph (A: N) ratio of 1:0.45. In sheep from India, Rashmi and Saxena [L. ovillus e 1:2, with A: N ratio of 1:2.3. For L. pedalis, M: F was 1:1.5, and A:N \u2212 1:1.2. These authors affirmed that in this species, female insects were more abundant than males, in agreement with our results. Our survey showed a lower number of nymphs versus imagines, contrary to other published studies. This discrepancy was probably due to the different study seasons. Data on sex-related structure of P. irritans population showed predominance of male insects over females (1:0.8), whereas in goats, Dipeolul and Ayoade [C. felis strongylus was mainly with female insects (52:25). The possible reason for this finding is the temporary parasitism of these insects. Out of the six ectoparasitic species detected on goats in the country, only fleas exhibited a slight predominance of the number of males over that of females, probably because a large part of adult insects are in the environment and not on the host. In all other insects, the females were more numerous.Our results on population structure were confirmed by Kumar et al.  and Sant [et al. , reportid Saxena  found a d Ayoade  reportedLinognathus stenopsis monoinfestation but no B. caprae was detected only at one of the 11 farms. This finding supported an earlier observation of Nedelchev [L. stenopsis and B. caprae infestation in 22 (71.5%) of studied affected herds. This may be explained by the lack of competition among lice-infesting goats, as members of various ecological niches.Data from edelchev , who repLinognathus spp.; 694 B. caprae and 3\u22126 P. irritans), and from other studies [et al. [D. limbata, and 5 months later, the mean II increased from 13 to 3,994. Kusiluka et al. [C. felis unlike adult goats. Climatic conditions and season are other factors that influence infestation intensity. Nedelchev [B. caprae and L. stenopsis in goats had the highest II in January-February and the lowest \u2013 during the summer. Suboptimal rearing conditions during the winter  compromise the immunity of animals and presume a more intensive infestation with parasites, in support of the increased intensity of infection during the winter.The mean II of goats with ectoparasites is a highly variable parameter as seen from both out  was very close . The average EI with fleas was the highest compared to values for the other detected insect species. This may be attributed to the great motility and adaptability of fleas. Their spread is ubiquitous and the absence in 6 of studied regions may be probably due to the small number of examined animals, regular anti-parasitic treatment and manure cleansing, as well as rearing of herds in highland and foothill regions. That is why the greatest EI with fleas was registered in the southernmost from surveyed regions in Bulgaria \u2013 Blagoevgrad. Similar values for EI with fleas on goats were reported by Shuvo et al.  and Abou [et al. .Linognathus stenopsis Burmeister, 1838, L. africanus Kellog and Paine, 1911, B. caprae Gurlt, 1843, P. irritans Linnaeus, 1758, H. equina Linnaeus, 1758 and L. cervi Linnaeus, 1758. This study found the species P. irritans as the only representative of all flea species. The species L. stenopsis, L. africanus, B. caprae, and P. irritans were the most prevalent amount domestic goat herds in the country. They were detected in more than 40% of examined farms located in 68.75% of surveyed regions in Bulgaria.The performed survey on species composition and spread of ectoparasitic insects on domestic goats in Bulgaria detected six insect species infesting domestic goats: NSN: Conceived the work, conducted the study, researched the literature, and drafted and revised the manuscript. The author has read, reviewed, and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "The hijab is a head covering worn by millions of Muslim women throughout the world and has been associated with alopecia.Muslim women in this survey study self-reported alopecia related to the hijab.There are ways of mitigating the risks of alopecia or treating it without compromising religious beliefs or values.3 Regarding hijab use and hair loss, 1 study reported that the top 27 YouTube videos on the topic have garnered over 17 million views.4 The scientific literature on hijab-associated alopecia remains sparse, with an absence of studies examining Muslim women\u2019s perspectives on hair loss.The hijab, a religious head covering worn by millions of Muslim women globally, has been the subject of various discussions, including its potential association with hair loss. Studies have explored the occurrence of traction alopecia associated with religious head coverings.n = 60/104), and nearly 90% had been wearing the hijab for 4 or more years  . Approximately 85%  wore an undercap beneath their hijab. Interestingly, nearly two-thirds of the participants were aware of potential alopecia associated with the hijab . Over one-third reported experiencing hair loss that they attributed to the hijab  and of those, 26 (72.2%) identified the frontal hairline as the location of the hair loss, either exclusively or in combination with other scalp areas.In terms of styling practices, over two-thirds of the participants wore the hijab for at least 7 hours daily  reported that hair is integral to their self-identity. Most women expressed willingness to seek medical care for hair loss . However, 29.8% (n = 30/104) identified barriers to seeking medical care, most frequently a perceived lack of cultural competency and knowledge of hijab-related practices among healthcare providers.Significantly, 71.2% of women , or the use of undercaps with ties to allow for size adjustment. If hair under hijab is styled in a knot or ponytail, varying the location in which it is styled is recommended. Medical therapies can be considered when alopecia is present. Such recommendations can help prevent and treat hair loss without compromising a patient\u2019s religious practices or beliefs.Study limitations include a small sample size, self-reported alopecia, and the absence of a comparison to a group of non-hijab-wearing women. Additionally, the data was exclusively collected from women in mosques, potentially biasing the results as these women may be more religious and discussions on hijab-associated alopecia may be a particularly sensitive topic. Finally, this study on a United States-based population may not be generalizable to the global population. Factors such as differences in hair type, pin placement, and hair-cutting practices may influence results. Despite these limitations, this data provides valuable insights into Muslim women\u2019s perceptions of hair loss, enabling healthcare providers to address their needs more effectively. Controlled prospective studies to objectively evaluate this population are necessary.J.S. is a consultant for Aclaris Therapeutics, Incyte, and Replicel Life Sciences. J.S. and K.L.S. have been investigators for Regen Lab and are investigators for Pfizer. K.L.S. is a consultant for Pfizer and Aquis. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.None.This study was approved by the IRB at New York University Grossman School of Medicine (s23-00087).LA: Participated in research design, performance of the research, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. FB: Participated in research design, performance of the research, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. MGB: Participated in research design, performance of the research, and writing of the manuscript. JS: Participated in research design, performance of the research, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. KLS: Participated in research design, performance of the research, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript.Data is incorporated into the article. Additional data is available on request."}
+{"text": "Coal, natural gas steam turbines, nuclear power plants, bioenergy, solar PV, geothermal, concentrated solar power, hydropower reservoir, hydropower river, ocean, and wind power plants all release greenhouse gases at rates of 1022, 587.5, 110.5, 633, 111, 48, 41, 82.5, 7.5, 12.5, and 41.5 gCO2-e/kWh, respectively. This information is useful to compare the environmental effect of various energy sources and help us to choose cleaner, more sustainable options for the production of electricity. The ongoing advancements and future scope of P.T.Cs could potentially make them more economically viable for domestic, commercial, and industrial applications.Parabolic trough collectors (P.T.Cs) are efficient solar energy harvesting devices utilized in various industries, for instance, space heating, solar cooling, solar drying, pasteurization, sterilization, electricity generation, process heat, solar cooking, and many other applications. However, their usage is limited as the high capital and operating costs; according to the International Renewable Energy Agency's 2020 report, the global weighted average levelized cost of electricity (L.C.O.E) for P.T.Cs was 0.185 $/kWh in 2018. This work analyses the economic, technical, and environmental potential of sustainable energy to increase the use of P.T.Cs in different sectors. To study how self-weight, heat loss, and wind velocity affect P.T.C performance, prototype testing, and wind flow analysis were used. Although P.T.Cs outperform in capacity factor, gross-to-net conversion, and annual energy production, improving their overall efficiency is crucial in reducing total energy production costs. Wire coils, discs, and twisted tape-type inserts can enhance their performance by increasing turbulence and heat transfer area. Improving the system's overall efficiency by enhancing the functioning and operation of individual components will also help decrease total energy production costs. The aim is to minimize the L.C.O.E associated with a P.T.C in order to enhance its economic viability for an extended period. When the nanofluid-oriented P.T.C was included in the conventional P.T.C workings, there was a decrease in the L.C.O.E by 1%. Of all the technologies available, ocean, geothermal, and C.S.P parabolic trough plants generate lower amounts of waste and harmful gases, with average emissions of 2.39%, 2.23%, and 2.16%, respectively, throughout their lifespan. For solar-only and non-hybrid thermal energy storage plants, the range of greenhouse gas emissions is between 20 and 34 kgCO Energy in various forms, such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear energy, hydropower, and others, is required to meet household and industrial needs. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency's 2021 survey, energy consumption has increased over the years and will continue to rise in the coming years. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency 2021, oil consumption in developed and developing countries is at an all-time high. Oil consumption in France, Canada, United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, and Japan was 914.3 million tonnes, 96.4 million tonnes, 94.2 million tonnes, 76.8 million tonnes, 275.2 million tonnes, 113.3 million tonnes, and 248.7 million tonnes, respectively [Similarly, coal consumption in France, Canada, United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, and Japan reached an all-time high of 573.9 million tonnes, 31.0 million tonnes, 12.4 million tonnes, 39.1 million tonnes, 799.7 million tonnes, 185.3 million tonnes, and 112.2 million tonnes, respectively [As a result, more renewable energy sources (E.Ss) must be introduced to increase energy production propensities and reduce production costs to meet the diverse energy needs of households and industries. Thus, in the current and future scenarios, renewable  and non-renewable  energy resources together can meet the increasing energy demand for the growing population and industrial needs. In the last two decades, there has been an increase in the use of renewable energy in power generation to meet energy demands and fill the demand gap created by non-renewable energy resources in prominent applications such as industrial desalination and heating, refrigeration, and electrical power generation . AccordiSolar energy (SE) is one of the most significant contributors in terms of renewable E.Ss for producing energy for use in many applications. Solar-based technologies are quickly becoming one of the most successfully engineered technologies, paving the way for future endeavours . Solar p. It encourages using a renewable E.S and reduces costs related to non-renewable resources. Thus, P.T.C is highly economically viable and reduces the power production cost significantly using SE.Different solar collectors have engaged in thermal use, such as flat plate collectors, evacuated tube collectors, P.T.Cs, point focus collectors, and concentration collectors. For the temperature range of 50\u00b0C\u2013250\u00b0C, the P.T.C is an efficient instrument that extracts SE and utilizes it for different purposes, including electricity generation, process heat, space heating, solar cooling, solar cooking, pasteurization, sterilization, and many more. For example, P.T.C is used in an air heating system to dry marine foodstuff, farm products, and textiles. The solar air heating system is also used in collaboration with heat storage systems such as the thermal energy storage system (T.E.S.S), which stores the energy by changing its phase from solid to liquid. In this process, non-paraffins, hydrated salts, and fatty acids store thermal energy. T.E.S.S helps in reducing electric energy consumption during the peak period by 32% and the off period by 90% . It encoThe collection of SE to convert into a useable medium of energy is performed with the help of developing technology termed Concentrating Solar Power, which involves adjusting the aperture area of the surface responsible for collecting the sun rays. It is then transferred to the area where the heat is transferred to the fluid that helps store the heat in a storage unit and later can be utilized for power generation ,9. P.T.CThe solar collector's performance is the most crucial criterion for power generation plants using SE as their primary source. One of the prominent thoughts works for exploiting SE on a larger scale . VariousC.S.Ps utilize SE in the form of heat energy, designed to minimize the design and implementation expenses while improving the thermal efficiency of solar P.T.Cs . In C.S.P.T.C system is used in desalination projects to obtain low-cost fresh water. The distiller attached to the P.T.C consists of a solar concentrator and absorber cavity that helps absorb solar power in large quantities. The simple thermal insulation and wind protection installed in the cavity absorber help increase freshwater productivity by two folds by efficiently using direction and position during the day. It saves the costs related to non-renewable resources and contributes toward the green and sustainable source of freshwater production .The P.T.C system induced SE for refrigeration and air conditioning by making use of dehumidification properties. The different workings pairs, such as silica gel\u2013water and zeolite\u2013water, carbon\u2013methanol increase the capacity of a solar-driven adsorption system that reduces the temperature and provides a cooling effect without using a heat pipe . P.T.C rP.T.C is also used for industrial purposes such as cooking, sterilization, drying, degreasing, pasteurization, and others to use SE efficiently . The useIonic liquids known as molten salts can also be employed as a heat transfer medium in C.S.P plants. A C.S.P concentrates sunlight through mirrors or lenses onto a receiver containing molten salt, which absorbs the heat and transmits it to a power unit, where it is used to produce electricity. The low-temperature molten salt is again returned to the receiver for further heating . BecauseResearchers have discussed the facts related to the use of P.T.C in existing literature, but more focus should also be given to its economic potential. Therefore, the current review article analyzes the technical, economic, and environmental potential of sustainable energy contribution to reduce the gap in the existing literature. The article also explores the fundamentals of P.T.C, its modeling, and its life cycle assessment (L.C.A) by focusing on its economic aspects and determining its performance and economic potential using different analysis procedures such as optical analysis, heat transfer analysis, and others. The environmental consequences of switching to P.T.C systems are also reviewed.2In early 1983, the P.T.C design was suggested that put forth an ideology that the curved trays as a collector to gain as much energy as possible from the sun's rays. The design of the collector fitted with the reflector surface in a curved shape was inspired by the 1913 model of Frank Schuman's design for irrigation panels in the field . Accordi(\u03c6r) is calculated using the aperture (W), and the focal distance (f) is represented with the help of equation The rim angle W) and Length (L) as the total collector aperture (Aa) [Equation ure (Aa) .(3)Aa=W\u00b7Aro) is represented through equation The outer area of the tube and the absorber area (C) as the ratio of collector aperture (Aa) to absorber area (Aro) [Equation ea (Aro) .(5)C=AaAIdentifying the potential factors responsible for enhancing the performance of the P.T.Cs and evaluating performance efficiency in P.T.C power plants requires meticulous knowledge of the factors affecting the optical performance of solar power plants. The radiant energy from the sun is absorbed by a P.T.C, which then transforms it into useable thermal energy in the heat transfer fluid (H.T.F) that flows through the collector's receiving tube. The energy efficiency of H.T.F can be determined after evaluating the thermophysical properties of the fluid. The operating temperature of P.T.C is about 400\u00b0C, and the most used H.T.F is synthetic oil . Parabol3P.T.C system is increasingly used in solar power plants because of their simple design and cost-effective structure. However, the cost of the P.T.C system increases if there is an error (random and non-random) in the solar extraction or heat generation process. Under such conditions, optical analysis, geometrical analysis, CFD analysis, etc., helps identify the errors and eliminate them by estimating the energy ratio between the receiver and incident ray to the collector aperture.3.1The design and development of solar P.T.C are performed based on the requirement and type of application ,35. Henc3.1.1The basic structure of the solar P.T.C is shown in (i)Ratio of geometric concentration(ii)Acceptance angle(iii)Rim angleThe basic design of the P.T.C is shown in The geometric concentration ratio is a prominent parameter among acceptance and rim angle. The concentration ratio constitutes the fraction of the collector aperture region to the area of the receiver. The concentration ratio is defined as shown in equation \u03b8s is defined as the half-angle subtended by the sun; \u03b8s\u00a0=\u00a00.27.The geometrical parameters of the solar P.T.C are rim angle, the width of the aperture, focal length, and trough length. Various research has been conducted to optimize the solar P.T.C parameters to make them adaptable for a wide range of applications and different geographical environments. If the rim angle is very less, the aperture area of the P.T.C gets extended, resulting in a higher focal length . This in3.2The optical analysis determines the system's performance by examining the interaction between the charged particles of matter and light. It helps in ascertaining the absorbance and intensity of the solar wavelengths. By conducting an optical analysis of P.T.C, the ratio of energy absorbed by the received against each incident ray collected on the aperture is determined. As a result, the efficiency of the P.T.C system is determined by the errors associated with P.T.C surfaces. For example, random errors occur because of changes in the width of sun rays, slope errors, and wind loading, while non-random errors occur because of misalignment of angle, inappropriate reflector profile, and others. These errors impact the performance and economic viability of P.T.C.\u03b7o and includes the functioning of other elements such as glass envelope (\u03c4), absorber surface (\u03b1), and mirror, and H.C.E interaction (\u03b3) is used to obtain the energy incident levels. It is expressed by equation Guven et al.  analyzedThe implications related to incidence angle are determined with the help of the incidence-angle modifier. It also helps to determine the correlation between the modifier and incidence angle so that variations in optical features can be determined. It is expressed through equation Equation According to Guven et al. , the perAs per 3.2.1P.T.C structure gets distorted under heavy wind load, which will decrease the optical efficiency of the overall system. But nowadays, the glass mirrors of the P.T.Cs are designed to withstand the maximum wind load of up to 37\u00a0m/s . The hea3.2.22, it reduces the refractive index to 1.37. Optical efficiency is defined as the ratio of the total energy absorbed by the absorber tube to the total energy incident on the aperture surface. So, it all depends upon the collector's geometry and the materials' optical properties [100\u00a0=\u00a00.10), and the coating of different materials such as Ni, Ti, Ag, and Cu has a minimum emissivity of around 0.01\u20130.02 (\u03b1\u00a0=\u00a00.71\u20130.80). So, much scope for improvement in the emissivity property of the different materials persists [The reflecting surface of the mirror reflector is coated with silver, followed by copper. Some layers of paint are applied to it to increase the durability of the highly polished mirror surface, which has a reflectivity of around 94.5%. The highly reflective aluminium sheets only have a reflectivity of around 88%. Commercially used mirror reflectors of 4\u00a0mm thickness are AGC solar mirror, RIOGlass, and for 1\u00a0mm, its RONDAGlass . The miroperties . The usepersists .3.3Qu is the useful heat, and Qs is the solar radiation incident on the collector. The Qu can be determined using equation m is the mass flow rate of the fluid, Cp is the specific heat capacity of the fluid, and \u0394T is the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of the collector. The heat absorbed by the H.T.F is estimated by equation Cp is the specific heat capacity of the H.T.F, Tout is the outlet temperature of the H.T.F, and Tin is the inlet temperature of the H.T.F.The thermal efficiency of a P.T.C is a measure of how effectively it converts solar radiation into thermal energy. The thermal efficiency can be calculated using equation The design of the collector, the type and quality of the H.T.F, and the operating conditions/parameters of the system are some additional variables that might impact a P.T.C's thermal efficiency in addition to these calculations. To accurately anticipate the performance of a P.T.C system, a thorough thermal study should consider each of these elements.Jeter et al.  analyzedEquation L. It is a simple analysis technique that helps predict the thermal loss coefficient by analyzing multiple numerical iterations. Duffie et al. [Bendt et al.  examinede et al.  analyzede et al. .(15)\u03b7t=\u222bBenoit et al.  examinedThe heat flow within the absorber is determined with the help of forced convection in a single or two-phase manner. Amongst both phases, the single-phase is known as a more efficient method as it does not require a change of H.T.F during the operation.Edenburn et al.  examinedOuagued et al.  analyzedEnciso Contreras et al.  analyzedBy assessing the pressure loss and effective thermal input in solar P.T.Cs, which have a temperature of about 5800\u00a0K, one can ascertain the exergetic performance of the solar P.T.C. These two effects demonstrate the production ability of P.T.Cs in electric power generation. In our situation, we ignore the pressure loss to streamline our calculations and concentrate on the effective thermal input in solar P.T.Cs, which is the primary element affecting the performance and efficiency of P.T.Cs.The formation of entropy is given by equation The absorber tube's exergy rate is determined by using the Petela model, as shown by equation 3.4A computer-based simulation technique called computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to study and resolve issues involving fluid flows, heat transport, and other related processes. It is a potent tool that permits scientists and engineers to research and improve the way fluids behave in a variety of situations, including turbulence, pressure fluctuations, and heat gradients. Numerous industries, including aerospace, automotive, energy, and environmental engineering, heavily rely on CFD .1.Pre-processing: To do this, the geometry must be established, the boundary conditions must be specified, and suitable numerical methods for the simulation must be chosen.2.Solving: The equations describing the behaviour of fluids are numerically solved in this step using a variety of numerical techniques, including finite element analysis, the finite volume method, and the finite difference approach.3.Post-processing: To do this, the simulation results must be analyzed and then visualized using a variety of tools, including graphs, animations, and contour plots.In CFD, mathematical models are employed to represent the behavior of fluids, which are then solved via numerical methods. The basic steps involved in CFD simulations are:According to Al-Ansary et al. , CFD is With the aid of CFD, ANSYS software assists in the analysis of the governing equations about the numerical modeling of P.T.C . When itKumar & Reddy et al.  analyzedMathew et al.  analyzedL. It is a simple analysis technique that helps predict the thermal loss coefficient by analyzing multiple numerical iterations. Thus, by using CFD analysis, the determination of oscillating flow and H.C.E helps enhance the performance of the P.T.C system. Therefore, it can be said that with the help of P.T.C, there is the generation of high energy, a reduction in carbon footprint, efficient use of a renewable source of energy, and a decrease in the use of non-renewable resources, which makes it an economically viable tool.Zhang et al.  analyzed3.5The most recent developments in P.T.C technology are concentrated on enhancing productivity, lowering expenses, and boosting the system's dependability. The technology is projected to see considerable breakthroughs with further research and development in these fields, becoming a more significant part of the renewable energy landscape.3.5.1P.T.C systems that use C.S.P frequently include thermal energy storage (T.E.S). This is so that C.S.P systems, such as parabolic troughs, can produce electricity by turning steam generated by solar heat into electricity through a turbine. However, sunlight is sporadic, and the amount of solar radiation that the parabolic troughs can capture might change depending on things like the time of day and the weather. Therefore, T.E.S is required to guarantee a constant flow of electricity ,87.The P.T.C produces heat during the day. T.E.S devices use this heat to generate electricity during cloudy weather and nighttime. Creating new materials for storage systems and optimizing storage operation procedures are just two recent examples of research aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and affordability of T.E.S .Using novel materials that have a higher heat capacity and can store more heat for longer periods is one way to improve T.E.S capacity. For instance, some researchers have looked into the usage of materials that go through a phase change and absorb and release heat . T.E.S is more effective and affordable, could result from phase-change materials since they have been found to have a larger heat capacity than conventional storage materials like water or molten salt ,90.Optimizing the performance of T.E.S devices involves a different strategy. This may entail adjusting the charging and discharging of the storage system based on the weather and the demand for electricity using sophisticated control systems. For instance, researchers have looked into using machine learning and predictive algorithms to optimize the performance of T.E.S systems based on real-time weather data and electricity demand forecasts . In addiIn general, it is essential to increase the effectiveness and affordability of T.E.S if we want to continue developing and deploying concentrated solar power systems, such as P.T.Cs. It is anticipated that more studies in this field will result in substantial technological breakthroughs, making it a more vital part of the renewable energy landscape.3.5.2Hybrid systems that combine P.T.C with other renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics, wind power, or geothermal energy, are being investigated to maximize energy production and boost system reliability. These hybrid energy systems can aid in addressing some of the problems that come with relying solely on renewable E.Ss, such as intermittent nature and unpredictability in power output .Adding photovoltaic (PV) systems to P.T.C is one method of hybridizing them. PV systems, which can be utilized to supplement the electricity generation of P.T.Cs, produce electricity directly from sunlight using semiconducting materials. This strategy may help to boost the system's overall energy output because PV systems can produce power when there is little sunshine, and the P.T.Cs are less efficient .P.T.Cs and wind power systems working together is another strategy. In times of low sunlight, wind power systems can be utilized to enhance P.T.Cs' ability to produce electricity by collecting the kinetic energy of the wind. This strategy could contribute to increasing the system's overall energy output because wind power systems can provide electricity when P.T.Cs are less efficient owing to weather .Some researchers are also investigating the usage of hybrid systems, which pair P.T.Cs with geothermal energy, in addition to these strategies. When there is little sunshine, geothermal energy systems can be utilized to complement P.T.Cs' ability to produce power by drawing on the heat that is stored in the earth's crust. This strategy can assist in increasing the system's overall energy output because geothermal energy systems can produce electricity when P.T.Cs are less effective owing to environmental factors .Overall, hybrid energy systems incorporating P.T.Cs and other renewable energy technologies have the potential to boost energy output, boost system dependability, and minimize the system's overall environmental effect. Continued study in this field is expected to result in large technological breakthroughs, making it a more significant part of the renewable energy landscape.3.5.3Advanced control systems, including the use of machine learning and predictive algorithms, are being developed to optimize the operation of P.T.Cs. These systems will increase performance and decrease downtime. For P.T.Cs, cutting-edge control methods are being created to boost their effectiveness and dependability. These control systems employ various technologies, like machine learning and predictive algorithms, to enhance the collectors' performance and decrease downtime.Using predictive algorithms to estimate solar radiation and change the orientation of the mirrors accordingly is one method of enhancing the performance of the P.T.C. This could enhance the system's effectiveness and maximize the capture of solar radiation. Additionally, predictive algorithms can be utilized to forecast weather conditions and modify the operation of the collectors, accordingly reducing downtime and enhancing system dependability .Another strategy is to optimize the performance of the collectors using machine learning techniques for previous data. Machine learning algorithms can analyze large volumes of operational data to find trends and improve system performance. For instance, using historical weather and electricity demand data, machine learning algorithms can be utilized to optimize the charging and discharging of T.E.S systems .Along with these strategies, several researchers are also looking into the application of cutting-edge control systems to enhance the upkeep and repair of P.T.Cs. These control systems can monitor and diagnose system issues using sensors and other technologies, and they may then automatically start maintenance or repair procedures as necessary .Overall, in the subject of P.T.C, advanced control systems represent a significant area of study. These technologies have the potential to dramatically increase the technology's efficiency and dependability, lowering costs and enhancing the performance of the renewable energy system as a whole. More studies in this field are anticipated to result in substantial technological breakthroughs, making it a more vital part of the renewable energy landscape.3.5.4To increase P.T.C's effectiveness and lower costs, researchers have been looking at the usage of novel materials in recent years. One approach is to use nanostructured materials, which have unique properties that can enhance the absorption and reflection of sunlight . To boosUtilizing selective coatings on the trough surfaces is an alternative strategy. Selective coatings are made to reflect a small amount of solar light while absorbing a large portion of it. Lowering the amount of solar radiation lost as heat, selective absorption, and reflection can improve the collector's efficiency. It has been demonstrated that some selective coatings can improve the effectiveness of P.T.Cs .Utilizing innovative materials can assist in cutting costs in addition to increasing efficiency. For instance, some researchers have considered using less expensive iron-based alloys for the receiver tubes than those used in commercial systems. Other researchers have considered using lightweight components, including carbon fiber, to lighten and make the construction of the supporting structure of the P.T.C cheap .Several issues need to be resolved, even if the introduction of novel materials holds out a lot of potential for increasing effectiveness and lowering the price of P.T.Cs. For instance, compared to the materials now employed in commercial systems, some of these novel materials might be less enduring or heat resistant. Furthermore, the manufacturing procedures for these novel materials can be more difficult or expensive than those used now.Verma et al.  analyzed(\u03c1nf) can be determined by equation On the other hand, the density of nanofluids (Cnf) can be estimated using equation The specific heat capacity of nanofluids \u03bcnf) can be determined using equation (nf) represents nanofluids, (p) refers to the nanoparticle, (b) is the base fluid, \u03bc is the viscosity, and \u03c6 is the volume fraction of nanoparticles.The viscosity of nanofluids  2020 report, the global weighted average L.C.O.E for P.T.C was 0.185 $/kWh in 2018, which may be greater than the L.C.O.E of some conventional E.Ss like natural gas power plants, the real value of the location and operational circumstances determine the L.C.O.E for P.T.C. The cost of P.T.C technology has, however, significantly decreased because of recent technological breakthroughs and economies of scale .According to Sajed Sadati et al. , the L.CA C.S.P plant's capital expenses were estimated to range from 3000 to 5067 $/kW in 2012. The IEA predicts that the capital cost of a C.S.P plant will be roughly 4200 $/kW in 2014 and 3000 $/kW in 2020. Like this, a 2013 report from the IRENA estimated that installed parabolic trough systems cost between 3400 and 4600 $/kW for load factors of 20%\u201327% and projected a 30%\u201350% drop in capital costs by 2020 as a result of technological advancement and economies of scale brought on by the expanding use of C.S.Ps .The IRENA reports that the total installed C.S.P capacity growth worldwide reached about 5.5\u00a0GW at the end of 2018 (4.3 times what it was in 2010). Similarly, the 0.5\u00a0GW of capacity built in 2018 had a global weighted average L.C.O.E of US$ 0.185/kWh, which is 26% less than in 2017 and 46% less than in 2010. With this decrease in electricity costs (26%) in 2018, C.S.P was placed #1, followed by biofuel (14%), solar PV and onshore wind (13%), hydropower (11%), geothermal energy (1%), and offshore wind (1%) .The L.C.O.E of electricity generated by conventional E.Ss like coal and natural gas is influenced by the plant's location and type. However, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) most recent \u201cWorld Energy Outlook 2021\u2033 report, coal-fired power plants have an average L.C.O.E of around 5 to 7 cents per kWh, and natural gas-fired power plants have an L.C.O.E of roughly 4 to 6 cents per kWh .Therefore, even though the cost of P.T.C technology has been falling in recent years, there is still a potential economic difference between P.T.C and conventional E.Ss. Research and development activities are concentrated on enhancing the effectiveness and dependability of the technology as well as lowering the cost of materials and components to further lower the L.C.O.E of P.T.C.6A life cycle assessment is an approach for determining how a product, process, or service will affect the environment throughout its entire life cycle . In thisIn this direction, using existing literature, a comparative analysis is conducted among various technologies based on various environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas (G.H.G), particulate matter, average primary energy use, and average land use. As shown in According to this analysis, among the various technologies, geothermal, ocean, and C.S.P parabolic trough plants (P.T.C) emit less waste and harmful gases on average of 2.16%, 2.23%, and 2.39%, respectively, over their lifetime. Thus, it demonstrates the P.T.C technique's superiority over other energy generation techniques.2-e/kWh, respectively. This data provides information about the environmental impact of different methods of generating G.H.G. Climate change and global warming are caused by the presence of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to know the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with different methods of generating electricity so that we can make informed decisions about which sources to use. This information can be used to compare the environmental impact of different E.Ss and help us to choose cleaner, more sustainable options for generating electricity.x), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM). The paper points out that solar thermal technologies still have some negative environmental effects, including those related to land use and water use [According to a 2020 IEA report, solar thermal systems like P.T.C generally have fewer life cycle environmental consequences than fossil fuel-based technologies in terms of criterion pollutants, including nitrogen oxides , heat pipes, and reflecting coatings will all increase the performance of P.T.Cs.One of the critical challenges faced by P.T.Cs is the intermittent and unpredictable nature of solar radiation, which can impact the system's ability to generate electricity continuously. T.E.S is an essential component of C.S.P systems, enabling the storage of solar heat during the day and using it to generate electricity during periods of low sunshine. Researchers are exploring the use of novel materials with higher heat capacity, such as phase-change materials, to improve storage capacity and affordability. They are also developing sophisticated control systems that use machine learning and predictive algorithms to optimize the charging and discharging of T.E.S systems based on real-time weather data and electricity demand forecasts.Hybrid systems that combine P.T.Cs with other renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaics, wind power, or geothermal energy are also being investigated to maximize energy production and boost system reliability. For instance, photovoltaic systems can be used to supplement the electricity generation of P.T.Cs, while wind power systems can be utilized to enhance P.T.Cs' ability to produce electricity by collecting the kinetic energy of the wind. Researchers are also exploring the use of cutting-edge control systems to enhance the upkeep and repair of P.T.Cs, including the monitoring and diagnosing of system issues using sensors and other technologies.Another critical area of research is the use of novel materials to improve the effectiveness and affordability of P.T.Cs. Researchers are exploring the use of nanostructured materials, selective coatings, and iron-based alloys to enhance the absorption and reflection of sunlight and reduce costs. They are also investigating the use of lightweight components to make the construction of the supporting structure of P.T.Cs more affordable. However, there are challenges associated with the introduction of novel materials, such as durability, heat resistance, and manufacturing costs. To better understand the P.T.C's commercial viability and long-term durability, more study is required.7.4Understanding the behaviour of P.T.Cs under various operating situations requires thermal analysis. The thermal efficiency of P.T.Cs, which is a measure of how effectively P.T.Cs convert solar radiation into thermal energy, and the various factors that can impact it. One of the main benefits of P.T.Cs is that they are a proven technology with a long operating history, and their performance and reliability have been well-established. They are also a relatively mature technology with a well-established supply chain for components and systems. Additionally, P.T.Cs are a flexible technology that can be used for both electricity generation and process heat applications, making them suitable for a variety of industrial and commercial applications.The thermal analysis of P.T.Cs helps estimate the temperature at the surface level, determine the efficiency of the solar absorber, and evaluate the thermal loss of the H.C.E. Thermal models are developed to determine the temperature profiles and heat flux in thermal analysis. The accurate thermal performance of H.C.E is determined by equation The thermal efficiency of P.T.Cs is affected by several factors, such as the collector's design, the quality and type of the H.T.F, and the system's operating conditions and parameters. There are various techniques and approaches, such as ray tracing and transient modeling, that can be used to analyze the optical and flow features of P.T.Cs and improve their overall efficiency. Further study is required to determine how external elements like wind and dust affect the thermal behaviour of P.T.Cs.7.5The use of P.T.C for solar power generation has significant potential for generating clean energy. However, there are economic factors that can limit its widespread adoption. One of the main drawbacks is the reduction in the performance of P.T.C owing to heat loss at high operating temperatures, which can result in a decrease in power generation, high consumption of resources, and an increase in cost. Additionally, the cost of establishing a solar power plant with the help of P.T.C includes various costs such as initial costs, system costs, land costs, mainland costs, operation and maintenance costs, and loan interest costs, which can be a substantial obstacle, especially in areas with low energy costs or with few renewable energy subsidies.2/year.To increase the economic potential of P.T.C, various tactics can be employed, such as enhancing the technology's efficiency and lowering its prices through technological advancement and economies of scale. Policies like tax breaks, financial aid, and feed-in tariffs can also contribute to increasing the economic attraction of P.T.C technology for users. Studies have shown that P.T.C technology can be economically viable in locations with high DNI levels, which are areas that have more than 1800\u00a0kW\u00a0h/mSeveral studies have been conducted to estimate the economic potential of P.T.Cs, and recent technological breakthroughs and economies of scale have significantly reduced the cost of P.T.C technology. However, research and development activities are concentrated on enhancing the effectiveness and dependability of the technology as well as lowering the cost of materials and components to further lower the L.C.O.E of P.T.C. Therefore, additional research is required to evaluate P.T.Cs' economic and environmental performance in various scenarios and to contrast it with that of other renewable and conventional E.Ss.7.6L.C.A is a crucial technique for assessing the long-term environmental effects of P.T.Cs. The L.C.A of energy generation technologies is essential for understanding their environmental impacts and informing decisions about which sources of energy to use. The manuscript's section on the L.C.A of P.T.C technology compared to other E.Ss provides valuable insights into the environmental advantages of P.T.C technology. The analysis shows that P.T.C technology emits fewer harmful gases and waste over its lifetime compared to other energy generation technologies, including coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants, biofuels, solar PV, hydropower from reservoirs and rivers, ocean, and wind energy.The environmental impact of P.T.C technology can vary depending on several factors, including the location and size of the plant, the materials and components used, and the disposal method for end-of-life components. The study also highlights the environmental impacts of land use and water consumption associated with P.T.C technology, which should be carefully considered in the L.C.A.2, NOx, and PM. However, P.T.C technology still has negative environmental effects, including those related to land use and water use. To evaluate the environmental impact of P.T.Cs in various circumstances and to determine their sustainability throughout the course of their life cycles, more research is still required.Several studies have investigated the environmental impacts of P.T.C technology, including G.H.G emissions, cumulative energy demand, water consumption, and energy payback time. These studies indicate that P.T.C technology has lower G.H.G emissions compared to fossil fuel-based technologies in terms of criterion pollutants, such as SO8Our review identified several critical hints for future steps in the field of P.T.Cs. These include creating more precise and effective CFD models, examining the viability and durability of performance-enhancing approaches from an economic perspective, and examining the impact of ambient variables on the thermal behaviour of P.T.C.Constructing a superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic coat on the P.T.C may be useful in future research, depending on the specific application and desired outcome. A superhydrophilic coating would be highly wettable and would allow for rapid and complete wetting of the P.T.C surface, which could be beneficial for applications that require rapid heat transfer or efficient energy conversion. For example, in some heating or cooling systems, a superhydrophilic coating could enhance heat transfer by promoting better contact between the P.T.C surface and the working fluid. On the other hand, a superhydrophobic coating would repel water and other liquids, making the P.T.C surface highly non-wetting. This could be useful in applications where it is important to keep the P.T.C surface clean and free from contamination, such as in medical or laboratory equipment. Additionally, a superhydrophobic coating could provide protection against corrosion or damage from moisture.The P.T.C's surface area will expand with either superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic coatings, which will enhance the amount of solar radiation the collector can absorb, which could result in higher temperatures and more energy output. The receiver tube, which is typically placed along the focal line of the parabolic mirror, receives more sunlight when it is concentrated in a larger area.9P.T.C extracts SE for industrial and household purposes, such as pasteurization, drying, etc. It is an efficient method of utilizing SE and converting it into thermal energy to perform different functions such as pressing, degreasing (textile industry), and many more. However, the major issue with the use of the P.T.C is its limited use of SE, which is not a continuous E.S. Therefore, optical and thermal analysis modifications were introduced in the conventional P.T.C to increase its productivity and performance. It was found that the performance of enhancement techniques of P.T.Cs, such as novel designs, passive heat transfer improvement, and nanoparticle-laden fluid flow. It was also analyzed that the thermal insulation and wind protection installed in the cavity absorber helped increase the freshwater productivity levels by two folds by efficiently using direction and position during the day. It saved the costs of non-renewable resources, contributed toward green, and generated a sustainable E.S. Therefore, it can be said that P.T.C is an efficient system that helps in generating heat and power by using simple techniques and affordable equipment, which makes it economically viable.P.T.C is very useful in applications where energy is required in the form of heat. When it comes to electrical generation, it is currently not a financially viable option. Further research is needed to improve the efficiency of the P.T.C by implementing or modifying existing techniques to compete with other sources and make P.T.C an economically competitive option. Aside from P.T.C, improving the performance of the system's components will aid in further improving overall efficiency and environmental performance, lowering energy production costs.2-e/kWh, respectively. This information can be used to compare the environmental impact of different E.Ss and help us to choose cleaner, more sustainable options for generating electricity.A P.T.C's levelized cost of electricity (L.C.O.E) should be as low as possible to increase its long-term economic viability. The L.C.O.E was reduced by 1% when the nanofluid-oriented P.T.C was incorporated into the standard P.T.C workings. The emitted greenhouse gases for coal, natural gas steam turbine, nuclear power plants, bioenergy, solar PV, concentrated solar power, geothermal, hydropower reservoir, hydropower river, ocean, and wind are 1022, 587.5, 110.5, 633, 111, 48, 41, 82.5, 7.5, 12.5, and 41.5 gCOFurthermore, more research is needed to address issues in energy storage technology, as SE does not last all day. The high initial manufacturing cost of solar thermal systems must also be addressed.All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article.Data will be made available on request.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."}
+{"text": "Although several studies have estimated gestational syphilis (GS) incidence in several countries, underreporting correction is rarely considered. This study aimed to estimate the level of under-registration and correct the GS incidence rates in the 557 Brazilian microregions.Brazilian GS notifications between 2007 and 2018 were obtained from the SINAN-Syphilis system. A cluster analysis was performed to group microregions according to the quality of GS notification. A Bayesian hierarchical Poisson regression model was applied to estimate the reporting probabilities among the clusters and to correct the associated incidence rates.We estimate that 45,196  GS cases were underreported in Brazil from 2007 to 2018, representing a coverage of 87.12%  of registered cases, where HPD stands for the Bayesian highest posterior density credible interval. Underreporting levels differ across the country, with microregions in North and Northeast regions presenting the highest percentage of missed cases. After underreporting correction, Brazil\u2019s estimated GS incidence rate increased from 8.74 to 10.02 per 1000 live births in the same period.Our findings highlight disparities in the registration level and incidence rate of GS in Brazil, reflecting regional heterogeneity in the quality of syphilis surveillance, access to prenatal care, and childbirth assistance services. This study provides robust evidence to enhance national surveillance systems, guide specific policies for GS detection disease control, and potentially mitigate the harmful consequences of mother-to-child transmission. The methodology might be applied in other regions to correct disease underreporting.10.13039/501100003593National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and 10.13039/100010269Wellcome Trust. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that syphilis infection affects one million pregnancies yearly worldwide, with important consequences for pregnant women and newborns. Untreated gestational syphilis (GS) has been linked to a significantly higher incidence of stillbirth, neonatal death, prematurity, and low birth weight. Notifying GS is compulsory for all WHO member countries; it is mandatory to communicate all cases to health authorities and investigate them. However, the lack of quality in the case detection and data recording processes may contribute to under-registration of GS cases on the health information systems, which underestimates the real magnitude of the disease, especially in middle-income countries such as Brazil.We searched PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and LILACS using the search strategy (\u201cunderreporting of syphilis\u201d OR \u201csyphilis underreporting\u201d OR \u201cunder-registration of syphilis\u201d OR \u201cunder-registration\u201d) AND (\u201cPregnant women\u201d) AND (Brazil) seeking for studies on under-registration of GS across Brazil until July 2023. We supplemented the literature review with internet searches (Google scholar and Semantic scholar), analysis of references in identified papers, and the authors\u2019 own knowledge. We found 6 studies focusing on small to medium-sized Brazilian cities, which indicated: 13.74% of GS under-registration between 2010 and 2013 in the west of S\u00e3o Paulo State; 6.5% of GS notification in Montes Claros city, Minas Gerais State, between 2007 and 2013; 50% more cases of congenital syphilis than GS cases from 2009 to 2015 in Londrina, Paran\u00e1 State; and 46% of GS underreporting in a special indigenous sanitary district in Mato Grosso State. None of these studies covered the whole country and they do not considered factors associated with underreported cases of GS or even provided corrected estimation of GS incidence. Based on such literature review, the modeling of syphilis under-registration is also rare worldwide since none study was found on this regard.This is the first study to map the quality of GS notifications at the national, regional, and small area levels in a large country such as Brazil, emphasizing that GS detection and incidence are related to socio-economic conditions and access to health services such as deprivation level and adequate prenatal care. States and microregions in the Brazilian North and Northeast regions presented the highest GS underreporting cases. Health managers and policymakers could easily use our methodology to amplify national syphilis surveillance and estimate the real incidence of GS. Also, the statistical modeling strategy may be used as a reference for application in other middle-income countries.Taken together, modeling results from this national-level study on GS burden in Brazil, along with findings from other local surveys, suggest that GS remains a significant public health problem, highlighting the need for improved surveillance. Our research reveals important differences in underreporting of GS cases across Brazilian regions, as well as the association of syphilis surveillance quality with socioeconomic conditions and access to healthcare. This underscores the urgent need to enhance syphilis surveillance and case notification within the healthcare system, particularly in the country's poorest region. Furthermore, correcting GS incidence at different area levels could provide a better understanding of the epidemiological profile and help estimate the social, economic, and health burdens associated with the disease nationwide. Additionally, our findings offer valuable insights for policymakers to enhance planning and take action to reduce the burden of GS, thereby contributing to the reduction of mother-to-child transmission and adverse effects during childbirth.Treponema pallidum, first identified in 1905.Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by ,Data from 2016 shows that over 900,000 pregnant women were diagnosed with syphilis worldwide, resulting in more than 350,000 adverse outcomes, from which over 200,000 were stillbirths or neonatal deaths.Despite the mandatory registration of gestational syphilis and the notable increase in notifications in recent years, underreporting GS cases is still a problem in Brazil.15Accurate reporting of GS cases allows policymakers to design control policies and helps to reduce its consequences for pregnant individuals and their offspring. Although Brazil and other countries recognize the importance of improving the quality of syphilis detection and notification during pregnancy,We conducted a cross-sectional ecological study design, considering GS cases notified in Brazil between 2007 and 2018. Brazil, a continental country, divided into 27 states and five macroregions , comprising 557 microregions, which are defined as contiguous aggregations of the 5570 Brazilian municipalities.Sistema de Informa\u00e7\u00e3o de Agravos de Notifica\u00e7\u00e3o) using data received from the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2019. In Brazil, it is mandatory for healthcare professionals to register GS cases through SINAN-Syphilis, where they complete a form including personal, socioeconomic, and gestational information of the patient at the time of diagnosis.This study used administrative non-identified data available from public Brazilian databases. The outcome variable, the count of GS cases, was extracted from the Notifiable Diseases Information System ,The most important and attractive feature of this modeling strategy is that, to attain identifiability, it only requires an informative prior distribution for parameter By varying the number of clusters K and the prior distribution for parameter It worth mentioning that, for each microregion, provided that Not applicable. All analyses used de-identified and publicly available data.The study\u2019s funders had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, or writing of the manuscript.From January 2007 to December 2018, 305,758 GS cases were registered in Brazil corresponding to a GS incidence rate of 8.74 per 1000 live births. GS incidence rates vary across the Brazilian territory , where tTo correct for GS underreporting, we performed a sensitivity analysis by applying the Bayesian model with 12 different specifications, which are related to the combinations between the number of clusters (K) and the prior distribution elicited to parameter \u03b31 . Accordi\u03b31 . All thea priori, the proportion of underreported GS cases in the best data quality cluster is 1%, on average  of SINAN-Syphilis at state level are shown on Our study estimates that around 13% of the notifications of gestational syphilis were not registered in SINAN-Syphilis between 2007 and 2018 in Brazil. The underreporting pattern differs between regions, states and microregions: a higher percentage of underreporting of GS cases was found in the North and Northeast regions, while, in general, in the Southeast region, the observed and corrected cases of GS were similar, considering that the lowest percentage of underreported GS cases were found in the microregions of such region. The lowest estimated coverage of GS cases was found in Roraima State (in North region), while the highest was found in S\u00e3o Paulo (in Southeast region). These different patterns highlight that reporting quality may be related to socio-economic and access to health care services.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study mapping the underreporting of GS across the country and estimating the real burden of the disease in all Brazilian microregions and states. A small-scale surveillance study in Minas Gerais State found that only 6.5% of identified GS cases were reported in SINAN-Syphilis between 2007 and 2013.T.\u00a0pallidum among pregnant women should be requested, at least, at the first prenatal care visit, in the beginning of the third trimester of gestational period, and at the moment of childbirth.,,,,We highlight the role of inequalities in access to health services and GS cases detection. Despite the expansion of prenatal coverage in Brazil in the last decade and improvements in actions to reduce GS, the quality of prenatal services is still low in many Brazilian cities, particularly in the North and Northeast regions.,,,,,,,,Besides, the access to syphilis tests during the gestational period and the reporting of cases have been directly associated with highest municipal Human Development Index (HDI), most of them located in the Southeast and South region of Brazil.,,,The increasing incidence of GS represents a growing concern for health professionals and public health in Brazil,Previne Brasil, a public policy that will transfer financial resources to municipalities based on their health indicators, such as the proportion of pregnant with at least six prenatal care visits and tested for syphilis.The study is a first attempt to estimate the underreporting of GS in Brazil and correct incidence rates for the whole country, which could help to address the country\u2019s gap of knowledge regarding GS notification. We provide robust subsidies to Brazilian health authorities to better increase surveillance for GS across the country, highlighting municipalities where improvements in surveillance and case reporting should be prioritized. Our results could allow policymakers and stakeholders to improve policy and action to reduce GS, and, therefore, contribute to reducing mother-to-child transmission and the adverse effects on birth outcomes related to congenital syphilis. Also, it could be used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in planning the Despite the relevance of our results, the study presented some limitations. First, the percentages of underreported cases were calculated for the entire study period, not allowing for analysis of possible improvements or setbacks in the quality of information over time. Second, the model imposes the same reporting probability for areas within the same data quality cluster. However, we found this is the best methodology to be applied, given the restricted type of prior information we have available on underreporting of GS in Brazil.Brazilian microregions and states in the North and Northeast regions presented the highest values of underreporting of GS, which directly affects the knowledge of the epidemiological profile and the estimation of the social, economic, and health burdens associated with the disease. Conversely, microregions and states in the Southern region presented the lowest values of underreported cases. This scenario highlights the regional disparities in the incidence rate of GS and the quality of prenatal care in the Brazilian context, as well as emphasizes the need to improve the quality of information registered in SINAN-Syphilis, considering the importance of disease surveillance across the country. Furthermore, strategies to prevent, control, and maintain the surveillance of GS based only on the data made available in the national health information system without correcting for underreported cases can lead to misguided actions and health policies, particularly related to health finance and the distribution of human resources across the regions.This study provides robust evidence that can be used to enhance national surveillance system and particularly specific policies for GS detection, early treatment and disease control, based in prior information and using a statistical methodology that could be applied by health manager of many countries.G.L.O., M.Y.I. and A.J.F.F. conceptualized this study and contributed to its design.G.L.O. conducted the statistical analysis.G.L.O., M.Y.I., A.J.F.F., C.A.S.S.T., R.A., R.F., R.L., M.P., E.S.P., and A.M.C. contributed to the result analysis and interpretation.G.L.O., M.Y.I., A.J.F.F., C.A.S.S.T., I.O.S and M.A.S performed literature review.G.L.O. and A.J.F.F. formatted tables, figures and wrote the first draft.M.Y.I. and M.L.B acquired the data, funding and coordinated the study.G.L.O., A.J.F.F., C.A.S.S.T. and M.Y.I. have accessed and verified the underlying data.G.L.O., A.J.F.F., E.S.P., M.Y.I. and M.L.B were responsible for the decision to submit the manuscript.All authors have access to all the data reported in the study, wrote the manuscript and approved the final version.http://portalsinan.saude.gov.br/sinan-net. Additionally, all data collected for the study and posterior results are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.The GS data are publicly available from the Brazilian National Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) at The Lancet Group takes a neutral position with respect to territorial claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.The abstract translated to Portuguese was submitted by the authors and we reproduce it as supplied. It has not been peer reviewed. Our editorial processes have only been applied to the original abstract in English, which should serve as a reference for this manuscript.We declare no competing interests."}
+{"text": "Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Parvimonas micra in periodontitis pocket samples collected from young, <35 years, and old, >35-year-old patients, YP and OP, respectively. The results from the analyses of a total of 3447 subgingival plaque samples analyzed for clinical diagnosis purposes by cultivation regarding the proportions of these species were collected from a database and elucidated. The prevalence of A. actinomycetemcomitans was found to be more than twice as high  in samples from the younger (42.2%) than the older group (20.4%) (p < 0.001). The prevalence of P. micra was significantly lower in samples from the younger age group  (p < 0.001), whereas P. gingivalis was similarly distributed  in the two age groups (p = 0.006). A similar pattern was noticed for A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis when high proportions (>50%) of the samples of these bacterial species were elucidated. In contrast, the proportion of samples containing >50% with P. micra was lower compared with the two other bacterial species. Furthermore, it was noted that the proportion of samples from old patients containing A. actinomycetemcomitans in combination with P. micra was almost three times higher than in samples when P. micra was replaced by P. gingivalis. In conclusion, A.actinomycetemcomitans showed an increased presence and proportion in samples from young patients compared with the old patients, while P. gingivalis was similarly distributed in the two age groups. P. micra showed an increased presence and proportion in samples from old patients compared with the young patients.The aim of this study was to compare data about the prevalence and proportions of the bacterial species  Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans [Porphyromonas gingivalis [Parvimonas micra (earlier Peptostreptococcus micros and Micromonas micra) has also been studied [A. actinomycetemcomitans is associated with aggressive forms of the periodontitis (grade C) affecting adolescents and young adults, P. gingivalis and P. micra are mainly associated with chronic, slow progressing forms of the disease that occur later in life [Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease characterized by microbial-induced inflammatory destruction of the periodontal (tooth-supporting) tissues . Oral hycomitans  and the ngivalis . The gra studied . While A in life .A. actinomycetemcomitans activates and kills immune cells by different mechanisms [A. actinomycetemcomitans carrying the cageE gene was found to produce increased levels of this toxin [P. gingivalis produces gingipains, which dysregulate a number of normally tightly controlled pathways [P. micra activates those gingipains and also produces high amounts of hydrogen sulfide [The association of these bacterial species to disease may be, at least partly, due to a carriage of different virulence factors . The leuchanisms . Individchanisms ,14. Receis toxin . P. gingpathways . P. micr sulfide ,18.Rising age is an important host-related factor that influences the microbial ecology of the oral cavity. Subsequent changes in the oral microbial community over time may become detrimental for the oral and systemic health of an older (aging) individual ,20,21.A. actinomycetemcomitans in dental plaque collected for routine clinical laboratory analysis, the clinical diagnosis of the patients was not homogeneously reported in the patient information attached to the referral to the laboratory for microbiological diagnostics. Thus, the classification of the patients was digitomized only and was based on the old definition of early onset periodontitis, which distinguished patients \u226435 years versus those >35 years of age [When studying factors associated with the initiation and progression of periodontitis, the clinical parameters collected from the patients are crucial factors. However, when we recently pooled together 15 years (2000\u20132014) of long data from our database to investigate the presence of s of age .A. actinomycetemcomitans in samples from patients <35 years compared to those of the in the samples from patients >35 years. Our hypothesis is that the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans bacteria is gradually replaced by the obligate anaerobic bacterial species as the patient ages, and the microecology of the periodontal is modified to anoxic conditions.That study showed an increased prevalence and proportion of A. actinomycetemcomitans and of the obligate anaerobes P. gingivalis and P. micra in subgingival plaque samples sent by external referral for routine diagnostic analysis. The clinical diagnosis of the patients was not considered, although the data was age-stratified in a binary manner (\u226435 years and >35 years).Therefore, in this report, we aimed to compare and summarize clinical microbiological registry data on the presence of the capnophilic The study was performed at the Dental School, Ume\u00e5 University, Sweden, and includes samples which were received from the undergraduate or/and specialist clinics of the dental school and from external clinics. Collected samples were microbiologically analyzed at the Clinical Oral Microbiology laboratory of the Dental School for periodontal routine diagnostic purposes over a period of 15 years. We underline that this study is a summary of data obtained from analyses of clinical samples sent to the clinical laboratory for identification and characterization. No sample has been originally taken for research purposes, and the data cannot be traced to any of the sampled individuals. In addition, no clinical data from the patients were included. From the database results from all analyzed subgingival plaque samples, a total of 3447, collected from 1505 unique patients (range 9\u201392 years), were used. Among these, 1087 samples were collected from patients \u2264 35 years, young patients , whereas 2360 samples were collected from patients >35 years, old patients . Based on these data, this study was carried out according to the aim.2, 5% CO2, 85% N2). The colonies of P. gingivalis and P. micra colonies were macroscopically identified as being black pigmented and showing a positive BAPNA test, while P. micra colonies were identified as having a white smooth or rough morphology, surrounded by a halo [A. actinomycetemomitans, the sample were spread on trypticase\u2013bacitracin\u2013vancomycin (TBV) plates and incubated for three days under aerobic condition in the presence of 5% CO2, following macroscopic identification. The colonies of A. actinomycetemcomitans were identified as having a starlike structure and showing a positive catalase test [The samples were routinely produced by using paper points and transported in a viable anaerobic medium (VMGAIII) to the clinical laboratory and handled as described previously . Brieflyy a halo ,24. For ase test . Since uA. actinomycetemcomitans are different parameters, in this report, we presented these parameters in relation to each other. The concentration values of the bacterium of each sample were like the proportion values collected from the database.Since the proportion and concentration of Chi-square tests were used to identify significant differences in the distribution of the individuals and samples positive for the analyzed bacterial species in relation to the age group. The differences in the proportions of the bacterium in patients from the two age groups were calculated with the Mann\u2013Whitney test.A. actinomycetemcomitans was detected in 27% of the dental plaque samples from the individuals and the same proportion (27%) was positive for P. gingivalis. Conversely, P. micra was about twice as prevalent (49%) compared to the other two species  in individuals from the younger than the older group (p < 0.001)  (p < 0.001), whereas P. gingivalis was slightly lower distributed  in the younger age group (p = 0.047)  in samples from the younger than the older group (p < 0.001)  (p < 0.001), whereas P. gingivalis was similarly distributed  in the two age groups (p = 0.006)  A. The pr= 0.047) A. When t= 0.047) B. The pr< 0.001) A. The pr= 0.006) B.A. actinomycetemcomitans (0.1\u201325%) were observed in the older group, whereas this species was more dominant in proportions >25% in the younger group (p < 0.001). When the two other bacterial species were considered individually, the proportions of P. gingivalis were similarly distributed in the two age groups (p = 0.547), while P. micra were more dominant in the older age group (p = 0.001)  . P. gingge group .P. gingivalis and P. micra, their co-existence was further investigated according to the distribution of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the samples , the proportions of P. gingivalis remained unchanged, with increasing A. actinomycetemcomitans proportions. Instead, P. micra proportions co-increased with ascending proportions of A. actinomycetmcomitans but declined when the latter exceeded 50% (Due to the difference in the proportion dynamics between  samples . Subgingectively A. When Aeded 50% B.A. actinomycetemcomitans was around two times higher than the samples containing A. actinomycetemcomitans in combination with the other bacterial species. Among the OP samples, the opposite was observed, i.e., the proportion of samples containing only A. actinomycetemcomitans was about two times lower than the samples containing A. actinomycetemcomitans in combination with the other bacterial species. Furthermore, it was noted that the proportion OP samples containing A. actinomycetemcomitans in combination with P. micra was almost three times higher than in samples when P. micra was replaced by P. gingivalis.In a polymicrobial infection site the bacterial species may affect each other. To obtain an overview of co-colonization, the presence of the bacterial species was presented alone and in different combination . Among tA. actinomycetemcomitans in the individual samples were compared, no overall relation could be observed, neither for the samples collected from young patients nor from old patients. (When the proportion and concentration of atients. A,B. HoweA. actinomycetemcomitans is shown in younger rather than older adults, whereas the reverse was the case for P. micra, and there was no differences in the prevalence of P. gingivalis between age groups. Our findings converge with earlier findings demonstrating that the prevalence of A. actinomycetemcomitans decreases with age but diverge in that the prevalence of P. gingivalis by increases with age [P. gingivalis in dental plaque, we did not find variations between the two age groups. Of note, in a cohort of, on average, 68-year-old patients, P. gingivalis has been subgingivally detected with higher frequency in periodontitis than health, but with no statistically significant differences in the bacterial counts [The present study examined the dynamics of three well-established periodontal pathogens in the subgingival dental plaque of younger and older individuals. Aging is indeed a physiological process and is accompanied by natural changes in the composition of the oral microbiota . In the with age ,27,28. Wl counts .A. actinomycetemcomitans, the current and earlier findings clearly agree that it is found in greater proportions in the subgingival dental plaque of younger individuals [A. actinomycetemcomitans showed higher concentrations in subgingival samples compared with other genotypes of this bacterium [In the case of ividuals ,23,26,27acterium . In addiacterium .P. micra is somehow less studied in the literature. We hereby show that P. micra is twice as prevent in subgingival plaque in the older compared to the younger population, whereas the proportions of this species in subgingival plaque do not vary according to the age grouping. While we have not identified studies reporting the subgingival prevalence of P. micra according to age grouping, there is evidence that the subgingival proportion of this species does not vary with age, but rather with periodontal heath status [P. micra was subgingivally detected at higher numbers in active compared to stable periodontitis [Tannerella forythus and Prevotella intermedius [The case of h status ,31. Of idontitis ,33. Simiermedius .A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis or P. micra in subgingival plaque. The gradual decrease in the proportions of the latter two species with increasing proportions of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the younger patient group converges with microbial clustering observations, implying that inherent factors promote the coexistence of P. gingivalis with P. micra, but not with A. actinomycetemcomitans [P. micra and P. gingivalis may be a such factor, on the biochemical level [P. micra-induced activation of gingipains [A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis [A. actinomycetemcomitans does not affect the proportions of P. gingivalis, but there is a positive interrelationship with P. micra instead.In this study we also observed altered dynamics between the proportions of comitans . Hydrogeal level . Anotherngipains . Furtherngivalis ,37. HoweThe introduction of PCR-based quantification of periodontitis-associated bacterial species has in many aspects facilitated the work. However, quantification of the total amount of bacteria using PCR-based methods encounters problem , which iA. actiniomycetemcomitans in the samples. This further indicates that a high proportion of the bacterium in a sample does not necessarily mean that the sample contains a high concentration of the bacterium, or vice versa.In this study it is shown that there is no or a weak association between proportion and concentration of cage E carriers of A. actinomycetemcomitans [Clinical laboratory diagnostics is today recommended as the relevant treatment for aggressive or refractory forms of periodontitis. In addition, to analyze the samples for presence/proportions of periodontitis-associated bacterial species, it would be beneficial to screen the samples for the presence of JP2- and comitans ,40. Carrcomitans ,14,41.A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis and P. micra, alone and in combination with each other among young and old patients, this could be inferred to ecological interdependencies between these species in the subgingival milieu, under the factor of aging. However, there is no concrete biological evidence at present to support this hypothesis.Based on the findings in this study of A limitation of this study is the lack of clinical parameters; however, a sample from a periodontal pocket sent for microbial analysis is indicative for a diagnosis of periodontitis.A. actinomycetemcomutans compared with samples from old patients, while P. gingivalis was similarly distributed in the two age groups. P. micra showed an increased presence and proportion in samples from old patients compared with the young patients.Periodontal plaque samples from young patients showed an increased presence and proportion of"}
+{"text": "Hyalomma are of concern, as these ticks are believed to be vectors of many pathogens responsible for human and animal diseases. However, we have observed that for many pathogens there are no vector competence experiments, and that the level of evidence provided by the scientific literature is often not sufficient to validate the transmission of a specific pathogen by a specific Hyalomma species. We therefore carried out a bibliographical study to collate the validation evidence for the transmission of parasitic, viral, or bacterial pathogens by Hyalomma spp. ticks. Our results show that there are very few validated cases of pathogen transmission by Hyalomma tick species.Current and likely future changes in the geographic distribution of ticks belonging to the genus  Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato \u201d  with the Boolean operator \u201cAND\u201d in the PubMed and Scopus databases without date restriction. The literature search was conducted in English. We retained peer-reviewed research articles and reviews (not including conference proceedings) and book sections. Screening was conducted first on titles, then on abstracts, and finally on the full text when available. After reading the entire articles, the ones that were eliminated corresponded to those that did not have available data or no original data. The number of references found in each of the two databases is shown in Numerous pathogens\u2014parasitic, viral, or bacterial\u2014have been reported in the scientific literature as transmitted or potentially transmitted by ticks of the genus Hyalomma. The synthesis of these studies, with an attributed level of evidence of vectorial transmission, is reported in H. dromedarii, H. impeltatum, H. marginatum, H. rufipes, and H. truncatum.Crimean\u2013Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFv) by H. dromedarii.African Horse Sickness virus by H. truncatum.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus by Theileria annulata by H. anatolicum, H. dromedarii, H. excavatum, H. lusitanicum, and H. scupense.Theileria equi by H. anatolicum and H. excavatum.Theileria lestoquardi by H. anatolicum.Theileria ovis by H. anatolicum.Babesia occultans by H. rufipes.Coxiella burnetii by H. aegyptium.Anaplasma marginale by H. excavatum.Rickettsia aeschlimannii by H. marginatum and H. rufipes.In conclusion, we observed that there are many missing pathogen vector competence experiments, and that the level of evidence provided by the scientific literature is often not sufficient to validate the existence of vectorial transmission. We conclude that the pathogen/tick associations for which transmission from an infected host to an initially healthy host via tick bite has been experimentally validated are the following:"}
+{"text": "The Marburg virus disease (MVD) is caused by a rare RNA virus that can result in severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates. The disease was first discovered in 1967 in Marburg Frankfurt in Germany and since then, sporadic cases have been reported in southeastern Africa. The Egyptian fruit bat is considered a reservoir for the virus, which can be transmitted through direct contact with infected bat or monkey tissue, bodily fluids, or contaminated objects. The Marburg virus disease shares clinical features with the Ebola virus disease, and there are no widely accepted vaccines or antiviral medications to treat it. The article provides an overview of Marburg virus (MARV) outbreaks in Africa, including the most recent outbreaks in Guinea, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and Tanzania. The authors discuss the recent outbreaks and the implications of the spread of MARV to Africa\u2019s healthcare systems. The authors also present key recommendations for both multicountry and global preparedness efforts in order to better prevent and respond to future MARV outbreaks and other viruses with an epidemic potential. The MARV consists of five strains and is classified as a biosafety level 4 agent due to its high fatality rate, direct person transmission, and lack of vaccines. Under an electron microscope, Marburg virion show pleomorphism, containing genomic RNA, large L protein, nucleoprotein, and virion proteins 30 and 35 within a lipoprotein unit membrane envelope. The virus has a stable infectivity at room temperature and its genome consists of linear, nonsegmented, negative-sense, single stranded RNA with a single overlapping region (VP30/VP24) with a length ranging from 800 to 14\u00a0000\u00a0nm3. MARV has seven structural proteins and elicits different antibodies compared to the Ebola virus. Although less well-known, MARV remains a significant viral pathogen1. In 1967, the virus was discovered during outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Yugoslavia and Belgrade. The outbreaks resulted in 31 cases and seven deaths. The virus was transmitted to individuals who were working with imported African green monkeys or their tissues4. Over the course of the years, MARV has been reported sporadically and isolated among residents and travelers in southeastern Africa. There have been several reported cases of MARV between 1998 and 2000 among young male workers in Durban, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)5.The Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe and rare hemorrhagic fever caused by a unique RNA virus called the Marburg virus (MARV), which can affect both humans and nonhuman primates. MARV, a member of the Filoviridae family shares similarities with the Ebola virusRousettus aegyptiacus\u02bc is believed to be a reservoir for MARV, as several bat species are often hosts for the filovirus family according to previous research studies6. The virus can be transmitted directly from bats or monkeys to humans or from human to human through various routes including direct contact with infected bat shedding or monkey tissue, bodily fluids like blood, stool, urine, sweat, breast milk, or amniotic fluids, contaminated medical instruments or objects, and sexual contact with a recently recovered person with no active symptoms7. MARV has a similar pathogenesis to the Ebola virus and clinical features resembling tropical diseases. Its incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days and it initially presents with fever, headache, muscle aches, and a rash7.The Egyptian fruit bat \u02bb8 and periodic outbreaks in Central Africa. There were occurrences in Uganda in 2012 and 2014. The WHO stated that the possibility of a MARV outbreak spreading is high at the national level but low at the global level1. Currently, WHO is assisting the Ministry of Health of all affected country in enhancing various response pillars such as surveillance at entry points, laboratory capabilities, case management, risk communication, infection prevention, control, and community engagement4. In response to the emergence of the MARV in Africa, the CDC has issued travel advisories of varying levels 1 and 2 for affected countries but does not currently recommend international travel or trade restrictions. These precautionary alerts are influenced and justified by past experiences with comparable events9. MARV shares several clinical features and transmissibility comparable to the Ebola virus, requiring similar infection prevention and control measures including safe burials. Following the recent outbreaks of MARV in Ghana, Tanzania, and Equatorial Guinea, respectively, there is an increase of burden of this viral disease in Africa11. However, less is known about MARV maybe due to the absence of a recent large-scale outbreak like the West Africa Ebola outbreak10. This highlights the importance to address the challenges posed by MARV and infectious diseases in the African region. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to disease outbreaks, as well as the development of effective prevention and control strategies will significantly contribute to tackling the infection12. Therefore, our paper seeks to succinctly discuss the most recent outbreaks and implications of MARV in the African region, as well as provide key recommendations for both multinational and global preparedness to better manage, curb, and prevent unforeseen epidemics in the African continent.MARV continues to be a global health concern, with a case-fatality ratio of over 88%13. Visitors to the Sinoia Caves, which were known to have insectivorous bats, developed symptoms after 8\u20139 days, leading to suspicion of bats or their discharge as a potential source of infection14. From 1975 to 1985, only a few cases of MVD were reported in Africa. Prior to 1998, MARV was not believed to be as fatal as the Ebola virus. However, this perception changed after two significant outbreaks occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2000, and the first-ever outbreak in Angola between 2004 and 200515. Uganda experienced four epidemics in the year 2007, 2012, 2014, and 2017, each with an incident fatality percentage ranging from 27 to 100%11, while between the year 1998 and 2000, the Republic of Congo reported a total of 154 cases of MVD, resulting in 128 deaths and a case-fatality rate of 83%16.The MARV has been responsible for many outbreaks since it was first discovered in 1967, with the majority of these outbreaks occurring in Africa. In 1975, the second outbreak of MVD occurred in Zimbabwe, marking the first-ever recorded outbreak of the disease in Africa18. This was followed by another outbreak in Ghana in 2022, reported as the country\u2019s first-ever case of MARV, which resulted in the death of one male adult and the 14-month-old child by June 202218. In early 2023, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania experienced an outbreak of MARV, which was the first of its kind. In mid-February 2023, Equatorial Guinea confirmed its first-ever outbreak of MVD after conducting preliminary tests on samples from the eastern province of the country. The outbreak resulted in at least 11 deaths as at 11 April 2023 from 14 laboratory confirmed cases of which the majority of the cases were reported among females20. In Tanzania, the first outbreak was declared by the Ministry of Health on 21 March 2023 in the Bukoba district of northwestern Kagera region. The outbreak has resulted in eight confirmed cases and five deaths as of 4 April 2023, including a healthcare worker with a case-fatality rate of 63%. The remaining three patients are currently receiving treatment at designated treatment centers21. According to the WHO, the average case-fatality rate of MVD is 50%. However, the fatality rates in the past have varied between 24 and 88% due to differences in virus strains and the management of cases22  recently developed cAd3-Marburg, an experimental vaccine for MARV. This cAd3 vaccine platform has demonstrated safety in previous clinical trials with Ebola and Sudan virus vaccines developed by the VRC39.The treatment of Marburg disease is currently supportive. Treatment in the hospital can be provided to patients, focusing on fluid and electrolyte balance, oxygenation, blood pressure, blood replacement, and treatment of co-infections4. Environmental factors including population density and mobility, healthcare infrastructure, outbreak preparedness and response capabilities, disease surveillance, public health measures, and cultural practices and burial rituals are some of the reasons for differences in cases and deaths of MVD among African countries14. African healthcare systems should be prepared and ready to efficiently tackle MVD cases in already affected and yet affected countries by investing in their healthcare system, and implementing early and coordinated measures40. Active disease surveillance should be massively expanded through investments in health systems to identify cases, track contacts and communities at risk, and reduce the risks of transmission to others, while appropriate infection prevention and control measures are taken to safeguard them and their contacts25, by establishing isolation centers, mobile laboratories, and a trained rapid response team41. Moreover, adopting the one-health concept and fostering collaboration would enhance Africa\u2019s surveillance system and emergency response capabilities to effectively address MVD1. Collaboration with government and international partners, along with adequate funding will facilitate a swift and effective response41. There is also a need for coordinated countermeasures to strengthen the surveillance system and enable international and local contact tracing of individuals who show signs of MARV during travel or upon their return16. To avoid misconceptions and stigmatization that could impede contact tracing, cross-border public health education campaigns on MARV should also be carried out urgently and on a large-scale in all Africa16. To prepare for the possibility of both multinational and global outbreak of MARV, it is crucial to improve the training of frontline healthcare workers in the areas of timely and accurate diagnosis, effective care and management of patients with MARV40. Mental health and psychosocial support by professional counselors should also be offered to survivors of MVD41.After the recent outbreak of MARV in Tanzania in March, 2023, the WHO warns that the risk of MARV is high in Africa as it continues to spread to densely populated areas, with a 90% mortality rate. At the global level, it has been stated that it is unlikely to result in a global pandemic40. Regulations on appropriate measures to prevent MVD such as avoiding contact with reservoir animals, ensuring thorough cooking of animal products, maintaining good hand hygiene, WHO developed guidelines for safe management and burial practices as well as options for cremation should be established in all African countries with protocols for strict adherence17. Only trained healthcare providers equipped with personal protective equipment should be allowed to handle potentially infected patients with Filovirus infection to prevent breaches in protocol and ensure proper care. To minimize the risk of transmission, disposable supplies should always be used for patients with Marburg infection, and the use of sharp objects should be minimized. Handling human remains should be limited, while autopsies are avoided as much as possible. It is expedient to inform state and local authorities about Marburg deaths and contaminated items, and human remains should be handled according to their guidance42. Once recovered from Marburg or any other Filoviruses, individuals are typically immune and noninfectious to others. However, Ebola can be present in semen for up to 3 months postrecovery, necessitating abstinence from sexual activity, including oral sex, for at least 3 months and mothers in the recovery phase should refrain from breastfeeding for at least 15 days as the virus has been found in breast milk during this period (Ebola Disease)43. The WHO\u2019s country-specific recommendations should be utilized to curb MVD in areas where it is prevalent, and collaboration between the government and stakeholders is necessary to swiftly contain MARV outbreaks especially during co-morbidities currently experienced to avoid collapsing of the already fragile healthcare systems17. Investing in research and development is crucial for finding curative measures against the MARV. This involves supporting studies on antiviral drugs, vaccines, and innovative treatments tailored to MARV infection2. Collaborating with local and international research institutions can advance treatment strategies and deepen understanding of the virus44 as well as conducting clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of potential therapies is essential for identifying effective interventions for MARV in Africa39.Establishing epidemiology, community involvement, and comprehensive surveillance initiatives, particularly in the impacted region of the continent, is of utmost importanceThe study briefly mentions recent MARV outbreaks in Guinea, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and Tanzania. However, as there is limited data, this article did not provide detailed information on the causes, extent, or impact of these outbreaks of each affected country, limiting the understanding of their implications. Also, the study mentions the absence of widely accepted vaccines or antiviral medications for MVD and gave a brief summary of the ongoing efforts but does not delve into these efforts or potential strategies for prevention and control. Exploring current research and initiatives in this area would enhance the completeness of the study.44.MVD is a severe hemorrhagic fever caused by the MARV, which is transmitted directly from bats or monkeys to humans or from human to human, and is able to affect both humans and nonhuman primates. Several countries in the African region have experienced a series of MARV outbreaks in the past few years. Recently, West African countries have reported their first-ever outbreaks of MARV. The possibility of future outbreaks in other African countries is high, considering the rapid increase in emerging zoonotic diseases on the continent. These outbreaks have put additional pressure on healthcare systems in Africa being adversely impacted, affecting the overall quality of life. There is an urgent need to deploy a multifaceted health system strengthening approach for the prevention and curative of MARV, and better respond to its future outbreaks and other viruses with an epidemic potential in AfricaEthical clearance was not required because we did not deal with human or animal data.None.None.O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., H.A.O., A.A.F., O.B., O.G., J.J.L., and D.E.L.P. III: conceptualization; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., O.G., J.J.L., and D.E.L.P. III: methodology; H.A.O., J.J.L., O.J.O., E.M., and O.B.: validation; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., O.B., H.A.O., A.A.F., O.G., and D.E.L.P. III: investigation; N.O.O., E.M., J.J.L., O.B.: resources; O.J.O., E.M., A.A.F., H.A.O., J.J.L., and D.E.L.P. III: data curation; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., H.A.O., A.A.F., O.B., O.G., J.J.L., and D.E.L.P III: writing \u2013 original draft; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., H.A.O., A.A.F., O.B., O.G., J.J.L., and D.E.L.P. III: writing \u2013 review and editing; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., J.J.L., O.B., H.A.O., A.A.F.: visualization; O.J.O., E.M., N.O.O., O.G., J.J.L., D.E.L.P. III: supervision.The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Name of the registry: not applicable.Unique identifying number or registration ID: not applicable.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): not applicable.Okesanya Olalekan John.None.None."}
+{"text": "The diversity of studies carried out in connection with personalized and precision medicine was clearly emphasized during these international conferences, as also observed in the 20 papers of this Special Issue. The most represented topics concern brain diseases, cancers, lungs obstruction, muscles, and skeletal diseases. Other specific topics include the intestinal microbiome or COVID-19, emerging methods for imaging and using radiotherapy, and a promising new class of therapeutic molecules known as dendrimers. This Special Issue, \u201cPersonalized and Precision Medicine 2022\u201d (Alzheimer\u2019s disease is the most prevalent brain disease and can take several clinical presentations. The article by V. Bessi et al.  comparesSpastic-type cerebral palsy is a brain disease that induces a complex neuromuscular disorder, involving altered skeletal muscle microanatomy and growth. The paper by R.E. Akins et al.  focuses Orthopedic surgeries are frequently followed by inpatient rehabilitation. The paper by D. Rak et al.  posed thFour papers in this Special Issue are based on cancer, which is one of the leading causes of death. The paper by K.Y. Arga and R. Sinha et al.  exploresTwo papers from the same group focus on the treatment of bladder cancers. The first of the two, by A. Sherif et al. , uses a The review by S. Boussios et al.  focuses Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection are analyzed in the paper by M.-C. Lu et al. [Besides the COVID-19 virus, various other obstructive lung diseases are known. The paper by P. Steiropoulos et al.  evaluateu et al. . No effeAkkermansia spp., which may have beneficial effects on inflammation and metabolism, continued to increase in a subset of participants, even beyond the supplementation period.For instance, miscellaneous topics concern the prediction of hepatotoxicity in azathioprine-treated patients with auto-immune diseases. The paper by W.T. Hung et al.  studies Two different physical techniques are presented. The clinical applications of ultra-high-frequency ultrasound are proposed by D. Berritto et al.  for the Finally, an emerging family of macromolecules with potential therapeutic properties, known as dendrimers, are reviewed by A.-M. Caminade , with emOverall, the twenty papers in this Special Issue constitute an impressionist overview of the state-of-the-art research in the field of personalized and precision medicine, with some perspectives on the future of this topic."}
+{"text": "With the global burden of chronic liver disease (CLD) on the rise, especially due to the rise in obesity and metabolic syndrome, a third-world country like Nepal faces a different problem. With alcohol intake being rooted in Nepalese culture, alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most common cause of CLD in our society.This is a retrospective observational study conducted in the inpatient ward of the Department of Gastroenterology at the University in Nepal. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee, and a structured questionnaire format was used to record the data retrospectively using admission log books and admission sheets. Demographic data regarding age, sex, and address were collected, while the form of decompensation during presentation was used as a source of clinical data. For statistical analysis, see SPSS 21  was used.A male-to-female ratio of 2:1 was found, with ALD the most common cause of CLD in admitted patients. Similarly, the majority of patients were admitted due to ascites, which was compounded by spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. 93.60% of patients admitted with CLD had a deranged prothrombin time, while only about a third of patients had elevated aspartate aminotransferase and/or alanine aminotransferase.The large burden of ALD highlights the importance of awareness programs at the community level, which have been neglected till date. HighlightsAlcoholic liver disease contributes to an overwhelming burden of chronic liver disease patients admitted in Nepal.Ascites with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is the most common form of decompensation for which a patient is admitted.Awareness programs need to be implemented at the community level to address this issue.et al.,The global burden of chronic liver disease (CLD) is on the rise. Based on data from the Global Burden of Disease study, the age-standardized incidence rate of CLD and cirrhosis was 20.7 per 100\u00a0000 in 2015, a 13% increase from 20002 077/078].This study was conducted retrospectively at TUTH, located in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. This center was chosen for study because of its high patient flow. Ethical approval for conducting the study was taken from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of TUTH, IOM .Ethical approval was obtained from the research ethics committee of the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of Institute of Medicine (IOM) [Ref: 164 (6-11) EWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal on request.No funding was received for the study.Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.A.K.S., A.S., and S.S. wrote the original manuscript, reviewed, and edited the original manuscript. A.K.S., A.S., S.S., and A.B. reviewed and edited the original manuscript.1. Name of the registry: Research Registry.2. Unique identifying number or registration ID: researchregistry8369.3. Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): Register Now \u2013 Research RegistryDr Anish Kumar Shrestha.Not commissioned, externally peer-reviewed."}
+{"text": "Mentha longifolia is a valuable medicinal and aromatic plant that belongs to Lamiaceae family. This study looked at the antibacterial effects of M. longifolia essential oil and pulegone in edible coatings made of chitosan and alginate on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria\u00a0monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli in cheese. For this purpose, first fresh mint plant was collected from the cold region of Jiroft in Kerman province. Plant samples were dried in the shade at ambient temperature, and essential oil was prepared using Clevenger. The essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography using mass spectrometric (GC/MS) detection. The major composition of M. longifolia oil was pulegone (26.07%), piperitone oxide (19.72%), and piperitone (11.88%). The results showed that adding M. longifolia essential oils and pulegone to edible coatings significantly reduced the growth of bacteria during storage. The bacterial population decreased by increasing the concentration of chitosan, M. longifolia, and pulegone in edible coatings. When the effects of pulegone and M. longifolia essential oils on bacteria were compared, it was found that pulegone had a stronger effect on bacterial population reduction. Coating treatments showed more antibacterial activity on E. coli than other bacteria. In general, the results of this research showed that alginate and chitosan coatings along with M. longifolia essential oil and its active ingredient pulegone had antibacterial effects against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and E. coli in cheese. E. coli, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, etc. E. coli is part of the natural intestinal flora of all warm-blooded animals. The presence of this bacterium in water and food is accepted as an indicator of fecal contamination and the possible presence of dominant pathogens [S. aureus is the third cause of foodborne diseases in the world. This bacterium exists in the mammary ducts of cows suffering from mastitis and enters the milk during milking, and the use of this milk in the production of traditional cheese causes its contamination. Food intoxication with S. aureus occurs as a result of consuming enterotoxin-contaminated food, and it can remain in cheese for a long time [L. monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogenic organism to humans and animals. This is the cause of listeriosis infection in humans and animals. Symptoms of the disease in humans include abortion, encephalitis, meningitis, and septicemia  [Contaminated milk and dairy products are one of the important sources of infections and food intoxication in humans. One of the causes of contamination of dairy products is their suitable conditions for the growth of many microorganisms. In cheese, depending on the preparation stages and ripening condition, there is a possibility of contamination with various spoilage and disease-causing bacteria, including athogens . S. aureong time . L. mono system) . Traditi system) .Lamiaceae, have not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant properties compared to other families [Today, people turn to herbal medicines for various reasons, including the high cost of chemical drugs and their side effects. Numerous studies have been conducted to find natural compounds with biological activities derived from plant, animal, and microbial resources because, on the one hand, common chemical drugs used to treat infectious diseases are becoming increasingly ineffective against microorganisms, and, on the other hand, consumers are becoming more aware of the negative effects of chemical and synthetic food preservatives . Medicinfamilies .Lamiaceae is a family of plants that includes Mentha longifolia. In temperate areas of central and southern Europe, southwest Asia, and Australia, it primarily grows wild in wet environments beside rivers and other waterways [Lamiaceae are cyclohexanes and aromatic, and pulegone as the main constituent of M. longifolia oils has a specific aroma ranging from intense to spicy and vinegar. The main constituents of M. longifolia essential oil are different in various studies. In several studies, the major constituents were pulegone, cineole, linalool, menthol, carvone, piperthone, thymol, beta-caryophyllene, etc. These compounds have antimicrobial properties [aterways ,13. Reseoperties ,15.M. longifolia essential oil had a great inhibitory effect on L. monocytogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, fungi and yeasts, and E. coli was the least sensitive [M. longifolia from different regions of Lorestan province in Iran exhibited high inhibitory effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. aureus, and E. coli [In a study, it was found that ensitive . It has  E. coli .Marocystis pyrifera. Alginates are considered emulsifiers, stabilizers, and thickeners [Edible coatings as a consumable layer have adhesive, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. By covering the surface of the product, these coatings prevent the reduction of moisture and the penetration of oxygen, and improve the appearance of the product . Many orickeners . When a ickeners .M. longifolia essential oil and pulegone to edible coatings made of alginate and chitosan would affect the growth of S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and E. coli in cheese.Because chitosan is effective at preventing the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeasts, and molds, it is used as an edible film and coating. Chitosan has natural antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that are affected by its concentration and molecular weight . Due to M. longifolia essential oil compounds were identified using GC/MS. M. longifolia essential oil, which comprised 97.8% of the total essential oil. The main compounds of the essential oil are pulegone (26.07%), piperitone oxide (19.72%), piperitone (11.88%), 1,8-cineole (8.21%), cis-piperitone oxide (6.35%), and borneol (5.96%). As M. longifolia essential oil is mainly composed of monoterpene compounds .The E. coli, S. aureus, and L. monocytogenes are presented in Descriptive statistics related to chitosan, pulegone, and essential oil in E. coli population in cheese reduced when storage period, chitosan concentration, and essential oil levels were increased. At the conclusion of the storage time, the lowest number of bacteria related to the treatment contained 10% chitosan and 150 ppm peppermint essential oil. On all days of storage, the control showed the greatest level of bacterial population.According to Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in E. coli bacteria in cheese decreased. As the storage period increased, the population of E. coli in cheese samples coated with pulegone and chitosan decreased. On the first and 20th days of storage, increasing the amount of chitosan from 5 to 10% in the coatings did not have a significant effect on the bacterial population. At the conclusion of the storage time, the control and treatment coated with 10% chitosan and 50 ppm pulegone had the greatest and lowest populations of bacteria, respectively.The results of Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in S. aureus in cheese reduced with longer storage times in all treatments. At the conclusion of the storage time, the lowest number of bacteria related to the treatment contained 10% chitosan and 150 ppm essential oil. The treatment coated with 5% chitosan without essential oil had the most bacteria population, but there was no significant difference between this treatment, control and the treatment coated with 10% chitosan without essential oil (p > 0.05). By increasing the amount of essential oil and chitosan in the coatings, the population of S. aureus in the cheese samples decreased.According to Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in S. aureus bacteria in cheese decreased. At the conclusion of the storage time, the smallest and the largest of the bacterial count were observed in the treatment coated with 10% chitosan and 50 ppm pulegone and the control, respectively. Increasing the storage period led to a decrease in the bacterial population in all treatments.The results of Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in L. monocytogenes in cheese decreased by increasing the storage period in all treatments. At the end of the storage time, the highest amount of bacterial count was observed in the control, which had no significant difference with the treatment coated with 10% chitosan without essential oil. By increasing the essential oil concentration in the coatings, the number of L. monocytogenes decreased. Increasing the concentration of chitosan also led to a decrease in the bacterial population.The results of Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in p> 0.05). Over the course of all storage times, the control treatment had the highest bacterial count. On the first and 20th day, at 5% and 10% chitosan concentrations, increasing the amount of pulegone in the coatings did not have a significant effect on the bacterial population. On the 30th day, in the concentration of 10% chitosan, increasing the pulegone concentration from 10 to 50 ppm did not have a significant effect on the number of L. monocytogenes.Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients are presented in S. aureus ATCC 29213, and L. monocytogenes ATCC 19,115 ; E. coli O157 ATCC 43,895 ; Sodium alginate ; chitosan with a deacetylation level of greater than 75% ; Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB); Baird parker agar; Sorbitol-MacConkey agar; Palcam Listeria-Selective agar culture media ; and pulegone active ingredient .Materials used in the study were M. longifolia was taken in May 2021 from a cold area of Jiroft City. The aerial part of this plant was dried in the shade and ambient temperature. After drying, the plant was ground. About 100 g of dried sample was placed in 400 mL distilled water and submitted to hydrodistillation for 3 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus [M. longifolia was 1%(v/w), and it was colorless. Gas chromatography  equipped with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was used to determine the chemical composition of M. longifolia essential oil. Compounds were separated on HP-5 MS capillary column . A sample of 1.0 \u03bcL was injected in the split mode with split ratio 1:100. Helium was used as a carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The injection temperature was 230 \u00b0C. Compounds were further identified and authenticated using their complete mass fragmentation data compared to the NIST02.L and WILEY7n.L mass spectral libraries and published mass spectra and, wherever possible, by coinjection with authentic standards [After the scientific confirmation of the species by plant science experts at University of Jiroft Herbarium, pparatus . The yietandards .Lactic cheese samples were prepared at Pegah Dairy Company of Jiroft. The steps were as follows:First, raw milk was standardized (the amount of fat (3%) and dry matter (15%) was adjusted). Then the milk temperature rose to 96 \u00b0C. A mixture of sour yogurt and vinegar was added to the hot stirring milk until the milk was completely coagulated. The clot was cut, drained, and poured into plastic molds, and within 5 h, the molds were returned to complete dehydration. Cheese pieces were placed in salt solution 16%) at 5 \u00b0C, and after 72 h, the relevant tests  were performed on them % at 5 \u00b0C.M. longifolia essential oil  as well as different concentrations of pulegone . The samples were then placed in an incubator  under controlled temperature and humidity (about 12 \u00b0C and relative humidity of 85%) for approximately 8 h until the coatings were dry [The cheese samples were cut into cubes  and coated by immersion method, during which the samples were immersed in the coating mixtures for 1 min until all surfaces of the cheese samples were completely covered with the coating material. Coating mixtures were sodium alginate solution (25%) with concentrations of 0, 5, and 10% chitosan and different concentrations of were dry .M. longifolia essential oil and pulegone in the coatings, and a sensory evaluation test was also performed. The maximum concentration of M. longifolia essential oil and pulegone was determined according to the results obtained from the sensory evaluation. By increasing the concentration more than 150 ppm for M. longifolia essential oil and 50 ppm for pulegone, the flavor and taste scores decreased. In this way, the studied concentrations were determined for essential oil and pulegone.In the pre-test, we used higher concentrations of S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and E. coli O157) into the cheese texture, bacterial suspensions containing 105 CFU/g were injected into 8 points of cheese samples with a sterile syringe. After that, the samples were placed in polypropylene containers and kept at 5 \u00b0C [To inoculate the bacteria  was used with the Statistix ver. 10 software to see whether there were any significant differences between the results. Differences at M. longifolia essential oil , and pulegone  on the growth of E. coli, S. aureus, and L. monocytogenes in cheese was examined during three storage times. In general, by increasing the storage period (30 days) in all treatments, the number of bacteria in the cheese decreased. This decrease was more pronounced in treatments with increasing concentrations of chitosan, essential oil, and pulegone. The effect of the studied treatments on reducing the growth of E. coli was greater than the other two bacteria. In general, the pulegone active ingredient was more effective in reducing the growth of bacteria than the M. longifolia essential oil.Cheese is a ready-to-eat food product that is not subjected to any other treatment to ensure its safety before consumption. Contamination of cheese with foodborne pathogens may occur in several stages . Therefore, information on the main sources of pathogens and the mechanisms by which they infect the dairy chain is needed if contamination of any cheese is to be prevented . The useM. longifolia essential oil, and the pulegone active component. Evaluation of the antimicrobial effects of M. longifolia essential oil against E. coli, S. aureus, and Candida albicans showed that the pulegone and 1,8-cineole compounds are important in this regard [M. longifolia essential oil has been found to have strong antibacterial properties against a variety of bacteria, including Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and E. coli, as well as some fungal strains including Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium [Studies have demonstrated the antibacterial properties of chitosan, s regard . In our s regard . M. longicillium .M. longifolia essential oil against several foodborne pathogens, pulegone, 1,8-cineole, and menthofuran were the most prevalent constituents of essential oils. Their results also showed that the most sensitive bacterium to M. longifolia essential oil was E. coli, which is consistent with our results. In another study, it was found that M. longifolia from the mint family had antibacterial properties on Staphylococcus and Listeria species. The results of this study similarly confirm the results of our study [S. aureus and Salmonella typhimurium were investigated, and the results showed that 1,8-cineole has a stronger antibacterial effect on Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria, while pulegone has a higher antibacterial effect on Gram-negative bacteria [It has been reported that one of the key characteristics of essential oils and active substances is the hydrophobic property, which led to the change and destruction of the cell membrane structure and their greater permeability. This is concerning the action of these substances and their compounds in the death of pathogenic bacteria. The result is that the majority of the ions and other essential components of the cell leak out, which ultimately causes the bacterium\u2019s death . It willur study . Studiesur study . In one bacteria , which iM. longifolia essential oil and pulegone as the effective ingredient and the main composition of M. longifolia essential oil, it was found that this substance had more antibacterial properties than the complete essential oil in much lower concentrations. Pulegone is a monoterpene ketone found in the leaves and flowers of several members of the mint family [S. aureus, S. typhimurium, and E. coli [Comparing the results of t family . Terpenet family . Based o E. coli .Streptococcus equi subsp. equi were investigated [The antibacterial effects of trans-cinnamaldehyde, 1,8-cineole, and pulegone against stigated . AccordiDissolving in the cytoplasmic membrane and interfering with the protein structure of the enzyme and destroying the microorganism;Interruption in activities related to succinate and reactions related to NADH;Disturbing electron transfer in the respiratory chain;Creating a break in oxidative phosphorylation.In general, the antimicrobial activity of essential oils is expressed by several mechanisms:The lipophilic property of essential oils can explain its increased membrane permeability or destruction due to the activity of enzymes in the cell membrane such as protein kinase .Lactobacillus rahmnosu and Enterococcus faecium, all antimicrobial agents\u2019 MIC and MBC against E. coli and S. aureus were extremely low.Chitosan\u2019s polycationic composition is thought to be the source of its antibacterial properties. The protonated amino group in chitosan interacts electrostatically with the negative residues on cellular surfaces to achieve antibacterial activity . With inL. monocytogenes on the surface of ready-to-eat roast beef was examined. Results showed that L. monocytogenes on the surface of roast beef may be controlled by chitosan coatings. In [In some studies ,53,54, tings. In , the effM. longifolia essential oil and the active ingredient of pulegone on the growth of some pathogenic bacteria in lactic cheese was investigated. The results generally demonstrated that the population of investigated microorganisms decreased by increasing the concentration of chitosan, M. longifolia, and pulegone in edible coatings. When the effects of pulegone and M. longifolia essential oils on bacteria were compared, it was found that pulegone had a stronger impact on bacterial population reduction. Coating treatments showed more antibacterial activity on E. coli than other bacteria. From this study, it can be concluded that chitosan coating along with M. longifolia essential oil and its active ingredient pulegone had antibacterial effects against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and E. coli in cheese. As a result, it can be utilized as a strong and natural food preservative.In this research, the impact of edible coatings of alginate and chitosan along with"}
+{"text": "Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia typhi, respectively. Numerous studies have been undertaken on rickettsial illnesses in humans and animals, including arthropod vectors, in Thailand. However, the reports on the seroprevalence of antibodies to O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi in buffaloes is extremely rare. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of both rickettsial infections in water buffaloes  in Phatthalung Province, southern Thailand.Scrub typhus and murine typhus are globally distributed zoonoses caused by the intracellular Gram-negative bacteria O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi using an indirect immunofluorescence assay.From February to March 2023, a total of 156 serum samples were collected from 156 water buffaloes on 29 farms in Phatthalung province. The sera were screened for antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi in individual water buffaloes was 4.49%  and 3.85% (95% CI: 1.77%\u20138.14%), respectively, whereas 31% (9/29) of the herds had buffaloes with antibodies. The number of buffaloes with scrub typhus infection and ectoparasite infestation was statistically significant . Intriguingly, the prevalence of scrub typhus antibodies in buffaloes that were not infested with ectoparasites was much higher than those that were.The seroprevalence of antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi antibodies in water buffalo sera in Southern Thailand. Two serum samples showed a high antibody titer against O. tsutsugamushi. Seroprevalence mainly occurred in non-ectoparasite-infested buffaloes, especially for O. tsutsugamushi antibodies. At the herd level, one-third of the studied farms showed seroprevalence. Additional research on the occurrence of these pathogens in vectors and in other animal reservoirs is necessary.This is the first report of  Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia typhi, respectively. Both are neglected tropical zoonoses that are major causes of febrile illness worldwide , no risk factors related to R. typhi seropositivity were identified.O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi for each water buffalo farm are presented in O. tsutsugamushi, while five farms (17.24%) had at least one water buffalo with antibodies against R. typhi. In total, there were 13 seropositive buffaloes among the 29 farms. Farms 27 and 29 both had one buffalo with antibodies against both antigens.The antibody titers against O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi in water buffaloes. Most O. tsutsugamushi seroepidemiological research has involved small ruminants [R. typhi have been conducted on domestic ruminants [O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi in water buffaloes in Southern Thailand was found to be slightly low. However, the seropositivity of cattle in Japan was 9.6% [et al. [This is the first investigation of the prevalence of antibodies to uminants , 19 and uminants . In addiuminants . The seruminants . In our was 9.6% , higher  [et al.  found a  [et al. .O. tsutsugamushi in the group of buffaloes with ectoparasite infestation (p < 0.05), this factor appeared to be unrelated to the seroprevalence of O. tsutsugamushi antibodies in water buffaloes. In contrast, a Sudanese study by Eisawi et al. [et al. [Since we detected low antibody prevalence against i et al.  discover [et al. , we wereO. tsutsugamushi transmission between hosts [Xenopsylla cheopis) was identified as a significant vector species of R. typhi [et al. [et al. [Rickettsia spp. to humans. In Thailand, ticks and lice were the most frequent ectoparasites found in water buffalo. Unfortunately, we could only collect lice from the buffaloes and we were unable to detect both pathogens in the lice. Additional epidemiological research is required to fully understand the role that ectoparasites or arthropods, like lice and ticks, play as reservoirs in that area.In Thailand, water buffaloes are used for traditional culture and agricultural activities. Therefore, there is a potential for an insect-borne disease, such as scrub or murine typhus, to spread to humans. Trombiculid mites have been identified as possible vectors for en hosts , and theR. typhi . In addi [et al.  and Gala [et al.  indicateO. tsutsugamushi-seropositive water buffaloes, especially those that were ectoparasite-free at the time of blood collection. The ectoparasite-free water buffaloes had a higher rate of seropositivity than the ectoparasite-infested water buffaloes. Studies on the risk factors associated with seroprevalence have mostly been conducted on cattle and humans who work with cattle or buffaloes [O. tsutsugamushi [O. tsutsugamushi-infected ectoparasites might have moved from one host to another or to the surrounding environment at the time of sampling, which would result in seropositivity in ectoparasite-free water buffaloes. Our investigation on the risk factors associated with buffaloes showing seropositivity for O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi was lacking and requires further study. Importantly, ectoparasites in the environment should be investigated in future studies.In this study, only ectoparasite infestation was a risk factor for uffaloes , 25. It ugamushi . RegardiO. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi antibody seroprevalence in water buffaloes from Southern Thailand. Antibodies to O. tsutsugamushi and R. typhi were detected in 4.49% and 3.85% of serum samples, respectively. The seroprevalence of antibodies against these antigens was significant among non-ectoparasite-infested buffaloes. At the herd level, the rate of seroprevalence was 31%. There were 13 seropositive buffaloes among 29 farms, with each farm having buffaloes positive for O. tsutsugamushi or R. typhi antibodies. To comprehend the hazards of this disease under the One Health concept, additional epidemiological research on the prevalence of rickettsial infection among water buffaloes, associated workers, and ectoparasites is required.This is the first study on DP and SB: Conceived and designed the study. SB, PS, NC, KK, and YM: Conducted the literature review and prepared tables. DP, SB, PS, NC, and KK: Drafted the manuscript. PS, SB, and YM: Critically revised the manuscript. DP: Conducted the laboratory tests. PS: Conducted statistical analysis. KK: Collected the samples. All authors have read, reviewed, and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Laelia has restricted geographic distribution, with species in Brazil and Mexico. However, in molecular studies, the Brazilian species have not been included despite remarkably similar floral structures in both Mexican and Brazilian groups of species. The main objective of the present study is to analyze vegetative structural characters of 12 species of Laelia in Mexico to find similarities to recognize them as a taxonomic group and their relationship with possible ecological adaptations. This work supports the proposal to recognize 12 species of Laelias from Mexico as a taxonomic group (except for the new species recognized as Laelia dawsonii J. Anderson), since a strong similarity was found, translated by 90% of structural characters shared by the Mexican Laelias, given the relationship between the structural characters and the altitudinal distribution in which the groups of Mexican Laelias species are found. We propose that Laelias of Mexico be recognized as a taxonomic group and their structural characteristics allow for better understanding of adaptation of species to their environment.The Laeliinae Subtribe (Epidendroideae-Orchidaceae) is exclusively Neotropical, composed of 43 genera and 1466 species, presenting great floral and vegetative diversity. The genus  The Orchidaceae family is one of the most diverse plant groups, with around 30,000 species known worldwide ,2. OrchiLaelia, then it is proposed to recognize the Laelias of Mexico as a consolidated taxonomic group. The purpose of the present investigation is whether the Laelias of Mexico can be distinguished from the closely related genera Broughtonia and Cattleya based on structural characters.Anatomy, or the study of the shape and internal structure of plant tissues and organs, is a classic source of data used in plant taxonomy. These data are especially useful for phylogenetic relationships by suggesting homologies and contextualizing evolutionary polarity . CurrentLaelia, structural characters  were analyzed for 15 Laeliinae species: 12 species of orchids that represent the genus Laelia in Mexico, Broughtonia (one species) and Cattleya (two species) that are genera closely related to Laelia [Laelia dawsonii has just been recognized as a distinct species from L. anceps [To understand the similarity relationships between the Mexican species of o Laelia , as compo Laelia . Further. anceps  and was . anceps .Dermal Tissue. Adaxial cuticle generally striated, except in L. rubescens and L. halbingeriana, which is smooth; adaxial cuticle thickness from 5 to 11 \u03bcm (<12 \u03bcm); except from L. rubescens, which is >12 \u03bcm, abaxial cuticle thickness 5\u201314 \u03bcm. Adaxial epidermal cells distributed in rows in L. gouldiana, L. rubescens and L. halbingeriana, the rest of the species with alternately distributed cells, the abaxial epidermal cells are in rows. Adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells are generally isodiametric polygonal in shape, except L. eyermaniana, L. rubescens and L. superbiens, where they are elongated polygonal. Area of adaxial epidermal cells <5000 \u03bcm2, cells abaxial from 801 to 1400 \u03bcm2, with the exception of L. aurea, where it is from 600 to 800 \u03bcm2. Stomata only in the abaxial epidermis, distributed in rows, except in L. albida and L. autumnalis, L. furfuracea, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana, which is alternate, trichomes present at the margins of the adaxial surface, denoted by the permanence of basal cells, except in L. albida, L. crawshayana, L. eyermaniana and L. halbingeriana. Papillae present in the abaxial epidermis, except in L. albida, L. eyermaniana, L. furfuracea and L. halbingeriana, the papillae are epidermal, except in L. anceps and L. speciosa, where they are cuticular. The length of the guard cells is 30 to 40 \u03bcm, except in L. superbiens, which is larger than 45 \u03bcm. The development of the cuticular ridges is light in L. albida, L. anceps, L. eyermaniana and L. halbingeriana and deep in the rest of the species. The substomatal chamber is conspicuous, with the exception of L. aurea, L. rubescens and L. halbingeriana, which is inconspicuous. Stomata are generally semi-sunken, with the exception of that in L. autumnalis, L. eyermaniana, L. furfuracea and L. speciosa that are at the level of the epidermis and in L. aurea that are sunk. Stomatal index from 2 to 6. Height of adaxial epidermal cells 18\u201324 \u03bcm, except in L. albida, L. anceps, L. autumnalis, L. furfuracea and L. gouldiana ranging from 24 to 30 \u03bcm. Cell width adaxial epidermal 23\u201327 \u03bcm in L. anceps and L. crawshayana, 28\u201331 \u03bcm in L. aurea and in L. furfuracea, L. speciosa and L. superbiens, it Is 32\u201335 \u03bcm. Height of abaxial epidermal cells less than 30 \u03bcm as in Laelia furfuracea. Width of abaxial epidermal cells 25\u201337 \u03bcm as in L. aurea, except in L. speciosa which is 38 to 41 \u03bcm. Fundamental tissue. Hypodermis. Present in the leaf of all species, located both on the adaxial surface as abaxial, with the exception of L. speciosa which only occurs in the adaxial surface. Species with both hypodermises have a stratum in its abaxial hypodermis, the adaxial hypodermis generally presents one layer, with the exception of that in L. superbiens, which has two layers. Cell shape of the adaxial hypodermis is oblong except for L. rubescens, which presents cells with an elongated polygonal shape, and L. speciosa with polygonal cells isodiametric. Shape of cells of hypodermis abaxial, polygonal isodiametric except in the case of L. anceps, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana, which are oblongs, and L. Rubescens that presents cells with a polygonal shape perpendicularly elongated. Thick cell walls in the adaxial hypodermis, except in L. crawshayana and L. rubescens, which are thin. In the hypodermis abaxial the walls are in some species thick and in others thin. The type of wall in both the adaxial and abaxial hypodermis is cellulosic, except in L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana, which is lignified. The distribution of the layers of the adaxial hypodermis is continuous for all species, while the distribution in the abaxial hypodermis is continuous only in some species, with the exception of that in L. crawshayana, L. aurea, L. anceps, L. eyermaniana and L. speciosa, which is discontinuous. On the other hand, in the basal region, the presence of hypodermis was found in all species. The location is on both surfaces , with the exception of L. eyermaniana, where it is abaxial only. There is one layer of the adaxial hypodermis, with the exception of L. superbiens and L. crawshayana, which have two or more layers. In the case of the abaxial hypodermis, there is only one layer for all species. Mesophyll with a thickness from 500 to 2500 \u03bcm, with L. superbiens being the species with the highest thickness (2500 \u03bcm). Heterogeneous mesophyll , except in L. autumnalis, L. gouldiana, L. rubescens and L. superbiens, which is homogeneous. The proportion of palisade parenchyma was generally 0 to 0.4, with the exception of that in L. albida, L. anceps and L. aurea, which is from 0.41 to 0.8, and in L. rubescens, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana, which was 0.81 to 1. The presence of secondary thickenings was found only in the species L. aurea and L. superbiens. Water cells are absent in all species. Presence of calcium oxalate crystals with the exception of L. albida, L. anceps, L. aurea, L. autumnalis and L. eyermaniana. The shape of these crystals is mainly raphides. The ubication of the crystals is mainly in the center of the mesophyll. In the case of the basal region, the mesophyll is heterogeneous , with exception of the species that present a homogeneous mesophyll: L. anceps, L. autumnalis, L. eyermaniana, L. gouldiana and L. rubescens. The basal region also presents air spaces in the mesophyll, with the exception of L. crawshayana, L. furfuracea, L. speciosa, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana. Extravascular fibers are found in the middle region in all species, the location is generally both abaxial and adaxial, with the exception of L. rubescens which has extravascular fibers present throughout the mesophyll. There are one to four layers of adaxial extravascular fiber bundles, with exception of L. rubescens and L. superbiens, which have four to five layers, make abaxial extravascular fibers of two to four layers, with the exception of L. aurea and L. furfuracea, which have four to six layers, and L. rubescens, which has six to nine layers. Extravascular fiber wall thickness of 2.5 \u03bcm, except for the species L. aurea, L. gouldiana, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana with a wall thickness of 5 \u03bcm. Extravascular fibers with presence of stegmata. Central zone. In the central zone of the leaves, the presence of bulliform cells was found, with the exception of L. anceps, L. aurea, L. eyermaniana, L. gouldiana and L. halbingeriana. Species with bulliform cells have two to four strata. In a cross section, the leaves of the Mexican species of the genus Laelia present the projected central zone; this projection can be observed generally in convex shape, with the exception of that in L. anceps, L. aurea, L. rubescens and L. superbiens, which is keeled. Most species have a vascular bundle in the central zone. Regarding the presence of extravascular fiber bundles in the central zone, they were evident in all the species and generally had 2 to 4 strata. Vascular tissue. Four types of vascular bundles were found, except for L. crawshayana, L. superbiens and L. halbingeriana presenting three types and L. rubescens with five types of vascular bundles. In the blade, there are generally two layers of vascular bundles as in the case of L. albida, with the exception of L. eyermaniana and L. superbiens with one layer, and L. rubescens with three layers. Across the lamina there are 30 to 90 vascular bundles, with the exception of L. superbiens that presents more than 90 vascular bundles.In particular, the characters evaluated were 11 quantitative anatomical characters with 30 repeated measurements per species. The summary of descriptive statistics for these characters, such as the mean (M) and the standard deviation (SD) are concentrated in The CDA result showed that the first three canonical functions contributed 90% of the variation . The eigLaelia superbiens and the genus Cattleya displayed a very thick mesophyll (1501 to 2000 \u00b5m), while on the left side were the Laelia species L. crawshayana, L. eyermaniana, L. gouldiana and L. furfuracea, with lower thickness of the mesophyll (500 to 1000 \u00b5m). This quantitative anatomical character showed variations within the Mexican Laelias species   it was f species .Cattleya had a smaller area of abaxial epidermal cells (600 to 800 \u00b5m2) compared to those of L. crawshayana, L. eyermaniana, L. gouldiana, L. furfuracea, L. speciosa and L. anceps , and at the upper end of the axis, the Mexican species of the genus Laelia with a smaller abaxial cuticle , the two species of . anceps   and Cattleya species (red)  as a grouping algorithm, separating the group of Laelias (pink) from the es (red) . It was Laelia anceps, L. albida, L. autumnalis, L. eyermaniana, L. furfuracea, L. gouldiana and L. speciosa, share the following anatomical characters: striated cuticular surface, conspicuous substomatal chamber, thick cells walls of adaxial hypodermis, distribution of continuous adaxial hypodermis strata, absence of cells with secondary thickenings in the mesophyll and four types of vascular bundles in the mesophyll  (High-mountain Laelias (2000\u20133000 m asl), which include the species  lamina) . The mor lamina) .Laelia aurea and L. rubescens species. They are similar in the following anatomical characters: epidermal papillae present in the abaxial epidermis of leaves, deep development of cuticular edges of the stoma, inconspicuous substomatal chamber, cellulosic cell wall in the abaxial hypodermis of leaves, presence of secondary thickenings in the mesophyll and hypodermis of the basal region of a stratum and air spaces present in the basal region of the leaf. Interesting morphological characters that can be highlighted for lowland orchids are: chartaceous leathery leaves and pseudobulbs with a discoid shape and more wrinkled, a leaf in each pseudobulb, an exclusively pubescent lip, a lip throat with a brown spot, scale-shaped floral bracts, and a stigmatic surface that is not hidden by the rostellum.At the other extreme are the orchids at low altitudinal distribution (500 m asl), which include Cattleya, in the case of C. mossiae, which is found at altitudes of 800 to 2000 meters asl, and for C. purpurata 500 meters asl, anatomical characters were identified that can be functional for distinguishing them from the genus Laelia, such as: stomatal index (>7), rough cuticle, oblong adaxial and abaxial epidermal cell shape. The morphological characters in both Cattleya species are leaves with proportions greater than 7.41 cm.Regarding the species of the analyzed genus Laelia in Mexico. The importance of the results obtained lies in the fact that the present research work shows that the Laelias of M\u00e9xico share several structural attributes by which its species can be recognized as a taxonomic group.Here we present a study where anatomical and morphological characters were integrated to analyze the similarity relationships and the altitudinal distribution present in the species of the genus Previous studies mention the relevance of the taxonomic relationships that exist between some species of the Laeliinae Subtribe based on their vegetative and floral morphology . Stern aLaelia in M\u00e9xico, which inhabit more xeric environments, have thicker cuticles as a mechanism of tolerance to drought, as has been reported for other orchid species belonging to xeromorphic environments [This work is the first contribution on the relationship that exists between the thickness of the cuticle and the environment in the Mexican Laelias species. Particularly the species of the genus ronments .L. eyermaniana, L. rubescens and L. superbiens have elongated polygonal cells, and adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells are distributed alternately. In species such as L. gouldiana, L. rubescens and L. halbingeriana, the distribution is in rows.In general, for the species of the Laeliinae subtribe, the shape of the cells in the epidermis is polygonal isodiametric, and their distribution is in rows . In the Laelia from other species. For example, in the case of Cattleya purpurata, the area of the adaxial epidermal cells is >5000 \u00b5m2. In Mexican Laelias, the adaxial epidermal cell area is <5000 \u00b5m2, while abaxial cell area is 801 to 1400 \u00b5m2, except for L. aurea, where it is 600 to 800 \u00b5m2. The area of the abaxial epidermal cells in both species of the genus Cattleya is smaller than in all the Mexican Laelias species with a value of 600 to 800 \u00b5m2.One of the characters that is not considered in previous studies but quantitatively analyzed in our study was the area of the abaxial and adaxial epidermal cells. In the Mexican Laelias, it was found that the area of the epidermal cells is a character that helps differentiate the Mexican species of the genus L. superbiens being the species in this study with the greatest thickness. Furthermore, the type of mesophyll is also heterogeneous, except for L. autumnalis, L. gouldiana, L. rubescens and L. superbiens, where it is homogeneous.For the Mexican Laelias species, the thickness of the mesophyll was quantitatively measured, and it was found to range from 500 to 2500 \u00b5m, with Laelia aurea and L. rubescens are naturally exposed to a water deficit and are the only species with cells with secondary thickenings in the mesophyll. Baker reports the presence of secondary thickenings in the mesophyll as a common character in several species within the Laeliinae subtribe [Laelia, since only two species display them; nevertheless, they were also found in the species of Broughtonia and Cattleya, confirming its presence in several species within the Laeliinae subtribe [subtribe . Pridgeosubtribe ,16. It hsubtribe . It is wsubtribe .L. crawshayana, L. halbingeriana and L. superbiens, which have three types, and species from more xeric environments such as L. rubescens that have up to five types of vascular bundles. There are two vascular bundle strata in the lamina, except for L. eyermaniana and L. superbiens with one stratum and L. rubescens with three strata. Throughout the lamina there are 30 to 90 vascular bundles, except in L. superbiens, which has more than 90 vascular bundles.Regarding vascular tissue, it has been reported that vascular bundles confer efficient water transport to the plant, necessary to respond to short periods of water availability . The MexL. rubescens, which has oblong-elliptical leaves up to 18 cm long and 4 cm wide [L. rubescens that inhabits lowlands and has a high tolerance to drought [Laelia species that live in the high mountains have fewer vascular bundles, more elongated and narrower leaves, as well as a less thick mesophyll in contrast to the low-altitude Mexican Laelias.It is noteworthy that in this work it was found that species from more xeric environments have a greater number of vascular bundles in the mesophyll, have shorter leaves and are wider. Such is the case of  cm wide . In addi drought , exhibitLaelia albida, L. anceps, L. aurea, L. autumnalis and L. eyermaniana. The shape of these crystals is raphides and druse crystals; however, they are scarce, and their location is in the center of the mesophyll . These preparations belong to the collection of the Research Support Laboratory of the IB-UNAM Botanical Garden and were collected by the AMO Herbarium located in Mexico City. Measurements of the anatomical parameters were obtained with the Image-J program. We selected characters important for identification of the subtribe Laeliinae [The anatomical characters  were anaaeliinae . Regardiaeliinae .The morphological characters include vegetative traits related to rhizomes, pseudobulbs, leaf, plus reproductive characters such as arrangement of inflorescence, flowers, floral bracts, the season of flowering, the column, ovary, petals, pollinia, viscidium and rostellum , based oThe foliar anatomy of the Laelias from Mexico was described, including the qualitative and quantitative characters of the demic, fundamental and vascular tissues. Likewise, we presented the evaluation of quantitative anatomical characters of the group.The values corresponding to the mean, standard deviation, and the values (minimum and maximum) of the 11 quantitative anatomical characters of the species in this work were obtained. A matrix was made with these 11 continuous quantitative anatomical characters, each with 30 repetitions  for eachDescriptive statistics were performed for the 11 continuous quantitative anatomical characters. Subsequently, a test of normality (Shapiro\u2013Wilk) and homoscedasticity of the variances (Levene\u2019s test) were performed. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to each character with 15 species as levels. These analyses and box plots for each character were prepared with R-Studio 3.6.2 .In total, 107 morphological and anatomical characters were examined. The data matrix was elaborated from these structural characters to know the similarity relationships between the taxa from a cluster analysis. The character states of the quantitative anatomical characters were coded from a post hoc analysis with Dunnett\u2019s test. The cluster analysis was developed with the total of the structural characters from the NTSYS-PC program (v.2.1), for which a mixed data matrix was generated including the quantitative characters and the qualitative characters encoded as binary or multistate. On other hand, a similarity matrix, obtained through the taxonomic distance coefficient and the average linkage (UPGMA), was used as the grouping algorithm of the NTSYS-PC program (v.2.1)."}
+{"text": "Dear Editor,In the early 2000s, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) was coined as it refers to a set of diseases that occur in tropical countries due to the distinct geographical landscape, and distribution of the disease differs based on poverty in the region. Thus, they flourish in rural areas, conflict zones, and hard-to-reach regions, where there is generally a lack of quality healthcare, access to clean water, overcrowding, and scarce sanitation that is further aggravated by fluctuating climatic conditions. Pakistan ranks in the top 10 for the highest number of NTD cases for eight out of 18 NTDs researched in a study on global burden of diseaseThe country faces an impending debt crisis and perennial trade imbalance on the economic front, combined with multiple internal and external conflicts rampant, causing 46% of the Pakistani population to fall below the poverty lineIn Pakistan, some efforts have been taken to control the spread of NTDs such as the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI). This initiative began in 2016 and in partnership with the Pakistan Ministry of Health, has started mass drug administration of azithromycin to treat trachomaEradication of these diseases can be achieved with an increase in monitoring, evaluation, and surveillance with proper diagnostic tools and actions to reduce transmission. Greater availability of health resources in Pakistan\u2019s rural areas could reduce the health burden of these diseases greatlyNone.None.M.Y.E. conceived the concept of the paper. H.A., J.A.S., and A.S. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. H.A. and M.Y.E. edited the second draft. All authors read and approved the final draft.The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report.None.Mohammad Yasir Essar."}
+{"text": "Hypericum L. comprises about 500 species distributed almost worldwide. Research has mainly focused on H. perforatum with confirmed biological activity on the alleviation of depression symptoms, among others. The compounds responsible for such activity are considered naphthodianthrones and acylphloroglucinols. Other Hypericum species are less studied or not studied, and further research is needed to complete the characterization of the genus. In this study we evaluated the qualitative and quantitative phytochemical profile of nine Hypericum species native to Greece, namely H. perforatum, H. tetrapterum, H. perfoliatum, H. rumeliacum subsp. apollinis, H. vesiculosum, H. cycladicum, H. fragile, H. olympicum and H. delphicum. Qualitative analysis was performed using the LC/Q-TOF/HRMS technique, while quantitative data were calculated with the single point external standard method. Additionally, we estimated the antioxidant activity of the extracts using DPPH and ABTS assays. Three species endemic to Greece  were studied for the first time. Our results indicated that all studied species are rich in secondary metabolites, mainly of the flavonoids family, with strong antioxidant activity. Hypericum L. (Hypericaceae) includes about 500 species placed into 36 sections, and has an almost worldwide distribution in temperate, subtropical and mountainous tropical regions  conH. perforatum, in which hyperforin dominates). For the rest of the examined extracts, the flavonoid content of H. rumeliacum subsp. apollinis reaches 771.41 mg/g dry material. In this extract, the most abundant flavonoids  were myricitrin , kaempferol glucoside  and I3, II8 biapigenin . Napoli et al. (2018) H. perfor. (2020) , regardiH. perforatum showed the best antioxidant activity as far as the DPPH assay, followed by H. delphicum. For the ABTS assay, all the calculated IC50 values were lower than those calculated for the DPPH assay. H. olympicum presented an IC50 value not far from that of the standard antioxidant, Trolox. The extract of H. vesiculosum was the least active for both assays used. Numerous studies on the antioxidant activity of different Hypericum species have been published. Taken together, data extracted from these studies make it clear that all Hypericum species possess strong antioxidant activity [The importance of antioxidants is an issue intensely discussed due to their multiple health benefits. Their use is not restricted only to the pharmaceutical industry, but antioxidants are also added in several food and cosmetic products ,50. The activity ,53,54,55The antioxidant activity of a compound is dependent on its chemical structure . AmentofH. perfoliatum, H. vesiculosum, H. cycladicum, H. perforatum and H. delphicum. However, the H. cycladicum extract, apart from the above-mentioned family of biologically active compounds, also contains a great amount of chlorogenic acid, the highest in comparison with the rest of the extracts. Luteolin glucoside and kaempferol glucoside are present. Further, the sum of flavonoids is high. For the ABTS assay, the calculated IC50 value of H. olympicum extract is the lowest. Despite the sum of flavonoids presented in this extract not being the highest one, some secondary metabolites, in particular myricetin glycosides, are detected in considerable amount. Myricetin is a strong antioxidant compound [H. rumeliacum subsp. apollinis extract, although in minor quantity. Myricitrin was also identified in this extract at a significant amount. Also of note, the H. rumeliacum subsp. apollinis extract is the richest regarding the sum of flavonoids and the second one in abundance of chlorogenic acid. H. cycladicum is another species with interesting antioxidant activity. The presence of luteolin glucoside and the higher amount of chlorogenic acid and amentoflavone, respective to the other extracts, contribute to its activity.Differences in the antioxidant capacity of the extracts are observed, which is rather expected taking into account the qualitative and quantitative variation between the identified secondary metabolites. All the tested extracts possess a significant antioxidant activity. Five out of nine species contain secondary metabolites of the flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins family. Proanthocyanidins are polyphenolic compounds, formed by flavan-3-ols subunits bound with B or A linkages. Most common flavan-3-ols subunits are catechin, gallocatechin and their isomers, from which oligo- or polymeric proanthocyanidins can be formed, among which oligo- proanthocyanidins are reported to be more effective antioxidants . Literatcompound . Both glH. vesiculosum is higher, a better antioxidant activity was estimated in the case of the H. delphicum extract. The sum of flavonoids for the two extracts is close; however, the better antioxidant activity for H. delphicum might be attributed to myricetin glucoside and kaempferol rhamnoside, which are present at great amounts in this extract. Generally, flavonoids are found in plants mostly in their glycosylated form, in particular at positions 3 (O-glycosylation) and 7 (C-glycosylation). As has been suggested, glycosylated forms are less active in terms of antioxidant activity. In addition, the number and type of glycosidic moieties alter the antioxidant activity, with glucose being the sugar to cause the minimum interference [H. perfoliatum, H. perforatum, H. delphicum (only epicatechin was identified) and H. cycladicum (only kaempferol was identified). Taken together, data of the antioxidant activity highlight that qualitative and quantitative differences are crucial for the radical scavenging activity of an extract. Definitely, a synergistic effect of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, quinic and benzoic acid derivates, contributes to the overall results. Naphthodianthrones and acylphloroglucinols seem not to contribute to the antioxidant activity [Although the number of compounds identified in the extract of rference . Most ofactivity .Hypericum species native to Greece, among which the endemic species of H. cycladicum, H. fragile and H. delphicum are studied for the first time. Generally, most of the studied species are overlooked compared to H. perforatum. Therefore, the present study adds novel information on the phytochemical profile and the antioxidant activity of the genus Hypericum.This study evaluated the phytochemical profile of nine Different families of secondary metabolites were identified, all documented by the existing literature to have a significant biological activity; hence, the present study gives strong motivation for further research on the biological activity of more species of the genus that will create a new perspective for their use. Our results present some similarities compared to those species for which studies have been performed. Nevertheless, important differences are also mentioned that highlight the unique climate characteristics between the different locations where the plant is found. However, the high demand for herbal products, in combination with exogenous factors such as climate change, pose risks for medicinal plants. As mentioned by , most me"}
+{"text": "Rajeswari et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 61525\u201361536. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4RA12207K.Retraction of \u2018Investigation of anticorrosive, antibacterial and  RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the authors, hereby wholly retracts this The HRSEM image in Fig. 4c represents a scaled version of part of the image presented in Fig. 4e. However, both images are presented with the same scale bar and represent different samples.Repeating fragments can be observed in the images in Fig. 6a\u2013f, indicating that the images have been manipulated.The optical images in Fig. 8a\u2013c have been duplicated in other publications. The panel in Fig. 8a has been duplicated as Fig. 9a in ref. The authors informed the editor that the characterization of the original samples was outsourced, and they do not have the original raw data for the published results.Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable.Signed: D. Rajeswari, D. Gopi, S. Ramya and L. KavithaDate: 16th March 2023RSC AdvancesRetraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor,"}
+{"text": "Concrete, one of the most often-used building materials today, is the cornerstone of modern buildings all over the world, being used for foundations, pavements, building walls, architectural structures, highways, bridges, overpasses, and so on. Because of its adaptability, concrete may be found in practically every construction, in some form or another. Yet, the diverse nature of its components, their combinations, and their doses result in a very wide range of concrete kinds with varying properties. As a result, concrete is a material that is always evolving and is popular even now, especially when it comes to circular economy.Other ways of concrete manufacturing are now being researched to lessen or remove the limits of this material, which are connected to its brittleness and poor environmental effects. As a result, the development of engineering cementitious composites has resulted in a significant reduction in flexibility issues, while the introduction of new additives and the optimization of the manufacturing process has resulted in a significant reduction in the negative effects of virgin raw material exploitation. In-depth research is still required to optimize and increase the sustainability of these advanced engineering cementitious composites or alternative concretes.2-eq. In another study, K. Khan et al. [In this Special Issue (SI), state-of-the-art research and review articles on the emerging material systems for AM are collected, with a focus on the process\u2013structure\u2013properties relationships. In total, eleven research papers and six reviews have been collected. Considering the high interest in this field for finding alternatives for virgin raw materials, in the research article conducted by Lv, Z. et al. , an inten et al.  showed tn et al.  conducteIn the review articles published in this SI, A.T.M. Yin et al.  discusse"}
+{"text": "Rickettsia aeschlimannii infection is an emerging human tick-borne disease with only a few recorded cases. We reported a presumable autochthonous case of rickettsiosis in an Italian cattle breeder associated with a Hyalomma marginatum bite. Rickettsia aeschlimannii DNA was detected in both the tick specimen from the patient and the grazing cattle close to his farm.  Rickettsia aeschlimannii is an emerging human tick-borne pathogen responsible for typical signs of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF), acute hepatitis without MSF-like signs, and fever with meningitis without inoculation eschar or cutaneous rash [Hyalomma marginatum ticks and characterized as a new member of Spotted Fever Group (SFG) rickettsiae [R. aeschlimannii was linked to a human infection case in a French traveler returning from Morocco [R. aeschlimannii are mostly linked to imported cases with only one autochthonous clinical case recorded in Italy [R. aeschlimannii DNA has been frequently detected in several species of ticks removed from mammals and birds [ous rash ,2,3,4. Tkettsiae . Subsequ Morocco  and it h Morocco ,8,9,10. nd birds ,12. We r17kDa) and the citrate synthase-encoding gene (gltA) from the specimen as described by Webb and Roux [Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (H. m. m.). Sequencing of the PCR products showed 100% identity with Rickettsia (R.) aeschlimannii. Due to the circumstances of the events two years earlier, it was impossible to determine the presence of R. aeschlimannii by molecular tests, rickettsia isolation or immunohistochemistry in the patient\u2019s lesions. Unfortunately, despite our request for a serological test, the patient found the blood draw inappropriate. The cattle farmer, in fact, considered the molecular detection of the pathogen in the preserved tick sufficient to solve his diagnostic doubt.During May 2022, a 75-year-old cattle breeder, male, living in a rural area of Apulia region (Gargano promontory) and without travel history delivered to our laboratory one tick specimen to be analyzed for pathogens. The ectoparasite was stored in 70% ethanol in a plastic vial dated 27 September 2020. The late delivery of the sample was due to the COVID-19 restrictions and fear of the contagion at the time. Questioned, the patient referred that the ectoparasite had been manually removed from his foot during the requested medical consultation; in the occasion, a therapy with antibiotic ointment and amoxicillina 1000 mg daily was also prescribed. On the fourth day, despite the ongoing antibiotic treatment, fever (peak 38.2) and foot pain and swelling accompanied by itch appeared; in the following days, the tick-bite area became progressively darker. The patient did not remember the presence of a maculopapular skin rash associated with the fever but he reported  the development of an expanding dermal redness at the place of the tick bite. The subsequent therapy with doxycycline 200 mg daily for 14 days gradually led to remission of the referred symptoms. To prove the story, he also provided a series of photos documenting the developed lesions on the tick-bite site in the period October\u2013November 2020; in addition, a more recent photo was also taken at that date . Due to and Roux  were sucH. marginatum, along with Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor marginatus and Rhipicephalus sanguineous, is regarded as one of the most common tick species of medical interest. In Italy, the genus Hyalomma Koch, 1844 includes the species H. aegyptium, H. lusitanicum, H. detritum (formerly H. d. detritum and H. d. scupense subspecies), H. excavatum and H. marginatum (formerly H. m. marginatum and H. m. rufipes subspecies) [H. marginatum complex are characterized by a high ecological plasticity and they can be found in very different environments, including arid or humid pastures, in low, medium and high mountains or in the Mediterranean maquis. In Italy, adult and immature specimens of H. m. marginatum were historically reported in continental and insular regions, including the Apulia region [H. marginatum is an exophilic and ditropic tick with a cycle of two hosts where only the larvae and adults need to find a host. Adults usually feed on large mammals, mainly artiodactyls and perissodactyls, while the immature forms are commonly ectoparasites of lagomorphs, rodents and of a wide number of birds [H. marginatum is also a well-known vector and reservoir for various zoonotic and emerging pathogens, including Crimean\u2013Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and R. aeschlimannii; both these pathogens can persist in the arthropod for their entire lifespan, and they can be also transmitted vertically to the next generation. The Mediterranean basin\u2019s warmer parts, in fact, house an autochthonous population of H marginatum but the evidence of a trend towards a warmer climate in Europe and the probability of introduction of immature specimens by birds has increased the recognition of this tick species as a possible invasive species for the countries of northern Europe [H. marginatum is considered to be the main reservoir of R. aeschlimannii [H. m. m in a transstadial way. H. marginatum can transmit R. aeschlimannii to future generations through transovarian transmission, promoting the ability of this tick species to maintain and colonize new territories, hosts and environments. Birds, cattle, small ruminants, camels and rodents, although asymptomatic, could be the vertebrate reservoirs of the pathogen in infected areas. The ability of R. aeschlimannii to infect other extremely prolific tick and mammal species has been also reported. In Algeria, in fact, the DNA of R. aeschlimannii has been recently amplified in specimens of Rhipicephalus bursa (Anatolian brown tick) collected from cattle and in Tunisia the bacterium was isolated from wild rodents [R. aeschlimannii-infected tick specimen. After the H. marginatum bite, his foot quickly became so swollen that he could not wear shoes and the pain was so intense that it could not walk. The patient\u2019s awe increased due to the onset of the fever and to the worsening of the skin lesion caused by the tick bite. He did not report the appearance of spots or a maculopapular rash. During this time, the clinician contacted by telephone after assessing the symptoms and history suspected a tick bite infection, such as Lyme disease or rickettsiosis.In the Mediterranean area, species) ,16. The a region ,18,19. Hof birds . The abiof birds . In all n Europe  with thelimannii ,23,24,25 rodents . In our tache noir fell and the wound improved gradually after receiving antibiotic treatment with doxycycline. The patient\u2019s cousin took care of the cattle during his convalescence and did not report any health problems. Although the general condition of the patient improved quickly and the swelling and pain of the foot disappeared after about 7 days, at the site of the tick bite, the healing of the skin was very slow. About 600 days after the parasite removal, a skin area with abnormal pigmentation was still visible. The cattle examined were in good health and showed no signs of infectious disease. The IZSPB database consultation confirmed that, in addition to H. marginatum, several species of ticks have been previously collected in the investigated area, such as I. ricinus, D. marginatus, Rh. turanicus, Rh. sanguineus, Rh. bursa and Haemaphysalis inermis; furthermore, zoonotic tick-borne pathogens like Borrelia garinii and B. afzelii [R. helvetica, R. raoultii, R. slovaca, R. felis [R. monacensis had also been identified in questing ticks collected in the same area. The detection of these pathogens in competent vectors suggests that the number of human infections related to tick-borne diseases could be higher than the scarcely reported cases in the medical literature from Southern Italy, including the Gargano area. This is supplemented with the fact that the diagnosis of R. aeschlimannii infection may be extremely challenging; in fact, in addition to the MSF manifestations, characterized by eschar, rash, edema and partial necrosis surrounding the tick bite site, episodes may present with nonspecific clinical symptoms , without cutaneous signs, such as observed in the case of an infection acquired in Southern Italy [R. aeschlimannii could be the cause of necrosis, erythema, myalgia, edema, and partial necrosis surrounding the tick bite site with clinical manifestations analogous to those described in several infections with SFGR. The clinical signs illustrated in our study are very similar to a report case of an R. aeschlimannii infection in a woman in China [R. aeschlimannii in ticks around the patient\u2019s home and they associated the human infection with the R. aeschlimannii detected in vectors. On the basis of the above, a diagnosis of rickettsiosis is still a challenge, especially when it is solely based on clinical manifestations. Since the development of the Weil-Felix test, serology has been the primary method for diagnosing rickettsial infections. Increased sensitivity and specificity have been achieved by advances in serological analysis, but several critical aspects still remain unsolved. Among these limits is the correct identification of species. R. rickettsii or R. conorii antigens are the only ones used in many commercial assays that use indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAs). Discarding Rickettsia groups but not species can also be achieved by using an enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgM or IgG for SFG and Typhus Group rickettsial infections. An alternative technique that has been shown to be effective for the differentiation of antibodies against different Rickettsia species is the micro-IFA (MIF). The assay was able to discriminate specific antibodies for R. helvetica, R. raoultii and R. slovaca in samples of canine serum [R. aeschlimannii, R. conorii, R. africae, R. slovaca, R. helvetica and R. massiliae in human serum samples [17kDa and gltA genes allowed us to characterize the species detected as R. aeschlimannii. In addition, entomological findings show that the investigated area houses several specimens of H. m. m. that are potentially dangerous for human health, highlighting that the percentage of ticks collected and found to be infected was 100%. There is still a lack of information regarding the role of mammals or birds as potential reservoirs of zoonotic rickettsiae. Despite the identification of R. helvetica DNA in deer blood samples [R. aeschlimannii, in domestic and wild ruminants is still largely uninvestigated. In conclusion, due to the high prevalence of R. aeschlimannii in the examined ticks and technical difficulties of making a retrospective serological diagnosis of infection among the SFG rickettsiae, we suppose that there is a fairly plausible correlation between the removed tick and the clinical manifestation of the patient. The history and the clinical signs are highly presumptive of tick-borne rickettsiosis. Although the presence of R. aeschlimannii has been ascertained only in ticks, further investigations in vertebrate hosts should be recommended to identify the vertebrate reservoirs of R. aeschlimannii in the Mediterranean region. In sites where ticks are present, the differential diagnosis between the various cutaneous clinical findings has certainly been a medical challenge. Interestingly, there is the evidence that both COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and rickettsial infection can have cutaneous involvement with eschar and necrotic lesions; in fact, both share a similar mechanism of infecting endothelial cells, resulting in vasculopathy lesions [Due to the lack of available serological tests in the medical laboratory and the severe restrictions associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection, therapy was prescribed for suspected rickettsiosis. The  afzelii , R. helvR. felis  and R. mrn Italy , or may rn Italy . R. aescin China . In the ne serum  and R. a samples  and of c samples , the pre lesions . However"}
+{"text": "Conocybe belongs to the Bolbitiaceae. The morphological classification and molecular phylogenetics of Conocybe section Pilosellae are not in agreement. In this study, based on the specimens from China, we investigated the sect. Pilosellae and identified 17 species, including 7 new species: Conocybe pilosa, with a densely hairy pileus and stipe; C. reniformis, with reniform spores; C. ceracea, with waxy dehydration of the lamellae; C. muscicola, growing on moss; C. sinobispora, with two-spored basidia; C. hydrophila, with a hygrophanous pileus; C. rufostipes, growing on dung with a brown stipe; and C. pseudocrispa, one new record for China. A key was compiled for the sect. Pilosellae in China. Here, the sect. Pilosellae, and new species and records from China are morphologically described and illustrated. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were performed using a combined nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and nuc 28S rDNA (nrLSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-\u03b1) dataset to reconstruct the relationships of this section. We found that the sect. Pilosellae was the basal clade of Conocybe, and its evolutionary features may shed light on the characteristics of Conocybe. By integrating morphological classification and phylogenetic analysis, we explored the possible phylogenetic relationships among the species of the sect. Pilosellae in China. Conocybe Fay  originates from the Greek words \u201ckonos\u201d and \u201ccybe\u201d, meaning \u201cconical head\u201d and refers to its conical pileus .2.Conocybe singeriana Hauskn. [ Hauskn. ,18,56C. singeriana belongs to the sect. Pilosellae, it is molecularly classified under Conocybe Clade1 and should be excluded from the sect. Pilosellae.Collection: Mulun Township, Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. 9 April 2021, HMJAU64956. Although the caulocystidia morphology of Conocybe was a monophyletic group, whereas Pholiotina was a polyphyletic group. Moreover, the sect. Pilosellae was the basal section of Conocybe. This result has also been confirmed in the studies by T\u00f3th et al. (2013) [Pilosellae is necessary because this section exhibits diverse forms of species evolution at the basal node of Conocybe  and the morphological classification of Hausknecht (2009) ,19, we i13 and th. (2013) . PiloselConocybe . For exa section ,57. C. iConocybe . MoreovePilosellae from China, attempted to align morphological classification characteristics with molecular systematics to determine the classification and evolutionary characteristics of this section. It was discovered that the shape of the pileus of the species in this section is predominantly conical, with campanulate and hemispherical shapes being less common, and subglobose being the least common. A hygrophanous pileus may be correlated with the presence or absence of striations. Most species in this section have a slightly hairy pileus, with only a few species having a highly hairy pileus. The edges of the lamellae are either smooth or serrated. The stipes of all species in this section are hairy, with C. incarnata being the only species with pseudorhiza. Species with two-spored basidia were present on each of the smaller evolutionary branches. Although the spores also had other shapes, such as hexagonal, they were primarily ellipsoid to oblong in shape. Distinct germ pores have also been used to classify certain species. Whether the caulocystidia are lecythiform is the most important feature used to distinguish between different sections of the Conocybe [Conocybe, this represents an evolution from the sect. Pilosellae to sect. Conocybe, with the sect. Mixtae forming the transitional section [Pilosellae were frequently confused with species in the sect. Mixtae, which is why some species in the sect. Pilosellae have been categorized in the sect. Mixtae [Pilosellae into different series.The Bayesian phylogenetic tree, based on the combined ITS, nrLSU, and tef1-\u03b1 sequences  of the kConocybe . At the  section . The fin. Mixtae ,58. Pile. Mixtae . The evoPilosellae . Within the clades C. muscicola, Conocybe sp.4, and C. incarnata, C. muscicola grows on moss layers, Conocybe sp.4 grows on cow dung, and C. incarnata grows on the ground in broad-leaved forests. Despite their different habitats, they all had reddish-hued pilei. Although the pilei of many species are hygrophanous, meaning that their color changes with the degree of moisture, the importance of color does not decrease. Further research is needed to determine whether this evolutionary branch can be established as a series. The pilei of C. ceracea and C. velutinomarginata have similar features; however, the waxiness of the C. ceracea pileus is distinct, thus being easily distinguishable from C. velutinomarginata [C. reniformis is the presence of reniform spores, resulting in the formation of a separate evolutionary branch. Additionally, C. pilosa formed the sister group of Conocybe sp.2; however, it can be easily distinguished from the latter by its densely hairy pileus and stipe and smooth lamellar edges. The most distinctive feature of C. pseudocrispa is its white pileus with no pigment at the base of the pileipellis. However, the presence of pseudoparaphyses suggests that this is not the only sectional characteristic of the sect. Candidae; for instance, deliquescence is another sectional characteristic [Further phylogenetic analysis of the new species of the sect. losellae  revealedt colors . C. sinoarginata . A typicteristic ,57.Pilosellae from China and their corresponding sequences. This study attempted to integrate morphological classification with molecular systematics, but did not conduct a systematic study on Conocybe Clade1. Therefore, the sect. Pilosellae was not revised, and only some key information is provided, laying the foundation for future research. Currently, some species in the sect. Pilosellae have a few lecythiform caulocystidia at the top of the stipe, which can easily be misidentified as those in the sect. Mixtae. Meanwhile, some species possessing the characteristics of the sect. Pilosellae have been found in other sections [Conocybe species that integrates morphological and systematic approaches to elucidate the relationships between different sections is necessary.This article provides a comprehensive list of all the currently known species in the sect. sections ,58. To a"}
+{"text": "Here, we present a deeper study of these sequences in Vaccinium L. Molecular-genetic and bioinformatics methods were applied for sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the rolB/C-like gene. The rolB/C-like gene was discovered in 26 new Vaccinium species and Agapetes serpens (Wight) Sleumer. Most samples were found to contain full-size genes. It allowed us to develop approaches for the phasing of cT-DNA alleles and reconstruct a Vaccinium phylogenetic relationship. Intra- and interspecific polymorphism found in cT-DNA makes it possible to use it for phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies of the Vaccinium genus.A variety of plant species found in nature contain agrobacterial T-DNAs in their genomes which they transmit in a series of sexual generations. Such T-DNAs are called cellular T-DNAs (cT-DNAs). cT-DNAs have been discovered in dozens of plant genera, and are suggested to be used in phylogenetic studies, since they are well-defined and unrelated to other plant sequences. Their integration into a particular chromosomal site indicates a founder event and a clear start of a new clade. cT-DNA inserts do not disseminate in the genome after insertion. They can be large and old enough to generate a range of variants, thereby allowing the construction of detailed trees. Unusual cT-DNAs (containing the  Agrobacterium\u201d is a soil bacterium with a unique mechanism to transfer well-defined DNA fragments (T-DNAs) into the chromosomes of a large variety of dicotyledonous plant species [Agrobacterium tumefaciens Conn or A. vitis Ophel and Kerr) or hairy roots formation . It has been experimentally demonstrated that hairy roots can regenerate into fertile plants [Nicotiana glauca Graham and other Nicotiana L. species [Linaria Mill. [Ipomoea L. [Cuscuta L. [Linaria [Ipomoea [Nicotiana [Camellia [Camellia [\u201c species ,3,4,5,6.e plants ,8,9. Mor species ,11,12, aia Mill. , Ipomoeaomoea L. , Cuscutascuta L. , and dozscuta L. ,17,18. Tscuta L. . Sequenc[Linaria , Ipomoea[Ipomoea , Nicotiaicotiana , and CamCamellia . They prCamellia . PhasingCamellia . These aCamellia .rolB/C-like gene in the genome data of Vaccinium corymbosum L. and Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait. [plast-gene family. It is more similar to plast-genes present in fungus Laccaria bicolor (Maire) P.D.Orton (and absent in most basidiomycetes), plant Nyssa sinensis Oliv., and bacteria Ensifer sp. Casida, than to ones from known strains of Agrobacterium (Rhizobium) rhizogenes, which indicates the transfer of this sequence from an unknown \u00abAgrobacterium\u00bb strain [We also found unusual sequences of the pon Ait. ,16. ThisVaccinium genus, using the rolB/C-like gene sequence. This task is quite relevant since the phylogeny of Vaccinium genus is highly controversial.Based on the results of previous phylogenetic studies, we can try to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between species of Vaccinium genus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 [Vaccinium phylogeny and taxonomy mainly involved species distributed in North America. The main difficulties in such studies were caused by the absence of fertility barriers in morphologically different organisms, which leads to the formation of a large number of hybrids, along with polyploidy distribution throughout the genus [The  in 1753 . After t in 1753 ,27. TherVaccinium genus in 1945 [Cyanococcus included 9 diploid, 12 tetraploid, and 3 hexaploid species [V. corymbosum with three levels of ploidy; therefore, in the new Kloet\u2019s classification, the Cyanococcus section contained 6 diploid, 5 tetraploid, and 1 hexaploid blueberry species [Camp was one of the first to introduce the system of  in 1945 . He cond species . Later,  species , while d species .Vaccinium species differentiation is complicated by polyploidy, similar morphology, and introgressions during hybridization [Thereby, dization . AdditioVaccinium genus. They allowed us to reconsider the taxonomy proposed by K. Kloet. An example of such study is the application of matK and ITS markers to determine phylogenetic relationships of various representatives of the entire tribe Vaccinieae [Vaccinium and Agapetes); Bracteata-Oarianthe (represented by the respective sections); Orthaea/Notopora (containing the genera Orthaea Klotzsch and Notopora Hook); Myrtillus; and Vaccinium clades. Moreover, most of the discovered clades combined representatives of various genera, while the clades Vaccinium and Myrtillus contained species from different Vaccinium sections according to the previous classifications. Based on the obtained results, the authors concluded that it is necessary to reassess the taxonomy of the genus Vaccinium, since it is not monophyletic. Although work on this reassessment began in 2003 [matK, in taxon, where hybridization and polyploidization played a significant evolutionary role [Methods such as DNA barcoding, fingerprinting, phylogenomics, and chemosystematics have been used recently in the study of ccinieae . The res in 2003 , a numbeary role .Vaccinium genus, more time-consuming and expensive methods of molecular phylogenetics were used in genetic studies of economically important species. Recent assemblies of the genomes of V. macrocarpon, V. microcarpum (Turcz. ex Rupr.) Schmalh., V. oxycoccos L., and V. corymbosum made it possible to conduct their comparative genomics [V. macrocarpon diverged from V. oxycoccos 2 mya, and from V. microcarpum 4.5 mya. Divergence time estimated for V. macrocarpon and V. corymbosum differs from 5 to 10.4 mya [Since the use of DNA barcoding does not enable unambiguous reconstruction of the phylogeny of genomics ,35. Mole10.4 mya ,35.V. darrowii Camp, V. elliottii Chapm, V. tenellum Ait., V. angustifolium Ait., V. corymbosum, V. constablaei A. Gray, V. virgatum Ait, V. myrtilloides Michx., and V. pallidum Ait. The trends identified in this way are consistent with the history of blueberry breeding [An analysis of the intra- and interspecific variability of American blueberry species by double digest restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing , showed breeding .Vaccinium by various methods have led to contradictory results. The use of phylogenetic markers ITS and matK leads to the construction of a phylogenetic tree with significant differences from the classical system. The use of more expensive and time-consuming methods of genome studies gives a more plausible picture, that is more consistent with the classical system. However, expensive methods can currently be applied to a narrow list of economically important species. For more extensive studies of various representatives of the genus, easy-to-use and cheap markers are required. They can be developed based on genome regions newly acquired in the course of evolution with a known structure and localization. An example of such sequences would be cellular T-DNA. Therefore, our study aims to characterize cellular T-DNA polymorphism in the genomes of plants of Vaccinium genus, and to evaluate the possibility of its application for phylogenetic studies of the genus.Thereby, attempts to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of species of the genus rolB/C-like gene has been described only in V. corymbosum and V. macrocarpon. In the framework of this study, using BLAST algorithm, this gene was described in the WGS data for V. myrtillus and V. darrowii. Their ORFs correspond to the amino acid sequences from 290 (in V. myrtillus) to 292 amino acids (in V. macrocarpon).Until recently, the Vaccinium genus.In blueberries, the gene is located on chromosome 3 . Located on both sides of it, at a distance of 5 kb, are genes of plant origin with functions that have not been described yet. No other agrobacterial genes were found in the genome of plants of rolB/C-like gene in SRA database revealed new species of naturally transgenic plants in the Vaccinium genus, summarized in Our search for homologues of the Oxycoccoides, Oxycoccus, Cyanococcus, Hemimyrtillus, Myrtillus, Polycodium, Bracteata, Vaccinium, and Vitis-idaea, indicating that their common ancestor was transformed before the sections diverged.Natural GMOs were found in the sections V. selerianum, V. shastense, V. striicaule, V. symplocifolium, V. vidalii, and V. whitmeei), the transgene was not found at all, but this does not mean its absence from the genome, it indicates, however, that additional studies are required.Genomic data for different species varies in coverage quality. In some cases, the presence of a transgene can be inferred from single reads. In other cases , only full-length sequences of the roB/C-like gene were found.Sequences with good coverage were used further to assemble full-length sequences. For a deeper understanding of the gene variability, field material was collected, which was included in further variability analysis of the Vaccinium. They are represented by substitutions and indels. Moreover, indels are equal or multiples of three nucleotides. This is evidence in favor of the gene product functionality. Examples of such polymorphism can be SNPs in V. uliginosum and V. vitis-idaea shown in Vaccinium species shown in When studying SNPs within full-length sequences, one can see that there are nucleotide differences characteristic of the species, distinguishing each of them from other representatives of the genus Vaccinium, as well as in Laccaria, Nyssa, and Ensifer. The closest of the described agrobacterial proteins is the RolB protein  are homogeneous, despite the wide geography of sampling. At the same time, clades D and H are mosaic. Clade H is represented by alleles from involved . Clade GV. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos are related species that form clade D. These species require more detailed study in the future, since the American cranberry is a cultivated species, and, therefore, hybridization was used in the early stages of its breeding. In turn, swamp cranberries are the only species known today where the transgene was extensively mutated in many of the studied samples.In general, our studies have shown that, at least in the analyzed species, the intraspecific variability of transgene is lower than interspecific, and the mosaic distribution of alleles on the tree in American blueberries can be explained in terms of interspecific hybridization documented during the creation of studied varieties.Therefore, we compiled consensus sequences, as a characteristic of each of the species analyzed at the previous stage, and supplemented this list with sequences obtained on the basis of gene sequences we obtained from single samples of the collection of the Komarov Botanical Institute.rolB/C-like gene of species studied in the previous stage. Alleles of presumably hybrid origin were excluded at the stage of constructing consensus sequences.In the final part of this study, several types of data were used. First of which, were the consensus sequences of the In addition, sequences of species sufficient for gene assembly but not sufficient for allele phasing were included in our analysis.rolB/C-like gene from additional species, represented by single samples in the collection of the Komarov Botanical Institute.Finally, we obtained sequences of the V. myrtilloides (Sec. Cyanococcus), V. ovalifolium Sm. (Sec. Myrtillus), V. praestans Lamb. (Sec. Praestantia), V. smallii A. Gray (Sec. Hemimyrtillus), V. vulcanorum Kom. (Sec. Vaccinium), V. conchophyllum Rehder, V. emarginatum Hayata (Sec. Conchophyllum), and Agapetes serpens (Wight) Sleumer  [The phylogenetic tree presented in logical) .Vaccinium genus are clustered together when constructing a tree based on the proposed DNA marker. Marked with ovals in As can be seen from V. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos belong to the section Oxycoccus, but on ITS tree these species are separated by species V. vitis-idaea, which belongs to the section Vitis-idaea, Clade Myrtillus unites species of sections Myrtillus and Macropelma. Clade Bracteata-Oarianthe also includes species from sections Hemimyrtillus, Oarianthe, Bracteata, and Baccula-Nigra. Clade Agapetes includes representatives of genus Agapetes and some representatives of genus Vaccinium from sections Rigiolepis, Conchophyllum, and Galeopetalum, while some other species from these sections are spread over the tree. Orthaea/Notopora clade includes representatives of different genera, Notopora, Orthaea, and Vaccinium. The combination of Vaccinium representatives with other genera is also characteristic of Meso-American/Caribbean clades, which includes a representative of section Oreades.Another phylogenetic tree was constructed based on ITS sequences of samples studied in this work, combined with sequences from Kron et al. research . This trrolB/C-like gene.There are much fewer of such contradictions in the phylogenetic tree based on the Vaccinium is the fifth genus of natural GMOs after Nicotiana, Linaria, Ipomoea, and Camellia, where the cT-DNA structure was characterized in greater detail in many species. [species. ,13,14,23plast-gene found in plant genomes, a distinguishing feature of the Vaccinium genus is also the fact that the gene has been preserved intact in most of the studied species. The plast-genes family includes most of the oncogenes of R. rhizogenes , and some T-DNA genes of A. tumefaciens  [Plast genes were described in detail in the review by Leon Otten [plast genes could have similar functions because of their common ancestry, and their diversification could be an adaptation to different plant species. Describing the biodiversity of plast genes can be very important in order to find their basic function and some common features of all these genes. In this regard, the discovery of plast genes, that are not quite similar to previously known ones (as in our case), is very valuable for future research.In addition to the unusual  6a, 6b) . They ha 6a, 6b) ,13,14,38on Otten  suggesteVaccinium subgenera and Agapetes have a common localization site of the rolB/C-like sequence in the genome. This indicates a common origin of the sequence, as a result of a single transformation event of the ancestral form, and, accordingly, the monophyletic origin of all species containing transgene, included in our analysis. During evolution, the newly acquired sequence seems to have accumulated mutations. This variability can be assessed and used to estimate species divergence.In accordance with the analysis of previously assembled genomes and sequences, the representatives of two Vaccinium genus since there is still no consensus on the genus system.This is very important for the Vaccinium genus have been conducted since the middle of last century [matK, revealed contradictions with the traditional system. The trees constructed using ITS sequences by Kron et al. [Vaccinium and Agapetes; Bracteata-Oarianthe, uniting representatives of the respective sections; Orthaea/Notopora, which includes the genera Orthaea and Notopora; Myrtillus; and Vaccinium. These clades contained species of the genus Vaccinium, which, in previous classifications, belonged to different sections. Moreover, representatives of the oxycoccus subgenus were separated on the tree by V. vitis-idea. Representatives of the Cyanococcus section also fell into different clades, clustering with species of other sections.Phylogenetic studies of the  century ,27. The  century . The usen et al. , and recVaccinium.This contradiction could be related to the manifestation peculiarities of used DNA markers in species of hybrid origin. The ITS of hybrid species retain the features of only one parent, and chloroplast markers are inherited mainly through the maternal line . At the Camellia genus [Vaccinium plants, as well as to identify homo- and heterozygotes for this marker. This may be useful in interpreting controversial results of the origin of hybrid forms, as well as illustrating the incomplete isolation of species, as previously demonstrated in case of the genus Camellia [In this article, we propose such a marker. An important feature of the work carried out by us was the use of a large number of forms of cranberries, lingonberries, and blueberries of different geographical origin, as well as the phasing of natural transgene alleles using SRA data in order to assess intraspecific variability. Such an approach was first used to study cellular T-DNA of representatives of the ia genus . The anaCamellia .Vaccinium is less than the interspecific one. Therefore, it can be used to study the phylogenetic relationships of Vaccinium species.Based on the phylogenetic analysis of allelic variants, obtained in our research, it can be concluded that intraspecific variability of marker in Vaccinium was performed, using sequences of the rolB/C-like gene, as well as ITS sequences from previous studies [A phylogenetic analysis of the genus  studies , supplemrolB/C-like gene shows that they have similarities and differences. Species of Myrtillus section  cluster together in both trees. Species of Cyanococcus section are clustered on both trees in a similar way. No other similarities in the topology of these trees were found. Species V. conchophyllum and V. emarginatum belonging to section Conchophyllum cluster together on the rolB/C-like tree, but not on ITS tree. Species V. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos from section Oxycoccus, V. vulcanorum and V. uliginosum from section Vaccinium form separate clades on the rolB/C-like tree, but are scattered across different parts of the ITS tree.The comparison of trees built based on ITS and Bracteata, Hemimyrtillus, Vitis-idaea, Oxycoccoides, and Praestantia sections are represented by single species on the rolB/C-tree. These sections require additional research involving new species. Reconstruction of phylogeny using the rolB/C-like gene is consistent with data obtained by other researchers using more expensive and time-consuming methods [ methods ,35,42.rolB/C-like gene, has fewer contradictions with classical ideas, compared to a tree built based on ITS. The rolB/C-like gene, as a molecular marker, is cheap, easy to use, and is not time consuming. Given minimal amounts of biological material, new species can easily be included in further analyses.Therefore, a phylogeny, built on the basis of the Vaccinium myrtillus L., V. oxycoccos, V. vitis-idaea L., and V. uliginosum L., collected from various habitats in Russia and Belgium. Samples of 9 species of the studied genus were taken from the collection of the Komarov Botanical Institute . A detailed description of the samples is presented in Plant material was represented by samples of Vaccinium species from SRA database, used in this study are presented in Sequences of Leaves and stems of plants were grounded in liquid nitrogen. Plant DNA was isolated by a CTAB method described by Draper and co-authors .Type I. Classic PCR was performed using the primers shown in E. coli bacterial cells taken from a colony of transformants. The following program was used for real-time PCR: 60 s at 50 \u00b0C, 40 cycles of 5 min at 95 \u00b0C, 30 s at 58 \u00b0C, 60 s 72 \u00b0C, and 18 s at 95 \u00b0C.Type II. Real-time PCR from colonies was performed for additional control of early threshold values to search for clones containing the target insert. Real-time PCR was carried out in ANK-32 cycler . Primers for plasmid pJET1.2 from the CloneJET PCR Cloning Kit  were used in the reaction. The 20 \u03bcL of the reaction mixture contained SsoAdvanced Universal SYBR Green Supermix buffer , 10 \u03bcM primers, and a suspension of PCR products were separated on agarose gel in 1x TBE buffer and visualized using GelDoc Go .PCR products were cloned into pJET1.2 vector, using CloneJET PCR Cloning Kit  according to the manufacturer instructions, and transformed into DH5 alpha chemically competent cells according to Inoue and co-authors .PCR fragments were sequenced using Sanger method, and BrilliantDye\u2122 Terminator (v3.1) Cycle Sequencing Kit . Then, sequencing mixtures were separated at the Resource Center of St. Petersburg University \u201cDevelopment of Molecular and Cellular Technologies\u201d using an ABI Prism 3500 xl sequencer .In order to determine the sequences of alleles, we represented in binary form each sample as a set of polymorphic positions, where \u201c1\u201d indicates the most frequent nucleotide in a given position in the species, and \u201c0\u201d the least frequent. Then, for each sample, all possible combinations of values were written for polymorphic positions. Since homozygotes and samples with one SNP were found among the samples, we were able to obtain a primary pool of alleles, and these alleles were subsequently found in the remaining samples. Since each of these alleles, in a diploid, must match to an allele with alternative values in polymorphic positions, a homologous pair can be found for the primary allele .In cases where the number of sequences was insufficient to resolve the set of sequences per allele, they were cloned into pJET 1.2 according to Clone Jet PCR Cloning Kit  manufacturer\u2019s instructions. Then, inserts from individual clones, that represent individual alleles, were sequenced.Vaccinium genus. The search was carried out using BLAST against the reference (JOTO01169953.1). Resulting reads were aligned to the reference using BWA 0.7.17 [The NCBI SRA database was used to search for T-DNA in the A 0.7.17 . The proA 0.7.17 . The aliA 0.7.17 . Allele A 0.7.17  followedA 0.7.17 . AdditioSequences were aligned using the MAFFT online service for multiple sequence alignment . The evohttps://colab.research.google.com/github/sokrypton/ColabFold/blob/main/AlphaFold2.ipynb (accessed on 18 April 2022), using default settings.AlphaFold prediction  of the sVaccinium and Agapetes. The natural transgene of these plants can be used for phylogenetic studies of the genus. This nuclear marker is cheap, easy to use, and is not time consuming. It can also be recommended for further research. The allele phasing approach makes it possible to track hybridization events in the evolution of studied plants. Data, regarding intraspecific variability of the proposed marker, can be used to mark populations of wild berries of the Vaccinium genus, in order to prevent their unauthorized harvesting.In this study, new species of natural GMOs were described within the genera"}
+{"text": "Murugan  RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the named authors, hereby wholly retracts this There are unexpected similarities between the FTIR spectra in Fig. 1a, b and d, which represent different samples.The HRSEM image in Fig. 3c represents a scaled version of part of the image presented in Fig. 3b. However, both images are presented with the same scale bar and represent different experimental conditions.The authors informed the Editor that the characterization of the original samples was outsourced, and they do not have the original raw data for the published results.Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable.N. Murugan and K. Vimala were contacted but did not respond. S. Kannan responded but did not confirm whether they agreed to retract the article.Signed: L. Kavitha, E. Shinyjoy, D. Rajeswari and D. GopiDate: 16th March 2023RSC AdvancesRetraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor,"}
+{"text": "Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne bacterium that causes human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis, an emerging life-threatening disease in humans transmitted by Amblyomma americanum. Although most studies have reported bacterial isolations and clinical cases in the United States, their occurrence is not restricted to North America. Some studies in the Southern Cone of South America have molecularly detected a close phylogenetic relative of E. chaffeensis in ticks and wild mammals. Even so, many gaps must be filled to confirm the presence of this agent in the region. To add new data on this issue, we report the first detection of specific anti-E. chaffeensis antibodies in dogs collected from all regions of Brazil. By means of IFA and ELISA with crude and specific antigens of E. chaffeensis, sera from 1134 dogs were analyzed. Serological analyses using ELISA showed nine (0.7%) seropositive dogs, with seven of them exhibiting IFA titers ranging from 160 to 5120. All regions of Brazil had at least one seropositive dog. Our results support the evidence for the occurrence of E. chaffeensis in South America. As dogs have a close relationship with humans, they can be used as an environmental sentinel for these infections because they can act as a bridge to human parasitism or infection with ehrlichial agents. Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne bacterium that causes human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (HME), an emerging life-threatening disease in humans that typically results in fever-like symptoms but may also be fatal if left untreated. In the United States, this infection has been increasing over the years, mainly in the states of the southeast and Midwest, as well as much of the east coast, where populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the main reservoir of E. chaffeensis and host of the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum), the vector of this disease, abound [E. chaffeensis [Ehrlichia spp. that are similar or closely related to E. chaffeensis have been detected in ticks, namely, Amblyomma parvum [Amblyomma tigrinum [Rhipicephalus microplus, as well as in marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) [Mico melanurus) [Ehrlichia spp., abound . In addiffeensis . For thia parvum , Amblyomtigrinum , and Rhihotomus)  and non-lanurus) . A recenE. chaffeensis can be performed by using antibody research and/or molecular detection [E. chaffeensis to avoid false-positive results. In this sense, the TRP32 protein was previously molecularly characterized as being specific to E. chaffeensis, and anti-TRP32 antibodies did not cross-react with the closely related E. canis or other Ehrlichia species [E. chaffeensis and has been employed in serological surveys in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean [The diagnosis of canine infection by etection . The lat species . Therefoaribbean .E. chaffeensis are scarce. As canines have a close relationship with humans, they are susceptible to different species of ticks and E. chaffeensis; therefore, they can be considered a bridge to human parasitism by ticks. Given the relevance of this issue, in this communication, we present the first serological evidence of E. chaffeensis in dogs from Brazil.In Brazil, although serological evidence of human infection by this agent has been reported , studiesE. chaffeensis antigen with an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) [E. chaffeensis-specific antigen (TRP32) with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) [With reference to publications by Melo et al. ,12 and T (ELISA) . This stE. chaffeensis with a cut-off point at an initial dilution of 1:64 [An immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to detect antibodies on slides that were sensibilized with DH82 cells infected with the Arkansas strain of  of 1:64  that werE. chaffeensis  [E. canis  [E. chaffeensis infection in IFA had mean OD readings of <0.050; therefore, a positive sample threshold was set at >0.150 OD units above the negative control absorbance.Peptides corresponding to the immunodominant repeat regions of TRP32 from EAVQLGN)  were synLYTQLTL)  was usedLYTQLTL) . The devE. chaffeensis antibodies were evaluated by using the Chi-square test or exact Fisher test, and p \u2264 0.05 was considered significant. The statistical analysis was performed using Epi InfoTM version 5.5.1.The differences between the results found in each region and positivity for E. chaffeensis in all Brazilian regions, so there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). The identification, antibody titers, and OD values for each sample and region are shown in The serological analyses showed that there were nine (0.7%) seropositive dogs according to the ELISA assay, and seven (0.6%) of them had IFA antibody titers ranging from 160 to 5120. All regions of Brazil had at least one reactive dog . SimilarE. chaffeensis: DH82 cells infected with an Arkansas isolate were used for an indirect immunofluorescence reaction [E. chaffeensis may share similar epitopes with E. canis or Ehrlichia minasensis, which are other members of the Ehrlichia genus that are endemic among dogs (E. canis) [E. minasensis) [E. chaffeensis are characterized by their high specificity; moreover, the TRP32-ELISA also guaranteed an appropriate sensitivity when detecting samples in the context of seroconversion, even in comparison with the IFA technique, as can be seen in two of the samples shown in E. canis [In this survey, we used two different types of antigens to assess the presence of antibodies against . canis)  or preseasensis)  in BraziE. canis .E. chaffeensis infection but could also come from infection by a closely related species. The South American isolates should be more extensively investigated, especially for other genetic targets, as the detections in most studies have been based on one or two genes  [E. chaffeensis or a closely related species in South America, and this is the first survey to evaluate the occurrence of this pathogen in dogs in Brazil through the detection of antibodies.Although the specificity of the TRP32 peptide was supported by a previous experiment , we prefNA, dsb) ,5,6. HenE. canis antibodies detected in dogs in Brazil, with rates ranging from 16 to 57% [E. chaffeensis demonstrated a low occurrence of this agent among dogs. Beall et al. [E. chaffeensis antibodies ranged from 0.1 to 21.4% depending on the location evaluated and the presence of A. americanum.The samples that were tested came from all states of Brazil except for the state of Amazonas; i.e., the survey was comprehensive and involved all Brazilian ecosystems and biomes. In contrast to the findings on the prevalence of anti-6 to 57% , the frel et al.  evaluateB. dichotomus), one of the probable hosts of this species of Ehrlichia, has been reported [The presence of seropositive dogs from all regions of Brazil also suggests that the occurrence of this species is not restricted to the Pantanal, other flooded Brazilian regions, or even the Southern Cone of South America , as these are the regions in which the presence of marsh deer  [E. chaffeensis antibodies in dogs from regions in which this species does not occur would not be justified. Rhipicephalus microplus is predominantly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide and is strongly associated with cattle. Nevertheless, there are records of R. microplus in various hosts, from other mammals and birds to amphibians [E. chaffeensis was found in specimens that parasitized B. dichotomus [Although our results reinforce the hypothesis of the presence of . parvum , A. tigrtigrinum , and R. icroplus  ticks fral areas , and theal areas ,10,11,12America) . Therefophibians . Howeverchotomus .E. chaffeensis was previously detected in Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks in Cameroon, where A. americanum is not found [E. chaffeensis to dogs by R. sanguineus s. l. was experimentally observed [R. sanguineus s. l. in Brazil, this tick must be intensely investigated for other species of Ehrlichia in addition to E. canis.Interestingly, ot found ,21. Addiobserved . TherefoE. chaffeensis or a closely related species. Due to the different characteristics of the states and their regions, the probable transmitting ticks of these species of Ehrlichia must be further investigated. The data presented in this communication reinforces the need to discuss tick control strategies, as these parasites, which are deeply involved in animal health, can transmit important pathogens to humans. Due to the disorders caused by E. chaffeensis in the United States of America and developing countries, such as Brazil, which has several areas with sanitary and environmental deficits, infections transmitted by ticks can have negative impacts on public health.We conclude that dogs from different areas of Brazil were exposed to"}
+{"text": "Correction: BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 15, 54 (2023)10.1186/s13102-023-00667-7Following publication of the original article , the autMCH, NRH, JMH, DMT, PHS, AS, and JJF report grants from Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs and Office of Naval Research, outside of the submitted work. PAG, KBK, KLT report grants from Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, outside of the submitted work. NRH, PAG, and JMH report funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, outside of the submitted work. KLT reports grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, outside of the submitted work. DL reports grants from the National Institutes of Health, outside of the submitted work. In addition, PHS, AS, and JJF have a patent pending for an Adaptive and Variable Stiffness Ankle Brace, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63254,474.PHS, AS, and JJF are military service members or employees of the U.S. Government and this work was prepared as part of their official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a0105 provides that copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the U.S. Government. Title 17, U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a0101 defines a U.S. Government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person\u2019s official duties. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government. The study protocol was approved by the University of Kentucky Institutional Review Board in compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects, number 58,500."}
+{"text": "Menispermi Rhizoma, the rhizome of Menispermum dauricum DC., is a traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxification, dispelling wind, and relieving pain. It is often used in the treatment of sore throat, enteritis, dysentery, and rheumatism. The chemical constituents of M. Rhizoma mainly include alkaloids, phenolic acids, quinones, cardiotonic glycosides, and so on. Modern pharmacological studies have proved that M. Rhizoma has the effects of anti-tumour, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, bacteriostasis, cardio-cerebrovascular protection, anti-depression and anti-Alzheimer\u2019s disease. In recent years, the chemical constituents of M. Rhizoma have been found continuously, and the pharmacological studies have deepened gradually. This paper reviews the research progress on the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of M. Rhizoma, to provide a basis for further research and development of its medicinal value. Menispermi Rhizoma is the dried rhizome of Menispermum dauricum DC. It is mainly produced in Northeast China, North China, East China, and Shaanxi. It has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind, and relieving pain, and is mainly used for sore throat, pyretic diarrhoea, dysentery, and rheumatic paralysis -quinoline, oxidized isoapocynine alkaloids oxoisoaporphine B, menisoxoisoaporphine A, and daurioxoisoporphine B in M. Rhizoma showed good inhibitory activity against the release of NO from rat macrophages in the LPS-induced anti-inflammatory activity assay [M. Rhizoma inhibit ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation in mice with asthma by reducing the concentrations of interleukin 4, 5, and 13, down-regulating the levels of TNF-\u03b1 and eotax in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and inhibiting the increase in serum levels of total immunoglobulin E and ovalbumin-specific immunoglobulin E. The results of this experiment suggest that the total alkaloids of M. Rhizoma can inhibit ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation in mice by modulating T-helper 2 responses and chemokine levels, suggesting that the total alkaloids of M. Rhizoma may be potential anti-asthmatic agents [M. Rhizoma, especially bisbenzylisoquinoline and morphinane alkaloids, are the significant pharmacological bases for the anti-inflammatory activity of M. Rhizoma. In addition, arachidic acid obtained from the methanolic extract of M. Rhizoma by Ren et al. [M. Rhizoma.Ulcerative colitis (UC)\u2014characterized by abdominal pain; diarrhoea; and mucous, bloody stools as the main clinical manifestations\u2014has a high recurrence rate and is difficult to cure . Studieshe colon . Similarhe colon . Networkholidine . In addity assay ,17. In ac agents . In summn et al.  showed aM. Rhizoma [M. Rhizoma also had a better scavenging ability for DPPH radicals with a scavenging rate of 70.1%; thus, it was speculated that the long-chain unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters such as methyllinoleate and methyloleate, which were more abundant in the fatty oil of M. Rhizoma identified by GC-MS, might be related to the antioxidant activity of the fatty oil of M. Rhizoma.DPPH radicals are commonly used for in vitro antioxidant activity evaluation, and the stronger the scavenging ability of DPPH radicals, the stronger the antioxidant capacity. The scavenging rate of oxidized apomorphine alkaloids dauriporphine and menisporphine on DPPH radicals was similar to that of the positive reference drug vitamin C, both above 90%, providing an experimental basis for the development of antioxidant drugs from the alkaloids of  Rhizoma . In addi Rhizoma  found thM. Rhizoma were reported to have inhibitory effects on a variety of respiratory and intestinal bacteria, with the most significant inhibitory effect on dauricine, with an inhibition rate of 83.33%, and the best inhibitory effect on S. pneumoniae [E. coli, S. aureus, and B. subtilis to different degrees, and the inhibitory effect was: B. subtilis > S. aureus > E. coli [The alkaloid components of eumoniae . Clinica E. coli .2+ channels, and its antiarrhythmic mechanism of action is similar to that of the class III antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone: it mildly inhibits Ca2+-ATPase activity, decreases sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake and has the effect of inhibiting Na+ inward flow, Ca2+ inward flow, and K+ outward flow, especially blocking K+ outward flow [Dauricine is often used as a clinical treatment for hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias. Its antihypertensive effect was reported to be related to the antagonism of Caard flow . Ischemiard flow . Zhang eard flow  found thard flow . Other fard flow .M. Rhizoma that the protective effect of bisbenzylisoquinoline and morphine alkaloids on hypoxia-injured EA.hy926 vascular endothelial cells were more obvious. The more abundant bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid daurisoline in M. Rhizoma showed the strongest anti-hypoxic activity, followed by morphine alkaloids acutumine and acutuminine. The above studies provide the material basis for the better anti-hypoxic activity of M. Rhizoma.Shao et al.  found inM. Rhizoma [M. Rhizoma are expected to be developed as more efficient antidepressants.Depressed patients tend to have decreased levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and certain genetic polymorphisms in 5-HT metabolism and transporters are associated with depression . Studies Rhizoma . The com Rhizoma . Based oM. Rhizoma inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE), with the monobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid pecrassipine B having the most significant inhibitory effect on AChE, followed by that of the bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid daurisoline, the morpholino alkaloid acutumine, the simpleisoquinoline alkaloid thalifoline, pycnarrhine, and amurolin; the inhibition effect of the simpleisoquinoline alkaloid corypalline is weaker in comparison. The molecular docking results showed that the strength of AChE inhibition by pecrassipine B and corypallinewas was related to their respective molecular structures and the degree of AChE binding [M. Rhizoma: Wang [M. Rhizoma are potentially promising for the prevention and treatment of AD.One of the primary pathogeneses of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD) that is now widely recognized is its association with impairment in cholinergic transmission processes, where patients with low acetylcholine levels and reduced function in the brain experience significant cognitive impairment. The results of in vitro enzyme activity experiments showed that the alkaloids in  binding . Neuroto binding . It has  binding . Two othma: Wang  used thema: Wang . In summM. Rhizoma is slightly toxic and clinical application is accompanied by adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dyspepsia, bloating, and diarrhoea. Studies have shown that the acute toxicity of the alcoholic fraction of M. Rhizoma is greater than that of the aqueous fraction [M. Rhizoma are the major alcohol-soluble components, thus verifying the studies on the chemical composition of M. Rhizoma reported in the literature [M. Rhizoma are the main material basis for its toxicity. The toxic effects of the aqueous and alcoholic fractions of M. Rhizoma manifested as acute or chronic hepatotoxic injury with significant changes in serum ALT, AST, and hepatic body ratios [M. Rhizoma can increase MDA content in liver tissue and decrease SOD activity; this confirms, at the intrahepatic substance level, that the mechanism of hepatotoxic injury caused by M. Rhizoma is related to the induction of lipid peroxidation and reduction of its own redox capacity after causing oxidative stress in the body, as well as to the NO-mediated damage pathway [fraction , and theterature . This suy ratios . Similar pathway .M. Rhizoma has a long history of medicinal use. In recent years, domestic and foreign scholars have conducted extensive and in-depth studies on the chemical components of M. Rhizoma, especially alkaloid components, and up to now, more than 150 chemical components, including 117 alkaloids, have been identified from M. Rhizoma. Among the alkaloid components of M. Rhizome, bisbenzylisoquinolines are predominant, and apomorphines and oxidized isoporphines are the next most abundant; the effects of M. Rhizoma in anti-tumour, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection, anti-depressant, and anti-Alzheimer\u2019s disease have been gradually confirmed and applied in the treatment of clinical diseases. The above research results have carried forward the modernization of traditional medicines. To summarize the current results, three points need attention for further research on M. Rhizoma: Firstly, in the pharmacological research on the alkaloid components of M. Rhizoma, most of the studies focused on the PAMD and relatively few studies on other alkaloids. Compared with the current research, the pharmacological studies of other chemical components isolated from M. Rhizoma are relatively lacking. Thirdly, the pharmacological study on M. Rhizoma can also be combined with the knowledge of molecular biology, proteomics, metabolomics, and other disciplines to investigate further the targets, mechanisms, and metabolic patterns of its effects. This paper reviews the progress of research on the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of M. Rhizoma in recent years and provides a basis for the further development and utilization of M. Rhizoma.With a wide distribution range and abundant medicinal resources,"}
+{"text": "DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4RA04484C.Retraction of \u2018Investigation on corrosion protection and mechanical performance of minerals substituted hydroxyapatite coating on HELCDEB-treated titanium using pulsed electrodeposition method\u2019 by D. Gopi  RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the named authors, hereby wholly retracts this Repeating fragments can be observed in the cross-sectional SEM images of Fig. 4c, f and i, indicating that the images have been manipulated.1In addition, parts of the cross-sectional SEM image in Fig. 4c have been duplicated in another publication.The authors informed the editor that the characterization of the original samples was outsourced, and they do not have the original raw data for the published results.Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable.R. Pramod and Jishnu Dwivedi were contacted but did not respond.Signed: D. Gopi, A. Karthika, D. Rajeswari and L. Kavitha.Date: 16th March 2023.RSC Advances.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor,"}
+{"text": "Psychiatric comorbidity has a significant impact on the patient\u2019s overall health, with an increased risk of death for those patients with mental-physical comorbidity . This impacts, among other things, the average hospital stay of a patient with psychiatric comorbidity. For example, an American study shows that psychiatric comorbidity was associated with greater inpatient utilization, including the risk of additional hospitalizations, days of stay, and hospitalization charges . Our study aims to confirm these results in patients admitted to a general hospital for any cause and presenting psychiatric comorbidity.To compare the mean length of stay of patients admitted to a general hospital for any cause according to whether they have psychiatric comorbidity or not.We made a descriptive retrospective study through the use of electronic medical records. The drug use history and average day of hospitalization were obtained for all patients admitted to the inpatient service of a general hospital during a 3-year period.The mean length of stay was longer in patients with psychiatric comorbidity  than in patients without psychiatric comorbidity , the difference being statistically significant for the analysis of variance with a small effect size . The assumption of the equality of variances of the two groups is not fulfilled  so Welch\u2019s nonparametric test was applied, whose results do not modify those obtained.Our results are in line with other studies, showing a longer mean length of stay in those patients admitted for any cause and with associated psychiatric comorbidity. This highlights the importance of having an integrated psychiatry service in a general hospital, as Bronson points out, where they find a shorter mean length of stay in units that have integrated, proactive psychiatric care .Bronson, B. D., Alam, A., & Schwartz, J. E. (2019). The Impact of Integrated Psychiatric Care on Hospital Medicine Length of Stay: A Pre-Post Intervention Design With a Simultaneous Usual Care Comparison. Psychosomatics.Sayers, S. L., Hanrahan, N., Kutney, A., Clarke, S. P., Reis, B. F., & Riegel, B. (2007). Psychiatric comorbidity and greater hospitalization risk, longer length of stay, and higher hospitalization costs in older adults with heart failure. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.Tan, X. W., Lee, E. S., Toh, M., Lum, A., Seah, D., Leong, K. P., Chan, C., Fung, D., & Tor, P. C. (2021). Comparison of mental-physical comorbidity, risk of death and mortality among patients with mental disorders - A retrospective cohort study. Journal of psychiatric research.None Declared"}
+{"text": "Macaca mulatta) is one of the most investigated nonhuman primate species in biomedical research since its anatomy and physiology resemble those of humans. This manuscript fulfills the researcher\u2019s and veterinarian\u2019s need for detailed anatomical data on the rhesus monkey\u2019s pelvic limb. Several rhesus monkey cadavers were dissected to study the anatomy of the muscular, circulatory and peripheral nerve systems of the pelvic limb in relation to each other. The anatomical structures are textually described and illustrated by means of numerous detailed colored images.The rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) is a widely used model in biomedical research because its anatomy and physiology bear many similarities to those of humans. Extensive knowledge of the anatomy of this nonhuman primate species is not only required for the correct interpretation of obtained research data but also valuable for the welfare of captive individuals housed in, e.g., zoos. As anatomical publications on the rhesus monkey are hardly available, outdated and provide only line drawings or black-and-white photographs, the anatomy of the rhesus monkey was readdressed in this study. The various anatomical structures are described in relation to each other topographically per hindlimb region. The hip region, the upper limb, the knee, the lower limb and the foot are described from various perspectives. The structures that are visible in the different layers, from the superficial to the deepest layer, were photographed. Although the anatomy of the hindlimbs of rhesus monkeys and humans are remarkably similar, various subtle dissimilarities have been observed. Consequently, an open-access publication that focuses on the anatomy of the rhesus monkey would be highly valued by both biomedical researchers and veterinarians.The rhesus monkey ( Macaca mulatta) live in the southeastern parts of Asia, but this species can also be found in research facilities worldwide, as it is one of the most studied nonhuman primates  is obvious on the superficial layer A. This mSince the m. gluteus medius is located, for the most part, deep to the m. gluteus superficialis and the m. tensor fasciae latae, it can be better distinguished after these muscles have been retracted B. It canThe m. piriformis and the m. gluteus profundus [m. gluteus minimus] become visible after the transection of the m. gluteus medius C. The m.The origins of the above-mentioned nerves, called the lumbosacral plexus, can be identified after the m. piriformis is transected and the proximal and distal muscle stumps are retracted D. In thiSubsequently, the m. gluteus profundus was transected and its muscle stumps were removed. In addition, the n. ischiadicus was laterally retracted (and fixated over the greater trochanter of the femur), allowing for the study of the remaining deep structures. The tendon of the m. obturatorius internus was lifted by means of tweezers E. After The most superficial muscles that become visible after skinning the medial side of the hip region are the m. sartorius and the m. gracilis A. TogethThe m. sartorius and the m. gracilis are subsequently transected near their insertions and retracted B. From cRetracting both parts of the m. semimembranosus together with the m. semitendinosus allows for visualizing the two muscle bellies of the m. adductor magnus C. In betRetracting the stumps of the m. adductor longus, as well as transecting and retracting both muscle bellies of the m. adductor magnus, allows for identifying the m. pectineus, the m. adductor brevis and the m. quadratus femoris from cranial to caudal D. The shWhen the m. pectineus and the m. adductor brevis are transected and their stumps are retracted, the entire m. obturatorius externus can be distinguished E. This mIn When the hindlimb is skinned, the m. quadriceps femoris and the hamstring musculature are obvious A. The m.When the m. vastus lateralis is maximally withdrawn from the m. biceps femoris, the m. rectus femoris and the m. vastus intermedius can be examined C. The laThe m. rectus femoris and the a., v. and n. femoralis can be better visualized when the m. vastus lateralis is transected in its middle portion and the stumps are proximally and distally retracted D. Like tThe caudolateral approach to the upper hindlimb allows for examining the hamstring musculature, which is situated caudolateral to the femur, and the sciatic nerve. Removing the skin shows that, from cranial to caudal, the hamstrings consist of the m. biceps femoris, the m. semitendinosus and the m. semimembranosus A. Since The transection of the m. biceps femoris and m. semitendinosus permits the study of the m. semimembranosus B. This mWhen the epineurium that surrounds the sciatic nerve is longitudinally incised, the n. fibularis communis and the n. tibialis appear as two separate nerves that arise from the n. ischiadicus close to the extension angle of the hip C. The n.The medial side of the hindlimb is characterized by the presence of the cranial m. sartorius and the caudal m. gracilis that delineate the trigonum femorale, in which, from cranial to caudal, the n, a. and v. femoralis are situated A. The a.The hamstring musculature can be examined in detail after the m. sartorius and the m. gracilis are transected and their stumps are retracted B. The m.The adductor muscles are studied after the m. semimembranosus and the m. semitendinosus are transected and their stumps are retracted C. The m.The knee was extensively examined by a caudal approach since several blood vessels and nerves pass through the popliteal region. Lateral, medial and caudomedial will be presented. The knee joint is not included in this topographical description, as its anatomy can be consulted elsewhere .The musculature that is visible directly after skinning the caudal side of the popliteal region consists of the proximally located hamstrings and the gastrocnemius muscle, which forms the superficial muscle mass of the lower leg A. The m.When the semitendinosus, semimembranosus and adductor muscles are removed, the blood vessel ramifications on the caudomedial side of the popliteal cavity can be examined B. The v.The lateral retraction of the m. biceps femoris shows that the n. cutaneus surae lateralis laterally branches off the n. fibularis communis. This cutaneous branch can be biopsied for research purposes. The cutaneous nerve that laterally branches off the n. tibialis is the n. cutaneus surae caudalis. It distally joins the v. saphena lateralis in the groove between both gastrocnemius heads. When these heads are separated, the a. poplitea can be examined in the profundity of the popliteal region. It gives off the a. tibialis cranialis [a. tibialis anterior] and continues as the a. tibialis caudalis [a. tibialis posterior], which joins the n. tibialis. The fine veins that run bilateral to the a. tibialis caudalis and present several anastomoses are the vv. comitantes cum a. tibialis caudalis. Now, the lateral m. soleus and the medial m. flexor digitorum (longus) medialis/tibialis [m. flexor digitorum longus] are also exposed. The m. soleus arises from the head of the fibula. Its tendon fuses with the tendon of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle. The m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis, which can be considered the m. flexor digitorum superficialis in domestic mammals, arises halfway from the caudal side of the tibia. Its tendon crosses the medial malleolus and splits to attach to the plantar sides of the distal phalanges of digits II to V.The deepest layer, which is obtained by the resection of the m. gastrocnemius caput laterale and caput mediale as well as the m. soleus, presents the m. flexor digitorum (longus) lateralis/fibularis [m. flexor hallucis longus] next to the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis. This muscle can be considered the m. flexor digitorum profundus in domestic mammals, as it is located deeper to the latter. It arises from the caudomedial aspect of the fibula, the interosseous membrane between the tibia and fibula, and the distal part of the tibia. Its tendon runs along the plantar side of the tarsal joint and then splits into three tendons, one each for digits I, III and IV. Deep to the m. soleus, lateral to the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis, the m. tibialis caudalis can be observed. This muscle arises from the caudal side of the tibia. Its tendon crosses the medial malleolus and inserts into the plantar sides of the metatarsal bones of digits II to IV.When the skin of the hindlimb is removed, the following muscles can be recognized from cranial to caudal: m. tibialis cranialis [m. tibialis anterior], m. extensor digiti primi  longus, m. extensor digitorum longus, m. fibularis longus and finally the m. gastrocnemius caput laterale A. The m.The m. biceps femoris and the deep fascia that envelopes the musculature were subsequently removed B. As a rThe deep musculature on the caudal side of the lower limb can be studied after the lateral and medial heads of the gastrocnemius muscle are transected and retracted C. The m.In When the m. tibialis cranialis is pulled cranially and the m. fibularis longus is pulled caudally, the m. extensor digiti primi  longus and the m. extensor digitorum longus become fully exposed. In addition, the distal part of the m. fibularis brevis emerges E.However, the m. fibularis brevis can be described in more detail after the m. extensor digitorum longus is retracted cranially and the m. fibularis longus is pulled caudally F. It ariLike the m. fibularis brevis, the very thin m. fibularis digiti quinti [m. fibularis tertius] arises from the lower two-thirds of the shaft of the fibula. In contrast, it inserts into the metatarsal bone of the fifth digit. Due to its deeper position, it can be seen caudal to the fibularis brevis muscle when this muscle is slightly pulled cranially G.The m. fibularis longus and the m. plantaris are transected in Finally, the sulcus extensorius of the tibia was exposed after the m. tibialis cranialis was transected and the stumps were retracted I. The prThe muscles that can be identified directly after skinning the medial side of the hindlimb are, from cranial to caudal, the m. tibialis cranialis, the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis and the m. gastrocnemius caput mediale A. The trRemoving the deep fascia and separating the individual muscles reveals some muscles that were previously obscured B. The m.Transecting the m. gastrocnemius and retracting the stumps reveals the m. plantaris on the caudal side of the m. soleus C. The a.When the m. soleus is transected and its stumps are retracted, the more caudal  m. plantaris becomes isolated D. This iWhen the m. plantaris is transected as well, and the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis is retracted cranially, the m. flexor digitorum lateralis/fibularis, which is located lateral (\u201cdeep\u201d) to the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis, can be visualized E. In addTransecting the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis and retracting its stumps allows for a better visualization of the m. flexor digitorum lateralis/fibularis F. As alrWhen the foot is approached laterally, the four tendons of the m. extensor digitorum longus, especially the lateralmost one that inserts into the middle and distal phalanges of the fifth digit, are easily recognizable A. The coThe four tendons of the m. extensor digitorum longus can easily be discerned from a dorsal view of the foot B. In addOn the medial view, the paired tendons of the m. tibialis cranialis as well as the tendon of the m. extensor digiti primi  longus can be seen at the level of the proximal retinaculum. The medialmost tendons of the m. extensor digitorum longus to the dorsal sides of the second and third digits can also be discerned. On the plantar side, the m. abductor digiti primi , which starts from the calcaneus and inserts into the plantar side of the proximal phalanx of the hallux, is partly visible. As also seen from the dorsal side, the m. adductor digiti primi  can be seen from the medial view in between the first and second digits. The a. dorsalis pedis superficialis, the a. dorsalis pedis profundus and the v. marginalis medialis pedis can be studied in more detail using the medial approach compared to the dorsal approach.When the plantar side of the foot is studied, the common tendon of the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis can be seen curving around the sustentaculum tali A. This tThe deeper layer clearly shows that the common tendon of the m. flexor digitorum medialis/tibialis splits into four tiny tendons that attach to the plantar sides of the distal phalanges of digits II to V B. The mmDuring this anatomical study, remarkable similarities between the rhesus monkey and a human were observed. Since these similarities stretch beyond anatomy and also apply to physiology, the rhesus monkey plays an important role as a model for humans ,5. HowevWhen the present findings were compared with the literature data on the rhesus monkey anatomy, a few contradictions were noticed. Our dissections revealed that the m. adductor brevis consists of two bellies in the rhesus monkey, whereas the reference works on the anatomy of the rhesus monkey mention the presence of only a single muscle belly ,8. TheseWhen comparing the anatomy of the rhesus monkey with that of common domestic mammals, a number of particularities caught our attention. First, superficial and deep digital flexors, m. flexor digitorum  superficialis and m. flexor digitorum  profundus, respectively, do not exist as such in the rhesus monkey. The m. flexor digitorum (longus) medialis, which has previously been denominated the m. flexor digitorum (longus) tibialis \u2014hence thThe assessment of similarities and differences between the anatomy of the rhesus monkey and that of a human has been completed at the level of the musculature, the circulatory system, including the arteries and veins, and the nervous system. First, some peculiarities regarding the muscles are discussed. In the hip region of the rhesus monkey, the m. gluteus medius is more voluminous compared to the m. gluteus superficialis and the m. gluteus profundus. The former is by far the larger out of the three gluteal muscles in humans. Hence, the term m. gluteus maximus is applied . The deeAt the level of the upper limb, both the m. rectus femoris and the m. biceps femoris consist of two heads in humans and only a single head in the rhesus monkey ,8,16. CoThe m. tibialis cranialis is located on the cranial side of the lower leg. In contrast to humans, in which the m. tibialis anterior is most often single, the m. tibialis cranialis of the rhesus monkey has two muscle bellies ,8. The hAt the level of the foot, the human m. quadratus plantae comprises two heads instead of one in the rhesus monkey ,8,16. ThThe observed differences in the myology of the hindlimb between humans and rhesus monkeys are a reflection of the orthograde posture and associated bipedalism in humans vs. the pronograde posture and associated quadrupedalism in the rhesus monkey . This reBesides differences in musculature, the branching pattern of the arterial system of the rhesus monkey slightly deviates from that in humans. In humans, rhesus monkeys and domestic mammals, the a. profunda femoris branches off the proximal segment of the a. femoralis. In humans, the a. profunda femoris gives off the a. circumflexa femoris medialis. This is a typical trait in domestic mammals . SurprisAt the level of the knee, the human femoral artery continues as the popliteal artery, which gives off the a. genus descendens . A similThe a. saphena is very important in the rhesus monkey, as it plays a pivotal role in the blood supply of the foot, together with the a. tibialis caudalis, which is regarded as the continuation of the popliteal artery in this species . In contThe a. saphena has a venous counterpart called the v. saphena. In fact, the v. saphena is dual. The v. saphena parva in humans drains into the v. poplitea . In mammThe other saphenous vein is the v. saphena magna in humans or v. saphena medialis in mammals, including the rhesus monkey. Irrespective of the species, this vein drains into the femoral vein ,18. The The human terms v. saphena magna and v. saphena parva could be mystifying in the rhesus monkey. Since \u201cmagna\u201d means \u201cbig, large\u201d, the term v. saphena magna is chosen for that saphenous vein, which is larger in humans. The smaller saphenous vein is termed the v. saphena parva, with \u201cparva\u201d being Latin for \u201csmall, tiny\u201d. In the rhesus monkey, however, it is more appropriate to speak of the v. saphena medialis instead of the v. saphena magna and to use the term v. saphena lateralis and not v. saphena parva because, in this species, not the medial but the lateral saphenous vein is larger.The observed differences between the rhesus monkey and humans regarding the conformation of the nerves are rather trivial. In humans, the n. ischiadicus divides into the n. fibularis communis and the n. tibialis just proximal to the knee . In contThis article provides topographical anatomy data on the hindlimb of the rhesus monkey by means of numerous color images taken at consecutive stages of the dissection. This approach allows for gaining insight into the organization of the anatomical structures in several layers, which might be very helpful during, e.g., surgical interventions. In contrast, previous publications on the anatomy of the rhesus monkey present systematic and not topographic anatomy of the hindlimb, thus describing each system, such as the locomotor and vascular systems, separately or fail to present color images.The present work facilitates the translation of experimental data obtained in the rhesus monkey to human medicine and might assist veterinarians during, e.g., wound treatment or surgery. In general, the anatomy of rhesus monkeys shows many similarities to the anatomy of humans and domestic mammals. However, we have described the major anatomical differences between the various species. Since these differences are not numerous and are far from substantial, the rhesus monkey appears to be a valuable model for humans."}
+{"text": "A. Snellman, Finland, and TR the Foundation of M\u00e4rta Donner, Finland. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.There are errors in the Funding section. The correct Funding statement is: MO Cancer Foundation Finland"}
+{"text": "In this study, for the first time an analysis of the metal content in extracts obtained from licorice roots grown in the forests of five different regions in Armenia was conducted. Our findings indicated that the concentrations of metals in the extracts did not exceed the permissible limits set by regulatory standards. Furthermore, we investigated the quantitative composition of flavonoids, tannins, and anthocyanins in the licorice roots, which had not been previously studied. Our results revealed that the composition of these substances is significantly influenced by the soil characteristics of the region. To assess the antioxidant properties of the licorice extract, we employed the approach known as the kinetics of competitive reaction method. Our study successfully demonstrated that the extract derived from the roots of the licorice plant, collected from all five regions under study, exhibited notable antioxidant properties.  \u2022Assessment of the concentrations of some heavy metals in licorice roots harvested from five regions of Armenia were done.\u2022Heavy metal concentrations in licorice root were within acceptable limits.\u2022The Kotayk and Tavush regions had the lowest combined heavy metal content.\u2022Investigation of antioxidant properties of licorice roots growing in five regions of Armenia were done.\u2022The Gegharkunik region showed the highest antioxidant activity. The use of such raw materials may lead to a limitation of the use of synthetic materials in these areas. Plants are a natural, valuable source of a certain group of chemical substances that are traditionally used in the production stages of new drugs, cosmetics, food additives, detergents and other products . These sGlycyrrhiza glabra L.) .This work was supported by the Data will be made available on request.No additional information is available for this paper.H.R. Petrosyan: Writing \u2013 review & editing, Writing \u2013 original draft, Visualization, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Data curation, Conceptualization. A.A. Nigaryan: Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation. H.A. Hovhannisyan: Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation. A.M. Soloyan: Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation. V.V. Vardapetyan: Visualization, Project administration, Data curation, Conceptualization. A.I. Martiryan: Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Conceptualization.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."}
+{"text": "Leptospira has been isolated from wild and domestic animals as well as from the environment; among them, several novel species have been identified. In Malaysia, leptospirosis infection and death were mostly associated with recreational and non-recreational water activities. Despite the endemicity of leptospirosis, the public\u2019s knowledge, attitude, and practice level are relatively low in this country. More studies are needed in Malaysia to explore the extent of leptospirosis in different settings and locations.Among zoonotic infections, leptospirosis has a worldwide distribution and high prevalence in tropical regions. It has a broad clinical presentation from mild to severe, life-threatening infection. Leptospires, the etiological agent of leptospirosis, are found in varied ecological niches and animal species, providing a significant source of human infection. This review aims to provide the current status of leptospirosis in Malaysia and the direction for future studies. The literature search for this review was performed using PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar databases. The incidence of leptospirosis in Malaysia from 2004 to 2020 varied; however, a large number of cases occurred during floods. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40101-023-00347-y. Leptospira causes leptospirosis. Leptospires in nature are maintained by chronic carrier hosts, primarily rodents, in their renal tubules and excreted into the environment through their urine. Human infection results from direct contact with the infected reservoir animals or indirect exposure to contaminated environments. Leptospires enter the hosts through cuts and bruises on skin and mucus membranes such as the conjunctival, oral, or genital surfaces [Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection; the risk factors of this infection are associated with human activities and the environment . It is wsurfaces . Once insurfaces  or mild surfaces , 6 and asurfaces , 8. Sevesurfaces .Leptospira is detected in broad ranges of animal reservoirs and in various ecological niches. The knowledge of ecological niche harboring leptospires, as well as their species and serovar distribution, is critical not only for implementing prevention and control policies but also for diagnosing leptospirosis.Leptospirosis is diagnosed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting genes specific for pathogenic leptospires. The former method requires an understanding of locally circulating serovars. The burden of leptospirosis is mainly in countries with humid subtropical and tropical climates such as South America, Southern Asia, and Southeast Asia. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia in the north of the equator. It is composed of two noncontiguous regions: Peninsular Malaysia  or West Malaysia , which is located in the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia , which is on Borneo Island, contains two states, Sabah and Sarawak. Peninsular and East Malaysia lie in the same tropical latitude and are affected by similar airstreams. From November to March, Malaysia is blessed with heavy rainfall and humidity during the northeast monsoon season. Leptospirosis in Malaysia has a long history, reaching almost a century.Leptospira was discovered in Japan [Leptospira interrogans serovars\u2014namely, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Hebdomadis\u2014isolated from humans, rats, and dogs [L. interrogans, Unipertama, Canicola, Australis, Javanica, Ballum, Pomona, Hardjo, Sejroe, and Tarassovi as the infecting Leptospira species and serovars [Ten years after in Japan , Fletchein Japan . Fletcheand dogs . Leptospand dogs \u201313. The and dogs \u201317. Seveand dogs , 19 and and dogs . Leptospserovars \u201323. In hserovars , Abramisserovars . These eLeptospira,\u201d \u201cPrevalence,\u201d \u201cSeroprevalence,\u201d \u201cHuman,\u201d and \u201cAnimal\u201d with no restriction on language or publication date. Non-indexed local journals, bulletins, newspapers, clinical cases, and data from the Ministry of Health Malaysia were included in our results and discussion. Additional papers were identified from reference lists of retrieved articles to find appropriate studies that might not have been identified during the preliminary search. We reviewed the published literature with anonymized data; thus, the study does not require any bioethical approval.The published literature related to leptospirosis in Malaysia was searched in PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar databases. The search terms utilized were \u201cLeptospirosis\u201d, \u201cLeptospirosis is endemic in Malaysia and is the third most fatal infection after dengue and malaria . In 2010Among all states in Malaysia, Selangor, Kelantan, and Sarawak recorded the higher number of leptospirosis Fig.\u00a0. In 2014Leptospira can be isolated from a broad spectrum of animal hosts, but the primary hosts are wild animals such as rodents. From 2000 to 2022, 21 studies have been conducted in Malaysia to detect leptospires in wild and domestic animals using serological, molecular, and/or culture techniques  of the samples. The presence of leptospires in each of the studied settings shows that leptospires occupy a range of ecological niches in Malaysia.Water and soil sampling provides essential information that enhances our understanding of the leptospiral human\u2013environment\u2013animal relationship. Ten studies have described the distribution of nt Table . The stuLeptospira have been identified globally [Leptospira species have been identified to be circulating among wild and domestic animals in Malaysia. The identified species are L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. kirschneri, L. kmetyi, L. wolffii, L. weilii, L. noguchii, L. meyeri, and L. biflexa [Leptospira species that had been detected were L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. wolffii, L. kmetyi, L. noguchii, L. meyeri, L. biflexa, L. licerasiae, L. fainei, L. inadai, L. alstonii, L. congkakensis, L. idonii, L. broomii, L. barantonii, L. putramalaysiae, and L. yanagawae [. Several novel intermediate and saprophytic Leptospira species have also been isolated in the environments in Malaysia such as L. semungkisensis, L. fletcheri, L. langatensis, L. selangorensis, L. jelokensis, L. perdikensis, and L. congkakensis [L. weilii, L. kirschneri, L. wolffii, and L. interrogans\u00a0[Currently, 66 species of globally \u201370. Seve biflexa , 54, 58.anagawae , 63\u201365. kakensis . In humaerrogans\u00a0\u201374 were Leptospira species, serovars, and strains in Malaysia since leptospirosis was reported in 1925. The recent detection of novel Leptospira species indicates that there could be more new Leptospira species, serovars, and strains as the locations and hosts studied are scarce. The detection of similar Leptospira species and serovars in animals, environments, and humans  toward leptospirosis is crucial. This information is critical to developing strategies for behavior changes toward safer practices. Several studies have been conducted in different communities and workplaces in Malaysia between 2018 and 2022. Such a study conducted in rural communities in Selangor showed that more than half of the participants had poor knowledge, and it was associated with unacceptable attitudes and practices towards leptospirosis . In urbaLeptospirosis is endemic in Malaysia, and the cases increased from 2004 to 2015, with the peak in 2015, then decreasing till 2017, and increasing till 2019. The decline in cases in 2020 and 2021 was presumably associated with behavioral changes due to the MCO. As the MCO has been lifted, it is expected that the cases might increase again as more people are involved in outdoor and recreational activities. Recently, local newspapers reported that a prisoner died  and a boLeptospira species. One study [Leptospira species or strains between animals, environments, and humans. Nevertheless, it still can be concluded that the detection of similar Leptospira species and serovars in human, animal, and environmental samples showed human-animal-environment interconnection. L. interrogans could be the predominant circulating species as it is detected in rodents infesting a range of ecological settings as well as in domestic animals, environments, and humans. L. interrogans was also the earliest detected Leptospira species in Malaysia [This review compiled the studies of leptospirosis in Malaysia focusing on the isolation and detection of leptospires in animals, environment, and humans as well as leptospirosis cases reported in the local newspapers. Most of the studies performed independent research which either focused on animals or environment or humans (Additional file ne study  includedMalaysia . AutumnaBased on the risk factors, leptospirosis cases, and death are mainly associated with recreational and non-recreational water activities. In other countries such as Brazil and Thailand, the occurrence of leptospirosis is largely associated with animal farming and agriculture , 107. ThLeptospira has also been isolated from \u201cunconventional\u201d hosts such as elephants, porcupines, bats, snakes, and frogs [Although previous studies provided insight into the human-animal-environment relationship in the occurrence of leptospirosis, more is needed to provide a complete understanding and knowledge of the epidemiology of leptospirosis in Malaysia as the studies were only performed in a limited number of settings and states. Hence, more studies on humans, animals, and environments are needed covering various locations in Malaysia. In other countries, nd frogs . It woulLeptospira species, serovars, and strains. The current gold standard, MAT, for diagnosing leptospirosis requires a panel of locally prevalent serovars. Local serovars such as Sarawak and Terengganu have been detected in humans [It is of paramount importance not only to identify but also to isolate the local n humans , 76, 79 n humans . TherefoLeptospira species, serovars, and strains have different virulence levels and are associated with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations. It is worth noting that some people who died of leptospirosis in Malaysia had pulmonary hemorrhage [Leptospira species or serovars are not known for most of these patients except for one case caused by serovar Lai: Langkawi [L. interrogans can cause severe infection and pulmonary hemorrhage in hamsters [Leptospira from animals, environments, and humans in Malaysia are necessary to understand the virulence potential of this bacteria.Furthermore, the morrhage , coughinmorrhage . Leptospmorrhage \u2013112. TheLangkawi , showinghamsters . Hence, The limited studies in assessing public awareness toward leptospirosis urge the need to do more studies in different communities, workplaces, and localities are needed to assess the overall level of knowledge and awareness regarding leptospirosis in Malaysia.KAP studies have been performed only in Peninsular Malaysia, and conducting similar studies in Sabah and Sarawak, which recorded many leptospiroses, is paramount. Nevertheless, previous studies also showed that more campaigns are needed to generate awareness of leptospirosis and dissemination of information.Leptospirosis is endemic in Malaysia. This review highlighted the need to perform more studies on leptospires in animals and environments in different places for prevention strategies and improving diagnosis and early treatment. Assessing people\u2019s awareness of leptospirosis is needed to implement the strategy that could help them perform good practices toward leptospirosis prevention.Additional file 1:\u00a0Summary of studies on animals, environment and humans in Malaysia."}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) research articles.  This study aims to create a science map, provide structural analysis, investigate evolution, and identify new trends in Helicobacter publications were gathered from the Web of Science (WoS) database from August 2010 to 2021. The data were required for bibliometric analysis. The bibliometric analysis was performed with Bibliometrix R Tool. Bibliometric data were analyzed using the Bibliometrix Biblioshiny R-package software.  All H. pylori literature included. In journals, 21,102 keywords plus and 20,490 author keywords were reported. These articles were also written by 56,106 different authors, with 262 being single-author articles. Most authors' abstracts, titles, and keywords included \u201cHelicobacter-pylori.\u201d Since 2010, the total number of H. pylori-related publications has been decreasing. Gut, PLOS ONE, and Gastroenterology are the most influential H. pylori journals, according to source impact. China, the United States, and Japan are the countries with most affiliations and subjects. In addition, Seoul National University has published the most articles about H. pylori. According to the cloud word plot, the authors' most frequently used keywords are gastric cancer (GC), H. pylori, gastritis, eradication, and inflammation. \u201cHelicobacter pylori\u201d and \u201cinfection\u201d have the steepest slopes in terms of the upward trend of words used in articles from 2010 to 2021. Subjects such as GC, intestinal metaplasia, epidemiology, peptic ulcer, eradication, and clarithromycin are included in the diagram's motor theme section, according to strategic diagrams. According to the thematic evolution map, topics such as Helicobacter pylori infection, B-cell lymphoma, CagA, Helicobacter pylori, and infection were largely discussed between 2010 and 2015. From 2016 to 2021, the top topics covered included Helicobacter pylori, H. pylori infection, and infection. A total of 17,413 articles were reviewed and analyzed, with descriptive characteristics of the  Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a spiral gram-negative bacterium located on the epithelial surface of the stomach [H. pylori infection ranges from 20% to 50% in developed countries to more than 80% in developing countries [H. pylori-related symptoms [H. pylori is always a pathogen that all populations would be better off without and that it should therefore be eradicated [ stomach . The presymptoms , an enoradicated .H. pylori infection risk factors include low socioeconomic status [H. pylori infection has been associated with gastric and duodenal ulcers (1\u201310% of infected patients), gastric cancer (GC) (0.1\u20133%), and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (less than 0.01%) [H. pylori is a known carcinogen for the development of GC, as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [H. pylori to the etiology of otherwise unexplained iron deficiency anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and vitamin B12 deficiency. Under these circumstances, H. pylori needs to be identified and eradicated [c status , an incrc status , and havc status . This inc status . Therefon 0.01%) . H. pyloadicated \u201311.H. pylori as an important pathogen. According to published data, the majority of these studies focused on six broad categories: genetics, enzymes, antioxidants, microbial community, nanoparticles, and amino acids. Genetic diversity is one of the most important factors that contribute to the survival and virulence of H. pylori [H. pylori to ensure microbial virulence [H. pylori [H. pylori can induce changes in microbial populations in favor of infection and pathogenicity progression [H. pylori treatment options [H. pylori infection. Some of amino acids, such as alanine, can contribute to infection progression, while others, such as L-tyrosine, have an inhibitory effect [Based on the evidence, it is estimated that the relationship between this microbe and its host dates back 100,000\u2009years . In the . pylori . Multiplirulence . Several. pylori , 16. Thegression . Nanopargression , have be options . Finallyy effect .Mahala and Singh analyzed research output in Indian universities by retrieving 26,173 documents, including conference proceedings, journal articles, and review papers. It was discovered that science research outputs have been steadily increasing, with the University of Delhi (DU) having the most publications. Furthermore, multiauthored articles were found to have a higher research impact because they were cited more frequently than single-authored papers. The United States, South Korea, and Germany collaborated most with Indian universities, such as Anna University, Indian Institute of Technology, and the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India. This study also revealed the recent growth trend of top Indian universities. The findings could be used to help determine where to focus efforts in order to increase scientific research output even more .H. pylori research, and the G7 developed countries produced the majority of the world's total output. The term \u201culcer\u201d remains a hotspot in H. pylori research, and the use of \u201cgastric cancer\u201d has increased over the 18-year study period [In a study by Suk et al., 37,451 publications were displayed during the 18-year study period, including 19,080 articles, 10,396 conference abstracts, 2,625 reviews, 1,943 proceedings, and 1,866 letters. In the Science Citation Index, 1,727 journals were listed in 122 subject categories. The fields of clinical gastroenterology, hepatology, microbiology, pharmacology, and pharmacy have conducted the majority of H. pylori papers in the Web of Science (WoS). The Science Citation Index Expanded was used in this study, which contains 59,904 documents related to H. pylori publications on the Web of Science from 1900 to 2016 to identify classic papers. This article presents classic H. pylori papers with at least 1,000 citations from the Web of Science Core Collection published between 1991 and 2007, sorted by publication language, document type, publication output, and journal availability. The output distribution and lifecycle of Web of Science categories, publications by author, institution, country, and citations are used to evaluate classic documents. Among these papers, the study by Parsonet et al. was the most cited paper in the Web of Science Core Collection, from the date of its initial publication until the end of 2016. Finally, the findings revealed that the H. pylori study's three main research foci were gastric cancer, low-grade gastric lymphoma, and the CagA gene [Suk and et al. presented another study on classic agA gene .In their scientometric study on gastritis in G20 countries, Amanullah and Rajeswari used data obtained from the Web of Science and analyzed them using HistCite and VOSviewer. The results show that Malfertheiner, Graham, and Megraud are their three most cited authors, having been cited 4,933, 4,588, and 4,129 times, respectively. According to journal analysis, the Gut journal  is the most cited, followed by World Journal of Gastroenterology , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , Infection and Immunity, Gastroenterology , and Journal of Immunology . In accordance with an institutional citation analysis, Vanderbilt University is the most cited (5952 citations), followed by Baylor College of Medicine , Magdeburg University , Hokkaido University , Aberdeen University , INSERM , and Tokyo University  .Moradi et al. conducted a case study of the D8 countries to assess studies on health science based on the quadruple helix model using content analysis as well as altmetric and scientometric indicators from the Altmetrics.com and WOS databases. The findings revealed that the majority of interactions occurred in the innovation and knowledge spaces, with quadruple imbalances observed in the countries studied. Furthermore, certain interactions occurred across all social networks, demonstrating that users in the D8 countries are concerned with health-related issues. Clinical sciences had the most interaction across all four spaces. In the current approach, this model has never been used with altmetric data .n\u2009=\u2009547). The majority of research documents were published in medicine (49.70%), followed by immunology and microbiology (35.72%). Biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology were the other preferred domains (22.32%). Since January 2020, an unprecedented number of publications have been devoted to COVID-19, and there has been a significant increase in research findings in this area [Sahoo and Pandey showed that 53.57%  of the investigated research documents were published on open-access platforms. In analyzing the researchers' journal preferences, Journal of Virology was identified as the most preferred journal, producing approximately 5.48% (839) of the articles. The research output was found to be dominated by China and the United States, with the University of Hong Kong producing the highest percentage of research papers  OR (helicobacter OR gastrospirillum))) AND LANGUAGE: (English) AND DOCUMENT TYPES: (article), timespan: 2010\u20132021.In 2021, all H. pylori data were collected from the WoS using a search strategy that spanned ten years, from August 2010 to 2021. The information has been obtained using Boolean operators based on keywords, titles, and abstracts. However, nonrelated conference abstracts, books, and articles were excluded. Since the majority of the terms in this field were in English, the search strategy was restricted to articles published in English in all WoS databases. The data required for bibliometric analysis, such as authors, year of publication, journal, affiliation, country of origin, organizations, financing organization, and keywords, were extracted as a plain text file from the database, with no ethical validation required (required .https://bibliometrix.org/biblioshiny.html) [Annual scientific production and year of publicationSources and documents published on the subjectAuthors and institutions that work in this fieldCountries that have played a role in publishing these articlesKeywords, subjects, and themes in this fieldThe bibliometric analysis was performed with Bibliometrix R Tool . Bibliomny.html) . The R tny.html) . This biny.html) :Annual sCoword analysis was used to analyze keyword co-occurrences as well as identify relationships and interactions between research topics and emerging research trends. Also, the content analysis technique was used to map the strength of association between keywords in textual data . This teH. pylori literature shown in A total of 17,413 articles were reviewed and analyzed , with deH. pylori infection is shown in H. pylori infection, and reduced complications. In contrast, the number of articles published in 2018 increased, indicating that researchers focused on topics such as drug resistance as well as basic issues such as genetics, enzymatic discussions, antioxidant activity, microbial connections, and amino acids [H. pylori-related articles has been declining since 2019.The annual scientific production on no acids . FinallyH. pylori literature.The source impact and the Bradford law were both used to determine the original and influential journals contributing to the H. pylori literature.The ranking of journals is shown in Bradford's law of variance is the law of diminishing returns and variance. Bradford wrote that he enacted the act in 1948 and asserted that, for certain subjects, \u201cthere are some very prolific journals, many more modest producers, and many more in ever-decreasing production.\u201d The Bradford law divides journals into three zones. For each issue or topic, the top one-third (zone 1 or core) represents the journals that are most frequently cited in the literature on that topic and are therefore most likely to be of interest to researchers in the field. The middle third (zone 2) contains journals with an average citation frequency, whereas the bottom third (zone 3 or tail) contains journals that are rarely cited and of marginal importance to the field. Zone 1 contains the most important journals in this field. There are 43 journals in zone 1, and the remaining journals are located in zones 2 and 3. The top twenty journals in zone 1 are shown in H. pylori publications is shown in A three-fold analysis of H. pylori subjects have been considered in most countries and affiliations. Moreover, Seoul National University has published the highest number of articles on H. pylori. So, Seoul National University and China are the influential university and country for H. pylori, respectively.China has most collaborations with most affiliations and subjects, followed by the United States and Japan. H. pylori articles by total citations published between 2010 and 2021. The following is a summary of the core H. pylori articles:The epidemiological study conducted by Siegel et al. addressed the impact of eliminating socioeconomic and racial disparities on premature cancer-related deaths, with a focus on death rates, cancer incidence over a 12-year period in the United States, and mortality for any reason was standardized by age. According to the findings, the type of cancer and gender can predict the annual incidence of cancer and cancer-related deaths to some extent. Furthermore, the occurrence of cancer types was predicted by gender, race, and the state in which the person lived .H. pylori, as well as the H. pylori genome sequence, and proposed a new model for mapping and annotating the pathogen's initial transcription [Furthermore, Sharma et al. investigated the primary transcriptome of the major human pathogen cription .The study by Arnold et al. looked at the global incidence of esophageal cancer by a histological subtype in 2012, as well as the rate and pattern of gastric cancer incidence. According to the findings, men are three times more likely than women to develop GC and noncardiac cancer of the stomach which is about 2.1 times more likely than GC .H. pylori, on the internal microbiota in the throat and lower intestine. Significant changes in bacterial diversity were observed one week after antibiotic treatment in all treated individuals at both sites. Furthermore, actinobacteria in the throat and feces were significantly reduced immediately after treatment. Although microbiota diversity eventually improved in pretreatment conditions, the microbiota remained abnormal in some cases for up to four years after treatment. Furthermore, high levels of the macrolide resistance gene erm(B) were found four years after treatment, indicating that antibiotic resistance may persist for longer than previously thought. This highlights the importance of limited use of antibiotics to prevent further treatment failure and the possible spread of antibiotic resistance [The study by Jakobsson et al. evaluated the short- and long-term effects of clarithromycin and metronidazole, a common treatment regimen for sistance .H. pylori being the most common microbial agent. As a result, detecting and eliminating some infectious agents will be a highly effective method of lowering cancer incidence [Moreover, Plummer et al. conducted a synthetic study in 2012 to investigate the global burden of cancers attributable to infections and the effect of infectious agents on the incidence of various cancers. According to the findings, infectious agents cause about 15% of all cancers each year, with ncidence .H. pylori treatment for increasing antibiotic resistance and highlighted the degree of antibiotic resistance to the three-drug regimen, recommending the use of the most effective enzymes in each region with a success rate of more than 90%, based on the prevalence of regional differences [Finally, Graham studied ferences .H. pylori publications are divided into four categories: keywords plus, titles, abstracts, and author's keywords  infection [H. pylori infection and GC is well known [H. pylori infection in asymptomatic patients is quite effective in preventing gastric cancer [H. pylori requires the expression of several genes or inflammation markers in order to be pathogenic. In some patients, risk factors contribute to the symptoms or complications associated with H. pylori infection. These risk factors are more prevalent in some patients.As shown in nfection . The assll known . Eradicac cancer . H. pyloH. pylori, gastritis, eradication, and inflammation are the most frequently used terms.H. pylori infection is the most important risk factor for GC. People who are infected with H. pylori have a much higher incidence of GC than those who are not [H. pylori infection leads to many changes in the gastric mucosa, which can lead to complications such as inflammation, immune dysfunction and apoptosis, mitochondrial changes, aging, and gastric dysbacteriosis [H. pylori eradication improves the majority of GI symptoms, such as indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating, and decreasing the risk of bleeding in patients with a history of GI bleeding [GC is the fifth most common cancer in the world  and the  are not . H. pyloteriosis . H. pylobleeding , 50, theHelicobacter pylori and infection have the steepest slopes, while the other terms have a less steep slope.H. pylori disease, in which the x-axis represents density and the y-axis represents the thematic center and divides the diagram into four parts.Strategic diagrams can be used to assess the significance and progression of subjects. The subjects in the bottom left quarters are emerging and declining subjects; new subjects may appear or disappear in this section. The subjects depicted in the lower right quarter are the main traverse subjects, with low density and high centrality, indicating that they have been studied extensively. Furthermore, the subjects in the upper left quarter are denser and less centrality. These topics are well developed but distinct. The subjects shown in the upper right quarter have high density and high centrality. These subjects are developed and essential. This map shows the subjects over a ten-year period. As can be seen, the theme engine and the emerging section have produced the majority of the subjects.H. pylori, gastritis, and CagA. In addition, inflammation, stomach, and helicobacter are all found in the center. Furthermore, subjects such as gastric cancer, intestinal metaplasia, epidemiology, peptic ulcer, eradication, and clarithromycin are included in the diagram's motor theme section. In recent years, clarithromycin triple or drug therapy has been one of the recommended treatment regimens for H. pylori infection [H. pylori infection is the most important risk factor for intestinal metaplasia, a precancerous stage of GC. Eradication of H. pylori can improve intestinal metaplasia and thus prevent GC [H. pylori infection and a decrease in duodenal ulcers in recent years, epidemiological studies show that the number of gastric ulcers and GC continues to rise [The emerging section of the diagram contains subjects such as nfection . H. pyloevent GC . Since tevent GC . Despite to rise .H. pylori infection and obesity [H. pylori infection and childhood obesity or overweight [Numerous studies have found an association between  obesity , but somerweight .H. pylori infection can be diagnosed using a number of different approaches. We can classify these techniques as either invasive or noninvasive. In cases that H. pylori infection has been treated or the rate of virus colonization is low, immunohistochemistry is a highly sensitive method for diagnosing the infection [H. pylori causes limited cell death (apoptosis) [nfection . To achioptosis)  or a greoptosis) .H. pylori infection, day-by-day interest in new treatment regimens with greater efficacy and fewer side effects has grown. One of these techniques is the incorporation of probiotics into treatment regimens, which increases treatment efficacy and decreases treatment-related side effects [In addition, due to the increasing resistance of antibiotics to treat  effects . Also, aH. pylori infection. Biblioshiny was used to perform thematic evolution, which is displayed in two-time sections. The first section covers the years 2010 to 2015, during which time the articles were analyzed and topics such as Helicobacter pylori infection, B-cell lymphoma, CagA, Helicobacter pylori, and infection were discussed. Helicobacter pylori, H. pylori infection, and infection are among the topics covered from 2016 to 2021. In addition, some cases of B-cell lymphoma and CagA have evolved into Helicobacter pylori and H. pylori infection between 2010 and 2021.The thematic evolution map shows the historical trend and progression of H. pylori have a high incidence compared to other types of cancer. In recent years, however, the evolution of bacterial diagnosis and treatment has advanced due to the development of new techniques [H. pylori infection is B-cell lymphoma. Multiple studies have demonstrated that H. pylori eradication can result in regression of primary gastric lymphoma [H. pylori, the number of articles on lymphoma has decreased.Cancers associated with chniques . The rarlymphoma . Due to H. pylori increases the risk of complications such as peptic ulcer disease and GC [H. pylori treatment is unrelated to the bacterial species, studies on this species have declined in recent years. In addition, each term is defined in the nodes of Numerous studies have demonstrated that infection with the CagA strain of e and GC , 63. GivHelicobacter-related articles published in the WoS database between 2010 and 2021 using bibliometric and visualization techniques. During this time, 56,106 authors published 17,413 articles on Helicobacter in 2,365 scientific journals. The co-authorship rate was reported to be 3.27, indicating a relatively high level of collaboration. The documents per author were reported to be 0.31, with almost all three authors involved in writing an article. Gut, PLOS ONE, and Gastroenterology are the most important journals contributing to the H. pylori literature. This study's data illustrated the progression of studies in recent years and the varying concentrations of evaluations in different years.This study analyzed the authors, countries, affiliation, keywords, key research streams, and themes addressed in H. pylori infection is very common, possibly affecting more than half of the world's population [H. pylori infection transmission. Other routes of transmission, such as the consumption of contaminated water or food, may also be involved in the disease's transmission [pulation . Person-smission . This insmission . Besidessmission .H. pylori infection, which are classified as invasive or noninvasive tests. Endoscopy is used to test tissue samples in invasive methods, but it is not required in noninvasive methods. Immunohistochemistry is a highly sensitive method for diagnosing H. pylori infection in treated cases or cases with low bacterial colonization [There are several methods for diagnosing nization .H. pylori is one of the most enduring and potent human pathogens. Several strategies have been used to increase its adaptation and survival in the host body [ost body . One of ost body , 68. On ost body . As a reH. pylori is one of the subjects that researchers have always considered, emphasizing the significance of H. pylori infection. However, a review of annual scientific production revealed that the number of studies addressing H. pylori has decreased sharply since 2019 and the start of the global COVID 19 pandemic, owing to medical researchers' focus on COVID-19 disease, its related complications, ways to treat and control COVID-19 disease, and the impact of this pandemic on most medical issues, including H. pylori.This systematic review concentrated on studies published in the last ten years. The findings revealed that H. pylori. Furthermore, China, the United States, and Japan published most H. pylori-related articles. Some of the most cited articles have been those focusing on epidemiological topics and GC. H. pylori infection, a bacterial carcinogen, is the greatest risk factor for GC, a disease that claims hundreds of thousands of lives annually [H. pylori infection, and cancer has been mentioned more frequently than other terms  in H. pylori-related articles.Gut, PLOS ONE, and Gastroenterology have published the most articles about annually . Due to H. pylori infection and gastric malt lymphoma (GML) is well established, and the incidence of GML has decreased in recent years due to earlier diagnosis. According to the findings of this study, the number of meta-analysis studies has increased in recent years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, decreased outpatient visits, travel restrictions, home quarantines, delays in elective care, and decreased patient access. This study also revealed that most articles focused on new treatment regimens with lower resistance and greater efficacy in eradicating H. pylori, such as the use of probiotics. Furthermore, the number of articles focusing on subjects such as B-cell lymphoma and CagA has decreased in recent years due to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of H. pylori infection, more effective treatments, and the role of species such as CagA in bacterial pathogenesis.The relationship between H. pylori infection through colonization, damage to the host epithelium, and provision of essential metabolic substrates as one of the most important virulence factors has shifted researchers' attention to the association of microbes with various enzymes in recent publications [H. pylori in order to protect the microbe from the acidic conditions of the stomach and its mucous membranes at low pH [The role of enzymes in establishing ications . Urease,t low pH , 71. Catt low pH .H. pylori and reduce the risk of GC and its treatment [Hericium erinaceus possesses antioxidant properties that can prevent H. pylori infection [As antioxidants can prevent the production of DNA-damaging free radicals and the treatment of H. pylori infection is one of the most important topics related to this microbe, numerous studies have examined antioxidants as a means to prevent chronic infection with reatment , 16. Nganfection .H. pylori infection, the microbial community can cause changes by influencing the population of gastric microbes [H. pylori and other microorganisms and the increased risk of GC, several studies have attempted to identify the microbial population affected by H. pylori in the context of infectivity and tumorigenesis; however, additional research is necessary to investigate this topic [In microbes . By altemicrobes . Due to is topic .H. pylori infection. On the other hand, one of the primary disadvantages of nanoparticles is their lack of shared characteristics; consequently, nanoparticles have likely been the subject of fewer studies [H. pylori, numerous studies have demonstrated that the majority of amino acids promote microbial activity and infectivity, while only a few, such as L-tyrosine, inhibit bacterial activity [H. pylori, they are not considered interesting topics for the study by researchers.Both nanoparticles and amino acids have received less research. The issue of nanoparticles is associated with therapeutic topics. In addition, bismuth with two antibiotics metronidazole and tetracycline or metronidazole and amoxicillin is the most effective treatment to prevent  studies , 77. Sinactivity , 78, 79.Helicobacter pylori literature published between 2010 and 2021. These influential characteristics will have an effect on future core investigations. In this study, researchers examined 17,413 published articles by 56,106 authors. This study revealed that Gut, PLOS ONE, and Gastroenterology are the most influential journals for H. pylori research. Journals comply with Bradford's law, and 43 journals are classified in zone 1 and are more important than others. In addition, Seoul National University has the most published papers on H. pylori. Lastly, Seoul National University and China are the influential Helicobacter university and nation, respectively.This study identified significant and influential aspects of the H. pylori infection can lead to several complications. Furthermore, the only place this organism colonizes is the stomach, as indicated by the term gastric. H. pylori requires expression of several genes or inflammatory markers that establish the virulence of this bacterium. Risk factors cause symptoms or complications associated with H. pylori.H. pylori infection remains an important and challenging issue in the healthcare systems of all nations and costs a significant amount of money annually. It is well known that pathogenic strains such as CagA, VacA, and HtrA, activation of pathways such as NF-kappa B, and induction of tumor necrosis factor alpha protein contribute to the pathogenicity of H. pylori infection.Due to its complications, H. pylori has decreased significantly, and the consequences may result in an increase in complications such as GI bleeding and GC in the coming years. Thus, researchers in various fields of clinical and basic sciences should shift their attention to various facets of this significant bacterium.Future research into the targeted treatment of pathogenic strains or the treatment and control of pathogenic pathways and proteins may be of great assistance in reducing the disease's complications. In the last two years, as a result of the global COVID-19 epidemic, the number of studies on H. pylori research. This scientometric analysis and visualization are promising for comprehensively reflecting the global picture of classification-based H. pylori research and have potential for visualizing the emerging trends in other research fields [This scientometric review offers useful reference points for early-stage researchers and provides valuable in-depth information to experienced researchers and practitioners in the field of h fields .H. pylori and the type of treatment described in the literature due to multiple antibiotic resistance.Nonetheless, our research had some limitations. Our study's main limitation was a lack of access to the full text of a large number of articles. This cause, combined with a lack of funds, posed numerous challenges for our team in moving the project forward. An important point to consider as a future direction in upcoming projects is the relationship between"}
+{"text": "Theileria orientalis. It has now become established in the Australasia region. The organism was long considered a benign cause of persistent infections; however, an increase in clinical outbreaks since 2006 in the eastern Australian states and New Zealand was associated with the identification of the pathogenic Ikeda (Type 2) and Chitose (Type 1) genotypes. Unlike the pathogenic T. parva and T. annulate, which target leucocytes, clinical manifestation with T. orientalis is due to its effects on erythrocytes, with the infection sometimes designated as Theileria associated bovine anemia (TABA). In Australia and New Zealand, the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis is the principal vector, though other Haemaphysalis species are also likely vectors. The endemic status of infection with pathogenic genotypes in areas with low or absent tick populations is an apparent paradox that may be attributable to alternative modes of transmission, such as mechanical transmission by hematophagous insects , vertical transmission, and transmission via iatrogenic means. This review addresses the evidence for the different modes of transmission of T. orientalis with particular focus on the reported and potential vectors in Australasia.Oriental theileriosis, a disease primarily impacting cattle is caused by an apicomplexan hemoprotozoan parasite,  Theileria species [Theileria orientalis, have been reviewed [T. orientalis [T. orientalis management, with a focus on immunity, has also been published [The evolutionary and genetic diversity of  species , and in reviewed , as haveientalis . A recenublished . In thisTheileria  [Theileria species is usually restricted to tropical and subtropical regions where suitable tick vectors occur [T. parva, is prevalent across the eastern, central, and southern parts of Africa and was later reported in Comoros [T. annulata has a wider distribution than T. Parva [T. orientalis, resulting in significant production and productivity losses.Bovine theileriosis is a tick-borne disease caused by an intra-erythrocytic protozoan parasite of the genus leridae) . The geors occur . The firrs occur . East Co Comoros . TropicaT. Parva . AlthougT. orientalis complex was first detected from cattle in 1910 and was named T. mutans [T. sergenti/buffeli/orientalis), with the parasite group known as T. buffeli in Australia, T. sergenti in Japan, and T. orientalis in other countries. However, more recently, the organism is generally classified as T. orientalis based on genes encoding immunogenic piroplasm surface proteins [In Australia, a member of the . mutans ,12. The Babesia and Theileria [Theileria is distinguished by sporozoite infection of leukocytes followed by maturation of schizonts into merozoites and subsequent infection of erythrocytes to form piroplasms, whereas Babesia infection only involves erythrocytes [The Phylum Apicomplexa is divided into three orders and two suborders with the order Piroplasmorida containing the genera heileria . Theilerhrocytes .T. orientalis complex, including type 1 (chitose), type 2 (Ikeda), type 3 (buffeli), and types 4\u20138, are currently recognized based on the sequence of the major piroplasm surface protein (MSPS) gene [T. orientalis, designated N-1, N-2, and N-3, have been reported to infect sheep, water buffalo, and cattle, respectively [Globally, eight distinct genotypes of the ectively . Of thesectively ,16 Wholeectively . A recenectively , furtherTheileria parasites infect a broad range of wild and domestic animals, with the highest prevalence in tropical and subtropical climates, and their distribution is dependent on the availability and competence of suitable tick vectors [T. orientalis genotypes and affected countries have been reviewed [ vectors . Reportsreviewed  and the T. orientalis was considered benign with only occasional reports of clinical cases, some of which were associated with fatalities recorded in Queensland in the 1960s [Theileria piroplasms have been seen regularly in blood smears from cattle in NSW, until 2007\u20132008 it had been assumed that these were from Buffeli-type organisms, considered of low pathogenicity [T. orientalis genotypes was detected in apparently healthy cattle [In Australia, the infection of cattle with genicity . In addigenicity . While tgenicity ,23. Sincgenicity ,23, and genicity  and moregenicity ,26. Howey cattle .H. longicornis rather than with that of H. bancrofti or H. humerosa [H. longicornis was not detected or known to be present [H. bancrofti and H. humerosa were shown to transmit T. orientalis Buffeli [The spread of clinical theileriosis in Australia due to the genotype Ikeda has been reported to correspond with the known range of humerosa . However present . The sam Buffeli . These fT. orientalis genotypes (Chitose and Buffeli) was in 1982 [T. orientalis Ikeda predominantly occurs in the North Island rather than in the South Island where the distribution of H. longicornis is sparse [T. orientalis Ikeda that are capable of infecting na\u00efve H. longicornis, leading to speculation that they might have played an important role in the rapid spread of oriental theileriosis in the New Zealand. Sheep may similarly have a role in the epidemiology of theileriosis in Australia and this warrants investigation.In New Zealand, the first published report on the  in 1982  and the  in 1982 ,31. Prevs sparse ,33. Lawrs sparse  recentlyT. orientalis genotypes\u2014type 1 (Chitose), type 2 (Ikeda), type 3 (Buffeli), and type 5 are present [T. orientalis infection often presents as a mixture of genotypes contributing to the persistence of the organism by allowing the parasite to evade the host immune response and is a clear indication of a lack of cross-protection among the genotypes [In Australia, four of the  present ,35,36,37 present  and this present . There w present . Moreove present . Overallenotypes ,37,38.T. orientalis genotypes is warranted to determine whether a new species designation should be applied.The presence of Ikeda in mixed infections may result in increased virulence in some herds as it might outcompete less pathogenic genotypes, leading to their displacement by the more virulent genotype ,40. ThisT. orientalis genotypes are regarded as a long-term carriers [T. orientalis inside the host varies depending on the genotype inoculated by ticks. An Australian study showed that the genotype Ikeda was detected first in na\u00efve cattle introduced to endemic areas and in herds with mixed infections, suggesting it has a shorter prepatent period and/or a more efficient multiplication inside the tick vector [T. orientalis infections from the Northern Tablelands and North Coast regions since 2009 revealed that co-infections with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic genotypes were most common [T. orientalis in healthy cattle suggests the need for caution in using Theileria-positive PCR results to arrive at a definitive diagnosis of clinical disease [Cattle infected with carriers . Howeverk vector . In a dit common . Overall disease . While t disease , this ap disease .H. longicornis in Victoria and other states has also been suspected of contributing to the spread of T. orientalis [T. orientalis, such as sheep in New Zealand, are thought to have played a significant role in the epidemiology of infection in that country [A risk factor linked to the rapid spread of clinical theileriosis is the movement of infected cattle or vectors without appropriate quarantine measures ,44. A hiientalis ,46. Simi country . The str country  and preg country ,48.T. orientalis, it is not always clear whether the information provided relates to the epidemic or endemic phase of the disease. Furthermore, the endemic phase of piroplasm diseases such as babesiosis can typically be divided into areas of enzootic/endemic stability and those characterized by enzootic/endemic instability [The epidemiology of most infectious diseases changes with time after introduction, as herd immunity develops and the rates of transmission and clinical disease decline as the disease progresses from epidemic to endemic status . In the tability . In the tability . On the T. orientalis in Australia, with high levels of maternal antibody co-existing with high parasitemia loads in young calves in an area where infection is endemic, but, in this case, while calves appeared to be protected against mortality, both clinical and subclinical anemia were induced with the degree of anemia associated with the level of parasitemia [A similar situation has been reported for asitemia .T. orientalis infection rate of 43% in the fall compared to 14% in summer and 11% in the spring [Theileria infection rates was caused by an increase in exposure to H. longicornis in the same study.Changes in the seasonal prevalence of tick-borne pathogens are caused by changes in the abundance, infection rates, and extent of exposure to questing ticks . In a ste spring . The graH. longicornis, except eggs, were able to overwinter in pasture soil, with Theileria being detected in the salivary glands of overwintered nymphal stages, contributing to outbreaks of epidemics in the spring [H. longicornis nymphs, stressed periparturient cows, and the birth of na\u00efve calves, each contributing to outbreak episodes. There have not been equivalent studies on H. bancrofti, which is also a competent vector tick species.Many species of ticks are adapted to seasonal variations in climate within their geographical range. A study from Japan observed that all developmental stages of e spring . In Auste spring  with conStomoxys were reported to be abundant in both dry and wet seasons [With regard to potential mechanical animate vectors, meteorological variables, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed or atmospheric pressure, influence the daily activity patterns of biting flies with each species responding differently . Cool te seasons .T. orientalis pass transstadially [Theileria parasites are classified into two groups, transforming  and non-transforming , by their ability to transform leukocytes in the infected hosts [T. parva, there is little or no multiplication in the erythrocytes, with multiplication occurring exclusively in lymphocytes. In contrast, multiple rounds of asexual division have been observed to occur in both the erythrocytes and lymphocytes for T. annulata [T. orientalis infection are associated with the destruction of infected erythrocytes and subsequent anemia. Hence, the red blood cell phase (piroplasm), rather than the leukocyte phase (schizont), drives the pathogenesis of the species [The developmental stages of tadially ,62, but tadially ,34. Broaed hosts . In T. pannulata . However species .T. orientalis carried out at different times, identified the ticks, H. bancrofti [H. humerosa (later reclassified as H. bremneri), and H. longicornis Neumann, 1901, as potential vectors [H. longicornis is the main biological vector in Australia and New Zealand [T. orientalis genotypes in a range of tick species, as is summarized in In Australia, transmission experiments with ancrofti , H. hume vectors ,29,65,66 Zealand , and in  Zealand ,69. ThouH. longicornis , but sheep may also be heavily infected and have recently been implicated as asymptomatic carriers of T. orientalis Ikeda infections in New Zealand [H. longicornis is thought to originate from northern Japan [H. bancrofti, Macropodoidae  are the primary hosts, the tick has also been found on cattle [H. bancrofti in the sub-coastal areas of Queensland and northern New South Wales, while it has a localized distribution in southern New South Wales [The distribution patterns of ticks in one location can vary because of fluctuations in the relative density of host animals which may sustain the life cycle and/or their introduction into non-endemic areas. In Australia, cattle are the preferred hosts of  Zealand . The Ausrn Japan . The spern Japan  and in Wn cattle . There hth Wales .H. longicornis in Australia and New Zealand are considered parthenogenic, with adult females able to lay fertile eggs in the absence of a male [H. longicornis, except the eggs, overwintered on pasture [H. bancrofti on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, Australia  and Dasybasis oculata (48%) were more sensitive to the host\u2019s defensive movements and required as many as nine partial meals to reach engorgement [T. orientalis was not detected in tabanid flies (Dasybasis spp.) in one study [D. circumdata [Tabanids (commonly known as horse or march flies) are major livestock pests due to their painful bite and landing rate of up to 1000 per hour . They arorgement ,95. In Ane study ; howeverrcumdata .T. orientalis in arthropod hosts is unknown. A study in Brazil showed that tabanid flies did transfer between horses separated by a distance of 50 m and this was recommended as a distance barrier to avoid the mechanical transmission of blood-borne parasites [T. orientalis, followed by critical experimentation to demonstrate transmission.Another important factor for mechanical transmission is the relative mobility of tabanid species in switching hosts after interrupted feeding since the survival of pathogens in the insect mouthparts is generally limited with time  althougharasites . An undeStomoxys spp.) can regurgitate part of their previous blood meal before taking up another, resulting in the transfer of high doses of pathogens [In addition to mechanical transmission via the contaminated mouthparts of biting flies, there is experimental evidence showing that stable flies  [Haematopinus eurysternus) [T. orientalis by lice is a concern as lice become more prevalent during winter when cattle experience physiological and nutritional stresses, both of which have been considered risk factors for oriental theileriosis. A study from Japan demonstrated that infestation with lice was responsible for the high rate of infection with T. orientalis in cattle during winter and among in-house cattle where ticks and horse flies were not active [There is experimental evidence of spension . Lice arspension , with Lin calves . There a vituli) ,85 and rsternus) . The mect active . NeverthCulicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), are among the smallest hematophagous flies, measuring 1\u20135 mm in length, with only females seeking blood for egg development [Culicoides species, C. brevitarsis, C. marksi, C. dycei, C. victoriae, C. schultzei, and C. peregrinus, are considered the most important species feeding on cattle [Culicoides [T. orientalis in C. brevitarsis and C. victoriae [C. brevitarsis, which has been previously reported to have seasonal movement from coastal areas, where the parasite is endemic, to inland areas [Biting midges, elopment . They caelopment . The Culn cattle . As artin cattle , the poolicoides  also makictoriae . Of partnd areas , greatlyOverall, mechanical transmission results in the absence of sexual reproduction of the parasite and is expected to reduce genetic diversity within the parasite population . Hence, T. orientalis, other modes of transmission need to be considered. One such method is vertical transmission between dams and their calves. In Australia, the microscopic detection of Theileria piroplasms was achieved from a 4-day-old calf [T. orientalis. Similar studies in New Zealand and Japan have also shown that the vertical transplacental transmission of T. orientalis (Ikeda) infection is unlikely in chronically infected dairy cows [T. orientalis was not detected in calves born to infected dams 0\u201330 days post-delivery. However, by 4 months of age, 88% of the calves had become positive for the Ikeda genotype despite the presence of mixed infection in some of the dams. These results suggest that, in a low-risk tick-infested area, the vertical transmission of T. orientalis could take at least three months to become detectable by PCR.Given the small volume of blood required for the transmission of old calf  and usinold calf ,107, whiiry cows ,109. In T. orientalis can be transmitted by low numbers of piroplasms, something that might also occur iatrogenically [It has also been shown that enically . RoutineT. parva within cultured lymphoblasts were transferred into recipient lymphocytes when inoculated into recipients [T. orientalis piroplasms in the colostrum, calves receiving colostrum within 6 h of birth failed to become qPCR positive [Other potential means of infection in homebred cattle include the infection of calves through blood transfer in the colostrum . It has cipients . In a stpositive , though T. orientalis, it was unclear whether seropositivity and a moderate infection intensity, as demonstrated by qPCR in a calf 36 h post-birth, were due to antibodies from a fetal immune response to infection in utero or were maternally derived post-partum [T. orientalis is currently unclear; however, the peak in parasite load in all calves tested in the same study occurred after the decline in antibody levels, at 5\u20138 weeks post-partum, suggestive of some protective effect.Antibodies are thought to have little role in immunity to theileria infections, since the main mechanism of immune protection against intracellular parasites is cell-mediated . The epit-partum . NonetheT. orientalis has long been considered to cause a mild persistent infection. However, since 2006, an increase in outbreaks of clinical theileriosis has been associated with the newly identified Ikeda and Chitose genotypes, particularly the former, and these are now becoming established in Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, there are reports of variation in virulence within the various T. orientalis genotypes. Although the ixodid tick, H. longicornis, is the known biological vector in Australasia, there is indirect evidence of transmission by other tick species. Nevertheless, Theileria infection is reported in areas where ticks are not detected. Under such circumstances, the mechanical transmission of T. orientalis by hematophagous insects, especially by sucking lice and stomoxyine flies [In Australia, the benign Buffeli genotype of ne flies , may plane flies  and tranne flies ,108, arene flies ,109."}
+{"text": "On July 27, 2023, with the passing of Dr. Frank J Lagerwaard, the profession of radiation oncology lost an outstanding clinician and a brilliant researcher.Frank spent his childhood years in Rotterdam, Holland. He had graduated from St. Laurens College in 1981 and had earned his medical degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in 1986. For a year between 1989-1990, Frank had worked at Militair Hospitaal Dr. A. Mathijsen as a Radiology Resident and had been a resident of Internal Medicine at the Ignatius Hospital until 1993. He stayed at the Daniel Den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam to complete his radiation oncology training between 1993-2002 and his work resulted in a thesis that earned Lagerwaard a Doctor of Philosophy degree. After 2002, Lagerwaard started to work at the VU University Medical Center (VUMC).MR Linac program at VUMC. Many scholars are indebted to Lagerwaard for his pioneering work on ablative MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy. He had welcomed many departments within VUMC to share their initial experiences with this cutting edge technology.Frank specialized in the treatment of CNS, lung, and pancreatic cancer. After 2006, he was involved in the development of the Dr. Lagerwaard impact on the field was profound and far-reaching. He was a brilliant researcher, as is evident from the numerous condolences we have received from colleagues all around the world. Each of these contain a personal story of how Frank had positively contributed to their individual careers, professional organizations, and personal lives. His colleagues will always remember this bright, irreverent, kind, and warm-hearted scientist. His contributions and his positive influence on the lives of many will be forever lasting. There can be no nobler legacy.EO: Writing \u2013 original draft, Writing \u2013 review & editing. MB-D: Writing \u2013 original draft, Writing \u2013 review & editing."}
+{"text": "Gopi  RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the named authors, hereby wholly retracts this The optical images presented in Fig. 6a and c are identical. Furthermore, the images in Fig. 6a, c and e have been duplicated in other publications. The panels in Fig. 6a and c have been duplicated as Fig. 9a in Part of the image in Fig. 10c has been duplicated in Fig. 10e.The authors informed the Editor that the characterization of the original samples was outsourced, and they do not have the original raw data for the published results.Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable.N. Murugan was contacted but did not respond.Signed: D. Gopi, S. Ramya, E. Shinyjoy and L. KavithaDate: 16th March 2023RSC AdvancesRetraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, Retractions"}
+{"text": "Ixodes ricinus complex that have been infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Today, LB is considered the most important human tick-borne illness in the Northern Hemisphere. The causative agent was identified and successfully isolated in 1982 and, shortly thereafter, antibiotic treatment was found to be safe and efficacious. Since then, various in vitro studies have been conducted in order to improve our knowledge of the activity of antimicrobial agents against B. burgdorferi s. l. The full spectrum of in vitro antibiotic susceptibility has still not been defined for some of the more recently developed compounds. Moreover, our current understanding of the in vitro interactions between B. burgdorferi s. l. and antimicrobial agents, and their possible mechanisms of resistance remains very limited and is largely based on in vitro susceptibility experiments on only a few isolates of Borrelia. Even less is known about the possible mechanisms of the in vitro persistence of spirochetes exposed to antimicrobial agents in the presence of human and animal cell lines. Only a relatively small number of laboratory studies and cell culture experiments have been conducted. This review summarizes what is and what is not known about the in vitro susceptibility of B. burgdorferi s. l. It aims to shed light on the known unknowns that continue to fuel current debates on possible treatment resistance and mechanisms of persistence of Lyme disease spirochetes in the presence of antimicrobial agents.Human Lyme borreliosis (LB) represents a multisystem disorder that can progress in stages. The causative agents are transmitted by hard ticks of the  Ixodes (I.) ricinus complex that have been infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato  and at 2 \u00b5g/mL, the drug\u2019s tentative breakpoint concentration for fastidious organisms , daptomycin and linezolid, which usually do not have in vitro activity against common Gram-negative bacteria, displayed a significant antibiotic effect against B. burgdorferi s.l. , initially produces no detectable bacilli by organ culture. However, reactivation of infection during this culture-negative state obviously occurs spontaneously or following immune suppression after the conclusion of treatment. Such reactivation is similarly documented for LB and syphilis in the literature [In terms of antimicrobial resistance, there is also circumstantial evidence for the development of acquired antimicrobial resistance in echanism . The posechanism ,158. Simnfection . The finis agent . Insteadis agent  and Hansis agent  in relapis agent ,149. Likterature ,146,160.B. burgdorferi s.l. has been observed in cardiac myocytes of experimentally infected mice and in dermal macrophages in vivo [B. burgdorferi s.l. overcomes the presence of \u00df-lactams by transitioning into a physiologically dormant state [B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates can indeed adhere to, invade and survive in human endothelial cells [B. burgdorferi s.l. and may provide important insights into possible evasion strategies of spirochetes\u2014organisms that, despite their mainly extracellular residence are known for their close and sophisticated interactions with the various tissues of their hosts during the infection.In addition,  in vivo ,162. Somnt state ,134. As nt state , and a dal cells ,164. TheB. burgdorferi s.l., as has been the case for other bacterial pathogens. We still have many lessons to learn about the interactions between antimicrobial agents and B. burgdorferi s.l., as well as the potential mechanisms of spirochetes may have devised to overcome the presence of antimicrobial agents and host immunity in vivo. Recent studies provide evidence for the development of acquired in vitro resistance of B. burgdorferi s.l. against selected aminoglycosides, hygromycin A, and quinolones after prolonged exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of these drugs during in vitro culture. To date, however, there is no scientific evidence for clinically relevant acquired antimicrobial resistance against drugs that are commonly used for the therapy of B. burgdorferi s.l. infection as a cause of culture-confirmed persistence of borreliae in LB patients. The public health impact on patients with the persistence of borreliae after antimicrobial therapy is difficult to assess. Extrapolating the above-mentioned numbers from clinical investigations, a persistence rate of 1.5% in EM patients [Borrelia spp. In light of the excess morbidity and financial burden resulting from the healthcare challenges of LB patients, these issues contribute to critically important ongoing major public health issues [Over the last two decades, relatively little progress has been made in identifying possible mechanisms of persistence and antibiotic resistance for patients  and an apatients  would adpatients ,166,167.patients , and culpatients . During h issues ,61,114. h issues ,52 but ah issues ."}
+{"text": "It should be PLoS ONE 2021, 16, e0259448Flood, M.W.; Grimm, B. EntropyHub: An open-source toolkit for entropic time series analysis. .In the original article , the refWith this correction, the order of references has not been changed. The authors state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. This correction was approved by the Academic Editor. The original publication has also been updated."}
+{"text": "Aedes mosquitoes  worldwide. Aedes aegypti is not currently established in Japan, and Ae. albopictus is the primary vector mosquito for DENV in the country, but knowledge of its viral susceptibility is limited. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the status of DENV susceptibility by comparing the infection and dissemination dynamics of Japanese Ae. albopictus to all known DENV serotypes with those of Ae. aegypti.Dengue fever, caused by the dengue virus (DENV), is the most common viral infection transmitted by Ae. albopictus from Japan and one colony of Ae. aegypti from a dengue-endemic country (Vietnam). After 14\u00a0days of sucking, the mosquito body was divided into two parts (thorax/abdomen and head/wings/legs) and total RNA was extracted from each sample. DENV RNA was detected in these extracted RNA samples using a quantitative RT-PCR method specific for each DENV serotype, and infection and dissemination rates were analyzed.After propagation of each DENV serotype in Vero cells, the culture supernatants were mixed with defibrinated rabbit blood and adenosine triphosphate, and the mixture was artificially blood-sucked by two colonies of Ae. albopictus colonies were susceptible to all DENV serotypes. Its infection and dissemination rates were significantly lower than those of Ae. aegypti. However, the number of DENV RNA copies in Ae. albopictus was almost not significantly different from that in Ae. aegypti. Furthermore, Japanese Ae. albopictus differed widely in their susceptibility to each DENV serotype.The Japanese Ae. albopictus, once DENV overcame the midgut infection barrier, the efficiency of subsequent propagation and dissemination of the virus in the mosquito body was comparable to that of Ae. aegypti. Based on the results of this study and previous dengue outbreak trends, Ae. albopictus is predicted to be highly compatible with DENV-1, suggesting that this serotype poses a high risk for future epidemics in Japan.In Japanese The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41182-023-00553-5. Aedes mosquitoes  and humans    and closer study . TherefoAe. albopictus was infectious with all DENV serotypes, and viruses were also detected in the head, wings, and legs, indicating that all serotypes exhibited systemic infection. However, the IR of the Japanese Ae. albopictus, i.e., viral infection of the thorax and abdomen, including the midgut, was significantly lower than that of Ae. aegypti for all DENV serotypes. This suggests that viral infection is inhibited by the midgut infection barrier, which is the first barrier against viral infection [Ae. albopictus individuals with confirmed DENV infections in the thorax and abdomen had DENV RNA detected in their head, wings, and legs, indicating a similar level of dissemination dynamic as that in Ae. aegypti. Furthermore, DENV-1 was also found to be more efficiently disseminated in a certain Ae. albopictus colony than in Ae. aegypti. In addition, there was almost no difference in the number of DENV RNA copies between Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus colonies. This suggests that Japanese Ae. albopictus might transmit the virus to the same extent as Ae. aegypti, depending on the DENV serotype. However, the extent to which these viruses are expelled with mosquito saliva was not investigated in this study; therefore, further research is needed to confirm the ability of Japanese Ae. albopictus to transmit the DENV serotypes.Results of the infection experiments showed that Japanese nfection . More thAe. albopictus have large differences in IR and DR among the DENV serotypes. This is consistent with data observed in previous studies on Ae. albopictus that show differences in susceptibility to DENV serotypes [Ae. albopictus colonies more efficiently than serotypes 2 and 3. However, the virus titers used in the infection experiments in this study differed between serotypes, and it is possible that differences in the initial amount of virus sucked by the mosquitoes may have affected their subsequent susceptibility. Moreover, in this study, only a certain of the many genotypes of each DENV serotype were used in the experiments. Previous studies have reported that mosquito susceptibility to different viral genotypes within the same serotype also varies [Ae. albopictus to different DENV serotypes.This study showed that Japanese erotypes , 34. Theo varies \u201337. TherAe. albopictus was the only mosquito vector (Table Ae. albopictus was the sole vector mosquito [Ae. albopictus as the main vector were caused by DENV-1. Since DENV-1 used in this study is a Japanese epidemic strain [Ae. albopictus cannot be ruled out, but it showed high infectivity and propagation in Japanese Ae. albopictus among the serotypes tested. This suggests that Ae. albopictus is highly compatible with DENV-1. Therefore, DENV-1 is more likely to spread during an epidemic in which Ae. albopictus is the primary vector. In addition, results of this study indicated that Ae. albopictus is as highly susceptible to DENV-4 as it is to DENV-1. To date, DENV-4 has not been prevalent in outbreaks in which Ae. albopictus was the primary vector. However, based on results of the present study, there may be a risk of future outbreaks of this serotype in areas where Ae. albopictus is the dominant vector.To date, several outbreaks of dengue fever have been reported in temperate zones in Japan and Europe, where or Table . Despiteor Table . Additiomosquito \u201310. Thusc strain , the posAe. albopictus to DENV and compared its IR, DR, and DENV propagation efficiency with those of Ae. aegypti, the main vector of DENV. The analyses revealed for the first time that Japanese Ae. albopictus was susceptible to all DENV serotypes. Compared with that of Ae. aegypti, a higher percentage of Japanese Ae. albopictus had an inhibitory effect on DENV infection via the midgut infection barrier. However, once the virus overcomes this barrier, it propagates and disseminates to the hemocoel and other tissues in Ae. albopictus as efficiently as that in Ae. aegypti. Based on previous dengue outbreak trends and the results of the infection experiment in this study, Ae. albopictus is predicted to be highly compatible with DENV-1, suggesting that this serotype poses a high risk for future epidemics in Japan.In the present study, we investigated the susceptibility of Japanese Additional file 1. List of primers and probes used in this study.Additional file 2. Comparison of the infection rates of dengue virus serotypes in each mosquito species and colony.Additional file 3. Comparison of dengue virus serotype propagation in Aedes aegypti and Japanese Ae. albopictus colonies.Additional file 4. Dissemination rate of Aedes aegypti and Japanese Ae. albopictus colonies.Additional file 5. Comparison of the dissemination rates of dengue virus serotypes in each mosquito species and colony.Additional file 6. Comparison of dengue virus serotype propagation in Aedes aegypti and Japanese Ae. albopictus colonies."}
+{"text": "F. occidentalis is increasing, thus complicating management efforts. However, the mechanism of resistance of F. occidentalis to insecticides is unclear. In order to understand the status of insecticide resistance of F. occidentalis in different habitats, we provide a basis for the development of resistance management strategies and study the mechanisms that confer this resistance. We evaluated the susceptibility of F. occidentalis to six commonly used insecticides in three field populations. The findings indicated that reduced susceptibility to the investigated insecticides of F. occidentalis in different habitats was due to increased activity of detoxifying enzymes. The results from our study will enrich the understanding of how invasive thrips cope with insecticide stress and shed light on how best to manage the resistance of thrips pests to insecticides in the future.Due to the frequent application of insecticides, resistance in field populations of Frankliniella occidentalis is a highly destructive and invasive agricultural pest that has developed resistance to a variety of insecticide classes. Different planting structures and insecticide use frequency can directly affect the resistance development of F. occidentalis. In this study, the susceptibility of three field strains of F. occidentalis, collected over one year (April to November) from three habitat conditions , to spinetoram, spinosad, emamectin benzoate, chlorfenapyr, acetamiprid, and imidacloprid were monitored and compared. At the same time, the detoxification enzyme activity of F. occidentalis in different habitats was determined. The results showed that the susceptibility of the F. occidentalis population in FA was significantly lower than that of populations from OF and AI. Among them, the F. occidentalis population in FA had developed low levels of resistance to spinetoram (RR = 9.18-fold), emamectin benzoate (RR = 5.47-fold), chlorfenapyr (RR = 6.67-fold), and acetamiprid (RR = 7.49-fold), and had developed moderate level resistance to imidacloprid (RR = 11.67-fold), while still being relatively sensitive to spinosad. The population of F. occidentalis from OF had developed low level resistance to spinetoram (RR = 5.24-fold) but was still relatively sensitive to the other five insecticides. The resistance of F. occidentalis from AI to six insecticides was at relatively sensitive levels. The results of the enzyme activities of detoxification enzymes, including carboxylesterase (CarE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the cytochrome P450 enzyme system (CYP450), revealed that the activities of the FA population of F. occidentalis were significantly higher than those of the other two populations. The change of CarE activity in F. occidentalis was consistent with that of spinetoram resistance, indicating that CarE may be involved in the metabolic resistance of F. occidentalis to spinetoram. Among the three populations, the resistance and detoxification enzyme activities of F. occidentalis of the FA population to six insecticides were higher than those of the other two populations. Our findings, along with other strategies, are expected to help with the resistance management of F. occidentalis in different habitats. Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), which originate from North America, are among the most important invasive pests for horticultural and agronomic crops around the world [F. occidentalis first invaded China in Beijing in 2003. Since then, it has spread rapidly to Yunnan, Zhejiang, Guizhou, and other provinces and has caused serious economic losses in China [F. occidentalis are diverse, spanning more than 600 species, including ornamental, vegetable, cotton, tobacco, legumes, shamrock, and many weeds around the planting fields [The western flower thrips, he world . F. occig fields ,5, but dF. occidentalis control has been dependent on the application of insecticides [F. occidentalis has readily evolved resistance to a range of new insecticides in its invaded range, even in areas where it is a relatively recent invader [F. occidentalis has been found in many countries, such as America, Australia, Spain, and China [F. occidentalis on fruiting vegetable crops for many years. However, extensive reliance on these pesticides has caused them to have poor efficacy [F. occidentalis in North Carolina possess high levels of resistance to spinetoram. In this regard, many previous studies have also revealed the rapid development of resistance by thrips pest species to various insecticides [F. occidentalis has always been a serious threat with the capacity to lead to difficulties in the successful control of thrips.To date, cticides . Unfortucticides ,9. F. oc invader . The prend China ,13,14,15efficacy ,17. At tefficacy  found thcticides ,10,19,20F. fusca is abundant on winter weed species in the winter and spring [F. fusca is less abundant than F. occidentalis on pepper and tomato plants in Georgia and North Carolina [F. occidentalis often occurs on cultivated and wild host plants, especially on the flowers of commercially important plants such as rose Rosa rugosa and chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum morifolium [F. occidentalis can occur on a variety of weeds near crops. For example, it was found to be the most dominant species among weeds in vegetable production areas in Turkey [F. occidentalis on Hypericum monogynum and clover was earlier than that of pepper and also that the primary outbreak period occurred in early May. Zhang et al. [F. occidentalis on three different host plants, including Rosa rugosa, Chrysanthemum morifolium, and Phaseolus vulgaris, was faster and earlier than that of the local relative F. intonsa. These research results provide a scientific basis for the prediction of F. occidentalis on different crops. At the same time, the population of F. occidentalis in different habitats is also affected by the types and doses of pesticides applied. A previous study reported that imidacloprid stress can increase the proportion of females in the population of F. occidentalis [F. occidentalis. Kordestanie et al. [F. occidentalis with matrine LC25 can prolong the developmental duration of each stage of the F1 generation. Therefore, it is speculated that the population density of F. occidentalis may be related to its resistance to insecticides, resulting in less effective chemical control. Determining the population density and resistance development of insects in different planting environments is a prerequisite for pest forecasting and scientific prevention and control. The population dynamics of thrips are known to vary among species, host plants, and plant parts ,22. Studd spring , whereasCarolina . F. occirifolium ,26. In an Turkey . Severaln Turkey ,29,30. Hn Turkey  showed tg et al.  pointed dentalis . Yang etdentalis  showed te et al.  reportedAmbrostoma quadriimpressum. Previous studies have shown that AChE is involved in the resistance of carbamates and organophosphate insecticides [F. occidentalis increase significantly after treatment with an LC25 dose of spinetoram, while the activity of AChE decreases. Detoxification enzymes play essential roles in the survival of insects exposed to adverse environments [Carboxylesterase (CarE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the cytochrome P450 enzyme system (CYP450) are important metabolic detoxifying enzymes found in insects. Detoxification enzymes in insects are induced by various exogenous or endogenous compounds, meaning that insects can quickly adapt to environmental stresses, such as insecticides , extremecticides . Li et acticides  showed tronments ,42,43,44F. occidentalis to insecticides are unknown, but may be related to host plants, selective pressure on insecticides, or environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the status of resistance to six insecticides in F. occidentalis populations collected from different hosts in three different habitats of Yunnan Province, China. At the same time, the detoxifying enzyme activities of different F. occidentalis populations were determined in order to clarify the adaptation mechanism of insecticides to F. occidentalis from the biochemical level, which could provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of insecticides in production. It also guides further research on insecticide resistance management of F. occidentalis.Currently, the factors leading to decreased susceptibility of F. occidentalis in different fields, a 1-year field study was conducted in each area from 15 April to 15 November, with sampling conducted every 30 days from 15 April. The survey sites are shown in 2. Five plants of each host were selected at each sample point, and six to eight flowers from each plant were randomly sampled to count the number of adults of F. occidentalis. When processing the thrips on a sampled site, we first beat the host plants to make the thrips fall into the white porcelain plate (30 \u00d7 22 \u00d7 4 cm). These were then collected separately into a plastic tube (50 mL) with a fine brush, marked and transferred into our laboratory for species identification, wherein the male and female adults of F. occidentalis were counted under stereoscopic microscopes (10\u00d7 to 20\u00d7). In all study sites, the other collected species were discarded and were not included in the results of our experiment. In addition, all adult samples of F. occidentalis were reared on kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris (cv. Oasis)) in artificial climate chambers  before the bioassays were determined.In order to compare the population numbers of F. occidentalis as a reference to field-collected populations. This population was obtained from Kunming, Yunnan Province, China , and continuously reared for 30 generations in plastic boxes (17 \u00d7 11 \u00d7 7 cm) containing kidney beans in ACCs for use in experiments. This strain was always kept in ACCs after being collected without exposure to any insecticides. Other conditions included 16/8 h light/darkness cycles and 65% relative humidity (RH). Light and dark phase temperatures were set at 27 and 25 \u00b0C.We took susceptible strains of F. occidentalis populations were collected from Yunnan Province from April to November 2021. The sampling sites are shown in F. occidentalis. The collected populations were all female adults of F. occidentalis. After being brought to the laboratory, they were cultured for 2 or 3 generations on kidney beans as a bioassay.A total of 3 F. occidentalis was determined via the performance of a dipping bioassay  enzyme activity. A total of 20 mature thrips were placed in micro-centrifuge tubes . Subsequently, they were added to 1200 \u00b5L phosphate-buffered saline , ground with a high flux tissue grinder  in an ice-water bath, and centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 15 min. Subsequently, we used the supernatant as the test enzyme solution for CarE and GST.Following the method employed by Cao et al. , an enzyg for 10 min at 4 \u00b0C using a centrifuge . The supernatant was used as the test enzyme solution for AchE and CYP450.AchE and CYP450 were extracted using ELISA kits  in accordance with the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. A total of 20 mature thrips were placed in centrifuge tubes containing 1200 \u00b5L of 0.86% physiological saline, homogenized in an ice-cold water bath using a high flux tissue grinder and centrifuged at 3000\u00d7 The protein content of the enzyme solution was determined by employing the bicin chonininc acid (BCA) method in accordance with the kit instructions of Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China.CarE activity was determined as described by Zhang et al. . The fasGST activity  was determined as described by Cao et al. . A totalAChE and CYP450 activity were determined using ELISA kits  following the manufacturer\u2019s protocol.50), concentration mortality regression equations, and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated accordingly. Resistance ratios (RR) were calculated by dividing the LC50 of a field population by the corresponding LC50 of the susceptible strain. LC50 values were considered to be significantly different if their 95% CIs did not overlap [F. occidentalis under different habitat conditions was explored via Pearson\u2019s correlation analysis. This analysis was performed using OriginPro 2022 SR1.Data were checked for normality and homoscedasticity before statistical analyses were performed. All data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 26.0). All bioassay data were derived and calculated using log-probit analyses. The median lethal concentration . The resistance of F. occidentalis to emamectin benzoate (RR = 3.98~5.47-fold) and chlorfenapyr (RR = 2.49~6.67-fold) varied from susceptible to low, but the relative susceptibility level of FA populations of F. occidentalis to spinosad (RR = 1.61~3.81-fold) did not. The resistance of F. occidentalis to acetamiprid showed an increasing trend and reached a low level (RR = 7.49-fold) in November. The resistance of F. occidentalis to imidacloprid ranged from susceptible to moderate resistance (RR = 10.19~11.67-fold). Furthermore, the resistance of the OF population of F. occidentalis to spinetoram developed from susceptible to low (RR = 2.21~5.24-fold), but the species remained susceptible to the other five insecticides . As a parallel, the AI population of F. occidentalis remained susceptible to six insecticides from April to November  was positively correlated with the application frequency of insecticide per month, average daily temperature, and average daily precipitation. Furthermore, the resistance ratio in the AI population of F. occidentalis to insecticide was positively correlated with the average daily temperature (The correlation analysis showed that the application frequency of insecticide per month, average daily temperature, and average daily precipitation with the resistance ratio in the FA population of perature .F. occidentalis, enzyme assays were performed to measure the activities of CarE, GST, AChE, and CYP450. The results showed that the activity of CarE, GST, AChE, and CYP450 increased in all three habitats compared with the susceptible strain (In order to determine the role of detoxification enzymes in the insecticide resistance of e strain A\u2013D.F. occidentalis collected from FA, OF, and AI showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, with the highest levels of activity reached in September. CarE activity in F. occidentalis collected from FA, OF, and AI increased 25.26-fold, 6.18-fold, and 4.06-fold compared to the susceptible strain, respectively (F. occidentalis in FA was significantly higher than that of OF and AI. Furthermore, the CarE activity of the F. occidentalis in AI increased the least compared with that of the other two populations (The highest level of CarE activity was registered for specimens recovered from FA, followed by those from OF, and then AI. The CarE activity of ectively A. At theulations A. F. occidentalis in three habitats, with the highest GST activity found in the FA population and the lowest in the AI population (F. occidentalis collected from FA reached the highest in October, with a 4.31-fold increase compared with the susceptible strain. However, the GST activity of F. occidentalis collected from OF reached the highest in September, increasing 2.71-fold compared with the susceptible strain (F. occidentalis in AI compared with the other two populations (A similar trend was found with GST activity of pulation B. The GSe strain B. In addulations B.F. occidentalis from FA were increased, but the change in OF and AI populations was not significant (F. occidentalis collected from FA reached the highest in June, increased 1.61-fold compared with the susceptible strain. However, the AChE activity of OF and AI populations showed varying degrees of change with collection time (Compared with the susceptible strain, the AChE activities of nificant C. The ACion time C.F. occidentalis was highest in the population collected from FA (F. occidentalis collected from FA and AI habitats reached its peak in June, with 2.12-fold and 1.53-fold increases, respectively, compared with the susceptible strain. However, the activity of the AI population did not show significant changes (The study found that the activity of CYP450 in  from FA D. The CY changes D.F. occidentalis to spinetoram and spinosad was positively correlated with CarE activity. On the other hand, the resistance ratio of F. occidentalis to spinetoram was positively correlated with spinosad. AChE activity was positively correlated with the activities of CYP450 (F. occidentalis to insecticides was positively correlated with CarE and GST activity (F. occidentalis (The correlation analysis showed that the resistance ratio in the FA population of f CYP450 A. Similaactivity B. This rdentalis C.F. occidentalis have many host plant species and prefer to live and feed on flowers. The density of F. occidentalis populations differs among host plant species [F. occidentalis in the field, we further studied the influence of pesticide use on the susceptibility to insecticides of F. occidentalis populations. The results showed that the susceptibility to insecticides is different between the populations, and that the same population owed different sensitivities to different kinds of insecticides. Among the three populations, the susceptibility of the FA population to six insecticides was the lowest, while the AI population had the highest susceptibility (F. occidentalis to spinetoram and spinosad was significantly correlated with the application frequency of insecticide per month (F. occidentalis populations. A study by Bielza et al. [F. occidentalis. Worldwide, however, farmers have reported control failures for spinosad against thrips [F. occidentalis developed low levels of resistance to spinetoram. Langfield et al. [F. occidentalis collected in Australia. Wang et al. [F. occidentalis populations was for spinetoram, with the highest LC50 value of a population, 73.92 times greater than that of the most susceptible population. However, studies elsewhere have also shown that levels of spinosyn resistance do not change significantly under sustained selection pressure [F. occidentalis.As polyphagous insects,  species ,50. Diff species . Consequtibility . The reser month . In othea et al.  showed ta et al.  revealedt thrips ,52,53,54t thrips ,54,55. Od et al.  also repg et al.  reportedg et al.  reportedpressure ,13. TherF. occidentalis from FA were much higher than those in other populations (F. occidentalis in FA and OF populations to spinetoram was significantly correlated with the application frequency of insecticide per month and CarE activity (F. occidentalis, a fact which has been confirmed in Scirtothrips citri [Nilaparvata lugens, the higher the resistance to organophosphorus insecticides [Nilaparvata lugens accelerated its metabolism to spirotetramat, which led to the enhancement of resistance to spirotetramat [F. occidentalis to spinetoram was linked to changes in CarE activity, suggesting that CarE plays a role in the detoxification metabolism of spinetoram. Previous studies showed that spinetoram treatment can increase the activities of CarE in F. occidentalis [The development of insect resistance is primarily regulated by the activity of detoxifying enzymes within the insects, the factors that enhance their metabolic ability to counteract pesticides. The detoxification ability of insects is reflected by the response of detoxifying enzymes to insecticides ,59. CarEulations . Differeactivity . Taken tps citri . Previoucticides . The inctetramat . Our resdentalis . HoweverF. occidentalis are different. F. occidentalis can adapt to the stress pressure from pesticides by regulating the activity of detoxification enzymes in their bodies to enhance their adaptability to the insecticide environment. Nevertheless, there are limitations to our study. Although our study revealed among-population variation in susceptibility to several insecticides in F. occidentalis, we were not able to reflect the variation in resistance over the years. Therefore, we have focused on activities related to detoxifying enzymes among populations to different insecticides, which has highlighted a mechanism leading to resistance in the field. The rapid development of insecticide resistance in pest thrips emphasizes the importance of resistance monitoring and management. Therefore, it is necessary to develop effective management plans to delay any resistance development.Overall, the degree of insecticide application in different areas is closely related to the susceptibility of pests to insecticides, and the improper use of chemical insecticides will lead to the emergence of resistance of pests. The effects of different insecticides on the detoxification enzyme activity of F. occidentalis was significantly lower than that of the other two populations. The FA population of F. occidentalis developed low-level resistance to spinetoram, emamectin benzoate, chlorfenapyr, and acetamiprid and moderate resistance to imidacloprid. In addition, the activities of CarE, GST, AChE, and CYP450 in FA F. occidentalis were highest. The change in CarE activity in F. occidentalis was consistent with that of susceptibility to spinetoram, indicating that CarE may be involved in the metabolic resistance of F. occidentalis to spinetoram. Therefore, in the control of F. occidentalis, different insecticides should be selected according to the susceptibility to insecticides of F. occidentalis populations in different habitats in order to improve the control effect.In conclusion, we found that the susceptibility of the FA population of"}
+{"text": "Minimally invasive closure of a progressive pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta: a case report by Wu Y, Fan L, Liu F, Zhuang H and Wu X. (2023) Front. Cardiovasc. Med. 10:1134196. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1134196A Corrigendum on In the published article, there was an error in the Funding statement. An incorrect funding number was included.The Funding statement has been updated:This work was supported by grants from the Fujian Medical and Health Guiding Project (grant no. 2020D022).The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-022-05758-y, published online 01 February 2022Retraction of: The Editors have retracted this Article.1 about errors in methodology, analyses, and interpretation of the data in the Article, indicating that the study does not provide data to support the claims of an airburst event or that such an event led to the decline of the Hopewell culture. Given these concerns, the Editors no longer have confidence that the conclusions presented are adequately supported.Following publication of this Article concerns have been raised by Nolan et al.James A. Jordan agrees with this retraction. Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, Stephen D. Meyers, Stephanie A. Meyers, Louis Herzner, David L. Lentz and Dylan Zedaker did not respond to correspondence from the Editors about this retraction."}
+{"text": "Spermophilus major is known as a fine biological species according to a number of criteria\u2014morphological, ecological, and behavioral, respectively. Nevertheless, a large body of evidence has accumulated on the hybridization of S. major with four neighboring Spermophilus species. Our goal was to identify their contribution to the nuclear and mitochondrial genome of S. major, and to propose a hypothesis describing the hybridization history in space and time. We found that 36% of S. major individuals had extraneous alleles, and every contacting species contributed to S. major\u2019s genetic variability. Our data suggested at least five independent hybridization events that were associated with shifts in the species ranges due to paleoclimate changes. Two of them were potentially accompanied by mitochondrial captures with replacement of the mitochondrial genome of one of the hybridizing species. We highlight the potential threat to the existence of S. major as a species under the current conditions of population decline along with the simultaneous influx of extraneous genes. It is also particularly important to emphasize the necessity of protecting this inhabitant of unique steppe communities.The role of hybridization in biological evolution and cases of hybridogenic speciation is one of the most complicated but also interesting and actively studied topics. Russet ground squirrel Spermophilus major, whose range has repeatedly changed due to climatic fluctuations and now borders the ranges of four related species, is of great interest. The main aims of this study were to determine the direction and intensity of gene introgression, the spatial depth of the infiltration of extraneous genes into the S. major range, and to refine the hypothesis of the hybridogenic replacement of mitochondrial genomes in the studied group. Using phylogenetic analysis of the variability of mitochondrial  and nuclear  markers, we determined the contribution of neighboring species to the S. major genome. We showed that 36% of S. major individuals had extraneous alleles. All peripheral species that were in contact with S. major contributed towards its genetic variability. We also proposed a hypothesis for the sequence and localization of serial hybridization events. Our assessment of the S. major genome implications of introgression highlights the importance of implementing conservation measures to protect this species.Among the numerous described cases of hybridization in mammals, the most intriguing are (a) cases of introgressive hybridization deeply affecting the evolutionary history of species, and (b) models involving not a pair of species but a multi-species complex. Therefore, the hybridization history of the russet ground squirrel  Numerous studies examining gene flow between species in various groups of animals have shown that hybridization in secondary contact zones is a more frequent event then the occasional crossing of reproductive barriers ,5,6,7,8.Hybridization in mammals is no longer considered a rare phenomenon ,25,26,27In the case of introgressive hybridization, on the contrary, the haplotypes of the donor species are integrated into the gene pool of the recipient species , and traHowever, in addition to the spatial aspect of hybridization, there is also a temporal aspect. With repeated occurrences of secondary contacts between closely related species, multiple separated in time cases of hybridization may occur as a result. Moreover, each hybridization event can contribute to the genomes of the contacting species ,38,39. TSpermophilus Cuvier, 1825 are a relatively young group of ground squirrels. A few species of this taxa were formed under allopatry and are poorly differentiated [Spermophilus are colonial hibernating inhabitants of the steppe and meadow ecosystems of open landscapes in most parts of Eurasia [Spermophilus species hybridize with each other in different combinations [Spermophilus major Pallas, 1778, a species that interbreeds with the largest number of other Spermophilus species  in nature [S. major genome is of undoubted interest for understanding the ways of expanding intra-specific variability, and the mechanisms of maintaining the species identity under the influence of hybridization.Palearctic ground squirrels of the genus entiated . Fourtee Eurasia . Seven Sinations ,44. Suchn nature ,44. Neven nature ,45,46. TS. fulvus) and little (S. pygmaeus) ground squirrels on the left bank of the Volga River [S. suslicus) on the right bank [S. major \u00d7 S. suslicus is determined by the time of the transition of the russet ground squirrel to the right bank of the Volga River, which hardly exceeds a hundred years [S. major \u00d7 S. suslicus have only been found in the contact zone on the right bank of the Volga River [S. suslicus cannot significantly affect the genome of S. major in the main range (to the east of the Volga River). Therefore, we excluded the consideration of the hybridization of this pair of species from our study. Population genetic analysis revealed a significant introgression of the mitochondrial haplotypes of S. fulvus and S. pygmaeus in the Volga populations of S. major, located not only in the sympatry zones, but also at a considerable distance from them, both on the right and on the left bank of the Volga River [The russet ground squirrel has an extended range ,47,48 paga River , and speght bank . Meanwhied years . Traces ga River , indicatga River ,49,52. Mga River ,53. Actiga River  were onlS. major range, its hybridization with ground squirrels of the heptneri form [Colobotis group, bordering on S. major in the east, is disputable. For a long time, all forms of red-cheeked ground squirrels living in Western Kazakhstan and Siberia were considered as sub-species of the red-cheeked ground squirrel S. erythrogenys [S. erythrogenys and the Brandt\u2019s ground squirrel S. brevicauda [heptneri form was assigned as a sub-species to S. major [S. erythrogenys [heptneri form and S. brevicauda are phylogenetically close [S. brevicauda and S. erythrogenys and considered heptneri as a sub-species of the Brandt\u2019s ground squirrel S. b. heptneri. Accordingly, in the east, S. major formed a wide zone of hybridization with S. brevicauda.In the eastern part of the eri form  was founeri form ,59. It shrogenys ,60. At tevicauda ,47,61, wevicauda . The hepS. major  or to S.hrogenys . Allozymly close . In thisly close  on the iS. major\u2019s own specific mitochondrial genome. Based on the sequencing of cytochrome b (cytb) and a fragment of the first subunit of the cytochrome oxidase (COI) gene of mtDNA, a wide introgression of the mt genome of S. brevicauda into the genome of S. major leading to the replacement of the mt genome in S. major was suggested [S. major within the entire range made it possible to determine the species-specific mt genome of S. major, which was differentiated to varying degrees from the genomes of other Spermophilus species [S. major not only in the contact zones, but also within the entire distribution area of the species, has hardly been studied. Active research was conducted mainly in the sympatric zones or at the boundaries of the range. It can be assumed that the events of genetic exchange involving S. major and other Spermophilus species in contact with it could occur repeatedly. This was supported by the wide geography of the hybrid zones and the alleged recent rapid expansion of the russet ground squirrel to the west from the Trans-Ural refugium [Thus, we observed a wide introgression of extraneous mitochondrial haplotypes in the west and active hybridization in the east. This became the basis for the question of the existence of uggested ,63. A ph species . Howeverrefugium .S. major and four neighboring species that were identified previously with the phenotypic and mtDNA data using genotyping with a set of nuclear and mitochondrial molecular markers with materials from all parts of the species\u2019 range. The main goals of our work were to determine the direction and intensity of gene introgression, the spatial depth of the infiltration of extraneous haplotypes into the range of S. major, and to clarify the hypothesis of the hybridogenic substitution of mitochondrial genomes in the study group. We present a hypothesis of a sequence of spatiotemporal hybridization events that left a trace on the genomes of the studied Spermophilus species.In our study, we confirmed the occurrence of introgressive hybridization between S. major, 51 S. brevicauda, 14 S. fulvus, 4 S. erythrogenys, and 23 S. pygmaeus samples were analyzed, respectively. Specimens defined by phenotype as hybrids of S. major \u00d7 S. pygmaeus  and S. major \u00d7 S. brevicauda  were included in S. major. The characteristics and localities of the materials used are shown in S. major mtDNA control region (CR) haplotype sequences (MW149931-MW150003) [cytb sequences of S. b. iliensis (AF157863), S. b. intermedius, and S. b. brevicauda  that were deposited in the GenBank database were also used.The material included tissue samples  obtained from ground squirrels deposited in the large-scale research facility \u201cCollection of Wildlife tissues for genetic research\u201d of the Core Centrum of the Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences (CWT IDB RAS), state registration number 3579666, and the Collection of Penza State University (PSU). Most of the material was collected by the authors. A total of 243 phenotypic W150003)  and cytbAnimal work was performed in accordance with the established international protocols as recommended in the Guidelines for Humane Endpoints for Animals Used in Biomedical Research. All experimental procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Research of the Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology RAS in accordance with the Regulations for Laboratory Practice in the Russian Federation; the most recently accepted protocol was numbered 37-25.06.2020. Every effort was made to treat animals as humanely as possible and to minimize their suffering.Genomic DNA was isolated by either saline  or phenocytb mtDNA were used for species differentiation and the analysis of mitochondrial introgression. To assess the effect of hybridization on the Spermophilus nuclear genome, we assessed the genetic markers of the fragments of the male-specific histocompatibility antigen SmcY, containing intron 8 and partial cds [BGN) [i13BCR) [MGF), beta-acid glucosidase (GBA) [PRKCI) [THY) [c-myc) [i6p53) [i6p53, were sequenced for 20 randomly selected samples of S. major from the entire range and from 2 (for S. erythrogenys) to 43 samples of the other species. Individual samples of S. brevicauda, S. erythrogenys, and S. pygmaeus were selectively sequenced to determine the i6p53 ID repeat structure. The i6p53 nucleotide sequences of S. major and S. fulvus were obtained from the publication of Titov et al. [S. major and other species. For further analysis, we selected five markers that reliably differentiate the russet ground squirrel from most of the neighboring species, as well as have the least haplotypic diversity in the S. major sample: SmcY, BGN, PRKCI, c-myc, and the i6p53 ID repeat, which differs in sequence length in most of the species that were evaluated in this work [PRKCI, which gave an additional short product of ~200 bp in the samples of little ground squirrel. The analyzed c-myc gene sequence included 192 bp of 2 introns and 683 bp of 3 exons, respectively.CR and tial cds , and bigds [BGN) , localiz[i13BCR) , mechanose (GBA) , protein [PRKCI) , thyrotrI) [THY) , proto-o [c-myc) , and the [i6p53) . For thiv et al. . The moshis work . The gen\u00ae BigDye\u2122 Terminator v. 3.1 Kit , the NovaDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit 3.1 , the AB 3500 Genetic Analyzer , and the Nanofor-05 Genetic Analyzer  at the Core Centrum of the Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences.Automated sequencing was performed using the ABI PRISMChromatograms were reviewed and manually edited using the Lasergene 11 SeqMan package . Due to the presence of a short PCR side product, the end sections of the PRKCI sequence were read from the reverse primer. DNA sequences were aligned using the MUSCLE algorithm  in MEGA BGN, PRKCI, and c-myc sequences, species-specific substitutions were determined for which restriction enzymes were selected. These restriction enzymes were selected to produce fragments that distinguished S. major from the species that were in contact with it  in the presence of the intercalating dye iridium bromide. Visual detection in the ultraviolet spectrum was performed using the Bio-Rad ChemiDoc MP System gel-documenting system . The SmcY sequence was obtained in all males in a total sample of all the analyzed ground squirrel species.After alignment in the  with it . Speciescytb: OR088804 - OR088840, SmcY: OR088841 - OR088846, BGN: OR088847 - OR088859, c-myc: OQ929560 - OQ929573, PRKCI: OQ954111 - OQ954121.All newly sequenced nucleotide sequences of the haplotypes were deposited in GenBank with access numbers CR: OR088768-OR088803, cytb was performed with the ModelTest package in the MEGA X software [S. major specimens, a phylogenetic analysis (ML) of cytb variation was performed using the Tamura-Nei+G nucleotide evolution model in the MEGA X software. Sequences of geographically distant sub-species of S. b brevicauda and S. b. intermedius were added while constructing the phylogeny of cytb. All trees were rooted using S. pygmaeus as the external group, being the most distant taxon. Genetic differences were assessed by pairwise distances .Phylogenetic analysis based on the haplotype variability of the mitochondrial markers was performed for the entire set of samples studied. Selection of the optimal nucleotide substitution model for CR and software  using thsoftware . Based oH), total number of polymorphic loci (S), total number of mutations (\u03b7), haplotype (h), and nucleotide (\u03c0) diversity, along with the average number of pairwise differences (k). Spatial expansion tests were also performed using Fu\u2019s (Fs) and Tajima\u2019s (D) models. Frequency analysis of species-specific alleles of the SmcY, BGN, PRKCI, and c-myc genes of the entire S. major sample was performed to assess the introgression of extraneous nDNA. Since the aims of the study did not include the assessment of intra-specific variability for the studied markers, most of the samples were analyzed based on restriction analysis of the studied fragments without determining their nucleotide composition.CR genetic variability was analyzed using Arlequin v. 3.5.2.2 , with caS. major haplotypes, haplotypic networks were constructed for the BGN, PRKCI, and c-myc genes using the HaplowebMaker software (https://eeg-ebe.github.io/HaplowebMaker/ (accessed on 15 July 2022)) [In addition to the frequency analysis of the y 2022)) . Haplotyy 2022))  \u201callele y 2022)) ,76,77,78S. major, thirty-nine\u2014S. brevicauda (thirty-eight\u2014S. b. heptneri and one\u2014S. b. iliensis), thirteen\u2014S. fulvus, three\u2014S. erythrogenys, and twenty-three\u2014S. pygmaeus, respectively. The complete nucleotide sequences (1140 bp) of cytb were also determined for fifty-eight specimens of S. major: fifteen of S. brevicauda (eight of S. b. heptneri and seven of S. b. iliensis), five of S. fulvus, one of S. erythrogenys, and four of S. pygmaeus, respectively.We sequenced one-hundred and fourteen complete nucleotide sequences (1005\u20131008 bp) of the mtDNA control region: thirty-six\u2014S. major specimens. Sixty-six of these haplotypes formed a separate clade on the ML tree (\u201cmajor\u201d). In addition, 10 haplotypes of 29 individuals of S. b. heptneri were included in the same clade. Four S. b. heptneri specimens had the S. major haplotypes h10, h18, and h21. Haplotype hb05 was found in three specimens of S. b. heptneri from population 6b, which was clustered separately from S. major, and basally to the haplotypes of S. b. iliensis. Three haplotypes found in phenotypic S. major (thirteen specimens) clustered with the species-specific haplotypes of S. fulvus and three haplotypes (six specimens) clustered with S. pygmaeus (cytb haplotypes were found in fifty-eight specimens of S. major. Two haplotypes found in phenotypic specimens of S. major (ten samples) clustered with the species-specific haplotypes of S. fulvus and two haplotypes (five samples) clustered with S. pygmaeus, respectively. The topology of the phylogenetic tree (ML) constructed on the basis of 100 cytb sequences of five Spermophilus species which we newly obtained and took from the GenBank mainly corresponded to the branching CR tree, but haplotype c25 found in S. b. heptneri individuals with hb05 CR were included in the \u201cmajor\u201d clade  included individuals with only the S. fulvus haplotypes , and for a sample of individuals with only species-specific haplotypes for S. major (B) (\u201cmajor\u201d). The results of the analysis are shown in h) in the samples was not determined to be statistically different, but the level of nucleotide variability (k) and nucleotide diversity (\u03c0) of sample A was found to be two times greater than in sample B. The values of the tests for spatial expansion were found to be negative in the analysis of both samples, but for sample A the Fs-test was deemed to be unreliable, and for sample B the Tajima\u2019s test was determined to be unreliable.An analysis of the population-genetic variability of CR was performed separately for the entire sample of phenotypic S. major haplotypes and most of their contacting species by both cytb and CR. However, the genetic distances between S. major, S. fulvus, S. b. iliensis, and S. b. intermedius were within the dp~0.03 (3%), which is below the 5% empirical potential species level and above the 2% level of intra-specific variation suggested by Baker and Bradley [p-distances of cytb between the S. major and most S. b. heptneri specimens were at the level of the intra-specific variability of S. major. The mean pairwise genetic distances between the cytb haplotypes of S. major in the sample without extraneous haplotypes , clustered by CR separately from S. major and basally to S. b. iliensis  were selected for further analysis  from eighty-six S. major males, thirteen S. brevicauda males (twelve S. b. heptneri and one S. b. iliensis), five S. fulvus, and six S. pygmaeus, respectively (SmcY haplotypes were found in the S. major sample. One of them (m2) was unique, found in two individuals, and differs from the haplotypes of all neighboring species. This marker differentiates both detected haplotypes of S. major from S. erythrogenys by three substitutions, S. major from S. fulvus by five substitutions, and S. major from S. pygmaeus by six substitutions, respectively, which corresponds to the previously described [S. major and S. brevicauda. All individuals analyzed for this marker carried only species-specific haplotypes. The specimen from locality 30 phenotypically determined as a hybrid of S. major \u00d7 S. pygmaeus had a S. pygmaeus-specific haplotype.We sequenced ectively . Two Smcescribed   detected in S. major differs from the haplotypes of other species by the substitution of A/G in position 289 and T/C in position 505, respectively. The last substitution formed the recognition site of Bso31 I restrictase in all haplotypes except for haplotype m. Restrictase analysis showed that all individuals of S. major had the species-specific haplotype m. Three of the four S. major \u00d7 S. brevicauda hybrids  had the specific haplotype brevicauda (b1) in homozygote, while the fourth had haplotype major (m) in homozygote. In the hybrid S. major \u00d7 S. pygmaeus a haplotype specific to S. pygmaeus was found. A haplotype network (\u201chaploweb\u201d) constructed from BGN gene sequences . Of these, thirty-seven were S. major, forty-three were S. brevicauda (eight were S. b. iliensis and thirty-five were S. b. heptneri), six were S. fulvus, four were S. erythrogenys, and seven were S. pygmaeus, respectively. Two PRKCI haplotypes were found in S. major, differing from the haplotypes of all other species by the A/G transition at the position 343  was found to be common to the S. fulvus and the S. b. heptneri forms, which may be a manifestation of ancestral polymorphism. Two species-specific haplotypes were also found in S. erythrogenys and one species-specific haplotype in S. pygmaeus, respectively.We obtained 97 sequences of tion 343 c. This sS. major (92.6%). In 13 individuals of phenotypic S. major from the Trans-Ural populations . Haplotype m1 was found to be more common than haplotype m2 in individuals of S. major heterozygous for this marker  in the analysis of 135 sequences obtained  was found in S. major, which differed from the haplotypes of the other species by the G/A transition in position 635. This substitution formed the recognition site of restrictase BstDS I in haplotype m. Three species-specific haplotypes were found in S. fulvus. Another c-myc haplotype was found to be common to S. fulvus and S. b. heptneri (c), which may be a manifestation of the ancestral polymorphism as in the case of PRKCI. Furthermore, two species-specific haplotypes were found in S. brevicauda, and one species-specific haplotype was detected in S. erythrogenys, respectively. In the sample of S. pygmaeus, four species-specific haplotypes were detected. The p5 haplotype, which is close to S. pygmaeus, was also found in the S. major sample, but was not detected in S. pygmaeus. We identified this haplotype as belonging to S. pygmaeus due to their similarity in nucleotide composition in the conserved region of this sequence.We detected 13 obtained d. Of theS. major. In addition, individuals carrying haplotypes specific for S. pygmaeus (p1-5) and the haplotype common to S. fulvus and S. b. heptneri (c) were found both in heterozygous  and in homozygous (2.1% each) states. The haplotype erythrogenys was found in the heterozygote with major and brevicauda in 2.1% and 1.25% of individuals, respectively. Two of the four hybrids of S. major \u00d7 S. brevicauda had haplotype c in homozygote, with one of these hybrids having the haplotypes c and b1, and the other being heterozygous for haplotypes c and e. The hybrid S. major \u00d7 S. pygmaeus had haplotypes of both species.Restriction analysis showed the predominance of individuals with the species-specific haplotype in the homozygote (72.9%) in the entire sample of c-myc gene region  contained the p5 haplotype found only in the S. major populations (The haplotype network based on the sequences of the e region c showed ulations d.i6p53 sequences between 100 and 173 bp in length (including primers) were sequenced. Of these, seven were S. brevicauda, one was S. erythrogenys, and four were S. pygmaeus, respectively. The primary structure of the i6p53 ID repeats differed in all the species studied, except for S. major and S. b. heptneri  based on the combined sequence of CI genes  showed aS. major was performed. Only species-specific haplotypes of the studied markers were found in 63.7% of the russet ground squirrels. Among the ninety S. major individuals with extraneous haplotypes, eleven (12.2%) were hybrid in two or more markers, four of which were phenotypically defined hybrids. More than half of the S. major individuals with extraneous haplotypes (52.2%) had S. fulvus and/or S. brevicauda haplotypes, 43.3% had S. pygmaeus haplotypes, and 8.9% had S. erythrogenys haplotypes, respectively. In addition, two S. major individuals in the west of the range had both S. fulvus and S. pygmaeus haplotypes, and two individuals in the east had both S. erythrogenys and S. brevicauda haplotypes.Based on the data on the allelic composition of the studied molecular markers, genotyping of all individuals in the total sample of S. fulvus haplotypes were found in populations 18, 19, and 69 located in the center of the western part of the range, whereas S. pygmaeus haplotypes were only found in the Volga region (populations 70\u201372) , half of which were haplotypes specific to S. pygmaeus. Among all markers analyzed in S. major, 5.6% of haplotypes of the other species were found (The s 70\u201372) a. The mtre found .S. major, both nuclear and mitochondrial contains borrowed haplotypes, thus reflecting the history of its hybridization with neighboring species. Extraneous haplotypes are widespread in many parts of the range of the russet ground squirrel . A comparable contribution (2.2%) to the genetic diversity of S. major was made by S. pygmaeus, despite the fact that it was the most phylogenetically distant among the species hybridizing with S. major. Despite the wide distribution of extraneous haplotypes in S. major populations, their cumulative contributions to the genetic diversity of the species was only ~6%. However, in S. major individuals, PRKCI amplification detected an additional PCR product characteristic only of S. pygmaeus, suggesting a greater contribution of this and other species to the S. major genome. Our data indicate repeated substitutions of the mitochondrial genome in S. major and S. brevicauda. The clustering of the mitochondrial trees (S. major with the forms of S. b. heptneri and S. b. iliensis (or their common ancestor). It is therefore likely that originally, as a result of introgressive hybridization, the mt genome of the ancestral form of S. b. heptneri/iliensis was replaced by the mt genome of S. major. This was evident by the fact that two forms of S. brevicauda, S. b. brevicauda, and S. b. intermedius formed a separate branch on the mt-trees, while S. b. iliensis was clustered together with S. major. The position of S. major on the mt phylogeny as the youngest species of the Colobotis group was consistent with the revealed variability of the nuclear markers. The haplotypes of S. major by three independent nuclear markers were characterized by the absence of synapomorphies uniting all other Spermophilus species and show relatively low variability  at a distance of about 200 km from the Volga . In addition, the hybridization of S. major \u00d7 S. fulvus apparently occurs not only in the Volga region, but also in other parts of the Cis-Ural overlapping zone of their ranges, as evidenced by the detection of the S. fulvus mt haplotype introgression in the south of the S. major range in the Poduralsky Plateau (population 29). In contrast to mtDNA, there was no extensive introgression of the S. fulvus nDNA haplotypes in the Cis-Ural populations of the russet ground squirrel. This is consistent with the finding of limited introgression of the nuclear haplotypes in only the mixed populations of S. major and S. fulvus in the Volga region, along with the single case of SmcY haplotype introgression of S. fulvus in the S. major population south of Aktobe [Further dispersal of distant hybrids eastward could also have occurred along the right tributaries of the Volga\u2013Kama basin. This was supported by the finding of mt haplotypes of he Volga a. The fof Aktobe ,53. The S. major \u00d7 S. pygmaeus in the southern Volga Region leads to the introgression of S. pygmaeus mtDNA northward along both banks of the Volga River [S. pygmaeus to the introgression of the mt haplotypes , we didcordance ,82 sincecordance .c-myc haplotypes of the S. pygmaeus were common throughout the Cis-Ural part of the S. major range, as well as in the eastern macroslope of the Southern Urals . \u201cThe system of now degraded old runoff troughs ... testifies to a threefold large-scale watering of the plains of the Southern Turgai and Northern Aral Sea region\u201d [S. superciliosus, which is considered an ancestral form of S. major and morphologically almost indistinguishable from it, are known from the Middle Pleistocene [Paleogeographic events that determined the fragmentation of the ranges of the steppe species and the following secondary contacts of the diverging phyletic lineages had both common features and peculiarities in the Trans-Ural and Cis-Ural territories. The Trans-Ural part of the modern  region\u201d . Around  region\u201d ,86. Step region\u201d . Fossilsistocene ,88. The S. major and S. erythrogenys in Western Siberia, which left c-myc haplotypes of S. erythrogenys in the S. major genome. This could have occurred if the range of S. erythrogenys extended to the left bank of the Irtysh River. However, the paucity of the paleontological records and the poor study of ground squirrels in the territory of the Tobol\u2013Irtysh interfluve do not allow us to determine the paleo-range boundaries of these species. The contact between S. major and S. erythrogenys may have been interrupted during the middle Pleistocene period as a result of the formation of one of the early Turgai spillway [Apparently, one of the earliest hybridization events, traces of which we found, was the contact between spillway .S. brevicauda sensu lato, which led to the complete replacement of the mtDNA of one of the species. Equal genetic distance between all species of the Colobotis group (excluding the more distant S. erythrogenys) suggests the simultaneous radiation of S. fulvus, two forms of Brandt\u2019s ground squirrel\u2014S. b. brevicauda, S. b. intermedius, and the S. major\u2014S. b. heptneri/iliensis group. Hybridization of S. major \u00d7 S. brevicauda sensu lato apparently occurred after the division of S. brevicauda into the S. b. brevicauda, S. b. intermedius, and S. b. heptneri/iliensis lineages, respectively, as indicated by the different genetic distances between these forms and S. major. However, this hybridization event apparently preceded the separation of S. b. heptneri/iliensis into two separate forms, which is supported by the proximity of the CR haplotypes of S. b. iliensis and the presumably discovered ancestral haplotype of S. b. heptneri  and is dization .S. major in the Trans-Ural part of its range can be considered as the hybridization of S. major \u00d7 S. b. heptneri, which resulted in an almost complete replacement of the S. b. heptneri mt genome by the S. major ones. This may have occurred in the case of hybridization, when the short-tailed ground squirrel moved into the territory of the russet ground squirrel, resulting in the subsequent displacement of the last [The most recent evolutionarily significant event for the last . To dateS. major with S. pygmaeus and S. fulvus was probably formed more recently in the south of the Volga Region [S. major range from the Volga River to the east, active hybridization was only observed in a small contact zone located in the Saratov Region. This was probably due to the presence of ecological niches in this region that were suitable for all three species, thereby contributing to the formation of joint settlements and hybridization.At the same time, a hybrid zone of a Region . In spitOchotona) [Modern approaches to the study of inter-specific interactions allow us to operate not only with a pair of hybridizing species but also consider entire species complexes. The gene flow and direction of allele introgression may differ in different species complexes. For example, asymmetric mtDNA introgression from several species into one universal mtDNA recipient species in a group has been achieved with a complex of western North American chipmunk species . Howeverchotona) , which wSpermophilus ground squirrel species that we studied also form a complex of hybridizing species formed around S. major. All peripheral species in contact with S. major contribute to its genetic variability. This admixture is not limited to the introgressive hybridization of the closely related species of Colobotis, which diverged relatively recently as a result of radiation from a common ancestor. The relatively evolutionarily distant little ground squirrel has also made a significant contribution to the general gene pool of the russet ground squirrel. The inclusion of a relatively small number of extraneous mtDNA haplotypes into the gene pool of the russet ground squirrel increases its nucleotide diversity by an order of magnitude  having aberrant acoustic signals. The level of genetic mitochondrial differentiation within this group of species could not be a meaningful indicator of species differences due to past mitochondrial captures. The true level of genetic divergence in this group may be revealed based on a whole nuclear-genome phylogenetic study.The agnitude . In this species ,53. All c signal , which ic signal . The onlheptneri , and oneS. major and S. brevicauda apparently led to the formation of an independent haplogroup iliensis within S. brevicauda as a result of subsequent genetic divergence, as in Odocoileus deer [heptneri form that continues to the present day. The hybrid nature of the heptneri genome seems to be related to the intermediate character of the morphological variability of this form and is consistent with the assumption of Gromov et al. [The first mitochondrial capture during the late Pleistocene hybridization of eus deer . A seconv et al.  on its hv et al. .S. major is experiencing a deep depression: its abundance is rapidly declining, population sizes are shrinking, and small colonies are disappearing [In current times, the russet ground squirrel ppearing . Under t"}
+{"text": "Lygus lineolaris, is a major pest in eastern Canada strawberry fields. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential of two omnivorous predators of the pest: the damsel bug, Nabis americoferus, and the minute pirate bug, Orius insidiosus. The results in the laboratory showed that N. americoferus attacked all stages of the tarnished plant bug and, in the field, reduced its population for several weeks. Additionally, the impact was significant for every tested release period. Conversely, O. insidiosus only attacked smaller nymphs, and its effect was marginal. These results lead the way for an effective biological control strategy based on the use of N. americoferus against the tarnished plant bug.The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, is a major strawberry pest. Only marginally effective control methods exist to manage this pest. Various predators attack L. lineolaris, but their potential is overlooked. In this study, we explore the potential of two omnivorous predators of the tarnished plant bug: the damsel bug, Nabis americoferus, and the minute pirate bug, Orius insidiosus. Firstly, the predation rate of these predators was measured in laboratory tests. Secondly, their potential release rates and release periods were determined in the field using strawberry plants. The results show that N. americoferus feeds on all nymphal stages and adults of the tarnished plant bug, while O. insidiosus attacks only smaller nymphs (up to the N2 stage). In the field, all tested densities of N. americoferus  reduced the population of the tarnished plant bug for several weeks compared with the control treatment, but the effect of O. insidiosus alone was marginal. Additionally, for all the release periods tested, Nabis americoferus was efficient in reducing the pest population. These results demonstrate the potential of N. americoferus to control the tarnished plant bug in strawberry fields. We discuss the possible application of these results for establishing an effective and economically viable biological control strategy.The tarnished plant bug,  Lygus lineolaris  (Hemiptera: Miridae), is a major pest in strawberry fields ) times higher than in the plots with  = 0.04) .N. americoferus at the third release period (observation of second-generation TPB adults) significantly reduced the TPB population   . The  = 0.04) . On aver = 0.12) .N. americoferus (with or without O. insidiosus) negatively impacted TPB\u2019s population  , 3.0 , and 2.3  higher in the control treatment than in the treatments with singly O. insidiosus, O. insidiosus, and N. americoferus and singly with N. americoferus, respectively.Both treatments with  = 0.04) . HoweverN. americoferus on all the tested stages of TPB demonstrate its potential as a biological control agent against this pest. Each stage of N. americoferus can kill the equivalent or younger stages of TPB. This indicates that most N. americoferus stages can contribute to the control of TPB. Additionally, our laboratory results show that O. insidiosus has the potential to contribute to the control of TPB at the N2 nymphal stage and presumably  also to younger ones (N1). This potential of N. americoferus was confirmed in field experiments on strawberries, but the effect of O. insidiosus on the TPB population was marginal and not significant. Then, in a biological control strategy against TPB, N. americoferus may play a main role in rapidly (from two weeks after release) and sustainably reducing the populations of the pest, while O. insidiosus may play a role as a secondary (and complementary) biological control agent since its contribution is limited.The predation rates of N. americoferus and O. insidiosus. Therefore, synchronization between the developmental stages of N. americoferus and TPB will be decisive for the effectiveness of biological control by the predator, given that in this study, N. americoferus was shown to be able to affect prey that were at most at about the same stage of development. Under Canadian conditions, overwintering TPB species become active in April and/or the first weeks of May [N. americoferus species are found active about a week or two after TPB . Hence, the natural life cycle of N. americoferus seems to be slightly behind that of TPB. Moreover, at a temperature of 27 \u00b0C, the nymphal development of N. americoferus takes an average of 24 days to be completed [N. americoferus and TPB in spring may favor the prey over the predator. Consequently, the period of the year when N. americoferus effectively and naturally regulates the populations of TPB could be limited to some weeks during summer and fall (most N. americoferus are adults at that time). As a result, N. americoferus would not naturally protect strawberry plants during the whole production season (mainly June for summer-bearing strawberry plants and from midsummer to early autumn for everbearing plants). The natural regulation of TPB is certainly not to be overlooked, especially since the TPB and N. americoferus use the same autumnal hosts  [N. americoferus to TPB\u2019s biological control during both summer and fall remains to be determined. Finally, the effectiveness of biological control by N. americoferus can vary from year to year depending on weather conditions and demographic factors of the prey population. Since our study was only conducted over one summer, future studies will increase our knowledge of this system.The size ratio between predators and their prey is decisive in the outcome of a predator\u2013prey encounter . Our labs of May , while oompleted , compareompleted . This su plants) . HoweverN. americoferus to the TPB cycle could constitute an effective augmentative biocontrol strategy. From an augmentative biocontrol perspective, such as our field experiment, the predators were released depending on the developmental stage of the TPB. Nabis americoferus adults were efficient in reducing the TPB population regardless of the developmental stage of the TPB. Therefore, the window for controlling the TPB is wide when N. americoferus is released at the adult stage, and the releases of N. americoferus could be synchronized with the period of vulnerability of strawberries. In our experiment, N. americoferus was shown as a promising biological control agent of the TPB when it was released at either 0.25, 0.5, or 0.75 individuals per strawberry plant. We released mainly adults and measured their local effect on the TPB population. However, these N. americoferus may have dispersed shortly after their release. The release of N. americoferus nymphs could extend the local effect, as these nymphs have a more limited dispersal capacity. Thus, when young nymphal stages (N1 and N2) of the TPB are first observed in the field, the release of N3\u2013N4 nymphs of N. americoferus could have an optimal impact on the pest\u2019s population.Thus, well-synchronized releases of Orius insidiosus feeds on the TPB, but it is not an effective biological control agent against this pest. Hagler et al. [O. tristicolor in strawberry fields had TPB in their gut, a rate comparable to what they determined for G. punctipes (18.2%) and lower than what they determined for N. alternatus (33.3%). That level seems not to be enough for the effective control of the TPB population. Moreover, our results show that N. americoferus and O. insidiosus did not have a synergetic effect on TPB\u2019s population. The expected facilitation effect between the active searching O. insidiosus and ambush predator N. americoferus was not observed. However, O. insidiosus was not harmful to N. americoferus, which maintained its effectiveness even in the presence of Orius. Thus, a management strategy favorable to O. insidiosus and other predators, from the perspective of biological control through conservation, could be an interesting strategy. Theoretically, the TPB could respond to predation risk and modulate feeding and egg-laying behavior [Our results indicate that r et al.  observedbehavior . The antN. americoferus over the entire area of a strawberry field is a strategy that seems economically unviable. Thus, biological control based on N. americoferus would require a combination of strategies that reduce the extent of the surface to be treated. First, TPB has been shown to aggregate in trap crops, where they can be targeted by repressive treatments [N. americoferus to be released. Moreover, Hagler et al. [N. alternatus was higher in the alfalfa trap crops than in the strawberry plants. This increased performance of N. alternatus in alfalfa could be explained by its type of predation. Nabis spp. are ambush predators waiting for their prey. In alfalfa plots, where L. hesperus populations were denser, the rate of the encounter between N. alternatus and its prey was certainly higher [N. alternatus was increased. Hence, the combination of trap crop and predator release may have a synergetic effect.Massive releases of eatments ,35,36,37r et al.  observedy higher . As a re"}
+{"text": "Aphaenogaster species from the subterranea group in the western Mediterranean: A.ichnusa Santschi, 1925, from south-western Europe, and A.subterranea , also occurring in central and eastern Europe. Historically, the two species have been widely misunderstood: A.ichnusa was long considered a Sardinian endemic subspecies of A.subterranea, while its continental populations were misidentified as A.subterranea s. str. Recently, A.ichnusa was elevated to species rank and its worker caste was redescribed with that of A.subterranea, allowing for their correct identification. Yet their distribution was documented in detail only for France and Sardinia. Furthermore, no morphological characters were described to distinguish the males and queens of the two species. By investigating private and museum collections, 276 new records of A.ichnusa are provided here and 154 of A.subterranea from the western Mediterranean. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative morphological characters were combined to identify their males and queens. We present the new southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost distribution limits for A.ichnusa. Based on our results, this species is widely distributed in Italy and Catalonia (Spain), also occurring on several Mediterranean islands, avoiding areas with continental climate and high altitudes. Sicily is the only island to host the less thermophilous A.subterranea, which otherwise extends westward to Galicia (Spain). Sympatric occurrence is not rare along the contact zone. Additional natural history observations are reported regarding foraging habits, associated myrmecophiles, habitat preferences, and colony structure in the two species.There are only two  Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 belongs to the myrmicine tribe Stenammini Ashmead, 1905 , A.holtzi , A.ichnusa Santschi, 1925, A.kurdica Ruzsky, 1905, A.lesbica Forel, 1913, A.maculifrons Kiran & Akta\u00e7, 2008, A.subcostata Viehmeyer, 1922, A.subterranea ], mostly residing in the eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus region, where several putative undescribed species also exist  is in fact A.strioloides  (terra typica: mainland France) and A.ichnusa Santschi, 1925 (terra typica: Sardinia). The first was described using the spelling \u201csubteranea\u201d . Until recent years A.ichnusa was considered as a Sardinian endemic and a subspecies of A.subterranea. Their separation as two distinct species was only recently demonstrated based on worker morphology and mitochondrial DNA . A complete list of the investigated material and of the morphological data is provided in the Suppl. material A.subterranea, A.ichnusa is characterized by a different propodeal shape with relatively well-developed dentiform spines, as opposed to slight edges. This difference can be appreciated both in lateral view  and in dorsal view (as the spines are wider than the remaining propodeum). Consequently, the SPWI/PrW ratio was found to be very different between the two species, with no overlap: 1.36 \u00b1 0.14  in A.ichnusa, 0.911 \u00b1 0.06  in A.subterranea  that significantly protrude out of the head capsule, well-distanced from three large ocelli. Mandibles dentate, ~ \u00bd length of the head capsule, their external side mostly straight for more than \u00be. Clypeus medially slightly emarginated. Mesosoma clearly wider than the head, characterized by a well-developed anterior gibbosity. Propodeum much shorter than the remainder of the mesosoma. The horizontal section of the propodeal profile is shorter than its two vertical sections (anterior and posterior), which both form angles of ~ 90\u00b0 with it. A ventral cuticular process protrudes from the metasternum. Long pedunculate petiole, globose postpetiole, the petiole and postpetiole have a similar heigh, while the postpetiole is wider than the petiole. The legs are long, with hind femurs approximately the same length as the entire mesosoma. The antennae comprise of 11 flagellomeres, the scapi are short, measuring ca. twice the pedicel, and approximately extending slightly beyond the eyes if aligned perpendicularly to the head length axis. Body color pale to dark brown, appendages whitish. Surface sculpturing mostly weak, most of the ant is smooth and shiny, with at most isolated stickman-like units, very feeble rugae or reticulate microsculpture near the sutures, and feeble reticulate microsculpture on the head. Sparse erect and suberect setae mostly occur dorsally over the head, mesosoma and nodes, and both dorsally and ventrally on the first gastral segment and on the distalmost margins of the remaining segments, while shorter suberect or appressed setae cover the appendages.The following key is meant to facilitate this distinction in the examined region. However, the intraspecific morphological variation of several species is still little known, so we recommend a careful approach in its use.A.ichnusa and A.subterranea are much more difficult to tell apart based on their general shape as compared to workers and males. However, a subtle but very reliable character was found in the surface microsculpture of the dorsal mesosoma: in A.ichnusa, stickman-like reticulations occur sparsely and are modestly developed, while in A.subterranea they are visibly more developed and sometimes single stickman-like complexes may connect to each other covering very large areas. MCMssctm ranges do not overlap between the two species, while A.subterranea shows a high variation in the upper range: 4.33 \u00b1 0.78  in A.ichnusa, 24.68 \u00b1 22.97  in A.subterranea  slightly protruding out of the head capsule. The distance between the central among the three ocelli and the level of the compound eyes is ca. the length of the ocellus itself. Mandibles dentate, ~ \u00bd length of the head capsule, their external side mostly straight for over \u00be. Clypeus medially slightly emarginated. Massive mesosoma, slightly wider than the head. Propodeal spines well developed and straight, in profile view the of the propodeum is steep, with the section above the spines slightly inclined and the section below entirely vertical. Long pedunculate petiole, globose postpetiole, the petiole and postpetiole have a similar heigh, while the postpetiole is wider than the petiole. The antennae comprise ten flagellomeres, the scapi are moderately long, surpassing the posterior margin of the head if aligned parallel to the head length axis, while the antennal club consists of four flagellomeres and the flagellomeres 3\u20138 are only slightly longer than wide. Body color normally not uniform, ferruginous to very dark brown, with blackish patches usually occurring on the frons and paler orangish areas near the sutures of the mesosoma. Appendages pale orange to ferruginous. Rugose sculpture on most of the head, partly on the sides of the mesosoma including the entire propodeum, and on the nodes. The remainder of the body is smooth and shiny, except for stickman-like microsculpture. Abundant erect or suberect setae cover the head, the dorsum of the mesosoma and nodes, the first gastral segment, and the distalmost margins of the remaining segments, while shorter suberect or appressed setae cover the appendages.The following key is meant to facilitate this distinction in the examined region. However, the intraspecific morphological variation of several species is still little known, so we recommend a careful approach in its use.A.cardenai and A.strioloides are currently unknown and, therefore, they are not included in this key. The first only occurs in Iberia and, considering that its workers are unique among West Palearctic Aphaenogaster and that queens usually retain a number of characters of workers, they are highly unlikely to be confusable with species of the subterranea group  occupied by A.ichnusa by 145% (103 new compared to 71 from literature) and of those occupied by A.subterranea by 64% (130/202). The two species showed a parapatric distribution, with only 4.5% of the cells (22/484) occupied by both species , the easternmost at 18.46 longitude , the southernmost at 36.94 latitude  and the northernmost at 44.48 latitude (mainland France). For A.subterranea, the westernmost record is at -8.46 longitude  and the southernmost at 37.64 latitude .We recovered a total of 274 new records of A.ichnusa for the first time for several islands and archipelagos: some of the Aeolian Islands , the Balearic Islands , the Maddalena Archipelago (Caprera), the Phlegrean Islands , Tavolara island, the Tremiti islands (San Domino), and the Tuscan Archipelago .We report subterranea group species in the region is relatively easy . We show that A.ichnusa is frequent across a vast region of the western Mediterranean . Aphaenogastersubterranea may have been temporarily introduced to Madagascar , oribatid mites, silverfish, leaf beetle larvae (Chrysomelidae: Clytrinae), and planthoppers nymphs (Cixiidae) in A.ichnusa nests, and isopods (Platyarthridae in A.subterranea nests, in which also Cixiidae were reported by A.ichnusa mostly started to forage outside the nest at dusk. Perhaps the foraging activity is often conducted within the leaf litter or in endogean microspaces, but none of these species is truly subterranean (However, despite their ecological success and wide distribution, still relatively little is known ca. the habits of these species besides anecdotal reports. They are probably mostly predators and scavengers, but at least erranean .A.subterranea at least. Furthermore, A.subterranea workers are known to use tools: they drop small debris into liquid food and transport food-soaked tools back into their nest (A.ichnusa and A.subterranea, suggesting at least occasional polygyny in both species.Some of us also observed cooperative food transport in eir nest . This beeir nest . NotablyA.subterranea and A.ichnusa seemingly overlap in late summer/early autumn. However, the relatively large size of the contact zone compared to the distribution range of A.ichnusa, and the consistent morphological differentiation from A.subterranea, suggest some adaptation to counter hybridization. At the same time, the data we are providing could facilitate future studies focused on the ecology and niche partitioning of these species.An integrative approach is needed to clarify whether hybridization or introgression between the two species have a significant role as observed in other ants . Nuptial"}
+{"text": "Boon. During the revision of the manuscript, the addition of C.J.F. Boon was discussed in writing between the first and last author, but due to a misunderstanding, C.J.F. Boon was not added as a coauthor. C.J.F. Boon made significant contributions to the revised manuscript by being responsible for patient materials and information, and C.J.F. Boon has now been added to the author list in the online version of the manuscript. Note that there are no familial or other relationships between C.J.F. Boon and N. Boon.Additionally, in the originally published version of the supplemental figures that accompanied our manuscript, the majority of the legend for Figure S2 was accidentally removed. We have since corrected the supplemental figures and the complete legend is now contained therein. We apologize for any confusion."}
+{"text": "Plateumaris species regarded as valid three were described in English, the remaining seven in Latin, French, or German: P.amurensis Weise, 1898, P.bracata , P.consimilis , P.roscida Weise, 1912, P.rustica , P.sericea , and P.weisei . These seven non-English original descriptions and their translations into English are presented here. Additionally, the translations of the first descriptions of the genus Plateumaris and of its 19 synonyms  are given.Many original descriptions of beetles were published in Latin with specific idioms and technical terms, which are sometimes difficult to understand. The exact meaning of these descriptions is necessary for taxonomic and systematic research. Of the ten Palaearctic  Furthermore, knowledge of the Latin language is in rapid decline. It is no longer part of the education curriculum of grammar schools, but was mandatory in Europe for centuries. Nowadays, English is the worldwide communication language used in science. The second author is a classicist and an entomologist with profound knowledge in systematics who translated numerous original Latin descriptions of Donaciinae taxa in the last years for systematic studies by the first author, such as Donaciaclavareaui Jacobson, 1906  of the genus Plateumaris, and, additionally, of 19 taxa which are regarded as synonyms. These taxa are discussed in detail in Plateumaris species.In the genus Plateumaris taxa are arranged alphabetically, regardless of whether they are now synonyms or names of a valid species. The Palaearctic species P.akiensis Tominaga & Katsura, 1984, P.constricticollis Jacoby, 1885, and P.shirahatai Kimoto, 1971 are not included here because they were originally described in English.All original descriptions published in Latin were translated into German by the second author. Then the first author translated them into English. There also exist some original descriptions in German, which were translated into English by the first author. Some original descriptions were published in French, Russian, and Serbian. They were first translated into English by Google translate. Then the translations of French texts were revised together with Gloria Geiser. Translations of texts in a Slavic language were checked with Irmgard Geiser. Some original descriptions are multilingual. They begin in Latin, but often more details are explained in the author\u2019s native language. The original orthography of the description is printed here, even though it is now outdated; the translation into English is as accurate and faithful as possible to the original text. The names of the Text in square brackets contains additions by the authors and is not part of the original description.Described on page 154.Donaciaaffinis on page 37. Synonym of P.rustica.Described as Described on page 179. The German part of the text is shown in the original but the now-outdated orthography.P.roscida.Described on page 41. Synonym of Lepturaassimilis on page 156. Synonym of P.consimilis.Described as Prionusbracatus on page 100.Described as Because this original description was very short, P.sericea.Described on page 111. Synonym of Lepturaconsimilis on page 155.Described as Donaciadiscolor on page 216. Synonym of P.sericea.Described as Donacianigra (synonym of Plateumarisbracata) on page 265.Described as variation of P.sericea.Described on page 239. Synonym of Donacialacordairii on page 300. Synonym of P.sericea.Described as Donacia (subgenusPlateumaris) mongolica on page 267. Synonym of P.weisei.Described as Donacianigra on page 117. Synonym of P.bracata.Described as P.shirahatai.Described on page 243. Probable synonym of P.weisei.Described as subspecies on page 49. Synonym of Donaciapallipes on page 35. Synonym of P.rustica.Described as Plateumarisrustica on page 180. Synonym of P.rustica.Described as variation of Donaciaplanicollis on page 34. Synonym of P.rustica.Described as Described on page 77.Donaciarustica on page 31.Described as P.weisei.Described on page 876. Synonym of Lepturasericea on page 397. First description in Described as Description of additional characters on page 196.Remark: \u201cSolsky, 1872\u201d is wrong. For details see Donaciasibirica on page 245. Synonym of P.sericea.Described as P.rustica.Described on page 267. Synonym of Plateumaris (Juliusina) tenuicornis on page 128. Synonym of P.consimilis.Described as Plateumaristenuicornis Balthasar looks the same as P.consimilis. This article was ignored for decades, perhaps because it was printed in Czech and Latin. Here the part of that article that deals with P.tenuicornis in Latin is copied and translated into English.Donacia (Plateumaris) weisei on page cxvi [116].Described as Plateumaris species regarded as valid: three of them were described in English , six in Latin , and one (P.weisei) was originally described in French. In general, most of the original descriptions of Plateumaris taxa are in Latin or began with a Latin diagnosis at least, and further explanations were then added in German, Russian, or French in most cases.There are ten Palaearctic Plateumaris species. We intend to continue publishing translations of original descriptions of Donaciinae taxa. Furthermore, we encourage other colleagues to do the same in their areas of expertise.In addition to the first descriptions of the valid species in the Palaearctic, another 19 original descriptions are presented here with their translations and the species names published therein are now regarded as synonyms. Mostly, these are names which were synonymized or their synonymisation was confirmed in Plateumaris established by Donaciinae species were assigned to the genus Leptura by Donacia, but did not change the genus name of Lepturasericea. Later, some authors described Plateumaris species with Donacia as the genus name, even after Thomson had established the name Plateumaris. Some authors regarded Plateumaris only as a subgenus of Donacia, and these opinions are reflected in the first descriptions. For more details see The Latin first description of the genus"}
+{"text": "Cortinarius  were described from the alpine zone of the Alps during the second half of the XX century, by the Swiss mycologist Jules Favre, and by the French mycologists Denise Lamoure and Marcel Bon. Notoriously difficult to identify by macro- and microscopical characters, most of these species, which belong to subgen. Telamonia, have been thoroughly revised in global publications based on type sequencing. Recent surveys in the alpine areas of France (Savoie) and Italy (Lombardy), as well as the sequencing of D. Lamoure\u2019s collections, identified three new species that are here described and illustrated: C. dryadophilus in sect. Castanei, C. infidus in sect. Verni, and C. saniosopygmaeus in sect. Saniosi. The holotypes of C. caesionigrellus Lamoure and C. paleifer var. brachyspermus Lamoure could be sequenced. A recent collection of the former is described and illustrated here for the first time, and based on available data, the latter name is recombined as Cortinarius flexipes var. brachyspermus comb. nov. Lastly, C. argenteolilacinus var. dovrensis is reported from the alpine zone for the first time and a new combination, Thaxterogaster dovrensis comb. & stat. nov. is introduced in the present work.Thirty-one alpine species of  Cortinarius is the most species-rich fungal species, even after its revision and emendation by Liimatainen et al. \u201d was published , a breakushrooms  but showd genera ), LiimatThe collection illustrated here is the first French record for this species, as well as its first published observation in the alpine zone."}
+{"text": "Correction to: Takeuchi et al. Respir Res (2021) 22:3510.1186/s12931-021-01629-8In the originally published version of the article , there wIn the Funding the information of and the International Community Health Research Fund was missing. In the Acknowledgements, the authors missed to express their thanks to for sincere and active involvement in the data collection of this study. The authors missed to express their thanks to Dr. Takahashi J, Dr. Yunus M, Dr. Chowdhury HR, Dr. Arifeen SE, Dr. Baqui A, Dr. Wakai S, Dr. Tariq Anwar, Dr. J. Chakraborty, Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, Professor David Sack, Dr. Yukiko Wagatsuma, and Professor Kanehisa Morimoto, for the active involvement in the creation of the dataset of the article with which this study was accomplished. They also missed erroneously to express their thanks to the study participants, the field research staff and Dr Ipshita Hamid Trisha who were sincerely involved in the data collection of the previous article (Reference 27). We have corrected the statement in the Acknowledgement. Below is the updated statement of the \u201cAcknowledgement.\u201dThis work was funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Basic Research (A), 26257507) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, spanning the years 2014-2016, and the International Community Health Research Fund. It was also funded for unwavering support by the core donors of The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh  - The governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Sweden, and the UK.The authors gratefully acknowledge all participating children who generously provided their invaluable blood and stool samples and their guardians who accompanied them. The authors gratefully acknowledge Prof. Shinji Nakahara also for statistical analysis. Moreover, the authors sincerely thank the field research staff and Dr. Ipsita Hamid Trisha for the rigorous data collection. The authors also acknowledge the valuable contributions of Dr. Junkichi Takahashi, Dr. Md Yunus, Dr. Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury, Dr. Shams EL Arifeen, Dr. Abdullah Baqui, and Susumu Wakai, who actively participated in creating the dataset referenced in this study (Reference 27), enabling its successful completion. Finally, the authors would like to express their appreciation to Prof. David Sack and Prof. Kanehisa Morimoto, Dr. Tariq Anwar, Dr. J. Chakraborty, Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, Dr. Yukiko Wagatsuma, for their kind assistance in supporting the creation of the dataset used in this study.We apologize for the error."}
+{"text": "This article has been retracted: The authors have been unable to replicate their published results and are therefore no longer confident in the conclusions of their research. In light of this, and with the agreement of all authors, Oncotarget has decided to retract this paper.11621-11628. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.14598Original article: Oncotarget. 2017; 8:11621\u201311628."}
+{"text": "This position statement represents a consensus of an expert committee composed by the Italian Academy of General Dentistry  and Italian Academy of Legal and Forensic Dentistry  on the appropriate use of cone beam computed tomography (C.B.C.T.) in dentistry. This paper analyzes the use of C.B.C.T. in light of the rapid evolution of volumetric technologies, with the new low- and ultra-low-dose exposure programs. These upgrades are determining an improvement in the precision and safety of this methodology; therefore, the need of a guideline revision of the use of C.B.C.T. for treatment planning is mandatory. It appears necessary to develop a new model of use, which, in compliance with the principle of justification and as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and as low as diagnostically acceptable (ALADA), can allow a functional \u201cDedicated C.B.C.T.\u201d exam optimized for the individuality of the patient. The evolution of volumetric technologies in dentistry is determining the need for a revision of the objective indications, in the diagnostic and operative fields, on the use of cone beam computer tomography (C.B.C.T.) ,2,3. TheIn the dental field, the ever-increasing demand for three-dimensional investigations determines the need for an adaptation, based on updated scientific evidence, of the recommendations for performing the C.B.C.T. examination .In fact, technological progress has led to a substantial decrease in irradiation, which corresponds to a better quality of information to perform the diagnostic task ,2,3. ThiLow-dose and ultra-low-dose cone beam computed tomography (C.B.C.T.) have several advantages compared to conventional 3D radiological methods. The primary advantage is the lower radiation exposure to the patient, which is particularly important for younger patients and those who require multiple scans. Traditional C.B.C.T. scanners can expose patients to radiation doses that are 10\u201350 times higher than conventional 2D radiological methods. Low-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. scanners, on the other hand, can reduce the radiation dose by up to 87% compared to traditional scanners , if usedAnother advantage of low-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. is that they provide high-quality, accurate 3D images of the oral and maxillofacial region. This is particularly useful for orthodontic, implant and maxillofacial surgery planning ,5 see S, in periThe advantages of low and ultra-low-dose protocols in the use of C.B.C.T. have been evidenced in the literature, where the effectiveness of the volumetric examination for the vertical evaluation and the thickness of the bone adjacent to the anterior teeth has been evaluated as an important anatomical parameter to plan and/or monitor the effects of orthodontic or periodontal treatment. The doses and image quality were compared ex vivo with the diagnostic task of three different acquisition protocols and parameters, (low- and high-resolution) two low-dose C.B.C.T. and one normal-dose C.B.C.T. The absorbed dose was calculated using the product dose area (DAP). The Ultra low-dose C.B.C.T. protocol and the Low Dose C.B.C.T. protocol used, ejected a dose (dap 69 and 87 mGycm2) which is lower than that of panoramic views (Dap 88 mGycm2) . Thus, with a lower absorbed dose, a higher quantity and quality of diagnostic information was obtained than those using traditional two-dimensional radiodiagnostic examinations. See . The C.BLow-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. scanners can capture images in a matter of seconds or minutes, compared to several minutes or hours required by traditional scanners ,9. These machines use wider cone angles, faster rotating gantries, and optimized image acquisition protocols that can minimize patient motion and improve image registration. Additionally, the images produced by low-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. can be easily shared and viewed by multiple practitioners, enabling more efficient communication and collaboration among specialists. Low-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. images can be easily processed and analyzed using various software tools, such as virtual implant planning, airway analysis, and bone density measurement, that can help clinicians make more accurate and informed treatment decisions. Overall, the use of low-dose and ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. provides many technical advantages over traditional 3D radiological methods, making it a preferred option for many dental and maxillofacial imaging needs ,9.Moreover, the use of digital technology has made the acquisition, storage, and transfer of C.B.C.T. images much easier and more efficient. Digital images can be easily retrieved, manipulated, and shared between dental professionals, allowing for improved collaboration and more informed treatment decisions. Furthermore, the use of digital technology has significantly reduced the need for the physical storage of radiographic images, freeing up valuable office space and reducing environmental impact.Although the use of C.B.C.T. remains a diagnostic study that can only be used on the basis of specific criteria, its use appears justified in all those cases in which the limitations of the two-dimensional examination become clear ,12,13,14In endodontics, for example, the bidimensional intraoral examination is the main radiological support in the diagnosis, planning, and execution of treatments and in the subsequent evaluation of the results . HoweverThe precise evaluation, before treatment, of the dental/alveolar complex to be recovered and of the surrounding tissues, is essential to define both the prognosis and the most suitable treatment strategy. The physical limitations of two-dimensional radiodiagnostic examination are, essentially, as follows: ,13,14. Geometric alterations, which cause disparallelisms, and consequently, image distortions;Anatomical overlays that lead to the failure to identify the actual number of root canals and their morphological configuration;Attenuation of the beam induced by the anatomical thickness of the tissues crossed.It is essential to be aware of these limits as a radioprotection measure to prevent un-necessary repetitions of 2D intraoral examinations and to be twice as precise in identifying both the lesions and in defining the outcomes of root canal therapy, compared to the traditional intraoral examination . It is pMoreover, the diagnostic limitations of two-dimensional radiographic examination are particularly relevant in certain categories of patients with cardiovascular and systemic diseases. Cardiac patients with structural problems of valves, device carriers, and/or heart prostheses are more exposed to the risk of developing infectious endocarditis (E.I.) . InterveNowadays, these patients can benefit, thanks to the C.B.C.T., from better diagnostic and treatment effectiveness before surgery or interventional cardiology. In addition, in these patients, the execution of a dedicated C.B.C.T. is indicated for diagnostic purposes and at the beginning of the follow-up after the cardio/valvular intervention .In 2021, the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) and the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) reached the joint conclusion that C.B.C.T. must be the reference exam in root canal retreatment and in the initial endodontic treatment of complex cases. ,14,17 FuDiagnosis of periapical disease in the presence of inconsistent clinical signs or symptoms;Need for diagnostic confirmation in non-odontogenic pathologies;Presence of extremely complex root canal anatomy prior to orthograde treatment;Evaluation of endodontic failures before retrograde treatment;Diagnosis of external and internal resorption;Evaluation of oromaxillofacial traumas and their treatmentPatel et al. state that the 3D survey is indicated in the case of the following:A further indication for the use of C.B.C.T. is represented by the follow-up in the cases of root canal retreatments in order to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of root canal treatment and proceed, if necessary, with a timely re-operation ,18. Low-The therapeutic advantages are not limited to a single branch of dentistry, but extended to other specialties such as surgery, prosthetics, and the planning of prosthetic and implant-prosthetic treatment ; orthodoFurthermore, it must be considered that one of the fields of the greatest therapeutic evolution in dentistry is represented by the introduction, in clinical practice, of both static and dynamic guided therapies and patient virtualization procedures. During the diagnostic phase, these systems enable efficient, minimally invasive, rapid, precise, and effective programming, even in complex cases ,24,25.The result is obtained thanks to the convergence of data, derived from 3D investigations of the face , of the oral cavity and teeth , and of the skeletal bases (C.B.C.T.) ,25.A further aspect, which is essential for defining the problem of using 3D radiological methods in their entirety, is represented by the need for knowledge that allows for the right balance between biological and environmental costs and the benefit of the patient .Human decision-making ability and related expertise are necessary for the appropriate use of the available technology, as they are the only means of identifying the appropriate areas of use and justifications from a radiodiagnostic perspective in each individual clinical case ,27,28.Low-dose and ultra-low-dose protocols have been included by various manufacturers within the settings function of C.B.C.T. to assist professionals in managing optimization. However, the search for the optimal balance between image quality and dose depends on the specific clinical requirements demanded by the diagnostic task that the professional must identify and perform each time. Pre-established C.B.C.T. protocols do not always meet this requirement, which is why it is essential to acquire adequate and specialized training in relation to the use of C.B.C.T. in dental practice, as indicated in the \u201cEuropean Academic of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology\u201d (EADMFR) document ,28.The primary objective is to produce useful clinical information with the lowest possible dose by intervening on the physical factors of the exposure load and the qualitative balance of the image.Pipe current (mAs). This is the product of current intensity (mA) and exposure time (s). This value adjusts the sharpness and the lightness/darkness of the image. An increase in these values increases the exposure index and the dose ,27.Potential difference (kV) at the pipe outlet. This parameter quantifies the tissue penetration capacity and intervenes on the contrast. High kV values give rise to a more penetrating X-ray beam, with low contrast images and more details , while low values produce high contrast images .Voxel (\u00b5m). This is the constituent element of the three-dimensional physical image. Characteristic of C.B.C.T. technology is the isotropicity of the voxel. The size of the voxel can vary depending on the type of imaging exam, but typically ranges from 0.05 to 0.4 mm in size. The smaller the voxel size, the higher the resolution of the resulting 3D image, allowing for a more detailed representation of the patient\u2019s anatomy. The size affects the spatial resolution of the image, meaning that the smaller the image, the higher the resolution. However, a decrease in the size also leads to an increase in image noise ,27There are large differences between the various C.B.C.T.s regarding the technologies and parameters for managing the dose load and image control . TherefoIt is useful to know as a further element of optimization that when smaller sized voxels are used, to increase the spatial resolution, an increase in the image noise is generated; to reduce this effect, many C.B.C.T. manufacturers associate, for example, the increase in the mAs, which determines an improvement of the sharpness, with an increase in the dose load. This aspect generates the false belief that the reduction in the voxel, in an isolated manner, determines an increase in the irradiation, but in reality, it is not the size of the voxel, but the increase in the current intensity that determines the increase in the radiation doses .4.. This is a term used in radiology to describe the portion of the patient\u2019s anatomy that is captured in an imaging exam. The field of view (F.O.V.) is adjustable to capture a particular region of interest (ROI) within the volume acquisition area. The optimal F.O.V. size depends on the specific imaging exam and the clinical question being addressed [Field of View (F.O.V. cm)ddressed ,2,28. ThThe size of the F.O.V. does not directly affect the spatial resolution of the C.B.C.T. images unless related to other management parameters, including voxel and position . Since tAs a result, to limit and minimize the radiation, it is crucial to consider the position of the F.O.V. in addition to the width.Moreover, using narrow fields of vision with an appropriate voxel, even with low-dose protocols, is linked to higher spatial resolution in addition to dose containment, particularly when the priority is devoted to positioning the examination item as centrally as feasible within the field of view .The aspect related to the centralization of the tooth inside the F.O.V. is an essential element of further optimization related to the image quality, because it manages to improve the definition of diagnostic information, such as the possibility of identifying vertical fractures (VRF), even in the presence of channel filling ,20,29.On the other hand, the positioning at the periphery of the F.O.V. causes the loss of the homogeneous visual definition, increasing the presence of artifacts. It is important to underline how the accuracy of the positioning of the object at the center of the F.O.V. determines a greater sensitivity and diagnostic definition than the use of the algorithms of the reduction in metal artifacts (MAR) ,31.Proper training and recent C.B.C.T. devices with previsualization systems, for the correct placement of the F.O.V., help with this task .(A)The angle and rotation speed of the sensor assembly generator and exposure mode. Some equipment allows for partial or full rotations to be selected for specific acquisitions, allowing the modulation of both the patient dose and image quality. Full rotations result in a higher dose and a greater image definition, while semi-rotations reduce the dose but also the diagnostic quality. The scan speed can also affect the exposure time; higher speeds tend to reduce the dose. Additionally, most commercially available C.B.C.T.s emit pulsed exposure rather than continuous exposure, which allows for optimization by reducing the radiation ,15,27.(B)(Filters); additional filtration at the tube outlet eliminates low-energy radiation that is not useful for diagnostic purposes, helping to further reduce the dose to the patient .(C)(Flat panel); the detector is the heart of the C.B.C.T. Today, all equipment has digital detectors, with either indirect or direct conversion; various types are available on the market with varying characteristics and costs. The choice of the detector influences the image quality, and therefore, all parameters related to it .Furthermore, the optimal balance between the dose and the information required for diagnosis and therapy is influenced by specific technical parameters of the equipment used, which can be adjusted for some devices, such as the following:The new optimization possibilities linked to the evolution of radiological and information technology (IT) make it necessary to analyze and reassess the overall indications for the use of 3D C.B.C.T. in dentistry.The innovation speed, the frequent software update that further refines and improves the function and methodologies, and artificial intelligence (A.I.) can quickly make the scientific results reported in the literature obsolete, which must be continuously updated to provide solid support for the guidelines.Several studies show that part of the indications on the use of C.B.C.T. in certain areas of dentistry are based on opinions rather than on evidence or scientific evidence. The literature shows a lack and incompleteness of research papers on the parameter settings and clinical protocols ,22,27.The evaluation of more dedicated parameters, and therefore, a more appropriate use of C.B.C.T., appear to be evident when analyzing the literature and the C.B.C.T. use in different fields of dentistry.In orthodontics, the technological evolution and recent evidence show that the radiation of an ultra-low-dose C.B.C.T. (ULD-UL) with lateral cephalometric reconstruction (RLC) can deliver an effective dose with a reduction of 87% compared to standard C.B.C.T. protocols, resulting in an examination with 11\u201318 microSieverts (\u03bcSv).A combination of traditional 2D examinations, orthopantomography (PAN), and lateral cephalometric (SLC) results in a dose of 27\u201330 (\u03bcSv), which is therefore higher than the 11\u201318 (\u03bcSv) dose of the ULD-UL C.B.C.T. .In terms of radioprotection, it is possible to reduce the radiant impact suffered by the patient, improving the visibility and analysis of anatomical structures for diagnostic and treatment purposes, such as the management of impacted canines .This evaluation is in contrast to what is reported, for example, in the Italian text, \u201cRecommendations for the correct use of volumetric TC equipment \u201cCone Beam\u201d, regarding the amount of the effective dose expressed for C.B.C.T., PAN, and LC examinations currently in force . Contact proximity with nearby anatomical structures (roots of contiguous elements) can lead to root resorption. In certain circumstances, the European guidelines recommend the integration of 2D images with C.B.C.T. exams optimized with a reduced F.O.V. in order to allow an adequate and complete view of the anterior maxillary region and evaluate the impacted teeth with the surrounding structures, allowing an accurate diagnosis and surgical/orthodontic treatment ,6,10.It should be noted that missed diagnosis or late treatment can lead to root resorption of the permanent adjacent incisors in 48% of cases, often complicating the outcome of orthodontic treatment and the prognosis of the dental elements interested .2) and potentially combining minimal fields. As a result, effective doses can range widely for C.B.C.T., from 5 \u03bcSv to 1073 \u03bcSv [In implant dentistry, C.B.C.T. is recommended as a diagnostic tool for presurgical planning and oral implant-related diagnosis. Compared to 2D imaging, C.B.C.T. is more accurate in predicting implant dimensions and the need for bone grafting procedures. Low-dose C.B.C.T. (LD-C.B.C.T.) protocols produce acceptable 3D images while substantially reducing the patient\u2019s radiation exposure ,26. The 1073 \u03bcSv .In oral surgery, in the surgical treatment of impacted teeth such as canines and in complex extraction procedures of third molars, the use and prescription of the C.B.C.T. is a commonly encountered event, representing a frequent indication; numerous evidences demonstrate how it is important and useful to significantly limit the irradiation to the patient, and to use adequate exposure parameters of F.O.V. as small as 4 \u00d7 4 or smaller ,17,32. TSome of the limitations linked to patient and environmental radioprotection criteria, applied as different standards for different states that regulate the use of C.B.C.T., are now based on outdated recommendations.Further research that takes into account the better management of exposure parameters and image quality linked to technological evolution is necessary to obtain objective data on the clinical use of 3D diagnostics technologies ,28.The primary objective is to produce useful clinical information with the lowest possible dose, by intervening on the physical factors of the exposure dose and the qualitative balance of the image . This reThe evolution of volumetric technologies in dentistry should lead to a revision of the objective indications for the use of C.B.C.T.The technology offers several advantages over traditional 2D imaging, including improved visualization of complex anatomy, improved diagnostic accuracy, and the ability to visualize 3D structures. However, the use of C.B.C.T. should always be guided by a careful assessment of the clinical requirements and a thorough understanding of the technology and its limitations ,27,28.This means that the imaging protocols should be tailored to the specific needs of each patient, taking into account factors such as their size, anatomy, and the type of treatment they are undergoing. This will result in a more efficient and effective exam that is optimized for the patient\u2019s individual needs . AdequatALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) is a principle in medical imaging that aims to minimize a patient\u2019s exposure to ionizing radiation by using the lowest effective radiation dose necessary to produce an accurate and diagnostic image. The goal of ALARA is to reduce the risk of adverse effects from radiation exposure while still obtaining the necessary diagnostic information. The concept of ALARA is a central principle of a general nature in radioprotection; it promotes and is essentially based on the importance of optimization processes and is based on the hypothesis of a linear dose-effect relationship without threshold  . It alreALADA  is a similar concept in medical imaging, but focuses on ensuring that the radiation dose used is low enough to minimize risks, but high enough to produce a diagnostic image. ALADA aims to express its optimization contribution exclusively to the medical/dental activity, linked to diagnostic acceptability. In other words, ALADA balances the need for diagnostic quality with the need for radiation safety .Both ALARA and ALADA are important principles in radiology, and radiologists strive to achieve these goals in their practice by using appropriate imaging techniques, optimizing equipment settings, and taking other steps to minimize the patient\u2019s exposure to ionizing radiation.For the purposes of correct radiological practice, it is also necessary to highlight how it is propaedeutic to preliminarily justify any radiological exposure for a specific diagnostic/therapeutic purpose, taking into account the individual characteristics, the patient, and the techniques which involve a minor exposure to ionizing radiation, as defined by the European directive 59/2013 art. 55 .It becomes necessary to ensure the patient the best diagnostic and therapeutic quality but also the best safety obtainable at the present moment. In Italy, the law in force on healthcare professional liability puts the safety of care and of the assisted person in first place .With reference to the European community regulations on radiation protection , any patient exposure to ionizing radiation for medical purposes must be subject to the principle of justification  and the principle of optimization (exposing the patient to the lowest level of radiation reasonably obtainable and compatible with the achievement of the required diagnostic information\u2014art. 158) ,38.Furthermore, all new types of practices involving medical exposures must be preliminarily justified before being generally adopted and must be reviewed whenever new and relevant evidence about their efficacy is acquired ,38.It is therefore obvious that the justification process must be considered in continuous evolution, above all, in consideration of the diffusion of new technologies which involve an evolution of the modalities of access to diagnostic information, as in the case of the 3D C.B.C.T. The Italian ministerial \u201cRecommendations for the correct use of Cone Beam volumetric CT equipment\u201d date back to May 2010 , and theIt appears to be evident that there is a necessity to update the recommendations for the C.B.C.T use and to improve knowledge and training to fully exploit the potential and the benefits that the technological evolution has given to the clinician ,27. Cons"}
+{"text": "Acinetobacter lowffii, Bacillus megaterium, B. pumilus, Kocuria carniphila, K. palustris, K. rhizophila, Micrococcus flavus, M. luteus, Moraxella osloensis and Paracoccus yeei. The concentrations of Gram-negative bacteria in general and the species P. yeei were significantly associated with the season with the highest concentrations in spring. The concentrations of P. yeei, K. rhizophila and B. pumilus were associated positively with relative humidity (RH), and concentrations of K. rhizophila were associated negatively with temperature and air change rate (ACR). Micrococcus flavus concentrations were associated negatively with ACR. Overall, this study identified species which are commonly present in indoor air in homes, and that the concentrations of some species were associated with the factors: season, ACR and RH.The aim of this study is to obtain knowledge about which cultivable bacterial species are present in indoor air in homes, and whether the concentration and diversity of airborne bacteria are associated with different factors. Measurements have been performed for one whole year inside different rooms in five homes and once in 52 homes. Within homes, a room-to-room variation for concentrations of airborne bacteria was found, but an overlap in bacterial species was found across rooms. Eleven species were found very commonly and included:  Airborne bacteria in indoor environments are confirmed or presumed causal agents of various infectious diseases ,2. In adExposure assessment using personal samplers, for example, the Gesamtstaubprobenahme (GSP) , actively sampling airborne inhalable dust, is expected to be a good measure of personal exposure . HoweverAir is an important transmission route for bacteria and therefore it is important to obtain knowledge about which bacteria are present in the indoor air and which factors affect this presence. In one review paper it was suggested that outdoor bacteria from plants may enter the building through ventilation systems, doors, windows, attached to people, pets and other objects, and as a result, affects the indoor concentration level \u2013 but also that information on these factors is still not well understood .Staphylococcus is associated with the indoor air change rate (ACR) and area per occupant indicating that it might be possible to affect the presence of Staphylococcus in indoor air  across rooms and homes. A room-to-room variation within the five homes was found if data were analysed unaffected by home (P = 0.0089) with lowest bacterial concentrations in the cellars (P < 0.0001). In home 1, a high bacterial concentration was found in the bathroom. The temp and RH were different in the different room types. Thus, the temp was lower in the basements and bedrooms than in the other rooms while the RH was high in the bathrooms and basements  the species K. rhizophila was found in many samples and in high concentrations (Bacteria were identified in one sample per season in the living rooms of the five homes (Study A). Some species were observed frequently, but in low concentrations, for example, bacteria . Fourteere found . Of Gramtrations .To see whether there is an overlap in bacterial species as sampled using GSPs during 1 day each season (Study A) versus using EDC samplers for long-term sampling (Study B) the bacterial species found in the highest concentrations in the five homes are presented in a Venn diagram and an overlap in species is found . In addiTo get an impression of bacterial species in living rooms of Danish city homes in general, 52 samples taken using EDCs were screened for bacterial species (studies C and D), and the 25 species found in highest concentrations are presented in the Venn diagram. Eleven species were found in high concentrations in the living rooms of the five homes unaffected by the sampling method and in the 52 homes . A list P-values < 0.1 are considered significant. In Study A, the concentration of Gram-negative bacteria as measured using the GSP samplers was associated with the season (P = 0.0016) with lower concentrations in summer than in winter. The concentration of P. yeei tended to be associated negatively with increasing temperature and was associated with the season with the highest concentrations in spring. Micrococcus flavus was negatively associated with ACR and B. pumilus positively with RH. Kocuria rhizophila was positively associated with RH and negatively with temperature and ACR ; other associations were not significant. In the cross-sectional study (Study C), associations were found between area per occupant and K. palustris concentration , and temperature and M. flavus concentration .In Study B, K. palustris, K. rhizophila, M. luteus, M. flavus, B. pumilus, K. megaterium, K. carniphila, A. lowffii, M. osloensis and P. yeei are common in indoor air in homes in Greater Copenhagen, in addition to the previously found Staphylococcus species [In this study, we show that cultivable  species . These rP. yeei, which has caused, for example, keratitis and conjunctivitis [B. cereus, which is a food-poisoning agent [Aerococcus viridans, Acinetobacter lwoffii, Bacillus mycoides, Brevibacterium casei, Enterococcus casseliflavus and several Kocuria species. Some of the risk class 2 pathogens are normal skin-related bacteria such as B. casei and are expected to derive from the occupants. No risk class 3 pathogens were found. Some species are described as opportunistic pathogens, for example, M. osloensis  and Rhi patient ). An und patient ,32.P. yeei, B. megatarium and M. luteus, have previously been found on indoor surfaces [Bacillus species, and a high species richness of Bacillus has also been found in air samples from different occupational settings [Kocuria, Micrococcus, Bacillus and Paenibacillus were among the dominating ones, and these genera were also dominating in indoor air in Hong Kong and China .Corynebacterium xerosis and Dermacoccus sp. to the airborne bacteria in these rooms. However, it was only a tendency, and the lack of a general effect of room type for bacterial concentration is in accordance with what was found in Chinese homes [This study found a within-home variation (room-to-room) for concentrations of airborne bacteria. Thus, airborne bacterial concentrations were not uniform throughout the homes during the time of sampling, which is in agreement with a study in homes in the UK . In spitse homes . This inse homes .P. yeei was found in the highest concentrations in the spring. The habitat of P. yeei seems not to be well characterised, and in research papers it is mainly described concerning infections. Therefore, we do not know the source of exposure to this bacterium. Paracoccus yeei is a Gram-negative bacterium, and for Gram-negative bacteria in general lower concentrations were found in summer than in winter. This may be related to the impact of ultraviolet (UV) light on bacterial survival.The bacterial diversity in the living rooms differed between seasons with summer especially having another bacterial diversity, this might be caused by the high ACR in the summer. For some bacterial species, associations between concentrations in living rooms and seasons were found. Thus, B. pumilus and K. palustris were found in the highest concentrations in the autumn. These bacteria have previously been found in soil. At the genus level, we have previously observed that Kocuria is present in the lowest concentrations in summer [Kocuria palustris, K. rhizophila and M. flavus were associated negatively with indoor temperature. For the two Kocuria species, this is in accordance with what has previously been found for the genus and in contrast to what is found for the genus Staphylococcus in Danish homes [The two species n summer . Kocuriash homes  and bactsh homes .K. rhizophila and M. flavus were negatively associated with ACR and thus seem not to enter by open windows or ventilation systems. These species are not described as skin-related bacteria, but K. rhizophila has been found on the skin [K. rhizophila has been found on work clothes together with more than 200 different cultivable bacterial species [K. palustris concentration was negatively associated with area per occupant. Therefore, it may also have human or human activity as a source. The habitats of this species are not well described, but it has been isolated from very different environments including human skin [Bacillus and Acinetobacter but not Kocuria were among the most frequently found genera [Human skin is shed into the indoor air , and thethe skin . Another species ,44. In Sman skin , workersman skin , human nman skin  and mariman skin . In a std genera .Micrococcus luteus was very common in indoor air in this study, and it is described as a skin-related bacterium. Despite that, it was not significantly associated with ACR or area per occupant. Furthermore, the species did not show seasonality. The lack of association between the studied factors and concentrations of M. luteus might be because this species has several sources as it is found in soil, dust [il, dust , airwaysil, dust . It has il, dust  in the ail, dust .K. palustris, K. rhizophila, M. luteus, M. flavus, B. pumilus, B. megaterium, K. carniphila, A. lowffii, M. osloensis and P. yeei. Seasonality in bacterial diversity was found, and concentrations of P. yeei were significantly associated with the season. Bacterial concentrations were not uniform throughout the homes investigated, but no significant variation was observed for the general room type except for the lower concentration in the basements. The concentrations of P. yeei, K. rhizophila and B. pumilus were positively associated with RH, and concentrations of K. rhizophila were associated negatively with temp while K. rhizophila and M. flavus were negatively associated with ACR, and K. palustris negatively with area per occupant. Thus decreasing the RH, and increasing the ACR and area per occupant might be a strategy to reduce the exposure to some airborne bacterial species.Across homes and room types within homes, occupants are potentially exposed to some of the same cultivable bacterial species typically including:"}
+{"text": "Water scarcity is a world issue, and a solution to address it is the use of treated wastewater. Indeed, in these wastewaters, pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, and heavy ions can be present at high concentrations. Thus, several analytical techniques were initiated throughout recent years for the detection and quantification of pollutants in different types of water. Among them, the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique was examined due to its high sensitivity and its ability to provide details on the molecular structure. Herein, we summarize the most recent advances (2021\u20132023) on SERS sensors of pollutants in water treatment. In this context, we present the results obtained with the SERS sensors in terms of detection limits serving as assessment of SERS performances of these sensors for the detection of various pollutants. Nowadays, the decrease of the supply in water is a world issue due to the pollution of water. Moreover, various factors such as climate changes, population increase, and industrialization increase the demand in water ,2. Thus,In this mini-review, the goal is reporting on the most recent advances (2021\u20132023) in SERS sensors for the detection of compounds of interest (pollutants) in water treatment. Moreover, various review articles on the detection of pollutants for environmental analyses  are already available in the scientific literature, but with different focuses ,32,33,34SERS sensing is not an issue in water because the targeted molecules (here pollutants) may be detected within the water. Thus, the SERS technique is a perfect tool allowing a quick sensing of various molecules in water ,36. The Here, the detection of pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides, and organic dyes for water treatment is addressed see . We starConcerning to the detection of organic dyes, Li et al. have reported a LOD of nd water . For thind water . Furthernd water . LODs ofimproved . Anotherectively . The autl system . In anototspots) .block-poly(acrylic acid), called PS-b-PAA), which is decorated with silver nanoparticles [Moreover, Liu et al. studied the use of plasmonic sensors composed of silver nanocubes (AgNCs) having an elevated degree of purity for the detection of MG molecules in aquaculture water. Liu et al. assessed the LOD of MG molecules at re water . This LOre water . Chen eten AgNPs . To finiarticles   in river water . This SEolecules . Anotheras found . The SERobtained . Zhu et AgNCs/GO . Han et trometer . Thus, aarticles . To concd waters   in mineral and river waters with a promising SERS substrate . This SEubstrate . To finiubstrate  , and heavy ions in water treatment is introduced see . We begiRegarding the detection of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, Haung et al. investigated the sensing of the antibiotic quinoline in wastewater. The authors employed self-assembled gold nanoparticles with highly uniform gaps of 0.9 nm between Au nanoparticles producing various hotspots, thus inducing a good enhancement of the SERS effect. Therefore, a LOD of 5 stewater . An altestewater . In this\u03bcg/L see d. This L\u03bcg/L see a produciAnother strategy was developed by Berganza et al. for the detection of another antibiotic (ciprofloxacin = CIP) in water. This strategy consisted of the use of magnetite  coupled to an extraction process, both in a microfluidic chip . The priin water . Anotherin water . This costewater . Moreovestewater . To do tstewater . In anotstewater . Mao et stewater . Therewistewater . The intstewater . To finistewater .Concerning the detection of heavy ions, Zorlu et al. investigated the SERS detection of the heavy ion Cuap water . To do tobserved . With anin water . He et ain water . Anotheroworkers . This SE reached . In addiched see b,c. To dappeared .To conclude this part on the detection of heavy ions and, more generally, this mini-review, Logan et al. developed a technique of SERS detection of HgNSs-PEG) . The priseawater .To summarize, in this mini-review, we have described the most recent advances of SERS sensors of pollutants in water treatment. Due to the performances of these SERS sensors, limits of detection were achieved ranging from nductors  and organductors . Lastly,nductors ,88,89,90"}
+{"text": "Chen S and Wang ZP analyzed the data. Zhang WX and Zhou L contributed analysis tools. Chen S, Li SX, Wang ZP and Zhang WX provided critical inputs on design, analysis, and interpretation of the study. All the authors had access to the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript as submitted."}
+{"text": "Epiperipatus ohausi  is the first species known from Rio de Janeiro, and more than 120 years later a new species is described in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). In this study, we describe the second species in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which we are naming in honor of the indigenous population called puri who resided in southeastern coastal Brazil. The species can be diagnosed mainly by large dorsal primary papillae close to the insertion of the legs drawing a light band from the anterior to the posterior region of the body, and large dorsal primary papillae alternating on the dorsal plicae. Moreover, they are recognized in vivo by the color of the diamond-shaped marks brownish orange on the dorsal portion of the body. Epiperipatus puri sp. nov. morphologically seems to be related to Epiperipatus acacioi  by the shape of the primary papillae apical piece and to E. ohausi by the resemblance of dorsal papillae. The phylogeny shows a close relationship between the new species and E. ohausi in a clade with a still undescribed species from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil located within the Atlantic Forest, one of the most threatened biomes in the world. The phylum Onychophora (velvet worms) has received more attention in the last decade than ever, especially the clade Neopatida , which resulted in the recent description of five species , designating Peripatus edwardsii Blanchard, 1847 as the type species and transferring more nine species to this subgenus . Since Epiperipatus is treated as genus, although this author did not explicitly elevate the rank from the subgenera of Peripatus. Peck cited it under an identification key for families and genera of Onychophora and made the combinations with the species without using Peripatus in the binomina , an extremely threatened biome , as part of the rebuilding of the burned MNRJ zoological collections. Epiperipatus puri sp. nov. is the first species of onychophorans deposited in MNRJ after its main building was lost in a ruthless fire. The collection of Onychophora was held together with the collections of Arachnida and Myriapoda, under the curatorship of Adriano B. Kury. Most of the three collections were lost in the fire except for material under loan and all the data, which were safe due to the routine backup policy of the curator  from Nova Igua\u00e7u municipality, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to detect diagnostic features of the new species: MNRJ 0056; 1\u2640; BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, Nova Igua\u00e7u, Reserva Particular do Patrim\u00f4nio Natural dos Petroleiros; 23.XII.2009; Costa, C.S., Giupponi, A.P.L. leg. MNRJ 0058; 1\u2642; same locality; 11.III.2010; Costa, C.S., Chagas-Jr, A., Giupponi, A.P.L., Kury, A.B. leg.The type-series is composed of six specimens deposited in Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ) (curator A. B. Kury) and Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo (MZUSP) (curator R. Pinto-da-Rocha), both in Brazil. The specimens were collected between 2012 and 2018 in a small patch of tropical humid forest  Fig. 1)Fig. 1) aWe studied one of the specimens  using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) following in vivo were taken with a SONY Cybershot DSC-HX1 with built-in flash, or Canon EOS Rebel XS with a macro lens and flash circular camera. Images were edited using Adobe Photoshop CS5  will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved, and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix Taxonomic resultsPeripatidae Evans, 1901Family Epiperipatus Clark, 1915Genus Epiperipatus purisp. nov.Epiperipatus [sp6]: Costa: 2016; Costa, Giribet and Pinto-da-Rocha: 2021: 6, 8, 25.\u20134Epiperipatus species with large dorsal primary papillae close to the insertion of the legs drawing a narrow light band from the anterior to posterior regions of the body. The distribution of large pale dorsal primary papillae alternates the dorsal plicae with clear differences in the number in two sequential plicae. Moreover, they are recognized in vivo by the color the diamond-shape marks brownish-orange (Diagnosis (based on a combination of characters as follows). h-orange \u20132D.Description of female holotype (MNRJ 0093).Measurements. Length 43; width 3.0, height 3.9.Color  each, absent in females. Anal glands are inconspicuous and represented only by two pores on the anterior margin of the anal aperture, absent in females.Type material. Holotype: MNRJ 0093, 1\u2640, BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, Cachoeiras de Macacu, Reserva Ecol\u00f3gica de Guapia\u00e7u (REGUA), X.2012, A.P.L. Giupponi, J.S. Silva leg. Paratypes: MNRJ 0087, 1 unsexed specimen, MNRJ 0088, 1\u2642, same locality, 28.II \u2013 02.III.2012, A.P.L. Giupponi, J.S. Silva leg; MNRJ 0107, 1 unsexed specimen, same locality, 19.III.2018, R.L.C. Baptista leg; MZUSP 0122, 1\u2640, same locality, 21.XII.2014, A. Ferreira, A.P.L. Giupponi, A. Rezende, C.S. Costa leg.Distribution. Only known from the type locality .Macro-J\u00ea linguistic group. They inhabited, among other places, the mountain region of the Rio de Janeiro state where specimens of this species were collected. Noun in apposition.Etymology. The epithet puri (in apposition) refers to the Puri indigenous group belonging to the Remarks. Paratype. Length 12 to 22; width 1.0 to 2.5. Legs. 26  and 27  pairs of legs.Epiperipatus is one of the most speciose genera of Peripatidae  and a potentially undescribed species  and three other unnamed species from the state of Esp\u00edrito Santo, Brazil, which is geographically close to the state of Rio the Janeiro and located within the Atlantic Forest.However recent studies based on the molecular data regards the genus as non-monophyletic \u2060. PhylogEpiperipatus purisp. nov. is characterized as a new species by the roundish insertion of dorsal papillae, the three posterior scale ranks, and two prolateral and one retrolateral foot papillae in the feet of the fourth and fifth oncopods , Epiperipatus tucupiEpiperipatus cratensisEpiperipatus diadenoproctusE. purisp. nov.oncopods . The preEpiperipatus paurognostusin vivo) and the fourth spinous pad can be complete or incomplete, in E. purisp. nov. the background color of the body is dark reddish-brown (in vivo) and the fourth spinous pad is complete. The apical piece is conical in Epiperipatus adenocryptus  by the shape of the apical piece of the primary papillae, however, E. purisp. nov. primary papillae are lighter than other papillae. E. ohausi and E. purisp. nov. bear dorsal papillae with similar shape and size, but the latter also bear accessory papillae on the flanks and uniform background color of body and oncopods.In ocryptus  and E. marajoara , and sph beckeri  and Epipitanicus , robust rbolicus , while tEpiperipatus are closer to Peripatus than to the remaining \u201cEpiperipatus\u201d, however, this could be confirmed only by the inclusion of Peripatus juliformis Guilding, 1826 (type species of Peripatus) in Peripatidae analyses, neither of both studies included this species due to the lack of specimens in the collections adequate for the analyses.Additionally, the results of Epiperipatus and Peripatus remain unclear, we cautiously preferred keeping the new species as Epiperipatus, as their putative closer species E. ohausi is currently classified. According to Peripatus due to the presence of only two pairs of pregenital oncopods with crural papillae, in Peripatus should be more than three. Also, according to Peripatus because it has three ranks of scales in the apical piece, Peripatus should have more ranks.Although the boundaries between Epiperipatus purisp. nov. is the 16th Epiperipatus species described from Brazil  . The resandscape \u2060.E. purisp. nov. is the first Onychophora to REGUA. This demonstrates the high value of this reserve for the recovery of the endangered area it is embedded.Although composed mainly of secondary forests, REGUA is important to the conservation of local fauna. The area is known for its rich fauna of birds \u2060, buttere.g., For more than 30 years, scientists advocated for the importance of invertebrates and their conservation, but the perspective has not changed much . The velE. ohausi  and Nova Igua\u00e7u , with policies prioritizing the fight against poverty, environmental destruction, and historical deficit in science and education, Brazil is passing through severe economic, political, and social turmoil . RecentlAlthough fires in Amazonian Forest, Cerrado, and Pantanal are usually related to the replacement of natural vegetation by cattle ranching and soy crops, in the AF the deforestation is related to urbanization see  and presEpiperipatus purisp. nov. contributes to the knowledge of the biodiversity in a hotspot for conservation, the Atlantic Forest. We characterized the species morphologically with the use of SEMs and photographs, including in vivo (important for recognizing the species in the field). All the type material was collected in a private reserve that is contiguous to a State Protected Area, demonstrating the importance of this type of initiative. E. purisp. nov. was assigned to Epiperipatus such as the putative closer species, E. ohausi, but future studies could reveal the actual boundaries of the genera for there is molecular evidence that they could belong to Peripatus (Our description of eripatus \u2060. One oferipatus \u2060.10.7717/peerj.15384/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Zhang ZW, Li YL and Gao L performed the experiments. Ye GB and Ling B analyzed the data. Huang W and Ling B contributed analysis tools. Ye GB, Huang W and Ling B provided critical inputs on design, analysis and interpretation of the study. All the authors had access to the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript as submitted."}
+{"text": "Imported fire ants, an invasive species, are reported from multiple locales in Kentucky, USA from 2014 to 2022.Solenopsis invicta Buren (Red Imported Fire Ant), S. richteri Forel (Black Imported Fire Ant), and their hybrid form Solenopsis invicta X richteri have spread throughout portions of the USA, especially in the southeastern region. Imported fire ants are a serious invasive and economically significant species in the USA and elsewhere, and their spread into new parts of the country is of great concern. Although early models predicted that the fire ants would not be able to survive very far north into the USA, these ants have nonetheless successfully continued their spread into higher latitudes. Based on Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) samples, the Mississippi Entomological Museum Invasive Insect Screening Center, at Mississippi State University, has verified the presence of imported fire ants collected in Kentucky at multiple locations from 2014 to 2022.Since their introduction into the United States in the early 1900\u2032s, imported fire ants, namely  The Mississippi Entomological Museum Invasive Insect Screening Center, funded by the USDA Plant Protection Act Section 7721 (PPA7721), was established by the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) at Mississippi State University to provide taxonomic services for Federal and state invasive insect survey programs in the eastern USA. These services were designed to speed up the identification and early detection of exotic species. Samples are received via in-person drop-off and mail services from participating state Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) programs, PPA7721 Goal 1 Survey participants, and USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine programs in the USA. Upon arrival, samples are screened for target taxa and possible exotics are then examined by experts. Positive identifications are reported, and voucher specimens are pinned, labeled, and deposited in the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) with data entered into the Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN). Additionally, representatives of native target taxa are also retained and curated into the museum collection. The deposition of accurately labeled and identified specimens into museum collections and reporting of findings are critical components of the monitoring process. Solenopsis invicta Buren (Red Imported Fire Ant), Solenopsis richteri Forel (Black Imported Fire Ant), and their hybrid form Solenopsis invicta X S. richteri, are native to South America and are seriously invasive and economically significant species in the USA and elsewhere. Here we report records of S. invicta, S. richteri, and S. invicta X S. richteri from Kentucky, provide information about identification, discuss their economic and medical importance, and give a brief history of their spread in the region. Imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) including Imported fire ants can easily be detected in the field by the large mounds they typically construct, their aggressive stinging behavior, relatively small size , and black and red coloration. Other diagnostic characteristics for the worker caste include the antennae having 10 antennomeres of which the apical two are enlarged forming a club, propodeum lacking adornment in the form of spines or other protuberances, waist with two nodes, and gaster with a prominent sting. Females are similar to workers, but larger  and have 11 antennomeres. Males are slightly larger than large workers , body concolorous black, head tiny in proportion to the body, eyes enlarged, and have 12 antennomeres [S. invicta from S. richteri may be difficult where their geographic ranges overlap because they create hybrids that have a mixture of features from the two species. Definitive identifications may require examination of cuticular hydrocarbons and venom alkaloids or DNA analysis [S. richteri  to new areas to start colonies , and queHuman activities play a significant role in the spread of invasive species including imported fire ants. Newly mated queens may be transported on motor vehicles on which they have landed. Colonies may be transported in the soil of nursery stock, mulch, sand, gravel, grass, sod, hay, wood, beehives, soil-moving equipment, and other inadvertent means ,11. S. richteri and S. invicta are thought to have first arrived via cargo ships in the USA in Mobile, Alabama with S. richteri arriving as early as 1918 and S. invicta likely in the early 1930s [S. invicta and S. richteri were not formally recognized as two distinct species until 1972, when Buren revised the group [S. invicta was introduced to the USA, it proved to be the more aggressive species and apparently displaced S. richteri from the Mobile area, with the idea being that S. richteri was continuously being forced east, north, and west by S. invicta. Trager [S. richteri \u201capparently occupied much of Mississippi and Alabama\u201d, but specimen records do not reflect this. Instead, the movement of S. richteri may have been less linear, and instead patchier due to incidental movement by trains or other means. Historical records indicate that S. richteri (and possibly a hybrid form) was forced outward from the Mobile area into the southeastern coastal area of Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. By 1949, S. richteri was no longer found in those areas and was replaced by populations of S. invicta [S. richteri populations in those localities resulted from accidental introductions via trains. Although S. richteri was eliminated from the coast by fierce competition of S. invicta, conditions and isolation from S. invicta in these locations in central Alabama and Mississippi appeared to have allowed S. richteri to gain a stronger foothold. Eventually, S. invicta continued its spread and when it reached these northern populations of S. richteri, hybridization occurred between the two species at the edges of their distributions and pure populations of S. richteri were again pushed northward. This northward spread of S. richteri, stemming primarily from the disjunct central Mississippi populations, has continued north through western Tennessee and most recently into southwestern Kentucky, with S. invicta surrounding populations of S. richteri both to the south, west, and the east and the hybrid form forming a distinct \u201cring\u201d between the two species. Solenopsis richteri has been reported in the literature from Arkansas [S. richteri was formerly recognized as a species and these unverified records seem unlikely. Examination of historical museum specimens from Arkansas by MacGown, as well as numerous collections by MEM staff and other researchers in Arkansas corroborate the idea that S. richteri has not been found in Arkansas. Both ly 1930s . It shouhe group , althoughe group  indicatehe group , after e. Trager  wrote th invicta . However invicta , Meridia invicta , Sessums invicta . These sArkansas ,16, but S. invicta would be limited to a latitude of approximately 42\u00b0 along the Pacific coastline and approximately 37\u00b0 elsewhere based on the cold tolerance of the ants. The authors did not estimate cold tolerance for S. richteri or S. invicta X richteri but speculated that they may have slightly more tolerance for cold temperatures than S. invicta. Overall, the model given by Korzukhin et al. [S. invicta would spread westward to California to the southern Oregon border and eastward up the Atlantic coast as far north as Virginia. However, imported fire ants have spread further north than predicted and have been found in areas once thought to have been improbable such as Oregon, Washington D.C., Maryland, and most recently Kentucky. Based on habitat and climate in their native ranges, a model of range expansion in the USA given by Korzukhin et al.  predicten et al.  has provS. invicta, S. richteri, and their hybrid from one another based on different cuticular hydrocarbon and venom alkaloid profiles as described in Menzel et al. [Specimens from possible fire ant mounds reported by Kentucky citizens were collected by CAPS employees and placed in ethanol and/or hexane and sent to the MEM Invasive Insect Screening Center for identification and verification. Identifications were made using morphological methods and the keys found in . When pol et al. . SpecimeThough the model given by Korzukhin et al.  predicteS. invicta. These specimens were not corroborated by the MEM. Three years later in 2012, fire ant mounds were again detected in Calloway County and confirmed by a USDA identifier as S. invicta [The earliest observations of imported fire ants in Kentucky were in October 2009 when mounds were detected during a CAPS survey at a nursery in Murray in Calloway County in the southwestern portion of the state . Mounds  invicta . S. richteri by a USDA identifier. The following year, a sample collected in Trigg County at the Lake Barkley Marina (36.8530\u201387.9422) on 14 October 2014 by J. Lensing was sent to the MEM for verification and specific identification. Specimens, which had been collected in ethanol, were identified as S. richteri based on morphological characteristics, and genetic assays agreed with this determination. In 2015, the MEM received additional samples of fire ants from Trigg County collected near the Golden Pond Visitor Center (36.7797\u201388.0670) on 19 May 2015 by J. Lensing. Samples were again collected in ethanol and based on morphological examinations and genetic assays the ants were determined to be S. richteri. Another sample was made in Trigg County near the Golden Pond Visitor Center (36.7797\u201388.0670) on 1 August 2015 by J. Lensing and sent to the MEM. Specimens were collected in both ethanol and hexane and again determined to be S. richteri. The hexane sample was very helpful as it allowed us to corroborate the S. richteri using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry methods. In July 2013, United States Forest Service personnel found fire ant mounds in the Land between the Lakes National Recreational Area in Trigg County, which is located in the southwestern part of the state. Specimens were collected and identified as S. invicta [S. invicta, which corroborated earlier identifications of fire ants from the same site. All mounds at the Kenlake sites were treated beginning in September 2017 and retreated in October 2017. The treatments appeared to be successful as no fire ants were found on return visits to the site after the collections were made in September 2017. Likewise, fire ants were not detected there during surveys in 2019 and 2021 [S. richteri, rather than S. invicta, which had been previously found at the site in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, 79 fire ant mounds were detected at the Kenlake State Resort Park in Marshall County, and specimens were identified as  invicta . On 18 SS. invicta X richteri.In 2022, the MEM received samples of fire ants collected by J. Collins from McCreary and Whitley Counties in the southeastern part of the state. Data for specimens were as follows: KY, McCreary Co., Strunk, 36.6409, \u221284.4100, 21 February 2022, J. Collins, collected at farm/residence; KY, McCreary Co., Stearns, 36.7164, \u221284.6099, 14 June 2022, J. Collins, collected at residence; KY, Whitley Co., Williamsburg, 36.6853, \u221284.2395, 22 September 2022, J. Collins, collected on roadside; KY, Whitley Co., Williamsburg, 36.7732, \u221284.0765, 22 September 2022, J. Collins, collected on farm; KY, Whitley Co., Williamsburg, 36.6409, \u221284.2589, 21 June 2022, R. Bessin, collected on farm. All samples from McCreary and Whitley Counties were morphologically identified as S. invicta and S. richteri in Tennessee, S. richteri populations were observed only in the western portion of the state from the northern border of Mississippi to near the southwestern border of Kentucky. According to Pandey et al. [S. invicta only comprised 2.3% of imported fire ants found during a survey done in Tennessee from 2004\u20132005, and colonies were only found in a few sites in the central and eastern parts of the state, mostly in metropolitan areas. Populations of the hybrid form were found to be widespread across the entire southern half of the state [Based on results from a recent paper by Pandey et al.  on the dy et al. , populathe state . S. richteri collected in Kentucky have only been found in the southwestern region directly north of a line following the distribution of this species from Mississippi through west and central Tennessee [Thus far, populations of ennessee . Similarennessee . S. invicta is thought to be less cold tolerant than S. richteri or their hybrid form [S. invicta reported from Tennessee were from Nashville, and that was the only locality in the entire western two-thirds of the state where it has been observed. It would not be a stretch to think that fertilized females of S. invicta might have been inadvertently transported from the Nashville area via truck along Interstate Highway 24 and Highway 80 to the site in Murray, Kentucky where this species was first found at a plant nursery. Due to S. invicta being less cold tolerant, it is probable that eradication efforts were successful. The discovery of S. invicta several years later in 2017 at the Kenlake State Resort Park was also likely due to anthropogenic movement of the species, as the area is known for outdoor recreational activities and fire ants could have easily been transported to the region. At first glance, it may appear surprising that both S. invicta and S. richteri were found in the same area at Kenlake Park, however, their occurrences there did not overlap temporally. Early populations of S. invicta were apparently eradicated, allowing S. richteri to successfully colonize the area later. Given that rid form , its preImported fire ants are clearly moving farther north than predicted, both naturally and by unintentional anthropogenic transport. As a result of the possible adaptation of the ants to colder temperatures and our climate becoming slightly warmer, imported fire ants are now likely established in Kentucky. Diligence when transporting various goods from quarantined areas is essential. Reporting to the Kentucky CAPS program of imported fire ant mounds is also critical in stemming their spread."}
+{"text": "Lawsonia intracellularis, which infects the cells lining the ileum and infrequently cells in the large intestine, and it causes inflammation, hemorrhages, and thickening of the intestinal wall  prior to a combined L. intracellularis/PCV2 infection mitigated the clinical signs, lesions, and level of shedding of L. intracellularis infection. Prior PCV2 exposure also led to higher L. intracellularis antibody titers after the combined infection, which warrants further research into the cross-talk between the immune response to viral infections and L. intracellularis infection. The microbiota of the pig's ileum is known to influence the susceptibility to L. intracellularis, and the infection also adversely affects the gut microbiota . Particularly, an increase of pathobionts, including Collinsella, Campylobacter, Chlamydia, and Fusobacterium, was observed in the gut during L. intracellularis infection. Interestingly, the live attenuated L. intracellularis vaccine, in addition to decreasing the L. intracellularis shedding, significantly decreased the relative abundance of pathobionts, highlighting the role of the broader gut microbiome composition in the pathogenesis caused by L. intracellularis. Another article in this collection by Hankel et al., which is based on their analysis of fecal microbiota in pigs naturally infected with L. intracellularis that were varying in their vaccination status  and clinical conspicuity, found the influence of the microbiota on the severity of disease. The causal role of the microbiota in the pathogenesis of L. intracellularis infection is yet to be completely unraveled.Porcine proliferative enteropathy (PE) or proliferative hemorrhagic enteritis (PHE), or commonly \u201cileitis\u201d, is a severe intestinal disease of domestic pigs and wild boars. It is caused by the bacterium nal wall . The disnal wall . L. intrhamsters . The etidinburgh . L. intrllularis . Now, thllularis , 5. The fections . A crossrom 2015 . The vaccrobiota . In thisL. intracellularis consists of a 1.46 Mb chromosome and three plasmids of 0.03, 0.04, and 0.19 Mb (NCBI Refseq IDs NC_020127 to NC_020130). A complete genome dataset of at least nine strains of L. intracellularis from around the world  are available in the public domain at the end of March 2023. Notably, the E40504 strain was isolated from a horse. The genome data have led to the development of several semi-quantitative and quantitative PCR assays for the diagnosis of L. intracellularis. Xiao et al. expressed the outer membrane protein (Omp2) of L. intracellularis from a synthetic gene based on sequence information. Monoclonal antibodies specific to Omp2 were produced and found to be efficient in detecting L. intracellularis in Western blots, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence assays. Moreover, a comparison of the gene expression profiles of the pathogenic low-passage and non-pathogenic high-passage isolate of L. intracellularis revealed that there were only 401 genes expressed by the pathogenic bacteria , which is commonly found in pathogenic bacteria to secrete effector proteins into host cells. Through a yeast expression array expressing hypothetical genes from L. intracellularis, it has been identified that LI1035 interacts with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and regulates actin organization in yeast . They found that L. intracellularis is endocytosed by both clathrin-dependent and -independent mechanisms, but the internalization of heat-killed bacteria is decreased in the clathrin-depleted cells. This suggests potential active mechanisms, involving a secretion apparatus, effected by L. intracellularis during endocytosis, as observed in many pathogenic intracellular bacteria. Given the wealth of knowledge on the genome of L. intracellularis, potential effector proteins or virulence factors remain to be characterized. With the current level of information on the biology of L. intracellularis, a promising outlook prevails over the efforts for a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of this fastidious organism, which may require uncharacterized inciting factors to cause disease.The reference genome of rea CBNU0, and Chiammation . The stiin yeast . PereiraThe author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication."}
+{"text": "Diplolepis ogawai Abe and Ide sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) induces galls on Rosa hirtula (Regel) Nakai , which is endemic to a restricted area of Honshu, the main island of Japan. The gall is induced mainly on the leaf of R. hirtula in spring and the mature gall falls to the ground in early summer. The gall-inducing wasp emerges from the gall on the ground in the following spring, suggesting that D. ogawai is univoltine. From spring to summer, the braconid Syntomernus flavus Samartsev and Ku and the eulophid Aprostocetus sp. are parasitic on the larva of D. ogawai in the gall, and the adult wasp of both parasitoid species emerges from the gall on the ground in summer. For S. flavus, this is the first distribution record in Japan and the first host record. Since R. hirtula is threatened with extinction by succession and deforestation, D. ogawai and its two parasitoid wasp species are considered to be at risk of coextinction with the threatened rose. In the event that the population size of this rose species is further reduced, D. ogawai and its parasitoids may \u00adbecome extinct prior to the extinction of R. hirtula. To conserve these three wasp species associated with R. hirtula, protection of remnant vegetation where individuals of this threatened rose species grow is necessary. Rosa hirtula (Regel) Nakai  is endemic to a limited area of Kanagawa, Shizuoka, and Yamanashi Prefectures on the main island of Honshu, Japan , which consist of the genera osa spp. . The gloer clade , 2020. Her clade . Based oin China , the exiin China . In recescovered .R. hirtula shrubs. He observed that gall wasps and their parasitoids emerged from the galls he reared. Preliminarily, morphological examinations of these wasps revealed that the gall wasp was a member of Diplolepis, and the parasitoids consisted of one braconid and one eulophid species. Many rare and undescribed species of insects become extinct before description  fitted with digital single-lens reflex camera , and under a scanning electron microscope  at 1.5 kV. The length of body parts was measured with an ocular micrometer. Focus stacking was performed using CombineZP software (available from: https://combinezp.software.informer.com/) for the microscopic images. All images were processed and assembled using the GNU Image Manipulation Program .In 2020 and 2021, fresh galls that had fallen to the ground from uo Ogawa . After kD. ogawai, the following morphological abbreviations are used: POL, postocellar line ; OOL, ocular\u2013ocellar line ; and LOL, lateral\u2013ocellar line . The morphological terminology for gall wasps follows In the description of D. ogawai and its parasitoids emerged was observed and their diameters were measured with digital calipers to clarify the effects of parasitism on gall shape and size. The galls were then dissected under a binocular stereomicroscope to determine their contents. To compare the structure of the galls on R. hirtula by D. ogawai with that of the galls induced by Diplolepis japonica , galls of the latter species were collected from leaves of Rosa multiflora Thunb. by Yoriko Abe in Kyonan-cho, Musashino City, Tokyo on 25 May 2021 and were reared under field conditions on the Ito Campus of Kyushu University until 26 March 2022 when the female wasps emerged. These wasps were identified as D. japonica based on The shape of nine galls from which wasps of D. ogawai and that of the braconid using previously described methods (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) under the accession numbers OP281689 for D. ogawai, OP281690 for the braconid and OP281691, OP281692 for the eulophid. The COI sequence of D. ogawai was compared with those of other congeners in GenBank using BLAST .Partial sequences (658 bp) of the COI gene of mtDNA were determined for one wasp of  methods . DNA of  methods . PCR conThe data of all the sample details are provided in www.zoobank.org), the official register of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The LSID (Life Science Identifier) number of the publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89AAB7FF-3A3B-49B1-9493-D67A0FB72B4A.This paper and the nomenclatural act(s) it contains have been registered in Zoobank (D. ogawai and other congeners were detected and this new species is described below. The parasitoids reared from the new Diplolepis were identified as Syntomernus flavus Samartsev and Ku (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Aprostocetus sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) based on Morphological differences between (urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:24F3E6F2-081B-4A3A-A518-FDF2157E7785)Rosa hirtula-leaf-gall wasp in Japanese[Japanese name: Sansh\u00f4bara-ha-tamabachi], which means  and 2See Body  black. MHead  and C seMesosoma  dorsallyWing surface and margin closely ciliated. Marginal cell of forewing closed with pale anterior margin, 2.3 times as long as wide, 2r curved without median prolongation into the marginal cell. Areolet indistinct. Hind femur without flange. Apex of metatarsal claw bent; base not expanded to lobe. Lengths of forewing and hind tibia 2.75 and 0.96 mm, respectively.Metasoma  smooth, Not known.n = 4) 2.75\u20133.11 mm, and of hind tibia 0.96\u20131.03 mm.Areolet indistinct or absent. Lengths of forewing  metasoma is dark brown and partially reddish-brown in D. japonica, but black in D. ogawai; 2) mesoscutal impression is present in D. japonica, but absent in D. ogawai; 3) areolet is distinct in D. japonica, but indistinct or absent in D. ogawai; 4) forewing is infuscate along all the veins of the marginal cell in D. japonica, but not infuscate in D. ogawai  metasoma is chestnut brown in D. valtonyci, but black in D. ogawai; 2) mesoscutal impression is present in D. valtonyci, but absent in D. ogawai; 3) forewing is infuscate along all the veins of the marginal cell in D. valtonyci, but not infuscate in D. ogawai.The new species is named in honor of Haruo Ogawa, who collected the specimens.D. ogawai can be characterized as follows. Galls are induced on both the upper and lower surfaces of the R. hirtula leaf . In contrast, the gall induced by D. japonica bears sharp-pointed spines . The gall wall is thin (ca. 0.2 mm) in D. ogawai, but thick (2.0\u20132.7 mm) in D. japonica  Nakai (family: Rosaceae)Japan (Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures in Honshu).A univoltine life cycle was indicated by rearing the wasps .See Diplolepis ogawai Abe and IdeSouth Korea , Japan  of S. flavus from summer to the following spring is unknown.The members of See Diplolepis ogawai Abe and Ide.Japan (Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures in Honshu).Aprostocetus contains more than 800 species worldwide , a Japanese species, has not been amended since its original description  of Aprostocetus sp. from summer to the following spring is unknown.As in Diplolepis radicum (Osten Sacken), Diplolepis rosae (L.), and Diplolepis fusiformans (Ashmead) as having the most similar COI sequences to D. ogawai, with COI sequence homologies in the range 89\u201390% compared to D. ogawai.The BLAST analysis identified Baryscapus pallidae Graham and Aprostocetus cerricola (Erd\u00f6s) as the two species with COI sequences most similar to Aprostocetus sp. These two species had COI sequence homologies in the range 90\u201392% compared to Aprostocetus sp.In addition, the BLAST analysis selected D. ogawai. In addition, two parasitoids, S. flavus and Aprostocetus sp., were reared from D. ogawai. This is a new distributional record for S. flavus from Japan.In this study, we described the gall wasp, D. ogawai and its parasitoid Aprostocetus sp. result in about 90% match. Moreover, the three best hits for D. ogawai are two Nearctic and one European species, and the two best hits for Aprostocetus sp. are European species. Such a situation is ascribable to the lack of appropriate sequence data from most of the Asian representatives of Diplolepis spp. and their parasitoids. Effective DNA barcoding requires a well-sampled, extensive reference database. Reliable DNA-based determination of phylogenetic position of this new species needs nuclear data as well as better Asian sampling.Both BLAST searches for Diplolepis induce galls on plants of the genus Rosa  in Rosa pimpinellifolia L., no reliable data indicates that Diplolepis species are host-specific in Europe at the level of host plant species (D. japonica has been recorded from R. multiflora and R. rugosa (D. japonica is widely distributed in East Asia, including Japan, Korea, and China (D. japonica could be an undescribed species. In contrast to the typical Diplolepis species, galls of D. ogawai have been only recorded from R. hirtula. The exceptionally high host specificity of D. ogawai to R. hirtula, which has a very limited natural distribution, most likely means that the distribution range of this gall wasp is restricted to an area on the main island of Japan. The vulnerable rose R. hirtula is considered to be a keystone species within a local ecological community (a network in which species are trophically connected; e.g., R. hirtula to the newly discovered fauna associated with it.Because the members of sa e.g., , the disg., Rosa . However species . In the . rugosa . Since t. rugosa , D. japond China . HoweverD. ogawai means that it likely does not adversely affect the host plant population. Therefore, when R. hirtula suffers anthropogenic habitat degradation, the extinction of D. ogawai due to the decline of the host plant populations is rather likely to come earlier. R. hirtula is distributed in a limited area (R. hirtula was discovered. The new gall wasp D. ogawai appears to be host-limited to the rare rose, and two parasitoids: S. flavus and Aprostocetus sp. depend on this gall wasp from spring to summer. These three wasp species are also considered to be at risk of coextinction with this vulnerable plant as follows: the primary extinction of R. hirtula causes the secondary extinction of D. ogawai, followed by the tertiary extinction of S. flavus and Aprostocetus sp. Generally, host-limited herbivorous insects may become extinct before their host plants (R. hirtula is reduced further, these three wasp species may become extinct before the vulnerable host plant. Therefore, the insect fauna depending on the rare rose is considered vulnerable. As pointed out by Although some species of cynipid gall inducers often cause serious damage to their host plants , the rarted area  and is tted area . Moreoveted area . In the t plants . If the"}
+{"text": "High-speed running and sprinting in professional adult soccer: Current thresholds definition, match demands and training strategies. A systematic review By Gualtieri A, Rampinini E, Dello Iacono A and Beato M. (2023) Front. Sports Act. Living 5:1116293. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1116293A Corrigendum on Additional Affiliation(s)In the published article, there was an error regarding the affiliation for Ermanno Rampinini. As well as having affiliation 3, he should also have:Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Human Performance Research Centre, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa. This species was found to preferentially select cracks as its spawning habitat, followed by the nests of other fish. In particular, cracks smaller than 5 cm provided a safe area for the spawned eggs while being difficult for other fish to invade. P. tenuicorpa eggs spawned in cracks larger than 6 cm were continuously consumed or damaged by other predatory fish. In South Korea, cracks smaller than 5 cm are more abundant in the upstream parts of the Han River than in other river basins (Geum River and Nakdong River), hence explaining the limited spatial distribution of P. tenuicorpa.This study explained the effects of the type and abundance of micro-topography in a river basin on the geographical distribution of the endemic fish Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa in South Korea is closely related to the local abundance of their preferred spawning habitats. Eggs of P. tenuicorpa were most frequently observed in cracks smaller than 5 cm, followed by the nests of other fish, such as Coreoperca herzi. Although eggs of P. tenuicorpa were also found in cracks larger than 6 cm, most of them were consumed or damaged by other fish. However, the number of P. tenuicorpa eggs spawned in cracks smaller than 5 cm remained similar to the number of eggs at the time of initial spawning, even after 9 days. The strong preference of P. tenuicorpa for cracks smaller than 5 cm was found to influence the geographical distribution of P. tenuicorpa in South Korea. In the upper reaches of the Han River, the ratio of cracks smaller than 5 cm is higher than that in the Geum River and in the Nakdong River, which contributes to the stable population growth of P. tenuicorpa there. In the future, management strategies to maintain/restore cracks smaller than 5 cm should be reviewed for the preservation of this endemic fish in South Korea.In this study, we hypothesized that the limited geographical distribution of  The selection of an efficient spatial location for spawning is important for securing the stable population growth of freshwater fish by increasing the hatching rate of spawned eggs ,2. SincePseudobagrus sp.), Coreoperca herzi, and bass  cope with predators or anthropogenic disturbances (such as oxygen deficiency) by protecting their nests during spawning [The construction and selection of efficient nesting locations are coordinated based on local environmental conditions and interaction between individuals or communities ,8. Changspawning ,15.Pungitius sinensis consume a large amount of energy to protect their spawned eggs after nest formation and die soon after the birth of their young ones [However, although the behavioral strategies of freshwater fish for selecting spawning sites or for protecting their nests are suitable for increasing the hatching rate, they are associated with high energy consumption and high costs . For exaung ones . While eRhynchocypris kumgangensis and Hemibarbus mylodon are distributed only in the upper-middle reaches of the Geum River and the Han River, located in the central part of South Korea, and Pseudobagrus brevicorpus, Koreocobitis naktongensis, and Microphysogobio rapidus are distributed only in the Nakdong River basin, located in the southeastern part of South Korea [Coreoperca kawamebari and Acheilognathus somjinensis are only observed in the Yeongsan River basin, located in the southwestern part of South Korea [Acheilognathus lanceolatus, Rhodeus sericeus, and Acheilognathus rhombeus have a habit of spawning on the bodies of freshwater clams [Synodontis multipunctatus) is mainly distributed in Lake Tanganyika, in which cichlids are abundant, since they are known to breed via brood parasitism in the mouth-brooding cichlids [Selecting a locally abundant space as a spawning site is an efficient strategy that can reduce the energy cost toward the search for appropriate nest . Obviousth Korea ,21. Coreth Korea ,21. Moreer clams , and hener clams . Similarcichlids ,25.Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa with clear geographical distribution limits. Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa is a native Korean fish species belonging to the genus Pseudopungtungia, which was recorded as a new species in 1980, and is only observed in some upper parts of the Han River. This area not only has continuous water flow but is also covered with giant rocks and gravel, supported by the typical environmental characteristics of the upper reaches of the river [Pseudopungtungia nigra, which belongs to the same genus as P. tenuicorpa, is distributed in the upstream area of the Geum River, which is clearly distinguished from the distribution area of P. tenuicorpa; the two species do not coexist in one area. While P. nigra is known to spawn via brood parasitism in the nests of Coreoperca herzi, distributed in the same area [P. tenuicorpa is still insufficient. Since C. herzi is distributed not only in the Geum River basin but also in most river basins of South Korea, including the Han River, where P. tenuicorpa is observed, we assumed that P. tenuicorpa is also spawned in the nests of C. herzi, just like P. nigra. However, based on the fact that P. tenuicorpa is not observed in river basins other than the upper part of the Han River, the topographical structure unique to the upstream section of the Han River may possibly be used as a spawning habitat. In addition, it is possible that the difference in geographical distribution between river basins has an influence on the selection and behavior of the two fish species (P. tenuicorpa and P. nigra), belonging to the genus Pseudopungtungia, with respect to their different spawning habitats.In this study, we focused on the spawning habitat selection and behavioral strategies of he river . Pseudopame area , researcP. tenuicorpa across potential spawning habitats, such as cracks, the nests of C. herzi, and the nests of other fish; (2) determine the spawning rate, egg number, and egg preservation rate of P. tenuicorpa based on the size class  of the crack; and (3) determine the brood parasitism rate of P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi. We hypothesized that the unique topographical characteristics of the upper reaches of the Han River would lead to differences in the behavior and spawning habitat selection of P. tenuicorpa as compared to those of P. nigra in the Geum River. In this study, five streams  were selected based on the distribution area of P. tenuicorpa, as recorded in previous studies [P. tenuicorpa, the rate of choice of an alternative spawning habitat over the preferred habitat was expected to increase if there was a difference in the abundance of spawning habitats in each river surveyed. The results of this study can contribute to the identification of geographical distribution limits within which P. tenuicorpa is distributed and will help to establish management strategies for the preservation of P. tenuicorpa in the future.In this study, we aimed to (1) identify the egg observation frequency (%) of  studies ,29,30. D2). The Han River is largely formed of the Namhan River and the Bukhan River entering from the south and north, respectively, and then exiting into the West Sea of South Korea. This is in contrast to the section that passes through the downstream area after the confluence of the Namhan River and the Bukhan River. The upper reaches of the Han River are home to native Korean fish species, such as Brachymystax lenok, Hemibarbus mylodon, Rhynchocypris kumgangensis, Rhynchocypris kumgangensis, and Phoxinus phoxinus [The Han River is located in the northern part of South Korea and has the second longest basin length (481.7 km) after the Nakdong River (510.36 km). However, comparing the basin areas, it has the largest basin , a determination of the environmental variables, exploration of the spawning habitat, and investigation of the spawning behavior of P. tenuicorpa were conducted. P. tenuicorpa were frequently observed in the previous studies [During the spawning period of  studies ,29,30, t studies .P. tenuicorpa was collected from five points. The collection process was conducted using cast nets (7 \u00d7 7 mm) and scoop nets (5 \u00d7 5 mm) along 500 m transects at intervals of 1 km per section, similar to the measurement points of the environmental variables. The cast and scoop nets were deployed for 30 min and 15 min, respectively. Each of the collected fish was identified up to the species level, according to Kim and Park [After measuring the environmental variables, and Park , based oand Park .P. tenuicorpa in each stream section (5 km), snorkeling was used during the spawning period (April to June) to scrutinize the eggs of P. tenuicorpa spawned in cracks, the nests of other fish such as C. herzi, the surfaces of aquatic plants, and large rocks or gravel surfaces. The results were classified into four types of spawning habitats based on the spawning ratio of P. tenuicorpa eggs in each spawning habitat: (1) cracks, (2) the nests of C. herzi, (3) nests of other fish, and (4) others (plant surfaces and rock/gravel surfaces). The egg observation frequency (%) of P. tenuicorpa in the four types of spawning habitats was calculated as follows:In order to explore the spawning habitat of P. tenuicorpa, cracks were mostly found in large rocks . In each stream, the proportion of gravel less than 50 cm was relatively low, and most of the bottom layers were supported by giant rocks, making it difficult to consider cracks between pieces of gravel.As spawning habitats for C. herzi were also found under or on the sides of large rocks. The nests were present as a single clutch, but it was difficult to count the number of clutches in which P. tenuicorpa or P. herzi had spawned in these spaces.At the study sites, the nests of P. tenuicorpa, additional investigations were conducted on the spawning characteristics and behavior in cracks, where the eggs of P. tenuicorpa were most frequently found. First, snorkeling was used to measure the size of the cracks where P. tenuicorpa eggs were spawned or likely to be spawned, and accordingly, they were divided into three classes . We explored all the existing cracks within each stream section (5 km) for 5 to 6 days and attempted to find all the possible cracks. Then, the number of cracks, the spawning rate (%) of P. tenuicorpa, and the number of eggs were measured for each size class. In cases where a crack was too small or it was difficult to observe the eggs with the naked eye, an underwater piping endoscope camera  was used for investigation. The spawning rate of P. tenuicorpa, according to the size class of each crack, was calculated using the following calculation formula:Among the four spawning habitats of P. tenuicorpa were randomly selected for each size class , and the number of P. tenuicorpa eggs was measured over 9 days for a total of 15 cracks. The 15 cracks were selected as the points where eggs were spawned by P. tenuicorpa less than a day later. After marking the selected 15 crack entrances with PVC bars, the number of eggs was counted through snorkeling during the morning (8:00 to 10:00 A.M.). A total of five  measurements were made on alternate days to eliminate the effect of disturbance  on the measurement of the number of eggs in each crack as much as possible. The preservation rate of the eggs in each crack was calculated as follows:In order to determine the egg preservation rate (%) over time in each crack, 5 cracks spawned by P. tenuicorpa and P. herzi. The sharing status of spawning habitats was divided into four types . The observation frequencies (%) were calculated according to the three crack size classes .An additional investigation was conducted to determine whether spawning habitats (such as cracks) were shared between fish species, such as P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi in each stream section (5 km) was estimated after an investigation of the spawning behavior of P. tenuicorpa in the cracks. To determine the brood parasitism rate (%) of P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi, we used snorkeling to find all the nests of C. herzi located in each stream section, from which the number of C. herzi nests spawned by P. tenuicorpa was counted. The number of C. herzi spawned by P. herzi also helped to determine the sharing status of the spawning habitats based on the nests of C. herzi spawned by both P. tenuicorpa and P. herzi in cracks. Similar to the considerations for cracks, the sharing status of the spawning habitats was divided into four types . From these findings, the brood parasitism rate (%) of P. tenuicorpa and P. herzi in the nests of C. herzi was calculated as follows:The brood parasitism of C. herzi, 5 nests spawned by P. tenuicorpa were randomly selected, and the number of P. tenuicorpa eggs was measured over 9 days for a total of 15 nests. These 15 nests were selected considering those spawned by P. tenuicorpa less than a day later. After marking the selected 15 nest entrances with PVC bars, the number of eggs was counted through snorkeling during the morning hours (8:00 to 10:00 A.M.). A total of five  measurements were made on alternate days to eliminate the effect of disturbance on the measurement of the number of eggs in each nest as much as possible. The preservation rate of the eggs in each nest was calculated as follows:In order to determine the egg preservation rate (%) over time in the nests of C. herzi spawned by P. tenuicorpa per stream section were investigated. Underwater cameras were installed to observe the invading and spawning times of P. tenuicorpa in each nest of C. herzi for approximately 8 days during the spawning period of C. herzi; the invading and spawning rates of P. tenuicorpa per day were determined using the recorded data. The invading (6) and spawning rates (7) were calculated as follows:Furthermore, 10 randomly selected nests of C. herzi identified in the Jucheon Stream and Pyongchang Stream, located in the Han River area, were compared to those in the two streams of the Geum River (upstream of Geum River and Gurang Stream) and the three streams of the Nakdong River . From each stream, two sections (5 km) were selected, as in the case of the Han River, and the numbers of cracks and nests of C. herzi located in each section were counted through snorkeling. The cracks were divided into <5 cm, 6\u201310 cm, and >11 cm sections to maintain consistency in the investigation.The numbers of cracks and nests of P. tenuicorpa and the ten environmental variables. Furthermore, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the differences in (1) the ten environmental variables between the streams; (2) the number of cracks, spawning ratio, and egg number in the cracks; and (3) the numbers of cracks per size  and nests of C. herzi between the seven streams . Tukey\u2019s honest significant difference (HSD) test was performed for additional post hoc comparison analysis in order to determine which of the differences were statistically significant. This statistical analysis method is suitable for identifying differences between values and has been used in various ecological studies. When applying statistical analysis, we used log-transformation to convert the data . This measure minimized the differences in the range of values so that statistical differences could easily be identified. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 20 . Differences and relationships were considered significant at p < 0.05.We utilized a stepwise multiple regression analysis to examine the relationship between the abundance of P. tenuicorpa. In this area, the water velocity was in the range of 1.8 to 2.2 m/s, and the DO was in the range of 124 to 131%, which is characteristic of the upper part of the stream. The conductivity (134\u2013164 \u00b5s/cm), turbidity (2.2\u20132.8 NTU), TN (0.613\u20130.684 mg/L), TP (0.011\u20130.016 mg/L), and Chl.a (0.8\u20131.3 \u00b5g/L) were found to have relatively low values and supported by the good water quality. The ten environmental variables no significant differences between the five streams (p > 0.05). In contrast to the environmental variables, the density of P. tenuicorpa was clearly different across the five streams , p < 0.05). The comparison using post hoc tests revealed significant differences between three groups  and Pyeongchang Stream ; B-group = Gapyeong Stream ; and C-group = Inbuk Stream  and Soyang Stream ). P. tenuicorpa was the most abundant in Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream, whereas it was lowest in Gapyeong Stream. The results of multiple regression analysis between the abundance of P. tenuicorpa and ten environmental variables were not statistically significant (p > 0.05).P. tenuicorpa were most frequently observed in cracks, followed by the nests of C. herzi  of P. tenuicorpa from Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream was more than 80%, and that in the remaining three streams was in the range of 40\u201360%. The spawning rate of P. tenuicorpa in 6\u201310 cm cracks in Gapyeong Stream, Inbuk Stream, and Soyang Stream was in the range of 41\u201344%, whereas that in Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream was less than 20%. The results of the post hoc tests showed significant differences in spawning ratio (%) between the three size classes of cracks in Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream , B-Group = 6\u201310 cm , and C-group = >11 cm ; Pyeongchang Stream, A-group = <5 cm , B-Group = 6\u201310 cm , and C-group = >11 cm ).The spawning rate (%) of P. tenuicorpa were spawned in cracks larger than 11 cm in Gapyeong Stream. The number of P. tenuicorpa eggs in each crack ranged from 800 to 1000, and the difference based on crack size was minimal. In addition, there was little difference in the number of P. tenuicorpa eggs between the streams.No eggs of P. tenuicorpa spawned in different cracks gradually decreased over time (The egg preservation rate (%) of ver time . HoweverP. tenuicorpa or P. herzi alone. The fish mainly spawned in cracks larger than 6 cm and preferred cracks larger than 11 cm as spawning habitats. Cracks smaller than 5 cm were spawning habitats only for P. tenuicorpa, and eggs of P. herzi were not found in them. The eggs of P. tenuicorpa were found in cracks of all size classes, being the most abundant in cracks smaller than 5 cm.No cracks of any size class were shared as a common spawning habitat among more than two fish species . Each crP. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi was different between the five streams (p < 0.05). The brood parasitism rate (%) of P. tenuicorpa from Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream was low (less than 20%), whereas it was relatively high (at 64%) in Gapyeong Stream. In Inbuk Stream and Soyang Stream, it was 38% and 39%, respectively. Moreover, the nests of C. herzi were not shared with other fish, similar to the cracks. In most of the C. herzi nests, the eggs of P. herzi were observed more frequently than those of P. tenuicorpa. As an exception, in the nests of C. herzi in Gapyeong Stream, the egg observation rate of P. tenuicorpa was higher than that of P. herzi. In contrast to the case of fine stone meat, the brood parasitism rate of P. herzi in the nests of C. herzi was similar, in the range of 28\u201333% for all streams. However, except for Gapyeong Stream, the proportion of unspoiled nests of C. herzi spawned by P. tenuicorpa or P. herzi was higher than that of the nests of C. herzi in the four remaining streams.In each stream section, the brood parasitism (%) of P. tenuicorpa spawned in the nests of C. herzi in each stream were stably preserved for 9 days , excluding Gapyeong Stream, the early invading and spawning rate of P. tenuicorpa was less than 35%, but in Gapyeong Stream, the rates were 62% and 58%, respectively. Six to seven days after the early invasion and spawning of P. tenuicorpa in all the streams, no further invasion and spawning of P. tenuicorpa occurred in the nests of C. herzi.The early invading and spawning rate in the nests of  streams . The invP. tenuicorpa in the seven streams, including two streams of the Han River, the numbers of cracks were found to differ between the streams (Comparing the abundance of cracks which were spawning habitats for  streams .p < 0.05), whereas the number of cracks larger than 21 cm was similar between the streams (range 23 to 29). Cracks smaller than 10 cm and 11\u201321 cm were the most abundant in Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream, located in the Han River basin , whereas the remaining streams  located in the Geum River and Nakdong River areas were characterized by relatively small numbers of cracks. In contrast, the number of C. herzi nests was barely different between the streams , ranging from 12 to 15.Among the three ranges of crack sizes, the numbers of cracks of two size classes (>5 cm and 6\u201310 cm) were clearly different between the seven streams , excepting Jucheon Stream and Pyeongchang Stream, the ratio of selection of a crack smaller than 5 cm and of a gap of 6\u201310 cm as a spawning habitat was relatively high. This implied an increase in the density of P. tenuicorpa in cracks of 6\u201310 cm as an alternative habitat due to the lower availability of cracks smaller than 5 cm in the three abovementioned streams.In this study, P. tenuicorpa for cracks smaller than 5 cm can be understood from the results for the egg preservation rate of each crack size class. Eggs scattered in cracks smaller than 5 cm had a relatively low decreasing rate even after 9 days, whereas only approximately 25% of the eggs were preserved in cracks measuring 6\u201310 cm and >11 cm after 9 days. This meant that cracks of 6\u201310 cm and >11 cm, as spawning habitats for P. tenuicorpa, were riskier than those smaller than 5 cm. We frequently observed predators, such as Pseudobagrus sp. or Odontobutis platycephala, in cracks of around 6\u201310 cm and >11 cm, even during our investigations of the egg retention rates in these gaps. Therefore, the abundance of P. tenuicorpa in the upper reaches of the Han River can be considered to be mostly due to individuals hatched from eggs spawned in cracks smaller than 5 cm.The strong preference of P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi in the upper reaches of the Han River is due to the presence of an optimal spawning habitat, namely, the \u2018crack\u2019, in this area. Using the crack as a spawning habitat has the advantage of investing a relatively low cost while efficiently avoiding predators. In order for P. tenuicorpa eggs to be spawned in a nest of C. herzi, this not only requires the invasion of the nest of C. herzi but will also cost energy in order to resist the defensive behavior of the male protecting the nest. Although the eggs of P. tenuicorpa that are successfully scattered in the nests of C. herzi are protected by C. herzi males so that they are not consumed by other fish, the disadvantages of high energy consumption and hatching/spawning failure during the brood parasitism process include high energy loss. However, the fact that a nest of C. herzi is selected less frequently by P. tenuicorpa does not mean that this is a spawning habitat that they avoid. As described above in the previous paragraph, the selection of a spawning habitat by P. tenuicorpa is flexible, depending on the available environmental conditions. In streams where cracks were abundant, P. tenuicorpa had a high rate of selection of cracks as spawning habitats, even if there were abundant nests of C. herzi, but in streams (Gapyeong Stream) where there were relatively fewer cracks, the proportion of P. tenuicorpa selecting the nests of C. herzi increased. This implied that the nest of C. herzi is an alternative spawning habitat for P. tenuicorpa in the absence or with a lack of cracks.The relatively low spawning rate of P. tenuicorpa is in contrast to that of P. nigra, belonging to the same genus. P. nigra is only distributed in the upper reaches of the Geum River. Previous studies have reported that the spawning of P. nigra is only dependent on brood parasitism in the nests of C. herzi [P. nigra in the nests of C. herzi was the highest during the first 1\u20132 days after the nest formation of C. herzi and gradually decreased thereafter. This behavior possibly aimed to align the spawning period (average 10 days) of P. nigra with the nest protection period (14 days for C. herzi\u2019s spawning period) by C. herzi males. When the C. herzi eggs hatch after 14 days, if the C. herzi male is no longer protecting the nest, all the eggs of C. herzi or P. nigra that have not hatched by that time will be consumed by predatory fish  [P. nigra to evolve so as to utilize spawning habitats other than the nests of C. herzi, just like P. tenuicorpa. Therefore, the nest of C. herzi was the most efficient spawning site for P. nigra in the upper reaches of the Geum River.This spawning habitat selection of C. herzi ,44. The cephala; ,45). In P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi were the highest on the first day after the nest formation of C. herzi, similar to that of P. nigra, and gradually decreased thereafter. However, while the invading and spawning rate of P. nigra in the nests of C. herzi was more than 95%, that of P. tenuicorpa was relatively low, at less than 35%, in four streams , excepting Gapyeong Stream. This implied that the brood parasitism rate of P. tenuicorpa in the nests of C. herzi, distributed in the upper reaches of the Han River, was lower than that in the Geum River. The upper reaches of the Han River were abundant in unspoiled nests not spawned by P. tenuicorpa. As an exception, in the case of Gapyeong Stream, the number of cracks was lower than that in other streams; therefore, the density of P. tenuicorpa using the nests of C. herzi as an alternative spawning habitat increased. The invasion of the nests of C. herzi was attempted by P. tenuicorpa during the first 5 to 6 days after nest formation by C. herzi, and it did not occur after 7 days. This was also presumed to be due to attempts to match the spawning period of P. tenuicorpa with the nest protection period by C. herzi males, as described for P. nigra above.The invading and spawning rates of P. tenuicorpa was due to the preference for and efficiency of abundant cracks smaller than 5 cm as spawning habitats in this area. Although P. tenuicorpa can use both the nests of C. herzi and cracks larger than 6 cm as spawning habitats, both of these spaces are vulnerable to disturbances such as predation, making it difficult to ensure successful hatching and smooth population growth. Since Pseudobagrus sp. and O. platycephala, which utilize the eggs of P. tenuicorpa as a food source, are frequently distributed in the river basin of South Korea, most of the eggs of P. tenuicorpa spawned in cracks larger than 6 cm are consumed and fail to lead to smooth population growth. In the river basins located in South Korea, cracks smaller than 5 cm are the most abundant in the upstream area of the Han River; therefore, P. tenuicorpa has no choice but to distribute based on the upstream area of the Han River. In freshwater ecosystems, the habitat fragmentation of certain species is generally caused by physical barriers , but in the case of P. tenuicorpa, the species cannot disperse to other areas due to the high efficiency of spawning habitats there.From the study results, we concluded that the geographical distribution limit  of P. tenuicorpa distributed around the upper reaches of the Han River evolved from P. herzi. Pungtungia herzi spawns in various spaces, such as giant rocks, gravel, stone cracks, and fish nests [P. herzi requires an efficient spawning habitat to secure continuous population growth. We suspected that P. tenuicorpa is a species derived from P. herzi, with a small size. Small-sized P. herzi accidentally use the narrow cracks of rocks (<5 cm) as a spawning habitat, and the individuals who have succeeded in hatching have continuously reproduced over generations. Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa is the only fish species that can enter cracks as small as 5 cm in the upper reaches of the Han River. The environmental characteristics of the upper reaches of the Han River, which are abundant in cracks smaller than 5 cm, support P. tenuicorpa to evolve. The nest of C. herzi is also an appropriate spawning habitat, since the males protect the nest from predators, hence keeping the eggs safe. In the upper reaches of the Geum River, P. nigra is a species of fish that actively utilizes the advantages of the nests of C. herzi. Since P. nigra rarely chooses a spawning habitat other than the nests of C. herzi, most of the nests of C. herzi constructed in the upper reaches of the Geum River are spawned by P. nigra. Nevertheless, there are still a few spawning habitats that can replace the nests of C. herzi in the upper reaches of the Geum River (in terms of efficiency and successful hatching). However, if cracks were abundant in the upper reaches of the Geum River, P. nigra would not have adopted a strategy of using the nests of C. herzi as a spawning habitat. Based on these considerations, P. nigra can be presumed to be a species evolved from stone meat, similar to P. tenuicorpa.We assumed that sh nests ,47, but sh nests . Based oP. tenuicorpa in cracks smaller than 5 cm was possible through avoidance of the sharing of spawning habitats with other fish species as much as possible. In the upper reaches of the Han River, P. herzi uses spawning habitats in a manner similar to P. tenuicorpa , but the species do not overlap each other in these spawning habitats. Of course, it is possible that P. herzi avoided cracks and the nests of C. herzi spawned by P. tenuicorpa, but P. herzi spawned in a more diverse area than P. tenuicorpa and was not sensitive enough to avoid the area spawned by P. tenuicorpa [C. herzi is used as a common spawning habitat for P. nigra and C. herzi [P. tenuicorpa avoids spaces that are spawned by P. herzi. Instinctively avoiding spaces spawned by other fish may be a strategy used to explore cracks smaller than 5 cm. Since most of the cracks spawned by P. herzi are more than 6 cm in dimension, and cracks smaller than 5 cm are only spawned by P. tenuicorpa, the strategy of avoiding cracks spawned by P. herzi is effective for finding cracks smaller than 5 cm. Such a behavior is also believed to occur in the case of C. herzi nests. Similar to cracks, we did not find any nest of C. herzi where the eggs of P. tenuicorpa and P. herzi were found at the same time. This was possibly because cracks smaller than 5 cm were the preferred spawning habitat of P. tenuicorpa.The efficient spawning of nuicorpa . PreviouC. herzi . This fiP. tenuicorpa.Such a behavior of spawning alone in a location can be found in the cuckoo catfish of Lake Tanganyika. The cuckoo catfish is parasitic, breeding in the mouths of cichlids, which coexist in Lake Tanganyika ,50. HowePseudopungtungia tenuicorpa was registered as a new fish species in 1980. In South Korea, fish monitoring has been conducted for a long time, and clearly, no P. tenuicorpa was recorded in the upper reaches of the Han River before 1980. The morphological characteristics of P. tenuicorpa are clearly different from those of P. herzi or P. nigra, and therefore, the probability of an error in species identification is also low. Subsequently, the P. tenuicorpa distributed in the upper reaches of the Han River was recognized as a species that recently divided from P. herzi. This resulted from the unusual environmental characteristics of abundant cracks in the upper reaches of the Han River. The presence of cracks smaller than 5 cm contributes greatly to the continuous population growth of P. herzi. This is similar to the case of P. nigra in the upstream area of the Geum River, where the conservation of the nests of C. herzi will be important.P. tenuicorpa in the upper reaches of the Han River has been damaged due to disturbance from anthropogenic factors. The inflow of pollutants and damage to sediment materials due to various recreation activities in this area are damaging the cracks or inducing the clogging of cracks. The decline in or extinction of P. tenuicorpa in this area would mean the extinction of the species in South Korea, since this is a species that is only distributed in the upper reaches of the Han River. Although the landscape characteristics of the area have high aesthetic value for humans, minimizing the anthropogenic disturbance caused in the area for the continuous conservation of P. tenuicorpa is highly recommended. In the future, it will be necessary to consider a plan to artificially create cracks smaller than 5 cm for the spawning and growth of P. tenuicorpa.However, recently, the habitat of P. tenuicorpa. Since cracks smaller than 5 cm are difficult for fish other than P. tenuicorpa to access, the eggs of P. tenuicorpa spawned in such cracks are effectively protected from predators. The high spawning efficiency of P. tenuicorpa in these cracks has greatly contributed to their continued population growth in the upper reaches of the Han River. Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa has been designated as an endangered species in Korea due to its geographical distribution limit and low population size in the upper reaches of the Han River; suitable management strategies are required for the continuous conservation of the species. Currently, various anthropogenic activities (recreation and dredging) in this area are affecting and damaging the cracks in the upper reaches of the Han River. Since this river is of high value as a habitat for various fish species in addition to P. tenuicorpa, the options of excluding anthropogenic activities from this area as much as possible and restoring the cracks that have already been lost should be considered seriously.We concluded that the abundance of cracks smaller than 5 cm in the upper reaches of the Han River induced unique spawning behavior and geographical distribution restrictions in"}
+{"text": "Biol. Open (2020) 9, bio051680. doi:10.1242/bio.051680.There were errors published in In The corrected and original figures are shown below. Both the online full-text and PDF versions of the article have been updated. The authors apologise to readers for this error, which does not impact the results or conclusions of this paper."}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is ubiquitous worldwide, with prevalence rates of greater than 70% in Africa. Symptomatic patients present with foregut gastrointestinal symptoms which can be readily diagnosed with standardized non-invasive or invasive tests. The biggest challenge, however, is in the management of this condition with rising antimicrobial resistance rates to most of the antibiotics recommended for therapy. This is a problem worldwide, but more specifically in Africa, where the socio-economic and political climate is such that eradication of this organism seems impossible. Furthermore, the recommended antimicrobial susceptibility testing for drug resistance is not widely available in Africa due to the lack of infrastructural as well as human resources. With the widespread unregulated use of antibiotics in some parts of Africa, the figures of antimicrobial resistance are likely to soar. In the face of these significant challenges, this \u2018perspectives\u2019 article aims to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance in Africa, by providing achievable and targeted goals to curb the spread of infection and rising antimicrobial resistance. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the most common infection in the world, with 4.4 billion people infected [H. pylori prevalence in Africa is limited, two recent meta-analyses reported prevalences of at least 70%, representing the highest pooled rates worldwide [H. pylori has declined in developed nations [infected . Althougorldwide ,2. Altho nations ,3, it is nations . This maH. pylori has an affinity for the gastric mucosa, causing universal inflammation [H. pylori is associated with gastritis, duodenitis, peptic ulcer disease [H. pylori is complex and fraught with challenges in developed nations [H. pylori.ammation . Althoug disease ,7 and va disease . Its mos disease , which h disease ,11. Give disease ,13. Whil nations , but arg nations . This haH. pylori is the alarming rates of widespread antimicrobial resistance to most of the recommended antibiotics that form the backbone of H. pylori therapy [H. pylori in Africa under serious threat. Additionally, the lack of AST facilities contributes to the practice of empiric antimicrobial therapy even after failed second line therapy. Therefore, with competing priorities of eradicating H. pylori vis-\u00e0-vis observing prudent prescribing practices and choosing effective antibiotics to reduce the rate of antibiotic resistance, quo vadis? How do we in Africa move forward? This article aims to interrogate the recommended therapies for H. pylori infection and antimicrobial resistance including AST in terms of its relevance and applicability in Africa, and to suggest practical and achievable approaches to curb this infection. It is hoped that these recommendations will afford clinicians in Africa some hope of adequately managing H. pylori to prevent complications.Unquestionably, however, the most concerning and challenging issue in the management of  therapy ,17. The  therapy . FurtherH. pylori [H. pylori eradication in Africa and highlights the need for better-designed observational or randomized control trials of available therapies to determine best practices in each region. Second-line therapy is determined by prior choices for first-line therapy, drug availability and antimicrobial resistance. If BQT fails, empiric flouroquinolone (triple or quadruple) therapy or high-dose PPI-amoxicillin therapy is recommended, assuming low flouroquinolone resistance [Several international guidelines from across the globe have been published to guide the diagnosis and management of . pylori ,19,20. N. pylori , is stro. pylori . First-l. pylori . In Afri. pylori . This stsistance . If CTT sistance . Althougsistance . Mountinsistance . Moreovesistance  lending sistance . In termsistance ,26, althsistance . Howeversistance . Rifabutsistance , hence iH. pylori management has been evolving since the discovery of the organism, and indeed continues to evolve. One of the most striking and concerning shifts over the last decade has been increasing antimicrobial resistance [H. pylori [H. pylori antimicrobial resistance is currently so alarming that in 2018, the WHO listed clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori as a high-priority organism for the development of new antibiotics [The landscape of sistance . Clarithsistance . Globallsistance ,  of the importance of completing the course of therapy and be warned of potential side effects. In every case, it cannot be overemphasized that patients must be reviewed for symptoms and confirmation of eradication after at least 30 days post-therapy. In Africa, due to the lack of non-invasive testing in some areas, confirmation of eradication is not always done. This poses significant challenges because of the risk of potentiating antimicrobial resistance where treatment success or failure is not documented.The comprehensive management of H. pylori diagnosis and treatment within geographic locations. This may involve sending specimens outside of the region of the treating hospital to neighbouring regions where these facilities exist. To facilitate this, treating clinicians, through their gastroenterology societies, need to reach out to scientists and microbiologists through publications, research platforms and even social media platforms, to enhance awareness. To this end, a group of gastroenterologists and scientists from eight African countries formed the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Group in 2021 [H. pylori management, including research activities, in Africa. This will facilitate collaborations, so that silos are broken down. It is through these efforts that we can consolidate our efforts and reduce redundancy, such that we can collectively apply for funding that will facilitate the setting up of patient and biorepository registries, as well as identify existing laboratories as centralized facilities for the performance of AST. These laboratories can be capacitated to provide training to newly identified laboratories so that this work can be expanded. The aim is to have at least one AST laboratory in each region of Africa . Through this centralized mechanism, using unified protocols, over time, we will be able to accurately report antimicrobial resistance rates across Africa, both between and within regions. In parallel, another practical and short-term strategy would be for Africa to exploit the infrastructure borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic by performing real-time PCR. In this context, it is also possible that H. pylori reagents can be accessed at a cheaper price for AST since the pandemic. This strategy in the long-term will be fortified by a systematic tracking and reporting of practices , H. pylori eradication rates and related outcomes. This information would be a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in that it will bring to the forefront the possibility of an African H. pylori guideline that is context-specific, but, more importantly, evidence-based. These efforts combined will increase the likelihood of successful eradication of this infection. If second-line treatment fails, AST is recommended. As demonstrated, available data in Africa is sparse, and thus not representative. Even when considering available data, there is wide variability in practice, antibiotic resistance rates and availability of antibiotics. Therefore, the most rational and practical approach is to standardize  in 2021 , akin toH. pylori [While it is not practical to recommend population-wide screening, or screening of all family members living in the same household as patients, it is not unreasonable to suggest screening for those with symptoms within families of patients. This could simply involve a screen for symptoms, and, if present, using a non-invasive tool for diagnosis. In Africa, mainly a stool antigen test, and in a few centres, a UBT, are used for non-invasive testing for . pylori . Family H. pylori have been ignored. Both conditions currently have the least public-health-initiative footprint; and yet have very serious complications. The time has come to put H. pylori on the agenda as a serious infection. We need to engage politicians, policy makers, medical regulatory bodies, drug companies, research funding organizations and community leaders to increase awareness around H. pylori infection. We need educational campaigns, not just for healthcare providers, but for patients, too, so that we can collectively take ownership of infection control, e.g., simple measures such as handwashing, improved hygiene and responsible use of antibiotics. Other risk-reducing practices, such as avoiding non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), testing and treating for H. pylori in patients on long-term aspirin, anticoagulants, steroids, etc., and reducing alcohol intake and smoking, are important. These need to be included in the comprehensive management of this disorder. At a wider scale, all governments, through bodies such as the African Union , can be made conscious of the need for improved infrastructure in Africa, to improve the general living conditions of people. This will improve control of the increasing antimicrobial resistance, not just for H. pylori, but for many other bacterial infections that are so common in Africa. Unfortunately, at this stage, neither a vaccine nor probiotics are available in clinical practice, and thus these cannot be included in the armamentarium in the preventative fight against H. pylori.There are many stakeholders in the control of this infection. The burden of infectious disease over decades in Africa has been due to HIV, TB and malaria, with justified focus on these. Meanwhile, infections such as hepatitis B and H. pylori infection is not only the most common infection worldwide, but is a group 1 carcinogen. In 20% of patients with symptomatic infection, it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although the diagnosis of H. pylori is standardized and relatively easy to make, treatment and eradication of the organism is fraught with significant challenges, the most concerning being antimicrobial resistance. Although AST facilities are becoming more commonplace in developed nations, this is certainly not the case in Africa, and with the injudicious use of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance is at crisis point. The immediate priority should be to effectively treat those infected, scale up preventative measures, and involve patients, the medical and scientific professionals, as well as other key stakeholders to combine efforts to successfully eradicate H. pylori. There has been a constant evolution in our understanding of H. pylori; as such, the usual strategies for managing bacterial infections are proving not to be sufficient. In this regard, novel approaches are needed to tackle H. pylori."}
+{"text": "Viola epipsila Ledeb., V. palustris L.) are endangered because the ranges of both species are drastically decreased due to global climatic changes. Their disappearance might also be the result of the formation of interspecific hybrids which can replace the parent species. The study of such species is particularly important because they might be considered as indicators of anthropogenic changes occurring in peatlands and their disappearances. The taxonomic situation of studied species is intricate, and the presence of interspecific hybrids and putative introgressants [V. pubifolia (Kuta) G. H. Loos ] makes it even more complicated. The main goal of our study was to reconstruct the origin of V. pubifolia and its genetic relatedness to both putative parental species\u2014V. palustris and V. epipsila\u2014using advanced molecular methods. The taxonomic problem has been finally solved. We found no basis to separate V. pubifolia as a species in its own right because its morphological characters as well as genetic variation fall well within the range of variability of V. palustris. We have also concluded that the low genetic differentiation and heterozygosity of V. epipsila in Europe might be a cause of the reduced tolerance of this species to changing environmental conditions and can possibly lead to its extinction.The wetland violets of Central and Northern Europe  G. H. Loos , interspecific hybrids, and putative introgressants. The genetic affinity of V. pubifolia to V. palustris, and their shared origin via hybridization followed by polyploidization, were confirmed using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq), and a low-copy nuclear gene, GPI, which encodes glucose-6-phosphate isomerase. The other taxa of subsect. Stolonosae were not identified as putative parents of V. pubifolia by GPI. Our analyses indicated that V. pubifolia can be included in the morphological and genetic variation of V. palustris. The ISSR, RAD-Seq, and genome size value separated well V. palustris from V. epipsila and hybrids. The results also reopen the discussion on intraspecific variation in the context of taxa ranks and species concepts. The reduced tolerance of V. epipsila in Europe to changing environmental conditions might result from low genetic differentiation and heterozygosity, as well as the increased number of interspecific hybrids , and eventually can possibly lead to its extinction. The disappearance of populations/individuals of this species may indicate anthropogenic changes occurring in peatlands.In Europe, the  Viola L. is one of the largest angiosperm genera, comprising ca. 658 recognized species; it consists of two sub-genera, 31 sections, and 20 subsections. It is distributed mainly in the temperate zones of both hemispheres and it occupies a high diversity of habitats and elevations .,30.ViolaV. pubifolia and V. palustris were harvested randomly from plants growing in natural sites. Thirty samples of V. pubifolia and one sample of V. palustris were taken from plants located in the experimental garden , three V. epipsila , three hybrids , and three V. pubifolia  samples were used from the previous research , V. occidentalis, V. macloskeyi, V. renifolia, V. principis, V. vaginata, V. selkirkii, V. mirabilis, V. rubella, V. pusilla, and V. congesta were taken from GenBank accessions , followed by genome duplication [V. palustris [V. palustris, is the result of the knockout or silencing of the B homoeolog. Polyploidization induces genetic and epigenetic processes, including DNA sequence elimination and gene silencing, contributing to the functional diversification or subfunctionalization of duplicated genes, and the genetic and cytological diploidization of allopolyploids. Epigenetic modifications may produce adaptive epimutations and novel phenotypes [This great morphological variability of lication . In sexualustris , new genenotypes ,75,76.V. pubifolia individuals observed at CH or CL blooming can lead to erroneous classification to V. epipsila or hybrid V. epipsila \u00d7 V. palustris [The hairy lower leaf surface and the location of bracts in the middle or even above the middle of the pedicel of alustris ,10.V. palustris but not a hybrid, which is sterile. It should also be taken into account that the shape and hairiness of the leaf blade are seasonally variable; there are also differences between leaves developing on stolons and on rhizomes (stolon leaves are more acute and with a more open sinus). Herbarium specimens in the vegetative stage (only leaves and rhizomes) are impossible to be correctly identified in the V. epipsila\u2014V. palustris group .It is recommended to describe and classify specimens in the field during the period of CH or CL fruiting. Normally developed, the seed-filled capsules indicate Viola as important for biodiversity and nature conservation. The increased number of interspecific hybrids , with a simultaneous reduction in the number of V. epipsila and/or V. palustris individuals or populations V. pubifolia fall well within the range of variability of V. palustris.Morphological characters of (2)V. pubifolia is V. palustris, based on ISSR, GPI, and RAD-Seq.Genetically, (3)V. epipsila confirmed by RAD-Seq might explain its low tolerance to changing environments and the risk of extinction.The low genetic diversity and heterozygosity of selected Central and Northern European populations of (4)V. epipsila populations and the disappearance of its natural habitats suggest that in some areas it might require effective conservation strategies.The declining number of"}
+{"text": "Journal of Clinical Hypertension 24: 1390\u22121391. https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.14353.Ortiz, M.S. (2022), Inconsistencies in the sensitivity and specificity values in a review paper published in Journal of Clinical Hypertension.This note is for the above Letter to the Editor, published online on August 21, 2021 on Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), and has been published by agreement between the Journal's Editor\u2010in\u2010Chief, Dr Ji\u2010Guang Wang, and Wiley Periodicals, LLC. In the above Letter to the Editor, concerns were raised regarding inconsistencies in the sensitivity and specificity values in an article by Morisky et al. published in the"}
+{"text": "Apodemuspeninsulae, Apodemusagrarius, Tscherskiatriton, and Clethrionomysrufocanus) and the seeds of seven plant species  to investigate the differentiation in niches and patterns of resource utilization of sympatric rodents. The results showed that all the rodents had consumed many seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica but differed significantly in how they selected the different seeds. The rate of utilization (iR) of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica exhibited the highest values. The iE values indicated that the rodents tested exhibited differences in their priorities used to select the seeds from different plant species. All four species of rodents exhibited obvious preferences for certain seeds. Korean field mice preferentially consumed the seeds of Q.mongolica, Co.mandshurica, and Pi.koraiensis. Striped field mice favor the seeds of Co.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, P.koraiensis, and Nanking cherry. Greater long-tailed hamsters prefer to consume the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, Pr.salicina, and Ce.tomentosa. Clethrionomysrufocanus likes to eat the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Q.mongolica, Co.mandshurica, and Ce.tomentosa. The results supported our hypothesis that sympatric rodents overlap in food selection. However, each rodent species has a marked preference for food selection, and different rodent species differ in their food preferences. This reflects the role of distinct food niche differentiation in their coexistence.Rodents are well known as both seed predators and dispersers of various plant species in forest ecosystems, and they play an important role in the regeneration of vegetation. Thus, the research on seed selection and vegetation regeneration by sympatric rodents is an interesting topic. To understand the characteristics of preferences of rodents for different seeds, a semi-natural enclosure experiment was performed with four rodent species ( The coexistence of species and the maintenance of biodiversity are important topics of ecological study. Food is an essential resource for survival, so there are obvious effects of differences in food selection and feeding behavior among animal species on their coexistence. Furthermore, the food choices of animals directly affect their survival and reproduction. However, the factors that affect the selection of food by animals in forest ecosystems are very complicated, and the choices of different rodent species of the seeds from different plant species depend on many factors. The characteristics of the seeds of different plant species vary by size ; the conThe selective foraging of all animals is a key factor that affects their survival and reproduction. Animals in nature generally exhibit food preference or selective foraging , and no Large seeds produced by many plant species are a valuable food source for rodents, which often prefer certain seeds from various plant species within their habitats and are capable of accurately distinguishing the seeds with different characteristics . Their iOFT; Seed characteristics, including size and weight ; seed coThe time that seeds are handled is another important factor that influences animal behavior and decision making, and it significantly affects the foraging strategy of rodents . BecauseStudies of animal food choice are significant to understand the co-evolution of animal and plant systems, as well as niche differentiation among sympatric animals . Since rCurrently, the differential selection of seeds of a given plant species by sympatric rodent species has not been well researched. In this study, we used four sympatric rodent species and the seeds of seven plant species distributed in northern temperate forests to investigate the differences in seed choice related to the species under semi-natural enclosure conditions, as well as the effect of seed characteristics on the strategic differentiation in food choice by rodents to gain insight into the niche partitioning of sympatric rodents and its effect on the fate of the seeds of specific plants and vegetation renewal. We hypothesized that sympatric rodents feed on largely similar food items but differ significantly in their preferred choices.44\u00b047'N, 129\u00b007'E) located in Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. The research area is located north of the Changbai Mountain. The climate at the site is dominated by the northern temperate zonal continental monsoon climate, with four distinct seasons and a short frost-free period of approximately 90\u2013115 days. The annual average air temperature is 4.3 \u00b0C, with a maximum of 34.4 \u00b0C and a minimum of -39 \u00b0C. The average annual precipitation is approximately 670 mm. The representative vegetation in the study area primarily includes secondary broad-leaf forest and coniferous broad-leaf forest. At the study site, four rodent species, Apodemuspeninsulae , Apodemusagrarius , Tscherskiatriton , and Clethrionomysrufocanus , rely on seeds as important food sources. Seven sympatric seeds, including Pinuskoraiensis , Corylusmandshurica , Quercusmongolica , Juglansmandshurica , Armeniacasibirica , Prunussalicina , and Cerasustomentosa (Thunberg) Masamune and S. Suzuki 1936), were used in the experiment. Fresh seeds were collected during the fruiting season and then dried naturally at field temperatures until use.This study was conducted from April to June in 2019 in the Zhang Guangcai Mountains in Mudanjiang  seeds (for food) and carrots  (for water) were placed as bait, and cotton rolls were provided as denning material. The cages were placed along two transects in the sample plot at 20 m spaces with one cage per 20 m \u00d7 5 m. On the second day after the cages were placed, the captures were examined, and pregnant females and juveniles were immediately released. Captured adult rodents were transferred to terraria (65 cm \u00d7 35 cm \u00d7 25 cm) covered with wire mesh and supplied with drinking water and a suitable amount of litter, and the terraria were placed in the natural environment.Live rodent samples were caught through cage trapping. In each trap (30 cm \u00d7 25 cm \u00d7 20 cm), fried pumpkin (A.peninsulae (n = 16), A.agrarius (n = 10), T.triton (n = 10), and Cl.rufocanus (n = 9), and a total of 135 seeds from seven plant species was used in the experiment.The captured rodents were allowed one day of acclimation to the new environment and the seeds. Plump seeds were randomly selected from each of seven plant species, and one seed from each species was placed on the feeding plate in a terrarium occupied by one rodent. The order in which the rodent took the seeds was monitored using a video camera. Each rodent was tested for more than three hours, during which all the seeds were consumed, or the rodent no longer selected the seeds. The seeds for experiments were replaced, and the experimental process was repeated. After the experiment had been repeated three times for each rodent, the terrarium was cleaned, and the experimental animal was replaced with another individual. Four sympatric rodent species, i.e., Four semi-natural enclosures (1 m \u00d7 1 m \u00d7 1 m) were constructed on relatively flat terrain in the study area. At one corner of each enclosure, a den was made that contained some cotton rolls to keep the rodent warm, and a small water container was set up and replenished regularly to allow the rodent to drink freely. A feeding plate was placed in the center of the enclosure, which was where the seeds were supplied for the experimental rodent.J.mandshurica seed and two seeds of the remaining plant species were supplied in tests that involved A.peninsulae, A.agrarius, and Cl.rufocanus, and those that involved T.triton. Three seeds from each plant species were supplied to eliminate the effect of consumption capacity and body size of the species of rodent. The rationale was to supply an appropriate amount of food to avoid the situation in which the rodent took all the seeds owing to insufficient food supply or the situation in which it only consumed its most favorite seeds from one or two plant species but not the seeds from other plants. The data from the individuals that died during the experiment were excluded, so 26 A.peninsulae, 17 A.agrarius, 10 T.triton, and 14 Cl.rufocanus were tested using 432 seeds from each of six plant species, i.e., Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, A.sibirica, Pr.salicina, Ce.tomentosa, and 261 seeds from J.mandshurica.Based on the body size of the rodents and their food consumption observed in the previous experiment, one iE) (iE = (iR \u2013 iP) / (iR + iP) in which the seed utilization rate iR =  \u00d7 100%; and the rate of seed availability iP =  \u00d7 100%. The iE ranges from -1 to 1> if iE > 0, the rodent positively selects for the seeds from the species. If iE < 0, the rodent negatively selects. If iE = 0, the rodent exhibits no preference for the seeds, and if iE = -1, the rodent makes no choice at all. Based on the iE value, the preference of rodents for the seeds was categorized into four levels: strongly preferred (iE \u2265 0.5), preferred (iE > 0), barely ate (iE > -0.5), and avoided (iE \u2265 -1).The Ivlev electivity index (Ei)  was usedData processing and statistical analyses were performed with Microsoft Excel 2007  and SPSS 21.0 . The data were subjected to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality and Homogeneity-of-variance tests before processing, and in the case that the data did not comply with parametric assumptions, nonparametric tests were conducted. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the differences in the choice of seeds from different plant species by the same species of rodent, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to perform pair-wise comparisons of the differences in food choice between different species of rodents. Descriptive statistics were expressed as the mean \u00b1 SD. The level of statistical significance was set to \u03b1 = 0.05, and high statistical significance was set to \u03b1 = 0.01.T.triton was 16.57 \u00b1 2.47 (n = 30), which was significantly higher than those of A.peninsulae , Cl.rufocanus , and A.agrarius . Apodemuspeninsulae consumed significantly more seeds than A.agrarius. The species also showed differences in the amounts of each type of seed consumed at each feeding.The consumption of food differed significantly among the four species of rodents. The amount of all the seeds taken each time by ir) on different seeds, but they all had a higher total rate of consumption on the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica. Among them, A.peninsulae consumed 85.90% of the Q.mongolica seeds, 67.95% of the Co.mandshurica seeds, and 64.10% of the Pi.koraiensis seeds. Apodemusagrarius consumed 61.76% of the Co.mandshurica seeds, 57.84% of the Q.mongolica seeds, and 54.90% of the Pi.koraiensis seeds. Tscherskiatriton consumed 100% of the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica, and in addition to the J.mandshurica seeds, T.triton consumed more of the seeds of other plant species than the other species of rodents . Cl.rufocanus consumed 65.31% of the Pi.koraiensis seeds, 54.08% of the Q.mongolica seeds, and 47.96% of the Co.mandshurica seeds . The seeds of A.sibirica, Pr.salicina, and Ce.tomentosa accounted for 45.47% of the food spectrum of T.triton  of Q.mongolica, Co.mandshurica, and Pi.koraiensis . It rarely ate the seeds of A.sibirica or J.mandshurica  and avoided those of Pr.salicina and Ce.tomentosa . The favored seeds were consumed at significantly higher levels than the others (P < 0.001). The species consumed more seeds of Q.mongolica than those of Pi.koraiensis or Co.mandshurica , and it favored the seeds of A.sibirica over those of J.mandshurica or Pr.salicina . It did not show a preference between the seeds of J.mandshurica and Pr.salicina .Apodemusagrarius noticeably preferred certain seeds , those of Co.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, Pi.koraiensis, and Ce.tomentosa . It rarely ate the seeds of Pr.salicina (iE : -0.417), and it avoided those of A.sibirica and J.mandshurica with a significantly higher consumption of the favored seeds over the others (P < 0.05). The species consumed more seeds of Co.mandshurica or Q.mongolica than those of Ce.tomentosa , and it favored the seeds of Pr.salicina over those of A.sibirica .Tscherskiatriton exhibited obvious preferences for certain seeds , consuming the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, Q.mongolica, P.salicina, and Ce.tomentosa  and rarely ate those of A.sibirica (iE:-0.007). This rodent entirely avoided those of J.mandshurica (iE: -0.972). The species consumed more seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica than those of Pr.salicina  or Ce.tomentosa , but it showed no preference among the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica or among those of P.salicina, Ce.tomentosa, and A.sibirica . However, the seeds of J.mandshurica (P < 0.001) were the least preferred.Clethrionomysrufocanus exhibited obvious preferences for certain seeds  and preferentially consumed the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Q.mongolica, Co.mandshurica, and Ce.tomentosa , while it rarely ate those of Pr.salicina (iE: -0.416). It avoided those of A.sibirica and J.mandshurica . Among its favored seeds, the species consumed more seeds of Pi.koraiensis than of Co.mandshurica  and more seeds of Pi.koraiensis and Q.mongolica than those of Ce.tomentosa . It exhibited no significant difference in selecting the seeds of Q.mongolica, Pi.koraiensis, and Co.mandshurica  while it showed no preference between the seeds of Co.mandshurica and Ce.tomentosa .iE: df = 3, P < 0.05; Table The four rodent species exhibited differences in the choice of seeds from the same plant species . They were higher than those of A.peninsulae  or T.triton .Co.mandshurica, the preference by A.agrarius was the greatest, similar to that of Cl.rufocanus  and higher than that of A.peninsulae  or T.triton .For the seeds of Q.mongolica, A.peninsulae liked them the most and had levels of preference similar to that of A.agrarius  and Cl.rufocanus , while that of T.triton was significantly lower than that of each of the remaining three species  .For the seeds of A.peninsulae for J.mandshurica seeds was significantly greater than that of each of the other rodent species .The preference of A.sibirica, T.triton most strongly preferred these seeds, and it significantly preferred them than each of the other rodent species ; that of A.peninsulae was also higher than that of A.agrarius  or Cl.rufocanus .For the seeds of Pr.Salicina, the preference by T.triton was the greatest and significantly higher than that of each of the other rodent species , among which there was no difference in preference .For the seeds of Ce.tomentosa, three rodent species, A.agrarius, T.triton, and Cl.rufocanus exhibited no differences in preferences; A.peninsulae exhibited no choice at all .For the seeds of iE demonstrated that the four rodent species in this study all favored or preferred the seeds of Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica. These seeds are large and commonly found in boreal forests that have high numbers of J.mandshurica of the appropriate sizes, easily handled, and containing abundant resources. Thus, they have become a favored food for most species of small rodents during the long natural process of evolution. Furthermore, the long history of competition has led to food niche differentiation in sympatric rodents, whose preference for the seeds of certain plant species has largely been demonstrated in this work. Among the three plant species most favored, A.peninsulae preferred the seeds of Q.mongolica; A.agrarius preferred the seeds of Co.mandshurica, and Cl.rufocanus preferred the seeds of Pi.koraiensis. Tscherskiatriton exhibited no preference. The preferences of the four rodent species for the seeds of different plant species reflect a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship that has evolved over a long time. As food resources, the seeds of these plants provide the necessary nutrients for the survival and reproduction of these rodents and thus, affect animal behavior and population dynamics  of these seeds. This resulted in an iR that only accounted for 4.08% of its total food consumption. This result is related to the seed-handling ability of the rodents. Although the seeds of J.mandshurica are rich in nutrients and can provide more benefit in a single seed, they are large and have a hard seed coat, which pose substantial challenges to small rodents during both transport and consumption, making it difficult for them to substantially benefit from the seeds (J.mandshurica. The preferences of the four rodent species in this study for the seeds of A.sibirica, Pr.salicina, and Ce.tomentosa, three sparsely distributed plant species, varied markedly, and the consumption of Ce.tomentosa seeds by A.agrarius and Cl.rufocanus was greater than that of A.sibirica or Pr.salicina, likely owing to differences in the seed-handling abilities of the different species. Apodemusagrarius and Cl.rufocanus are the smallest rodents and therefore, must invest tremendous effort to handle the seeds of A.sibirica and Pr.salicina with their thick, hard seed coats, whereas it is easier for them to handle the smaller seeds of Ce.tomentosa. However, we found that A.peninsulae did not feed on the seeds of Ce.tomentosa, which could be because these seeds are too small to provide sufficient food resources.According to the Optimal Foraging Theory, natural selection has enabled animals to maximize their net benefits during foraging, and the most efficient foraging strategy ensures survival and reproductive success . Many smhe seeds . This isApodemuspeninsulae is the dominant species in the broad-leaved coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests in the north. Apodemusagrarius is primarily distributed in the purlieus of forests. Tscherskiatriton occupies various habitats but dominates in grassland, farmland, and hilly areas, while Cl.rufocanus is primarily distributed in coniferous forest habitats. Moreover, feeding niche differentiation does not necessarily indicate the absence of competition, which is related to the amount of food resources. Abundant food resources enable greater interspecies niche overlap, whereas scarce food resources lead to competition (According to the principle of competitive exclusion, competitors for the same limiting resource cannot coexist, but it is very difficult to directly observe competition in nature, particularly in the cases of interspecific and intraspecific competition in rodents. The food selection results of this study indicate that the four sympatric rodent species compete with each other for food and could have a high degree of niche overlap for the same food resources. However, this study did not account for factors such as differences in the levels of resource availability and competition, which are the outcome of long-term adaptation of the animals to their natural environment, and thus reflect their potential patterns of food resource niche differentiation. Niche differentiation avoids competition and enables sympatric species to coexist despite limited resources, thus enriching biodiversity and being necessary to sustain the coexistence of species . Such nipetition .Pi.koraiensis, Co.mandshurica, and Q.mongolica in a temperate forest in northeast China. Therefore, there are different degrees of overlap in food selection among the sympatric species of rodents because of different degrees of shared food preferences. In order to avoid excessive sympatric competition, rodents adjust their food preference strategies to differentiate feeding niches and thus achieve coexistence.The characteristics of seeds and the intrinsic factors of the rodents exert important effects on the food selection. Rodents can identify different seed properties of the sympatric distribution and form specific feeding preferences. The four rodents all favored the seeds of"}
+{"text": "Sphareothecum destruens, also known as the rosette agent, represents a major risk to global aquatic biodiversity and aquaculture, and has caused severe declines in wild fish populations in Europe and large losses in salmon farms in the USA. It is a species that has been associated with a healthy carrier for millions of years, but in recent decades, the host has managed to invade parts of Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and North Africa. In order to better understand the emergence of this new disease, for the first time, we have synthesized current knowledge on the distribution, detection, and prevalence of S. destruens, as well as the associated mortality curves, and the potential economic impact in countries where the healthy carrier has been introduced. Finally, we propose solutions and perspectives to manage and mitigate the emergence of this fungus in countries where it has been introduced.The emergence of pathogenic fungi is a major and rapidly growing problem (7% increase) that affects human and animal health, ecosystems, food security, and the economy worldwide. The Dermocystida group in particular has emerged relatively recently and includes species that affect both humans and animals. Within this group, one species in particular,  Emerging fungal pathogens pose a growing threat to global health, ecosystems, food security, and the world economy . BetweenBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis, co-introduced with American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus), was responsible for the extinction of at least 500 amphibian species in 54 countries [B. dendrobatidis has caused a loss of more than 40% of amphibian species [B. dendrobatidis) has led to the decline of nearly half of all amphibian species [Aspergillus sydowii) and tilapia fish (epizootic ulcerative syndrome caused by Aphanomyces invadans) [Aphanomyces astaci has caused a dramatic decline in freshwater brown crayfish populations worldwide, through a disease called crayfish plague [Aphanomyces, Branchiomyces, Lagenidium, Saprolegnia sp., Sirolipidium, Phoma, Aphanomyces invaderis, Leptolegnia, and Dictyuchus, and infect a wide variety of farmed fish such as rainbow trout, yellowtail, mackerel, herring, flounder, cod, salmonids, tilapia, carps, etc. [Although fungi have been known for a long time to pose a widespread threat to plants, the impact of fungal infections on animal health has been underestimated until recently, with major declines seen in wildlife due to fungal emergences . Indeed,ountries ,3. In th species . Importanvadans) . Similarh plague . Despiteh plague , i.e., th plague , and thuh plague . The maips, etc. . These oPseudorasbora parva. A healthy carrier of a newly described fungus, the rosette agent Sphaerothecum destruens, in reference to the sphere containing spore-like structures (Sphaerothecum), destruens meaning destructive, once established in the host fish, the infection causes widespread destruction of various tissues [S. destruens is a unicellular eukaryotic fish parasite and an obligate intracellular parasite known as the \u201crosette agent\u201d. This parasite was originally assigned to the category \u201cDermocystidium-like\u201d because it shared similar morphological features with other enigmatic parasites of fish and crustaceans [S. destruens and showed that it shared its most recent common ancestor with the choanoflagellates, a group of sister protists of multicellular animals. Further phylogenetic analyses of the 18S rRNA gene of two Dermocystidium spp., S. destruens, Ichthyophonus hoferi, and Psorospermium haeckeli confirmed their relationship and divergence from the animal\u2013fungal dichotomy [Amoebidium, Anurofeca, Dermocystidium, Ichthyophonus, Pseudoperkinsus, Psorospermium, Rhinosporidium, Sphaeroforma, and Ichthyophonida sp. [Dermocystida includes Dermocystidium spp., Rhinosporidium seeberi, and S. destruens, which share the ability to cause infections in animals. For example, more than 20 species of Dermocystidium spp. cause infections in carp, goldfish, salmonids, eels, newts, and frogs [S. destruens with animals, fungi, and choanoflagellates in the super-group Opisthokonta [In 2005, a global risk of disease emergence for freshwater fish biodiversity was identified in Europe and directly linked to the accidental introduction in the early 1960s of the highly invasive Asian gudgeon, also named topmouth gudgeon  tissues . Since t tissues . S. deststaceans . Kerk etstaceans  were theichotomy . Based oichotomy  assignedichotomy . Subsequichotomy ,17, previchotomy . The cland frogs . HoweverP. parva [S. destruens is considered to be a generalist parasite with a wide host range [P. parva. Our objective was to synthesize the latest knowledge on the distribution, detection, and prevalence of S. destruens in invasive and native fish host populations, as well as to review the biology and pathology of S. destruens and the economic impact of this disease in wild and farmed aquatic animals.Published data indicate ancient host\u2013parasite coevolution with multiple introduction events occurring across Europe from admixed host population sources of P. parva ,21. Furtst range ,22 and hS. destruens first emerged in salmonids in the USA and was first described in 1984 [Oncorhyncus tshawytscha brood stock, reared in seawater net-pens in Puget Sound, Washington, DC, USA. These mortalities could not be attributed to previously known pathogens. The diseased fish were anemic with marked lymphocytosis and had enlarged kidneys and spleens. Light and electron microscopic examinations of the spleen and kidney tissues revealed the presence of numerous intracellular spherical organisms of 3\u20137 \u00b5m in size with chemical and structural characteristics similar to marine algae or fungi. The infectious agent responsible has been described as a systemic protist and has been termed a \u201crosette\u201d or \u201cchinook rosette agent\u201d because of the clustered organization of organisms observed in the stained tissues of infected fish [S. destruens was amplified on the CHSE-214 cell line developed from Chinook salmon embryos and held in the American Type Culture Collection  [Salmo salar received as eyed eggs from Finland and reared in spring water on a private farm in northern California, USA, were reported [S. destruens RA-2 was deposited at the ATCC (Accession Number #50644) [O. tshawytscha broodstock from Sacramento River maintained at the Bodega Marine Laboratory  in collaboration with the Coleman National Fish Hatchery  and several state and federal agencies [S. destruens was first detected in a few 1991 brood year salmon (14\u201316 months old) that had never been transferred to seawater since their arrival from the original freshwater hatchery (CNFH). Subsequently, the parasite was detected in wild adult late-fall-run O. tshawytscha returning to freshwater to spawn in the upper Sacramento River. Since 1994, surveillance by the California\u2013Nevada Fish Health Center has demonstrated the presence of S. destruens in up to 32% of late-fall-run adult O. tshawytscha returning to Battle Creek on the Upper Sacramento River, suggesting the persistence of the disease in the BML and a potential risk of disease emergence. A third isolate, named RA-3 or BML strain, was isolated from O. tshawytscha-infected kidneys, amplified in fish cell lines, and also deposited at ATCC (Accession number #50615).The disease caused by  in 1984 . Betweented fish . This fi #50643) . A few yreported . Althougreported , it was  #50644) . Finallyagencies . Among tS. destruens was only reported in salmonids reared on the northwest coast of the USA . However, in 2005, Gozlan et al. [S. destruens disease in invasive populations of Pseudorasbora parva in Europe, but also in the non-native cyprinid Leucaspius delineatus (sunbleak) in England [L. delineatus in Europe coincided with the initial introduction of P. parva into Romanian ponds in 1960 near the Danube, followed by its rapid spread throughout Europe, they hypothesized that Asian populations of P. parva might represent the asymptomatic carrier of S. destruens. Their results not only provided the first occurrence of the disease outside North America, but also showed for the first time that several species of cyprinids were also susceptible to S. destruens and could develop the disease, thus extending the potential host range of this parasite [P. parva populations could represent asymptomatic carriers of S. destruens. Importantly, their work pioneered the use of targeted molecular tools to detect S. destruens in infected fish [S. destruens, also named UK-Cefas1, was extracted from tissues (kidney and liver) of wild-infected L. delineatus following cohabitation experiments with P. parva [S. destruens infections in L. delineatus and salmonids were noted, RA-4 isolate showed genetic variability compared with the three American isolates  [For several years, the disease caused by n et al.  were the England ,28. As tparasite ,28. Furtted fish . The RA-P. parva . Althoug2, RA-3) ,28.P. parva populations in freshwater ecosystems  were also found to be infected with S. destruens [Oxynoemacheilus sp. (Nemacheilidae), Petroleuciscus smyrnaeus, Squalius fellowesii, and the non-native Lepomis gibbosus (Percidae) as well as farmed seabass Dicentrarchus labrax (Moronidae) cohabiting with invasive wild populations of P. parva were found to be infected by S. destruens. Kidney, liver, spleen, and gonad tissues were all tested for the presence of the parasite using PCR assays and histological examinations, confirming its wide host range as well as its broad cellular tropism [P. parva were first reported in 1980 [S. destruens in 12 individuals of P. parva caught in a small tributary stream of the Adour River near Dax, France [S. trutta) and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) at an experimental facility, followed in 2016 by a second unusual episode of fish mortalities at a rainbow trout farm, both located in southwest France. In both outbreaks, kidneys, livers, and spleens were collected for histological and molecular examination and revealed the presence of foreign cells 2\u20134 \u00b5m in diameter with eosinophilic inclusions and were observed to be single or arranged in rosettes (spores aggregates) consistent with S. destruens. Sequencing of PCR products revealed a disease prevalence of 80% and 100% in O. mykiss and S. trutta, respectively [P. parva and other native species were collected and screened by PCR for the presence and prevalence of S. destruens [S. destruens in freshwater sites in France with at least five out of 10 of the sampling sites, such as Ain , Indre , Gironde (south-western France), Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne, and Corsica island (south-eastern France), where S. destruens DNA was detected in five native fish species and one P. parva population [S. destruens can tolerate. Other invasive populations of P. parva have been found to be infected and carrying S. destruens in the UK and Spain with a prevalence of 5% in both populations [Invasive estruens ,31. In T tropism . In Fran in 1980  and a su in 1980 . In 2016 in 1980  showed t, France . Just on, France  reportedectively . In Franestruens . The respulation . Furtherulations .S. destruens has been reported to date is among native P. parva populations in China [P. parva populations in its native and invasive range to detect the presence of the parasite by PCR assays targeting the 18S rRNA gene. In the native range, among 10 Chinese populations collected in different locations [S. destruens in nine populations with a prevalence ranging from 0 to 10% depending on the population tested and an overall prevalence of 6%. By analyzing the ITS-1 region of geographically distinct S. destruens isolates, [S. destruens isolates clustered together, Turkish isolates were distinct, although more closely related to British and Chinese isolates, and American isolates formed another clade.Finally, the third region of the world where in China , and morin China  used Gozocations , they wesolates,  showed aS. destruens is mainly linked to the presence and introduction of the healthy carrier P. parva. It is therefore logical to assume that where P. parva was introduced, S. destruens has also been introduced, although not all local populations have been formally tested yet. Previous studies have suggested coevolution between P. parva and S. destruens lineages [P. parva populations, which would have contaminated their American counterparts during their migratory movement in the North Pacific. Indeed, Arkush et al. [S. destruens. Therefore, it is expected that the American strains will be closely related to Japanese strains when the latter are tested.Taken together, these results show that the presence of lineages ,37, indilineages . Finallylineages  suggest h et al.  reportedSphaerothecum destruens causes low-level mortalities, which makes it difficult to identify in wild fish populations. In many cases, whether in a pond, lake, or watershed setting, few will be aware of the mortalities that follow the arrival of the healthy P. parva carrier [Leucaspius delineatus populations, which have disappeared from the whole of Europe with a few residual pockets that would merit a targeted and rapid conservation plan [S. destruens was observed in aquaculture systems [P. parva is introduced into an aquatic ecosystem where susceptible species are present, there will be an initial release of spores, probably in the feces or during reproduction. These spores in contact with fresh water will produce zoospores which will then contaminate other fish. Contamination by predation may also occur. In the first few weeks after introduction into a pond, no mortality will be observed and then, with time, the susceptible species will be less and less abundant without any mortality being observed from the edge of the pond. This can lead to complete extinction. In small aquaculture ponds, it is easier to observe mortalities, as was the case in the USA with salmonids.The parasite  carrier ,38. Firs carrier ,38,39. Tion plan ,40. Loca systems ,26, wher systems . When P.S. destruens in the different species tested, whether in aquariums, ponds, or at the level of a catchment area, shows a very similar mortality curve for susceptible species with the majority of mortalities occurring in the first two months and then spreading out over time towards a spiral of extinction [S. destruens. Andreou et al. had shown the impact of temperature on the production and longevity of rosette agent zoospores, with zoospore production being more spread out at low temperatures  and faster at high temperatures . However, the number of zoospores produced remains the same overall, regardless of temperature. Additionally, in the natural environment, the physiological state of the hosts and their level of stress, which has an indirect impact on the efficiency of the immune system, can also explain these differences in the mortality curves . This indicates the crucial indirect role played by P. parva on S. destruens-related mortalities.The emergence of tinction ,32,39. Htinction ,39,41, Fy curves . Indeed,l basins , in reseestruens , or evenS. destruens and its mechanisms of entry into cells, replication, and transmission still remain poorly documented. S. destruens is an obligate intracellular (intracytoplasmic) eukaryotic parasite. Its life cycle consists of (i) a spherical spore stage observed both in in vitro cell cultures and infected fish tissues, ranging in size from 2\u20134 \u00b5m in diameter for undivided stages and 4\u20136 \u00b5m in diameter for dividing stages [Rhinosporidecae member Dermocystidium salmonis [S. destruens spores significantly increased at 20 \u00b0C. Later, Andreou et al. [The life cycle of g stages ,26 and , PAS-positive (Periodic Acid Schiff), argyrophilic (Warthin\u2013Starry and Grocott\u2019s), and basophilic (Giemsa staining), but not acid-fast (Ziehl\u2013Neelsen) [S. destruens spores are composed of a well delineated trilaminar cell wall which is coated by a dense fibrogranular layer that forms the partitions between dividing daughter cells [S. destruens cell wall is separated from the host cell cytoplasm by an intermediate amorphous region and an electron-dense layer with another membrane originating from the host cell [S. destruens enters the host cell by endocytosis or phagocytosis. Spores contain ribosome-laden cytoplasm with scattered segments of rough endoplasmic reticulum, numerous vesicular mitochondria, and a single nucleus  . S. dester cells . The S. ost cell , potenti nucleus . NumerouS. salar , winter-awytscha ,24,26, alineatus .S. destruens infection. Although Harrell et al. [S. destruens disease in O. tshawytscha, Elston et al. [S. destruens (using CHSE-214 cell line) from infected fish and validated the realization of Koch\u2019s postulates. At that time, they were able to describe the intracellular localization of S. destruens in macrophages and endothelial cells and confirmed the intracellular nature of the parasite by electron microscopy. They also observed focal areas of S. destruens proliferation in the spleen and kidney with necrosis of adjacent tissues [S. destruens ultimately leads to host cell death [S. salar revealed widely disseminated nodules in the kidney, spleen, liver, and gonads, with splenic and hepatic lesions characterized by granulomas surrounded by multiple layers of fibroblastic cells and macrophages containing numerous parasites [S. destruens spores were mainly observed within macrophages (and to a lesser extent within host cells), cell-free S. destruens spores have also been reported [Histopathology is associated with l et al.  were then et al.  were the tissues , suggestll death . Internaarasites . Althougreported . Signs oreported .O. tshawytscha [S. salar [S. destruens spores were often seen in the central areas and in or between the macrophages of the granulomas. This nodular form, characteristic of fish with an immune response and therefore able to contain infections, was mainly observed in visceral organs such as the liver, kidney, and spleen, but also in the heart, the mesentery surrounding the intestinal tract, and between the pyloric cecae [S. destruens spores in various organs and cells, including kidney, liver, spleen, heart, gills, brain, ovary, testes, and hindgut, as well as hematopoietic, epithelial, and mesenchymal cells [S. destruens with the absence or low expression of host cell immune responses [S. destruens spores were observed both in intra- and extracellular locations in tissues and as single rosettes or as aggregates of 4\u20135 rosettes. Disseminated infections included enlargement and pallor of the liver, kidney, and spleen and showed little macrophages or fibroblast proliferation around the lesions, while areas of oedema and focal necrosis were present in close proximity to S. destruens spore proliferation [S. destruens disease, kidney tissues were characterized by necrosis, loss of tubules, membranous glomerulonephritis, and necrotizing intestinal nephritis. Single or rosette structures of S. destruens spores were observed in the cytoplasm of the biliary epithelium and renal tubules and in the lumen of bile ducts, suggesting that bile and urine might be routes of S. destruens excretion. Necrosis of the renal tubular epithelium and multifocal hepatocellular necrosis were also reported. Spleen tissues contained numerous S. destruens spores, single or in aggregates, in the pulp spaces of the spleen and in the cytoplasm of sinusoidal macrophages and reticuloendothelial cells. Rosettes of S. destruens were found in the lumina and tunicae media of splenic arterioles where they were accompanied by segmental necrotizing vasculitis. In early infections (subadult fish), S. destruens was sometimes observed in the gill vessels, while in advanced infections (adult fish), it was often found in subserosal aggregates in the swimbladder, mainly in macrophages, regardless of the type of lesions. It has sometimes been reported that S. destruens was found in the epidermis, urine, seminal and ovarian fluids, and in the mucosa of the intestine, suggesting that the gut epithelium, skin, and gills could represent a second route of S. destruens excretion  a al cells ,46. Thisesponses ,26. S. dL. delineatus (Cyprinidae) in the UK (Stoneham Lakes) were similar to those reported in O. tshawytscha from the USA, although some authors found slight differences, such as the presence of S. destruens spores in giant cells and the observation of only the smallest (2\u20134 \u00b5m) spore morphology [L. delineatus (80% of infected fish) [S. destruens infection induced hepatocellular necrosis [S. destruens spores have been found in macrophages and giant cell formation has been reported. Various stages of granulomas have been described, ranging from enlarged macrophage aggregates surrounded by a single-cell layer of connective tissues to well demarcated lesions surrounded by a thick fibroblast layer [The disease and pathology observed in wild populations of infected rphology ,45,46. Ted fish) ,45. Numenecrosis  and an iDermocystidium develop numerous spores 5\u20138 \u00b5m in diameter contained in cysts (a sac-like pocket) that average 0.5\u20131.1 mm in size and are localized between the epithelial (extracellular) tissues of the fish host without the expression of a host inflammatory response [Dermocystidium salmonis, once the spores mature, they differentiate into multiple flagellated zoospores that are about 1 \u00b5m in diameter, which are released from the cyst and are then able to reinfect the gill epithelium of a new fish host [Dermocystidium cyprini is also known to have a flagellated zoospore stage in its life cycle [S. destruens has been found to be quite similar to Dermocystidium macrophagi infections in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss [Dermocystidium sp. described from S. trutta and S. salar cultured in Ireland [Dermocystidium sp. [S. destruens spores infecting winter-run O. tshawytscha [S. salar [Rhinosporidium have a different life cycle to the genus Dermocystidium and S. destruens in that they have mature spherical sporangia  between 40 and 400 \u00b5m in diameter that release infective spores through a pore. The released spores then increase in size until they become mature sporangia containing hundreds of spores and the cycle begins again. Members of the genus Rhinosporidium cause disease in humans, dogs, cattle, horses, and swans that is characterized by the formation of polyps, usually on the mucous membranes of the nose or nostrils, eyes, and mouth, with a chronic granulomatous inflammatory response consisting of mononuclear cells, polymorphic nuclear cells, and, in some cases, giant cells [S. destruens differs from that of members of Dermocystidium and Rhinosporidium since the spore stages are found as intracellular parasites of host cells, infecting and replicating mainly in visceral organs where they cause a chronic granulomatous disease and only produce zoospores when released into freshwater [Although members of the order Dermocystida share the ability to cause infections in animals, their phenotypic characteristics and the diseases they cause are very different . Their lresponse . In Dermish host . Dermocyfe cycle . The exis mykiss  and Derm Ireland , althougdium sp.  has not awytscha  or S. saS. salar . Membersnt cells . Therefoeshwater .Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis that causes chytridiomycosis in amphibians, the life cycle and mechanisms of the pathogenicity of S. destruens appear to be very different, although they exhibit intracellular parasitism. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis compromises epidermal tissues of bullfrogs by colonizing keratin-containing cells [S. destruens and the mechanisms of pathogenicity in infected fish hosts are specific to this parasite and also highlight the need for further study of its mechanisms of entry into cells, its modes of replication in infected cells, and the direct infectivity of zoospores.When compared with more phylogenetically distant fungal pathogens, such as the well known ng cells . Patholong cells . Death ong cells . The aseng cells . The zoong cells . AlthougS. destruens in populations of different susceptible host species, there is a large variability between species. Prevalence is measured here by the number of PCR-positive individuals with the rosette agent in all the fish tested within a population. We therefore observe prevalences that fluctuate from 100% to 2% depending on the species tested in the cyprinidae family, and from 98% to 3% in salmonids , the authors found a trend towards host specificity, with O. tshawytsch being the most susceptible species to S. destruens, followed by coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, brown trout Salmo trutta, and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, the latter showing resistance to infection by S. destruens [P. parva captured from wild pond populations in Hampshire, UK, originally introduced in 1985 from German Danube populations. Their results showed up to 69% mortality of L. delineatus under laboratory conditions and up to 96% mortality of fish in natural ponds. By implementing the first PCR-based DNA detection tool targeting a small fragment of ribosomal DNA (18S rRNA gene) [S. destruens, they were able to estimate the prevalence of the disease to be 67% in L. delineatus and 20% in the fathead minnow P. promelas. Conventional bacteriological, virological, parasitological, and histological examinations were carried out on moribund L. delineatus fish and showed extensive infections of visceral organs by an intracellular parasite with characteristics similar to those of the previously described rosette agent in O. tshawytscha [S. salar [P. parva populations sampled in the Meuse floodplain were infected with a disease prevalence of up to 67% at the Everlose Beek site and 74% and 25% for the Teelebeek site. In addition to the invasive P. parva populations, a disease prevalence of 25% was found in the native Gasterosteus aculeatus (Gasterosteidae). In Turkey, in the Sari\u00e7ay stream in Mugla, S. destruens was found by PCR in Oxynoemacheilus sp. , P. smyrnaeus , S. fellowesii , D. labrax , and L. gibbosus . Based on these results, Ercan et al. [S. destruens in the extinction events observed in Turkey since 2009 in Oxynoemacheilus sp., P. smyrnaeus, and S. fellowesii. Finally, in France, S. destruens was detected in populations of P. parva , bleak Alburnus alburnus , European bittern Rhodeus amarus , roach Rutilus rutilus , gudgeon Gobio gobio , and minnow Phoxinus phoxinus  [P. parva populations had a low parasite prevalence and did not develop the disease.Using the RA-3 isolate, Arkush et al.  experimeestruens . In addiestruens ,28 conduNA gene)  and thenawytscha ,26 and SS. salar . SpikmanS. salar ,31 foundn et al.  highlighence 2%) . The P. P. parva carrier to take into account the species present in the community. However, one hundred percent of the species tested or analyzed for mortalities related to S. destruens were found to be susceptible to this infectious agent. This also applies to percids, such as pumkindseed L. gibbosus, or even marine species, such as sea bass D. labrax, as studies have shown that S. destruens spores survive very well in both salt and freshwater [Dermocystida), it would be useful to test the susceptibility of amphibians and invertebrates, such as certain crayfish, to the rosette agent to see if we are indeed dealing with an infectious agent of fish. Indeed, the pathogenic fungi of this group affect fish as well as amphibians and humans [S. destruens should be tested beyond the simple fish group.It is therefore very important in an infectious risk analysis following the arrival of a healthy eshwater . In viewd humans ,17,19 anL. delineatus, R. amarus, or even L. gibbosus that depend on high reproduction to maintain populations will show a more visible decline more quickly. In effect, the emergence and high mortalities of S. destruens in O. tshawytscha stocks have occurred in juvenile or smolting salmons and not in brood stocks [S. destruens was found in 30% of returning salmon, showing that they survived infection , which S. destruens were observed in salmon farms in the USA with losses of up to 98% of juvenile salmon stocks. In such a situation, assessment of the economic cost is fairly straightforward as each fish has an economic value defined by aquaculture production in a specific national context. Where the economic impact is more complicated to assess is in the context of wild populations. In their recent assessments of the economic costs of invasive species, Diagne et al. [S. destruens. However, environmental agencies in general assess that the primary risk of impact from the introduction of P. parva on native fish populations is essentially the infectious risk from the emergence of S. destruens. Based on the data on the emergence of S. destruens in the absence of the healthy carrier P. parva, it is reasonable to assume that the risk posed by S. destruens would no longer be endemic, as has occurred in the USA. In this context, England has been a pioneer in managing this risk with the establishment of a program focused on rapid detection and eradication of populations of P. parva carrying S. destruens [P. parva. The cost of eradicating a population of P. parva averaged \u20ac80k over ten years, with 90% of the costs being for the first year of eradication and the remaining 10% being residual costs related to post-eradication monitoring. On this basis, which remains approximate but nonetheless quantitative and specific to the eradication program for populations of the healthy carrier P. parva, it is therefore possible to evaluate the economic cost of controlling S. destruens throughout the European continent based on the number of P. parva populations present in each country. This gives an average cost per country of just over 85M\u20ac, with a minimum cost of about 92k\u20ac for Bosnia and Herzegovina and a maximum cost of about 43M\u20ac for Germany. The total cost of eradicating the healthy carrier of S. destruens in Europe would be around 188M\u20ac  that deserve greater protection against future introductions. Finally, a very important point to remember is that we do not yet have quantitative data on the diversity of strains present and their virulence. Indeed, it is likely that all the identified strains of S. destruens are different on a genetic level, as previously shown on a global scale by Sana et al. [A first conclusion is that the rosette agent carriers . From whulations . Indeed,a et al. . It woulS. destruens very seriously. All studies carried out to date point to rapid declines in fish populations following the introduction of S. destruens into fish farming communities. The first recommendation is the isolation of P. parva populations by controlling the transfer of fish from infected areas to non-infected areas. S. destruens can be transferred by free spores in freshwater, by transport of infected native fish, and also by transfer of infected P. parva. Of these three modes of contamination, the last is the most serious as it allows, in addition to introduction of the pathogen, the introduction of the healthy carrier which will serve as a reservoir for S. destruens and thus maintain a high level of virulence. These controls must be carried out for any transfer of fish to an area where P. parva is not yet present. There have been studies in England undertaken by the Environment Agency which tested the effectiveness of stocking controls and associated procedures against stocking levels of P. parva contamination ranging from 1, 5, 10, and 20% and the level of expertise of the auditors ranging from expert, intermediate, and novice. They showed that, with contamination rates of 10%, the probability of detection of P. parva by a trained team was above an 80% probability of detection. Such a study could be adapted to the French stocking management system.At this stage of our knowledge, it is important to take the infectious risk linked to P. parva and S. destruens, the more the authorities responsible for environmental protection will have allies in the field who will be involved in this fight. This will be done through communications within fishing federations, letters to fishing license holders, posters in fishing shops, and communications to fish farmers and other professionals in the sector. The use of social networks as a new means of communication is also highly recommended. The more information is shared, the more responsibility there will be on the part of the various actors. It is obvious that this will not be enough, but as many studies have shown, the alternative of not effectively communicating slows down the fight against biological invasions, such as P. parva. This recommendation must be part of a national coordination and implementation of a common strategy for the whole territory.The second recommendation is public risk communication. Indeed, the challenge of this approach is to include the maximum number of actors in the sector in this fight. This includes professional fish farmers, pond owners, and amateur fishermen. The greater the number of people informed of the risks linked to the introduction of Salmonidae, Cyprinidae) would be a simple and inexpensive indicator of virulence.The third recommendation is to analyze the virulence of the strains found. Indeed, it is very likely that the strains found in a country are the result of their introduction history and are therefore not the same from a genetic point of view. More importantly, the virulence of these strains in relation to populations of native species is likely to be highly variable. The cultivation of these different strains would therefore be an important first step in testing their virulence. Their inoculation on different cell lines . We would therefore like to note that S. destruens is not specific to one species, but it always leads to mortality in a whole range of species and families of fish including Cyprinidae, Salmonidae, Percidae, and marine species, such as sea bass. We would also emphasize that it is the presence of the healthy carrier that maintains the high level of virulence.In summary, firstly, there is a priority in the implementation of recommendations and in the isolation of"}
+{"text": "This paper explores the pre-mating reproductive barriers in a group of leafhopper species living vicariously in the Palaearctic region by producing hybrid zones and compares them with a closely related species of the same genus living in sympatry with some of the species of the investigated group. The results confirm the usefulness of a cheap, though neglected, methodology for recording substrate-borne vibrations and concern the basic clues that separate these species during their mating; i.e., which of the parameters of the substrate-borne vibrations they produce for calling the opposite sex and courting once the two sexes meet are necessary as pre-mating reproductive barriers. The basic behavioural isolation mechanisms are the pulse period of the female call and the main part of the courtship ritual performed by the male. An excursus into the existing literature on leafhopper bioacoustics and reproductive behaviour is undertaken to point out common aspects, propose explanations of biological phenomena\u2014including the formation of hybrid zones, which led, in the past, to the description of several fictitious new species throughout the Palaearctic\u2014and place the grounds for further research on pre-mating and post-mating reproductive barriers.Zyginidia pullula, Z. ribauti, Z. scutellaris, Z. serpentina, Z. sohrab, and Z. biroi were investigated to explain why the first five species hybridize. Z. biroi was used as a control species. All species behaved in the same way and no significant statistical differences were detected with regard to male calls, while female calls and the male courtship song differed in Z. biroi, thus showing that a specific pre-mating isolation mechanism was used by the latter species and the first five ones lacked such a mechanism. In addition, Z. sohrab is missing in Italy, while the other species live allopatrically in Italy, with the only exceptions being Z. serpentina and Z. biroi, which live in Sicily and are often found in sympatry, and Z. scutellaris and Z. biroi, which live in Sardinia. All these species can be distinguished by means of male genital appendages; however, Z. biroi is longer and has a different body colour. The existence of natural hybrids of Z. pullula, Z. ribauti, and Z. scutellaris in the Italian peninsula and their hybridization in the laboratory with Z. serpentina and Z. sohrab require the investigation of possible post-mating reproductive barriers before re-considering their systematic validity.The vibrational communication and mating behaviour of the graminicolous leafhoppers  Acoustic behaviour is considered the main pre-mating isolation mechanism among sympatric Auchenorrhyncha species, and substrate-borne vibrations are known to be the only means of intraspecific communication for Auchenorrhyncha, excluding Cicadidae ,2,3,4,5.Among Auchenorrhyncha, calling signals  are lonThe calling activity is an indicator of reproductive maturity and receptiveness to mating ,37. PairCourtship begins only when the male locates the female. The courtship is meant as behaviour aimed at increasing female acceptance  and, durThe separation of the male and female after copulation usually includes a forward movement of one or both of the individuals  or the fIn contrast to males, mated females stop signalling. Usually, after a period of egg-laying, the females regain their sexual receptivity , whereasZyginidia species have been reported from Italy, all living on wild and cultivated Gramineae [Z. pullula (Boheman) in northern regions, Z. ribauti Dworakowska in central and southern regions, Z. scutellaris (Herrich-Sch\u00e4ffer) in the Aosta Valley  and Sardinia, and Z. serpentina (Matsumura) in Sicily [Z. pullula and Z. scutellaris were collected in the central Aosta Valley, where both species come into contact [Z. pullula pointed out that the production of substrate-borne vibrations induced mate recognition in this leafhopper [Zyginidia species\u2014plus Z. sohrab Zachvatkin, collected in Cyprus , and Z. biroi (Dlabola), collected in Sicily \u2014was analysed in order to check if behavioural barriers preventing pair formation and, thus, interbreeding could be detected.Up to now, 11 ramineae ,43. Fourn Sicily . They ca contact ,46. Subs contact , and stuafhopper . Since aafhopper ,25, the Z. pullula, Z. ribauti, Z. scutellaris, Z. serpentina, and Z. sohrab are also described in this paper as cereal-dwelling species because of their preferred host plants. Z. sohrab was included in this study in consideration of the fact that specimens with intermediate and aberrant aedeagi have been collected in the contact zones of Z. pullula and Z. sohrab in northern Turkey (described as Z. (Z.) artvinicus, Z. (Z.) bafranicus, Z. (Z.) emrea, and Z. (Z.) karadenizicus by Kalkandelen [Zyginidia species revealed hybrid facies in the contact zones of some different species; e.g., Z. pullula and Z. ribauti , thus skandelen . In factkandelen , and a rut, 1947  and Z. lno, 1982 ), Z. riblaris in ), and Z.emita in ). As faremita in , whereasemita in  collecteemita in  and Mazz present .Z. biroi, in contrast, is morphologically distinguishable from the other five Zyginidia species mentioned because of its slightly greater length (3\u20133.5 mm instead of 2.5\u20133 mm) and its body colour, being greyish green instead of greyish blue [Z. biroi was kept in spite of the synonymy [Z. lineata (Lindberg) living in the Canary Islands because of the differences in the shape of the aedeagus and in acoustic production . Z. biroi was chosen as a control species owing to its sympatry with Z. serpentina in Sicily and with Z. scutellaris in Sardinia and the fact that no intermediate forms between both species have ever been reported.ish blue . The namsynonymy  establisIn vibration recording experiments prior to 1988, an accelerometer (Bruel and Kjaer 4374) was used in connection with a charge pre-amplifier  and a 200 Hz high-pass filter. The signal entered the line input of a tape recorder  and was recorded at a speed of 9.5 cm/s; then, it entered a high-resolution spectrum analyser (B&K 2033) provided with a graphic recorder (B&K X-Y 2308). In the present research, a different system for the analysis of vibrations produced by leafhoppers was used following instructions given for planthoppers . This maZyginidia species were collected at the following sites: Z. pullula, Pessione di Chieri (province of Turin); Z. ribauti, Strettoia di Pietrasanta (province of Lucca); Z. scutellaris, Toulouse (France); Z. serpentina and Z. biroi, Dattilo di Paceco, Scopello (province of Trapani); Z. sohrab Larnaca (Cyprus). Rearing took place in isolation inside climatized chambers at 23 \u00b0C (+0.5) and 80% (+10) R.H. with a 16 h photoperiod, with plexiglas and nylon net cages containing the Zea mays L. plantlets.Young and adult specimens of the six tested For recording purposes, adults of the reared species were divided according to sex into different cages as soon as they emerged. Single individuals, couples, or groups of 3\u20136 specimens of the same or different sex were introduced into a plexiglas cylinder (20 cm high and 10 cm in diameter) closed on the top with a nylon net and containing a small vase with a maize plantlet at the second leaf stage and the equipment for vibration recording. The cylinder and vase were placed onto a thick layer of foam rubber and synthetic sponge in order to isolate them from floor vibrations. Males of different ages, collected directly in the field or obtained via mass rearing, were also tested. Acoustic emissions were recorded on tapes (BASF LGR 40), visualized, and successively analysed with a spectrum analyser. Later, the tape recordings were digitized and analysed statistically.The behaviour of the tested leafhoppers was continuously noted and a detailed account accompanied each tape recording. Acoustic investigations were undertaken at room temperature (23 \u00b0C (+1)).Z. biroi was treated as a control species in the comparisons of the five cereal-dwelling species performed.The length and the peak frequency of the pulses in female calls and different parts of male calls were measured by means of a high-resolution spectrum analyser. One way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and Tukey\u2019s tests were performed using Minitab 18.1 to compare the behavioural and acoustic parameters of the males and females of all possible paired species. Description of the behaviour and calls of females: As soon as females became sexually active, besides spending their time feeding and moving on the plant, they started calling spontaneously. Females always remained on the spot while calling. The pulse period  and the peak frequencies are given in Z. biroi.Z. biroi.Six- to seven-day-old virgin females emitted a single call or short trains of calls followed by long periods of silence if no male answered, whereas older virgin females called uninterruptedly for days until they eventually mated. The calls were regularly spaced from each other: on average, 1.5 to 1.9 s for the cereal-dwelling species and 0.6 to 1.1 s for Description of the behaviour and calls of males: When males became sexually mature, usually a few days after the final moult, besides feeding and moving on the plant, they called erratically with a succession of pulses like very short popping sounds, especially when jumping onto a new leaf. Males were very mobile and jumped frequently off the plant. Their calls were formed of irregular sequences of pulses and intervals, as analysed in Localizing the female: Males responded to calling females by popping repetitively while tracking them; they occasionally stopped and emitted a single pop or a few intense pops. They then continued the search, repeatedly producing the lower-intensity pops until they reached the female. The low-intensity pops were formed of an irregular sequence of pulses and intervals, as shown in Courtship: The first part of the courtship performed by the male was composed of about four to five irregular sequences of vibrations similar to a frog\u2019s croaking sound. The pulse period and frequency are analysed in Z. biroi was an alternation of a pop and a croak, as shown in Z. biroi: a buzzing sound produced by a wing vibration by the male  continued courting and sometimes attempted copulation with the couple, which usually moved away. No disturbance vibrations were produced by either sex, even in crowded conditions, but crowding caused more movements and several times the individuals jumped off the plant.Comparisons: One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and Tukey\u2019s tests revealed non-significant differences in the comparisons of the female calls\u2019 pulse periods and peak frequencies among all possible pairs of the cereal-dwelling species: Z. pullula, Z. serpentina, Z. ribauti, Z. scutellaris, and Z. sohrab. In contrast, they were significantly different compared to Z. biroi (Z. biroi) did not show significant differences  acoustically and behaviourally distinct phases that are rigorously performed by the male before mating. The species-specific aspects of these signals appear to reside particularly in the second part of the courtship, which differs considerably for the five cereal-dwelling species and Z. biroi. The third part of the courtship may have some additional importance for Z. biroi; however, that could not be determined here. Buzzing produced by wing vibration during courtship has also been recorded for Dalbulus [Amrasca [Zyginidia species when the duet is performed to enable conspecific males and females to meet [Courtship appears to be the most complex part of the repertoire, as it is made of two  [Dalbulus spp. [Empoasca spp. [Considering the acoustic behaviour of leafhopper species, major affinities with Distant) , followelus spp.  and Emposca spp. . Other gsca spp. ,66,67,68Zyginidia species in the adult stage overwinter, and when they approach the winter season, they mate several times and do not lay eggs anymore. Evidence of this was given in [Some biological remarks may help in understanding some aspects of the reproductive behaviour of the species studied. In Italy, only females of these given in  considergiven in , does noDalbulus [Zyginidia, the collection of hybrids in the field has been reported in the literature in the hybrid zones of the following combinations: Z. pullula \u00d7 Z. scutellaris . Moreover, further hybrid zones are envisaged for Z. pullula and Z. sohrab in northern Turkey and probably in other contact zones for these two species in Asia. Nothing is known about northern Africa, where Z. sohrab is present in the east [Z. scutellaris is present in the west [Z. biroi has been used for crossings in the laboratory too but did not show any positive results with any of the cereal-dwelling species. Its sympatry with Z. scutellaris in Sardinia [Z. serpentina in Sicily [Concerning hybrids and the studies on their acoustic behaviour in the literature, a similar but more complex case has been reported for Dalbulus . For Zyga Valley ); Z. pulpennines ,69); Z. the east  and Z. sthe west ,72. In tthe west . Z. biroSardinia ,74, soutSardinia , and norSardinia ,72, and n Sicily ,73,75, cZyginidia species do not show any pre-mating isolation mechanisms, and their host plants are also the same. A more thorough behavioural analysis of the mating behaviour and choice tests are needed. The fact that Z. pullula, Z. ribauti, and Z. scutellaris produce hybrids in the field when they come into contact requires an investigation of the post-mating reproductive barriers among all five cereal-dwelling species before their systematic validity can be considered. We do not know how many distinct biological species of Zyginidia exist in Italy and, in any case, preliminary enzyme system investigations have pointed out that phosphoglucomutase (PGM) and phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) are useful tools to discriminate between species and hybrids, yielding a finer resolution for the species complex [Z. lineata from the Canary Islands in order to distinguish it from Z. biroi and of Z. servadeii Vidano, sympatric in Sicily with Z. biroi and Z. serpentina, to identify what pre-mating isolation mechanism exists for them.On the grounds of their acoustic behaviour, the five cereal-dwelling  complex . Further"}
+{"text": "Candida auris is an emerging pathogen predominantly isolated from immunocompromised patients, hospitalized for a long time. It inhabits the skin surfaces of patients causing ear,wound, and systemic infections; if not treated properly, it could lead to severe mortality. Apart from being a skin pathogen, C. auris colonizes the surfacesof medical devices. Medical devices are hospital tools and components often utilized for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with human skin.The mechanism of survival and persistence of C. auris on medical devices has remained unclear and is a serious concern for clinicians.The persistence of C. auris on medical devices has deterred its effective elimination, hindered the treatment of infections, and increased its antifungal resistance.Evidence has shown that a few surface molecules on the cell wall of C. auris and the extracellular matrix of the biofilm are responsible for its persistence and exist as enablers.Due to the increased cases of ear, skin, and systemic infections as well as death resulting from the spread of C. auris in hospitals,there is a need to study these enablers. This review focused on the identification of the enablers and aimed to evaluate them in relation to their ability toinduce persistence in C. auris. In order to reduce the spread of or completely eliminate C. auris and its enablers in hospitals, the efficacy of disinfection and sterilization methods were compared. Candida auris, an emerging pathogen has been reported to cause life-threatening infections in hospitalized patients with severe death output due tothe development of resistance to most antifungal drugs [ C. auris in Japan, the pathogen has spread to other countries within and outside Asia [ C. auris in Iran, four Clades  had been identified in South Asia, East Asia,South Africa and South America respectively [ C. auris became rapid and spanned over 30 countries on six continents [ C. auris cases or death rate, however, on October 25, 2022,World Health Organization included C. auris among the four most dreaded fungal pathogens in its \u2018fungal priority pathogens list\u2019 alongside Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans [ C. auris are not different from other Candida species [ C. auris infection [ l drugs  . It is l drugs  , 3. Afde Asia  . South de Asia  . Beforectively  . Among ctively   while Cctively  . Througtinents  . Globallbicans  . In thespecies  . Older fection  , 12 . C. auris [ C. auris are responsible for the colonization of medical devices. Biofilm in C. auris developsthrough several adaptive mechanisms which are dependent on their clades of origin [ C. auris tends to thrive and produce diseases that are perhaps detrimental to humans. Medical devices are equipment specially designed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in hospitals and are often associated with human skin.The contamination of medical devices and colonization of human skin promote the easy spread of . auris  . Its ab. auris  , 14. B origin  . Due toC. auris persistence in medical devices is still unclear, this review focused on the identification and examinationof some of the enablers in the cell wall and extracellular matrix of the biofilm that support the adherence and persistence of C. auris.Moreover, the efficacy of sterilization of medical devices was evaluated in the present study.Although the mechanism of C. auris on the skin and medical devices. The keywords used for the search include enablers of Candida auris,persistence of Candida auris, candidemia, medical devices. Other keyword used include virulence factors, epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis and treatment of Candida auris.The title and abstract of each article were properly read and downloaded before the screening. Articles written in English and recently published between 2015 and 2023 were used for this study.Original papers not written in English and lacking merit and irrelevant to the study were discarded.The authors searched original articles in PubMed, Science Direct, and Springer. The articles extracted were reviewed and focused on the enablersof the persistence of C. auris is an emerging fungus that colonizes and persists on the human host\u2019s skin, causing ear, wound and bloodstream infections in hospitals.It can be isolated from blood, urine, ear and parts of the skin of infected patients [ C. auris is a problem for clinicians. Except for CHROMagar which produced pink colonies [ Candida species. Even the pink colonies on the CHROMagar plate werenever a confirmatory test for C. auris as C. haemulonii had similar coloured colonies [ C. auris, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)sequencing is often used which fortunately remains a gold standard [ C. auris, one distinguishing feature is its ability to survive under high salt and temperature conditions.It possesses phospholipase, proteinase, adherence, and biofilm, which are prominent virulence factors responsible for its pathogenicity [ C. albicans, it is haploid [ C. auris infections has been a serious problem as it is resistant to most frontline antifungals such as polyenes, azoles and echinocandins [ C. auris to only echinocandins, a death rate resulting from C. auris infection of about 40% has been recorded [ atients  . It haratients  , over 7atients  . Howeveolonies  , 18, solonies  . To contandard  , 19. Oenicity  , 7. Unhaploid   and doehaploid  . Treatmecorded  .Candida-related diseases in immunocompromised patients and persons making use of catheters of the biofilm,which enhances its attachment and persistence. devices  . This idevices  , metal devices  , or botdevices   even indevices  . As sta et al.   discoveC. auris on medical devices and/or the skin of animals or humans.Some authors believed that the mechanism of such action is unknown [ C. auris on medical devices did not correlate with its adaptation of the environment.Mitchell et al. [ There are different views on the persistence of unknown  , othersunknown   suggestunknown   had a c et al.   and Al- et al.   suggestCandida spp., C. auris is notisolated from the enteric region of the human host, rather, they could be found in the skin or mucosal regions where they cause infections, should the integrity of the skin surface be tampered with [ C. auris and its biofilm the needed environment to thrive [ C. auris gains by attaching to medical devices, as it is considered that the biofilms derivenutrients from the skin surface while surviving the high salinity and temperature associated with it [ In most immunocompromised patients, it is present not as normal flora, but, as a contaminant. Unlike other ed with  . Biofiled with  . Direct thrive  . Theref thrive  , 41. Twith it  , 42. Awith it   makes tC. auris on medical devices and resistance to antifungal treatments are yet to be studied.However, the major contributors of C. auris persistence are surface molecules present on ECM of the biofilm or cell wall.ECM is rich in polysaccharides which the organisms rely on for structure, protection and of course, resistance to most antifungals [ C. auris to adhereand persist not only on medical devices, but also on skin layer.The mechanisms that possibly encourage the long-time persistence of fungals  . From tCandida [ Candida spp. \u03b2-1,3-D-glucan forms the motif through which other linkage groups attach.They are synthesized by glucan synthases, enzymes located inside the cell membrane through the encoding of FKS1 and FKS2 genes.Furthermore, glucan-altering enzymes play vital roles in delivering \u03b2-1,3-glucan to the extracellular matrix from the cells [ Generally, the cell wall of fungi is composed of chitin, mannans, glucans, proteins or their derivatives  . These Candida  . Glucane cells  . They fe cells  . Hence,C. auris. When these structural motifsare destroyed, C. auris becomes susceptible to antifungals [ Candida species is that the mechanism of immune evasion in C. auris differs from other Candida species [ C. auris in medical devices is yet to be discovered despite several attempts after its emergence in 2009.Some authors indirectly linked the enablers of persistence to biofilm and cell wall [ C. auris persistence.Therefore, glucans, which are among the components of the cell wall, are delineated as one of the enablers of C. auris [ C. auris since they are among the compositionsof extracellular matrix in C. auris biofilm and biofilm is linked to the survival of C. auris in the environment and medical devices and provides resistance to some antifungals [ The cell walls apart from protecting to the yeast cells are also responsible for evading host immunological response, a mechanism that provides resistance to antifungal drugs in fungals   .One cospecies  . The rell wall  . Howeve. auris  . Furthefungals  , 50 .Candida spp. Yeast cells generally use adhesins for effective attachment to their human host and adherence to medical devicesthrough the formation of biofilms  groups; epithelial adhesion protein (EPA) ispresent in C. glabrata while Saccharomyces cerevisiae is known to have flocculins  [ C. auris are not yet clear, some researchers believe that since they share similar phylogeny with C. albicans andother Candida species, their genetic characteristics should differ appreciably [ C. auris possess Als3, a homologue of Als5 in C. albicans. In C. auris, Als3 protein was detected by C. albicans antibodies.Also, adhesin genes such as ALS3 and ALS4, ALS5 as well as IFF4, CSA1, PGA52, PGA7, HYR3 were discovered tobe present in a developed biofilm [ C. auris than in non-aggregate forming types [ Adhesins are a group of receptor proteins present in cell surfaces of microorganisms which promote interaction between a specific pathogen and the host.They are usually present in bacteria, mould and yeasts including biofilms . They ard FLO9)  , 52. Aeciably  . C. aurbiofilm  , 55. Tg types   . C. auris because they are responsible for biofilm development and confer resistance to antifungals [ in vivo study suggested that attachment and persistence of biofilm on catheter was enabled by adhesinproteins of Als3 in C. auris; in the same vein, Kean et al. [ ALS1 and ALS5 adhesin genes were responsible and enable adherence and persistence of biofilm of C. auris on plastics, steel metal, and paper.They induce persistence in fungals  . For infungals  , in an  et al.   in a trNGR1 gene that represses the morphological expression of hyphae in C. albicans either bydeletion of the gene or by overexpression [ Candida species, however, its functions differ. It regulates the ability to switch from yeast to hypha insome Candida species except in C. auris; it also regulates biofilm developmental stages in C. albicans [ C. albicans and C. auris have NGR1 transcripts, a gene responsible for coding Ngr1p.In an experiment to determine the surface proteins of C. auris, performed by [ C. auris and C. albicans have similar Ngr1p protein components and are mainly located on thecell wall surfaces and ECM of the biofilm. Interestingly, Ngr1p was present in all the five clades  of C. auris [ C. auris does not synthesize a true hypha, the function of Ngr1p in that regard is yet to be ascertained [ C. auris on surfacesof skin and medical devices and further promote resistance toantifungals and recalcitrance to disinfection (Ngr1P is a zinc-finger domain molecule encoded by ression  , 63. Nlbicans  . Howevermed by  , it was. auris  , which rtained  . It is rtained   and othrtained  , therefnfection .C. auris persistence in the skin, medical devices and other surfaces [ C. auris include proper use and management of medical devices in hospitals by health workers,total surveillance following the WHO recommended standard, and accurate application of transmission-based safeguards and sanitization of thehospital environment other than only the decontamination of medical devices only [ The use of disinfectants has been reported as an effective agent in eliminating urfaces  , 65. Hurfaces   health es only   . C. auris [ C. auris.Hospital environment as well as medical devices have been implicated as major vehicles for the survival and persistence of . auris  , 61; t. auris  . Moreov. auris  , 57. T. auris  , rather. auris  . ProperCandida auris infections can easily be transmitted by contact with contaminated animate and inanimate surfaces within the hospital environment (C. auris on medical devices. The glucans protect the yeast from environmental stresswhile adhesins and Ngr1P control biofilm development and promote antifungal resistance. C. auris infections spread through skin contact withinfected medical devices. To treat these infections, first we need to deal with the enablers present on the cell walls of C. auris and its biofilm.Going forward, instead of disinfecting medical devices only as often practiced in some hospitals, it will be most effective if total sterilizationof medical surfaces is employed, as this is sustainable and will help reduce the spread of C. auris. ironment .The enaWe thank Abia State University, Uturu We thank Abia State University, Uturu.Conceptualization: K.C.N. Literature search: K.C.N., and C.D.U. Critical review and modification: O.C.U. Manuscript preparation: K.CN., O.C.U., and N.E. Illustrations: N.E., and K.C.N Proof reading: O.C.U and K.C.N. All authors provided critical revisions for important intellectual content and also read and approved the final manuscript.We declare no conflict of interest.This research was not funded with any grant from any agency."}
+{"text": "HighlightsHenipavirus that has been found in shrews, bats, and rats.Langya virus is a The Langya virus\u2019s origin is still unknown.Henipaviruses do not have any approved therapies.There is currently no evidence that the virus may spread from human to human.Dear Editor,Henipavirus that has been found in shrews, bats, rats, and other small animals. Some studies also reveal that animals such as dogs and goats have natural antibodies to the Langya virusParamyxoviridae, the Langya henipavirus (LayV) has evolutionary ties with Nipah virus and Hendra virusLangya virus is a The New England Journal of Medicine. Thirty-five persons in China\u2019s Shandong and Henan provinces contracted the LayV between December 2018 and May 2021On 4 August, it was initially reported in Contact tracing was performed on nine of the affected persons, and after contacting 15 close contacts of each patient, the researchers found no evidence of LayV infectionScientists investigated different animals for the presence of the Langya virus to determine the origins of the infection. They discovered viral evidence in goats and dogs, but the shrew was the principal source of the Langya virus. The virus was found in 27% of the shrew samplesThe Langya virus\u2019s origin is still unknown. However, it is most likely passed from animal to human. Because the LayV virus RNA has been identified mostly in shrews, they may be its natural hostsThose infected have reported the following symptoms: fever, fatigue, cough, anorexia, myalgia, nausea, headache, and vomiting. Furthermore, 35% of those contaminated had impaired liver function, and 8% of those infected had impaired renal function. According to doctors, the virus might cause a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood, significant damage to the kidneys and liver, and possibly deathSerum seropositivity was found in 2% of goats and 5% of dogs in a sample of domestic animalsHenipaviruses do not have any approved therapies. In animal experiments, experts have only tested a few antiviral alternatives. There is also no particular vaccination for the Langya virus. However, ribavirin may be an effective therapy. Doctors often use this medicine to treat viral infections that have no other therapeutic options. Ribavirin is effective against RNA viruses, including those that cause respiratory problems. Studies demonstrate that ribavirin is effective for both Hendra and Nipah viruses. The malaria medicine chloroquine may also be useful in treating these two conditionsThis unusual virus is poorly understood, and experts predict that the number of verified cases will rise. There is currently no evidence that the virus may spread from human to human. More study is required to determine the virus\u2019s entire scope, its mode of dissemination, and whether it has already reached China and the surrounding region.Not applicable.There are no conflicts of interest.No funding was received.R.A.: conceptualization, data curation, writing \u2013 original draft preparation, reviewing, and editing. R.D. and H.C.: data curation, writing \u2013 original draft preparation, reviewing, and editing. T.B.E.: writing \u2013 reviewing and editing, visualization, and supervision.1. Name of the registry: not applicable.2. Unique identifying number or registration ID: not applicable.3. Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): not applicable.Talha Bin Emran, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh. Tel: +880 303 356 193, fax: +880 312 550 224. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3188-2272Not commissioned, internally peer-reviewed.The data in this correspondence article is not sensitive in nature and is accessible in the public domain. The data is therefore available and not of a confidential nature."}
+{"text": "Food Science & Nutrition, 2022 (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.3107). The above article, published online on October 20, 2022 in Wiley Online Library (https://wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor in Chief Y. Martin Lo, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed due to an error in which the incorrect manuscript was sent to the production team and published instead of the manuscript that the journal had reviewed and accepted.Effects of major ingredients  levels on physiochemical, rheological, and sensory attributes of walnut spread,"}
+{"text": "Dear Editor,Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is \u2018an acquired degeneration of the retina due to the modification of the Bruch\u2019s membrane and the retinal pigment epithelium\u2019The current FDA-approved treatment for both nAMD and DME is intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, including Aflibercept, Ranibizumab, Bevacizumab, and Brolucizumab, which inhibit neovascular proliferationet al.A recent study by Khanani Since both the diseases are highly prevalent and major liabilities to healthcare worldwide, it is imperative that we take prompt action to reduce not only the disease burden but also the treatment burden. Bi-specific treatment like Faricimab will result in more efficient treatment with fewer dose requirements, reducing the number of visits and therefore decreasing the overall treatment burden on the patient and provider, both in terms of cost and time. This may promote long-term adherence to the treatment, which might eventually improve the overall visual outcomes for both nAMD and DME. Faricimab may thus be a valuable contribution to the ophthalmological community. Therefore, it is imperative that further studies be promptly conducted, as this would undoubtedly be a positive development.Not applicable as no patient data involved.Written informed consent not applicable as no study participants are involved.There are no sources of funding.O.A.S. and S.A. conceived the idea. G.S. and K.K. performed a literature review and wrote the manuscript. M.S.A. and I.U. reviewed the manuscript and critically revised it to the final form. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.The authors declare no conflict of interest.Name of the registry: NA.Unique identifying number or registration ID: NA.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): NA.Muhammad Sohaib Asghar.Not applicable.Externally peer reviewed, not commissioned."}
+{"text": "Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), and its parasitoid Liotryphon crassiseta (Thomson) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in yellow Moericke traps. The flight time for both species was correlated and fell in the first half of July. However, the correlation between the occurrences of both species was statistically significant only in 2008, when most specimens were caught. A total of 7960 S. myopaeformis were caught, with a 2:1 male:female sex ratio, and 415 adult L. crassiseta. No correlation between the numbers of S. myopaeformis and L. crassiseta in relation to age, variety of trees, or orchard surface area was noted. Significant differences between the catches of S. myopaeformis and L. crassiseta were reported in particular years. Furthermore, clear differences in the yields of S. myopaeformis and L. crassiseta between traps situated in the orchard and those on its edges were recorded, particularly in the orchard surrounded by cultivated fields. Yellow pan-traps could be used more widely in order to monitor and control the abundance of S. myopaeformis, especially by catching its females.This study was conducted in 2008\u20132010 in three apple orchards in western Poland and involved a massive catch of the red-belted clearwing moth,  Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), was regarded as a secondary pests of apple trees, weakened by other factors until the 1960s. Since that time, it has become a significant pest, which can be attributed to changes in apple production technology , mainly the apple tree, Malus, but sometimes also Pyrus spp., Crategus spp., Sorbus spp., Prunus spp., Eriobotrya japonica Thunb., and several other closely related plant species such as Hippophae rhamnoides L.  (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae), reported from this host by Herting , significant catches of both sexes of The research was conducted in 2008\u20132010 in the following orchards located in the vicinity of Czempi\u0144, Wielkopolska (western Poland):1. Apple orchard I, G\u0142uchowo . Forty-hectare area. Research was conducted in 3-hectare plots with 15-year-old apple trees of the following cultivars: Gala, Ligol, Cortland, Paulared, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious. The orchard was surrounded by cultivated fields of sweet corn in 2008, oats in 2009, and triticale in 2010.EvonymoPrunetum spinosae and Querco-Ulmetum forest, herb communities, and ruderal plant communities.2. Apple orchard II, Gorzyczki I . Twentyhectare area. Research was conducted in 5hectare plots with 15-year-old apple trees of the following cultivars: Paulared, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold. The orchard was surrounded by shrubberies, namely thicket phytocenoses of Rhamno-Prunetea class.3. Apple orchard III, Gorzyczki II . Tenhectare area. Research was conducted in 2hectare plots with 20-year-old Golden Delicious apple trees. The orchard bordered a road overgrown with plants typical of the In all the studied orchards, the trees grew 1.4 m apart from each other in rows 3 m apart. Between the trees, fallow land was maintained and the rows of trees were divided by swards. The orchards followed integrated fruit production policy.st to October 31st in each study year. One hundred and sixty-two samples were analyzed in the study of the flight period of S. myopaeformis from May 10th to August 20th . For L. crassiseta, 372 samples were analyzed from April 1st to October 31st. Nonparametric statistics  were used because data exihibited an abnormal distribution that a data transformation could not fix. All the statistical analyses were performed using the Statistica software program . Average monthly temperatures and precipitation data were obtained from the meteorological station in Turwia (western Poland).During the study, adults were caught in Moericke yellow traps . The traS. myopaeformis was observed in the orchards. A total of 7960 specimens of the species were caught with a 2:1 male:female sex ratio. Also, a proportionally high abundance of its parasitoid, L. crassiseta, was recorded, with a total of 415 specimens. All the studied orchards yielded similar abundances of S. myopaeformis . In apple orchard III, where pans were located in the orchard and by the road, no significant differences were found .The biggest differences were noted in apple orchard I, where the orchard was surrounded by fields. Smaller or no differences occurred when the orchards were surrounded by more varied trees, bushes, and herbs. Statistical significance was found for the catches in apple orchard I, where traps were placed in the orchard and in the field . However, Dunn's post hoc test showed that the differences between the catches in 2009 and 2010 were insignificant.Significant statistical differences in the catches in particular years were found for this species: H = 20.81; N = 372; L. crassiseta in the orchard and on its edges were similar to those of S. myopaeformis , while no significant difference was indicated in 2009  or 2010 . The lack of correlation in the last two years might be explained by a low abundance of L. crassiseta.An analysis of correlations between the occurrences of S. myopaeformis occurred from May to August, with a peak in the first twenty days of July in all three years of the study  of S. myopaeformis caught were females. However, the results of the present study yielded a better-founded sex ratio than those that used PEAA as an additional attractant.The most recent research done in Hungary  indicateS. myopaeformis were recorded in 2008, and a significant drop was seen in the following two years. The lower number of specimens in 2009 and 2010 could have resulted from factors such as weather conditions . Male V. polistiformes prefer green and yellow pheromone-baited traps, but do not appear to distinguish between these two colors, which have a similar spectral reflectance , in which males were caught in pheromone-baited traps , as well as earlier results obtained by other researchers  and Cydia pommonela L. (As was confirmed by the research, the peak occurrence of earchers . The pea of July . Thus, t Germany . HoweverGeorgiev . Georgieonela L. .S. myopaeformis in yellow traps shows that yellow traps are an effective and inexpensive method of monitoring and controlling the pest abundance. Furthermore, yellow pans catch both males and females, as opposed to pheromone-baited traps, which catch only males. Yellow pans are also an effective method to study the population structure, time, and spatial distribution of S. myopaeformis and accompanying parasite entomofauna.The present study had the largest recorded catch of Sesiidae in yellow pans. Such an abundant catch of S. myopaeformis. In some cases, a combination of mass trapping and mating disruption would be effective, such as mass trapping of female moths by using kairomones, while using sex pheromones to disrupt male orientation to females (This method could be even more effective when combined with additional atractant, e.g., PEAA, and could be a useful female-targeted lure for  females ."}
+{"text": "As this family exhibits a great diversity in shell morphology but extremely homogeneous anatomical traits, the systematics of Lymnaeidae has long been controversial. Using the most complete dataset to date, we examined phylogenetic relationships among 50 taxa of this family using a supermatrix approach  involving both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference.Lymnaeidae snails play a prominent role in the transmission of helminths, mainly trematodes of medical and veterinary importance . We found that intermediate hosts of F. gigantica cluster within one deep clade, while intermediate hosts of F. hepatica are widely spread across the phylogeny. In addition, chromosome number seems to have evolved from n = 18 to n = 17 and n = 16.Our phylogenetic analysis demonstrates the existence of three deep clades of Lymnaeidae representing the main geographic origin of species . This phylogeny allowed us to discuss on potential biological invasions and map important characters, such as, the susceptibility to infection by Our study contributes to deepen our understanding of Lymnaeidae phylogeny by both sampling at worldwide scale and combining information from various genes (supermatrix approach). This phylogeny provides insights into the evolutionary relationships among genera and species and demonstrates that the nomenclature of most genera in the Lymnaeidae does not reflect evolutionary relationships. This study highlights the importance of performing basic studies in systematics to guide epidemiological control programs. The Lymnaeidae, Physidae and Planorbidae comprise ~90% of the Basommatophoran species Radix sperding to ), on theribed in  with no Recent studies have suggested that the Lymnaeidae contains approximately 100 species , meaningL. diaphana in a phylogenetic analysis and suggests that this species is sister to the North American Stagnicola and L. occulta (= C. occulta) (clade C1a), although with low support (0.54 BP and 0.71 PP). Baker L. diaphaG. truncatula-like) in the C1b clade cluster together. The only exception is L. cousini which clearly belongs to this clade  but is morphologically different from all other species in terms of both shell morphology and the anatomy of reproductive organs. Its phylogenetic position suggests the ancestor of clade C1b had a G. truncatula-like morphology and the L. cousini morphology is a derived character. The inclusion of G. truncatula within this clade is unambiguous and agrees with previous results 18]. It dposed by .Radix species. According to this tree, Austropeplea is a polyphyletic genus, in agreement with results obtained by  and andRadixained by . Remigioent with , 11], Radix speent with , sister nonymous . Their snonymous ,55. Alteent with , and migRadix clade diversified and then expanded towards Eurasia and Africa. This is also true of G. truncatula, a branch of the American clade that invaded the Old World. In general, the Lymnaeidae morphology has evolved slowly and most species within clades are similar: small-shelled turriform, G. truncatula-like in the American clade; large and high-spired shells in the Eurasian Lymnaea; and large, rounded or ovate shells in the Indo-Pacific clade, especially in Radix. A few branches, including O. glabra, and L. cousini, have evolved distinctive morphologies that differ from all other lymnaeids. Note, however, that limpet-shaped species  were not analyzed here, and it is not possible to discuss their phylogenetic position and morphological evolution. If they constitute a separate clade, say C4, our hypothesis of slow morphological evolution would be valid.In summary (and ignoring recent introductions) we have three old centers of diversification in the Lymnaeidae family: America, Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific region. In the latter, the Austropeplea with 16 chromosome pairs was thought to be the most \"primitive\" form, followed by Radix with 17 pairs and Stagnicola with 18 pairs. Our molecular phylogeny contradicts this idea. The ancestral state in Lymnaeidae seems to be n = 18, as it is in other Basommatophoran gastropods  56] hypothysidae) . Eighteeested by , either Radix (including L. (R.) natalensis).The nomenclature of genera has been one of the most confusing issues in the Lymnaeidae systematics. Most genus names are not fixed and are based more on phenotypic resemblances than on sound evolutionary and phylogenetic considerations. For instance, a single genus was recognized by , two by Lymnaea is L. stagnalis Linnaeus, 1758; the type species of Stagnicola Jeffreys, 1830 is S. palustris ; and the type species of Omphiscola Rafinesque, 1819 is O. glabra. However, it is clear from our results that these three species belong to the same clade (C2) and that Lymnaea is not a monophyletic group. We propose that species of clade C2 should all be called Lymnaea, according to the principle of priority of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). By extension, Stagnicola should not be used to name species in clade C1a since the type species belongs to clade C2. Meier-Brook and Bargues [S. emarginata, S. elodes, S. catascopium and L. occulta within a new genus Catascopium, while S. caperata would belong to the genus Hinkleyia Baker, 1928 [Hinkleyia would be the preferable name according to the ICZN. On the other hand, at least four genera names have been used for species of clade C1b: Lymnaea Lamarck, 1799; Galba Schrank, 1803; Fossaria Westerlund, 1885; and Bakerilymnaea. In the light of the present results, it would be preferable to unify nomenclature. According to the ICZN, Lymnaea should be the unified name, but given that the type species belongs to clade C2, Galba could be a more appropriate name. Finally, as said above, Austropeplea Cotton, 1942 is not a monophyletic group, and employing the genus Kutikina Ponder and Waterhouse, 1997 (one species: K. hispida) seems unjustified on the basis of the current phylogeny. This would also be consistent with results of [Bullastra Pfeiffer, 1839 for all species of clade C3a to fit the ICZN.The type species of  Bargues  suggestesults of . It woulAlthough the Lymnaeidae phylogeny presented in Figure G. truncatula M\u00fcller, 1774, the main vector of fascioliasis in the Old World. The idea that this species is native to Europe, as it was described from Germany, is widely accepted [G. truncatula originated. This is consistent with its detection in Alaska and the Yukon territory [G. truncatula in North America is broader, but has remained cryptic because it has been confounded with other taxa. Indeed, Hubendick noted that, \"it is a matter of some doubt whether Lymnaea humilis in North America is a distinct species or is specifically connected to L. truncatula\" (= G. truncatula) [L. humilis in reality correspond to G. truncatula. At least 10 species of Lymnaeidae from North America placed in synonymy of L. humilis by [G. truncatula: L. galbana Say, 1825; L. modicella Say, 1825; L. obrussa Say, 1825; L. parva Lea, 1841; L. exigua Lea, 1841; L. rustica Lea, 1841; L. tazevelliana Wolf, 1869; L. dalli Baker, 1906; L. cyclostoma Walker, 1908; and L. peninsulae Walker, 1908. Unfortunately, neither detailed anatomical descriptions nor molecular data are available in any of these taxa. Sampling and sequencing of morphologically similar North American taxa could shed light on this question.First, one of our most puzzling results concerns the origin of accepted . Howevererritory . It is pncatula) . It coulmilis by , but conmilis by , presentL. occulta (= C. occulta) is the only species from Europe clustering within clade C2 and seems to correspond to a passage from North America to Europe. As stated by [L. occulta is distributed in eastern Germany, Poland, the former Czechoslovakia, the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Sweden, and some rivers in the delta of Lake Baikal. It is hypothesized that the species could reach the far east Asia where it could have been confounded with other stagnicoline species because of similarity in shell morphology [L. occulta has its origins in America.Second, as mentioned above, tated by   are found in distant geographic locations is indicative of recent introductions.Finally, the two F. hepatica seems to be different. Our results show that lymnaeid species serving as intermediate hosts of this trematode are widely distributed across the phylogeny  or stenoxenous  . This isy Figure . Basicaly Figure . In conty Figure . Althougtionship . The behG. truncatula and L. occulta (= C. occulta), as well as passages from the Indo-Pacific to Europe and North America for Radix sp. However, sampling and sequencing efforts remain to be done especially in the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions in which the family diversity is thought to be the largest. This would help resolve the weakly supported relationships , determine the pace of morphological evolution, establish taxonomic synonymy, and determine the phylogenetic relevance of poorly known genera . Second, with the exception of Radix (including the African L. (R.) natalensis), genus names in Lymnaeidae do not reflect the phyletic relationships among species. The group taxonomy should be reconsidered to gain some biological meaning. Third, the number of chromosomes in Lymnaeidae has evolved from an ancestral state of 18 pairs to a derived 17 and 16 pairs. Finally, while the intermediate hosts of F. gigantica are basically restricted to clade C3, F. hepatica is able to infect species from all main clades . This suggests that the cosmopolitan distribution of F. hepatica is largely favored by its capacity to infect local lymnaeids, and highlights the importance of the correct identification of intermediate-host species in fascioliasis control programs.At least four conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, combining information from different genes (supermatrix) is a robust approach to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Lymnaeidae. Our results indicate that members of this family diverged in three deeply-rooted clades corresponding to the geographic origin of species . Our phylogeny allowed us to pinpoint discordances between ancestral and current geographic distributions of some species, potentially indicating more or less recent biological invasions. Transfers from America to Eurasia are suggested for ACC and SHB designed the study. ACC, JSE, PDavid, PJ and JPP sampled snails. ACC and PDurand carried out experiments. ACC and JSE performed analyses. All authors discussed the results and wrote the paper."}
+{"text": "A common belief is that, unlike today, ancient urban areas developed in a sustainable way within the environmental limits of local natural resources and the ecosystem's capacity to respond. This long-held paradigm is based on a weak knowledge of the processes underpinning the emergence of urban life and the rise of an urban-adapted environment in and beyond city boundaries. Here, we report a 6000-year record of environmental changes around the port city of Akko (Acre), Israel, to analyse ecological processes and patterns stemming from the emergence and growth of urban life. We show that early urban development deeply transformed pre-existing ecosystems, swiftly leading to an urban environment already governed by its own ecological rules and this, since the emergence of the cities. The question of whether or not the emergence of cities13456891011121411112345Here, the emergence of an urban environment as a unique setting was analyzed through the investigation of patterns of pressure and selection on ecosystems on the coastal strip of Israel, the ancient and present economic heart19202118O values on Ashdod Coast233033342021An outstanding feature of the recorded urban environmental history of Akko is that the area rapidly shifted from a densely forested landscape to a shrub-steppe  between versus groundwater; depending on functional pits) for urban growth. Although the 3200\u2005cal yr BP event locally ended at ~2900\u20132800\u2005cal yr BP, the re-emergence of extensive habitation pattern and trade networks only occurred after ~2650\u2005BP, during the Phoenician/Persian and Early Hellenistic periods, and is clearly marked in the environment  ages of short-lived terrestrial samples  extracted from a continuous core  drilled on the southern flank of Tel Akko , close t samples . All conArchaeological and historical data for urban development derive from 40 years of excavation at the ancient site of Tel Akko (since the work of M. Dothan) and in the \u201cold city\u201d, especially the crusader town (since the surveys of the British Mandate Authorities).A total of 70 samples were prepared for pollen analysis using the standard palynological procedure for clay samples. Pollen grains were counted at \u00d7400 and \u00d71000 magnification using an Olympus microscope. Pollen frequencies (%) are based on the terrestrial pollen sum excluding local hygrophytes and spores of non-vascular cryptogams. Aquatic taxa frequencies were calculated by adding the local hygrophytes-hydrophytes to the terrestrial pollen sum.Paired group as algorithm and Spearman's Rho  as similarity measure. The pollen-types from each cluster were summed to create nine pollen-derived ecosystems , Kernel density-2D, Matrix, and Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The CA is a technique for hierarchical clustering, finding ranked groupings in multivariate data sets. Here, it is based on pollen-type time-series (presence/absence and abundance). The CA  was usedosystems .Gaussian as a basis function and three units as radius  correspond to the main loadings in the PCA, explaining most of the variance for the PCA-Axis 1 ordination of the data, which accounts for +0.777 of total inertia. Natural ecosystems  are loaded in positive values, whereas negative values correspond to urban-adapted ecosystems . The PCA-Axis 1 scores have been plotted on a linear age-scale to determine the main changes in the Akko core . A simulation of each vegetation assemblage is obtained and compared to the pollen data. Acceptable scenarios (according to MCMC rules)i.e. a strong underestimation of the winter temperatures, because several tree taxa cannot be unequivocally assigned to cool or warm conifer plant typesThe climatic data  used areD.K., E.V.C., C.M. and M.A. had the idea for the research. D.K. and E.V.C. performed the research, undertook the data collection, and led the statistical analysis. J.G. led the climate reconstruction. D.K., E.V.C., C.M., J.G., D.Z., I.S., T.O. and M.A. contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the results. D.K. wrote the first draft of the paper and all authors contributed to writing the manuscript.Supplementary Figures and Tables"}
+{"text": "In this article, the authors acknowledged Dr Sarah Cleaveland and Dr Craig Packer as having provided detailed comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Although the authors sent a revised version to Dr Cleaveland mentioning her name in the acknowledgments before submission to PLoS ONE and received no correspondence suggesting any objection, they accept that she did not formally agree to be included in the Acknowledgments.Similarly, the authors did not seek Dr Packer's formal agreement for him to be listed in the Acknowledgements. As a result, they would like to issue this Correction in order to remove the reference to Drs. Cleaveland and Packer and revise the text under the Acknowledgments to:\"We thank TANAPA, TAWIRI and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology for providing permission to conduct the long-term study in the Serengeti. We would like to thank all who have contributed to the fieldwork of the Serengeti Cheetah Project. Numerous people and organisations in Tanzania and Kenya have provided much needed logistical support over the years, including B. Allen, O. Newman, A. Barrett, J. Driessen, J. Jackson, A. Geertsema, P. and L. White and the staff and management of Ndutu Safari Lodge, H. van Lawick and his team, fellow scientists at SWRC, G. and M. Russell and M. Borner and the staff at FZS. We thank John Harwood for initial discussions, as well as Tim Coulson and Dominique Pontier for providing detailed comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the many organisations that have funded the project, principally The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), National Geographic Society, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society UK, Times Christmas Appeal 1998, Messerli Foundation and People's Trust for Endangered Species.\""}
+{"text": "Anopheles darlingi is the major malaria vector in countries located in the Amazon region. Anopheles aquasalis and Anopheles albitarsis s.l. are also proven vectors in this region. Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. and Anopheles triannulatus s.l. were found infected with Plasmodium vivax; however, their status as vectors is not yet well defined. Knowledge of susceptibility of Amazon anopheline populations to Plasmodium infection is necessary to better understand their vector capacity. Laboratory colonization of An. darlingi, the main Amazon vector, has proven to be difficult and presently An. aquasalis is the only available autonomous colony.An. darlingi, An. albitarsis s.l., An. nuneztovari s.l. and An. triannulatus s.l. were collected in the field and reared until adult stage. Adults of An. aquasalis were obtained from a well-established colony. Mosquitoes were blood-fed using a membrane-feeding device containing infected blood from malarial patients.Larvae of Anopheles species was evaluated by the impact variance of the following parameters: (a) parasitaemia density; (b) blood serum inactivation of the infective bloodmeal; (c) influence of gametocyte number on infection rates and number of oocysts. The goal of this work was to compare the susceptibility to P. vivax of four field-collected Anopheles species with colonized An. aquasalis.The infection of the distinct Anopheles species tested were susceptible to P. vivax infection, nevertheless the proportion of infected mosquitoes and the infection intensity measured by oocyst number varied significantly among species. Inactivation of the blood serum prior to mosquito feeding increased infection rates in An. darlingi and An. triannulatus s.l., but was diminished in An. albitarsis s.l. and An. aquasalis. There was a positive correlation between gametocyte density and the infection rate in all tests  but varied among the mosquito species. Anopheles albitarsis s.l., An. aquasalis and An. nuneztovari s.l. had higher infection rates than An. darlingi.All Anopheles species, as well as colonized An. aquasalis are susceptible to experimental P. vivax infections by membrane feeding assays. Anopheles darlingi, An. albitarsis s.l. and An. aquasalis are very susceptible to P. vivax infection. However, colonized An. aquasalis mosquitoes showed the higher infection intensity represented by infection rate and oocyst numbers. This study is the first to characterize experimental development of Plasmodium infections in Amazon Anopheles vectors and also to endorse that P. vivax infection of colonized An. aquasalis is a feasible laboratory model.All field-collected  Malaria is an infectious disease with major impact on global public health and economy. Currently, malaria threatens almost one third of the world population in 103 tropical countries, resulting in 207 million of clinical cases and 627,000 deaths in 2012 [Plasmodium are transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the main species-affecting humans. Actually, since the mid-1990s, P. vivax has become the predominant New World malaria species, as it has expanded its range throughout South America [P. vivax[P. vivax malaria is generally considered to be relatively benign, there are numerous reports of complex cases with severe clinical complications and deaths [Human malaria parasites in the genus [P. vivax. The cond deaths -10.Plasmodium life cycle is the infection of mosquito vectors. Among the 33 Anopheles mosquito species described from the Brazilian Amazon region, Anopheles darlingi is considered to be the main malaria vector. Other anopheline species can be considered secondary or occasional malaria vectors because of their population density, anthropophilic behavior and natural infectivity across their geographic distributions [Anopheles albitarsis s.l., An. nuneztovari s.l. and An. triannulatus s.l. are commonly collected in the Amazon, and they have been observed infected with P. vivax and P. falciparum, but their role as malaria vectors has not yet been elucidated [Anopheles aquasalis is distributed predominantly along the Atlantic coast because of its tolerance to saltwater environment and has been found naturally infected by P. vivax[One keystone stage in the ibutions -14. Anopucidated -25. Anop P. vivax,26-28 inAn. darlingi has been associated with malaria transmission in Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela [An. albitarsis s.l. in Venezuela [An. nuneztovari s.l. in Venezuela [An. triannulatus s.l. in Venezuela [An. aquasalis in Trinidad [P. vivax[Outside the Brazilian Amazon, enezuela ,29; An. enezuela ; An. nunenezuela , Peru [3enezuela  and Coloenezuela ,33; An. enezuela  and Peruenezuela ; and, AnTrinidad , Guyana Trinidad  and Vene[P. vivax.Plasmodium spp. starts when mosquitoes ingest gametocytes, the parasite sexual stage, during the blood meal taken through the skin of infected vertebrate hosts. Inside the mosquito alimentary tract, fusion between male and female gametocytes produces motile ookinetes, which traverse the mosquito midgut epithelium to form oocysts [Plasmodium establishment in a susceptible vector and this parameter is used to determine the infection rate of a mosquito population [The life cycle of  oocysts ,38. The pulation ,40.Plasmodium oocysts, is an important parameter for defining vector competence and thus, a key indicator in the description of malaria dynamics and transmission biology in a given geographic region. Indeed, infection rates in mosquito vectors are related to gametocyte survival, viability and success of fertilization, and finally, midgut invasion by the resulting ookinetes. However, not all gametocytes that are ingested by susceptible mosquito vectors reach the ookinete stage [Plasmodium in the mosquito, sporozoites are released from the oocyst and go on to invade the salivary glands. Once the salivary glands become infected with sporozoites, the mosquito is infectious to humans during the next blood meal [In the field studies, the infection rate, i.e., the amount of individuals in a mosquito population that carry well-developed te stage -43. Factte stage -48. To cood meal -51.Anopheles only about 10% are important as vectors of human malaria. There is a multitude of both ecological and genetic determinants that influence vector competence, both among species and even at the level of geographic populations within a single species [Plasmodium infection among the putative vectors of malaria in the Amazon have never been fully and carefully considered until this study.It is well known that among the over 400 species of mosquitoes in the genus  species -45,47. DAnopheles gambiae, the major vector in several African countries, is the most well studied mosquito, including its interaction with human and murine Plasmodium species causative agents of malaria [An. darlingi, the major Amazon vector, has proven to be difficult as well as other anopheline species from the region, and presently there is only An. aquasalis as an available autonomous colony. Anopheles aquasalis has been reared in laboratory as free mating since 1995 [Mosquito vectors of malaria from Africa and Asia have been well established in colonies and are feasible to maintain in laboratory. For example the  malaria ,53. Distnce 1995 -56 and rnce 1995 -59.P. vivax of colonized An. aquasalis with four groups of field-collected Anopheles species. This study was focused on vector infection rates as defined by the presence, quantification of oocysts and proportion (percentage) of infected individuals in these mosquito populations, following exposure to blood obtained from infected human patients. In addition, P. vivax infection in the vector was correlated with gametocyte numbers present in the circulating blood of infective human hosts. In laboratory studies, the infection rate is a critical part of the determination of vector competence. It is important to study P. vivax infection of New World vectors due to the huge gap regarding the knowledge comparing other vector-parasite pairs from the Old World.The goal of this work was to compare the susceptibility to P. vivax malaria infection diagnosed by blood smears were invited to participate in the study. Volunteers signed informed consent documents as blood sample donors. About 3\u00a0ml of blood samples were collected by venipuncture from volunteers and placed into a sterile lithium heparinate vacutainer tube. After blood collection, all patients were treated at the Funda\u00e7\u00e3o de Medicina Tropical Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado (located in the city of Manaus) or in the health posts from the region of Manaus where they were diagnosed, following ethical procedures determined by the Brazilian Health Ministry. This study was approved by the Brazilian National Ethics Committee Board .Adult volunteers (ages >18\u00a0years) residents from the region of Manaus  with P. vivax parasites. Sexual (gametocyte) and asexual stages counting per 500 leukocytes were performed.Thick and thin blood smears from malarial patients were prepared by Giemsa staining method and examined under light microscope x100 oil immersion lens to confirm the presence of An. darlingi, An. albitarsis s.l., An. nuneztovari s.l. and An. triannulatus s.l., as described elsewhere [Anopheles aquasalis mosquitoes originated from a colony established in 1995 [ad libitum fed 10% sugar solution and kept in laboratory conditions at 26-28\u00b0C and 70-80% RH (relative humidity). Three- to five-days old adult females were used in all experiments. Pinned voucher specimens were deposited at the Biological Collection at the Instituto Le\u00f4nidas e Maria Deane .Mosquito larvae were collected during one year at different breeding sites near the city of Manaus, capital of Amazonas State, Brazil: Puraquequara Road ; Brasileirinho Road . Larvae were reared in the insectary as described elsewhere . Emergedlsewhere ,61. Fiel in 1995  were reaP. vivax patients for a period of 45 to 90\u00a0minutes via membrane feeding assay (glass device covered with Parafilm\u00ae). Blood was held at 37-39\u00b0C through a hose system connected to a thermal bath. The second group was treated in similar way but with inactivated-blood serum (IBS). The P. vivax infective blood samples were centrifuged for 15\u00a0minutes at 2,000\u00a0g and the serum removed and heated for 1\u00a0hour at 56\u00b0C. Then, the inactivated serum was added back to the red blood cells containing parasites, suspended and offered to the mosquitoes. After the infective blood meals only fully engorged mosquitoes were transferred to rearing containers and maintained in the insectary as described above for the development of infection.Adult mosquitoes were sugar starved overnight prior to infection via membrane feeding assay. Individuals from each of the five species were separated in two experimental groups. One group was offered whole blood (WB) from Five to eight days after infective blood meal, midguts from the experimentally infected mosquitoes were dissected in phosphate buffered saline, stained with 2% commercial Mercurochrome (Merbromin), placed under a coverglass and examined for the presence of oocysts. The number of oocysts on the mosquito midgut was recorded.Anopheles species to P. vivax was evaluated by the presence and the number of oocysts in the midguts. The population infection rates were calculated by dividing the number of infected mosquitoes (those with one or more oocysts) by the number of dissected mosquitoes. G tests were used to compare the frequency of infection among all the studied mosquito species conjointly, as well as pairwise comparisons between each pair of species. The Kruskal-Wallis test evaluates differences in the number of oocysts between the infected mosquito species. Only positively infected mosquitoes were used for this last analysis. Conover-Inman test, a posteriori, was used for comparison of the number of oocysts among all studied mosquito species [In this study, the blood-feeding rate was calculated as the proportion of female mosquitoes that were fully engorged after a blood meal. The susceptibility of the  species ,63. For P. vivax isolates from malarial patients were used for the different experimental feeding assays and only the fully engorged mosquitoes after blood feeding were analyzed in this study  . Actually, An. aquasalis showed the highest infection rate  followed by An. albitarsis s.l. (44.7%), which were significantly different to all other mosquito species . Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. held the third highest infection rate (24.5%), and it was not statistically different to An. darlingi, which had an infection rate of 18.3% , but was different to An. triannulatus s.l., with only 8.8% of the individuals infected . Anopheles darlingi also had a significantly higher infection rate compared with An. triannulatus s.l.   and showed statistical difference when compared with all the other species. Anopheles darlingi  was followed by An. albitarsis s.l.  and An. nuneztovari s.l. . There was no significant difference in the number of oocysts between An. darlingi, An. albitarsis s.l. and An. nuneztovari s.l. However, An. triannulatus s.l. had significantly less oocysts than all other studied species .The intensity of infection, measured by the numbers of oocysts per infected mosquitoes, fed on WB and IBS varied significantly among species  Figure\u00a0. The higAn. triannulatus s.l., followed by An. darlingi, An. nuneztovari s.l., An. aquasalis, and An. albitarsis s.l. Approximately 16% of individuals from all five species were infected with 1 to 10 oocysts and only 10% were infected with 11 to 50 oocysts, with the lower number of infected individuals observed in An. triannulatus s.l. (0.4%) and the higher in An. albitarsis s.l. (21.3%). Only An. darlingi and An. aquasalis had more than 50 oocysts, with 1.3 and 7.6% of the individuals, respectively.To outline the distribution of infection intensities, among WB-infected mosquitoes, we organize the oocyst numbers into four groups, as follows: 1\u201310, 11\u201350, 51\u2013100, and more than 100 oocysts. A comparison of the distribution of these groups among individuals within species is illustrated in Figure\u00a0Anopheles species as a whole group, the inactivation of factors present in blood serum was not of significant importance to change the infection rate . However, the pattern of the infection rate differed among IBS-infected mosquito species. While the serum inactivation did not cause changes in infection rates on An. aquasalis  and An. nuneztovari s.l. , serum inactivation resulted in a 53% increase in infection rates in An. darlingi , and 87% increase in An. triannulatus s.l. . Inversely, the infection rate for An. albitarsis s.l. decreased by 55%   and An. nuneztovari s.l. (Mann\u2013Whitney U\u2009=\u20090.466 p\u2009=\u20090.495). On the other hand, the inactivation slightly increased the oocyst formation on An. triannulatus s.l.  and decreased in An. darlingi  and An. albitarsis s.l.  . There was no difference in oocyst numbers formed on P. vivax isolates from malarial patients were used for An. darlingi feeding experiments, 13 for An. albitarsis s.l., 17 for An. nuneztovari s.l., 20 for An. triannulatus s.l. and 29 for An. aquasalis  and An. aquasalis  infection rates increased with an increase in the number of gametocytes. For An. nuneztovari s.l., An. triannulatus s.l. and An. albitarsis s.l.  there was no correlation between those two variables. Also, among infected species, An. aquasalis  and An. darlingi  showed a positive correlation between the number of gametocytes and the number of oocysts formed. The data for all other species did not exhibit a correlation between the quantity of gametocytes and the quantity of oocysts (p\u2009>\u20090.05).A total of 17 Anopheles species. Experimental infection of mosquito vectors can involve direct feeding on the skin of patients or offering blood meal through a membrane-feeding device. Ethical preference tends to lean towards the use of membrane-feeding experiments, in order to minimize the human factor interaction. Most experimental results with Amazon outbred Anopheles species have used direct skin feeding on gametocytaemic malarial patients [P. vivax-gametocytaemic patients resulted in An. darlingi infection rates between 22 and 23% with a mean oocyst load per infected midgut of 11.5 with a range of 1\u2013175 [Anopheles aquasalis and An. albitarsis s.l. had a significantly higher infection rate than An. darlingi, considered the main malaria vector in the Brazilian Amazon, and all three species showed high quantity of oocysts, being that the highest one was found in An. aquasalis. These results confirm that the membrane-feeding assay is as efficient as direct feeding on human skin when it comes to the study of Plasmodium infection on mosquito vectors.The number of field mosquito specimens available for experimental infection was limited by the seasonality of the species and the malaria transmission peaks in the Amazonas region near to Manaus city. A membrane-feeding assay was used to infect patients ,27,64. Tof 1\u2013175 ,66. AnopAnopheles darlingi in Amazon area is more abundant during the late wet season and early dry season, while the other species are more abundant during the early dry season [An. darlingi was in high abundance, An. albitarsis s.l. and An. nuneztovari s.l. were in low abundance. When the abundance of An. darlingi was low, An. albitarsis s.l. and An. nuneztovari s.l. abundance increased. This dynamics in species succession is a very important factor for maintenance of malaria transmission, and can present difficulties for malaria control in this region due to susceptibility of all studied species to P. vivax infection [.y season ,67. Siminfection .An. darlingi, An. albitarsis s.l., An. nuneztovari s.l., and An. triannulatus s.l. field populations, and the laboratory-colonized An. aquasalis are susceptible to P. vivax under laboratory conditions. All of the studied species might be sporadic competent vectors in nature, although there was a generalized high proportion of uninfected mosquitoes. However, infection rates were much higher than those reported in nature for the five species examined. As determined by the ELISA technique, based on the use of species-specific anti-sporozoite monoclonal antibodies, Amazonian mosquito populations had different P. vivax infection rates: An. darlingi ranged from 0.3 to 9.3%; An. albitarsis s.l. from 0.4 to 5.2%; An. nuneztovari s.l. from 0.3 to 1.1%; An. triannulatus s.l. 0.2% and An. aquasalis from 0.3 to 1.3% [P. vivax genotypes, immune factors in patient sera, and host response mechanisms, all of which could alter gametocyte infectivity [Here, it was demonstrated that  to 1.3% ,27,69-71ectivity ,72-74.An. darlingi is known to be strongly anthropophilic and endophilic, and population of this species occurs through the year. Anopheles albitarsis s.l. was shown to be a very susceptible species to P. vivax, and these results agree with results obtained in other Brazilian Amazonian states of Roraima, Par\u00e1, Amap\u00e1 and Rond\u00f4nia [An. albitarsis s.l. a dubious malaria vector because of the low number of oocysts, zoophilic behavior and seasonal distribution [An. darlingi and An. albitarsis s.l., An. aquasalis showed a high susceptibility to P. vivax. The high level of susceptibility of An. aquasalis to P. vivax indicates the value of using this species in studying New World malarial parasite vector-interaction. Unlike An. darlingi, An. aquasalis is well adapted to colonization in the laboratory.The number of oocysts has little importance in malaria epidemiology since most infected mosquitoes found in nature only possesses a few oocysts . The degRond\u00f4nia ,16,19,70ribution . Like AnAnopheles nuneztovari s.l. also showed a high infection rate, although not statistically different to An. darlingi, it was significantly different to An. albitarsis s.l.. Oocyst numbers in An. nuneztovari s.l. were lower than in An. darlingi and An. albitarsis s.l., although the mean number of oocysts was not significantly different between these species. Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. is considered an important malaria vector in some South American countries [An. nuneztovari s.l. as a vector of malaria, which could be considered a risk depending on its density in a given area. In the Manaus area for example, An. nuneztovari s.l. is probably an important species for malaria transmission, because of its high feeding and infection rates observed in laboratory. The population of this species was found in high densities in localities around Manaus where An. darlingi is also abundant [An. triannulatus s.l. became infected with P. vivax in the experiments described here, this species had significantly the lowest infection rates and mean number of oocysts compared with the other species studied. These observations reinforce the conclusion that An. triannulatus s.l. is not an important malaria vector in the Amazon region [ountries ,31; howeountries ,23,24. Tabundant . On the n region ,16,44,68An. albitarsis s.l. and An. aquasalis, mosquito infection rates were increased after blood serum inactivation. Blood serum factors have been shown to influence the ability of P. vivax gametocytes to infect mosquitoes in experiments in which patient plasma was replaced with P. vivax-na\u00efve sera or plasma [Plasmodium infection in An. albitarsis s.l. and An. aquasalis may be more strongly associated with intrinsic factors related to the mosquito\u2019s own immune system, which could respond more effectively to destroy Plasmodium infections. Future studies should include evaluation of P. vivax strain variability on mosquito susceptibility and both intra- and interspecific variation in mosquito immune responses to Plasmodium infection.Except for r plasma ,66. InfeAn. darlingi and An. aquasalis had a positive correlation between the quantity of gametocytes and the other two variables. However, according to Klein and collaborators there was no correlation between the number of P. falciparum gametocytes and the mean number of oocysts formed in An. darlingi, although, in general, low numbers of circulating gametocytes resulted in few infected mosquitoes [P. vivax transmission to mosquitoes [The results also indicate that the quantity of gametocytes are positively correlated with the infection rate and the number of oocysts formed, but when results were analyzed by individual species only squitoes . Distincsquitoes .An. darlingi, which has not been colonized after several efforts by distinct research groups . Only An. aquasalis, the main vector in coastal Brazil, has been established and maintained in the laboratory. This study established baseline data for key transmission parameters showing that in laboratory, P. vivax infection of colonized An. aquasalis had an infection rate of 44.8% with a mean oocyst count of 29 per infected individual. It is possible now to begin using this system to explore mosquito immune response to P. vivax infection [Development of novel malaria control strategies includes methods aimed at disrupting parasite development in the mosquito vector. Studying natural vector-parasite interactions, as opposed to model systems, is critical to the development of strategies that can ultimately be used in the field. These studies are made difficult in cases where mosquito vectors cannot be colonized in the laboratory. Such is the case with many of the vectors in South America, including the main vector nfection -59.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.CMRV, FACP, RS, PFPP, NFCS, WPT, and MVGL conceived and designed the experiments; CMRV, KMC, RS, FACP, EVS, and JBPL: field collection and laboratory procedures; CMRV and TJI: data analysis; CMRV, PFPP, TJI, WMM, FACP, WPT, MVGL, and NFCS: data interpretation and manuscript preparation. This manuscript is a part of the PhD thesis developed by CMRV and supervised by PFPP. PFPP is a senior visiting researcher at the Foundation of the Tropical Medicine Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado in Manaus (FMT-HVD). PFPP, NFCS and MVGL are productivity fellows of the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). All authors read and approved the final version of this article."}
+{"text": "Professor Prem Narain Saxena was born on October 15, 1925 in a respected family of a village Bithrichainpur of Bareilly. It was a joint orthodox family village. From village, he rose to a peak of excellence in medical science career.Dr. Saxena was the first child of his parents Mr. Raghunandan Prasad and Mrs. Saraswati Devi, apart from three other sisters. He married Ms Rajeshwari Saxena, MA (LT), a working lady but latterly left the job and remained as housewife.Dr. P. N. Saxena took early education first in his hometown village Bithrichainpur. He then shifted to Dehradun at an early age of 6 to 7 years to take admission in the first standard, as his father was posted already in Dehradun as \u2018Accountant\u2019 in the Department of Irrigation. Dr. Saxena was a very brilliant student since school days despite of malnutrition, rickets and typhoid. He topped with first position both in matriculation from AP Mission School and Intermediate from DAV College of Dehradun. In the very first attempt, he qualified medical entrance and did MBBS with 10th position from the King George Medical College, Lucknow  in 1947. He was keen in medical research and hence after getting MD degree in Medicine in 1950, he again did MD in Pharmacology in 1952 from the King George Medical College, Lucknow. In addition, he completed his PhD from the Patna University, Patna, in 1963 and DSc from the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, in 1978.[He joined the Department of Pharmacology of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, on April 14, 1964 as Professor and Founder Chairman, Department of Pharmacology. He served the Department as Head till September 30, 1985 and in view of his outstanding merits, he was reemployed by the University for two years, that is, till September 30, 1987. Soon after retirement, he was selected as emeritus scientist of ICMR, New Delhi, for a period from September 1, 1987 till September 14, 1990. On January 31, 1991, the University appointed him as \u2018Professor Emeritus.\u2019 He was among the few scientists in the university who was offered this \u2018Professor Emeritus.\u2019He is nationally and internationally known as a leading Neuropharmacologist as he worked mostly in the field of neuroscience. He was awarded Fellowship of the Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in USA during 1960-61; Commonwealth Medical Fellowship and then Wellcome Research Fellowship in England during 1970s. In London at the National Institute for Medical Research, he worked on mechanism of action of Pyrogen and in the field of thermoregulation with Wilhelm Feldberg (1900 \u2013 1993), a renownProfessor P. N. Saxena has to his credit, approximately 145 published research papers. He wrote Hospital Formulary in 1969 and a book-cum-manual for practical pharmacy and experimental pharmacology laboratory. After serving the university as professor and head of the department of pharmacology, he was then retired from active service on September 30, 1987. In the university, he also worked as Dean, Faculty of Medicine, In-charge, Animal House and on few occasions served as acting Principal of Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College and acting Vice Chancellor of the University. However, despite of his retirement from active service, he continued his research activities as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pharmacology till late December 1994. During those days, his wife was also suffering from cancer and hence could not manage to visit the department regularly and finally discontinued all his academic services in 1995. She died on March 19, 1996.He had been the founding member of many academic bodies such as Indian Pharmacological Society, Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India, Indian Medical Association, Indian Academy of Neurosciences and Indian Association for the Advancement of Medical Education in India. Indian National Science Academy (INSA) elected him as Fellow (FNA) in 1989.Dr. Saxena was very simple, kindhearted and pious person. He used laboratory animals  very gently and was very kind towards all the staff of the medical college.Dr. P. N. Saxena succumbed to death due to severe second stroke on November 29, 1999. He was admitted to KK Hospital, Aligarh before death. He was fond of Urdu and Persian poetry and also maintained a diary, where he used to write his favourite couplets of Urdu poetry. His mother tongue was Urdu. He had a good friends\u2019 circle in academics. To name a few, Professors R. D. Myers, C. von Euler, W. Feldberg, W. J. Lang, A. Herxheimer, Richard J. Schain, K. P. Bhargava, M. B. Waller, Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, W. R. Martin, Eleanor Zaimis, J. N. Sinha, B. N. Dhawan were the most closest colleagues.Coincidentally, both of his parents Mr. Raghunandan Prasad and Mrs. Saraswati Devi died in Aligarh due to paralytic attack. Dr. Saxena invited them in Aligarh to stay with his family and children. Dr. Saxena had two daughters and one son.Wilhelm Feldberg assisted many research workers who came to England as a part of their Commonwealth Medical Fellowship and Wellcome Research Fellowship. Under this Fellowships, Professor P. N. Saxena, during 1970s, got many papers published together with Wilhelm Feldberg while their vocation at National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London. Most of the reprints of their research papers are preserved in the Library of Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences, Aligarh, India."}
+{"text": "In the Funding section, the grant number from the Institutional Research Concept Grant was listed incorrectly. The correct grant number is: RVO: 61388971.http://www.gacr.cz/; [^] Synlab (http://www.synlab.cz), [^] the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , http://www.gaav.cz/; [^] the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2B06155 and LC07017), http://www.msmt.cz; [^] and by Institutional Research Concept Grant RVO: 61388971, http://www.isvav.cz. [^] The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The complete, correct Funding statement is: This work was supported by grants from the Czech Science Foundation ,"}
+{"text": "This special issue reflects on multiple factors/mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of ALD. Alcoholic liver injury is known to cause a broad range of liver abnormalities. Alcohol is primarily metabolized in the hepatocyte leading to increased secretion of inflammatory mediators, which, in turn, activate and/or influence the response of the nonparenchymal cells (NPCs)  and subsequently control the degree of liver injury.This issue overviews general aspects of ALD, such as oxidative stress and inflammation (A. Ambade and P. Mandrekar) as well as the molecular aspects of these events, including the role of ethanol-metabolizing enzymes, ADH , and CYP2E1  in the development of alcohol-induced liver injury. In addition, signaling mechanisms induced by alcohol are examined in the paper by L. N. Gerjevic et al. As a separate pathogenic aspect, the role of microRNA in ALD is analyzed in the paper by S. Bala and G. Szabo.in vitro studies of C. A. Casey et al. and B. McVicker et al., respectively.The consequences of alcohol-related liver injury, such as impairment of receptor-mediated endocytosis and lipid droplet accumulation, are presented in experimental One of the mechanisms that affects various liver cell types and affect disease progression is impairment of methylation reactions. In our special issue, the role of impaired methylation in pathogenesis of steatohepatitis as well as treatment modalities with promethylating agent, betaine, is discussed in the paper by C. H. Halsted and V. Medici and K. Kharbanda et al.Liver also serves as an immune organ and accommodates a wide variety of cells, including immune cells. The latter consists of dendritic cells (DCs), natural killer (NK) cells, and lymphocytes, which are present in normal livers. Selective recruitment and retention of certain immune populations occurs during diverse liver diseases, and these cells play a critical role in the development and resolution of liver inflammation, remodeling, and destruction and actively participate in immune defense. The role of adaptive immunity in ALD development is overviewed by E. Albano. Also, the role of stem cells in ALD treatment is discussed in the paper by M. Pai et al. Finally, to underline the role of alcohol in progression of chronic infections (HCV), we included the paper by M. Neuman et al. which reflects on the markers of inflammation and fibrosis in alcoholic hepatitis and hepatitis C.Each paper received external blind review in addition to our reviews.This special issue covers exciting new areas of ALD pathogenesis and treatment and is strongly recommended for the clinicians and basic scientists involved in alcohol research.Natalia OsnaNatalia OsnaKusum KharbandaKusum KharbandaLaura SchrumLaura SchrumAngela DolganiucAngela Dolganiuc"}
+{"text": "We investigated the course of exacerbations in the published COSMIC study that investigated the effects of 1-year withdrawal of fluticasone after a 3-month run-in treatment period with salmeterol/fluticasone in patients with COPDIn 373 patients, we evaluated diary cards for symptoms, Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and salbutamol use and assessed their course during exacerbations.There were 492 exacerbations in 224 patients. The level of symptoms of cough, sputum, dyspnea and nocturnal awakening steadily increased from 2 weeks prior to exacerbation, with a sharp rise during the last week. Symptoms of cough, sputum, and dyspnea reverted to baseline values at different rates , whereas symptoms of nocturnal awakening were still increased after eight weeks. The course of symptoms was similar around a first and second exacerbation. Increases in symptoms and salbutamol use and decreases in PEF were associated with a higher risk to develop an exacerbation, but with moderate predictive values, the areas under the receiver operating curves ranging from 0.63 to 0.70.Exacerbations of COPD are associated with increased symptoms that persist for weeks and the course is very similar between a first and second exacerbation. COPD exacerbations are preceded by increased symptoms and salbutamol use and lower PEF, yet predictive values are too low to warrant daily use in clinical practice. Goals in the management COPD are to prevent and control symptoms, to reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations, and to improve health status and exercise tolerance and prevent disease progression. In partStudies in asthma have shown that exacerbations resolve generally within 2 weeks with respect to symptoms, salbutamol use and peak expiratory flow (PEF) values. Data onAccording to the GOLD  guidelines, the goals of clinical control in patients with COPD include both health status  and clinical goals (prevention of disease progression and minimization of symptoms). The Clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) is the first practical instrument to be used for routine evaluation of clinical control concerning patients with COPD in general practice,12. A woCOPD and Seretide: a Multi-Center Intervention and Characterization) population with moderate to severe COPD, it has been shown that there are no significant differences with respect to the number of moderate to severe exacerbations experienced by patients in whom inhaled steroids were withdrawn after a run-in period with fixed dose of fluticasone (500 \u03bcg) and salmeterol (50 \u03bcg), versus those who continued this treatment[In a previous report on the COSMIC  in this group of COPD patients. It furthermore assesses the similarity of the course of symptoms around a first and second exacerbation. Information on the intra-individual variability of the course of symptoms around an exacerbation is important, since we wished to assess whether a change in symptoms can predict the occurrence of a moderate or a severe COPD exacerbation.Inclusion and exclusion criteria, methods for lung function measurements and design of the COSMIC study have been reported previously. In shorPatients recorded use of rescue medication  over the last 24 hours in daily paper record cards. If the patient\u2019s condition worsened and a course of oral corticosteroids  was indicated based on the judgment of the research physician or general practitioner, the exacerbation was defined as moderate. If hospitalization was required at the discretion of the clinician, the exacerbation was considered severe. The time of onset and end of exacerbation was based on clinical judgment according to the research physician at each site.Every morning patients recorded severity scores of symptoms over the previous 24 hours on shortness of breath, cough, sputum production and night-time sleep disturbance (breathlessness 0 (none) to 4 (breathless at rest); cough and sputum production 0 (none) to 3 (severe); night-time sleep disturbance due to respiratory symptoms 0 (none) to 4 . Patients recorded their daily morning PEF throughout the run-in and the treatment period, prior to the inhalation of COPD (study) medication. The highest of three values was used for analysis.The Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) was administered to assess health status, a higher score meaning greater impairment. It is a 10-item, self administered questionnaire that can be completed in less than 2 minutes. Items are divided into three domains: symptom, functional state and mental state. Patients are required to respond to each item on a seven-point Likert scale where 0= asymptomatic/no limitation and 6 = extremely symptomatic/total limitation. The final score in the mean of all ten items and scores for the three domains can be calculated separately if required.1 (%predicted), age, gender, smoking status and CCQ. Mixed model Anova (SAS PROC MIXED) was used to evaluate associations between these factors and the log-transformed durations of both the moderate and severe exacerbations. Profiles of all longitudinal diary card data were used to characterize exacerbations. Only patients with a proper scoring of diaries in each of both periods were evaluated in these analyses, i.e. at least 50 percent of diary days. In addition patients were required not to have a new exacerbation in the 8-week period after the onset of the exacerbation. We analyzed the diary card data to investigate whether the increase in total or separate symptom scores could predict the occurrence of an exacerbation at each day of follow-up as follows. The increase of the mean symptom score was calculated for each patient separately during the week before the day of onset of the exacerbation, i.e. days 1 to \u22126, as compared to the mean symptom score during the week covering days \u22128 to \u221214. These increases were calculated for all patients during each day of follow-up, irrespective of whether the patient had experienced an exacerbation or not. So in fact a time-window of 14 days width of 2 successive weeks is used and this window is moved one day along time step by step, resulting at each step in a difference of 2 moving averages of symptom scores. For example, if a patient has a mean score of 10 points during days 101 to 107 and this was 13 points during days 108 to 114, then the value of the calculated increase at day 115 equals +3 points. The information at all follow-up days can be combined using Cox-regression, with the calculated increases of symptom scores per patient at each day of follow-up as a time-dependent covariate. With this method, the daily risk of an exacerbation is quantified in relation to the observed longitudinal changes in symptom scores. Regarding prediction of an exacerbation, only data to the first exacerbation were analyzed. The same method with moving averages was used to investigate the predictive value of changes in daily PEF measurements and salbutamol use. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC-curves) were constructed to evaluate the predictive value of the changes in total or separate symptom scores, PEF or salbutamol use as explained above. An area under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUC) of 0.8 or greater is generally considered to indicate a good predictor. A two-sided p-value below 0.05 was considered to be significant in all analyses.Poisson-regression was used to evaluate the relation between the annual exacerbation rate and the factors FEV1 % predicted and smoking status, showed that the annual moderate to severe exacerbation rate was 1.6 per patient year in the salmeterol group and 1.3 per patient year in the salmeterol/fluticasone group : 0.9-1.5; p=0.15). When considering moderate and severe exacerbations separately, no significant difference was observed between the treatment arms as well.Baseline characteristics of the 373 patients enrolled are presented in Table1 % predicted, showed that the number of pack-years smoking was the only significant predictor for the duration of a severe exacerbation. With every 5 pack-years smoking, the mean duration of a severe exacerbation increased 1.15 times. There were no significant effects of any of these parameters on the duration of a moderate exacerbation. Furthermore, the CCQ total score at baseline did not significantly contribute to the duration of moderate and/or severe exacerbations. The same applied to the separate domains of CCQ.There were 492 moderate or severe exacerbations in a total of 224 COPD patients, median duration of these 492 exacerbations being 10 days (range 2\u2013119 days). The duration of a severe exacerbation was on average 46% longer than a moderate one ; no significant differences existed between the treatment arms. Mixed model Anova, allowing for gender, age, current and pack-years smoking, treatment and FEVth and 7th week after the exacerbation respectively compared to the weekly average scores during stable disease, i.e. the fourth week prior to the onset of the exacerbation , the pattern being similar for separate symptoms of cough, sputum, shortness of breath and night-time awakening . Adding baseline CCQ values to this Poisson regression model showed that the CCQ significantly contributed to the exacerbation rate. When adding each domain , the functional domain remained in the Poisson-model with a highly significant contribution (p=0.001). The factor gender became of borderline significance (p=0.08), whereas FEV1 % predicted remained significant (p=0.019).We reported previously that femThe averages of the symptom scores in two subsequent weeks were compared to assess whether an exacerbation is pending. Although there were individuals who had a marked increase in symptoms during the week preceding an exacerbation, a large inter-individual variability was observed Figure. Table3Our study shows that exacerbations of COPD are associated with increased symptoms that persist for weeks. Especially shortness of breath and nocturnal awakening due to respiratory symptoms persist for many weeks after the resolution of the acute phase of an exacerbation (7 and 8 weeks respectively). In addition, we demonstrate that the course of symptoms is very similar between a first and second exacerbation. Finally, we show that exacerbations are preceded by lower functional status, increased symptoms and salbutamol use and lower PEF yet predictive values are too low to warrant their use for clinical practice.1 and FVC) and found that there was only a limited fall in lung function during an exacerbation, compatible with our findings. Additionally, they followed the course of an exacerbation with diary cards and reported that the median time to recovery of symptoms was 7 days with an interquartile range of 4 to 14 days. However, the study did not report on the course of individual symptoms. In that respect our findings are new and show that some symptoms remit more rapidly than others. Nocturnal awakening due to respiratory symptoms was especially lingering on for many weeks after an exacerbation. This is in agreement with the findings by Partridge and colleagues that COPD patients indicate the morning as the time when their symptoms are most severe[This is in contrast to observations in asthma where symptoms during an exacerbation remit within 7\u201310 days after treatment with prednisone. Especiat severe. Whethert severe. This clInterestingly, the mean course of the increase and decrease in symptoms around the onset of a moderate exacerbation was very similar at the first and the second exacerbation. It thus appears that, despite a large inter-individual difference in the course of an exacerbation, the overall course of a first and second moderate exacerbation is quite similar in one and the same individual. As one can anticipate, the mean values of symptom scores were higher in the period before a severe exacerbation than before the first and second moderate exacerbations. Similarly, salbutamol use was significantly higher in the period before onset of a severe exacerbation and PEF values were significantly lower. Unfortunately, we had insufficient numbers of patients to compare the course of a severe and moderate exacerbation within the same individuals. It remains to be clarified which factors determine a severe exacerbation that requires hospitalization and one that can be managed in the home situation. It may well be, as Donaldson and coworkers suggested that sevWe sought for factors in diary cards that would predict an exacerbation in the near future. With each increase in total and separate symptom scores or salbutamol use per week, or decrease in PEF the risk of an exacerbation increased. Although the relative risks were high with weekly increases in reports, the overall predictive value of these changes was still rather limited in view of the moderate values of areas under the ROC curves. Whichever cut-off level one chooses for the increase of the various parameters, the rate of false positive findings remains high and therefore the specificity is low for acceptable values of the sensitivity Figure. The lat1[1 %predicted to be associated with an increased number of exacerbations, a finding compatible with data in the literature[A study that divided patients into frequent and infrequent exacerbators showed that those with frequent exacerbations had a faster decline in FEV1. Moreove1,17. In lterature,17. InteThere are some limitations to our study. First, there were relatively few severe exacerbations, probably reflecting the fact that patients were treated and followed accurately in a randomized controlled trial which may have influenced our results. In addition, we cannot rule out the possibility that regular treatment with salmeterol with or without added fluticasone, may have blunted the changes in PEF which recovered very quickly after a COPD exacerbation, whereas this as not the case for the perception of symptoms.In conclusion, this prospective study in moderate to severe COPD patients shows that symptoms persist for several weeks after an exacerbation, suggesting that the underlying pathophysiology is not resolved with a two-week course of oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics. This may have implications for a better understanding why exacerbations, which may have a systemic effect on COPD as well, may affect the outcome of COPD. In addition, we show that the course of symptoms is very similar around a first and second exacerbation. Finally, COPD exacerbations can be predicted by an increase in respiratory symptoms, salbutamol use and decrease in PEF, yet the predictive values of these parameters are too low to warrant their daily use in clinical practice.1: Forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC: Forced vital capacity; GOLD: Global obstructive lung disease; COSMIC: COPD and Seretide: a Multi-Center Intervention and Characterization; ROC: Receiver operating curve.AUC: Area under the curve; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CCQ: Control of COPD questionnaire; PEF: Peak expiratory flow; FEVM. van den Berge has received research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, E.F.M. Wouters, D.S. Postma and T van der Molen have been consultants for, and received research grants from, GlaxoSmithKline. W.C.J. Hop is a regular statistical consultant for GlaxoSmithKline. J.A. van Noord, J.P.H.M. Creemers, A.J.M. Schreurs received research grants from GlaxoSmithKline.MvdB reviewed and interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript. EFMW and DSP designed the study, analyzed the data, reviewed and interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript. WCJH performed the statistical analysis of the data and wrote the manuscript. JAvN, JPHMC and AJMS reviewed and interpreted the results. ThvdM reviewed and interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript. All authors have access to all data in the study and held final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.COSMIC investigatorsDr. R. Aalbers, Dr. F. Beaumont, Dr. W. Boersma, Prof. Dr. J. Bogaard, M. Bunnik, J. Creemers, W. Dalinghaus, C. de Graaff, Dr. J. de Jong, Dr. P. de Jong, D. de Munck, D. de Vries, I. de Vries, W. den Hertog, H. Dik, E. Dubois, M. Eland, W. Evers, S. Gans, W. Geraedts, Dr. H. Heijerman, A. Hendriks, Dr. Ho, Dr. B. Hol, J. Kersbergen, H. Los, P. Luursema, B. Pannekoek, Dr. W. Pieters, R. Quanjel, E. Quanjel-Wisselo, R. Rammeloo, J. Retera, Dr. A. Roldaan, Dr. A. Rudolphus, L. Sala, N. Schl\u00f6sser, Dr. A. Schols, Dr. A. Schreurs, Dr. J. Simons, A. Sips, Dr. F. Smeenk, W. Strankinga, I. Utama, F. van Beek, H. van de Woude, P. van den Berg, Dr. J. van den Bosch, J. van den Bosch, W. van der Brink, Dr. F. van den Elshout, Dr. B. van der Bruggen- Bogaarts, J. van der Zeijden, A. van Harreveld, Dr. A. van Keimpema, Dr. J. van Noord, H. van Pag\u00e9e, R. van Snippenburg, P. van Spiegel, Dr. J. Verbraecken, J. Westbroek; The Netherlands.This study shows that COPD exacerbations can be predicted by an increase in respiratory symptoms, salbutamol use and decrease in Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) values, but the predictive value of these parameters is low. Remarkably, symptoms persist for up to 8 weeks after a COPD exacerbation. Whether this reflects incomplete resolution of the pathophysiology underlying exacerbations remains to be elucidated.The study sponsor, GlaxoSmithKline, was involved in the study design, together with the principal investigators, in the collection and analysis of data, which were made freely available to the investigators, and in the decision to submit the paper for publication."}
+{"text": "Botanicals are accepted worldwide as medicinal agents and nutraceuticals. Extensive scientific investigations have been performed over the past 200 years which have resulted in the evolution of botanical utilization. This special issue highlights some of this research in 7 review articles and in 24 original research articles.Review Articles. W. Jiratchariyakul and G. B. Mahady wrote about the botanical status and popular herbs in EU, US, and Thailand. M. Miroddi et al. updated the market and the regulatory of botanical products in EU and US. Traditional Chinese and Indian Medicines (TCM and TIM) play an important role in Asian countries. Z. Wang et al. presented and discussed the role of TCM in the treatment of epidemic type II diabetes mellitus. M. M. Pandey et al. reported the use of TIM as a nutritional supplement in malnutrition. Y. Kamisah et al. presented the chemoprevention and antioxidation of Parkia speciosa. A. P. Bartolome et al. reviewed laboratory evidence of Bidens pilosa. T.-P. Huynh et al. discussed the promising botanical compounds for prevention and treatment of eye diseases.Research Articles. New biological and pharmacological activities of botanicals are reported. They included the enhancement of learning, memory and antistress of Acanthopanax trifoliatus , the sedative effect of Ziziphus mauritiana , the cardioprotective effect of Phyllanthus emblica , the cytoprotection and antioxidative stress of Citrus maxima , anti-influenza viral activity of Momordica charantia , antioxidation from Nypa fruticans , Nigella glandulifera , TIM , Herba Cynomorii . The alleviation of metabolic disorder of Citrus ichangensis , and anticancer activity of Vitex agnus-castus .Zingiber zerumbet , phenyl butenoid dimmer from Zingiber cassumunar , and girinimbine from Murraya koenigii . Biochanin A, the major isoflavone from Trifolium pratense, prevented the bone loss in the ovariectomized rat . Quercetin isolated from Caesalpinia mimosoides had neuroprotective effect  and inhibited eosinophile (M. K. Asano Sakai-Kashiwahara). C. Li et al. reported new anti-inflammatory triterpenoids from Illicium difengpi.The mechanisms of anticancer action are deeply investigated with the botanical compounds, zerumbone from Gynura procumbens\u201d .Besides the herbal activities, the cohort study of TCM, Si-Wu-Tang, in postpartum women was performed to evaluate the health benefits. The effectiveness of the modern herbal drug was carried out using the double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, as shown under the title \u201cAntiherpetic effects of Moringa oleifera  and Pueraria tuberosa . In addition, the arsenic accumulation in Zingiberaceous rhizomes was reported .The research on the quality assessment of the botanicals was also presented in this issue. It included the HPLC analysis of Weena JiratchariyakulWeena JiratchariyakulLudger BeerhuesLudger BeerhuesGail B. MahadyGail B. MahadyTanawan KummalueTanawan KummalueMolvibha VongsakulMolvibha Vongsakul"}
+{"text": "Antonina graminis Maskell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), by the encyrtid wasp Neodusmetia sangwani is considered a textbook example of classical biological control. However, recent evidence suggests that A. graminis is abundant in the southeastern United States and no recent surveys have been conducted to determine the status of N. sangwani or other A. graminis parasites. A survey was conducted and it was found that N. sangwani was uncommon overall, occurring at only 20 percent of survey sites. In addition, N. sangwani exhibited a patchy geographic distribution. Possible causes for these results are that N. sangwani has not dispersed widely since its introduction, or that the imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is interfering with biological control. These results suggest that a reevaluation of the efficacy of biological control may be necessary. The survey also found two other encyrtid wasps utilizing A. graminis as a host. One, Acerophagus sp., is apparently native and was nearly as frequent as N. sangwani, while the other, Pseudectroma sp., is apparently introduced and relatively rare.Control of the rhodesgrass mealybug,  Nezara viridula , in the southeastern United States , Xanthoencyrtus phragmitis, and Boucekiella antoninae from France, and Neodusmetia sangwani, from India. Anagyrus antoninae was introduced into Texas in 1949 and Florida in 1954, P. europaea was introduced into Texas in 1954\u20131955, and Florida in 1959, X. phragmitis and B. antoninae were introduced into Texas in 1954\u20131955, and N. sangwani was introduced into Florida in 1957, and Texas in 1959  was targeted because it is an important preferred host plant of A. graminis in rangeland systems  and/or crabgrass (Digitana sp.). After collecting, A. graminis were removed from plants, counted, and placed into a rearing chamber at 30\u00b0C as outlined for the Texas survey. Parasitoids that emerged from both surveys were counted, cleared, placed into 90% ethanol, and identified . For most sites, field estimates of a minimum of approximately 100 entified . ParasitA. graminis at five (38.5%) of 13 sites, primarily in the southern half of the state  of 16 sites, two in Louisiana, and two in Florida. Two parasitoid species, N. sangwani and Acerophagus sp. emerged at one site in Florida (Fl\u20131), while only Acerophagus sp., emerged from the remaining three sites, two in Louisiana  and one site in Florida (FL\u20135)  . The per to 16.8 . PoolingA. graminis by N. sangwani is viewed as an important success of biological control, there is surprisingly little quantitative data on the frequency of either the host or parasitoid since shortly after initiation of the biological control program. In this study no quantitative data on the frequency of A. graminis is provided, however, it appeared common and often abundant at the study sites, which is consistent with reports from other recent studies in the southeastern United States .A second possible reason why d debris . A recengraminis . WhetherA. graminis was parasitized nearly as frequently by a species of Acerophagus as it was by N. sangwani. Because Acerophagus is native to North America and the Caribbean (Acerophagus sp. at survey sites was nearly equal to that of N. sangwani and is another indicator that N. sangwani is not providing widespread control of A. graminis. If so, the native parasitoid may be an important additional tool in the biological control of the mealybug.aribbean , it is lPseudectroma sp. was found at only a single site, the discovery that it was a parasite of A. graminis is of interest. While P. europaea was one of the early parasitoids introduced, it was not believed to become established and has not been found in any subsequent survey. Indeed, it is likely that Pseudectroma sp. is not P. europaea. A Pseudectroma sp. identified as not being P. europaea, and presumably from Asia, was found utilizing A. graminis as a host in Florida surveys from 1975\u20131991 (N. sangwani (A. graminis is unclear but deserves further study.While 975\u20131991 . It was sangwani . The oriA. graminis from the parasitoid N. sangwani may not be as widespread or effective as when first released. This could occur because N. sangwani has failed to disperse widely, or because A. graminis is protected from parasitoids by S. invicta. Other causes are also possible. Further study would be valuable in exploring these causes and in determining the generality of our results. Because A. graminis is an important invasive species with a history of significant negative impacts on agriculture, it is important to determine whether its biological control remains effective or whether a new program may be warranted.The surveys involved a number of sites over a large range, and they suggest that the biological control of"}
+{"text": "Colpoclypeus florus  (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). C. florus, a species introduced from Europe, requires medium to large host larvae late in autumn on which to overwinter, and few leafroller species display this biology. Over the four years, five potential C. florus hosts were collected, including: Ancylis comptana (Froelich), Xenotemna pallorana (Robinson), and Syndemis sp. (Tortricidae), Filatima sp. (Gelechiidae), and Caloptilia burgessiellia (Zeller) (Gracillariidae). Of these, A. comptana, Syndemis sp., and Filatima sp. have been confirmed as overwintering hosts for C. florus. During the four years, the Syndemis sp. was rare and observed at only one location feeding on redosier dogwood, Cornus sericea L.  although, at this location, many of the larvae collected were parasitized by C. florus. Filatima sp. was common in the Yakima valley feeding on balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera L. ssp. trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray ex Hook) Brayshaw  but was rarely parasitized. A. comptana, however, was collected at many locations in central Washington and was frequently found as an overwintering host for C. florus. A. comptana was found feeding on two Rosaceae: Wood's rose, Rosa woodsii Lindl., and strawberry, Fragaria ananassa Duchesne . Based on the number of host larvae collected, A. comptana appears to be the primary overwintering host for C. florus in Washington. Introduction of A. comptana populations to near-orchard habitats may facilitate biological control of leafrollers that are orchard pests.Thirty sites of managed and native habitats were surveyed for leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in the apple producing region of central Washington State and northern Oregon from September through November 1997\u20132000 to discover species that supported overwintering by the parasitoid  Choristoneura rosaceana and Pandemis pyrusana are important pests of pome fruits, especially apples, in Central Washington , was discovered attacking leafrollers in unsprayed apple orchards of central Washington  shington . Leafrolomonella . In 1992shington . The popshington  or from shington . C. florn Europe  and has shington , 2000.C. florus has been reported to overwinter in the larval or pupal stage on suitably sized leafroller hosts  or as eggs (Archips rosanus)   and woulrosanus) . C. florneration .C. florus populations to seasonally disappear from orchards  and bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata (Pursh) de Canolle  and more lush and diverse riparian habitats dominated by willow  and balsam poplar  Brayshaw ) at lower elevations and redosier dogwood, Cornus sericea L.  and chokecherry, Prunus virginiana L. at higher elevations. During the summer and fall, much of the vegetation dies, except in riparian areas or among xeric adapted plants such as sage and bitterbrush, or in the weeds along orchard margins where irrigation water may spread. The search was focused in riparian areas, although collections were also done in orchard margins and the shrub-steppe habitats. Additionally, commercial alfalfa fields were sampled specifically for Xenotemna pallorana (Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).Agricultural and non-agricultural habitats in central Washington were sampled for leafrollers during September, October, and November from 1997 to 2000. Most locations were in areas that ablished , and mosAt all sites, all plant types were examined for evidence of leafroller infestation and, particularly, the presence of leafroller larvae. In addition to perennial species, the many herbaceous species present including the grasses (Poaceae) were examined. Leafroller infestations were characterized by the presence of foliage that had been rolled or folded and was held in this position by silk. Where evidence of leafroller feeding was observed, a more intensive search was conducted, and leafroller larvae were collected. Samples of > 25 individuals were collected whenever possible; collections of < 25 individuals occurred when that was all that could be located after about 1 h of searching.C. florus in the United States , near apple orchards or feral apples. In 2000, sampling was restricted to a gelechiid associated with balsam poplar near Yakima, WA.In 1997, samples were collected in the Wenatchee area of central Washington, the site of the first discovery of d States . In 1998X. pallorana, artificial leafroller diet  with tight fitting lids for rearing at 22\u00b0 C and a 14:10 L:D photoperiod to evaluate parasitism. When needed, larvae were provided with additional food, which consisted of foliage from the host on which they were collected, or in the case of ler diet . In 1998C. florus were difficult to locate in most habitats in September and October of all years. Other than small diapausing (unsuitable) larvae of C. rosaceana and P. pyrusana, only five species of potential leafroller hosts were collected after September 1 in any year. These included Ancylis comptona (Froelich), X. pallorana, and Syndemis sp. (Tortricidae), Filatima sp. (Gelechiidae), and Caloptilia burgessiellia (Zeller) (Gracillariidae). Syndemis sp. was the only leafroller that was easily recognizable as large enough to support parasitism by C. florus; the stages of the other four leafrollers all seemed to be smaller than the suitable sizes of leafrollers typically parasitized by C. florus. A. comptana was the most common of these leafrollers and, once identified, could be collected from roses in numerous locations in the Columbia river basin near Wenatchee and the Kittitas, Wenatchee and Yakima valleys  . Syndemis sp. was rare, with only 14 individuals collected over the three years of the survey. All Syndemis sp. larvae were collected at one location feeding on redosier dogwood, despite sampling that host plant in numerous locations . C. florus were also discovered diapausing on A. comptana feeding on Wood's rose at Squilchuck 1 in 1997. Additional observations of C. florus diapausing on A. comptana were made on roses at 3 sites in 1998 and 7 sites in 1999 and in strawberries at one site in 1999 . This was a low level of parasitism of Filatima sp. compared to the very high parasitism of sentinel P. pyrusana (100%) in nearby apples and parasitism of A. comptona  in an adjacent rose patch. The small number of A. comptana collected for this sample was due to its scarcity in this area. Many other rose patches were sampled in this general area  during that day, and no other A. comptana were collected, nor was additional evidence of larval feeding observed. In 2000, > 200 Filatima sp. were collected, and no parasitism by C. florus was observed, despite very high parasitism of sentinel P. pyrusana (> 95%) in nearby orchards. No parasitism of X. pallorana or C. burgesselia by C. florus was observed during this survey.In 1999, diapausing A. comptana, Syndemis sp., and Filatima sp., that were observed to overwinter in potentially suitable stages for C. florus were observed with diapausing C. florus in the field. However, only A. comptana appeared to be a numerically important overwintering host. Parasitism of A. comptana by C. florus varied widely from site to site ranging from 0 to 44%   .Syndemis sp. was only observed at one location and in small numbers, thus this host is unlikely to play an important role in the population dynamics of C. florus. However, despite its rarity, C. florus larvae diapausing on Syndemis sp. were collected each fall. Parasitism of Filatima sp. was much more difficult to observe. Despite the ease of locating larvae of this species, Filatima sp. appears to not be a particularly suitable host for C. florus. It is smaller than A. comptana and may rarely reach a size large enough for C. florus to parasitize. C. burgessiellia does not appear to be a suitable host for C. florus as there were no recoveries with parasitism by C. florus. The third tortricid collected, X. pallorana, is very suitable for parasitism by C. florus , and its size appears too small to support overwintering by C. florus. However, the overwintering instars of X. pallorana have not been definitively determined.. florus , but it C. florus has been reported to be the most important parasitoid of leafrollers in Europe . A host of C. florus in Europe -Anagrus spp. system in California vineyards. Habitats containing alternate hosts for overwintering by Anagrus spp., including blackberry patches and prune plantings that are in proximity to vineyards can lead to reduction of pest leafhopper populations in grapes . Future studies will evaluate the potential of creating near orchard habitats containing roses and strawberries and introducing A. comptana to increase the local density of C. florus and subsequent parasitism of leafrollers in orchards, particularly in the spring."}
+{"text": "Nandina domestica Thunb. were the only ingesta found in the gastrointestinal tract of these birds. Due to their voracious feeding behavior, the birds had eaten toxic doses of N. domestica berries. N. domestica contains cyanide and is one of the few berries readily available at this time of the year in the region. The gross and microscopic findings are consistent with lesions associated with cyanide toxicity. This paper for the first time documents toxicity associated with N. domestica in Cedar Waxwings.Dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia, USA, in April 2009. Five of these were examined grossly and microscopically. Grossly, all the examined birds had pulmonary, mediastinal, and tracheal hemorrhages. Microscopically, several tissues and organs were diffusely congested and hemorrhagic. Congestion and hemorrhage were marked in the lungs. Intact and partly digested berries of  Bombycilla cedrorum, formerly Ampelis cedrorum) is a member of the family Bombycillidae. It breeds in North America, principally southern half of Canada, and the northern half of the United States [N. domestica forms an excellent backdrop for perennials that disappear in winter. Clusters of the bright red berries of N. domestica last for months on each plant, attracting hungry birds whose food is in short supply during this time of the year and into late spring [N. domestica is not previously reported in Cedar Waxwings. The Cedar Waxwing , and examined by light microscopy. Dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia, USA, in April 2009. Five of these were necropsied at Tifton Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory of The University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine. The birds were examined grossly and microscopically. For microscopic examination, tissue samples were collected at postmortem and fixed in 10% buffered formalin, processed for routine histopathology, sectioned at 5\u2009N. domestica variably filled the crop (All the examined birds had similar findings on gross and microscopic examinations. Grossly, intact berries of the crop . Ample athe crop . Microscopically, the lungs, liver, kidney, proventriculus, ventriculus, uvea of the eye, heart, the meninges, and brain were diffusely congested. The hemorrhage and congestion were marked in the lungs . The tra Nandina domestica is a native of China and Japan. The species and its dwarf varieties are popular landscape items. The plant has naturalized and invaded habitats in southeastern and other areas of the USA. The bright berries are beloved by birds and attract Cedar Waxwings, mockingbirds, and robins [During winter, the Cedar Waxwings are concentrated in southeastern coastal plains of the USA. They are highly vagile, moving among crops of fruits, including those of ornamental trees and shrubs in suburban areas . Destrucd robins .N. domestica were the sole contents of the gastrointestinal tract of the examined birds. This indicates that the birds had eaten toxic doses of N. domestica berries, one of the few fleshy fruits available in winter and spring in south Georgia. The appetite of the Cedarbird is of so extraordinary nature as to prompt it to devour every fruit or berry that comes in its way . Cedar WNandina domestica berries contain cyanide and other alkaloids [N. domestica, cyanogenesis is the most important intoxication factor [N. domestica. lkaloids , 10. Forn factor . PresumaN. domestica. Because of their voracious feeding behavior, the birds have eaten toxic doses of N. domestica berries for which cyanogenesis is the most important intoxication factor [Cyanogenic plants represent a problem for various range of animals and wildlife, primarily among species that eat rapidly . The gasn factor . Tissue n factor . Hydrogen cyanide is highly poisonous to all animals. Sudden death is often the only presenting sign of acute cyanide poisoning . AlthougN. domestica in Cedar Waxwings. The berries of N. domestica are beloved by other birds such as robins and mockingbirds [In cyanide poisoning, hemorrhages occur commonly in the heart, lungs, and various other organs of affected animals. The characteristic cherry red venous blood seen in acute cyanide poisoning results from the failure of the oxygen-saturated hemoglobin to release oxygen to the tissues because the enzyme cytochrome oxidase is inhibited by cyanide . The groingbirds , indicat"}
+{"text": "The Federation of European Academies of Medicine (F.E.A.M.), founded in 1993 in Brussels, has the goal of promoting cooperation between national Academies of Medicine. It is the main association functioning as a bridge between the political and administrative authorities of the European Union and the National Medical Academies of Europe, in their role as advisors with concern to medicine and public health. Since the promulgation of its status in the Royal Decree on 31 March, 1995, F.E.A.M. has been given the full rights of an international association with a scientific objective. Its head office is still located in Brussels, in the prestigious Palais des Academies. F.E.A.M. has grouped leading European medical experts for its work, having three main objectives, as stated in their statute: To identify public health issues common to the Member States and to debate them in its conferences organized for the scientific Delegates of its Member Academies;To produce short reports based on an objective and impartial analysis of these issues which are submitted to the European Union and the Member Academies;To facilitate contacts between Member Academies and other organizations, with respect to the activities of the European Union, in matters concerning medicine and public health.th and the 26th of March, in Bucharest. Past conferences were held in Prague, Paris, Brussels, Rome and Lisbon. For the first time in the whole existence of FEAM, representatives from out of Europe, from countries such as China, USA, and Israel have been invited to participate. This year, F.E.A.M. has given the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences the honor to host and organize the Spring Conference, during the 24This conference had two main objectives, both fulfilled with great success. The first objective, an administrative one, was to elect a new President\u2013to\u2013be for F.E.A.M., who was found in the person of Academician Prof. Dr. Laurentiu Mircea Popescu, President of the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences. After his election, he will enjoy the Vice\u2013President, President and Past President positions, each for two years. The second objective, an academical one, was to outline the high\u2013end research and opinions in two mainstream domains of medicine: Translational Cardiology, on one part, and Medical Bioethics and Public Health on the other.\u2018The embryonic epicardium: an essential element of cardiac development\u2019 by Prof. R.M. Chapuli from Spain, \u2018The role of the epicardium derived cells in cardiac development and repair\u2019 by Prof. Adriana C. Gittenberger\u2013de Groot from Netherlands, \u2018From genes to function: Single nucleotide polymorphisms as markers for cardiac disease\u2019 by Prof. C. deWit from Germany, \u2018The role of endogenous carbon monoxide and heme oxygenase system in myocardium\u2019 by Prof. A. Tosaki from Hungary, \u2018Regenerative Medicine: a cardiac surgeon's view\u2019 by Prof. S.S.Hu from China \u2018Relationships between telocytes and cardiomyocytes during pre\u2013 and post\u2013natal life\u2019 by Prof. Maria\u2013Simonetta Faussone\u2013Pellegrini and Prof. D. Bani from Italy, \u2018Myocardial telocytes: a new distinct cellular entity\u2019 by Prof. S. Kostin from Germany, \u2018Cardiac stem cells, from science to therapy\u2019 by Prof. P. Doevendans from Netherlands, \u2018Cardiospheres and tissue engineering for myocardial regeneration: potential for clinical application\u2019 by Prof. G. Frati from Italy, \u2018Redox signaling of cardiac stem cells\u2019 by Prof. D. K. Das from S.U.A., \u2018Vascular Disease: A Critical Stage in the Vascular Continuum\u2019 by Prof. Maya Simionescu from Romania, \u2018Use of Cell and Gene Therapy for Engineering Blood Vessels\u2019  by Prof. M. Flugelman from Israel and \u2018Developmental origins of hypertrophic cardiomiopathy phenotypes\u2019 by Prof. F. Cecchi from Italy.Selected speakers from twelve countries and three continents have presented their point of view during the two major scientific sections of the conference. The first section entitled \u2018Translational Cardiology: from Molecular and Cellular Cardiology to Bedside\u2019, brought light on the latest scientific breakthroughs of this field. The program included subjects such as A high importance was given to the newly discovered Interstitial \u2018Cajal\u2013like\u2019 Cells (ICLCs) telocytes and their importance in Cardiology. Both Prof. G. Frati from Italy and Prof. S. Kostin from Germany focused on the importance of telocytes in Regenerative Cardiology, receiving valuable feedback from Prof. L.M. Popescu. The interactivity of the conference was of great significance, since it directed research towards new grounds, and stands as the fundamental source of new ideas and new perspective in a field that is responsible for the caring of more and more patients worldwide.\u2018The medical profession in transition: what makes a good doctor?\u2019 by Prof. H.E. Blum from Germany, \u2018Reconciling Bioethics with Public Health\u2019 by Sir Peter Lachmann, Prof. from the United Kingdom, \u2018Skylla and Kharybdis: stem cell researchers squeezed between advancement of science and self promotion?\u2019 by Prof. Y. T. Konttinen from Finland, \u2018Ethical issues in Tissue Engineering and Molecular Medicine\u2019 by Prof. R.E. Horch also from Germany, \u2018Bioethics, a basic discipline in public health\u2019  by Prof. A. Knottnerus from The Netherlands, and \u2018Bioethics of Patient Cell Reprogramming: In Search for Post JAK2 V617F Events in Blood Cancers\u2019 by Prof. St.N. Constantinescu from Belgium.The second section of the conference focused on Medical Bioethics and Public health, with presentations such as \u2018The New Medicine\u2013a general cultural project and a perspective in civilization\u2019 by Prof. C.T. Dragomir from Romania. The final presentation and closing remarks were summarized in an impressive presentation regarding High importance was given to the conference by the Romanian administrative, legislative and academic world, with attendance of Daniel Petru Funeriu the Minister of Education and Culture, Adrian Streinu\u2013Cercel, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health, Florian Popa, Member of the Romanian Parliament and Rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Mircea Cinteza, Senator, Stefan Iosif Dragulescu, Deputy and Rector of the University of Medicine in Timisoara and Academician Ion Ababii, Rector of the University of Medicine in Chisinau, as well as other personalities transforming this event into a base\u2013stone for future academical, social and cultural perspectives in Romanian health and education.To quote Acad. Prof. L.M. Popescu in his presentation of the event, we sincerely believe that Bucharest has been the heart of translational cardiology and medical bioethics, even for just a couple of days."}
+{"text": "Solanum section Petota are complicated and the section seems overclassified. Many of the presumed (sub)species from South America are very similar and they are able to exchange genetic material. We applied a population genetic approach to evaluate support for subgroups within this material, using AFLP data. Our approach is based on the following assumptions: (i) accessions that may exchange genetic material can be analyzed as if they are part of one gene pool, and (ii) genetic differentiation among species is expected to be higher than within species.The taxonomy and systematic relationships among species of Petota could be arranged in 16 clusters of various size and composition. Next, the accessions within the clusters were grouped by maximizing the partitioning of genetic diversity among subgroups  for all available individuals of the accessions (2767 genotypes). This two-step approach produced an optimal partitioning into 44 groups.A dataset of 566 South-American accessions (encompassing 89 species and subspecies) was analyzed in two steps. First, with the program STRUCTURE 2.2 in an 'unsupervised' procedure, individual accessions were assigned to inferred clusters based on genetic similarity. The results showed that the South American members of section Some of the species clustered as genetically distinct groups, either on their own, or combined with one or more other species. However, accessions of other species were distributed over more than one cluster, and did not form genetically distinct units.We could not find any support for 43 species . For 28 species some level of support could be found varying from good to weak. For 18 species no conclusions could be drawn as the number of accessions included in our dataset was too low. These molecular data should be combined with data from morphological surveys, with geographical distribution data, and with information from crossing experiments to identify natural units at the species level. However, the data do indicate which taxa or combinations of taxa are clearly supported by a distinct set of molecular marker data, leaving other taxa unsupported. Therefore, the approach taken provides a general method to evaluate the taxonomic system in any species complex for which molecular data are available. Petota of the genus Solanum, is known to be problematic [Solanum species he recognized, had arisen from hybrid speciation. A quote from Correll [Tuberarium being roughly equivalent to the current section Petota).The taxonomy of wild potato species, belonging to section blematic -3. Identblematic . Hawkes blematic  hypothes Correll   in the STRUCTURE analyses, accessions of certain species may already start to be assigned to different clusters before accessions of other species would be separated from each other. When large datasets are analyzed convergence problems for the Gibbs sampler algorithm used in STRUCTURE software may occur ,28. TherPisum. The advantage is that an a priori grouping is made and accessions formerly classified under the same name may end up in different groups. An alternative option was to optimize the grouping of accessions by maximizing the Fst among the species or among combinations of species. This has two important advantages: (1) all plants within an accession can be included in this computationally simple analysis, and (2) even if several rounds of grouping are performed, it is still much faster than optimizing and performing a STRUCTURE analysis on each of the 16 clusters. A disadvantage is that accessions of the same name remain together, which may mean that in theory the best solution is less optimal than obtained with the nested STRUCTURE approach.The second level (nested) analyses could be done again by STRUCTURE for each group separately, as e.g. Jing et al.  did in PAs a pilot experiment, we performed a nested STRUCTURE analysis on a few clusters and compared the results to an Fst analysis of the same clusters. The results were compared by calculating the Fst among groups for the nested STRUCTURE analysis and for the optimized Fst approach. The optimized Fst approach always resulted in a higher value for the Fst among the groups within the cluster (not shown). We therefore decided to continue with the Fst analysis. This combination is a novel approach.The partitioning of genetic variation (Fst) among STRUCTURE clusters or among new groups within a cluster was computed using AFLP-SURV 1.0 . The allWithin each of the 16 STRUCTURE clusters we calculated Fst based on the species present using AFLP-Surv. Subsequently, combinations of accessions with different species labels were made and the overall Fst value and pairwise Fst values between the groups within a cluster were computed. We performed several rounds of grouping. Each time the accessions of those species or groups that showed a pairwise Fst of less than the observed overall Fst of the groups within the cluster were combined. This process was repeated, merging species and species groups, until further merging of groups did not increase the overall Fst value significantly.The 566 South-American accessions were analyzed using STRUCTURE, testing various numbers of groups, from K = 1 to K = 30. Figure S. okadae, S. raphanifolium, S. verrucosum, and S. macropilosum occupy exclusively one cluster, while many other accessions are found to share a cluster with accessions from one or more other species, for instance S. huancabambense with S. sogarandinum. Many accessions labeled with the same species name are distributed over two clusters, e.g. the accessions of S. maglia, S. gourlayi, S. tarijense. Finally, there is a number of species whose accessions show membership to more than two clusters. Additional file The estimated population structure of one run at K = 16 is shown in Figure The partitioning of genetic variation among the clusters (Fst) in the 16 cluster arrangement represented 31% of the genetic variation  we obtained support for additional groups within these clusters, up to a total of 44 units (or 48 units including the unknown species accessions) (Table Many described species in section s) Table . This doIf not all accessions of a species are in one cluster but one or a few are present in different clusters, this may indicate misclassification. Occurrence of different species labels intermingled within one cluster points at overclassification. From both situations we see examples in our dataset and these may have consequences for the (sub) species status of the present taxa.S. microdontum, S. vernei, S. boliviense and S. megistacrolobum. Only one of the recognized subspecies was supported in our analysis: S. commersonii subsp. malmeanum could be differentiated genetically from S. commersonii subsp. commersonii  species have been extensively studied previously, using morphology. The subspecies rodontum  and shoucal data  and withcal data . Based or et al.  studied S. raphanifolium, S. verrucosum (with S. macropilosum as synonym), S. microdontum, S. commersonii, S. okadae (only the seven accessions in cluster 15), S. huancabambense, and S. sogarandinum. The seven S. okadae accessions that appear in cluster 3 together with S. venturii accessions turned out to be mislabeled and have been corrected as being S. venturii accessions . The accessions labeled S. microdontum, S. huancabambense and S. sogarandinum share their cluster with accessions from other species, but the optimal partitioning of genetic variation within the cluster shows that they represent distinct genetic units. This is consistent with the results from Jacobs et al. [The following species are supported as genetically distinct units: s et al.  and mosts et al. ,32,36,37S. verrucosum and S. macropilosum in cluster 2, of S. kurtzianum and S. maglia in cluster 3, of S. venturii and S. okadae in cluster 3, of S. sandemanii, S. weberbauerii, and S. medians in cluster 5. Some of these combinations have already been recognized in the literature, e.g. S. macropilosum is considered a synonym of S. verrucosum [Some species are assigned to one STRUCTURE cluster, but their accessions do not form distinct genetic units within the cluster on their own, but combined with accessions from another species they do Table . These arrucosum .S. medians and S. sandemanii, but not S. weberbauerii, which name they apparently considered as a synonym . Spooner et al. [S. sandemanii and S. weberbaueri under S. medians.Spooner and Salas  recognizr et al.  synonymiS. maglia, S. doddsii, S. chacoense, S. gourlayi, S. virgultorum, S. hoopesii, S. augustii, S. tarijense S. vernei, S. infundibuliforme, S. alandiae, S. neorosii, S. sucrense, S. pachytrichum, and S. violaceimarmoratum. A major cause for this situation is probably mislabeling of accessions, although some of these species may be the product of hybridization events that occurred a long time ago. For instance, Solanum doddsii from Bolivia has been hypothesized to be a hybrid between S. alandiae and S. chacoense [The analysis showed that accessions from some species were scattered across two or even three clusters. This was the case for the accessions with the following species labels: hacoense .Misclassifications do occur since identification is often problematic due to ambiguous species characteristics. Problems with the identification of species were already addressed by Spooner and Salas  and SpooSolanum sect. Petota are the results of hybridization. Recent hybridizations can readily be recognized from the STRUCTURE analysis by the probability with which they are assigned to a particular cluster. While most accessions have a very high probability  to belong to one cluster, hybrid individuals tend to have a much lower probability (< 0.5) and have a, often only slightly lower, probability to belong to another cluster. Schulte et al. [Many authors ,4,41,42 e et al.  also argS. spegazzinii and S. gourlayi, which co-occur in northern Argentina. The S. spegazzinii accession SPG386 was assigned to cluster 3 with a probability of 0.459 and with 0.262 to cluster 16. Another example of recent hybridization is NRS737 which shows probabilities of 0.435 and 0.434 with the clusters 13 and 15, respectively. However, in all cases the actual parents are unknown.To practically present our results, we have assigned all accessions to the cluster to which it had the highest probability, but Additional file S. mochiquense, S. immite, S. chancayense in cluster 7, S. canasense, S. bukasovii, S. candolleanum, S. coelestipetalum, S. pampasense, S. ambosinum, S. marinasense, S. multidissectum, S. velardei in cluster 10, S. arnezii, S. yungasense, in cluster 12, S. incamayoense in cluster 13, S. tarijense, S. berthaultii in cluster 14, S. arac-pappa, S. leptophyes, S. ugentii, S. oplocense, S. sparsipilum, and S. brevicaule in cluster 16.Some species do appear in one cluster in the STRUCTURE analysis, but their accessions do not form a separate group in the Fst analysis, not even as part of a fixed combination with another species label. This concerns the following species: S. canasense S. bukasovii, S. candolleanum, S. coelestipetalum, S. pampasense, S. ambosinum, S. marinasense, S. velardei, S. incamayoense, S. leptophyes, S. ugentii and S. sparsipilum. Ugent [Solanum oplocense was shown to be a well-defined species using morphological data [S. berthaultii and S. tarijense should be combined. The species in cluster 7 were studied morphologically by Ames and collaborators [Solanum immite and S. chancayense among the 6 distinctive species in a group of 29 species, the remainder of which were 'difficult to distinguish'.Many species mentioned in this category are part of what is termed the 'brevicaule complex' ,8,44: S.m. Ugent  already cal data  and molecal data  nor in ocal data  and a mocal data  had alreborators , who plahttp://www.solanaceaesource.org), where Spooner and his collaborators maintain two species, S. candolleanum for the northern representatives, and S. brevicaule for the southern representatives. Cluster 7 contains almost exclusively Peruvian accessions, and some species labels in cluster 7  are associated with series Piurana [Many accessions within a cluster come from the same geographical region  exchange(d) genetic material. For exchange of genetic material at least the accessions with the different species labels should have overlapping or adjacent geographical areas, at present or in the recent past.Cluster 14 contains all Petota given in Hijmans et al. [S. augustii, S. immite and S. dolichocremastrum in cluster 7, and S. berthaultii and S. tarijense in cluster 14.Indeed, information on the distribution areas of the species of sect. s et al.  confirmsSolanum section Petota. The approach taken in the present paper was to determine the genetic distinctiveness of these species. The outcome questions the species and subspecies status of more than half of the taxonomic labels used in South American part of Solanum section Petota. The genetically distinct clusters and groups within clusters resulting from our analysis can be used as a basis for recognizing groups of species and for an evaluation of species status .Click here for file"}
+{"text": "This problem is further compounded by the fact that prostate cancer has become a major public health problem in developing countries. Thereby, global collaborations among prostate cancer scientists, clinicians, survivors and advocates are important to better understand the etiology of prostate cancer among at-risk Black men, and develop effective interventions to address these disparities.Prostate cancer continues to be the most significant cancer proven to disproportionately overburden men of African descent, especially United States (US) Black men. Unfortunately, African American race/ethnicity is one of the three primary non-modifiable risk factors confirmed for prostate cancer.Science of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities in Black Men conference was organized to:The 1. Provide opportunities for mutual learning, knowledge transfer, and collaborations among prostate cancer scientist clinicians, survivors and advocates.2. Promote trans-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary prostate cancer research globally;3. Facilitate networking among individuals involved in all aspects of prostate cancer control, education and research in Black men.4. Facilitate the development of a global community of practice to address common challenges in prostate cancer, including prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.5. Contribute to a global impact against prostate cancer through research training and education programs for low-resource countries.The primary goals for participants were to:\u2022 Learn - Learn from internationally renowned speakers recognized in prostate cancer disparities and survivorship research.\u2022 Discover - Discover the latest research findings on prostate cancer Prevention, Early Detection, Diagnosis, Treatment, Survivorship and End-of-Life.\u2022 Connect - Connect with other Researchers, Clinicians, Patients, Advocates and Policy makers from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.\u2022 Share - Share ideas with other conference delegates involved in all aspects of prostate cancer control and research in Black Men.\u2022 Explore - Explore the world of trans-disciplinary prostate cancer research.\u2022 Develop - Develop a global community of practice to address common challenges in prostate cancer disparities.st Biennial Science of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities in Black Men Conference was held in the heart of downtown Jacksonville, Florida on August 27-29, 2010. A total of 96 delegates participated in the conference, including 21 patient/survivors, family, and friends. There were 15 international delegates from Africa, the Caribbean, and United Kingdom.The 1Prostate Cancer Treatment & Outcomes. The second workshop was chaired by Dr. Durado Brooks. Dr. Brooks and Dr. Kevin Stein discussed Prostate Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Survivorship. Dr. Brian Cleaver chaired the third workshop and discussed Research Ethics: Protection of Human Subjects in Research, a session mostly attended by international delegates. The afternoon concurrent workshops were chaired by Dr. Diane Woods, Dr. R. Renee Reams and Dr. Titilola Akinremi (Nigeria). The session chaired by Dr. Woods focused on Tools for Low Resource Countries. She presented Community-based Participatory Research and Ms. Tara Hylton discussed Cancer Registration. For the fifth workshop, Dr. Reams (chair), Dr. Yehia Daaka and Dr. Jong Park presented Tools for Molecular Basis. The last pre-conference workshop was on Research Collaboration with Low Resource Countries: Overcoming the Challenges, and was presented by Dr. Akinremi (chair) and Dr. Folakemi Odedina.There were a total of six pre-conference workshops, with three concurrent sessions in the morning and three concurrent sessions in the afternoon. Dr. Philipp Dahm chaired the first workshop. Dr. Dahm and Dr. Isaac Powell, presented the latest findings on Opening Plenary Session took place on Saturday, August 28 with opening remarks by Dr. Folakemi Odedina (Conference Chair) and program overview provided by Mr. Virgil Simons. The conference was officially opened by Senator Anthony Hill Sr . Dr. Vickie L.. Shavers  and Col. Robert E. Porter (100 Black men Jacksonville) welcomed all conference delegates, and Dr. Paul Okunieff (UF Shands Cancer Center Director) gave the Welcome Address. The key note speaker was introduced by Dr. Rick Kittles (Scientific Program Committee Co-Chair).The PSA Testing in Black Men Across the Globe: Policy Implications. This session was moderated by Dr. Charles Rosser and Mr. Anthony Grissett. The speakers/panelists were Dr. Frank Chinegwundoh ( UK), Dr. Femi Ogunbiyi (Nigeria), Dr. Robin Roberts (Bahamas) and Dr. Curtis Pettaway (USA).A Community-Academic Town Hall Forum was held on Saturday, August 28 on The key note speaker was Dr. John Carpten, PhD. Dr. Carpten is Professor and Director of Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, and Head of the Cancer Gene Discovery and Molecular Validation Unit at the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Dr. Carpten delivered an outstanding lecture on the status of the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer Study Network. This multicenter collaboration has recruited a large number of African American families with men who have a high risk of developing prostate cancer to identify the genetic risk factors for prostate cancer.Epidemiology and Genetics and was led by Dr. Rick Kittles who presented along with Dr. Tim Rebbeck. Mr. Theodies Mitchell, Jr. chaired plenary session two, with Dr. Alexander Asea, Dr. Richard Ablin, and Dr. Philipp Dahm presenting on Prevention and treatment.Nationally and internationally renowned experts were invited to present the latest findings on prostate cancer research for the conference plenary sessions. The first plenary session focused on Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors was the focus of plenary session three which was chaired by Dr. Carole Kimberlin, and included presentations from Dr. Folakemi Odedina, as well as Dr. V. Diane Woods. Dr. Rich Segal chaired plenary session four with presentations from Dr. Isaac Powell and Dr. Camille Ragin which focused on Geographical and Outcome Variations.The Translation Continuum: Innovative Research Approaches to Addressing Prostate Cancer Disparities from Bench to Bedside to Community. Plenary session six focused on Funding Opportunities for Prostate Cancer Disparities. The session was chaired by Dr. Frank Chinegwundoh (UK) with presentations by Dr. Alexis Bakos , Dr. Carolyn Best (Department of Defense), and Dr. Ronilt Elk (American Cancer Society). The final plenary session was From Community to Bench: Researchable Community Issues on Prostate Cancer by Mr. Jim West (chair) and Dr. Willie Kimmons.Dr. Vickie L. Shavers chaired plenary session five with Dr. Rick Kittles, Dr. Femi Ogunbiyi (Nigeria), and Dr. Robin Roberts (Bahamas) presenting on Prevention & Early Detection or Prostate Cancer \u2013 Protective and Risk factors. Dr. Richard Segal and Dr. Robin Roberts (Bahamas) moderated the poster sessions. The posters presentations were Histopathological Review of Prostate Cancer in Lokoja, Nigeria by Dr. Olabode Oluwole; The Role of Dietary Fat in Prostate Cancer Risk in Jamaican Men: A Pilot Study by Dr. Ayokunle Osho; Correlation Between Gleason Grade And Age At Presentation Of Prostate Cancer in Black Men in Abeokuta, Nigeria by Dr. A. Olutunde; and Prostate Cancer: Histopathological Analysis of 66 cases by Dr. Olabode OluwoleA total of 13 abstract submissions were accepted for presentation at the conference. Four posters were presented during a 3-hour poster session on Saturday afternoon. The poster abstracts were placed in either of two categories, Prognostic Factors for Prostatic Carcinoma Among Men in Lagos, Nigeria; Dr. V. Diane Woods who discussed African American Men\u2019s Response to Prostate Cancer Prevention and Early Detection: The Pcap Toolkit; and Dr. Kabore Aristide (Burkina Faso) who gave a presentation on Prostate Cancer Outcome in Burkina Faso.There were nine oral podium presentations. Dr. B. Lee Green was the moderator for the first oral presentation session. The presenters were Dr. M. Tokunboh Odubanjo (Nigeria) who presented on the Detecting Gene-Gene Interactions in CaP Disease in African American. During the same session, Ms. Jennifer Green presented a study on The Efficacy and Toxicity of Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators in the LNCaP Cell Line; Dr. Rose Mary Stiffin provided an overview on The Presence of Megakaryocytes in Cancerous Prostate Cancer Tissue; and Dr. Hernan Flores-Rozas discussed the Differential Contribution of Mismatch Repair Genes in the Processing of DNA Damage.The second oral presentation session was led by Dr. R. Renee Reams, who also gave an overview of Review of Prostate Cancer Research in Nigeria and Dr. Belinda Morrison (Jamaica) gave an overview of her work on Bone Mineral Density in Jamaican Men on Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer.Dr. Jong Park moderated the third oral presentation session, in which Dr. Titilola Akinremi (Nigeria) gave a presentation on the The patient and provider symposium was organized by the Prostate Net and chaired by Mr. Virgil Simons, Founder and President of Prostate Net. This symposium was a unique experience allowing patients to learn with and learn from prostate cancer providers and researchers.Patient/Survivor Track. The Patient/Survivor track was moderated by Dr. Brian Stone. He gave a presentation on the Prevention and Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. Following Dr. Stone\u2019s presentation , a joint session on Prostate Cancer Treatment: What\u2019s Best for You was led by Dr. Winston Tan, Dr. Stephen Ko, and Dr. David Theil. Dr. Paul Godley presented next on Efficacy of PSA Screening for Prostate Cancer among Elderly African Americans: A Case-Control Study.Emerging Trends, Issues & Treatment in Late-Stage Disease. For the afternoon session, Dr. Brian Stone and Dr. Elisabeth Heath discussed the Treatment of Advanced Stage Disease followed by a presentation on Controlling Therapeutic Side Effects/Pain Management and by Dr. Stephen Ko and Dr. David Theil.The Keynote Luncheon was given by Dr. Oliver Sartor who discussed the Provider Track. The provider track targeted clinicians and offered CME provided by the University of Florida. Dr. Stephen Ko and Dr. David Theil opened this track with a presentation on Managing Hormone Sensitive, Non-Metastatic Relapse Prostate Cancer. The next presentation was Managing Castrate-Resistant, Metastatic Prostate Cancer by Dr. Winston Tan (chair) and Dr. Elisabeth Heath.The Prostate Cancer Patient and Provider Symposium concluded with a Joint Provider-Patient Symposium session discussing the Future of Prostate Cancer Research and How to Address Clinical Trial Barriers. This session was moderated by Dr. Elisabeth Heath and Mr. Virgil SimonsMeet the Clinical Experts session was held on Saturday, August 28 presided by Dr. Christopher Williams. Six breakfast round table discussions were held on diverse prostate cancer topics led by Dr. Christopher Williams, Dr. Durado Brooks, Dr. Chidiebere Ogo (Nigeria), Dr. Adeteru Ayoade (Nigeria), Dr. Curtis Pettaway, and Dr. Charles Rosser.To foster dialogue between patients and leading prostate cancer clinicians, a \u201cScience of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities in Black Men\u201d will be held biennially. The next conference will be in The Bahamas and will focus on the \u201cGlobal Burden of Prostate Cancer: Economic, Clinical and Humanistic Outcomes of Prevention, Detection & Treatment\u201d.Global collaborations are essential to better understand and effectively address the disproportionate burden of prostate cancer seen in Black men. To foster global collaborations and accelerate prostate cancer control and cure, the"}
+{"text": "Molecular Pathogenesis of Virus Infections describes our current understanding of the pathogenesis of selected virus and prion infections. The innate response is an early barrier to virus spread. In this context, O. Haller et al. describe the antiviral activity of type I interferons and the various virus-encoded countermeasures. R.P. van Rij and R. Andino review the role of RNAi as a therapeutic antiviral agent and its use by the host and virus during viral infections. J.L. Whitton gives an overview of the adaptive CD8+ T-cell immune response in the context of virus infections. G. Screaton and J. Mongkolsapaya explain potential roles of T-cell responses in dengue hemorrhagic fever. E. Turnbull and P. Borrow provide a detailed description of the ineffectual roles of the innate and immune responses in the control of HIV and the long road ahead for development of either a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine.Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies have perhaps the most unconventional natural history of any infectious agent. J.C. Manson and R.M. Barron describe the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, the appearance of new strains, and the nature of host susceptibility to disease. C.M. Dixon et al. depict the special problems presented to the host by certain RNA viruses that are maintained and persist in human populations through avoidance or inhibition of apoptosis, innate immune response, and adaptive immune response.Other viruses infect humans only as incidental hosts and cause epizootics of varying degrees. A.L. Hartman et al. review our current understanding of the pathogenesis of Ebola and Marburg filoviruses, paying particular attention to the factors that contribute to lethal disease. C. Dye and S. Siddell discuss the pathogenesis of feline coronavirus, an animal disease model that has provided insights into the study of the newly recognized disease, severe acute respiratory syndrome. R.G. Webster et al. enumerate the key influenza genes responsible for human pathogenicity, their roles in past pandemics, and the potential of avian influenza virus strains to evolve into highly pathogenic and transmissible viruses for human populations.Many viruses modify host metabolism and innate/immune responses to their own ends. L. Gray et al. describe the impact of human papillomaviruses on cell cycle and apoptosis. S.M. Lemon and K. Li review the data documenting hepatitis C virus disruption of innate intracellular antiviral defenses, including interferons and toll-like receptors. M.B. Ruiz-Arguello et al. enumerate the multiple, distinct receptor homologs and binding proteins encoded by poxviruses that target tumor necrosis factor. L.K. Dixon summarizes the multiple host pathways that are targeted at multiple levels by African swine fever virus. J.P. Stewart et al. describe the pathogenesis of murid herpesvirus 4 that supports its use as model for gammaherpesviruses. M.L. Freeman et al. provide an overview of the potential role of the immune system in the latency of the alphaherpesvirus, herpes simplex virus 1. This book is suitable for the serious student and professional and is well referenced for further reading."}
+{"text": "Leishmania (L.) major, L. tropica and L. aethiopica. L. tropica can also visceralize and cause VL. In India, the large epidemics of VL are caused by L. donovani and cases of CL are caused by L. major and L. tropica. However, strains of L. tropica have also been isolated from Indian cases of VL.Leishmaniases are divided into cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). In the Old World, CL is caused by L. tropica isolated from human cases of CL are genetically identical to or different from Indian strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of VL and to see if any genetic differences found correlated with clinical outcome presenting as either CL or VL.This study was done to see if Indian strains of L. tropica, was used to characterize and identify eight strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of CL examined in clinics in Bikaner City, Rajasthan State, north-west India. Their microsatellite profiles were compared to those of 156 previously typed strains of L. tropica from various geographical locations that were isolated from human cases of CL and VL, hyraxes and sand fly vectors.Multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT), employing 12 independent genetic markers specific to L. tropica from Bikaner isolated from human cases of CL fell into one of the subpopulations in the population India/Asia together with strains from other Asian foci. Indian strains isolated from human cases of VL fell into the same sub-population but were not genetically identical to the Bikaner strains of L. tropica.Bayesian, distance-based and factorial correspondence analyses revealed two confirmed populations: India/Asia and Israel/Palestine that subdivided, respectively, into two and three subpopulations. A third population, Africa/Galilee, as proposed by Bayesian analysis was not supported by the other applied methods. The strains of It seems that the genetic diversity encountered between the two groups of Indian strains is mainly owing to their geographical origins rather than their different times of isolation. Also, the genetic differences seen between the dermatotropic and viscerotropic strains might be connected with the difference in pathogenicity. The leishmaniases have been divided into cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniases (VL), and each of the two basic types of clinical conditions has its particular causative agents. In the Old World, CL is caused by Leishmania major, L. tropica and L. aethiopica, and VL by L. donovani and L. infantum.The leishmaniases are endemic to 98 countries in the world. With 278,000 counted cases they are one of the most neglected tropical diseases. Alvar et al.  estimateL. donovani and L. infantum can also cause CL without patent signs of visceral disease; bearing in mind that post-kala azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a sequel to VL and not just a form of CL, and L. tropica can also visceralize and cause VL without patent cutaneous symptoms [However, it has long since been recorded that symptoms ,3. This symptoms -6.L. donovani, is of major concern since more than 100,000 cases are said to occur annually, most of them in Bihar State, north-eastern India [Leishmania have been found to cause CL in India: L. major, L. tropica and L. donovani[L. tropica and the vector of the sand fly species Phlebotomus (P.) (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti[P. sergenti is ubiquitous and the main vector for L. tropica. A strain of L. tropica was also isolated from a dog, the 'Bikaner dog strain' MCAN/IN/1971/DBKM [et al. [L. tropica was identified as the species causing the cases. Interestingly, Sharma et al. [L. tropica and, also, L. donovani among 161 cases of CL from a new epidemic focus in Himachal Pradesh, northern India. In the same focus, they also found a case of VL caused by L. tropica[L. tropica was described [P. argentipes, which is considered to be the vector of L. donovani in India, one might surmise that these cases of CL were caused by L. donovani. In Sri Lanka, strains isolated from human cases of CL were identified as L. donovani[In India, human VL caused by rn India . Human Crn India , Himacharn India , and Ker donovani where th donovani and wher sergenti,13. P. s971/DBKM ,15. Aara [et al.  have sum. tropica. More reescribed ,19. Seve donovani. Sri LanLeishmania are associated with more than one clinical condition, forming a clinical syndrome, e. g., L. tropica being associated with simple CL, leishmaniasis recidivans (LR) and VL, L. donovani with VL, CL, and oro-nasal leishmaniasis, L. aethiopica with CL, diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) and rare cases of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL), and L. braziliensis with CL and MCL, the human hosts are considered to be the varying part of the host-parasite relationship where the hosts' immunological status determines the clinical outcome and the parasites are considered a uniform unvarying entity. However, various means, including serological, biochemical and molecular genetic methods have shown that the different strains constituting the different leishmanial species vary, of course, among the species and also among the strains within each species, the strains of the species L. tropica particularly so [It has generally been thought that where species of larly so -23.L. tropica isolated from human cases of CL are genetically identical to or different from Indian strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of VL; and, if they are different, how different. In doing this, the Indian strains were compared to other strains of L. tropica from many other places, isolated from cases of CL and VL from those places.The interest in this study was to see if Indian strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of CL, secondly, their own genetic interrelationship and, then, their genetic relationship to Indian strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of VL and many other strains of L. tropica from human cases and some from sand flies and animal hosts  was applied to determining, firstly, the microsatellite profiles of Indian strains of L. tropica is intrinsically very variable. Extensive genetic variation was confirmed by a study that investigated variation in 21 microsatellite markers of 117 strains of L. tropica from different African and Asian foci that identified ten different genetic groups [L. tropica isolated from cases of VL from Bihar State grouped in one cluster together with other strains from the Asian continent.Serological -23, biocc groups . In thatThis study was approved by the Ethics Committees of the \u201cS.P. Medical College and associated group of hospitals\u201d in Bikaner Rajasthan State, India.L. tropica typed genetically by MLMT were isolated in 2006 and 2007 from human cases of CL presenting at clinics in the City of Bikaner, Rajasthan State, north-west India. Their WHO codes are given in Additional file The eight strains of L. tropica of widely distributed geographical origins, most of which were isolated from human cases of CL, some of which were isolated from human cases of VL and a few of which were isolated from sand fly vectors and hyrax hosts, are also given in Additional file MLMT genotypes and genetic population affiliations of 156 strains of L. tropica used in a previous study [et al. [et al. [et al. [The number of markers for the species us study  was redu [et al.  and Jamj [et al. . Further [et al. , were moEach PCR reaction was done in a volume of 25\u00a0\u03bcl that contained 1\u00d7 PCR buffer, 200\u00a0\u03bcM dNTP mix, 5 pmol fluorescence-labelled forward and unlabelled reverse primer, 1 unit Taq polymerase , and 20\u00a0ng genomic DNA. PCRs started with denaturation for 5\u00a0min at 95\u00b0C, followed by 35\u00a0cycles  was used for the subsequent analysis of the peaks. The resulting microsatellite profiles were summarized in an excel file. Strains missing data for more than two microsatellite markers were excluded from the analyses and, thus, are not listed in Additional file Fragment lengths had to be normalized for several reasons. Two different sequencers and different fluorescence dyes were used in each of two studies, this one and a previous one , which uL. tropica from Bikaner was determined and compared with the microsatellite profiles of the 156 strains typed previously.Variation in the 12 independent microsatellite markers in the eight strains of Once the input file was created with MSA version 4.05 , the BayAs an additional statistical approach based on allele frequencies, the data were processed by factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) as implemented in Genetix 4.05 . The conhttp://bioinformatics.org/~tryphon/populations/) was applied to calculate the genetic distances, using the shared alleles distance measure (DAS). The Neighbour Joining (NJ) tree based on these data was visualized by MEGA 5.1 [POPULATIONS software version 1.2.34 , and of mean number of alleles (A), observed (Ho), expected (He) heterozygosity, and the inbreeding coefficient (FIS) were performed with MSA 4.05 and GDA 1.1 [Calculations of  GDA 1.1 , respectThe whole set of samples comprised 97 different genotypes, of which 75 were unique to individual strains within the set. Six of the eight strains from Bikaner, BKC-1; -2; -10; -11; -15; -28, were of identical genotype, one, BCK-3 differed from the others in a single microsatellite marker, LIST7040, and in one strain, BCK-5, amplification failed for one marker, GA1.LtroMS 030, 031, 032) when compared to those of the four Indian strains isolated from cases of VL between 1979 and 1997 . Compared with the eight Indian strains isolated from cases of CL from Bikaner, the DNA from all four older Indian strains isolated from cases of VL showed different repeat lengths in three of the microsatellite markers, GA2, LIST7033, and LIST7040. Four other microsatellite markers, GA9n, LIST7010, LIST7027, and LIST7039, were different in at least one of the strains  values between the populations ranged from 0.30 to 0.65 , ranging from 0.06 to 0.814, was generally higher than the observed heterozygosity (Ho), ranging from 0.000 to 0.402. The inbreeding coefficients per locus (FIS) showed more positive than negative values, indicating a large number of homozygotes among these strains. The FIS value of the population Asia/India, 0.091, indicated nearly random mating  to 16 (LIST7039), with an average of 7.42  arabicus[P. (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti, which is the vector in the other Israeli foci [L. tropica. Also, it was in this focus that a strain of L. tropica was isolated from a hyrax of the species Procavia capensis and hyraxes are thought to be the animal reservoir of L. tropica[P. capensis is found all along the Great Rift Valley, which stretches from northern Syria via the Jordan Valley that separates Israel and Jordan then through East Africa to end in central Mozambique in southern Africa.A group of strains isolated in Israel formed a distinct subpopulation within the essentially African population Africa/Galilee. They came from a focus on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee and were previously shown to be genetically  and anti arabicus,44 ratheeli foci  and, in L. tropica isolated from human cases of CL, which were examined at clinics in Bikaner City. The MLMT profiles of these strains showed genetic similarities to and, also, differences from those of older Indian strains of L. tropica isolated from human cases of VL. However, all the different analyses applied to these dermatotropic and the viscerotropic strains consigned them to the same main genetic population, together with strains of L. tropica from other Asian foci. It is assumed that the genetic diversity seen among the Indian strains of L. tropica examined is not only owing to their different geographical origins but also to their different times of isolation; however, we cannot exclude the possibility of genetic differences underlying the different genotypes of Indian strains of L. tropica being responsible for their difference in pathogenicity. This might be resolved if more strains of L. tropica from different foci of CL and VL would be included in the study, including those from the focus in Himachal Pradesh where cases of both CL and VL have been caused by L. tropica.Microsatellite typing was used to genotype eight Indian strains of L. tropica from other countries, three main genetic populations, Asia/India, Israel/Palestine and Africa/Galilee, were discerned, the strains of which separated into subpopulations with some geographical anomalies occurring. Genetic changes occur in a given place at a given time for whatever reason and spread in a population from that place during more time. One can assume that genotypes that appear to be out of geographical synchronization have been imported in some way. Animals, most insects and humans travel, including animal hosts and vectors. Humans are particularly well-travelled, more so today than ever before, and their parasites go with them wherever they go. Only where suitable hosts, animal or human, and vectors are available, zoonotic or anthroponotic leishmaniases will establish themselves.In comparing the Indian strains with the strains of The authors declare that they have no competing interests.LK carried out the microsatellite typing, conducted the data analysis, and wrote the manuscript. RAB collected the samples. KA, JW, and MDM carried out microsatellite typing. LS and PS isolated the sample DNA and participated in writing the manuscript. GS designed the study, participated in data analysis and writing the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.Ltro indicates L. tropica and MS microsatellite, in an attempt to initiate a standardized nomenclature and identification system for microsatellite profiles and their corresponding genotypes. Doc\u2009=\u2009documentation: *cited in Schwenkenbecher et al., 2006; **this study, ***own unpublished data. The fragment lengths are given in bp and were normalized to the reference strain MHOM/PS/2001/ISL590 as mentioned in the methods section.Strains used in this study. Doubled strains in the table represent different clones of the same strain received from different laboratories. In the genotype designations Click here for fileA: calculation for all strains in this study to specify the number of main populations, B-D: sub-structuring of the proposed populations .Calculation of the most probable number of populations, \u2206K, based on the results of Bayesian statistics. Click here for fileFST values calculated for the three main populations identified by Bayesian analyses. FST estimates describe the genetic distances resulting from pairwise comparison of the distinct populations. Values are categorized into little (<0.05), moderate (0.05-0.15), great (0.15-0.25), and very great (>0.25) genetic differentiation.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Epicrates (Boidae) presented only one continental species, Epicrates cenchria, distributed in Central and South America, but after a taxonomic revision using morphologic characters five species were recognized: E. cenchria, E. crassus, E. maurus, E. assisi, and E. alvarezi. We analyzed two independent data sets, environmental niche models and phylogeny based on molecular information, to explore species delimitation in the continental species of this genus. Our results indicated that the environmental requirements of the species are different; therefore there are not evidences of ecological interchangeability among them. There is a clear correlation between species distributions and the major biogeographic regions of Central and South America. Their overall distribution reveals that allopatry or parapatry is the general pattern. These evidences suggest that habitat isolation prevents or limits gene exchange among them. The phylogenetic reconstruction showed that the continental Epicrates are monophyletic, being E. alvarezi the sister species for the remaining two clades: E. crassus - E. assisi, and E. maurus - E. cenchria. The clade grouping the continental Epicrates is the sister taxon of the genus Eunectes and not of the Caribbean Epicrates clade, indicating that the genus is paraphyletic. There is a non-consistent pattern in niche evolution among continental Epicrates. On the contrary, a high variation and abrupt shifts in environmental variables are shown when ancestral character states were reconstructed on the sequence-based tree. The degree of genetic and ecological divergence among continental Epicrates and the phylogenetic analyses support the elevation to full species of E. cenchria, E. crassus, E. maurus, E. assisi, and E. alvarezi.Until recently, the genus  Accurate species delimitation is one of the most basic tasks in systematic research. However, lineages separation is a temporally extended process that may result in populations with all or some of the following features: reciprocal monophyly, reproductive isolation, ecological divergence, and morphological distinctiveness Epicrates, nine insular species distributed in the region of the Great Antilles and the Bahamas have been recognized, and until recently only one continental species, Epicrates cenchriaE. c. cenchria, E. c. maurus, E. c. alvarezi, E. c. gaigei, E. c. crassus, E. c. barbouri, E. c. polylepis, E. c. hygrophilus and E. c. assisiE. cenchria, covering areas with very different environmental conditions and the fact that some morphotypes present an important degree of differentiation in color patterns and meristic characters E. c. cenchria, E. c. maurus and/or E. c. crassus to the rank of full species Epicrates cenchria complex based on an analysis of the morphological variation in meristic, color pattern and morphometric characters proposed a new taxonomic arrangement, which comprises the species E. cenchria , E. crassus (including E. c. polylepis), E. maurus (including E. c. barbouri), E. assisi, and E. alvareziEpicrates group.In the genus Ecological divergence is an important step in the process of speciation The use of molecular markers also contributes to establish species limits since they provide solid information about the phylogenetic relationships among the taxa and/or individuals. Moreover, levels of genetic divergence among closely related recognized species can serve to systematists to infer, by comparison, the status of the evolutionary independent lineages observed in groups presenting a controversial taxonomy Epicrates combining two independent data sets, environmental niche models and phylogeny based on molecular information. We also compared our results with the previously obtained from morphological data, predicting that morphologically distinctive species will also be ecologically and genetically divergent. Additionally, we assessed whether the genetic variation across lineages is associated with divergence in the ecological niche.The aim of this study was to explore species delimitation in the continental forms of the genus E. maurus (5.8%). On the other hand, annual precipitation makes a large contribution only to the E. cenchria model. The assessment of the Maxent models accuracy by \u201creceiver operated characteristics\u201d (ROC) plots indicates that the models predicted for each continental species of the genus Epicrates are robust, with high values of \u201carea under the curve\u201d (AUC)  .E. alvarezi, E. crassus, E. assisi, E. cenchria and E. maurus are shown in The predicted distribution for each species was nearly identical in Maxent and GARP. The areas of probable occurrence determined by their respective models for E. alvarezi , in Central and East of Bolivia and West of Brazil. Epicrates alvarezi distributes allopatrically with respect to all the other members of the genus Epicrates.The overall distribution of the five species reveals that allopatry or parapatry is the general pattern. Small or none overlapping zones between species were detected , except P\u22640.001). Furthermore, the statistically significant separation among species occurs along the three PC axes .The PCA analysis revealed three components that collectively explain more than the 84% of the variation, with each PC responsible for 51%, 22% and 11% of the variation, respectively. The PC1 depicts a gradient from subtropical sites with a marked cold and dry winter, to tropical sites with higher temperatures . The PC2The MP and BI phylogenetic trees of each partition produced highly congruent estimates of phylogenetic relationships among the taxa; in general, the nodes received less support in the MP analyses .Epicrates, the second clade groups those of the genus Eunectes and the third clade clusters all the sequences of the continental Epicrates. Within this last clade, E. alvarezi is recovered as the sister taxon of the rest of the lineages of the continental Epicrates. Epicrates crassus appears as the sister taxa of E. assisi and E. cenchria, of E. maurus. In this last clade, one sequence of Epicrates cenchria  to 13.9% . Epicrates alvarezi is the most genetically divergent of the continental clade. The sequence U69777 presents similar levels of genetic distance with E. cenchria and with E. maurus (2.6% and 2.7% respectively); given the uncertainty about the taxonomy of the specimen, this sequence was not considered in the genetic distance analysis. Among the Caribbean Epicrates the values of genetic distances are the highest, 14.2% on average, ranging from 6.0% (E. crisogaster-E. exsul) to 17.5% (E. angulifer-E. striatus). Between the species of the genus Eunectes the genetic distance was 12.1%. Within species, the genetic distances are, on average, 0.8% and 1.4% for the continental and Caribbean Epicrates, respectively . Sister species pairs showed different trends: E. maurus presents little divergence in genetic and moderate divergence in ecological distances with E. cenchria , but it is ecologically more similar to E. assisi despite their genetic differences .A non directional niche evolution is observed in the continental Epicrates are shown in the reconstruction of ancestral character states of environmental variables on the sequence-based tree  The environmental niche models obtained from our data are in agreement with the known distribution of each species Epicrates. This is shown by the fact that the relative contribution of each environmental parameter is taxon specific  to clarify the relationships among the population of this area and the continental species of Epicrates.In accordance with the new taxonomic arrangement Epicrates that includes all continental species and the majority of the Caribbean ones. The phylogenetic trees obtained with MP and BI show three well supported clades: the Caribbean Epicrates, the species of the genus Eunectes and the continental Epicrates. The three clades are grouped in a polytomy in the mtDNA tree, but in the nDNA+mtDNA analyses, this polytomy is resolved indicating that the Caribbean Epicrates are the sister taxon of the clade formed by the continental Epicrates and by the species of the Eunectes genus. This clearly indicated that the genus Epicrates is not monophyletic. The paraphyly of the genus was suggested in previous phylogenetic analyses of Boinae. Burbrink, using cytochrome b gene as molecular marker, recovered the continental Epicrates as the sister taxon of the Caribbean Epicrates and the Eunectes clade Epicrates outside the cluster grouping the continental Epicrates and Eunectes murinusEpicrates, E. cenchria, since they were performed before the new taxonomic arrangement Epicrates, eight of the nine species of the Caribbean Epicrates and two of the three species of Eunectes, which greatly increases the reliability of the phylogenetic outcome obtained. Besides, the basal position of the clade grouping the insular Epicrates supports the hypothesis of a divergence between the South American Epicrates and Eunectes, posterior to the split of the Caribbean group.This is the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Epicrates, it was suggested that speciation could have been inhibited because of the high levels of gene flow that kept the populations connected Epicrates are lower than those found among Caribbean species, they are similar to those obtained between the two well recognized species of the genus Eunectes here analyzed, thus confirming that lineage diversification has also occurred in the continental species.Regarding the speciation pattern in the continental Epicrates. Epicrates alvarezi is recovered as the sister taxon of the clade, which contains the rest of the species. In agreement with this result, E. alvarezi is the most distinct taxa in morphological characters among the continental Epicrates, showing several exclusive features E. crassus appears as the sister taxon of E. assisi and E. cenchria as the sister taxon of E. maurus.The four phylogenetic trees (MP and BI) here presented clearly support the monophyly of the continental Epicrates, there is a non-consistent pattern in niche evolution, as indicated by the lack of correlation between niche similarity and genetic distance. The reconstruction of ancestral characters on the phylogenetic tree shows important variations in environmental variables like elevation, temperature seasonality and minimum temperature of the coldest month. From a hypothetical subtropical ancestor, two different pathways diverge: on one hand, a lineage inhabiting tropical non seasonal areas, represented by E. cenchria and E. maurus; on the other hand, the branch comprising E. alvarezi, a species distributed in template, highly seasonal areas. However, our present data are not enough to assess a possible role of the ecological divergence in the speciation process in the group.Within the continental Epicrates and the phylogenetic analyses here performed support the elevation of E. cenchria, E. crassus, E. maurus, E. assisi, and E. alvarezi to the rank of species suggested by morphological data Epicrates.To sum up, the degree of genetic and ecological divergence among continental Epicrates. The database used includes a total of 105 points of presence of Epicrates alvarezi, 98 of E. crassus, 43 of E. assisi, 56 of E. cenchria and 69 of E. maurus that were gathered from the authors' field data, museum records obtained from http://splink.cria.org.br/ and http://www.herpnet.org/ and literature records We obtained presence data from the five recognized continental species of the genus http://www.ittvis.com/).Two types of variables were used as predictors: topographic  derived from a digital elevation model, and bioclimatic, both obtained from WorldClim To avoid over-parameterize the analyses we extracted the environmental information from each species presence data and performed Pearson correlation tests. For pairs of variables that were highly correlated (coefficient \u22650.8), the variable considered easier to interpret biologically was chosen Several methods are used to estimate the probability area of occurrence of a species from presence-only data; these methods can result overly permissive or overly restrictive GARP uses the values of environmental variables of known occurrences and pseudo-absence data to create a model of the specific requirements of the taxon. We used the \u201cbest subsets\u201d procedure http://www.infostat.com.ar/).A principal component analysis (PCA) was made using values of the environmental variables of each pixel with an observed presence record to examine the overall level of divergence in environmental space among the five species studied and to assess which environmental gradients separate the species. To determine whether separation in environmental space was statistically significant, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The species were the fixed factor and PC scores were the dependent variables. A significant MANOVA score indicates potential non-overlap of ecological niche Epicrates, eight of the Caribbean species of Epicrates and two species of the sister genus Eunectes (E. notaeus and E. murinus). Corallus hortulanus and Boa constrictor occidentalis were used as outgroups for phylogenetic reconstructions.We studied specimens of the five continental b (Cyt-b) gene and three nuclear genes, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), recombination-activating protein 1 (RAG-1) and oocyte maturation factor (c-mos). Primer sequences for these loci are obtained from the literature http://www.macrogenusa.com) in an ABI PRISM 3730x1 DNA automatic analyzer . Sequences obtained in the present study have been deposited in GenBank  and combined mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. For MP analysis, the TNT program Multiple-sequence alignments were done with MUSCLE For BI, the most appropriate model of sequence evolution was selected using JModeltest b gene. The nuclear genes were not used to calculate genetic distances due to their low level of variability, and the absence of data for some species.The Kimura 2 parameter genetic distance (K2P) was calculated using the Cyt-http://www.marksgeneticsoftware.net/tfpga.htm) and 10000 permutations were used in significance testing.To assess whether genetic variation across species is associated with divergence in the ecological niche, a Mantel test http://compare.bio.indiana.edu) was used To estimate overall trends in evolution of niche traits, the Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares method (PGLS) implemented in COMPARE 4.6b Click here for additional data file.Appendix S2List of the presence data use for the environmental niche model in the continental Epicrates.(DOC)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "The sequences of the 16S rRNA genes extracted from fecal samples provide insights into the dynamics of fecal microflora. This potentially gives valuable etiological information for patients whose conditions have been ascribed to unknown pathogens, which cannot be accomplished using routine culture methods. We studied 33 children with diarrhea who were admitted to the Children\u2019s Hospital in Shanxi Province during 2006.Streptococcus as the most dominant fecal bacterial genus at admission. Eight of nine children whom three consecutive fecal samples were collected had Streptococcus as the dominant fecal bacterial genus, including three in the Streptococcus bovis group and three Streptococcus sp., which was reduced during and after recovery. We isolated strains that were possibly from the S. bovis group from feces sampled at admission, which were then identified as Streptococcus lutetiensis from one child and Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus from two children. We sequenced the genome of S. lutetiensis and identified five antibiotic islands, two pathogenicity islands, and five unique genomic islands. The identified virulence genes included hemolytic toxin cylZ of Streptococcus agalactiae and sortase associated with colonization of pathogenic streptococci.Nineteen of 33 children with diarrhea could not be etiologically diagnosed by routine culture and polymerase chain reaction methods. Eleven of 19 children with diarrhea of unknown etiology had S. lutetiensis and S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus from children with diarrhea of unknown etiology, and found pathogenic islands and virulence genes in the genome of S. lutetiensis.We identified  Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Shigella spp., non-typhoidal Salmonella, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba histolytica-21S. lutgalactiae. The genptococci -25 , and four segment 16S rRNA genes  in the S. bovis group were selected for an evolutionary study. The reference strain of S. lutetiensis (accession number: EU163503) was found to be the nearest strain to the S. lutetiensis genome sequence in our study, showing the same 16S rRNA gene sequences. Compared with the nearest species S. infantarius subsp. infantarius BAA-102 and EU163504, strain 033 had two and three nucleotide differences in the 16S rRNA genes, respectively.Together with the biochemical tests, the results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing with 48 complete genomes for streptococci, two draft genomes  who provided all three specimens with unknown etiology at admission had as the dominant diarrhea . Streptodiarrhea . So, theStreptococcus as the dominant genus, and all showed a reduced the percentage of Streptococcus sp. in fecal microflora of during and after recovery. Two patients had S. salivarius as the dominant species with one showing a reduced the percentage of Streptococcus sp. in fecal microflora during and after recovery. The other patient showed an increase. Three patients had the S. bovis group as the dominant species, and all showed a reduced the percentage of S. bovis group in fecal microflora during and after recovery. This observation suggests that the association of the S. bovis group with diarrhea is worthy of further investigation.Three patients from Group C2 had S. bovis is divided into three biotypes, I , II/1 (S. lutetiensis and S. infantarius), and II/2 , based upon mannitol fermentation and \u03b2-glucuronidase activities. S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus is known to be associated with endocarditis and colon carcinoma. S. infantarius, S. lutetiensis and S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus are associated with non-colonic cancer and meningitis. Children with signs of gastrointestinal disturbance at presentation associated with S. bovis were also reported [reported .S. bovis group were isolated from three patients, and PFGE analysis showed that they had their own unique restriction pattern, indicating that the strains within individual patients were identical. The isolates were identified as S. lutetiensis and S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus.The dominant species from the nine patients of group C were cultured and four showed that they were negative. Thirty-six strains of the S. lutetiensis strain isolated from a child with diarrhea. Two previously recognized pathogenicity islands were identified in the genome. GI-6 was found to encode a CPS gene cluster involved in the pathogenicity of S. suis[S. pneumoniae[S. bovis group. These included the putative hemolytic toxin cylZ and the sortase gene associated with adhesion and colonization [We determined and analyzed the full genome sequence of the f S. suis. GI-7 waneumoniae. Eight anization ,24,25.S. bovis group were among the predominant bacteria in some of the patients at admission, and showed a reduction in numbers during treatment and recovery. In addition, we report the first genome sequence of a S. lutetiensis isolate, identifying putative pathogenic islands and virulence genes. However, it was hard to detect all the infectious agents and there were many non-infectious factors that may cause diarrhea; therefore, additional studies are needed to clarify the potential contribution of these bacteria to diarrhea in children.We studied the dynamics of the fecal microbial community in children with diarrhea of unknown etiology and found for the first time that strains of the The authors declare that they have no competing interests.DJ, LL, ZL, HJ, CY and JX conceived and designed the experiments.DJ, SL,YXu and XB performed the experiments.CC, ZZ, PD, HW, YXiong, HZ and LW carried out the molecular genetic studies and participated in the sequence alignment.HS contributed reagents and materials. DJ, MG and JX wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.This work was supported by grants  from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Key Programs for Infectious Diseases of China; and by grants from the State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, People\u2019s Republic of China.Characteristics of patients and clinical presentation of diarrhea among children included in this study.Click here for fileDominant bacterial species in the feces of the control group.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Solanum lycopersicum, is divided into two widely distributed varieties: the cultivated S. lycopersicum var. lycopersicum, and the weedy S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme. Solanum pimpinellifolium is the most closely related wild species of tomato.Tomato, S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. cerasiforme during the domestication of tomato are still under debate. Some authors consider S. l. cerasiforme to be the ancestor, whereas others think that S. l. cerasiforme is an admixture of S. pimpinellifolium and the cultivated S. l. lycopersicum. It is also not clear whether the domestication occurred in the Andean region or in Mesoamerica. We characterized 272 accessions  were morphologically and genetically using the SolCap platform . The two species were distinguished in a PCA analysis and displayed a rich geographic structure. Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme and S. l. lycopersicum were also differentiated in the PCA and Structure analyses, which supports maintaining them as different varieties. Solanum pimpinellifolium and the Andean S. l. cerasiforme were more diverse than the non-Andean S. lycopersicum. Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme was morphologically and molecularly intermediate between S. pimpinellifolium and tomato. Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, with the exception of several Ecuadorian and Mexican accessions, is composed of the products of admixture processes according to the Structure analysis. The non-admixtured S. l. cerasiforme might be similar to the ancestral cultivars from which the cultivated tomato originated, and presents remarkable morphological diversity, including fruits of up to 6 cm in diameter. The data obtained would fit a model in which a pre-domestication took place in the Andean region, with the domestication being completed in Mesoamerica. Subsequently, the Spaniards took plants from Mesoamerica to Spain and from there they were exported to the rest of the world.The roles of  Solanum lycopersicum L., formerly Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), with a yield of 146 million tons in 2010, is the vegetable with the highest worldwide production . Despite its economic importance, some aspects of its origin remain unclear. Most authors agree that Solanum pimpinellifolium L. is the closest wild species to the cultivated tomato, S. lycopersicum var. lycopersicum (S. l. lycopersicum), and that S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (S. l cerasiforme), a variety that usually grows in disturbed lands, is the ancestor of the cultivated variety. However, important aspects of the relationships between these species and varieties have yet to be completely clarified.Tomato   and their respective geographical subgroups was carried out using the Arlequin software A principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out with the smart-PCA S. pimpinellifolium group showed a clear substructure in which the coastal and montane accessions were clearly segregated. From here on we will refer to these two clusters as Peruvian and Montane S. pimpinellifolium, respectively. The groups included in the Montane region were Machala, Catamayo and Jaen and were all located in the western and central Andean valleys. These groups showed a clear latitudinal cline that separated the accessions along a geographical north-to-south axis that was clearly seen in the PCA representation.The main S. lycopersicum PCA group, the S. l. cerasiforme and cultivated tomato subgroups were almost completely segregated. The bulk of the Andean S. l. cerasiforme was distributed in a latitudinal cline that comprised the Ecuadorian and northern Peruvian accessions. The S. l. cerasiforme accessions in the Cusco region (southern Peru), which was somewhat closer to S. pimpinellifolium, represent the only exception to this cline. By contrast, the non-Andean S. l. cerasiforme occupied an intermediate position between the San Mart\u00edn and Zamora S. l. cerasiforme groups and the traditional tomato varieties and heirlooms. The relationship between these S. l. cerasiforme clusters was best appreciated when all three of the first PCA components were taken into account. Whereas in the representation of the first and second components the tomato and northern Peruvian S. l. cerasiforme distributions were close and parallel .S. pimpinellifolium, S. l. cerasiforme and the cultivated tomato  and higher than that of the cultivated tomato (0.35). The polymorphism found in the different groups within these taxa also showed marked differences. For instance, in S. pimpinellifolium, the geographical groups close to the Piura region showed the highest polymorphism (Piura 0.32 and Sullana 0.34), whereas the variability in this species was reduced in the northern  and southern latitudes (e.g. Nazca 0.10).Several indexes related to diversity and heterozygosity were calculated for the different species, varieties and geographical groups . The polS. l. cerasiforme. While the polymorphism found in S. l. cerasiforme from different Andean regions  was similar to that found in S. pimpinellifolium, the genetic polymorphism in Mesoamerica was much lower (0.26). A similar degree of polymorphism (0.24) was found in the traditional cultivated varieties from the same region as well as in the heirlooms from the rest of the world (0.20). In contrast to this low polymorphism a higher level of polymorphism was detected in the modern, improved materials (0.39).Prominent differences in variability were also found within S. pimpinellifolium (13.7%) than in S. l. cerasiforme (9.7%) and S. l. lycopersicum (11.9%), but marked differences between regions were found for this parameter. In S. pimpinellifolium, the maximum heterozygosity was associated with the regions with the highest polymorphism, Piura and Sullana (57.3%), whereas heterozygosity was much lower in the north  and Pedernales (9.3%)) and in the south (Nazca (13.7%)).The ratio of observed to expected heterozygosity (expressed as a percentage) was only slightly higher in S. l. cerasiforme, regional variation in heterozygosity was also found with values as high as 40% in Suc\u00faa and Yucat\u00e1n and as low as 3% in Pasco and the Canary Islands. In the cultivated tomato, all regions had low heterozygosity, ranging from 1 to 4% for all traditional varieties, while the modern, improved varieties, which included some commercial hybrids, had higher heterozygosity (16.6%).In S. pimpinellifolium, although important differences in frequency were observed when compared to S. lycopersicum. For instance, both the standard \u2018tomato\u2019 and \u2018pimpinellifolium\u2019 types of leaf  was carried out with the quantitative and ordinal characters to assess which characters were the most discriminant between the three taxa  could be considered moderate. This result is to be expected because, while there is a marked differentiation between the three main groups, within those groups the correlation between the morphological and genetic distance should not be too high. For instance, within S. l. lycopersicum to S. l. cerasiforme as well as the transition from traditional cultivars to modern materials have deprived the Andean region of traditional tomato varieties, as all of the corresponding accessions have ended up as modern or as S. l. cerasiforme.Another potential classification pitfall occurs when distinguishing between traditional varieties and modern improved materials. It is not possible to do this classification based only on the passport data recorded at the collection site. For instance, some accessions collected in traditional markets or in small gardens could include materials derived from modern improved cultivars. Differentiating between traditional and modern varieties can be improved by employing a morphological classification that takes into account characters such as fruit size uniformity, set sequence uniformity, core size and the presence of scars on the fruit. In fact, in this study, once the morphological characterization was completed, several accessions that had been previously considered to be traditional varieties due to their passport data were classified as modern improved materials. These reclassified accessions included, among others, all of the traditional tomato varieties from Ecuador. The invasion of the traditional markets by improved foreign materials was already recorded as early as the 1950s S. pimpinellifolium, the geographic structure of the genetic variability was quite evident, and was tightly correlated with the climate characteristics of each region: the Peruvian coastal desert, the humid and temperate northern Ecuadorian forests and the montane regions of the Andes. These geographically related differences on the level of diversity already described when S. pimpinellifolium was studied with allozymes Genetic variability was not uniform among the different populations of the different taxa. In S. l. lycopersicum, the polymorphism was lower than in the other groups, especially in the non-American cultivars. This result is compatible with previous studies, for instance a recent study by Mazzucato et al. that also found low diversity in the traditional old-world tomato varieties In S. l. cerasiforme, the polymorphism found in different geographical regions was also very different: 0.48 in Ecuador, 0.49 in northern Peru, 0.27 in Mesoamerica and 0.20 in the non-American samples. Rick and Fobes S. l. cerasiforme between S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. lycopersicumIn S. l. cerasiforme was also high. The Andean S. l. cerasiforme had a morphology that was very different from the typical small, uniform fruits of S. l. cerasiforme. In this region, a high morphological variation was found which encompasses that found in S. pimpinellifolium as well as a significant part of the variation typical of the traditional tomato varieties. Especially striking is the variation found in fruit shape and size, which includes very small fruits, almost indistinguishable from those of S. pimpinellifolium, and large fruits that could easily be classified as small tomatoes. In fact, as has already been noted, in 1958 Rick S. l. cerasiforme presented in this study.The morphological diversity of S. l. cerasiforme appears as a coherent group in the PCA when compared to S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. lycopersicum, it also shows a marked substructure, especially in the Andean region. In the PCA carried out without S. pimpinellifolium, three different Andean groups could be defined in S. l. cerasiforme: Ecuador, northern Peru and southern Peru. Moreover, a marked geographical substructure is evident even within these broad regions. For instance, a clear latitudinal cline is observed in Ecuador, both in the PCA and in the Structure analyses  Dunal as the tomato ancestor. According to Br\u00fccher, L. humboldtii would have been a wild species, different from S. l. cerasiforme, with fruits between 4 and 6 cm, and with leaves similar in shape to those of S. pimpinellifolium. This species was originally collected by Humboldt and later by Br\u00fccher in the Department of Aragua, Venezuela, a region of high rainfall. The classification of the Br\u00fccher collections as L. humboldtii was questioned by Teppner S. l. cerasiforme. We consider that both the large- and small-fruited plants could both in fact be classified as S. l. cerasiforme. We have observed accessions of this variety with both large and small fruits and with different leaf types despite being genetically homogeneous and belonging to the same population  The PCA clearly showed that S. l. cerasiforme occupies an intermediate position between S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. lycopersicum, although it is closer to the latter. B) S. l. cerasiforme showed intermediate morphological characteristics in the characters that differentiate S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. lycopersicum. Especially notable in this regard are the characters related to fruit size and style position. On the other hand, there are results that reinforce the role of S. l. cerasiforme as the ancestor of tomato: A) Not all the S. l. cerasiforme accessions seemed to be admixtures according to the Structure analysis; this is the case for accessions collected in Ecuador and northern Peru. B) Most of the genome of the admixtures found in the Ecuadorian S. l. cerasiforme was similar to that of the non-admixtured S. l. cerasiforme from the Suc\u00faa geographical group, so the Ecuadorian admixtures would always include the genome of an ancient non-admixtured S. l. cerasiforme. C) The Ecuadorian accessions, including those that are not admixtures, include plants that could easily be considered traditional small-fruited tomatoes. Moreover, the hybrid-S. l. cerasiforme hypothesis would imply that the ancestral transitional types of intermediate fruit size, created during the domestication process of S. pimpinellifolium, would have disappeared from the present variation observed in the Andean and Mesoamerican regions.Alternatively, Nesbitt and Tanksley proposed that S. l. cerasiforme inhabited a large geographical region in pre-Columbian times, ranging from the Andes to Mesoamerica, and thus the domestication of tomato could have happened in any of these locations. No clear data exists in previous studies that definitively resolves the Andean and Mesoamerican domestication hypotheses S. l. cerasiforme and S. l. lycopersicum. However, Jenkins also admitted that he did not have enough samples from the Andean regions to compare to those from Mesoamerica. This comparison was carried out by Rick and Fobes with isozymes S. l. cerasiforme. Despite this evidence, they preferred the Mesoamerican hypothesis because they also found evidence of hybridizations between S. pimpinellifolium and S. l. cerasiforme in the Andean region that may have confounded the variability measurements.S. l. cerasiforme, we propose that a pre-domestication process took place in the Andean region that created small-fruited tomato varieties adapted to high rainfall climates. These varieties were very similar to the Ecuadorian S. l. cerasiforme accessions with bigger fruits that were included in this study and to those collected by Br\u00fccher in Venezuela, which he regarded as the ancestors of the cultivated tomato. However, given the complexity of the genetic variation detected in the Andean region, we cannot completely rule out the alternative possibility that the characters typical of the cultivated tomatoes found in Andean S. l. cerasiforme could have been introduced in more recent times from foreign materials.Taking into account the aforementioned morphological and molecular data regarding Ecuadorian S. l. cerasiforme and those with larger fruits seem to be derived from modern tomato breeds. The modern cultivars are eroding the traditional varieties, as was also noted by Rick S. l. cerasiforme.This question could be better addressed if we had samples of ancient Mesoamerican and Andean tomato varieties, but this is not a trivial task. The Andean accessions collected as traditional tomato varieties in this study were later classified into two groups: those with smaller fruits were reclassified as To settle this conjecture, it would be ideal to have archaeological evidence regarding tomato fruits in pre-Inca Andean cultures, but these remains have not been found in the Andean nor in the Mesoamerican regions S. pimpinellifolium, the Mesoamerican S. l. cerasiforme is closest to the traditional Mesoamerican varieties. As has already been described, the polymorphism and heterozygosity of Mesoamerican S. l. cerasiforme is quite low, and thus the genetic diversity of the traditional varieties that descended from it is also quite low. One trait associated with the decrease in heterozygosity which occurred on the way from Andean S. pimpinellifolium to the worldwide spread of the cultivated tomato, passing through the Andean and Mesoamerican S. l. cerasiforme, is the style position, which has gradually become more inserted  developed by the SolCAP project Prior to any molecular-based analysis, the set of markers to be considered was filtered, with markers with more than 10% missing genotypes or monomorphic (with 95% criteria) being removed. Additionally, when several markers were within 10 Kilobases of one another, all but one were removed.Genetix version 4.05 software The Principal Component Analyses (PCAs) conducted to study the pattern of genetic variation among the accessions were carried out with the filtered markers by using the smartPCA application included in the Eigensoft 3.0 package The standard K\u00f6ppen-Geiger climate classification displayed in the geographical maps was taken from Peel et al. candisc R library. Both the quantitative and the ordinal characters were used, whereas the nominal and binary ones were discarded for this analysis. The species classification was chosen as the classification variable.The canonical discriminant analysis conducted on the morphological data was carried out using the populations software (http://www.bioinformatics.org/project/?group_id=84). A Mantel correlation test between the genetic and morphological distances was carried out with the mantel.rtest function of the ade4 R package using 1000 permutations to assess the significance.The morphological distances were calculated using R and combining two distance matrixes All charts were prepared by coding custom scripts, available upon request, that used the matplotlib Python library.Figure S1Structure-Estimated Ln Prob of Data for different numbers of populations (K).(TIFF)Click here for additional data file.Figure S2Canonical discriminant analysis. CDA analysis of the quantitative and ordinal morphological data. The projections of the accessions on the first two canonical variables are plotted. The colors used show the different genetic groups and match those in S. pimpinellifolium (triangle), S. l. cerasiforme (square) and S. l. lycopersicum (circle).(TIFF)Click here for additional data file.Table S1Sample list and passport data.(XLS)Click here for additional data file.Table S2Genotypes determined with the SolCap array for all accessions.(CSV)Click here for additional data file.Table S3Morphological characterization data.(XLS)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Since the introduction of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis by Moncrief and Popovich in 1976, the number of patients treated with peritoneal dialysis has continuously increased. Today, approximately 200\u2009000 patients are treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), and the growth is particularly rapid in many Asian countries.Compared to hemodialysis, PD has been reported to be associated with similar patient survival (or even better during the first months) as well as better quality of life. Therefore, the PD first concept has been adopted in Hong Kong and Thailand. In this special issue about PD, K. Chaudhary et al. discuss the evidence for use of this concept. Then, the benefits and problems with use of PD in the rapidly growing diabetic population are discussed by A. Rocha and coworkers. Quality of life in PD patients is reported by M. Moreiras-Plaza et al., whereas P. Theofilou discusses socioeconomic factors and psychological problems such as depression and anxiety in patients with CKD.Three further articles discuss different complications in PD patients: peritonitis , calcific uremic arteriolopathy (by N. New and coworkers), and C. Kennedy et al. report a case series of patients with pleuroperitoneal leak, a rare but troublesome complication. Other four papers deal with the function of the peritoneal membrane as a dialyzing membrane. L. Oliveira and A. Rodrigues report on the impact of previous renal replacement therapy on the membrane function, whereas S. Mizuiri et al. report on the importance of peritoneal effluent markers and their relation to epithelial to mesenchymal transition, which is thought to be an important part of pathogenetic process causing long-term changes in the peritoneum. Finally, N. Jiang et al. report on the impact of a supplemented low-protein diet on peritoneal membrane transport characteristics, whereas A. W. D. Stavenuiter et al. report on the effect of different peritoneal fluid components on the membrane in a rat model.The guest editors wish to thank all authors for their valuable contributions. Without their efforts, this special issue would not have been possible.Hulya TaskapanHulya TaskapanOlof HeimburgerOlof HeimburgerCengiz UtasCengiz UtasPaul TamPaul Tam"}
+{"text": "Sequencing of the human genome has greatly impacted the proteomics-based analysis of disease by providing a framework for understanding the proteome of diseased cells, tissues, and biological fluids. Consequently, there is a growing interest in applying proteomics technologies to define protein pathways involved in various diseases, to identify new biomarkers that correlate with diseases, ideally in their early stages, and to accelerate the development of new therapeutic targets. However, disease-related proteomics applications require that we improve our ability to separate and characterize the components of complex protein mixtures in such a way as to boost both throughput and sensitivity. In response to these demands, the proteomics technologies have been improved markedly over recent years. Today, proteomics, in all its various forms, is proving to be invaluable to our understanding of the biochemistry of health and disease and will likely play a central role in the evolution of personalized medicine. In this special issue, we include reports of novel research findings together with several reviews that highlight advances in key areas. The first two papers of this special issue focus on lung cancer. The first paper, by H. C. Gong et al., addresses the profiling of receptor tyrosine kinase pathway activation and the role of key genetic mutations in human lung tumor cell lines and human lung tumors. The authors defined molecular pathways which may assist in development of targeted lung tumor therapies. Within the second paper, Q. Zhang et al. used proteomic profiling to delineate expression and subcellular localization of multiple forms of aldehyde dehydrogenase in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. The next two papers focus on pancreatic cancer. The third paper, by R. S. Kwon and D. M. Simeone, reviews the use of protein-based biomarkers for the diagnosis of cystic tumors of the pancreas. The fourth paper, by M. Abulaizi et al., utilizes a three-step proteomic protocol  to discover candidate early detection biomarkers of pancreatic cancer.The next two papers focus on breast cancer, with the fifth paper, by D. E. Misek and E. H. Kim, reviewing the development of protein biomarkers for the early detection of breast cancer. The sixth paper, by J. He et al., addresses LC-MS/MS identification of protein biosignatures in breast tumors, as protein-based markers that correctly classify tumor subtypes and predict therapeutic response would be of great clinical utility in guiding patient treatment. The next two papers are both by M. S. Sabel et al., and focus on melanoma. The seventh paper reviews the use of proteomics for the discovery of new prognostic and predictive biomarkers. The eighth paper explores the clinical utility of serum autoantibodies that were detected in melanoma patients. The investigators profiled serum antibodies against melanoma-associated antigens to identify those that may predict nodal positivity, a widely accepted index of metastatic disease. The ninth paper, by E. H. Kim and D. E. Misek, reviews the use of glycoproteomics to identify cancer biomarkers. The tenth paper, by A. Vivekanandan-Giri et al., utilized glycoproteomics to identify novel urinary glycoprotein biomarkers of chronic kidney disease. The issue concludes with two papers that report on novel approaches and related considerations. The eleventh paper, by I. Kiyokawa et al., describes the development of a new surface coating for urinary collection tubes that minimizes the amount of urine protein adsorption onto the walls of the collection tube. Within the final paper of this special issue, T. Hagiwara et al. examine the utility of a solid-phase hexapeptide ligand library in combination with conventional plasma proteomics modalities for comprehensive profiling of intact plasma proteins. David E. MisekDavid E. MisekTadashi KondoTadashi KondoMark W. DuncanMark W. Duncan"}
+{"text": "Spartina alterniora Loisel was introduced to the eastern coast of China in the 1970s and 1980s for the purposes of land reclamation and the prevention of soil erosion. The resulting interspecific competition had an important influence on the distribution of native vegetation, which makes studying the patterns and mechanisms of the interactions between Spartina alterniora Loisel and the native species Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin ex Steud in this region very important. There have been some researches on the interspecific interactions between P. australis and S. alterniora in the Dongtan wetland of Chongming, east China, most of which has focused on the comparison of their physiological characteristics. In this paper, we conducted a neighbor removal experiment along a tidal gradient to evaluate the relative competitive abilities of the two species by calculating their relative neighbor effect (RNE) index. We also looked at the influence of environmental stress and disturbance on the competitive abilities of the two species by comparing interaction strength (I) among different tidal zones both for P. australis and S. alterniora. Finally, we measured physiological characteristics of the two species to assess the physiological mechanisms behind their different competitive abilities. Both negative and positive interactions were found between P. australis and S. alterniora along the environmental gradient. When the direction of the competitive intensity index for P. australis and S. alterniora was consistent, the competitive or facilitative effect of S. alterniora on P. australis was stronger than that of P. australis on S. alterniora. The interspecific interactions of P. australis and S. alterniora varied with environmental conditions, as well as with the method used, to measure interspecific interactions.The invasive species  One of the major goals of ecology is to understand the forces that generate patterns in natural communities Invasive plants are one of the most serious threats to native species assemblages and have been responsible for the degradation of natural habitats worldwide Salt marshes are ideal for examining plant interspecific interactions along gradients of stress and disturbance Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (common reed) and Spartina alterniflora Loisel (smooth cordgrass) are two well-known invasive salt marsh species Phragmites australis, a salt marsh species native to the east coast of China, is aggressively invading salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of North America Spartina alterniflora, a grass native to the tidal salt marshes of the southeastern USA, has invaded extensive areas along the Chinese and European coasts and has increased dramatically in distribution and abundance Phragmites australis, and an alien species, Spartina alterniflora. Spartina alterniflora was introduced to the eastern coast of China for the purposes of land reclamation and the prevention of soil erosion in the 1970s and 1980s Scirpus mariqueter, a native species that previously occupied the low tidal zone P. australis within the study area has declined annually. The reduction of P. australis can be attributed to multiple causes including land reclamation and the introduction of alien species. Our aim in studying the interactions between P. australis and S. alterniflora and the implications of these interactions for community structure is to shed light on the extent to which S. alterniflora is responsible for the decline of P. australis.Our study site is a typical tidal marsh in the Chongming Dongtan wetland in the Yangtze River estuary in east China. The marsh plant community at the site is presently dominated by two clonal perennial species: an indigenous species, There are dozens of indices with which to measure competition intensity P. australis and S. alterniflora in different zones. However, we found that the distributions of the two species formed a mosaic pattern across almost the entire intertidal zone. This pattern clearly suggests that eco-physiological tolerances alone might be insufficient to explain the pronounced zonation of the two species across the tidal gradient, and the interactions between the two species might be different in different intertidal habitats. Findings from the natural soil salinity gradient suggest that as salt stress increases, plant distributions in coastal marshes will be less influenced by competition and increasingly influenced by facilitation S. alterniflora and native species P. australis will change with the environmental gradient and species identity P. australis and S. alterniflora in different intertidal habitats? In other words, how does the interspecific relationship vary along the tidal gradient? Which physiological characteristics may contribute to the competitive abilities of the two species?At the Buyugang protection station in the Dongtan wetland within the Yangtze River estuary in Chongming, Shanghai, eastern China, there is an environmental gradient from the seaward edge of the wetland to dike number 98 . Soil saThe field investigation conducted in this study was approved by the Chongming Dongtan Wetland Nature Reserve. Migratory birds are protected in the study area, and we did our best to avoid the bird migration season in the process of the experiment. No protected species were sampled or disturbed.Spartina alterniflora is a perennial rhizomatous C4 grass Spartina alterniflora spreads through both clonal propagation by rhizome and sexual reproduction by seed Spartina alterniflora also has the ability to reproduce sexually and can produce as many as 600 seeds per inflorescence Phragmites australis, which is native to the Dongtan wetland, is a perennial rhizomatous C3 grass P. australis is able to reproduce sexually, it relies primarily on vegetative growth for recruitment. The rhizome systems of P. australis are perennial, tough, rich in fiber, and can spread extensively 2. It increases in size by approximately 500 ha annually through the deposition of sand, silt, and mud by the Yangtze River. The Dongtan wetland is now a natural reserve in China. Tides in this area are semi-diurnal. As a tidal marsh, the Dongtan wetland is very productive and affected by the periodic tides. Due to the repeated flooding, the Dongtan wetland has developed distinct intertidal zones, including a coastal shallow-water zone below the mean low-water line Spartina-dominated community, Spartina and Phragmites mixture, Phragmites-dominated community. In the Buyugang area, located in the northeast of the Dongtan wetland, Phragmites australis and Spartina alterniflora typically co-occur as dominant species. The Phragmites australis and Spartina alterniflora mixture covers approximately three-fourths of the total area distributed across all three tidal zones , which is located at the east end of Chongming Island in the Yangtze River estuary. The Yangtze River is ranked third, fourth, and fifth among the world\u2019s rivers with regard to its length, annual sediment flux, and water discharge to the sea, respectively. Chongming Island is the world\u2019s largest alluvial island, covering 1200 kmal zones .th, 2010, we first measured the elevation of each tidal zone relative to the Wusong Tidal Height datum using an optical level gauge. Next, thirty 10 cm\u00d710 cm\u00d710 cm soil quadrats were placed 100 m apart along line transects within each tidal zone, and soil samples were collected by shovel from each quadrat. On August 10th, 2010, fifty 1\u00d71 m2 plots were established randomly within the study area. The abundance of ramets for P. australis and S. alterniflora was recorded, as well as the height of each ramet in each plot. We considered each ramet as an \u201cindividual\u201d of the species in our measurements. In clonal plants, a ramet can be treated as a relatively and potentially independent \u201cindividual\u201d r+Hr)/2, where Cr is the relative coverage of the species and Hr is the relative height of the species. These characteristics of P. australis and S. alterniflora were compared using an analysis of variance.On April 10P. australis and S. alterniflora were also collected. We established three 1\u00d71 m2S. alterniflora plots and three 1\u00d71 m2P. australis plots within each tidal zone. Then, the aboveground biomass of P. australis and S. alterniflora was removed using scissors and separated into leaves and stems. Additionally, 100 cm\u00d7100 cm\u00d730 cm soil samples were carefully removed with a shovel, and the roots of the two species were separated from the soil using a flushing method. All samples were taken to the laboratory as soon as possible and stored under refrigeration.Samples from the leaves, stems, and roots of P. australis and S. alterniflora . Significant differences in soil salinity, total N, and total P among the different tidal zones were tested via an analysis of variance. NSC, the N and P contents, and the N:P ratio of all three organs of P. australis and S. alterniflora were compared among different tidal zones. Significant differences were tested using an analysis of variance.In the laboratory of the East China Normal University, soil salinity (DDS-11A conductivity meter) and soil total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P)  were measured, as were the non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) (Anthrone colorimetry), N and P contents, and the N:P ratio  of different parts of P. australis and S. alterniflora is slow, and their population densities and culm heights are low. From July to October, the growth of P. australis and S. alterniflora becomes rapid, and their competitive intensity usually reaches its peak at this time. After October, the growth of P. australis and S. alterniflora slows once again and the culms wither gradually. On July 10th, 2011, neighbor removal experiments were conducted in mixed Spartina-Phragmites plots within every tidal zone. The physical conditions of each plot in the same tidal zone were nearly identical. Three treatments were conducted: a control treatment, a Spartina removal treatment in which all of the aboveground parts of S. alterniflora were cut, and a Phragmites removal treatment in which all of the aboveground parts of P. australis were cut. Every month, we used scissors to remove the aboveground biomass of P. australis or S. alterniflora. The belowground parts of the two species intertwined and were difficult to separate relatively intact, so only the aboveground biomass of the neighbors was removed. To avoid the influence of intraspecific competition on interspecific competition as much as possible, 20 1\u00d71 m2 plots in which S. alterniflora was dominant and 20 1\u00d71 m2 plots in which P. australis was dominant were subjectively chosen at each site. In S. alterniflora-dominated plots, 10 plots were chosen randomly as controls, and the remaining 10 plots underwent the S. alterniflora removal treatment. The same approach was used for 20 P. australis-dominated plots. In October, the center of each quadrat (10\u00d710 cm2) was harvested; tillers were sorted to the species level, counted, and measured (height). The aboveground biomass of each species was oven-dried and weighed.From April to June, the growth of P. australis and S. alterniflora. The RNE was calculated as follows:-N is the performance of the target species in the absence of neighbors and T+N is the performance of the target species in the presence of neighbors First, we used the relative neighbor effect index (RNE) 2 is the shoot mass at the end of the experiment, M1 is the shoot mass at the beginning of the experiment, and t2\u2013t1 is the number of days of the experiment.In our experiment, the performance of the target species was defined as the relative growth rate per day (RGR) and the number of newly produced tillers (TNT). The RGR 2 is tiller density at the end of the experiment, D1 is the tiller density at the beginning of the experiment, and t2\u2013t1 is the number of days of the experiment. The RNE was calculated for RGR:Similarly, we defined TNT as follows:+N is the abundance of neighbors surrounding the target plant, T-N is the performance of a target plant grown without neighbors and T+N is the performance of a target plant grown with neighbors 2) was harvested at the start of the experiment. Tillers were sorted to the species level, counted, and measured (height). The aboveground biomass of each species was oven-dried and weighed.To calculate the mean RGR of the target plants, we needed to determine their biomass before the treatments. To estimate this, we established an additional 40 plots that were similar to the other experimental plots. The center of each quadrat  , and the mean density and biomass per plot of S. alterniflora were significantly higher than those of P. australis (P<0.01)  . The mea(P<0.01) .A notable environmental gradient existed in the study site. The relative elevation of the middle tidal zone was higher than both the high and low tidal zones (p<0.01). Soil salinity increased and the N content decreased along the tidal gradient from the high tidal zone to the low tidal zone (p<0.01), but the P content did not change notably between the three intertidal zones (p>0.05) .S. alterniflora were positive in both the control and neighbor removal treatments. The mean RGR of S. alterniflora was significantly (P<0.05) greater in plots with neighbors removed than in plots with neighbors left intact in all three tidal zones. The mean TNT of S. alterniflora was only significantly (P<0.05) greater in plots with neighbors removed than in plots with neighbors left intact in the low tidal zone.In all three tidal zones, the mean RGR and mean TNT of P. australis were negative or positive with different treatments. The mean RGR was significantly (P<0.05) higher in plots with neighbors removed than in plots with neighbors left intact in the low tidal zone and significantly (P<0.05) lower in plots with neighbors removed than in plots with neighbors left intact in the high tidal zone. The mean TNT of P. australis was significantly (P<0.05) lower in plots with neighbors removed than in plots with neighbors left intact in all three tidal zones   .TNT was negative for both P. australis and S. alterniflora in the high and middle tidal zones. The effect of S. alterniflora was stronger than that of P. australis (p<0.01) in the high tidal zone, but the competitive effects of the two species were not significantly different in the middle tidal zone (p>0.01). In the low tidal zone, the RNETNT of P. australis was positive and the RNETNT of S. alterniflora was negative , were compared along the tidal gradient for both RGR of P. australis was positive and that of S. alterniflora was negative in both the high and middle tidal zones. The IRGR was positive for both P. australis and S. alterniflora in the low tidal zone, and the IRGR of S. alterniflora on the target plants was stronger than that of P. australis. The IRGR of P. australis on S. alterniflora decreased over the tidal gradient from the high tidal zone to the low tidal zone. The IRGR of S. alterniflora on P. australis increased over the same tidal gradient , and a significant negative correlation was found between the IRGR of S. alterniflora and the N content . In contrast, a significant negative correlation was found between the IRGR of P. australis and the soil salinity , and a significant positive correlation was found between the IRGR of P. australis and the N content  (The Igradient . A signi p<0.05) .TNT of P. australis was positive and that of S. alterniflora was negative in the low tidal zone. The ITNT of both P. australis and S. alterniflora was negative in the high and middle tidal zones, and the ITNT of S. alterniflora on the target plants was stronger than that of P. australis. The ITNT of P. australis on S. alterniflora was close to zero in all three tidal zones, and the competitive effect of S. alterniflora on P. australis was strongest in the low tidal zone and weakest in the middle tidal zone  and S. alterniflora   .S. alterniflora was significantly higher than that in P. australis (p<0.05) in all three tidal zones. The N and P contents in the leaves and roots of P. australis were significantly higher than those of S. alterniflora (p<0.05), and the P content in the stems of P. australis was significantly lower than that of S. alterniflora in all three tidal zones (p<0.05). The N:P ratios in the leaves and roots of P. australis and S. alterniflora differed among tidal zones, and the N:P ratio in the stems of P. australis was significantly higher than that of S. alterniflora stems in all three tidal zones. Along the tidal gradient (from high to low), both the NSC content in different organs  and the N:P ratio of P. australis and S. alterniflora increased, and the N and P contents in the different organs of the two species decreased. The NSC content and N:P ratio increased more quickly in S. alterniflora than in P. australis, and the N:P ratios of the two species were less than 15, which indicates that N was the limiting element for both species The NSC content in all organs  of Phragmites australis is spreading into North American coastal marshes and has become a dominant species in marsh tidal wetlands of North America Spartina alterniflora is spreading quickly and appears to have a competitive advantage compared to native species in these areas S. alterniflora was significantly greater than that of P. australisS. alterniflora over P. australis in some habitats S. alterniflora and P. australis was a function of different conditions S. alterniflora facilitated the spread of P. australisP. australis and S. alterniflora in the saltmarsh can vary from competitive to facilitative along the tidal gradient. The competitive abilities of P. australis and S. alterniflora changed between tidal zones. A variety of interspecific interactions between P. australis and S. alterniflora in different stress and disturbance conditions can support these conclusions.In the previous studies P. australis on S. alterniflora decreased along the gradient from the high tidal zone to the low tidal zone, whereas the effect of S. alterniflora on P. australis shifted from facilitative to competitive along the same tidal gradient. Moreover, one of the findings of this study is that most interactions between the two species were facilitative for asexual production (tiller production) but competitive or neutral for biomass. This may occur, e.g., if one species can protect the other from wave action to facilitate ramet production but the two species compete for resources  for biomass accumulation. This result was similar to earlier research by Franks, who found that the interactions between Uniola paniculata and Iva imbricata in dunes were facilitative for survival but competitive or neutral for biomass Carex nudata competed with associated species by reducing their biomass but facilitated neighbors by protecting them from mortality during winter disturbances Although some studies have concluded that facilitative interspecific interactions increase with increasing stress and disturbance along an environmental gradient S. alterniflora compared with P. australis might be due to the ability of the former species to use Na+ and NSC for osmotic adjustment in shoots S. alterniflora was greater than that of P. australis in all three tidal zones and increased more quickly than that of P. australis along the tidal gradient from a high tidal zone to a low tidal zone. Because P. australis has a competitive ability to use dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), the increased soil N content enhanced the overall competitive ability of P. australisP. australis produced more shoots per gram of rhizome tissue than S. alterniflora did S. alterniflora and P. australis with soil N and P along the tidal gradient. In our study, the N:P ratio of S. alterniflora increased more quickly than that of P. australis along the tidal gradient from the high tidal zone to the low tidal zone. N limitation for S. alterniflora was weaker than that for P. australis in the low tidal zone. This reduced N limitation serves as an additional competitive advantage for S. alterniflora in this zone.The greater salt tolerance of S. alterniflora and P. australis have been studied widely in their respective invasive areas P. australis by increasing flooding depth, salinity and/or sulfide concentrations has been considered S. alternifloraThe problem of invasive species and their control is one of the most pressing applied issues in ecology today P. australis is high, and it has a competitive dominance over S. alterniflora because grazing disturbance has increased the soil N content in this zone, which is advantageous to the growth and spread of P. australisP. australis in North America showing that shoreline development reduces soil salinities and increases nitrogen availability, both of which promote the invasion of P. australisS. alterniflora replaced P. australis in the relatively low-lying and higher salinity plots in high tidal zones and constructed creekbank levees that may be colonized by P. australisS. alterniflora facilitates the invasion of P. australis into the central marsh. This indicates that S. alterniflora does not have a competitive advantage as an invasive species and does not require control in the high tidal zone. In the middle tidal zone, the competition between P. australis and S. alterniflora was especially intense, and they formed a mosaic of patches. The competitive abilities of P. australis and S. alterniflora were similar in this zone, and dominance depended on the development of the salt marsh. P. australis might have a genetic competitive advantage over S. alterniflora because of its strong I. Therefore, over the long term, P. australis could be more successful if there were no other disturbances. To promote the spread of P. australis in the mixed community and to control the invader S. alterniflora, some artificial measures should be taken to accelerate the natural process. For example, S. alterniflora can be manually removed, and favorable conditions for the growth of P. australis can be created. In the low tidal zone, flood stress and disturbance is generally severe and soil salinity is relatively high, so the competitive ability of S. alterniflora was higher and it dominated in this tidal zone P. australis on S. alterniflora reached its lowest point. Thus, it is difficult to replace S. alterniflora with P. australis in this zone, and managers should focus their attention on the middle tidal zone to control the further spread of S. alterniflora. Presently, S. alterniflora is nearly the only species that can occupy the otherwise bare shoreline habitats of the Dongtan wetland and contributes to siltation and the protection of shoreline areas. In other words, S. alterniflora plays unique and positive roles in these special areas. If S. alterniflora can be kept in these places sustainably and its invasion into middle and high tidal zones can be prevented, we believe that S. alterniflora need not to be thoroughly eradicated from the Dongtan wetland.In the high tidal zone, the competitive ability of Phragmites australis is spreading into North American coastal marshes that are experiencing reduced salinities at the same time that Spartina alterniflora is spreading into northern European brackish marshes that are experiencing increased salinities as land use patterns change on the two continents P. australisP. australis in natural conditions. Thus, the invasion of S. alterniflora has been indirectly influenced by human activity P. australis, S. alterniflora can become rampant. However, according to our results, P. australis has greater competitive ability  and may invade the S. alterniflora zone under natural conditions. Moreover, the Dongtan wetland of Chongming is rapidly growing through the deposition of sand, silt and mud carried by river runoff. With the continuous sedimentation and the increase in elevation P. australis and S. alterniflora will change, especially with the rising elevation of the present low and middle tidal zones. The habitat conditions of the present middle tidal zone will become more similar to the present high tidal zone, which would be advantageous to the spread of P. australis. S. alterniflora would gradually retreat from the presently occupied zones under such a scenario due to the rising elevation of these zones but would still remain a dominant species in the habitats near the shoreline. If S. alterniflora can be sustainably maintained in these originally bare shoreline areas where it can play a protective role, it need not be completely removed from this area. However, its invasion into the middle and high tidal zones needs to be prevented. Established populations there should be removed.In conclusion,"}
+{"text": "Entoloma species is still poorly known as well as their geographical distribution. In Italy, there are no studies on the influence of weather on fungal abundance and richness and our knowledge on the ecology and distribution of Entoloma species needs to be improved. The discovery of two Entoloma species in Sicily , reported in the literature as belonging to the habitat of north European countries, was the basis leading to the assumption that anomalous climatic conditions could stimulate the growth of northern entolomas in the southernmost Mediterranean regions. The results of this study show that the presence of northern Entoloma species in Sicily is not influenced by the Mediterranean type of vegetation, by edaphic or altitudinal factors but by anomalous climatic trends of precipitations and temperatures which stimulate the fructification of basidiomata in correspondence with a thermal shock during autumn.The biology and ecology of many  Entoloma (Fr.) P. Kummer are characterized by different ecological features and requirements and only few species are considered exclusive to the Mediterranean environment.The taxa belonging to the genus Entoloma species, considered by mycologists as infrequent or rare, Entoloma caeruleum (P.D. Orton) Noordel. and E. plebeioides (Schulzer) Noordel., grows in similar ecological environments such as natural grasslands and nonmanured; intensely grazed cultivated grasslands; hayfields, open Juniperus heaths; dune grasslands with Salix spp. [E. plebeioides [In the wide group of lix spp. . Additiobeioides .E. caeruleum) and Sicily (E. plebeioides) [E. plebeioides in Italy, one of the authors (G. Venturella) came to the conclusion that the presence of such northern Entoloma in a dry region such as Sicily was unusual and probably related to a particular climatic condition of that year [E. plebeioides were subsequently available, any other hypothesis was temporarily shelved. Five years later, the finding of E. caeruleum, also never previously reported in Sicily nor in southern Italy, prompted a more in-depth investigation of the possible correlations between the growth of Entoloma species, usually reported from northern European countries, and the climatic trends in dry Mediterranean regions like Sicily.In Italy, the presence of the above-mentioned entolomas is limited to few and scattered localities of northern Italy (eioides) , 3. Aftehat year . Since nE. plebeioides and 1 of E. caeruleum) were cleaned of forest debris (without washing) with a knife, transported to the laboratory in a paper box and kept at 48\u00b0C for 24\u2009h prior to sample preparation. The identification was carried out on fresh basidiomata and the morphological characters of each of the collected specimens were evaluated with a Leica MS5 binocular microscope as follows: colours; pileus; characters of the lamellae, stipe; growth habit; type of basidiomata attachment; spore color. According to the protocol reported in Noordeloos [4OH), 10% Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), and saturated salt solution. The samples were attached to a glass microscope slide for observation  and analysis. Image acquisition was done using a digital camera, incorporating a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector mounted in the optical path of the microscope. Spores sizes were based on at least 10 measurements on spores from the lamellae or stipe surface. The very essential characters of Entoloma species were also evaluated such as the length-width ratio of spores (Q), the presence of tetrasporic or bisporus basidia, the presence or absence of a clamp at the base of basidia, the presence of fertile lamella edge, the presence of cystidia, the type of pileipellis, and the trama structure and pigmentation. The scientific binomials of recorded taxa were referred to http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp. The herbarium specimens were kept in the Herbarium Mediterraneum Panormitanum (PAL).In the years 2001 and 2007, the entoloma's basidiomata were collected during field excursions periodically carried out  by the staff of the Laboratory of Mycology . The mushroom samples . The basidiomata were found, at 600\u2009m a.s.l., on January 10th, 2007, in a mixed wood, in the neighborhood of Collesano, a small town included in the park territory. At the site of collection, the pedological type belongs to the association \u201cRock outcrop-Lithic xerorthents,\u201d evolved on limestone rocks. The soils are characterized by a basic reaction and a low exchange capacity, fully saturated in calcium [Erico-Quercion ilicis Brullo, Di Martino and Marcen\u00f2 1977, with a tree layer represented by Quercus suber L., Q. virgiliana (Ten.) Ten., Q. amplifolia Guss., Q. dalechampii Ten., Q. congesta C. Presl, Q. Xbivoniana Guss., Q. ilex L., and Fraxinus ornus L. The shrub layer is mainly represented by Erica arborea L., Arbutus unedo L., and Genista maderensis Raimondo. calcium . The vegE. plebeioides was collected in a reforested area included in the \u201cParco della Favorita\u201d  which is part of the urban centre of Palermo. The basidiomata were found, at sea level, on December 15th, 2001, in the glades of a mixed reforestation of Pinus halepensis Miller, Cupressus sempervirens L., C. macrocarpa Hartweg and Cedrus deodara (D. Don) G. Don. The pedological type belongs to the Mediterranean Red Soils  evolved on limestone [Cedrus atlantica (Manetti ex Endl.) Carri\u00e9re, C. deodara (D. Don) G. Don f., Cupressus arizonica Greene, C. macrocarpa Hartw., C. sempervirens L., Pinus halepensis Mill., and P. pinea L.imestone . The soiIt is well known that fungal abundance and richness depends on weather . All funEntoloma species is still poorly known as well as their geographical distribution [The biology and ecology of many ribution .Entoloma species needs to be improved.In Italy, there are no studies on the influence of weather on fungal abundance and richness, and our knowledge on the ecology and distribution of E. plebeioides in Sicily, previously recorded only in northern Europe, one of the authors (G. Venturella) suggested that this collection could be related to the climatic trend registered in the city of Palermo during the year 2001 [E. caeruleum was collected five years later, under the same climatic conditions of the year 2001, in a different locality one hundred kilometres away from Palermo. E. caeruleum, widely recorded in northern Europe, and never previously reported in Sicily, and up until then only collected in two localities of northern Italy [After the first finding of ear 2001 . E. caerrn Italy  subjecteE. caeruleum, the temperatures of the quarter October-November were characterized by a considerable cooling down of the mean monthly of daily minimum temperatures  and the station of Sclafani Bagni (500\u2009m a.s.l.) were compared. In the year 2006 in Sclafani Bagni, the thermopluviometric station closest to the collection site of eratures . The mineratures  exceeded of soil  from Mar station . On the  station . The preEntoloma species in Sicily is not influenced by the Mediterranean type of vegetation, by edaphic, or by altitudinal factors but by anomalous climatic trends of precipitations and temperatures which stimulate the fructification of basidiomata in correspondence with a thermal shock during autumn.According to the thermopluviometric data, a link between climatic trend and the growth of entolomas in the Mediterranean environments can be identified. The results of this study show that the presence of northern"}
+{"text": "Wuchereria bancrofti are Anopheles mosquitoes, it is feasible to eliminate LF using Mass Drug Administration (MDA) because of the inability of Anopheles species to transmit low-density microfilaraemia. Even though earlier studies have shown Anopheles species can exhibit the process of Facilitation in West Africa, observations point towards the process of Limitation in certain areas, in which case vector control is recommended. Studies on Anopheles species in West Africa have also shown genetic differentiation, cryptic taxa and speciation, insecticide resistance and the existence of molecular and chromosomal forms, all of which could influence the vectorial capacity of the mosquitoes and ultimately the elimination goal. This paper outlines the uniqueness of LF vectors in West Africa and the challenges it poses to the 2020 elimination goal, based on the current MDA strategies.Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) is targeted for elimination by the Global Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). The strategy adopted is based on the density dependent phenomenon of Facilitation, which hypothesizes that in an area where the vector species transmitting  Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi or Brugia timori and is presently endemic in 72 countries [Anopheles, Culex, Aedes, Mansonia, Coquillettidia and Ochlerotatus genera are carriers of the LF parasites. In West Africa, Anopheles mosquitoes  are the main vectors of LF [Culex mosquitoes have been suggested as vectors of LF [Culex mosquitoes contribute to the transmission of the disease. Current practices in the management of LF have been influenced by the push for integrated control of NTDs amenable to mass drug administration (MDA) [The January 2012 London declaration on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) [rs of LF ,4. Althors of LF ,6, the don (MDA) . MDA covon (MDA) . During on (MDA)  because on (MDA) . Prior ton (MDA) ,12-14. UThe Global Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) strategy is based on the mass drug administration (MDA) with Albendazole and either DEC or Ivermectin to reduce circulating microfilariae (mfs) below a threshold level, to break transmission by the disease vectors. The rationale supporting this strategy is based on results of research on vector-parasite systems that determine whether vectors will be effective in picking up and transmitting infection at low microfilaraemia levels . These vMansonia sp., recently reported to harbor infective mf in Ghana [Limitation processes are linked with the fact that the number of parasites per mosquito cannot increase indefinitely. The relationship between mf intake and L3 output is linear at the onset and approaches a constant value or might decrease with increasing mf intake, as a result of excess mortality of vectors caused by ingestion of too many mf ,22. Thusin Ghana . Thus inFacilitation processes on the other hand have been observed in anopheline mosquitoes ,19, whicW. bancrofti is transmitted by Anopheles species, including most endemic areas in Africa, was supported by results in Papua New Guinea (PNG), which showed that transmission by An. punctulatus was virtually eliminated after one year of treatment, even though the frequency of carriers in the human population ranged from 10.5% - 52.7% [An. farauti[Aedes polynesiensis, over 50 years of MDA using DEC did not eliminate LF [Anopheles, there is current growing evidence that in certain areas, Anopheles species may be exhibiting the process of Limitation [The assumption that it will be easy to use MDA alone in areas where  - 52.7% . Also, o. farauti,21. In cinate LF . Despitemitation ,27.W. bancrofti LF might differ from species to species. The major Anopheles vectors of LF in West Africa are An. gambiae s.l, and the An. funestus group [Anopheles species are vectors [An. gambiae complex and An. funestus[Anopheles mosquitoes which are damaged by their cibarial teeth, the percentage of mosquitoes ingesting mf and host mf density and the percentage of mosquitoes infected or mf density per mosquito and numbers of mf per ml of host blood. In their paper that examined the epidemiological significance of these processes, Southgate and Bryan reported the presence of Facilitation in An. gambiae/W. bancrofti from The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Tanzania [An. arabiensis/W. bancrofti when data from The Gambia and Tanzania were combined, the results from Tanzania alone did not indicate Facilitation. This difference in results was attributed to the low numbers of mosquitoes studied. Similarly, the observed non-facilitation for An. melas, An. merus and An. funestus was also attributed to low numbers of mosquitoes examined. However, it is possible that the non-Facilitation observed for these Anopheles/W. bancrofti combinations could have been due to variation in transmission efficiency inherent in the vectors and not necessarily to the low numbers of mosquitoes dissected. Webber commented on the possibility of eradicating anopheline-transmitted filariasis but did not discuss the information on An. melas, An. merus and An. funestus as vectors in Africa [An. gambiae M and S molecular forms and An. melas in an area endemic for LF in Ghana, showed significantly less number of cibarial teeth in the An. melas compared to the M and S forms of the An. gambiae s.s [An. melas (Boakye unpublished reports to WHO).There is diversity among the vectors of LF, and therefore, it may not be practical to generalize based on data from PNG and the Solomon Islands. Threshold levels of microfilaraemia needed for the elimination of anopheline transmitted us group . These s vectors ,28,29, a funestus-32. ThesTanzania . In the n Africa . Recent biae s.s . As suchAnopheles vectors of LF in West Africa is well documented from studies of malaria vectors in this region. Five chromosomal forms namely; \u201cForest\u201d, \u201cBissau\u201d, \u201cBamako\u201d, \u201cMopti\u201d and \u201cSavannah\u201d have been described [An. gambiae s.s, for example, is believed to be more associated with W. bancrofti[An. gambiae s.s due to observed inversions in the micromorphology of the second chromosome for different populations [Anopheles species in West Africa [The diversity in escribed -35. The bancrofti, and is bancrofti,38. Therulations  and thusulations -35. To at Africa ,41, raist Africa ,43.Anopheles gambiae s.s. Recent evidence also suggests the existence of two distinct chromosomal forms within the M form [Two widespread molecular types, termed M and S forms ,44 have e M form . In Malie M form ,46.kdr mutation had been found distributed in the M and S forms of An. gambiae s.s., [An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, with multiple-resistance mechanisms observed in West Africa [Anopheles species. Studies have suggested that highly elevated esterases involved in insecticide-resistance may inhibit development of mf in Culex[Anopheles[Insecticide resistance has also been reported among the various vectors of LF on the African continent. The pyrethroid resistance mechanism of ae s.s., -49. DDT t Africa -53. Thes in Culex, and simAnopheles,56.Anopheles vectors of LF in West Africa may also be influenced by climate effects, such as temperature and rainfall, which indirectly may influence the transmission of LF [An. gambiae s.s. in Ghana and the effects on disease distribution, de Souza and colleagues noted that temperature was the key factor affecting the distribution of the M and S forms of the An. gambiae s.s and that the M was significantly correlated with LF, and more prevalent in the high LF areas compared to low LF areas [The variability in diversity of on of LF ,57. In aLF areas . West AfLF areas ,57.A single strategy of MDA has been advocated for the elimination of LF in Africa, notwithstanding the diversity in the vectors of the disease. Some evidence ,60 suggeVector control is an important component of the control of vector-borne diseases. Early efforts, before the era of DDT to control pests and disease vectors, took an ecological approach in the form of physical modification of the environment, chemical control and personal protection . After tMansonia spp. being very efficient vectors of LF, in Ghanaian communities [The GPELF is based on a strategy of MDA with Albendazole and DEC or Ivermectin, with the aim of reducing the parasite load in the human host, thereby preventing transmission, and a target of 80% coverage of the population at risk for at least 5 years  has beenmunities , where tAn. gambiae s.s [An. melas , where An. melas is a more efficient vector than the An. gambiae s.s. Based on these findings we propose a model for the interruption of LF transmission in these different vector areas. Thus, areas with the predominant S form may require fewer MDA treatments. With the M form and An. melas exhibiting possible Limitation [An. melas may require longer treatment periods in addition to vector control measures. The implication of this, should it be tested and proven, will be in its economic importance. As such, in areas where there are high proportions of the An. gambiae S form, LF transmission may be interrupted using 3 to 5 rounds of MDA alone. On the other hand, LF transmission may require more than 5 rounds of MDA, and be complemented with vector control measures in areas with high numbers of An. gambiae M form and An. melas. Areas with equal proportions of M and S forms may also require additional vector control measures. This model, however, needs to be tested and evaluated in different vector areas. Countries like Guinea and Liberia that are yet to start MDA may provide the best settings for testing this model.Furthermore, studies have suggested differing LF transmission efficiencies for the M and S molecular forms of the biae s.s ,36, withmitation  areas wiW. bancrofti transmission in co-endemic areas.In the areas where vector control needs to be implemented, an integrated vector management (IVM) strategy targeted at the major vectors may needs to be adhered to and coordinated with MDA to give the best results at least cost . LF fortAnopheles species are the only vectors of LF in West Africa and 2. Anopheles vectors of W. bancrofti exhibit the vector-parasite process of Facilitation, based on which elimination is feasible through MDA alone. However, the recognition of different LF vectors in West Africa [W. bancrofti in different areas would be of particular interest and could be addressed using field or laboratory models. Nonetheless, despite these challenges, LF control efforts in West Africa should be supplemented with vector control, if the GPELF elimination goals of 2020 are to be achieved in West African countries.The use of current MDA alone campaigns, for LF elimination, in West Africa is based on two assumptions; 1. t Africa , with dit Africa ,27 and dt Africa , all rept Africa . Though t Africa , others t Africa ,27. It iWe declare that we have no conflicts of interest.DKD prepared the initial draft of the manuscript, and all other authors added their contributions and comments. All authors read and approved the final version of the MS."}
+{"text": "The second author was incorrectly indicated as the Corresponding Author for the article. In addition, the fifth author, Colin A.B. Jahoda, should be indicated as the Corresponding Author for the article. The fifth author's email address is: colin@jahoda@durham.ac.uk."}
+{"text": "An. gambiae s.l. in the intervention areas compared to untreated areas used as controls.In many parts of Africa as in Benin, the main strategies of vector control are based on the scaling-up of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). The need to understand the biological implications of IRS in large scale and full coverage of LLITNs is paramount. It is in this context that the present study was conducted. It aims to evaluate the effect of a large scale IRS using a non-pyrethroid insecticide and full coverage of deltamethrin treated nets on the behavior of An. gambiae s.l. before IRS and LLITNs intervention (2007) and after in 2008 and 2010.Mosquitoes were collected using human landing catches, pyrethrum spray catches and window exit traps to assess reduction of entry rate, endophily rate, endophagy rate and overall mortality rate in natural populations of In the IRS arm, endophily rate was 67.13% before intervention and 4.5% after intervention, whereas in the control arm it was stable at 51.67% (P\u2009>\u20090 .05). In the LLITN arm endophily rates also decreased after intervention. After the IRS, no gravid mosquitoes were collected from all treated localities, but LLITN performance was not that spectacular. The proportion of mosquitoes biting indoors in the IRS arm decreased from 67.09% before intervention to 42.85% after intervention, compared to a low but significant decrease (71.31% to 57. 46%) in the LLITN arm.An. gambiae s.l. inside human dwellings.The use of vector control tools and behavior of the host would be the main factors that modify the behavior of taking a human blood meal observed on An. gambiae s.l. observed with the bendiocarb used in IRS was highly effective compared with the free distribution of LLITNs in terms of mortality and the decrease of proportions of indoor feeding. Despite this efficacy, there is a need for complementary tools and research of alternative strategy oriented on effective health education, and the use of powerful tools such as IRS, LLITNs, larviciding and repellents.The impact on the behavior of  Anopheles gambiae s.s is a major concern for the sustainability of malaria prevention in Africa [An. arabiensis over the thatch but with a less pronounced irritant effect [An. flavirostris[et al., have shown that the carbosulfan net gave significantly higher killing of An. gambiae s.l. than all pyrethroid treatments except the impregnated net with deltamethrin [Anopheles. However, bendiocarb is the only product that the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) has selected for the implementation of IRS in Benin, because the Master Quick ZC formulation is not approved by the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme for use. With regard to Sumithion 40 WP, doubts were raised on its safety in terms of its secondary effects and odor [An. funestus s.l. and An. gambiae s.l. by the IRS, while the high bed net coverage was followed by a much reduced human biting rate and a diminishing role of An. gambiae s.s. in malaria transmission. The monitoring of behavioral responses of mosquitoes to insecticides is critical to the understanding of how chemicals function in the control of disease transmission [An. gambiae s.l. in contact with walls treated with insecticide. In this context, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of a large scale IRS using a non-pyrethroid insecticide and full coverage of deltamethrin treated nets on the behavior of An. gambiae s.l.in the intervention areas compared to untreated areas used as controls.Malaria remains the most important parasitic disease in Benin causing significant mortality and morbidity despite concerted efforts to control it. In many parts of Africa, the main strategies of vector control are based on the scaling-up of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) ,2. Many n Africa ,5. This n Africa . In Zimbt effect . In anotvirostris. Asidi eamethrin . In Beniamethrin  that incand odor . The choand odor , IRS ledand odor  and the and odor , showed smission . As the smission , the nee2 and an estimated 64,799 households. There are 62,890 children aged <5 years in 174 villages [2. The second environment is the peripheral area represented by a swampy zone on the border of the Oueme River and Lake Nokoue. This peripheral area is made up of marshy land converted to vegetable gardens. Land management in this vegetable growing area creates a perfect breeding site for An. gambiae s.l., the main vector of malaria, which is highly resistant to pyrethroids [The study was conducted in 4 districts of Oueme region in South-East of Benin Figure : Adjohouvillages . From 20villages . The regethroids . In the ethroids . This diethroids . HoweverTwo rounds of IRS of bendiocarb were carried out in the plateau areas (IRS arm) of districts of Adjohoun, Dangbo, Misserete and Seme. The first round was carried out in July 2008 and the second, eight months later, in March 2009. Indeed, in a recent study, this insecticide appeared especially efficient in phase II evaluation against malaria vectors . The twoThe sampling was carried out in 4 villages  per district by using indoor and outdoor human landing catches (HLC) to identify the changes in biting behaviour of mosquitoes induced by the presence of bendiocarb on the walls or deltamethrin in the fiber of PermaNets. The sampling was carried out every month for two consecutive nights per survey (8 person-night per district per survey). Catches were conducted between 21.00 and 05.00 hrs. Teams of collectors were rotated among the collection points on different collection nights to minimize sampling bias. Informed consent from all volunteers was obtained before their participation in the study.Human landing catches were carried out during January 2008\u2013December 2009 and spanned two rounds of IRS. To measure the impact of the intervention on the endophagy rate, we compared the values indicated for the same periods, January\u2013July 2008 before intervention and January\u2013July 2009 after intervention. We excluded August\u2013December 2008 and 2009 from the analysis because these two periods were those of IRS implementation, but there is no available database for these periods for before and after intervention.In addition, to evaluate the impact of interventions on reduction of entry rate, endophily rate and mortality rate induced by the presence of insecticides, 4 bedrooms were selected in each intervention area. Mosquitoes were collected by using window exit traps. The collections of live mosquitoes were carried out using a mouth aspirator and transferred into holding tubes and provided with cotton wool wetted with a 10% honey solution to record delayed mortality after 24 h. Dead mosquitoes collected in the trap and on the floor inside the bedroom were transferred into plastic cups to be identified and used to determine the immediate mortality. Furthermore, in the meantime, morning catches within the same bedrooms were undertaken using pyrethrum spray catches.The sampling of mosquitoes was carried out in the same bedroom and at the same frequency during the intervention periods before and after.An. gambiae s.l.were classified according to the state of their abdomens  [All anophelines were sorted and assigned to species based on morphological characters using standard identification keys . The fem gravid) .An. gambiae s.l. captured after intervention multiplied by 100 and divided by the number caught before intervention in the same bedroom.Reduction of entry rate is the difference of the number of An. gambiae s.l. at rest divided by the total number collected by indoor residual spraying and the window trap.Endophily rate is the percentage of the number of Endophagy rate is the percentage of the number of indoor bites divided by the total number of indoor and outdoor bites.Overall mortality rate is immediate mortality rate\u2009+\u2009delayed mortality rate recorded after 24 h.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 . The efficiency of the intervention was evaluated by using the Kruskal-Wallis test to compare parameters  between the periods before and after intervention. The Fisher exact test was used to compare mortality rates between these two periods. The significance level was set at 5%.P. falciparum parasitemia. They were all vaccinated against yellow fever.This study received the approval of the Ministry of Health and the Centre for Entomological Research of Cotonou (CREC). The voluntary mosquito collectors gave their consent before participating in the study. Malaria prevention and curative treatments were provided to all sleepers according to World Health Organization (WHO) recommended regimen on the basis of fever and detectable An.gambiae were collected by exit window traps and PSC, for all localities Adjohoun, Dangbo, Misserete1, Misserete2 and Seme. But after IRS interventions, this number had fallen drastically to 89, representing a reduction of 90.40% over the same period. Despite a lower irritancy of bendiocarb, it induced a strong repellent effect on the behavior of An. gambiae s.l. after IRS. In many localities the reduction of An. gambiae s.l. entry rate, was very significant , whereas in Dangbo and Seme there was an increase of entry rate of mosquitoes in the respective proportions of 21.95% and 14%.Before IRS interventions during May to July 2008 a total of 928 An. gambiae s.l. captured by window exit traps and PSC, 623 were endophilic (67.13%) in the IRS arm. But after IRS interventions, only 4 An. gambiae s.l. were caught in the bedrooms in Dangbo from a total of 89 An. gambiae s.l., whereas in the control the endophily rate was stable at 51.67% (P\u2009>\u20090 .05)  was higher than the decrease due to LLITN (43.95%) in the district of Seme. This has been observed less significantly in Adjohoun and Dangbo.During the period before intervention, from a total of 928 An. gambiae s.l. from a total of 928 (37.5%) were gravid in the IRS arm. Misserete2 and Adjohoun had the highest (41.6%) and lowest (30.16%) rates. After the IRS no gravid mosquitoes had been collected in all localities   of xit rate . Convers0% of xitxit rate . The datxit rate . In addixit rate . It is axit rate . For LLIxit rate .An. gambiae s.l. observed before the IRS and LLITN interventions corroborates previous reports of anopheline behaviour [An. gambiae s.l. could justify this shift. Despite this deterrent effect a low proportion of An. gambiae s.l. enter bedrooms. But once on the walls, they absorb the bendiocarb which kills them and they do not have time to bite and to rest inside to digest their blood meal. Indeed, other studies previously conducted [An. gambiae s.l. resistant to pyrethroids. Furthermore, the present study confirms the absence of An. gambiae s.l. resistance to bendiocarb in southern Benin [An. gambiae s.l. resistance to pyrethroids [The endophily rate of ehaviour ,24. Howeonducted ,25,26 harn Benin ,27. Convethroids ,25,28 waAn. gambiae s.l. populations and reduce the epidemiological importance of indoor-biting mosquitoes. This decrease was also observed in the LLITNs area, but in a lower proportion. This is consistent with others studies showing that IRS [The findings have also demonstrated that large scale IRS can alter that IRS  and ITNsthat IRS  and Tanzthat IRS  can reduAn. gambiae s.l. remained endophagic in the period after intervention, whereas it has been more exophagic in intervention areas. In this context, the human-biting behaviour of vectors in Oueme region appears to be independent of population density for these species [Conversely, in the control area  species . Neverth species  is preseAn. gambiae s.l.. Indeed recent studies [The use of vector control tools and behaviors of the host would be the main factors that modify the behavior of sucking human blood observed on  studies ,34 showe studies .An. gambiae s.l., are necessary to supplement IRS because of the long duration of the action of deltamethrin and the role as a mechanical barrier played by this tool [An. gambiae s.l., other possibilities for outdoor anti-vector interventions need to be explored, in combination with ongoing IRS and LLITN distribution because of the short residual effect mentioned above.Despite the effectiveness of bendiocarb used for IRS, it has the disadvantage of having a short residual effect ,36. In this tool ,22, agaiAn. gambiae s.l. observed with the bendiocarb used in IRS was highly effective compared with the free distribution of LLITNs in terms of mortality and the decrease of proportions of indoor feeding. However, this decrease is not enough to prevent a new infection of Plasmodium falciparum by outdoor biting mosquitoes. In this case it would be advisable for people to go to bed early and to avoid infective bites outdoors. Therefore, the personal protection and collective protection respectively conferred by the IRS and LLITN are not enough to eradicate malaria. There is therefore a need for complementary tools [The impact on the behaviour of ry tools ,38, and The authors declare that they have no competing interests.GGP, GG, VG, RO and MA designed the study. GGP, RA and OO carried out the experiments. GGP and GG analyzed the data. GGP, GG and AY drafted the manuscript. GGP, MA, GG, AY, RA and MS critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Dr. (Mrs.) Dhanalakshmi De Sousa was my senior colleague at K.E.M. Hospital during our post-graduate studies and at L.T.M.G. Hospital during our professional career as a staff member. I had an opportunity to be with her for about 18 years.As a Registrar at K.E.M., she appeared busy with her studies and sincere about her commitments.At L.T.M.G. Hospital, she worked in her initial years at the Child Guidance Clinic and was later promoted to adult psychiatry.She maintained a good relationship with patients and their relatives. She often went out of the way to seek social and economic help for the patients\u2019 welfare.When she became Chief after Dr. Bassa's retirement, she showed her genuine interest in the development of the Department of Psychiatry. She took great pains to get funds for equipments like EEG, ECT machines, and Behaviour Therapy instruments. She wanted to develop other diagnostic and treatment modalities which were not there during Dr. Bassa's tenure as chief. She made efforts to develop good relationship with other departments in the hospitals, and encouraged residents to do the same.Post-graduate teaching, nurses\u2019 education and research projects were the areas where she actively participated.Social activities like picnics and parties, which helped to improve interpersonal relationships, were a frequent feature during her tenure as Head.She contributed generously from her personal income to encourage under-graduates to take interest in Psychiatry. She started the \u2018Dr. De Sousa Award\u2019 for a competitive examination in Psychiatry for the under-graduates.We were surprised to find her asking for premature retirement from L.T.MG. Hospital as a staff member at a time when she was most needed. We came to know later it was to bring up her son, Avinash, now a Psychiatrist in his own right. A courageous, and probably wise, decision to take.We had less and less interaction with her after her retirement. But we always remembered her and quoted her during our academic post-graduate sessions in the Department.In her sad demise, we have lost a great soul who worked for the poor and the unfortunate. And a colleague with a great affection and love for people.May her soul rest in eternal peace."}
+{"text": "Few mitochondrial gene rearrangements are found in vertebrates and large-scale changes in these genomes occur even less frequently. It is difficult, therefore, to propose a mechanism to account for observed changes in mitogenome structure. Mitochondrial gene rearrangements are usually explained by the recombination model or tandem duplication and random loss model.Crossorhombus azureus (blue flounder), Grammatobothus krempfi, Pleuronichthys cornutus, and Platichthys stellatus were determined. A striking finding is that eight genes in the C. azureus mitogenome are located in a novel position, differing from that of available vertebrate mitogenomes. Specifically, the ND6 and seven tRNA genes  encoded by the L-strand have been translocated to a position between tRNA-T and tRNA-F though the original order of the genes is maintained.In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes of four flatfishes, C. azureus mitogenome rearrangement. First, a dimeric molecule was formed by two monomers linked head-to-tail, then one of the two sets of promoters lost function and the genes controlled by the disabled promoters became pseudogenes, non-coding sequences, and even were lost from the genome. This study provides a new gene-rearrangement model that accounts for the events of gene-rearrangement in a vertebrate mitogenome.These special features are used to suggest a mechanism for  L), and a single control region (CR). The CR is essential for the initiation of transcription and for replication of the heavy strand .The authors declare that they have no competing interests.WS collected datasets, carried out experiments, and drafted the manuscript. XYK directed the whole research work and revised the manuscript. XLD, XGM, and SYW carried out partial experiments. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The primers used for fragment amplification in four flatfish mitogenomes.Click here for fileInformation of flatfishes used in this study.Click here for fileOrganization of four flatfishes mitochondrial genomes.Click here for fileG. krempfi, P. cornutus and P. stellatus.Gene maps of the mitochondrial genome of Click here for fileComplete CR DNA fragments alignment of 11 Pleauonectoidea fishes.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Over the past 15 years, from the inception of hybrid imaging and introduction of PET-CT to the armamentarium of medical diagnostic departments, numerous styles of reporting have been employed. The type of reporting is mostly derived by the organizational structure of the imaging department. Institutions with separate Radiology and Nuclear Medicine departments usually generate two separate reports. The PET portion of the interpretation is made in the light of anatomical landmarks provided by the CT portion of the study. A separate CT report is also generated. In many instances, a third report is created fusing the separate PET and CT reports. The downsides to this system are the inefficiency of interpretation and the potential confusion for referring physicians when the separate PET and CT reports don\u2019t completely match. Needless to say, CT also provides much more information than simple anatomical landmarks, many of which may be crucial to the management of the patient.The more appropriate method of interpretation is for the PET and CT portions of the examination to be interpreted by a dual trained and credentialed imager, creating a single, comprehensive report encompassing both PET and CT findings in the body of the report. In the impression of the report, both sets of findings are correlated and appropriate conclusions and recommendations are made. There are two main downsides to this \u201cperfect\u201d reporting system. Dual trained imagers are not that abundant in the imaging community and healthcare payers may be more likely to decrease the payment to a single reimbursement for the entire examination.The following is the authors\u2019 recommendation of reporting a PET-CT study:1. Patient demographics including name, last name, date of birth, medical record number, inpatient / outpatient status, study-accession number.2. Study related data including date of service, time of service, location of service3. Comparison:Any related comparative studies including prior PET-CT, CT, Ultrasound, MR, etc. Preferably with mention of date and technique  4. Indication:Common indications include initial staging, response to treatment and assessmentfor recurrence. Indications such as detection of the primary focus of cancer of unknown origin haven\u2019t been widely used yet.5. History:Brief relevant history, including the histological subtype of malignancy, if known, any applied treatment  with documentation of time and duration, and any relevant tumor markers. Recently, in California, a new regulation has created some confusion as to what can be legally written in patient\u2019s report as part of history. Based on the new California regulation, any \u201ctissue-histological diagnosis\u201d or laboratory values like hepatitis titer and HIV antibody status may not be written in the radiology report to protect patient privacy in released electronic medical record, i.e. the radiology report. This regulation may not exist in other states yet!6. Technique:a. Any specific patient preparation given to patient like the duration of NPO and if any high-protein diet was usedb. Documentation of blood glucose levelc. The employed CT technique including acquisition parameters and image reconstruction algorithms.d. If any IV or Oral contrast is utilized. On occasion rectal water is given.e. The PET technique, including the administered radioisotope dose, route, site and time of administration, timing of data acquisition with respect to dose administration. In many institutions the name of the individual who administered the dose is also documented on the report .f. Any complication or technical difficulties or limitations, including extravasation, patient motion, contamination, etc7. Radiation dose documentation:a. California law mandates the radiation-dose reporting for every CT study. b. Radiation received from FDG may also be documented.8. Quality of the study:A quick review of cine images may reveal any technical issues including motion, metallic objects or any other sorts of artifact. Unusual muscle activity may also affect the accuracy of your interpretation.9. Findings:a. PET report: (Editor\u2019s method) Cine images are initially reviewed. Then trans-axial images and coronal images are reviewed. A checklist is generated of all of the detected positive PRECIST/RECIST guidelines are used to facilitate communication with oncology colleagues. Proper measurement of SUV, SUVmax and average SUV is imperative. Also review of prior studies is needed so that the measurements are comparable.b. CT report: The CT is reviewed in detail in the same systematic way a radiologist reviews a CT-only study. All relevant and incidental abnormalities are listed.10. Conclusion/Impression:a. The abnormal foci from PET are matched to CT abnormalities and an interpretation is rendered. Example: Although the size of the aortocaval node shows no appreciable morphological change since the prior study, the degree of its metabolic activity is decreased. This may signify favorable response to therapy.b. Several PET findings may be physiological in nature. These findings usually are not included in the impression. The main goal of the report-impression is to be concise and precise.c. Certain PET findings are not directly related to current oncologic condition of the patient but deserve medical attention, including diffuse thyroidal uptake. Therefore an appropriate recommendation should be given.d. CT findings with clinical significance should be explicitly reported in the impression with appropriate recommendations. Example: Abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary arterial calcification, pleural and pericardial effusion, hernias, renal stones, etc.11. Staging/Re-staging:a. Oncologic PET-CT reports may contain imaging staging of the disease. The editors prefer using TNM staging, unless requested otherwise by the referring oncologists. RECIST guideline modified for PET, so-called PERCIST, is a way to standardize the PET-CT reports and is highly encouraged by the editors. Unifying the staging guidelines of PET and CT is crucial.b. Comparison with prior studies may pose various challenges. Many of the PET-CT findings cannot be precisely correlated with other modalities including MRI and ultrasound. Vice versa, very small lesions, detected by MR and Ultrasound may be too small for PET to detect. In these contexts, the imager needs to use her/his experience and Gestalt impression to make appropriate follow-up/work-up"}
+{"text": "Phyllanthus consists of more than 1000 species, of which many are used as traditional medicines. The plant extracts have been used since ancient times, for treating hypertension, diabetes, hepatic, urinary, and sexual disorders, and other common ailments. Modern day scientific investigations have now confirmed pharmacognostic properties of Phyllanthus herbs. The phytochemicals attributing these medicinal properties have been identified in many of the Phyllanthus herbs. The morphologically similar herbs of Phyllanthus grow together and admixture of species during collection for manufacture of herbal medicines is quite common. Hence, along with pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies, appropriate protocols for correct identification of species are also important. As the use of these herbs as green medicines is becoming more popular, it is imperative to assess its genetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness for future conservation strategies. This review is an attempt to present an overview of the existing studies on pharmacognostics, phytochemistry, species identification, and genetic diversity of Phyllanthus herbs and consequently (i) highlight areas where further research is needed and (ii) draw attention towards extending similar studies in underutilized but potentially important herbs such as P. maderaspatensis, P. kozhikodianus, P. rheedii,  P. scabrifolius, and P. rotundifolius.The genus  Phyllanthus (Phyllanthaceae) consists of approximately 1000 species, spread over the American, African, Australian, and Asian continents [Phyllanthus species. Most of the herbs belonging to genus Phyllanthus have been shown to contain different combinations of secondary metabolites which render them with medicinal properties. The major class of bioactive compounds like alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, phenols, tannins, and terpenes has been isolated from these herbs [The genus ntinents . All thrse herbs , 4.Phyllanthus herbs that are used all over the world as traditional herbal remedies, 12 important herbaceous species are discussed here. The species included are P. ajmerianus Rao and Choudhary, P. amarus Schum and Thonn, P. debilis Klein ex Wild, P. fraternus Webster, P. kozhikodianus Sivadasan and Manilal, P. maderaspatensis L., P. rheedii Wight, P. rotundifolius Klein ex Wild, P. scabrifolius Hook.f., P. tenellus Roxb, P. urinaria L., and P. virgatus G Forst. Of these 12 species, P. ajmerianus is reported only from India [P. ajmerianus, P. rotundifolius, and P. scabrifolius, have been scientifically investigated and proven to be of pharmacological value. The ethnic tribes of India and other Asian countries have used the herbs of Phyllanthus species since ancient times, as traditional home remedies. The decoctions of various parts of the herbs are used for treating hepatic, urinary, and sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and wounds. Taking cue from the ethnic medications and potential of herbal treatments, the modern society is now eager to resort to green medicines which are without adverse side effects. Many of the Phyllanthus herbs form an integral part of Ayurveda, an Indian system of medicine. Considering the importance and potential of these herbs, it is natural that most of the studies are directed towards the phytochemical analysis and pharmacognostics  are reviewed with the following objectives: (i) to assess and hence direct efforts towards further studies on phytochemistry and pharmacognostics of the important herbs, (ii) to focus on the need to initiate studies of underresearched but potentially important medicinal herbs, and (iii) to assess the existing studies on identification of species, genetic diversity, and phylogeny, which will have an impact on formulating conservation strategies in future. The detailed assessment of clinical studies pertaining to the Phyllanthus herbs has not been elaborated in the present review.Keeping this present scenario in view, 12 important Phyllanthus herb species, nine species  have been scientifically analyzed whereas the remaining three species  have not been investigated for their medicinal properties. The pharmacognostics of each of the nine herbs is discussed here.Of the 12 This herb finds its use worldwide for treating problems of stomach, genitourinary system, liver, kidney, and spleen. It plays an important role in Ayurveda, an Indian system of medicine, and is used to treat jaundice, gastropathy, diarrhoea, dysentery, fevers, menorrhagia, scabies, genital infections, ulcers, and wounds . DecoctiP. debilis has been shown to possess maximum antioxidant activity compared to P. amarus, P. maderaspatensis, P. urinaria, and P. virgatus [This herb shows antihepatotoxic  and antivirgatus .P. fraternus has been reported by Chanda et al. [Traditionally, in India, the herb was used as a mild laxative, to expel worms and intestinal gas. The plant extracts are used for treating many types of biliary and urinary conditions like gall bladder, kidney stones, and bacterial infections such as cystitis, prostatitis, viral infections, hepatitis, flu, tuberculosis, liver diseases, anemia, veneral diseases, and urinary tract infections . The anta et al. . The aqua et al.  and has a et al. . Also tha et al. . Ethanola et al. . Accordia et al. , the flaThis herb provides protection to liver against chemical induced liver damage . The herEthanolic extract of this herb demonstrated chemoprotective effect in modulating cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and genotoxicity, thus proving its antioxidative property . This exThe Muthuvan tribe of Kerala use all parts of this herb as a cure for liver diseases. The plant also shows hepatoprotective, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, and antioxidant effects , 93.Extracts of fresh and dried plants have antiviral and antimicrobial activity , 95. TheHelicobacter pylori, which causes peptic ulcers and gastric cancers [H. pylori shows resistance to most antibiotics, this herb may be seriously studied for preparation of medicines against infections caused by this bacteria.This herb has multiple uses with many pharmacognostic properties. Aqueous/methanolic extract of whole plant is used for treating cancer \u2013100. The cancers . Since HIn China, the extract of this herb is fed to children suffering from malnutrition due to worm infestation. This herb is used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent by the Gond tribe of India . The plaPhyllanthus herbs with potential ethnomedicinal properties that have not been scientifically analyzed are as follows.This herb is found in Ajmer in India, and its identity has been confirmed by Vishwanatha et al. . This plPhyllanthus herbs for hepatoprotective property and it was found that P. urinaria and P. amarus have comparatively higher potential than P. rotundifolius [This species has been analysed along with other difolius . There aThe occurrence of this herb was reported in Karnataka, India . This isP. amarus, P. debilis, P. fraternus, P. maderaspatensis, P. tenellus, P. urinaria, and P. virgatus) have been reported to contain one or more classes of compounds such as lignans, flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids.The major phytochemicals which have/may have a role in rendering the herbs with medicinal properties are listed in Phyllanthus species. Of all the Phyllanthus herbs, the phytochemistry of P. amarus is well studied [P. amarus, P. maderaspatensis, P. urinaria, and P. virgatus [P. maderaspatensis. Also, Sharma et al. [P. maderaspatensis and P. urinaria. In P. fraternus, phyllanthin is absent, according to the studies of Khatoon et al. [P. amarus and P. fraternus but the concentration of these two lignans varies substantially in the two species. Presence of the lignan, phyltetralin, is common to P. amarus, P. fraternus, P. maderaspatensis, P. virgatus, and P. urinaria  are listed in The phytochemicals with associated pharmacological activities of six P. amarus [P. fraternus, P. maderaspatensis, and P. urinaria do not contain phyllanthin [P. amarus is attributed to amariin and geraniin (which are ellagitannins), whereas phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin have been suggested to be anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic [The lignan phyllanthin renders hepatoprotective property to . amarus . Howeverllanthin , 108 butllanthin . Therefollanthin  also poillanthin , hepatoppoptotic .P. debilis is shown to possess antihepatotoxic ability [Phyllanthus herbs as antihepatotoxic. Anticancer and/or antitumor properties have been related to the presence of phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, niranthin, and polyphenols in P. amarus , to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies correlating a phytochemical with its pharmaceutical property. The plant extracts of P. kozhikodianus and P. rheedii have been analysed for pharmacognostic properties and P. kozhikodianus is shown to be hepatoprotective [P. rheedii to have antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, and antioxidant effects [P. ajmerianus, P. rotundifolius, and P. scabrifolius have not been researched at all for either phytochemicals or pharmacological properties.In the six herbs  have been assessed in P. amarus. Another lignan, niranthin, is shown to have both antitumor and antiviral property. The flavonoids (rutin and quercetin-3-O-glucoside) and ellagitannins  have antioxidant as well as radioprotective property  and ISSR (Intersimple sequence repeats) markers, and an average polymorphism of 68.2% and 69.7%, respectively, was observed [P. amarus collected from different geographical locations in India, showed that the accessions from the southern part of India have high intrapopulation variation [Genetic diversity studies, phylogenetics, identification of species, and characterization of germplasm are very important for appropriate utilization and conservation of plant genetic resources. The total number of genetic diversity studies on herbs of observed . Geneticariation . This vaariation .P. amarus to identify superior genotypes for improving drug quality and for formulating strategies for in situ conservation and sustainable utilization [Phyllanthus sp.Isozymes also have been used to assess the genetic variability in south Indian populations of lization . Ravikanlization  have alsP. amarus, P. fraternus, P. debilis, and P. urinaria are varied but these plant species commonly grow together in the same open habitats and wastelands. In Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, and Thailand, P. amarus, P. fraternus, P. debilis, and P. urinaria grow together and lead to confusion in identification of these herbaceous species. Systematic studies on herbaceous Phyllanthus species, using morphological and anatomical parameters, could identify these Phyllanthus herbs [P. amarus, P. fraternus, and P. debilis were grouped under the single species named P. niruri and were later mentioned as species of \u201cniruri complex.\u201d Now, it is clarified that P. niruri is an American species and not at all found in India. Hence, the species identified as P. niruri is actually P. amarus, P. fraternus, and/or P. debilis [The ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacological activities among us herbs . Earlier debilis , 116.Phyllanthus species has proved to be a reliable tool. Species-specific SCAR (sequence characterized amplified regions) markers were developed for identification of Phyllanthus species  used in dry leaf bulk trade [Phyllanthus spp. and concluded that AFLP is a better polymorphic marker. Senapati et al. [Phyllanthus species, using intersimple sequence repeat-polymerase chain reaction (ISSR-PCR). Srirama et al. [Phyllanthus using DNA barcoding tools. They analyzed sequence variations of psbA-trnH region of the chloroplast to identify the Phyllanthus species present in the admixtures. AFLP profile along with morphological study could confirm the identification of P. ajmerianus Chaudhary and Rao in Ajmer, India [P. kozhikodianus and P. rheedii. PCR-RFLP approach of ITS  region has been successful in discriminating P. amarus, P. debilis, and P. urinaria [The use of molecular markers for identification of lk trade , 118. Balk trade  comparedi et al.  identifia et al.  assessedr, India . The stuurinaria .Phyllanthus. The ITS sequences generated phylograms which aided in deducing affinities among P. emblica, P. reticulatus, P. amarus, P. fraternus, and P. urinaria. Phylogenetic relationships of 23 Phyllanthus species of Thailand have been analysed by sequencing ITS regions [Phyllanthus [Bandyopadhyay and Raychaudhuri  sequence regions . RAPD anllanthus .P. ajmerianus, P. rotundifolius, and P. scabrifolius. Considering the medicinal properties of the Phyllanthus herbs, these species should be assessed for pharmacognostics and pharmacological properties. In case of P. maderaspatensis, P. kozhikodianus, and P. rheedii, although pharmacognostic properties are known, the compounds responsible for such properties have not been identified. Therefore these herbs can be experimented for isolation and identification of phytochemicals, based on existing knowledge of compounds observed in other Phyllanthus herbs and subsequently can be used for preparation of herbal medicines. Studies on pharmacognosy and pharmaceutical activity of phytochemicals published under the identity of P. niruri may be reevaluated especially the studies from India, as now it is confirmed that P. niruri is not found in India [P. niruri, actually may be of P. amarus, P. fraternus, or P. debilis. Also, to our knowledge, there are either few or no studies on genetic diversity of most Phyllanthus herb species, some of which are endemic species with a few populations, for example, P. scabrifolius in India. Considering the growing popularity of ethnopharmacological value of Phyllanthus species and its use in herbal medicines, it is imperative to assess the genetic diversity of these species, which will have implications for formulating conservation strategies in future.There are practically no studies on pharmacognostics and identification and/or isolation of pharmaceutically important compounds in in India . The stu"}
+{"text": "Dr. Murthy J. R. KollurithOctober, 1939 to 25thFebruary, 2011)(From 19The eminent chest physician, Dr. K. J. R. Murthy, was a doyen of respiratory medicine and a pillar of the Indian Chest Society. He has made a huge contribution in the field of tuberculosis.He obtained his MBBS from Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad, in 1961 and did his Post Graduation in Internal Medicine from Guntur Medical College, Guntur, in 1967. After acquiring the postgraduate degree, he immediately joined as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad. After serving there for 12 years, he moved to Bhagwan Mahaveer Hospital and Research Centre, Hyderabad, as a Consultant Chest Physician and subsequently became its Medical Director in 2005. He worked at the same institution as Director, Mahaveer PPM DOTS, till his last days.\u201cLung India\u201d and was one of the founding members of Indian Chest Society.He distinguished himself as a popular teacher, good administrator and an excellent clinician. He was associated with several operational research studies for the control of tuberculosis. Dr. Murthy was member of A.P.I., A.C.C.P., and TB Association of India. He was in the Editorial Board of He was recipient of several awards including Mahaveer Mahatma Award 2005, and conducted research projects funded by WHO, Overseas Development Agency UK, University of Newcastle UK, and Government of India. He was involved in many community welfare activities.Dr. Murthy has to his credit 126 publications in national and international journals, 115 presentations and many a contributions to books and updates. He was invited as a guest speaker to almost all countries of the world and acted as Panelist and Session Chairman in many world congresses.In view of his tremendous contributions to various organizations and to Indian Chest Society, he was highly respected as an elder statesman and his invaluable advice was sought on various occasions. His knowledge regarding constitutional intricacies was exemplary. May God Almighty give eternal peace to the departed soul!Lung India Editorial Board deeply regrets this irremediable loss and expresses sincere regards to grieving family, relatives and colleagues.We are grateful to Prof. S. R. Kamat, Former Head of Respiratory Medicine at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, for providing material and inspiring us to get this document prepared. The obituary was prepared with courtesy of Prof. U. S. Mathur, Former Head of Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, and Prof. Sundaram Challa, Head of Department of Pathology, Nizams\u2019 Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad."}
+{"text": "Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS ONE 8(9): e75389. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075389.The name of the second author was given incorrectly. The correct name is: John M. Farrow III. The correct citation is: Ellison ML, Farrow JM III, Parrish W, Danell AS, Pesci EC (2013) The Transcriptional Regulator Np20 Is the Zinc Uptake Regulator in In addition, multiple funding organizations and a grant were incorrectly omitted from the Funding Statement. The Funding Statement should read: \"This work was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to ECP (grant AI076272) and a new investigator award from the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network and INBRE to MLE . The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.\""}
+{"text": "In the author list, the spelling of Stephen H. Kleinstein's first name is incorrect.The correct spelling is Steven H. Kleinstein.This author also has an additional affiliation that is missing from the published article. The affiliation is:Interdepartmental Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.Table S1 in the published article does not include a PDB code. Please download the new version of Table S1, which contains the PDB code, at the following link: Click here for additional data file..The PDB ID is 4NPY."}
+{"text": "From the Latin for pustules or pox, possibly derived from varus, for pimple, or varius, for speckled. The earliest documented use of the word variola as a name for smallpox occurs in the 6th century, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Referred to in the vernacular as simply \u201cthe pox\u201d for many centuries, in the 16th century variola became known commonly as smallpox to distinguish the disease from syphilis, the great pox.From the Latin vacca, for cow. English physician Edward Jenner coined the term vaccination in 1796 to describe inserting pus from cowpox lesions into open cuts on human patients to prevent smallpox. The term now refers to any immunizing procedure in which a vaccine is administered.Sources: Hopkins DR. The greatest killer: smallpox in history. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; 2002; Oldstone MB. Viruses, plagues, and history. New York: Oxford University Press; 1998; Tudor V, Strati I. Smallpox. Cholera. Tunbridge Wells (UK): Abacus Press; 1977."}
+{"text": "A sound understanding of malaria transmission patterns in the People\u2019s Republic of China (P.R. China) is crucial for designing effective surveillance-response strategies that can guide the national malaria elimination programme (NMEP). Using an established biology-driven model, it is expected that one may design and refine appropriate surveillance-response strategies for different transmission zones, which, in turn, assist the NMEP in the ongoing implementation period (2010\u20132020) and, potentially, in the post-elimination stage (2020\u20132050).Environmental data obtained from 676 locations across P.R. China, such as monthly temperature and yearly relative humidity (YRH), for the period 1961\u20132000 were prepared. Smoothed surface maps of the number of months suitable for parasite survival derived from monthly mean temperature and YRH were generated. For each decade, the final malaria prediction map was overlaid by two masked maps, one showing the number of months suitable for parasite survival and the other the length of YRH map in excess of 60%.Considering multiple environmental factors simultaneously, the environmental variables suitable for malaria transmission were found to have shifted northwards, which was especially pronounced in northern P.R. China. The unstable suitable regions (transmission periods between five and six months) showed increased transmission intensity due to prolonged suitable periods, especially in the central part of the country.Adequate and effective surveillance-response strategies for NMEP should be designed to achieve the goal of malaria elimination in P.R. China by 2020, especially in the zones predicted to be the most vulnerable for climate change. Plasmodium falciparum has been eliminated in most provinces, except Yunnan and Hainan[P. vivax has become the predominant species. Although this species causes less morbidity and mortality than that of P. falciparum, the persistence of P. vivax through dormant stages , is a major impediment toward complete elimination of malaria in P.R. China[Malaria remains an infectious disease of foremost public health importance in many parts of the world, including the People\u2019s Republic of China (P.R. China). Historid Hainan-6. MeanwR. China-9. MoreoR. China,10,11, dR. China,13, and P. vivax development ceases within the Anopheles spp. mosquito at 14.9\u00b0C[Plasmodium sporocysts in the mosquitoes[Plasmodium spp., it exerts an influence on transmission through the activity and life-span of the vector, i.e., the lower the RH, the shorter the life-span of the vector[P. vivax to develop fully within the vector, while only 13 days are required at of 28\u00b0C[Malaria transmission is governed by social-ecological systems. Previous studies carried by Yang et al. suggest t 14.9\u00b0C,16. Usuasquitoes. Althouge vector. For inse vector,20. Clime vector. MoreoveMathematical models, coupled with geographical information system (GIS), revealed an increase of the population at risk of malaria transmission due to climate change,23. For P. vivax transmission in P.R. China are predicted, using an established biology-driven model. The predicted patterns, in turn, will guide the design and refinement of appropriate surveillance-response strategies for different transmission zones, and thus assist in optimizing the NMEP in the current ongoing implementation period (2010\u20132020) and, potentially, in the post-elimination stage (2020\u20132050).Here, the spatial and temporal patterns of The digital map database of P.R. China (DMDC), available at a scale of 1:1,000,000 , was used to delineate administrative boundaries for subsequent disease mapping. With regard to environmental data, the average daily temperature and RH were obtained from 676 locations evenly distributed across P.R. China. These environmental data cover a 40-year time series (1961\u20132000), and are provided by the Chinese Meteorological Administration (http://www.cma.gov.cn). In order to observe the evolvement over longer periods, the monthly/yearly environmental data for each decade were determined as detailed below.For each decade, the monthly mean temperature and RH were calculated according to equations (1) and (2):Tdaily and RHdaily signify the daily mean temperature and RH, respectively, whereas i denotes the number of days in a month.where P. vivax within the Anopheles vectors is 14.9\u00b0C, the number of months suitable for parasite survival over the year (Nmonth) was calculated for each location. There is no region of their monthly average temperature higher than 30\u00b0C which is the highest thermal threshold for development of P. vivax.Since the lowest temperature required for the development of P. vivax occurs primarily in regions where the yearly average RH (YRH) exceeds 60%[According to historical records, the vector of eeds 60%. It is iP. vivax malaria, considering temperature and YRH individually, was done using ArcGIS version 9.1 . Ordinary kriging, using the geostatistic module, was employed to generate smoothed surface maps of the monthly mean temperature, YRH, and number of months suitable for parasite survival. In order to study the spatial variation in the same season over different decades, the spatial extents of the suitable transmission regions at each of two time points for both Nmonth and YRH were compared.In the first step, mapping of environmental risk factors for Nmonth and YRH were overlaid to predict the potential risk areas of P. vivax transmission. Historical records indicate that malaria transmission in P.R. China is geographically restricted to areas south of latitude 45\u00b0N[Nmonth > 4 and YRH above 60% were the focus areas. The final malaria prediction map for each decade was overlaid by two masked maps, one showing the number of months suitable for parasite survival and the other the length of YRH map in excess of 60%.In a second step, the individual surface maps of the ude 45\u00b0N. In all P. vivax malaria risk maps for P.R. China, based on single environmental determinants. FigureP. vivax survival are shifting periodically over the year with respect to the mean temperature, the smallest appropriate areas appearing in January and the largest in July/August. The data suggest that the parasite can survive throughout the year in Hainan and in parts of the Yunnan and Guangdong provinces. South-western plateau areas, such as Tibet and the Qinghai province, are malaria-free throughout the year[Figuresthe year. CompariThe maps based on YRH show a gradual decrease of the RH from coastal areas toward inland. It should be noted that the Tibet plateau has a particular low YRH Figure due to hP. vivax malaria mainly occurs in the south-eastern part of P.R. China with the risk of malaria increasing steadily from north to south. Comparison between different decades shows that there is a high probability that variables suitable for malaria transmission will shift northwards, mainly driven by RH. The areas bordering on the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea (DPRK) emerge as regions potentially suitable for P. vivax malaria transmission. The vastness of this region adds to the potential problem.FigureTableIn P.R. China, the transmission and re-emergence of malaria has been restrained through continued efforts, yet malaria remains an important public health problem in the southern and central parts of the country. In 2010P. falciparum and P. vivax, for a long time[P. falciparum malaria was reached, though the transmission of P. vivax was persistent[P. falciparum, mainly due to the importation through mobile population in the southern border areas[P. vivax shows highly unstable patterns[Currently, the malaria transmission in P.R. China can be divided into three major strata in terms of intensity. The firong time,5. Recenrsistent. In Yunner areas. Guangdoer areas. The secpatterns. For inspatterns, and thipatterns. The remP. falciparum have remained restricted to Yunnan and Hainan, P. vivax have reported in Yunnan, Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, while high transmission mainly occurs in the bordering region of Yunnan and the hilly-forested south of Hainan[P. falciparum transmission, the passive and active surveillance approaches of the whole population \u2013 with particular attention to mobile populations \u2013 needs to be strengthened and followed by effective public health response actions when aiming at elimination. Passive surveillance is the routine reporting of the cases via hospital reporting system, while active surveillance is done for finding cases in the community mainly through door-to-door surveys.In order to understand the spatial-temporal transmission patterns of each epidemiological region in face of climate change, the current analysis predicts the regions of malaria transmission risk in P.R. China. Our findings highlight the regions that require most attention and surveillance showing in Figuref Hainan. AlthougP. vivax malaria occurred in the early 1960s and 1970s with an estimated number of 10 million and 21 million cases, respectively, with the corresponding prevalence figures around 1.5% and 3%[P. vivax should focus on the central region, including northern Anhui, eastern Henan, and western Jiangsu. Consequently, NMEP is challenged to develop an appropriate surveillance-response approach that should consist of passive surveillance in the transmission season from April to November and active surveillance concentrated on identified transmission foci.When turning to the possible effect of climate change to the unstable malaria transmission regions in the central part of P.R. China , prolonged transmission periods are found, previously covering the months of May to October but now starting in April. Indeed, two large-scale outbreaks of P. vivax malaria transmission maps indicate that marginal transmission areas have grown, especially since the 1990s. A previous study found that RH is one of the key restriction factors for the distribution of the mosquito vector. No malaria transmission occurs where the yearly average RH is below 60%[P. vivax malaria caused by climate change involving also this country. This observation makes it important for P.R. China to call for intensified surveillance and responses by NMEP in border areas with DPRK in addition to the ongoing efforts at the southern border of Yunnan province.The predictive elow 60%. Here, ielow 60%. It was Anopheles mosquitoes in P.R. China, e.g. Anopheles sinensis, An. anthropophagus, An. minimus, and An. dirus vary in different parts of P.R. China. The former and latter factors, in turn, call for more specific prediction maps based on a number of targeted research-action approaches for the different malaria transmission areas experiencing different levels of control or elimination to reach the basis for integrated surveillance-response strategies within NMEP that will hopefully lead to elimination of malaria in P.R. China, currently aimed for by 2020.In this study, according to model parsimony theory, only thThe authors declare that there are no competing interests.GJY and ZXN conceived the study and analyzed the data. GJY wrote the first version of the manuscript. XNZ, MT, JU, JBM, RB revised the manuscript. All authors read, contributed to, and approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "O. niloticus, O. aureus, and O. mossambicus, are excellent for aquaculture because these fish are easily reproduced and readily adapt to diverse environments. Historically, tilapia species, including O. mossambicus, S. melanotheron, and O. aureus, were introduced to Hawaii many decades ago, and the state of Hawaii uses the import permit policy to prevent O. niloticus from coming into the islands. However, hybrids produced from O. niloticus may already be present in the freshwater and marine environments of the islands. The purpose of this study was to identify tilapia species that exist in Hawaii using mitochondrial DNA analysis.The tilapia family of the Cichlidae includes many fish species, which live in freshwater and saltwater environments. Several species, such as O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O. niloticus, S. melanotheron, O. urolepies, T. redalli, and a hybrid of O. massambicus and O. niloticus. Of all the populations examined, 10 populations consisting of O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O. urolepis, and O. niloticus from the farmed sites were relatively pure, whereas three wild populations showed some degree of introgression and hybridization.In this study, we analyzed 382 samples collected from 13 farm (captive) and wild tilapia populations in Oahu and the Hawaii Islands. Comparison of intraspecies variation between the mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA CR) and cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene from five populations indicated that mtDNA CR had higher nucleotide diversity than COI. A phylogenetic tree of all sampled tilapia was generated using mtDNA CR sequences. The neighbor-joining tree analysis identified seven distinctive tilapia species: O. niloticus are present in captive and wild populations in Hawaii.This DNA-based tilapia species identification is the first report that confirmed tilapia species identities in the wild and captive populations in Hawaii. The DNA sequence comparisons of mtDNA CR appear to be a valid method for tilapia species identification. The suspected tilapia hybrids that consist of  O. niloticus, O. aureus, and O. mossambicus, are excellent for farming because these fish are easily bred and readily adapt to salty and alkaline environments O. mossambicus) and its hybrids can tolerate high salinity and are increasingly used in co-culture with marine shrimp O. aureus, O. mossambicus, and S. melanotheron, were introduced to Hawaii several decades ago. In the 1950 s and 1960 s, O. mossambicus, S. melanopleura, and T. melanopleuron were imported to the Hawaiian Islands to control vegetation and for use as baitfish for the tuna fishery. Taiwan and Florida red hybrid tilapias were also imported in the early 1980 s With easy breeding and high survival rates, the tilapia family of the Cichlidae has been an excellent species for aquaculture. Tilapia is one of the most widely farmed fish in the world with primary production from developing countries in Asia. In these countries, tilapia aquaculture not only provides dietary sources of protein and minerals for millions of impoverished families but is also an important means for economic and social empowerment. More than 2000 species of tilapia exist in both aquaculture and wild populations. Some of the species, such as O. niloticus and the hybrids. Over the years, aquarists have released a remarkable number of tilapias into Hawaii's streams and reservoirs. These tilapias that exist in the wild and on farms can be used as genetic resources for developing high-growth tilapia without importing new strains. Moreover, reproduction by random breeding in aquaculture practices may reduce the genetic diversity in domesticated strains due to the inbreeding effects of small broodstock population size A lack of genetically suitable tilapia broodstocks has been a limiting factor for tilapia aquaculture in Hawaii. Importation of genetically-selected tilapia strains to Hawaii has been challenged by environmental concerns and field-testing requirements. Currently, the State of Hawaii requires a permit to import and raise The traditional distinction of species within tilapia family depends on the differences in appearances of characteristics such as body size, shape, color, number of anal spines, shape of fins, and color of the head. However, introduction of alien species and the hybridization between these species have made identification of tilapia species by morphological distinctions more complicated O. niloticus) from population E and B, both of which are species of O. aureus  and the samples from wild population had higher nucleotide diversity. These data suggest that the farm populations except population C have low genetic variabilites within the population, whereas the wild populations demonstrated various degrees of introgression and hybridization. The interspecies genetic distances and average intraspecies genetic distances were calculated with MEGA 4. The mean distance among the total sample is 0.103. The distance within species ranged from 0 to 0.072, while the distance between species ranged from 0.012 to 0.210. Significant variation of the genetic distance between the interspecies and intraspecies comparisons was noted. Seventeen different haplotypes were detected from the analyzed mtDNA CR sequences. Sample number, haplotype numbers, average number of nucleotide differences, and nucleotide diversity are shown in Of the seven distinct species groups, O. aureus and O. niloticus in the sampled tilapia populations. However the species identification based on mtDNA CR was unambiguous. Therefore, mtDNA CR was used for all the fish samples collected from the wild and captive populations. Our data suggest that mtDNA CR sequence provides sufficient genetic variability for tilapia species identifications for our sampled populations. Based on the mtDNA CR sequences, we identified seven distinctive tilapia species, including O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O.niloticus, S. melanotheron, O. urolepies, T. redalli, and a hybrid of O. massambicus and O. niloticus. The suspected O. niloticus and hybrids are present in captive and wild populations in Hawaii.Several molecular-based approaches for the identification of tilapia species have been described, including microsatellite analysis, DNA barcoding, analysis of the nuclear fragment of rDNA, the first internal transcribed spacer, and mitochondrial DNA restriction fragments O. mossambicus was probably the first tilapia species to be widely distributed in Hawaii. As a result, most O. mossambicus stocks were unmanaged, and imported stocks of this species have escaped to the wild and been established in all the major islands of Hawaii. This species spawns easily in seawater as well as freshwater. Early experiences in aquaculture of this species were unappreciated as a food fish due to its large head, slow growth rates, and small body size at harvest O. mossambicus still has the potential to contribute to the breeding of tilapia. For example, Ch\u2019ang described a remarkable improvement of the growth rate and weight gain at 5 months of O. mossambicus under aquaculture conditions O. aureus was imported to Hawaii from the US Mainland for research purposes, and a hybrid of O. aureus and O. niloticus (Rocky Mountain White) was imported in 1995 by a commercial farmer O. mossambicus x O. niloticus and O. aureus, and this population may be related to the imported hybrids, which had been imported into Hawaii from Taiwan in 1980 O. niloticus. Clearly, this study confirm that O. niloticus and hybrids are present in the wild and captive sites in Hawaii.S. melanotheron and T. rendalli  and M (S. Melanotheron), nucleotide diversity within the population (Pi) and average number of nucleotide differences within the population (K) in T. rendalli and S. Melanotheron have high nucleotide diversity and average number of nucleotide differences within population . T. rendalli was one of the earliest imported tilapia species, which was introduced to Hawaii from the Belgian Congo in Africa in 1957 T. rendalli were stocked in a local reservoir by the state in the late 1950 s for weed control. Initially, only 57 fish were imported, and the stockfish were bred in captivity and later stocked in reservoirs and canals T. reandalli may be introgressed with other species. In many cases, genetic introgression was the result of intentional or negligent crossbreeding. This conclusion is based on a single mtDNA sequence analysis, and thus, further sampling and DNA analysis are certainly needed to verify this conclusion.Of the populations examined, the wild populations showed varying degrees of introgression and hybridization. In population K  was taken by scissors within 1 minute. The sampled fish were released back into the water.Tilapia fin clip samples were collected from thirteen populations (sites), including five wild populations on the island of Oahu and eight aquaculture facilities. Fin clip samples from 30\u201350 fish were collected from each site, and possible species identifications or pictures of the tilapia fish were taken at the time of sample collection. A total of 420 tilapia fin samples were collected and preserved in 100% ethanol in \u221220\u00b0C, and 390 fish samples were used for the DNA analysis.5\u2032-CTAACTCCCAAAGCTAGGAATTCT-3\u2032, ORMT-R: 5\u2032-CTTATGCAAGCGTCGATGAAA-3\u2032. To confirm and validate the mt CR method, we also developed PCR and DNA sequencing protocols of mtDNA COI ?2?, S. melanothern, O.niloticus reported by Falk ?34?, O. mossambicus and hybrid tilapia reported by D\u2019 Amato ?19?. A neighbor-joining (NJ) tree was constructed with the Kimura Two-parameter distance model by MEGA Version 4 After purification of PCR products, amplified DNA products from 382 fish samples were sequenced. All sequences were compared with the reported tilapia mtDNA CR sequences and the fish samples were classified to the related tilapia species identities. All the sequences were aligned by a clustalW2 program and visually checked for optimization. There were approximately 390 sites for mtDNA CR and 625 sites for COI, including alignment gaps. All of those sites were analyzed with seven recognized species of tilapia including the"}
+{"text": "The Society for Microbial Ecology's (SOMED) 36th International Conference is now history. As stated by President Andy Onderdonk in the last SOMED newsletter, the meeting was a success. The Organizing Committee, headed by Professor Alojz Bomba, had done a marvellous job. The programme was well balanced with a many good lectures highly relevant for our society. We would, however, have liked to see even more participants and/or SOMED members, something that was discussed at the General Assembly meeting. The discussion resulted in a proposal from one of our councillors, Sandrine Claus, who a few days after the meeting came up with an excellent proposal:If they have not started already, I am quite sure that the SOMED Board will work hard to substantiate the excellent ideas that are outlined in Sandrine Claus\u2019 proposal. I look forward to reading the winner's manuscript!MEHD and how the journal is developing. As the journal is now indexed in PubMed Central/PubMed, she encouraged all members of SOMED to support their society's own journal by submitting their best work to it, and also to have abstracts and/or proceedings from SOMED meetings published in MEHD.At the recent SOMED meeting in Kosice, Senior Publisher Anne Bindslev from Co-Action Publishing presented interesting information about At the meeting, four new members for the Editorial Board were recruited:N.V. Boyko, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine. Her last article in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture clearly demonstrates that some plant extracts can modulate platelet functions in humans.S.P. Claus, University of Reading, UK. In Cell Host Microbe, she recently had an exciting article entitled \u201cFighting undernutrition: don't forget the bugs\u201d!R.N. Fichorova, Harvard Medical School, USA. Readers of Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease will already be familiar with her article in the 2013 volume: \u201cEffect of feminine hygiene products on the vaginal mucosa.\u201dK. Venema, TNO, Netherlands. His recent article in Best Practice & Research in Clinical Gastroenterology, entitled \u201cExperimental models of the gut microbiome,\u201d is a \u201cmust\u201d for young scientists entering that field.These four names will now be added to the current editorial board: J. Artega, Columbia; A. Berstad, Norway; E. Bezirtzuglou, Greece; P. Carter, USA; P. Conway, Australia; M. Fons, France; W. Garrett, USA; E. Houpt, USA; K.A. Krogfelt, Denmark; V. Lazar, Romania; P. Mastrantoni, Italy; M. Mikelsaar, Estonia; I. Rowland, UK; and B. Shenderov, Russia.MEHD. Several board members took up the challenge given in my Editorial from November 2012 and submitted excellent manuscripts for publication in MEHD. With the strengthened editorial board and an increasing number of readers around the world, in addition to PubMed indexing, I am confident that an increasing number of articles will be submitted to the journal from now on.Thus, the journal now has \u201cambassadors\u201d all over the world, and in addition, they represent all the fields that are covered by With a slight travesty of a statement given in the Editorial mentioned above, I will end by underlining:MEHD!Only together can we make 2014 the best year ever for SOMED and Tore MidtvedtEditor-in-Chief"}
+{"text": "There was an error in the published funding statement. The correct funding statement is: H.L. Tan was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research , the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB/CBG), and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement nr. 241679 - the ARITMO project. A. Bardai was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research . Both grants are unrestricted. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Habold and R. Schneider-Stock. However, the two authors who in fact contributed equally to the work were C. Habold and A. Poehlmann.In , the fooa) was incomplete. The correct affiliation is as follows:In , the autVaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VIDI), Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Antwerp University, Belgium.We apologize for these errors."}
+{"text": "Plasmodium knowlesi, a simian malaria parasite, has been reported in humans in many Southeast Asian countries. In Thailand, most of the limited numbers of cases reported so far were from areas near neighbouring countries, including Myanmar.P. knowlesi using nested PCR assays. Positive samples were also investigated by PCR for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale, and were confirmed by sequencing the gene encoding the circumsporozoite protein (csp).Blood samples collected from 171 Thai and 248 Myanmese patients attending a malaria clinic in Ranong province, Thailand, located near the Myanmar border were investigated for P. knowlesi only. Nucleotide sequences of the csp gene derived from these two patients were identical and phylogenetically indistinguishable from other P. knowlesi sequences derived from monkeys and humans. Both patients worked in Koh Song, located in the Kawthoung district of Myanmar, which borders Thailand.Two samples, one obtained from a Thai and the other a Myanmese, were positive for P. knowlesi is occurring in the Ranong province of Thailand or the Kawthoung district of Myanmar. Further studies are required to assess the incidence of knowlesi malaria and whether macaques in these areas are the source of the infections.This study indicates that transmission of  Plasmodium that infect a variety of hosts, including reptiles, birds, rodents, primates and other mammals . Phylogenetic analysis of the non-repeat region indicated that these sequences were indistinguishable from those of P. knowlesi derived from monkey and human infections in Malaysia and Thailand  [b genes. Non-human primate malaria (P. inui and P. coatneyi) and Hepatocystis species were detected only in wild macaques in Ranong mangrove forests where anopheline mosquitoes were abundant [P. knowlesi was not detected in these macaques. Nevertheless, transmission of P. knowlesi from monkey to human cannot be ruled out.In Myanmar, a patient infected with  Myanmar . This pa or both . In Thair border . In addirovinces ,11. Intecularis) . Increascularis) . Malariaabundant . HoweverP. falciparum and P. vivax are most frequently detected in patients [P. vivax instead of P. malariae by microscopy. Thus, health care workers in this area who are responsible for identification of malaria species should be trained appropriately so that malaria species including P. knowlesi can be correctly identified.It is considered important to correctly identify the malaria species and clarify the mode of transmission for establishing appropriate preventive measures. In Thailand, patients . In thiscsp gene of P. knowlesi obtained from the two patients were identical. Comparison of these two P. knowlesi csp gene sequences and the other Plasmodium csp gene sequences deposited in GenBank confirmed that the P. knowlesi sequences obtained from the Thai and Myanmese patients were closely related to P. knowlesi derived from both monkeys and humans (Figure P. knowlesi and to understand the mode of transmission of this malaria parasite in the Thai-Myanmar border areas.The nucleotide sequences of the s Figure . Blood fP. knowlesi. Both of them work in the Kawthoung district of Myanmar that is close to Ranong province, Thailand and they visited Ranong to seek treatment. This indicates that this Thai-Myanmar border area is one of areas where P. knowlesi is being transmitted.Two blood samples, one obtained from a Thai and from a Myanmese, were each single infections of The authors declare that they have no competing interests.P. knowlesi positive control and helped in manuscript preparation. NS organized blood collection and helped in PCR analysis. MN provided some research funds and helped in study design. VV helped in writing the paper and discussion. All authors read and approved the submitted manuscript.NK carried out the PCR analysis and wrote the manuscript. BS provided"}
+{"text": "Anopheles sinensis complex are considered the vector species of malaria, but data on their susceptibilities to malaria and vector capacities have been controversial. The intensive use of insecticides has contributed to the rapid development and spread of insecticide resistance in the An. sinensis complex. Knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroids and DDT in the An. sinensis complex is associated with a mutation in codon 1014 of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene. Because the degree of insecticide resistance varies among mosquito species and populations, the detection of kdr mutations among the six sibling species of the An. sinensis complex is a prerequisite for establishing effective long-term vector control strategies in the ROKIn the Republic of Korea (ROK), six sibling species of the kdr mutations, An. sinensis complex specimens have been collected from 22 sites in the ROK. Because of the difficulties with species identifications that are based only on morphological characteristics, molecular identification methods have been conducted on every specimen. Part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC was polymerase chain reaction-amplified and directly sequenced.In order to investigate species-specific An. sinensis sensu stricto and no mutations were found in the other five Anopheles species. In An. sinensis s.s., one wild type (TTG L1014) and three mutant types  of kdr alleles were detected. The TTC L1014F mutation was observed for the first time in this species.The molecular analyses revealed that mutations existed at codon 1014 only in kdr gene is only observed in An. sinensis s.s., out of the six Anopheles species and their geographical distribution suggest the need for future studies of insecticide resistance monitoring and investigations of species-specific resistance mechanisms in order to build successful malaria vector control programmes in the ROK.The fact that the highly polymorphic  Plasmodium vivax malaria-endemic country, and malaria prevailed throughout the country. In the late 1970s, malaria was eliminated through eradication efforts by the World Health Organization and the government of the ROK. However, since 1993, malaria has re-emerged in the north-western region of Gyeonggi-do [Anopheles species, are prevalent throughout the Korean Peninsula, most of the incident cases in the ROK have been reported in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do and the north-western part of Gangwon-do near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and the ROK [Before the 1960s, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was a onggi-do . Althoug the ROK .Anopheles species, including the two recently reported species of Anopheles belenrae and Anopheles kleini, have been recorded so far [Anopheles. The Hyrcanus Group consists of 27 species, six in the Lesteri subgroup, four in the Nigerrimus subgroup, and the rest 17 unplaced species within the group [Anopheles sinensis sensu stricto, Anopheles lesteri, Anopheles pullus, Anopheles sineroides, An. kleini and An. belenrae [An. sinensis sensu lato. Because they occur in sympatry and it is hard to distinguish by morphology An. belenrae and An. kleini from An. pullus and An. sinensis s.s. [Anopheles koreicus and Anopheles lindesayi, belong to the Barbirostris and Lindesayi Groups, respectively [In the ROK, eight d so far ,6. Thesebelenrae ,6,8,9. Tsis s.s. -14. Thussis s.s. ,15,16. TAn. sinensis s.s. [P. vivax malaria susceptibilities and vectorial capacities have been controversial. Recent studies have suggested that An. pullusAn. kleini and An. lesteri are the primary vector species and that An. sinensis s.s. does not play a primary role [An. sineroides and An. belenrae have been reported as P. vivax-positive based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and polymerase chain reactions (PCR) [The primary vector species for malaria in Korea has long been declared sis s.s. ,13, but ary role ,15,17. Ins (PCR) ,19.An. sinensis s.l. in the ROK transmit the malaria parasite P. vivax, studying their discriminative ecology, such as their blood feeding and resting behaviours, their larval habitats, and their responses to insecticides, is necessary for malaria control. Hybridization between related species of the anopheline species, which rarely takes place in natural environments, might complicate malaria vector control [Anopheles gambiae complex [Because all six species of  control -23. Evid complex -26. In a complex .Until now, the use of insecticides has been the most effective and economical vector control method for malaria and other vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and filariasis . Since tkdr), is caused by a single mutation in the S6 transmembrane segment of domain II in the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene [Anopheles species, including An. gambiae, Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles stephensi, An. sinensis complex, Anopheles sacharovi, Anopheles subpictus, Anopheles sundaicus, Anopheles aconitus, and Anopheles vagus [kdr genotype and the resistance phenotype to pyrethroids and DDT in the Anopheles species was well documented by articles [Resistance to pyrethroids and DDT, which is known as knockdown resistance (SC) gene . Severales vagus -37. A poarticles ,38,39.kdr allele of An. sinensis in the ROK ranged from 25.0 to 96.6%, which suggested that pyrethroid resistance was already widespread in natural populations of the ROK [Anopheles species in the ROK [An. sinensis, real-time PCR amplification of a specific allele (rtPASA) has been developed. The results suggested that L1014F mutation was a major allele that showed a high allele frequency, whereas L1014C mutation was a minor allele that showed a low allele frequency within the An. sinensis populations in the ROK [An. sinensis group and species-specific assays have never been conducted because the sibling species are morphologically indistinguishable, and, unlike An. sinensis s.s., the other species have relatively low population densities. Because the mechanisms and degree of insecticide resistance vary among species and populations [kdr resistance alleles in all members of the An. sinensis complex in the ROK.A previous study reported that the frequencies of the  the ROK . A stand the ROK -42, and  the ROK . Howeverulations -46, the An. sinensis complex, the mosquito specimens were isolated based on their morphological characteristics that were determined first under a stereomicroscope in the laboratory compared to the other insects, and then the specific species of all of the Anopheles specimens were identified using multiplex assays [Mosquitoes were collected from 22 locations Figure , Table 1x assays . DNA waskdr mutation, part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC was PCR amplified and directly sequenced using 5\u2032ASIIS56 and 3\u2032ASIIS56 intron primers [In order to detect the  primers . The seq primers . The ded primers .1/x, following the example of Post and Millest [The maximum likely frequency (y) of an allele present or absent in a sample of a given size (x) was obtained from the upper of 95% confidence limit of binomial distribution, given by y\u2009=\u20091-0.05 Millest .An. sinensis complex mosquitoes were collected from 22 sites in the ROK, as briefly described in Figure An. sinensis s.s. , which is known as the dominant species in the ROK, and these were followed by An. kleini , An. pullus , An. sineroides , An. lesteri , and An. belenrae . Hybrid individuals were not detected. An. sinensis s.s. was found at most of the sites (21 of 22), whereas the other species were found at a few sites (one to five of 22) in the northern part of the ROK, and these results were in concordance with previous studies showing topoclinal distributions.A total of 755 An. sinensis s.s. (n\u2009=\u200987), An. kleini (n\u2009=\u200930), An. pullus (n\u2009=\u200926), An. belenrae (n\u2009=\u20092), An. lesteri (n\u2009=\u200913), and An. sineroides (n\u2009=\u200919) from 10 sites in the ROK . But the same amino acid (leucine) occurred at codon 1014. Met-Thr mutation at codon 918 (M918T), or super-kdr, which enhances the resistance in combination with L1014F within the same genetic region was not detected in any of the six species.In order to examine the mutations at codon 1014, 343-bp sequences of part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC gene were obtained from a total of 177 specimens that consisted of llus n\u2009=\u20096, An. bellus n\u2009=\u20096, An. bellus n\u2009=\u20096, An. bekdr alleles were detected in An. sinensis s.s.. TTC L1014F was found for the first time. TTT L1014F was the dominant mutation in all of the regions, whereas TTC L1014F, which was distributed in the eastern part of the ROK alongside the Taebaek Mountain  and three mutant types , of 014 and tkdr) is caused by mutations at codon 1014 of the VGSC, which is the target of pyrethroids and DDT. In this study, molecular analysis of the VGSC in the An. sinensis complex in the ROK revealed that mutations at codon 1014 existed only in An. sinensis s.s., whereas no kdr mutations were observed in the other five species, including An. pullus, An. kleini, An. sineroides, An. lesteri and An. belenrae. For wild-type L1014, a previous comparative study of the VGSC of various taxa showed different usages of coding triplets at L1014 [An. sinensis s.s., An. pullus, An. kleini, An. lesteri and An. belenrae), whereas for An. sineroides it was TTA, which is observed in a number of species, including An. gambiae An. arabiensis and An. vagus [Knockdown resistance  in the ROK may be explained by their large population size and wide species range. The level of genetic variation within a species is generated by mutation and eliminated by genetic drift due to finite population size [Although the detailed research on fitness costs of pressure . This hy the DMZ ,53-57. Sion size . Large pion size ,60 and aion size .An. sinensis s.s., the geographical distribution of kdr alleles is supported by a previous study that examined the population genetic structure of An. sinensis using mitochondrial control regions, and the results suggested distinct subdivisions in the Northern Group (NG) and Southern Group (SG) in the ROK [kdr alleles including one wild type and three mutant types were observed in this study. The three types of alleles  were observed in both the NG and the SG. Whereas the TTC L1014F allele, which was the rarest allele and which was detected for the first time in An. sinensis s.s. in this study, was only detected in the SG  will be crucial for building successful malaria vector control programmes that can explain and predict the development and spread of insecticide resistance traits.In summary, the different allele statuses of An. sinensis s.s., while the other five species showed no mutations. In An. sinensis s.s., the rarest allele, L1014F (TTC), was detected for the first time in this study, and the distribution of this allele was restricted to the southeast of the ROK. The present study is the first step in exploring species-specific insecticide resistance mechanisms. Further in-depth experiments are needed to prove the current epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of malaria vectors in the ROK. In addition, these efforts will be one of the prerequisite steps needed to establish effective long-term vector control strategies in the ROK.This is the first report that has explored the presence and absence of 1014 codon mutations in the VGSC of the six malaria-vector species in the ROK. The highly polymorphic 1014 mutations were only observed in The authors declare that they have no competing interests.SK performed the molecular assays, data analysis, and manuscript writing. JJ collected field samples and identified the mosquitoes based on their morphological characteristics. SL and HH identified the mosquitoes by molecular identification methods. JJ and WK supervised the work and manuscript writing. WK was responsible for the management of and fund raising for this study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "This page is designed to test your understanding of the concepts covered in this issue and to give you an opportunity to reflect on what you have learnt. If anything has changed or improved as a result of reading this issue, tell us about it. Write to The Editor using the contact details provided on page 22. The multiple True/False questions were produced in collaboration with the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the Diagnose This Quiz is provided courtesy of the Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE\u00ae) Network of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.a. False. Where possible, charge a single fee for all services and place cashiers and dispensaries near the exit. This will prevent unnecessary back and forth movements. B. true. 1. c. False. See the examples in d. true.a. true. b. False. If patients don't come to the clinic because they fear being badly treated, good clinical outcomes are of no use to them. c. False. Closed-ended questions are quick to analyses. Open-ended questions take longer. d. true. Patients may be reluctant to say something negative to staff working in the clinic as they may fear it will affect the care they receive.a. False. Always explain to the patient what you are going to do. b. False. After taping the lower eyelid, check that the eye can still close, or else the patient may be at increased risk of exposure keratitis. c. true. Ask the patient to try to open both eyes. d. true.a. true. Both indicate that the fuse has \u2018blown\u2019. b. False. A technician must service the equipment before it can be used again. c. true. d. False. Using foil or another object to replace a fuse is dangerous and can lead to electrocution, fires and damaged equipment.A12-year-old boy fails his school vision screening test. His medical history is benign. Middle-aged relatives of both sexes for three generations reportedly have had central visual loss. His best-corrected visual acuities are 20/80 OD and 20/20 OS. The disc, vessels, and retinal periphery of both eyes appear normal, but the macula of the right eye has a fibrotic scar and the left eye shows a yellow, round, circumscribed lesion of one disc diameter that blocks fluorescence on fluorescein angiogram. The ERG is normal, but the electro-oculogram ratio (light peaK/dark trough) is reduced. What is the most likely diagnosis?Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosisBardet-Biedl syndromeBest's vitel I form macular dystrophyStargardt's diseaseThe most likely diagnosis in this case is Best's disease. Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis causes a hyperfluorescent bull's-eye maculopathy from generalised cone dystrophy, with seizures and progressive dementia in school-age years. In Stargardt's disease, the macular RPE atrophy causes hyperfluorescence against the abnormally dark background of the \u201csilent choroid\u201d sign. Bardet-Biedl syndrome frequently has atrophic maculopathy, but the diffuse photoreceptor loss causes reduced ERG amplitudes by a young age. Bardet-Biedl syndrome is autosomal recessive, and patients frequently have extra digits on their hands or feet. In Best's vitelliform macular dystrophy, visual acuity typically is excellent until the \u201cegg yolk\u201d ruptures or involutes. The yellow lesion is hypofluorescent in the early phases of the fluorescein angiogram but can stain and become hyperfluorescent in the later stages. The condition is transmitted from an affected parent as an autosomal dominant trait. The electro-oculogram is characteristically subnormal despite a normal ERG."}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium spp. is one of the most important species of zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted from cattle to humans. The presence of these opportunistic, pathogenic bacteria in bovine milk has emerged as a public-health concern, especially among individuals who consume raw milk and related dairy products. To address this concern, the Brazilian control and eradication program focusing on bovine tuberculosis, was established in 2001. However, bovine tuberculosis continues to afflict approximately 1,3 percent of the cattle in Brazil. In the present study, 300 samples of milk from bovine herds, obtained from both individual and collective bulk tanks and informal points of sale, were cultured on L\u00f6wenstein-Jensen and Stonebrink media. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests and restriction-enzyme pattern analysis were then performed on the colonies exhibiting phenotypes suggestive of Mycobacterium spp., which were characterized as acid-fast bacilli.Mycobacterium spp.Of the 300 bovine milk samples that were processed, 24 were positively identified as Mycobacterium bovis, M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. flavescens, M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. novocastrense, M. parafortuitum, M. smegmatis, M. terrae and M. vaccae. The isolation of bacteria from the various locations occurred in the following proportions: 9 percent of the individual bulk-tank samples, 7 percent of the collective bulk-tank samples and 8 percent of the informal-trade samples. No statistically significant difference was observed between the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in the three types of samples collected, the milk production profiles, the presence of veterinary assistance and the reported concerns about bovine tuberculosis prevention in the herds.Molecular identification detected 15 unique mycobacterial species: Mycobacterium spp. in milk samples. Using these methods, we found that the Brazilian population may be regularly exposed to mycobacteria by consuming raw bovine milk and related dairy products. These evidences reinforces the need to optimize quality programs of dairy products, to intensify the sanitary inspection of these products and the necessity of further studies on the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk and milk-based products.The microbiological cultures associated with PCR-based identification tests are possible tools for the investigation of the presence of  Milk is an important source of proteins, sugars, lipids and other nutrients for humans. However, these nutrients can also serve as substrates for pathogenic microorganisms. The traditional consumption of homemade dairy products, and especially cheeses, that are composed of non-heat-treated milk poses a serious risk to public health . It is eMycobacterium genus, such as Mycobacterium bovis, are highly able to survive in bovine milk and other dairy products. These microbes can be found in the form of viable bacilli in cream cheese and yogurt produced from raw milk for over 14\u00a0days and in butter for over 100\u00a0days  and analyzed using internet Prasite  and compared with the patterns that were described by Chimara et al. [The amplification of the sing PRA . In thisa et al. .For the data analysis, continuous variables were categorized based on their median values. The total volume milked per day was classified as high (>330 liters) or low (<330 liters), and the mean volume milked per day was classified as high (>12 liters) or low (<12 liters). The number of lactating animals in each herd was categorized as many (>11 cows) or few (<11 cows). Similarly, the number of farmers delivering milk to each collective bulk tank was separated into two categories: many (>14 farmers) or few (<14 farmers).Mycobacterium spp. A logistic regression was then used to estimate the adjusted associations in a multivariable model, and backward variable selection was used to select a possible final model. The data were analyzed using R software (version 2.15.1) [Summary statistics were calculated to describe the characteristics of the farms enrolled in the study. Chi-squared or Fisher\u2019s exact tests were used to identify the farm-related factors that were associated with the isolation of Information regarding the daily total volume milked (in liters), the mean volume milked (in liters), the number of lactating animals, the breeds of the lactating animals, the presence of veterinary assistance and whether concerns existed about the prevention of tuberculosis in the herd was obtained for 228 of the 300 samples that were collected. This information was not collected for all of the samples because the informal milk sellers were not always aware of each product\u2019s origin. The number of farmers who delivered milk to each collective bulk tank was also considered. The sampled population was highly heterogeneous, the descriptive analyses of these data are summarized in Table\u00a0Mycobacterium spp. Molecular methods identified 15 distinct species among the isolates, as shown in Table\u00a0M. bovis subsp. bovis), and the other isolates included the environmental nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. flavescens, M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. novocastrense, M. parafortuitum, M. smegmatis, M. terrae and M. vaccae. The species that was most frequently isolated was M. gordonae type 9, and the second most frequent was M. haemophilum type 1.Of the 300 samples that were processed, 24 tested positive for Mycobacterium spp.-positive cultures, whereas 7 percent of the samples from the collective bulk tanks and 8 percent of the informal-trade samples resulted in positive cultures  as well as animals (such as udder and skin lesions in cattle) has been reported [M. vaccae is considered to be a nonpathogenic type of NTM and was recently ranked as a bacterium that is beneficial to the central nervous system. More specifically, in 2010, the American Society for Microbiology reported growth stimulation in certain neuronal types and consequently increased serotonin levels and decreased anxiety in mice exposed to M. vaccae[M. parafortuitum is not considered to be a pathogenic species of NTM. Phenotypically, M. parafortuitum resembles M. fortuitum, but certain biochemical differences between the two species motivated the classification of M. fortuitum as a novel species in 1966 [Since the last decade, the isolation of reported . M. vaccM. vaccae. Similar in 1966 .M. fortuitum has been recovered from tap water, water distribution systems and various types of soil. In humans, M. fortuitum is associated with skin lesions but rarely causes pulmonary lesions or spread infections [M. fortuitum has been isolated from milk samples from cows with a positive reaction to the tuberculin test [Mycobacterium spp., is typically due to the excessive intramammary use of oily or antimicrobial drugs for mastitis treatment or is secondary to severe cases of clinical mastitis, as these bacteria act as opportunistic pathogens [fections . This myfections . The bacfections , and in lin test . The occathogens ,38.M. smegmatis also has been recovered from cattle with mastitis [M. smegmatis is frequently found in water and soil [M. smegmatis has not been described in disseminated infections, even in immunocompromised patients [mastitis . As the and soil . Althougpatients ,40.M. immunogenum is a newly described species belonging to the M. chelonae-M. abscessus group. This species mainly causes hypersensitivity pneumonitis secondary to aerosol inhalation. M. immunogenum is also associated with disseminated skin infections, septic arthritis, keratitis and nosocomial infections [fections ,42 and cM. haemophilum and M. duvalii are species associated with infection in immunocompromised patients or patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [M. intracellulare is an etiological agent of disease in healthy patients [M. novocastrense, first described in 1997, is rarely reported in humans, although there is evidence of this bacterium\u2019s involvement in certain diseases [us (HIV) ,43. In cpatients  that haspatients . This sppatients . In contdiseases .M. terrae is often recovered from samples of soil, water and vegetables. Initially, this species was considered to be nonpathogenic, but several reports have associated this mycobacteria with cases of tenosynovitis and joint and pulmonary infections. Although M. terrae is rarely associated with disseminated infection, this species exhibits relatively high resistance to antimicrobial therapy [ therapy ,46.M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum and M. novocastrense in bovine raw-milk samples. The contamination of raw milk by mycobacteria is apparently inevitable, even under sanitary conditions, due to the ubiquitous nature of these microorganisms. Only the heat treatment of raw milk using commercial pasteurization protocols ensures the adequate destruction of mycobacterial contaminants. Thus, the transmission of viable mycobacteria to humans through heat-treated bovine milk is unlikely, whereas the consumption of raw bovine milk and related dairy products represents a public-health risk [The current study is the first report of the presence of lth risk .Mycobacterium spp. For example, in many regions of the world, tuberculosis is a major cause of death in HIV-infected individuals [The increasing number of individuals worldwide who are infected with HIV in the world predisposes the increase in the number of cases of diseases that have been recognized as emerging and re-emerging, which are mainly those diseases caused by opportunistic agents, such as ividuals . Such myividuals . In partThe ecology and physiology of mycobacteria are complex and differ between MTBC and NTM. In recent years, the intersection of human, animal and mycobacterial ecology has exposed humans and animals to mycobacteria and has impacted mycobacterial ecology . ResearcMycobacterium spp. in milk samples. Our data indicate that the Brazilian population may be exposed to mycobacteria through the consumption of raw bovine milk and related dairy products. These evidences reinforces the need to optimize quality programs of dairy products, to intensify the sanitary inspection of these products and the necessity of further studies on the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk and milk-based products.Microbiological cultures and PCR-based identification tests are possible tools for the investigation of the presence of Mycobacterium; MTBC: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; PCR: Polimerase chain reaction; PNCEBT: \u2018Programa Nacional de Controle e Erradica\u00e7\u00e3o da Brucelose e Tuberculose\u2019; PRA: Restriction enzyme pattern analysis polymerase chain reaction; UNESP: Sao Paulo State University; NTM: Environmental nontuberculous mycobacteria; FAPESP: \u2018Funda\u00e7\u00e3o de Apoio \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado de S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019; CNPq: \u2018Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico\u2019.HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; M.: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.MMJF: Conducted the mycobacterial culture-based procedures and the molecular identification of the species. Participated in the statistical analysis of the data. Drafted the manuscript. Read and approved the final manuscript. ACP: Conceived of and designed the study. Helped to draft the manuscript. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. MGR: Conceived of and designed the study. Helped to draft the manuscript. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. CQFL: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. JCFP: Performed the statistical analysis of the data. Read and approved the final manuscript. RGM: Acquired the samples and data on the population characteristics. Read and approved the final manuscript. ACBS: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Read and approved the final manuscript. MM: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Read and approved the final manuscript. FJPL: Participated in the mycobacterial culture-based procedures. Read and approved the final manuscript.MMJF: M.V. M.Sc., School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.ACP: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.MGR: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.CQFL: Pharmaceutist, M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.JCFP: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.RGM: M.V. M.Sc., School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.ACBS: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.MM: Biologist M.Sc. Ph.D., School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.FJPL: Laboratory Technician, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University."}
+{"text": "Xenopsylla fleas parasitizing murid rodents on the Canary Islands have been reported. Three Xenopsylla species, X. cheopis, X. brasiliensis and X. guancha, have been detected on two rodents species, Mus musculus and Rattus rattus. X. guancha has been the most prevalent species detected, specifically on M. musculus, the most abundant rodent, but it has been detected only on three eastern islands, where the species is endemic. X. cheopis has been shown to be the most widely distributed species throughout the archipelago and the species most frequently found on R. rattus. X. brasiliensis has been shown to be the least prevalent Xenopsylla species, with the lowest geographical distribution on the Canary Islands and focused only on R. rattus. The detection of both X. cheopis and X. brasiliensis on the island of Lanzarote, and of X. guancha on the island of Fuerteventura and the islet of La Graciosa represents the first report of these species on those particular Canary Islands.The geographical and host distributions of  Rattus rattus  and Mus musculus  are the most abundant sylvatic rodents, and precisely murid species on these islands.The Canary Islands form the southernmost Palearctic archipelago, located at latitude and longitude 27\u00ba 29\u00ba N and 13\u00ba 18\u00ba W, respectively. On the archipelago, field-rats as well as house-rats are found along with house mice. Xenopsylla species have been reported on the Canary Islands, three of them, X. brasiliensis , X. cheopis  and X. guanchaX. gratiosa  on sea-birds  and X. gratiosa, are parasites of warm-blooded animals other than rodents, respectively rabbit and petrel.Four ea-birds . Xenopsyribution . X. cheoXenopsylla species detected on the archipelago.Reports on the flea fauna of the Canary Islands have been, until now, scarce and rather old . As partM. musculus, 215 R. rattus and 13 R. norvegicus  \u2013 were trapped and then they were scarified by cervical dislocation.During the course of these projects, seven main islands and one islet have been prospected; four western , and four eastern . In each island, different biotopes were prospected throughout a week, and, in average, 200 live-capture traps were used every night. As is displayed in Flea specimens detected on rodents were kept in 70 % alcohol. Each specimen was subjected to a clearing treatment with 20 % potassium hydroxide and to a process of dehydration, using a series of ethanol rinses of ascending concentration up to 100 %. Finally, for identification purposes, the specimens were mounted in Canada balsam.The specific and sub-specific flea determination was based on their morphological characteristics .R. norvegicus captured was parasitized by Xenopsylla fleas. The three murids Xenopsylla species, X. cheopis, X. brasiliensis and X. guancha, already reported on the Canary Islands were also detected in this study. A total of 98 Xenopsylla spp. fleas  were found on 61 rodents .None of the 13 X. cheopis  were found on 22 rodents, four X. brasiliensis  on three rodents and 51 X. guancha  on 36 rodents. The global prevalence and mean intensity for all the rodents trapped over the entire archipelago was: 2.5 % and 1.9 for X. cheopis; 0.3 % and 1.3 for X. brasiliensis; 4.0 % and 1.4 for X. guancha. Xenopsylla fleas were absent on the rodents from La Palma and La Gomera  but was focused on M. musculus . As in previous studies, X. cheopis was absent on two of the western islands, La Palma and La Gomera, and also on one of the eastern, La Graciosa islet , where the flea species was found and its two rodent hosts were trapped.The actual detection of sa islet . The curX. brasiliensis was the least prevalent Xenopsylla species and also the least widespread flea on the archipelago. The presence of this species had been reported on three western  and on one eastern Canary Island (Gran Canaria) and also only on R. rattus . Consequently, it would seem that the eastern islands\u2019 climate and proximity to the African continent influence the abundance of Xenopsylla and, in some cases, influence their endemicity as X. guancha. The results of this study show that no"}
+{"text": "Antibiotics are a valuable addition to health practitioners for the management of bacterial infections. During endodontic treatment and when managing trauma to the teeth, antibiotics may be applied systemically or locally. Due to the potential risk of adverse effects of systemic applications, and the ineffectiveness of systemic prescribed antibiotics in necrotic or pulpless teeth and the periradicular tissues, the local application of antibiotics may be a more effective mode for delivering antibiotics to infected root canals. The purpose of this article is to review the history, rationale, and applications of antibiotics and antibiotic-containing irrigants in endodontics. The surface demineralization widens the orifices of the dentinal tubules and exposes the cementum collagen matrix which stimulates fibroblast attachment and growth  of the isolates were susceptible to tetracycline and doxycycline.Carson et al.  used an o et al.  evaluateet al. 2 were 100% effective in eliminating the E. faecalis biofilm, whereas ampicillin, co-trimoxazole, vancomycin, and vancomycin followed by gentamicin were ineffective. Based on the hypotheses that microorganisms can reach the apical area of recently replanted teeth from the oral cavity , and that tetracyclines can potentially inhibit this route of bacterial contamination, Cvek et al. , respectively. However, after the longer time periods, the CHX group showed the lowest number of CFU\u2019s.Abbott 12 weeks . Khademi , otherwise known as MTAD , is a relatively new root canal irrigant which was introduced by Torabinejad and Johnson  in 2003.ar layer  and is efaecalis -37.et al.  and the minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of MTAD. After irrigating with 1.3% NaOCl, the root canals and the external root surfaces were exposed to MTAD for five minutes. This treatment regimen was effective in completely eliminating growth of seven of the eight strains of E. faecalis. The MIC/MLC tests showed that MTAD inhibited growth of most strains of E. faecalis when diluted 1:8192 times and it killed most strains of E. faecalis when diluted 1:512 times.Davis et al.  investigy et al.  determinet al.  showed positive cultures of E. faecalis. These results clearly showed that, although the addition of chlorhexidine did not negatively impact on the efficacy of MTAD, the substitution of doxycycline with chlorhexidine significantly reduced the efficacy of the resultant solution.Recently, Shabahang et al.  evaluatein vitro study, Mohammadi and Yazdizadeh  readily attach to dentine and are subsequently released without losing their antibacterial activity . The prezdizadeh  evaluatezdizadeh . In anotzdizadeh  assessedTetraclean , Italy), like MTAD, is a mixture of an antibiotic, an acid and a detergent. However, the concentration of the antibiotic, doxycycline (50 mg/ml), and the type of detergent (polypropylene glycol) differ from those of MTAD (48).et al.  is effective in removing the smear layer. However, the antimicrobial efficacy against E faecalis of 1.3% NaOCl/MTAD compared with that of the combined alternate use of 5.25% NaOCl and 15% EDTA is still controversial.5. Substantivity of MTAD has been shown to last for up to 4 weeks. Furthermore, application of MTAD to 1.3% NaOCl-irrigated dentine may reduce its substantivity.6. Tetraclean, is a mixture of an antibiotic (doxycycline), an acid, and a detergent (like MTAD), with a very low surface tension, and high degree of efficacy against bacterial biofilms."}
+{"text": "The current study uses the Language Independent Functional Evaluation (L.I.F.E.) to evaluate disability in a smaller Ghanaian coastal town to characterize the extent and nature of disability. The L.I.F.E. is a video animated, language free equivalent of the standard 10-item verbal/written Barthel Index functional assessment.Over a four-month period, the L.I.F.E. survey was given to members of the village of Anomabo in a preliminary survey which consisted of recruitment in an un-controlled manner, followed by a systematic, comprehensive survey of three neighborhood clusters. Basic demographics were also collected, along with the observer's assessment of disability.541 inhabitants (264 in the preliminary survey and 277 in systematic survey) completed the L.I.F.E. Participants ranged from 7-100 years old  and were 55.9% female. In the systematic study, 16.6% of participants had a less than perfect score on the L.I.F.E., indicating some degree of impairment. Significant differences were found between age groups, but not between sexes, the preliminary and systematic survey, and study location (a=.05).The L.I.F.E. and this study methodology can be used to measure the prevalence of disability in African communities. Disability in this community was higher than the frequently cited estimate of 10%. African policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure disability and thus more rationally allocate resources for medical rehabilitation. The personal and economic burden of disabling medical illnesses across the world is unquestioned. The World Disability Report is often cited to state that 10% of the world population lives with a disability . In AfriThe reasons for misallocation of resources are many and complex. However one probable reason is the difficulty in obtaining information on the extent and cost of disability in low-resource regions. This is an especially challenging problem for African epidemiologists and policy makers, who must deal with hundreds of languages and relatively high illiteracy rates.Recently a tool for measuring disability without the use of language has been designed. The Language Independent Functional Evaluation (L.I.F.E.) is a video pictorial representation of the functions portrayed in the commonly used Barthel Index , 5. AfteThe current study brings the L.I.F.E. back to Africa to evaluate disability in a smaller Ghanaian coastal town. Results may shed light on the extent and nature of disability in such a community, but also demonstrate the viability of this relatively high-tech approach to the problem in a low-resource region.The L.I.F.E. has been described in detail previously , 7. InstIn a previous study the summary L.I.F.E. scores have been shown to relate well to the Barthel Scores , except bowel and bladder, which had moderate correlations [The Ghanaian coastal village of Anomabo was chosen because it is familiar to the various investigators. Anomabo is situated directly on the main highway between Accra and Cape Coast. It has a well organized local government health care system with a clinic in both central Anomabo and its close neighbor Biriwa. The village of Anomabo itself has a population of roughly 3,000. Because of its location on the main highway yet also on the ocean front, the town's main economy is split between fishing and tourist attractions. Nearly half of the men in the village seem to be fisherman, while there are also three different hotels and guest houses in Anomabo itself. Although the official language of Ghana is English, most of the villagers speak Fante, so the introduction and instructions were recorded in Fante and played before the L.I.F.E. was given.The project was performed over a four month period. Surveys were performed by an American (BWK) who lived in the community for the duration of the study. He had cursory knowledge of the Fante language, and was provided with extensive guidance on local culture and community from the local Ghana Health Service nurse.To test the functionality of L.I.F.E. the investigators first used an uncontrolled open method of subject recruitment, basically approaching people on the street and near the clinic. Subsequently a more specific methodology was used, in which the investigators comprehensively surveyed neighborhoods in regions referred to in this paper as \u201cRural West North\u201d; Rural West South, and Town Center.The investigators surveyed three main large clusters, two from the western corner and one from the center of town. Because the town, particularly on the outskirts, is not very clearly organized in terms of streets, geographic landmarks were used to delineate the borders of the clusters.The first cluster extended from the western border of Anomabo past the beach resort and the road attached to the beach resort and all the way to the next cluster of houses as an eastern border. The main highway and the ocean made up the North and the South borders respectively.The second cluster began on the northern side of the highway at the western border of Anomabo. It extended in the East all the way to the row of houses just past the opposing entrance to the Beach Resort. In the North it extended back until there seemed not to be any houses left that had been completed. In the West it extended to the Western border of Anomabo, just past the gas station.The third cluster was in the center of town. The center of Anomabo extends South from the main road towards the beach. There are three main streets extending away from the Accra-Cape Coast road. The length of the westernmost of these streets all the way from the Accra-Cape Coast road to its southernmost dead-end were surveyed. We defined occupants of houses as permanent habitations. Thus vendors who occasionally slept in their store along the street were not included in the cluster survey.Households living on selected streets or paths in these regions were all included. If a person was away or a house was empty, the investigator returned in subsequent days to ensure participation. With subject consent, the survey began with an informal assessment as to whether the person interviewed had an obvious disability, using information and criteria obvious to the public. . The subjects performed the L.I.F.E., and were dismissed.Data was transferred to an excel spreadsheet for further analysis. Data from the initial informal survey was separated from the more stringent survey, but is also reported. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software . Descriptive statistics were tabulated, along with one-sample Kolmogorov Smirnov (K-S) tests which showed non-parametric distribution of scores for participants. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient, Mann Whitney-U Test, and Kruskall-Wallis tests were conducted to assess the relationships between disability  and demographic factors (a=.05).Approval was obtained from the Ghana Health Service, and the local authorities, and the study was formally exempted from review by the American university's ethical review board.The L.I.F.E. and demographics were collected for a total of 541 individuals residing in the village of Anomabo. The preliminary survey consisted of 264 inhabitants and the final survey, which included the areas of Rural West North, Rural West South, and the Town Center, was comprised of 277. In the final survey, 55.9% of participants were female, with ages ranging from 7-100 years old . Out of these, 66.5% of participants had received some formal education. In this community 16.6% of participants provided a less than perfect score on the L.I.F.E., indicating some degree of impairment. The average L.I.F.E. score in the final survey was 18.48 (s.d. 1.81). 2  =42.13, p=.000. The proportion of variability in the ranked dependent variable accounted for by study location was .156, indicating moderate relationship between L.I.F.E. scores and age. Post-hoc tests were conducted to evaluate pair-wise differences across groups, controlling for Type I error across tests by using the Bonferroni approach. The results of these tests are shown in The relationship between age and disability is complex, as outlined in An independent samples Mann-Whitney U test was employed to examine the differences in L.I.F.E. scores in the final survey for the sexes. There were no significant differences in scores by sex z= -.176, p=.860. When examined by final survey location, Rural West North approached significance, z= -1.746, p=.081, while Rural West South and Town Center did not, z= -.670, p=.503 and z=1.006, p=.314, respectively.From the researcher's informal observations, 3.9% of participants appeared to have an impairment. This is in contrast to the 16.6% of participants who scored some disability on the L.I.F.E. While 2  =.915, p=.822. One goal is to determine whether convenience sampling is sufficient in comparison to the more arduous task of systematic survey. For the systematic survey there was no statistically significant difference in the crude rate of disability between the areas sampled.  No significant difference in any disability as measured by the L.I.F.E. between preliminary survey and final survey locations. A Kruskal-Wallis test conducted to evaluate differences in the % of people disabled between survey settings, corrected for tied ranks, showed no significant differences X2  =32.461, p=.000. The proportion of variability in the ranked dependent variable accounted for by study location was .061, indicating a weak relationship between study location and participant age. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pair-wise differences across groups, controlling for Type I error across tests by using the Bonferroni approach. The results of these tests indicated a significant difference between the preliminary survey and all three locations of the final survey, along with a significant difference in age between Rural West South and Town Center. Participants in the preliminary survey were significantly younger than in the final survey locations, along with those participants in the Town Center being significantly older than those in the Rural West South.A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to evaluate differences in median age among study settings . The test, which was corrected for tied ranks, was significant; XThe study results show 17% of inhabitants of this rural African village have varying degrees of disability as measured by the L.I.F.E. in the final survey, and that the computer animated L.I.F.E. is accepted as a survey method among rural Africans. Further it showed that a systematic survey results in some differences compared with a convenience sample in the community, and that casual observation is grossly insufficient to detect most disability found with the L.I.F.E. Specific findings are worth comment and the methodology should be further discussed.The population studied is not intended to reflect all of Africa, but rather the type of community in which accurate data on disability might be difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, the distribution of age, sex, educational levels, and absence of rehabilitation services are likely not different from other rural communities. This does not represent all disabilities. The L.I.F.E. does not measure communication or cognitive functions, for instance. To the extent Anomabo represents other African communities, the 10% number frequently cited by national governments is a gross underestimate of the prevalence and cost of disability. The relationships between function and basic demographics, as noted in It is not surprising that mobility related disabilities were found most commonly. Difficulties in bowel and bladder function were next most common, however it is important to note that the psychometric properties of surveys for these functions are typically not good, and the L.I.F.E. is no exception , 7. AlsoQualitatively, the investigators observed significantly less functional disability than they had expected. Subjects with obvious disabilities often answered negatively with regard to their own function. In fact, subject's self-assessment of disability seemed to be associated most with increasing age and family support. The conclusion to be drawn from these counter-intuitive observations is not that the poverty and lack of medical care in Anomabo is somehow protective against disability. Rather, the lack of self-reported disability points to the fact that, in Anomabo, disability is most often fatal. Persons who cannot get themselves out of bed will not get out of bed; there is little support to help them with their disability beyond their own ingenuity and resistance.The need to systematically survey disability is illustrated by some of the differences between our preliminary study and the final protocol. There were not drastic differences in percentage of persons with disability between the early and formal survey. However there were age differences. Whether the area of the preliminary survey was inhabited more by younger people or whether younger people were more \u2018on the move\u2019 and accessible to the convenience sample, can be debated. On the other hand it may be quite reasonable to believe that older people live closer to the center of town, as found here.Overall the findings of this paper point to a more significant burden of disability than expected. Incontrovertible evidence points towards the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of medical rehabilitation in reversing disability . To dateThe second finding of this paper-that a high-tech solution can be practical in measuring disability in rural, non-English speaking populations, provides an important solution. African governments and policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure the burden of disability in their communities. The results can lead to rational allocation of resources \u2014 undoubtedly an increase in investment in medical rehabilitation.The L.I.F.E. and this study methodology can be used to measure the prevalence of disability in African communities. Disability in this community was higher than the frequently cited estimate of 10%. African policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure disability and thus more rationally allocate resources for medical rehabilitation."}
+{"text": "Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on Chamundi hill of Mysore, Karnataka State, India. A total of 16,671 Drosophila flies belonging to 20 species of 4 subgenera were collected at altitudes of 680 m, 780 m, 880 m and 980 m. The subgenus Sophophora was predominant with 14 species and the subgenus Drosilopha was least represented with only a single species. Cluster analysis and constancy methods were used to analyze the species occurrence qualitatively. Altitudinal changes in the population density, and relative abundance of the different species at different seasons were also studied. The diversity of the Drosophila community was assessed by applying the Simpson and Berger-Parker indices. At 680 m the Simpson Index was low at 0.129 and the Berger- Parker index was high at 1.1 at 980 m. Linear regression showed that the Drosophila community was positively correlated with rainfall but not elevation, Furthermore the density of Drosophila changed significantly in different seasons . The distributional pattern of a species or related group of species was uneven in space and time. D. malerkotliana and D. nasuta were found at all altitudes and can be considered as dominant species.A year long study was conducted to analyze the altitudinal and seasonal variation in a population of  Drosophilidae (Diptera) is composed of more than 3,500 described species that occur in a number of ecosystems all over the world . It is a small mountain (11\u203236\u2032 N Latitude and 76\u2032 55\u2032 E) with scrubby forest that was uninhabited about forty years ago with a small temple at the hilltop. However, the hill has become a famous tourist spot of Mysore  since about thirty years ago with a small township built at the top with a population of 2,000 and experiences the inflow of many tourists.The present analysis of Drosophila fauna was studied in four different wild localities of Chamundi hill, Mysore. For this purpose monthly collection of flies were made at the altitudes of 680 m, 780 m, 880 m, and 980 m between February 2005 to January 2006. Both bottle trapping and net sweeping methods were used. For bottle trapping, milk bottles of 250 ml capacity containing smashed ripe banana sprayed with yeast were tied to the twigs underneath small bushes at a height of three to five feet above the ground. Five traps each were kept at each altitude. The following day the mouth of each bottle was plugged with cotton and removed from the bushes. The flies that were collected in the bottles were transferred to fresh bottles containing wheat cream agar medium  includes, Drosophila populations on the hill. In the cluster study, Euclidean distance was chosen to measure the similarity between different species and Ward's Strategy  using SPSS 10.5. In order to verify the occurrence of a species qualitatively, the occurrence constancy method  was usedStrategy  was folln-Wiener .The relationship between the abundance, richness and diversity of all groups of flies collected throughout the year was assessed by Simpson (D) and Berger-Parker (1/d) indices (Berger- Parker index (1/d) which shows the relative abundance was calculated using the formula,Drosophila species at four different altitudes of Chamundi hill is shown in Sophophora, Drosophila, Dorsilopha, Scaptodrosophila. Most of the species belonged to the D. melanogaster species group. D. buskii was the only species belonging to subgenus Dorsilopha. The total number of the flies captured through out the year was 16,671 and number of the species collected was 20. At 680 m, the number of flies collected was the highest  compared to all other altitudes and the least number was collected at 980 m. D. nasuta, D. neonasuta, D. malerkotliana, D. rajasekari, D. jambulina, and D. bipectinata were the most common species found at all altitudes compared to other species such as D. anomelani, D. coonorensis, D. punjabiensis, D. mysorensis and D. gangotrii. D. kikkawii, D. takahashii, D. suzukii, D. repleta, D. immigrons, D. buskii, D. brindavani, D. nigra, D. mundagensis were not found at all altitudes  of all species present at all altitudes along with absolute numbers (A) and relative abundance (r) are presented in  species . The valDrosophila flies decreased with increasing altitude , altitude , rainfall . There was negative correlation with altitude and temperature and positive correlation with rain.The number of altitude . The appmontium sub group and included D. kikkawii, D. coonorensis, D. gangotrii, D. takahashii, D. anomelani, D. punjabiensis, D. mundagensis, D. mysorensis but D. suzukii, belongs to suzukii subgroup. Both these subgroups belong to the melanogaster species group of the subgenus Sophophora. D. repleta, D. buskii, and D. immigrons of the same cluster belong to subgenus Drosophila, while D. nigra belongs to subgenus Scaptodrosophila. D. jambulina, belongs to the montium subgroup and D. bipectinata belongs to the ananassae subgroup which is linked with the first cluster. In the second cluster, D. rajasekari belongs to suzukii subgroup of the melanogaster species group of subgenus Sophophora while D. neonasuta belongs to the subgenus Drosophila. D. malerkotliana and D. brindavani sub-cluster which joins with D. rajasekari and D. neonasuta belong to two different taxonomic categories. Among these, D. malerkotliana belongs to subgenus Sophophora and D. brindavani belongs to subgenus Scaptodrosophila. D. nasuta the lone third tier species which joins with the second cluster belong to the subgenus Drosophila and taxonomically more related to D. neonasuta of tier 1 species of this cluster. Thus most of the species of first cluster have closer taxonomic relationships than the second.The cluster analysis performed on the basis of densities of different species showed two clusters . Of thesDrosophila at different altitudes of Chamundi hill decreased with increasing altitude  geographical (e.g. latitude and longitude); 2) environmental (an environment with a greater variety of niches would be able to host a greater variety of species); and 3) biological . These factors may have important consequences on the number of species in a given ecosystem. The changes in the natural environment caused by the alteration of seasons, would result in the change in relative frequency of different species from season to season  0 represent infinite diversity and 1, no diversity, i.e, the greater the value of D the lower is the diversity but the reverse is true in case of Berger-Parker and Shannon-Wiener indices . Althoug"}
+{"text": "The complete statement appears below.In \u201cIs the Relationship between Prenatal Exposure to PCB-153 and Decreased Birth Weight Attributable to Pharmacokinetics?\u201d by Verner et al. [Environ Health Perspect 121:1219\u20131224; This study was supported by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Long-Range Research Initiative and the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. M.-A.V. conducted this study as a consultant for the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, an independent nonprofit organization. M.P.L. received no compensation from the ACC. The authors certify that their freedom to design, conduct, interpret, and publish research was not compromised by any sponsor.EHP regrets the error."}
+{"text": "Ixodes festai Rondelli, 1926 is a poorly known bird parasite tick. Its immature forms have not been described yet, while the adult forms only insufficiently, especially the male. In this note the presence of the male of Ixodes festai for the first time in Sardinia  is reported and a detailed redescription is provided. Morphometric data as well as photographs performed both with optical and electron microscope (ESEM FEI Quanta 200) are also shown. Ixodes festai was originally described by Rondelli in 1926 on a female specimen collected in Derna (Libya) from Alectoris barbara (Phasianidae).The Ixodidae Ixodes festai specimens collected in the forest of N\u00e9fifik (Morocco) on Oryctolagus cuniculus (Leporidae) providing a redescription of the female and the first description of the male , Phasianus colchicus (Phasianiade) and Turdiade, mostly Turdus sp. This ectoparasite mainly occurs in the West Mediterranean, where it is known in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, France (including Corsica)  . Its preI. festai remained moreover unknown until 2007, when P\u00e9rez-Eid described the male among specimens collected by Gilot in Bormes-les-Mimosas, Var, France . The sampling was performed in the countryside of the Teulada and Capoterra municipalities . More recently I. festai in two Italian islands, Ventotene  and Montecristo , examining two unidentified ingorged females collected by Manilla in 1990 on Turdus torquatus and T. philomelos (Turdiadae). This record, which the authors stated to be the first in Italy, did not take into account the previous report of The presence in Italy of I. festai remains a poorly known species. Its immature forms have not been described yet, while the adult forms only insufficiently. In particular the male has only been barely described by To date, I. festai has never been reported in Sardinia  before. In this paper we provide a detailed description of the male of I. festai, thus deepening the one given by In addition the male of I. festai, all of them collected from T. philomelos and T. merula.Following the publication of I. festai specimens were mainly associated with T. philomelos in rural areas of the municipalities of Teulada  and Capoterra .Examining the collected material, five males and five females in copula were detected, as well as a free male lying on the abdomen of a female. The specimens were first treated in heated 10% KOH solution for 20 minutes, washed several times in a mild solution of acetic acid and distilled water, then in distilled water only and finally mounted in Faure\u2019s liquid. The morphological characters were studied in the five males in copula. The morphometric data are presented in SEM photographs were performed on specimens stored in 70% ethanol solution, using the ESEM FEI Quanta 200 microscope.Body very small, average length 1.7\u00a0mm , 3, of oDorsal surface of the basis capituli with 12-13 punctuations. The ventral surface is equipped with seven shields  not veryHypostome  short, pI. festai within the same biotope, as remarked by The new samples gathered in Sardinia are interesting as they provide further information. In particular they confirm the persistency of Turdus sp. as key host species in particular in Italy, which is an important aspect for the biology of this ectoparasites until now only rarely detected.The samples also confirm I. festai from other Italian Ixodinae.Below, we provide the main morphological characters useful for differentiating the male of Ixodes Latreille includes the following four species: I. ricinus , I. gibbosus Nuttal, 1916, I. acuminatus Neumann, 1901 and I. ventalloi Gil Collado, 1936. Males of I. festai are separable from males of these species using the following diagnostic characters:I. festai, I. ventalloi and I. acuminatus, absent in I. ricinus and I. gibbosus;cornuae present in I. festai and I. ventalloi, absent in I. acuminatus, present and forming a right angle in I. ricinus.auriculae strongly reduced in I. festai, pointed and arcuated in I. ventalloi;internal thorn of the coxa I robust, straight and blunted in I. festai, shorter, wider with untapered end in I. ventalloi;tarsus I long and slender in I. festai, significantly divergent anteriorly in I. acuminatus;basis capituli with margins subparallel dorsally in I. festai, more evident in I. acuminatus.internal thorns of the coxae II and III rudimentary in According to I. festai, adds new information regarding the distribution of this species. Further considerations about the reasons for such a strong presence of I. festai in Sardinia, would need to be deepened by further research.In conclusion, this work besides providing a detailed description of the male of"}
+{"text": "Due to an error in production, an incorrect competing interests statement was published. The correct competing interests statement is:The authors have read the journal's policy and have the following conflicts: Joseph T. Bruder has ownership of stocks and options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Elena Semenova has stock options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Ping Chen has ownership of stocks and options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Svetlana Konovalova has ownership of stocks options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Melissa Hamilton has ownership of GenVec, Inc. stock. The following authors have no competing interests: Keith Limbach, Noelle B. Patterson, Maureen E. Stefaniak, Thomas L. Richies and Denise L. Doolan. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials."}
+{"text": "Brassica rapa has already been assembled, it is the time to do deep mining of the genome data.Brassica species include both vegetable and oilseed crops, which are very important to the daily life of common human beings. Meanwhile, the Brassica species represent an excellent system for studying numerous aspects of plant biology, specifically for the analysis of genome evolution following polyploidy, so it is also very important for scientific research. Now, the genome of Brassica rapa (Chiifu-401-42). It provides datasets, such as the complete genome sequence of B. rapa, which was de novo assembled from Illumina GA II short reads and from BAC clone sequences, predicted genes and associated annotations, non coding RNAs, transposable elements (TE), B. rapa genes' orthologous to those in A. thaliana, as well as genetic markers and linkage maps. BRAD offers useful searching and data mining tools, including search across annotation datasets, search for syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, and to search the flanking regions of a certain target, as well as the tools of BLAST and Gbrowse. BRAD allows users to enter almost any kind of information, such as a B. rapa or A. thaliana gene ID, physical position or genetic marker.BRAD, the Brassica database, is a web-based resource focusing on genome scale genetic and genomic data for important Brassica crops. BRAD was built based on the first whole genome sequence and on further data analysis of the Brassica A genome species, http://brassicadb.org.BRAD, a new database which focuses on the genetics and genomics of the Brassica plants has been developed, it aims at helping scientists and breeders to fully and efficiently use the information of genome data of Brassica plants. BRAD will be continuously updated and can be accessed through  Arabidopsis thaliana. Brassica species include both vegetable and oilseed crops that contribute about 10% of the world's vegetable production and about 12% of world's edible vegetable oil production [B. rapa, B. oleracea, B. nigra, B. juncea, B. napus, and B. carinata, respectively [B. rapa, is a major vegetable and also an oil crop in Asia and Europe. Because of their importance as crops and as models to study complex genome hybridization and polyploidization [Brassica species belong to the Brassicaceae family, which contains about 3700 species from 338 genera, including the widely studied model plant dization ,5, genetB. rapa cultivar line 'Chiifu-401' is now available [B. rapa, Chiifu-401), including the de novo assembled genome sequence derived from second-generation sequencing technologies and from BAC end sequences, predicted genes, associated annotations , as well as genetic markers and maps of B. rapa.The recently completed initial assembly of the whole genome sequence of the vailable . Based oIn this article we present an overview of the major sections of BRAD, and introduce a keyword searching tool that we have developed and the tools of BLAST and Gbrowse that enable data mining in BRAD.With the analysis of the first available genome sequence of B. rapa, We developed BRAD, the Brassica database. There are four major sections in BRAD Figure : Browse,B. rapa: RCZ16_DH, JWF3P, and VCS_DH. These markers, including 758 SSR and 402 InDel markers, cover all ten chromosomes [de novo assembled scaffolds to the 10 chromosomes. The other two maps, JWF3P and VCS_DH, were integrated from the public database http://www.brassica-rapa.org to offer users more options.In this section, BRAD provides 1, 160 genetic markers from three population lines of omosomes . There aB. rapa. Totally, there are 41, 174 genes predicted in genome of B. rapa. There are slightly less CDS for each gene in B. rapa when comparing to that of A. thaliana, while the size of each intron of B. rapa is a little bigger than that of A. thaliana  of predicted B. rapa proteins in the Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL databases; B. rapa genes are then mapped to KEGG pathway maps based on the best hit from the Swiss-Prot database; InterPro is used to annotate motifs and domains in B. rapa genes by comparison to public databases, including Pfam, PRINTS, PROSITE, ProDom and SMART using applications hmmpfam, fprintscan, ScanRegExp profilescan, blastprodom, and hmmsmart. Gene Ontology information is extracted from the InterPro results. We also use orthologous genes between B. rapa and the model plant A. thaliana to annotate B. rapa genes. These datasets are used to annotate predicted genes according to different aspects, such as nucleotide sequences, proteins and domains.There are six annotation datasets collected here: Swissprot annotation, Trembl annotation, KEGG annotation, InterPro domain annotation, Gene Ontology and the BLASTX (best hit) of A. thaliana and B. rapa were provided in BRAD to help users to link B. rapa gene information to that of the well studied model plant A. thaliana.Syntenic and non-syntenic orthologs between A. thaliana and the three subgenomes of B. rapa (the three subgenomes originated from genome triplication), and that are listed according to the genes' order in A. thaliana. We determined a gene-pair to be in synteny not only by their sequence homozygosity but also by the homozygosity of their flanking genes. With this rule, 30, 773 syntenic pairs between B. rapa and A. thaliana were obtained, and there were 9, 293, 6, 683 and 2, 346 A. thaliana genes which have 1, 2 and 3 paralogous copies in the B. rapa's subgenomes LF, MF1, and MF2, respectively. LF, MF1 and MF2 are abbreviations for less fractionized, more fractionized 1 and more fractionized 2, respectively, denoting subgenomes with more or fewer genes retained. We separated the three subgenomes according to comparative analysis with the A. thaliana genome and then with respect to both gene orders and gene densities of the subgenomes [BRAD presents a set of genes that show conserved synteny between A. thaliana and B. rapa were determined under two rules. First, the parameters of BLASTP alignment should be satisfied: identity > 70%, coverage of A. thaliana gene > 75%, coverage of B. rapa gene > 75%. Second, two genes from an orthologous pair should not be syntenic genes. Totally, there were 17, 159 such non-syntenic orthologous pairs determined.Non-syntenic genes between This section was developed to help users find genomic elements that are co-located with or that flank a region of interest. Users can input a physical position, for example of a gene ID or genetic marker, to perform the search. All the genomic features, such as genes, transposons, RNAs  that are located near the searched region are collected and displayed in a table. A link to Gbrowse provides an option to visualize the search region under the background of the chromosome. This is a useful tool for certain studies, such as the fine mapping of QTLs. Once QTLs have been obtained, markers can be aligned to the genome sequence with the BLAST tool to get the physical positions of the markers. The flanking region of these markers can then be searched to locate candidate genomic elements, such as genes or miRNAs, which might be the causal factors of the QTLs.As research progresses, we will further enable the searching of flanking regions by adding more datasets, making it an integrative and valuable resource pool for molecular geneticists, breeders and all other researchers who are interested in Brassica plants.BLAST and Genome browse (Gbrowse) are embedded to help users mine and visualize the genome data.B. rapa, EST sequences of B. rapa, Brassicas, and Cruciferaes are provided here.We utilized the standard wwwblast modules to help users perform sequence analysis. BLAST databases, such as genome, gene and protein sequences of http://gmod.org to visualize the genome of B. rapa [We used the Genome Browser tools developed by the Generic Model Organism Database Project,  B. rapa . Three mIn addition to the Browse, search, and tools described above, BRAD provides bulk data downloads, including genome and gene sequences, gene annotations and other predicted genomic elements. In addition, BRAD makes numerous community resources available either as data or as website links. These include other websites of laboratories focusing on Brassicaceae, meetings of potential interest to Brassica researchers and collections of sites about Brassica breeding.Browse genetic markers and maps.Search using annotations and Syntenic genes.Gbrowse: genome visulization.For each marker in the part of Browse genetic markers and maps, we present its genetic and physical positions and primer information and the parental populations. Users can access these data in the Browse section by following order: chromosome selection \u2192 population specification \u2192 detailed marker information \u2192 click marker ID for primer information.In section of search using annotations, users can find genes with functions of interest by submitting a keyword, such as flower or growth, then relevant records will be selected from the six annotation datasets as described above. Clicking on the selected records will then lead users to genes with annotations related to the keyword. A further click of the gene ID will provide users with more further information of this gene in BRAD.A. thaliana and B. rapa gene IDs. In the web of syntenic paralogs, the pull-down 'flanking' menu has two options (10 or 20), which means it can extend 10 or 20 genes up- and down-stream from the searched gene. In the tabulated output  of the matching gene, as shown in Figure The Gbrowse visualizes functional elements  of the genome of B. rapa and A. thaliana. For B. rapa gene, the navigation window integrates resources as the annotations, syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, gene sequence, functional elements in gene's flanking regions and data visualization in Gbrowse, etc. For A. thaliana gene, navigation window provides links to resources of the syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, annotations in BRAD and the TAIR databases.In order to help users to quickly access to all the information of an interested gene in BRAD, we embedded a javascript dialog window as navigation to each gene ID in the output tables of BRAD. Through combining the accesses of many datasets at one window, this navigation can lead users to different resources of the target genes, which facilitates the use of BRAD. There are two types of genes in BRAD now, genes of Brassica rapa, such as BrassEnsembl database http://www.brassica.info/BrassEnsembl/index.html, CropStore database http://www.cropstoredb.org/brassica/, and Brassica Genome Database http://www.plantgdb.org/BrGDB/, mainly focused on genome data dissemination  and visualization (BrassEnsembl). BRAD was built to help users to mine data from the genome sequence of Brassica rapa easily and effectively, it had its own specific features and advantages when comparing to existing databases. First, BRAD made accurate and useful links from the bulk information of model plant A. thaliana to the newly assembled genome of B. rapa and offered detail annotation of B. rapa genes, it provided features as syntenic and non-syntenic orthologs between A. thaliana and B. rapa, main gene families in B. rapa according to that in A. thaliana, gene annotation information from multiple annotation databases , etc. Second, BRAD was an initial genome data repository of B. rapa, other databases used or will use data in BRAD as basic data to develop their specific functions, we will improve and continuously update the assembled genome and release it in BRAD.A few databases of B. oleracea, B. nigra and B. napus) when they are available. In addition, new data will be processed first and then appropriately integrated or linked to the existing datasets. The data types listed below will soon be added to BRAD:BRAD will include data sets of all Brassica plants  of the B. rapa.- levels of gene expression generated from transcriptome data in different organs of B. rapa to B. oleracea.- synteny browser of B. rapa, as well as the use of the information from the model plant A. thaliana. Aimed at helping scientists and breeders to fully and efficiently use the information of genomics and genetics datasets of Brassica plants, BRAD will continuously improve its applications and integrate more available datasets in the future. We propose that BRAD will be a valuable resource for the scientists of comparative genomics, plant evolution, and molecular biology, and the breeders of Brassiceae.BRAD, a new database which focuses on the genetics and genomics of the Brassica plants has been developed. Comparing with the existing database of Brassica plants, BRAD has its specific functions and advantages, specially for its annotations and deep mining of the recently assembled genome of Database name: BRADhttp://brassicadb.orgDatabase homepage: Browser requirement: the application is optimized for Internet Explorer. However, it also works well with Mozilla Firefox and Safari.Datasets in BRAD are freely available. Please use the link 'Contact Us' on the BRAD homepage or email Dr. Xiaowu Wang wangxw@mail.caas.net.cn to request specific data subsets.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.XW and FC conceived the study. FC processed the data and developed the database. FC prepared the manuscript, XW and JW improved the manuscript. JW tested the web application and tools and provided feedback. LF maintained the database. SL, SS, BL, PL and WH prepared the basic datasets. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Heligmosomoides neopolygyrus, Asakawa and Ohbayashi, 1986  is redescribed from Apodemus peninsulae from Rangtang, Sichuan, China. A morphological review of the Heligmosomoides spp. belonging to the \u201cpolygyrus line\u201d proposed by Asakawa (1988) is made using new characters. This enabled us to distinguish two subspecies in Mus musculus (Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri from Japan and H. p. polygyrus from China) and two valid species in Apodemus spp. . Three parasite species of A. agrarius and A. peninsulae, previously identified by Asakawa et al. (1993) as H. neopolygyrus, are considered to be Heligmosomoides incertae sedis. This is the first report of H. neopolygyrus in A. peninsulae from China. Heligmosomoides Hall, 1916 (Heligmosomidae) is widespread in the Holarctic region and is found mainly in the Arvicolinae but also in the Murinae. travassosi-douglasi line\u201d, the \u201crelic group\u201d, the \u201claeviscarolinensis line\u201d, the \u201clongicirratum-longispiculatus line\u201d and the \u201cpolygyrus line\u201d. The last line parasitizes only Mus and Apodemus. Until now, three species belonging to this line have been described or recorded from China: Heligmosomoides polygyrus polygyrus . H. neopolygyrus and H. p. bakeriThe genus olygyrus ; H. neopH. neopolygyrus from Sichuan Province  in Apodemus peninsulae (Muridae). The use of new morphological characters on the present and previously published material allows us to examine the validity of some reports of the \u201cpolygyrus line\u201d described as H. neopolygyrus, as well as the distribution of the genus Heligmosomoides in Chinese and Japanese Muridae.In this study we redescribe Rodent hosts were collected in June 2004, as part of a French-British-Chinese program, for which the main goals were the screening of human populations for alveolar echinococcosis and the study of its transmission. The study area was located in Rangtang, Sichuan, China. The rodents were weighed and dissected in the field to determine the sex and reproductive status. Heads and tissue samples (or the whole body for a few specimens) were preserved for identification . The small intestine was preserved in 5 % formalin and transported to the Museum national d\u2019Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France, one month after collection. It was then transferred to 70 % ethanol. To determine the precise intestinal location of the parasites, the small intestine (SI) was divided longitudinally into four equivalent sections (SI 1 to SI 4) numbered from the pylorus to the caecum. Nematodes were collected from each section and stored in 70 % ethanol. They were examined as temporary mounts in lactophenol. The synlophe was studied following the method of The material studied here came from a single specimen of Material: 88 females and 84 males, MNHN 442MQ. Material studied: 13 males and ten femalesApodemus peninsulae  (Rodentia: Muridae: Murinae).Host: Site in host: all specimens were found in SI 1.Geographic origin: Rangtang, Sichuan, China. J.P. Coll.: Qu\u00e9r\u00e9, June 2004.Small nematode coiled along ventral side having two to four sinistral spirals in males and four to eight in females. Deirids setiform, situated at level of excretory pore , observeSmall nematode coiled along ventral side having two to four sinistral spirals in males and four to eight in females. Deirids setiform, situated at level of excretory pore , observeMale: caudal bursa dissymmetrical with right lobe larger than left lobe . PrebursFemale: monodelphic. Vestibule very long. Tail rounded with caudal spine . MeasureHeligmosomoides Hall, 1916 (Heligmosomoidea: Heligmosomidae), as redefined by polygyrus line\u201d. This line was proposed for Heligmosomoides parasitic only in Muridae (Mus and Apodemus) and is made up of H. neopolygyrusA. peninsulae from Japan and three subspecies of Heligmosomoides polygyrus: H. p. polygyrus ; H. p. corsicusM. musculus from Corsica; and H. p. bakeriM. musculus from North America and from Japan   but H. polygyrus and H. bakeri are still the focus of discussion and in this article we follow the morphological study of The specimens described above belong to the genus olygyrus  in Apodee ridges . In this(rays 8) . Tenora H. p. polygyrus in Apodemus uralensis (= A. microps) from China (Ulumuchi = Urumqi) to represent a new species and named it H. asakawae. They differentiated it from H. p. polygyrus by only one character, the \u201cmorphology of medio-dorsal ray\u201d. H. p. polygyrus\u201d. From the drawing of H. p. polygyrus, rays 9 are markedly shorter than rays 10, in H. asakawae, left ray 9 is as long as left ray 10 and right ray 9 is longer than right ray 10 ; the ventral cuticular ridges are slightly larger than the dorsal ones; the number of ridges at midbody in the males is 24\u201327 versus 28\u201335 and in the females is 24\u201326 versus 29\u201333  and North America (H. p. bakeri) than in those from Europe (H. p. polygyrus). This difference is also present in H. p. polygyrus and H. p. bakeri from China and Japan.H. neopolygyrus without considering them as a subspecies.Unfortunately, the number of Japanese specimens, in H. neopolygyrus was described for the first time by A. peninsulae in the Abashiri area of Hokkaido Island (Japan). H. neopolygyrus in A. agrarius from China. In this work, only the dorsal ray and the base of rays 8 of one specimen collected in Shenyang were illustrated and showed that the swelling at the base of rays 8 was absent; a feature which is characteristic of H. neopolygyrus. For this reason, H. neopolygyrus. In the same article, the authors reported finding H. neopolygyrus in A. agrarius from Kyonggi-do (Korean peninsula) but provided no description or illustrations. H. neopolygyrus in A. agrarius from China and the Korean peninsula as well as in A. peninsulae from Japan.H. polygyrus in A. uralensis (= A. microps) from Ulumuchi (China). However, this was, in fact, a new species later named H. asakawae by H. neopolygyrus in the east of China in A. agrarius and in A. peninsulae. Moreover, they compared the morphological characteristics of rays 8 in H. neopolygyrus and in H. p. polygyrus from China. Although this article was in Japanese, the authors presented a map of eastern China, in which they included seven illustrations of caudal bursae in ventral view: two attributed to H. p. polygyrus  the relative distance between rays 6 and 8; and (2) the level at which rays 6 arise compared to the level of divergence of rays 4 and 5 on their common trunk. We consider that only the caudal bursae of the specimens parasitic in A. agrarius from Shenyang .In the other three specimens  rays 6 aShenyang , rays 6 Shenyang , rays 4\u2013Shenyang  is the oH. neopolygyrus in A. peninsulae from the Northeast Palearctic region. This work supports a widespread distribution of H. neopolygyrus sensu lato which seems to follow its main host A. peninsulae. The presence of H. neopolygyrus in A. agrarius in China has been reported twice   .Fig. 24.polygyrus\u201d complex reported in China and Japan, their systematic position remains uncertain due to incomplete descriptions and does not allow us to use certain potentially differentiating characters such as the number of cuticular ridges in the posterior part of the body. Both molecular and morphological studies need to be undertaken to determine their systematic rank (species or subspecies).Despite the discovery of new criteria to differentiate the species of the \u201c"}
+{"text": "Eucalyptus globulus Labill and in the hybrids E. urograndis (E. urophylla x E. grandis) and E. uroglobulus (E. globulus x E. urograndis). In the experiments the plants were divided in three groups  The control plants were irrigated daily. The plants from the group \u201cdrought\u201d were not irrigated and were collected when wilt symptom was observed. The plants from the group \u201cdrought recovered\u201d were irrigated when wilt was observed and were collected after recovery.It is known that many abiotic stresses, such as mineral deficiency, drought, UV-B radiation, wind and low temperatures, alter the quantity and composition of lignin in several species . The aimSamples of basal and apical regions of the stem were collected and analyzed for total lignin with thioglycolic acid  and analE. urograndis subjected to drought decreased the amount of lignin in the stem apical regions and increased lignin in the basal region. E. globulus showed opposite behavior in apical regions and showed no significant changes in the basal regions. E. uroglobulus showed a pattern similar to E. urograndis in apical regions and similar to E. globulus in basal regions.E. urograndis and E. uroglobulus reduced lignin and E. globulus increased in the apical part of the stem, it was observed that these different adjustments of lignin deposition eventually result in an increased proportion of S/G in both species. Moreover, when the amount of lignin is increased in the basal regions of E. urograndis there is a decrease in the proportion S/G.Although Increasing the proportion S/G, either by increasing the amount of lignin-rich syringyl units or reduction of coniferyl units can be an important aspect in the adaptation of both species to drought stress."}
+{"text": "Rhodoligotrophos was formed in violation of Principle 3 and Rule 10a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes which requires that genus names are to be treated as Latin substantives. We therefore propose renaming the genus Rhodoligotrophos as Rhodoligotrophus. A Request for an Opinion is submitted to the Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes regarding this proposed name change.In the opinion of the authors, the genus name  Rhodoligotrophos Fukuda et al. 2012, 1947 was published in 2012 with the following etymology: Gr. n. rhodon the rose; Gr. adj. oligos little, few; Gr. masc. or fem. n. trophos feeder, rearer, that which nourishes; N.L. masc. n. Rhodoligotrophos, red utilizer of few substrates  in accordance with Principle 3 and Rule 10a of the Code.The genus name"}
+{"text": "Dayi Hu, MD, FACC, FESC, current Chief of Heart Center, Peking University People\u2019s Hospital; Dean of Clinical Research Institute, School of Public Health, Shanghai Fudan University; President of Chinese Society of Cardiology (CSC); President of Chinese College of Cardiovascular Physicians (CCCP). Professor Hu is a pioneer of radio-frequency ablation technology and evidence-based medicine in China. He has specialized in preventive cardiology, electrophysiology and interventional therapy of coronary artery disease. He is also engaged in the treatment and prevention of hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure and ionic channelopathy. He is the principal investigator (PI) of China Heart Survey, and the Steer Committee member and PI of many international clinical trials such as ROCKET, BEAUTIFUL, SHIFIT, ACE, MAGELLaN, etc. Professor Hu is the Editor-in-chief of Chinese Journal of Cardiology, international board member of Nature Cardiovascular Medicine, Journal of Clinical Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, European Heart Journal. Dr. PengZhou, M.D.& Ph.D, Cardiologist. Presently, he serves as a research fellow in Cardiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, USA. More than 15 years career in Cardiology, He has authored over 60 publications, contributed over 4 book chapters. He specializes in both basic research and clinical practice with emphasis on ionic channel function, signal transduction, heart failure and interventional therapy of arrhythmia and CAD. Since 2007, 11 of his first author and co-author research achievements have been invited to present in AHA Scientific Session. Cuilan Li, Ph.D, associate professor is now working in Cardiology Department, Peking University People\u2019s Hospital, Beijing, China, as a Senior Research Scientist and Chief of Basic Research Lab of the Department. She has engaged in the basic research of cardiac electrophysiology for 20 years and published about 80 papers. She is currently involved in the projects on gene screening of long QT syndrome and other channelopathies. She is an international recognized research scientist and in charge of the National Channelopathy Registry in China. Yujie Zhu, Ph.D. a Senior Member of IEEE, is a recognized scientist in cardiac electrophysiology and biomedical engineering. He is currently working in Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. He serves as a reviewer for several prestigious international cardiovascular journals. He received several awards. He has authored and coauthored numerous papers. Dr. Zhu\u2019s research interests include electrophysiological properties of cardiac ion channels, mechanisms of arrhythmia, and application of biomedical engineering in cardiovascular diseases. Zhi Xu, M.D.& Ph.D., Research Associate at the W.M. Keck Center for Transgene Research, University of Notre Dame. Dr. Xu specializes in exploring the roles of PAI-1 in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and heart fibrosis. He published in some of most prestigious journals, including Blood, JBC and Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. As a PI, His research has been supported by AHA. Additionally, he serves as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of journals such as Blood, Current Drug Targets. Mueen Ahmed K. K. Ph.D, Assistant Professor at College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Hassa, KSA. His major research interest has been screening of natural products for pharmacological activity with special emphasis on cardiovascular activity. He has published many papers in peer-reviewed international journals. Presently, Dr. Ahmed is involved and working in several editorial boards of international circulating professional journals, serving as editor for Journals such as Pharmacognosy Research, associate editor of Pharmacognosy Magazine, Pharmacognosy Reviews etc. Ningpu Yu, Ph.D. is a research scientist in NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Dr. Yu has eight years experience in studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular inflammation and discovery of potential drug targets and therapies for atherosclerosis and diabetes. He was invited to present his work at the AHA Scientific Sessions multiple times. Dr. Yu has served as reviewer for professional journals and government grants. Dr. Ping Li, M.D. Ph.D., is now working in Department of Cardiology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan, as a research fellow. She has engaged in the clinical and research work in Cardiology for nearly 10 years. Her researches are mainly involved in cardiovascular regeneration. She has published about 20 papers. Xin-Chun Yang, M.D. and Ph.D., Professor. Director of Heart Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, affiliated Capital Medical University, Vice-Dean of the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Capital Medical University. He is quite accomplished in the field of interventional cardiology and has made prominent contributions in the non-pharmacological treatment of arrhythmia. Presently, professor Yang is presiding over many research programs such as National Natural Science Foundation project and Eleventh Five-Year Science and Technology Support sub-Program etc. Dr. Dong Ran, M.D.& M.S, Vice-Dean of Department of Cardiac Surgery, Anzhen Hospital. Having been engaged in the career of cardiovascular surgery for more than 20 years, he has authored over 20 publications, and co-authored 3 book chapters. Presently, he serves as an editorial member of Journal of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases, which was founded by Dr. Wu Yingkai, the pioneer of heart surgery in China. These works enabled him the ability to focus on controversial topic of cardiac techniques. Jianjun Zhang, M.D.& Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Director, Section on Cardiology of West Campus of Affiliated Chaoyang Hospital of Capital University of Medical Science. Prof. Zhang is accomplished in electrophysiology and interventional therapy. He is a current council member for Beijing Division of Chinese Medical Association. Presently he serves as editorial board member for Chinese Journal of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology and Chinese Journal for clinicians. Jun-Hua Wang, M.D. and Ph.D., Cardiologist, Vice-Director of the Department of Cardiology, Air Force General Hospital, Beijing, China. In his 20 years Cardiology practice, he published about 30 articles in peer-reviewed, national or international professional journals. He possesses ample experience in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease with emphasis on interventional therapy of arrhythmia and coronary artery disease. As the Principle Investigator of Air Force General Hospital branch, Dr. Wang had taken part in ONTARGET/TRANSCEND, an international, large scale, multi-center evidence-based medicine study. Dr. Ren Wenlin, M.D.& M.M, cardiac chief physician, presently, he serves as the chief in Cardiovascular Center, Beijing Chuiyangliu Hospital, Beijing, P.R.China. More than 26 years clinical practice in cardiology, he has authored over 30 publications, and contributed over 6 book chapters. Elizabeth Gilbert, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include comparative nutrition, protein and amino acid metabolism, nutrient transporters, type 2 diabetes and pancreatic beta cell regeneration, flavonoids as nutraceuticals, cell proliferation and apoptosis signaling pathways. Dr. Elizabeth Gilbert was one of the recipients of the 2009 Milton L. Sunde Award from the American Society for Nutrition for outstanding experimental, applied or fundamental research in nutrition that uses an avian species. Cedric Viero, Ph.D, Research Associate of Department of Cardiology, Wales Heart Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, UK. Dr. Cedric Viero specializes in ion channel, calcium signaling and cardiac electrophysiology. He is a current member of the Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology, European Society of Cardiology. In his cardiovascular basic research career, he has authored more than 20 publications. Recently, he served as editor for several peer-reviewed, international professional journals. Amir Aslani, M.D, Cardiologist, Presently, he serves as an interventional electrophysiologist in Section on Cardiology, Shiraz University School of Medicine, Iran. He has authored over 50 publications. He has been selected as the best young investigator in 13th Razi Festival. Recently, he has approved as a \u201cSenior Scientist\u201d by \u201cNature\u201d journal. Guang-Zhen Zhong, M.D.& Ph.D, associate professor, working  in Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, has been engaged in Cardiology for about 12 years. She published several papers on \u201cJ Hypert\u201d \u201cLife Sci\u201d, \u201cHeart and vessels\u201d, \u201cInt J Cardio\u201d and so on. She gave an oral presentation on AHA Scientific Symposium in 2008. She achieved quite a few grants from government. Yihong Sun, M.D, Associated Professor of Medicine in the Heart Center at Peking University People\u2019s Hospital. Her research interests are prevention of cardiovascular disease, antithrombotic and antiplatelet therapy, cardiovascular epidemiology and large clinical trials. She is currently working with the ACE trial in Oxford University to investigate acarbose therapy in the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and established cardiovascular disease. Zhang ChaoJun, M.D., Ph.D.Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Division of Thyroid, Mammary& Vascular Surgery Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China PRC. Dr. Zhang is a recognized general surgery expert in the field and accomplished in vascular surgery with emphasis on peripheral vascular diseases, such as abdominal aortic aneurysm, complicated peripheral arterial aneurysm, atherosclerosis. More than 12 years vascular surgery career he has been involved in about 2000 vascular cases. Yongxia Sarah Qu, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine/ Cardiology, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. Dr Qu is involved in both patient care and basic translational cardiovascular research. Dr Qu published over 30 peerreviewed papers in high impact journals. She has been funded for her research by both NIH and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr Qu has contributed significantly to the research of autoimmune-associated congenital heart block and has interest in channelopathies. Dr. Guang Yang, M.D.& Ph.D, currently serves as postdoctoral fellow in Vascular Biology Center in Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia USA. He also serves as reviewers for several professional journals. Dr. Yang\u2019s medical background, including two years of clinical experience, together with 8 years genetic and physiological studies, has contributed to the cardiovascular biology research. In the last 10 years, Dr. Yang has authored over 20 publications and presented his works in international meetings. Alok Kumar Singh, M.D& DM, Senior resident in cardiology, in CHATRAPATI SAHU JI MAHARAJ MEDICAL UNIVERSITY Lucknow India. More than 6 year in cardiology, He has about authored 20 publications and contributed 4 book chapters. He had been appointed as assistant editor of journal of clinical and diagnostic research for 2010. He has special interest in interventional cardiology and coronary artery disease, heart failure and rheumatic heart disease. Debmalya Barh, M.Sc., M.Tech., M.Phill., PhD. Consultant Biotechnologist and presently serves as Honorary Scientist, IIOAB, India. First to work on Cardiac Myxoma signaling pathway and drug targets. He has authored over 20 international publications with first authorship and contributed over 5 book chapters during 2008\u20132009. He also serves as editorial and review board members of many professional journals. Dr. Xianming Zhang, Ph.D., a research associate in Department of Pharmacology at University of Illinois at Chicago, has engaged research in experimental medicine about ten years and authorized over 20 papers in prestigious professional journals. His current research focuses on exploring the roles of kallikrein-kinin and rennin-angiotensin system in cardiovascular pathophysiology by investigating interaction among proteins of both systems. Recently Dr. Zhang was awarded fellowship by American Heart Association due to his series of interesting findings. Hongwei Si, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), USA. His research focuses on the beneficial effects and mechanisms of food-derived polyphenols on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and aging. He has authored over 20 publications. Currently, he serves as editorial members, reviewers for numerous prestigious journals. Dr. Bishwanath Chatterjee is presently a Staff Scientist at National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and is an expert in genetics and genomics of congenital and adult heart disease. Dr. Cheng Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is currently the vice-chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Medicine. His research interests have longtime focused on the signal acquisition and automated processing of the electrocardiogram. In recent years, he concentrates his research effort on the image-based quantitative evaluation of the myocardium function. Yohanes Buang, PhD, attending vessel blood maintenance and the regulation of metabolism disorders. He has authored many publication related to the disorders of metabolism. He also serves as a reviewer for some international professional journals. Recently, he focuses his work on vessel blood chemicals and the disorders generated on Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Nusa Cendana University, Indonesia. Jibin Zhou, M.D.& Ph.D. Dr. Zhou\u2019s focused on the regulation of normal and stress-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Specifically, he studies the signal transduction pathways that regulate growth responses, focusing on protein kinase cascades. He has studied the role of glycogen synthase kinase-3 alpha and beta. Additionally, he has recently identified a novel mechanism by which oxidant stress may signal cell death via a SOK1/14-3-3zeta/ASK1 cascade. Kai Shen, Ph.D. in Chemistry. He is currently a research associate in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With research expertise across the areas of hypertension, molecular cardiology and vascular medicine, his publications extend from biochemistry to nanotechnology and have been cited over 100 times. He also serves as a reviewer and member of editorial board for professional journals. Xuan Gao  Her Ph.D. work is to determine effects of curvature, protein composition and oxidation on structural stability and functional remodeling of human plasma HDL. These works were published in 3 peer reviewed papers, and presented in 9 international conferences. She was invited for platform talks by OPTM  and Protein Society (2009). She is recipient of a Young Investigator Award from Kern Aspen Lipid Conference. Fang Liu, M.D. Associate Chief Physician, Department of Geriatric Cardiology, Peking University First Hospital. Dr. Liu specializes in clinical cardiology and echocardiogram. Recently, she serves as an editorial member of Chinese Journal of Multiple Organ Diseases in the Elderly. She is Echo-Specialist of Peking Physician Association and Director of Bejing Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine"}
+{"text": "The capital of Russia these days is a metropolis with 12 million people. Two million people daily enter and leave Moscow!The last time we participated in this meeting was 3\u00a0years ago. Our first impression this time was that the meeting had tripled in size under the leadership of Prof. V.P. Tsarkov. He and his team spread their arms and gave a warm welcome to more than 1,500 participants.In the early spring of this year,for the sixth time, the Russian School of Colorectal Surgery offered a very interesting and busy program. The conference was divided into 2\u00a0days and two important and fascinating topics. The first day was dedicated to benign pathology of the rectum and pelvic floor. Hemorrhoidal disease was a popular topic for live surgery and problem solving. G. Millito, M. Janic, and S. Regadas demonstrated hemorrhoidectomy with Ligasure, hemorrhoidectomy with monopolar electrocautery, and stapled hemorrhoidopexy. It was concluded that surgical hemorrhoidectomy should be reserved for patients who do not respond to outpatient treatment and those who have large external hemorrhoids, or combined internal and external hemorrhoids with significant prolapse (grades III\u2013IV).E. Rullier performed laparoscopic ventral rectosacropexy for descending perineum syndrome with new mesh and a new method for securing it. This session was chaired by M. Pescatori and moderated by V.P. Tsarkov, I. Nechai, D. Khubezov, and V. Egiev, all of whom stimulated the discussion with their comments.The following session consisted of lectures on another interesting topic: diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunctions. With his fascinating presentation, M. Pescatori opened another perspective on this problem and spoke about the iceberg syndrome and treatment solutions. S. Regadas gave a masterly lecture based on several years of experience with a novel 3-D dynamic anorectal ultrasoound technique for the assessment of perineal descent. A.A. Popov made an important contribution with his talk on pelvic floor descent from a gynecologist\u2019s point of view. The session closed with an interesting lecture by J. Korcek on transvaginal procedures in the treatment of rectocele and pelvic floor syndrome.The next day in the Congress Hall of the Hotel Radisson Slavyanskaya, the seats were rapidly taken and even standing room was at a premium as the hall filled with curious surgeons.Live surgery began in two operating theatres simultaneously. R. Bergamaschi, A. Parvajz, and V.P. Tsarkov masterfully demonstrated their techniques in laparoscopic and open colectomy. The next session was devoted to new perspectives in the treatment of colon cancer. The series of lectures began with R. Bergamaschi examining the issue of laparoscopic colon cancer surgery as a new standard of care, followed by E. Rullier speaking about issues in laparoscopic treatment of colon cancer and then E. Tiret, who covered the current standards of care. C.G. Fu presented an impressive case series of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery. The session closed with a very interesting lecture by K. Maeda on the pros and cons of lymph node dissection in colon cancer.The last session was dedicated to various themes: from a surgical view of colon cancer metastases, presented by V.P. Tzarkov, through questions about when and how to treat dehiscence of colonic anastomoses, discussed by Y. Panis. A. Zakharenko described some very complicated cases of colon cancer. A. Parvajz stressed the importance of a training program for surgeons in the colorectal field. A young yet very experienced hepaticobiliary surgeon from Liverpool, S. Fenwick, gave an exciting talk on new hope for the treatment of liver metastatic colorectal cancer.An impressive master class on the first day was given by S. Regadas, with a helping hand from the staff of the Department of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Surgery of the Russian National Center of Surgery.This very successful meeting wound to an end on the evening of the second day, as the Moscow river flowed into the night, quietly singing \u201cKalinka\u201d."}
+{"text": "Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) established the Paper of the Year Award in 2008 to recognize high-quality papers published in the journal (EHP decided to recognize two papers each year (EHP Classic Paper of the Year is the research article, commentary, or review that is the most highly cited over the preceding 60 months. The winner of the 2012 EHP Classic Paper of the Year, announced last July, was \u201cExposure of the U.S. Population to Bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-Octylphenol: 2003\u20132004\u201d by Antonia M. Calafat, Xiaoyun Ye, Lee-Yang Wong, John A. Reidy, and the late Larry L. Needham of the Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (EHP Paper of the Year. This award recognizes the most highly cited paper published during the preceding year. Both awards are subject to the approval of the EHP Board of Associate Editors. journal . Startinach year . The EHPevention . The secEHP is pleased to announce that the 2012 Paper of the Year award will be shared by three papers published in the same issue: \u201cPrenatal Exposure to Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood\u201d by Stephanie M. Engel, James Wetmur, Jia Chen, Chenbo Zhu, Dana Boyd Barr, Richard L. Canfield, and Mary S. Wolff (In this issue, S. Wolff ; \u201cPrenatS. Wolff ; and \u201cSeS. Wolff . The thrS. Wolff ; the UniS. Wolff ; and theS. Wolff . The BerEHP congratulates all the authors of these papers for their contribution to the environmental health science literature. These findings underscore the need to continue monitoring levels of exposure to pesticides in vulnerable populations and to study the under-lying biological changes associated with alterations of cognitive function following developmental exposure to environmental chemicals."}
+{"text": "Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus anginosus, Actinomycesoris, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum, Veillonella dispar, Campylobacter rectus, Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola. Based on literature, we considered Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus anginosus, and Actinomyces oris as early colonizers and examined their role in the biofilms by either a delayed addition to the consortium, or by not inoculating at all the biofilms with these species. We quantitatively evaluated the resulting biofilms by real-time quantitative PCR and further compared the structures using confocal laser scanning microscopy following fluorescence in situ hybridisation. The absence of the early colonizers did not hinder biofilm formation. The biofilms reached the same total counts and developed to normal thickness. However, quantitative shifts in the abundances of individual species were observed. In the absence of streptococci, the overall biofilm structure appeared looser and more dispersed. Moreover, besides a significant increase of P. intermedia and a decrease of P. gingivalis , P. intermedia appeared to form filamented long chains that resembled streptococci. A. oris, although growing to significantly higher abundance in absence of streptococci, did not have a visible impact on the biofilms. Hence, in the absence of the early colonizers, there is a pronounced effect on P. intermedia and P. gingivalis that may cause distinct shifts in the structure of the biofilm. Streptococci possibly facilitate the establishment of P. gingivalis into subgingival biofilms, while in their absence P. intermedia became more dominant and forms elongated chains.The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of early colonizing species on the structure and the composition of the bacterial community developing in a subgingival 10-species biofilm model system. The model included  Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. Based on the evaluation of the NHANES 2009-2010, Eke et al. . There iStreptococcus sp. and Actinomyces sp. are recognized as dominant species in the healthy oral flora and their role as early colonizers is understudied. They were observed in vivo as the bacteria attaching directly to the tooth surface ) standard curves, and the actual cell numbers were calculated based on the theoretical genome weight of each organism and the amount of DNA determined by the qPCR.Ten pairs of specific primers, one for each species, were used for the qPCR. Reactions were run in doubles and with two dilutions  for each species and sample. The amount of DNA for each species was calculated using CThe 16S rRNA probes and the general working procedure for the FISH staining were the same as described before , howeverin situ attached to the hydroxyapatite discs in 4 % paraformaldehyde solution for at least 3 h in the dark at 4 \u00b0C. After 15 min of pre-hybridisation in hybridisation buffer alone, the biofilms were transferred to the hybridisation buffer containing a selected mixture of two 16S rRNA probes. Thus, each biofilm was stained specifically for two species, using one Cy3 and one Cy5 labelled probe. After overnight incubation, biofilms were washed in washing buffer and counterstained using a combination of the DNA stains SYTOX Green (Invitrogen) and Yo-Pro-1 iodide (Invitrogen). After the staining procedure, biofilms were embedded upside down on chamber slides in MOWIOL [Following the last dip-washing, mature 64.5 h biofilms were fixed n MOWIOL .All images from FISH stained biofilms were taken at a Leica SP-5 CLSM provided by the Center of Microscopy and Image Analysis of the University of Z\u00fcrich (ZMB). Images were recorded on three channels simultaneously at the frequency of 8000 Hz using the resonant scanner available with the system. Biofilms were carefully screened to determine if biofilms a) were intact, b) had similar thickness throughout the whole disc area, and c) showed a repetitive distribution pattern of the stained bacteria. If these criteria were met, a representative area was selected and a stacked image was recorded. Stacked images were further processed using Imaris 7.4.0 (Bitplane). Snapshots presented in this paper were additionally sharpened using the GIMP version 2.6 (http://www.gimp.org).The presented data are from three independent experiments. For quantification, biofilms from each approach (i.e. each inoculum) were cultivated in triplicates, resulting in N=9 biofilms per approach.For the generation of the box-plots and the statistical calculations, SPSS Statistics 20 (IBM Software) was used. To test for significant differences between cell numbers detected with the different approaches the data were logarithmically transformed prior to the analysis by one-way ANOVA, with the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.A. oris and P. intermedia, while P. gingivalis counts were significantly reduced. The omission of streptococci led to a significant increase of the abundance of A. oris, while it significantly decreased that of P. gingivalis. Removing S. oralis, S. anginosus, and A. oris from the inoculum resulted in a significant increase of P. intermedia counts together with a significant decrease of P. gingivalis counts. Further, F. nucleatum showed significantly improved growth following the late addition of the streptococci, in comparison to the approach with the complete absence of streptococci. However, both these values did not reach significance if compared to the control 10-species biofilms.The numbers of the individual bacterial species in each biofilm group were firstly determined. Irrespective of the inoculum the 64.5 h biofilms did not show significant differences in total counts . HoweverP. intermedia and T. forsythia, as shown in F. nucleatum  alone, or in combination with A. oris were omitted. These organisms have long been known as early colonizers in oral biofilms in vivo and their role as such was defined both in vivo [in vitro [in vivo, we expected very little biofilm formation if they were to be omitted from the inoculums, or alternatively, that these biofilms would be inefficiently attached onto the hydroxyapatite discs. In contrast to these expectations, these biofilms developed successfully, reaching similar total counts as biofilms cultivated with streptococci and A. oris. They reached a similar thickness and physical resilience in terms of not detaching during the FISH staining procedure, which features plenty of shear-forces. We attribute this finding, at least in part, to the strikingly different morphology and abundance of P. intermedia, which appears to majorly contribute to the general structure of these biofilms. Nevertheless, lack of Streptococci and A. oris also led to a looser structure and more uniform distribution of the remaining bacteria. Hence, the early colonizers may function in keeping the proximity between all the species within the biofilm.The present model system simulates the subgingival conditions only at a nutritional level with serum as the only source of host factors and does not take under consideration any cellular or molecular element of the host immune system. Moreover, it may not directly mirror the  in vivo ,21 and iin vitro . With rein vitro [F. nucleatum may be considered the principal organism, other than A. oris and the streptococci, capable of direct attachment to the salivary pellicle. Thus, one could hypothesize that it is playing an important role in the initiation of our biofilms. In fact, in an earlier study [F. nucleatum [On the basis of the co-adhesion and adherence capabilities of oral bacteria, as they were defined in vitro , F. nucler study , we founucleatum .P. gingivalis was significantly reduced in biofilms cultivated in the absence of streptococci alone, or in combination with A. oris. As the lack of the early colonizing species did not impede biofilm formation in terms of total counts, several factors might have led to this finding. On one hand, streptococci could have played a vital role in facilitating the establishment of P. gingivalis, for example by the depletion of environmental oxidants [P. intermedia could have hindered the development of P. gingivalis, possibly by competition for essential nutrients, such as iron, or by some other antagonistic effects. Iron competition as a cause for the reduced abundance of P. gingivalis seems a rather unlikely explanation, since P. gingivalis was shown to have a 10-fold higher specific affinity to bind haemin in comparison to P. intermedia [P. intermedia compared to the inoculation without streptococci. On the other hand, P. gingivalis suffered only a 6.8-fold reduction as a consequence of the late addition of streptococci but declined 20-fold in total absence of streptococci. Thus it seems that, under the conditions of the present experimental model system, the two streptococci are a key factor in facilitating the incorporation of P. gingivalis into the subgingival biofilm community.A key finding of this study was that oxidants . On the termedia . HoweverA. oris in the absence, or after the late addition of streptococci. Earlier experiments had shown that this effect was even more pronounced when the biofilms were grown in serum-free medium. Under these conditions the A. oris cell numbers increased by 19-fold in following the addition of the streptococci after 16.5 h of biofilm development (data not shown). These findings partially contrast with a study by Palmer et al. [A. oris and S. oralis in terms of biofilm formation, and suggested a metabolic cooperation between these two organisms. However, these authors had used saliva as the sole nutrient and the biofilms consisted of no more than two organisms. In our 10-species model system, a metabolic synergy between A. oris and streptococci seems unlikely, as A. oris profited from the late addition and, even more pronounced, from the total absence of streptococci. A possible explanation could be competition of A. oris and streptococci for binding sites on the salivary pellicle. Both these organisms are known to express the capability of binding protein components on the pellicle [A. oris, potentially due to a higher wash-out of this organism during dip-washes. This interpretation is also supported by the finding that with serum-free growth medium, which does not contain any factors capable of inhibiting receptor-mediated adherence to the pellicle, the gain of the streptococci over A. oris was most pronounced [Another significant finding was the increased growth of r et al.  who repoonounced .in vivo situation inevitably differs to a large extent from any experimental conditions in vitro. Nevertheless, the complex environment created with our biofilm model system might contribute substantially to the critical knowledge on the formation of subgingival biofilms. Apart from the evaluation of features like the complex metabolic interplay among the individual species of the biofilm, as is the case in the present study, this model is used for studying the pro-inflammatory action [While these results are important for the understanding of the basic mechanisms operating in the formation of complex bacterial biofilms, it must be taken into account that the y action -27 or thy action -30.S. oralis, S. anginosus, and A. oris developed the same total counts as biofilms inoculated with these in vivo early colonizers. Interestingly, the physical resilience of the biofilms without the early colonizers was the same as well. Nevertheless, the absence of early colonizers led to a significant increase in P. intermedia cell numbers, along with a significant decrease of P. gingivalis. This effect is more likely caused by a synergy between streptococci and P. gingivalis, than by a nutritional competition between P. intermedia and P. gingivalis. Hence, streptococci might possibly facilitate the establishment of P. gingivalis into subgingival biofilms. Without early colonizers being inoculated the biofilm structure appeared looser and P. intermedia became the most dominant species in the biofilms, appearing in the form of long chains of cocci that morphologically resembled the absent streptococci.Biofilms inoculated without Figure S1Total counts of bacteria in the biofilms after 64.5 h of incubation. The boxes represent data from three independent experiments, each performed with triplicate biofilms. Control: All ten species. LateStr: Inoculation without streptococci, addition of streptococci after 16.5 h. NoStr: No streptococci. NoStrNoAori: No streptococci, no A. oris. No statistically significant differences were detected.(TIF)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "The mechanical stapler is routinely used in thoracic surgery practice to attend resection of bronchus and vessels. Herein, we reported a very rare complication as the migration of a titanium surgical clip through a right lobectomy stump. One year after the procedure, the patient complained of persistent cough. A misdiagnosis of asthma was made and she treated for 6 months with bronchodilators, corticosteroid and antihistaminic without success. Thus, patient re-referred of our unit. No clinical signs of infection as fewer, productive cough, dyspnea were present. The laboratory exams were within normal value including white cells. CT scan revealed no abnormalities. Bronchoscopy demonstrated a healed upper bronchus stump without evidence of an actual, open bronchopleural fistula but with clips apparently working their way into the airway, with approximately half of the clip visible within the lumen. The side of the clips that would be open before closure by the surgeon formed the leading edge of the clips visible in the lumen. The clips were successfully removed during flexible bronchoscopy with a forceps usually used for biopsy. After the procedure, the cough disappeared. The endoscopy check after 3 months showed a normal bronchial stump without evidence of fistula. The mechanical stapler is routinely used in thoracic surgery practice to attend resection of bronchus and vessels. Herein, we reported a very rare complication as the migration of a titanium surgical clip through a right lobectomy stump. One year after the procedure, the patient complained of persistent cough. A misdiagnosis of asthma was made and she treated for 6 months with bronchodilators, corticosteroid and antihistaminic. Symptoms disappeared after removing surgical clip with flexible bronchoscopy.A 75 year-old woman patient was referred to our unit for the diagnosis and treatment of lung lesion discovered at Chest/X ray. She complained of cough and fewer. All laboratory exams were within normal values. Chest tomography scan diagnosed the presence of lesion (size 3 cm) confined within upper right lobe without lymp node involvement. On PET scan, the lesion was FDG- avid with a standard uptake value (SUV) of 3.5. No other lesions were found. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy diagnosed (FNAB) CT guided diagnosed to be a atypical carcinoid. Cardiorespiratory evaluation did not contraindicate surgery. Thus, a right upper lobectomy via thoracotomy was attended in a standard matter. The bronchus was mechanically closed using a mechanical stapler. A radical lymph adenectomy was performed. No complications occurred during operation and in the postoperative course. In addition to peridural analgesia, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation analgesia was applied to better control the postoperative pain . The patForeign body erosion into the tracheobronchial tree is uncommon and its presentation is highly variable. In literature few reports reported the expectoration of staples and dry bovine pericardial strips used for staple line reinforcement after surgery for emphysema ,3. SaundIn the present case the persistent cough, appeared after 1 year from the lobectomy, was misdiagnosed as asthma disease. The patient was treated for 6 months with medical therapy including bronchodilators, corticosteroid and antihistaminic without success. Then, she was re-referred to our unit. Despite the presence of cough, the diagnosis of bronchopleural fistula was unlike due to lack of fewer, of productive cough and of other clinical and laboratory signs of infection. Bronchoscopy showed a healed upper bronchus stump without evidence of an actual, open bronchopleural fistula but with clips apparently working their way into the airway, with approximately half of the clip visible within the lumen. The side of the clips that would be open before closure by the surgeon formed the leading edge of the clips visible in the lumen. Thus, the persistent cough was due to chronic irritation of bronchial mucosa by clips. Conversely to Ahmed et al  who deciThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.P.L. : conception and design, interpetration of data, given final approval of the version to be published. F. N.: acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. C.C. : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. MD : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. BA : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. A.G. : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. M.V. : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. V.D.C.: critical revision, interpretation of data, given final approval of the version to be published.PL: Resident at of Thoracic Surgery - University of Salerno. FN: Resident at of Thoracic Surgery - University of Salerno. CC: Resident in Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery -University of Naples. MD : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. BA : acquisition of data, drafting the manuscript, given final approval of the version to be published. AG: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Surgery - University of Salerno. MV: Associate Professor of Endocrinology - University of Salerno. VDC: Assistant Professor of Thoracic Surgery - University of Salerno."}
+{"text": "Aedes japonicus japonicus is one of the most expansive culicid species of the world. Being native to East Asia, this species was detected out of its original distribution range for the first time in the early 1990s in New Zealand where it could not establish, though. In 1998, established populations were reported from the eastern US, most likely as a result of introductions several years earlier. After a massive spread the mosquito is now widely distributed in eastern North America including Canada and two US states on the western coast. In the year 2000, it was demonstrated for the first time in Europe, continental France, but could be eliminated. A population that had appeared in Belgium in 2002 was not controlled until 2012 as it did not propagate. In 2008, immature developmental stages were discovered in a large area in northern Switzerland and bordering parts of Germany. Subsequent studies in Germany showed a wide distribution and several populations of the mosquito in various federal states. Also in 2011, the species was found in southeastern Austria (Styria) and neighbouring Slovenia. In 2013, a population was detected in the Central Netherlands, specimens were collected in southern Alsace, France, and the complete northeastern part of Slovenia was found colonized, with specimens also present across borders in adjacent Croatia. Apparently, at the end of 2013 a total of six populations occurred in Europe although it is not clear whether all of them are completely isolated. Similarly, it is not known whether these populations go back to the same number of introductions. While entry ports and long-distance continental migration routes are also obscure, it is likely that the international used tyre trade is the most important mode of intercontinental transportation of the mosquito. Aedes j. japonicus does not only display an aggressive biting behaviour but is suspected to be a vector of various disease agents and to displace indigenous culicid species. Therefore, Aedes j. japonicus might both cause public health problems in the future and have a significant impact on the biodiversity of the invaded territories.The Asian bush or rock pool mosquito  Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus . It originates from East Asia and the Far East, where it represents one of four subspecies of Ae. japonicus. Similar to Aedes albopictus, it is transported to overseas territories mainly by the used tyre trade. Up to now, it has been discovered in Oceania , where it could not establish thanks to thorough inspection activities and early detection, as well as in North America and Europe, with the first detections outside its native distribution area dating back to the early 1990s  new territories, mosquitoes have historically been especially successful . A highlAedes japonicus occurs with four morphologically very similar subspecies: Ae. j. japonicus , Ae. j. shintienensis Tsai & Lien, 1950, Ae. j. amamiensis Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979, and Ae. j. yaeyamensis Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979. These varieties may be differentiated by the presence/absence and the particular design of a sub-basal dark band on their hind femora. Secondary characteristics are the colour, alignment and shape of the scales on their posterior pronotal lobes, on their subspiracular areas, on their costae and on their fourth hind tarsomeres [Aedes koreicus[rsomeres . The fou koreicus.Ae. japonicus subspecies have characteristic distribution areas in Asia. Aedes j. japonicus is most wide-spread and has been recorded from Palaearctic Japan , the Ryukyu Archipelago, Korea (including both the Korean peninsula and Cheju Island), southern China including Hong Kong, Taiwan and southeastern Siberia (Primorskiy Kray). Aedes j. shintienensis is more restricted to the Oriental region, including Taiwan and Korea, while Ae. j. amamiensis occurs on Amami Gunt\u00f4 and Ae. j. yaeyamensis on Yaeyama Gunt\u00f4, Okinawa Gunt\u00f4 and associated islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago [The hipelago ,43,44.Ae. j. japonicus has become invasive. In principal, it is supposed to use the same transportation mechanisms as Ae. albopictus, primarily the second-hand tyre trade for intercontinental/long-distance overseas movement of the desiccation-resistant eggs [Ae. j. japonicus larvae in rock pools associated with all major rivers in the Appalachians and Blue Ridge Mountains of the USA, discuss the possibility of active expansion along river corridors.For reasons not quite understood, only ant eggs  and landant eggs ,46. Of cant eggs ,27. It iant eggs . Furtherant eggs  and Beviant eggs , who fouAe. albopictus, introduction of larvae through the lucky bamboo (Dracaena spec.) and machinery water and of adults on airplanes has been identified in addition to the used tyre pathway [Ae. j. japonicus was found in used machinery and water tankers arriving in New Zealand [For  pathway ,50. Simi Zealand .Aedes j. japonicus was first detected outside its native distribution range in New Zealand in 1993 [ in 1993 . To dateAe. j. japonicus in 1998, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut [Ae. j. japonicus specimens had been encountered during a previous intense monitoring programme for Ae. albopictus[Ae. j. japonicus was demonstrated in 33 US states including Hawaii .Schaffner et al.  reported to 2012 -56,  and Slovenia . During japonicus, with frAe. j. japonicus specimen was trapped in the Central Netherlands during routine monitoring in 2012, prompting a more thorough surveillance in the affected municipality with a closer trap grid in 2013. When several females were found, a site inspection produced numerous breeding sites containing preimaginal stages [A single l stages .In summary, it appears that six spatially separated colonization areas exist in Europe: Belgium (being treated), northern Switzerland/France/southern Germany, western Germany, northern Germany, Austria/Slovenia/Croatia and the Central Netherlands Figure\u00a0. Except Aedes j. japonicus is a mosquito species adapted to temperate climates, capable of withstanding cold and snowy winters as occuring in its endemic home range in northern Japan. According to Kamimura [Kamimura , overwinKamimura .Ae. j. japonicus can indeed overwinter in the larval stage as communicated by Kamimura [The life-cycle is multivoltine both in Japan  and in tKamimura  for soutThe activity period of adults may last from May to October ,63 or, aAedes j. japonicus has a preference for forested and bushy areas, be they in agricultural, rural, suburban or urban settings [settings ,52. Beinsettings , streamssettings ,67-72. Ssettings ,52,62. Lsettings .Ae. j. japonicus in warm water pools fully exposed to the sun in some areas led Andreadis & Wolfe [Ae. j. japonicus female was trapped in the northeasternmost corner in 2005, whereas no specimens at all were encountered in any other county during a state-wide survey of tyre-breeding mosquitoes [Breeding sites are selected in both sun-lit and shaded environments ,52, sugg & Wolfe  to suggesquitoes . Also inAe. j. japonicus females are said to be reluctant to bite humans [Ae. j. japonicus was never encountered, Iriarte et al. [Ae. j. japonicus to be abundant near human dwellings in urban areas, and Kamimura [Ae. j. japonicus, Apperson et al. [In Japan, e humans ,62, where humans . Willigee humans  feed thee humans , Sardelie humans  and Sarde humans -80 used e et al.  reportedKamimura  and AndrKamimura  actuallyKamimura  also argn et al.  found thn et al. , howeverAedes j. japonicus may quickly propagate. In some newly infested areas, the invader was detected quite early, either by chance or as a consequence of routine mosquito surveillance, when population densities were still low and distribution was limited. It has commonly been observed that detection frequency, together with breeding site numbers and spatial distribution, will usually increase significantly within one to three years after the initial phase of colonization, resulting from considerable population growth [Once established under adequate climatic conditions, n growth ,22,27,35n growth ,52.Ae. j. japonicus in many areas of North America and Europe comes evidence that it represses the population densities of other culicids [Ae. j. japonicus larvae outcompete larvae of other species. A decline in relative abundances as compared to Ae. j. japonicus has been reported for Aedes atropalpus, Aedes triseriatus, Culex restuans and even Culex pipiens[Ae. atropalpus, for example, are hypothesized to be autogeny and a longer larval development [Aedes triseriatus is inferior in sunlit peridomestic locations [Cx. pipiens when decaying leaves and algae are the only food sources [Ae. j. japonicus over Ae. triseriatus with regard to development time were also observed by Alto [Cx. pipiens maintained similar larval populations in tyres before and after the introduction of Ae. j. japonicus in Connecticut [Ae. j. japonicus and Cx. pipiens reared on laboratory diets which indicate that the two species are equivalent competitors [Along with the observed adaptive capacity and successful proliferation of culicids ,57,73,84culicids ,85. Whilculicids ,57, therx pipiens,73,84-86ocations  and Cx.  by Alto  when thepetitors .Ae. j. japonicus larvae have been shown in laboratory experiments to be inferior to the Asian tiger mosquito Ae. albopictus[Ae. albopictus is a highly efficient vector of dirofilarial nematodes and more than 20 arboviruses including many of public health relevance [Ae. j. japonicus. Field observations made by Bartlett-Healy et al. [Ae. albopictus being more abundant in urban and suburban settings, and Ae. j. japonicus being more abundant in rural settings when both are sympatric.Being possibly superior in competition to a number of native culicid species, lbopictus, anotherlbopictus-92. Thiselevance . It is ty et al.  do not ny et al. . They raAe. j. japonicus and Aedes epactius, another US resident mosquito species, appears to be clearly dependent on season-associated temperature [Ae. j. japonicus is the dominating species in rock hole habitats while later in the year, during the hotter months, Ae. epactius is more frequent.There are most likely numerous factors to be considered simultaneously when larval competition is to be determined, such as food resource availability and quality, water quality, shade and insolation, and temperature . Thus, tperature . Early iAedes j. japonicus is not considered an important vector in its native Asian distribution area, and evidence for a major role in field transmission of disease agents is generally absent. Some data suggesting a vector potential for several viruses of medical and veterinary relevance, however, exist both from the field and from laboratory infection and transmission studies , which is endemic in many East Asian countries where the mosquito occurs, long before the discovery of the mosquito becoming invasive, western colleagues have mainly addressed the question of vector competence only after the emergence of the bush mosquito on other continents  and on kungunya ), respeckungunya  while dekungunya .Aedes and Culex species, and has been described as causing disease in horses, characterized by pyrexia, urticaria, rash and oedema of the hind legs [Aedes j. japonicus showed susceptible to the virus when fed on viremic blood through pig skin membrane as demonstrated by titration of whole mosquito homogenates 21 days after blood ingestion [Getah virus occurs in southeastern Asia and Australia, is transmitted by various ind legs . Aedes jngestion .Aedes j. japonicus has not been confirmed to be a vector of disease agents in the field. Whether there are intrinsic factors generally preventing the species from becoming a conspicuous and efficient vector or whether the non-appearance to date of Ae. j. japonicus as a vector is by chance, due to the mosquito and dangerous pathogens not being endemic in the same regions, remains to be elucidated.Although being capable of transmitting pathogenic viruses in the laboratory, Aedes j. japonicus seems to be highly adaptive and to have competitive advantages over some mosquito species indigenous to the invaded regions. In the long-term, this may not only have direct effects on the biodiversity by a change of the mosquito fauna but may also have indirect impacts on the epidemiology of mosquito-borne diseases should they occur in the infested regions.Ae. j. japonicus are unknown. More ecological, population genetic and vector competence studies are fundamental to a better understanding of the establishment and spread of Ae. j. japonicus and an assessment of its impact on public health. In this context, biological and ecological data at the natural range of distribution in Asia and overseas regions where the species has become established (North America and Europe) could be used to develop predictive distribution maps for countries where it has not been already introduced.In many cases, in particular in Europe, the origin, the port(s) of entry and the modes of continental transportation of Ae. j. japonicus can again be eradicated. Instead, it is imperative to accept it as having become a part of the indigenous mosquito fauna and to try to keep its population densities at a possible minimum by educating and training community workers, personnel involved in gardening and landscaping etc., as well as the general public as to how to avoid producing potential breeding sites.Given the wide distribution of established populations, both in North America and Europe, it is wishful thinking that CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; EEEC: Eastern equine encephalitis virus; JEV: Japanese encephalitis virus; LACV: La Crosse virus; RVFV: Rift Valley fever virus; SLEV: St. Louis encephalitis virus; WNV: West Nile virus.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Both authors contributed equally to the literature research and writing of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "The present research was carried out to study the trophic relationship between aphids and their primary parasitoids in Pothwar, Pakistan during 2009\u20132010 in the districts of Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, and Jhelum. Ten species of aphids were recorded from 17 host plants. The aphids were parasitized by 11 species of primary parasitoids. Five quantitative aphid-parasitoid food webs were constructed describing the trophic relationships between the community of aphids and their primary parasitoids. The relationship between plants and insects is one of coexistence; insects that are harmful to plants are suppressed by other insects . Aphids The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of the aphid\u2014parasitoid community in the field and the horticultural crops in the Pothwar region. A particular emphasis was placed on describing trophic relationship between the aphid and its primary parasitoids with the help of food webs. This work will contribute to a better understanding of the trophic relationships between different species of aphids and their primary parasitoids.Rumex acuta, Cypeus rotundus, Casia fistula, Solanum tuberosum, Brassica compestris, Brassica oleracea, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Raphanus satius, Brassica rapa, Zea mays, Triticum aestivum, Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Hibiscus sp., Pisum sativum, Trigonella fenumgraecum, and Rosa sp. The quantitative data was collected on the density of aphids and aphid's mummies per unit of their host plant.The survey was conducted during 2009\u20132010 from different districts within the Pothwar region  . Aphids 2 quadrat. Aphid and parasitized aphid densities were made absolute by multiplying the number per plant unit to the estimated densities of plant per m2. The structure of the parasitoid community wasassessed by rearing mummies collected in quantitative sampling programs. The aphids collected were identified up to the species level by using the key of Blackman and Eastop , and their relative abundance is indicated by the widths of the seven numbered bars at the bottom of the diagram. As shown, the mean density of aphids collected from October 2009 to February 2010 was 62.50 aphids/m2. Five species of primary parasitoids were recorded  from October 2009 to February 2010. The upper series of the bars in the diagram represent the primary parasitoids, and their relative abundance is indicated by the widths of each numbered bar. The mean density of primary parasitoids collected was 6.07 parasitoids/m2.To understand how the aphid\u2014parasitoid webs work, consider the example of the aphid\u2014parasitoid web in district Rawalpindi from October 2009 to February 2010 . In thesAphidius sp. was reared from the aphid species A. fabae, A. gossypii, M. persicae, and A. craccivora; the parasitoid D. rapae was reared from B. brassicae, M. persicae, and S. graminum; the parasitoid A. absenti was reared from A. craccivora; the parasitoid Trioxys sp. was reared from A. gossypii and A. craccivora; and the parasitoid A. colemani was reared from S. graminum and R. padi in the Rawalpindi district  = 2.835, p < 0.01),  = 3.371, p < 0.01).The diversity of aphids in each district was calculated using the diversity index of Menhinick . The maxF = 3.830, p < 0.01), mummified aphids  = 4.736, p < 0.01), total plants  = 5.207, P < 0.01), and infested plants  = 7.908, p < 0.01).The maximum number of aphids was collected in January 2010 and the minimum number of aphids was collected in November 2009 . SimilarThe maximum rate of parasitism was found in Attock, and the minimum in Rawalpindi . These dA total of 263 plants were infested with aphids, with a mean of 2.98 \u00b1 2.25 infested plants per sampling unit and a rate of infestation of 13.59% in the Pothwar region . The maxA. fabae, A. gossypii, B. brassicae, M. persicae, S. graminum, R. padi, and A. craccivora. Only three species of aphids were collected from Jhelum  and it had the lowest aphid species richness (Species richness was highest in Rawalpindi with seven species present: richness .Five quantitative food webs were made describing the trophic relationship between the aphid and its primary parasitoid. In our study, the significant differences were found between the population densities of aphids, mummified aphids, and infested plants in Pothwar region in different months. The difference in the population trend of aphids may change many times throughout the season because of various factors, such as climatic conditions and natural enemy population. These two particular factors were considered to inhibit the aphid population from reaching outbreak stage . The pop"}
+{"text": "The sixth author, Rong Yin, was not correctly indicated in the byline as a Corresponding Author for the article. The six author's email address is: yinhero001@126.com.In addition, the email address of the other Corresponding Author, seventh author, Lin Xu, is incorrect. The seventh author's correct email address is: xulin83cn@gmail.com."}
+{"text": "Argulus foliaceus (Crustacea: Branchiura), or the fish louse, is an ectoparasite of the skin or gill of the fresh water fish species. Clinical signs in infected fish include scratching on aquarium walls, erratic swimming, and poor growth. It causes pathological changes due to direct tissue damage and secondary infections. In the present study, lionhead goldfish (Carassius auratus), taken from a goldfish aquarium with symptoms such as abnormal swimming, poor growth and death, were examined for ectoparasites. The parasites collected from the skin and fins of fish were identified as A. foliaceus. Then, treatment was carried out by trichlorfon. After administration, no parasite was observed on the fish. This is the first report of infection with A. foliaceus of lionhead goldfish (Carassius auratus) in Iran. Argulus, so called fish lice. Many of the species are parasitic on marine fishes, and about 15 spp. are found on freshwater fishes , 60 fish were found infested by Argulus sp.  (Argulus sp. is reported from different fish species worldwide (A. foliaceus was reported from lionhead goldfish (Carassius auratus) in Iran.orldwide \u201312 and iorldwide . In the A. foliaceus from other species such as A. japonicus and A. coregoni is necessary. A. coregoni has acuminate abdomen lobes and 12 mm body length, in A. japonicus posterior lobes of cephalothoracic carapace extended beyond the beginning of abdomen but A. foliaceus has rounded lobes of abdomen, the posterior emargination not reaching the mid-line and posterior lobes cephalothoracic carapace not extended beyond the beginning of abdomen   . Other ct (NaCl) , potassit (NaCl) , and fort (NaCl) . The most (NaCl) . Organopt (NaCl) , and emat (NaCl)  have beeThe keys to prevention are avoidance and quarantine. Fish must closely be inspected for the presence of the parasite at the time of purchasing. In addition, eggs are laid on vegetation and other substrates and can be introduced into a pond or aquarium by plants, rocks, or other materials."}
+{"text": "At its very first meeting the Editorial Board of the JMAS had decided to bring out one Special Issue of the Journal every year. The Journal could not have asked for a better, more balanced, more thought provoking first Special Issue than this one on Laparoscopy in Urology compiled by our Guest Editors Professor Ashok K. Hemal and Dr Rajeev Kumar. The Journal is indebted to them for this significant contribution to M.A.S. literature.Surgeons in every surgical speciality are making forays into \u201claparoscopic\u201d surgery to try and establish to which procedures and to what extent M.A.S. can be of significant patient benefit in their speciality, be it urologic, pediatric, neuro, colo-rectal, G.I. E.N.T., thoracic, cardiovascular, endocrine, plastic, and of course the father of all surgical speciality general surgery. In a short fifteen years there has been an upheaval and new revelation in the mental and practical approach to all surgery.every one of the articles which discuss established procedures, other procedures under evaluation or of possible future impact. Each article bears the stamp of thought, dedication, experience and authority.The urologic surgeon was the first surgical specialist to explore and evaluate the field of minimal access surgery, well before the advent of laparoscopic surgery. Much before other surgeons awoke to the possibilities and impact of minimal access surgery, the urologist had documented and established the unquestioned benefits of trans-urethral prostate resection viz a viz open surgery, of trans-urethral surgery for bladder tumours in appropriate case, of PCNL and ESWL in urinary calculi. These decades of mental conditioning and expertise in endoscopy are reflected in the maturity and approach evident in To one in surgical practice for fifty years, all surgical specialities stem from general surgery and are interwoven and inter-related. This answers the query some may have to this Journal's Special Issue on a speciality most of its subscribers do not practice. Each one of us in our own speciality, is so focused on what we do and how we do it that we could easily get blinkered. As Gandhiji had emphasized, it helps to keep all our windows open so that the winds of other thoughts and methods could help in the cross-pollination which is the basis of all evolution and progress.This issue transcends any M.A.S. speciality - it goes to the root of all surgery, especially M.A.S. In an age where surgery is both patient and industry driven the pit-falls of M.A.S. are numerous and potentially catastrophic. Each article emphasizes fundamentals common to every M.A.S. speciality. Insecurity, ego, lucre are poor indications for entering the field of laparoscopic surgery. Each M.A.S. procedure, whatever, has a learning curve which can only be surmounted by dedicated training and expertise, and expertise requires far more than reading journals or attending (quite often in far away lands!) four or five day \u201ctraining workshops\u201d. Every M.A.S. procedure, whatever, as it evolves, must be honestly and pragmatically evaluated in terms of safety, outcome, cost and applicability in the local environment, against what till then is the \u201cgold standard\u201d of open surgery. All surgery has the same fundamentals, and as we M.A.S. surgeons distance ourselves from the patient with our long instruments and even furthermore in the foreseeable future with robots, let us not forget that the patient is not an object but a fellow human, who would greatly benefit by seeing the face and holding the hand of his surgeon."}
+{"text": "Cyprinidae, take their name from the Greek Kypris, also another name for the Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty. It refers to the island of Cyprus, alleged to be the site of her birth. The term herpesvirus derives from Greek herpes, a spreading eruption, and the Latin word for poison. This virus is an emerging infection in common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio) and koi (C. carpio koi).Cyprinids, members of the large freshwater fish family Sources: Dorland\u2019s illustrated medical dictionary, 31st ed. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier; 2007; www.statemaster.com/encccyclopedia/Cyprinids."}
+{"text": "Dr. Ravi Nehru had been a wonderful teacher for his students, a caring doctor to his patients, an eminent neurologist, psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, and neurolinguist. No words can describe his aura; the ones who have felt it know that he was calm, poised, well mannered, loving, and being near him gave every one around him peace and sanity. It was often that a resident would come to him baffled with queries and issues. He would smile and politely ask him to sit down, have a coffee and suddenly all the queries would be settled by simple answers and all issues resolved without a doubt. He was admired by his colleagues for his helping nature, cool head and work ethics.He was born on 30 July 1952. He spent his childhood in Meerut and Lucknow. He completed his MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) in 1976. He always wanted to do MD Psychiatry, but at that time, the course did not exist; so, he did MD in Medicine in 1980. He went on to do D.M. Neurology from G.B. Pant hospital in 1984. He did not hesitate to pursue his inclination in psychiatry, and after D.M., he joined D.N.B. Psychiatry from G.B. Pant hospital and completed it successfully in 1992. This gave him the distinction of being the only professional in India formally trained and qualified in Medicine, Neurology and Psychiatry with two doctorates and one post-doctoral degree. If one would ask him about his knowledge, however, he would be happier talking more about his knowledge of Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Latin, Sanskrit and Spanish literature and language. He was studying Bengali in his last few days and had started reading Bengali literature. His knowledge of philosophy, spirituality and religions, though not certified, had been his most valuable asset. His personal library has more than a 5000 books on subjects that interested him including dog breeds, flowers, fishes and wines. He has been remembered in the autobiography of Khushwant Singh and a number of books have been presented to him by this eminent author.He headed Neurobehaviour Clinic, Movement Disorders Clinic and Neurolinguistics Lab in Department of Neurology, G.B. Pant Hospital. He also taught and did research guidance at the post graduate and doctoral level,  in Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry, Behavioral Neurology, Neuropsychology and Neurolinguistics. He was engaged in teaching advanced courses at the University of Delhi as a visiting faculty in Neurolinguistics and Clinical Neuropsychology. He is renowned as the first neurolinguist in the country. He had been a member or advisor for several international and government bodies like Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology, Expert Panel, Good Clinical Practice and Clinical Trials , Advisory Committee, Medical Television and World Health Review.He has over 275 publications including books, editorials, articles, papers and abstracts in refereed journals and refereed conference proceedings. He had been actively involved in research and academic assignments with the Government of India. He served as the Executive Editor of the Indian Edition of the Archives of Neurology  and Editor of the Delhi Psychiatry Bulletin. He had delivered over 100 invited lectures at national and international conferences, and at institutions including King\u2019s College Hospital and the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London; University College London, University of London; School of Special Education, University of Birmingham, UK; and Cork University Hospital, University of Cork, Ireland.His clinical work was mainly in the field of behavioral neurology and movement disorders. He did pioneering research in dementia, dyslexia, behavioral disorders in children, aphasias, neuropsychiatry and general neurology. His work on scientific organization of the Hindi alphabet and of phonemes and graphemes in the brain is path breaking. His work on language organization and dyslexia done 15 years back remains unsung due to untimely death of his research associate, Anju Garg, who worked with him on the subject.He had a special attachment to his parent institute, MAMC. He played an elemental role in the Faculty Association of Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated L.N.J.P.N., G.B. Pant and Guru Nanak Eye Hospitals. He compiled the detailed history of MAMC in the form of an article (available online) and a book. This work had been very close to his heart and makes every MAMC alumni proud.He spent his last few days fighting as his usual self against all odds. He was cheerful and loving till his last day and never forgot to bless his near and dear ones. His fond memory and wonderful way to live continues to inspire everyone. He is survived by his father, Mr. H. M. Nehru (86 years), and a younger brother, Rajiv Nehru, who is an eminent lawyer in Delhi.The disciplines of Neurology, Psychology, Linguistics and Psychiatry will always miss him and be deprived of what all he could do further, had it not been for his untimely demise."}
+{"text": "Interest in safety and clinical outcomes of inpatients has been growing in Japan, because the 100,000 Lives Campaign was introduced under the Japanese Patient Safety Act in 2008. In this act, an introduction of the Rapid Response System (RRS) was one of the mainstreams to inpatients' care. However, many Japanese healthcare providers cannot understand how to achieve the introduction of the RRS, because there are few who have knowledge of the system. Therefore, we developed a new introductory training course for the RRS. The educational effectiveness was analyzed through the surveillance questionnaires after the course.The educational program includes a lecture series concerning the outline and management methods, introduction of facilities that have already deployed, small group discussions, and teaching methods-of-training for the medical emergency team using a simulator. Evaluation was made in the five-point scale by 82 participants  throughout seven courses. The questionnaires are: A. understanding of RRS, B. knowledge acquisition about patient safety, C. expectation for decreasing the cardiopulmonary arrest by RRS, and D. expectation for decreasing the psychological burden by RRS.Seventy-three participants (89.0%) answered the questionnaires. The numbers of participants who scored more than four points were as follows: A. was 71 (97.2%), B. was 70 (95.9%), C. was 64 (87.7%), and D. was 68 (93.2%), respectively. The majority of participants obtained the correct knowledge, and had a solid understanding for the RRS. It was evident that providing abundant material and didactic lectures traced from the introduction to management, and collecting and resolving the questions, promoted comprehension. However, there is a limitation of whether or not the participants introduce the RRS into their own institutions. It is essential to improve the course and continue to support the activities of the participants.Our training course may promote the introduction and dissemination of the RRS in Japan."}
+{"text": "Malaria is a public health problem in Ethiopia, and increasingly so in highland areas, possibly because of global warming. This study describes the distribution, breeding habitat and monthly dynamics of anopheline larvae in Butajira, a highland area in south-central Ethiopia.Anopheles larvae was undertaken at different sites and altitudes in Butajira from July 2008 to June 2010. The sites included Hobe (1817\u2009m.a.s.l), Dirama (1995m.a.s.l.) and Wurib (2196m.a.s.l.). Potential anopheline larval habitats were surveyed once per month in each village. The recorded characteristics of the habitats included habitat type, pH, surface debris, emergent plants, algae, substrate, turbidity, temperature, length, width, depth, distance to the nearest house and anophelines. The Spearman correlation coefficient and Mann\u2013Whitney U test were used to calculate the degree of association between the density of anopheline species and key environmental factors.A study of the abundance and dynamics of Anopheles cinereus (32.5%), An. arabiensis (31.4%), An. chrysti (23%), An. demeilloni (12.2%), An. pretoriensis (0.6%), An. azaniae (0.1%), An. rufipes(0.1%), An. sergentii (0.06%), An. garnhami (0.06%) and An. pharoensis (0.03%). The density of anopheline larvae was highest during the dry months. An. arabiensis was widely distributed, and its density decreased from the lowest elevation in Hobe to the highest in Wurib. The density of An. arabiensis larvae was correlated positively with larval habitat temperature  and negatively with depth of larval habitat .Among the different types of habitat surveyed, the Odamo, Akamuja and Assas streams and Beko swamp were positive for anopheline larvae. A total of 3,957 third and fourth instar larvae were collected from the three localities, and they represented ten species of anophelines. These were: An. arabiensis and An. pharoensis), along streams in Butajira. Larvae of An. arabiensis were found in streams at 2200m.a.s.l. This possible expansion of the malaria vector to highland areas indicates an increasing risk of malaria because a large proportion of the Ethiopian population live above this altitude.Ten species of anophelines were identified, including two known vectors of malaria ( Anopheles arabiensis, a member of the An. gambiae complex, is the main vector of malaria in the country [An. pharoensisAn. funestus and An. nili represent secondary vectors [Malaria is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Ethiopia in areas up to 2500 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l) , althoug vectors ,7.The transmission of malaria in high altitude areas of Ethiopia ,2,8 mighAnopheles mosquitoes breed at the edges of rivers and streams, in temporary rain pools, ponds, dams, drainage ditches, burrow pits, rice fields, swamp margins, roadside puddles and in tree holes close to human dwellings [The existing malaria intervention strategy, which includes indoor residual insecticide spraying, nets treated with long-lasting insecticide, and case management, has been reducing the impact of the disease in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, spread of insecticide-resistant vectors ,20 and dwellings -25. Howewellings -28; theswellings . Althougwellings ,31, infoThe study was undertaken in the Butajira area in the south-central highlands of the Southern Nations and Nationalities Regional State of Ethiopia, which is located 135\u2009km south of Addis Ababa , Dirama (1995m.a.s.l.) and Wurib (2196\u2009m.a.s.l.). The sites are villages close to the Odamo, Akamuja and Assas streams, respectively. They were selected by Health Extension Workers on the basis of habitat availability, accessibility and malaria case reports. Rainfall data for the area (July 2008 to March 2010) was obtained from the National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia from the only station in Butajira town, which is located 5\u201320\u2009km from the study areas. On the basis of the previous thirty years of meteorological data from the area , the average monthly rainfall is 94.6\u2009mm and the relative humidity is 60.8%, while the average maximum and minimum temperatures are 25.5\u00b0C and 11.5\u00b0C, respectively. Peak rainfall occurs between July and August, while the lowest level occurs in November and December, with little rain between March and May.Ensete ventricular) leaf axils were surveyed for the presence of larvae, and collections were made by applying a standard sampling procedure [Sampling for anopheline larvae was undertaken once a month from July 2008 to June 2010. Streams, water wells, small rain pools, pools in hoof- or foot-prints and false banana  were preserved in 70% alcohol after being killed in hot water (ca. 60\u00b0C) [An. gambiae complex were inferred from the results of species-specific PCR conducted on the adults collected from the same study sites (manuscript under preparation). After identification of the late instars, the density of the most common species was expressed as the number of larvae per 100 dips.Larvae were sorted into culicines and anophelines. All anopheline larvae sampled from each sampling point were identified as 1a. 60\u00b0C) . In the a. 60\u00b0C) . FurtherThe types of larval habitats and their characteristics, such as speed, length, width, depth, pH, turbidity, trees nearby (shade), distance to the nearest inhabited house, availability of emergent plants and substrate types were described by technicians and the first author (AA). The flow speed of aquatic habitat was described visually as fast flowing, slowly flowing or stagnant (not flowing). Habitat length, width, depth and distance to the nearest house was measured using measuring tape; shade was recorded as present or absent by observing terrestrial vegetation and/or trees and their branches near the breeding habitat. Emergent plants included both aquatic and immersed terrestrial vegetation . TurbidiU test. The extended Mantel\u2013Haenszel chi-square test for linear trend was used to investigate the trends in major anopheline density at the Hope, Dirama and Wurib sites. The Kappa value was calculated to study the agreement between the researchers in the identification of larval species.The data were entered and analysed using SPSS version 16.0 statistical software . Monthly dynamics of the density of the major anopheline species and the corresponding monthly rainfall data are presented in line charts. The association of the density of the major species with habitat characteristics such as temperature, depth and pH was analysed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, while associations with substrate type (muddy or sandy), turbidity (low or medium), surface debris (present or absent), and surface algae (present or absent) were analysed using the Mann\u2013Whitney Potential anopheline breeding habitats surveyed from July 2008 to June 2010 in Hobe, Dirama and Wurib villages are presented in Table st instars, 2414 (25.3%) were 2nd instars, 2266 (23.8%) were 3rd instars and 1681 (17.6%) were 4th instars. Among the total sampled, 2302 were from Odamo stream, 37 from a rain pool in Hobe, 1961 from Assas stream, 2294 from Beko swamp, 2925 from Akamuja Stream and 13 from a foot-print in Dirama village.During the study period, 9532 immature anopheline larvae were collected, of which 3171 (33.3%) were 1rd and 4th) instar Anopheles larvae, 3100 (78.5%) were identified to species level (Table p\u2009<\u20090.01) between the researchers in the morphological identification of the anopheline larvae to species level. Anopheles cinereus was the dominant species (32.5%), followed by An. gambiae s.l. (= An. arabiensis in the present work) (31.4%), An. chrysti (23%) and An. demeilloni (12.2%).Of 3947 late  and the lowest density in Wurib (highest elevation area). Larval density declined significantly from the lowland to the highland areas . On the other hand, the density of An. cinereus, An. chrysti and An. demeilloni increased from Hobe to Wurib. The six other species, An. pretoriensis, An. rufipes, An. sergentii, An. azaniae, An. garnhami and An. Pharoensis, were rare; the first five were sampled from the high altitude village while the last species was obtained from the intermediate altitude.Larvae of Anopheles species, expressed as the number of larvae per 100 ladle dips, and the corresponding monthly rainfall of the area. An. arabiensis larvae were predominant in Hobe, with high density from December 2008 to April 2009. This was the dry season, when the monthly rainfall was below 40\u2009mm. The density of Anopheles larvae was generally lowest during July and August, corresponding to the highest amount of monthly rainfall. The density of An. demeilloni, An. chrysti and An. cinereus larvae showed similar trends. Among the three villages, Wurib had diverse species of anopheline larvae.Figure Beko swamp showed the presence of anopheline larvae most frequently (during 16 surveys), followed by Akamuja stream (11 surveys), among the 24 larval surveys Table . The higAn. arabiensis late instars increased significantly with increasing habitat temperature  and also with decreasing depth of habitat   when compared with habitats with muddy substrate. The density of An. demeilloni was negatively associated with habitat temperature . An. arabiensis, An. chrysti, An. cinereus and An. demeilloni were not significantly associated with habitat characteristics such as pH, turbidity, surface debris and surface algae in any of the streams. These habitats supported larval development at their shallow edges, where the speed of flow was low, and on their beds in small and stagnant pools. No emergent vegetation was available along the three streams, but was present in Beko swamp. There was no canopy cover along the anopheline-positive habitats, except for some scattered trees, with no measurable shade on the breeding habitats. All the land close to the breeding habitats was cultivated by farmers.The density of 5) Table . AnalysiAn. Arabiensis, which is the main vector of malaria in the country [An. gambiae s.l, presumably An. arabiensis and An. chrysti) have been reported from neighbouring villages at about the same altitude [Ten anopheline species were identified in Butajira. The predominant species was  country ,6. Its daltitude . This shaltitude ,31 decreAn. arabiensis breeds at 2196\u2009m.a.s.l., which is above the altitude reported previously from Kenyan highlands [An. arabiensis and An. pharoensis in the Butajira highlands. The 1958 malaria epidemic that affected most highland areas, including at 2600\u2009m.a.s.l. [We found that ighlands ,39. ThisAn. arabiensis during low rainfall seasons in Eritrea [The study revealed that the edges and beds of streams serve as anopheline breeding habitats in the Butajira area during months with low precipitation, as reported previously in the central Rift Valley of Ethiopia  and West Eritrea . Similar Eritrea ,42. Stre Eritrea ,43, in t Eritrea .Ensete leaf axils. The absence of larvae from most of the temporary collections of surface water could be due to rapid infiltration of the rain water into the soil and high evaporation. Many permanent water wells did not support anopheline larvae, except culicines. This could be due to their depth, which ranges from 15 to 20\u2009m from the surface, and their water volume, which prevents the entry of direct sunlight and could in turn lower habitat temperature and reduce the availability of the food necessary for larval development. Although temporary habitats may dry out or be flushed out before immature anophelines complete their development [Larvae could not be investigated in temporary water collections formed during rain, in water wells, or in elopment , they arelopment . In addielopment  because An. arabiensis increased with increasing habitat temperature and decreasing habitat depth. The occurrence of An. arabiensis larvae in Beko Swamp is an indication of its adaptation to habitats with emergent grass and its expansion to higher elevations, which results in an increased risk of highland malaria. Variability in the pH, turbidity, surface debris and surface algae of the streams did not affect the density of An. arabiensisAn. chrystiAn. cinereus and An. demeilloni larvae significantly. An. arabiensis is adapted to diverse habitats [An. chrystiAn. demeilloni and An. cinereus was not significantly correlated with habitat temperature and depth, which indicates that these anophelines can breed at a greater range of depths and temperatures than An. arabiensis. The lower density of the vector (An. arabiensis) in the Beko and Assas habitats of Wurib village may have been due to the relatively low temperature in the area, which may affect its breeding negatively. However, this area supported more of other anopheline species for much of the study period, when compared with the other three permanent breeding habitats. This may be because the grass present in this habitat might have prevented the loss of immature forms in running water or by the direct splashing of rainfall, and the grass might have served as a resting site for newly emerging and gravid anopheline mosquitoes [The anopheline breeding points were shallow edges and beds of streams that were sunlit, slow flowing or stagnant, with or without debris and surface algae. Similar habitat types were reported from the Ethiopian Rift Valley  and Erithabitats ,27. The squitoes .An. arabiensis breeds on the edges and beds of streams in south-central Ethiopia at elevations up to 2200\u2009m.a.s.l. during the dry months. This observation underlines the importance of streams as breeding habitats of An. arabiensis during dry periods. The edges and pools of streams may be important for maintenance of the Anopheles population and for small-scale transmission of malaria during dry seasons. Hence, policy makers and organizations involved in malaria control activities need to consider options for the management of larvae that target streams during dry seasons. This strategy may reduce An. arabiensis density, and thus reduce the risk of malaria transmission [This study has revealed that smission ,32,42. HThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.AA designed the study, collected data in the field, carried out the data analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. TGM participated in the study design, interpretation of the results and editing of the manuscript. MB participated in the conception of the study, in the study design and editing of the manuscript. BL conceived the idea for the study and took part in the study design, data entry and analysis, data interpretation and editing the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Puccinia psidii sensu lato (s.l.) is an invasive rust fungus threatening a wide range of plant species in the family Myrtaceae. Originating from Central and South America, it has invaded mainland USA and Hawai'i, parts of Asia and Australia. We used CLIMEX to develop a semi-mechanistic global climatic niche model based on new data on the distribution and biology of P. psidii s.l. The model was validated using independent distribution data from recently invaded areas in Australia, China and Japan. We combined this model with distribution data of its potential Myrtaceae host plant species present in Australia to identify areas and ecosystems most at risk. Myrtaceaeous species richness, threatened Myrtaceae and eucalypt plantations within the climatically suitable envelope for P. psidii s.l in Australia were mapped. Globally the model identifies climatically suitable areas for P. psidii s.l. throughout the wet tropics and sub-tropics where moist conditions with moderate temperatures prevail, and also into some cool regions with a mild Mediterranean climate. In Australia, the map of species richness of Myrtaceae within the P. psidii s.l. climatic envelope shows areas where epidemics are hypothetically more likely to be frequent and severe. These hotspots for epidemics are along the eastern coast of New South Wales, including the Sydney Basin, in the Brisbane and Cairns areas in Queensland, and in the coastal region from the south of Bunbury to Esperance in Western Australia. This new climatic niche model for P. psidii s.l. indicates a higher degree of cold tolerance; and hence a potential range that extends into higher altitudes and latitudes than has been indicated previously. The methods demonstrated here provide some insight into the impacts an invasive species might have within its climatically suited range, and can help inform biosecurity policies regarding the management of its spread and protection of valued threatened assets. Bioclimatic niche models for invasive alien species (IAS) have become fundamental tools for pest risk assessment (PRA) Puccinia psidii sensu lato (s.l.) is a plant pathogenic rust fungus native to South and Central America, and possibly the Caribbean, that is commonly known as guava or eucalyptus rust Uredo rangelii (commonly referred to as myrtle rust) Puccinia psidii s.l. is most feared because it has a very wide host range within the family Myrtaceae P. psidii s.l. from Australia has shown that it can infect species across all 15 tribes of the subfamily Myrtoideae in the family Myrtaceae present in Australia P. psidii s.l., each with a slightly different host range P. psidii s.l. could transform many of the major natural ecosystems and forestry plantations.P. psidii s.l. Booth et al. P. psidii s.l. infection based on its known distribution in South America and the Caribbean. Most recently, Elith et al. P. psidii s.l. using known distribution data, including some from Hawai'i. While these models provided initial indications of the potential distribution of the rust, they were either based on empirical biological knowledge of the organism's response to environmental variables There have been at least three previous published attempts to estimate the geographic invasive potential of There are few methods that are well-equipped for estimating the potential distribution of an organism in a novel environment such as on a new continent or under climate change scenarios P. psidii s.l. present opportunities to study in greater detail the geographic and climatic limitations for the establishment of this pathogen. Distribution data from Hawai'i are particularly useful because the extremely steep climatic gradients cover a wide range of conditions within a very limited area. Further, Hawai'i also has some very susceptible hosts to P. psidii s.l. that are widespread. Despite being present in Hawai'i for a relatively short period of time, it is likely that P. psidii s.l. has had the opportunity to spread to all suitable climates available within the area. Given that the known distribution of P. psidii s.l. is primarily tropical, the highest altitude location records on the islands of Hawai'i are of most interest to biosecurity agencies, as these could indicate the cold tolerance limits for the pathogen. A caution in making use of this information is that Hawai'i has relatively few climate stations sampling very steep climatic gradients. The temperature variables are the most critical here. Fortunately, these are strongly influenced by altitude, so it is possible to use splining techniques to interpolate climatic averages reasonably accurately The recent invasion of California, Hawai'i, Japan, China and Australia P. psidii s.l., including its distribution in regions where recent incursions have occurred \u2013 California (2005), Hawai'i (2005), Japan (2007), China (2009) and Australia (2010) P. psidii s.l. from Australia was also performed to add to existing published data on other accessions from Brazil P. psidii s.l. with the distribution of potential Myrtaceae host plants, including threatened species and forestry plantations, to identify areas that are most at risk from the rust.In this study, we firstly gathered data on the worldwide distribution of P. psidii s.l. (DAR 81284) were produced on Syzygium jambos plants, and harvested as described in Morin et al. Urediniospores of a single-uredium isolate of Data analysis was performed using the statistical package R (release 2.13.0) P. psidii s.l. used to build the CLIMEX model was assembled from several sources. Booth et al. P. psidii s.l. comprised in the CABI Distribution Maps of Plant Diseases P. psidii s.l. based on all these sources is presented graphically in The historical distribution of The primary base climatology used to build the model was the CliMond 10\u2032 climate normals centred on 1975 (CM10_1975H_V1_1) P. psidii s.l.  describes the potential for growth of the modelled organism as a function of average weekly soil moisture  and temperature  during favourable conditions only (W\u200a=\u200aTIW\u00d7MIW). Stress indices describing cold (CS), wet (WS), hot (HS), and dry (DS) and their interactions with one another can be used to describe the population response to climatically unfavourable conditions. The individual components of stress are combined into a stress index (SI) and a stress interaction index (SX) , which reflects the combined potential for population growth during favourable periods and survival during stressful periods . The annP. psidii s.l. included in this paper. Values for the Temperature Index parameters suggested by the experiment reported here are somewhat lower than the values indicated by experiments using Brazilian accessions of the rust P. psidii s.l. because the fitted cold stress temperature threshold (TTCS) is considerably different to the experimentally-estimated minimum temperature for development (DV0).The three main sources of information for fitting the Temperature Index function were the ecophysiological observations of Ruiz et al. While the Growth Index components are best informed by direct experimental observations P. psidii s.l. to thrive in the extremely wet areas to the north of Hilo on the island of Hawai'i, where the rust has been recorded. The lower soil moisture threshold for development (SM0) was adjusted downwards to allow it to persist barely at Misiones in south western Argentina, at the dry end of its distribution  was also employed in order to achieve a satisfactory fit to the known distribution data. The DTCS threshold of 17 degree days per week above DV0 (10\u00b0C) suggests that the pathosystem needs to be actively growing by a small amount each day in order to offset respiration losses; extended periods with insufficient heat could lead to population reductions as energy reserves are run down. Cold stress was used to limit the potential range of P. psidii s.l. near the single Bolivian record  was set to allow persistence at the highest elevation location record on the island of Maui in Hawai'i. Two forms of cold stress were employed in this model to limit further its potential to persist in cold climates. A monthly average daily minimum of 2.5\u00b0C is associated with frost events (about one per week). This limit for TTCS is probably associated with the temperature tolerances of the known hosts, rather than a direct physiological impact on n record . Using tP. psidii s.l. has not been recorded in areas experiencing drought stress, and from the general observation that it requires the presence of plant hosts that are sensitive to drought stress. Accordingly, the dry stress parameters were set to allow marginally suitable persistence at the driest location record on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Using these parameters, there is a considerable amount of dry stress (64%) at the single high elevation location record in Bolivia , hence the model specificity was only assessed subjectively.P. psidii s.l. in Australia was gauged by querying the Australian Virtual Herbarium P. psidii s.l. was modelled as having an EI>0. To estimate the geographical patterns of species richness of the putative host plants of P. psidii s.l. at the scale used for the climate modelling, the number of species records within each cell was summed, ignoring multiple records for the same species within each cell. Because of the fluid and inconsistent nature of the taxonomic classification of records at the sub-specific level, only genus and species epithets were considered when determining taxonomic uniqueness within each cell. To avoid biasing the diversity counts within each cell, where the species epithet was blank (1 926 records) or \u2018sp\u2019 (940 records) in the extracted herbarium dataset, the species field was filled with \u2018sp.\u2019 using the search and replace option in Microsoft Excel. The Myrtaceae species location records were then imported into ArcGIS 10.3  and spatially joined to the cell identifiers for the corresponding 10\u2032 climate data, before being re-exported to Microsoft Excel, where the Remove Duplicates option was employed. A total of 121 377 non-unique combinations of genus, species and cell identifier were found and removed, leaving 59 814 taxonomically and geographically unique records. The unique records were re-imported into ArcGIS and spatially joined to the climate dataset. The species richness for Myrtaceae in each 10\u2032 climate cell was then gauged by dividing the number of taxonomically unique records in each 10\u2032 climate grid cell by the projected area in km2.The geographical distribution of potential Myrtaceae hosts of P. psidii s.l. was modelled as having an EI>0 was generated as above.A map of the Myrtaceae species listed as threatened under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act P. psidii s.l. based on the EI. For mapping purposes, the 10\u2032 grid cells were used to indicate the presence of any hardwood forest coups identified in the Australian Land Use dataset V4 The major hardwood (Myrtaceae) and mixed hardwood and softwood forest plantations present in Australia were extracted from the Australian National Forest Inventory for 2010 18,18\u200a=\u200a85.2, P<0.001). More importantly, a plot of Pearson residuals (the difference between the observed and fitted proportions divided by the standard error of the fitted proportion) versus fitted model values revealed no bias or outliers  in the model were highly significant based on approximate measures of significance .P. psidii s.l. has invaded, there are several, highly climatically favourable areas throughout the State of Hawai'i , high elevation areas throughout Central Africa, and eastern coastal regions of South Africa and Madagascar , than was known from within its presumed native range in South America and the Caribbean. However, in the absence of more extensive surveys such as gradsect trapping P. psidii s.l. to be present, but undetected in cooler locations in the native range.The CLIMEX EI world map shows that all known recorded point locations for suitable , 4a, indP. psidii s.l. (EI>0)   or 6a. T. (EI>0) . Within . (EI>0) .P. psidii s.l. to persist (EI>0)  . The gret (EI>0) , Table 2t (EI>0) .Eucalyptus spp. are among the most widely planted species in the family Myrtaceae and are popular in many parts of the world as forestry resources with more than 20 million ha planted  P. psidii s.l., and depending on host suitability, the eucalyptus assets of regions that have not yet been invaded by the rust may be at risk if dispersal barriers are overcome.The family Myrtaceae comprises a large number of species that are widespread across the Australian continent, often occurring as major components of natural ecosystems P. psidii s.l. to Japan, China and Australia in the last few years, and the large spatial gaps involved, it would seem inevitable that the identified uninvaded risk areas could become invaded eventually. Biosecurity efforts should therefore be aimed at slowing its global spread with, for example, the use of relatively low-cost phytosanitary precautions, and the development and deployment of resistant host varieties, rather than attempting to prevent its spread through quarantine barriers. In regions where Myrtaceae are non-native, the numbers of valuable myrtaceaeous species are limited. This makes it potentially feasible to undertake programmes to develop and deploy plant varieties that are resistant to P. psidii s.l. In Brazil, for example, before resistant clones were deployed, P. psidii s.l. was reported to cause major damage in eucalyptus plantations, particularly in the first two years of planting P. psidii s.l.  are suitable.The model of Magarey et al. P. psidii s.l. complex. The \u201cPuccinia_94\u201d results in P. psidii s.l. and are taxonomically the most comparable to the CLIMEX model presented here, and generally accord reasonably well with our results. However, there are some notable contrasts in the MaxEnt and CLIMEX models. The CLIMEX results for current climate indicate that southern Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand are unsuitable for establishment, and indicate a larger area at risk in WA than indicated by the MaxEnt Puccina_94 model Elith et al. P. psidii s.l. in Australia presented in this paper shows the areas where epidemics may be more likely to be frequent and severe due to large numbers of different Myrtaceae species present. We hypothesise that regions rich in Myrtaceaeous species are more likely to contain one or more hosts susceptible to P. psidii s.l. Complementary development rates (e.g., P. psidii s.l. with suitable foliage for infection throughout several periods of the year. All else being equal, higher rust inoculum loads might develop in these areas, and thus pose a greater threat to susceptible hosts than in areas of lower Myrtaceae richness. By comparing the climate suitability map for P. psidii s.l. with the map of Myrtaceae species richness, it is possible to identify hypothetical hotspots for epidemics where the EI is projected to be optimal and the highest diversity of Myrtaceae is found. Those hotspots are located in a narrow strip along the eastern coast of NSW, including the Sydney Basin, in the Brisbane and Cairns areas in Queensland and in the coastal region from the south of Bunbury to Esperance in WA. Sites within these areas would be ideal to implement long-term monitoring experiments to quantify the impacts of P. psidii s.l. The map of species richness of Myrtaceae within the suitable climatic envelop for es e.g.,  and phenPuccinia psidii s.l. poses a new threat to plant species of the family Myrtaceae that are already recognised as threatened by a range of other factors under the Federal EPBC Act and/or various state Acts in Australia P. psidii s.l., and thus deserving surveillance and management attention. It remains to be established whether P. psidii s.l. poses an extinction risk to already threatened species, or whether background levels of resistance are sufficient for plant communities to adapt to the presence of this invasive rust.Puccinia psidii s.l. has so far only been reported on a few Eucalyptus spp. in native forests in Australia P. psidii s.l. Under current climate, the most northerly portion of Tasmania, an area dense with eucalypt plantations, appears suitable for P. psidii s.l. The only plantations that have no apparent risk of supporting persistent rust populations are those located in the Northern Territory.P. psidii s.l. via the nursery industry and wind-borne spores since its introduction in Australia P. psidii s.l. into Western Australia, supporting the efforts of biosecurity managers there to prevent its spread via human movement of infected plant material. At present, only a small area of Tasmania appears climatically suited for persistent populations of P. psidii s.l., although most of Tasmania is suitable to support some population growth. Under a warming climate we would expect this area of suitability to increase. The separation of Tasmania from mainland Australia via the Bass Straight may provide a hindrance to the spread of P. psidii s.l. into Tasmania, though the presence of islands in Bass Strait may provide the opportunity for a stepping-stone invasion pathway. Tasmanian biosecurity managers may wish to conduct routine surveillance of these islands with a view to eradicating isolated infections as a means of slowing the spread of P. psidii s.l. into Tasmania.Considering the rapid spread of P. psidii s.l. to Africa, most of Asia, south-western Europe and New Zealand were identified using well-established niche modelling methods. The post-border example for Australia presented in this paper demonstrates how these broad scale bioclimatic risk patterns can be downscaled to identify and quantify relative risks to assets within the climatically suitable range. By combining bioclimatic niche modelling with non-climatic factors such as host species richness, we are able to move beyond simply identifying invasion risks, to provide some insight into the potential impacts that invasive species might have if they expand their range into climatically suitable areas, and distinguishing between invasiveness and impact The modelling and analytical methods demonstrated in this paper can help biosecurity and conservation managers to identify areas at heightened risk from IAS. These methods add to pest risk mapping methods available to assist these managers to gauge the size or value of the threats and to target interventions to manage them"}
+{"text": "Mischocyttarus consimilis Zik\u00e1\u00e1n (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). The study was carried out under field conditions. Nests of M. consimilis consist of a single uncovered comb, which is attached to the substratum by a single petiole. The data for the nest architecture showed a positive and significant correlation between the size of the comb and the diameter of the petiole, and also between the height and diameter of the cells. The nests were constructed on horizontal, vertical, and sloping substrata with no apparent preference for a specific orientation. The colonies produced 72.9 cells and 40.7 adults on average. The mean frequency of productive cells was 33.3%, and 19.4% of the cells were reused. The mean duration of the immature stages combined was 69.7 days and the egg, larval, and pupal stages had mean durations of 14.9, 36.0, and 18.8 days, respectively. The duration of each immature stage was significantly shorter in the warmhumid season, and the larval and pupal stages were shorter during the colony pre-emergence stage.This study examined the nest architecture, colony productivity, and duration of the immature stages of the social wasp  Polybia, the nest is formed by several combs covered by an envelope, and is attached to the substratum without a petiole .In metrotic . Severalmetrotic . Gamboa metrotic  observeda et al.  and Tibba et al.  observeda et al.  and Nadea et al. , for exa2 on the campus of the Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, in the municipal district of Dourados , state of Mato Grosso do Sul in central-western Brazil. The climate, according to the classification of Zavatini : length and diameter of the petiole, length and width of the nest, and length and width of the cells. For the study of productivity, the following parameters were analyzed (n = 14 nests): duration of the colonies, in days; number of cells constructed; number of adults produced; maximum number of generations in the most productive cells of the comb; and number of productive cells (cells that produced adults). The duration of the immature stage was measured from the total durations of the egg, larva, and pupa stages for each season. Those individuals in which the development continued through the two seasons were discarded from the sample. For the egg stage, only data for those eggs that remained in the same position in the cell from egg-laying to larval eclosion were used.Most of the colonies were observed from their foundation until they were abandoned. In order to find possible foundations, the study area was monitored weekly. Data were collected on established colonies three times a week on designated days . By this method, an accurate report of the productivity of each colony was obtained. In cases where it was not possible to identify the exact date of foundation, the information on adults' productivity was inferred from the number of meconia layers. The meconia layers were counted from a longitudinal section of each cell of the comb.t-test for two independent samples was used to examine for differences in the duration of the immature stage through the seasons and the stages of the colony. A level of significance of 0.05 was applied throughout.Correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between the variables of each nest, as well as between the variables of colony productivity. The M. consimilis are composed of a single, uncovered comb which is attached to the substratum by a single petiole that is invariably positioned in the central area of the comb and forms an angle of 90\u00b0\u00b0 to the comb. For the eight nests analyzed    . The pet; n=191) . For eacM. consimilis to affix the nest  (The mean duration of the colonies of  \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) . Colonie \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) ; the sma \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) . Colonie \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) . The fre \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) . For evep=0.03; n=11), the number of cells constructed , and the number of productive cells  , the number of productive cells , and the number of reused cells . The number of adults produced was associated with the number of productive cells  and the number of reused cells . An association was also found between the number of productive cells and the number of reutilizations of cells .The correlation analysis demonstrated that the longevity of the colonies affected the number of adults produced  . The sizThe durations of the egg, larval, and pupal stages were 14.9 \u00b1\u00b1 0.3; 36.0 \u00b1\u00b1 0.8, and 18.8 \u00b1\u00b1 0.4 days, respectively (Mean \u00b1\u00b1 SEM) . TherefoM. consimilis is similar to that described for other groups with independent foundation within the Polistinae, and is classified as \u201c\u201cgymnodomous-stelocyttarous\u201d\u201d (M. consimilis differs from other, similar species in the same study area, for instance M. cerberus, which has an outlying petiole (M. consimilis the location for the colony was selected independently of the orientation of the substratum. This pattern is different from P. biglumis, which prefers to place its colonies on vertical substrata, and P. snelleni which nests exclusively on horizontal substrata (The architecture of the nests of tarous\u201d\u201d . The cha petiole . Seemingubstrata .P. fuscatus and P. instabilis. In those groups, the increase in petiole diameter is partly associated with the application of wood pulp (Polistes, and by Yamane (P.chinensis.The relationship between the diameter of the petiole and the number of cells in the comb was similar to the results reported by Downing and Jeanne  for P. food pulp . These aood pulp  for eighy Yamane  for declM. consimilis, cells continued to be added and adults produced throughout the year. This constant production is a result of the asynchrony in the colony cycle of tropical species, in which colonies in different phases occur simultaneously in the population in every season of the year. The results of this study demonstrated that longer-lived colonies, independently of the season, produced more cells and therefore grew larger consequently containing more productive and reutilized cells (M. consimilis had a longer mean duration than those described by Rocha et al. (M. cearensis and by Penna et al. (M. drewseni. However, the numbers of cells constructed and adults produced were similar to the observations of Penna et al. (M. cassununga, although lower than the values estimated by Penna et al. (M. drewseni.In colonies of ed cells . These ca et al.  for M. ca et al.  for M. da et al.  for the a et al.  for the M. cerberus and M. cassununga.Although new cells were constructed continuously during the entire colony cycle, the great majority were unproductive . HoweverM. flavitarsis, and Giannotti and Fieri (M. cassununga. The duration of the larval stage in M. consimilis was longer than those reported for other congeners. Jeanne (M. drewseni, Litte (M. mexicanus, and Silva and Oliveira (M. atramentarius. The duration of the pupal stage was similar to those described for other species of the genus. Litte (M. flavitarsis, and later (M. labiatus.The duration of the egg stage was similar to the values reported for other species of the same genus. Litte  estimatend Fieri  reported. Jeanne  reportedi, Litte  estimateOliveira  estimates. Litte  describend later  estimateGiannotti  suggesteM. consimilis, the larval stage is shorter in pre-emergence colonies. Clouse (M. mexicanus the larval development is shorter in pre-emergence colonies initiated by small groups, and the duration increases significantly with the number of foundresses. It is probable that a larger number of adults would increase the per-capita foraging capacity. These data suggest that the adults can manipulate larval development because the larvae are completely dependent on them for food. On this subject, Gamboa (P. metricus during the pre-emergence colony stage, but no evidence was found for a synergistic action of the number of adults on this acceleration.Other approaches suggest that larval development in pre-emergence colonies in primitively eusocial wasps may be influenced indirectly by the incidence of predation at the nest sites. As a way of increasing the number of adults and consequently the defense potential of the colony, the foundress may accelerate the development of the first larvae (In . Clouse  reported, Gamboa  demonstrt larvae . Gamboa t larvae  and It\u00f4\u00f4t larvae  showed tt larvae ."}
+{"text": "Rickettsia slovaca, Rickettsia raoultii and more recently Bartonella henselae have been associated with this syndrome.In 25 to 35% of cases, the aetiological agent of scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after a tick bite remains undetermined. To date, Francisella tularensis DNA was found in the skin biopsy and the serology showed titres consistent with tularaemia.A four-year-old Caucasian boy was admitted to hospital with fever, vomiting and abdominal pain. On physical examination, an inflammatory and suppurating eschar was seen on the scalp, with multiple enlarged cervical lymph nodes on both sides. Although no tick was found in this scalp lesion, a diagnosis of tick-borne lymphadenopathy was suggested, and explored by serology testing and polymerase chain reaction of a biopsy from the eschar. F. tularensis.This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite infection caused by  In 2002f TIBOLA . Later, DEBONEL) . To dateh TIBOLA . Very rehenselae  and renahenselae . These dA four-year-old Caucasian boy was admitted to the hospital for fever, vomiting and abdominal pain. On physical examination, an inflammatory and suppurating eschar was seen on the scalp Figure  without Upon subsequent questioning, the child reported that he lived near a forest and was frequently bitten by ticks, approximately once or twice a week, particularly on the scalp. Although no tick was found in this scalp lesion, a diagnosis of TIBOLA was suggested and explored by serology and PCR of the eschar biopsy.F. tularensis using primers and probes targeting the yqaB gene with PCR carried out in a thermal cycler . The real-time PCR screen was positive for Francisella tularensis DNA in the skin biopsy, and negative for Rickettsia, Bartonella and Borrelia. spp., and for Coxiella burnetii. This result was confirmed by PCR of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, which was found to be 99.8% identical to the GenBank sequence for F. tularensis (BK006741). The initial serology test, an indirect immunofluorescence assay, was negative. Three weeks later, further serology tests showed titres consistent with tularemia, including titres for IgG of 1: 400 and IgM of 1:100. To confirm the serological result, western blotting was performed on our patient's serum, which showed that F. tularensis was the causative agent. Concomitant indirect immunofluorescence assays for Rickettsia and Bartonella spp., C. burnetii and Borrelia burgdorferi were negative.DNA was extracted from tissue samples . The eschar biopsy was screened by real-time PCR for We treated our patient with doxycycline. The eschar and lymphadenopathy decreased after two weeks of treatment.F. tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia, a bacterial zoonotic disease of the northern hemisphere. A wide range of arthropod vectors has been implicated in the transmission of F. tularensis between mammalian hosts. These vectors, particularly the Dermacentor, Amblyomma and Ixodes sp ticks. can also transmit the pathogen to humans [F. tularensis was first isolated from Dermacentor andersoni by Parker in 1924. Tick-borne transmission of tularemia is now known to occur throughout the northern hemisphere, with varying degrees of frequency in different geographic regions [o humans ,8. F. tu regions . In the  regions . Tularem regions .F. tularensis. Neither scalp eschar nor neck lymphadenopathy due to F. tularensis have been described in the literature. Eschar is usually observed on the legs in cases of tick-borne tularemia [In summary, we report the first case of SENLAT infection caused by ularemia .R. slovaca, R. raoultii, B. henselae, B. burgdorferi and perhaps F. tularensis [SENLAT is a clinical entity most common in young children and women during colder seasons, and it is associated with larensis . Howeverlarensis .The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.SE wrote the initial manuscript, reviewed the patient notes and reviewed the literature on TIBOLA. KG and YT were responsible for patient care. EA and CS assisted in writing the manuscript. DR fully reviewed the final submission. All authors read and approved the final manuscript and participated in this case study."}
+{"text": "Limenitis arthemis provides a case in point. This species is comprised of three lineages, two of which are mimetic and one of which is non-mimetic. Conflicting estimates of the relationships among these three lineages requires direct evaluation of the alternative hypotheses of mimicry evolution.The processes governing the origin and maintenance of mimetic phenotypes can only be understood in a phylogenetic framework. Phylogenetic estimates of evolutionary relationships can provide a context for analyses of character evolution; however, when phylogenetic estimates conflict, rigorous analyses of alternative evolutionary histories are necessary to determine the likelihood of a specific history giving rise to the observed pattern of diversity. The polyphenic butterfly L. a. arthemis and the mimetic L. a. astyanax, congruent with the previous hypothesis that the non-mimetic form of L. a. arthemis was derived from a mimetic ancestor. We found no support for a mimetic clade (L. a. astyanax + L. a. arizonensis) despite analyzing numerous models of population structure.Using a coalescent framework, we found support for a sister-taxon relationship between the non-mimetic These results provide the foundation for future studies of mimicry, which should integrate phylogenetic and developmental analyses of wing pattern formation. We propose future analyses of character evolution accommodate conflicting phylogenetic estimates by explicitly testing alternative evolutionary hypotheses. Batesian mimicry and the conditions favoring its origin and maintenance have provided insight to the process of natural selection. Central to our understanding of Batesian mimicry is the evolutionary fate of mimics in the absence of their model. That is, once a profitable species evolves to mimic an unprofitable Batesian model, what happens in time or space when the model is not present? The Batesian mimic could persist in locations without its model, especially when predation is weak ,2. A mimEmpirical phylogenetic trees are estimations, or hypotheses, of the true evolutionary history of a given group, based on a fit to observed data . Such trees can be used as a \"best estimate\" for studies of character evolution, especially when trees based on different analyses and data converge on the same estimate of evolutionary relationships. But how to proceed with analyses of character evolution when phylogenetic estimates conflict with one another? One approach is to compare trees on the basis of some objective function , and simply interpret the tree with the best score as the true evolutionary history. However, because empirical phylogenetic tree estimates do not always reflect true evolutionary history ,6, inferThe necessity of evaluating support for alternative phylogenetic hypotheses has been recognized for some time , but hasLimenitis (Fabricius)  has long been a model for the study of Batesian mimicry and is an ideal system to employ phylogenetic hypothesis testing. Three of the four North American species include populations which are Batesian mimics of distasteful models [Limenitis arthemis (Drury) includes two populations, L. a. astyanax (Fabricius) and L. a. arizonensis Edwards, which are mimics of the distasteful model Battus philenor (L.) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), and a non-mimetic population, L. a. arthemis (Drury), characterized by a disruptive non-mimetic wing pattern [Aristolochia spp.), which limits the distribution of the model [L. a. astyanax and the non-mimetic L. a. arthemis [L. a. arthemis has elicited recent attention [The butterfly genus l models -14. Lime pattern ,15. The arthemis , differittention .Limenitis relationships posit that the mimetic L. a. arizonensis diverged from a lineage which eventually gave rise to the mimetic L. a. astyanax and the non-mimetic L. a. arthemis [L. a. astyanax and L. a. arizonensis form a clade [L. a. arthemis, or was gained two times, once in L. a. astyanax and once in L. a. arizonensis [L. arthemis and the model B. philenor, Prudic & Oliver [L. arthemis lineage and was subsequently lost in L. a. arthemis after the divergence of L. a. arthemis and L. a. astyanax , wingless (wg), kettin, and lactate dehydrogenase (Ldh)) and four anonymous loci  . The observed value of the test statistic \u03b4 is thus 93-108 = -15, reflecting a better fit of the L. a. arthemis + L. a. astyanax tree  the relative fit of the simulated data to the two hypotheses of evolution in  the relaescences  between a figure . For thee figure  to the oLimenitis evolution, we calculated the minimum number of deep coalescences under a species tree corresponding to the topology of the model being tested. That is, for MM models, we calculated the minimum number of deep coalescences in a species tree with a L. a. arizonensis + L. a. astyanax, while for R models, we calculated the minimum number of deep coalescences in a species tree with L. a. arthemis + L. a. astyanax. It is important to note that the two test statistics  are not independent, but both are necessary to measure support for each model. The former is necessary to evaluate if, under a particular model, one topological relationship is better supported than another, while second is used to determine if the simulated gene trees have been generated under models that could represent the true evolutionary history. Only models in which the observed values of both test statistics fell within the 95% simulated distributions were considered supported. Models in which the 95% simulated distribution did not include observed values were rejected. All statistics were calculated using the Mesquite software system [As a second metric of support for the models of e system .L. arthemis corresponding to the monophyletic mimic hypothesis (MM models) were supported as none of these models produced simulated results which fulfilled both criteria for support. All MM models produced gene trees with poorer fit for a species tree with L. a. astyanax sister to L. a. arthemis than observed in empirical gene trees. That is, values for \u03b4 were consistently higher in MM models than our observed value of \u03b4 = -15, although for some MM models the 95% simulated distribution of the absolute fit  did include observed values .A summary of the support for each model is shown in table L. a. arthemis + L. a. astyanax tree as well as observed data, and the absolute fit to this species tree matched the observed gene trees. One model, R1, with a very recent divergence of L. a. arthemis and L. a. astyanax, produced gene trees which showed a significantly better fit to a L. a. astyanax + L. a. arthemis species tree than did the observed gene tree estimates, and thus was not supported. The divergence of the mimetic from non-mimetic lineage in model R1 was based on the divergence time estimate of Mullen et al. [L. a. astyanax + L. a. arthemis tree than did the observed gene tree estimates. In models R2 and R3, with L. a. astyanax sister to L. a. arthemis, the 95% distribution of the absolute fit  included the observed value (table Of the three models corresponding to the reversion hypothesis (R models), only one, R2, was supported by both criteria. This model produced gene trees which fit a n et al. . ConversL. a. arthemis and mimetic L. a. astyanax was supported by our analyses. , which would increase the fit of the gene trees to a L. a. astyanax + L. a. arthemis species tree, the simulated distribution of \u03b4 was still significantly higher than the observed value .The key to understanding the evolution of mimicry within this group will require integration of geographical and developmental approaches. Extensive geographical sampling and geographically explicit models of population structure will be necessary to determine the extent of gene flow between volution . Future volution ,28. ThisL. arthemis, rejected the hypothesis that L. a. astyanax and L. a. arizonensis are sister taxa [Hypothesis tests based on mitochondrial  and nuclter taxa  and founJCO and KLP designed the study. JCO developed and performed analyses. JCO and KLP drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.GenBank accession numbers for sequences used in this study. GenBank accession numbers for all genetic data used in phylogenetic tree estimation.Click here for fileGene tree estimation and parameter estimates. Details of Bayesian gene tree estimation and sources of parameters used in simulations.Click here for fileGene tree estimates of eight nuclear loci. Bayesian phylogenies of North American Limenitis taxa.Click here for fileLimenitis divergencesModels of North American . Schematic of relationships among North American Limenitis lineages used in coalescent simulations.Click here for fileSimulated distributions of the test statistic \u03b4. Frequency distribution for the test statistic \u03b4 simulated in 15 models of population structure.Click here for fileSimulated distributions of the minimum number of deep coalescences. Frequency distribution for the number of deep coalescences simulated in 15 models of population structure.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Microplitis prodeniae Rao and Chandry (Hymenoptera: Bracondidae) and Campoletis chlorideae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichnumonidae) are major parasitoids of Spodoptera litura (Fabricious) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L.  at Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, South China. The niches and interspecific competition relationships of the two species were studied. The results show that the competition between the two species for spatial and food resources was very intense, and C. chlorideae was always dominant when the two species compete for spatial and food resources in different periods. Thus C. chlorideae may drive M. prodeniae away when they occupy the same spatial or food resource. The adaptability of C. chlorideae to the environment in the tobacco fields may be greater than that of M. prodeniae, so C. chlorideae can maintain a higher population compared to that of M. prodeniae.Both  In nature, some species live together in the same or in similar niches because they have one or several kinds of similar behaviors, thus one species often conflicts with the other one for food resources. Interspecific competition is defined as a reduction in individual fecundity, survival, or growth as a result of exploitation of resources or by interference with individuals of another species . A superDrosophila coexisted in a spatially divided system, where the inferior species was eliminated in an undivided system.According to the conventional niche theory, the primary determinant of interspecific competition is the overlap and the similarity of the resources used (niche overlap or niche similarity). Two species with highly similar fundamental niches  will often compete strongly with each other when they first meet . This waRecent reviews have shown that interspecific competition is widespread among insects . CompetiMicroplitis prodeniae Rao and Chandry (Hymenoptera: Bracondidae) and Campoletis chlorideae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichnumonidae) are both major parasitoid wasps in tobacco fields. In general, both M. prodeniae and C. chlorideae prefer to parasitize the young instar larvae of hosts, and the two parasitoids emerge from the body of the host when the host larvae is in the third instar. Thus they play an important role in the control of the oriental leafworm, Spodoptera litura (Fabricious) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)  , and reg. litura . The biosearched , but a st decade . HoweverNicotiana tabacum L. , fields, and S. litura (Fabricious), Helicoverpa assulta Guen\u00e9e and Helicoverpa armigera H\u00fcbner often occur together in tobacco fields in this research station. Several fields, where serious damage was caused by these three species, were taken as the target fields of investigation. The acreage of each of these experimental fields was about 6670 m2.This study was conducted in the tobacco field at the experimental farm of Nanxiong Research Institute of Tobacco, Nanxiong, Guangdong Province. There are 300 ha tobacco, N. tabacum 9601 variety was planted on 20 February 2006, and the density was 1.7\u20131.8 plants / m2.S. litura on the different positions of tobacco plants (n = 80) were collected by \u201crandom sample\u201d every time, and the living larvae from the different positions were taken back to the laboratory. Then they were bred in separate cages, respectively, and fed fresh tobacco leaves every day. The parasitic rates of M. prodeniae and C. chlorideae on S. litura larvae from different positions were recorded when the parasitoid adults emerged from the bodies of S. litura larvae.Investigations were conducted from 10 May to 3 June in 2006 at the experimental farm of Nanxiong Research Institute of Tobacco. Spatial vertical resources in tobacco plants were divided into three even grades containing upper leaves, mid-leaves and underneath leaves, and temporal resources were divided into five even grades by investigation times . Investigations took place once every five days. Second instar larvae of S. litura, H. assulta and H. armigera). Investigation was carried out once every five days. Second instar larvae from S. litura, H. assulta and H. armigera (n = 80) were collected by \u201crandom sample\u201d every time. The living larvae of these three species were taken back laboratory, and they were bred in different cages. Fresh tobacco leaves were given to them every day, and the parasitic rates of M. prodeniae and C. chlorideae on the larvae from these three species were recorded when the parasitoid adults emerged from the bodies of the larvae of these three species.Investigations were conducted from 8 May to 19 June in 2006 at the experimental farm of Nanxiong Research Institute of Tobacco. Trophic resources were divided into three grades . In this formula, B is niche breadth of species, S is the number of resource grades and iP is the fraction of all resources that belong to i-th grade resource used by the species  and , respectively, where ijL is the nicrie overlap index value and species j is overlapped by species I; ijC is the proportion similarity of the niches of species i and species j, ihP and jhP are the fractions of total resources which belong to h-th grade resource used by species i and by species j, respectively; and iB is the niche breadth of species i . This was the same as for C. chlorideae, but exceptions were noticed on 3 June and 16 May. In addition, the spatial niche breadths of M. prodeniae were lower than those of C. chlorideae, but an exception was observed on 10 May. The results indicated that the active scopes of the two species in the early growth stages of tobacco were more extensive than those in the later growth stages of tobacco, and the active scope of M. prodeniae was smaller than that of C. chlorideae. The spatial niche overlap values of M. prodeniae were lower than those of C. chlorideae, suggesting that M. prodeniae was always a passive species when the spatial niche overlap occurred between the two species. In general, both the spatial niche proportion similarity and the interspecific competition coefficient between the two species were high during these experiments, revealing that the competition often happened between the two species when they occupied the same spatial resources in different stages. The spatial niche proportion similarity and interspecific competition coefficient between the two species were higher in the early growth stages than in the late growth stages of tobacco. The results show that severe competition between the two species happened in the early growth stages of tobacco  is larger than that of an M. prodeniae adult (3.2\u20133.5 mm). Tian et al. (Microplitis mediator could physically attack the larvae of C. chlorideae because when host larvae were parasitized simultaneously by M. mediator and C. chlorideae, the majority of the cocoons produced were of M. mediator. However, whether the larvae of M. prodeniae could be physically attacked by the larvae of C. chlorideae, has yet to be determined.From these conclusions, it is suggested that the two species often conflict over spatial resources and food resources and that the competitive abilities of n et al.  reportedC. chlorideae was wider than that of M. prodeniae. In general, M. prodeniae could only parasitize S. litura larvae, but C. chlorideae could parasitize the larvae of three major lepidopterous pests, S. litura, H. assulta and H. armigera in the tobacco fields (C. chlorideae to the environment in tobacco fields was better than that of M. prodeniae, and C. chlorideae retained a higher population compared with M. prodeniae. The results of these experiments suggest that the control of insect pests with C. chlorideae is feasible when S. litura, H. assulta and H. armigera occur together in the fields.According to the trophic niche breadths of the two species, the host range of o fields . Consequ"}
+{"text": "Streptococci and oral anaerobes. DNM associated with Lactobacillus-infection is rather rare.Descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM), a severe infection with a high fatality rate, develops in mediastinal spaces due mainly to deep cervical abscesses. The majority of causative microbes of DNM are Lactobacillus plantarum was isolated from surgical drainage of a mediastinal abscess. Despite using antibiotics capable of eradicating all isolates with susceptibilities not differing significantly from those of the neck and mediastinal abscesses, we attributed DNM to the L. plantarum detected only in the mediastinal abscess. After DNM treatment, he underwent total pharyngolaryngectomy with bilateral neck dissection followed by reconstruction using free jejunum. He was discharged fully recovered.A 69-year-old male with an unremarkable past medical history was referred to our hospital for surgical resection of advanced laryngeal cancer. Full examination revealed a neck abscess and DNM with a background of untreated diabetes mellitus. Initially, he was treated with meropenem. However, L. plantarum as the sole cause of the mediastinal abscess in the present case cannot be ruled out. As the number of immunocompromised patients increases, we should be cautious regarding this \u201cfamiliar\u201d microbe.We concluded that  Streptococci and oral anaerobes , ultimately confirming L. plantarum infection.Though the isolates were identified as escribed , and a ssequence . The resL. plantarum but also to F. necrophorum, P. melanogenica, and Str. anginosus/milleri groups, cultured from the neck abscess before the diagnosis of DNM. However, only L. plantarum was obtained from the mediastinal abscess. No L. plantarum was isolated from the neck abscess. It was unclear why only L. plantarum was isolated from the mediastinal abscess by direct puncture via thoracic surgery.The origin of the abscess in our patient was difficult to identify, but we suspect the most likely source to have been his oropharyngeal flora. Mediastinal abscess formation is known to be closely related to cervical abscess development and in this case appeared to be comprised of polymicrobial infectious organisms resembling isolates from the neck abscess. It was reasonable to consider the infectious source in this case to most likely have been the oropharyngeal lumen in the view of both the neck abscess and DNM. If so, in this case, the mediastinal abscess was due not only to 90, \u03bcg/ml): F. necrophorum 0.25 [P. melanogenica 0.25 [Str. anginosus /milleri groups 0.12 [90 and MIC of L.plantarum obtained from thoracic surgery (0.5) did not differ significantly. If there was no difference in antibiotic shift into tissue between the neck and mediastinal abscesses, L. plantarum would also be eradicated, along with the other organisms isolated, by meropenem. However, only L. plantarum was isolated from the surgical specimen, despite using the same culture method as that employed for the neck abscess. Though the majority of DNM cases are attributed to polymicrobial infection and we obtained other isolates which may have been involved in DNM from the neck site, we concluded that L. plantarum alone may have been responsible for the present mediastinal abscess.We suspected that the phenomenon observed in this patient was attributable to the pharmacodynamics of antibiotics. We initially treated the neck abscess with meropenem, which effectively eradicated all of these isolates. Though we did not measure the MICs of neck isolates, according to previous records, the susceptibilities of organisms from the neck cultures to meropenem were .We experienced a case of DNM case associated with an extraordinarily rare microbe, Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this Case Report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent form is available for review by the Editor of this journal.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Conception and drafting of the report; TN, IM, KY, KS and RS, Thoracic surgical management; IM, AS, JO and SH, Pharyngolaryngeal surgical management; SI, KY and MN. Clinical treatment and antimicrobial therapy; TN, IM, AS and JO, Genomic identification of isolates; RS. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/13/398/prepub"}
+{"text": "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention \u2014 Solving the Weight of the Nation  report on e Nation , the urgn Making , in the n Making  and a coBridging the Evidence Gap report explains that timely and credible evidence is needed to help decision makers decide what to do and understand how to do it, distinguish actions that are likely to be effective from those that are not, justify particular actions in high-risk populations, quantify likely effects, estimate costs and cost-effectiveness, set priorities regarding specific outcomes, determine who benefits, and anticipate potential problems. The report sponsors \u2014 Kaiser Permanente, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u2014 were motivated by their perception that effective approaches to obesity prevention were proving difficult to identify, creating a risk that ongoing efforts to address the problem would be ill-conceived or haphazard.Decisions about obesity prevention are being made daily in communities, states, and countries worldwide. The Bridging the Evidence Gap report and related summaries, as well as the presentations from 2 workshops convened by the committee, are available from IOM at www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Bridging-the-Evidence-Gap-in-Obesity-Prevention-A-Framework-to-Inform-Decision-Making.aspx.Below we describe the evidence framework that resulted from the study committee\u2019s consensus process and provide some examples of how it can be applied to evaluate existing evidence and inform the generation of new evidence. The full Early in its deliberations, the study committee decided that it would be essential to understand how various forms of evidence are generated and used in obesity prevention efforts and are related to core concepts in the broader sphere of evidence-based public health (EBPH) ,3. This Described by Kohatsu et al, EBPH is a process of integrating science-based interventions with community preferences to improve the health of populations . As in eTo align with the core concepts of EBPH, approaches and tools should be geared to the types of research and practice issues that arise in public health ,7. For eAlthough to date few approaches to EBPH have been systems-based, evidence gathering and use in the L.E.A.D. framework has a systems perspective . PreciseThe L.E.A.D. framework adapts an EBPH typology recommended by the International Obesity Task Force ,9 for spThe L.E.A.D. framework identifies several different types of evidence and study designs that can be useful for informing decisions about obesity prevention and provides resources and explanations in the report narrative and appendices. L.E.A.D. does not imply lowering standards for the quality of evidence used in public health compared with medicine. Rather, it introduces the concept that broader and different standards are needed to account for the complexity and practicalities associated with issues that arise in obesity prevention and other public health problems . Evidence sources may be quantitative or qualitative or a combination of both and may come from academic research, program evaluations, surveys, polls, reports, or policy documents related to obesity or to other public health issues from which parallels can be drawn. Specific study designs and methods identified in the report include experiments and quasi-experiments, qualitative research, mixed methods, evidence synthesis methods, parallel evidence, and expert knowledge. The point is to be systematic but much more inclusive when determining what constitutes useful evidence related to a particular question. Evidence quality is then to be evaluated by standards appropriate to that type of evidence rather than by a single standard. Examples of existing criteria for assessing quality of evidence from these different methods are provided.One way that EBPH differs from EBM is that it relies less on randomized controlled trials and more on approaches that assess external validity. Study design cannot be the sole criterion for whether evidence is useful. A randomized controlled trial is the most rigorous design for hypothesis testing  but is nGuide to Community Preventive Services framework for translating evidence into recommendations, the RE-AIM framework  for translating research into practice, the Health Canada risk assessment and management framework, the International Obesity Task Force obesity prevention portfolio approach for selecting a set of interventions, and the Green and Kreuter framework for identifying program components and interventions   a statement of the question, 2) a transparent description of the strategy used to locate the evidence, 3) a table reporting the evidence, and 4) a summary of the evidence organized as answers to the EBPH-derived questions . Becausetching\u201d) ,15-19.In addition to the systems perspective, recognizing opportunities to generate new evidence is also recommended as a theme of the L.E.A.D. framework. Such opportunities might arise at any stage of the process. Generation of new evidence is critical not only because of the dearth of suitable evidence about obesity-relevant environmental and policy changes but also to keep the evidence base current with the dynamics of the obesity problem. The \u201cwhy,\u201d \u201cwhat,\u201d and \u201chow\u201d questions in Kaiser Permanente Healthy Eating Active Living Community Health Initiative (HEAL-CHI)BackgroundObesity is a major health problem among both adults and children in the United States ,21. In CContextReversing the obesity epidemic requires a sustained effort at multiple levels, including environmental and policy changes . Since cEvidence BaseGuide to Community Preventive Services has made a positive recommendation  endation , on the endation  that hasAs recommended in the L.E.A.D. framework, an approach to increasing the evidence base is to evaluate community interventions that either attempt to implement existing programs such as CATCH or create new programs developed by schools and communities themselves. Although these evaluations do not use experimental designs, they follow the recommendations in the LE.A.D. report that advocate for taking advantage of all opportunities to increasing the evidence and exploring alternative, nonexperimental research designs.Lessons and Future DirectionsThe HEAL-CHI evaluation used a logic model approach to assessing intervention impact that combined estimates of the reach and strength of the interventions with population-level measures of physical activity, nutrition, and overweight . In particular, we assessed whether there were significant positive population-level changes where \u201chigh-dose\u201d  interventions were implemented. The information about reach and strength came from independent assessments of the number of people exposed and the intensity of the interventions. For example, one high-dose intervention was an after school physical activity program that one-quarter of all children participated in that added 20 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Results indicated that in almost half of the cases (4 of 9) where high-dose interventions were implemented, significant positive changes favored the intervention. For example, in the community implementing the after-school physical activity program, the percentage of seventh graders doing vigorous physical activity at least 20 minutes per day increased from 61% to 67%, while the percentage in comparison communities declined from 56% to 51%.ImplicationsThe HEAL-CHI initiative used L.E.A.D. thinking at several points \u2014 both in applying criteria for interventions and in evaluating the results. Our experience suggests that L.E.A.D. may be a useful approach for incorporating evidence into community-based obesity prevention initiatives. The L.E.A.D. framework encourages both taking a broader view of the existing evidence and using an array of designs in doing evaluations that add to the evidence base. If the L.E.A.D. framework is widely adopted, publishing results such as those we found in the HEAL-CHI initiative in peer-reviewed publications will be easier.Bridging the Evidence Gap report directs recommendations to decision makers in the policy and programmatic arenas as well as to those who fund, generate, and publish evidence about obesity prevention and other complex public health challenges. Central themes are to apply the L.E.A.D. framework as a guide in the use and generation of evidence and to incorporate systems-thinking into research activities. The report also recommends the development of resources to support evidence-based public policy decision making and research, including researcher training, compendiums of knowledge, registries of implementation experience, and guidance on standards for evidence evaluation where they are lacking. The need for a public-private consortium to take up dissemination, support for, and further development of the L.E.A.D. framework is emphasized.The Bridging the Evidence Gap report was released, it has gained visibility among potential users. The report page on the IOM website has generated more than 17,000 page views. The L.E.A.D. framework has been presented at national and international meetings and cited in journal articles and policy documents. Scanning approximately 40 identified citations indicates that most have involved referencing the report in support of the importance of developing comprehensive multistakeholder and multisectoral strategies, taking a systems perspective, or using expanded approaches to evidence-gathering or choice of study designs. Applications of the framework reflected in published documents include a CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity fact sheet that explains how the framework relates to potential uses of their research and practice-based initiatives, evidence sources, and guidance documents (In the approximately 2 years since the ocuments ; adaptatocuments ; use of ocuments ; use of ocuments ,34; and What does this mean for obesity prevention and for advancing appreciation for the science and practice of EBPH? The answer depends on further use of frameworks such as L.E.A.D. In an ideal sense, L.E.A.D. could become a transformative and integrative EBPH paradigm and tool, as intended by the IOM study committee that developed it. The transformational aspect is the positioning of evidence needs in a public health context and demonstrating that rigor and relevance can be achieved using EBPH concepts and tools. Advances in obesity prevention will depend in part on articulating the value of multiple and varied types of information for answering policy and practice questions. If widely adopted and used, L.E.A.D. could become a critical component of identifying and using evidence-informed strategies for achieving national health objectives . Such us"}
+{"text": "Acrocephalus orinus) in museums and in the wild significantly expanded our knowledge of its morphological traits and genetic variability, and revealed new data on geographical distribution of the breeding grounds, migration routes and wintering locations of this species. It is now certain that A. orinus is breeding in Central Asia; however, the precise area of distribution remains unclear. The difficulty in the further study of this species lies in the small number of known specimens, with only 13 currently available in museums, and in the relative uncertainty of the breeding area and habitat of this species. Following morphological and genetic analyses from Svensson, et al, we describe 14 new A. orinus specimens from collections of Zoological Museums of the former USSR from the territory of Central Asian states. All of these specimens were erroneously labeled as Blyth's Reed Warbler (A. dumetorum), which is thought to be a breeding species in these areas. The 14 new A. orinus specimens were collected during breeding season while most of the 85 A. dumetorum specimens from the same area were collected during the migration period. Our data indicate that the Central Asian territory previously attributed as breeding grounds of A. dumetorum is likely to constitute the breeding territory of A. orinus. This rare case of a re-description of the breeding territory of a lost species emphasizes the importance of maintenance of museum collections around the world. If the present data on the breeding grounds of A. orinus are confirmed with field observations and collections, the literature on the biology of A. dumetorum from the southern part of its range may have to be reconsidered.Recent discovery of the Large-billed Reed Warbler ( A. orinus, the Large-billed Reed Warbler, which has been recently found to be breeding in the southern area of Tajikistan A. orinus as a separate and non-extinct species. The recent discovery of 11 new museum specimens of A. orinus, including one specimen from Kazakhstan A. dumetorum museum collections, suggesting that A. orinus can easily be overlooked as this species. These two factors, the sites of the collected A. orinus specimens in the breeding season on the south border of the territory of the former USSR and the distribution of A. dumetorum in the Central Asian countries, led us to examine more closely the available collections of A. dumetorum from the southern extension of its breeding range.Since the publication of reviews on the distribution of birds in the former USSR A. dumetorum. Thus, starting in the summer 2009 we have undertaken a large survey of specimens labeled as A. dumetorum in the ornithological collections of several museums located on the territories of the former USSR. Following Svensson, et al. A. orinus from among the specimens labeled as A. dumetorum (see Methods). Specifically, A. orinus was distinguished by a longer, slightly broader and duller bill, longer and more graduated tail, with the outer tail feathers substantially shorter than the central tail feathers and finally by a longer hind claw , listed in A. orinus specimens DNA isolation was successful for 12 cases, with unsuccessful isolation for one century-old sample from a high confidence A. orinus, two older than a century samples from low confidence specimens and two specimens from NUUz from which we did not obtain skin samples  was consistent with a large-billed A. dumetorum while the measurement of the hind claw approached lower-range measurements of A. orinus. In contrast, the three high confidence specimens for which we did not obtain genomic DNA sequence were morphologically more different from A. dumetorum  we found two adult males collected near Kulyab or Kulob (South Tajikistan) on May 19, 1910 by M.N. Divnogorsky. Curiously, on May 3, Divnogorsky collected in the same location a Blyth's Reed Warbler female, which we confirmed by genetic analysis (SDM 6629/1206).In the collection of ZMMU we found 7 specimens of Large-billed Reed Warbler. One of them was an adult male collected by L.S. Stepanyan on May 27, 1971 near Shirvoz, in the Barvoz forest of the Shakhdara River valley, Gorno-Badakhshan (Kuhistoni-Badakhshon) in the Autonomous Province (GB AP) of Tajikistan. Also, a series of 4 adult males and 2 adult females were collected by B.N. Gurov on June 13\u201322 1976 near Barsem Village GB AP of Tajikistan.A. dumetorum from the south of Central Asia. Among them we identified three adult males as A. orinus. Two of these birds were collected by V.M. Loskot, on May 31, 1968 in Shakhdara River valley near Khorog (Khorugh) GB AP of Tajikistan, and one by N.L. Klestov on June 19, 1979 in Barvoz forest, Shakhdara, GB AP of Tajikistan.Based on the catalog of ornithological collections of ZMAU A. orinus, both collected by D.N. Kashkarov. One was collected on May 19, 1926 near Biylyu-Kul Lake, Jambyl Province of Kazakhstan and another on June 23, 1927 near Chimgan or Chimgon in Tashkent Province of Uzbekistan.In the collection NUUz, that maintains the collection of N.A. Zarudny, we identified two adult males as A. orinus from the ZMMU collections are true specimens of A. orinus, one (R\u201336373) collected on August 2, 1879 on the Kunges river  and one (R\u201365803) collected on August 21, by an unidentified collected prior to 1918 as judged by the style of the writing on the label. Because of underdeveloped features of these young males it is not possible to make this distinction conclusively without DNA analysis, which at this point has not been attempted due to the difficulty in extracting DNA from such old samples. Therefore, we have not included these two specimens on our analyses.It is possible that two young males identified as low confidence A. orinus specimens collected in May through June, which is the likely breeding season, the breeding range of this species in Central Asia spans mountainous regions, 900\u20133000 meters above sea level, of Tajikistan (except the Eastern Pamyr mountains), Kyrgyzstan, eastern Uzbekistan and south-eastern Kazakhstan  were collected in June (A. dumetorum specimens from the same region (n\u200a=\u200a95) and found that the earliest registrations were in the last days of April (3 specimens), in May the largest number of specimens were collected (53), in June only 13 specimens were obtained and, finally, just three in July. Between 6 and 23 of July not a single bird was collected, and more than 20 birds were collected in August, September and November. In the mountainous part of the region  in June and July only 4 birds were collected. In A. dumetorum specimens collected in what is likely to be the breeding season (from May 15 to August 15) in Central Asia and Southern Kazakhstan. Thus, the A. dumetorum collected in the area of likely A. orinus breeding range are most likely migrant individuals passing through or non-breeding individuals.The earliest registrations of  in June . In museA. dumetorum in mountainous regions of Central Asia revealed only a few possible registrations of this species. Shnitnikov et al.A. dumetorum in the mountains of south Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. However, recent observations A. dumetorum in the Pamir-Alai mountains. However, Meklenburtsev A. dumetorum in the valley of Kashdarariya and N.A. Zarudny A. dumetorum in the valleys of Syrdariya and Zeravshan rivers, broods and nestlings on the Shakhdara river and Darvaz mountain range, but describes only a single nest from Sary-Kumysh, Syrdariya river.A literature review of the breeding registrations of A. dumetorum in Central Asia coincide with collection locations of specimens we identify as A. orinus. Authors frequently describe the same sites of breeding of A. dumetorum as the sites of collection of our confirmed A. orinus specimens, such as Shakhdara river valley, Barvoz forest and East of Kulyab.Overall, the few reliable literature descriptions of the geographical locations of breeding sites of A. dumetorum in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and southern Kazakhstan are reports on the nesting of A. orinus. However, it does not appear possible to resolve the issue of sympatry of these two species based solely on existing ornithological collections because most A. dumetorum specimens from this region were collected in the period of seasonal migrations and the few adult specimens collected in the breeding season may correspond to non-breeding individuals that did not fly further north to their own breeding grounds. The only registration of nesting of A. dumetorum south of Central Asia was made in 1875 in the range leading up to the Himalayan Mountains in India Acrocephalus genus. Thus, the two close species A. orinus and A. dumetorum may not be sympatric species, as is the hypothesis of several authors Thus, it is conceivable that reports of nesting of The emergence of the enigma surrounding the identity and distribution of the Large-billed Reed Warbler appears to have been fueled, at least in part, but the segregation imposed by the Iron Curtain, leading to the linguistic isolation of Soviet ornithologists from western literature on one hand, and the physical isolation of Western ornithologists, which prevented them from traveling to the regions in question, on the other.A. orinus specimens in the collections of Zoological Museum, Moscow Lomonosov State University (ZMMU), State Darwin Museum, Moscow (SDM), Zoological Museum, National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev (ZMAU) National University of Uzbekistan (NUUz) in addition to the 95 specimens of A. dumetorum collected from different locations in Central Asia and Southern Kazakhstan, including 33 from Turkmenistan, 19 from southern regions of Uzbekistan, 12 samples from Tajikistan, 8 from Kyrgyzstan, 20 from Southern Kazakhstan and 3 from North-Western China. All measurements were taken by Yaroslav Red'kin, with the exception of all measurements of specimens from NUUz, which were performed by R.D. Kashkarov, A.A. Atakhodjaev, I. Atamuradova, N. Azimov and Sh. Ziyovatdinov. For sequence comparison we also selected five A. dumetorum specimens from Central Asia and one additional A. dumetorum specimen that was initially identified as a low-confidence A. orinus  and A. dumetorum (FJ883028.1) as well as selected Acrocephalidae, including A. agricola (FJ883021.1), A. arundinaceus (GQ242151.1), A. baeticatus (FJ883024.1), A. orientalis (FJ883034.1), A. palustris (FJ883036.1), A. scirpaceus (FJ883039.1), A. stentoreus (FJ883031.1) and A. tangorum (FJ883041.1) using the closely related Chloropeta natalensis (DQ008523.1) and Hippolais caligata (AJ004793.1) as outgroups. In addition, we included in our phylogenetic analysis the sequences of 8 A. orinus specimens reported by Ay\u00e9, et al.et al.A. orinus specimens that were clustered on the same branch of the reconstructed phylogeny did not correlate with the geographical location of their collecting (data not shown).The obtained sequences were aligned using muscle Table S1Biometrics for Large-billed Reed Warbler specimens (in mm) .(DOC)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Dr. Mira Sen (Banerjee) was born on July 20, 1934 in Dhalaghat village of Chittagong district of East Bengal (Bangladesh), in a well-educated and cultured family. Her father, Sri Ramani Ranjan Sen, was a professor of history in the famous Braja Mohan College of Barisal. Her mother, Sushila Bala Sen, was an accomplished lady of great dignity and discipline and a constant source of inspiration to the family. Dr. Sen grew up in Barisal with her elder sister, and two brothers, one older and one younger to her.She did her schooling from Municipal Primary Girls School at Barisal. She appeared for her matriculation from Sadar Girls High School in 1948 and passed in first division under the East Bengal Secondary Education Board, Dacca, in 1948. She completed her intermediate in science in 1950 from City College, Calcutta. During the same year, she took admission for B.Sc. Physics (Hons) at Scottish Church College, Calcutta.In 1951, she discontinued her B.Sc. to join MBBS degree course at the National Medical College. She was the class assistant in surgery while in college. Dr. Sen passed her MBBS exam in 1956 with honours in four subjects  and was awarded a gold medal for the same. She was also awarded the Gold Medal for Proficiency in Medicine by National Medical College, Calcutta.Dr. Sen started her professional career in 1959 under West Bengal Health Services with her posting in NRS Medical College as demonstrator in the Department of Anatomy. In 1961, she was granted paid study leave and proceeded to the UK to join the Royal College of Edinburough. After obtaining the FRCS degree in 1964, she came back and in 1965, Dr. Sen joined as RS General Surgery at Medical College Calcutta. In 1968, Dr. Sen got married to the eminent surgeon, Dr. Asok Banerjee. She was later transferred to SSKM hospital as Lecturer in Plastic Surgery. Eventually, Dr. Sen became the Professor and HOD of Plastic Surgery at SSKM. Later, she was transferred to National Medical College and retired as HOD and Professor of Plastic Surgery from that Institution on 31 July 1994.She has to her credit a large number of papers published in reputed medical journals. Dr. Sen was a dedicated and revered teacher and research guide for her students. She was well known as an examiner for her fairness and impartiality and was M.Ch. examiner for various universities, e.g., Calcutta, Patna, Benares, Osmania and many others. She was also an examiner for the D.N.B. examinations.Being a woman of determination and dedication, she continued her work as an honorary visiting surgeon at Mission Hospital for Women and Calcutta Heart Hospital. In order to keep abreast with the current developments in this emerging field, she continued with her private professional practice as well.Dr. Mira Sen will be remembered for a very long time by her colleagues, students and members of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India."}
+{"text": "Amblyomma variegatum ticks should be eradicated to prevent R. africae and African tickborne fever from being established. Rickettsia africae is the agent of African tick-bite fever, a mild but common disease of local persons and tourists in Africa. The major vector of this spotted fever group rickettsia is most likely Amblyomma variegatum, the tropical bont tick, which has become widely distributed through the West Indies in the last 30 years. This report reviews all available information on R. africae in the West Indies. Rickettsia africae is a recently described spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsia that is the agent of African tick-bite fever (ATBF), a mild but common tickborne disease of local persons and tourists, in particular, in sub-Saharan Africa. The clinical and laboratory features of ATBF have recently been reviewed , a host of the immature stages of A. variegatum  in widely separated areas in Africa   analysis with rOmpA primers  of 12 A. variegatum tested from Martinique.In 2002, Robinson et al.  microplus, the tropical/southern cattle tick, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the brown dog tick, are widespread in the Caribbean (R. africae. PCR with rOmpA primers of 52 R. sanguineus and 16 R. microplus from Saint Kitts and Nevis did not show DNA of SFG rickettsiae (unpub. data). Similarly, SFG rickettsial DNA was not identified in 6 R. microplus and 11 R. sanguineus from Martinique (R. microplus from Antigua (Although A. variegatum is commonly infected with R. africae in the West Indies. In the only published serosurvey conducted in the region (R. africae were found in Guadeloupean cattle (81%) and goats (87%), which are common hosts of A. variegatum  in local people from Guadeloupe. The prevalence in men was significantly higher than in women, possibly because men were more likely to be exposed while working outdoors. The West Indian population, then, appears to be commonly exposed to A. variegatum that transmits R. africae. As is the case in Africa, however, clinical cases of ATBF in local persons are unexpectedly rare; the only reported cases of ATBF contracted in the region have been in tourists (,The studies described show that A. variegatum from the Caribbean (\u2013A. variegatum, mainly heartwater and dermatophilosis. Also of great concern have been the huge economic loses that would be anticipated if the tick and its animal diseases were introduced into South, Central, and North America (,A. variegatum. No attempts appear to have been made to control the populations of cattle egrets, which are hosts of A. variegatum and can migrate long distances, even as far as the Florida Keys (Recently, programs have been introduced to eradicate A. variegatum is eradicated from the West Indies, local health workers and those treating persons who have traveled to the area should suspect ATBF in patients who seek treatment with a history of tick bites and clinical signs of fever, headache, and multiple eschars. Further, vigilance is required to prevent transportation of A. variegatum or rickettsemic animals to the mainlands of North, South, and Central America because this importation might enable R. africae and ATBF to become established in these areas. The potential impact of R. africae on the health of indigenous people and tourists in the West Indies and its potential introduction into the Americas further justifies the eradication of A. variegatum from the region.Until"}
+{"text": "Stem-relatives of many winged insect orders have been identified among Pennsylvanian fossils (Carboniferous Period). Owing to their presumed 'basal' position in insect phylogeny, stoneflies were expected to occur at this period. However, no relative has ever been designated convincingly.Gulou carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. exhibits character states diagnostic of the order Plecoptera, but lack character states shared by unequivocal representatives of the order. Derived from this identification, the delimitation of the fossil species is ascertained based on comparison of several extant stonefly species. This comparative analysis allowed a trait present in G. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov., but rarely occurring in extant species, to be documented and highlighted as atavistic. Affinities of taxa formerly proposed as putative stem-stoneflies are reconsidered in the light of the new discovery.In this paper, we report specimens belonging to a new fossil insect species collected from the Tupo Formation . The wing venation of Gulou carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. is considered the only genuine Plecoptera reported from the Pennsylvanian. Continuing efforts on the systematics of Pennsylvanian winged insects indicate a fauna more diverse than previously appreciated. It suggests that insects already had a long, yet undocumented, history by this time. If so the only character shared by the 'assemblage' composed of Spanioderidae, Tillyardembiidae, G. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov., and Plecoptera would be a plesiomorphy.Regarding this character, an alternative point of view is provided by A. P. Rasnitsyn and D. S. Aristov , in a coG. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. could equally be a sister-group related to Grylloblattida, the former clade being characterized by the apomorphy 'ScP reaching anterior wing margin', and (2) Spanioderidae and Tillyardembiidae could equally be related to any other 'eoblattid assemblage'.Therefore, according to the intricate systematic treatments by D. S. Aristov and A. P. Rasnitsyn , and A. 5, occurs in the insect wing venation groundplan. It has been demonstrated that the various 'M5 structures' are not homologous [i.e. the presumed 'M5') with a branch of CuP [i.e. the presumed 'M5', is a cross-vein) [Finally, the contribution by D. S. Aristov and A. P. Rasnitsyn  rests onmologous ,24,30. Ah of CuP . Occurress-vein) .Notice that Plecoptera be sister-group related to the Tillyardembiidae and the Spanioderidae is not evident from A. P. Rasnitsyn and D. S. Aristov . These aG. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. and genuine Permian stoneflies is considered. These Palaeozoic Plecoptera have a CuA with a few distal branches [5 /arculus/CuA interpretation, the Spanioderidae do not have the broad MP/CuA and CuA/CuP areas diagnostic of all Plecoptera [G. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. it is hardly arguable that the Permian Tillyardembiidae constitute a Permian relict of a more basal member of Plecoptera that would have crossed the whole Pennsylvanian without leaving a record. Regarding Spanioderidae, it simply has to be considered as a stem-Orthoptera [Close relationships of Tillyardembiidae and Spanioderidae with Plecoptera are even more dubious once the wing morphology of branches ,21, whilbranches ,48; the branches , a traitbranches -21; set ecoptera -21. ProvG. carpenteri gen. et sp nov. is as old as the oldest stem-Grylloblattida [In summary we consider that the suggestion of affinities of Spanioderidae with Plecoptera  is not gblattida . We concG. carpenteri gen. et sp. nov. is the only compelling Palaeozoic stem-Plecoptera, and is the earliest one. Although wing morphology of this species allows some plesiomorphic character states to be outlined for crown-Plecoptera, it provides no conclusive evidence on relationships of this group with other recognized major insect lineages.Apart from a few Permian genuine Plecoptera ,21, G. cHennig's supposition is supported: \"it seems most likely that the Plecoptera arose before the lower Upper Carboniferous\" . Indeed To comply with regulations of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), we have deposited paper copies of the above article at the American Museum of Natural History (NYC), the National Museum of Natural History (Washington), the Natural History Museum (London), the Brigham Young University (Provo), and the Colorado State University (Fort Collins), and sent copies to various colleagues.We follow the serial insect wing venation groundplan ,52. The i.e. they are a combination of photographs of a specimen both dry and immersed in ethanol). All photographs were processed using Adobe Photoshop. Photographs indicated as light-mirrored are the product of an optical effect aiming to revert the polarity of an imprint.All specimens were collected from the Pennsylvanian strata near Xiaheyan village . Specimens are housed in the Key Lab of Insect Evolution and Environmental Changes, College of Life Science, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China . All fossils were examined using a Leica MZ12.5 dissecting microscope and illustrated with the aid of a drawing tube. All photographs were taken using a digital camera Canon EOS 450D coupled to a MP-E 65 mm macro lens, and are 'dry-ethanol composites' (Acroneuria abnormis (Newman) , Acroneuria carolinensis (Banks)  (both Perlidae), Pteronarcys californica Newport, and Pteronarcys princeps Banks  (both Pteronarcyidae). Wings were cut off and mounted in white Euparal medium . Photographs were taken using a digital camera Canon EOS 450D coupled with a Canon 50 mm macro lens, and were processed using Abobe Photoshop .Specimens belonging to recent species were prepared to appreciate intra-specific variability in wing venation. Selected species are OB prepared extant and fossil material, contributed to the preparation of figures, and drafted the manuscript, and is the sole responsible for the content of the Discussion section. YC collected data on fossil material, contributed to the preparation of figures, and helped to draft the manuscript. BK and BS collected and determined extant material, and helped to draft the manuscript. DR supervised palaeontological excavations, designed the project, and secured financial support to YC and OB. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Parastrongylus (= Angiostrongylus) cantonensis is a parasitic nematode of Norway rats throughout tropical regions. This parasite is neurotropic and causes disease and death in humans and other mammals. We report the first identification of P. cantonensis as the cause of a debilitating neurologic disease in a captive primate in Florida. Hylobates lar) from the Miami Metrozoo in Florida. The gibbon was born in the wild but had been in captivity in Florida, USA since 1963. The onset of severe quadriparesis occurred overnight, without signs of prior illness. In addition to extreme weakness of all limbs and the inability to support his body, the gibbon had a slight lip droop but was able to swallow and had no other detectable cranial nerve signs. The gibbon was behaviorally depressed but responsive and aware of his surroundings. Blood analyses and thoracic radiographs did not show a cause for the clinical disease, and blood eosinophil count was not elevated. The animal did not show improvement after 48 hours and was euthanized by intravenous injection of Euthasol . On postmortem examination, chronic renal disease and moderate cardiac fibrosis and endocardiosis were observed, but these conditions were considered to be age-related. Gross abnormalities were absent on external surfaces of the central nervous system (CNS). Tissues of the CNS were preserved in 10% formalin.On July 28, 2003, an acute and disabling neurologic disorder developed in a captive 49-year-old male white-handed gibbon (Tissue samples from regions of the CNS were embedded in paraffin by using standard procedures. Tissue sections were cut (6 \u03bcm) and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. In the transverse sections, the only gross lesion observed was a thin, white discolored area in the left dorsal funiculus in the cranial cervical spinal cord segments. Microscopic examination showed necrosis and inflammation located primarily in the dorsal gray columns throughout the cervical spinal cord. This lesion was bilateral with some involvement of the adjacent funiculi. The areas of inflammation included numerous eosinophils and transverse sections of one or more parasitic nematodes . A few lPreserved tissues of the CNS were examined for nematodes at 4x magnification with a dissecting microscope . Four nematodes were recovered from the meninges of the brain and spinal cord. One intact male nematode and additional pieces of a nematode were recovered from the subarachnoid space of the cervical spinal cord. A second intact male nematode was recovered from the subarachnoid space of the cerebellum, and additional pieces of a male nematode were recovered from the subarachnoid space of the cerebrum. The partial nematodes had damaged anterior and posterior ends. Nematodes were examined at 40\u2013400x magnification, and digital images of specimens were captured . Corresponding images of a stage micrometer allowed the sizes of morphologic characteristics to be determined. A key morphologic feature of the three male nematodes was the presence of a well-developed bursa . This feParelaphostrongylus spp., Elaphostrongylus spp., Skrjabingylus spp., Gurltia paralysans, and Parastrongylus spp. Of those nematodes, only Parastrongylus spp. have been reported previously from the CNS of primates. As such, the causative agent was presumed to be a species of the genus Parastrongylus. This genus comprises P. cantonensis, P. malaysiensis, P. mackerrasae, P. sandarsae, P. siamensis, P. costaricensis, P. dujardini, P. schmidti, P. tateronae, P. ryjikovi, P. sciuri, and P. petrowi . P. cantonensis and P. malaysiensis are distinguished on the basis of the morphology of bursal rays from male nematodes  under accession number 94698.Spicule measurements  of nematodes from the gibbon  correlatP. cantonensis are parasitic nematodes that reside in the cardiopulmonary system of their rat (Rattus spp.) definitive hosts. The parasite is common in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific and has been reported in Madagascar, Japan, Egypt, and India  from rat feces to infect and develop into the infective-stage (L3) within obligate gastropod intermediate hosts. Infection of rats and other mammalian hosts requires ingestion of L3, commonly through ingestion of infected gastropods. However, the L3 of P. cantonensis can also emerge in gastropod mucus trails and thereby contaminate surrounding vegetation (Transmission of P. cantonensis within the United States is unknown outside of Louisiana (P. cantonensis in the captive gibbon in this report suggests that the parasite may be established in Miami, Florida. Since neurologic disease may occur in human and nonhuman primates, dogs, horses, and numerous other species (\u2013P. cantonensis will prove valuable for monitoring the spread of this zoonotic parasite. P. cantonensis have a number of susceptible aquatic (,P. cantonensis exists within eastern North America.The present distribution of P. cantonensis has, in some instances, been linked to the introduction of the African giant land snail, Achatina fulica (A. fulica were introduced into Miami, Florida, from Hawaii in 1966 (A. fulica in Hawaii in the mid-1960s showed that P. cantonensis infection was both highly prevalent and intense (P. cantonensis was believed not to establish successfully (P. cantonensis. Live A. fulica are confiscated routinely from tourists returning to mainland United States from Hawaii, and 75 other exotic gastropod species have been introduced to the United States accidentally, inadvertently, or intentionally (P. cantonensis with infected rats from areas where the parasite is endemic would be equally conceivable, as was proposed for its introduction to New Orleans, Louisiana (The dispersal of P. cantonensis may be established in rat and gastropod populations in Miami. However, given the role of emergent L3 in transmission of infections (,P. cantonensis is not known to be in any of these supply regions. The source of P. cantonensis in the gibbon infection remains to be determined. However, P. cantonensis was definitely introduced to Miami through the translocation of either infected animals or contaminated plants.P. cantonensis. The specific source of infection in the present case report remains unknown. However, our report indicates that infection with P. cantonensis should be included as a differential diagnosis for instances of neurologic disease in human and nonhuman primates, as well as in wildlife and veterinary species in the southeastern United States.Future investigations aim to conduct parasitologic surveys of rats and gastropods in Miami, Florida, and develop molecular tools for specific identification of"}
+{"text": "Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in tsetse populations is essential for understanding transmission dynamics, assessing human disease risk and monitoring spatio-temporal trends and the impact of control interventions. Although an important epidemiological variable, identifying flies which carry transmissible infections is difficult, with challenges including low prevalence, presence of other trypanosome species in the same fly, and concurrent detection of immature non-transmissible infections. Diagnostic tests to measure the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in tsetse are applied and interpreted inconsistently, and discrepancies between studies suggest this value is not consistently estimated even to within an order of magnitude.Measuring the prevalence of transmissible Trypanosoma brucei s.l. and T. b. rhodesiense in Glossina swynnertoni and G. pallidipes in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: (i) dissection/microscopy; (ii) PCR on infected tsetse midguts; and (iii) inference from a mathematical model. Using dissection/microscopy the prevalence of transmissible T. brucei s.l. was 0% (95% CI 0\u20130.085) for G. swynnertoni and 0% (0\u20130.18) G. pallidipes; using PCR the prevalence of transmissible T. b. rhodesiense was 0.010% (0\u20130.054) and 0.0089% (0\u20130.059) respectively, and by model inference 0.0064% and 0.00085% respectively.Three approaches were used to estimate the prevalence of transmissible T. brucei suggesting the zero prevalence result was attributable to insufficient sample size (despite examination of 6000 tsetse). Given the prohibitively high sample sizes required to obtain meaningful results by dissection/microscopy, PCR-based approaches offer the current best option for assessing trypanosome prevalence in tsetse but inconsistencies in relating PCR results to transmissibility highlight the need for a consensus approach to generate meaningful and comparable data.The zero prevalence result by dissection/microscopy  is not unusual by this technique, often ascribed to poor sensitivity. The application of additional techniques confirmed the very low prevalence of  Human African trypanosomiasis is a fatal disease that is carried by a tsetse vector. Assessing the proportion of tsetse which carries human-infective trypanosomes is important in assessing human disease risk and understanding disease transmission dynamics. However, identifying flies which carry transmissible infections is difficult, due to potential presence of other trypanosome species in the same fly, and concurrent detection of immature infections which are not transmissible. We used three methods to estimate the proportion of flies carrying human-infective trypanosomes: dissection and microscopic examination of flies to visualise trypanosomes directly in the fly; PCR of fly midguts in which trypanosomes were observed by microscopy; and theoretical analysis using a mathematical model of disease transmission. All three methods found the prevalence to be extremely low. Given the low prevalence, dissection/microscopy requires prohibitively large sample sizes and therefore PCR-based approaches are likely to be of most value. However, interpretation of PCR data is not straightforward; whilst PCR identifies flies carrying pathogen genetic material it does not directly identify flies with transmissible infections. This study highlights the need for a consensus approach on the analysis and interpretation of PCR data to generate reliable and comparable measures of the proportion of flies which carry transmissible human-infective trypanosomes. Plasmodium spp Oncocerca volvulusLeishmania spp. Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malaya and Brugia timoriFor the vector-borne diseases, pathogen prevalence in a vector population is an indicator of disease risk, and accurate measures of the proportion of vectors carrying infections are needed for (i) guiding allocation of resources or targeting intervention programs Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and transmitted by tsetse flies (Glossina spp). Measuring the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in the tsetse vector is of particular importance as HAT occurs in developing countries where resources for surveillance and disease control are limited Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused in East Africa by Duttonella or vivax-like, trypanosomes located in the mouthparts and midguts are classified as Nannamonas or congolense-type, and trypanosomes found in the midgut and salivary glands are Trypanozoon or brucei-like. When trypanosomes are found only in the midgut, the infection is assumed to be immature. This dissection/microscopy technique has several disadvantages for use in field studies: it is not possible to differentiate below the level of subgenus ; mature and immature infections cannot always be differentiated; and mixed infections cannot be identified or discriminated. Dissection and trypanosome identification are highly dependent on operator skill, and there exist variations in protocols, with some authors only examining the midgut and salivary glands if trypanosomes are found within the mouthparts Assessment of the prevalence of trypanosomes within tsetse populations has traditionally comprised dissection and microscopic examination of the mouthparts, midguts and salivary glands of the fly, relying on the differing development and maturation sites of the trypanosome subgenera to identify trypanosome species T. b. rhodesiense and its morphologically-identical subspecies Trypanosoma brucei brucei (not pathogenic to man) can be accurately differentiated A suite of molecular tools has been developed for the trypanosomatids Nannomonas or T. congolense-like and Duttonella or T. vivax-like infections are classified as the same species by both techniques). For T. brucei sensu lato, with its potential for human infection, this presents a particular problem. In areas where T. b. rhodesiense is known to occur in wildlife and livestock hosts, and human cases are reported, the majority of studies of T. brucei s.l. in tsetse by dissection/microscopy show prevalence of zero, even when thousands of flies are examined T. brucei s.l. DNA has been found, with 2% of G. palpalis and 18% of G. pallidipes testing positive However, when it comes to assessing the prevalence of trypanosome infections in tsetse it is clear that the results generated by dissection/microscopy do not correlate well with data generated by PCR , Tanzania. Whilst cases of HAT have been reported in this area for over one hundred years G. swynnertoni flies (0.08%) infected with T. brucei s.l. T. brucei s.l. in G. swynnertoniPrevious studies carried out in SNP have relied on dissection/microscopy to determine tsetse prevalence . Large sT. brucei s.l. and T. b. rhodesiense in the two main tsetse species in SNP, G. swynnertoni and G. pallidipes, using (i) dissection/microscopy and (ii) PCR analysis of infected midguts and salivary glands. A third approach was applied to infer the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in tsetse from a mathematical model of disease transmission, to examine whether previously reported low prevalences were consistent with other parameters that have been estimated for this system.This study assessed the prevalence of All field work was conducted in SNP, Tanzania, between October and November 2005 and August and October 2006. Tsetse sampling was carried out with the Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Research Institute, Tanga, Tanzania. Seven sites were randomly selected for tsetse trapping in savannah and open woodland areas, within 1 km of roads and within a 40 km radius of park headquarters at Seronera, where tsetse dissection was conducted (coordinates UTM 36M (i) 711676, 9731432; (ii) 706816, 9733868; (iii) 710747, 9733536; (iv) 695691, 9727934; (v) 700825, 9746320; (vi) 693961, 9733122; (vii) 695278, 9741360). In each study site, three Epsilon traps All live non-teneral flies were dissected and labrum, hypopharynx, salivary glands and midgut examined for trypanosomes under 400\u00d7 magnification All trypanosome-positive midguts and salivary glands were macerated in phosphate buffered saline and applied to FTA Classic cards  for further analysis. A subset of trypanosome-negative midguts was also preserved on FTA cards. FTA cards were allowed to dry for two hours and stored in foil envelopes with dessicant at ambient temperature prior to processing. For each sample, one disc of diameter 2 mm was cut out from the FTA card using a Harris Micro Punch\u2122 tool. Between cutting of the sample discs, 10 punches were taken from clean FTA paper, to prevent contamination between samples. Discs were washed for two washes of 15 minutes each with FTA purification reagent , followed by two washes of 15 minutes each with 1X TE buffer . Each disc was dried at room temperature for 90 minutes, and then used to seed a PCR reaction. After every seven sample discs, a negative disc was included and the punch tool and mat cleaned, to reduce the risk of contamination between discs, and ensure that any potential contamination would be detected. No evidence of contamination was seen in the sequence of dissection or PCR results.T. b. brucei, T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambienseT. brucei s.l., T. b. rhodesiense was differentiated from T. b. brucei by detection of the serum-resistance associated (SRA) gene. Simultaneous amplification of another single copy gene, a phospholipase C (PLC) sequence found in T. brucei s.l., confirmed that there was sufficient T. brucei s.l. material present in the sample to detect the presence of T. b. rhodesienseTBR primers were used to detect a 177 bp satellite repeat sequence common to For all PCRs, one negative control (water) and one positive control (genomic DNA) were run for every 16 samples, in addition to negative control blank discs. PCR products were run on a 1.5% (w/v) agarose gel at 100 V, stained with ethidium bromide and visualised under an ultraviolet transilluminator.T. b. rhodesiense in a tsetse midgut does not indicate a mature infection as only a small proportion of midgut infections will develop to mature infections in the salivary glands. The following calculation was used to predict the prevalence of mature transmissible T. b. rhodesiense infections, where posDis is the proportion of flies with midguts which were positive by dissection/microscopy, posPCR is the proportion of these which tested positive by PCR, Tbr/TbbP is the proportion of T. brucei s.l. positive flies with sufficient genetic material present (ie give positive results with PLC PCR) which test positive for T. b. rhodesiense (as determined by SRA PCR) and matP is the proportion of immature T. b. rhodesiense infections which develop to maturity in the salivary glands, estimated to be 0.12 (CI 0.10\u20130.14), T. brucei s.l. will have midgut infectons; (ii) that TBR PCR has 100% sensitivity and specificity for detection of T. brucei s.l. in tsetse midguts; (iii) that SRA PCR has 100% sensitivity and specificity for detection of T. b. rhodesiense, if the sample is positive on PLC PCR. The implications of potential assumption violations on the prevalence estimate are addressed in the discussion.Detection of matP was taken from Milligan et al. (1995) the distribution of the original data was used, where Y is the number of flies with midgut infections and matP is the proportion of these which developed mature salivary gland infections . Potential values were generated by sampling from the following nested distributions with 10 000 iterations, and ninety five percent confidence intervals calculated by taking the 2.5% and 97.5% quantiles of the values obtained: 1\u223cbinom, n2\u223cbinom, n3\u223cbinom, p1\u223cbinom, n4\u223cbinomn.Confidence intervals were calculated by repeat sampling from nested distributions of the data. Since the value for x) and two vector populations . Although occasional cases of human African trypanosomiasis do occur, the rate of human feeding by tsetse is very low , so the human population was not included in the model. The model is described by the following equations:http://www.r-project.org/) to give equilibrium conditions for the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in wildlife hosts, G. swynnertoni and G. pallidipes and which could be compared to empirically derived estimates of prevalence.Rogers' T. b. rhodesiense, and to G. swynnertoni and G. pallidipes, were used where possible. The proportion of tsetse developing salivary gland infection after feeding on an infected cow is 16% for G. morsitans (closely related to G. swynnertoni) and 2.1% for G. pallidipesT. brucei s.l., either proving uninfectible in experimental infections eg baboons et al.T. b. rhodesiense in G. morsitans flies; no specific data were available for G. pallidipes so the same value was used. Wildlife host parameters have been chosen to represent all wildlife species. Duration of incubation period and duration of infection are therefore estimated mean values from experimental infections of wildlife T. brucei s.l. in lions Parameters were based on those described by Rogers http://www.r-project.org).All statistical analyses and model solving were carried out using R 2.12.1  and 2099 G. pallidipes . Overall, trypanosomes were observed  in 9.2% of G. swynnertoni , and 3.7% of G. pallidipes  examined. No salivary gland infections were observed. Using the classical trypanosome species identification based on the location of parasites within the fly, the prevalence of T. vivax-like, T. congolense-like and T. brucei-like trypanosomes is shown in In total, 6455 tsetse were dissected and examined, comprising 4356 posDis\u00d7posPCR, assumed to represent T. brucei s.l. immature infections) was 0.83% in G. swynnertoni and 0.71% in G. pallidipes. All midguts that tested positive for T. brucei s.l. were further analysed with SRA PCR, with 10 out of 43 PLC positive and 1 of these SRA positive, therefore the proportion of T. brucei s.l. testing positive for T. b. rhodesiense was 0.1. Using the expression in Eq. 1, this gives a predicted prevalence of transmissible T. b. rhodesiense infections of 0.010% for G. swynnertoni and 0.0085% for G. pallidipes  and 0.0035% for females (20/2289), and in G. pallidipes was 0.019% for males (5/541) and 0.0024% for females (7/1151).For 5428 flies , all midguts where trypanosomes were observed (n\u200a=\u200a133) were analysed by PCR . No fliellidipes . The preT. brucei s.l.. None of these tested positive with PLC or SRA.Midguts from 78 flies with no trypanosomes observed on microscopy were also analysed by PCR. Of these, 3.8% (n\u200a=\u200a3) tested positive for T. b. rhodesiense of 0.0064% in G. swynnertoni and 0.00085% for G. pallidipes. The model predicted the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in wildlife hosts to be 2.5%, which is within the range of reported prevalences in wildlife in SNP of 1.8% and 4.3% Assuming equilibrium, the model yielded prevalences of The results of all three approaches are presented in T. b. rhodesiense infections in tsetse populations in Serengeti National Park. Fundamental difficulties have been identified associated with the detection of trypanosome infections in tsetse, requiring new approaches to move beyond generation of infection prevalence data to make inferences about transmissibility. The three approaches used in this study confirmed the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in SNP to be very low. The prevalence of T. brucei s.l. measured by dissection/microscopy was zero, despite confirmation by the other techniques that T. brucei s.l. was circulating in the area, and evidence of infection in wildlife and human hosts, highlighting a common problem with this technique. The results from PCR analysis of tsetse midguts were used to generate a measure of transmissible infections. In addition, a mathematical model of disease transmission used to predict the prevalence of transmissible infections based on other parameters for this system, confirmed the low prevalence gained by other approaches was compatible with the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in wildlife hosts reported in SNP. This study highlights specific challenges in measuring transmissible T. b. rhodesiense infections in tsetse, which have important implications for assessing this variable, and interpreting temporal and spatial patterns of infection in affected areas of Africa.In this study we present data obtained from three different approaches to measuring the prevalence of transmissible T. brucei s.l. in tsetse populations as zero, despite strong evidence to indicate the presence of infection in tsetse using other techniques, and evidence for circulation of T. b. rhodesiense in vertebrate hosts in the same area T. brucei s.l. infections in mice, both in laboratory and field studies T. brucei s.l. infected flies in Glossina palpalis palpalis in Cote d'Ivoire These results illustrate the difficulties of dissection/microscopy techniques, which in this study estimated the prevalence of T. b. brucei and T. b. rhodesiense. The dissection/microscopy technique was first discussed in detail by Lloyd and Johnson in 1924 as an alternative to cumbersome rodent inoculation studies. However, Lloyd and Johnson relied principally on morphology of the developmental and infective forms, using the location within the fly only as an additional aid. It is clear that in areas where the prevalence is very low, dissection is less than ideal. However, since the majority of historical studies have relied on dissection/microscopy it is important to understand how these data compare to those generated by other techniques if we want to be able to detect temporal trends.Dissection/microscopy has a number of other disadvantages: it is time consuming and requires skilled technicians, and whilst it does not require substantial investment in technology, this may be outweighed by high staff costs. Identification of species, mixed infections and immature infections is unreliable, particularly if other trypanosome species are also of interest. Furthermore dissection/microscopy alone cannot differentiate between T. b. rhodesiense. We found that 30% of microscopy-positive midguts tested positive for T. brucei s.l. by PCR in G. swynnertoni and 41% in G. pallidipes. It is difficult to compare these directly with other studies as protocols vary widely, but between 7.9% and 19% of microscopy-positive midguts have been reported testing positive for T. brucei s.l. in these tsetse species T. b. rhodesiense infections which mature to the salivary glands to estimate the prevalence of mature transmissible infections. The prevalence was within the confidence limits of dissection/microscopy and similar to the predictions of the model. Prevalence was higher in males than females, reflecting the increased probability of maturation in males T. brucei s.l. in midguts by PCR means the sample size can be lower for the equivalent precision, reducing field costs and time compared to the substantial sample sizes needed for dissection/microscopy only.PCR-based techniques have the potential to provide a sensitive and specific tool to identify flies carrying T. b. rhodesiense infections by incorporating dissection/microscopy and PCR data relied on assumptions regarding the sensitivity of dissection/microscopy for detecting midgut trypanosome infections, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of TBR and SRA PCRs when used on tsetse midgut samples. Whilst identification of trypanosomes in the midgut is widely used in the laboratory there is little data available on the sensitivity of this technique in the field. There is however no evidence to suggest that flies can carry T. brucei s.l. without trypanosomes being present in the midgut. TBR and SRA PCRs have high specificity The calculation used to predict the prevalence of mature Imperfect test sensitivity and specificity can significantly affect prevalence estimates, particularly when the prevalence is very low T. brucei s.l. infections were identified as T. b. rhodesiense. Whilst this is not outside the range of values found in previous studies T. b. rhodesiense, so our estimate of the proportion of T. brucei s.l. which are T. b. rhodesiense is not very precise . Using the value of 33% resulted in a prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in G. swynnertoni of 0.03% and in G. pallidipes of 0.028%.In this study, 10% T. brucei s.l. by PCR. Previous authors have found high prevalences of T. brucei s.l. by PCR . In this study we relied on experimental measures of the proportion of midgut T. b. rhodesiense infections which mature to the salivary glands to estimate the prevalence of transmissible infections. However there are two areas for concern with this assumption: (i) laboratory studies may not accurately reflect the situation in the field; and (ii) this proportion is known to vary with factors such as sex, levels of certain antioxidants, mating in female flies, and environmental factors such as temperature To interpret data from PCR analysis it is important to be clear what PCR results do or do not represent. For example, identification of The second concern is with respect to comparative data analysis, in that the variety of techniques used means it is difficult to assess trends in prevalence. This is a significant problem \u2013 prevalences measured in different ways cannot be compared between different areas or times, making it impossible to detect changing disease dynamics and human disease risk, and hindering our understanding of the complex relationships between trypanosomes, hosts and vectors. Agreement on an optimal protocol for the collection and interpretation of data on trypanosome prevalence in tsetse populations would be helpful in generating more comparable data.T. b. rhodesiense in G. swynnertoni and G. pallidipes in SNP can be sustained at very low levels. Both the PCR data and the model suggest that G. pallidipes may play a role, albeit a lesser one, in T. b. rhodesiense transmission as well as G. swynnertoni, which has always been regarded as the important vector species in Serengeti. The two species differ in both feeding preferences and vector competence; while both species include suids and bovids in their diet, G. swynnertoni feeds predominantly on warthog while G. pallidipes feeds predominantly on buffalo G. swynnertoni and G. pallidipes are known to avoid feeding on man, this effect is particularly evident for G. pallidipesThis study shows that the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in tsetse found in this study suggests that the risk of HAT to tourists is low. Odour-baited tsetse traps are known to target older flies The low prevalence of the prevalence of transmissible human infective trypanosomes in tsetse populations is an important parameter but there is no ideal diagnostic test to measure it. While new molecular diagnostic tools offer great potential for epidemiological studies, many challenges remain in the interpretation of field data generated from these tools, and these need to be recognised and addressed. Development of protocols that directly measure the prevalence of transmissible infections, and the consistent application of such protocols, would aid our knowledge of human disease risk, allow detection of spatial and temporal trends in disease transmission and add to our understanding of complex disease systems.In conclusion"}
+{"text": "Living systems are often maintained by information flows and, as such, they present interesting mathematical problems for example, in the modeling and analysis of spatial structures, self-organization, environmental interaction, behavior, and development. Biomedical signals extract information from the complex phenomena being measured, which are typically a time series having both a regular and random components. Solutions attempt to map general principles, which are used to model how the living systems work. Many researchers have been studying these problems because of their interesting mathematical features and because of their scientific importance. The focus of this special issue is the mathematical analysis and modeling of time series in living systems and biomedical signals. It is mostly interested in the related new development of both theoretical study and practical implementation, either with modeling, complexity, statistics, or signal transformation in living systems.The papers selected for this special issue represent a good panel in recent challenges. The topics of the research papers and review papers are connected with the living systems and biomedical signals, including modeling dynamical complexity in living systems, for example, network dynamics, mass action, dynamical systems theory, methods for analysis and characterization of dynamical complexity, biomedical signal analysis such as mathematical pattern analysis of biological signals, generative mechanisms of biological signal patterning, implementation of signal analysis algorithms, linking biological structure to biological signal generation, and intracellular signal processing, as well as related models and applications, such as systems theory, biological organization, and biomedical information processing.This special issue contains 31 papers. In the category of modeling dynamical complexity, L. Sena et al. present a fuzzy model to interpret data of drive performances from patients with sleep deprivation. S. Chen et al. review the modeling of biological intelligence for supply chain management system optimization. M. Li presents approximating ideal filters by systems of fractional order. L. T. Ko et al. present nested quantization index modulation for reversible watermarking and its application to healthcare information management systems. C. Cattani studies on the existence of wavelet symmetries in Archaea DNA. A. Ciancio and C. Cattani present separable transition density in the hybrid model for tumor-immune competition. Q. Guan et al. present solid dynamic models for analysis of stress and strain in human hearts. G. Xiong et al. present theorems and application of local activity of CNN with five state variables and one port. L. Fanea et al. present theoretical compartment modeling of DCE-MRI data based on the transport across physiological barriers in the brain. M. Crisan et al. present a multicriteria optimization model for the study of the efficacy of skin antiaging therapy.In the category of methods for analysis of dynamical complexity, L. Xu et al. present high resolution remotely sensed small target detection by imitating fly visual perception mechanism. J. Zhang et al. present target contour recovering for tracking people in complex environments. M. Li and W. Zhao present a report on CPNs for asymptotic identity in min-plus algebra. M. Xu and C. Wei present remotely sensed image classification by complex network eigenvalue and connected-degree. J. Wen et al. present a batch rival penalized expectation-maximization algorithm for Gaussian mixture clustering with automatic model selection. M. \u0160trbac and D. Popovic show a software tool for the prosthetic foot modeling and stiffness optimization. T. Carletti and A. Filisetti present the stochastic evolution of a protocell: the Gillespie algorithm in a dynamically varying volume. In the category of biomedical signal analysis, S. Chen and X. Li review the annual progress of functional magnetic resonance imaging for imaging neural activity in the human brain. H. C. Hsin et al. present an adaptive coding pass scanning algorithm for optimal rate control in biomedical images. I. Chiorean et al. present a medicoeconomic index for photo-induced skin cancers. C. Vicas et al. present the influence of expert dependent variability over the performance of noninvasive fibrosis assessment at patients with chronic hepatitis C, by the means of texture analysis. G. Nut et al. present a finite element method applied to a problem of blood flow in vessels. S. Chen et al. summarize recent advances in morphological cell image analysis. C. Yao et al. present motion analysis of live objects by super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. H. Castillejos et al. present wavelet transform fuzzy algorithms for dermoscopic image segmentation. D. A. Mitrea et al. present abdominal tumor characterization and recognition using superior order cooccurrence matrices, based on ultrasound images. Q. Guan et al. present a method for modeling and representation of human hearts for volumetric measurement. X. Li et al. present characteristics of evoked potential multiple EEG recordings in patients with chronic pain by means of parallel factor analysis. A. I. Mitrea et al. present iterative methods for obtaining energy-minimizing parametric snakes, with application to medical imaging. K. Lu et al. present nonlocal means based denoising for medical images. K. T. Q. Dang et al. present detecting epileptic seizure from scalp EEG using Lyapunov spectrum.Of 67 submissions, 31 papers are selected in this special issue. Of course, the topics and papers are not an exhaustive representation of the area of biomedical signal processing and modeling complexity of living systems. It can be seen that although some solutions and models become available, most problems remain open and research is highly active in this field. In the near future, we expect more contributions that will address all of the key aspects raised above. Nonetheless, the special issue represents the recent concerns in the community and we have the pleasure of sharing them with the readers."}
+{"text": "The authors would like to provide a clarification in relation to several aspects of the article: While the article cites heat maps in several occasions, we appreciate that it could have been made clearer that the article is not describing a new tool for visualization of data but rather a simpler application of an existing one; we would thus like to make the following changes to the Abstract and Introduction sections: Abstract, first sentence of Method section should read: Method: We propose a simple use of an existing tool for visualization of data, known as a ''quilt plot'' , that provides an alternative to presenting large volumes of data as frequency tables. Introduction  should read: In the statistical literature, ''quilt plots'' , have been underutilised for the display of categorical data . We would also like to clarify that the term 'quilt plot' was originally developed by Douglas Nychka -reference 5 in the article. In addition, in compliance with the journal's policy, we are providing the codes for the R functions described in the article:http://www.plosone.org/attachments/pone.0085047.comment1.rhttp://www.plosone.org/attachments/pone.0085047.comment2.rhttp://www.plosone.org/attachments/pone.0085047.comment3.rhttp://www.plosone.org/attachments/pone.0085047.comment5.r"}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae are the most notable mycobacterial human pathogens, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and other mycobacteria are the etiology of important diseases in humans and a wide range of animal species including, cattle, sheep, goats, deer, possums, badgers, elephants, dogs, cats, birds, amphibians, and fish. Moreover, species such as M. bovis represent serious zoonotic pathogens and have become important agents at the interface of humans, domestic livestock, and wildlife. Although M. bovis. Accordingly, M.V. Cunha et al. describe the current status of bovine tuberculosis in Portugal, discussing interspecies transmission and the impact of infected wildlife on the status of tuberculosis in cattle. Many mycobacterioses occur in nonmammalian hosts and K. Dhama et al. provide an in-depth review of avian mycobacterioses.This special issue on mycobacterial diseases of animals contains 26 papers comprising 6 reviews, 3 case reports, and 17 original research papers on various topics including animal models, immunology, epidemiology, microbiology, pathology, environment, and history. Authors from 13 different countries provide a diverse examination of mixed topics. The first 6 papers are reviews; M. Munyeme and H. M. Munang'andu discuss numerous anthropogenic factors that impact wildlife, livestock, and humans in the habitat of the endangered lechwe antelope. Bovine tuberculosis eradication efforts are impeded by the presence of an established wildlife reservoir of  In many species, pathogenic mycobacteria undergo a prolonged asymptomatic, or latent period, after which disease is reactivated in a subset of infected hosts. Containment of disease and latency likely coincide with shifts in host immune response. Accordingly, B. L. Plattner and J. M. Hostetter thoroughly review the role of gamma/delta T-lymphocytes in mycobacterial diseases of humans, cattle, and mice.The last 2 reviews are historical in nature. First, M. Good and A. Duignan discuss tuberculin, the mainstay of TB testing. Their review emphasizes the origins, properties, limitations, and use of tuberculin in control programs, leading to the final review in which M. V. Palmer and W. R. Waters describe the genesis of the US bovine tuberculosis eradication effort in 1917. The authors describe laudable research conducted by veterinarians and other scientists, decades before an eradication program existed. Mycobacterium celatum-induced disease in heretofore-unrecognized hosts in Slovenia. W. R. Waters and colleagues describe herds of fallow deer and elk with unusually high disease prevalence. The authors demonstrate the apparent misdiagnosis of numerous M. bovis-infected deer and elk and show the usefulness of novel serology based diagnostic tests. M. Carstensen and M. W. DonCarlos detail the uncovering of M. bovis in deer and cattle in Minnesota and their efforts to identify deer to cattle transmission, determine the prevalence of disease in free-ranging deer, and methods used to prevent the establishment of a persistent wildlife reservoir. The next 3 papers are best described as case reports, discussing mycobacterioses in wildlife. M. Pate et al. provide the first description of M. bovis via aerosol as a model for evaluation of tuberculosis vaccines. Research papers continue with a focus on epidemiology. S. Barandiaran et al. reminds us of often-overlooked hosts of bovine tuberculosis such as swine, examining transmission of M. bovis from cattle to swine using spoligotyping. Disease transmission between livestock and wildlife is of great interest. The next 2 papers focus on that interface. C. C. Okafor et al. examine deer to cattle transmission of M. bovis in northern Michigan. From Canada, T. K. Shury and D. Bergeson describe the use of various diagnostic strategies, as well as lesion distribution, and epidemiology of tuberculosis in elk and white-tailed deer in southwestern Manitoba. Animal models of tuberculosis are extremely useful, particularly when conservation or ethics prevent experimental infection of the host of interest. This special issue's original research papers begin with L. McCallan et al.'s thorough description of ferrets infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) and Crohn's disease raises questions of public health significance. To that end, H. Okura and colleagues document a low prevalence of Map in muscle from Map-infected cattle, suggesting a bacteremic phase in bovine paratuberculosis. Emphasizing the broad host range of the myriad mycobacterial species, L. Durnez and colleagues discuss the presence of various mycobacteria in insectivores and rodents on cattle farms in Tanzania and compare findings to mycobacteria isolated from cattle. Switching pathogens, host, and geography, A. A. Rita et al. examine the prevalence of ovine paratuberculosis in Italy using both serology and fecal culture. The suggested link between M. bovis and Map are known to persist in the environment, which facilitates interspecies and intraspecies transmission. As a result, A. E. Fine et al. detail the survivability of M. bovis on various feedstuffs and organic matter. Prolonged survival in soil is a feature of Map. However, E. A. Raizman and collaborators show that not only can Map survive in soil, but also can pass through soil to ground water potentially finding its way to local watersheds. For researchers of paratuberculosis, the survivability of samples in the laboratory is important. E. A. Raizman et al. examine the effect of prolonged frozen storage on Map viability. Both Map and Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium. It is believed that exposure to nontuberculosis mycobacteria, such as Map, can result in falsely positive tuberculin skin test reactions. Consequently, S. D. Fitzgerald et al. document a low number of false-positive tuberculin test reactors in Michigan among cattle with confirmed Map infection. J. A. Fern\u00e1ndez-Silva et al. use molecular epidemiological tools to characterize Map isolates from cattle in Colombia, while F. Delgado et al. describe the use of in situ PCR for detection of Map in formalin-fixed samples.Great effort and immense resources have been expended to study the diagnosis of mycobacterial diseases. Further complicating diagnosis can be concurrent infection by multiple mycobacteria in the same host. Using a gamma interferon release assay, C. Barry et al. examine the cell-mediated immune response of cattle experimentally infected with both M. bovis includes most mammals including wild species such as African Cape Buffalo. Tuberculosis in buffalo on public and private lands is of concern not only from an animal health and conservation perspective, but also from an economic perspective due to the negative impact on ecotourism. Consequently, H. M. Munang'andu et al. describe the use of tuberculin testing in the formation of a tuberculosis-free herd of buffalo in Zambia's Kafue Basin.The host range of Map, on phagocytosis and pathogen survival in bovine macrophages.Diagnosis of mycobacteriosis is accomplished either by confirming the pathogen's presence or examination of host immune response to the pathogen. Investigation of host immune response is foundational to the development of novel diagnostics. A. Jolly et al. examine the effects of antibodies, induced by the highly immunogenic lipoarabinomannan of M. tuberculosis are of serious concern. Emphasizing the zoonotic nature of M. bovis, S. D. Fitzgerald and colleagues examine M. bovis isolates from deer in the endemic region of Michigan for evidence of drug resistance similar to MDR and XDR patterns seen in M. tuberculosis. In humans, (multidrug resistant) MDR and (extensively drug resistant) XDR strains of"}
+{"text": "Anopheles coastalis, now known as Anopheles gambiae, was first discovered as the vector of malaria, in 1899. That discovery led to a pioneering vector research in Sierra Leone and neighbouring Liberia, where mosquito species were extensively characterized. Unfortunately, the decade long civil conflicts of the 1990s, in both countries, resulted in a stagnation of the once vibrant research on disease vectors. This paper attempts to fill in some of the gaps on what is now known of the distribution of the sibling species of the An. gambiae complex, and especially the An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s, formerly known as the An. gambiae molecular M and S forms respectively, in the cities of Freetown and Monrovia.It was in Freetown, Sierra Leone, that the malaria mosquito  Anopheles gambiae  was first incriminated as a vector of malaria by Sir Ronald Ross in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1899 Anopheles gambiae complex are the major vectors of malaria in West Africa. As such studying their distribution, ecology and population structure is essential for effective malaria control programs. In the majority of West African countries, various studies on these important vectors have been undertaken in details. However, there is a gap in knowledge of these vectors in post conflict countries such as Sierra Leone and Liberia where ecological studies could not be undertaken in the 1990s and early 2000s because of the civil war that engulfed both countries for more than a decade.An. gambiae and An. funestus, in 1899 Prior to the civil unrest in these countries, the mosquito species and their distribution were largely documented. Sierra Leone primarily served as the centre of malaria vector research and control, being the place where human malarial parasites were first observed in wild-caught An. gambiae vectors of malaria in West Africa had evolved from morphometric to cytotaxonomic studies An. gambiae complex An. gambiae s.s. An. gambiae molecular M form has subsequently been renamed An. coluzzii, whiles the An. gambiae molecular S form retained the name An. gambiae s.s An. gambiae complex had been undertaken/published in Sierra Leone, and in Liberia only one study An. gambiae s.s and their kdr frequencies in the Bomi County. In this short communication, we report the distribution of the An. coluzzii and the An. gambiae s.s., in Freetown and Monrovia the capital cities of Sierra Leone and Liberia respectively.By the 1980s the study of In Sierra Leone, samples were collected in November-December 2009, from 89 households in 5 communities around Freetown. In Liberia, samples were collected in July 2011, from 100 households in 4 communities in Monrovia  Approval for this study was obtained from the IRB of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Ethics and Scientific Review Committees of the Ministries of Health in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The communities, where sampling was done, were informed on the project and consent sought from the local authorities within each community. Consent was also sought from the households where mosquito sampling was carried out.An. gambiae and 749 Culex species were collected. In Monrovia, 161 and 381 An. gambiae and Culex species were collected respectively. Culex was the most common mosquito species collected, due to the polluted breeding waters found in the areas where the collections were made. An. funestus and Aedes spp. were also collected, but in very low numbers. The distribution of the mosquito species collected in Freetown and Monrovia is shown in The number of collections from each community in Freetown is shown in An. gambiae complex in Freetown. 182 (93.8%) were successfully identified as either An. coluzzii or An. gambiae s.s. The remaining 12 samples failed to amplify. Further differentiation revealed 63.2% of the samples analyzed to be An. gambiae s.s., while the remaining 36.8% were An. coluzzii. The distribution of An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii is shown in An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a mountainous, forested region and this may explain the high proportion of An. gambiae s.s. compared to An. coluzzii, and is in accordance with a study An. gambiae molecular S form was dominant in mountainous, forested areas.194 samples were analyzed for the molecular identification of the members of the An. gambiae were analyzed. Out of these, 90.5% were identified as An. coluzzii, and the remaining 9.5% as An. gambiae s.s. These results are consistent with the results of Temu and colleagues An. gambiae molecular M form in the Bomi County. An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii in the collection sites in Monrovia.In Monrovia, 105 mosquitoes morphologically identified as kdr mutations (96.2%) were detected in the An. gambiae populations  for malaria control activities in Sierra Leone, with possible cross resistance to pyrethroids. Studies conducted in the late 1950\u2019s, on the development of insecticide resistance in the An. gambiae in Freetown, showed the factor conferring resistance to BHC in 66% of the population An. gambiae populations in neighboring Liberia in 1957 kdr only to insecticide use in the 1950\u2019s and further studies will be required to assess this.The very high levels of kdr mutations were not determined for the Monrovia samples, it is believed that the situation may not be much different from Freetown, considering the mosquito control activities that were in place in the 1950s kdr frequencies of over 90% kdr allele and ability to survive exposure to pyrethroid While the frequencies of An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s and prevalence of the kdr gene are described here for the first time in Sierra Leone, nearly 115 years after the incrimination of the Anopheles mosquito as the vector of malaria. This study showed that the An. gambiae s.s is the most dominant sibling species of An. gambiae complex in Freetown, while the An. coluzzii is the dominant species in Monrovia. A high prevalence of kdr mutation has been observed in both An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s in Freetown. There is however a limitation to these results, in that the determination of the kdr frequencies was not undertaken on surviving or dead mosquitoes exposed to pyrethroids through insecticide susceptibility testing. However, due to the high levels of kdr mutation in the An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s populations, it is recommended that insecticide susceptibility testing be done on non-pyrethroids insecticides (organophosphates and carbamates) in order to determine the insecticide of choice for future vector control activities.The distribution of the"}
+{"text": "The name of the 11th author was incorrectly given. The correct name is: Gerard T. Berry. The correct abbreviation in Contributions is: GTB. In addition, an affiliation is missing for the 11th author. In addition to that affiliation already indicated for Gerard T. Berry, this author is affiliated with the following institution: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America."}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, and annually there are 10 million new cases of clinical TB and approximately 2 million deaths [Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Gu\u00e9rin (BCG), has been unable to limit the transmission of the disease, and the problem is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the emergence of multidrug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis including extensively drug-resistant strains in multiple countries [M. tuberculosis and develop more effective strategies to control TB. Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Currently, a third of the world's population is infected with M. tuberculosis in humans. These studies range from the expression of cytolytic mediators following BCG vaccination in children , control of antigen presentation function , changes in cellular makeup during postprimary TB , and treatment of disseminated infection in immuno-compromised individuals . The reviews of S. Meraviglia et al. and H. Saiga et al. describe the role of immune effectors in mycobacterial infection, while articles describing M. tuberculosis strain diversity , TB in myelitis , and humans T- and B- cell responses to immunodominant mycobacterial antigens  also form part of this special issue.This special issue contains original research reports and review articles covering a number of aspects of TB immunity. The first series of articles focuses on immune response to M. tuberculosis with the host are also provided in this special issue. The reviews of M. Abebe et al., S. L. Sampson et al., and S. Ahmad describe pathogenic mechanisms and virulence factors expressed by M. tuberculosis, while the research articles of N. Sanarico et al. and E. Giacomini et al. investigate the transcriptional and cytokine response of host cells to M. tuberculosis infection. Reviews on TB transcriptomics  and granuloma liquefaction (P.-J. Cardona) provide further insight into the disease process during M. tuberculosis infection.  New insights on the interaction of M. tuberculosis lipoproteins is described in the article of C. Palma et al., and the use of cattle as a model to study TB immunity is the focus of the review article of W. R. Waters et al. The special issue closes with an overview of biosensing technologies for detection of M. tuberculosis by Z. Zhou et al. The development of new vaccines is a major goal of TB research programs, and this special issue contains a number of articles investigating vaccine design and testing in animal models. G. G. Guerrero and C. Locht report on the use of recombinant antigens to boost BCG-induced immunity, while C. Wang et al. and M. Okada et al. similarly investigate prime-boost approaches to develop more effective TB vaccine regimens. The immune response following vaccination with M. tuberculosis infection, host-pathogen interaction and vaccine development covered in this special issue may lead to future advances in the treatment and control of TB. In conclusion, the aspects of immunity to James A. TriccasNathalie WinterCarl G. FengNicholas P. West"}
+{"text": "You can use the questions to test your own understanding; we hope that you will also discuss them with your colleagues and other members of the eye care team. The questions have been developed in association with the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and are based on the style of the ICO Advanced Examination: a. False. Type 1 diabetes is caused by auto-immune destruction of the insulin secreting cells in the pancreas and cannot be prevented, b. True. c. True. d. False. There is no evidence that any drug is superior to any other. The important thing is to lower the blood pressure.a. False. Perfect control is unobtainable. Good control reduces the risk of DR and delays it, but most people with diabetes will eventually get some DR. b. False. Very few people will go blind from DR if they are treated. It is important to inform them of the risks, but not to frighten them away. They need to know that effective treatments are available, c. True. d. False. People with diabetes have lives, families, and jobs. We need to ensure that detecting and treating retinopathy is simple, quick, and inexpensive.a. True. b. True. c. False. Patients who have oedema near the fovea may still have normal vision, although they need treatment, d. False. A clinical trial showed that intravitreal steroid was not as good as laser, and may cause glaucoma.a. True. b. True. c. False. Non-ophthalmologists may be trained to detect retinopathy in photographs, d. False. Diabetes is more common in urban populations, but it is becoming much more common everywhere, including poor and rural communities.Classify these photographs according to the table on page 12 and say which patients must be referred to a retinal clinic.Moderate non-proliterative retinopathy, and maculopathy with exudates close to fovea. Should be referred for treatment of maculopathy.Severe NPDR and maculopathy. Should be referred for treatment of maculopathy and watched closely for development of new vessels.Mild non-proliferative retinopathy; pictures shows microaneurysms only. Should be examined again in 12 months.Proliferative diabetic retinopathy; picture shows disc new vessels. Requires urgent referral for pan-retinal laser."}
+{"text": "The International Association for Radiation Research established in 1985 the Henry S. Kaplan Distinguished Scientist Award. The award, which is presented every four years at the International Congress of Radiation Research, consists of a medal, a certificate and a cash prize. A plenary session is designated for the award ceremony, including a lecture by the awardee. Previous recipients of this award were Professors Mortimer M. Elkind (1987), H. Rodney Withers (1991), Gerald Edward Adams (1995), John B. Little (1999), Eric J. Hall (2003), J. Martin Brown (2007) and P. Richard Hill (2011).The purpose of the award is to honour outstanding contributions to the field of radiation research. Any scientist who has made superior contributions to the field through investigations in physics, chemistry, biology or medicine is eligible.(e.g. 3-page) narrative describing the accomplishments of the nominee. Additional letters of support, up to a maximum of two, may be included with the nomination papers.Nominations may be submitted either by an individual or by a society. Each nomination should include a current curriculum vitae, bibliography and a brief st May 2014 to Professor Gianfranco Grossi, Secretary-Treasurer IARR, Department of Physics, University Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte Sant'Angelo, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy (gianfranco.grossi@unina.it). All nomination packages will be forwarded to the Selection Committee, comprising Professors Marco Durante, Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff and Ohtsura Niwa. The recipient of the Kaplan award will be notified before the end of October 2014.Nominations for the 2015 award are now invited, and should be submitted by 1"}
+{"text": "Despite progress in malaria control, malaria remains an important public health concern in Cambodia, mostly linked to forested areas. Large-scale vector control interventions in Cambodia are based on the free distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), targeting indoor- and late-biting malaria vectors only. The present study evaluated the vector density, early biting activity and malaria transmission of outdoor-biting malaria vectors in two forested regions in Cambodia.Plasmodium sporozoites after morphological identification. Blood samples were collected in the same villages for serological analyses. Collected data were analysed by the classification and regression tree (CART) method and linear regression analysis.In 2005 two entomological surveys were conducted in 12 villages and their related forest plots in the east and west of Cambodia. Mosquitoes were collected outdoors by human landing collections and subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect Plasmodium-positive bites occurred before sleeping time, and 65% in the forest plots. The entomological inoculation rates of survey 1 were important predictors of the respective seroconversion rates in survey 2, whereas the mosquito densities were not.A total of 11,826 anophelines were recorded landing in 787 man-night collections. The majority (82.9%) were the known primary and secondary vectors. Most of the variability in vector densities and early biting rates was explained by geographical factors, mainly at village level. Vector densities were similar between forest and village sites. Based on ELISA results, 29% out of 17 In Cambodia, outdoor malaria transmission in villages and forest plots is important. In this context, deforestation might result in lower densities of the primary vectors, but also in higher densities of secondary vectors invading deforested areas. Moreover, higher accessibility of the forest could result in a higher man-vector contact. Therefore, additional vector control measures should be developed to target outdoor- and early-biting vectors. Anopheles dirus s.s. and Anopheles minimus s.s. [Within the Greater Mekong Region, progress in malaria control has been substantial over the last ten years. However malaria remains an important public health concern in some provinces of each country . In 2010mus s.s. -9. Becaumus s.s. .An. dirus s.s. and An. minimus s.s. are exophagic and exophilic, jeopardizing the impact of LLINs [Anopheles dirus s.l. and Anopheles minimus s.l. are outdoor and early biters [Plasmodium-infected mosquito during the early evening as compared to the rest of the night [An. dirus s.s. and An. minimus s.s., a large number of other anopheline species occur in the vicinity of human dwellings. Transmission by \u2018secondary\u2019 vectors that have outdoor or early biting behaviour might become more important than transmission by primary vectors in the context of high coverage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) [Plasmodium vivax as compared to Plasmodium falciparum, as the extrinsic incubation period of P. vivax is shorter. In Vietnam, Anopheles sawadwongporni, a very early biting secondary vector, was found positive for P. vivax[Large-scale vector control interventions occurred during the last years in Cambodia, particularly based on the free distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) . This haof LLINs . Severaly biters -13. In Vhe night . Also, ihe night , meanings (ITNs) . As secos (ITNs) , seconda P. vivax.Recently, Cambodia has declared its intention to eliminate malaria by 2025 . It is tIn the framework of a larger study on the force of malaria infection in the forested environment in Cambodia the results of an entomological survey designed to have a better understanding of early and outdoor malaria transmission by primary and secondary vectors in forested areas in the eastern and western part of Cambodia, are presented here. Vector abundance, malaria transmission, and early biting rates in forest camps were compared to the situation in the nearby village. Results obtained from the entomological survey are analysed in relation to the serological data obtained in the same localities during the same time frame . The stuAn. minimus s.s. and An. dirus s.s. [The study sites were located over five districts in forested areas of Cambodia: two in the north-east (O\u2019Chum and Borkeo in Rattanakiri Province) and three in the north-west . In each of the districts  three villages were selected Figure\u00a0. The domrus s.s. . A more In 2005 the meteorological data  were conducted in the 12 forest villages. For each entomological survey, outdoor human landing collections were carried out for six successive nights. Human landing collections lasted from 18.00 until 06.00. Each collector collected mosquitoes for four hours per night. A rotation of collectors was conducted every two days for the different collection points and collection hours. In the village, at the edge, two collection points were selected in the front of two houses, making a collection effort of 12 man-nights per survey. In the forest, two collection points were chosen in forest camps where people of the village have their forest plot or stay temporarily for hunting or logging. The collection effort was 12 to 14 man-nights per survey (in some plots collections were carried out during seven successive nights instead of six). The forest plots were between 0.1 and 4.5\u00a0km from the village. The same collection points were maintained throughout the study. For one site, mosquitoes were collected only in the forest camp where people lived permanently (BZ).Two additional collection sites per village were selected on the way from the village to the forest camp (between 0.5 and 1\u00a0km from the village edge). In these sites mosquitoes were collected in the evening (from 18.00 to 22.00) and in the early morning (from 04.00 to 08.00).Mosquitoes were stored by collection hour and morphologically identified in the field by use of a standardized key for medically important anophelines of Southeast Asia . MosquitP. falciparum, P. vivax 210 and P. vivax 247 circumsporozoite proteins (CSP) in the head-thoracic portion of individual mosquitoes. Details of this procedure and the numbers of mosquitoes tested were published earlier [Most of the collected mosquitoes were subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect An. minimus complex [An. dirus complex [Anopheles barbirostris s.s. was confirmed by sequencing  the ITS2 rDNA region using primers ITS2A and ITS2B as described in [An. dirus complex and 351 randomly chosen specimens of the An. minimus complex as described above. A random sample of the mosquitoes morphologically identified as An. maculatus (535 specimens) were identified using a PCR-RFLP, based on the amplification of ITS2 rDNA region using primers ITS2A and ITS2B as described in [The morphological identification of the mosquitoes found positive for ELISA was confirmed by PCR using the PCR-RFLP for  complex , and the complex . The ideribed in . The seqribed in . In addiribed in  followedP. falciparum and P. vivax parasite rate (PR). The samples were stored desiccated at 4\u00b0C. Plasmodium falciparum GLURP antibodies and P. vivax MSP-119 antibodies were detected using ELISA. ELISA optical densities were converted to percentage positivity. A mixture model was used to generate a cut-off for positivity. Seroconversion rates (SCR) were estimated by using a simple reversible catalytic conversion model to fit the dichotomised serological results, using maximum likelihood methods [Collection of blood samples was carried out as described in . In shorThe study was approved by the ethical committees of the National Centre of Malariology CNM in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and of the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp (Belgium). The mosquito collectors and householders were informed about the objectives, process and procedures of the study and oral informed consent was sought from them. Collector candidates were invited among the adult village population and if individuals wanted to withdraw they were allowed to do so at any time without prejudice. Access to malaria diagnosis and treatment was guaranteed throughout the study. Informed consent was received from all people who agreed to give blood samples after being given information about the objectives, process and procedures of the study.The non-parametric classification and regression tree (CART) models  wereP. falciparum and P. vivax, and the parasite rate for P. falciparum and P. vivax. The dependent variables were transformed first using an arcsine transformation of the square root. The independent variables were the MBR expressed by the number of bites/man/night (B/M/N) of the different vector species of survey 1 and survey 2, the EBP calculated as the percentage of vectors biting before 22.00 of the different vector species of survey 1 and survey 2, and the entomological inoculation rate (EIR) for the respective parasite . Because of the high number of variables, univariate analyses were used to determine the significant variables. Variables with a P-value \u22640.10 were incorporated in a multivariate model. The final linear regression model was obtained by backward selection using a P-value \u2264 0.05 as the criterion and was checked for multicollinearity (by using the vif command in STATA 12.0).To identify entomological predictors for the epidemiological outcome, linear regression analysis was carried out using STATA 12.0 . The dependent variables for which the analyses were carried out separately were the seroconversion rate for A summary of the census results of importance for the interpretation of the presented data is available in Table\u00a0Anopheles maculatus sensu lato (33.1%), An. minimus s.l. (24.8%), An. barbirostris s.l. (14.7%), and An. dirus s.l. . Other anopheline species collected (17.1%) were morphologically identified as Anopheles philippinensis, Anopheles jamesii, Anopheles hyrcanus, Anopheles karwari, Anopheles tessellatus, Ano-pheles umbrosis, Anopheles kochi, Anopheles culicifacies s.l., Anopheles vagus, Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles annan-dalei, and Anopheles willmori.In a total of 787 man-night collections , 11,826 anophelines were recorded landing, of which 52.8% were collected in the forest camps, 46.3% in the villages and 1% on the way. The majority of the anophelines (82.9%) were morphologically identified as the known  primary An. dirus complex members analysed, 99% were molecularly confirmed as An. dirus s.s.. Table\u00a0An. minimus complex and the An. maculatus complex. The majority of An. minimus complex members collected in the west were molecularly identified as An. minimus s.s., the specimens morphologically identified as belonging to the An. minimus complex in the east comprised mainly of An. aconitus, mixed with An. minimus s.s. and few other species. The specimens morphologically identified as belonging to the An. maculatus complex, comprised in the west mainly of An. sawadwongporni and in the east mainly of a mix of An. maculatus s.s. and An. sawad-wongporni. As not all specimens collected could be molecularly identified, further analysis will be presented at complex level, based on the morphological identification. Note that in the following, the term An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus will be used to account for the mix of species in the mosquitoes that were morphologically identified as An. minimus s.l.Of the 440 An. maculatus s.l. (74.8%), and An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus (19.1%). Anopheles dirus s.l. represented 5.2%. Because of these low numbers of specimens collected on the way, further analysis will only focus on the anophelines collected in the forest camps and the villages. Further analyses will be concentrated on the four known malaria vector complexes that were most abundant in this study.In general, mosquito densities per vector complex were similar between forest and village sites. On the way to the forest camps only 115 anophelines were collected, and only during survey 2 in village PY (three bites/night) and in village PZ (6.1 bite/night) of which 77% in the evening and 23% in the early morning. Most of them were An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus were observed in the district of Pailin and Borkeo. Highest densities of An. barbirostris s.l. were observed in O\u2019chum. Densities of each vector complex were similar between village and the corresponding forest sites.Man-biting rates per district, survey and collection site show a high variability between the districts Figure\u00a0. The higAn. dirus s.l. (RI: 29) and An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus (RI: 33) but not An. maculatus s.l. (RI: 2) and An.barbirostris s.l. (RI: 0) and this differently according to the district. The relative importance of the sites of collection  was limited (RI ranging from 0 to 8). All CART trees are shown in Additional file Analysis by CART Table\u00a0 shows thAn. dirus s.l., besides village (RI: 100) and district (RI: 48), region (RI: 43) and survey (RI: 29) were also important predictors. Only in the villages with highest densities (with on average 3.4 B/M/N compared to 0.435 B/M/N in low density villages), a difference was observed between surveys, which was not consistent for all villages: in some villages , higher densities were observed in the second survey, whereas in other villages , higher densities were observed in the first survey. The highest An. dirus s.l. density was observed in the village site of VZ in survey 2 (10.4 B/M/N).For An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus, CART shows that the highest densities were observed in the district of Pailin  and Borkeo , with a maximum of 28 B/M/N in the forest camps of PY in survey 2. In those villages with high densities, the density was higher in the second survey as compared to the first survey.For An. maculatus s.l. highest densities were observed in Pailin (PY and PZ), with a maximum of 24 B/M/N in the village site of PY in survey 1.For An. barbirostris s.l. were observed in all three villages of the O\u2019Chum district, with a maximum of 21 B/M/N in the forest site of OZ in survey 1. In the O\u2019Chum district, a higher density was observed in the forest sites as compared to the village sites.The highest densities of An. philippinensis, An. jamesii, An karwari, An. tessellatus, An. kochi. Species occasionally found are An. hyrcanus , An. umbrosus , An. culicifacies s.l. , An. vagus , An. annandalei (PZ), and An. willmori (VY).Other less abundant species present in all districts were The EBP, calculated as the percentage of vectors biting before 22.00, varied according to district and less according to site (forest or village) Figure\u00a0.An. barbirostris s.l. . Region and districts are also important determinants, except for the EBP of l. Table\u00a0.An. dirus s.l. . The lowest EBP was seen in Pailin  were located in Borkeo and O\u2019Chum (east), whereas most villages with a lower EBP (26.9 and 32.9% for An. minimus s.l./An. aconitus and An. maculatus s.l. respectively) were located in Pailin and Pursat (west). For An. barbirostris s.l., in general an EBP of 45.8% was observed, with almost no difference between districts. A higher EBP (60.4%) was observed in four villages  as compared to the others (38.3%).The CART trees for An. philippinensis and 21 specimens of other anopheline species  were tested. Only 17 specimens were confirmed to be positive for sporozoites . No mixed infections were observed. Only An. dirus s.s. was found positive for P. falciparum (11 specimens) and only during survey 1. Most of P. falciparum positives (9/11) were collected in the forest camps (BY and BZ). The five P. vivax- infected mosquitoes (four An. dirus s.s. and one An. minimus s.s.) were only found during survey 2, of which four in the villages. One specimen of An. barbirostris s.s. was found positive for P. malariae (forest camp of OZ).Some 10,080 specimens were tested for detection of sporozoites. The details of 9,233 of these specimens can be found in . In addiBased on all positive bites, the proportion of positive bites before sleeping time (22.00) was 29% (5/17) Figure\u00a0.The EIR was calculated per week Table\u00a0. MalariaP. falciparum EIR in Survey 1 is linked to a higher P. falciparum seroconversion rate in survey 2, and a higher P. falciparum parasite rate in survey 1. A similar trend was observed for the P. vivax EIR in survey 1, which was positively linked with the P. vivax seroconversion rate in survey 2. The densities and early biting rates of the different vector species were either not or negatively correlated to the seroconversion rate or parasite rate, showing that vector density is not a good proxy of transmission.The results of the multivariate linear regression analyses are shown in Table\u00a0Vector control has always been one of the cornerstones of malaria control . Howeveret al. [An. dirus s.l. and An. maculatus s.l. densities were observed in survey 1 as compared to survey 2, whereas in the west, higher densities were observed in survey 2. However, in the east, the amount of rain is almost double compared to the west, with the main rain peak occurring in July and August. In the west, the rain peak occurs in September and October. This difference in rain pattern might explain these general differences observed in vector densities between both regions. The surveys were carried out at approximately the same moment in time in the east and the west. Therefore, survey 1 fell just after the rain peak in the east, and before the rain peak in the west  as compared to the nearby villages (4.23 BMN), but only in the first survey. The latter three villages are situated in areas with the highest degree of conserved forest as compared to the other villages in the study , and indistrict ). In thedistrict  than theAn. minimus s.l./An. aconitus, An. barbirostris s.l. and An. maculatus s.l. between forest plots and villages. These malaria vector complexes do not require the forest for breeding sites; An. minimus s.l. is more associated with mosaic vegetation and crop [An. maculatus s.l. is a widespread species [An. barbirostris s.l. and An. aconitus[In the present study, in general, no difference was observed in the densities of the other vectors and crop , and An. species  preferri aconitus.An. dirus s.l. is able to adapt to peripheral areas where natural forests are replaced with orchards, and tea, coffee, and rubber plantations [An. dirus s.l. is able to overcome larger distances than the 1.5 up to 3 km in [Although the densities of the malaria vectors differed between villages, all vector complexes were found in all villages and forest plots, regardless if the villages were surrounded by deforested areas or by forest (evergreen or deciduous), or plantations. The forest in the region where this study took place was in most cases scattered and fragmented. It has been reported that ntations . It is nntations ,29, from 3 km in , even inAlthough densities were almost similar between villages and nearby forest plots, 11 (65%) out of 17 infective bites were found in the forest plots of BY, BZ and OZ, which are the villages with the highest degree of conserved forest, being in line with previous observations of forest-related transmission ,35. HoweIn the study regions, people combine living in the villages with a second house near to their farm plot in the forest. In 2005, a great proportion of people sleeping in the forest slept unprotected (17 to 31%) particularly in Borkeo, the district with the highest transmission rate. It is clear that both human behaviour   and vectP. vivax, occurred later in the night and was only observed inside the villages and not in the forest plot. It has been observed that the use of LLINs can alter the biting behaviour of the vector species to earlier biting [versus 37 and 38%, respectively for the present study). Interestingly, in some villages located in O\u2019Chum and Pursat districts, a higher proportion of early biting An. dirus s.l. was observed in the villages (39%) as compared to the forest plots (26%). In these districts, people reported a high use of bed nets (treated and untreated) in the village, but not in the forest. An increasing trend of early biting due to increasing LLIN use cannot be excluded. The current study took place in 2005, when LLIN coverage and use was much lower than presently observed. The Cambodia Malaria Survey shows a national increase in LLIN use from 29 and 25% in 2004 and 2007, respectively, until more than 50% in 2010, both in the east and the west [The data from the current study show that LLINs provide useful although only partial protection against malaria: 71% of the infectious bites occurred after 22.00, when people are expected to be sleeping under a net. All infective bites before 22.00 (29%) occurred in the forest plots, underlining the importance of additional protective methods in such environments , their densities vary according to villages, rather than region, without major differences between the sites of collections (inside the village or in the nearby forest plot). The consequences of forest fragmentation and deforestation on malaria transmission in Southeast Asia are difficult to predict as a wide diversity of forest, near-forest and non-forest malaria vectors occurred. A suboptimal habitat in the forest fragments might result in lower densities and survival of the main forest vectors, with a reduction of malaria transmission as a consequence. However, higher accessibility of forest fragments can result in a higher contact rate between man and vector. Additionally, in the long run, deforested areas or areas with fragmented forest might be invaded by other efficient malaria vectors which are now considered secondary vectors. Therefore, although the capacity of secondary vectors of Cambodia in maintaining malaria transmission in the absence of the primary vectors is not known, their behaviour should also be taken into account when applying vector control measures. Because of outdoor and early biting by primary and secondary vectors in Cambodia, a behavioural trait that can be selected in vectors by a higher use of LLINs, additional measures should be explored. Personal protection using LLIHs, or topical and spatial repellents can have added value in tackling residual malaria transmission.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.MC and TS designed the study. LDu and MC carried out the data analysis and drafted the manuscript. TS and SM facilitated and supervised the field work, and critically reviewed the manuscript. LDe and PR carried out the ELISA assays and molecular identification of the collected mosquitoes and critically reviewed the manuscript. MC critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Regression trees for densities of Anopheles dirus s.l., Anopheles minimus s.l./Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles maculatus s.l., and Anopheles barbirostris s.l. The data provided represent the result of the CART analysis for man biting rates of Anopheles dirus s.l., Anopheles minimus s.l./Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles maculatus s.l., and Anopheles barbirostris s.l.Click here for fileRegression trees for early biting rates of Anopheles minimus s.l./Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles maculatus s.l. and Anopheles barbirostris s.l. The data provided represent the result of the CART analysis for early biting rates of Anopheles minimus s.l./Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles maculatus s.l., and Anopheles barbirostris s.l.Click here for fileResults of univariate and multivariate analysis for seroconversion rate and parasite rate. This table shows the coefficients and the p-values of the univariate and multivariate regression analysis for each of the dependent and independent variables assessed.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Anopheles gambiae s.l. with separate parametrization schemes for Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles arabiensis. The characterizations were constructed based on literature from the past decades. This part of the study is focusing on the model\u2019s ability to separate the mean state of the two species of the An. gambiae complex in Africa. The model is also evaluated with respect to capturing the temporal variability of An. arabiensis in Ethiopia. Before conclusions and guidance based on models can be made, models need to be validated.The first part of this study aimed to develop a model for An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis was constructed. An additional 992 points were collected on the presence An. gambiae s.l.. These data were used to assess if the model could recreate the spatial distribution of the two species. The dataset is made available in the public domain. This is followed by a case study from Madagascar where the model\u2019s ability to recreate the relative fraction of each species is investigated. In the last section the model\u2019s ability to reproduce the temporal variability of An. arabiensis in Ethiopia is tested. The model was compared with data from four papers, and one field survey covering two years.The model used in this paper is described in part one . For the validation of the model, a data base of 5,935 points on the presence of An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis in sub-Saharan Africa. This implies this model can be used for seasonal and long term predictions of changes in the burden of malaria. Before models can be used to improving human health, or guide which interventions are to be applied where, there is a need to understand the system of interest. Validation is an important part of this process. It is also found that one of the main mechanisms separating An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis is the availability of hosts; humans and cattle. Climate play a secondary, but still important, role.Overall, the model has a realistic representation of seasonal and year to year variability in mosquito densities in Ethiopia. The model is also able to describe the distribution of  Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles arabiensis[Several attempts have been made to map the distribution of rabiensis-5, two orabiensis showed trabiensis and inserabiensis. Often, rabiensis.Anopheles arabiensis inhabits areas from South Africa in the south to Mauritania and Sudan in the north. In Central-West Africa there is a pocket with very few observations of An. arabiensis. The border of this pocket is formed by Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, South-Sudan, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Anopheles gambiae s.s. is currently separated into five chromosomal forms: Forest, Bamako, Savanna, Mopti and Bissau [d Bissau , and twod Bissau ,11. It id Bissau .An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis[Recent studies have shown that interventions aimed to prevent malaria has an impact on balance between rabiensis. The relrabiensis. In Tanzrabiensis. Given tAn. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis The model, which is described in part one [This paper is the second of two describing and validating a new model of the dynamics of part one , is a bipart one .In addition to predicting the current distribution, these type of models can be used to project changes in the historical and future density and distribution of these species. They can describe changes from day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year, and decade-to-decade. The model, named Open Malaria Warning (OMaWa) , includeAn. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, with simulations covering an entire continent. It is also the first time age dependent life history and mosquito dispersion (spread of mosquitoes) has been included in a continental analysis. The model is validated against 6,927 presence/absence points of the two species, and a more detailed analysis is carried out for Madagascar. The data is freely available to the public [This is the first time a biophysical model has been used to model the relative density of e public . This stAn. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s.[et al[An. arabiensis, 1,813 for An. gambiae s.s., and 992 for An. gambiae. Merging these data with the three databases [An. arabiensis, 3,009 for An. gambiae s.s., and 992 for An. gambiae[To date there are three data sets describing the occurrence of biae s.s.,19,20. A.s.[et al. To comp. gambiae. Three m. gambiae, and occAn. gambiae was mainly used to estimate the occurrence of An. gambiae s.l. in Namibia, DRC, South Sudan, Angola, Congo, and northern South Africa. To classify the points the expert opinion polygons from Sinka et al[An. arabiensis polygon only was classified as An. arabiensis, points falling within the An. gambiae s.s. polygon only as An. gambiae s.s., and points falling within both polygons were assigned both species. To classify true presence/absence points the data described previously was used. Observations of An. gambiae s.s. were classified as presence for this species. Absence points for An. gambiae s.s. were those where An. arabiensis had been recorded, and no An. gambiae s.s. had been observed within a radius of 100 km. The same approach was used for An. arabiensis.The database containing nka et al was usedet al[et al[An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s.. To reproduce the images in the paper the figures were geo-referenced, and polygons were drawn based on the 0.65-1 probability. The selection was based on the colouring they used in the figure. Next a 50 by 50 km grid was overlaid with the polygons, and points falling within the polygons were classified as presence points. Points falling outside were classified as absence. The second paper is by Levine et al[et al[et al[R + 0.587 \u00b7 G + 0.114 \u00b7 B)/255. This new raster image was then gridded to a 50 by 50 km grid. Presence was defined as probability greater than approximately 0.4. As for Rogers et al[et al[et al[This model (OMaWa) was compared with species predictions from four other models, as well as the expert opinion from Sinka et al. The fir al[et al where thine et al. They us al[et al. Since t al[et al was used al[et al.An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis data from Pock Tsy\u2019s et al[To investigate if the model is able to estimate the relative fraction of y\u2019s et al and Chauy\u2019s et al article a) For each observation there are information about the month of collection as well as longitude and latitude. From the model data, covering the period 1990-2008, the closest point to each observation in the month of collection is selected, and the yearly monthly mean is calculated. These data were used to make box plots, weighting for the number of observations in each point, comparing the observations with the model. b) From the data produced in a, maps were created using a distance weighted kernel with cut off at 100 km. Hence observations further away than 100 km were not included, and closer points will be given more weight. c) The distance to the closest wrong (difference in fraction greater than 0.2) and correct  prediction will be indexes for the spatial accuracy. A non-parametric test like the Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction (Mann-Whitney) test can then be used to test if the two indexes differ by a location shift of zero, and the alternative is that they differ by some other location shift.An. gambiae s.s. was to test if the model had a general validity, not limited to Ethiopia. Two high resolution runs only covering Ethiopia were done; one at 30 km, covering the period from 2000 to 2006 (Eth30), and one at 18 km (Eth18) covering the period from 2008 to 2011. These two runs differ from the one covering all of Africa in the way that the weather simulations were forced to follow the observed weather pattern. The technique used to accomplish this is called spectral nudging. In the African run (TC50) the intention was not to reproduce the exact year to year variability, but the interest was to reproduce reasonable weather in a reasonable climate, and thus no nudging was used. To validate the ability to reproduce seasonal variations data from Eth30 and Eth18 to drive OMaWa was used.In addition to looking at the spatial patterns, it is of interest how the model reproduce temporal variability in mosquito numbers. Originally, this model was developed to increase the understanding of malaria epidemiology in Ethiopia. The motivation of introducing For simulations driven by Eth30 the model was run without dispersion, BLL aquatic mortality, development rate with no species correction, default gonotrophic cycle, and AL adult mortality. TC50 and Eth18 were run with the following parametrization: with dispersion, KBLL aquatic mortality, development rate with species correction, default gonotrophic cycle, and BLLad adult mortality. All results are based on single realizations of the model, and error bars are therefore not reported.There are few papers describing the year to year, and seasonal variations in mosquito numbers in Ethiopia. In the validation process three papers were used, one master thesis, and field data from Chano Mille, Arba Minch describing mosquito seasonality.et al[An. arabiensis larva density in the vicinity of six villages in central Ethiopia, December 2007 to June 2008. The second paper is by Taye et al[An. arabiensis numbers in Sille (Southern Ethiopia). The third paper is by Yemane Ye-Ebiyo et al[The first, a paper by Kenea et al, is descaye et al and is riyo et al, where tAn. arabiensis in Awash Valley, Ethiopia, was described [To compare the absolute density, it would be required that the papers reported the larva/mosquito density per square kilometre over a larger area. Since this is not the case, scaling is necessary. The last study is by Balkew, where the seasonality of escribed . The stuIn addition to the published data, Fekadu Massebo collected one year (May 2009 to April 2010) of mosquito densities in Chano Mille, Ethiopia. The study site is described in ,31. To sAll correlations (Pearson) are calculated from the values reported in the papers -29, and S and 37\u00b0N, with 27 vertical levels, ranging from the surface to pressure p = 10 hPa. Inside the channel, a domain with 30 km resolution was set up. This domain has boundaries at 25.56\u00b0E, 53.18\u00b0E, 0.24\u00b0N, and 19.29\u00b0N. To ensure the model reproduced the observed year to year anomalies, the model was nudged, using spectral nudging, against waves  longer than 1,000 km in both domains. The Kain Frisch cumulus parametrization scheme was used [The simulations in this paper was driven by three different realizations of a limited area climate model. The first realization (Eth30), carried out in 2009, comes from WRF model version 3.1.1 . It was was used ,34.The second realization (TC50), carried out in 2011, had again a tropical channel set up. The model was run at 50 km resolution from January 1 1989 to January 1 2009. At the north and southern boundaries the model was driven by Era Interim. The Kain Frisch cumulus parametrization scheme was used ,34. No nN, 50.99\u00b0N, 1.45\u00b0S, and 18.97\u00b0E.In the third experiment (Eth18), done in 2012, WRF 3.3.1 was used with the Tiedtke cumulus parametrization scheme ,36. The The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, Western Norway, and the Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of Addis Ababa University and The National Health Research Ethics Review Committee (NERC) of Ethiopia granted ethical approval for the study.An. gambiae was focused on areas where little information about the occurrence of An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s. was available. Figure An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s.. The white contours are indicating the presence of each species. The pattern is consistent with the general perception of the species range [An. gambiae s.s. in Ethiopia. Still there are some unresolved issues. To date there are no records of An. arabiensis in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire; no models, this included, have been able to model the absence of this species in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. A look at the figure also reveals some probable inconsistencies with respect to the species distribution in southern Chad where An. arabiensis should be dominating [An. quadriannulatus. There are however no recent available surveys of An. gambiae s.l. in the states of Gauteng, North West or South Western Limpopo. In Namibia, where An. gambiae s.l. has been observed as far south as -23.7\u00b0N[N. Since there are no available data on the recent distribution of this complex in Namibia, it is difficult to know whether the model is correct or wrong. The model also suggests An. gambiae is absent in large parts of Gabon. Previous studies have found An. gambiae in Lambarene [et al later found An. gambiae in Port-Gentil [et al[An. gambiae s.s. in Haut-Ogoou\u00e9, which was also predicted by the model. In the north-eastern part of Gabon it has not been possible to find any recent mosquito surveys, and it is therefore hard to conclude if the predicted absence of An. gambiae in this region is correct.Figure es range . This ises range -4 has beminating . In Soutminating , althougs -23.7\u00b0N, the modambarene  and Moyeambarene , while Mambarene . It shout-Gentil , as predt-Gentil  did not il [et al also fouet al[et al[An. arabiensis is wrong over West Africa and Southern Cameroon. A mosquito survey in Namibia, and north-eastern Gabon, would also clarify the present-day species composition in these countries.To evaluate the quality of the model with respect to classifying the presence and absence of the species the methodology described previously was used. Table et al Sinka et al[et al are greaAn. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s., the island is well suited to address whether the model is able to reproduce the relative fraction of each species.Three measures to evaluate the model was defined. For method a) the mean absolute error was 0.22. The box plot in Figure An. arabiensis from the model, grouped by the fraction in the observations. It is clear, while capturing the main tendencies well, the model has problems with the exact separation between the two species. In the mixed group, the model tends to let one species dominate over the other, possibly letting An. arabiensis dominate too easily.Since Madagascar has a sharp separation between An. arabiensis as modelled, and observed. An eyeball comparison shows the separation is shifted westward in the model, and a bias in the South-Eastern tip of Madagascar. Whether this is a result of (climate) model resolution, failing to accurately separating the west/east gradient in topography, or the biological parametrization being inaccurate is hard to quantify. It is hoped this can be tested in a future analysis with higher model resolution.Figure p < .0001). Thus, although with biases, it is concluded that distance to closest correct prediction and closest wrong prediction are non-identical populations.Table An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s.. These results are meant to complement the continental analysis. Eth30 and Eth18 refers to the weather data used to drive OMaWa.It is important that mosquito models reproduce the seasonal cycle correctly, since this will be an indication of the sensitivity to climate. Here results from the model are compared to a number of observational studies. The comparison with each individual study might not have much information, but it is recommended that readers look at the results as a whole, having in mind the continental analysis showing the model is able to separate the distribution of et al reported the An. arabiensis larva density in six locations in central Ethiopia, December 2007 to June 2008. Five of the sites followed the same seasonality, while one had the highest density before the rainy season started. The model is not designed to capture such local variations, but is rather aiming to describe the median, or sometimes mean, state within a certain area. In their study all anopheline positive habitats present within a 500 m radius of each irrigated village/town and 700m along the major drainages (lake or river) were sampled. This means that the data should be comparable to what is modelled. The seasonality of larva density, Ap, is then calculated as Cl is a dimensionless constant. Correlations with the median relative seasonality, model vs. Kenea et al., is 0.97, and mean relative seasonality 0.92. The observations and modelled results can be seen in Figure In this study  Kenea etet al[An. arabiensis in Sille, Ethiopia. For simplicity it is assumed the human biting rate is independent of temperature and availability of breeding sites. This means the relative monthly mean sum of mosquitoes from the model should be directly comparable with the records from the paper. The model seems to under-predict the relative abundance of An. arabiensis in October 2001, and over-predict the rise in mosquito numbers in February. Otherwise the modelled number of mosquitoes seems comparable to what was observed by Taye et al. The correlation between observations and model (2001-2002) is 0.91. The observations and model results are shown in Figure In 2001-2002 Aseged Taye et al recordedC is a constant, and that the samples are representative for a larger area, the relative number of larva in that area can be estimated as LPD \u00b7 Wa, where Wa is the mean water area in m2. This way it is assumed the number of puddles is constant from July to September, and that the puddles only change their surface area. These values are roughly comparable to the modelled number of larva. Since only the latitude (and not the longitude) is reported in the paper, and Zwai is not located at latitude 9\u00b0N, model data between longitudes 38.69 to 39.23\u00b0E and latitudes 7.88 to 8.42\u00b0N, an area covering Zwai, were selected. Using this method correlation is 0.99(0.321.00). Confidence interval is estimated using 1,000 random samples of the points within the bounding box, and the 2.5% and 97.5% quantiles of the correlations is reported. Since the sample size is small and the data might not be directly comparable, the correlation should be interpreted with care. The data from the observations and the model can be seen in Figure If it is assumed larva per dip has units E and latitudes 8.75 to 8.92\u00b0N. The data are based indoor space spray collections. Since the malaria model was not run for 1999, and 2000 is considered as a spin-up year, the multi-year monthly mean for the years 2001-2006, and 2008-2009 was used . The observations are compared to the scaled sum of mosquitoes of all age groups, which should be comparable to what was reported in the thesis. Correlations in Buse + Gelcha (two locations described in the thesis) was 0.75, 0.79 for Sugar Estate, and 0.76 for Metehara Town. Confidence intervals are not reported for Metehara Town since the number of observations are low. The data can be seen in Figure This study was carried out in 1999-2000 in Metehara at longitudes 39.50 to 40.00\u00b0An. arabiensis was very low (Figure As seen in Figure w Figure . It is iEach of the five case studies consist of short time series, with different observational methodologies. It was attempted to show how the model results can be compared to the different type of observations, and in general the model is in good agreement with the observations. Since none of the studies cover several years, it was only possible to validate whether the model captured the seasonal cycle in mosquito numbers. The good agreement with all of the five case studies, means the model probably responds correctly to the environment, and thus it is likely OMaWa can reproduce year-to-year variability as well.An. gamibiae s.s. and An. arabiensis across Africa, and that it is able to model the seasonal and year-to-year variations in mosquito densities. While the results are robust with respect to the mean distribution and density, there is a sampling bias related to the recent distribution in DR Congo, northern South Africa, southern Namibia, eastern Angola, Central African Republic, eastern Gabon, eastern Chad, South Sudan, and Somalia. This implies models can not be robustly validated in these regions, and that long term changes in the species composition can not be addressed. For the temporal variability, the model has only been validated for Ethiopia, using short time series. Although the model matches well with the observations, most of the time series are short, implying the ability to reproduce year-to-year variations has not been fully addressed.In this paper, the model has been validated using independent data. The model was designed to have a general validity, not being restricted to a specific locality. The study shows the model can capture the distribution and density of An. arabiensis. Similarly, the presence of An. gambiae s.s. is linked to the presence of humans, modulated by the density of An. arabiensis. Water and air temperature, and availability of breeding sites play secondary roles for the continental distribution of these species, but might be locally important in margin zones. The recent distribution shifts in species composition observed in Kenya [An. gambiae s.s. due to interventions like IRS and LLINs. An alternative explanation might be the competitive advantage of An. arabiensis efficiently feeding on cattle, and thus suppressing the number of An. gambiae s.s. through easier access to blood, and thus reproducing at a higher rate. Over time, these interventions mainly reduce the human biting rate, and not necessarily the longevity of mosquitoes; the most efficient measure in MacDonald\u2019s formula of the basic reproductive number. Next, it can be challenged if a reduction of the number of breeding sites, lowering the number of adult mosquitoes per human, would be as efficient, and cost-effective, as IRS and LLINs over time. Studies on the long-term effect of interventions on the mortality rate of mosquitoes is needed to evaluate how these interventions work in practice. The large scale distribution of An. arabiensis, and its relation to cattle distribution, also rises the question of this species is using the odour of bovine to navigate, and if this causes of the observed coexistence of An. arabiensis and cattle. If this applies on large scales, there are reasons to believe the same mechanisms manifest themselves on small scales. In that case, keeping cattle separate from humans should further reduce the human biting rate in areas where An. arabiensis is the dominant species.The results suggest sufficiently high bovine density influences the large-scale distribution of in Kenya ,46 mightAn. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, and how the species have spread, and is evolving, across Africa. In the model, which gives a good representation of the distribution of the two species, An. gambiae s.s. is spreading most efficient on surfaces with continuous human populations, while An. arabiensis disperse more easily on surfaces with continuous cattle populations. It is hypothesized the lack of such a human surface between Kenya and Ethiopia can explain the absence of An. gambiae s.s. in Ethiopia; - to spread to Ethiopia, there is a need of a more or less continuous human population cover from Lake Victoria to southern Ethiopia, sufficient breeding sites, and temperatures which are not too extreme. Thus, not only climate control the presence and absence of these species, but also the availability of hosts. This has implications for the ability to project the future distribution of the two species.Several studies have found out the gene flow of Before models can be related to improving human health, or guide which interventions are to be applied where, there is a need to understand the system of interest. Validation is an important part of this process. Concluding based on too little data, and basing projections of for example the effects of climate change on models which have not been validated, is dangerous , might mThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.An. gambiae s.l.. All authors have contributed to, seen and approved the manuscript.The work presented here was carried out in collaboration between all authors. BL and AS defined the research theme. TML designed methods and mosquito experiments, did the model runs, analysed the data, interpreted the results and wrote the paper. DK, AS and TML designed the regional climate simulations, and evaluated those. FM, MB and TGM collected data for validation, and contributed with comments on the biology of"}
+{"text": "Gaucher disease (GD) is the most frequent lysosomal storage disorder; type 1 is by far the most common form. It is characterized by variability in age of onset, clinical signs and progression. It is usually diagnosed in the first or second decade of life with the appearance of bone pains, splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia, but the disease may be diagnosed at any age between 1 and 73 years. In the present study, we report 3 cases with late onset of GD in whom the disease was a surprise finding including one patient with Parkinson disease. This late onset is described as an adult form of Gaucher disease.Molecular investigation showed mutational homogeneity in Tunisian adult patients suffering from GD. Indeed, all patients carry the p.N370S mutation: two patients at a homozygous state and one patient at compound heterozygous state.The p.N370S mutation presents a large variability in the onset of the disease and its clinical manifestation supporting the view that GD should be considered as a continuum phenotype rather than a predefined classification. GBA) on1q21 leading to enzymatic deficiency of the \u03b2-glucocerebrosidase and the accumulation of glycosylceramide substrate in the macrophage's lysosomes. GD is characterized by a considerable phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity [GBA gene http://www.hgmd.org. In previous studies, investigation of GD showed that p.N370S, p.L444P and RecNciI mutations were relatively frequent in Tunisian patients [NciI mutations in GBA gene.Gaucher disease (GD) is the most frequent lysosomal storage disorder . It is aogeneity . More thpatients . In the Three patients diagnosed with GD from three unrelated families from southern Tunisia were investigated. The diagnosis was based on the occurrence of hepatosplenomegaly associated with hematological abnormalities and/or bone lesions and was confirmed in all patients by the presence of Gaucher cells.XhoI and NciI to screen for p.N370S and p.L444P respectively. Sequencing was performed on an ABI 3130 to detect the three mutations .After the patient's written informed consent, 5 ml of blood were collected. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells using the standard salting-out procedure. DNA samples were then amplified by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) followed by enzymatic restriction using 3). Clinical examination showed a voluminous splenomegaly associated with pancytopenia. Neurological symptoms were absent. The diagnosis of GD was confirmed by bone marrow examination . Family history showed no particular pathologies. The diagnosis of GD was confirmed by a myelogram and bone marrow biopsy that revealed the presence of Gaucher cells  and splenomegaly. The diagnosis of GD was confirmed by myelogram  developed Parkinson disease at age 52. The co-morbidity of GD and Parkinson disease has been largely discussed -11. The borators . Whereasborators .NciI) is the best alternative to reduce the incidence of the severe form of the disease.It has been suggested that only one third of the patients who were homozygote for p.N370S mutation come to medical attention and that about two thirds remain asymptomatic throughout life . CarrierThere is a great variability in the clinical manifestation as well as in the onset and course of GD. This supports the need for a new classification and reinforces the hypothesis of the concept of a phenotypic continuum. Clinicians, especially in hematology and internal medicine, should suspect the diagnosis of GD in any adult patient suffering from abdominal and/or bone pain with unexplained hematological disorder especially in combination with organomegaly.GD: Gaucher disease; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; PD: Parkinson disease; RFLP: Restriction fragment length polymorphism.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.SA had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Study concept and design: SA and SM. Acquisition of data: FBR, FK, RK, WC, MN, HA, IJ and ME. Analysis and interpretation of data: FBR, RK, WC, MN, HA, SA and SM. Drafting the manuscript: FBR. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: SA, RK, HA, SM. Obtained funding: SA. Administrative, technical or material support: FBR, RK, WC, MN, and HA. Study supervision: SA, ME and SM. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Pedaliodes poesiaChusquea scandens  is the larval food plant. Eggs are laid singly or in pairs on the bottom side of host plant leaves. The duration of the egg, larval, and pupal stages, combined, is 99\u2013107 days.We describe the immature stages  Pedaliodes poesia .s poesia   and northern  Peru on the eastern Andean slope, throughout the eastern slope of Ecuador, in all three Cordilleras of Colombia, including the Pacific slope of the Western Cordillera, and in the El Tam\u00e1 range of south-western Venezuelan  bands .nezuelan . Similarm) bands . Howeversemblage . In EcuaP. poesia was vaguely defined as \u201cNew Granada\u201d , and the presence of red patches on the dorsal forewing (FW) ; to P. suspiro Adams and Bernard in the Sierra de Perij\u00e1 (Colombia); and in the south to P. hewitsoni Staudinger, found in southeastern Peru  and northern Bolivia. All these taxa are morphologically and ecologically so closely-related, that they may eventually be considered a single species (Pyrcz pers. obs.). Sexual dimorphism in P. poesia is well developed, particularly when compared with other species of Pedaliodes. It is expressed mostly in the much lighter ventral HW pattern of the females, marked with wide, whitish or silvery patches and bands. Females are also slightly larger, and have somewhat more undulated outer margins of the HW. In some populations, females bear an orange or reddish dorsal FW patch, but this is never apparent in males. Sexual dimorphism in P. poesia and related species is so pronounced that it has previously led to the description of the two sexes as separate species. For example, Pronophila phanaraea, described by Hewitson (1868) is in fact a female of P. poesia from Ecuador  . Some of Ecuador . Similarewitsoni . Within Pedaliodes use bamboo species in the genus Chusquea (Poaceae) as their primary host plant . Despite the fact that over 270 species of Pedaliodes are distributed throughout the Andes (P.phoenissa (Hewitson)   and P. z Heredia . Here weWe carried out rearing and field investigations at the Yanayacu Biological Station and Center for Creative Studies , located in Napo Province, in the Andes of northeastern Ecuador. The study site is located approximately five kilometers west of the town of the town of Cosanga, adjacent to Caba\u00f1as San Isidro, and includes around 2000 hectares of primary cloud forest bordered by cattle pasture and other disturbed habitats , are siP. poesia and P. zingara is the light brown first instar head capsule of P. poesia, in contrast with the shining black head of first instar P. zingara. Also, while Heredia and Viloria (P. zingara, our observations suggest that P. poesia may take as much as a month longer to develop from egg to adult. Schultze did not specify the complete life-cycle duration of P. phoenissa, but the period from third instar to imago lasts roughly 50 days, which indicates a development time similar to that of P. poesia. Heredia and Viloria (P. zingara (when compared to Parapedaliodes parepa and P. phoenissa; Apart from variation in pupal shape, the most striking difference between  Viloria  report a Viloria  suggest P. zingara and P. poesia compared to those of P.parepa (P. parepa are rounder in cross-section, rather than flattened across the top, and are thus less trapezoidal in cross section than the two Pedaliodes spp. Similarly, the head scoli of Parapedaliodes appear to be somewhat more conical or pointed than the rounded, robust scoli of Pedaliodes. These caterpillars are similar in coloration, but Parapedaliodes exhibits a shining black head capsule like that of P. zingara. The strongly angular shape of Parapedaliodes pupae is similar to P. zingara. Comparing gross morphology of all three, it appears that the pupa of P. zingara is somewhat intermediate between P. poesia and Parapedaliodes in its \u201cangularity.\u201dWe found few differences between larvae of P.parepa . It appeP. poesia larvae feed on Chusquea, a widespread bamboo integral to the Andean landscape. Nevertheless, our knowledge of pronophiline natural history is in its infancy. As the morphology and behavior of immature stages are known to provide important phylogenetic information in butterflies (e.g., Like most Pronophilina, es e.g., , we encoPaper copies of this article will be deposited in the following libraries. Senckenberg Library, Frankfurt Germany; National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois USA; the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona USA; Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington D.C. USA; The Linnean Society, London, England."}
+{"text": "An. gambiae s.l populations in Mbita District and Suba District.Abundance and species composition of sympatric malaria vector species are the important factors governing transmission intensity. A widespread insecticidal bed net coverage may replace endophagic species with exophagic species. However, unique local environments also influence a vector population. This study examined the impacts of insecticidal bed nets on An. gambiae s.l. larvae were compared between 1997, 2009 and 2010 and between geographical areas. The abundance and species composition of An. gambiae s.l. females resting indoors were compared between 1999, 2008 and 2010 and between geographical areas. Bed net coverage was also examined temporally and spatially, and its relationships with vector abundance and species composition were examined.The species compositions of An. gambiae s.s. larvae was 31.4% in 1997, decreasing to 7.5% in 2008 and 0.3% in 2010. The density of indoor resting An. gambiae s.l. females decreased by nearly 95%, and the relative abundance of An. gambiae s.s. females decreased from 90.6% to 60.7% and 72.4% in 2008 and 2010, respectively. However, the species composition of indoor resting An. gambiae s.l. females changed little in the island villages, and An. gambiae s.s. remained dominant in the western part of the study area. The density of house resting females was negatively associated with the number of bed nets in a retrospective analysis, but the effect of bed nets on species composition was not significant in both retrospective and cross-sectional analyses.The relative abundance of An. gambiae s.l. populations varies spatially, and locally unique environments are likely to influence the species composition.An increase in bed net coverage does not necessarily replace endophilic species with exophilic species. The effect of bed nets on  Anopheles gambiae s.s. Giles and An. arabiensis Patton, which belong to the An. gambiae complex group (hereafter An. gambiae s.l.). Both species inhabit small sun-lit pools [An. gambiae s.s. is more anthropophagic and endophilic than An. arabiensis[An. gambiae s.s. is considered the most efficient malaria vector in Africa; an area with abundant An. gambiae may have a high transmission risk. However, an area with abundant An. arabiensis does not necessarily have a lower transmission risk, as insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) are less effective against this exophilic species [Understanding the relative abundance of sympatric malaria vector species is important for vector control, because each species has different vectorial capacity, which reflects on local malaria transmission intensity -3. The mit pools ,5, and oit pools ,7. Howevrabiensis-10. Thus species .An. gambiae s.s. fell compared with An. arabiensis following the introduction of ITNs in Kenya and Tanzania [An. gambiae s.s. On the other hand, ITNs and IRS may not have reduced the abundance of An. gamibae s.s. as much as recent studies have suggested, as its feeding place may have shifted outdoors to avoid insecticides [Their ecological differences imply that an introduction of ITNs or IRS alters the vector species composition. Recent studies have reported that the relative abundance of indoor resting Tanzania ,12-16. ATanzania . Neverthcticides ,18,19.Anopheles arabiensis often dominates in drier seasons and areas [Moreover, this phenomenon requires further careful interpretation, as an environmental change can also influence local mosquito species composition. nd areas ,20-22, tAn. gambiae s.l. populations in Mbita District and Suba District in the Nyanza Province of western Kenya. In particular, we wanted to confirm if ITNs had reduced densities of the indoor resting malaria vectors and altered their species composition at both adult and larval stages, and to reveal if the effects of ITNs on their density and abundance were geographically heterogeneous.The main objective of this study was to reveal if an introduction of ITNs had altered 2, however, the hilly regions were excluded from this study as malaria vectors are not abundant in these areas. The study area was mostly deforested by the mid-1990s with the exception of a few small patches of forest remaining in the hills, the vegetation cover had remained mostly unchanged since then. The rainfall pattern in the area is bimodal, with a long rainy season occurring from March through May, and a short rainy season occurring around November.Mbita District and Suba District lie within the Kenyan part of the Lake Victoria basin. The study area included five inhabited islands, Kibuogi, Mfangano, Ngodhe, Rusinga and Takawiri. Both districts formed a single district (Suba District) prior to 2011, but the western region was later designated as Mbita District. The total area of both districts combined is approximately 1055 kmMost inhabitants belong to the Luo and Suba ethnic groups whose main socio-economic activities are traditional small-scale fishing and farming. Most houses are constructed of a stick framework, plastered with a mixture of mud and cow dung, commonly covered with a corrugated iron roof or, in few instances, with thatch. Kenya\u2019s Ministry of Health, with assistance from the Global Fund, started a distribution of LLINs in this area in late 2006. However, malaria transmission remains high ,24. TherAn. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.s. Giles. A study in 1997 reported that 65.5% of An. gambiae s.l. larvae sampled in the study area were An. arabiensis, and the species composition was spatially heterogeneous [An. gambiae s.s. dominated indoors [The main malaria vectors in the study area are ogeneous ,24,25. H indoors .In May 2009 (during the rainy season), we collected anopheline larvae in nine areas, Gembe, Luanda, Mbita, Nyandiwa, Ogongo, Owichi, Rusinga, Valley South, and Valley North, where a previous study surveyed in February and March, 1997 . Larvae An. gambiae s.l. under a dissecting microscope using morphological keys [An. gambiae s.l. larva were extracted using the ethanol precipitation method. The DNA samples were identified into An. gambiae s.s. or An. arabiensis using the rDNA-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method [Collected larvae were identified into cal keys . DNAs of) method . In caseIndoor resting anopheline females were collected from 257 houses in 19 villages during May 2008, and from 470 houses in 31 villages during May 2010  and species composition within An. gambiae s.l. (the relative abundance of An. arabiensis) in the study area. A full model included all relevant covariates, this model was then simplified until the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was minimized following the stepwise removal of covariates. The significance (P > 0.05) of each fixed variable remaining in the optimal model was estimated using a log-likelihood ratio test. The Statistical Package R version 3.0 was used for all analyses [Maximum likelihood statistical models were used to reveal factors that affect the density of malaria vector species  (employing the R package \u2018lme4\u2019) was used to compare the relative abundance of and 2010 . The yeaand 2010 .An. gambiae s.l., An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis from the 11 villages studied between 1999, 2008 and 2010 using a Poisson GLMM. Year was a fixed factor, while village and house were assigned as random factors. In the analyses, two types of geographical variables were also included to explore spatial heterogeneity. We categorized the villages into \u201cisland\u201d and \u201cmainland\u201d for the first geographical variable (Island/mainland). The second geographical variable was constructed by grouping the villages using a cluster analysis based on the geographical distance between each pair of villages (employing R package \u2018stats\u2019). In these analyses, we could not include the variables related to bed nets and residents, as they were not available for the 1999 data set. Furthermore, we compared the densities of each taxon between years for each village separately, assigning year as a fixed factor and house as a random factor, which would provide us a picture of how the temporal changes in density varied among villages .For indoor resting females, we compared the average numbers of An. arabiensis between years, incorporating the same fixed and random factors used in the analyses of density. Then, we examined temporal change in species composition within each village separately. When no mosquitoes were amplified by PCR for a single house, the house was excluded from the analysis.For adult species composition, we also used a binomial GLMM to compare the relative abundance of An. gambiae s.l. females with the data set from the larger area including 31 villages in 2010, applying the same statistical procedure mentioned above.Using the adult mosquito data set from the 19 villages studied during 2008 and 2010, we revealed the factors affecting the density of each taxon and species composition. As the bed net coverage peaked in the area during 2008, two years after the mass bed net distribution campaign and then began to decline, we wanted to know if this decline affected vector density and species composition. We were also interested in the spatial variations of vector density and species composition, and their changes between 2008 and 2010. For the analyses, we used a Poisson GLMM for density and a binomial GLMM for species composition including house and village as random factors. Fixed factors assigned were year, the number of bed nets, the number of residents and the number of residents that had slept under nets on the previous night in each house, and the two geographical variables used in the analysis for the 11 villages. Furthermore, we examined the spatial variations of vector density and species composition of This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) (SSC No. 2131), Kenya. After the study was explained to the household heads in the local language, informed consent was obtained from them prior to sampling mosquitoes from their houses and interviewing them about bed net usage.An. gambiae s.l. larvae were collected in 2009. Of these, 28 (7.5%) were An. gambiae s.s., and 346 (92.5%) were An. arabiensis , area was not significant .Since we could not collect enough larvae in Ruri, Owichi and Rusinga in 2009 and in Ruri and Valley North in 2010, the data from these areas were not included in the analysis of species composition. A total of 374 et al. collected 4099 An. gambiae s.l. females from the 11 surveyed villages  were An. gambiae s.s. In 2008, 556 An. gambiae s.l. females were collected from the same 11 villages; 468 of these were used for PCR identification, of which 440 (94.0%) were successfully amplified, identifying 173 An. arabiensis (39.3%), and 267 An. gambiae s.s. (60.7%). In 2010, 865 An. gambiae s.l. were collected, and 730 individuals were used for species identification. Of these, 188 (27.6%) were An. arabiensis, and 492 (72.4%) were An. gambiae s.s.In 1999, Chen An. arabiensis females selected one fixed variable, year, and two random variables, house and village . The relative abundances in 2008 and 2010 were significantly greater than in 1999, and those in 2010 were significantly lower than in 2008.A cluster analysis based on geographical distance grouped the 11 surveyed villages into two separate regions, the eastern region and the western region Figure\u00a0. The besAn. arabiensis was compared between the years for each village separately, the relative abundance did not differ significantly in Takawiri and Ragwe . The density of An. gambiae s.l. reduced by 93% in 2008 and 2010 when compared with 1999, and the density of An. gambiae s.s. had reduced by 96% in 2008 and 95% in 2010 when compared with 1999 . The density of An. arabiensis reduced by 59% in 2008 and 70% in 2010 compared with 1999 . The model for the number of bed nets also selected island/mainland; however, the fixed variable was not statistically significant . For the numbers of residents and residents having slept under bed nets, the best models also selected geographical region; however, the fixed variable was not statistically significant in either case . The number of bed nets per house decreased by approximately 48% between 2008 and 2010, the number of residents decreased by approximately 10% in 2010, and the number of residents having slept under bed nets also decreased by approximately 23% in 2010 , island/mainland was not statistically significant . The western region had about 1.5 times the number of residents when compared with the other regions .A cluster analysis grouped the 31 villages into three areas, western region, central region and eastern region Figure\u00a0B. The beAn. gambiae s.l. adults were collected from the 19 villages in 2008  as An. gambiae s.s. In 2010, a total of 1712 An. gambiae s.l. were collected from the same 19 villages, and 1285 of these were used for PCR identification. PCR successfully amplified 1190 (92.6%) samples, of which 546 (45.9%) were An. arabiensis, and 644 (54.1%) were An. gambiae s.s.A total of 1238 An. arabiensis in the 19 villages selected three fixed variables, geographical region, island/mainland and year, and two random variables, house and village . The relative abundance of An. arabiensis was significantly higher in the island population when compared with the mainland population, and higher in the central region and eastern region when compared with the western region . Increasing bed nets by one decreased the average density of An. gambiae s.l. per house by 10%, and increasing residents by one increased it by 13% , the effects of island/mainland and year were not significant . Increasing bed nets by one decreased the average density of An. gambiae s.s. per house by 8%, and increasing residents by one increased it by 13% . Increasing bed nets by one decreased the average number of An. arabiensis by 13%, and increasing residents by one increased it by 13% . The relative abundance of An. arabiensis was higher in the eastern regions than in the western and central regions , the number of residents was significant . Increasing the number of residents by one increased the density of An. gambiae s.l. by 12%, the densities in the central and eastern regions were 42% greater and 30% lower than in the western region, respectively . Increasing the number of residents by one increased the density of An. gambiae s.s. by 11%, and the densities in the central and eastern regions were 19% and 87% lower than in the western region, respectively , the number of bed nets and region were not significant . Increasing the number of residents by one increased the density of An. arabiensis by 5%, and the densities in the central and eastern regions were 3.3 times greater than in the western region, respectively  suggests that the dominancy of An. gambiae s.s. is related to human populations [The dominancy of rabiensis-10, and ulations . AlthougIn addition to the availability of grazing area, the culture associated with the local ethnic groups may influence the abundance of livestock in the study area, and eventually influence the local vector species composition. The traditional lifestyle of the Luo is closely associated with livestock, while the focus of the Suba, who mainly inhabit the islands and the western region, is cultivating crops rather than pasturing livestock. As small boats are the only available transportation to the islands, the limited accessibility may also keep the abundance of livestock low on the islands.Anopheles gambiae s.s. has a lower desiccation tolerance than An. arabiensis, and An. gambiae s.s. tends to dominate in wetter areas when compared with An. arabiensis[An. gambiae s.s. may have higher humidity. Although a climate data set at a fine spatial scale is not available in the study area, the climate in the western region may be wetter than the eastern region. The residents in the western region often plant maize twice a year, but a two-crop system is not common in the eastern region, which suggests that the amount of rainfall is greater in the western region. The remaining patches of indigenous forests also suggest a wetter climate in the western region, and the forests further retain humidity in the area [Climate is another plausible factor for explaining the spatial variation of species composition. rabiensis,22,38. Tthe area . The lakAn. arabiensis was significantly lower in 2010 when compared with 2008. This was attributed to the significant reduction of An. arabiensis density in 2010, and a slight increase in An. gambiae s.s. density. Although the increase of An. gambiae s.s. was not statistically significant, overall An. gambiae s.l. significantly increased in 2010. The increase of vector population may be due to the decrease of bed nets in 2010 versus 2008. The decrease in bed net numbers reduces the selective pressure against An. gambiae s.s., in particular [An. gambiae s.s. [et al. reported that the An. gambiae s.s. had developed insecticide resistance related with a high frequency of knockdown resistance mutation, while An. arabiensis had a comparatively low frequency [An. arabiensis in 2010, as this species had acquired another type of pyrethorid insecticide resistance related to P450 by 2010 [Another interesting phenomenon observed in this study was that the relative abundance of rticular ,12-16. Tiae s.s. ,30,40-42An. arabiensis may simply be an annual variation. The long rainy season in 2008 was slightly drier than in 2010 due to the occurrence of La Ni\u00f1a Modoki [An. arabiensis in 2008. But the wetter rainy season in 2010 should not decrease the actual abundance of An. arabiensis, as its abundance has always been positively associated with rainfall [An. arabiensis is the development of behavioral resistance to ITNs [An. arabiensis is generally exophagic, the An. arabiensis population in the study area may have further enhanced its exophagic behavior, which may have consequently reduced the number of indoor catches of this species using PSC. The larval species composition changed little between 2009 and 2010, which may support this explanation, although larvae were not sampled in the same year.Otherwise, the decrease of a Modoki ,44, whicrainfall -48. Anot to ITNs ,19. AlthAnopheles gambiae s.s. has been replaced by An. arabiensis as the dominant malaria vector species, and has experienced a reduction in density of nearly 95% in the study area over 10 years. These phenomena are most likely explained by the dramatic increase in ITN coverage [An. gambiae s.s. was still dominant in the western part of the study area. The dominance of An. gambiae s.s. is not simply explained by bed net coverage, but rather by other environmental factors such as livestock availability or climate. This study also observed a slight increase in malaria vectors and an increase in the relative abundance of An. gambiae s.s. in 2010 compared with 2008. The decrease of bed net coverage and development of insecticide resistance may partially explain these changes.coverage . HoweverAn. arabiensis as the primary target in a high bed net coverage area. An adequate vector control tool and duration of intervention should be carefully determined for a targeted area [An. gambiae s.s. density in 2010 is alarming. Periodical monitoring of vector density, species composition and insecticide resistance is necessary to detect an unexpected resurgence in malaria vector population and parasite transmission [As this study demonstrated that an increase in bed net coverage does not necessarily replace endophilic species with exophilic species, verifying the target vector species is important in vector control rather than assuming ted area -52. The smission -55. Propsmission .AIC: Akaike Information Criterion; GLMM: Generalized linear mixed model; GPS: Global positioning system; IRS: Indoor residual spraying; ITN: Insecticide treated bed net; KEMRI: Kenya Medical Research Institute; PCR: rDNA-polymerase chain reaction; PSC: Pyrethrum spray catches.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.KF and NM conceived and designed this study. SN helped in designing and planning the study in Kenya. KF, GD, GS and PA collected the field data, and KF, MM, SW, JL and JK organized and conducted the laboratory work. KF performed the data analyses. KF drafted the first manuscript, and KF and NM finalized the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.An. arabiensis larvae. The larvae were sampled in 1997, 2008 and 2010. The parameters for 2009 and 2010 were estimated based on 1997, and the parameters for area was estimated based on island.Results of the best binomial GLMM for the relative abundance of Click here for fileAn. gambiae s.l. females sampled from each villages in 1999, 2008 and 2010.The numbers of Click here for fileAn. arabiensis females in 11 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 1999, 2008 and 2010. The parameters for 2008 and 2010 were estimated based on 1999.Results of the best binomial GLMM for the relative abundance of Click here for fileResults of the best binomial GLMMs for the densities of malaria vectors in 11 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 1999, 2008 and 2010. Parameters for 2008 and 2010 were estimated based on 1999, and those for the eastern region was estimated based on the western region.Click here for fileResults of the best GLMMs for bed nets, residents and residents slept under nets. The parameters for mainland were estimated based on island, those for the central and eastern regions were estimated based on the western region, and those for 2010 were estimated based on 2008.Click here for fileAn. arabiensis in 19 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 2009 and 2010. The parameters for mainland were estimated based on island, those for the central and eastern regions were estimated based on the western region, and those for 2010 were estimated based on 2008.Results of the best binomial GLMM for the relative abundance of Click here for fileResults of the best Poisson GLMM for the densities of malaria vectors in 19 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 2008 and 2010. The parameters for 2008 and 2010 were estimated based on 1999, and those for the eastern region was estimated based on the western region.Click here for fileAn. arabiensis in 31 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 2008 and 2010. The mosquitoes were sampled in 2010. The parameters for 2008 and 2010 were estimated based on 1999, and those for the eastern region were estimated based on the western region.Results of the best binomial GLMM for the relative abundance of Click here for fileResults of the best Poisson GLMM for the densities of malaria vectors in 31 villages. The mosquitoes were sampled in 2010. The parameters for the central and eastern regions were estimated based on the western region.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "To the Editor:Rickettsia felis is a bacterium transmitted by the cat flea , which also acts as a reservoir by means of transovarial transmission , identified by using accepted morphologic criteria, were obtained, with each animal yielding one to five fleas. DNA was extracted from each of the 110 flea pools by using a standard silica cartridge method  using the manufacturer\u2019s instructions for tissue DNA extraction. The presence of rickettsial DNA was determined by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with oligonucleotide primers that target rickettesial ompB . Similarity to published sequences was determined with the BLAST program (available from: URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) hosted by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information.To determine whether ompB and gltA-targeting PCRs. The ompB and gltA DNA sequences of all PCR products were 100% identical to those published for R. felis, thereby providing evidence for the presence of R. felis in fleas collected from >16% of the animals surveyed. PCR-positive fleas were collected from 4 dogs and 14 cats from Bristol, Hampshire, Dorset, and Northern Ireland. Taking into account the number of fleas in each pool, we estimate that 6% to 12% of the fleas collected were infected with R. felis.Eighteen flea DNA pools were positive for spotted fever group rickettsia. All 18 yielded PCR products with both R. felis, has clear public health implications. The bacterium appears to be widely distributed within the country, infecting a geographically dispersed population of Ct. felis. Up to 12% of Ct. felis may be infected with R. felis, a flea that is by far the most common species of ectoparasite encountered on cats and dogs in the U.K. mainland. Furthermore, Ct. felis often feeds on humans.This study represents the first description of a spotted fever group rickettsia endemic to the United Kingdom. The species detected, R. felis. Laboratory confirmation of infection is not easy, but in vitro culture of R. felis, and hence material for a serologic assay for the diagnosis of human R. felis infections, has recently been described, and serology appears to be an accurate indicator of exposure , gentamicin, amoxicillin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Thus, infection with this bacterium should be considered in cases of antibiotic-insensitive fever with a rash, especially in young, old, and immunosuppressed persons. The organism is sensitive to doxycyclin, rifampicin, thiamphenicol, and fluoroquinolones (Clinicians encountering patients with fever or rash (or both) and a history of cat contact or flea bites should consider a diagnosis of"}
+{"text": "The fundamental need for environmental preservation has been calling, around the world, for the development and deployment of friendly industrial processes. Moreover, presently, development has to take into account sustainability. Within this context, enzyme technology is of outmost importance, having a major role for the achievement of the goals of sustainable development. This technology is of particular significance to Brazil due to the need to preserve Brazil's singular ecosystems, biodiversity, and quality and availability of the country's water resources. Furthermore, Brazil has an unrivalled availability of natural wealth, in both diversity and quantity, to be processed, via biocatalysis, into a wide range of diverse and innovative products as well as into biofules. Enzymes are the logical tool to process renewable resources as both of them have naturally evolved to match each other. It is now, therefore, time to develop dexterity and expand the use of enzymes in a fully efficient manner. As biochemical processes are cleaner than its chemical counterparts and generate higher-quality products, this shift would benefit the country's socioeconomic development. However, going from traditional chemistry into enzymatic processes is more than a technical and economical challenge, it is a change in the way we think technology\u2014scientific and technical knowledge\u2014 and thoughtfulness are much needed. vis-\u00e0-vis the necessary move toward biocatalysis. Eight papers, which were selected from a wealth of submitted manuscripts, were accepted for publication in this special issue of Enzyme Research. They relate to fundamental areas of enzyme research and technology such as microbial screening, enzymes production and characterization, fine chemistry, biorefinery, and biofuels. The Brazilian Seminar on Enzyme Technology (ENZITEC) has been taking place every two years since 2003. Its main objective has been to further the knowledge on the wide range of industrial, technical, and specialty enzymes alongside promoting its economic viability. The event encompasses the worldwide interest in industrial enzyme research and uses Denise M. G. FreireDenise M. G. FreireElba P. S. BonElba P. S. BonGustavo Viniegra-GonzalezGustavo Viniegra-GonzalezFrancisco GirioFrancisco GirioRobert F. H. DekkerRobert F. H. Dekker"}
+{"text": "Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Europe, as well as in changes in the distribution within its prior endemic zones. This paper builds on published literature and unpublished expert opinion from the VBORNET network with the aim of reviewing the evidence for these changes in Europe and discusses the many climatic, ecological, landscape and anthropogenic drivers. These can be divided into those directly related to climatic change, contributing to an expansion in the tick\u2019s geographic range at extremes of altitude in central Europe, and at extremes of latitude in Scandinavia; those related to changes in the distribution of tick hosts, particularly roe deer and other cervids; other ecological changes such as habitat connectivity and changes in land management; and finally, anthropogenically induced changes. These factors are strongly interlinked and often not well quantified. Although a change in climate plays an important role in certain geographic regions, for much of Europe it is non-climatic factors that are becoming increasingly important. How we manage habitats on a landscape scale, and the changes in the distribution and abundance of tick hosts are important considerations during our assessment and management of the public health risks associated with ticks and tick-borne disease issues in 21st century Europe. Better understanding and mapping of the spread of I. ricinus (and changes in its abundance) is, however, essential to assess the risk of the spread of infections transmitted by this vector species. Enhanced tick surveillance with harmonized approaches for comparison of data enabling the follow-up of trends at EU level will improve the messages on risk related to tick-borne diseases to policy makers, other stake holders and to the general public.Many factors are involved in determining the latitudinal and altitudinal spread of the important tick vector  Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) is a small hard tick that transmits a large variety of pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Those commonly reported include Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. causing Lyme borreliosis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum causing human granulocytic anaplasmosis, Francisella tularensis causing tularaemia, Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis causing spotted fever rickettsiosis, Babesia divergens and Babesia microti responsible for babesiosis, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Louping ill virus and Tribec virus.I. ricinus, and/or changed activity that bring people into contact with ticks.The most prevalent tick-borne infection of humans in the northern hemisphere is Lyme borreliosis, whose incidence has increased in at least nine European countries over the last decade-3. One pI. ricinus is known to be changing in Europe, both at extremes of altitude and latitude, as well as within its prior range. The reasons for these changes are manifold, and this paper aims to review the driving forces for changes in the geographical distribution of this tick species in Europe. Before we consider these changes, however, it is useful to summarise the biological and ecological aspects of the life history of I. ricinus that underpin the impact of so many different drivers on its survival, seasonal and diel activity and distribution.The distribution of Each active life stage attaches to a single host and feeds on blood for a period of days before detaching and then moulting (larvae and nymphs) or producing eggs . Larvae I. ricinus quest for hosts using an \u2018ambush\u2019 technique whereby they climb up vegetation and wait for a host to brush past. During questing, the tick loses moisture so has to descend the vegetation into the litter/mat layer to rehydrate. Moving back into the litter/mat layer reduces the probability of coming into contact with a host and uses up energy stores so is detrimental to tick survival, the risk factors can be divided generally into 1) those directly related to climatic change , 2) those related to changes in the distribution of tick hosts (which may be a direct or indirect effect of human intervention), and 3) other ecological changes . Drivers of change in distribution are discussed under the following headings: climatic effects at high altitude and latitudes (including impacts of tick habitats and tick hosts), habitat patchiness/connectivity and urban green corridors, expansion of tick hosts, and anthropogenic-specific factors, as well as evidence of expansion to new territories. The challenges in overcoming lack of historical data to assess changes are also discussed.Following expert opinion from tick researchers within VBORNET, a network of entomologist and public health experts supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and a comprehensive literature review [Searches were made of PubMed Google Scholar and Science Direct, with search terms including, I. ricinus with increasing altitude, as documented from vertical transects carried out between 620\u20131270 m.a.s.l (metres above sea level) during the period 2002\u20132006 in a mountainous region in Czech Republic[et al.[There is a clear biological basis for the reduced abundance of Republic,31. The c[et al. and therc[et al.. There wI. ricinus survival. Studies in Switzerland[I. ricinus is reported up to 1450 m.a.s.l in the study sites in Switzerland. However, the density of nymphs differs between south-facing and north-facing slopes. Density decreased with altitude on south-facing slopes[I. ricinus on south-facing slopes[I. ricinus were more common on east and west facing slopes[Additional effects of microclimate variables and the diversity of ecological factors add to the complexity of the impact that altitude might have on the vertical limit of tzerland-36 have g slopes, but incg slopes. This hag slopes, and thiI. ricinus is clearly dynamic, as altitude acts principally as a determinant of climate, and therefore thresholds vary with latitude across Europe. In Italy, the tick becomes far less abundant above 1300 m.a.s.l[I. ricinus ticks have been found below 600 m.a.s.l[I. ricinus[The altitudinal limit of  m.a.s.l. Further m.a.s.l, 1560 m. m.a.s.l, 1080\u201312 m.a.s.l. At the  m.a.s.l. Of the . ricinus. With reI. ricinus from studies in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Evidence from Omeragic[I. ricinus in Bosnia & Herzegovina in the 1950s was <800 m.a.s.l, and this increased to 900 m.a.s.l by the 1960s, and to 1190 m.a.s.l by 2010. Similar historical data also exists for the Czech Republic, from two separate mountain ranges. In Sumava, the highest limit of tick survival in studies in 1957 was 700 m.a.s.l. By the 1990s, ticks were being found up to and above 700 m.a.s.l in areas previously thought to be tick free, and by 2001, this had increased to 1100 m.a.s.l[I. ricinus.There is good field-based evidence of an expansion in the altitudinal range of Omeragic suggests m.a.s.l. Similar m.a.s.l, the alt m.a.s.l,45. In S m.a.s.l. AlthougI. ricinus to higher altitudes was due to increased annual and seasonal temperatures and rainfall, and consequently an extended period to allow for tick development. Danielov\u00e1 et al.[I. ricinus populations. They suggest that increased temperatures during January and February will also influence tick host survival, providing ample small mammal hosts for immature stages. In Krkonose, Danielov\u00e1 et al.[Changes in climate over recent years have been recorded throughout Europe, including at high altitude in the Czech Republic. Daniel et al. suggest v\u00e1 et al.,48 reporv\u00e1 et al. reportedoN so far examined \u2013 Sarah Randolph unpublished data); large inter-annual differences in the length of the seasons and the abundance of ticks will still be expected.Increasing temperatures will have a disproportionate effect on tick populations under the cooler and limiting conditions at higher altitudes because of the non-linear positive relationship between rates of development and temperature,50. At tI. ricinus, exemplified by studies in Greece that report a lower altitudinal limit of 600 m.a.s.l.[At high altitudes, snow cover during winter may enhance tick survival by minimizing repeated freezing and thawing in litter layers  to spread to and inhabit previously inhospitable areas of the Alps and Scandinavia. Such deer movements have allowed I. ricinus to be transported northwards on the Scandinavian Peninsula, resulting in a significantly increased tick range during the last 30 years[I. ricinus[Climate cannot act alone; furthermore, survival. Jaensonl[et al.,56 sugge30 years. Further. ricinus. The mov. ricinus.I. ricinus habitat at high altitude, particularly changes in forest and wildlife management[I. ricinus. With respect to animals, there has been a significant increase and re-population of the Alps by roe deer since the 1940s[I. ricinus feeding on mammal species that inhabit traditionally unfavourable conditions for ticks  may suggest the possibility for alternative tick-host interaction cycles .In Italy there have been similar reports of increased temperature at high altitude since the 1980s, but other factors evidently contribute to suitability for nagement. For exahe 1940s. The recI. ricinus (Maria Kazimirova pers. comm.), with ticks found in new regions of Slovakia where populations of I. ricinus were previously unrecorded[I. ricinus at these altitudes. Furthermore, at newly colonised sites for ticks, the local small mammal population would assist in sustaining immature I. ricinus stages.Similar habitat and tick-host changes have been reported in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In Slovakia, there is evidence over the last 20 years that areas of formerly cultivated land at high altitude have been left uncultivated, possibly offering additional habitat both for wild rodents and recorded. In the recorded. This inI. ricinus occurs in northern parts of the UK[With regard to the northern extent of the range of this tick, f the UK and DenmI. ricinus in Sweden[I. ricinus to spread so rapidly and extensively to many previously tick-free localities of Northern Sweden[Various studies have monitored and explained the northward spread of n Sweden,56,63-66n Sweden. The shiI. ricinus was commonly encountered in areas where the VP exceeded 180 days, but rarely where it remained below 160 days. There was also a reduced duration of snow cover. With fewer than 125 days of snow cover, I. ricinus was consistently present, but above 175 days of snow cover it was consistently absent[A generally warmer climate can exert an effect in ways already outlined above with respect to warming at high altitudes. y absent. A proloy absent,65.I. ricinus are not as clearly defined and need further study[I. ricinus distribution in Fennoscandia will expand as winter seasons become shorter and milder, VP increases and deciduous woodland expands[I. ricinus activity is expected in southernmost regions and abundance is expected to increase in most of the regions by 2071\u20132100[Similar sorts of abiotic and biotic factors may also apply to Norway, although the driving forces behind an observed 400km northward expansion of er study. Various expands,64,68,69071\u20132100.I. ricinus range expansion in some parts of Europe, is supported by the results of a questionnaire survey in the UK[I. ricinus. The reasons for this are largely anecdotal, but are thought to be due to a combination of events: a behavioural adaptation in roe deer in relation to their tolerance of human disturbance, ongoing afforestation of the country by 10-25%, changes in agricultural practice (including the feeding of deer), and a decline of predators (due to scabies in foxes). Similarly, their expansion to all regions may be limited by the occurrence of sandy soils in some regions of the country[The above argument, that deer expansion appears to be a major driving force for n the UK and fieln the UK, and dee country.I. ricinus populations, other vertebrate species may play that role in some localities. In certain parts of Germany, where roe deer populations have reportedly remained stable, large increases in populations of wild boar have been linked with increases in I. ricinus abundance[I. ricinus. On some small isolated islands in the Baltic Sea, such as Gotska Sand\u00f6n and other small islands along the Fennoscandian coastline, cervids are absent, but the I. ricinus populations can be maintained by mountain hares (Lepus timidus) that are the only host for all active stages of the tick populations[I. ricinus[Although deer are commonly the most important wild animal in sustaining bundance. There aulations. In othe. ricinus.I. ricinus can survive and spread to new regions. While an extended VP and expansion of deciduous woodland is important in northern latitudes, there are also many afforestation and habitat connectivity initiatives within other parts of Europe, well within the prior range of I. ricinus. In Spain, there is evidence that long-term and short-term changes in climate suitability are enabling some areas of the country to become more favourable and others less favourable  . Habitat configuration, that is the degree of connectivity between habitats, is important in determining tick presence/absence and abundance through its effect on tick hosts[I. ricinus associated with greater connectivity between patches, any reduction in the distance between patches (thus promoting de-fragmentation of habitats) may promote the probability of successful invasion and establishment of I. ricinus in new areas[Habitat structure clearly plays an important part in determining whether ck hosts,74. Withew areas.I. ricinus. There appears to have been an expansion in the range of I. ricinus in south-west England during the last decade[I. ricinus are exploiting \u2018field margins\u2019 (i.e. margins of arable land left for wildlife), although the occurrence of ticks is influenced by the neighbouring habitat (e.g. woodland versus arable), and the local activities/movements and daily resting behaviours of deer. Woodlands are also being managed as mosaic habitats, with active management of track-side grassland (known in the UK as a ride) within forests generating compartmentalised woodland, specifically for the benefit of butterflies. This provides sunny path-side vegetation for a range of animals and plants. Various factors, such as leaf litter, sward height and occurrence of bracken and bramble, along with a favourable aspect (i.e. orientation) appear to favour tick abundance[In the UK and in other European countries, agri-environment schemes encourage de-fragmentation of habitats by providing habitat corridors between \u2018patches\u2019 of extant habitat. This provides a corridor for animal dispersal, refuges for their browsing and laying up (e.g. by deer) and consequently will affect the dispersal of t decade. This mabundance,76. In tbundance. Tick pobundance. NeverthI. ricinus is whether the species is a generalist, adapted to a very wide range of climate conditions, or exists as a series of dynamic populations in different regions within Europe, adapted to local prevailing conditions. The only phenotypic analysis on several populations of the species involved the use of cuticular hydrocarbon composition to characterize the chemical profile of different specimens[A further complication to the argument of dispersal and local establishment of pecimens,78. SuchI. ricinus in Europe lead to contradictory opinions; from the lack of genetic structure of the species in the target area[I. ricinus is linked to the type of host used, which in turn is an indicator of the type of habitat used by the species[Studies of allozymic data or DNA sequences of get area,80 to thget area, to a laget area. Some st species. In any I. ricinus is present throughout the country except at mid- and high altitude. There have been no specific studies tracking its spread, in common with almost all countries apart from those described above. It is, however, generally acknowledged that there has been an increase in abundance of I. ricinus in France . Natural, social and anthropogenic factors are generally accepted by French tick experts as contributing to a de-stabilisation of the previous status quo that may have led to an increase in tick abundance[I. ricinus in France are too fragmentary to make any firm assessments of species expansion. Similarly, many unsolicited casual reports from members of the general public, comparing the lack of a tick problem when they were young with the need to protect the current generation of children from exposure to ticks during recreation, all point to a more widespread distribution of ticks in the UK, especially in peri-domestic habitats . This is presumably due to a range of causes, some of which may have an anthropogenic originIn France, bundance. Much ofI. ricinus, but this does not allow a quantification of tick expansion, or indeed constitute evidence of species expansion. There are anthropogenic drivers in Portugal, such as changes in land management, changes in pest control strategies, extensive destruction of habitats by fire and an increase in hunting, all of which could contribute to any real change (both increase and decrease) in the abundance and distribution of I. ricinus[I. ricinus to central and northern parts of the country.In Portugal, the recent increase in studies on the epidemiology of tick-borne disease has led to a greater awareness of the occurrence and spatial distribution of . ricinus. Coupled. ricinus. The latIn central and eastern European countries, the reform of agricultural practices after the fall of Soviet rule has led to significant changes in land cover and land use, most of which act synergistically to improve the habitat for ticks and increase human contact with ticks. National herds of cattle and sheep have declined , and the area under cultivation of field crops has diminished, both allowing natural regeneration of herbaceous and woody vegetation and re-iI. ricinus, and in some cases we have field-based evidence for such effects. Often our opinion on whether ticks are increasing in their range is based largely on anecdotal evidence, which is often hard to quantify. Recently published maps from the UK[st century sources including: incidence data on Lyme borreliosis and bovine babesiosis, and observational data of tick occurrence from veterinary surgeons, from the public via media sources and from cervid hunters[I. ricinus is known to be patchy, although a Portuguese surveillance programme for ticks and tick-borne diseases of public health concern (REVIVE) was implemented from 2011[So far we have presented several theories on the driving forces for change in distribution of m the UK have comm the UK. A multi hunters. In Portrom 2011. It is eI. ricinus[Reliable, historical tick distribution data are valuable for assessing changes in the populations of . ricinus. Unfortu. ricinus. Possibl. ricinus and in m. ricinus.I. ricinus within countries, there is recent evidence of expansion of I. ricinus into new off-shore territories. The first record of I. ricinus in the Faroe Islands came from a dog in 1999. This was followed by records of a nymph on a wheatear in 2000, an engorged female on a cat in 2004, an engorged larva on a chiffchaff in 2004 and a nymph on a human in 2005 . Ticks I. ricinus distribution. In Estonia for example, there have been extensive collections of I. ricinus for pathogen detection since the 1980s. Although fluctuations in tick abundance were noted, no specific studies on changing abundance or distribution have been conducted . In Latvia, I. ricinus is considered largely absent from eastern parts of the country (where I. persulcatus is more common) and there is no evidence of recent spread . However the above-mentioned landscape changes (both newly re-generated woodlands and within existing forests) in Latvia could continue to affect tick abundance and distribution in the future.For some countries there is no reported evidence of an expansion in I. ricinus based on the publication records of the last 10 years and will update these maps based on a compilation of existing data from various sources provided and shared by the members of the network. This unique map resource will form the basis for the better documenting the range expansion of I. ricinus and other tick species relevant to public health.At the European level, VBORNET has started to map the distribution of I. ricinus as well as in changes in the distribution within its prior endemic zones. The drivers can be divided into those directly related to climatic change, those related to changes in the distribution of tick hosts particularly roe deer and other cervids, or other ecological changes and anthropogenically induced changes (TableI. ricinus (and changes in its abundance) are, however, essential to assess the risk of the spread of infections transmitted by this vector species. Enhanced tick surveillance with harmonised approaches will enable better comparisons to be made of change in trends in distribution at an EU level. This will help improve the messages on the public health risk of tick-borne diseases to policy makers, other stakeholders and to the general public.Many factors are involved in the latitudinal and altitudinal spread of es Table. These fThe author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.JMM and KMH conducted the literature review and were responsible with WVB for collating and writing the paper. All other authors provided expert information and comment relevant to their area of expertise and geographic region to ensure that the paper was not geographically biased. The VBORNET project is led by GH, in coordination with WVB and HZ. The work-package responsible for this review is coordinated by JMM. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Yersinia. In this issue, the focus was on yersiniosis-related foodborne illnesses, behavior of Yersinia in foods, incidence, persistence, survival, or growth, outbreaks and surveillance, zoonosis virulence and pathogenesis, detection/identification, mechanisms to grow in foods, and public health. Yersinia belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family and is often isolated from clinical specimens. Three Yersinia strains, namely, Y. enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. pestis, are pathogenic to humans and are widespread among various animal species and in the environment. They are transmitted to humans by the oral route and cause intestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever. These species are found all over the world, with a higher incidence in temperate and cold environments. This special issue of Journal of Pathogens was designed to share some of the interested scientific studies published on yersiniosis, a foodborne outbreaks associated with consumption of food contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica in foods, their incidences, possible route of contamination, persistence, factors that influence the survival, or growth in food, soil, and water are reviewed by Bari et al. In this special issue, behavior of Yersinia spp. and their current status in different foods and environments are discussed by A. Rahman et al. The epidemiology, outbreaks and surveillance, and zoonosis of Yersinia enterocolitica, mode of transmission of virulence, and their factors are covered by Y. Sabina et al. The molecular insight of virulence of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis in human yersiniosis, their genomics, mechanisms of infection, and host responses including the current state of surveillance, detection, and prevention of yersiniosis, are presented by C. L. Galindo et al. The pathogenesis of Yersinia species and procedure to monitor the presence of virulence plasmid in Y. Pestis during storage and a convenient culture method for monitoring the presence of virulent plasmid in food are discussed by S. Bhaduri and J. L. Smith. The virulence plasmid (pYV) associated with the expression of phenotypic virulent in pathogenic Y. enterocolitica from pig tonsils was discussed by M. Denis et al. A highly sensitive, specific, and accurate selective chromogenic culture plate method that has been developed for detecting pathogenic Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis in foods. H. Fukushima et al. reviewed and discussed the commercially available conventional and PCR-based procedures for specific detection of pathogenic Yersinia in foods. J. Gui and I. R. Patel reviewed and discussed the recent advances in molecular technologies and their application in detecting pathogenic Yersinia frederiksenii and their genomic analysis, and they found that enzyme might be responsible for the transposition of this novel retron element. R. Das et al. reported in their research article the presence of a novel single-stranded DNA in Yersinia enterocolitica infections in foods.In the last reviewed article, S. N. Aziz and K. M. S. Aziz discussed the theoretical modeling to avoid exposure of Latiful BariLatiful BariDike O. UkukuDike O. UkukuKenji IsshikiKenji IsshikiRamesh C. RayRamesh C. RayDidier MontetDidier Montet"}
+{"text": "Gender-specific smoking cessation strategies have rarely been developed. Evidence of effectiveness of physical activity (PA) promotion and intervention in adjunct to smoking cessation programs is not strong. SPRINT study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate a counselling intervention on smoking cessation and PA delivered to women attending the Italian National Health System Cervical Cancer Screening Program. This paper presents study design and baseline characteristics of the study population.Among women undergoing the Pap examination in three study centres , participants were randomized to the smoking cessation counselling [S], the smoking cessation + PA counselling [S + PA], or the control [C] groups. The program under evaluation is a standard brief counselling on smoking cessation combined with a brief counselling on increasing PA, and was delivered in 2010. A questionnaire, administered before, after 6 months and 1 year from the intervention, was used to track behavioural changes in tobacco use and PA, and to record cessation rates in participants.p < 0.001), smoked more cigarettes per day , and were more likely to have already done 1 or more quit attempts . The approach of SPRINT study appeared suitable to enrol less educated women who usually smoke more and have more difficulties to quit.Out of the 5,657 women undergoing the Pap examination, 1,100 participants (55% of smokers) were randomized in 1 of the 3 study groups . The three arms did not differ on any demographic, PA, or tobacco-use characteristics. Recruited smokers were older, less educated than non-participant women, more motivated to quit (33% vs.9% in the Preparation stage, ISRCTN52660565ISRCTN:  Smoking is the leading cause of death and of many diseases for both men and women . Since 1The National Health System Cervical Cancer Screening Program (NHS-CCSP) in Italy is a beneficial setting to deliver smoking cessation counselling to women aged 25-64 years attending the Pap test examination. Smoking is an important co-factor for the development of cervical cancer, being human papilloma-virus (HPV) the principal causal factor . HPV-posThe linkage between smoking cessation and the fear to gain weight is well documented. Women's concern about their weight has been hypothesized to be a factor in preventing smoking cessation efforts, increasing smoking relapse rates among quitters, and encouraging smoking initiation. Women are more likely than men to believe that smoking helps control body weight and are more likely to report actually using cigarettes as a means to control their weight . BecauseThe SPRINT Study was designed in order to verify the effectiveness of a standard counselling intervention on smoking cessation delivered by trained midwives in a gender-specific setting , and whether the adjunct of PA counselling to the standard smoking cessation counselling might increase quit rates among women undergoing the NHS-CCSP. This paper describes the characteristics of the female smokers enrolled in the study in comparison to those registered in non-participant female smokers.The Sprint intervention is a standard brief counselling on smoking cessation combined with a brief counselling on increasing PA. The smoking cessation counselling corresponds to the first two phases of the brief intervention for smoking cessation (\"Ask\" and \"Advice\") . It is tIT is a three-arm randomized controlled trial. Smokers attending the NHS-CCSP consulting rooms who decided to participate in the study, were the units of analysis and were randomly assigned to one of the two intervention arms  or the control [C] arm Figure .The study population, consisting of women 25-64 years of age attending some NHS-CCSP consulting rooms, was expected to be enrolled in three Italian areas . Women waiting to perform the test were asked to fill in the study questionnaire and, if participating in the study, the informed consent.Assuming a six-month cessation rate in the S + PA arm of about 15%, and a cessation rate in the C group of about 8% (relative risk of 1.8), with a significant level \u03b1 = 0.05, and a power of 0.80, a sample size of about 430 women per arm, and about 1,300 women overall, were estimated to be necessary to conduct the study. Cessation rates used in the power calculation derived from a pilot study previously conducted in one NHS-CCSP consulting room in Florence . KnowingAll smoking women, aged 25-64 years and attending the NHS-CCSP consulting rooms in the study areas, irrespective of their health status, were eligible if they consented to participate in the study. Participating women were randomly assigned to one of the 3 arms of the study by the midwives, using a predefined list of casual numbers.Participants had to fill in a questionnaire before to perform the test. Questions covered demographic characteristics, lifetime and current use of cigarettes, frequency of previous quit attempts, the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ) , and intA telephone follow-up to all participants was scheduled after six months and one year from the intervention, in order to know how many women successfully quitted after the intervention. The same questionnaire for tobacco use and PA levels was used in the follow-up interviews, in order to assess the Di Clemente-Prochaska stages of change for smoking cessation and increasing PA after the intervention. The analysis of these data are ongoing.The SPRINT Study was submitted and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Local Health Authority of Florence, Italy.U test was used to test for difference in continuous variables, since data showed a non-normal distribution.We conducted a descriptive analysis of the baseline characteristics of non-participant female smokers vs. recruited female smokers and across the study arms and centres. Differences in proportions were analyzed using the Chi-squared test. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney A total of 5,647 women who underwent the Pap smear test filled in the study questionnaire; 2,002 of them (35.4%) were current smokers, and 1,100 of them (54.9% of smokers) decided to participate to the study. Then, 363, 366, and 371 participants were randomly assigned to the S, S + PA, and C arms, respectively , and were more likely to have already done \u2265 1 quit attempts than non-participants . Finally, looking at the Di Clemente-Prochaska stages of change for smoking cessation, recruited women were more likely to be in the preparation and contemplation stages, whereas non-participating women were more likely to be in the precontemplation stage ,  and 19.6The three study centres  recruited the expected study samples, and recorded a participation rate from 50% in Turin to 65% in Mantua, higher than the participation rate of 31.5% recorded in the pilot study previously conducted . This hiOther strengths of the study are the large sample size and the measurement of variations from baseline stage of self-reported behavioural change for smoking cessation and increasing PA after the intervention.Recruited women recorded peculiar tobacco-use characteristics in comparison to non-participant women: they were more motivated to quit (about one third was in the preparation stage), smoked more cigarettes per day, and had already attempted to quit. Eighty-one percent of smokers in the preparation stage for smoking cessation, 64% in the contemplation stage, and only 38% in the pre-contemplation stage participated voluntarily to the study. Thus, this distribution by motivation level among participants could determine an unexpectedly high cessation rate in the control group. Anyhow, this bias is unavoidable in intervention studies where the intervention cannot be imposed and the subjects under study must be necessarily volunteers.Another limit of the study is that all the outcome measures on smoking cessation and PA are self-reported, even though self-reports are considered a low-cost approach to obtaining sufficiently accurate information on tobacco use and PA ,28.Regarding the motivational phase, it must be outlined that for PA the percentage of sedentary women in pre-contemplation (those who does not want even to think to change their habit) is similar in recruited and in non participant women ; on the contrary pre-contemplating smokers among non participants are twice the participants (61.6% vs 30.7%). These data reflect the high attention of women on their body weight and at the same time the resistance to quit. Smoking appeared to attenuate weight gain over time and this is also a reason of female smokers' resistance to quit smoking, even if the average weight of women who are current smokers is modestly lower than that of women never smoked or who are former smokers -29.In conclusion, smoking is actually the predominant health problem in developed countries, accounting for about 19,000 attributable deaths in Italian women in 2010 . PromotiThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.EC conceived of the study, participated in the design of the study, coordinated the multicentric study group and draft the manuscript. GG participated in the design and analysis of the study, and contributed to the manuscript draft. GC analysed the data and contributed to the manuscript draft. LG participated in the design of the study, was responsible of the study in Piedmont, and contributed to the manuscript draft. EA participated in the design of the study, was responsible of the study in Lombardy, and contributed to the manuscript draft. AI participated in the design of the study, was responsible of the study in Tuscany, and contributed to the manuscript draft. CB participated in the design of the study and trained the personnel involved in recruitment. EG participated in the design of the study, trained the personnel involved in recruitment, and revised the manuscript. AC participated in the design of the study, carried out the study in Piedmont and revised the manuscript. FT participated in the design of the study, carried out the study in Lombardy and revised the manuscript. MRG participated in the design of the study, carried out the study in Tuscany and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The SPRINT Working Group includes the previous mentioned authors and all the midwives who enrolled the population under study: E. Amadori ; E. Anghinoni ; A.M. Badiali ; B. Baldini ; B. Baluga ; A.M. Barbi ; M.C. Barbieri ; C. Bellati ; B. Benatti ; E. Berini ; L. Boldrini ; P. Breviglieri ; C. Bronchi ; V. Cacciarini ; L. Calabrese ; L. Campitelli ; L. Caraffa ; N. Casoni ; G. Catelani ; D. Casi ; P. Cavini ; E. Chellini ; S. Clara ; A. Cerchi ; N. Colledan ; A. Coppo ; L. Cozzi ; C. Danielis ; C. Di Pierro ; F. Di Stefano ; C. Ferrari ; M. Ferri ; T. Ferri ; L. Fiaccadori ; F. Florio ; C. Forlucci ; E. Galanti ; M. Gialdini ; L. Giordano ; M.R. Giovacchini ; G. Gorini ; E. Grechi ; L. Grossi ; S. Guzzo ; G. Innocenti ; A. Iossa ; S. Labardi ; C. Lepri ; D. Montovanelli ; G. Mantovani ; A. Marchi ; S. Mazzoni ; M. Molinari ; M. Morandini ; R. Nidiaci ; P. Noli ; A.M. Notarangelo ; S. Oliveri Del Castillo ; R. Pasini ; F. Perfetti ; C. Prati ; G. Pria ; S. Raffanini ; N. Rigoni ; E. Russo ; R. Sgarbi ; M.E. Siliprandi ; D. Simoncelli ; F. Talassi ; C. Ticci ; S. Toffalini ; C. Tovagliari ; M. Vaccari ; C. Vair , M. Zambello .The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/906/prepub"}
+{"text": "Thermomonospora curvata Henssen 1957 is the type species of the genus Thermomonospora. This genus is of interest because members of this clade are sources of new antibiotics, enzymes, and products with pharmacological activity. In addition, members of this genus participate in the active degradation of cellulose. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the family Thermomonosporaceae. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 5,639,016 bp long genome with its 4,985 protein-coding and 76 RNA genes is a part of the  Genomic  Encyclopedia of  Bacteria and  Archaea  project. T (= DSM 43183 = ATCC 19995 = JCM 3096) is the type strain of Thermomonospora curvata, which in turn is the type species of the genus Thermomonospora . Thrmed 4B2 . T. curv type IV ,45 are,  Genomic  Encyclopedia of  Bacteria and  Archaea  project [This organism was selected for sequencing on the basis of its phylogenetic position , and is  project . The gen project  and the T. curvata B9T, DSM 43183, was grown in DSMZ medium 550  [et al. [l, 1973)  at 45\u00b0C. [et al. . DNA is  [et al. ,50.The genome of was sequenced using a combination of Sanger and 454 sequencing platforms. All general aspects of library construction and sequencing can be found at the JGI website . PyroseqGenes were identified using Prodigal  as part The genome consists of a 5,639,016 bp long chromosome with a 71.6% GC content . Of the"}
+{"text": "Methods for cancer monitoring and early detection of the disease are of the utmost importance and represent one of the most active areas of current research. Cancer monitoring is crucial not only for early initial diagnosis of the disease, but also for followup of therapy outcome. Despite being well developed, most methods for cancer monitoring are unsuitable for clinical use because they either are insufficiently accurate, not sensitive enough, or require a lengthy complicated analysis. There is a great necessity for more effective cancer monitoring methods that can improve cancer management in routine clinical setting and increase treatment effectiveness. Advances in this field of research are based on a more detailed understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms involved in the disease process, as well as on advances in genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic research.This special issue encompasses articles on the state of the art, advantages and disadvantages, current limitations, and future perspectives of cancer monitoring methods. Dr. D. Musio with colleagues and Dr. B. Kasper with colleagues present advanced imaging methods in clinical followup of response to therapy. Dr. G. Bertino with colleagues, as well as Dr. P. Mirabelli and Dr. M. Incoronato, offer new insight into the use of some traditional cancer biomarkers in clinical and laboratory practice. The works of Dr. P. Sadlecki with colleagues, Dr. R. Zappacosta with colleagues, and Dr. S. Farivar with colleagues deal with the analysis of protein cancer biomarkers in different types of samples. Of special interest are the articles that report on development, implementation, and validation of novel techniques for cancer monitoring, by Dr. C.-F. Chen with colleagues and Dr. I. Macchia and colleagues.We would like to thank the authors for their excellent contributions to this special issue. We hope that this issue will be useful to the experts of all profiles dealing with cancer in both clinical and laboratory setting.Aleksandra NikolicOronza Antonietta BotrugnoJelena UrosevicNatasa Tosic"}
+{"text": "There was an error in the funding statement. The correct funding statement is: This work was supported in part by grants from National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute R01HL089599 to A.C., R01DK090053 to C.T., and R01CA127958 to A.G. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Dr. Eliana C. Martinez, M.D., Ph.D., from Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore,\u201d and the authors list should be read in the correct order as previously mentioned.This erratum corrects the listing of authors for the above paper published in this journal. The authors' list should also have included \u201c"}
+{"text": "Dr. N. Kumar was born on 21/06/1952.He completed his MBBS in April 1976 and went on to do DMRD which he completed in April 1982 and then D. V. in October 1984. He also did his MD in Venereology in the year October 1987.He joined Tamilnadu Medical Service in 1984 and there he worked in various departments like Casualty, Forensic Medicine, Radiology and STD.He was the recipient of Ranganathan Gold medal in 1986. He worked as a Professor in STD Dept at Tirunelveli Medical College in 2005. He joined Institute of Venereology as an Additional Professor in 2007 and he served as Director (i/c), Institute of Venereology from 2009.He succumbed to his illness on 22/05/2010.We pray that his soul rest in peace."}
+{"text": "This genus of nematodes was named after H.A. Baylis, a parasitologist at the British Museum of Natural History, London, who studied these organisms in the 1920s and 1930s. The most common cause of baylisascariasis in humans and animals is infection with the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, which takes its name from Procyon, a genus of raccoons. The species was first isolated from raccoons in the New York Zoological Park in 1931.From the Greek term for intestinal worms, Source: Gavin PJ, Kazacos KR, Shulman ST. Baylisascariasis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18:703\u201318."}
+{"text": "Angiostrongylus cantonensis  is a parasite of murid rodents and causative agent of human neuro-angiostrongyliasis. In 2011, the Ogasawara Islands in the western North Pacific were assigned a World Natural Heritage site status. The occurrence of A. cantonensis is well documented in the Chichijima, Hahajima, and Anijima Islands. However, the occurrence of A. cantonensis in the other islands of the Ogasawara Islands has not been reported.Rattus norvegicus and 79 R. rattus were collected from 9 islands . Adult nematodes were found in the pulmonary artery of 46 R. norvegicus collected in the 5 islands of the Hahajima group . These nematodes were identified by molecular analysis as A. cantonensis. Comparison of the mitochondrial DNA sequences confirmed that all the samples from the Ogasawara Islands shared only a single lineage of A. cantonensis, which has been previously detected in the Okinawa, Hawaii, and Brazil.Between March 2010 and July 2011, 57 A. cantonensis are widely distributed in the Ogasawara Islands. Although human cases have not yet been reported in the Ogasawara Islands, the widespread detection of A. cantonensis could be of importance from the perspective of public health.We describe new endemic foci of rat angiostrongyliasis in the Hahajima group  of the Ogasawara Islands. These findings indicate that the endemic foci of  Angiostrongylus cantonensis  is an important public health concern in many countries A. cantonensis is widespread in the tropical and subtropical areas. It is reported mainly in Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean Islands, Australia, and the USA A. cantonensisNeuro-angiostrongyliasis due to infection with A. cantonensis. The occurrence of A. cantonensis is well documented in the Chichijima A. cantonensis in the other islands of the Ogasawara Islands has not been reported.The Ogasawara Islands is group of more than 30 small subtropical islands in the western North Pacific, located approximately 1,000 km south of mainland Japan. The Ogasawara Islands extend approximately 400 km from north to south and consist of the Ogasawara archipelago , the Iwojima groups, and isolated islands in the surrounding area. The Ogasawara Islands consists of only two of inhabited Islands of Chichijima (the biggest island in the Chichijima group) and Hahajima (the biggest island in the Hahajima group) Islands. In 2011, the Ogasawara Islands was assigned World Natural Heritage site status. It is an area known to be endemic for c oxidase subunit I (coxI) gene has proved to be a powerful marker in resolving phylogenetic relationships within closely related Angiostrongylus species A. cantonensis isolates A. cantonensis coxI gene in Asia A. cantonensis in these regions is likely a results of multiple introduction of infected hosts via human related transportation Nuclear small subunit (SSU) rRNA sequences generally show little variation within a nematode species, but substantial divergence among species, allowing for species differentiation A. cantonensis among invasive rats in the Ogasawara Islands. In addition, we have genotyped and investigated genetic differences among A. cantonensis on these islands by using SSU rRNA and coxI genes for monitoring the spread of A. cantonensis lineages.In the present study, we conducted extensive research on the presence of R. norvegicus, and 79 Black rats, R. rattus) were collected from 9 islands  in the Ogasawara Islands (2 and dissected in the field. Lung and heart samples were fixed with 70% ethanol. The Angiostrongylus worms in the plumonary arteries of these rats were collected by macroscopic inspection. A. cantonensis collected from Hawaii (Alicata strain) were kindly provided Drs. N. Nonaka and T. Irie . These worms were preserved at \u221230\u00b0C until DNA extraction. Detailed information about the host, prevalence, and sampling date is included in Between March 2010 and July 2011, a total number of 136 rats , in accordance with the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals of Japanese government.coxI gene was amplified and sequenced from 46 individuals of Ogasawara isolates and two Hawaiian isolates of A. cantonensis. Genomic DNA was extracted using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) direct lysis protocol coxI genes were amplified by PCR using SSU  cox1  primers Top DNA polymerase (0.5 U/\u00b5M) , and 1 \u00b5l of sample DNA. The PCR reactions were analyzed by electrophoresis on a 1.5% agarose gel and visualized by UV illumination by ethidium bromide staining. The PCR products were purified by Exosap-IT . Sequencing was performed using the BigDye Terminator version 3.1 Cycle Sequencing kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s instruction, and determined by ABI3100 automatic sequencer . All products were sequenced in both directions. Sequences were visualized by chromatograms, and then, manually corrected using Finch TV software .The SSU rRNA gene isolated from the worms collected from 5 islands in the Hahajima group was amplified and sequenced. The mitochondrial http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) was carried out to elucidate any similarities between the obtained SSU rRNA and coxI sequences and the previously published sequences. Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using the online version of MAFFT ver 6.0 A BLAST search  were infected with Angiostrongylus worms. The overall prevalence was 33.8% (46/136), ranging from 0% to 100% at the individual collection sites. Detailed information on the location, host species, host number, and the infection rates are presented in After macroscopic inspection of the lung and heart tissues, we found that 46 A. cantonensis  were separately determined for each individual worm from the Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, Mukohjima, and Hirajima Islands. Sequence alignment showed no variation in these sequences. Upon querying the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database, we found no difference between the present sequences and coxI sequences of 46 A. cantonensis isolates from the Ogasawara archipelago and 2 isolates from Hawaii Islands were determined. The alignment of the coxI sequences of 48 isolates was 565 bp long, with no variable sites. A BLAST search against sequence databases revealed that the present sequence had 100% identity with the ac5 haplotype reported from Chichijima , and Brazil (GenBank accession nos. JX471060 and JX471063coxI sequences data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases as follows: the Anejima (GenBank accession no. AB700676), Imoutojima (GenBank accession no. AB700677), Meijima (GenBank accession no. AB700678), Mukohjima (GenBank accession no. AB700679), Hirajima (GenBank accession no. AB700680), and Hawaii islands (Alicata strain) (GenBank accession no. AB700681).The partial A. cantonensis in rats in the endemic islands was high, ranging from 60% to 100%. This was similar to the other endemic regions such as Cuba (60%) A. cantonensis has already been established and is flourishing in the Hahajima group. In this study, the infection rate of R. norvegicus  was significantly higher than that of R. rattus , which is similar to the situations in Haiti A. cantonensis worms were not detected from the rats collected in the Nakoudojima, Yomejima, Minamijima, and Iwojima Islands. These results indicate that presently, there is limited or no colonization and establishment of A. cantonensis on these islands.In the present study, prevalence of et al. (1969) A. cantonensis larvae from Achatina fulica . Later surveys in the Chichijima Island confirmed widespread infections in A. fulica and R. rattusA. fulica, R. norvegicus, and R. rattus in Hahajima R. rattus in the Anijima Islands R. rattus among 62 sampled individuals A. cantonensis in R. norvegicus. This is the first report of the occurrence of A. cantonensis in the Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, Mukohjima, and Hirajima Islands\u2013small satellite islands of the Hahajima group, located about 3.6\u20135.5 km away from the Hahajima Island. These newly detected foci could be of importance from a public health view. As far as we know, at least 67 parasitologically diagnosed human cases were reported in Japan at the end of 2007. These human cases were mostly from Okinawa Islands. Fortunately, no human cases have been reported so far in the Ogasawara Islands In 1968, Sasa A. cantonensis isolated from the Chichijima group (Chichijima Island) and the Hahajima group  in the Ogasawara archipelago share a single coxI sequence, named haplotype ac5. This could be considered the result of a single genomic origin followed by range expansion. Furthermore, our analyses demonstrated that this shared lineage is identical in not only the Ogasawara archipelago, but also the Okinawa Islands (Japan), Hawaii (USA), and Brazil. These findings indicate that a lineage-specific A. cantonensis has been spreading across the Pacific.In the present study, we have provided molecular evidence that R. rattus, R. norvegicus, and Mus musculus (house mouse) inhabit the Ogasawara Islands. Of these species, R. rattus and R. norvegicus are capable of transmitting A. cantonensis. The presence of R. rattus and R. norvegicus in the Chichijima Island has been recorded since the 1920s and 1862, respectively R. rattus in virtually all islands in the Ogasawara Islands R. norvegicus was found only in the Hahajima, Hirajima, Chichijima, and Iwojima Islands R. norvegicus in Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, and Mukohjima Islands. A. cantonensis population in the Ogasawara Islands originated from mainland Japan\u2013we compared the lineages of A. cantonensis. Unfortunately, we could not find any shared lineages among the regions of interest and mainland Japan R. norvegicus are capable of swimming hundreds of meters across open water Previous studies have shown that the 3 species of invasive rodents, namely, A. fulica has been shown to be one of the most important intermediate hosts of A. cantonensisA. cantonensis in the Ogasawara Islands is responsible for the introduction of A. fulica. According to Mead (1961) A. fulica snails were introduced to the Chichijima Island from Taiwan via mainland Japan in 1935, as an item of primitive medicine. Subsequently, the giant snails were found one after another in the Hahajima, Anijima, and Higashijima Islands. In the present study, we discovered A. cantonensis worms in the Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, and Mukohjima Islands of the Hahajima group, where A. fulica snails had not been reported. Therefore, we suspected that organisms other than A. fulica snails might be involved in the lifecycle of A. cantonensis in these islands. The Ogasawara Islands is abundant with terrestrial gastropods. At least 97 snail species have been recorded, and over 90% of them are native to this Islands A. fulica snails, and these small snails play a more important role in the transmission of A. cantonensis. However, the susceptibility of native snails in the Ogasawara Islands to A. cantonensis and the epidemiology of A. cantonensis among these snails are uncertain.Virtually, all gastropods act as intermediate hosts, and are capable of transmitting this parasite. In the Ogasawara Islands, the giant African snail A. cantonensis in R. norvegicus from the Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, Mukohjima, and Hirajima Islands of the Ogasawara archipelago. We have also provided molecular evidence that a single shared lineage of A. cantonensis has been spreading in the Ogasawara archipelago. This lineage was found in the Okinawa, Hawaii, and Brazil. Future studied should focus on the transmission dynamics of this nematode parasite, and explore the potential role of the host in moving the parasite across a wide range of geographic regions.In conclusion, we demonstrated, for the first time, the occurrence of"}
+{"text": "General measures for diseases control and special control strategies are summarized.Water-related parasitic diseases are directly dependent on water bodies for their spread or as a habitat for indispensable intermediate or final hosts. Along with socioeconomic development and improvement of sanitation, overall prevalence is declining in the China. However, the heterogeneity in economic development and the inequity of access to public services result in considerable burden due to parasitic diseases in certain areas and populations across the country. In this review, we demonstrated three aspects of ten major water-related parasitic diseases,  Indeed, many infectious diseases are water-related, al hosts . Water-related parasites can be categorized into three groups according to their transmission route. The first group is associated with drinking water, which may be contaminated with cysts or oocysts, larvae, or eggs from various parasites. The second group is transmitted via penetration of the human skin during water contact. The parasites in this group may swim freely in water until they find a human host. The transmission of the third group of parasites depends on the consumption of uncooked freshwater products, e.g., plants, fish, snails or crustaceans. Obviously, the first two groups are closely related to water contact, while the key element of transmission of the third group is not water, but hosts and vectors living in the water.This review focuses on the most important members of water-related parasitic diseases in China. Since their prevalence is influenced by the provision of clean water and sanitation, they are a priority of many rural development programmes . We reviWe reviewed the scientific literature on water-related parasitic diseases: amoebiasis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, cyclosporiasis, blastocystosis, schistosomiasis, fascioliasis, fasciolopsiasis, clonorchiasis, and paragonimiasis. Considered publications were published from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2011. The English language literature was obtained from ScienceDirect Onsite, SpringerLink and PubMed, while the Chinese language literature was obtained through CNKI , Wanfang, and VIP.For each disease, we firstly reviewed its biology and pathogenicity of that disease. Then, its epidemiology in China, particularly the two nationwide community-based sampling surveys on major human parasitic diseases which had been carried out during 1988\u20131992  and 2001\u20132004  respectively ,4. ThirdEntamoeba histolytica . Excystation occurs in the ileum of the small intestine. Trophozoites multiply by binary fission in the large intestine. Most trophozoites remain in the lumen of the intestine. Cyst formation is triggered by dehydration of gut contents. Invasive forms of the disease lead to amoebic dysentery in which the trophozoites invade the intestinal wall, leading to the formation of amoebic ulcers. This results in severe diarrhea with blood and mucus in stools. If trophozoites penetrate the intestinal wall, serious health problems can occur, including liver abcesses (the most common manifestation), or spread to the lungs and brain, usually resulting in death, or other organs or tissues .E. histolytica is a major cause of dysentery. Four major intestinal syndromes include asymptomatic colonization, acute amoebic colitis, fulminant colitis and amoeboma [amoeboma   [Parasitic co-infections of HIV/AIDS patients are of particular concern . In a cos (3.1%) . E. histolytica had been initiated relatively early in China when compared to other intestinal protozoa. In addition to numerous clinical reports of intestinal amoebiasis, extra-intestinal abscesses due to ectopic location of E. histolytica and amoebiasis due to other species have been highlighted recently. The significance of E. histolytica for animal health is also drawing attention [E. histolytica with or without iodine staining routinely fails to differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for E. histolytica in stool samples have been developed and evaluated [Research pertaining to ttention ,19. Sincvaluated ,20,21. Pvaluated . Giardia intestinalis  and is one of the most common causes of parasitic diarrhea. Today, giardiasis, along with cryptosporidiosis, continues to represent the major parasite-related public health concern of water utilities in developed nations [G.intestinalis occurs worldwide and is a zoonotic parasite in certain areas while in others, the infection is believed to be limited to humans [G. intestinalis exists in two forms, namely a trophozoite (the active form) and a cyst (the inactive form)  .etc. in the centre. The motile trophozoite has two nuclei, four pairs of flagella, and one or two curved median bodies of unknown function. Reproduction is by binary fission; no sexual process is known. The infective stage is an oval cyst, which is excreted in the faeces and ingested with contaminated food or water. The cyst contains four small nuclei, grouped at one end, and a confused jumble of flagella, median bodies G. intestinalis infections, and the parasite has been isolated from ascites, pleural effusions and joint fluids [Diarrhea and associated symptoms may occur in various forms, depending on the stage of infection . Symptomt fluids ,31,32. Tt fluids .Giardiasis is the best-known intestinal protozoan infection in China where many field surveys have been conducted to reveal its epidemiology. Giardiasis occurs across the country and the overall prevalence has been estimated at 2.52% following the first national survey , translaG. intestinalis prevalence had decreased significantly, e.g., from 7.18% in Henan Province and 3.85% in Zhejiang Province to 2.55% and 1.00%, respectively [G. intestinalis does not always follow that of intestinal helminth infections, probably reflecting differences in the way of transmission with G. intestinalis more dependent on water and soil-transmitted helminths more dependent on faecal contamination of the solid environment. However, regional idiosyncrasies are also important. The prevalence of G. intestinalis was only 1.9% in a population in south Yunnan Province where the prevalence of each of the common soil-transmitted helminth species exceeded 85%. Earlier observations had already noted that the prevalences of pathogenic intestinal protozoa were generally low in southeast Asia [The prevalence of giardiasis in China is currently declining. According to the second national survey, the ectively ,11. Inteast Asia ,35.G. intestinalis infection is widespread in the general population, it is believed to be responsible for only a small fraction of all diarrhea cases. In a study conducted between 1996 and 2001, only 0.32% of 3,116 diarrheal patients were found to be infected with G.intestinalis while the combined prevalence of all intestinal prototoa was 21.7%. The majority of all intestinal protozoa were E. histolytica, infecting 17.65% of the samples [G.intestinalis in another study [Although  samples . Similarer study . G. intestinalis. Studies on viral infections of G.intestinalis will facilitate the study of mechanisms for invasion [Besides basic epidemiological surveys, ectopic and severe infections have recently received more attention. Infections in the joints , tonsil invasion ,41. G.intestinalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are the protozoan parasites most frequently found in water bodies [Cryptosporidium and Giardia in water by filtration/IMS/FA\u201d initially published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but certain procedures have been modified. r bodies ,43,44. WG.intestinalis has a zoonotic component and understanding its animal origins is crucial for the control of giardiasis. Based on electrophoretic evidence, there are at least seven valid assemblages (A\u2013G) [G.intestinalis [es (A\u2013G) , of whicstinalis ,47.Giardia lamblia virus (GLV) was first described as a specific double-stranded RNA virus in 1986 [G. canis was sequenced and found to be highly similar to GLV [G.intestinalis [Many protozoa have been found to be infected by a virus . The Gia in 1986 . GLV iso in 1986 . In anotr to GLV . Based ostinalis . Cryptosporidium species  of the screened AIDS patients were infected with C.parvum [Cryptosporidium infections. Two thirds of 108 patients with cancer were confirmed to be infected with Cryptosporidium in a recent study, and chemotherapy tended to be associated with higher prevalence than radiotherapy or combination therapy [The pathogenicity of .parvum , with a  therapy . Several therapy . In a si therapy . Of note therapy .Cryptosporidium in China is increasingly recognized. A high number of epidemiological investigations both in humans and animals have been conducted in the whole country, and prevalences in different population segments have been mapped. Co-infections of HIV and Cryptosporidium have attracted particular attention [Cryptosporidium has been isolated from a range of animals and the taxonomy is still debated. Consequently, more and more studies are looking for suitable biomarkers and identification techniques to differentiate isolates [Cryptosporidium [The importance of ttention ,94. Crypisolates . Geneticisolates . Isolatiporidium . Cyclospora cayetanensis and has been identified as an important cause of diarrhea worldwide. C. cayetanensis was classified into the subphylum Apicomplexa, family Eimeriidae in 1993 [C. cayetanensis is uncertain but of increasing concern.Human cyclosporiasis is caused by  in 1993  and receC. cayetanensis are often transient but chronic infections have also been described  and surrounding areas [Schistosomiasis japonica is one of the most important parasitic diseases in China and its epidemiology has been extensively studied and reviewed . When thng areas . Today, ng areas . Substanng areas ,128. A nng areas . In 2008ng areas .The schistosome-endemic areas of China have been stratified into three types, based on ecosystem characteristics, namely the plain and water-network region, marshland and lake region, and hilly and mountainous region. The parasite has been eliminated from the formerly most heavily endemic plain and water-network region and has largely been brought under control in the hilly and mountainous regions. However, control in the marshland and lake regions proved difficult and the disease remains prone to resurgence .The successes with schistosomiasis control in China have been attributed to strong government support and sustainable yet adaptable policies . Since tDisability adjusted life years (DALYs) have been widely used to measure disease burden and direct the allocation of health resources . HoweverS. japonicum is subject to environmental conditions and changes therein, including climate change [2 by 2050, accounting for 8.1% of the surface area of China [The transmission of e change ,138,139.of China . Based oof China . S. japonicum has been sequenced and published [O. hupensis has also been studied, and genetic markers have been used to analyze the spatial distribution of the snail in China [The genomes of ublished ,142. Traublished . Vaccineublished ,145,146.in China ,148.F. hepatica and F. gigantica. Both species are endemic in China. The life cycle of these two species are essentially similar [etc.). The eggs are released to the intestine and exit the host body with faeces. Hatched miracidia invade freshwater snail host and develop to cercaria. The latter emerge from snails and stick to aquatic plants and finally become metacercariae. Humans and mammals acquire infection by ingesting aquatic plants contaminated with metacercariae [Human fascioliasis is caused by  similar . They us similar . The aduercariae . Fasciola spp. worms in the bile ducts. Many cases of chronic fascioliasis are asymptomatic. Jaundice appears when biliary obstruction occurs. Ectopic parasitism in cutaneous tissue, lung and other organs has also been reported [Larval migration in the liver induces inflammation and hepatic dysfunction, which is the main base for acute symptoms . Intermireported ,156. Sevreported ,157.F. hepatica is considered the major cause of animal and human fascioliasis in China. Before 1990 a total of 45 human cases had been reported, including one case of fascioliasis gigantica [F. gigantica were localized in Hainan Island, the southernmost province of China. However, recent phylogenetic analysis of isolates from different areas in the country showed three distinct clades, i.e., F. hepatica, F. gigantica, and the \u201cintermediate\u201d type [F. gigantica is also distributed in southwest part of China, including Guangxi and Guizhou Provinces [F. gigantica probably occurred in southwest China. Fascioliasis is a common parasitic disease in domestic animals in China and hence causes huge economic losses. Human fascioliasis has rarely been reported in the past decades. igantica . The firte\u201d type . F. gigarovinces ,160. TheAlthough the second national survey on major parasitic diseases did not include fascioliasis , sporadiFascioliasis is an important disease in livestock and hence veterinary studies are predominant in literature. In contrast, only few human case reports have been published in literature in recent years. Triclabendazole is the most efficacious drug for treating human fascioliasis. However, the drug is only registered in a few countries, and not in China . The majFasciola species was performed. Mitochondrial gene (cox1 and nad1) and internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) revealed F. hepatica, F. gigantica and the intermediate form coexist in China [Fasciola spp. due to small sample size. In the last ten years, molecular identification of in China ,162,163.Fasciolopsis buski, the largest intestinal fluke parasitizing humans . The cercariae are released from the snail and encyst as metacercariae on aquatic plants. The mammalian hosts become infected by ingesting metacercariae on the aquatic plants. After ingestion, the metacercariae excyst in the duodenum and attach to the intestinal wall. There they develop into adult flukes in approximately 3 months, attached to the intestinal wall of the mammalian hosts (humans and pigs). The adults have a life span of about one year.The symptoms of fasciolopsiasis manifest after an incubation period of 1\u20133 months and depend on several factors including the worm burden and physiologic state of the patient .F. buski [F. buski prevalence did not differ between sex, but were related to profession; farmers were at the highest risk of infection [F. buski had considerably lost prominence as a human parasite [Many reports indicate that fasciolopsiasis was heavily endemic in southern China in the 1970s and 1980s. For example, a survey performed in 8 villages in Putian County, Fujian Province, showed that 55.1% of 1,834 participants were infected with F. buski . In the F. buski . The firF. buski infections may be common in rural areas, few specific surveys have been conducted over the past decade. Only severe or ectopic infections, such as anemia and oedema, biliary fasciolopsiasis and intestinal obstruction, got attention from clinicians [F. buski to detect specific antibodies in human sera showed high sensitivity and specificity, and a low rate of cross reactions with schistosomes and Paragonimus spp. [F. buski infection by gastroscopy while their stool samples were egg-negative [Although human inicians ,168,169.mus spp. . Additionegative . Clonorchis sinensis. The parasite is transmitted between snail, fish and mammals. Like Fasciola spp. aforementioned, adult worms of C. sinensis parasitize the biliary system of definitive hosts . The eggs are released with faeces to environment. Freshwater snail ingests the eggs and a few weeks later larvae develop into cercariae in the liver and are released from the snail body. Swimming cercariae invade fish and become metacercariae. The latter are infective for humans, dogs and cats.Clonorchiasis is caused by a liver fluke, C. sinensis also is one of the parasites that are confirmed as a cause of cancer; cholangiocarcinoma is the most significant a malignant outcome [The early stage of infection is normally asymptomatic, particularly in light infection. However, some patients can have symptoms associated with the inflammation in the liver and biliary ducts . Chronic outcome ,173.C. sinensis, of which 84.3% are distributed in China [i.e., southern and northeast centers. The prevalence among males (2.94%) was significantly higher than that among females (1.84%), which correlated with the differences in eating habits [It is estimated that worldwide 15.3 million people were infected by in China . AccordiC. sinensis is the most common cause for surgery due to hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases in endemic areas [C. sinensis infection. Nearly 1,000 cases due to C. sinensis infection are diagnosed annually in China, which may still an underestimate [Clonorchiais is an increasing public health concern in public health in China . Firstlyic areas . There mic areas . Third, estimate ,179.C. sinensis-related research in recent years. An expression library for each stage of C. sinensis was established. Based on the libraries, individual genes and proteins of important function have been studied for diagnosis and drug targets. However, the conclusive findings have not been achieved. In 2011, the genome of C. sinensis has been published [Bioinformatics is a hotspot in the field of ublished . In-deptAlthough most of infections may be asymptomatic, some can cause severe outcomes . The larC. sinensis-infected rats and in vitro and hence might be potential new drug candidates for treating infections [Praziquantel is confirmed to be efficacious against clonorchiasis . Howeverfections . Recentlfections .Paragonimus have been described in China, among which 10 species are able to infect humans [P. westermani and P. skrjabini (Pagumogonimus skrjabini) are the most common cause of human paragonimiasis. The life cycle of Paragonimus spp. involves three kinds of host. In mammalian definitive host, paired adult worms live in lung capsules. The eggs are released with sputum or swallowed and excreted in faeces. Hatched miracidiae penetrates the first intermediate host snail (Melania spp.), and ultimately develop into cercaria. Crustaceans  serve as second intermediate hosts, which are infected via direct penetration of cercariae or ingestion of infected mollusks. Cercariae encyst and develop into metacercariae. Mammals acquire an infection by consuming raw or undercooked infected crustaceans. Metacercariae excyst in the small intestine and migrate through the intestinal wall to reach the abdominal cavity, enter the abdominal wall, and migrate to the pleural cavity.At least 29 species of t humans . P. westParagonimus spp. and worms migrate along a mostly defined route to their final destination, the lung [etc. \u201d were published in 2006 and list rges Dam ,202,203.Sanitation and the proper management of wastewater are important elements for ensuring the supply of clean drinking water. Improving sanitation includes the construction of latrines or water-flush toilets and sewers, the collection of wastewater of domestic and industrial origin and its separation from environmental water bodies, and waste water treatment. Almost all studies on the effect of latrine construction and usage demonstrate their effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of different water-based and -related infectious diseases ,205. HowDiseases occur in a complex socio-ecological context characterized by feedback loops across space and time, self-organization, holarchies, and sudden changes in organization when thresholds are reached . TherefoWater-related parasitic diseases have generally declined in China. This has often been attributed to socioeconomic development, which has improved living conditions and alleviated the financial burden due to parasitic diseases in many areas. However, some parasitic diseases still occur at considerable prevalence in certain areas and populations, owing to the heterogeneity in natural conditions and economic development and the inequity of access to public services including preventive and curative health care. Emerging and re-emerging pathogens and risk factors are also challenging the achievements made with regard to the control of parasitic diseases . The groThe majority of all parasitic infections are diseases of poverty . However"}
+{"text": "To the Editor: Coccidian protozoans that belong to the genus Cryptosporidium frequently cause gastrointestinal infection in humans and animals and are distributed worldwide. Cryptosporidium hominis and the cattle genotype of C. parvum are responsible for most human infections. However, other species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium, such as C. felis, C. muris, C. meleagridis, C. canis, C. parvum pig genotype, and C. parvum cervine genotype, have also been detected in stool samples of immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients  .A pediatrician requested a parasitologic study for an immunocompetent, 4-year-old boy with diarrhea. The child came from an orphanage in Calcutta, India; he had arrived in Spain 10 days earlier after having been adopted by a Spanish family. Stool specimens were tested for a wide panel of enteric pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. SspI for species diagnosis or VspI for C. parvum genotype identification. For DNA sequencing, PCR products of the 18S rRNA gene fragments were purified and used for direct sequencing in an ABI377 automated sequencer .DNA was extracted as described elsewhere .RFLP analysis showed a profile distinct from those of C. felis have been reported in the literature. Only 3 of them have occurred in immunocompetent patients: 2 in the United Kingdom (C. felis infection diagnosed in Spain. The child had been in Spain for only 10 days, no pet animals lived in his new home, and he had not gone to kindergarten. Consequently, the infection was likely acquired in India.To date, >30 cases of human infection by Cryptosporidium species is unclear. In the study by Matos et al., only 1 of 4 immunocompromised patients with C. felis had been in close contact with cats at home (C. hominis and C. parvum that infect humans, and the transmission routes of such agents, has relevance for better understanding of the epidemiologic features of cryptosporidiosis.The transmission route for the unusual"}
+{"text": "There was information omitted from the Funding statement.The correct Funding statement should read: This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-ALW 834.11.002 and 036.002.598). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "To the Editor: Fleas (order Siphonaptera) are obligate hematophagous insects. They are laterally flattened, holometabolous, and wingless ectoparasites. More than 2,500 species of flea, belonging to 16 families and 238 genera, have been described. A minority of these genera live in close association with humans (synanthropic), including fleas of these species: Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis, Xenopsylla cheopis, Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Echidnophaga gallinacea, and Tunga penetrans ; viruses ; protozoa ; or helminths  , and 30 fleas were collected from Mizan Teferi . The specimens were collected by using a plate filled with soapy water with a candle in the middle of the plate. Because fleas are thermotropic, they jumped toward the candle and fell onto the plate, where they rapidly drowned in the soapy water. The fleas were identified by morphologic features and stored in 90% ethanol until DNA extraction.P. irritans and C. felis) based on the sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene published in GenBank  that were specific for 2 species of flea  of 53 P. irritans specimens also contained DNA of R. felis. We amplified and sequenced nearly the entire rickettsial gltA gene from 3 C. felis and 10 P. irritans specimens and found that the sequence was identical to that of R. felis (GenBank accession no. NC_007111).We screened rickettsial DNA by using qPCR with a P. irritans and C. felis fleas facilitated the identification of damaged samples and also precluded the laborious and time-consuming procedure of identification by morphologic features.During the field collection of the fleas, the conservation of specimens may be difficult. Degradation of specimens may pose a problem for the ensuing morphologic identification. For fleas, a specific preparation is required that destroys internal organs and produces a chitin complex of the insect. This type of preparation makes it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to use the insect later for molecular studies. The development of qPCR specific for R. felis in Ethiopia include both C. felis and P. irritans fleas. In Ethiopia, P. irritans fleas have been reported to be prevalent (P. irritans fleas have been shown to be infected by R. felis in several locations, notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the United States, and another rickettsia phylogenetically similar to R. felis has been detected in P. irritans fleas in Hungary (R. felis in Senegal and Kenya (,R. felis in Ethiopia reveals the epidemiologic background for the fleaborne spotted fever in this region. We speculate that the elucidation of the full range of possible vectors of R. felis may facilitate the development of prevention measures that will help control this disease.We conclude that the reservoirs of"}
+{"text": "Nonylphenol (NP) is an ultimate degradation product of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPE) that is primarily used in cleaning and industrial processes. Its widespread use has led to the wide existence of NP in various environmental matrices, such as water, sediment, air and soil. NP can be decreased by biodegradation through the action of microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Half-lives of biodegradation ranged from a few days to almost one hundred days. The degradation rate for NP was influenced by temperature, pH and additions of yeast extracts, surfactants, aluminum sulfate, acetate, pyruvate, lactate, manganese dioxide, ferric chloride, sodium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, heavy metals, and phthalic acid esters. Although NP is present at low concentrations in the environment, as an endocrine disruptor the risks of long-term exposure to low concentrations remain largely unknown. This paper reviews the occurrence of NP in the environment and its aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation in natural environments and sewage treatment plants, which is essential for assessing the potential risk associated with low level exposure to NP and other endocrine disruptors. Since the early 1990s, a lot of research has been performed concerning the endocrine disruptors which are widespread in the environment. Previous studies have demonstrated that nonylphenol (NP) is one of the endocrine disruptors, and many studies have shown that NP can exert adverse effects to an ecosystem.etc., have drastically limited the use of NPEs. Switzerland has completely banned the use of these substances [NP is usually reacted to produce nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEs). NPEs are mainly used in a number of industrial processes and products, including cleaners, detergents and plastics. Annual world production of NPEs was about 520,000 tons in 1995, and the demand is increasing annually. In China, the production of NPEs is about 50,000 tons per year, and most enters into the aquatic environment . Due to bstances . In 2006NP is a compound which has numerous isomers. The side chain has nine carbons and can be attached to phenol at different points on the ring, thus producing different isomers. 4-NP is the most common commercial forms of NP, which is often used in experimentation and the analysis ,6. At roNP is the biological breakdown products of widely used nonionic surfactant, NPEs, which is directly discharged into the environment. NP has been widely found in the environment: in water, sediment, air, soil, aquatic organisms and even human food.Generally, NP occurs in the aquatic environment with concentrations varying widely in surface water from tens of ng/L ,9 to dozet al. [Duong C.N. et al.  estimateetc. Temperature was the key factor affecting the seasonal variation of NP in water and suspended particles. In Seine River Estuary, NP maximum levels in the dissolved phase and in the suspended particulate matter were observed during winter periods while significant decreases were observed during spring and autumn periods [The domestic and industrial wastewater produced, as well as surface runoff, could possibly be sources of NP in the aquatic environment. The distribution and characteristics of pollution sources along the river affected the spatial variation of NP . There w periods . These d periods . The hig periods . As to t periods ,16.Due to its hydrophobic properties, NP in surface water tends to be absorbed by sediment particles, which caused a preferential accumulation in sediments . The repet al. [High NP accumulation made the sediments a long-term pollutant sink and reservoir. The adsorbed compounds can be released into the water phase and become source of contaminants when hydraulic regimes of rivers change. However, De Weert et al.  thought Groundwater is of special interest because it makes up about twenty percent of the world\u2019s fresh water supply and it is extraordinarily vulnerable to contamination by a variety of contaminants due to urban activities . Micropoet al. [Generally speaking, concentrations of NP in the groundwater were very low. In some area NP was not detected . When NPet al.  collecteet al. . The NP et al. [Recently, drinking water safety has received significant attention. Contaminants, such as NP, in drinking water might pose health risks to some residents. NP were detected in bottled water with the concentration of about 7.9 ng/L . Li X. eet al.  investiget al. . Althouget al. , more atNP are the most abundant compounds in raw wastewater as well as in effluents from all the treatment stages of sewage treatment plants. In influent wastewater, concentrations of NP ranging from 0.08 to 96.4 \u03bcg/L \u201349 have et al. thought that warm temperature and a high MLSS concentration would benefit the removal of NP from wastewater in the Anaerobic/Anoxic/Oxic (A/A/O) bioreactor [In a wastewater treatment plant many factors can influence the removal of NP, such as influent load, water quality of influents, plant configurations, hydraulic residence time (HRT), sludge retention time (SRT), biomass characteristics and the environmental conditions ,53,55,56oreactor .During wastewater treatment, NP accumulated in sewage sludge at a concentration of several hundred mg/kg ,60,61. BThe occurrence of NP in the air was ubiquitous in urban, remote, industrialized, coastal regions, and even in the central part of the North Sea . NP is nThe atmospheric concentration of NP showed declining trends from land to the open sea, suggesting that the atmosphere is a significant pathway for the transport of alkylphenols in the environment . Sea couNP can be introduced into soils in various ways, for example from atmospheric deposition, from soil amendment with sewage sludge, and from wastewater for irrigation of agricultural land . During Although NP is capable of being leached from soil, its short half-life means that its passage from soil to freshwater will be low . PreviouC. vulgaris [NP can be decreased by biodegradation in the water, sediment and soils through the action of microorganisms. In the Jialu River, about 23.7% of total decrease in NP concentration was caused by biodegradation . As thervulgaris .NP degradation under anaerobic conditions has only recently been demonstrated. Half-lives of anaerobic degradation ranged from 23.9 to 69.3 days ,83. Anaeet al. showed that NP degraded rapidly during incubation at low concentrations, but was more persistent at higher concentrations [Upon entering soil, NP can undergo a number of reactions  that ultimately control its fate and potential environmental hazard . The contrations . Approprtrations . Some trtrations .et al. [et al. [During recent years, a lot of research has been performed concerning the molecular mechanism for degradation of nonylphenol by a number of different strains. Understanding in more detail the molecular events in degradation of nonylphenol were illuminated from two different pathways. The ring cleavage pathway was elucidated through gene cloning and biochemical studies ,89, whicet al.  investig [et al. \u201396, in w [et al. ,97.NP is a virtually ubiquitous contaminant in the environment. The occurrence of NP has been reported around the world in waters, sediment, airs and soils. It can be decreased by biodegradation in natural environments and sewage treatment plants through the action of microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Although NP is present at low concentrations, the risks of long-term exposure to low concentrations remain largely unknown. More research needs to be done to determine the potential human and environmental health risks posed by exposure to NP in the environment."}
+{"text": "Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, for which no definitive treatment is available. Most patients start with a relapsing-remitting course (RRMS). Disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) reduce relapses and disability progression. First line DMDs include glatiramer acetate (GA), interferon-beta (INFb)-1a and INFb-1b, which are all administered via injections. Effectiveness of DMD treatment depends on adequate adherence, meaning year-long continuation of injections with a minimum of missed doses. In real-life practice DMD-treated patients miss 30% of doses. The 6-month discontinuation rate is up to 27% and most patients who discontinue do so in the first 12 months.Treatment adherence is influenced by the socio-economic situation, health care and caregivers, disease, treatment and patient characteristics. Only a few studies have dealt with adherence-related factors in DMD-treated patients. Self-efficacy expectations were found to be related to GA adherence. Patient education and optimal support improve adherence in general. Knowledge of the aspects of care that significantly relate to adherence could lead to adherence-improving measures. Moreover, identification of patients at risk of inadequate adherence could lead to more efficient care.In the near future new drugs will become available for RRMS. Detailed knowledge on factors prognostic of adherence and on care aspects that are associated with adequate adherence will improve the chances of these drugs becoming effective treatments. We investigate in RRMS patients the relationship between drug adherence and multidisciplinary care, as well as factors associated with adherence. Given the differences in the frequency of administration and in the side effects between the DMDs we decided to study patients treated with the same DMD, GA.The Correlative analyses of Adherence In Relapsing remitting MS (CAIR) study is an investigator-initiated, prospective, web-based, patient-centred, nation-wide cohort study in the Netherlands.The primary objective is to investigate whether GA adherence is associated with specific disciplines of care or quantities of specific care. The secondary objective is to investigate whether GA adherence is associated with specific aspects of the socio-economic situation, health care and caregivers, disease, treatment or patient characteristics.All data are acquired on-line via a study website. All RRMS patients in the Netherlands starting GA treatment are eligible. Patients are informed by neurologists, nurses, and websites from national MS patient organisations. All data, except on disability, are obtained by patient self-reports on pre-defined and random time points. The number of missed doses and the number of patients having discontinued GA treatment at 6 and 12 months are measures of adherence. Per care discipline the number of sessions and the total duration of care are measures of received care. The full spectrum of non-experimental care that is available in the Netherlands is assessed. Care includes 'physical' contacts, contacts by telephone or internet, health-promoting activities and community care activities. Care received over the preceding 14 days is assessed by patients at baseline and every other week thereafter up to month 12. Every 3 months neurologists and nurses record care disciplines to which patients have been referred.The Dutch Adherence Questionnaire-90 (DAQ-90) is a 90-item questionnaire based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2003 report on adherence and comprehensively assesses five domains of evidence-based determinants of adherence: socio-economic, health care and caregivers, disease, treatment, and patient-related factors. In addition, self-efficacy is assessed by the MS Self-Efficacy Scale (MSSES), and mood and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQoL-54). Relapses and adverse events probably or definitively related to GA are also reported.In this study data is mainly acquired by patients' self-reporting via the internet. On-line data acquisition by patients does not require study visits to the hospital and can easily be integrated into daily life. The web-based nature of the study is believed to prevent missing data and study drop-outs. Moreover, the automated process of filling in questionnaires ensures completeness and consistency, thus improving data quality. The combination of patient-reported outcomes, fully web-based data capture and nation-wide information to all eligible patients are distinguishing features of the study and contribute to its scientific potential.NTR2432Netherlands Trial Register (NTR):  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, for which no definite cure is available. Most patients start with a relapsing-remitting (RR) phase during which incomplete remissions often cause an increase in disability. Glatiramer acetate (GA), interferon-beta (INFb)-1a and INFb-1b are first-line disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) for RRMS treatment  and GA tAdherence to pharmacotherapy is inadequate in 30% to 50% of patients, irrespective of disease, prognosis or treatment settings . MedicatThere are two levels of inadequate adherence: a) missing doses and b) discontinuation for other reasons than severe or persistent side effects or insufficient clinical benefit . Data onAfter 4 months up to 11% of DMD-treated RRMS patients have discontinued treatment , and aftStudies agree that early DMD discontinuation mostly occurs in the first 12 months -11. RetrFactors relating to the missing of doses may be different from those relating to discontinuation . The WHOA pilot study in the Netherlands assessed 16 patient-related items that might affect GA adherence: the attitude towards self-injecting, previous immunomodulation, the reason for switching, concurrent chronic disease, disability, cognition, disease duration, type of skin, bodily constitution, working in the open, acceptance of disease, family support, social activities, personality, motivation and linguistic barrier [unpublished data]. Scoring each item for presence (1) or absence (0) the adding up of the scores yields the Discontinuation Risk Score (DRS), ranging from 0 to 16. Preliminary data suggest that patients with a DRS > 7 have an increased risk of GA discontinuation.According to the WHO 2003 report  and a reAt present new DMDs for RRMS are becoming available. More knowledge on which aspects of multidisciplinary care are related to adherence, and the factors prognostic of inadequate adherence could increase the chances that the new efficacious drugs become effective treatments.We conceived the idea to investigate adherence and multidisciplinary care in RRMS patients starting DMD treatment. The INFbs and GA have clearly different side effect profiles and injection frequencies. As both these aspects of treatment are likely to influence adherence we choose to study patients treated with one type of DMD, thus guaranteeing a homogenous study population. Because pilot data on discontinuation and risk factors were available for GA-treated patients in the Netherlands, it was decided to study patients starting GA treatment.Appendix A lists the questions of the study.Primary objective is to investigate whether GA adherence is associated with specific disciplines of care or quantities of specific care.Secondary objective is to investigate whether GA adherence is associated with specific characteristics of socio-economic situation, health care or caregivers, disease, treatment, or the patient.Tertiary objective is to assess the predictive value of the DRS with respect to GA adherence.An investigator-initiated, prospective, web-based, patient-centred, nation-wide, observational cohort study in the Netherlands. The study's name is an acronym from the principal analytical method, main theme and study population: Correlative analysis of Adherence In Relapsing remitting MS: CAIR. The study duration is 12 months. Nederlands Trial Register (NTR) code: TC2432.\u00ae). GA is administered by the patient according to the instructions in the package leaflet.GA is prescribed by neurologists as per regular care and dispensed as a commercial drug by general pharmacies (CopaxonePrimary outcomes:a) relations between numbers of missed doses and numbers of care sessions per discipline s. quantity of care per discipline,b) relations between number of patients who discontinued treatment and numbers of care sessions per discipline s. quantity of care per discipline.Secondary outcomes:a) relations between numbers of missed doses and presence s. degree of specific characteristics of the patient, socio-economic situation, health care, caregivers, disease, or treatment,b) relations between number of patients who discontinued treatment, and presence s. degree of specific characteristics of the patient, socio-economic situation, health care, caregivers, disease, or treatment.Tertiary outcomes:a) predictive value of DRS with respect to missed doses,a) predictive value of DRS with respect to number of patients who discontinued treatment.http://www.cairstudie.nl). For further information they may contact the study helpdesk by telephone or e-mail, or the coordinating investigator (PJJ) by e-mail.Patients are informed by neurologists, MS-nurses, or specialised nurses who teach patients to self-inject, and the websites of patient organisations. Patients are also advised to visit the study website  indication for GA treatment, 2) being relapse free and having stable symptoms for at least 30 days, 3) willing and able to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study, 4) having given written informed consent.Exclusion criteria: 1) contra-indication to GA as defined in the Summary of Product Characteristics text, 2) hypersensitivity to GA or mannitol, 3) worsening of symptoms suggestive of relapse, 4) pregnancy or lactation, 5) the time interval between the first GA injection and baseline assessment is more than 4 weeks.The protocol has been submitted to the Independent Review Board (IRB), an approved ethical committee residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The IRB concluded that, because of the observational design of the study, a review by an ethical committee was not required, as the study did not qualify for being tested according to the Dutch Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act of 1999 [Data is acquired via the study website. Patients log in with a code provided by the help desk and choose a username and password. On-line they go through various web pages containing the case record forms (CRFs) with questions and questionnaires. These electronic CRFs (eCRFs) are similar to paper questionnaires and data sheets. Questions relate to missing doses, GA discontinuation, adverse events, medication and relapses. Questionnaires pertain to self-efficacy, mood, other adherence-related factors and HR-QoL.Patients, neurologists and MS-nurses are informed by e-mail that an assessment is due and that the corresponding eCRFs have been made available for completion. eCRFs are to be completed within one week. Within this time frame eCRFs may be filled in at moments that are suitable to the participant. Completion may take as many sessions as needed, as answers are saved automatically. After confirmation by the participant the eCRF is automatically sent to the study centre. Incomplete eCRFs are returned. In case an eCRF has not been completed within one week the help desk reminds the participant by telephone. Patients who do not have a personal computer (PC) at their disposal or who are not capable of using a PC are sent a paper-and-pencil version of the questionnaires, whereas short eCRFs are completed by telephone.The number of missed doses in the preceding 14 days, and discontinuation of GA, the date of discontinuation and the date of restart, which ever is applicable, are recorded by patients at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. In addition, the number of missed doses are documented at 6 random time points unknown to patients, neurologists and MS-nurses. Neurologist or MS-nurse also record the date of discontinuation or the date of restart.Care given by the following disciplines is assessed 1) neurologist, 2) MS-nurse, 3) general practitioner 4) home care 5) psychologist, 6) occupational therapy, 7) physiotherapy, 8) social worker, 9) dietician, 10) pharmacist, 11) rehabilitation doctor, 12) other medical specialists, 13) community care, 14) others. Care includes 'physical' contacts, contacts by telephone, internet, health-promoting activities that are coached or counselled by caregivers , or any community care activities.Care received in the preceding 14 days is assessed by patients at baseline and bi-weekly (once every 2 weeks) thereafter up to week 52. For every discipline in which care is received, the number of care sessions and time per care session  are recorded. Moreover, every 3 months neurologists and nurses record the care disciplines to which they have referred the patient.Self-efficacy is the subjective belief that one can overcome challenges that one is faced with, and has been found to be a determinant of GA adherence in patients with RRMS . Self-efMood is assessed by the questions 25 and 28 from the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQoL-54) . Health-The Dutch Adherence Questionnaire-90 (DAQ-90) is a 90-item questionnaire designed to assess all factors identified by the WHO 2003 report  as evideAt baseline the 16 items of the DRS are scored for absence (0) or presence (1) by the nurses who teach patients to self-administer. The adding up of item scores yields the DRS.Adverse events considered by patients, neurologists or nurses as probably or definitely related to GA treatment are reported on-line at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. As the study is observational and does not interfere with care, patients always report adverse events to their neurologist or MS-nurse. Serious adverse events are recorded by neurologists or MS-nurses and reported to the coordinating investigator within 48 hours.At baseline neurologists or MS-nurses provide the following data: disease course, disease duration, medication, previous immunomodulation, the number of relapses in the last 12 and 24 months, the number of steroid-treated relapses in the last 12 and 24 months. Assessment of disability  at baseline and 12 months is optional. Relapses occurring during the study and eventual steroid treatment are reported by patients and neurologists or MS-nurses at months 3, 6, 9 and 12.The schedule of assessments is presented in Table In order to determine the size of the study, we first assumed that the analysis would be based on a t-test: For each factor we form three tertiles: patients with low, intermediate and high scores. When a t-test is carried out to compare a parameter between the lowest and highest tertile, 65 patients per tertile are required in order to detect a difference of 0.5 standard deviations with 80% power . As we will use linear regression instead of a t-test, the power of the regression analysis may even be higher, but will be at least comparable. In a previous on-line study in GA-treated patients compliance was very high, both with respect to missing data and drop outs . TherefoIn phase II of the recruitment all Dutch patients who start GA treatment are informed of the study. Based on data from a previous study we hypothesize that 50% of patients are willing to participate . Based oPer discipline the relations between missed doses and the number of care sessions s. care duration will be evaluated using linear regression; and the relations between discontinuation and the number of care sessions s. care duration will be evaluated in a similar way, but by a proportional hazard analysis, with stepwise selection. In addition, univariable analyses will be carried out. Two-sided 95% confidence intervals will be calculated.A manuscript, based on the study report, will be submitted to a peer-reviewed international scientific journal for publication. Oral or poster communications will be given on international and national symposia. Participating patients will receive a summary of the study report , written in a wording that is understandable to lay persons, as soon as the report has been finalized.The CAIR study investigates relations between adherence to GA treatment and disciplines or quantity of care, based on data on missing doses, discontinuation and received care as reported by patients. Neurologists or MS-nurses may refer patients to caregivers or give advice on health promoting activities. However, as adherence is often sub-optimal in patients with chronic disease, self-reporting by patients on the care they actually did receive is likely to better reflect reality .The patient-centred character of the study is realized by the web-based approach. Data is obtained by the patient's on-line self-reporting. Thus, data acquisition does not require study visits to the hospital and can be integrated into daily life. This feature of the study is believed to promote compliance and prevent study drop-outs. Moreover, the use of the internet contributes to data quality assurance, as the automated process of data capture ensures completeness and consistency.According to the cohort-based, nation-wide design we aim to inform every RRMS patient in the Netherlands who starts GA treatment. Neurologists and MS-nurses in 15 MS-dedicated hospitals, evenly distributed over the country, actively recruit patients. In addition, the nurses, who teach patients to self-inject, inform patients of the possibility of participating. Patients' awareness of the study is promoted by information on websites from national MS patients organisations. Recruitment is on schedule, with 119 patients being enrolled as per October 2010.In all, the combination of patient-reported outcomes, fully on-line data capture, and nation-wide information of all eligible patients are distinguishing features of the CAIR study. The nation-wide cohort design makes sure that results will be applicable to Dutch RRMS patients. Implementation of the study's conclusions might well improve the effectiveness of present and future DMD treatments, and increase the efficiency of MS care.Dr. Jongen has received honoraria from Merck-Serono, Novartis, Bayer-Schering, Biogen-Idec, Sanofi-Aventis, Teva, and Allergan for activities as speaker or advisory committee member, research support, or travel grants for conferences.PJJ initiated the study, contributed to the conception and design of the study, coordinates the study, and drafted the manuscript. GH contributed to the conception and design of the study. RH, HS, JG, JHV, EH, MvH, EvM, JS, EdS, TS, MT, EZ, JtH and RvdK all contributed to the acquisition of data. GB contributed to the conception and design of the study and co-drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.Peter Joseph Jongen is a neurologist and the founding director of the MS4 Research Institute, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He has been involved in MS clinical research and patient care for more than 15 years. He is a member of the International Medical and Scientific Board of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), a former director of the MS Centre Nijmegen, a former council member of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), and author of over 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles. The MS4 Research Institute is an independent non-profit organisation, that conceives, performs, and coordinates scientific research on the therapeutic value of treatments in MS.List of Questions of the StudyI. What are the relations between GA adherence and multidisciplinary care?neurologist  related to GA adherence ?1. Is the quantity of care given by the MS-nurse  related to GA adherence ?2. Is (the quantity of) care given by the general practitioner  related to GA adherence ?3. Is (the quantity of care) given by the home care  related to GA adherence ?4. Is (the quantity of) psychologist  related to GA adherence ?5. Is (the quantity of) care given by a occupational care  related to GA adherence ?6. Is (the quantity of) physiotherapy  related to GA adherence ?7. Is (the quantity of) social worker  related to GA adherence ?8. Is (the quantity of) care given by a dietician  related to GA adherence ?9. Is (the quantity of) care given by a pharmacist  related to GA adherence ?10. Is (the quantity of) care given by the rehabilitation doctor  related to GA adherence ?11. Is (the quantity of) care given by a community care  related to GA adherence ?12. Is (the quantity of) What characteristics of the patient, the socio-economic situation, health care or caregivers, disease, or treatment are related to GA adherence?II. 1. Is self-efficacy related to GA adherence?2. Is mood related to GA adherence?3. What other characteristics of the patient are related to GA adherence?4. What characteristics of the socio-economic situation, health care or caregivers, disease, or treatment are related to GA adherence?III. What is the predictive value of the DRS with respect to GA adherence?1. What is the predictive value of the DRS with respect to GA discontinuation?2. What is the predictive value of the DRS with respect to missed GA doses?Dutch Adherence Questionnaire-90 (DAQ-90) Table Based on WHO report 2003\u00a9 P.J. Jongen, MS4 Research Institute, Nijmegen, the Netherlands 2009Version for Glatiramer AcetatePatient ID: ........................................................................Date: ..............................................................................Study site: ........................................................................\u00a9 P.J. Jongen, MS4 Research Institute, Nijmegen, the Netherlands 2009The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2377/11/40/prepub"}
+{"text": "A vital function of the mammalian cortex is the processing of dynamical stimuli. These stimuli are encoded in cortical neurons as modifications of the input current, which can be brief, prolonged or periodic, all depending on the type of the sensory stimulus, e.g. ,2. While"}
+{"text": "Apis mellifera encompasses Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, whereas the nine other species of Apis are found exclusively in Asia. It is therefore commonly assumed that A. mellifera arose in Asia and expanded into Europe and Africa. However, other hypotheses for the origin of A. mellifera have also been proposed based on phylogenetic trees constructed from genetic markers. In particular, an analysis based on >1000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers placed the root of the tree of A. mellifera subspecies among samples from Africa, suggestive of an out-of-Africa expansion. Here, we re-evaluate the evidence for this and other hypotheses by testing the robustness of the tree topology to different tree-building methods and by removing specimens with a potentially hybrid background. These analyses do not unequivocally place the root of the tree of A. mellifera subspecies within Africa, and are potentially consistent with a variety of hypotheses for honeybee evolution, including an expansion out of Asia. Our analyses also support high divergence between western and eastern European populations of A. mellifera, suggesting they are likely derived from two distinct colonization routes, although the sources of these expansions are still unclear.The native range of the honeybee  Apis mellifera, is a species of crucial economic, agricultural, and environmental importance. Due to the activities of beekeepers it is now spread across the entire world, but its native range is large and diverse, spanning Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Including A. mellifera, 10 species of honeybee belonging to the genus Apis are generally recognized , giant bees , and dwarf bees   and their colonization of their present ranges (beginning around 1 million years ago). However, genetic and morphological relationships between extant subspecies can be used to infer the timing and location of their common origin.The A. mellifera, summarized in A. mellifera has its historic center in the Middle East or northeast Africa from where it colonized Europe through two routes: a direct eastern route and a western route via north Africa and the Iberian peninsula  is typed in 341 individuals from 14 geographical subspecies of A. mellifera and three outgroups  argued in favor of this hypothesis  from the other members of the A group. The tree therefore splits into two main clades, one grouping the M lineage (A. m. mellifera and A. m. iberiensis) together with A. m. intermissa and the other containing all other subspecies of the A, C, and O lineages. Based on the position of the root within the A lineage, it was suggested that modern populations of A. mellifera can trace their origin to Africa via two distinct migrations \u2013 a western expansion of the M lineage into Europe and one or more eastern expansions of the O and C lineages into Europe and Asia (The hypothesis of an African origin was espoused by E. O. Wilson (quoting C. D. Michener) based on an assumption that the ability of domestic s Wilson . It was and Asia B, iii.A. mellifera is important for tracing the evolution of novel and local adaptations in a species increasingly threatened by disease, climate change, habitat loss, and introgression , 31 from West Europe , 42 from Asia , and 67 from Africa . Samples from three related Apis species were also included .Detailed information about samples, locations, and SNPs identification are described in Whitfield et al. . The dat\u03b8 , including the three outgroup species using a custom perl script  but not present in other subspecies, and no examples of SNPs that are fixed in a group but absent in other groups. That the majority of genetic variation is shared indicates that A. mellifera subspecies have not experienced long periods of isolation and makes interpretation of bifurcating trees problematic.In total, 1029 SNPs from Whitfield et al.  exhibit bspecies A. The maFST distances among the 14 A. mellifera subspecies and three outgroup species  and A. m. lamarckii (A group) appear closer to the C group. This could potentially indicate recent hybridization due to beekeeping with a popular race such as A. m. carnica (C group). In addition, samples of A. m. intermissa appear intermediate to the A and M groups, as previously observed. It is clear from these analyses that samples cluster tightly into the four lineage groups, but that within each group, subspecies are less easily distinguishable from each other by genetic differences.When bspecies B. Howevebspecies C. Insteased tree A. Hence,features A. First,vidually . In thisA. m. intermissa and A. m. iberiensis removed, as these subspecies occur close to the boundary between Western Europe and North Africa  an ancient split with other cavity-nesting honeybee species followed by (2) dispersal and differentiation of subspecies across their native ranges of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and finally (3) further dispersal and admixture of subspecies via the activities of humans. The oldest evidence for an association between humans and honeybees is a cave painting in Spain depicting honey hunting, dated at around 7000 years ago  a Middle-Eastern origin, including colonization of Europe via a western route  subspecies is well supported by genetic and morphological evidence. However, studies have come to conflicting results about how these clusters are related. One point of contention is whether there is evidence for a close relationship between the A and M lineages, which could support a western route of colonization of Europe. Such a link is indicated from the morphological evidence (Ruttner et al. The presence of at least four distinct lineage groups of A. mellifera originated. One question is whether the source population of expansions of A. mellifera was adapted to temperate climates. One theory maintains that development of these adaptations allowed expansion into Europe from Africa, where the only native tropical populations of A. mellifera are found today (Wilson A. cerana inhabit temperate climates within Asia (Corlett A. mellifera in Africa are numerous, whereas in Europe honeybees are mainly restricted to managed colonies at a much lower density (Moritz et al. The other point of discussion is where modern subspecies of y Wilson . However Corlett , so cold Corlett . Higher A. mellifera can also be gained from locating the position of the root of the tree of subspecies. This is problematic because of the large amount of shared variation and inconsistencies in internal branches. The root appears close to the node joining A and M branches but different analyses place it either within A lineages, or ancestral to both lineage groups. The SNP data therefore does not provide an unequivocal answer to the root of the tree. Here, we have shown that the shape of the SNP tree of A. mellifera subspecies is sensitive to inclusion of A. m. intermissa, which does not appear genetically distinct. The A. m. intermissa samples included in this data set could have been affected by gene flow from the M lineage group, or alternatively the results could indicate a hybrid origin of A. m. intermissa. It is likely that unbiased sampling of SNPs will provide a more comprehensive answer. In summary, while it is not possible to conclusively rule out any of the major hypotheses for the origin of A. mellifera, the hypothesis first proposed by Ruttner (Insight into the origin of  Ruttner  (Fig. 1BA. mellifera is important for several reasons. During colonization of current ranges they experienced strong selection for adaptation (Zayed and Whitfield A. mellifera colonized new environments is crucial for understanding how and when these adaptations arose. Furthermore, subspecies differ in their susceptibility to major diseases and African subspecies in particular appear to have greater tolerance to Varroa destructor mites (Dietemann et al. A full understanding of origin of"}
+{"text": "Embedded systems are playing an increasingly important role in control engineering. Despite their popularity, embedded systems are generally subject to resource constraints and it is therefore difficult to build complex control systems on embedded platforms. Traditionally, the design and implementation of control systems are often separated, which causes the development of embedded control systems to be highly time-consuming and costly. To address these problems, this paper presents a low-cost, reusable, reconfigurable platform that enables integrated design and implementation of embedded control systems. To minimize the cost, free and open source software packages such as Linux and Scilab are used. Scilab is ported to the embedded ARM-Linux system. The drivers for interfacing Scilab with several communication protocols including serial, Ethernet, and Modbus are developed. Experiments are conducted to test the developed embedded platform. The use of Scilab enables implementation of complex control algorithms on embedded platforms. With the developed platform, it is possible to perform all phases of the development cycle of embedded control systems in a unified environment, thus facilitating the reduction of development time and cost. The evidence includes the fact that of the 9 billion processors manufactured in 2005, less than 2% were used in PCs, Macs, and Unix workstations, while the remainder went into embedded systems . An embeThe majority of embedded control systems in use today are implemented on microcontrollers or programmable logic controllers (PLC). Although microcontrollers and programmable logic controllers provide most of the essential features to implement basic control systems, the programming languages for embedded control software have not evolved as in other software technologies ,5. A larhttp://www.artist-embedded.org). Another example is the CEmACS project (http://www.hamilton.ie/cemacs/) that aims to devise a systematic, modular, model-based approach for designing complex automotive control systems. From a technical point of view, a classical solution for developing complex embedded control software is to use the Matlab/Simulink platform that has been commercially available for many years. For instance, Bucher and Balemi [There are quite a lot of efforts in both industry and academia to address the above-mentioned problem. One example is the ARTIST2 network of excellence on embedded systems design  development board running a Linux operating system. Since Scilab was originally designed for general-purpose computers such as PCs, we port Scilab to the embedded ARM-Linux platform. To enable data acquisition from sensors and control of physical processes, the drivers for interfacing Scilab with several communication protocols including serial, Ethernet, and Modbus are implemented, respectively. The developed platform has the following main features:et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [While Scilab has attracted significant attention around the world, limited work has been conducted in applying it to the development/implementation of practically applicable control applications. Bucher et al.  presente [et al.  develope [et al.  proposed [et al.  presenteThe rest of this paper is organized as follows. In the next Section, we introduce the primary software tool used, i.e., Scilab. Section 3 discusses the software design lifecycle in embedded control systems and presents the design methodology adopted in this paper. In Section 4, the implementation of the platform is described. Details of three major components, i.e., hardware, software, and interfaces, are given. The developed system is tested in Section 5 using an illustrative example. Experimental results are presented. We conclude the paper in Section 6.2.http://www.scilab.org) [Scilab (lab.org) , 13 is aScilab provides hundreds of built-in powerful primitives in the form of mathematical functions. It supports all basic operations on matrices such as addition, multiplication, concatenation, extraction, and transpose, etc. It has an open programming environment in which the user can define new data types and operations on these data types. In particular, it supports a character string type that allows the online creation of functions. It is easy to interface Scilab with Fortran, C, C++, Java, Tck/Tk, LabView, and Maple, for example, to add interactively Fortran or C programs. Scilab has sophisticated and transparent data structures including matrices, lists, polynomials, rational functions, linear systems, among others. It includes a high-level programming language, an interpreter, and a number of toolboxes for linear algebra, signal processing, classic and robust control, optimization, graphs and networks, etc. In addition, a large (and increasing) number of contributions can be downloaded from the Scilab website. The latest stable release of Scilab (version 4.1.2) can work on GNU/Linux, Windows 2000/XP/VISTA, HP-UX, and Mac OS.http://www.scicos.org), which corresponds to Simulink in Matlab. Scicos is particularly useful in signal processing, systems control, and study of queuing, physical, and biological systems. It enables the user to model and simulate the dynamics of hybrid dynamical systems through creating block diagrams using a GUI-based editor and to compile models into executable codes. There are a large number of standard blocks available in the palettes. It is possible for the user to program new blocks in C, Fortran, or Scilab Language and construct a library of reusable blocks that can be used in different systems. Scicos allows running simulations in real time and generating C code from Scicos model using a code generator. Scilab/Scicos is the open source alternative to commercial software packages for system modeling and simulation such as Matlab/Simulink. Scilab includes a graphical system modeler and simulator toolbox called Scicos , a three-port USB 2.0 host, running at 12 Mbps, three UARTs, and external interfaces to SPI, AC97, IIS audio, PCMCIA, Raster/LCD, IDE storage peripherals, keypad and touchscreen, etc. In addition, a LG-Philips LB064V02-TD01 LCD is used to achieve user-friendly display.4.2.The key software packages used include Linux, TinyX, JWM, and Scilab/Scicos. All these tools can be freely downloaded from the Internet, see TinyX is a family of X servers designed to be particularly small, which is well suited for embedded systems. TinyX tends to avoid large memory allocations at runtime, and tries to perform operations on-the-fly whenever possible. Unlike the usual XFree86 server, TinyX does not require any configuration files, and will function even if no on-disk fonts are available. With TinyX, the users can easily build their own GUI applications. JWM is a window manager for the X11 window system. It is written in C and uses only Xlib at a minimum.4.2.1.Scilab/Scicos was originally designed for PC-based systems but not embedded ARM-Linux systems. Therefore, it is necessary to port Scilab/Scicos onto the embedded platform. Since the majority of core codes of Scilab are written in Fortran, we first build a cross-compiler for g77 in order to support cross-compilation of GUI, for example. The GUI system of Scilab/Scicos is based on X11, and therefore the X11 server TinyX is included. To reduce runtime overheads, we optimize/modify some programs in Scilab/Scicos.Port Linux to the ARM platform;Port TinyX to ARM-Linux;Port JWM to ARM-Linux;Port Scilab/Scicos to ARM-Linux;Configure and optimize the embedded Scilab/Scicos.We have successfully ported Scilab/Scicos to the ARM-Linux system see . To achiFor the first three tasks, technical instructions are available in the literature  ; exit 1; } ;{  is given for different sampling periods, i.e., h = 0.1s and 0.5s, respectively. It is seen that the control system delivers quite good performance, especially when the sampling period is 0.1s. In both cases, the water level successfully reaches the desired value (i.e. 10 in the experiment) and remains steady after a transient process.The control performance of the system is shown in 6.In this paper we have developed an embedded platform that can be used to design and implement embedded control systems in a rapid and cost-efficient fashion. This platform is built on free and open source software such as Scilab and Linux. Therefore, the system development cost can be minimized. Since the platform provides a unified environment in which the users are able to perform all phases of the development cycle of control systems, the development time can be reduced while the resulting performance may potentially be improved. In addition to industrial control, the platform can also be applied to many other areas such as optimization, image processing, instrument, and education. Our future work includes test and application of the developed platform in real-world systems where real sensors and actuators are deployed."}
+{"text": "Circumdata, the section Nigri (=Aspergillus niger group) is reviewed relative to their production of mycotoxins and their effects on plants as pathogens. Molecular methods have revealed more than 18 cryptic species, of which several have been characterized as potential mycotoxin producers. Others are defined as benign relative to their ability to produce mycotoxins. However, these characterizations are based on in vitro culture and toxins production. Several can produce the ochratoxins that are toxic to livestock, poultry, and humans. The black aspergilli produce rots of grapes, maize, and numerous other fruits and grain and they are generally viewed as post-harvest pathogens. Data are review to suggest that black aspergilli, as so many others, are symptomless endophytes. These fungi and their mycotoxins contaminate several major grains, foodstuffs, and products made from them such as wine, and coffee. Evidence is presented that the black aspergilli are producers of other classes of mycotoxins such as the fumonisins, which are known carcinogenic and known prior investigations as being produced by the Fusarium species. Three species are identified in U.S. maize and peanuts as symptomless endophytes, which suggests the potential for concern as pathogens and as food safety hazards. The black spored fungi of the subgenera  Aspergillus have a long history of associations with humankind. The genus was first described by Micheli in 1729 [A. glaucus by Link [Aspergillus and are in general toxic to livestock, poultry, fish, and humans. Fungi of the genus Aspergillus as causes of animal toxicities, mainly poultry [A. flavus and A. parasiticus [et al. [Aspergillus ochraceus Whilh, and Penicillium verrucosum. One of the first reports for the natural occurrences of ochratoxicosis was in poultry, which consisted of five independent episodes including about 970,000 turkeys, two episodes of about 70,000 laying hens, and two episodes in about 12,000,000 broilers [Aspergillus sections Circumdati (A. ochraceus group), and by Eurotium herbariorum, a member of the Aspergillus section (A. glaucus group). Recently, the black species of Aspergillus have been shown able to produce the ochratoxins [Early attention was devoted to species of  poultry . Immediaasiticus . Subsequasiticus , which i [et al.  as the mratoxins , which eAspergillus species are associated with grapes, onions, maize, and peanuts, where they are cited as pathogens causing such diseases as peanut and maize seedling blight, and maize kernel rot. However, there are numerous examples of fungi associated with plants as symptomless endophytes, and there is evidence that this life habit may be practiced by the Aspergillus species as well. In association with several hosts, these symptomless endophytes have the capacity to either develop as pathogens or as saprophytes, and in either state become producers of mycotoxins. Symptomless expressions of several black aspergilli are indicated in the literature but nothing is indicated about their ability to produce mycotoxins and any associated pathology. Further, the black species of Aspergillus associated with any plant pathological problem was indicated in early publications as A. niger, the black species. In this review, we refer to A. niger sensu strictu, i.e., A. niger var. niger, to designate or distinguish the present day discription from the older published accounts, which in most instances were applied sensu lato and will be referred to here as simply A. niger. While several cryptic species within this subgenus have been delineated, this recent taxonomic revision creates a large gap of knowledge of black Aspergillus species that are presently defined, and which is important to food safety and plant pathology. This review focuses on identifying the species of the subgenera Circumdati, the section Nigri (=A. niger group) (The black aspergilli are commonly found as soil organisms decomposing dead plant residues  and theyr group)  encounteAspergillus species, and these can be conveniently separated into several distinct morphospecies, and several of these are based on colors according to the earlier classification of Raper and Fennell [Aspergillus genus into eight subgenera [Circumdati, the sections Circumdati (=Aspergillus ochraceus group) and Nigri (A. niger group). There are no known teleomorphic species of group Nigri. In recent years, members of the Aspergillus section Nigri have undergone an extensive taxonomic revision resulting in several new taxa, such as A. niger var. niger, A. melleus, A. sulphureus, A. brasilensis, A. ostianus, A. petrakii, A. scletotium, A. carbonarius, A. aculeatus, A. japonicus, A. tubingensis, A. ibericus and Eurotium herbariorum [There are well over 190 number of  Fennell . Howeverubgenera . Followibariorum ,13,14  have now been isolated from maize and peanuts  and other Fusarium species [Fusarium verticillioides-contaminated maize is correlated with human esophageal cancer, and the fumonisins are highly toxic to horses, pigs, and poultry [2 is more cytotoxic than B1. The most commonly isolated fumonisin is the B1 homologue, while B2 is isolated less frequently. Only strains of A. niger var. niger have currently been shown to produce the fumonisins including B4 and the new B6 homologue [A. niger var. niger from grapes have been reported as producers of the fumonisins. A survey of black aspergilli isolated from raisins indicated that 77% of A. niger from grapes produced fumonisin B2 and B4, and interestingly none of these strains produced the ochratoxins [6, was isolated from A. niger, with in general the frequencies of production of fumonisins in this species so far are 100% FB2, 10\u201325% FB4, and 5\u201310% FB6[F. verticillioides from maize and peanuts suggesting that the source of fumonisin accumulation on these substrates might be derived from either fungus. However, the production of strains of A. niger var. niger from maize has not been demonstrated. Since the black aspergilli, especially A. niger var. niger, are used in so many biotechnological processes for food use, the production of the fumonisins by the commonly occurrence of this species increases the concern for food safety.Additional toxic substances are presented in  species . Fusariu poultry . The fumomologue ,37,44. Sratoxins ,44, sugg\u03b1 \u2013henenoic acid) is particularly produced by most of the golden colored species of section Circumdati (=A. ochraceus group), and is oftentimes co-produced with ochratoxin A by strains of A. ochraceus [A. ochraceus group, penicillic acid is also produced by numerous other species of Aspergillus and Penicillium [The black aspergilli have produced a variety of biologically active compounds , some ofchraceus ,45.Besidicillium ,47, whicicillium ,49,50, aicillium ,52. Whilicillium , its proAspergillus species. Since the biological activities described for penicillic acid above are important from several control measures, its production by the black aspergilli should be investigated.Penicillic acid is also inhibitory with microorganisms, particularly Gram-negative bacteria , and mayBlack aspergilli are reported as pre- and post-harvest pathogens in maize, other cereal grain, bunch grapes, onions, garlic, soya beans, apples, mangoes, and peanuts ,59,60,61Aspergillus carbonarius SRRC 2131 and A. niger var. niger SRRC 13 were transformed with a yellow fluorescent protein vector that was used to measure colonization of maize seedlings [A. niger from surface disinfected plant materials of onions by Hayden and Maude [An investigation of the endophytic nature of maize seedling was investigated. eedlings ,65. The eedlings . The infnd Maude . The infnd Maude . Aspergillus rot in grapes is caused by the black species, A. niger, var. niger, A. carbonarius and A. aculeatus [A. niger is known to cause kernel rot of maize (Fusarium verticillioides, and F. graminearum. However, black aspergilli are isolated from surface disinfected kernels of maize (A. niger var. niger can develop into a postharvest disease, but perhaps due to injury to the bulbs or unsuited storage conditions [A. flavus. Nevertheless, endophytic infections do occur as demonstrated from isolations from surface disinfected kernels, and these endophytic infections can colonize plant tissue. Therefore, some black aspergilli are capable of a biotrophic endophytic existence with maize and onion. Since these two plants are widely separated taxonomically, it is possible that endophytic infection by the black aspergilli exist in numerous plant taxa.In grapes, another situation is described. culeatus . These bof maize , which iof maize . Symptomnditions ,66. In tF. verticillioides, can exclude the Aspergillus species such as A. niger var. niger, from colonizing maize, but this depended on optimum temperature and specific water activity levels [Since ochratoxin A is present in maize, and other cereal grain under field conditions , there iy levels ,68. The A. niger, resulting in a great deal of confusions concerning the actual species observed. Recent molecular analysis of the black aspergilli indicated several cryptic species, which now should be aligned with recent phytopathological and toxicological concerns. To prevent this confusion, the older A. niger has been replaced by A. niger, var. niger in order to exclude the prior confusion in discussions of both the earlier and recent discriptions. The subgenus Circumdati section Nigri consists of at least 19 species of black spore species of which A. niger var. niger is probably the most dominant species in the US where it is found in most soil types and on dozens of fruits and cereal grains. Of major concern is the relationship of the black aspergilli with maize and peanuts, two plants of major economic concern in the US Strains of A. niger var. niger, along with others, can produce the ochratoxins and the fumonisin B1 mycotoxins. In addition to the effect of the mycotoxins on animals and humans, these toxins are interactive with other secondary metabolites to produce synergistic effects. Others are also phytotoxic [A. niger. Certain species have been characterized as producing specific toxins and associated pathology. This indicates the need for reexamination of taxa associated with specific food crops. Additionally, detailed studies of their host relationship are also indicated, as some species are associated with crops as symptomless endophytes. There are also reports on the co-occurrence of both ochratoxin A with the fumonisins in maize [F. verticillioides. Further, evidence of co-infection of A. niger with A. ochraceus in maize is observed also a concern as this presents difficulty in identifying the correct offending mycotoxic species. The black aspergilli are known pathogens in peanut culture where major problems are indicated from the seedling stage or during peanut set late in matured plants. The result is poor quality nuts that are rated too low for human consumption. Thus, pathogenic expressions in maize, cotton, grapes, peanuts and other plants, the production of the ochratoxins and fumonisins on these products, and the unknown species associated with specific pathological expressions on these important crop plants underlines the need for further studies of the black aspergilli. Finally, the prediction of rising global temperatures should influence the population patterns and shifts of species within the A. niger group to more northern latitudes that should increase the number of additional crops, adding to the mycotoxigenic potential globally for all species of the subgenera Circumdata.In the past most descriptions and concerns relative to the black aspergilli have been referred to as ytotoxic , suggestin maize ,71, whic"}
+{"text": "Dirofilaria, which are transmitted by a plethora of mosquito species. The principal agent of canine dirofilariosis in the Americas is Dirofilaria immitis, which may also occasionally infest humans, resulting in pulmonary nodules that may be confounded with malignant lung tumours. Because human cases of dirofilariosis by D. immitis are relatively frequent in the Americas and rare in Europe and other eastern countries, where Dirofilaria repens is the main causative agent, the existence of a more virulent strain of D. immitis in the Americas has been speculated. Recently, a case of human ocular infestation by Dirofilaria sp. was diagnosed in Par\u00e1 State, northern Brazil, where canine heartworm dirofilariosis is endemic. The nematode was shown to be morphologically and phylogenetically related to D. immitis but it was genetically distinct from reference sequences, including those of D. immitis infesting dogs in the same geographical area. This finding raised questions regarding the aetiology of human dirofilariosis in the Americas, since information on the genetic makeup of filarioids infesting dogs and humans is meagre. Further studies would be needed to better characterize filarioids infesting dogs, wild animals, and humans in the Americas and to assess the existence of a more virulent D. immitis strain in this continent. Finally, the competence of different culicid species/strains from Europe and the Americas as vectors of Dirofilaria species should be investigated. Such studies would help us to understand possible variations in transmission patterns and even to predict possible scenarios that may emerge in the future, with the introduction of non-endemic Dirofilaria species/strains in free areas through importation of infested animals, vectors, or both.Dirofilarioses are widespread diseases caused by filarioid nematodes (superfamily Filarioidea) of the genus  Dirofilaria of the family Onchocercidae. These nematodes may infest wild and domestic mammals of several orders, such as Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Edentata, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Rodentia [Dirofilaria immitis, also known as heartworm, can present with respiratory distress, epistaxis, haemoptysis, ascites, exercise intolerance, and anorexia [D. immitis can be expensive and often associated with life-threatening complications, particularly in patients with moderate to severe heartworm disease [Dirofilariosis is a worldwide-distributed disease caused by nematodes of the genus Rodentia ,2. Most anorexia ,4. Impor disease .Dirofilaria infestations in dogs are still of major veterinary and public health concern, considering that canine and human dirofilariosis continue to be diagnosed in several tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world [Even if canine dirofilariosis is still widespread and highly prevalent worldwide, the availability of preventatives, improved diagnostic tools and different treatment options ,4 have ghe world ,7.Dirofilaria repens, whereas in the New World pulmonary dirofilariosis by D. immitis predominates [D. immitis or to a species other than D. repens in the Old World put in doubt the pathogenic role of the former species in humans in this region [D. immitis in Europe has been ascertained [D. repens[D. immitis prevails [Dirofilaria species is well recognized, the control and prevention of Dirofilaria infestations in reservoir hosts is often neglected.Human cases of dirofilariosis have been reported worldwide. In the Old World, most cases refer to subcutaneous infestations by ominates ,4. Nonets region . Indeed,ertained ,10, the prevails . AlthougD. immitis but genetically distinct from reference sequences, including those of D. immitis infesting dogs in the same geographical area [Dirofilaria species infesting wild and domestic animals in South America, as well on the aetiology of human pulmonary and subcutaneous dirofilariosis in the same region. Within this context, the present review focuses on some aspects related to the dirofilariosis and Dirofilaria parasites in the Americas, with an emphasis on South America, and lists future research needs on this neglected field of human parasitology.Information on the aetiology and, thus, eco-epidemiology of animal and human dirofilariosis in the Americas is fragmentary, particularly in South America. For instance, a recent human case of dirofilariosis from northern Brazil was attributed to a nematode morphologically and phylogenetically close to cal area . These fDirofilaria consists of 27 apparently valid species (Table\u00a0Dirofilaria have been replaced into other genera [Candidatus Dirofilaria hongkongensis\u201d) [Dirofilaria based on robust morphological and genetic data would be needed before the description of any new species.Dirofilariae are spirurid nematodes, which localize, with a few exceptions, in subcutaneous tissues of mammalian hosts  and are transmitted predominately by mosquitoes ,2,13-25.gensis\u201d) , but congensis\u201d)  any descDirofilaria species have been reported from wild and domestic mammals. In Brazil alone, eight Dirofilaria species \u2013 i.e., D. acutiuscula, D. freitasi, D. incrassata, D. immitis, D. magalhaesi, D. repens, D. spectans, and D. striata \u2013 have been reported so far [D. magalhaesi) has been questioned [D. repens in this country, and in the Americas as a whole, remains doubtful [In the Americas, several d so far , even ifestioned . Moreovedoubtful .D. repens in the Americas has been first reported in a dog from S\u00e3o Paulo, south-eastern Brazil [D. repens were detected in dogs from a semi-rural district near Santiago (Chile), but these microfilariae were larger and genetically distinct from D. repens[Dirofilaria species in the Americas needs to be further investigated, also to determine whether cases of D. repens in dogs are being actually misdiagnosed as D. immitis based on the retrieval of blood circulating microfilariae.The presence of n Brazil . RecentlD. repens. In any Dirofilaria species infesting wild and domestic animals in the Americas as well as the scant number of surveys on the mosquito species acting as potential vectors, the diversity of culicids transmitting Dirofilaria species in this region is currently underestimated. Indeed, little is known regarding the mosquito vectors of wildlife-associated Dirofilaria species, even considering that some of them  are of zoonotic concern [D. immitis in naturally caught mosquitoes [Given the fragmentary data on  concern . On the squitoes -31 or insquitoes -36.Dirofilaria immitis can be transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to different genera, such as Aedes (Ae.), Anopheles (An.), Culex (Cx.), and Ochlerotatus (Oc.). For instance, a study conducted in Rio de Janeiro State, south-eastern Brazil, using canine, feline and human baits, reported Oc. taeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Oc. scapularis, Cx. declarator, and Cx. nigripalpus as the most likely vectors of D. immitis in this region [D. immitis developmental stages were found in Oc. scapularis, Oc. taeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. declarator, Cx. saltanensis and Wyeomyia bourrouli, with L3 being found only in the first three species [Cx. quinquefasciatus[Cx. quinquefasciatus supports the development of D. immitis to the L3 [D. immitis were found in Cx. pipiens and Stegomyia aegypti and they have been regarded as putative vectors of this nematode in Argentina [St. aegypti to D. immitis[D. immitis, including St. aegypti, Stegomyia albopicta, Oc. canadensis, Jarnellius sierrensis, Oc. trivittatus, Aedimorphus vexans, An. punctipennis, An. quadrimaculatus, and Cx. quinquefasciatus[D. immitis throughout the American continent, as it occurs in the Old World [s region . Indeed, species . In anotfasciatus. Indeed,o the L3 . Similarrgentina . As a co. immitis. Meanwhifasciatus,39-41. Ald World .Dirofilaria transmission is D. ursi, which infests American black bears (Ursus americanus) and is vectored by black flies (Simuliidae) [Worth mentioning, an interesting exception regarding uliidae) .D. immitis and other filarial nematodes in the Americas remains fragmentary. Some mosquito species may present high specificity for city regions  and landscape elements within these regions  [St. aegypti with high-density housing in urban areas, of Cx. quinquefasciatus with low-density housing in suburbs, and of Gymnometopa mediovittata and other native mosquitoes  with less disturbed habitats  [D. immitis may vary according to city region and landscape type. Indeed, studies indicate that the prevalence of heartworm infestation in dogs is usually higher in some coastal regions [D. immitis are widespread and may be present throughout the entire year. For example, an entomological survey carried out in Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil revealed that St. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus were present the year-round [D. immitis infestation at the individual and population level.The American continent is extremely variegated in terms of topography, hydrography and climate. As such, the transmission patterns of different vector-borne pathogens may vary widely throughout this vast land territory. Still, the knowledge on the transmission patterns of density) . For inshousing) . Therefo regions . Becausear-round . AccordiD. immitis vectors may be restricted to particular months of the year. For instance, mathematical models suggested that D. immitis transmission in Argentina is markedly seasonal (with peaks in January and February) and that no region of this country would support transmission throughout the year [D. immitis infestation in dogs, especially during high-risk months. The elaboration of optimized control strategies is particularly important in developing countries, where dog owners cannot always afford the costs of preventative chemoprophylactic measures.In temperate regions, the presence of the year . UndoubtD. acutiuscula, D. immitis, D. repens, and D. striata in dogs [D. immitis is the most important causative agent of canine dirofilariosis [In the Americas, there are reports of infestation by  in dogs ,45,48,49lariosis ,45, beinlariosis . In Centlariosis ,45,51,52D. acutiuscula in a dog from Argentina [, D. striata in a dog from the United States [D. repens in a dog from Brazil [D. repens European sequence (GenBank accession number: AM779775), suggesting that the parasite found in Chile [D. repens. Another study conducted in Maraj\u00f3 Island, northern Brazil, revealed some level of intra-specific difference in 5.8S and ITS2 regions [The reports of rgentina , D. strid States , and D. m Brazil  and in dm Brazil  are doubin Chile  may not  regions . In geneD. immitis in cats may vary regardless of the prevalence of infestation in dogs from the same area.In the Americas, feline dirofilariosis has been reported in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela . In a stD. immitis, other species may also infest and cause disease in humans in this region  has been reported once in the orbit of a 6-year-old boy living in North Carolina [Dirofilaria have been reported only once in humans, these case reports suggest that the number of potentially zoonotic dirofilariae in the American continent may be currently underestimated.While most cases of human pulmonary dirofilariosis in the Americas have been attributed to n Figure\u00a0. For exa in Ref. ), which  in Ref. . Dirofil Janeiro . SimilarCarolina . Even coDirofilaria species  in humans is reputed to be higher in areas where there is a high incidence of these worms in their natural hosts [Dirofilaria species as a consequence of the fact that these nematodes may adapt to new animal hosts and arthropod vectors. At some specific occasions, such as in the case of hurricane Katrina in the United States, dogs infected by D. immitis were relocated from the areas stricken by the hurricane  to other states of North America, resulting in the introduction of this filarioid into previously non-endemic areas [Little is known regarding the epidemiology and risk factors of human dirofilariosis in the Americas. The risk of infestation by some al hosts . Importaal hosts , and thuic areas .D. repens[D. immitis and D. repens may co-infest the same reservoir hosts [D. immitis. For instance, over 100 cases have been detected in the United States, most of which coming from south-eastern regions where D. immitis infestation in dogs is highly prevalent [D. immitis in dogs in S\u00e3o Paulo is low [Most human cases of dirofilariosis reported in the international literature refer to subcutaneous/ocular dirofilariosis cases caused by D. repens. The greir hosts . In the revalent ,50,61. Crevalent ,62,63 anrevalent ,64-66. Rrevalent , one of o is low , the appo is low .D. tenuis, D. ursi and D. immitis (a single case) in North America [D. repens in dogs from Chile [Dirofilaria species in Chile and suggests a late introduction of this parasite in this country, which until recently was considered as a Dirofilaria-free area [D. immitis. However, high nucleotide differences  was found by comparing sequences from the nematode recovered from the patient\u2019s eye with sequences obtained from dogs living in the same area and/or from other countries available in GenBank [Dirofilaria, which is close to D. immitis, might be circulating in Brazil and in the western hemisphere as a whole.Subcutaneous/ocular dirofilariosis in the Americas have been attributed to different species, such as  America ,61. In a America  and Braz America , respectom Chile . This reree area ,45,70. Free area . The parD. immitis in the Old World concluded that there is no proof demonstrating that Old World D. immitis plays a pathogenic role in humans [D. repens, even if D. immitis is more prevalent than D. repens in both dogs and vectors in some areas [D. immits genotypes in the New and Old Worlds, with varying infective capacities for dogs and humans. Alternatively, some unidentified factor, probably related to the vector, could modify the infective capacity of the parasite to humans in the Old World. Although both hypotheses are plausible and deserve to be investigated more in-depth, there is no evidence indicating the existence of a more virulent D. immitis strain in the Americas.A critical analysis of human dirofilariosis cases attributed to n humans . Indeed,me areas . Based ome areas . First, Even if some individuals can present with cough, chest pain, haemoptysis, and dyspnoea ,63,67,71D. immitis infestation in human hosts, most cases of pulmonary dirofilariosis will likely remain without a definitive diagnosis. As a consequence, the actual number of pulmonary dirofilariosis in the Americas is likely to be grossly underestimated at present. Nonetheless, the existence of a more virulent strain of D. immitis in the Americas remains uncertain. So far, available data do not support this hypothesis, mainly considering that most human patients present no apparent clinical signs.Considering the usually benign nature of bona fide information about the species of filarioids infesting dogs and humans in this region is meagre. Further studies are needed to better characterize filarioids circulating among different domestic and wild animals in the American continent. Certainly, the use of an integrated genetic  and morphological approach could be beneficial for the identification of filarioids [There are several lacunae in our knowledge regarding different aspects of animal and human dirofilarioses in the Americas. For example, larioids .Dirofilaria species is currently lacking. Similarly, scientific knowledge on the biology of Dirofilaria species infestation in humans is limited for obvious ethical reasons and several aspects of the host-parasite interactions  remain unknown. Certainly, studies on bacterial endosymbionts associated with Dirofilaria nematodes may provide further data on their biology and evolution [Wolbachia pipientis in Dirofilaria species has been associated with the immuno-pathology of dirofilariosis [Wolbachia surface protein and the participation of this bacterium in inflammatory processes occurring during dirofilariosis has been intensively investigated in recent years [Wolbachia endosymbionts of filariae were useful in damaging or even killing D. immitis adult worms [D. immitis, eventually reducing the risk of thromboembolism [D. repens[The high diversity of potential zoonotic dirofilariae in the Americas is undisputed, but information on the biology of most wildlife-associated volution , also colariosis ,74. In plt worms . Therefoembolism . A similD. repens,78.Dirofilaria species should be better investigated. Such studies would help us to understand possible variations in transmission patterns and even to predict possible scenarios that may emerge in the future, with the introduction of non-endemic species/strains in free areas through importation of infested animals, vectors, or both. In this context, mathematical models and distribution maps are extremely important for predicting the presence/absence and abundance of mosquito vectors in different regions.The competence of different culicid species/strains in the Americas as vectors of Finally, it is crucial to increase awareness among veterinary practitioners and medical physicians regarding the zoonotic significance of filarial nematodes of domestic and wild animals in the Americas. This is particularly important in remote areas, such as the Amazon region, where a different range of zoonotic, yet unknown filariae  is likelThe authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.FD-T wrote the manuscript and DO reviewed critically it. Both authors approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Hemiscorpius lepturus (Scorpionida: Hemiscorpioiidae) and Androctonus crassicauda (Buthidae) are present. Ramhormoz is in southwestern Iran and is one of the most important foci of the scorpion sting problem. The current study was carried out to gain both epidemiological and medical information about scorpion stings in and around the city of Ramhormoz. In total, 179 people who were admitted to the Emergency Department of Ramhormoz Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2008 and 2009 after being stung by scorpions were monitored. Epidemiological and medical parameters including sex of the victim; the part of the body stung; the month when stung; the biochemical parameters comprising blood sugar (BS), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine (CR); hematological parameters including white blood cells (WBC), count blood cells (CBC), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (HCT), platelet (PLT); and urine analysis including hemoglobinuria were recorded. The current study showed that most of the victims were stung by H. lepturus, while very few were stung by A. crassicaud, but in over half of the cases the species was not known. Stings were most common from May to Aguust. 73% of the victims were female. The limbs were the part of the body most likely to be stung. Hemogobinuria was very common in H. lepturus victims.Scorpion stings are a common and important health problem in Iran, particularly in south and southwestern Iran, including the province of Khuzestan. In the area of Khuzestan near the city of Ramhormoz,  Scorpion stings are a common and important health problem in Iran, particularly in south and southwestern Iran. From 2001 to 2005, 192,351 cases were reported, in which 104 cases resulted in death . Most ofHemiscorpius lepturus, belongs to the Hemiscorpiidae family, and is the most medically important scorpion in Iran (The Iranian scorpion (Scorpionida) fauna consists of over 44 named species from 23 genera in two families, Buthidae and Scorpionidae. However,  in Iran .Hemiscorpius lepturus, Androctonus crassicauda (Buthidae), and Mesobuthus eupeus are the main species responsible for stings in this area .In the current study, the data of scorpion stings were studied from the points of epidemiological and medical lab parameters. The data included: the sex of the scorpion-stung victim; the body part stung; the month of the scorpion sting; the biochemical parameters blood sugar (BS), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine (CR); the hematological parameters white blood cells (WBC), count blood cells (CBC), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (HCT), and platelet (PLT); and urinalysis hemoglobinuria.t-test was used to compare the results. A p-value of < 0.05 was used for the level of significance.The frequencies of the epidemiological and medical lab parameters were converted to the percentage rank. A H. lepturus or A. crassicauda . The scorpion species responsible for the remaining cases were unknown. 131 of the patients were female (73 %)  .H. lepturus and A. crassicauda, respectively. These results came from 179 patients.H. lepturus and 140 \u00b1 63 mg/dL, 13 \u00b1 3mg/dL, and 0.6 \u00b1 0.1 mg/dL for A. crassicauda. The other data belong to unidentified species.Biochemical blood test results are shown in the The results of hematological parameters, including WBC, RBC, HB, HCT, PLT, PTT, and PT, are shown in H. lepturus, which constituted 7% of this group and 4% of the total.The results of the hemoglobinuria test, which are presented in H. lepturus and A. crassicauda, in terms of the percentages of scorpion stings. There is very little specific data regarding the other species, except that M. eupeus is counted as the third most important scorpion in Khuzestan in terms of percentage of stings.Scorpionism studies in Iran have been restricted to Khuzestan province. Data on scorpion stings in Ramhormorz, in the eastern region of Khuzestan, showed that the two most important scorpion species in this area are The results of the present study showed that most of the patients with scorpion stings were female (73%). This rate is in accordance with the results of Vazirianzadeh and Samie  for KhuzA. crassicauda and 98% of H. lepturus stings. Both species are non-drilling scorpions, and can hide themselves everywhere. Most scorpion sting cases are reported from the Ramhormoz region. This region has the most scorpions in the province (http://pezeshkan.ir/view.asp.2008),therefore the local people are at high risk of being stung by a scorpion.Vazirianzadeh et al.  reportedH. lepturus and A. crassicauda, targeted the limbs with frequencies of 72% and 67%, respectively, compared to the other parts of the body. This result agrees with studies of Al-Sadoon and Jarrar , and A. crassicauda was most active in August (33%). These results are confirmed by the results of Vazirianzadeh and Samie (H. lepturus was most active in May (8%), and A. crassicauda was most active in August (10%). Therefore, the more important scorpionism in the mild temperate seasons is due to H. lepturus, and to A. crassicauda during warmer seasons. These results, however, are not in accordance with the results of Pipelzadeh et al. . This result is in accordance with the studies of Chitnis et al. , Vaziriand Samie , who reph et al.  regardinIn the current study, biochemical results including rates of BS, BUN, and CR in the stung people were in the normal rates, and there was not any significant difference between those rates and normal values . Therefore, the levels of BS and BUN of the blood may be used as factors signifying scorpionism by H. lepturus in Ramhormorz. In the case of A. crassicauda stings, only BS level can be used as a factor signifying scorpionism in Ramhormorz. However, the alteration in levels of BS in the blood tests must be interpreted before treatment with dextrose injection to the patients, which is a common treatment in the terms of scorpion sting in Khuzestan, especially for H. lepturus stings.All the above comparative issues were discussed on the basis of the means of the biochemical parameters. The maximum levels of BS in the cases of A. crassicauda and H. lepturus, respectively . However, this result is not in accordance with the results obtained by Chitnis et al.  counts were in the normal range in all scorpion-victim cases. This normalcy shows that these factors were not important indices in scorpion sting cases. This result is not in agreement with the results obtained by Emam et al. (9/L) counts were considered as important indices in H. lepturus victims.PTT, PT, and PLT (\u00d7 10m et al.  and Murtm et al. . They reH. lepturus victims with greater than +1; however, this rate also occurred in 17% of A. crassicauda victims. This difference occurred because erythrocyte hemolysis was more severe in the victims of H. lepturus in Ramhormoz. The hemogobinuria decreased with time. Therefore, monitoring hemogobinuria is considered as an essential parameter in the recovery period of H. lepturus victims compared to A. crassicauda victims. This conclusion is in accordance with other researchers (H. lepturus and A. crassicauda victims, the majority of which were H. lepturus stung victims. Afzali and Pezeshki (H. lepturus sting is a secondary phenomenon, and the venom of this species is not nephrotoxic. They have also explained that hemoglobinuria is the most important sign of a H. lepturus sting, and can be followed by renal failure. This conclusion is in agreememnt with the results of the present study.The results of the present study showed that there was severe hemogobinuria in 95% of earchers . Howeverearchers , b, 1998earchers , and Emaearchers  reportedH. lepturus sting, leading to a diagnosis of hemolytic uremic syndrome.All the mentioned lab results regarding the hematological and urine data should be analyzed and interpreted together as multifactorial data. The reduction of RBC, hemogobinuria, and produced anemia must be considered as parallel and accompanied together. Valavi and Alamzadeh Ansari  explaineFinally, there are valuable reasons to further study and interpret the differences between our results and the results of other similar studies regarding hematological and biochemical data. The most important reasons for these differences are related to using different geographical areas and methods of studies.Hemiscorpius or subspecies of H lepturus is raised up by the authors of the present study. Similar hypotheses may be considered regarding A. crassicauda based on Farzanpey (A. amorexi is present in the field of Khuzestan.The difference in geographical area is considered to be the major reason why the present study obtained different results than the Emam et al.  study inarzanpey , Vaziriaarzanpey  and Mirsarzanpey  studies.The reason the results of the present study differed from the results of the Emam et al  study isH. lepturus, and antivenom treatments to reduce neurotoxic effects of A. crassicauda venom (H. lepturus, A. crassicauda, Mesobuthus eupeus, Odonthobothus doriae, Hottentotta saulcyi, and Hottentotta schach. It is made at the Razi Research Vaccine and Serum Institute, Iran.The authors of the present study suggest the application of alkaline diuresis to regulate alkalosis of the urine as a medical approach against renal failure due to the hemolysis effects of da venom . This anH. lepturus and A. crassicauda, with an emphasis on paraclinical data. Thedifference between the results of the current study and the other similar studies, especially regarding H. lepturus, is due to the possibility of the existence of different subspecies of H. lepturus and A. crassicauda, or different species of Hemiscorpius and Androctonus genera in Khuzestan (The present study was carried out in one area, including both huzestan . These dH. lepturus stings are more dangerous than A. crassicauda stings, identification of the species involved is very helpful. Gathering these paraclinical data should be considered in the warmer months for A. crassicauda victims and in the temperate months of spring for H. lepturus victims.Urine analysis data are considered to be the most important in the follow-up of scorpion victims and during their recovery period. Because"}
+{"text": "Dr. Dario Barbone was not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the sixth author and affiliated with Lung Biology Centre, SFGH, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. The contributions of this author are as follows: Dr Barbone critically reviewed the paper together with Prof. Courtney Broaddus. He also participated in scientifically relevant discussion of the experiments.Dr. Luciano Mutti was not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the seventh author and affiliated with Department of General Medicine, Vercelli and Borgosesia Hospitals, Vercelli, Italy. The contributions of this author are as follows: Dr Mutti actively and critically reviewed the paper."}
+{"text": "In many countries, the need for physical therapists to use standardised measures has been recognised and is recommended in clinical practice guidelines. Research has shown a lack of clinimetric knowledge and clinical application of measurement instruments in daily practice may hamper implementation of these guidelines.The aims of our study were a) to investigate the current use of measurement instruments by Dutch physical therapists; b) to investigate the facilitators and barriers in using measurement instruments.To get a complete and valid overview of relevant barriers and facilitators, different methods of data collection were used. We conducted a literature search, semi-structured interviews with 20 physical therapists and an online survey.Facilitators are the fact that most therapists indicated a positive attitude and were convinced of the advantages of the use of measurement instruments. The most important barriers to the use of measurement instruments included physical therapists' competence and problems in changing behaviour, practice organisation  and the unavailability and feasibility of measurement instruments. Furthermore, physical therapists indicated the need to have a core set of measurement instruments with a short user's instruction on application, scoring and interpretation.The main barriers are on the level of the physical therapist  and organisation .There seems to be a disparity between what physical therapists say and what they do. The majority of participating physical therapists indicated a positive attitude and were convinced of the advantages of the use of measurement instruments. However, the main problem for physical therapists is when to use which instrument for what patient (lack of knowledge). Furthermore, physical therapists indicated a need to compile a core set of measurement instruments with instructions concerning application, scoring and interpretation. Based on the identified factors, a number of strategies will be developed and evaluated in future studies. In almost every disease, condition or ailment that receives attention in modern medicine, methods have been developed for describing or rating the observed clinical phenomena. Clinimetrics is the practice of assessing or describing symptoms, signs and laboratory findings by means of scales, indices, and other quantitative instruments . Clinimehttp://www.wcpt.org/node/29447). Not only do we need to evaluate physiotherapy treatment outcomes as an integral part of professional accountability, we need to make sure our diagnostic process is transparent, and that we are able to give our patients some sense of their prognosis with treatment. As a result, clinical practice guidelines often incorporate specific recommendations for the use of standardised measurements and measurement tools.The need for physical therapists to use standardised (outcome) measures has been recognised worldwide and has been articulated in a number of policy statements, including the Core Standards of Physiotherapy Practice of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy . This has resulted in the development and publication of 18 (mono-disciplinary) Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs). Many Dutch CPGs are translated into English. They can be downloaded at As well as in guidelines developed in other countries, in these guidelines, the use of standardised measurement instruments is recommended in order to support the process of clinical reasoning. However, considerable variation in guideline adherence exists among therapists ,6. ReseaMeasurement in clinical practice' in cooperation with two research centres in Utrecht and Heerlen. The final goal of the project was to improve the use of standardised measures in physical therapy daily practice.Much research has been done on implementation methods of clinical practice guidelines in health care , but untThe project group adopted the model of systematic implementation by Grol & Wensing , comprisGrol et al emphasise that the innovations to be implemented must be of good quality, fit in with the needs of the target group, be useable end easily available and be attractively designed .This analysis concerns the characteristics of the target group, the factors that stimulate and hamper change and the aspects of performance that show the greatest deviation from the proposed behaviour. Factors that determine whether the implementation is successful or not may be connected to the setting in which the change is to be implemented, the relationship between individuals within the setting, the goals of the implementation, the professionals and the involved patients and the organisational or structural conditions.The literature gives a great number of different strategies that can be used for the implementation of changes. Usually, a mix of strategies is selected, but the problem is that the most optimal choice is not only dependent on the strategy but also on the target group and its context.When making an implementation plan, attention has to be paid to effective dissemination, both to encourage its acceptance and to promote the actual implementation and integration in normal working routines.This step is crucial to be sure of the effectiveness of implementation. To find out whether the goals have been reached they must be made measurable. That means that outcome measures must be defined clearly to put into operation.The project group followed steps 1 and 2 of the implementation model: a) investigating the current use of measurement instruments and b) investigating the facilitators and barriers in the use of measurement instruments. The project focused in particular on physical therapists working in two different settings: private practices and nursing homes. The reason to focus on the former group is that the majority of physical therapists in the Netherlands work in private practices. Physical therapists working in nursing homes were chosen because of the expected contrast in the kind of measurement tools used by private practice physical therapists. We also expected that the two different settings would require different implementation strategies. In this paper we describe the first two steps of the implementation model  and current use of measurement instruments (familiarity with instruments in practice).- Attitude and individual readiness about the usefulness of measurement instruments in practice and their actual use.- Participants' opinions on the most important barriers and facilitators for implementation in daily practice as well as participants' thoughts on how best to overcome barriers for the implementation of a standardised set of instruments.- The conditions needed for successful implementation.In the interviews we also focused on underlying thoughts and possible solutions. The facilitators and barriers mentioned in the interviews were classified into four categories: 1) Physical therapist (competence and attitude), for example lack of knowledge; 2) Organisation (practice and colleagues), for example lack of time; 3) Patients, for example patients unaccustomed to the use of questionnaires and 4) Measurement instruments, for example overly extensive instruments. This classification is based on findings from another study where barriers to the use of standardised outcome measures were investigated . The ratTo compose the questionnaire for the survey we added relevant topics from the semi-structured interviews to the Barriers and Facilitators Questionnaire  (BFQ) (sThis study was funded by the Dutch Scientific College of Physiotherapy (WCF) of the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF), with the final goal to perform a national structural implementation of the use of standardised measures in practice.Many publications exist on implementation in general or implementation of guidelines in health care. Specifically, Cochrane et al.  identifiThese findings mirror the seven categories of barriers as defined by Cochrane et al.  except fOn the implementation of standardised measures, fewer studies were available ,11,21,22The semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten private practice physical therapists and ten nursing home physical therapists. No new information was gleaned in the last two interviews, indicating that the sample size was sufficient to saturate the topics.There appeared to be minor differences between physical therapists working in nursing homes versus private practice , but the great majority of factors were comparable. These are summarised in Table Most therapists indicated that the application of measurement instruments in daily practice is difficult and not yet integrated in the process of clinical reasoning.During the interviews, the therapists were honest and admitted that they did not use the instruments as often as they would like to do. In particular, the semi-structured interviews indicated that application of measurement instruments is certainly not part of daily clinical practice.which measurement instrument for which patient and information on the interpretation of the scores. Furthermore, the interviewed therapists indicated a need for a toolkit of short and feasible measurement tools and, additionally, a short description of how to apply and interpret these instruments.In the interviews, physical therapists indicated needing a core set of measurement instruments with a short user's instruction on application, scoring and interpretation, as well as a need for small-scale tailor-made education and frequent feedback in order to facilitate their use of measurement instruments. The tailor-made education should in particular focus on knowledge of measurement instruments, integration in daily routine, and guidelines on when to use Completed questionnaires were received from 468 physical therapists; a response rate of 16%. Three hundred ninety four (394) out of these 468 (84%) were private practice physical therapists; 74 (16%) were nursing home physical therapists. The mean age of respondents was 41.6 years (SD = 10). The details of the determinants of respondents are reflected in Table The most dominant facilitators are that the majority of physical therapists indicated having a positive attitude towards the use of standardised measures and being convinced of the benefits of the use of measurement instruments. However, both groups of therapists indicated having difficulty in changing their daily routine. In private practice, 72% of respondents indicated using standardised measures, and 97% of physical therapists working in nursing home indicated using measures. Eighteen different measures could be listed from the group of physical therapists working in nursing homes. Only 5% of these measurement instruments was mentioned once. In contrast, 144 different measures could be listed from the private practice physical therapists, of which 58% were mentioned only once . These results indicated a higher percentage of measurement use in PTs working in nursing homes. Table There proved to be a difference in the most frequently used outcome measures. Table The survey also investigated the most frequently reported facilitators and barriers to the use of measurement instruments, which are summarised in Table In summarising Table The aim of this study was to investigate the current use of measurement instruments, and related barriers and facilitators in the use of measurement instruments in clinical physical therapy practice. Comparing the results of this study with other studies in the literature, the same problems prove to exist in different countries regarding the use of measurement instruments ,20,25-27A way to classify measurement instruments is the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health Problems (ICF) . Using tGoniometry and VAS are listed as two of the five standardised measures used by private practice physical therapists, yet they are in the ICF body structure/function category. The five most frequently used measures listed by nursing home physical therapists were in the \"activity\"-category, but none were in the \"participation\" category. Physical therapists, particularly in orthopaedic practice, have traditionally focused on the measurement of impairments such as pain, range of motion and muscle strength, but have not utilised standardised measures of activity and participation. Based on our findings, the assessment of activity and participation is clearly not routine in private practice. Perhaps private practice physical therapists deal with more orthopaedic problems which warrant more direct focus on impairments (cure) whereas nursing home physical therapists are focused primarily on functional training (care). In general, the results from Table A very small number of short and feasible measurement instruments was used by physical therapists working in private practices, where, conversely, a large number of instruments were being used by physical therapists working in nursing homes. This is comparable with the results of the study by Haigh et al.  who publMore than 70% of the respondents indicated the use of measurement instruments. More than forty percent of private practice responders indicated using one or two outcome measures and one third indicated using three to five outcome measures in clinical practice. This is comparable with the results of a New Zealand study  . In both the interviews and the survey, therapists indicated a need for small scale education, feedback on the use of measurement tools and guidance on which measurement tools to choose. This is consistent with the comparable study for American physical therapists  as well Earlier studies used mainly written inquiries (questionnaires) to identify barriers and facilitators for the use of measurement instruments in physical therapy ,12,13. IThe results revealed that the application of measurement instruments is only partially implemented in the process of clinical reasoning in daily practice. The same has been reported by a number of authors across different countries. One reason for this might be that physical therapists have difficulty interpreting measurement scores, as indicated in the interviews, and therefore do not integrate these scores into the process of clinical reasoning. Interpreting scores remains a difficult issue as there are often no normative data available. The use of measurement instruments should not be a goal, but a tool that supports the clinical decision making process. It is therefore, essential to incorporate the use of measurement instruments in the structure of clinical reasoning and daily routine instead of using it as a separate trick. The project group adopted the model for systematic implementation by Grol & Wensing  and focuOne limitation of this study is the fact that the literature study was not a systematic review of the literature. Another limiting point is the relatively small response rate to the electronic survey, which could jeopardise the validity of the reported findings.\u2022 A very small number of measurement instruments is used by physical therapists working in private practices, where conversely a large number of instruments are being used by physical therapists working in nursing homes.\u2022 The reported use is probably an overestimation of reality in clinical practice.\u2022 The most important barriers could be detected at the level of the physical therapists (lack of knowledge and insufficient integration in daily practice) and on the level of organisation (lack of time and no instruments available in practice).\u2022 In nursing homes, an important barrier is the lack of support from management.\u2022 There is a need for tailor-made education focusing on implementation in clinical reasoning and organisation structure\u2022 There is a need for a toolkit of short and easily applicable instruments and user descriptionsOutcome measureMeasurementInstrumentAssessmentTestQuestionnaireClinimetricsIndexScaleReliabilityValiditySensitivityResponsivenessPhysiotherapyPhysical therapyRehabilitationand combination of these keywordsBarriers and Facilitators Questionnaire*this questionnaire has not been validated in English.The purpose of this questionnaire is to get your opinion on the use of measurement instruments in clinical physiotherapy care during evaluation and treatment. By measurement instruments we mean, for instance, a visual analogue scale (VAS), a goniometer, walking tests, but also questionnaires. Some statements refer to \"the project\". By this, we mean the Royal Dutch Society of Physiotherapy project on measurement in clinical care.Below follow a number of statements on the use of measurement instruments. Please indicate whether you completely disagree, disagree, disagree nor agree, agree or completely agree.I have been using measurement instruments before this projectI have sufficient knowledge to use measurement instrumentsI have sufficient skills to apply measurement instrumentsChanging my routine is difficult for meIn general, I resist using measurement instrumentsI have a positive attitude towards the use of measurement instrumentsUsing measurement instruments gives me enough room to include patient preferencesUsing measurement instruments during treatment is too time consumingPatients value the use of measurement instruments to gain insight into their functioningPatients find the use of measurement instruments too time consumingCo-workers (physiotherapists) support the use of measurement instrumentsMy supervisor supports the use of measurement instrumentsPatients support the use of measurement instrumentsThe use of measurement instruments fits my way of working in the clinic wellI find using measurement instruments a problem because I do not have  space in my practiceI find using measurement instruments a problem because I have had no training in using themI would like to know more about the use of measurement instruments before I decide to use themUsing measurement instruments requires additional financial compensationThe use of measurement instruments leaves enough room for me to make my own clinical decisionsAre there reasons, other than the above statements that are barriers for you to the use of measurement instruments? (open question)Are there reasons, other than the above statements that are facilitators for you for the use of measurement instruments? (open question)I miss the routine of using measurement instruments in daily clinical practiceIn evaluating patients I primarily focus on impairmentsOur professional body overloads me with too many guidelines and rulesThere are so many different questionnaires; I do not know which one to use.I am convinced of the usefulness of measurement instrumentsIn my daily clinical practice sufficient measurement instruments are availableThe use of measurement instruments is part of the organisational goals of our practiceThe kinds of patients I treat are unsuitable for the use of measurement instrumentsThe use of measurement instruments is always an integral part of my treatmentI am convinced the use of measurement instruments improves the quality of my treatmentPatients want to evaluate treatment results objectivelyReferrers want to evaluate treatment results objectivelyUsing measurement instruments might strengthen negotiations with insurersI use measurement instruments primarily for diagnostic purposesI use measurement instruments primarily for prognostic purposesI use measurement instruments primarily for evaluative purposesWhat would your preferred measurement be?\u2022 Impairments in body functions and structures, e.g. Range of motionPainMuscle strengthSwellingSensibilityMental functions (depression etc).......................................\u2022 Limitations in activities; e.g. Activities of Daily LifeStanding/sittingMobility Arm/hand .................................\u2022 Participation restrictions, e.g. WorkSportSocial activities.................................\u2022 Personal factors, e.g. ChronicityPatient's cognition and attributesFear of movementCoping..........................................\u2022 Environmental factors, e.g. Problems in home environmentWork conflictsFinancial factorsSick leaveStress-provoking factorsWork stress.......................................For the evaluation and treatment of patients I use about........different instruments:- 0 - 2 instruments- 3 - 5 instruments- 6 - 10 instruments- 11-20 instruments- \u2265 21 instrumentsI use measurement instruments during evaluation and treatment in:- 1 of each 5 patients ( 20%)- 2 of each 5 patients ( 40%)- 3 of each 5 patients ( 60%)- 4 of each 5 patients ( 80%)- 5 of each 5 patients (100%)Please indicate your top 5 measurement instruments and for each measurement instrument how often you use this instrument? (example: Roland Morris Questionnaire: 2 out of 19 patients)Instrument number............of number of patients per week1...........................................................................2...........................................................................3...........................................................................4...........................................................................5...........................................................................Finally, some questions about you and your work environment:Gender: male/femaleCurrent work environment - Hospital- Rehabilitation Centre- Nursing Home- Private Practice- Other,How many hours a week do you work as a physiotherapist?- 0 - 8 hours- 9 - 16 hours- 17 - 24 hours- 25 - 32 hours- More than 33 hoursHow many patients a week do you treat on average?- 1-5 patients- 6-10 patients- 11-15 patients- 16- 20 patients- 21-25 patients- > 25 patientsHow many years of experience do you have as a physiotherapist?..................years.BarriersLevel topicsPhysiotherapistExpertiseLack of routine in using measurement instruments in evaluation and treatmentLack of knowledge in using measurement instrumentsLack of education in measurement (instruments)Diagnostic process mainly directed at impairmentsInsufficient experience in using measurement instrumentsAttitude/personalityLack of autonomy, Dutch Royal Society of Physiotherapists directs (what to do and how to do it)Overwhelmed by evidence based practiceOverwhelmed by quantity of guidelines, rules and informationHabit of determining for oneself what best practice is without outside directionInsufficiently convinced by need to use measurement instruments and whether this leads to better quality care.Physiotherapist decides in a different manner whether treatment is successfulInsufficiently prepared to change clinical practiceResistant to changeLack of confidence in own (measurement) skillsOrganisationAvailability of measurement instruments, guidelines and suchLack of timeSingle person private practice, no feedback colleaguesMonodisciplinary workUse of measurement instruments not included in organisational policyFinancesCosts of measurement instrumentsLack of time, time is moneyNo  reimbursementColleaguesInsufficient feedback from, consultation with colleaguesTeam not very innovative, 'late adopters'People break their engagementKey-persons disagree with the use of measurement instrumentsPatientExpectation patient; does not want measurement, just treatmentPatient category unsuitable for the use of measurement instrumentsPatient pressurises physiotherapistSocial contextOverall negative attitude, not ready yet to use measurement instrumentsProblems with referrersFacilitatorsLevel topicsPhysiotherapistExpertiseRoutine in using measurement instruments in evaluation and treatmentSufficient education in measurement (instruments) and ongoing continuing educationKnowledge of measurement instrumentsAttitude/personality'Readiness to change'Being convinced of the positive contribution of the use of measurement instruments to the quality of (physiotherapy) careUnderstanding the advantages of using measurement instrumentsPositive attitude towards the use of measurement instrumentsOrganisationWorking with (multiple) physiotherapy colleaguesRegular feedback/consultation colleaguesAvailability measurement instruments .Use of measurement instruments is part of organisational policyColleaguesteam is innovative, 'early adopters'Sufficient support from physiotherapy colleaguesPatientPatient want objective instruments to evaluate the treatment processSocial contextPositive attitude towards using measurement instrumentsReferrers want objective findings/evaluation of treatmentThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.RS participated in part of the semi-structured interviews and wrote the core text of the manuscript. RvP participated in part of the semi-structured interviews, did the literature search and developed the topic list. HW was responsible for the online survey and data analysis and updated the literature search. JC Conceived of the study and participated in the design and coordination of the study. SB Conceived of the study and participated in the design and coordination of the study and corrected and improved the text of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/12/106/prepub"}
+{"text": "Retraction to: British Journal of Cancer (2011) 104, 68\u201374. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605972BJC.After a thorough review, the corresponding author, Dr Antonio Gualberto, has concluded that the key results reported in this manuscript are incorrect and cannot be reproduced. As there are no remaining samples that would allow a new analysis, he has therefore recommended the retraction of the manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief of The co-authors have been informed of this decision.BJC.Dr Gualberto sincerely apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused the readers of the"}
+{"text": "This special issue is dedicated to the study of microbial enzymes and their applications in various industries. The biocatalytic uses for enzymes have grown immensely in recent years since they are ecologically correct, have a high specificity, present chemo-regio-enantio selectivity, and have a wide diversity of reactions. Moreover, the conditions to obtain and optimize the production of enzymes in terms of nutrients, pH, temperature, and aeration are easily controlled in bioreactors. Microorganisms can also be manipulated genetically to improve the desirable characteristics of a biocatalyzer. Additionally, the substrates used in the cultural medium are sustainable and industrial residuals can be used to produce value-added products. All these characteristics together have encouraged the ever-growing search for biocatalytic processes. The main industries that apply microbial enzymes are the food, textile, leather, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, fine chemicals, energy, biomaterials, paper, cellulose and detergent industries. Immobilization processes allow the reuse of these enzymes and increase stability. The enzymes and the microorganisms themselves have also been much used for bioremediation processes. In this issue, the paper by B. Joseph et al. is about the production of cold-active lipases by semisolid fermentation and the paper by A. L. Willerding et al. is a study about lipases obtained from microorganisms isolated from soils in the Amazon. Studies with lipases immobilized for the synthesis of isopropyl acetate and isopropyl ferulate are presented in the papers by M. Lal Verma et al., A. Kumar and S. S. Kanwar, respectively.Bambusa bambos are presented in the papers by D. Deka et al. and A. Kuila et al. The paper by R. C. Kuhad et al. is a review of the innumerous industrial applications of the cellulases.The results of cellulase production optimization studies with cellulosic substrates and delignified \u201cBioconversion of agricultural waste to ethanol by SSF using recombinant cellulase from clostridium thermocellum,\u201d \u201cPetroleum-degrading enzymes: bioremediation and new prospects,\u201d and \u201cAssessment of the morphological, biochemical, and kinetic properties for Candida rugosa lipase  The papers entitled immobilized on hydrous niobium oxide to be used in the biodiesel synthesis\u201d are about enzymes and biofuels: the use of a recombinant cellulase from Clostridium thermocellum for the production of ethanol from agro-industrial residues, a brief review on the role of enzymes that degrade oil, the use and description of the properties of a Candida rugosa lipase immobilized for the production of biodiesel.Laccase: microbial sources, production, purification, and potential biotechnological applications\u201d is a review of the industrial applications of laccases, while the \u201cIsolation, purification, and characterization of fungal laccase from Pleurotus sp.\u201d and \u201cApplication of asymetrical and Hoke designs for optimization of laccase production by the white-rot fungus Fomes fomentarius in solid-state fermentation\u201d are studies on laccases from fungi and production optimization. The paper by A. Arsenault et al. shows that a laccase from Coriolopsis polyzona was insolubilized as cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) for the first time with chitosan as the cross-linking agent. Also, within the laccase theme, the paper entitled \u201c\u03b2-estradiol using immobilized laccase from Trametes versicolorVoEnzyme-catalyzed oxidation of 17\u201d is about the oxidation of 17\u03b2-estradiol using immobilized laccase from Trametes versicolor. The paper by M. Neifar et al. is about the decolorization of Solophenyl red 3BL (SR), a polyazo dye extensively used in the textile industry using a laccase-mediator system. The last article about laccase, entitled \u201cImproved laccase production by Trametes pubescens MB 89 in distillery wastewaters,\u201d is a study of its production by Trametes pubescens using distillery wastewaters. The paper entitled \u201cCryptococcus flavus fungus expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The paper by I. Akpan et al. demonstrated the use of activated Charcoal in order to recovery glucoamylase. The paper by A. S. Galdino et al. describes the characterization of amylases of the S. cerevisiae using optimization statistics. The paper by E. F. Ries and G. A. Macedo reports on the improvement of phytase activity of a new strain of Aspergillus niger tannase, and, in the paper by L. V. Rodr\u00edguez-Dur\u00e1n et al., novel strategies for upstream and downstream processing of tannin acyl hydrolase are described. The paper by A. Flores-Maltos et al. describes the catalytical properties of free and immobilized Aspergillus japonicus 586 in the food industry. The use of proteases with potential in the food and animal feed industry are focused on in two articles: the one by B. Tchorbanov et al. describes the use of Lactobacillus LBL-4 proteases to remove the bitter taste of proteinic hydrolysates, and the paper by A. M. Mazotto et al. describes how strains of Bacillus sp. were used to ferment feather flour so that it could be transformed into more easily absorbed hydrolysates. And within the same theme, the paper by F. C. Lopes et al. shows that a strain of Aspergillus niger was able to grow in feather meal producing proteases and keratinases.The paper by M. F. S. Teixeira et al. shows the improvements that occur in cupuacu juice after treatment with crude enzyme extract produced by Bacillus licheniformis NCIM 2042 and the effect of different culture media on Bacillus sp. isolated from soil sample of Lavizan Jungle Park are focused on in the papers by B. Bhunia and A. Dey; L. Jabalameli and A. A. Sepahy, respectively.Optimization of the proteases from Bacillus mojavensis AG137 with agricultural residues. The xylanase enzymes are described in the paper by A. A. Sepahy et al. that reports on the cost effective production and optimization of this enzyme  using indigenous Stereum ostrea, isolated from wood logs, are described.In the paper by K. Praveen et al., the lignolytic enzymes of the mushroom \u03b1-l-rhamnosidase and \u03b2-D-glucosidase activities of naringinase is described in the paper by H. Vila-Real et al.Naringinase (NGase) is an enzyme complex with high potential for the pharmaceutical and food industries. The paper by M. H. L. Ribeiro and M. Raba\u00e7a describes the process of enzyme immobilization with cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs). The enzymatic synthesis of the flavone glucosides, prunin and isoquercetin, and the aglycones, naringenin, and quercetin, with selective \u03b2-glucosidase was screened.In the paper by J. de A. Figueira et al., a set of supports  based matrices (Lentikats), and sol-gel) for the immobilization of a partially purified extract of Aspergillus niger by solid-state fermentation using different substrates, and the paper by S. Shukla and A. Goyal identifies the hyperproductive strains of glucan.The paper by S. Ou et al. describes the production of feruloyl esterase from Microbial Enzyme: Applications in Industry and in Bioremediation\u201d offers an important contribution to microbial enzyme studies, encompassing their production and optimization, immobilization techniques and, industrial applications. We would like to thank the collaboration of all the authors and the reviewers for their analyses of the papers. We believe that this special issue that gathers together updated studies under the theme \u201cAlane Beatriz VermelhoAlane Beatriz VermelhoClaudiu T. SupuranClaudiu T. SupuranJose M. GuisanJose M. Guisan"}
+{"text": "This article provides an overview on the application of metallic ions in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, focusing on their therapeutic applications and the need to design strategies for controlling the release of loaded ions from biomaterial scaffolds. A detailed summary of relevant metallic ions with potential use in tissue engineering approaches is presented. Remaining challenges in the field and directions for future research efforts with focus on the key variables needed to be taken into account when considering the controlled release of metallic ions in tissue engineering therapeutics are also highlighted. Severdelivery \u201313. In adelivery . Furtherdelivery ,15. In tdelivery . From a delivery . There adelivery . It is tdelivery . These adelivery . In addidelivery ). This a2.et al. [In the body, various metallic ions act as cofactors of enzymes and stimulate a chain of reactions associated with cell signalling pathways towards tissue equilibrium . These pet al.  demonstret al. \u201340. Moreet al. \u201345. By cet al. \u201348. The et al. ,50.3.in vitro or in vivo [in vivo when no longer needed [in vivo  [The interest in the application of MITA in the field of regenerative medicine and TE scaffold development is growing owing to the fact that MITA may offer therapeutic opportunities coupled with high flexibility to be incorporated in engineered biomaterial scaffolds by a broad range of processing methods. Moreover, MITA have lower cost, higher stability and potentially greater safety than recombinant proteins or genetic engineering approaches . Table\u00a01 in vivo ,32. For  in vivo  is used  in vivo ,91\u2013101.  in vivo ,95,102.  in vivo . It is,  in vivo . A compr in vivo . Novel sr needed . In thisr needed . There ar needed ,106\u2013113.r needed ,114\u2013118.r needed ,246. Furexample) ,141. In 4.in vivo evidence confirming that metallic ions can be released locally from scaffolds without systemic toxicity and carcinogenic effects is bound to follow [Metallic ions are of interest in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering owing to the possibility of exploiting their unique advantages for therapeutic applications: reduced cost, increased stability and, in terms of safety, potentially lesser risk than techniques of recombinant proteins or genetic engineering. Several biomaterial-based strategies are being designed for the controlled-localized delivery of metallic ions and the field is continuously expanding. However, many challenges remain. First, there is a need to acquire a deep understanding of the roles of specific metals in cellular regulation and cell\u2013cell signalling in both healthy and diseased tissue when they are released locally from scaffolds, implants or other releasing devices. Second, more o follow . In addi"}
+{"text": "To the Editor: To the list of zoonotic infections with wildlife sources reported by Kruse et al. , but also has been found in wild mammals, birds, and arthropods. The transmission of Q fever to humans from wild rabbits was documented in the 1980s (Rattus norvegicus) in Oxfordshire, which suggests that they are a possible reservoir for C. burnetii in the United Kingdom. The study also speculated why cats, as frequent predators of rats, are important in maintaining the transmission cycle of the disease (e et al. , I woulderrorism . C. burnhe 1980s . More re disease .A case-control study published in 2001  attempte"}
+{"text": "Candida albicans (C.a) and Candida tropicalis (C.t) were treated with Streptococcus sanguinis bacteriocin (S.s bacteriocin), respectively; the bacteriostatic dynamics of S.s bacteriocin, their effects on cell surface hydrophobicity, leakage of inorganic phosphorus and macromolecular substance, cytosolic calcium concentration, and ultrastructure changes of Candida thallus were detected and analyzed. The results showed that inhibitory effect of S.s bacteriocin on C.a and C.t reached peak level at 24\u2009h, the cell-surface hydrophobicity decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after S.s bacteriocin treatment, and there was leakage of cytoplasmic inorganic phosphorus and macromolecular substance from C.a and C.t; cytosolic calcium concentration decreased greatly. After 24\u2009h treatment by S.s bacteriocin, depressive deformity and defect could be found in the cell surface of C.a and C.t; the thallus displayed irregular forms: C.a was shrunken, there was unclear margins abutting upon cell wall and cell membrane, nucleus disappeared, and cytoplasm was inhomogeneous; likewise, C.t was first plasmolysis, and then the cytoplasm was shrunk, the ultrastructure of cell wall and cell membrane was continuously damaged, and the nucleus was karyolysis. It was illustrated that S.s bacteriocin had similar antifungal effect on C.a and C.t; their cell surface hydrophobicity, membrane permeability, and ultrastructure were changed significantly on exposure to S.s bacteriocin. Candida is the main pathogen causing deep fungal infection in clinic; the highest rate of infection occurred at 5 fungi strains: Candida albicans (C.a), Candida glabrata (C.g), Candida tropicalis (C.t), Candida parapsilosis (C.p), and Candida krusei (C.k)  = (F0 \u2212 F)/F0 \u00d7 100%; F represented fluorescence intensity after S.s bacteriocin treatment; F0 represented fluorescence intensity of control group. The result showed that cytosolic calcium concentration and Ca2+i were decreased significantly in the test group  is the dominant bacteria in a healthy oral cavity and it is generally accepted that an antibacterial substance generated by S. sanguinis has an inhibitory effect on putative periodontal pathogens; in our previous studies, it was found that there were significant inhibitory effects of the intracellular proteins extracted from S. sanguinis on pathogenic bacteria , fungi , and the biofilms formed by them; the growth curves and morphology of C. albicans and C. tropicalis were altered following treatment with the intracellular proteins, resulting in disc-like depressions in the surfaces of the fungal spores and mycelia [ Streptococcus sanguinis by being ultracentrifuged at low temperature, ultrasonication, and so on. Fungistatic dynamics study showed that antifungal dynamics of S.s bacteriocin for C.a and C.t reached the climax at 24\u2009h, and characteristics of fungistatic dynamics of S.s bacteriocin were quite similar between C.t and C.a.Bacteriocins are generated by ribosome synthesis mechanism in metabolic processes of some bacteria; they are a kind of proteins, polypeptides, or precursor polypeptides . Strepto mycelia . In this Candida to oral epithelium; the stronger the surface hydrophobicity the Candida had, the stronger the adhesion it had [The effects of S.s bacteriocin on cell surface hydrophobicity of C.a and C.t showed that S.s bacteriocin could result in the hydrophobicity decrease of C.a and C.t. It was reported that cell surface hydrophobicity played an important role in the initial adhesion ofn it had . Cell su Candida surface could bind to hydrophobic groups; the formation ability of Candida biomembrane had a positive correlation with cell surface hydrophobicity [ Candida and host histiocyte was cut off, the formation of Candida biomembrane was hampered, and the pathogenicity of Candida was decreased.There were some macromolecules with relative molecular mass of 190\u2009kD in hydrophobic cell; they were called surface proteantigen, and they were found in the bacterial cell walls; without these proteins, the hydrophobicity was decreased . It was hobicity . In this2+; in the third way, micromolecule with less polarity could penetrate the cell membrane by physical diffusion, for example, O2, hydrone [In the process of cellular metabolism, there were different materials that went into/out of the cell, including some ions, micromolecules, macromolecules, and particulate matters. In normal cases, the penetration to cell membrane of these materials could be divided to 3 ways: in the first way, water-solubility micromolecule could penetrate the cell membrane by the mediation of membrane protein, for example, inorganic phosphorus and amine acid; in the second way, macromolecule and some particulate matters proceeded the transmembrane transport through a particular way, for example, protein, Ca hydrone . In this2+i were decreased significantly in the test group.UV-absorbing substance permeability of C.a and C.t was increasing slowly in the first 6\u2009h after S.s bacteriocin treatment; with the time extending, the permeability increased greatly, while, without S.s bacteriocin treatment, UV-absorbing substance permeability was little. Fluo-3 AM was hydrolyzed to free acid by intracellular hydrolase after entering cells; their conjugates with calcium ion could generate specific fluorescence under excitation light, and the intensity of fluorescence signals was changed following the concentration of calcium ion; the result showed that cytosolic calcium concentration and CaIt could be found that there were leakages of inorganic phosphorus, UV-absorbing substance, and decrease of intracellular calcium ion. In normal cases, the micromolecule and macromolecule could not penetrate the cell membrane, but when the cell membrane permeability was changed, there might be the leakages of cell contents. Candida. (2) The main structure of cell membrane was constituted by phospholipid bilayer; S.s bacteriocin could bind to some specific compositions in the bilayer; integrity of cell membrane was broken, so the cell membrane permeability was changed; the transport of micromolecule and macromolecule in thallus of Candida became abnormal. (3) Ergosterol was an important component of fungal cell membrane; it could stabilize the structure of cell membrane and decrease their fluidity [The roles of S.s bacteriocin could be the following. (1) The cell membrane structures might be destroyed by S.s bacteriocin, resulting in the formation of channels in the cell membrane, so the cell membrane permeability was changed; the micromolecule and macromolecule could be released from thallus offluidity ; with th Candida was changed by the effect of S.s bacteriocin; many of them were accumulated in the thallus of Candida and combined specifically to molecules with cell wall synthesis function, so the cell wall synthesis of Candida was affected and resulted in deformation and collapse of cell wall, with various depressions appearing.In the present, the main mechanism of antifungal agents was as follows: the destruction of fungal cell wall, interference on fungal cell membrane, inhibition of protein synthesis, and influence on mitochondria ATP synthetase . In this Candida thallus and then affect the synthesis and expression of protein and DNA in Candida, finally resulting in transfer interruption of material, energy, and information, and the cell turned to death. Besides, S.s bacteriocin could attach to the surface of Candida cell wall by electrostatic attraction; the enzyme synthesis of cell wall was inhibited and the cell wall structure was destroyed, so depression, defect, and fracture could be found in the surface of cell wall.There were cytoplasm pycnosis, plasmolysis, nucleus destruction, disappearance, and vacuolization in C.a and C.t after 24\u2009h treatment of S.s bacteriocin. It could be speculated that S.s bacteriocin could cause the organelle damage of Candida thallus. The results could provide references for fungistatic mechanisms studies.In conclusion, S.s bacteriocin could not only cause the same fungistatic dynamics of C.a and C.t, but also result in the decrease of hydrophobicity in the cell surface, the cell membrane permeability, and ultrastructure changes of"}
+{"text": "Rheum palmatum complex comprises all taxa within section Palmata in the genus Rheum, including R. officinale, R. palmatum, R. tanguticum, R. tanguticum var. liupanshanense and R. laciniatum. The identification of the taxa in section Palmata is based primarily on the degree of leaf blade dissection and the shape of the lobes; however, difficulties in species identification may arise from their significant variation. The aim of this study is to analyze the patterns of variation in leaf blade characteristics within and among populations through population-based sampling covering the entire distribution range of R. palmatum complex.Samples were taken from 2340 leaves from 780 individuals and 44 populations representing the four species, and the degree of leaf blade dissection and the shape of the lobe were measured to yield a set of quantitative data. Furthermore, those data were statistically analyzed.Palmata should be considered as one species. Based on the research on the R. palmatum complex, we considered that the quantitative characteristics were greatly influenced by the environment. Therefore, it is not reliable to delimitate the species according to the continuously quantitative vegetative characteristics.The statistical analysis showed that the degree of leaf blade dissection is continuous from lobed to parted, and the shape of the lobe is also continuous from broadly triangular to lanceolate both within and between populations. We suggested that taxa in section  Species are fundamental units of systematic, ecological and evolutionary studies, and species delimitation has long been the focus of biologists' attention. The discovery and description of species is a major endeavor in the field of systematics. However, most species continue to be circumscribed based on morphological comparisons of museum specimens Rheum palmatum complex comprises all taxa  within Rheum Sect. Palmata. These taxa differ from other members of genus Rheum in the possession of palmately lobed leaf blades R. officinale and R. palmatum are lobed; the lobes of R. officinale are broadly triangular, and those of R. palmatum are narrowly triangular. The blades of R. tanguticum and R. laciniatum are parted, and the lobes are narrow and triangular-lanceolate. The difference between R. tanguticum and R. laciniatum is that the lobelets of the former are narrowly lanceolate, and those of the latter are linear. However, the transitional morphologies between species are often observed in both the herbarium specimens and the field individuals. Previous DNA-based studies have drawn conflicting conclusions, and the interspecific relationships remain to be resolved. Using AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) markers, Suo et al. R. officinale and R. palmatum are mutually sisters and are together sisters with R. tanguticum based on samples from Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Using DNA sequences from the chloroplast gene matK, Yang et al. R. officinale and R. tanguticum are mutually sisters and are together sisters with R. palmatum based on samples from Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu provinces. Based on chloroplast DNA trnL-F sequences from samples from Chongqing and Qinghai provinces, Wang et al. R. palmatum, R. officinale, and R. tanguticum are nested one with one another on the phylogenetic tree. Based on the nuclear ITS  sequences from eight samples from Qinghai and Gansu provinces, Li et al. R. officinale in their study is sister with their seven samples of R. palmatum and R. tanguticum. According to our previous study, R. palmatum is the most widely distributed among the distribution of the species complex; the distribution of R. tanguticum overlaps with that of R. palmatum in northwestern distribution of the species complex, the distribution of R. officinale overlaps with that of R. palmatum in southeastern distribution of the species complex, and the distribution of R. officinale also overlaps with that of R. tanguticumR. laciniatum only inhabits the northern Sichuan province and embeds in the distribution areas of the other three species Palmata might not be truly distinct species R. palmatum complex.For some genera of Chinese flora, microspecies were published by several authors based on the limited specimens collected from various localities by different collectors. Chinese botanists have devoted attention to some species complexes in recent decades Palmata is not on the list of state-protected plant species http://www.people.com.cn/item/faguiku/zrzyf/U1020.html). Thus, no specific permits were required for the described field studies, and no harm was caused to the plants and their habitats.According to regulations of the People's Republic of China on the protection of wild plants, permits are required only for the species included on the list of state-protected plant species at the time of collection. Sect. R. palmatum complex, i.e., R. officinale, R. palmatum, R. tanguticum, R. tanguticum var. liupanshanense, and R. laciniatum, from the entire distribution range of Sect. Palmata  to CD, to represent the length of the central lobe .To intuitively indicate the changes in the leaf lobe width and the leaf cleft depth, the above lines  were linked to form two triangles, ABC and BCE. In triangle ABC, if the length of the central vein (AB) is regarded as a unit of length, then the values of AC/AB vary with the depth of the leaf cleft. A smaller AC/AB value indicates that the leaf cleft is deeper , whereas a larger AC/AB value shows that the leaf cleft is shallower . Likewise, if BE, the height of triangle BCD, is regarded as a unit of length, then the values of CD/BE vary with the width of the leaf lobe. A smaller CD/BE value indicates that the leaf lobe is narrower , whereas a larger CD/BE value shows that the leaf lobe is wider . Therefore, the analyses of inter-population and intra-population variations were conducted at the individual and population levels based on the values of AC/AB and CD/BE. Variation among the populations can be observed from the scatter diagram comparing the two indices of leaf lobes and from the histogram indicating the number of individuals in different ranges of leaf cleft indices. Variation within the populations can be obtained from the histogram indicating the range of variation of leaf cleft indices in different individuals.R. palmatum complex, the differences between the maximum and minimum values of AC/AB or CD/BE were divided into three equal intervals, and each interval corresponded theoretically to a morphological variation range of leaf blade. Thus, each morphological variation range of leaf blade was obtained. All measurements were obtained using a rule precise to 0.1 cm. The correlation analysis among the morphological parameters and the correlation analysis of these morphological parameters with environmental factors were performed with the statistical software SPSS 17.0 .Using the parameters measured in the field, the maximum and minimum values of AC/AB and CD/BE were obtained at the individual and population levels, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values for each parameter were then assessed. Because the scatter diagram showed that the AC/AB and CD/BE values among different populations were continuous within taxa of r\u200a=\u200a0.949, P<0.01)  . If a le P<0.01)  showed aE values  differedE values . Most inR. palmatum complex, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values is 0.7515  and R. laciniatum. For the maximum and the moderate variation ranges, Pop1-Pop6 and Pop10-Pop13 were included in the maximum variation range that corresponded with R. officinale both for the AC/AB value and for the CD/BE value, but Pop7 and Pop8 were exceptions; seventeen populations, i.e., Pop 15-Pop19, Pop21-Pop24, Pop26-Pop28, Pop30 and Pop33-Pop36, were within the moderate variation range, which corresponded to R. palmatum. However, six populations, Pop9, Pop14, Pop20, Pop25, Pop29 and Pop31, were within the moderate variation range based on the AC/AB value but belonged to the maximum variation range for the CD/BE value. Pop7 and Pop8 differed from the above populations, residing within the maximum variation range of the AC/AB value; however, these two populations were within the moderate variation range and the maximum variation range of CD/BE values, respectively. These results indicate that these eight populations, Pop7, Pop8, Pop9, Pop14, Pop20, Pop25, Pop29 and Pop31, are the transitional forms between R. officinale and R. palmatum.The AC/AB values ranged from 0.1658 to 0.7271 at the population level in the  complex , and theon level , and theThe two indices of the leaf blade cleft also differed greatly among the different individuals within populations, and the differences between populations were also not identical ; Fig. 3.P<0.01and P<0.05, respectively). With higher latitudes and/or altitudes, the blade divisions became deeper, and the blade lobes became narrower, especially on a single mountain, such as the four populations on the north slope of Mt. Taibai, Shaanxi province. The indices of leaf division showed no significant correlation with the longitudes or with the different longitudes at approximately the same latitudes.Correlation analysis revealed that the AC/AB and DC/BE values were both significantly correlated with latitudes and altitudes , leaves tend to be flat and thin. Therefore, leaves become the organ with the largest contact area with the environment, and they are thus heavily influenced by the environment. Many quantitative characteristics in plants, including size, weight and number, are controlled by polygenes R. palmatum complex was indeed based on unreliable morphological characteristics. Morphological characteristics based on the degree of leaf blade dissection and the lobe shape are continuous among and within the studied populations. Yang and Zhang published a new species, R. qinlingense, which was later treated as a synonym of R. palmatumR. qinlingense actually represents the intermediate type of R. officinale and R. palmatum. Wu et al. R. officinale and R. palmatum as recorded in Flora TsinlingensisR. officinale and R. palmatum can be found within a single population, such as Pop14 . This phenomenon can also be found in R. palmatum and R. tanguticum, such as Pop38 . As described in Flora of China R. laciniatum differs from R. tanguticum only in the shape of the lobelets. R. laciniatum is distributed in the northern Sichuan Province; unfortunately, we failed to find a specimen of R. laciniatum in any of the herbaria in China. According to the scatter diagram or the histogram, it is clear that R. laciniatum is not a separate entity but an extreme form of R. tanguticum. Likewise, R. tanguticum var. liupanshanense also represents an extreme form of R. tanguticum var. tanguticum. Similar findings also exist for other taxa, e.g., Gallego et al. R. officinale, R. tanguticum or R. laciniatum as independent species. It appears more reasonable to recognize these species as synonyms of R. palmatum.Leaves are photosynthetic organs. To absorb sufficient light energy, leaves must be as wide as possible. Meanwhile, to facilitate gas exchange . With the latitude rising, the growth environment of R. palmatum complex becomes increasingly dry. While the leaves of R. palmatum complex are relatively large, so in order to reduce transpiration area, the leaf lobes of R. palmatum complex become deeper and narrower. The change of the altitude is similar with that of the latitude.To date, many reports have dealt with the relationships among R. officinale, R. tanguticum, and R. palmatum at the molecular level as described in the introduction. It should be noted that these studies Palmata and to examine the interspecific relationships proposed in this study. A molecular study is currently underway to gain further insight into this issue.AC/AB and DC/BE values were found to be significantly correlated with each other, indicating that the degree of leaf blade dissection and the shape of the lobes were not meaningful for identifying the species in ngitudes . ContinuR. laciniatum, its difference from R. tanguticum lies only in the shape of the lobelets, which are linear and lanceolate for R. laciniatum and R. tanguticum, respectively. Although the terminal lobes were not analyzed in the present study, leaf lobe types, which varied from no secondary lobes to trilobate lobes, differ greatly among different populations, among different individuals within the same population, and even among different blades of the same individual. Whether secondary lobes or trilobate lobes, their shape also varied from triangular to narrowly lanceolate.As for R. palmatum complex be considered as a single species. Rheum officinale, R. tanguticum (including var. liupanshanense) and R. laciniatum are synonyms of R. palmatum. However, our hypothesis has yet to be confirmed by further studies, possibly using various molecular markers.In summary, we suggest that"}
+{"text": "Recently we read with great interest the paper by Wang et al. . The autP value for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in control groups. According to the original data  as 0.06 and 0.19. However, using the same program, we obtained much different results; the P values were equal to 0.005 and 0.02, respectively. These results significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P < 0.05), and thus publication bias may be present, distorting the meta-analysis. To avoid this, the authors should reject these studies in this analysis.First, the authors made some mistakes about counting the i et al.  and Hongi et al.  for GG/GSecond, the racial categories of the original studies were not always clear in this paper . The authors pegged the Egyptians of the original study by Wang et al. as Caucasian . After cFinally, there are some problems of the method of stratified analyses. The authors simply categorized types into the same cancer with all races and the same race with all types of cancer . It is worth considering that the R521K SNP exhibits differences in allele frequencies between ethnic groups under normal conditions. Therefore, this kind of classification method only based on cancer types and ignoring differences between populations is not reliable.In conclusion, the results of the study by Wang et al.  should b"}
+{"text": "The following information is missing from the Funding section: the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant no. BB/D526896/1.www.bbsrc.ac.uk) and the University of Sussex, and also an Alumni Travel Grant from the University of Sussex (www.sussex.ac.uk). KM was supported by a Leverhulme Trust Research Grant number RPG-2013-069 (www.leverhulme.ac.uk). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.The complete, correct Funding statement is: JW was supported by a studentship from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, grant no. BB/D526896/1 (BBSRC\u2014In addition, the affiliations for the second and third authors are incorrectly switched. Anne M. Burrows is not affiliated with #2 but with #3, Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America; Bridget M. Waller is not affiliated with #3 but with #2, Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom."}
+{"text": "Nepenthes L. Nepenthes are the largest of all carnivorous plants, and the species with the biggest pitchers are capable of trapping and digesting small amphibians and even mammals. The central cordillera of Mindanao Island in the south of the Philippines is mostly covered with old, primary forest and is the largest remaining cohesive, untouched area of wilderness in the Philippines. In a recent field exploration of two areas of the central cordillera, namely Mount Sumagaya and a section of the Pantaron range, four new taxa of Nepenthes were discovered. These four remarkable new species, N. pantaronensis, N. cornuta, N. talaandig and N. amabilis, are described, illustrated and assessed.Together with the islands of Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo , the Philippines are the main center of diversity for carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus,  Nepenthes. Local conflicts have hindered exploration of the islands in the past, and therefore, only 15 distinct species were known by the late 1990s [N. peltata Sh.Kurata and N. robcantleyii Cheek, were described based on cultivated material [N. viridis Micheler from Dinagat Island was described [N. graciliflora Elmer [N. extincta Cheek) might be \u201cextinct in the wild, due to habitat destruction\u201d [The Philippines are nowadays considered to host the highest diversity of carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus, material ,3. More escribed . The desra Elmer ,9,10,11 Nepenthes. Most species occur in the intermediate tropical highland climate prevalent on the numerous mountains of the islands. Diversity hotspots are mountains with ultramafic soils, such as Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental province  or the Diwata Mountains in Agusan del Norte.The islands of Mindanao and Palawan are the Philippines\u2019 main centers of diversity for The most extensive mountain massif on Mindanao is the Pantaron mountain range, the major part of the central cordillera of Mindanao. It runs south from the municipality of Claveria in the north of the island towards the south to the municipality of San Fernando and separates the provinces of Bukidnon in the west and Agusan del Sur in the east. The average altitude of this mountain range is approximately 1,000 m, with summits of around 1,500 m that peak out of the cordillera. Almost the whole area is covered by dipterocarp, lower and upper mountain forest and is designated as a key biodiversity area by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The Pantaron range is flanked by the marshes of the Agusan River in the east and by the Pulangi River in the west, the latter being the longest river in Mindanao. Along the Pulangi River, large areas of lower mountain forest have been cleared for agriculture. West of the Pulangi River, opposite the Pantaron range, the Tago mountain range marks the western border of the central cordillera. The northern border of the central cordillera consists of a conglomeration of prominent peaks with altitudes significantly above 2,000 m, namely Mt. Sumagaya, Mt. Mangabon and Mt. Kimangkil. While other prominent mountains on Mindanao, like Mt. Apo, Mt. Kitanglad, Mt. Hamiguitan or Mt. Matutum have been explored extensively by local and foreign botanists, the central cordillera has remained unexplored until recently. Large areas of these mountains form part of the ancestral territories of local indigenous tribes, and separatist conflicts between the New People\u2019s Army (NPA) and the military long hindered safe access to this remote area.N. mindanaoensis Sh.Kurata, N. merrilliana Macfarlane and N. truncata Macfarlane were found, as well as two remarkable new taxa that were previously unknown, N. pulchra Gronem. and N. ceciliae Gronem. [N. pulchra is an unusually large species that is related to N. petiolata Danser, whereas the gracile N. ceciliae shares features with N. copelandii Merr. ex Macfarlane and was subsequently grouped with the N. alata complex of species [A minor peak in the Pantaron range in the San Fernando area was explored by one of the authors in 2008 , and Mt. Gronem. ,14. N. p species ,8. N. surigaoensis Elmer, on minor peaks in the Pantaron range near San Fernando [These findings, together with the identification of several species, including Fernando , led to Nepenthes taxa. The taxonomic descriptions of these new species are provided in this article. In order to verify this theory, an area of the Pantaron range approximately 60 km north of San Fernando and Mt. Sumagaya, one of the high peaks forming the northern border of the central cordillera, were chosen for further field research. This expedition led to the discovery of four additional new Nepenthes pantaronensis Gieray, Gronem., Wistuba, Marwinski, Micheler, Coritico, V.B. Amoroso, spec. nov.N. pulchra Gronem. in having 2 longitudinal nerves (N. pulchra: 3\u20134), 2 non-fringed or barely fringed wings on the lower pitchers and no wings on the upper pitchers (N. pulchra: fringed wings on the lower pitchers and wings reduced to ribs on the upper pitchers) and in having basal stem leaves with a canaliculate petiole (N. pulchra: broad-winged petiole). Differs from T. Gronemeyer and F. Coritico, holotype CMUH00008625, Central Mindanao University Herbarium (CMUH), Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines. Philippines, Mindanao Island, Bukidnon Province, Pantaron mountain range, Mt. Gaka  near Sitio Mahayag , 15.08.2012, N. pantaronensis was discovered in the Pantaron mountain range. The specific epithet denotes that stem is up to 3 m long, cylindrical in the cross-section, 0.9\u20131 cm in diameter, with internodes up to 13 cm long.The Leaves of the basal stem are linear to oblong, up to 28 cm long and 5 cm wide, with two longitudinal veins on each side of the midrib and numerous pinnate veins running obliquely towards the leaf margins. The apex of the lamina is acute, the base attenuate and forming a canaliculate petiole that is strongly decurrent down the full length of the internode. The tendrils are up to 34 cm long and mostly coiled. All parts of the foliage may be yellowish green.Leaves of the climbing stem form a broad-winged petiole that is also strongly decurrent. In all other respects, they are consistent with the leaves of the basal stem.Lower pitchers are up to 35 cm tall and 6 cm wide, though usually smaller. The bottom quarter to third of the pitcher is variably inflated, sometimes to the extent that the basal part is bulbous. Above the broad lower section, the pitcher narrows, becoming cylindrical or very slightly infundibular towards the pitcher opening. Wings are usually reduced to ribs, although occasionally, some fringes are present below the pitcher opening. The pitcher opening is oblique and up to 5 cm wide. The peristome is flattened, up to 2.5 cm wide and particularly broad around the sides and below the lid. The peristome is lined with ribs up to 2 mm high, spaced up to 2 mm apart. The ribs are elongated on the inner edge of the peristome to form narrow teeth up to 3 mm long. The lid is ovate, up to 7 cm long and 6 cm wide, with glands densely and evenly distributed over the lower surface. A prominent, triangular, hooked and keeled appendage up to 5 mm long is present on the underside of the lid. The spur is unbranched and up to 5 mm long. The exterior of the lower pitchers is greenish or slightly orange, with narrow orange-red blotches. The interior of the pitcher is white or light yellowish green, lined with small, angular blotches of purple-red. The peristome is red, variably striped with bands of yellow, orange and purple. The lower and upper surface of the lid is bright red.Upper pitchers are up to 40 cm long and 5 cm wide, though usually smaller. The bottom fifth to quarter of the trap is inflated and bulbous, narrowing above this part before becoming cylindrical towards the pitcher opening. Some of the upper pitchers are narrower above the bottom fifth to quarter of the trap, while others are almost cylindrical with almost no narrowing. Wings are indiscernible. The peristome is up to 1 cm wide, cylindrical or slightly flattened, lined with ribs up to 1 mm high, spaced up to 1 mm apart. In all other aspects, including coloration and color variability, the upper pitchers are consistent with the lower ones, although some upper pitchers are entirely green with no blotches.inflorescence is a panicle, up to 29 cm long, composed of a 19.5 cm-long scape and an additional 9.5 cm rachis bearing pedicels evenly scattered along its length. The pedicels are about 2 cm long, branched and one- or two-flowered. Bracts are absent.The Indumentum is present across the foliage, inflorescence and pitchers, consisting of orangey brown hairs up to 1 mm long. N. pantaronensis  in the northeast of Mindanao and grows mainly epiphytically. N. pulchra represents the most western species and is currently known only from Mt. Kiamo in the Tago range, where it grows terrestrially on ultramafic soils. N. pantaronensis is located in between these two species  and represents a true intermediate between these two; it grows both epiphytically and terrestrially  and has both canaliculate and winged petioles, the former on the basal stem and the latter on the climbing stem. ronensis  is close pulchra  and N. petiolata . The mosetiolata , these tf Danser  and reprNepenthes cornuta Marwinski, Coritico, Wistuba, Micheler, Gronem., Gieray, V.B.Amoroso, spec. nov. N. copelandii Macfarlane in having a narrower lamina, upper pitchers with a distinctive, swollen base and an almost completely cylindrical upper two-thirds  and noticeably smaller lower pitchers lacking wings .Differs from T. Gronemeyer and F. Coritico, holotype CMUH00008547, Central Mindanao University Herbarium (CMUH), Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines. Philippines, Mindanao Island, Bukidnon Province, Pantaron mountain range, trail from Sitio Mahayag  to Sitio Balaudo, 15.08.2012, cornuta (lat. cornu = horn), refers to the plant\u2019s horn-shaped upper pitchers.The specific epithet, stem is up to 3 m long and 7 to 8 mm in diameter; the internodes are 4 to 5 cm long.The Leaves of the climbing stem are petiolate and linear to lanceolate, up to 30 cm long and 4.5 cm wide. The apex of the leaf blade is acute, the leaf base broadly attenuate and petiolate. The petiole is up to 4 cm long, canaliculate and amplexicaul, clasping between one third and half of the stem. Three parallel longitudinal nerves run on each side of the midrib, on the outer half of the lamina. The tendrils can reach up to 24 cm in length. The foliage and the midrib are green or yellowish green, while the stem and the tendrils can take on a slight red hue when growing in full sunlight.Lower pitchers are up to 15 cm long and 3.4 cm wide. The pitcher opening is ovate and up to 2.8 cm in diameter. The pitcher\u2019s bottom third is bulbous; above this part, the pitchers narrow, sometimes forming a faint hip and becoming cylindrical to slightly infundibular towards their opening. The lid is up to 3.2 cm long, 2.8 cm wide and ovate. The appendage is reduced to a rudimentary keel of up to 1 mm. The spur is up to 3 mm long. The gland distribution is unknown. The peristome has a cylindrical cross-section of up to 5 mm in diameter, positioned at an angle and is lined with very fine ribs. The wings of the pitchers are reduced to ridges, usually without fringes. Occasionally, a few fringes can appear on the top end of those ridges, just below the peristome. The pitchers are green in their bottom third, sometimes taking on a yellowish hue towards the pitcher opening, whilst the upper two-thirds of the pitchers are mottled with red or maroon blotches. The peristome is yellowish to orange or reddish with fine red stripes. The lid is red to maroon with yellowish blotches.Upper pitchers are up to 20 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, the pitcher opening being the widest part. The bottom third is swollen to varying degrees, sometimes displaying a faint hip, and tapers towards the tendril, giving the pitcher its typical, horn-shaped appearance. Above this part, the pitcher narrows faintly and becomes almost completely cylindrical or slightly infundibular towards its opening. The narrowing between the swollen base and the upper part of the pitcher is less pronounced than in the lower pitchers. The lid is up to 5 cm in diameter, ovate to cordate and lacks an appendage. The glands are evenly distributed across the lower surface of the lid. The spur is up to 8 mm long. The peristome is oblique and has a cylindrical cross-section of 5 to 7 mm in diameter. The wings are reduced to inconspicuous vestigial ridges. The pitchers are always green or yellow, except for the interior and the bottom side of the lid, which can have red to maroon speckles. The peristome is green or yellow, often with fine red stripes.inflorescence is a predominantly two-flowered rachis up to 40 cm long sitting on a scape of up to 21 cm. The individual pedicel can measure up to 15 mm. Bracts are absent.The Indumentum is absent from stems, leaves, pitchers and flowers, but the developing pitcher buds are covered with minute, orangey brown hairs.N. cornuta  and having a winged petiole that clasps the stem . Differs from T. Gronemeyer and F. Coritico, holotype CMUH00008624, Central Mindanao University Herbarium (CMUH), Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines.Philippines, Mindanao Island, Bukidnon Province, Pantaron mountain range, trail from Sitio Mahayag  to Sitio Balaudo, 15.08.2012, N. talaandig occurs on the ancestral territory of the Talaandig communities of east Bukidnon. The specific epithet was chosen to acknowledge the indigenous tribe of the Talaandig. The stem is up to 8 m long, cylindrical in the cross-section and 7\u20138 mm in diameter. The internode length is 3.5\u20136 cm. Leaves of the climbing stem are elliptic, up to 35 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, with four equally distributed longitudinal veins on each side of the midrib and numerous pinnate veins running obliquely towards the leaf margins. The apex of the lamina is acute, the base attenuate and forming a narrow-winged petiole 6 cm in length that clasps one third of the stem. Pitchers are on tendrils 16\u201320 cm long. Lower pitchers are bulbous or ovate, 10 cm tall and 5 cm wide. The pitcher narrows slightly towards the opening. Wings are up to 7 mm wide, fringed with filaments up to 7 mm long and run down the front of the trap. The pitcher opening is at a prominent angle, up to 3.5 cm wide and acuminates towards the lid. The peristome is flattened, up to 1.5 cm wide and crenellated. It extends into a neck towards the lid and is densely lined with ribs approximately 1 mm high. The lid is ovate to cordate, up to 5.5 cm long and 5 cm wide, with glands evenly distributed across the lower surface. A rounded, triangular appendage up to 3 mm long, sitting on a keel, is present on the underside of the lid. The spur is branched and up to 6 mm long. The exterior of the lower pitchers is rusty red to violet, with narrow blotches of reddish purple. The interior of the pitcher is white and sometimes lined with angular blotches of purple. The peristome is dark red and not striped. Rosette pitchers, which are squatter and considerably smaller than the lower pitchers, have been observed in situ on young plants. In all other respects, they resemble the lower pitchers. Upper pitchers are slender, around 20 cm long and 7 cm wide. The bottom third of the trap is slightly inflated. The pitcher narrows towards a cylindrical middle section before it widens towards the oblique pitcher opening; the latter being 4.5 cm wide. Wings are reduced to ribs throughout. The peristome is not crenellated, is cylindrical to flattened, up to 1.2 cm wide and extends into a short neck. The color of the peristome is yellow with discrete stripes of red. The lid is ovate to orbicular with a diameter of 4 cm. A prominent triangular appendage of 2.5 mm on a keel is present; the spur is 6 mm long and branched. The upper pitchers are colored yellowish-green, often with red speckles or blotches. The pitcher interior is cream-colored without blotches. inflorescence is a panicle, composed of a rachis up to 40 cm long sitting on a 20-cm scape. It bears branched two-flowered partial peduncles 5 mm long. Bracts are present. The Indumentum is sparse, if present at all. N. talaandig  [alaandig  is not dsurface) .Nepenthes amabilis Wistuba, Gronem., Micheler, Marwinski, Gieray, Coritico, V.B.Amoroso, spec. nov. N. pantaronensis Gieray in having spathulate-ovate, approximately 10 cm long and 3.5 cm wide leaves with an obtuse apex (N. pantaronensis: up to 28 cm long and narrowly acute apex) and having mostly cylindrical to slightly infundibular upper pitchers that are only 10\u201315 cm tall and distinctly contracted in the region below the peristome . Differs from T. Gronemeyer and A. Wistuba, holotype CMUH00008635 , isotype CMUH00008637 , Central Mindanao University Herbarium (CMUH), Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines.Philippines, Mindanao, Mt. Sumagaya, trail from Barangay Mat-I  to the summit 19.08.2012, amabilis (lat. amabilis = lovely), refers to the extraordinary beauty of the compact specimens with very colorful pitchers and mostly striped peristomes that were observed in situ. The specific epithet, stems are often very short. Plants start to grow upright at a young age and are supported by surrounding vegetation, mostly low shrubs. The stem of short plants is green and often almost without any significant internodes. Occasionally, in more shady locations and where the stems can scramble along other plants as support, plants develop climbing stems that reach 2\u20133 m in length. These vines are almost round in the cross-section, 8 mm in diameter, green to dark red and with internodes that are 10\u201315 cm long.The Leaves of the vines and short stems are broadly spathulate-ovate, 10 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, with a broad, winged and 1 cm-wide petiole. The leaves are green with yellowish to reddish midribs. The leaf attachment is decurrent, running 1\u20133 cm down the stem. One to two longitudinal nerves run parallel to the midrib in the outer half of the lamina. Pitchers are attached to tendrils up to 13 cm long.Lower pitchers of rosette plants are unknown; plants with lower pitchers could not be identified with certainty at the type locality. Upper pitchers of short and climbing stems are 10\u201315 cm high, approximately 3 cm wide, mostly cylindrical, slightly infundibular in the lower third and distinctly contracted in the region below the peristome. The bottom fifth is often slightly ventricose with a slight waist above. The pitcher wings are reduced to ribs. Only occasionally in some pitchers, approximately 5 mm-wide wings bearing two or three fringes measuring approximately 5 mm in length are visible close to the peristome. The peristome is cylindrical and approximately 4 mm wide. The spur on the pitcher lid is unbranched, filiform and 3 mm long. The pitcher mouth is round, slightly elevated at the front and elongated towards the back with a slightly developed neck. The lids are 3 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, orbicular, sometimes with a small appendage near the base of the lid, which is mostly reduced to a keel. The glands are evenly distributed across the lower surface of the lid. The exterior of the upper pitchers is yellowish green to orange, unevenly suffused with red or with red blotches. The interior of the pitcher is whitish with numerous purple blotches that often shine through the pitcher wall. The peristome is yellowish green with numerous red stripes. The lid is yellowish with numerous red blotches.inflorescence is a panicle composed of a 15 cm-long scape and an additional 15 cm rachis bearing two-flowered, 20 mm-long pedicels. The anther column is up to 14 mm and the ovary 5 mm long, containing ripe seeds; the tepals are up to 7 mm long and ovate. The indumentum is present across the foliage, the inflorescence, especially the margins of young leaves, and pitchers, consisting of brownish hair up to 1 mm long.A prominent N. amabilis  were found in dead or dying pitchers of this species. The ants obstruct the pitcher opening with a greyish matter, probably made out of vegetal detritus and dirt. This \u2018lid\u2019 has small entry holes along the pitcher walls. The bottom of the pitchers is pierced with one or two round holes, draining them of their digestive fluid. These holes also serve as \u201cemergency exits\u201d for the ants when disturbed. The presence of those insects on some pierced functional pitchers without a nest might suggest that the ants first pierce and drain functional pitchers before colonizing them. A similar colonization has been observed before in other Nepenthes species, e.g., N. macfarlanei Hemsl. in Malaysia [N.maxima Reinw. on the lower slopes of the Maoke Mountains in West Papua .At the type locality of Malaysia  and N.mNepenthes spp. is low. The Pantaron range is currently visited only by the indigenous people of the Talaandig tribe, who cross the mountains to reach remote, temporarily inhabited villages or with the purpose of hunting and collecting rattan or resin. The impact of poaching on the population of Nepenthes spp. in this region.However, the foothills of the Pantaron range are completely deforested for agriculture, and illegal logging may take place in the forests. Therefore, habitat destruction has the biggest impact on the population of the N. talaandig and N. cornuta are widely distributed in the Pantaron range, as they do not occur on isolated peaks. Since only few data have been recorded about the distribution of N. talaandig and N. cornuta, these two taxa are assessed here as VU (vulnerable) according to the IUCN Red List criteria [It may be anticipated that both criteria . N. pantaronensis is known both from the Pantaron range and Mt. Sumagaya, and thus, a wider distribution is documented. It is assessed here as NT (near threatened). N. amabilis is currently only known from the upper slopes of Mt. Sumagaya. It has not been recorded in the explored areas of the Pantaron range, nor on Mt. Kiamo in the Tago range. Mt. Sumagaya is only visited by the indigenous people of the Higaonon tribe, who cross the mountains to hunt deer, and by dispersed groups of the NPA who hide in the mountains. The impact of poaching is low. However, as no comprehensive data about the distribution of this taxon have been recorded, it is classified here as EN (endangered). Field research was carried out during August, 2012. All data and dimensions were either collected in the field from live plants or from the respective herbarium types cited above.The Pantaron range in the area of Barangay St. Peter  was explored after an access permit was granted by the Bukidnon Resource Management Foundation and the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and with the consent of the local indigenous people of the Talaandig tribe. Mount Sumagaya was explored with the consent of the local military authorities in Barangay Mat-I  and the local indigenous people of the Higaonon tribe.Herbarium specimens were collected under a collection permit granted to VB (Permit No. MOA 10-2-5 from 2012). in situ and processed subsequently using standard methods at the herbarium of the Central Mindanao University.Cropped plant material was placed between paper sheets in situ.Photographs were made from suitable, representative plant specimens Image credits: Botanical drawings in Carnivorous pitcher plants are widespread within the Malesian biogeographical region comprising the Malayan peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Philippines. Especially in the Philippines, the majority of species are known from centers of diversity and endemism. Several species are restricted to one single mountain top or a mountain ridge. N. amabilis, N. cornuta, N. pantaronensis and N. talaandig. A field research trip to the formerly unexplored central cordillera of Mindanao led to the discovery of four new taxa of carnivorous pitcher plants, namely N. cornuta and possibly N. talaandig belong to the N. alata group of species, N. pantaronensis is clearly related to N. pulchra and N. petiolata and, thus, belongs to the Reginae group.While N. amabilis stands clearly on its own among the Philippine Nepenthes species. N. ceciliae, N. pulchra, N. surigaoensis and N. truncata. However, the latter two species are widespread and also occur in other regions of Mindanao.Other species in the central cordillera include Nepenthes in the Philippines, the future of all species of the central cordillera is highly dependent on habitat conservation. Mt. Kiamo is not currently a protected area and, thus, the conservation status of the two endemic species, N. ceciliae and N. pulchra, needs to be monitored closely in the future. As with many other species of Nepenthes species we described in this article would be assured preservation in the long term. If the current status \u201ckey biodiversity area\u201d for the Pantaron range and the Kimangkil massif, including Mt. Sumagaya, leads to permanent protection combined with careful monitoring of the relevant protective measures, at least the four endemic"}
+{"text": "C. Gilchrist. Gilchrist initially believed the disease was caused by a protozoan, but in collaboration with W.R. Stokes, he subsequently isolated the organism, which he named Blastomyces dermatitidis. The infection became known as Chicago disease because most early cases were identified in the Chicago area, but it was subsequently shown to be endemic to much of eastern North America. Sporadic cases have also been reported in Africa, the Middle East, and India.From the Greek"}
+{"text": "The supplementary motor area (SMA) syndrome is a characteristic neurosurgical syndrome that can occur after unilateral resection of the SMA. Clinical symptoms may vary from none to a global akinesia, predominantly on the contralateral side, with preserved muscle strength and mutism. A remarkable feature is that these symptoms completely resolve within weeks to months, leaving only a disturbance in alternating bimanual movements. In this review we give an overview of the old and new insights from the SMA syndrome and extrapolate these findings to seemingly unrelated diseases and symptoms such as Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) and tics. Furthermore, we integrate findings from lesion, stimulation and functional imaging studies to provide insight in the motor function of the SMA. The supplementary motor area (SMA) syndrome is a characteristic neurosurgical syndrome that may occur after unilateral resection of the SMA. The classical SMA syndrome, following unilateral resection of the SMA, is characterized by a global akinesia with normo- or hyporeflexia and a normal tonus, more profound on the contralesional side, while muscle strength can be preserved . Here wThe SMA or SMA proper (Brodmann area 6) is localized in the posterior part of the superior frontal gyrus  and tics. Combining these findings, we propose that the SMA is involved in both the initiation and suppression of movements, maintaining a tonic interhemispheric balance.A hallmark of the SMA syndrome that is always described is a severe neurological deficit of temporary nature; only subtle deficits are permanent. Although the precise mechanisms underlying the recovery after the initial deficit remain obscure, the syndrome provides useful insights in the functioning of the SMA. The occurrence of the different deficits of the SMA syndrome following resection is consistent with the somatotopical organization of the SMA (Fontaine et al., Effort has been undertaken to understand the mechanisms underlying the recovery. Functional reorganization due to brain plasticity has been brought up in order to understand the temporary deficits. A lesion in the SMA leads to more activation of the contralateral SMA (Sailor et al., In summary, clinical deficits after resection of the SMA may vary from none to a global akinesia with mutism. On the one hand, this finding emphasizes the heterogeneity associated with lesion studies, particularly in cerebral infarcts, but also after resection of tumors that are not always completely restricted to the SMA. On the other hand, the heterogeneity in clinical symptoms after resections may be caused by variability in preoperative reorganization of function due to brain plasticity.It is evident that preoperative reorganization of cerebral function does not completely account for the recovery, because the reversibility of the SMA syndrome is also seen in patients with acute lesions such as an infarct or patients that undergo surgery for epilepsy (Yamane et al., It is remarkable that although the other more striking deficits of the SMA syndrome completely resolve, difficulties in alternating bimanual movements persist. We focus on bimanual alternating movements here, because this impairment is well described in patients with the SMA syndrome. Disturbed alternating movements of the lower limbs have also been described (Laplane et al., Although PD is a chronic deteriorating disease and the SMA syndrome is acute, some parallels can be seen between these disorders. PD is caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (Gibb and Lees, As in the SMA syndrome, patients with PD show a disturbance in the performance of alternating movements (Dick et al., The SMA has been shown to be active during the selection of movements and word generation when there are no external cues, while the lateral premotor cortex is activated when there are cues (Passingham, Indeed, the pathophysiology underlying the SMA syndrome and PD are completely different. Nevertheless, the phenomenology can help in understanding the function of the SMA. For example, a patient has been described with a low-grade glioma in the left SMA that caused a Parkinsonian syndrome, characterized by akinesia, rigidity, a resting tremor and micrographia (Straube and Sigel, Direct electrical stimulation of the SMA can lead to inhibition of movement or speech arrest, while it can also evoke movements, the urge to move or vocalizations (Penfield and Welch, How should this apparent discrepancy between lack of movement initiation after lesions of the SMA and inhibition of movements due to an increased activity in the SMA be integrated? We recognize that any explanation remains hypothetical, but it may offer grip for further understanding. Lesions of the SMA are sometimes accompanied by temporary grasp reflexes or even an alien hand syndrome (Goldberg et al., As previously mentioned, stimulation of the SMA can evoke movement initiation as well as an arrest in movements. Moreover, the SMA is active during the sight of a graspable object (Gr\u00e8zes and Decety, Furthermore, our hypothesis is consistent with the fact that the SMA can both initiate and suppress movement after a sensory instruction (Kurata and Tanji, This tonic regulation can also explain the deficit in bilateral alternating movement patterns following unilateral lesioning of the SMA, while mirror movements are preserved (Bleasel et al., The tonic interhemispheric balance could also be an explanation for the above-mentioned apparent disparity between activation of the SMA that leads to suppression of tics, while inhibition of the SMA reduces tic frequency and activation of the SMA in healthy controls can lead to echophenomena.Our model has a focus on the initiation and inhibition of movements with a special interest in bimanual alternating movements. It has been shown that there are more NMAs, for example in/near other premotor areas (Mikuni et al., The SMA syndrome is an intriguing syndrome, characterized by temporary dysfunction, that helps to obtain useful insights in the function of the SMA and its embedment in neuronal circuits. The main aim of this article was not to write a comprehensive review on the function of the SMA, as these are available. Here we summarized the findings from previous studies regarding the SMA syndrome and showed that there are analogs with seemingly very different disorders such as PD and tics. Combining these findings, we propose that the SMA is involved in both the initiation and suppression of movements, maintaining a tonic interhemispheric balance. In this physiological context, the presentation of temporary deficits of the SMA syndrome supports the view that the healthy SMA can compensate for the functional impairment inflicted by the affected SMA. This concept is further supported by the persistent impairment of performing bimanual anti-phase movements, a motor condition in which such compensation apparently fails due to a strong simultaneous demand on both SMA\u2019s.Conception of the work: A. R. E. Potgieser.Design of the work: A. R. E. Potgieser, B. M. de Jong, M. Wagemakers, E. W. Hoving, R. J. M. Groen.Interpretation of the work: A. R. E. Potgieser, B. M. de Jong, M. Wagemakers, E. W. Hoving, R. J. M. Groen.Drafting the work: A. R. E. Potgieser.Revising critically for important intellectual content: A. R. E. Potgieser, B. M. de Jong, M. Wagemakers, E. W. Hoving, R. J. M. Groen.Final approval of the version to be published: A. R. E. Potgieser, B. M. de Jong, M. Wagemakers, E. W. Hoving, R. J. M. Groen.Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work: A. R. E. Potgieser, B. M. de Jong, M. Wagemakers, E. W. Hoving, R. J. M. Groen.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Despite biological advantages of male circumcision in reducing HIV/sexually transmitted infection acquisition, concern is often expressed that it may reduce sexual enjoyment and function. We examine the association between circumcision and sexual function among sexually active men in Britain using data from Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles . Natsal-3 asked about circumcision and included a validated measure of sexual function, the Natsal-SF, which takes into account not only sexual difficulties but also the relationship context and overall level of satisfaction.n\u200a=\u200a4816).A stratified probability survey of 6293 men and 8869 women aged 16\u201374 years, resident in Britain, undertaken 2010\u20132012, using computer-assisted face-to-face interviewing with computer-assisted self-interview for the more sensitive questions. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) to examine the association between reporting male circumcision and aspects of sexual function among sexually active men : 19.3\u201321.8]. There was no association between male circumcision and, being in the lowest quintile of scores for the Natsal-SF, an indicator of poorer sexual function . Circumcised men were as likely as uncircumcised men to report the specific sexual difficulties asked about in Natsal-3, except that a larger proportion of circumcised men reported erectile difficulties. This association was of borderline statistical significance after adjusting for age and relationship status .Data from a large, nationally representative British survey suggest that circumcision is not associated with men's overall sexual function at a population level. The WHO states that there is compelling evidence to show that male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV and recommends that it is promoted as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package . HoweverIn this article, we report analyses of data from the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles , a large national probability survey, which used a new, comprehensive, validated measure of sexual function, the Natsal-SF ,7, allowFull details of the methods of the Natsal-3 have been reported elsewhere ,9. Brief\u2018I have avoided sex because of sexual difficulties, either my own or those of my partner\u2019 , and reporting ever taking any type of drug to assist sexual performance.We used an overall measure of sexual function \u2013 the Natsal-SF, which is a 17-item validated measure developed for Natsal-3 ,7. It inWe used Stata, version 12  for all statistical analyses to account for the stratification, clustering, and weighting of the Natsal-3 sample. Data were weighted to match the resident British population according to the Census in terms of sex, age, and geographic region such that the weighted sample can be considered broadly representative of the British population ,9.a priori. As numbers were small in some of the categories of ethnicity and religion wherein circumcision was more common, and combination of \u2018non-white\u2019 ethnicities and \u2018non-Christian\u2019 religions would have made too heterogeneous a group, we decided not to adjust for either ethnicity or religion after confirming that additional adjustment for ethnicity and religion affected the ORs only minimally. In addition, education did not confound the associations between circumcision and sexual function and so was not included in the adjusted model. The Natsal-3 study was approved by the Oxfordshire Research Ethics Committee A (reference: 09/H0604/27).Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) to assess associations between circumcision status and the measures of sexual function mentioned previously. We used multivariable logistic regression to calculate adjusted OR (AOR) to adjust for the confounding effect of age and relationship status Of the 6293 men aged 16\u201374 years who participated in Natsal-3, 6117 (97.4%) reported whether they were circumcised, such that the prevalence of circumcision in the British male population is estimated as 20.7% (95% CI: 19.3\u201321.8). In total, 4816 of these 6117 men (78.7%) reported that they had at least one sexual partner in the year prior to interview and so were considered sexually active and included in the remaining analyses. Men who were sexually active were less likely to be circumcised ; however, after adjustment for age, there was no association between circumcision status and being sexually active . Table Among sexually active men, there was no association between reporting having been circumcised and being categorized as in the lowest quintile of the Natsal-SF, an indicator of poorer sexual function overall , a finding that persisted when the denominator was expanded to include all men (data not shown). There was also no difference by circumcision status in the proportion of men who reported ever taking performance-enhancing drugs to assist their sexual performance.Data from this large, national probability survey show that, among sexually active men in Britain, those who were circumcised were no more likely to have poor sexual function as measured by the Natsal-SF ,7 than uStrengths of this study include the large sample size and the use of probability sampling, allowing us to present findings broadly representative of the British general population ,9. We reAs a survey addressing all aspects of sexual health and well-being, Natsal-3 did not have the scope to ask detailed questions about particular experiences of sexual function, for example, penile sensitivity. However, an important strength here is the holistic conceptualization of sexual function as captured by the Natsal-SF, allowing us to take into account not only sexual response, but also the relationship context and men's overall level of satisfaction. In addition, we did not have sufficient numbers of men reporting male partners within the past year to explore whether the associations between circumcision and sexual function varied by partner gender.The lack of any observable association between circumcision and sexual function in this cross-sectional survey is in keeping with the conclusions from a large systematic review of male circumcision and its effect on men's sexual function, sensitivity, and satisfaction . HoweverThe authors would like to thank the study participants, the team of interviewers from NatCen Social Research, and operations and computing staff from NatCen Social Research.V.H., C.T., K.R.M., R.F.M., and C.H.M. conceived this article. V.H. wrote the first draft of the article, with further contributions from all other authors. V.H. did the statistical analysis, with support from C.T. and C.H.M. W.M., K.W., P.S., A.M.J., and C.H.M., initial applicants for Natsal-3, wrote the study protocol and obtained funding. C.T., K.R.M., N.F., W.M., K.W., P.S., A.M.J., and C.H.M. designed the Natsal-3 questionnaire, applied for ethics approval, and undertook piloting of the questionnaire. C.T. and C.H.M. managed data. All authors interpreted data, reviewed successive drafts, and approved the final version of the article.Natsal-3 is a collaboration between University College London , the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , NatCen Social Research, Public Health England , and the University of Manchester .Sources of any support for the work in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or any combination of these: N.F. is supported by a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Lectureship.Disclose funding received for this work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); and other(s): Natsal-3 was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council (G0701757) and the Wellcome Trust (084840), with contributions from the Economic and Social Research Council and Department of Health.Disclaimers: A.M.J. has been a Governor of the Wellcome Trust since 2011. The other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest."}
+{"text": "Morpho butterflies are well known for their high reflectance, which appears to remain high over a wide range of viewing angles. Thus these butterflies have served as the inspiration for sensing materials. Using microscopic images and videos, we visually demonstrate that the colour response with ambient refractive index of Papilio blumei is better than that of Morpho rhetenor. This result was also verified using measurements of the reflectance for different viewing angles. The finite-difference time-domain method was then used to simulate the microscopic pictures and reflections. Finally, the relationships between the structure, ambient refractive index, reflection and viewing angle are discussed in detail.Multilayer structures are known to produce vivid iridescent colouration in many butterflies.  Nanofabrication has been successful in creating photonic structures for chemical and biological detection12317891011Morpho typeUrania typeMultilayer structures are known to produce vivid iridescent colouration in certain butterflies1314Morpho butterflies are rather unique in their high reflectance and in that their reflectance appears to remain high over a wide range of viewing angles, contrary to what is often observed from other natural examples of structural colours. This iridescence has been studied both in measurement and modelling techniques17Morpho butterflies has been investigated for use in sensing materials7911The swallowtail family of butterflies (subfamily Lepidoptera of the family Papilionidae) is particularly renowned for its striking colour. Among the swallowtail butterflies, the brilliant green wings are found. The wing scales of of these butterflies consist of regular concave multilayer stack that are made from alternating chitin and chitin-air layers. One interesting phenomenon produced by this structure is that when placing the wing scales between crossed polarizers, light reflected off the centres of the cavities is suppressed, whereas retro-reflected light from four segments of the cavity edges is detected1921222325262728Morpho butterflies in ethanol have been investigated by several researchers730Morpho butterflies produce remarkably diverse differential reflectance spectra, achieving a highly selective response to different ambient refractive indices. In this paper, we will demonstrate that the response of Papilio blumei (P.B.) is better than that of Morpho rhetenor (M.R.) both in reflective intensity and viewing angle range.The optical properties of P.B. (class II) and M.R. (class I) respectively, were chosen for this study. We demonstrated the obvious changes in colour with volatilization of butterfly scales in ethanol. The reflective properties of these structures with different viewing angles were also studied. While both structure types were very sensitive to ethanol, the most interesting result was that the sensitivity of P.B. was very different than that of M.R.. This difference in colour response with ambient refractive index (RI) arose as a result of their different structures. We then simulated the optical responses of the volatilization of two different structures using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The simulation results reproduced the experimentally observed reflections, including the reflections observed for different viewing angles. We found that the colour response with ambient RI of the concave structure is better than that of the tree-like structure, and thus we performed a number of additional simulations to investigate the reason for this difference. Finally, the key parameters of the concave structure were identified to assist in the design of the sensing materials.The concave structure and the tree-like structure of P.B. and M.R. The colour of P.B. changed greatly, from dark yellow to green, while the colour of M.R. changed from green to blue. The whole process of volatilization is shown in the video files in the P.B. being more vigorous than that of M.R.. It is generally understood that these colour responses are result of their structure. Thus detailed simulations were performed to investigate the difference in the colour response of the two types of structure.P.B. and M.R. are dependent on viewing angle. Thus the viewing angle dependence of both colour responses were measured. As shown in M.R. in air and in ethanol shifted from 27\u00b0 to 24\u00b0, which is a fairly small shift. A similar result for M.R. was derived from experimental data (using only 488\u2005nm incident light)P.B. in air and in ethanol is shifted from 60\u00b0 to 5\u00b0 as shown in M.R.. Also we can see that the viewing angle range of P.B. is larger than that of M.R. in air, while the viewing angle range of M.R. is bigger than that of P.B. in ethanol. Thus the colour response of P.B. is more vigorous than that of M.R.. The reasons for this phenomenon will be discussed subsequently.The colours of The models shown in 223132In order to study the colour response of the volatilization of both structures, we defined a liquid level x1 range from 0\u2005nm to 5000\u2005nm as shown in The angular dependence of the colour response of both structures discussed above is shown in P.B. than for M.R..Reflectance spectra for different field angles (\u03b8) of the concave structure are shown in In order to display the relationship between the RI and the field angle more clearly, reflectance spectra for different ambient RI are shown in The viewing angle dependencies of multilayer structure to concave structure were measured and simulated as described above. Here we examine this issue in further detail, as shown in The concave structure has a vigorous colour response for different ambient RI as discussed above. This colour response is relative to the field angle. As shown in The electric field map is presented in Digital microscopes achieve a larger depth-of-field than optical microscopes, allowing for accurate observation of a target with a highly uneven surface. In this study, the vivid observations and the corresponding video files of the colour response with different reflective indices were therefore obtained using a digital microscope. To make the results comparable to each other, the data were obtained under identical conditions, e.g. of brightness and depth-of-field.Angle-dependent reflectance spectra of the butterflies were acquired with an angle-resolved reflectance measurement setup based on a pair of optical fibres that could be rotated independently around the same axis, one acting as the light source, the other as the light collector. A stabilized halogen light source were used for reflectance measurements. The butterflies were placed with their ridges parallel to the rotation axis, and the light reflectance spectra were measured as a function of the viewing angle. To measure the iridescence, the fibres of the light source were set at 10\u00b0 from the centre, and the fibres of the light collector was rotated in opposite, equally spaced steps of 10\u00b0 from 0\u00b0 to 60\u00b0.In order to reproduce the colour response of the butterflies we converted reflection into colour maps. Let us suppose that the butterfly is illuminated by an illuminant characterized by its energy distribution D(\u03bb). In this paper, we use the CIE  normalized illuminant D65, which closely matches that of the sky daylightAt this stage, we have replaced a complicated set of data (i.e. the spectrum R(\u03bb)) by a colour point in a colour map. As illustrated in the above sections, this representation can be very useful for obtaining the dynamic reflection properties. A two-dimensional colour-map based on this representation has two free parameters (for example the dynamic reflection of the butterfly with the process of volatilization).M.R. and P.B. nanostructure. In the optical model, we took into account two contributors to the optical changes: (i) the two different structure types (ii) a change in the refractive index induced by volatility. The scales of these two butterflies are formed largely from chitin, whose refractive index was assumed to be 1.56 + i0.063132M.R. were obtained from electron microscopy studies31P.B. were obtained from electron microscopy studiesTo theoretically validate the nature of the optical response, we performed optical and volatile modelling of the W.L.W. and W.Z. contributed equally to this work and performed the experimental data. X.T.F., Y.Q.H. and Q.L.L. helped with data analysis and theoretical calculations. W.L.W., J.J.G. and D.Z. performed the FDTD simulations. W.L.W., W.Z. and D.Z. contributed to the writing of the manuscript.the volatilization of PBthe volatilization of MRDataset"}
+{"text": "Wilkins to the medical field. He is often referred to as the \u201cFather of Pediatric Endocrinology.\u201d Indeed, he came to the field of Pediatrics at a time when it was subdivided into specialties. He and his textbook \u201cThe Diagnosis and Treatment of Endocrine Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence\u201d In 1935, Dr. Edwards Park, chief of Pediatrics at the Harriett Lane Home had the wisdom to foresee that the new discipline of endocrinology might be of value in understanding the growth and development of children; He showed even greater wisdom by asking Wilkins to organize a pediatric endocrine clinic. Wilkins resisted: \u201cDo you want to make a charlatan out of me?\u201dNevertheless, Wilkins accepted the challenge and spent every evening into the small hours reading the fat tomes written by so-called \u201cexperts\u201d in the field. Wilkins became increasingly frustrated by the absence of any science and the long convoluted descriptions of endless \u201cglandular syndromes.\u201d Lawson was never one to suffer fools gladly, and his most important act one night while reading in bed was to fling the volume against the wall while cursing the stuffed shirts who could write such garbage.He decided to begin over from scratch and learn everything he could by carefully documenting every clinical feature of his patients, and exploiting every opportunity to learn about mechanisms. Wilkins had little knowledge of statistics, but had a penetrating eye for what each of his patients could teach him. He had long ago adopting the practice of plotting all of his patients\u2019 findings graphically as a function of time in the hope that such graphs might provide correlations and insights that might otherwise be missed.Lacking centile growth charts as we now know them, Lawson adopted the 1932 charts of Engelbach which gave average values for age of height, weight, span, segmental proportions, and circumferences of the head, chest, and abdomen. He adopted these charts because they permitted correlations of body proportions with growth parameters.He also laboriously traced out the appearance of epiphyses in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee, and ankle and developed his own scheme for determining bone age long before Greulich\u2019s Atlas based on wrist x-rays.He started by studying hypothyroidism, plotting the effect of thyroid substitution treatment and its withdrawal on parameters of growth and development. His 1938 paper [Wilkins recognized, however, that to understand the physiological effects of thyroid and other hormones, he had to turn to the laboratory, a task for which he was ill-prepared. But he was a good judge of talent and had the good fortune to meet Walter Fleischmann, a refugee Viennese physiologist. When the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology made its debut in 1941, the first 2 papers in each of the first 2 issues were by Wilkins and Fleischmann reporting their studies in hypothyroidism. Since there were no methods available to measure thyroid hormone levels directly, he measured the effects of thyroid on lowering the elevated cholesterol in hypothyroid children and raising the depressed levels of creatine in the urine. He found these measures far more reliable than measurements of basal metabolic rate.It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Wilkins had one of the first binary counters in Baltimore to study thyroid problems with radioactive iodine uptake studies, and one of the first to order the new protein bound iodine measurements on his patients.In 1944, Wilkins went through a period of despondency following the tragic death of his only son. He was rescued by Dr. Park, who induced him to become a full time member of the Johns Hopkins Department of Pediatrics.st International Congress of Pediatrics in Zurich in 1950.Wilkins brought with him his vast collection of case histories and photographs. He presented this extensive collection in a gigantic poster at the 1He then collated this material into the first Textbook of Pediatric Endocrinology. This launched, his fame spread rapidly, and students from the US and many foreign countries flocked to study under him. His textbook was considered the \u201cBible\u201d of the field at the time.Wilkins was particularly challenged by difficulties encountered by patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. He knew that the secretions of adrenal androgens were controlled by ACTH and he made several unsuccessful attempts to suppress ACTH secretion by administering biologically weak androgens. When cortisone became available for experimental use, Wilkins immediately saw it as a more likely participant in the ACTH feedback mechanism, and in short order was able to show that the secretion of adrenal androgens in girls with CAH could be inhibited by the administration of a glucocorticoid hormone. Bartter Wilkins thought that the identification of steroid precursors in the urine of patients with CAH might reveal to us the biosynthetic pathways of human adrenal steroid biogenesis. Most steroid biochemists, however, were preoccupied with perfusing bovine adrenals with radio-labeled precursors and could not be bothered by clinical problems. Eventually he enlisted Dr. Seymour Lieberman in this endeavor and Lieberman accepted Wilkins\u2019s prospective research associate, Dr. Alfred Bongiovanni, into his laboratory to learn advanced steroid methodology. As Wilkins had predicted, the studies of Bongiovanni led to the definition of the crucial enzymatic lesions in the different forms of adrenal hyperplasia. Al pioneered the pregnantriol method for monitoring adrenal suppression, and contributed greatly to our knowledge of the enzymatic defects in the several forms of CAH. Al and Walter Eberlein described and identified the defect in 11\u03b2-hydroxylase deficiency.Another early interest of Wilkins was sexual development. He was particularly intrigued by the syndrome of short stature, sexual infantilism, and multiple congenital anomalies in girls. This syndrome was not uncommon, and Henry Turner\u2019s description had previously been described by a number of other authors. In 1942, 2 groups, Varney, Kenyon, and Koch in Chicago and Albright and his coworkers in Boston, reported that these girls had elevated urinary gonadotropins, thus demonstrating that their sexual infantilism was due to primary gonadal failure rather than hypopituitarism as had been suggested by Henry Turner in 1938. To learn more about their gonadal failure Wilkins persuaded Richard Te Linde, the chief of gynecology to explore the pelvis in 5 such patients.He found that the gonads in all patients consisted only of fibrous streaks composed exclusively of ovarian stromal cells.There were no germ cells or ovarian follicles, although there were occasional mesonephric remnants.In his classic 1944 paper, Wilkins reported his findings and pointed out that studies of patients with streak gonads might provide powerful evidence supporting or refuting the various theories of sex differentiation. He critically evaluated each of the theories that had been advanced, including that of Weisner who believed that in the absence of fetal gonadal secretions all embryos would be feminine, although androgen could influence male differentiation.The classic studies of Jost on the fetal castration in rabbits are very well known now. They demonstrated that the fetal testis is necessary for differentiation as a male, but in the absence of fetal gonads both the internal and external genitalia developed as a normal female. In 1949, Jost presented his findings on sex differentiation to an International Congress of Gynecology in Mexico City. On the way home, he arranged to visit the Carnegie Institute of Embryology in Baltimore which housed Streeter and Corner, the leading human embryologists of the day. After hearing Jost\u2019s story, the embryologists insisted that he meet Dr. Wilkins who had a healthy interest in the hormonal control of sex differentiation.Twenty-five years later, Jost recalled the encounter:\u201cHe was 55 and I was 33 and not even a doctor of medicine. He calmly and patiently followed my description of the rabbit experiments and asked many penetrating questions. He then showed me his portfolio of clinical cases of sexual ambiguity asking me to help him interpret the pathophysiology. The discussions went on for many hours into the late afternoon and Dr. Wilkins finally concluded, \u201cI am convinced that if what you say is true, half of my beautiful girls with ovarian agenesis are really boys!\u201dUnfortunately there was no way to determine genetic sex at that time. Nevertheless, Wilkins felt sufficiently secure with this interpretation that he cited this hypothesis as a footnote in his 1950 textbook.Four or five years after Lawson\u2019s encounter with Alfred Jost, when Mel Grumbach and I were fellows of Wilkins, we reported in journal club that a Canadian pathologist, named Murray Barr had discovered a cytological marker in nuclei of female cells but not in male cells. Lawson immediately phone Murray Barr and arranged for him to analyze skin biopsies from a group of our patients with what we then called ovarian agenesis.In 1954, we reported that 6 of 8 patients lacked the chromatin dot and presumably were \u201cgenetic XY males.\u201dIn the 1960s, Malcolm Ferguson-Smith and Barbara Migeon did the karyotypes of the patients showing that most of them had only one X-chromosome.Wilkins later modified his nomenclature to include various forms of the syndrome under the umbrella designation, \u201cSyndrome of Gonadal Dysgenesis.\u201d He stoutly maintained, however, that this syndrome should never have been designated \u201cTurner Syndrome.\u201dIn his 1950 textbook, Wilkins described another kind of sexual ambiguity. She was an attractive 30 year old woman who had never menstruated and who lacked sexual hair. Surgical exploration of her pelvis revealed absence of uterus, but presence of testes and rudiments of epididymis and vas deferens.Her urinary 17 ketosteroids ranged between 15 and 20 mg/24 hr and her androgens measured by bioassay were similarly high for a female but normal for a male.Wilkins treated her with methyl testosterone, up to 50 mg/day with no discernable effect on seborrhea, sexual hair, or clitoral enlargement. He therefore postulated that all of her findings were due to resistance to androgen action at the peripheral level. He called these patients \u201chairless ladies with testes.\u201d Several other patients were followed later. Their karyotypes were shown to be 46 XY with a plasma testosterone level usually above normal male range. The locus of the gene for the androgen receptor was determined by Drs. Meyer W, Migeon B, and Migeon C.  The geneThe name of testicular feminization was changed to androgen insensitivity syndrome by Money J and Migeon C.Unfortunately, Wilkins\u2019s observation including the correct pathophysiology of the syndrome, published in 1950 in his textbook, was ignored and the disorder was called Swyer\u2019s Syndrome for a while.Wilkins made many other seminal contributions to Pediatric Endocrinology during the short time that he was engaged in a full time academic career. Perhaps his single contribution that brought the nascent field of Pediatric Endocrinology into prominence was his poster session at the Sixth International Congress of Pediatrics in Zurich in 1950. This extensive display provided examples of each of the now common endocrine disorders in Pediatrics along with a delineation of diagnostic criteria and pathophysiologic basis, insofar as it was then known. This display was the foundation of his text, Disorders of Endocrine Secretions in Childhood and Adolescence.(13) Many European pediatricians came to Baltimore to study under Wilkins and on returning home, they founded the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE). Although the number of American postdoctoral fellows was not large, they and their fellows have made a very large impact on the development of Pediatric Endocrinology in America. Robert Blizzard and Claude Migeon, who succeeded Wilkins as codirectors of Pediatric Endocrinology at Harriett Lane honored their former chief by establishing an annual symposium in his name, and this symposium evolved into the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES).th birthday!The legacy left by Wilkins to the discipline of Pediatric Endocrinology is indeed remarkable for an individual who remained in the private practice of Pediatrics until well after his 50I have often wondered whether Wilkins should be included in the pantheon of great scientists. The word science comes from the Greek work \u201cSCIO\u201d which means \u201cto know.\u201d Wilkins\u2019s major tool was insatiable curiosity \u2013 he could not stand not knowing. His curiosity led to great things, and I do not hesitate to classify him amongst the great scientists of all time.\u201dTable Dr. Wilkins was not only one of the major creators of the new field of Pediatric Endocrinology but he was also a major mentor of trainees of this field.Dr. Melvin Grumbach from the University of California in San Francisco analyzed in a sensitive statement what made Dr. Wilkins a great man. He stated the following:\u201cLawson was a man for all seasons, a many sided man, clinician, scientist, mentor, educator, encyclopedist, recorder, raconteur, and a pioneer who fathered and fostered the academic and clinical discipline of Pediatric Endocrinology. He cast a large shadow.Lawson had a restless, inquiring mind, and insatiable curiosity. He was a great clinician but he was also a great scientist \u2013 not a bench scientist but a clinical investigator whose laboratory was the clinic, bedside, and operating room. Soon after founding the Endocrine Clinic at Harriet Lane Home, he recruited a series of gifted laboratory directors. They were able to bring to bear the most recent advances in laboratory techniques on the research questions at hand and served as laboratory mentors for a covey of fledgling fellows. Lawson had a profound understanding of the scientific method and the rules of evidence. A keen observer, with an extraordinary ordered mind, meticulous data collector and recorder, he instilled in all of us the importance of attention to detail whether in clinical observations or laboratory work.Lawson was a hypothesis tester and a critical one. To convince him of the validity of a clinical or laboratory findings or the evidence in favor of particular speculation, one had to do more than one\u2019s homework. A born doubter, his acceptance did not come easily. Parenthetically, he gave little credence to idle speculation or ideas, hypotheses, or notions that were not susceptible to testing.Once Lawson developed an interest in a clinical problem, he explored it with great determination, commitment, and thought. He had a contagious enthusiasm and the ability to interest others skilled in the laboratory to address clinical problems. He read widely, and freely discussed the clinical issues that interested him with a wide and diverse group of scientists and clinical investigators. He was eminently approachable.A compassionate man with a lust for life, he was intensely loyal to his fellows, \u201cThe Boys,\u201d and took great pride in their achievements. Lawson was an indefatigable worker, but he also loved a good time. Conviviality, get-togethers usually marked by song, and weekends on the Chesapeake were an important part of his and Lu\u2019s life. He was a wonderful informal host. Lawson hated to be alone and thrived on gregariousness.Who can forget the twinkle in his eyes, the gentle smile, the glowing cigarette held between nicotine-stained fingers, the stentorian resonant voice, his warmth and vigor and the affection which he generated in his fellows?\u201dDr. Robert Blizzard, another fellow, wrote a profile of Lawson Wilkins in the Journal of Pediatrics. He had aThe Diagnosis and Treatment of Endocrine Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence. His book excelled as a model teaching text because of the clarity of the writing and the case histories which were frequently longitudinal.\u201cWilkins\u2019 accomplishments as a teacher reached their pinnacle after he joined the faculty at Hopkins in 1946. He taught orally at the bedside, in the clinic, and in the classroom and through the written word in his manuscripts. He documented, through photography and charts, the longitudinal manifestations of endocrine, metabolic, and dysmorphologic diseases; this led to \u201cposter teaching sessions\u201d at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meetings in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Because of the favorable reception, he published this material in the first edition (1950) of his textbook entitled, The memorable Saturday endocrinology clinics were held in the Harriet Lane Home outpatient department from 9:00am to 1:00pm and were attended by many residents, faculty members, fellows, and students. After the patients were all seen by a fellow or resident, the presentations and discussions began. As Wilkins paced back and forth across the floor in his white coat, with hands behind his back, he discussed what was known about each patient, what was known about the patient\u2019s condition, and what was not known. As should be true of all great teachers, he welcomed thoughts, questions and comments.\u201dThe following listing of the many fellows of Lawson Wilkins and specific comments about these fellows was written in collaboration by William Cleveland and Claude Migeon. Efforts were made to be accurate but we apologize for any error or omission.Walter Fleischmann, Ph.D. (1938-1946) was born and educated in Vienna. His father Carl was an obstetrician, a friend of Sigmund Freud, and he delivered Anne Freud. Walter was a Ph.D. involved in research. In 1938, he was at a conference in Chicago at the time of the Munich Agreement. He was advised to stay in the United States and Lawson Wilkins gave him a job at Johns Hopkins University.Walter was able to bring his wife and daughter, Ruth, to the US after going to Antwerp. His parents and siblings went to England when they settled. Ruth Fleischmann Weiner wrote, \u201cIn effect, Lawson Wilkins saved the lives of the Fleischmann family.\u201dWalter worked on the effects of various androgenic steroids on creatine metabolism in humans. He was also involved in the attempt to suppress adrenal hypersecretion by various synthetic steroids, unfortunately with effect until cortisone was used. He joined the Veteran Administration Hospital of Baltimore and, later worked in Tennessee.Roger Lewis, M.D. (1946-1950) was involved with the clinic collaborating with colleagues who carried out several studies of thyroid function and started the treatment of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.Eugenia Rosemberg, M.D. (1948-1950) came from Argentina and worked with Roger Lewis and Robert Klein, helping the investigation of the patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. When she left, she went to the NIH and later joined the steroid group in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts with Dr. Gregory Pincus. Dr. Gregory Pincus and Dr. M.C. Chang were the first to synthesize the combined oral contraceptive pill. Later, Eugenia established her Pediatric Endocrine Clinic at the Worchester Hospital.Salvatore de Majo, M.D. (1948-1950) graduated from medical school in Buenos Aires. He came to learn at the clinic and the treatment of its patients. In addition, he worked with Dr. Lewis on the effects of ovariectomy on albino rats, as well as on the effects of various synthetic steroids on the rat adrenals. When he returned home, he became the director of the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic at the Hospital de Ni\u00f1os in Buenos Aires.Robert Z. Klein, M.D. (1948-1950) graduated from the Harvard Medical School and had training in Pediatrics at the Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. He was an instructor at Johns Hopkins working in Endocrinology with Wilkins and was co-author of some of the pioneering publications about adrenal hyperplasia. He left Hopkins for the University of Pittsburgh where he established a highly regarded program in Endocrinology, continuing research and training fellows. He subsequently held professorships at Boston University and Dartmouth. He continued to make valuable contributions particularly in the area of measuring outcome in congenital hypothyroidism and its relationship to treatment. In this work, he directed the New England Congenital Hypothyroidism Collective.Lytt Gardner, M.D. (1950-1952) was originally from North Carolina and could make the best julep in the world. He directed the laboratories at Hopkins and contributed to the work on congenital adrenal hyperplasia. He established a pediatric endocrine program at the new State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse where he remained until his death in 1986. He was succeeded by Dr. Robert A. Richman. Dr. Gardner\u2019s life, professional career, and many valuable contributions have been described by Dr. Mary L. Voorhees (former fellow), and includes a notable list of pediatric endocrinologists trained by Gardner. His work resulted in a highly respected textbook, Endocrine and Genetic Diseases of Childhood and Adolescence.John F. Crigler, Jr., M.D. (1950-1951) was a member of the house staff at Johns Hopkins. Prior to joining the Wilkins group, he was co-author of many of the early papers on treatment of adrenal hyperplasia with cortisone. He then went to Boston Children\u2019s Hospital as a member of the faculty of the Harvard Medical School. He established a very productive endocrinology division. His training program included 70 fellows from all over the world. John remained in this position until his retirement.Claude J. Migeon, M.D. (1950-1952) completed his medical education and pediatric residency in Paris, France. A Fulbright Fellowship brought him to Lawson Wilkins for two years. After three very productive years with Leo T. Samuels in Salt Lake City studying cortisol secretion and metabolism in humans, he returned to Johns Hopkins, and stayed there for the rest of his long career. In 1960, he was named the Co-Director of the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic with Robert Blizzard and was named Director in 1974 until 1994. During these 30 years, he had many fellows from the US and abroad.John Money, Ph.D. (1951) led a group studying the psychologic factors involved in pediatric endocrine disorders. Other valuable contributions to this group came from the John and Joan Hampson. When John Money was asked how he came to Johns Hopkins, he responded as follows:\u201cIn 1949-1950, as a graduate student at Harvard, I had a student appointment at Massachusetts General Hospital, writing a dissertation on the psychosexuality of hermaphroditism. Fuller Albright and Fred Bartter arranged for me to meet Lawson Wilkins when he attended the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting in Boston and gave his popular workshop on the adrenogenital syndrome of female pseudohermaphroditism. The efficacy of cortisone, newly synthesized for the treatment of the syndrome was simultaneously confirmed at MGH and Johns Hopkins in the first week of 1950.Lawson and I got along well professionally, perhaps because I had already resolved to use pediatric not psychoanalytic English. He approved my request to visit Hopkins to abstract psychological information from the files of patients whose cases had been published by hospital number, and to interview maybe one or two of them for my dissertation. When the written letter of invitation arrived however, it was to invite me to work in the pediatric endocrine clinic full-time. I began in July 1951.It has always seemed remarkable to me that this very pragmatic, chart-making man, not much given to psychologizing, should have had the prescience to recognize that he was on to something basically very important psychologically in treating people with hormones.Although I was not a postdoctoral fellow in Pediatric Endocrinology, Lawson Wilkins provided me, especially at the famed Saturday clinic, with as much Pediatric Endocrinology as I needed to become the first pediatric psychoendocrinologist. Here resides the outstanding feature of his intellectual and academic grandeur as it most personally affected me.I think that Lawson Wilkins metaphorically adopted all of his trainees, his \u201cboys\u201d , as substitutes for his only son whom he lost at age 16 in a postal truck auto accident. Double-twisting the helix, he had also himself become a stand in for his son, starting a new career as if on his son\u2019s behalf. Confronting his loss, he gave up general pediatrics and became a full time pediatric endocrinologist. In a sense, he was on an equal footing with his fellows as one of us, not an overbearing father, but a Socratic teacher.\u201dSam Silverman, M.D. (1951-1952) was interested only in clinical studies. He got involved with the special form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, the hypertensive form and the salt-losing form. He also studied \u201cPrecocious Adrenarche.\u201d He left Baltimore to go into practice at Pediatric Endocrinology in New Jersey.Alfred M. Bongiovanni, M.D. (1952-1955) and Walter Eberlein, M.D. (1952-1953) became well known for their contributions to the study of abnormal secretion of adrenal steroids in the various forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. They returned to Philadelphia to establish a Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. Eventually, Dr. Bongiovanni became Professor and Chairman at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1972. Following this, he became an itinerant professor holding posts at the University of Ife, Nigeria, Cairo, and the Catholic University of Ponce-de-Leon in Puerto Rico. He later became Dean of this school. He then returned to the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 where he remained until his death in 1984.George W. Clayton, M.D. (1952-1954) helped Dr. Bongiovanni as shown by a series of publications. Clayton returned to his beloved Texas where he established a program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He was Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Endocrine Division until his retirement. He moved to Galveston and his principal activities relate to fishing, traveling, and his ongoing interest in the history of the Civil War.Melvin M. Grumbach, M.D. (1953-1955) was busy and very productive. He made a team with Dr. Judson Van Wyk, so their publications were conjoint. The main contributions were related to the study of sex chromosomes in ovarian agenesis and a genetic study of congenital adrenal hyperplasia with Dr. Barton Childs.He left Baltimore to head a division of Pediatric Endocrinology at Babies Hospital in New York. Among the many fellows he trained, one of the most outstanding was Selna Kaplan. When Dr. Grumbach moved to a position at the University of California at San Francisco, Selna went with him. An outstanding Division has flourished as a result of their efforts. Many leading endocrinologists have been trained in their program.Mel became chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF until his retirement. Distinguished colleagues have included Selna, Felix Conte, and Walter L. Miller.Judson J. Van Wyk, M.D. (1953-1955) was one of Wilkins\u2019s most devoted disciples. Jud was involved with Grumbach and Bongiovanni in lab work during his fellowship. He left for the University of North Carolina, where he started a vigorous Clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology. His colleagues at UNC included Frank French, Joseph D\u2019Ercole, and more recently Louis Underwood who assumed direction of the Division. Dr. Van Wyk trained many fellows including Dr. Stockholm. He made many important contributions, particularly in his work relating to somatomedin (IGF-1) as a growth factor.Thomas H. Shepard, M.D. (1954-1955) moved to Seattle after completion of a year with Wilkins where he was appointed to the faculty at the University of Washington. He directed a division of Pediatric Endocrinology at the Children\u2019s Orthopedic Hospital from 1956-1961. He developed an interest in embryology and teratology; studies in this area became the main focus of his career. After a year as a research associate in embryology in the Department of Anatomy, University of Florida College of Medicine, he spent another 6 months in the Fetal Laboratory, University of Copenhagen with Dr. Henning Anderson.Upon his return to Seattle, he continued his academic career and headed a Birth Defects Research Laboratory for 30 years. He became Emeritus Professor in 1993. He published extensively \u2013 some reports involving Endocrinology but most related to embryology and teratology.Robert M. Blizzard, M.D. (1955-1957) was destined to play a major role in the Harriet Lane program and in Pediatric Endocrinology. After his training, he left Hopkins to direct a division at Ohio State in Columbus. Upon Wilkins\u2019s retirement in 1960, Bob was chosen to succeed him as Clinical Director of the Harriet Lane Program with Claude Migeon as Laboratory Director. He was asked to serve as acting Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Hopkins following the departure of Dr. Robert Cooke. He did this for 15 months until the position was taken over by Dr. Littlefield.Later, Bob was recruited to the Chairmanship of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, a position which he held until his retirement. During his tenure as chairman, he maintained a productive career in Endocrinology, working with outstanding colleagues including Alan Rogol and Anne Johanson. In his \u201cretirement,\u201d he remains very productive with many roles including chairmanship of the Board of the Genentech Foundation.Gerald H. Holman, M.D. (1956-1958) became a peripatetic professor after completing his residency and fellowship at Hopkins. He spent 1958-1961 in Saskatoon and 1961-1964 in Kansas City. From 1964-1969, he was Professor and Chairman at the Medical College of Georgia. From 1969-1974, he was Professor and Head of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary. From 1974-1975, he was Professor and Chairman at Eastern Virginia School of Medicine. From 1975-1979, he was Dean at Norfolk. He then went to Amarillo, Texas and held various administrative and faculty positions there, including directing a division of Pediatric Endocrinology. In these various situations, he participated in a prestigious number of programs and committees. His publications are expectedly wide ranging including Endocrinology, nutrition, ethics, and the social aspects of medical care.Robert Stempfel, M.D. (1956-1958) went from the training program to appointment in the Department of Pediatrics, Duke University, School of Medicine as director of Pediatric Endocrinology. He maintained a clinical and laboratory program until his recruitment to the Chairmanship of Pediatrics at the newly established University of California School of Medicine at Davis. His involvement in Endocrinology there was somewhat peripheral. He recruited Dr. Bagher Sheikholislam to his faculty; Bagher continues in the program there. In 1971, Stempfel was enticed to come to Miami as Director of the Mailman Center for Child Development, Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Chairman. He maintained this position until 1995. During his tenure he became heavily involved in the political aspects of child care in the State of Florida and represented the School of Medicine, University of Miami, in Tallahassee in legislative matters. After giving up directorship of the Center he moved from Miami to Key Largo and maintained his political representation until 1995 when he retired completely. He wasable to devote his full attention to his abiding interest in fishing in the Keys and the Bahamas.Orville C. Green, M.D. (1957-1960) left Baltimore to establish a program at the Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital in the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Northwestern University. He maintained a flourishing Division, productive both in research and training until his retirement. He currently spends winters in Sarasota and summers in Wilmette and Nantucket. Among his trainees was Dr. Robert Winters who has succeeded Orville in the direction of the Division. When asked about Lawson Wilkins, Orville recalled two statements made by Wilkins:1. \u201cNever take money from a drug company \u2013 take their products for experimentation if they seem worthwhile but never take money \u2013 they will never get off your back.\u201d2. \u201cThe clinical use of the science of endocrinology is to diagnose and treat conditions of excess and deficiency.\u201d Orville adds, \u201cI think this basic principle should be reaffirmed.\u201dGloria Steward, M.D. (1957) left the program after 6 months.David H. Mosier Jr., M.D. (1955-1957) was from Kansas. He went to the University of Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins Medical School. After a Pediatric Residency at the University of Southern California, he came back to Hopkins as a fellow in Pediatric Endocrinology with Wilkins. Afterwards, he returned to California, where he was named Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. As head of the Division of Endocrinology, he has been active in experimental and clinical research of the various problems influencing growth.David W. Smith, M.D. (1955-1956) spent two years in the United States Army after completing his residency in Pediatrics. He returned after two years to complete one year of fellowship with Wilkins in Endocrinology. He then spent a year in practice in Los Gatos, California before accepting a faculty appointment at the University of Wisconsin. He established an Endocrinology training program producing third generation fellows including Dr. Arlan Rosenbloom. He then took a sabbatical in Zurich and became interested in genetics. Like his mentor, he then proceeded to pioneer a new field, dysmorphology, and published the definitive text on the subject: \u201cRecognizable Patterns of Human Malformation\u201d which has continued as the authoritative compendium of dysmorphic syndromes. In 1966, he moved to the University of Washington where he remained as Professor of Pediatrics until his untimely death at the age of 55 years. His character and contributions are described in an introduction to a Festschrift issue of the Journal of Pediatrics in 1982.William W. Cleveland, M.D. (1958-1961) left the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Miami to come to Johns Hopkins as fellow with Lawson Wilkins. He worked diligently with patients and wrote several papers. William was also a close friend; he and his wife were our witnesses at my marriage to Barbara in 1960.Cleveland returned to his faculty position at the fledgling School of Medicine, University of Miami. He continued to direct a Division of Endocrinology for the ensuing 36 years. During twenty of those years (1969-1989), he was also Chairman of the rapidly expanding Department of Pediatrics.Malcolm M. Martin, M.D. (1958-1959) was originally from England. He helped review the question of pituitary dwarfism. He then went to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where he directed the endocrine clinic.Raphael David, M.D. (1958-1962) was educated in the French system of Cairo. He migrated to the United States and was a Hopkins pediatric resident before joining the clinic of Lawson Wilkins. At the time of Wilkins\u2019s first heart attack, Ralph was his constant companion in the Marburg Building. With time, they grew very friendly.Ralph has devoted his career to an excellent Division of Endocrinology in the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine at New York University. His program has been highly productive in training and research. As might be expected from his urbane nature, he is a confirmed and enthusiastic New Yorker.David Alexander, M.D. (1958-1960) was originally from Scotland. He did his pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins. After residency, he joined the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic. Following one year of clinical work, he went with his Scottish countryman Dr. Malcolm Ferguson-Smith in cytogenetics. Malcolm was an expert in the investigation of karyotypes in patients. Another notable accomplishment during training of David was to marry Jean, another Hopkins pediatric resident. They moved to Kingston, Ontario from Baltimore where they have maintained practices, David in Endocrinology and Jean in child development.Cesar Bergada, M.D. (1959-1961) and his wife Estela came from prominent families in Buenos Aires. Cesar worked with Dr. Salvador de Majo and Dr. Martin Cullen. Cesar and Estela met Lawson when Lawson and his family visited South America in 1957. As a fellow, Cesar was involved in the study of DSD (intersex) patients in collaboration with Dr. Howard Jones in GynecologyUpon completion of his training in Baltimore, Cesar returned to Buenos Aires to establish an endocrine division at the Hospital de Ni\u00f1os R. Gutierrez, which he directed for more than three decades. Cesar was recognized as one of the outstanding pediatric endocrinologists in South America. He has trained many endocrinologists, including his own son and Marco Rivarola.Thomas Aceto Jr., M.D. (1960-1962) left the army in 1960 to join the training program at Hopkins, along with Alvro Camacho and Fritz Kenny. After that, he went to the Children\u2019s Hospital of University of Buffalo. Then he became the Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of South Dakota at Sioux Falls. His next promotion was as Medical Director of the Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital at St. Louis University. Unfortunately, Thomas developed Alzheimer\u2019s disease and died in 2009.Frederic M. Kenny, M.D. (1960-1962) graduated from Princeton. He attended Hopkins for medical school and pediatric resident training. He married Jean, a colleague in resident training. For two years (1958-1960) he was Pediatrician in Chief at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Annapolis.In 1960, he returned to Hopkins for two very busy years in Pediatric Endocrinology. Next, he moved to the Children\u2019s Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh. There, he took the place of Dr. Robert Klein and worked at a very large diabetic clinic, which attracted other Hopkins fellows, Dr. Alan Drash and Dr. Dorothy Becker. Unfortunately, Fritz battled with depression and ended his own life in 1978.Wellington Hung, M.D. (1960-1962) did most of his training and spent most of his life in Washington D.C. at American University, the Medical School of George Washington University, and the Children\u2019s Hospital of D.C.After two years at Hopkins doing clinical research, he returned to Children\u2019s Hospital, National Medical Center, Washington D.C.During his stay at Hopkins, he had learned about thyroidology from Dr. Robert Blizzard, and he became an expert in this field.Along with colleagues Dr. August and Dr. Glasgow, he wrote a succinct book of Pediatric Endocrinology.Dagfinn Aarskog, M.D. (1962-1963) did his undergraduate and medical school studies in Norway at the University of Oslo and Bergen, respectively. He did his pediatric training at the University of Bergen prior to coming to Baltimore. Upon his return to Norway, he became Professor and Chairman of the University of Bergen in 1971. In 1984, he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Dagfinn contributed greatly to the field of Pediatric Endocrinology, including describing the Aarskog Syndrome.John Spaulding, M.D. (1962-1963) was a fellow for only one year during which he contributed to the study of patients with the rare problem of unresponsiveness of the adrenals to ACTH. After his fellowship, he rejoined the University of Kansas Medical Center where he directed the clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology.JoAnne Brasel, M.D. (1962-1965) was a lovely lady who lived her life fighting a slow progressive, disabling neurological problem. She went to medical school at the University of Colorado and did her residency at Cornell University.From 1962 to 1965, she joined the Hopkins Pediatric Endocrinology program and joined the staff in 1968. She became interested in growth and development research, working successively at Cornell, Columbia, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She was in charge of the training program at Harbor-UCLA. When she died in 2007, we lost a great scientist and a wonderful friend.Jordan Finkelstein, M.D. (1961-1963) spent two years at Hopkins. He worked with Dr. Kowarski on the determination of aldosterone secretion in rats in various conditions. Particularly, the study of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia showed that all of them have a salt-losing tendency, but those who had a milder mutation of their 21-hydroxylase gene could compensate with increased aldosterone secretion, therefore avoiding salt-loss. In contrast, the patients with severe mutations could not compensate and were salt-losers. Jordan returned to Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.A. Avinoam Kowarski, M.D. (1962-1965) was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He started medical school in Lausanne, Switzerland and finished at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After three years as fellow at Hopkins and two years at Hadassah University Hospital, he returned to the pediatric endocrine clinic, where he was involved with laboratory research. In 1981, he opened the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic at the University of Maryland.Gordon Kennedy, M.D. (1951-1952) came from Cambridge, England, with the purpose to see the function of the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic. He was an expert on experimental brain lesions to rats which resulted in increased appetite and gross obesity.Jos\u00e9 Cara, M.D. (1951-1952) came from Argentina. He was interested in clinical work and eventually joined Lytt Gardner at Syracuse. Jos\u00e9\u2019s son was also an endocrinologist.Dr. Jean Bertrand (1955-1956) from Lyon, France. We became close friends and after his return home, he went to join me in Stockholm to help me at the Karolinska Hospital where we worked with Dr. Carl Gemzell on the transplacental passage of steroids. Bernadette Loras, M.D. (1962-1964), Maguelone Forest, M.D., and Jos\u00e9 Saez, M.D. were three pupils of Jean Bertrand who worked in his laboratories.Other doctors from abroad were truly involved in all the activities of the Clinic. The first was Raphael Rappaport, M.D. (1960-1961) came from the Hopital de Enfants Malades and then returned home to create an important clinic. Paul Malvaux, M.D. (1961-1962) came from Louvain and similarly returned to his institution to be the Director of Pediatric Endocrinology. Both of them returned to Johns Hopkins to help with the clinical load when Dr. Blizzard was temporary Chief of Pediatrics.Andrea Prader of Zurich, Switzerland, the founder of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology, wrote the following:Some doctors who had not been fellows felt that Wilkins was their mentor. For example, \u201cBecause Lawson had the greatest impact on my training as a clinician and clinical investigator, I add a personal note regarding Lawson. He, along with Guido Fanconi, stimulated my interests in endocrinology, metabolism, genetics, and growth. Both were superb clinicians and forceful and enthusiastic teachers.Their scientific contributions were not the results of systematic laboratory research in the framework of a sophisticated research program, but the offshoots of very careful clinical observations combined with a deep interest in the patient and his problems. They used charts to follow the courses of diseases and the growth of patients. They recognized important disease aspects not noted by others, were able to add new insights into many diseases, and offered challenging new speculations.\u201dThis was the same for Henning Anderson of Denmark. Henning had a special relationship with Lawson. When they were together, Lawson and Henning considered themselves as Vikings and Harold the Blue Tooth was one of their ancestors.Another important admirer of Lawson Wilkins was Professor Alfred Jost, head of the Laboratory of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Sciences at the University of Paris. After Wilkins\u2019s death in 1963, Dr. Jost gave the fourth Lawson Wilkins Memorial Lecture on April 26, 1971. On that occasion, he wrote about meeting Lawson Wilkins:\u201cOn my return from Mexico, I visited several eminent American experts in the field on sex differentiation in animals. The first stop was in Baltimore, where I was to meet world-famous scientists at the Department of Biology of The Johns Hopkins University and at the Department of Embryology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Dr. Robert K. Burns an Associate in Embryology was very friendly to me during this visit, and he suggested that I should meet at The Johns Hopkins Hospital a clinician by the name of Dr. Lawson Wilkins, who was interested in problems of human genital anomalies. Dr. Burns made the appointment for the early afternoon, and thus I was introduced to Lawson Wilkins. He was 55, I was 33; he was a well-known clinician, I was not even a doctor of medicine. He calmly and patiently followed my description of the rabbit experiments, looking at the rabbit pictures, asked many pertinent questions, and listened to the interpretations proposed for human anomalies. Then he submitted me to a keen clinical examination. I had to comment on the illustrations and reports concerning clinical cases. I thus had the privilege of being among the very first ones who saw the cases later to appear in the first edition of \u201cThe Diagnosis and Treatment of Endocrine Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence.\u201d But not only did I have to look at pictures, I was asked for interpretations which were coldly evaluated and screened. Also, I was introduced to extremely important clinical experiments, for instance, those concerning the absence of sensitivity to androgens of \u201chairless women with testes.\u201dConstantine Papadatos, M.D. (1955) from Athens, Greece, Edouard Juillard, M.D. (1955) from Lausanne, Switzerland, John Gerrard, M.D. (1956) and Donald Delahaye, M.D. (1956) from Canada, Fouad Hamaoui, M.D. (1956) from Beirut, Lebanon, Jean-Luc de Gennes, M.D. (1957) from Paris, France, Enrico Delanto, M.D. (1959) from Mexico, Marija Nikesic, M.D. (1960) from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, John Eckert, M.D. (1961) from Australia, and Morato Marano, M.D. (1962) from Montevideo, Uruguay.Several of the fellows from abroad attended the daily clinics of Lawson Wilkins, including A bibliography can be found in Additional file nd of December, I discovered that I was 80 years old. I was amazed and a little afraid. It had been 50 years since Dr. Wilkins died. I wrote a little note; a copy of which follows:In 2003, on the 22How is it possible? Already eighty? Pas Possible! So many years. But what can I do if it is true? Resign myself to it hope for another day and be thankful for my past youthNow in 2013, we are ten years later and I am 90 years old Figure . What haIt is of interest to consider what role \u201cchance\u201d plays for better or worse in life. In 1950, in Paris when I got my MD degree, I was not ready for settling down: get married, open an office of pediatrics, probably in Reims and be a respectful citizen.Chance permitted me to apply for a Fulbright Fellowship to go to a hospital in Chicago and see my good friends Bill and Stella Nanos. Instead, chance had it that Dr. Wilkins asked for me at Hopkins. At the end of the two year fellowship, Dr. Wilkins made it possible for me to continue working in Salt Lake City. And after 3 years in Utah, he brought me back to Baltimore for the rest of my life.I want to conclude this memoir in thanking with all of my heart, Dr. Wilkins, for permitting me to have a wonderful life, with my wife Barbara, my children Jacques, Jean-Paul, and Nicole; my many fellows who were like children; my kind colleagues, and all of my good friends.The author has no competing interests to disclose.bibliographyClick here for file"}
+{"text": "After the publication of this work  it was nThese authors have now been added to the list, and the updated author contributions are included below.VP, LHV, KNN, JP and TL carried out ex vivo/in vitro experiments. RM and KRJ carried out in vivo malaria experiments under the supervision of OB and AH. VP, AP, VS, GK, GD, XZ, SW and MK performed data analysis. AP and MN carried out the mathematical modelling. DFR and WRH developed mouse model used in the study. AM provided mice and expertise on their use. WZ and JK carried out T-cell live imaging under the supervision of PC. VP, MN and SAT wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors. SAT and MN supervised the work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that they have no competing interests."}
+{"text": "Dr. Mona Meyer is not included in the author byline. She should be listed as the sixteenth author and affiliated with Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada. The contributions of this author are as follows: Contributed reagents/materials/analysis/tools."}
+{"text": "Reason for Corrigendum:There was a mistake in the first section of the Results. LOC_Os01g40500 should be LOC_Os02g40500. The authors apologize for the mistake. This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.DC, SM, and PV conceived and designed the experiments. All experiments performed by PV and SV. DC, SM, and PV analyzed the data. DC, RD, VP, and OD revised the paper. DC, PV, RD, OD, and SV wrote the paper. All authors have read and approve of the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Leishmania parasites, the causative agents of leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an increasing public health problem in the Republic of Suriname and is mainly caused by Leishmania (Vianna) guyanensis, but L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (L.) amazonensis, and L. (V.) naiffi also infect humans. Transmission occurs predominantly in the forested hinterland of the country. Information regarding the potential vectors of leishmaniasis in Suriname is limited. This study aims to broaden the knowledge about vectors involved in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Suriname. For this purpose, sand flies were characterized in various foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the country, the districts of Para, Brokopondo, and Sipaliwini.Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the vectors of Sand flies were collected in areas around mining plots and villages using CDC light traps in the period between February 2011 and March 2013. They were categorized by examination of the spermathecea  and the external genitalia .Lutzomyia aragaoi, Lu. ayrozai, Lu. damascenoi, and Lu. sordellii) that had never before been described for Suriname. Five percent of the catch comprised Lu. squamiventris sensu lato, one female of which was positive with L. (V.) braziliensis and was captured in a gold mining area in Brokopondo. Other sand fly species found positive for Leishmania parasites were Lu. trichopyga, Lu. ininii, and Lu. umbratilis, comprising 32, 8, and 4%, respectively, of the catch. These were captured at gold mining areas in Brokopondo and Sipaliwini, but the Leishmania parasites they had ingested could not be identified due to insufficient amounts of DNA.A total of 2,743 sand fly specimens belonging to 34 different species were captured, including four species , Lu. trichopyga, Lu. ininii, and Lu. umbratilis - have been found to harbor Leishmania parasites. The latter were among the most abundant species captured. These observations may contribute to the understanding of leishmaniasis transmission and the development of control programs in Suriname.The sand fly fauna in Suriname is highly diverse and comprises  Leishmania. It is encountered in eighty-eight tropical and sub-tropical countries throughout the world where it mainly affects poor communities, and has a worldwide prevalence of 12 million cases [Phlebotomus in the Old World or the genus Lutzomyia in the New World [Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan flagellates of the genus ew World . The visew World ,5.The Republic of Suriname has a surface area of 163,820\u00a0km2, is situated on the north-east coast of South America, and borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Guyana to the west  comprises more than three-quarters of its land surface, and consists largely of sparsely inhabited savanna and dense tropical rain forest. It is mainly populated by Maroons and Amerindians who live in villages along the major rivers. It is also the part of the country with extensive gold mining, bauxite mining, logging, and ecotourism activities that have been growing in scale and economic importance in recent years . SurinamCutaneous leishmaniasis is an emerging disease in Suriname where it is known as 'bosyaws\u2019 or 'busiyasi\u2019 . In thisLeishmania (Vianna) guyanensis[Lutzomyia umbratilis[L. (V.) guyanensis in other countries of the Amazon basin [Leishmania species have recently been identified in Suriname, including L. (V.) lainsoni and L. (L.) amazonensis[L. (V.) naiffi[L. (V.) braziliensis[Leishmania species have also been identified in other Amazonian countries, but not in Suriname [The majority of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in Suriname 95.8%) has been attributed to infection with uyanensis. So far,mbratilis, the pro5.8% has on basin , and thion basin . In addiazonensis, L. (V.).) naiffi, as wellziliensis. The sanSuriname .L. (L.) amazonensis and L. (V.) braziliensis to cause the more serious muco-cutaneous form of the disease, it is important to characterize the sand fly species responsible for the transmission of leishmaniasis in Suriname. For this reason, the sand fly diversity in various foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the interior of Suriname has been assessed in the present study. The results obtained may improve the understanding of leishmaniasis transmission in the country and contribute to the development of control programs.In view of the increasing prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the country, and considering the ability of Sand flies were collected between February 2011 and March 2013 in the forested hinterland of Suriname. The collection sites were selected on the basis of cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis reported by the Dermatology Service and the Medical Mission. The latter institution is also a division of Suriname\u2019s Ministry of Health and provides primary health care in the hinterland.The collection sites were grouped according to their locations in the different administrative districts. In the southern district of Sipaliwini Figure\u00a0, three pSand flies were collected using a total of six CDC light traps. The traps were set for four consecutive nights from 18.00\u00a0h to 07.00\u00a0h, one to two meters above-ground. In the villages, the traps were placed at peridomestic sites, in dog kennels, chicken coops, and around agricultural plots. In the gold mining locations, the traps were mainly placed in the forest and in animal burrows, far from human residences.The collected sand flies were sedated by placing them on ice, and males and females were separated. The males were stored in 70% alcohol, then mounted in Berlese\u2019s fluid. The females were stored in Angero NA\u2122  conservation buffer in preparation for DNA extraction. The sand flies were categorized by species according to the classification system of Young and Duncan  by examiet al. [Five to ten females of the same species were pooled for DNA extraction in 1\u00a0mL\u00a0L6 lysis buffer consisting of 50\u00a0mM Tris\u2013HCl , 5\u00a0M guSCN , 20\u00a0mM EDTA , and 0.1% Triton-X-100 , using a protocol described by Boom et al. . In brieLeishmania-specific DNA was detected by subjecting the DNA samples to quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) according to a protocol described by van der Meide et al.[L. donovani DNA dilution series ranging from 10 to 107 parasites per reaction.de et al., with slLeishmania species were identified using a polymerase chain reaction\u2013restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR\u2013RFLP) assay described by Marfurt et al.[L. (V.) guyanensis (M4147), L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (L.) amazonensis (LTB 16), and L. (V.) naiffi (L2204) were included as references. The PCR products were incubated for 2\u00a0h at 37\u00b0C with the restriction enzyme HaeIII, after which the resulting restriction digestions were analyzed on a 2% agarose  gel. Fragments were visualized under UV light.The infecting rt et al.. In eachAltogether, 2,743 sand flies were collected in the seven collection sites, including 1,740 males and 1,003 females . The most abundant species were Lu. trichopyga , as well as Lu. infraspinosa, Lu. ubiquitalis, and Lu. innini, each of which comprised roughly 10% of the total catch  guyanensis \u2013 was collected at Merian and Sabajo Hills (Table\u00a0Lu. flaviscutellata - the proven vector of L. (L.) amazonensis - at Merian  guyanensis, comprised only 0.4% of the total catch of 2,743 specimens  that was captured at Sabajo Hills and that had visibly taken a blood meal, was positive for L. (V.) braziliensis , and four sand fly species infected with Leishmania parasites are reported (Lu. squamiventris (s.l.) with L. (V.) braziliensis, and Lu. umbratilis, Lu. ininii, Lu trichopyga with Leishmania spp.).Although the L (V.) guyanensis - as mentioned above, the main infecting Leishmania species in Suriname - typically occur in the hinterland during the rainy seasons [The number of sand fly species collected in this study (34) is close to the number (39) described by Burgos & Hudson . However seasons .Lu. ayrozai. This sand fly is a proven vector of L. (V.) naiffi in Brazil [L. (V.) braziliensis in Bolivia [Lu. innini, Lu. ubiquitalis, Lu. umbratilis, and Lu. flaviscutellata are not new for Suriname. However, Lu. innini comprised almost one-tenth of the total catch in the present study, and a French Guianese study reported on specimens of this sand fly species infected with Leishmania species [Lu. ubiquitalis, Lu. umbratilis, as well as Lu. flaviscutellata constituted approximately 10, 4, and 1%, respectively, of the total number of captured sand flies, and are proven vectors of L. (V.) lainsoni[L. (V.) guyanensis[L. (L.) amazonensis[Leishmania species as causative agents of leishmaniasis in Suriname [One of the species found for the first time in Suriname was n Brazil ,21 and o Bolivia . Lu. inn species . And Lu.uyanensis, and L. azonensis, respectSuriname -14, provLeishmania species that could be identified in a sand fly in the present study was L. (V.) braziliensis. This parasite was found in a female specimen of Lu. squamiventris (s.l.) that is generally considered a vector of L. (V.) naiffi in both French Guiana [L. (V.) braziliensis , and two Dutch soldiers with L. (V.) naiffi[Lu. squamiventris (s.l.) could be a vector of L (V.) braziliensis and L (V.) naiffi in Suriname, supporting the possible presence of various Leishmania species in the country.The only h Guiana  and Brazh Guiana . It was .) naiffi. These dLeishmania DNA in several female specimens of Lu. umbratilis. This observation is in accordance with a previous report [Leishmania promastigotes in the anterior part of the gut of females of this sand fly species. Lu. umbratilis is the proven vector of L. (V.) guyanensis in French Guiana [Leishmania DNA in specimens of this sand fly species in the current study strengthens its candidacy as a vector for this Leishmania species in Suriname [Leishmania. In the present study, only few sandflies were found to carry Leishmania parasites (DNA) and more elaborate studies on this topic must be carried out. It is also important to gather information such as infection rates, infectivity, and the presence of metacyclic forms in the mid gut.Another noteworthy finding from the current study was the presence of s report  mentionih Guiana  as well h Guiana  and a feh Guiana ,11 incluh Guiana . TherefoSuriname . HoweverLeishmania species in the country. The abundance and diversity of sand fly species was high in these high-transmission areas, and two sand fly species infected with Leishmania parasites (Lu. squamiventris (s.l.) with L. (V.) braziliensis, and Lu. umbratilis with Leishmania spp.) have been identified.In summary, this study is the first to present a comprehensive and updated list of sand fly species in important foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Suriname, including four new records and six proven vectors of the five Leishmania species in the country. This could be due to more encounters with the vectors as a result of the upsurge in economic activities in the forested hinterland [The abundance and diversity of sand fly species in Suriname corresponds with the apparent increase in nterland . As shownterland . The finThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.AK: design of the study, field work, determination of sand flies, molecular analysis, and writing of the manuscript; TS: determination of sand flies, training and advice on catching procedures; AG and AS: catching and determination of sand flies; DM and HS: conception of the study, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Pelophylax ridibundus and Pelophylax lessonae, and their hybrids Pelophylax esculentus. P. lessonae and P. esculentus form stable complexes (L-E complexes) in which P. esculentus are hemiclonal. In L-E complexes all the transmitted genomes by P. esculentus carry deleterious mutations which are lethal in homozygosity.Some species of water frogs originated from hybridization between different species. Such hybrid populations have a particular reproduction system called hybridogenesis. In this paper we consider the two species P. esculentus frogs. Finally, simulations show how L-E complexes react to the introduction of translocated P. ridibundus.We analyze, by means of an individual based computational model, L-E complexes. The results of simulations based on the model show that, by eliminating deleterious mutations, L-E complexes collapse. In addition, simulations show that particular female preferences can contribute to the diffusion of deleterious mutations among all P. ridibundus can destabilize L-E complexes.The conclusions are the following: (i) deleterious mutations  strongly contribute to the stability of L-E complexes; (ii) female sexual choice can contribute to the diffusion of deleterious mutations; and (iii) the introduction of  Pelophylax ridibundus Pallas, 1771) and pool frog  can mate producing the hybrid edible frog . P. esculentus can coexist with one or both of the parental species giving rise to mixed populations. Usually, the genotypes of P. ridibundus, P. lessonae and P. esculentus are indicated by RR, LL, and LR, respectively. In Europe there are mixed populations containing P. ridibundus and P. esculentus individuals, called R-E systems, populations with P. lessonae and P. esculentus individuals, called L-E systems, and populations with all three species. Due to the eastern origin of P. ridibundus, R-E complexes are frequently found in Eastern Europe, while L-E systems are widespread throughout the rest of Europe , is given by the probability of randomly taking no mj males, with mi male of the taken ones. Using the hypergeometric probability distribution, We consider that the populations have a reproductive season each year. During this season all the females mate. Female sexual choice is implemented by a of males ,62, i.e.n is, the greater the strength of the female preference. Increasing the n value will lead to a female choosing from a greater number of males, thus mimicking the behaviour of a more discriminating female. In order to obtain stable complexes, we assume a species-specific female preference, in particular, following the studies in  we obtain stable complexes, when P. ridibundus are inviable. This result is analogous to the ones in . Many of these mutations are either not significant or not deleterious. Values of the mutation rate in the interval , used in our model, take both the above considerations into account.For computational purposes we have considered only three stages of mutation accumulation on the ation in , we assuR genomes in the population. Our model builds on the previous ones by assuming sexual choices in the populations. However, it differs by considering a population in which deleterious mutations are not present, but are generated according to a mutation rate. In addition, only when this accumulation reaches a given threshold does it become lethal. This leads us to conclude that sexual selection not only stabilizes the complexes, but can also force mutation diffusion.Our study differs significantly with the results of other authors with regard to the diffusion of mutations. The models in -60 proviNote that our simulations do not enable us to prove the hypothesis suggested in . ComputaP. ridibundus into stable L-E complexes. P. ridibundus can mate both with P. esculentus, producing P. ridibundus, and with P. lessonae (primary hybridization), producing P. esculentus. Primary hybrids can have low fertility rates [P. ridibundus in a way that P. lessonae males are seldom chosen . On the other hand, the preference of P. lessonae females is mainly for males of their own species. We assign the same fitness both to the introduced P. ridibundus and to those generated by matings of P. ridibundus with P. esculentus. This is in accordance with the semi-natural experiments in [P. ridibundus fitness, which is lower than the fitness of the resident P. lessonae and P. esculentus because we consider that a marshy environment with a low oxygen level, where P. lessonae and P. esculentus live, is less suitable for P. ridibundus.Another point that we study with our model is the consequence of introducing ty rates , thus thments in . HoweverP. ridibundus often out-compete the other species resulting in a mono-specific population, when their fitness is comparable to the resident population\u2019s. Although the introduction of P. ridibundus results in new R hemiclones, which contribute to the genetic diversity of hybrids, our results do not support the hypothesis presented in [P. ridibundus is competitive with the fitness of the resident population (\u03b4e=0.0), P. ridibundus males will survive and P. ridibundus often will replace the original population. Note that in this case we also have stable L-E-R complexes as the outcome. This is a system where two independent populations coexist, an L-E complex and a P. ridibundus population. The L-E complex is stable due to female preferences and lethal mutations on the R genomes, while the P. ridibundus population is stable because of the absence of deleterious mutations, which are purged by selection. The two populations do not cross because the number of individuals in both is high enough to ensure that females of one population in most cases find a preferred male, of the same population, in the set randomly chosen by the best-of- n procedure.The results show that, as predicted in , the intented in  that thiP. ridibundus individuals will not survive for long, given their unfitness, but P. ridibundus frogs, before their death, can introduce R genomes without mutation in the P. esculentus population, thus provoking the collapse of the complex.The whole population collapses when the introduced frogs have a low fitness. In this case, P. ridibundus are at a considerable disadvantage, the introduced unfit population is out-competed. During their short survival time, P. ridibundus females are not able to have a sufficient number of matings with P. esculentus males, thus they cannot introduce a sufficient number of R genomes without mutations into the P. esculentus population.Finally, by assuming that P. lessonae and P. esculentus. The individual based model considers not only the genotypes, but also the age of each individual and the average lifespan. In addition, female preferences (implemented by a best-of- n procedure) and ecological selection are considered.We have presented an individual-based computational model to study L-E water frog populations, i.e. complexes composed of We believe that our results highlight that: R genomes strongly contribute, together with sexual preferences, to maintaining the stability of such complexes,- deleterious mutations in the R genomes carrying deleterious mutations in L-E complexes, and- female sexual choice can contribute to the diffusion of P. ridibundus can destroy L-E complexes.- the introduction of The authors declare that they have no competing interests.All authors conceived the computational model. PB programmed the simulator and performed the experiments. All authors contributed to write the paper. All authors read and approved the manuscript."}
+{"text": "The first two authors, Jihyeon Lim and Zhongbo Liu, should be noted as contributing equally to this work, not as corresponding authors. The publisher apologizes for the error.yuling.chi@einstein.yu.edu.The sole corresponding author is Yuling Chi, who can be contacted at"}
+{"text": "Phlebotomus and 3 of Genus Sergentomyia were identified. Four species including P. papatasi (3.98%), P. sergenti (1.14%), S. tiberiadis (87.18%), and S. baghdadis (7.7%) were found indoors. Six species including P. papatasi (3.47%), P. sergenti (3.17%), P. alexandri (0.1%), S. tiberiadis (77.74%), S. baghdadis (15.41%), and one female of S. clydei (0.11%) were collected from outdoors. Sand flies started to appear from March and disappear at the end of January. There was only one peak in the density curve in July. The study revealed that S. tiberiadis and S. baghdadis could enter indoors which 89 and 81.8% of them were found blood-fed, respectively. Moreover, P. papatasi, S. tiberiadis, and S. baghdadis were active indoors and outdoors in most months of the year. Nested-PCR of P. papatasi females was positive against kinetoplast DNA of L. major and L. turanica and also mixed natural infections were found by L. gerbilli and L. turanica. Moreover, mixed infections by L. major and L. turanica were observed in this species. Sergentomyia clydei and S. tiberiadis were found to be negative to any DNA of Leishmania species. Phlebotomus sergenti females were found infected with DNA of L. turanica and this is the first report of natural infection and detection of the parasite from this sand fly species in worldwide.Cutaneous leishmaniasis is the most important health problem in the city of Bushehr, southwestern Iran. The objective of the study was to determine some ecological aspects of sand flies in the city during 2010\u20132011. Sand flies were collected monthly from outdoors and indoors by sticky traps at four selected districts of the city. They were also dissected and examined by nested-PCR for identification of the parasite during August\u2013September of 2011. A total of 1234 adult sand flies were collected and 6 species including 3 of Genus  There is a long history of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran. The oldest traditional medical book has been written by an Iranian scientist, Avicenna , which was completed in 1025, about 1000\u2009years ago. It is called Qanun (The Laws of Medicine) and it was used as a textbook until eighteenth century in the universities of European and Islamic countries. In this book, Avicenna has mentioned on cutaneous lesions of his patients, which was called Khyroonieh, with long duration and the treatment of the ulcers had been difficult and resistant to different drugs, the clinical signs of the ulcers were imagined to be CL  and Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL). About 20,000 cases of leishmaniasis are reported annually, which 80% of them are ZCL, 0.5% Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), and the rest is ACL. Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. In some parts of the city, Tatera indica is the main reservoir host and Nesokia indica as the secondary reservoir. The prevalence of scar was 5.9% among the inhabitants and for ulcer it was <0.5% in 2010 . The causative agents of the disease are  in 2010 . BushehrBushehr, like most of other Iranian cities, has expanded quickly over recent years. Mass emigration to the city from other parts of the province and urbanization of peripheral with poor facilities and sanitation, construction of buildings nearby rodent colonies, increase of non-endemic people in south Pars Project, Bushehr Military Complex, and the presence of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant are the main reasons of occurrence of CL in the city. If the disease does not receive considerable attention by the health authorities, it may spread into other parts of the country, which are free from CL. However, the entomological studies on sand flies have not been carried out in the city yet and there is no accurate data on vector(s) of the disease.The objective of this study was to determine some ecological aspects of sand flies in the city of Bushehr during 2010\u20132011, as an initial step in the development of effective strategies for the control of leishmaniasis in the city.The city of Bushehr located in a plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran and is the administrative center of its province.Field studies were carried out during 2010\u20132011, in the city of Bushehr   and outdoors  fixed places, using 30 sticky traps (castor oil coated white papers 20\u2009cm\u2009\u00d7\u200935\u2009cm) from the beginning (March) to the end of active season (January). Collected sand flies were stored in 70% ethanol. For species identification, sand flies were mounted in Puri\u2019s medium, produced at the medical entomology department . In caseThe middle parts of female sand flies (including thorax and abdomen) were used; the samples were washed with absolute ethanol and after drying washed three times in cold sterile phosphate-buffered saline . Before submitting the sandflies to the DNA extraction procedure, they were subjected to 13 freeze/thaw cycles, using liquid nitrogen and boiling water and sampler tips or pestle, to disrupt tissue and treated as described for the tissue samples . GenomicL. major, a 206\u2009bp in L. gerbili, and a 141\u2009bp in L. turanica across the internal transcribed spacer 2 [Akhavan et al.  PCR was performed as the same first-round exception for annealing at 58\u00b0C for 30\u2009s. At the end, 10\u2009\u03bcl of the reaction mix was analyzed by 2.5% agarose gel electrophoresis.We used nested-PCR to identify the fication . All samL. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER), L. gerbilli (MRHO/CN/60/GERBILLI), and L. turanica (MRHO/SU/1983/MARZ-051) as positive controls and distilled water were used as negative controls  agarose gels, and stained with ethidium bromide to visualize by electrophoresis. Initially, ITS-PCR was confirmed with standard DNA of reference strains  MRHO/IR/5/ER, L. MnlI 2\u2009\u03bcl at 37\u00b0C for 4\u2009h without prior purification using conditions recommended by the supplier . The restriction fragments were subjected to electrophoresis in 3% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide for 3\u2009h at 65\u2009V and visualized on a UV transilluminator.PCR products (20\u2009\u03bcl) were digested with P. papatasi (3.98%), P. sergenti (1.14%), S. tiberiadis (87.18%), and S. baghdadis (7.7%). From outdoors, six species including P. papatasi (3.47%), P. sergenti (3.17%), P. alexandri (0.1%), S. tiberiadis (77.74%), S. baghdadis (15.41%), and S. clydei (0.11%) were collected  out of 20 specimens. Table Leishmania infection rate of sand flies by nested-PCR and Figures P. papatasi from outdoors and four of six from indoors were found to be infected by L. major and two of four from outdoors by L. turanica, which produced species-specific bands of 231 and 141\u2009bp, respectively. Mixed natural infections with L. gerbilli and L. turanica were also observed in 16.7% of P. papatasi from indoors. In rodent burrows, mixed infections of both L. major and L. turanica was found in one of two of this sand fly species.Twenty individual female specimens including four species of nd in 11 5% out ofP. segenti from outdoors were found to be infected by L. turanica and produced a PCR band of 141\u2009bp. One of the infected P. sergenti was gravid and the other was semi-gravid and both of them were collected by sticky traps near dwellings.Two out of three female Phlebotomus and two Sergentomyia species were identified for the first time in the city of Bushehr. Phlebotomus papatasi, P. sergenti, and P. alexandri have medical importance because of their proven or probable roles as vectors of parasites causing human leishmaniasis in the Old world  in indoors and 7\u2009months in outdoors and has been caught from all infected districts except Sangi district located in the center of the city. Phlebotomus sergenti is rarely found indoors and its density is very low as 4 male specimens of this species were caught but 28 of these flies were collected from outdoors during August\u2013October in the city. Whether we could not find natural infection of females of this sand fly species by L. tropica, it has been recorded from the cities of Esfahan in the center and Shiraz in the south by molecular and monoclonal diagnostic antibody tests (Phlebotomus sergenti has a wide distribution in the country and extends beyond the distribution of L. tropica.Anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by ountries \u201314. Thisountries . In the dy tests . PhlebotPhlebotomus alexandri is widely distributed in Palaearctic region, but it is never common (L. infantum and L. major in the provinces of Fars and Khuzestan, southern Iran (r common . It is ur common \u201318 althor common . It is tr common . The preern Iran .Sergentomyia tiberiadis is a thermophilic and xerophilos species, usually in low and dry rocky mountains of southern Afghanistan, but absent in humid areas. In Iran, it is found in eight provinces, five in the south and the others in the center, northwest, and northeast. Regarding its restricted distribution to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran and specially its presence in human residences in the areas of CL, vectoral role of this species needs to be investigated. Sergentomyia baghdadisis distributed in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and southern Afghanistan, it is thermophilic and hydrophilic species of plains, sometimes numerous in human dwellings and rodent burrows. Whether it is considered as a possible vector of reptilian leishmaniasis, its feeding habits and relation to CL should be investigated as well.L. major and L. turanica and mixed infection of L. gerbilli and L. turanica in P. papatasi, which is agreement with the findings by Strelkova et al. in 1996 and Parvizi and Ready in 2008 (L. major and L. turanica by P. papatasi. This sand fly species is considered as the vector of L. major to humans in the city of Bushehr. Sergentomyia clydei and S. tiberiadis were found to be negative for Leishmania.In the current study, we found DNA of  in 2008  indicatePhlebotomus sergenti was found naturally infected by L. turanica near dwellings and according to our knowledge this is the first report of infection of this sand fly species by L. turanica in worldwide. Natural infection of P. sergenti was found in an experimental study by Chajbullinova and her colleagues in 2012; they showed that in P. sergenti, L. turanica promastigotes were present only on the defecation of blood meal remnants (P. mongolensis and P. anderjevi have been found naturally infected in the field and also in experimental studies (L. turanica from P. papatasi, P. anderjevi, P. caucasicus, P. mongolensis, P. alexandri, and S. clydei in natural foci of ZCL (L. turanica has also been detected from P. papatasi in central and north of the country and also from P. caucasicus in the northwest (L. turanica from other Paraphlebotomus species suggest that vector competence for Leishmania may differ between members of this subgenus. However, further studies are needed to clarify the role of these vectors in the circulation of L. turanica. This Leishmania species has also been detected repeatedly from R. opimus in Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. It has also been detected from T. indica and Rattus norvegicus in the city of Bushehr and also from Nesokia indica in southwest of the country (remnants . In a st studies . In Turkorthwest . Reports country .L. turanica haplotype TurkHo3, which was previously isolated and identified from sand flies and rodents in this region (P. papatasi and P. sergenti, different aspects on sand fly ecology in the infected districts of the city, drawing attention to the diagnosis and treatment of Leishmania infections, follow up studies on more of Leishmania species from P. sergenti in the area are necessary in order to reach a better understanding of the interaction between L. major and L. turanica are recommended. The management of organic waste, controlled urbanization, and improvement of sanitary condition in the suburbs would reduce to a significant degree the density of sand fly vectors.In 2014, two isolates from two patients in northeast of Iran were examined by Nested-PCR-RFLP and sequenced several times. They were identified as s region . It can The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Dr. Marie Chattaway should be included as an author for this article. She should be listed as the 12th author, and her affiliation is: 2. Public Health England, London, United Kingdom. The contributions of this author are as follows: Performed the Experiments, analyzed the data."}
+{"text": "Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is a gram-negative, obligate aerobic bacterium in the family Flavobacteriaceae  meningosepticum, and in 1994 it was reclassified in the genus Chryseobacterium . In 2005, it was placed in the new genus Elizabethkingia.Named for Elizabeth O. King, a bacteriologist at the US Centers for Disease Control who studied meningitis in infants, eriaceae . King na"}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports6: Article number: 22184;10.1038/srep22184 Published online: 02222016; Updated: 06022016Peiwu Yu did not contribute directly to this study and has been removed from the author list.The Acknowledgements section now reads:\u201cWe sincerely appreciate Peiwu Yu for providing linguistic support. This study has been financially supported by Research Fund of Public Welfare in Health Industry, Health and Family Plan Committee of China (No. 201402015) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81572413).\u201dThe Author Contributions statement now reads:\u201cJ.C. and K.T. contributed to the design of the study and manuscript writing. J.C. and J.G. contributed to the data extraction and analysis process of the study. K.T. contributed to the financial support and revision of the manuscript.\u201dIn addition, Ji Cheng was incorrectly listed as being affiliated with \u2018Department of General Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038 China\u2019. The correct affiliation is listed below:Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022 China.These errors have now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article, as well as the Supplementary Information file."}
+{"text": "Dr David B. Donner was incorrectly listed as fifth author of this article. The editors have followed up with the authors' institutions, the Universidad de Concepci\u00f3n and the University of California San Francisco, in relation to the contributions to this work.In line with the recommendation by the University of California San Francisco, where the work described in this article was initiated, Dr Donner should be listed as co-corresponding author and placed before Dr Pincheira's name. The author list should be revised to read as follows:\u262f*, Roxana Pincheira\u262f*Carlos Farkas, Carla P. Martins, David Escobar, Matias I. Hepp, Ariel F. Castro, Gerard Evan, Jos\u00e9 L. Guti\u00e9rrez, Robert Warren, David B. Donner*Corresponding Authors: donnerd@surgery.ucsf.edu (DBD); ropincheira@udec.cl (RP)In addition, the Funding statement should be revised to acknowledge support to Dr Warren and Dr Donner, the Funding statement should read as below:This work was supported by Academic Senate Individual Investigator Grant from University of California, San Francisco to RP, DIUC grant from Universidad de Concepcion-Chile, and Regular Fondecyt Grant 1110821-Chile to RP. CF was supported by the Regular Fondecyt Grant 1110821-Chile to RP. DE was supported by a PhD fellowship from CONICYT-Chile. RW was supported by a grant by the Edmund Wattis Littlefield Foundation, DD was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant CA67891, a grant from the Cancer Research Coordinating Committee of the University of California and a grant from the Lehman Brothers Research Foundation.The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Migraine causes significant disability and severely affects patients' quality of life. A significant proportion of patients is not diagnosed, and therefore not treated adequately. A short and reliable migraine screening tool could improve disease identification. ID-Migraine is a simple and reliable screening tool, originally developed in the United States, but also used in other countries and languages.To assess the performance of the ID-Migraine questionnaire on a Hungarian sample.Outpatients at the Headache Service, Department of Neurology, Semmelweis University completed the Hungarian version of ID-Migraine. The gold standard was the clinical diagnosis made by a headache specialist according to the ICHD criteria. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and the misclassification rate.305 patients  were enrolled. The diagnosis was migraine in 244, tension type headache in 37, cluster headache in 16 and other headaches in 8. The questionnaire's sensitivity was 0.95 and specificity was 0.56. The positive predictive value was 0.89 and the negative predictive value was 0.78. The misclassification rate was 0.13.The Hungarian version of ID-Migraine was easy to use and well accepted by patients. Its specificity was somewhat lower than that of the original questionnaire; its other measures of performance were similar to those of the original version and its existing Italian, Turkish and Portuguese translations. ID-Migraine seems to be a promising screening tool for migraine in the Hungarian population.No conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "J.C. is the American Heart Association (AHA) Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.The following grant number from the Telethon Foundation, Italy, to M.L.B. is missing from the Funding section: GGP12282. The complete, correct funding information is as follows: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ; and the Telethon Foundation, Italy (S07006TELA and GGP12282 to M.L.B.;"}
+{"text": "The complete declaration is as follows:In the letter \u201cInstruments for Assessing Risk of Bias and Other Methodological Criteria of Animal Studies: Omission of Well-Established Methods\u201d by Beck et al. [Environ Health Perspect 122:A66\u2013A67 (2014);\u2002http://www.ebtox.com). S. Hoffmann, J.R. Fowle III, and J. Goodman are consultants and have worked on a range of toxicity and risk assessment issues for a wide variety of clients. R.A. Becker and N.B. Beck are employed by the American Chemistry Council, a trade association of chemical manufacturers. A. Boobis, D. Fergusson, M. Lalu, and M. Leist are employed by institutes of higher education. In the past 3 years, A. Boobis and M. Leist have worked on a range of toxicity and risk assessment issues for a number of clients; this has included some consultancies.None of the authors received specific financial support or honorarium as compensation for developing this letter. Several authors are members of the Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC), and M.L. Stephens and S. Hoffmann serve as the secretariats for the North American and European EBTC Steering Committees, respectively, for which they are compensated for their time. The EBTC\u2019s overall aims are to improve toxicological decision making, facilitate the modernization of the toxicological toolbox, and reinvigorate the safety sciences (see The authors regret the error."}
+{"text": "AbstractAmphinemura Ris from China are described and illustrated, i.e. A. annulata Du & Ji, sp. n. from Zhejiang, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Guizhou Province, and A. lingulata Du & Wang, sp. n. from Shaanxi and Sichuan Province. A. annulata is similar to A. tricintusidens Wang & Zhu in having an apical cavity of the epiproct, but the epiproct ventral sclerite and the median paraproct lobe of the two species are different. A. lingulata is related to A. didyma Zhu & Yang in having the similar epiproct, but they differ mostly in paraproct median and outer lobes.Two new species of the genus  Amphinemurinae includes seven genera, i.e. PageBreakAmphinemura Ris, Indonemoura Baumann, Mesonemoura Baumann, Protonemura Kempny, Sphaeronemoura Shimizu & Sivec, Malenka Ricker and Tominemoura Sivec & Stark, and the first five genera were found in China. The genus Amphinemura is the largest genus of Amphinemurinae with more than 170 species from the Oriental and Holarctic Regions  in having the similar median and outer paraproct lobe. However, their epiprocts are markedly different. Amphinemura lingulata sp. n. is also similar to Amphinemura zhoui Li & Yang (2008b), Amphinemura helanshana Li, Mur\u00e1nyi & Yang (2013) and Amphinemura tibetensis Zhu & Yang (2003) in the epiproct with a pair of sclerotized small projections encasing each side of the tip, but their paraproct lobes are different obviously.This new species is related to Nemouridae, suggested seven species-groups for East Asian species of Amphinemura, i.e. the flavicollis group, theclavigera group, the spinigera group, the sagittata group, the flavostigma group, the pentagona group and themegaloba group, and arranged some Chinese species in these species-groups. However, only the flavostigma group and the megaloba group were subsequently published (Amphinemura will be needed considering the high number of species included.ublished , b. A reAmphinemura, including the two new species documented in this paper, were recorded in China. It can be expected that more Amphinemura species will be found in the future because China is across the Palaearctic and Oriental Region and features not yet faunistically explored areas with suitable resources for stoneflies. Additionally, studies focused on the biogeography, phylogeny and evolution are also needed to further understand the species diversity of Amphinemura.So far 74 species of"}
+{"text": "We examine differences in the careers of men and women Ph.D.s from two major European universities. Having performed regression analysis, we find that women are more likely than men to be employed in public administration when the alternatives are either academia or industry. Between the latter two alternatives, women are more likely to be employed in academia. These gender differences persist after accounting for Ph.D.s\u2019 and their supervisors\u2019 characteristics. Gender gaps are smaller for Ph.D.s with large research outputs and for those who conducted applied research. Restricting the analysis to Ph.D.s who pursued postdoc training, women are less likely than men to be employed in highly ranked universities, even after controlling for their research outputs. Finally, we find gender differences in Ph.D.s\u2019 appointment to professorship, which are explained by the Ph.D.s\u2019 publication output and the quality of their postdoc training. In the US and in Europe, the participation of women in science has increased over time . DespiteTo fill these gaps, we use detailed information about Ph.D.s in science and engineering from two major European universities, one located in Sweden and the other in Switzerland. The organization of these universities is very similar to that of other European institutes of technology, including the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the Eindhoven University of Technology, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. We have information about Ph.D.s\u2019 employment outcomes after graduation and whether they pursued careers in academia (including research centers), industry, or public administration (including schools and teaching colleges). This is an important distinction in light of the fact that, at least in the US, an increasing number of Ph.D.s are considering careers outside of academia ,13,14,15We find that women are more likely than men to be employed in public administration when the alternatives are either academia or industry. Moreover, they are more likely to be employed in academia than in industry. These differences persist after accounting for their publication outputs during their Ph.D., their involvement in applied projects, and their supervisors\u2019 characteristics. The gender gap in the probability of being employed in public administration disappears when we compare men and women with large publication outputs. The gender gap in the probability of being employed in industry remains when we compare men and women who participated in applied projects during their Ph.D. However, women involved in applied projects are more likely than women not involved in such projects to be employed in industry. When the sample of Ph.D.s who pursued postdoc training is considered, we find that women are less likely than men to be employed after graduation in highly ranked universities, even after controlling for their research outputs. Finally, we find gender differences in Ph.D.s\u2019 appointment to professorship. These differences are explained by the Ph.D.s\u2019 publication output and the quality of their postdoc training.This paper performs secondary analysis of publicly available data and received IRB exemption from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Even though the data is publicly available, we anonymized and de-identified Ph.D. student information in compliance with IRB regulations.To build our sample, we obtained complete lists of Ph.D.s who graduated from the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology  and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) from 1999 to 2009. These institutions share a number of characteristics: they are leading research institutions in their own countries, they focus on science and engineering, and they have extensive collaborations with the industrial sector . MoreoveFrom the initial population of Ph.D.s , we only retained those for whom we had complete information regarding their employment. We gathered this information through extensive searches on the Ph.D.s\u2019 websites, their supervisors\u2019 websites, their publicly available dissertations, and their LinkedIn profiles . The perForty-two percent of the Ph.D.s graduated in basic sciences  and the remaining in engineering. Eighty-four percent of them had only one supervisor assigned. For those with more than one supervisor assigned, we conducted extensive searches to identify their main supervisor . In termj = 1,2,3,\u2026,k,\u2026,M; Pr(yi = j|xi) is the probability that Ph.D. i attains employment category j, given xi; xi is a vector of covariates; and \u03b2j is a vector of coefficients pertaining to employment category j. In addition to a Ph.D.\u2019s gender, xi includes demographic variables of age and nationality. We distinguish between domestic and foreign students. Within the category of foreign students, we distinguish between foreign students from EU-15 countries and the remaining foreign students, given that Ph.D.s from outside the EU-15 face considerable limitations in their ability to work in Sweden or Switzerland. We also include an indicator for whether a student had worked prior to starting his or her Ph.D. We measure the research output of a Ph.D. with the number of research articles (including conference proceedings) that a student had published from enrollment to two years after graduation. By so doing, we take into account possible lags between the time a research project is completed and the time its results are published [Our initial research questions are: i) Are there gender differences in employment choices of Ph.D.s? and ii) Can such gender differences be explained by observable factors, with a specific focus on the students\u2019 Ph.D. training characteristics? To address these questions, we consider the following employment outcomes after graduation: academia, industry, and public administration. We thus estimate the following multinomial logit model:ublished . Moreovei\u2019s enrollment, whether he or she was granted patents during the same period, and was involved in European projects with companies. At both Chalmers and EPFL, European projects are an important component of the total collaborations that professors establish with industrial partners. One possible concern with our strategy is that men and women match with supervisors who have distinct characteristics. Hence, supervisors\u2019 controls may capture Ph.D.s\u2019 unobserved characteristics that are correlated with gender and not the impact of supervisor characteristics on the Ph.D.s.\u2019 career choices. Reassuringly, descriptive statistics presented in We include supervisor characteristics because these are likely to be correlated with a Ph.D.\u2019s training. Thus, we control for a supervisor\u2019s publication count in the five years prior to Ph.D. i\u2019s graduation cohort, which is defined as the count of students who graduated in year t in the same field as i [i in the job market [i. Additionally, we control for the availability of postdoc positions in the US, distinguishing between basic sciences and engineering, since many Ph.D.s pursue postdoc training in the US. This measure is defined as the difference between the number of postdocs hired by US universities in a given year and the number of US Ph.D.s who graduated in that year in the same field as Ph.D. i.We add graduation-year fixed effects, university-research field fixed effects , and measures for labor market conditions at graduation. As a measure for labor market supply, we use the size of Ph.D. eld as i . The fieb market . In the In the second part of the analysis, we restrict our attention to those 1,137 Ph.D.s who pursued, after their graduation, a postdoc training and address the following two questions: i) Are there gender differences in the Ph.D.s\u2019 likelihood of attaining positions in highly ranked universities (including research institutions)? ii) Are there gender differences in the hazard of appointment to professorship? By appointment to professorship we mean appointment to a position of assistant professor, which encompasses research as well as teaching duties. We thus exclude senior lecturers from the category of assistant professors because they tend to focus solely on teaching.i is enrolled as a postdoc in a highly ranked university:yi = 1|xi) is the probability that Ph.D. i received a postdoc training in a highly ranked university, given xi; xi is the same vector of covariates used in Eq , is modeled as:hj,0(t) is the baseline hazard; xi is a vector that contains the same covariates as in Eq where hWe begin by estimating Eq . We initj will occur rather than the base outcome, with the opposite being true for ratios less than one. Standard errors are clustered around Ph.D. supervisors. Employment outside of academia is the base outcome. We gradually introduce the aforementioned controls to assess whether and how these controls affect gender differences in Ph.D.s\u2019 employment attainments. Column I includes the gender indicator, Ph.D.s\u2019 demographic and predetermined characteristics, measures for labor market conditions at graduation, and fixed effects. As shown, women are more likely than men to be employed in academia, the coefficient of the female dummy being significant at the 10 percent confidence level.In As reported in It could be that female Ph.D.s are more likely to work in academia because they are less involved in applied projects during their training. We explore this possibility in column III, where we control for whether Ph.D.s participated in applied projects. We also include indicators for whether a supervisor was granted patents and collaborated with firms during his or her appointment. The indicator describing a Ph.D.\u2019s involvement in applied projects is a significant, negative predictor of a Ph.D.\u2019s probability of being employed in academia. With the inclusion of this control, the female dummy coefficient decreases slightly, as expected, but remains highly significant.j will occur rather than the base outcome, with the opposite being true for ratios less than one. Standard errors are clustered around Ph.D. supervisors. Employment in academia is the base outcome. Regression specifications in columns I and IV include the gender indicator, Ph.D.s\u2019 demographic and predetermined characteristics, measures for labor market conditions at graduation, and fixed effects. The results indicate that women are significantly more likely than men to work in public administration than academia or industry. Moreover, they are more likely to work in academia than they are in industry.In One reason why women are more likely to be employed in public administration could be that they are less productive. However, upon introducing a Ph.D.s\u2019 research output and the output of his or her supervisor (columns II and V), women remain more likely than men to work in public administration.Women could be less likely to work in industry relative to academia and public administration because they are less involved in applied projects. Having controlled for whether Ph.D.s participated in applied projects during their training and for whether their supervisors were granted patents and had collaborated with firms, the gender gap in industry employment remains statistically significant (columns III and VI).One possible concern with the estimates presented in Tables As an extension to the findings presented in In Panel B, we explore whether there are gender differences in the probability of working in industry relative to working academia or public administration, among Ph.D.s involved in applied projects. We use the same statistical model as in Panel A. We interact the gender variable with the indicator for whether Ph.D.s pursued applied projects. The base outcome is employment outside of industry. A test of the difference between the impact of women involved in applied projects and the impact of men involved in the same projects on the probability of working in industry rejects the null hypothesis that the difference is equal to zero . However, women involved in applied projects are more likely than women not involved in such projects to work in industry .Next, we take a closer look at those Ph.D.s who pursued postdoc training. We ask whether there are gender differences in their likelihood of pursuing postdoc positions in highly ranked universities after graduation (Eq ) and in The results from estimating Eq  are repot who have become assistant professors, but could have transitioned into any other occupation. Standard errors are clustered around Ph.D.s. In Panel A, we exclude from the covariates in Eq Click here for additional data file.S2 Tablei\u2019s enrollment in the doctoral program. Controls include Ph.D. demographic and predetermined characteristics, Ph.D. number of publications and involvement in applied projects, labor market characteristics at graduation, university-research field fixed effects, and graduation-year fixed effects.Coefficients are odds ratios. Ratios greater than one indicate that an increase in the regressor leads to a higher probability that a Ph.D. student is female, with the opposite being true for ratios less than one. Standard errors clustered around supervisors are in parentheses. Supervisor characteristics are measured during the 5 years prior to Ph.D. (DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S3 TableCoefficients are average marginal effects. Standard errors clustered around students from the same university-research field and graduation-year are in parentheses. *** p<0.01. Controls include labor market characteristics at graduation, university-research field fixed effects, and graduation-year fixed effects.(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S4 TableStandard errors clustered around students from the same university-research field and graduation-year are in parentheses. ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01. Controls include Ph.D. demographic and predetermined characteristics, Ph.D. number of publications and involvement in applied projects, supervisor characteristics, labor market characteristics at graduation, university-research field fixed effects, and graduation-year fixed effects. We report coefficient estimates with and without the Mills\u2019 ratio.(DOCX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Boiling heat transfer (BHT) is a particularly efficient heat transport method because of the latent heat associated with the process. However, the efficiency of BHT decreases significantly with increasing wall temperature when the critical heat flux (CHF) is reached. Graphene has received much recent research attention for applications in thermal engineering due to its large thermal conductivity. In this study, graphene films of various thicknesses were deposited on a heated surface, and enhancements of BHT and CHF were investigated via pool-boiling experiments. In contrast to the well-known surface effects, including improved wettability and liquid spreading due to micron- and nanometer-scale structures, nanometer-scale folded edges of graphene films provided a clue of BHT improvement and only the thermal conductivity of the graphene layer could explain the dependence of the CHF on the thickness. The large thermal conductivity of the graphene films inhibited the formation of hot spots, thereby increasing the CHF. Finally, the provided empirical model could be suitable for prediction of CHF. Following the demonstration by Geim and Novoselov23810et al.\u22121m\u22121 (at room temperature). Although the thermal conductivity of these graphene films is significantly smaller than has been reported for single graphene flakes, it remains larger than that of many other substrates, and hence graphene remains attractive for heat transfer applications. However, despite the favorable heat transport properties, little information about applications of graphene on thermal system is available. The characteristics of a heated surface, including the surface wettability1314161821Since graphene typically exists in the form of ultra-thin microscale flakes, much effort has been invested to synthesize large-area films that retain the properties of graphene. Jang Here, we report that thin graphene films on a heated surface may result in more efficient dissipation of heat in the lateral direction, which inhibits the formation of dry/hot spots during boiling, leading to an increase and CHF. The role of graphene films on the heated surface was investigated using infrared high-speed visualization of the boiling process. We found that the graphene layer led to an increase in the CHF via lateral heat transport, which inhibited the formation of hot/dry spots. Pool-boiling experiments were carried out in the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) pool-boiling experimental facility, which is illustrated in the schematic diagram shown in colloidV is the volume of the RGO flakes, A is the area of the film, \u03b4 is the thickness of the film, graphite\u03c1 is the density of the graphite, and colloid\u03c1 is the density of the RGO colloid. The filtered graphene film was transferred to the surface of the silicon heater  high-speed visualization  for 2 minutes during each step of the experiment. At large heat fluxes, the power supply was shut down when a sudden increase in the wall temperature was observed, which corresponded to the CHF.Prior to each experiment, deionized (DI) water was boiled for 1\u2005hour using a cartridge heater to degas the water. Two wires were soldered to each electrode to apply a voltage and measure the temperature using the correlation shown in All images of the infrared high-speed visualization were trimmed and processed using Matlab and Image J. Raw image data appeared too dark, and so nucleation could not be observed. Therefore, the brightness and contrast were adjusted for each experimental case; this adjustment did not result in a change in the recorded temperature. One- and two-dimensional data arrays of the temperature distribution were extracted for the selected domain to analyze the temperature distribution and the changes with time thereof. The overall temperature distribution, one-dimensional temperature profiles, and temperature plots were obtained from the extracted data.H.S.A. designed the experiments and all procedures, and was the main author of the paper. J.M.K. carried out the experiments, provided the figure artwork, performed the data analysis, and contributed some written material to the manuscript. T.J. K. assisted with the analysis of the graphene film. S.C.P., J.M.K. and D.I.Y. also carried out experiments, fabricated experimental apparatus, and acquired and interpreted the SEM and TEM data. Y.P. carried out the visualization experiments using the infrared camera and fabricated some of the experimental apparatus. K.W.H. analyzed the AFM data. H.J.J. assisted with the analysis of the surface characteristics and boiling performance. H.S.P. assisted in the analysis of the IR visualization. H.K. and M.H.K. equally directed the project. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the paper.Supplementary informationVideo clip of IR high-speed camera in real time"}
+{"text": "Dis. Model. Mech.8, 867-875.There was an error published in The spelling of an author name was given incorrectly as Melody J. Whitley. The correct spelling is given in the author list above.The authors apologise to readers for this error."}
+{"text": "The eighth author\u2019s name is spelled incorrectly. The correct name is Heidi St\u00f6ckl.There is an error in the fourth sentence of the penultimate paragraph in the Discussion section. The correct sentence is: Femicide was, for a long time, only addressed in Europe under the wider umbrella of violence against women. It gained greater research and public attention by European and global projects and institutions only in the last decade, under the COST Action IS1206 on Femicide, the EU Daphne Justice Programmes and addressed through ACUNS (Academic Council on the United Nations System) [44].This updated sentence cites a new reference, which is: Weil, S. \u201cFemicide in Europe\u201d. In: Dimitrijevic, M., Filip, A and Platzer M (eds) Femicide: a Global Issue that Demands Action. Taking Action against Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls, Vol. 4. Vienna: ACUNS; 2015. Pp.118-121."}
+{"text": "Winner: Dr. Jesse BloomRunner up: Dr. Alexander PlossViruses accepted nominations for a 2015 Young Investigator Prize in Virology. The target age was set at 40 and under. Over 50 nominations were received and were evaluated by a panel of judges comprised of Viruses editorial board members.With the goal of recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of virology by early-career investigators, last year Viruses Young Investigator Award.. Dr. Bloom received his Ph.D. with Dr. Frances Arnold and did postdoctoral training with Dr. David Baltimore, both at Caltech. Since 2011, he has been an Assistant Member in the Division of Basic Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Bloom\u2019s research combines experimental and computational approaches to study influenza virus, with a focus on developing a better understanding of the biophysical and immunological constraints and selection pressures that shape influenza virus evolution. A major strength of his research is to seamlessly integrate molecular virology, next-generation sequencing, and computational biology to ask critical questions about influenza virus evolution. A highlight of Dr. Bloom\u2019s postdoctoral research was an influential paper published in Science on the molecular basis for influenza virus resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu). More recently (ELife 2014), Dr. Bloom\u2019s lab demonstrated that the \u201chead\u201d of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein is highly tolerant of mutations. As the head of HA is the region of the protein that is targeted by antibodies, this finding sheds light on the remarkable ability of the influenza virus to escape the host immune response.I am pleased to announce Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, as the recipient of the 2015 Dr. Bloom has received a number of awards and honors, including a Searle Scholar Award and a Sloan Research Fellowship.When Dr. Bloom is not in the lab, he enjoys outdoor activities, such as running, hiking, and biking.Viruses conference, Viruses 2016\u2014At the Forefront of Virus-Host Interactions, to be held 26\u201328 January 2016, in Basel, Switzerland, http://sciforum.net/conference/viruses-2016.In addition to the cash prize and plaque, Dr. Bloom will be an invited speaker at the 2016 Because of the outstanding quality of the nominations received for this award, we are also pleased to announce a runner-up: Dr. Alexander Ploss from Princeton University. Dr. Ploss conducted his Ph.D. research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York in the lab of Dr. Eric Palmer and did postdoctoral research with Dr. Charlie Rice at the Rockefeller University. In 2009, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the Rockefeller University and in 2013 he became an Assistant Professor at Princeton University. Dr. Ploss\u2019s research is focused on addressing fundamental questions about hepatitis B and C virus infection using humanized mouse model systems. He is an author on over 60 scientific articles, many of which are published in high-impact journals. Dr. Ploss has received several honors and awards including the Astellas Young Investigator Award of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Liver Scholar Award of the American Liver Foundation.When not in the lab, Dr. Ploss is playing his violin, or, together with his wife, caring for their four young children.Viruses sponsored a competition for travel awards for two graduate students or postdoctoral fellows to attend meetings of their choice. The 2015 travel award winners are Dr. Kirsty Short, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Thijs Kuiken, Department of Viroscience, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Dr. Redmond Smyth, a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Roland Marquet, Institut de Biologie Mol\u00e9culaire et Cellulaire, Strasbourg, France.In addition to the Young Investigator Award, Viruses editorial staff and editorial board members, I wish to congratulate the four outstanding young virologists for their accomplishments.On behalf of the"}
+{"text": "Dr. Yuelong Ma is not included in the author byline. She should be listed as the sixth author and affiliated with Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA. The contributions of this author are as follows: Contributed reagents/materials/analysis/tools.Dr. Jun Xie is not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the seventh author and affiliated with Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA. The contributions of this author are as follows: Contributed reagents/materials/analysis/tools."}
+{"text": "Reason for Corrigendum:In the original article, the patients' names were inadvertently disclosed in the Supplementary Material. The Supplementary Files have since been updated to protect the patients' privacy. The authors apologize for this mistake.JY and XZ conceived and designed the experiments. XW and WL performed clinical detection in Sierra Leone. HL, PL, and DD performed and developed the RT-LAMP. YM, EL, PL, DD, DZ, LC, and XH performed the experiments. XZ wrote the manuscript. JY and XZ edited the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Laodelphax striatellus , occurs during the winter wheat harvest season in East Asia. Knowing the take-off time of emigrating L. striatellus is crucial for predicting such migrations with a simulation technique because winds, carriers of migratory insects, change continuously. Several methods were used in China and Japan from late May to early June 2012 and again in 2013 to identify the precise timing of take-off. These methods included: a tow net trap mounted to a pole at 10 m above the ground, a helicopter-towed net trap, and a canopy trap  set over wheat plants. Laodelphax striatellus emigrated from wheat fields mainly in the early evening, before dusk. The insects also emigrated during the daytime but rarely emigrated at dawn, showing a pattern that is unlike the bimodal emigration at dusk and dawn of two other rice planthoppers, the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (St\u00e5l), and the white-backed planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horv\u00e1th). There was no significant difference in the temporal pattern of take-off behavior between females and males of Japanese L. striatellus populations.Overseas migration of the small brown planthopper,  Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus) . The number of L. striatellus trapped in this study was found to be low at dawn. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown, and a further study is needed to know how low air temperatures and other factors affect L. striatellus\u2019s take-off at dawn in late May to early June, or other seasons as well.The bimodal take-off pattern of L. striatellus in the temperate zone of eastern China or Japan moves from a wheat host to rice plants, the population density of the subsequent one to two generations declines probably due to several factors, i.e., natural enemies, applied insecticides, and high temperatures in summer [L. striatellus emigration in summer in the temperate zone seems to be rather difficult to conduct. On the other hand, in Taiwan which is located in the subtropical region, harvest of the first crop of rice, an environmental disturbance causing emigration, is conducted in late June to mid-July and L. striatellus is one of the major pests in rice fields. Thus, investigation of L. striatellus emigration timing in summer might be more feasible in Taiwan.After n summer , 33. In L. striatellus in East Asia. Take-off times at dusk and dawn were used in a recent migration simulation model [A diurnal take-off pattern was used to predict overseas migration of on model . Based o"}
+{"text": "The congress was supported by Iranian Neurological Association under the auspicious of International Headache Society. 340 physicians and researchers participated in the congress among them Professor A. Rapoport, Professor R. Cowan, Professor H. Bolay, Dr. F. Maniyar, and Dr. H. Ansari were the international guests. The 4The congress was managed by Professor M. Togha and nicely supported by the president of the Neurological Association, Professor H. Pakdaman. The main aim of the congress was to familiarize neurologists and other specialists with the latest scientific achievements in the field of \u201cHeadache\u201d.The interesting characteristic of this congress was that abstracts and most of the full texts of lectures were available online on our website from the first day of the congress. In addition, the hard copies of the abstract were offered to the participants on registration. Accordingly, several scientific programs were held during 3 days. The programs were divided into the following five categories:1. Main LecturesTotally, 35 lectures were presented by headache specialists and physicians who were considered expert in a specific field related to primary or secondary headaches.Accordingly, we can refer to the basic lectures, like pathophysiology of migraine [CGRP ] presented by Professor A. Rapoport, and basic science  presented by Professor H. Bolay. Besides, different speeches on updates in the field of diagnosis and treatment of primary headaches were given, like non-cephalic migraine equivalents by Professor R. Cowan, optimizing treatment of acute migraine attack by Dr. F. Maniyar, and cluster headache by Dr. H. Ansari. Different speeches were offered on migraine variants, secondary headaches and related subjects such as metabolic headache by Professor M. Ghafarpoor; ictal epileptic headache by Professor M. Motamedi; migraine and vertigo by Professor M. Togha, and drug interactions in headache treatment by Dr. L. Kuti.2. Case PresentationThis part was one of the popular sections of the congress moderated by Dr. M. Nabavi, and five challenging cases were discussed in an interactive presentation.3. WorkshopsIn this section, two workshops were provided, in the first of which mainly younger neurologists were trained on techniques of botulinum toxin injection for chronic migraine; and the techniques of nerve blocks in headaches were touched in the second workshop. These workshops were nicely moderated by Dr. H. Ansari. 4. PanelsTwo panels were held during the congress. The first panel discussed different aspects of idiopathic intracranial hypertension and idiopathic intracranial hypotension, and the other one reviewed different unapproved but effective treatment modalities on headaches including migraine surgery, nutritional aspects on headache, the effect of exercise on headaches, and the suggestions of Iranian traditional medicine for headaches.5. Residents Scientific CompetitionThis was nicely conducted by Dr. A. Okhovat with cooperation of Dr. S. Ahmadi-Karvrigh and Dr. E. Hesami. In this part, the competition was between the selected neurology residents from 13 universities of different cities of Iran in the primary and final sections and the first, second and third winners were received valuable presents. The valuable assistance of Dr. S. Baghizadeh and Mr. H. Ghasemi and nice cooperation of Dr. H. Paknejad, Dr. A. Okhovat, Dr. S. Haghighi, Dr. N. Yamani, Dr. F. Vahabi, Dr. Advani, Dr. M. Ghafarpoor, A. Naser Moghadasi, S. Razeghi Jahromi and S. Habibi Moeini as well as, the other members of scientific and organizing committee had an important role in the better management of the congress.The headache congress could unquestionably play an important role in promoting the status of knowledge in the field of headache in Iran. The positive feedback from the attendees was a good sign of achievement to the goal of the congress that was the presentation of high-quality programs meet their expectations. Indeed, attendance of distinguished international headache specialist with the cooperation of International Headache Society, and Iranian esteemed neurologists as lecturers and the active participants from different parts of Iran in response to invitation from Iranian Headache Association contributed to establish a good relationship between the Iranian Headache Association and International Headache Society."}
+{"text": "The affiliation for the eighth author is incorrect. The correct affiliation for Erik T. Walbeehm is Dept. of Plastic Surgery, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands."}
+{"text": "Holcoglossum is a typical case. We investigated the phylogenetic utility of the morphological traits of leaf epidermis in the taxonomy of Holcoglossum s.l. by using light and scanning electron microscopy to analyze 38 samples representing 12 species of Holcoglossum, with five species from five closely related genera, such as Ascocentrum, Luisia, Papilionanthe, Rhynchostylis and Vanda. Our results indicated that Holcoglossum can be distinguished from the related genera based on cuticular wax characteristics, and the inclusion of Holcoglossum himalaicum in Holcoglossum is supported by the epidermis characteristics found by LM and SEM. The percentage of the tetracytic, brachyparacytic, and laterocytic stomata types as well as the stomata index and certain combinations of special wax types support infrageneric clades and phylogenetic relationships that have been inferred from molecular data. Laterocytic and polarcytic stomata are perhaps ecological adaptations to the strong winds and ample rains in the alpine region of the Hengduanshan Mountains.Determining the generic delimitations within Aeridinae has been a significant issue in the taxonomy of Orchidaceae, and  Holcoglossum Schltr. is such an example Holcoglossum  is comprised of approximately 17 species ranging from Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and northeastern Yunnan, and eight of which are endemic to China Vanda-Aerides\u201d alliance, which includes Aerides, Ascocentrum, Ascolabium, Holcoglossum, Neofinetia, Papilionanthe, Penkimia, Seidenfadenia and VandaHolcoglossum and its alliances. However, several different taxonomic treatments have been proposed based on molecular phylogenetic research Holcoglossum s.l., including 14 species of Holcoglossum s.s., and three species from its alliance, including Ascocentrum himalaicum  Christenson, Ascolabium pumilum (Hayata) Schltr., and Penkimia nagalandensis Phukan & Odyuo Determining the generic delimitations within orchid subtribe Aeridinae is difficult and has been considered a \u201cblack pit\u201d Holcoglossum, several perspectives exist on the infrageneric taxonomy of this genus Holcoglossum into two sections based on the flower number per inflorescence and plant form. Jin H. omeiense X. H. Jin & S. C. Chen, H. lingulatum (Averyanov) Averyanov, H. wangii Christenson and H. kimballianum (Rchb. f.) Garay in H. sect. Holcoglossum, share similar habits and floral characteristics, including a crested callus and long spur, are grouped into more distant clades in phylograms in molecular phylogenetic studies. The search for morphological synapomorphies for each monophyletic clade has been problematic because of widespread homoplasy In addition to debates on the generic delimitation of Neofinetia and Holcoglossum have porate pollinia, whereas Vanda, Rhyncostylis, Aerides and Trudelia have cleft pollinia In an attempt to overcome these difficulties, previously underexplored morphological characteristics are now being studied in more depth, such as characteristics of pollinia and leaf epidermis. Although pollinia characteristics (number and aperture) are largely homoplasious for Aeridinae in total, they are often useful at the generic and/or infrageneric level. For instance, Holcoglossum and its relatives is the perigenous, which is similar to most of Orchidaceae, and tetracytic type of stomata  is the most popular stomatotype Holcoglossum is a natural group suggested by molecular phylogenetic studies Holcoglossum. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the characteristics of mature leaf epidermis can provide additional taxonomic and phylogenetic information for the genus Holcoglossum and the infrageneric clades that have been suggested by recent results of molecular phylogenetics.Recent studies have indicated that the ontogeny of stomata in Holcoglossum infrageneric clades mentioned below includes three clades from Xiang et al. H. amesianum (Rchb. f.) Christenson, H. subulifolium (Rchb. f.) Christenson, H. wangii, H. kimballianum, H. nagalandense (Phukan & Odyuo) X.H. Jin, and H. himalaicum  Aver.), AC  Z.H. Tsi, H. rupestre (Hand.-Mazz.) Garay, H. sinicum Christenson, H. weixiense X.H. Jin & S.C. Chen, H. tsii T. Yukawa and H. nujiangense X.H. Jin & S.C. Chen), and HC  Schltr., and H. pumilum (Hayata) X.H. Jin).The leaf epidermal characteristics are listed in Holcoglossum, the shape is hexagonal in the TC clade, quadrilateral to hexagonal in the HC clade and H. flavescens of the AC clade, and quadrilateral in all of the other species of the AC clade  surface are more distinct than those of the adaxial (Ad) surface. Flat rodlets on the abaxial surface of the leaves and threads are only found in  samples . In the  surface ; threads surface ; dense p surface ; and spa surface . Trichom C. Chen  and secrHolcoglossum, Rhynchostylis retusa (L.) Bl. and Ascocentrum ampullaceum (Roxb.) Schltr., although rare stomata are present on the Ad surface of H. omeiense, H. lingulatum and A. ampullaceum (Vanda pumila Hook. f. (Papilionanthe biswasiana (Ghose et Mukerjee) Garay and Luisia magniflora, stomata are presented on the entire leaf surface because of its terete leaf  is mainly found in the AC and HC clades and scarcely found in the TC clade of genus oglossum . StomataThe guard cells are on the same level with the epidermis in the TC clade, are above the epidermis in the AC clade and at a medium level in the HC clade .A. ampullaceum, H. lingulatum, and H. flavescens and Ad surface of H. weixiense and the stephanocytic type on both surfaces of H. flavescens. H. rupestre, and P. biswasiana and Ab surface of H. lingulatum. The determination of the extent of the variability, the predominant stomatotype and the proportion of these types is required so that the stomatal characteristics can be properly correlated with other characteristics, which would be useful for classification purposes The stomata on a single leaf conform to several types, including tetracytic, paracytic, laterocytic or polarcytic. Other very rare stomatotypes found in several species are not included in the total of the stomatotypes; these stomatotypes include the hexacytic on the Ab surface of Holcoglossum, the tetracytic type is present in all of the samples except on the Ab surface of H. nujiangense and H. weixiense. This type has value scopes on the Ab surface of 31.1\u201368.6% in TC, 0\u20139.1% in AC and 8.4\u201311.5% in HC. The brachyparacytic type on the Ab surface has similar value scopes, with 20.0\u201338.4% in TC, 0\u20133.8% in AC and 3.4\u20139.8% in HC. The laterocytic type on the Ab surface has a reverse tendency with 12.9\u201328.6% in TC, 27.9\u201332.2% in HC, and 30.0\u201371.4% in AC  and the latter two in the HC clade (4.0%\u20134.3%).The scope of the stomatal index is 0\u20137.5%/0.7%\u20137.5% (Ad/Ab). The stomatal index on the Ab surface is divided into two groups, and Holcoglossum from its relatives and define infrageneric clades that are recognized in molecular studies Holcoglossum. Our results lend support to the broad taxonomic treatment of Holcoglossum with infrageneric systems. Our results indicate that stomatal and other epidermal features in the Ab surface of the leaves are constant within species and represent good characteristics for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies.In this study, we found that the wax type is a useful taxonomic characteristic that can distinguish Holcoglossum has an obvious infrageneric evolutionary tendency, with the percentage of the tetracytic and brachyparacytic types decreasing in the direction of TC>HC>AC, although there are small intersections between HC and AC clades, whereas the percentage of the laterocytic type is in the reverse order with the highest value in the AC clade , and then dehydrated in an ethanol series before being mounted in Canada balsam. To verify the constancy of the epidermal structure, at least five slides were assembled from different parts of a single leaf for each sample. Because of the difficulty in controlling the time of maceration in 35% NaClO for all of the species of the AC clades, The stomatal terminology is consistent with that of Carpenter Table S1Source of materials.(DOC)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Dr. Karen S. Poksay is not included in the author byline. She should be listed as the seventh author and affiliated with Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, United States of America. The contributions of this author are as follows: Performed the experiments.Dr. David T. Madden is not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the eighth author and affiliated with College of Pharmacy, Touro University California, Vallejo, California, United States of America. The contributions of this author are as follows: Analyzed the data and contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools."}
+{"text": "The original version of this article  unfortunSLG was supported by an RCUK Fellowship awarded to Professor Grierson, and by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham. M. Bakkali wishes to thank the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci\u00f3n for the BFU2010-16438 and the Ram\u00f3n y Cajal fellowship.We thank F. Perfectti and J. M. G\u00f3mez at the Universidad de Granada, M. Kawata and S. Chiba at the Tohoku University, J. Brookfield and the late B. Clarke, FRS at the University of Nottingham for critical review of the manuscript; T. Miyashita at the Tokyo University, M. Schilthuizen at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden and R. G. Gillespie at the University of California, Berkeley for fruitful discussions; G. Bowden and T. Sexton for assistance with sample collection; J. Ellis, C. Martin, S. Aitkin, J. Black, A. Hindmarsh and the late K. Corbett from the Attenborough Nature Reserve for helping to coordinate fieldwork; the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and CEMEX for permission to collect samples. This work was supported by research fellowships from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Daiwa Foundation, Japan."}
+{"text": "May 5, 2015, marks the 17th annual observance of World Asthma Day and the kickoff to Asthma Awareness Month. Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States. One in 14 Americans lives with asthma,Although asthma cannot be cured, it is possible to manage asthma successfully to reduce and prevent asthma attacks, or episodes. Successful asthma management includes knowing the warning signs of an attack, avoiding things that can trigger an attack, and following the advice of a health care provider.#AsthmaChat2015 in chat messages. No registration is required.Members of the public can join experts from CDC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, May 5, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, for a TwitterChat about asthma, common asthma triggers, and how to create an asthma action plan. To join the moderated conversation, follow @CDCEnvironment on Twitter and use the hashtag http://www.cdc.gov/asthma.More information about CDC\u2019s National Asthma Control Program and its public and private partners is available at"}
+{"text": "T. b. rhodesiense showing few signs of morbidity, yet posing a significant risk to human health. It is important to understand the relationship between infected cattle and infected individuals so that an appropriate response can be made to the risk posed to the community from animals infected with human pathogens in a village setting.Uganda has active foci of both chronic and acute HAT with the acute zoonotic form of disease classically considered to be restricted to southeast Uganda, while the focus of the chronic form of HAT was confined to the northwest of the country. Acute HAT has however been migrating from its traditional disease focus, spreading rapidly to new districts, a spread linked to movement of infected cattle following restocking. Cattle act as long-term reservoirs of human infective T. b. rhodesiense infection and human infective and non-human T. brucei s.l. circulating in cattle at village level in Kaberamaido and Dokolo Districts, Uganda. The study was undertaken in villages that had reported a case of sleeping sickness in the six months prior to sample collection and those villages that had never reported a case of sleeping sickness.This paper examines the relationship between human T. brucei s.l. . Cattle age had a significant effect (p<0.001) on the likelihood of T. brucei s.l. infection within cattle: cattle between 18\u201336 months  and cattle over 36 months  had significantly higher odds of T. brucei s. l. infection than cattle under 18 months of age. Furthermore, village human sleeping sickness status had a significant effect (p<0.05) on the detection of T. b. rhodesiense in the village cattle herd, with significantly higher likelihood of T. b. rhodesiense in the village cattle of case villages . Overall a higher than average T. brucei s.l. prevalence (>16.3%) in a village herd over was associated with significantly higher likelihood of T. b. rhodesiense being detected in a herd .The sleeping sickness status of the villages had a significant effect with higher odds of infection in cattle from case than from non-case villages for  T.b. rhodesiense HAT. In a survey of cattle in Ugandan villages; six that had a reported HAT case in the previous six months, and six which did not, an association was detected between presence of HAT in a village and infection of village cattle with human infective parasites. Village HAT status was significant (p<0.05) for detection of T.b. rhodesiense in the village herd, with significantly greater likelihood of T.b. rhodesiense in herds from case villages . T. brucei s.l. prevalence of over 16.3% in cattle was associated with significantly greater likelihood of T.b. rhodesiense infection within the herd . Cattle age had a significant effect (p<0.001) on the likelihood of a T. brucei s.l. infection: cattle between 18\u201336 months  and over 36 months  had significantly higher rates of T. brucei s.l. than animals under 18 months of age. Cattle are long-term reservoirs of T.b. rhodesiense that will outlive control strategies that do not directly eliminate parasite infection. T.b. rhodesiense and/or elevated T. brucei s.l. prevalence in village herds can serve as an indicator for HAT risk.Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a fatal parasitic disease of humans. Domestic cattle act as reservoirs for  Trypanosoma congolense, T. vivax and T. brucei s.l., with the former two species being more pathogenic T. brucei s.l.; the chronic form of HAT, caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, is found in western and central Africa, with the acute form of the disease, caused by T. b. rhodesiense, found in east and southern Africa T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense have given rise to large scale epidemics claiming many thousands of lives Tsetse transmitted trypanosomiasis contributes a significant burden for both human and animal disease across tsetse infested Sub-Saharan Africa. African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT), manifests as a spectrum of diseases, most commonly caused by T. b. rhodesiense and parasites that cause AAT. Movement of such cattle has introduced parasites to districts formerly free of human disease but where tsetse are present and able to transmit disease. In Tororo District 23% of cattle were found to be infected with T. b. rhodesienseUganda has active foci of both chronic and acute HAT within its borders. Until recently the acute form was confined to southeast Uganda, while the focus of the chronic form was confined to the northwest of the country. In recent years the two disease foci have been converging and in 2005 were separated by only 150 kmT. b. rhodesiense areas At the start of the outbreak in this previously unaffected area, HAT cases were clustered around the local cattle market, which was trading a high proportion of cattle sourced from endemic T. b. rhodesienseSince the first human cases were detected in Soroti in 2001, cases of Rhodesian sleeping spread to neighbouring districts; >500 cases have been reported from Kaberamaido District and the neighbouring Dokolo District since 2004. Analysis of the spatial distribution of HAT cases within the newly affected districts of Dokolo and Kaberamaido showed that proximity to a cattle market was a significant risk factor for human infection with T. b. rhodesiense in cattle in order to provide an indicator of risk to the human population in the affected districts, as well as to permit appraisal of the risk of the disease spreading to neighbouring districts. To examine the prevalence and distribution of T. brucei s.l. (both of non-human infective T. b. brucei and human infective T. b. rhodesiense) in village cattle, samples were taken from villages that had reported a case of sleeping sickness in the six months before sample collection (defined as case villages) and from those that had never reported a case of sleeping sickness (defined as non-case villages). This approach allowed a comparison of T. brucei s.l. prevalence and presence or absence of T. b. rhodesiense in cattle between case and non-case villages.This study aims to investigate the extent of the reservoir of human infective Two hospitals, Serere hospital in Soroti and Lwala hospital in Kaberamaido, were equipped to diagnose and treat cases of sleeping sickness from across the study area comprising Apac, Dokolo, Kaberamaido and Lira see . All diaVillage cattle were sampled at three case village sites and three non-case village sites each in Kaberamaido and Dokolo Districts . The sixIn addition to the 12 study villages from Kaberamaido and Dokolo, cattle from 4 further villages of interest were sampled. An additional case village was selected in Aloi sub-county, Lira District (village L1), the sub-county furthest to the north in Lira District to report HAT cases in 2005. In Apac District village cattle were sampled from the only village that had reported a case of sleeping sickness , with adjustment for the village cluster design Geographic coordinates of each sampling site were recorded using a hand held Global Positioning System  to allow mapping of their exact location .Blood was drawn from the ear vein of each sampled animal into heparinised capillary tubes and applied immediately onto an FTA card . FTA cards were left to dry and placed together with desiccant in airtight multi-barrier pouches .Additional information recorded for each animal sampled included cattle breed, age, sex and body condition category.T. brucei s. l. T. brucei s. l., were further tested by PCR specific for the human infective subspecies T.b. rhodesienseFive 3 mm discs were punched from each blood sample and processed in preparation for PCR as previously described T. brucei s. l. as detected by PCR was expressed as a percentage, and exact binomial 95% confidence intervals were computed . All further statistical analysis (uni- and multivariable mixed models) was restricted to the 12 study villages  in Kaberamaido and Dokolo. The effect of the study design was estimated by including village herd as a random effect in a model without fixed effect predictors, and the percentage of total variance occurring at the level of the random effect was estimated using the latent variable approach Prevalence of T. brucei s. l. infection were initially examined at the univariate level including village herd as a random effect, followed by step-wise forward construction of a multivariable level mixed model, considering any factor significant at the 80% level (p\u22640.2) in the univariable analysis. Factors significant at the 95% level (p\u22640.05) were retained in the multivariable mixed model. A final mixed effect model with village as random effect, to account for village level variation, and cattle age, cattle condition category and case/non-case status of each village as fixed effects was constructed.The effect of cattle age group, condition category , gender , breed , village administrative district (binary variable: Kaberamaido/Dokolo) and village sleeping sickness status (binary variable: case/non-case) on the odds of T. b. rhodesiense was of interest at the village herd level, the village herd was used as the epidemiological unit for analysis. District, village sleeping sickness status (binary variable: case/ non-case status), herd age structure, herd condition category (binary variable: less/ more than 10% of herd in poor condition), herd age structure (binary variable: less/ more than 20% of herd in youngest age category) were investigated using univariable logistic regression. Apart from sleeping sickness status, no variable was significant at the 80% level, thus no multivariable model was constructed.Since presence of T. brucei s. l., as detected by PCR . Across all the villages sampled, fifteen of the animals that were observed to be infected with T. brucei s.l were harbouring T. b. rhodesiense human infective parasites . The number of T. brucei s. l. and T. b. rhodesiense positive samples across the 12 study villages within the main sleeping sickness focus in Kaberamaido and Dokolo, as well as the 4 additional villages of interest from Lira and Apac are shown in In total 1428 cattle were sampled from 16 villages and of these, 221 were infected with T. brucei s. l. infection and modeled as univariable fixed effect (with village herd included as the random effect) considered for inclusion in the multivariable mixed effect model is shown in T. brucei s. l. infection. Cattle between 18\u201336 months  and cattle over 36 months  showed significantly higher odds of T. brucei s. l. infection than did younger cattle that were under 18 months of age. Condition score was also considered as a variable for inclusion in the multivariable mixed effect model . Cattle in moderate condition also had lower odds of having a T. brucei s. l. infection detected than cattle in poor condition but this was not statistically significant .The effect of individual risk factors on the odds of Village sleeping sickness status (p<0.01), cattle age (p<0.001) and cattle condition score (p<0.05) were retained as fixed effects in the final multivariable model for the 12 study villages in Dokolo and Kaberamaido  .Amongst the 12 study villages in Kaberamaido and Dokolo, village sleeping sickness status had a significant effect on the detection of T. brucei s. l. prevalence within the village herd of more than 16.3%, was also associated with significantly higher odds of T. b. rhodesiense being detected in the respective herd . No other variable was significant at the 80% level. Due to the high degree of co-linearity between sleeping sickness status of the village and higher than average T. brucei s. l. prevalence  showed only a moderate prevalence of s.l. see , T. b. rT. brucei s.l. prevalence in the two non-case villages (A1 and A2) sampled in Apac was low at under 4% in both villages and no T. b. rhodesiense was detected. However, a high prevalence of T. brucei s.l. was observed in the case village herd  was observed to be as high or higher than the prevalence detected in case villages in Kaberamaido and Dokolo that is indicative of HAT risk.Mapping of reported cases has shown a continued northward spread of the disease within Dokolo and Lira District and in the summer of 2006 the first case of sleeping sickness was reported from Apac District rd A3 in  in Apac T. brucei s. l. in a village herd, the likelihood of detecting T. b. rhodesiense and the status of the village as a sleeping sickness case village. This could provide a useful means of determining risk at village or parish level in endemic districts in Uganda. A high village level prevalence of T. brucei s.l. could be used to predict risk for human infection and justify herd level chemotherapy to remove circulating human infective  parasites from the herd, given the specificity and sensitivity of molecular tools that are available for diagnosis of T. brucei s.l. The present study showed a strong association between high levels of It is clear from the close link between animal and human infection at village level that any sustainable intervention against sleeping sickness should be targeted and sustained at local community level. Control of infection in the animal reservoir through appropriate veterinary intervention with effective cross talk between relevant Ministries could realise the value of a One Health Approach for zoonotic disease control"}
+{"text": "Reason for Erratum:Due to a typesetting error, in the Results section, values were reported incorrectly in the second paragraph of subsection Experience of Reactance.F = 3.87, should read as: F = 3.84.The publisher apologizes for this mistake. This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The original article was updated."}
+{"text": "The dramatic success of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in African countries has been countered by the rapid development of pyrethroid resistance in vector mosquitoes over the past decade. One advantage of the use of pyrethroids in ITNs is their excito-repellency. Use of the excito-repellency of pyrethroids might be biorational, since such repellency will not induce or delay the development of any physiological resistance. However, little is known about the relationship between the mode of insecticide resistance and excito-repellency in pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes.An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis, and An. funestus s.s., and laboratory colonies of An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis. The contact repellency to pyrethroids or permethrin-impregnated LLINs (Olyset\u00ae Nets) was evaluated with a simple choice test modified by WHO test tubes and with the test modified by the WHO cone bioassay test.Differences in the reactions of 3 major malaria vectors in western Kenya to pyrethroids were compared in laboratory tests. Adult susceptibility tests were performed using World Health Organization (WHO) test tube kits for F1 progenies of field-collected An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis, and An. funestus s.s. showed high resistance to both permethrin and deltamethrin. The allelic frequency of the point mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel (L1014S) in An. gambiae s.s. was 99.3\u2013100%, while no point mutations were detected in the other 2 species. The frequency of takeoffs from the pyrethroid-treated surface and the flying times without contacting the surface increased significantly in pyrethroid-susceptible An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis colonies and wild An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.s. colonies, while there was no significant increase in the frequency of takeoffs or flying time in the An. gambiae s.s. wild colony.Field-collected An. gambiae s.s. than in An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.s. It might be that resistant mosquitoes governed by knockdown resistance (kdr) loose repellency to pyrethroids, whereas those lacking kdr maintain high repellency irrespective of their possessing metabolic resistance factors to pyrethroids. Further genetic evaluation is required for the demonstration of the above hypothesis.A different repellent reaction was observed in the field-collected  Pyrethroids are the predominant insecticides and are used in various formulations for mosquito control. Globally, pyrethroids comprise 40% of the insecticides used annually for indoor residual spraying against malaria vectors. Since tkdr). The second is metabolic resistance that relates to the elevated activity of 1 or more detoxification enzymes . The distribution patterns of the types of point mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels in African malaria vectors are unique[Anopheles gambiae Giles (An. gambiae sensu stricto [s.s.]). L1014F mutations are widespread in western African countries, L1014S mutations are distributed in eastern Africa, and L1014F/L1014S hybrids in An. gambiae s.s. are reported in the central region. In contrast, such kdr mutations do not seem to be common in An. arabiensis Patton. One plausible explanation for such a species-dependent difference in host feeding activities under LLIN use might be the difference in the repellency to pyrethroids observed in the present report. The historical population decline of An. gambiae s.s. reported by Bayoh et al.[An. gambiae s.s. population. Anopheles gambiae s.s. might have not changed its characteristics as a \u201cmidnight feeder\u201d because of the lack of repellency despite the existence of LLINs, and it still has to rely on the limited human blood sources, most of which are protected by LLINs, resulting in the decline in their population size.Chandre et al. and Corbm (>90%). Recentlh et al. might alAn. gambiae s.s. than in An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.s. It might be that resistant mosquitoes governed by knockdown resistance (kdr) loose repellency to pyrethroids, whereas those lacking kdr maintain high repellency irrespective of their possessing metabolic resistance factors to pyrethroids. The comparative studies of the repellency of mosquitoes have mainly studied kdr, and those studying enhanced metabolic factors have been unexpectedly few. Further genetic evaluation should be required to demonstrate the above hypothesis.A different repellent reaction was observed in the field-collected The authors declare that they have no competing interests.HK and KO designed the study, carried out the experiments, and drafted the manuscript. GOD and GS arranged the field studies, obtained informed consents from the participants for the study, and organized the staff for the experiments. SMN, CM, and NM critically revised the protocol for the study. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "In spite of the numerous prostate cancer (CaP) intervention programmes that have been implemented to address the disparities experienced by black men, CaP prevention, risk reduction, and early detection behaviours remain low among black men. The lack of formal theoretical frameworks to guide the development and implementation of interventions has been recognised as one of the primary reasons for the failure of health interventions. Members of the Florida Prostate Cancer Health Disparity (CaPHD) group employed the Personal Model of Prostate Cancer Disparity (PIPCaD) model and the Health Communication Process Model to plan, implement, and evaluate an intervention programme, the \u2018Working through Outreach to Reduce Disparity (W.O.R.D. on Prostate Cancer)\u2019 video for black men. The location for the video was in a barbershop, a popular setting for the targeted group. The video starred CaP survivors, CaP advocates, a radio personality, and barbers. In addition, remarks were provided by a CaP scientist, a urologist, a CaP advocate, a former legislator, and a minister.The W.O.R.D. video was developed to assist black men in meeting the Healthy People 2020 goal for the United States of America. The efficacy of the W.O.R.D. video was successfully established among 143 black men in Florida. Exposure to the video was found to statistically increase CaP knowledge and intention to participate in CaP screening. Furthermore, exposure to the video statistically decreased participants\u2019 perception of the number of factors contributing to decision, uncertainty about CaP screening. Participants were highly satisfied with the video content and rated the quality of the video to be very good. Participants also rated the video as credible, informative, useful, relevant, understandable, not too time consuming, clear, and interesting. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that there will be about 233,000 new cases of prostate cancer (CaP) in the United States (US) in 2014, and about 29,480 men will die from the disease [The personal factors of black men that have been linked to CaP disparity include low CaP knowledge \u20137, low Chttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74NPk6u_wcw), a prostate cancer education video, designed to close the CaP disparities gap between black men and white men.Based on over 10 years of research, the Florida Prostate Cancer Health Disparity Research (CaPHDR) group developed a Personal Integrative Model of Prostate Cancer Disparity (PIPCaD) for black men \u20136, 19\u201323In line with our long-term goal of improving prostate health in minority, rural, and under-served communities, the W.O.R.D video focuses on explaining the risk factors for CaP, how to reduce the risk for CaP, and informed decision making about CaP screening. The W.O.R.D video addressed the limitations of previous CaP intervention programmes for black men using two innovative strategies. The first strategy was the use of a theoretical framework, the PIPCaD model, to plan and develop a video. The PIPCaD model provided information on the behavioural factors to target the CaP education intervention, including: attitude, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, cues to action, knowledge, and perceived behavioural control. The CaP screening facilitators and deterrents targeted are summarised in The second strategy is the use of the Health Communication Process Model  to ensurThe primary goal of this study was to develop a video intervention that will improve the prostate health behaviour of black men. To accomplish this goal, the study objectives were to:Develop a culturally relevant CaP education intervention, the W.O.R.D video, for black men based on the PIPCaD model.Evaluate participants\u2019 general assessment of the W.O.R.D video, including satisfaction with and perceived quality of the video.Establish the efficacy of the W.O.R.D video in improving users\u2019 CaP knowledge and CaP screening intention as well as reducing decisional conflict about CaP screening.The intervention programme was based on the PIPCaD model, which provided the understanding on the needs and perceptions of black men. The strategy statement for the intervention programme see  was deveThe primary intervention channel for the W.O.R.D programme is the video. Video has been found to be one of the most effective channels for educating black men , 26. It The intervention sources were primarily characters that black men can relate to and included: (1) Malik, the barber, a young black man; (2) Mr King, a 62-year-old customer, on his way to get his first prostate check-up; (3) Andre, an older customer, who has been screened regularly for years; (4) Quincy, a mid-40s customer with a comedic personality; (5) Chuck, a CaP survivor; and (6) set extras who were barbers and young customers.The modifiable variables targeted for the intervention message were: (1) perceived behavioural control; (2) perceived susceptibility to CaP; (3) perceived severity of CaP; and (4) cues to action. A video and multimedia company was hired to produce and direct the video, including pre-production meetings and correspondence with the research team, which included CaP survivors; scriptwriting; video production planning; video shoot of all scenes; and post-production, including editing into final video sequences for website and Digital Video Disc (DVD). The storyline for the script was that Quincy (a black man in his mid-40s) becomes aware of the importance of CaP prevention and having a consultation with a physician for informed decision on screening, and finally decides to discuss it with his doctor after a lively conversation with his friends at a barbershop. A knowledgeable friend and a CaP survivor share key information with Quincy, the barbers, and other customers. While the storyline was anchored on humor, it highlighted specific messages on risk reduction and early detection of CaP. At the end of the video, the CaP message was reinforced by scrolling on the screen and simultaneously announcing information about the CaP risk factors, specific steps that can be taken to reduce an individual\u2019s risk for cancer, the pros and cons of CaP screening, and how to make an informed decision about CaP screening.The study was a pre-, post-test research design, exploring the impact of the W.O.R.D video on the following variables: CaP knowledge, CaP screening intention, and decisional conflict. These three variables were selected as the study variables because they have been found to impact CaP risk reduction and screening behaviours \u201310. TablThe study setting for this project was Alachua and Orange counties in Florida. The inclusion criteria were black men, age 35 and above, regardless of CaP history. Men who were not black men of African ancestry and who were unable to speak English were excluded from participating in the study. Participants were recruited at health forums and community outreach events, including the African American Men\u2019s Summit in Orlando, the Men\u2019s Health Expo in Gainesville, and the University of Florida mobile health clinics in Gainesville. Participants were recruited by undergraduate research assistants, including the University of Florida-Florida A&M University ReTOOL students as part of their CaP research training experience. The research assistants approached black men at these events and asked if they would like more information about the study or have any questions about participating in the study. Only the men who indicated an interest in participating in the study were included after verbal consent.Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for the project was received on 29 March 2012. Subsequently, data were collected prospectively from participants between 1 April 2012 and 16 June 2012. Data collection included the following three steps:Step 1: Participants completed a self-administered pre-test survey measuring CaP knowledge, CaP screening intention, decisional conflict, medical access information, and demographic information.Step 2: Participants viewed the W.O.R.D video. The video was viewed in groups of 5\u201310 depending on the study site.Step 3: Following the viewing of the W.O.R.D video, participants completed a self-administered post-test survey measuring CaP knowledge, CaP screening intention, decisional conflict, satisfaction with the W.O.R.D video, perceived quality of the W.O.R.D video, and general assessment of the W.O.R.D video.The survey instructions noted that participants may choose not to answer all of the survey questions and they may withdraw from the study at any time. During data collection, participants who asked for assistance in completing the survey, mostly due to difficulty in reading, were assigned a research assistant to assist them in completing the survey. A US$10\u201315 Wal-Mart gift card was provided to all participants as an incentive for their participation.The survey data were coded and stored in a Microsoft (MS) Excel database. Subsequently, Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PC-SAS) analytical software was employed for data cleaning and analyses. Frequency analysis was first conducted to confirm that the responses were appropriately entered and to correct any errors. The statistical analyses included: internal consistency of the study scales to establish the reliability of the measures; descriptive statistics to summarise socio-demographic, and study variables; and T-test analyses to check the changes in key study variables between pre- and post-intervention exposure.Our primary goal was to develop an education intervention programme that will improve the prostate health behaviour of black men and establish the efficacy of the programme. Based on the Health Communication Process , we accohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74NPk6u_wcw). The final version of the W.O.R.D video was produced on 28 February 2012. Two versions of the video were produced. The full version is about 25 minutes long and the short version is about 14 minutes long. The short version is hosted on YouTube  it iStudent\u2019s T-test analysis was conducted to compare the differences between the means of the pre-test scores and post-test scores on CaP knowledge, intention to screen for CaP, decision uncertainty and uncertain factors after the intervention exposure. A summary of the T-test results is provided in Black men were the only racial group that did not meet the CaP Healthy People 2010 goal for the US to reduce the CaP death rate to 28.8 deaths per 100,000 males by 2010 . BetweenThe W.O.R.D. video was developed to assist black men in meeting the Healthy People 2020 goal for the USA. The efficacy of the W.O.R.D. video was successfully established among 143 black men in Florida. Exposure to the W.O.R.D. video was found to statistically increase CaP knowledge and intention to participate in CaP screening. Furthermore, exposure to the W.O.R.D. video statistically decreased participants\u2019 perception of the number of factors contributing to decision uncertainty about CaP screening. Participants were highly satisfied with the video content and rated the quality of the video to be very good. Participants also rated the video as credible, informative, useful, relevant, understandable, not too time consuming, clear, and interesting.It is important to note that the benefits of CaP screening for the general population remain controversial. However, given the disproportionate burden of CaP in black men and the lack of clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of screening in black populations, the only strategy we currently have to combat CaP disparity for black men is the early detection of CaP. The W.O.R.D. video promotes informed decision making by black men, listing the pros and cons of CaP screening.This project only focused on the short-term impact of the W.O.R.D. video, focusing on its efficacy and not the effectiveness in real life settings. The next step would be to assess the effectiveness and uptake of the intervention. While there are several advantages to providing CaP education at barbershops, as pointed out above, it is important to note that this cannot serve as a surrogate to talking with a healthcare provider. The W.O.R.D. video intervention is likely to be more effective in barbershops if the barbers are trained to be prostate health advisers. In the absence of trained barber health advisers, the barbers will need to navigate their clients to appropriate health care providers for prostate health education. Another limitation is the representation of participants. Since participants were not recruited randomly and constitute a convenient sample, they are not representative of all black men. As mentioned above, the participants for the study were more knowledgeable about CaP and had a higher CaP screening intention because of their exposure to CaP information at health forums. In spite of these limitations, the W.O.R.D. video has significant advantages. It was tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of black men because it was developed from information generated from black men on their CaP personal factors. The W.O.R.D. video message is thus credible, relevant, and culturally-responsive to black men. The W.O.R.D. video is also highly accessible nationwide through YouTube, fostering widespread dissemination, at minimal cost. In addition, the W.O.R.D. video DVD and accompany brochures are available at no charge to black men.There is no conflict of interest reported by authors."}
+{"text": "Rickettsia spp. belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG) cause infections in humans, domestic animals and wildlife. At least five SFG rickettsial species have been reported in China, but the occurrence of Rickettsia aeschlimannii and R. massiliae in ticks has not been characterized to date.Rickettsia spp. in the ticks. The ticks collected were identified as Rhipicephalus turanicus. Three different lineages of Rh. turanicus from Yining County were discovered on phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA and cox1. Twenty-one of the 114 samples (18.42%) were positive for rickettsial agents. Phylogenetic analysis based on six genetic sequences showed that three rickettsial species were present, namely: R. aeschlimannii , R. massiliae  and R. sibirica variant , which is clustered in the clade of R. sibirica subsp. sibirica.A total of 114 adult ticks were collected from sheep in Yining County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwest China. The ticks were identified from morphological and molecular characteristics. All samples were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and six genetic markers were used to determine the R. aeschlimannii and R. massiliae in China. R. massiliae, R. aeschlimannii and R. sibirica variant co-circulate in the region of the China-Kazakhstan border, in northwest China. Rickettsial agents in ticks of the genus Rhipicephalus from migrant birds, transported livestock, wildlife and human beings should be investigated further in the region of the China\u2013Central Asian border.This is the first description of The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-1242-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Rickettsia spp. belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG) cause infections in animals and humans worldwide  were amplified using previously described primers .Twenty-one of the 114 samples 18.42%) were positive by PCR for products of six rickettsial genetic markers. Out of the 21 positive samples, four were confirmed as % were po% 722bp/71bp and 9R. massiliae, R. rhipicephali and R. aeschlimannii are grouped phylogenetically into a clade in the family Rickettsiaceae [R. massiliae was first isolated in 1990 from a Rh. turanicus tick in an area near Marseille, France [Rhipicephalus ticks in regions of Europe, North and Central Africa, and the United States [R. aeschlimannii was first described from Hyalomma marginatum in Morocco in 1997 [R. aeschlimannii has been demonstrated in Hyalomma ticks from Europe , Asia  and Africa  [Haemaphysalis ticks in Spain and Kazakhstan [Ixodes ricinus, H. punctata, Rh. bursa, and Rh. sanguineus isolated from human Spanish patients were shown to contain DNA from R. aeschlimannii [R. aeschlimannii from Rh. turanicus infecting a man in Greece in 2013 [R. aeschlimannii and R. massiliae are present in Rh. turanicus from sheep in the region of the China-Kazakhstan border, in the northwest of China.tsiaceae . R. mass, France . Since td States . Further in 1997 . The pre, Egypt) \u201316 and fzakhstan . Furtherlimannii , and the in 2013 . In thisR. sibirica is known to contain two subspecies [R. sibirica subsp. sibirica and R. sibirica subsp. mongolotimonae. The former was first isolated in Russia but it has subsequently been found in northern China [R. sibirica subsp. mongolotimonae was first isolated in Inner Mongolia and then found in Europe and Africa [R. sibirica variant found in the region of the China\u2013Kazakhstan border appeared divergent in the ompA, ompB and sca1, used to differentiate Rickettsia species, although it was closest to R. sibirica subsp. sibirica, on the basis of the gltA gene and the phylogenetic tree of the 17-kDa-ompA-gltA-rrs-sca1-ompB concatenated sequence. Further genomic analysis should be carried out to confirm the classification of the R. sibirica variant found in this study.To date, bspecies , R. sibirn China . In contd Africa , 21. HerRh. turanicus tick is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean subregion, Africa, and Asia, including China, especially in XUAR [Rickettsia spp. [R. massiliae, R. aeschlimannii and R. sibirica variant were found in the same area, Yining County, which suggests that several SFG Rickettsia spp. co-circulate in Rh. turanicus as a potential vector near the China-Kazakhstan border.The  in XUAR , and it sia spp. . Here, Ret al detected R. aeschlimannii in the Alma-Ata region, east of Kazakhstan [Rh. turanicus in the region of the China-Kazakhstan border showed genetic divergence in the loci of 16S rDNA and cox1, which indicates that these ticks collected from sheep may come from different lineages. At present, it is unknown whether these ticks are imported from the Chinese hinterland or abroad through migrant birds, or with internationally transported livestock. This topic needs to be further investigated.In 2004, Shpynov zakhstan . Here weR. aeschlimannii and R. massiliae in China. The findings of the study suggest that R. massiliae, R. aeschlimannii and R. sibirica variant co-circulate in Rh. turanicus in the region of the China\u2013Kazakhstan border, in northwest China. The origin of the Rhipicephalus genus  and the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens should be further investigated in the region of the China\u2013Central Asian border.This is the first report of the molecular analysis of"}
+{"text": "Objectives. This study aimed to assess the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Punica granatum Linn. (P. granatum) petal on Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Enterococcus faecalis. Materials and Methods. In this in vitro study, P. granatum extract was prepared using powdered petals and water-ethanol solvent. Antibacterial effect of the extract, chlorhexidine (CHX), and ampicillin was evaluated on brain heart infusion agar (BHIA) using the cup-plate method. By assessing the diameter of the growth inhibition zone, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extract were determined for the above-mentioned bacteria. Results. Hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum petal had inhibitory effects on the proliferation of all five bacterial strains with maximum effect on S. mutans with MIC and MBC of 3.9\u2009mg/mL. The largest growth inhibition zone diameter belonged to S. sanguinis and the smallest to E. faecalis. Ampicillin and CHX had the greatest inhibitory effect on S. sanguinis. Conclusions. Hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum had a significant antibacterial effect on common oral bacterial pathogens with maximum effect on S. mutans, which is the main microorganism responsible for dental plaque and caries. Dental caries, periodontal disease, and opportunistic infections are among the common diseases of the oral cavity caused by the accumulation of pathogenic microorganisms, inappropriate nutritional habits, and improper oral hygiene \u20134. Oral Herbal medicine has a long history. Many individuals residing in developing countries strongly believe in the efficacy of herbal medications for primary care , 13. Con Punica granatum Linn. is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small Asian tree from the family of Punicaceae growing between 5 to 8 meters tall. It is native to Iran and northern India and has long been cultivated in the Asian Mediterranean region, Europe, and Africa. Punica granatum is rich in bioactive compounds, which are used for treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, dental diseases, bacterial infection, antibiotic resistance, skin conditions due to UV radiation, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and hemorrhoids. Moreover, P. granatum is used as a mouth rinse for treatment of some types of sore throat. Parts of the plant used for medicinal purposes include its flowers, trunk skin, fruits, roots, and seeds [The pomegranate with the botanical name ofnd seeds \u201321. Punica granatum flowers are odorless but colorful red or reddish, 3.5 to 7\u2009cm in length, and campanulate or cylindrical. Flowers are two types: fertilized and unfertilized. The unfertilized flower is with smaller, barren, and short-styled, short-stamened petals, in which the stigma is far below the anthers. The unfertilized flowers are commonly known as \u201cGolnar\u201d in Iranian traditional and complementary medicine [Themedicine .Trunk skin and roots are used for parasitic infections, dried flowers are beneficial for treatment of bronchitis, diarrhea, and bloody diarrhea, and the brewed pomegranate is used for treatment of inflammation of the throat and oral cavity. Pomegranate has long been recommended as a hemostatic agent and for treatment of diabetes mellitus in ancient Greek medicine \u201321. P. granatum have been recently noticed [ P. granatum have shown strong antimicrobial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative nonoral microorganisms [The antimicrobial properties of noticed , 23\u201330. rganisms , 24, 31.rganisms , 31\u201333. P. granatum flower  on oral microbial pathogens, which showed its greatest antimicrobial effect on S. sanguinis [ P. granatum was very effective against biofilm forming microorganisms in the mouth of patients [However, the mentioned studies are very limited and mostly lack an appropriate microbiological method. Their methodology is often not clear or not well described. Search of the literature only yielded one previous study on the effect of water extract ofanguinis , althougpatients . P. granatum petal on S. mutans, S. sanguinis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, and E. faecalis in vitro.Considering the high prevalence of oral and dental diseases due to oral pathogens and the recent public interest in medicinal plants, this study aimed to assess the effect of hydroalcoholic extract ofP. granatum flowers were obtained from the last harvest in Darab city and its purity was confirmed in a pharmacognosy laboratory. P. granatum extract was prepared by maceration method. Powdered petals were precisely measured by a digital scale and poured into an Erlenmeyer flask. Hydroalcoholic solvent (50% water and 50% ethanol) was also added. The Erlenmeyer flasks were capped with aluminum foil and stored in the dark for 10 days. Next, the flasks were placed on a shaker (GFL 3017) operating at 90\u2009rpm for 24 hours. The solutions were then paper filtered. The filtered solution was poured into a sterile glass container and capped by aluminum foil. A few holes were perforated in the foil and the glass container was placed in Bain-Marie at 90\u00b0C to dry. The dried extract was precisely weighed, labeled, and refrigerated [igerated . S. mutans , S. sanguinis , S. salivarius , S. sobrinus (ATCC 27607 and PTCC 1601), and E. faecalis  were obtained in lyophilized form from the Persian Type Culture Collection center. Bacteria were activated by inoculation in the brain heart infusion agar  culture medium followed by 24 hours of incubation at 37\u00b0C. For preparation of microbial suspension, a 24-hour culture was used. The concentration of microorganisms in the microbial suspension was adjusted to 0.5 McFarland standard using a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 625\u2009nm  [Standard strains of\u03bcL of each microbial suspension at 0.5 McFarland standard concentration was cultured in BHIA (swabbed on the plate). Then, wells measuring 8\u2009mm in diameter were created on the agar surface. Different concentrations of the extracts were prepared by serial dilution  using sterile distilled water solvent; 100\u2009\u03bcL of each concentration of extract was poured into each well. The plates were incubated at 37\u00b0C  for 24 hours. The diameter of the growth inhibition zone was measured in millimeters. This process was repeated in triplicate and the mean diameter of the growth inhibition zone was calculated for different concentrations of the extract [Primary assessment of the antimicrobial effect of extracts was done using the cup-plate technique. 500\u2009 extract .6\u2009CFU/mL. Microbial suspension was then diluted by one-half using the culture medium and 1\u2009mL of it was added to the tubes containing serially diluted extract. The negative control tube only contained the culture medium and extract with no microbial suspension. The positive control tube contained culture medium and microbial suspension with no extract. After 24 hours of incubation at 37\u00b0C, growth and proliferation of microorganisms were evaluated and the MIC value of the extract for each bacterial strain was determined. This test was repeated in triplicate for each microorganism [The MIC is defined as the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial agent that inhibits the growth of a microorganism (0.5 McFarland standard in this study). It is the minimum concentration of the extract that completely prevents visible growth and proliferation of bacteria compared to the negative control group. To determine MIC, macrodilution method according to the standard technique described by the clinical and laboratory standards institute (2012) was used. Different concentrations of the extract were prepared by serial dilution  in BHI broth medium. Using this medium, the 0.5 McFarland standard suspension was diluted 1 to 150 to obtain a bacterial count of 10organism .\u03bcL of the suspension in the tube containing MIC of the extract and tubes showing no bacterial growth were cultured on plates containing BHIA. After 24 hours of incubation at 37\u00b0C, the plates were evaluated for growth of microorganisms. The concentration with no bacterial growth was determined as MBC. This test was repeated in triplicate for each microorganism [After determination of MIC, 20\u2009organism .The effect of 0.2% CHX  and ampicillin on the microorganisms was also evaluated using the cup-plate method and the MIC and MBC values of CHX and ampicillin for the microorganisms were determined as well.The tests were repeated in triplicate and the mean and standard deviation (SD) of the growth inhibition zone diameter in cup-plate method as well as the MIC and MBC of the extract, CHX, and ampicillin were determined. P. granatum showed inhibitory effects on the growth and proliferation of all five bacteria using the cup-plate method. The largest and the smallest diameter of growth inhibition zone belonged to S. sanguinis and E. faecalis, respectively. The mean (and SD) diameter of the growth inhibition zone due to the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum on different microorganisms is shown in The hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum were determined using serial dilution method. The highest antibacterial effect of P. granatum extract was on S. mutans with MIC and MBC values of 3.9\u2009mg/mL. The MIC and MBC values of this extract for different microorganisms are presented in Tables The MIC and MBC of hydroalcoholic extract ofThe cup-plate method showed that 0.2% CHX had antimicrobial effect on all five bacterial strains. The mean and SD of the diameter of growth inhibition zone due to the effect of 0.2% CHX on the five bacterial strains are shown in  S. sanguinis. Tables Assessment of the MIC and MBC values revealed that CHX had the highest effect on S. mutans and S. sanguinis due to the effect of ampicillin. The mean and SD of the diameter of growth inhibition zone due to the effect of ampicillin on different microorganisms are shown in The cup-plate method showed that ampicillin had inhibitory effects on the growth and proliferation of all five bacterial strains. The greatest diameter of growth inhibition zone belonged to S. sanguinis. Tables Assessment of the MIC and MBC values revealed that ampicillin had the highest effect on P. granatum petal on S. mutans, S. sanguinis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, and E. faecalis in vitro using the cup-plate method. The MIC, MBC, and growth inhibition zone diameter values of the extract for different microorganisms were also calculated and compared to CHX and ampicillin.This study was the first to experimentally assess the antimicrobial effect of hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum petal had inhibitory effect on the growth and proliferation of all five bacterial strains. Vasconcelos et al. evaluated the MIC of pomegranate fruit gel and compared it with miconazole against adhesion of S. mutans, S. mitis, and C. albicans. They showed that pomegranate fruit gel was more effective than miconazole in preventing the adhesion of streptococci to glass [ P. granatum peel (MEPGP) was effective against L. acidophilus, S. mutans, and S. salivarius. Furthermore, no concentrations of MEPGP inhibited A. viscosus and C. albicans [ P. granatum petal was effective against S. mutans in lower concentration than MEPGP in Abdollahzadeh et al. study. Therefore, it seems that hydroalcoholic extract of petal against S. mutans was more effective than MEPGP. It should be considered that S. mutans is main microorganism of dental plaque and caries [ S. mutans were similar (3.9\u2009mg/mL).Based on the results, the hydroalcoholic extract ofto glass . Dahham to glass . Howeveralbicans . In presd caries . Also, i P. granatum showed the best antibacterial effect of this extract on S. mutans, while the lowest effect was noticed on E. faecalis. The only previous study on the antimicrobial effect of methanolic extract P. granatum flower on S. mutans was conducted by Haghighati et al. [ S. mutans. Also, they showed no significant difference between the efficacy of P. granatum and CHX against S. mutans; these findings show that the method used was not proper and therefore their results are not reliable.The MIC and MBC values ofi et al. . Their r P. granatum flower  on the same microorganisms as in our study was evaluated. The highest antimicrobial effect was seen on S. sanguinis [ S. mutans.In a study by Vahid-Dastjerdi et al., the effect of water extract ofanguinis  comparedP. granatum has well known isolated components such as gamma terpinene, borneol, camphor, carvacrol methyl ether, and methyl palmitate [One important factor affecting the MIC is the difference in the composition of extracts. The composition of extract is influenced by the geographical location of the plant, season of harvesting, age of plant, growth stage, method of drying, and extraction technique. Also, extracts of different parts of the plant have variable level of antimicrobial activity and bacteria have variable sensitivity to different extracts. Also, isolated components of an extract show greater antimicrobial effects than the extract itself . Alcoholalmitate . S. mutans, S. sanguinis, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, and E. faecalis [ P. granatum with confirmed antimicrobial effects. Thymol is an isomer of carvacrol, showing its antimicrobial activity by making the bacterial membrane permeable [Camphor is one of the main components with antibacterial effect. A previous study isolated the constituents of rosemary and evaluated their effects on oral pathogenic microorganisms. Camphor had inhibitory effects onfaecalis . Carvacrermeable . Chlorheermeable . The MIC P. granatum flowers harvested at a specific time from a specific location. Also, standardized microbial strains were used and microorganisms collected and purified from the oral cavity were not assessed. Thus, the results were limited to standard strains in the laboratory setting. Future studies are required to confirm the results in normal biological environment . Also, future studies must focus on the isolated constituents of different extracts and the antimicrobial agent in their composition. Given that the effects of these constituents on other microorganisms such as L. acidophilus, A. viscosus, and C. albicans are confirmed, they may be used in the form of pure extract, mouth rinse, or other antimicrobial products in clinical trials.One limitation of our study was that we only evaluated the P. granatum had a significant antibacterial effect on common oral bacteria, namely, S. sanguinis, S. mutans, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, and E. faecalis.Hydroalcoholic extract of P. granatum had maximum antibacterial effect on S. mutans with MIC and MBC of 3.9\u2009mg/mL.Hydroalcoholic extract ofWithin the limitations of this study, the following conclusions were drawn:"}
+{"text": "Liposcelis bostrychophila, Liposcelis decolor, and Liposcelis paeta. Five adult females of these species were placed in vials containing wheat, either alone or in all possible combinations of two species. The number of adults in the vials was counted after 35, 70, 105, 140, and 175 days. These tests were performed at 25 and 30\u00b0C. At 25\u00b0C, there were no differences in numbers of L. bostrychophila when this species was reared either alone or with each of the other two species. At 30\u00b0C, L. bostrychophila was the dominant species. The presence of L. bostrychophila had a negative effect on the growth of populations of L. decolor and L. paeta. The presence of L. paeta did not affect growth of populations of L. decolor, although the presence of L. decolor occasionally reduced growth of populations of L. paeta. In the second series of tests, L. bostrychophila adult females were placed in vials of wheat either alone or with adult females of Lepinotus reticulatus, at the ratios of (L. bostrychophila: L. reticulatus) 10\u22360, 9\u22361, 7\u22363, 5\u22365, 3\u22367, 1\u22369, and 0\u223610. These tests were carried out only at 30\u00b0C, and the observation periods were the same as for the first series of tests. Liposcelis bostrychophila was the dominant species in this case as well, regardless of the ratio of the parental females. At the end of the experimental period, L. reticulatus was present only in vials that contained this species alone. Our results showed that L. bostrychophila outcompetes the other stored-product psocid species tested.We evaluated the competition among stored-product psocid species by conducting two series of laboratory experiments. In the first series, three species of Liposcelididae were used:  Tribolium castaneum, increased with the increase of the presence of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica, in the same sampling unit, but the numbers of these two species were negatively correlated with the presence of the rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus. Athanassiou and Saitanis Ephestia kuehniella, and its parasitoids Harbobracon hebetor and Venturia canescens.The insect community in the stored-grain agroecosystem consists of several categories of species, such as primary and secondary colonizers, fungus feeders, scavengers, predators, and parasitoids There are numerous laboratory studies investigating the competition among different stored-product insect species Liposcelis entomophila in two bins of wheat in 2005, while in the same bins, they found only L. decolor one year later (2006) after fumigating the grain between years.Most of the studies that examine competition among stored-product insect species under laboratory conditions tested beetles, and, to a lesser extent, moths. There are no published data on competition among psocid (Psocoptera) pest species. Psocids, particularly some species of the family Liposcelididae, are major pests that can easily build up high populations, especially in stored grains Despite the fact that coexistence of some major stored-product insect species has been investigated, there are no data available describing competition among species of stored-grain psocid pests. Thus, our study aims to provide the first series of data on the interspecific competition among species of stored-product psocid pests examining the long-term population growth of several psocid species placed alone (one species) or in pairs of species in the same food source.Liposcelis bostrychophila, L. decolor, L. paeta, and Lepinotus reticulatus were used in the tests. L. bostrychophila and L. reticulatus are predominantly parthenogenetic, although a few males of L. bostrychophila were recently found Liposcelis spp. , and also each species alone. For this purpose, 5 adult females of each species were placed in plastic vials  with 5 g of untreated, clean, whole wheat (variety Fuller) adjusted to 13% moisture content. Five adult females were placed in vials where only one species was used. All vials then were placed in incubators set at 30\u00b0C and 75% relative humidity. The vials were opened after 35 days, and the adults of the two species were sieved from the wheat using a #30 sieve, identified, and counted. Nymphs were not identified nor counted, given that identification of nymphs of different species of the genus Liposcelis is difficult In these tests, we assessed each possible two-way combination of the three L. bostrychophila and L. reticulatus were used. Ten adult females were placed in each vial at the following combinations of L. bostrychophila: L. reticulatus adult ratios: 10\u22360, 9\u22361, 7\u22363, 5\u22365, 3\u22367, 1\u22369, and 0\u223610. The experimental procedure, the conditions, and the observation periods were as described above, with the exception that this experiment was carried out only at 30\u00b0C. In these tests, both adults and nymphs were identified and counted, given that all stages of the genera Liposcelis and Lepinotus can be distinguished easily In these tests, For Experiment 1, the data were analyzed, separately for each species, using a three-way ANOVA with temperature, observation period, and psocid species as main effects, with psocid counts as the response variable. Similarly, for Experiment 2, the data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, with observation period and species ratio as main effects. All analyses were conducted using the JMP 10 software . Means were separated by the use of the Tukey-Kramer HSD test at \u03b1\u200a=\u200a0.05 2. All analyses were performed using R version 3.0.2 The evolution of adult counts for the different insect species was modelled as a function of time using a quadratic regression model with temperature and initial counts of insects as covariates. The quadratic term for time was preferable to alternatives given the fact that it allows the possibility of capturing U-shaped patterns and steep rates of decline as time increases L. bostrychophila, all main effects were significant, but only the Period\u00d7Temperature interaction was significant  was modeled using a quadratic regression model taking into account the L. bostrychophila: L. paeta: L. decolor initial counts and temperature . The initial number of L. paeta had a significant effect on L. bostrychophila adults counts  and similarly for L. decolor . The effect of temperature was highly significant with lower temperature resulting in higher adult L. bostrychophila counts .The population growth (population evolution) of L. paeta adult counts as a function of time (in days) was modeled as for L. bostrychophila . There was no significant evolution of L. paeta adult counts over time . However, the initial number of L. bostrychophila had a significant effect on L. paeta adult counts , while the same was found for L. decolor . The effect of temperature was highly significant with lower temperature resulting in lower adult L. paeta counts .The population evolution of L. decolor adult counts was similarly modeled . There was no significant evolution of L. decolor adults' counts over time . The initial number of L. bostrychophila had a significant effect on L. decolor adult counts . However, the initial number of L. paeta did not significantly affect L. decolor counts . The effect of temperature was highly significant with lower temperature resulting in higher adult L. decolor counts .Finally, the population of L. bostrychophila adults and nymphs, Period and Species ratio\u00d7Period were significant, but Species ratio was not , L. bostrychophila population levels were lower when other species were present. The analysis performed here suggested that despite the fact that this species was always the winner of the competition, its population growth was highly mediated by the presence of other species, which means that competition is likely to slow population increase in a more realistic scenario of a larger spatial scale. This clearly indicates that competition, at least for L. bostrychophila, is highly mediated by temperature, and, at low temperatures, coexistence may occur. In contrast, the adult population of L. decolor was continuously higher when this species was reared alone at 25\u00b0C than when this species coexisted with L. bostrychophila. Moreover, there were no differences in L. decolor adult numbers at 30\u00b0C for the last 140 days of the observation period. L. paeta adult numbers were reduced at both temperatures when reared with other species. Rees and Walker L. bostrychophila was three times higher than that of L. paeta, but the differences were minimal at lower temperatures. Finally, for both temperature levels tested here, egg-to-adult survivorship was higher for L. bostrychophila than for L. decolor or L. paetaL. bostrychophila at 25\u00b0C during the first 35 days of the observation period, as indicated by the high number of adults that were recorded during this period. In contrast, the number of L. paeta adults only increased slightly, and practically remained unaffected for L. decolor.As expected, temperature played an important role in population growth and the concomitant competition. For L. bostrychophila was always the dominant competitor. Again, this species was superior in population growth and life table parameters than L. reticulatus. For example, L. reticulatus egg-to-adult development is slower than that of L. bostrychophilaL. bostrychophila is almost 40 times higher than that of L. reticulatus at 30\u00b0C L. bostrychophila over L. reticulatus was manifested regardless of the initial number of L. bostrychophila parental females. Hence, even in the vials that contained only one parental L. bostrychophila female, L. reticulatus became extinct after 140 days. However, the population growth of L. bostrychophila was proportional to the initial number of adults, at least during the first 70 days of the observation period. Interestingly, population growth was inversely related to the initial number of parental adults at the last observation period (175 days). We assume that, as noted above, density-dependent mechanisms regulated single-species population dynamics, given that higher numbers of parental females produced higher populations earlier in the observation period, which resulted in more vigorous intraspecific competition and faster food exhaustion. On the other hand, L. reticulatus population drastically declined very early in the experiment, when L. bostrychophila was present, and this reduction was proportional to the number of parental L. reticulatus females. Eventually, L. reticulatus was present only when it was alone, which suggests that this species has lower population growth rates and does not colonize as well as L. bostrychophila. This species has shorter adult longevity and lower fecundity than L. bostrychophila, which clearly stands in agreement with the data of the current study L. reticulatus was <1% of the total number of psocid individuals recorded.Regarding the second series of experiments, L. bostrychophila was the superior colonizer of the competition, the initial coexistence rate plays an important role in the time that this outcome will occur. In this context, our data documented that coexistence always delays population increase, regardless of the psocid species that coexist. Temperature also plays an important role in this outcome.We used statistical models with linear and quadratic terms for time as predictors in order to capture U-shaped evolutions of counts. Models with more terms or with time added as a predictor with degree higher than 2 were also explored without adding much to the results. We concluded that coexistence plays a significant role in the population growth and probably on the developmental parameters of psocids, regardless of the final outcome of this competition. Hence, despite that, based on our tests, L. bostrychophila was clearly the dominant competitor, but the outcome of this competition was based on the other competitor species, temperature, observation period, and initial population. Overall, our tests show that, under conditions of limited food availability, the simultaneous presence of L. bostrychophila will lead the populations of L. decolor and, especially, L. reticulatus to extinction. Conversely, L. paeta could coexist with L. bostrychophila for a longer period, but in low numbers, which eventually is likely to lead to extinction as well. Further experimentation is needed to assess, apart from population growth, additional factors that are responsible for the superiority of L. bostrychophila over the other species tested here, with emphasis on the possible interactions among individuals, such as possible predation activity among individuals or the existence of semiochemical-based population regulators. The results of the present study will contribute by providing the inferences necessary for the development of long-term prediction plans for psocid colonization and extinction patterns in stored grains and related commodities.To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the inter- and intraspecific competition of stored-product psocid species, expressed as population growth, was assessed, under the basis of limited availability of food or food exhaustion. From the species spectrum tested here,"}
+{"text": "The Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research is a prestigious scientific award established by the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR)\u2014a leading cancer research charitable organization in the United States that is committed to supporting scientific research and public education relating to the prevention, early diagnosis, better treatments, and ultimately, a cure for cancer. Each year, the Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize honors an outstanding researcher, nominated by colleagues or peers, who has contributed outstanding, significant research to the fight against cancer, and whose accomplishments have helped improve treatment options for cancer patients. The Prize also promotes public awareness of the importance of basic cancer research and encourages the sustained investment needed to accelerate the translation of these research discoveries into new cancer treatments. This report highlights the pioneering work led by the 2015 Prize winner, Dr. Frederick Alt. Dr. Alt\u2019s work in the area of cancer genetics over four decades has helped to shape the very roots of modern cancer research. His work continues to profoundly impact the approaches that doctors around the globe use to diagnose and treat cancer. In particular, his seminal discoveries of gene amplification and his pioneering work on molecular mechanisms of DNA damage repair have helped to usher in the era of genetically targeted therapy and personalized medicine. In recognition for his pioneering work in the area of cancer genetics, Dr. Frederick Alt was awarded the 2015 Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research. Dr. Alt\u2019s research is foundational to the modern understanding of cancer as a genetic disease, and has led directly to the era of precision medicine. The Prize was presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2015, at The National Press Club.The Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research is a prestigious scientific award established by the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR)\u2014a leading cancer research charitable organization in the United States that has gained international recognition for its vision and unique approaches to accelerating cancer research toward a cure. The Prize is awarded annually to a scientist, nominated by colleagues or peers, who has contributed outstanding, significant research to the fight against cancer, and whose accomplishments have helped improve treatment options for cancer patients.The Prize is named in honor of NFCR co-founder Albert Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi, M.D., Ph.D., who won the Nobel Prize for Science and Medicine in 1937 for his discovery of vitamin C. The Prize and the surrounding ceremony also serve to promote public awareness of the importance of basic cancer research and to encourage the sustained investment needed to accelerate the translation of these research discoveries into new cancer treatments.Since its establishment in 2006, the Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize has been awarded to 11 outstanding cancer researchers from around the world. Among the past awardees is Dr. Zhu Chen, chairman of the Chinese Medical Association and former Minister of Health of China, who won the 2012 Prize together with his mentor, Dr. Zhen-Yi Wang.In 2015, the Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research was awarded to Frederick Alt, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator  at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. Dr. Alt has been Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School since 1991 and Charles A. Janeway Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital since 1993. Prior to 1991, Dr. Alt was on the Faculty at Columbia University. He earned his Ph.D. with distinction from the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University in 1977. Dr. Alt is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.Dr. Alt has won numerous honors for biomedical research, including the Stanford University Medical Center Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Science and the National Cancer Institute\u2019s Alfred Knudson Award for \u201cpioneering contributions that have revolutionized the field of cancer genetics.\u201d Each year, the Cancer Research Institute of New York presents the Frederick W. Alt Award for New Discoveries in Cancer Immunology in his honor. Dr. Alt\u2019s impact extends far beyond his own laboratory, for not only is he an outstanding researcher; he is also an exemplary teacher. In 2003, he received the American Association of Immunologists Excellence in Mentoring Award. Dr. Alt has mentored over 100 students and research fellows, many of whom have become leaders in immunology, genetics, or cancer biology.For Dr. Alt, cancer research has always been a personal endeavor. During his remarks, Dr. Alt spoke of how cancer claimed the lives of both his parents when he was a young child Fig.\u00a0. \u201cIt didDrug resistance was a well-known problem in cancer treatment when Dr. Alt\u2019s career began. His early research sought to understand how cancer cells become resistant to the drug methotrexate, and it was animated by the \u201csomewhat heretical notion that cancer cells might be able to increase their numbers of gene copies.\u201d At that time, in the early 1970s, conventional wisdom held that each person had exactly two copies of each gene\u2014one copy from their mother and the other from their father\u2014and that their genome was otherwise fixed and unchangeable.After building the technology to probe cells for individual genes, Dr. Alt applied this technology to cancer cells that had been treated with methotrexate. \u201cWe found that cells that are very resistant have hundreds or thousands of copies of the dihydrofolate reductase gene which confers resistance,\u201d said Dr. Alt. \u201cWhen we took the cells out of the drug, they actually lost the gene copies, really showing that mammalian cancer cells could have unstable genomes. They could gain genes when they were put under selection for drug resistance, and they could lose them when it was taken away. That was really a shocking result.\u201dDr. Alt\u2019s discovery of gene amplification in chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells served to overthrow the old concept of a fixed genome, suggesting instead that cancer cells could change their genes to evolve resistance to treatments like methotrexate.The story became even more interesting when the same pattern of amplified genes was discovered in the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. \u201cWe knew from our methotrexate resistance research what amplified genes looked like under a microscope,\u201d said Dr. Alt, but it was not clear which gene had been amplified in these tumors. It was at this time that Dr. Alt made the connection between gene amplification and carcinogenesis. \u201cThe idea we had was that there would be a gene that actually caused the cancer\u2014not one that would cause drug resistance, but one that made the cancer grow better,\u201d he said. This idea built directly off the recent discovery of viral oncogenes by previous Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize winner Dr. Peter Vogt.myc, so they named it neuroblastoma-myc or n-myc. \u201cThat was extremely satisfying for us,\u201d said Dr. Alt, \u201cbecause it showed that for gene amplification it was not only a mechanism by which cancer cells become drug-resistant but also a mechanism by which they get generated.\u201d Today, genomic instability is recognized as one of the hallmarks of cancer.Dr. Alt and his colleagues identified that the amplified gene in neuroblastoma was related to the viral oncogene Equally important to cancer research has been Dr. Alt\u2019s work on the critical DNA repair mechanism called \u201cnon-homologous end joining\u201d (NHEJ). Dr. Alt not only made the initial experimental findings that led to the discovery of this pathway but also carried out an ingenious series of experiments over many years in his lab in Boston, taking it apart piece by piece to understand how it works. This work linked NHEJ to protecting against a specific type of DNA damage called translocation, which is a major component of many cancers, especially leukemia and lymphoma.Both amplified genes and translocated genes are key components of the Precision Medicine paradigm, which is at the heart of 21st century medicine. By identifying the source of genetic abnormalities that drive both cancer development and drug resistance, Dr. Alt\u2019s insights helped to revolutionize cancer diagnostics and treatment. His discoveries led to a wholly new approach to treating cancer\u2014identifying these genetic abnormalities, and then selecting new drugs that target each specifically.In his closing remarks at the award ceremony, Dr. Alt said \u201cNow is the time. We have the opportunity, and if we get the support I\u2019m confident that basic cancer-driven research will help exploit this current technological explosion, [producing] more and more breakthroughs at an ever-increasing pace.\u201d Through events like the Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize, NFCR is working towards this goal, by raising public awareness of research and encouraging sustained investment in the future of basic science.The 2015 Szent-Gy\u00f6rgyi Prize Selection Committee was chaired by James Allison, Ph.D., and co-chaired by Sujuan Ba, Ph.D. Other selection committee members included leaders in cancer research and drug development from academic institutes and biotech and pharmaceutical industries: Webster K. Cavenee, Ph.D., Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Carlo M. Croce, M.D., The Ohio State University; George D. Demetri, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Richard Gaynor, M.D., Eli Lilly and Company; Thomas J. Kelly, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., University of Washington School of Medicine; Scott M. Lippman, M.D., Moores Cancer Center; Tak W. Mak, Ph.D., Ontario Cancer Institute; Alex Matter, M.D., Experimental Therapeutics Center & D3, A*STAR Singapore; Scott D. Patterson, Ph.D., Amgen, Inc.; Philip Tsichlis, M.D., Tufts University School of Medicine; Peter K. Vogt, Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute; Owen N. Witte, M.D., David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Qimin Zhan, M.D., State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, China; and General Secretary Yi Michael Want, M.D., Ph.D., NFCR.2014\u2014James Allison, Ph.D., Chairman of the Immunology Department and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform for the \u201cMoon Shots\u201d Program, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, US.2013\u2014Alex Matter, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Experimental Therapeutics Centre, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.2012\u2014Zhu Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Chairman, Chinese Medical Association; former Minister of Health of China, Shanghai, P.R. China.2012\u2014Zhen-Yi Wang, M.D., Professor, School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Honorary Director, Shanghai Institute of Hematology, Shanghai, P.R. China.2011\u2014Beatrice Mintz, Ph.D., Professor and Jack Schultz Chair in Basic Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, US.2010\u2014Peter K. Vogt, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, US.2009\u2014Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., President, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, US.2008\u2014Carlo M. Croce, M.D., Director, Human Cancer Genetics Program; Director, Institute of Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, US.2007\u2014Webster K. Cavenee, Ph.D., Director, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, San Diego Branch; Distinguished Professor, University of California, San Diego, CA, US.2006\u2014Harold F. Dvorak, M.D., Mallinckrodt Professor Emeritus of Pathology, Harvard Medical School; Chief, Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, US."}
+{"text": "In the Funding section, two grant numbers from the funder National Natural Science Foundation of China are missing. The correct grant numbers: No.81372426, No.81372906, No.81202128 and No.81272974."}
+{"text": "In Eurasia, studies of fluctuations in the borders of areas occupied by sibling species of this complex, as well as their relative proportions in the areas where they are sympatric are epidemiologically important.The burden of malaria infection in the modern world remains significant. Specific changes in the relative proportions of malaria vector mosquitoes, Maculipennis Complex species, in the south of Western Siberia over the past 25 years of the 20Anopheles mosquitoes collected over the period from 1973 to 2012. A total of 37 Anopheles samples  from the Ukraine, European Russia and the Urals were studied. To identify An. messeae s.l. cryptic species A and B, polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the second internal transcribed spacer rRNA genes sequences (ITS2 PCR-RFLP) were used.Species identity and chromosomal polymorphisms within each population were defined by cytogenetic analysis of polytene chromosomes of third- and fourth-instar larvae and adult females of An. maculipennis s.s. is expanding to the northeast at a speed of approximately 30 km per year. In 2008 or 2009, this species appeared in the Southern Urals. The emergence of An. maculipennis in this region was accompanied by a decrease in the proportions of An. messeae A and An. beklemishevi and by an increase in the proportion of An. messeae B within An. messeae s.l. It is highly likely that the southwestern border of An. beklemishevi distribution area could shift in the same direction as expanding area of An. maculipennis.An. maculipennis s.s. to the northeast, followed by changes in the species composition of Anopheles as well as their relative proportions and fluctuations in the species areas, exacerbate the epidemiology of malaria infection in Eurasia.The geographical distribution of the Palaearctic mosquito species of the Maculipennis Complex is undergoing a gradual shift. Changes detected in the species distribution can be considered as a component of the biocenotic process triggered by global warming. Both the warming itself and consequent expansion of  Anopheles family differ in their physiology and ecology, including temperature sensitivity. Thus, changes in regional temperatures can influence the geographical distribution of Anopheles species as well as their interactions in the regions where the species are sympatric. Due to variable abilities of different species for transmission of malaria [Plasmodium transmitters [Anopheles maculipennis Mg. taxon [Anopheles maculipennis s.s. distribution area, will provide important insights into the role of global climate change in geographical distribution of the Palaearctic mosquito species of the Maculipennis Complex and its disease-relevant consequences.Malaria remains a serious health issue in the contemporary world, being one of the major causes of death from infectious diseases worldwide. Global epidemiological situation in relation to malaria spread remains complicated , 2. The  malaria \u20139, globasmitters  to invadg. taxon , 10\u201312 wg. taxon \u201316. In lg. taxon , 18; in g. taxon \u201322. Diveg. taxon \u201325. We bAn. messeae taxon presents a major obstacle in understanding of speciation-related events within Palaearctic Maculipennis Complex. Based on non-random combinations of chromosome inversions in natural populations as well as assortative mating and different ecological features, as early as in 1984 it was suggested that An. messeae includes two cryptic species. These were provisionally named An. messeae A and An. messeae B [An. messeae as a single polytypic, polymorphic species. Another research group isolated a new species, An. daciae, from An. messeae[An. daciae appeared to be identical to An. messeae A [An. messeae cryptic species will be referred to as An. messeae A. An. messeae s.l. will therefore refer to both cryptic species A and B.Lack of consensus in views on the structure of esseae B . The exiesseae B . Some reesseae B , 28 stil messeae. Based oesseae A . For thiAnopheles larvae and adult females were used. Locations, time of collection and relevant numerical data are given in Table\u00a0An. messeae karyotypes were performed using polytene chromosomes maps described in [An. messeae species A and B have almost completely overlapping inversion polymorphisms and can be identified by inversions on sex chromosomes; they also differ quantitatively, by the frequencies of autosomal inversions [An. messeae A. The variants 1L/1L1, 1L1/1L1 and 1L1/\u00ac almost never occur in the karyotype of An. messeae B. 2R/2R1 heterozygotes and 2R1/2R1 homozygotes almost always belong to An. messeae B [An. messeae s.l. populations are summarized in Table\u00a0An. messeae A in the populations studied. While the frequencies of homozygotes 2R1/2R1 and heterozygotes 2R/2R1  allow us to estimate the proportions of An. messeae B. Thus, analysis of polytene chromosomes allows species identification only for those specimens which possess marker combinations of chromosome variants in their karyotype. An. messeae species A and B can be accurately identified by the taxonoprint analysis [BstF5I restriction enzyme [An. messeae s.l. specimens collected in Miass in 2012 were established by ITS2 PCR-RFLP.Third and fourth instar ribed in , 33. Detribed in . The invversions , 27. If esseae B , 27. Then enzyme , 35. TheAn. maculipennis in samples collected at approximately the same time increased from the north and east to the south and west, and ranged from 0% in the Middle Urals to 80% in the North Caucasus and the Ukraine.The proportion of An. beklemishevi was identified in the samples collected mostly in the northern and eastern regions, and its peak frequency was detected at the extreme northeastern location .An. maculipennis and An. messeae in Yablonovsky and Khadyzhensk, Murom and Verbovsky); they also can fluctuate significantly during the same breeding season and even over several days within the same location and biotope .The proportions of sibling species may differ in samples collected simultaneously in closely situated locations, yet from different biotopes , An. maculipennis, An. messeae s.l. and An. beklemishevi may reside in the same biotope, as may An. maculipennis and An. messeae s.l. or An. messeae s.l. and An. beklemishevi; however, An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi do not occur together in the absence of An. messeae s.l.Analysis of species composition from different regions and years Table\u00a0 revealedAn. messeae s.l. is the widest among species studied. Borders of areas occupied by An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi most likely reflect their responses to abiotic factors, which are commonly changing geographically. Furthermore, competition between the latter two species during larval development is higher compared to competition of each of them with An. messeae s.l.Elements of these observations are in agreement and show ecological diversification of the species at different stages of individual development. In particular, combinations of co-inhabiting species indicate that the ecological niche of An. maculipennis in both zones, with a significantly higher proportion in the area with a higher population density (p < 0.05). This could be interpreted as a result of species-specificity in egg-laying sites of An. maculipennis that can give rise to microlocalities with higher density of this particular species. Another plausible scenario is active larval migration in accordance with ecological preferences. In either case, the specificity of distribution is due to the behavioral characteristics. The key factor here is how behavioral reactions of each species reflect its competing abilities. It was experimentally shown that, at least under laboratory conditions, if maintained together at a high density, larval survival of An. maculipennis is superior to that of both An. messeae s.l. and An. beklemishevi[An. maculipennis and An. messeae s.l. larvae to water composition (both are found in the brackish water of Lake Muldakkul), An. maculipennis can outcompete under optimal combination of other abiotic factors. However, the species that loses in the larval competition is still able to use atypical habitats with extreme conditions. Thus, in the waters of drainage canals from rice fields in Yablonovsky village , characterized by high saprobity and a high density of amphibians, only An. messeae s.l. larvae, although at an extremely low density, were found. In addition, abiotic factors, which can compensate for inferior survival of a species at the larval stage by increasing its survival at the imago stage, may favor species coexistence in certain territories. An increase in the proportion of An. maculipennis in the southwest and south, generally coinciding with the isotherms of the warm time of the year and shorter periods of cold weather, indicates the primary role of temperature (through both direct and indirect effects) in determining the outcome of interactions between the species. This is in agreement with an idea proposed by Ushakov [An. maculipennis females start leaving their wintering eustatic shelters at an average daily temperature of 7.1\u00b0C [An. messeae s.l. this index was 4\u20135.0\u00b0C [An. maculipennis females, delay the start of reproduction phase and apparently shift generations of species relative to each other. In the samples, this shift would manifest as an increase in the proportion of one of the species.Analysis of mosquito larvae collected in different parts of the Pshish river backwaters, spaced by 5\u20136 m and characterized by variable population density , this species was found in a number of ecologically distinct habitats and in different years, therefore, its presence in Miass and consequently in the South Urals is now confirmed. The study of samples collected in Lake Muldakkul and in Koltashi village in 2012 revealed the presence of An. maculipennis in the first location and absence in the second, where An. beklemishevi was found.In line with temperature trends in northern Eurasia over the last 40 years, the distribution area of  in 1989 . Howeverapproach , the speAn. maculipennis was first identified in 2010 with a frequency similar to that reported for the northeast periphery of this species area in 1986\u20131987. Its low frequency in different biotopes suggests that it most likely emerged in Miass in 2008 or 2009. This allows estimating the rate of An. maculipennis expansion to the east.Of note, in Miass, An. maculipennis appeared in Miass are separated by 22 years and about 750 km, and assuming that the border of the distribution area at that time was already shifted to the east of Samara, the average speed of the border movement eastwards is about 30 km per year. If true, this speed is significantly higher than estimated for other insect species, \u2212 16.9 km per decade [An. maculipennis is an endophilic species [An. maculipennis, and the vector of its expansion is from urban areas to the countryside. Taking into account the key role of temperature in the life cycle of mosquitoes and isothermal patterns in the European part of Russia and the Urals, the northern border of the An. maculipennis habitat is likely to move at the same speed, about 600\u2013700 km further to the north of the border reported in 1986\u20131987 [et al. (2012) [An. maculipennis s.s. in Karelia up to the town of Kem\u2019 . However, the distance between Rostov, where An. maculipennis at low frequency was discovered in 1986, and Kem\u2019 is over 1000 km. In the literature, there is also a discrepancy in the description of the species composition in Kem\u2019, where, according to Moskaev [et al.[An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi. Neither Stegnii et al.[An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi in the absence of An. messeae s.l. in any of the geographical locations studied. Based on the data available so far, it can be assumed that the probable northern border of An. maculipennis habitat lies at a latitude of 64\u00b0N, i.e. to the north of the town of Segezha.Given that the time of sample collection in the eastern locality for the earlier study  and the most probable time when r decade . Because species , 42, its986\u20131987 . Moskaev. (2012)  found An [et al. found oni et al., nor MosAn. maculipennis to the north and east is a part of the biocenotic process caused by global warming. Changes in the borders of distribution areas and/or proportions of sibling species in the zones where the species are sympatric are also components of this process. The rate of climate warming has been estimated at 0.5\u00b0C per 100 years in the northern parts of European Russia and 1.4-1.6\u00b0C per 100 years in the south of the Urals, with the largest incremental changes in the past several decades [An. maculipennis is given a better opportunity to invade the regions adjacent to the northern and eastern borders of its current distribution area. Expansion of An. maculipennis to the northeast is accompanied by a decrease in An. messeae s.l. and An. beklemishevi frequencies and probably even disappearance of the latter species. An. beklemishevi was found in the surroundings of Priozersk, Syktyvkar and Chelyabinsk in 1975 [An. beklemishevi could be absent due to environmental and behavioral characteristics of this species. Moskaev (2012) [An. beklemishevi in Priozersk and confirmed its lower frequency in Syktyvkar in 2010 compared to the report of Stegnii et al. in 1978 [An. beklemishevi in Zelenodolsk coincided with the emergence of An. maculipennis[An. maculipennis, this species will expand to the east within borders very similar to that of An. messeae A [An. maculipennis and both cryptic species of An. messeae s.l., as well as increasing contacts between An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi. At the larval stage, under conditions of high-density, An. maculipennis demonstrates superior survival compared to An. messeae s.l., i.e. both A and B species [An. messeae A and An. maculipennis are considered as endophilic species, while An. messeae B is exophilic [An. maculipennis and An. messeae A have very similar environmental needs, and their ecological niches largely overlap, leading to their competition and as a result, reduction in the frequency of the latter species. Indeed, cytogenetic analysis showed that An. maculipennis emergence in Miass was accompanied by a change in the proportions of the An. messeae cryptic species. In line with this finding, we detected a highly significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the frequencies of homozygotes, heterozygotes and hemizygotes for inversion 1L1, as well as other cytogenetic markers of An. messeae A, over the period from 1999 to 2011, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the frequencies of markers typical for the An. messeae B , for these the presence of the inversions on X-chromosome was also determined. Only one male, identified by ITS2 PCR-RFLP as belonging to An. messeae B, had variant 1L1/\u00ac. Thus, the inversion 1L1 is highly specific for An. messeae A  from earlier to later samples, as defined based on marker inversion variants, reflects the actual sequence of events. This allows us to estimate the proportions of An. messeae cryptic species A and B by analyzing the frequencies of the above cytogenetic markers in other regions and locations. Analysis of species proportions in different geographic locations   did not  in 1978 . Previoulipennis. Steady esseae A , i.e. as species . An. mes12  did nLP Table\u00a0. Speciesoven yet ). Thus, An. maculipennis is high or it is dominant over other species, the frequency of the cytogenetic markers typical for An. messeae B is relatively high. However, in areas where An. maculipennis is absent or rare, the proportion of An. messeae A is increased, which is signaled by high frequencies of chromosome variants typical for this species . In some regions this correlation is not observed (Yoshkar-Ola), which is likely due to the low numbers of An. messeae A individuals in this region. In Ciscaucasia and in the suburbs of Kharkov, in accordance with its cytogenetic structure, only An. messeae A was found in conjunction with An. maculipennis. In Khadyzhensk and in the suburbs of Kharkov, the latter species was predominant  of An. maculipennis. It is also possible that the observed trends in species frequencies result from not only competition between An. maculipennis s.l. species, but also from alterations in other ecosystem components. Our results describing the impact of An. maculipennis on the ratio of An. messeae species A and B are consistent with the situation described in Germany, where An. messeae s.l. and An. maculipennis are sympatric. According to the results of sequencing of marker portions of genomic DNA from mosquitoes collected in localities with low (a few percent) and high (over 50%) occurrence of An. maculipennis, An. messeae species referred here as the species B, outnumbered the other one [For example, in Solnechnogorsk, Suzdal, and Protvino where the proportion of nt Table\u00a0. Despitether one .An. maculipennis expansion to the Urals, and likely, soon after that, to Western Siberia can be foreseen. In parallel with a decrease in the number of An. messeae s.l., the proportion of An. messeae A cryptic species will also decline, together with a respective increase for An. messeae B. The latter will manifest itself through increasing karyotype variability, i.e. a process opposite of that previously described [An. maculipennis will follow the path of colonization of Siberia pursued earlier by An. messeae A, which is characterized by similar environmental needs but is somewhat more resistant to low temperatures. Expansion of An. maculipennis to the north and east will continue until an equilibrium is achieved among the four species, two of which (An. maculipennis and An. messeae A) are endophilic and thermophilic and the other two (An. messeae B and An. beklemishevi) are exophilic and cold-resistant. This balance will be maintained mainly due to different durations of the reproductive period typical for each species, during which a growth in the frequencies of the first two species is expected, and this growth will be more pronounced for An. maculipennis. The second factor to play a role will be the availability of wintertime eustatic shelters and temperature in those during the cold time of the year, when the numbers of the first two species will decline more rapidly. These conditions will be less severe for a more cold-resistant An. messeae A compared to An. maculipennis. Expansion of An. maculipennis is likely to be accompanied by ousting of An. beklemishevi from more or less populated areas, and correspondingly, the southern and western borders of the distribution area of the latter species will move to the north and east. However, because An. beklemishevi is exophilic, it will still be able to survive, although in small quantities, in the wild. Given that An. maculipennis is able to transfer Plasmodium vivax, and that global warming leads to increased species diversity and abundance of Anopheles on large territories, one can confirm a worsening epidemiological situation in Eurasia.Possible consequences of escribed . Thus, AAn. maculipennis geographic and temporal distribution made it possible to reconstruct the dynamics of the area occupied by the species  whose dynamics would significantly modify the effect of all other factors. In the northeastern periphery of the An. maculipennis distribution area, sympatry with An. messeae s.l. is compulsory, with An. beklemishevi \u2013 possible; coexistence of An. maculipennis and An. beklemishevi in larval habitats in the absence of An. messeae s.l. is an exception. On this territory, one can expect cyclic fluctuations both in the number and the frequency of An. maculipennis, with ups during the warm (reproductive) season and downs during wintertime.Significant increase in the global temperature, i.e. global warming, recorded in the past 40 years, has resulted in the changes of Maculipennis Complex species distribution in Eurasia. The distribution area of"}
+{"text": "World Water Day, sponsored by the United Nations, is observed each year on March 22. This year, World Water Day focuses on water and energy. Water and energy are closely linked. Worldwide, 1.3 billion persons currently live without electricity (To some degree, water is crucial to produce, transport, and use all forms of energy, and these activities variously affect water resources. Demand for freshwater and energy will continue to increase significantly over the coming decades, presenting major challenges and straining resources in nearly all regions. This is especially true in developing and emerging economies. Better understanding of the linkages between the water and energy sectors can lead to improved coordination among policymakers, planners, and others in providing and obtaining more efficient and cost-effective water and energy services.http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday. Information on CDC\u2019s efforts to ensure global access to improved water, sanitation, and hygiene resources is available at http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global.Additional information about World Water Day and ideas on how to get involved are available at"}
+{"text": "Nigel Kiely.In the original publication, the name of one of the co-authors has been published incorrectly. The correct name should be Furthermore, the affiliation of Dr. Rohit Singh and Dr. Stuart Hay is included now.Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY38XQ, UK."}
+{"text": "The grant number in the funding statement is incorrect. Please refer to the correct funding statement below:www.fwf.ac.at <http://www.fwf.ac.at>). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.This work was supported by a grant from the Austrian Science Fund (Project P20.196-B17) ("}
+{"text": "Fagus sylvatica L.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was intra-annually monitored to examine plastic responses of the xylem phenology according to altitude in one of the southernmost areas of their distribution range, i.e., in the Moncayo Natural Park, Spain. The monitoring was done from 2011 to 2013 at 1180 and 1580 m a.s.l., corresponding to the lower and upper limits of European beech forest in this region. Microcores containing phloem, cambium and xylem were collected biweekly from twenty-four trees from the beginning of March to the end of November to assess the different phases of wood formation. The samples were prepared for light microscopy to observe the following phenological phases: onset and end of cell production, onset and end of secondary wall formation in xylem cells and onset of cell maturation. The temporal dynamics of wood formation widely differed among years, altitudes and tree species. For Fagus sylvatica, the onset of cambial activity varied between the first week of May and the third week of June. Cambial activity then slowed down and stopped in summer, resulting in a length of growing season of 48\u201375 days. In contrast, the growing season for P. sylvestris started earlier and cambium remained active in autumn, leading to a period of activity varying from 139-170 days. The intra-annual wood-formation pattern is site and species-specific. Comparison with other studies shows a clear latitudinal trend in the duration of wood formation, positive for Fagus sylvatica and negative for P. sylvestris.Wood formation in European beech ( A forest community can prosper only on sites where the environmental conditions are within the niche volumes of each species . The disFagus sylvatica) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) have both high ecological relevance and economic values. European beech forests are spread all over central Europe, from central Poland, the south of Scandinavia and British Isles to the southernmost locations in the mountain ranges of Greece, Italy and Spain  and the timing of xylem formation was compared between the two species and sites to evaluate the adaptation strategies under different environmental conditions. The duration of the xylogenesis was compared with data from other studies of the same two species performed all over Europe.In order to better understand the growth adaptations and limitations of F. sylvatica and P. sylvestris. The mean annual temperature and average annual precipitation for the last 37 years were 11\u00b0 and 710 mm, respectively .F. sylvatica forest on this mountain. The low elevation site was located at 1180 m a.s.l. and the high elevation site at 1560 m a.s.l.Two pure stands of different altitudes were selected for each species, corresponding to the lower and higher altitudinal limits of P. sylvestris and 35\u201350 cm and 120 years for F. sylvatica. From each tree, two microcores containing phloem, cambium and the last formed xylem growth ring were collected at breast height with a Trephor tool , cells undergoing secondary wall thickening and mature cells. For P. sylvestris, the cambial cells were counted as well as the xylem cells in the three different aforementioned phases.For Cambial activity was identified and interpreted within the context of the multi-seriate concept, that the vascular cambium comprises both the cambial initial cells and xylem and phloem mother cells . Thin-waP. sylvestris to normalize the measurements according to F. sylvatica, the normalization formula was adapted using width measurements instead of cell number, as described in The number of cells and the width of tissues in each phase varied between and within trees due to the variation of the tree-ring width around the tree circumference. The number of cells in the previous xylem ring was therefore counted for Extreme values were filtered and xylem-formation dynamics was analyzed with the Gompertz function . CambiumFigure 1).In all years, locations and species, the cambium was still dormant on the first sampling date in the last week of March. Despite site and annual variations in weather conditions, the different xylogenesis phases followed a common pattern during the growing season. The cell enlarging and cell-wall thickening curves follow a characteristic bell shape, while the cell maturation curve follows a sigmoid shape . The cell enlargement started first in P. sylvestris, around 31 March (DOY 90) and 50 days later, around 20 May (DOY 140) in F. sylvatica. Cessation of cell enlargement was observed between 9 July and 6 August (DOY 190-218) for F. sylvatica and in P. sylvestris between 10 August and 1 October (DOY 222-274). Cell-wall thickening and lignification began up to ca. one month earlier and ended around three months later in P. sylvestris than in F. sylvatica. The first mature cells were observed around 25 June (DOY 176) in P. sylvestris and around 7 July (DOY 188) in F. sylvatica.The critical dates for the xylogenesis of \u2217site: p < 0.001). In F. sylvatica, it began between 7 May and 20 June (DOY 127\u2013171), with noticeable differences within years . In P. sylvestris, cell enlargement began between 23 March and 17 April (DOY 82\u2013107). Although the variability was lower in the latter species, in 2011 there was a delay in the beginning of cell enlargement. Focusing on the elevation differences, cell enlargement started earlier at lower elevation in the P. sylvestris than in F. sylvatica. The end of this phase highly varied among years, whereby higher variability was observed between the years then among the sites for each species (ANOVA site: p = 0.31).The beginning of the enlargement phase was highly variable and significantly different among the years for both species at both high and low elevations ; in all cases the cell-wall thickening phase started earlier in 2011 and later in 2013, followed by the same temporal pattern (within-subjects ANOVA time\u2217species\u2217site: p = 0.561) . The first mature cells (5%) were formed earliest in P. sylvestris at low elevation in 2012 , and in 2011  for F. sylvatica.The onset of the secondary wall formation was highly variable (F. sylvatica was significantly shorter than in P. sylvestris (ANOVA species: p < 0.001) . The cell production period during the three study years took 48\u201375 days for F. sylvatica, in contrast to P. sylvestris, with a growing period lasting from 140 to 170 days. Trees growing at low elevation had a longer growing period in the case of P. sylvestris, whereas the growing period of F. sylvatica, in contrast, was shorter at low elevation than at high elevation.The total duration of the xylogenesis of Table 1 and Figure 4). In P. sylvestris, the duration of xylogenesis was shorter at high latitude and longer at low latitude, with a range of 49 days in Finland .The mean duration of the xylogenesis was compared with other studies all over Europe ( Finland  to 217 dherlands  and onlyF. sylvatica and P. sylvestris respond differently to local Mediterranean conditions. Accordingly, the phenology of xylem formation was significantly different between the two species, the period of all P. sylvestris developmental phases being significantly longer.Tree growth is largely affected by different climatic conditions, which become more limiting in adverse climatic conditions, such as in a Continental Mediterranean climate . DiffereP. sylvestris than on F. sylvatica, despite this early-successional condition. The Pinus genus has been established as very plastic and capable of adapting its growth to changing climatic conditions (P. sylvestris has recently been determined as a plastic species in the Mediterranean area (Our results demonstrate that Mediterranean climate has less impact on nditions  and the nditions . Specifiean area .F. sylvatica under Mediterranean conditions have highlighted the growth limitation due to summer high temperatures and drought (F. sylvatica trees are more limited during the year in terms of plasticity because, with the activation of a leaf senescence mechanism, trees inexorably enter a dormant period. Despite this, our results reveal differences in the altitudinal gradient in agreement with the results shown in F. sylvatica forests with different climatic regimes.Several studies performed on  drought . In addiF. sylvatica, similarly as in P. sylvestris.The most striking result of the present study is the great differences in growth patterns among the years, highlighting a plastic response of radial growth in High variability in xylem phenology between years and sites demonstrates high plasticity of the species. The timing of different developmental phases significantly varied between the two species. Even though the variability of the critical dates was high among years and sites, the most remarkable disparity was found between the two tree species.F. sylvatica started earlier than in the other two study years, while P. sylvestris showed the latest onset of growth in the same year.Xylogenesis, starting with cambial division and cell enlargement, is triggered by an increase in air temperature in spring. Several studies have demonstrated this positive relationship , which hP. sylvestris continued until mid-November, whereas in F. sylvatica it ceased in mid-August, i.e., about three months earlier. Mild temperatures during early autumn may result in an extension of the growing period for P. sylvestris but not for F. sylvatica, since by that time leaf senescence has also already started. Cessation of cell-wall thickening was first observed in the lower part of the mountain in both species, as was similarly reported by The end of the cell-wall thickening phase seems to be a key date, since it defines the end of xylogenesis. Overall, the thickening phase in P. sylvestris. This may be explained by the late frost that occurred in 2013, after the onset of cell enlargement in P. sylvestris. This event presumably affected the temporal dynamics of wood formation in both species, although with different magnitudes. F. sylvatica. Nonetheless, a more detailed study of the climatic-growth relationship would be needed to confirm this hypothesis.A common pattern is an evident delay in all developmental phases in 2013, except the beginning of wood formation in F. sylvatica and more than five months for P. sylvestris. Because of the early start and late end, P. sylvestris on Moncayo showed the longest xylogenesis duration in this species recorded in the various studies to date. Moreover, the shortest xylogenesis duration for F. sylvatica was also captured on this mountain.Although both species are growing at their southern distribution limit and, consequently, their radial growth is somewhat constrained, the duration of the growing period of the two species significantly varied. The duration of xylogenesis highlights the differences between the species; it was two months for P. sylvestris occurred earlier than on numerous Central European sites (P. halepensis (P. pinaster (F. sylvatica, the results showed the opposite response, the beginning was later than in colder locations in Europe, such as in France (F. sylvatica.Cambial resumption in an sites , which clepensis  or P. pipinaster . The extn France , Slovenin France , Romanian France , Czech Rn France  and the n France . This inF. sylvatica than in P. sylvestris growing at the edge of their southern spatial distribution. This shows that intra-annual radial growth patterns in the studied species are differently affected by the Mediterranean conditions. The annual variation of the critical xylogenesis dates indicates a high species-specific plasticity for adapting to changing climatic conditions. As a result, the period of xylogenesis in F. sylvatica was around 2 months, while for P. sylvestris it was more than 5 months. Our findings are in accordance with our hypothesis of contrasting growth strategies and adaptations of the two species at the edge of their spatial distribution.It appears that the temporal dynamics of xylogenesis is considerably different in P. sylvestris showed a positive xylogenesis duration trend on southern locations. F. sylvatica, in contrast, showed a shorter xylogenesis duration in the south of Europe than that shown in northern locations. These findings demonstrate that a deciduous and late-successional species such as F. sylvatica is negatively affected by Mediterranean climatic conditions, resulting in a shorter xylogenesis, whereas in the evergreen and early-successional P. sylvestris, xylogenesis is shown to be longer in Mediterranean environments.Furthermore, we compared our observations with those of other authors working on the same two species in different climatic environments, especially along a latitudinal range. A clear north\u2013south trend was found in the xylogenesis duration over the distribution range of both species. EMDC did the fieldwork, wrote the paper and together with ML carried out the statistical analysis and prepared the figures. ML and LA developed the idea of this work and get the necessary funds. EMDC together with K\u010c, JG, and PP did the laboratory work and measurements. EG-P and K\u010c provided facilities and material support and gave technical support during laboratory work. All authors without exception helped to improve the work, specially the discussion and conclusions.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "AbstractPolydora Fenzl and Oocephala H.Rob. Disposition of pores in Polydora seems more asymmetric than in Oocephala. Based on the known relationships within the Vernonieae, some conjectures are made regarding development of the pantoporate condition in the group.Pantoporate pollen, which occurs sporadically in the Monocots and Dicots, has now been found in Asteraceae in two apparently related genera of the tribe Vernonieae,  Vernonieae is notable for remarkable variations in pollen structure, variations in sublophate and lophate forms with varying degrees of reduced perforated tectum in the exine and variations in the attachments of the outer exine to the footlayer. Now a new variation has been encountered during a study of South African Vernonieae that involves the first known examples of pantoporate pollen with non-equatorial pores in the Asteraceae. It is of some interest that one of the genera involved, Polydora  was one in which pollen was first used as a taxonomic character in the Asteraceae by The tribe PageBreakVernonieae are the only examples of pollen in the Asteraceae with perforated tectum partially or completely lacking in non-colpar areas. Also unique to the tribe in the family is the six-porate form of pollen in the southeast Asian genus Camchaya Gagnep., where the pores occur equatorially in three pairs , that is, not all equatorial in position.Already known in the Tribe ee pairs . There ir pollen . Now, fo6) electron sources. To achieve limited increased breakage, material gathered at the base of a centrifuge tube was given a few jabs with a dissecting needle.Specimens examined are from the U.S. National Herbarium in Washington, D.C. Examination of pollen with a light microscope was insufficient to show the position of the pores. Pollen grains in most illustrations were treated with acetolysis (Erdtman 1960), followed by staining with osmium thiocarbohydrazide solutions and sputter coating with gold-palladium . UnacetoOocephala and Polydora, are evidently closely related to each other according to the pollen similarity, and both have pedunculate heads, a characteristic of many genera. Nevertheless, the two genera are easily distinguished from each other. Polydora has an ordinary broadly campanulate capitulum, and an ordinary capillary pappus. Oocephala (egghead) has an egg-shaped capitulum and a plumose pappus.The two genera in which the pantoporate pollen is now being reported are both restricted to sub-Saharan Africa. The two genera, PageBreakOocephala, Oocephala centauroides (Klatt) H.Rob. & Skvarla, comb. nov.   H.Rob. & Skvarla, comb. nov.   H.Rob.  H.Rob. (Polydora bainesii (Oliv. & Hiern) H.Rob. (Polydora chloropappa (Baker) H. Rob; Polydora jelfiae (S. Moore) H.Rob.; Polydora sylvicola (G.V. Pope) H.Rob. (Polydora poskeana (Vatke & Hildebr.) H.Rob. (Polydora steetziana (Oliv. & Hiern) H.Rob. (Polydora serratuloides (DC.) H.Rob.  H.Rob. ; and eig) H.Rob. , 4; Poly) H.Rob. ; Polydor) H.Rob. ; Polydor) H.Rob. ; Polydor) H.Rob. ; and Pol) H.Rob. .Centrapalinae and Erlangeinae that are native to the Paleotropics. A note of interest is the possible difference in the chemical make-up of these muri, since they have been seen to survive the degrading effects of chloral hydrate more completely than the muri and tectum of other Vernonieae when mounted in Hoyer\u2019s solution (The pollen of both genera has a lophate exine pattern that is nearly spherically symmetrical. The pattern consists of a mixture of pentagonal and hexagonal lacunae. Perforated tectum is essentially absent leaving totally exposed muri and their subtending columellae. Both genera also share a mural structure that has been referred to as rhizomate  Figs 1F, 6C, E. solution .Centrapalinae and Erlangeinae. The lacunae in which the pores occur are totally undifferentiated in any other way, being either pentagonal or hexagonal, even in the polar PageBreakPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakregions. The depths of the lacunae usually prevent seeing more than one pore at a time unless the grains are unacetylized and the caps on the pores are preserved (Oocephala and Polydora are particularly helpful. The totally exposed sphere of the pollen footlayer shows the pores very well (Oocephala and Polydora. It was study of the toy ball that led to the conclusion that the pollen of Oocephala could characteristically have seven or eight pores. (Positions of the pores are often difficult to determine in lophate pollen of the reserved  (Robinsoreserved . Thus, tery well , 7C, D. ery well , 7C, 7D.t pores. , 2E.PageBreakOocephala, even in grains with the muri present, pores can be seen in adjacent lacunae (Polydora (Oocephala (Polydora (An exact count of the pores can never be certain, since there is evidence of some uneven distribution of pores in some grains. In a few cases, in  lacunae , 4B, 6D.Polydora \u20137C, expaPolydora . The totocephala , 2E, andPolydora , but panBromeliaceae, Alismataceae and Araceae. In basal dicots polyporate pollen is mentioned only from the Trimeniaceae (Caryophyllales, Ranunculales, Podostemaceae, Linaceae, Zygophyllaceae and Geraniaceae as achieving the polyporate condition by multiplication of simple furrows that are reduced to pores. In other families such as Malvaceae, Sterculiaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Malpighiaceae a spiralization of a line joining centers of apertures is suggested. All of these are in derived groups, and polyporate pollen is not basic to any group.Two basic porate conditions of Angiosperm pollen are well known . The foreniaceae . In the Asteraceae, and suggestions here are based on observations of the pollen of related members of the family in the tribe Vernonieae.There have been no previous reports of pantoporate pollen in the Asteraceae has pollen that is basically tricolporate, a condition that seems basic to all the tribes including the Vernonieae (Asteraceae is found in the tribe Vernonieae which has the some of the most destabilized pollen formation of any tribe in the family. The pantoporate pollen has developed within the subgroup of the Vernonieae that already has the most spherically symmetrical forms of pollen in the tribe, the subtribal pair, Erlangeinae and Centrapalinae. It is in these subtribes that the colpi are totally suppressed, and orderly arrangement of the lacunae, even at the poles, is completely lost. These features that have become so spherically symmetrical in these subtribes are among the last layers laid down as the pollen grain matures. The position of the pores is much more basic, being established in some of the innermost PageBreakand earliest laid down layers of the pollen. It is the contention here that the loss of radial symmetry in the Vernonieae pollen started with the outermost and most belatedly deposited layers of the grains, and progressed eventually to the inner and earlier deposited layers.The rnonieae . The mosPolydora and less evident in the more specialized Oocephala. This could trace to the fact that the developing pollen grain has a distal surface that faces outward in the pollen mother cell, and a proximal surface that faces inward toward the center of the tetrad of pollen grains. Thus, the distribution of the pores is influenced by early stages in pollen development, beginning with position in the tetrads or mother cell.There is even a developmental basis for the asymmetry in the distribution of the pores, more obvious in"}
+{"text": "Taenia solium cysticercosis in pigs from Myanmar are published. The authors found a porcine cysticercosis prevalence of 23.67% in slaughtered pigs, which, as they mention, indicates the presence of human taeniasis and also the risk of acquiring human cysticercosis and, therefore, neurocysticercosis.We have read with interest the paper by Khaing et al. , in whic T. solium taeniasis among the inhabitants of Myanmar leading to a high presence of infective eggs in the environment. However, as far as we know, the presence of T. solium taeniasis, as well as neurocysticercosis, has only been diagnosed in refugees or immigrants from that country but not in people living in Myanmar [The high porcine cysticercosis prevalence detected by the authors means, obviously, that there has to be a high prevalence of human Myanmar \u20136. T. solium is present in Myanmar; however, our query is whether other human Taenia species might also be present in that country and, in particular, whether T. asiatica could be present in Myanmar as suggested more than 20 years ago by Fan et al. [There is no doubt thatn et al.  and receT. asiatica was described as a new species in 1993 [ Taenia species has practically the same gravid proglottid morphology as Taenia saginata, but its life cycle is just the same as that of T. solium; that is, its intermediate hosts are pigs instead of cattle, the intermediate hosts for T. saginata. The clear liver tropism the cysticerci of T. asiatica presents in pigs is worth mentioning. Regarding its geographical distribution, the species has been found in Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Japan, and Nepal [ T. asiatica was initially considered as an exclusively Southeastern Asian parasite, its finding in Nepal (far from Southeast Asia) and the phenomenon of globalization (it is a parasite with cosmopolitan hosts) have recently led to the notion that the species probably has a wider distribution [ T. asiatica in three more Asian countries, Myanmar, Laos, and Malaysia, is highly suspected [ in 1993 . This thribution , 11. The T. asiatica was detected in a Karen immigrant who moved from Myanmar to Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, in 2005. However, she had already started to expel proglottids in faeces in 1997, when she was still living in Myanmar [ T. asiatica in Myanmar is very likely.Concerning Myanmar, no cases have been confirmed so far, but a case identified asT. asiatica may be found in the definitive (humans) as well as in the intermediatehost (pigs). The detection of T. asiatica taeniasis is by no means an easy task. Taking into account that neither the characteristics of the eggs nor the morphology of the gravid proglottids are specific enough to distinguish T. asiatica from T. saginata, these two species can only be differentiated by means of molecular techniques ) [action)) . Unfortu T. asiatica cysticerci in pigs. Routine meat inspections conducted in pigs in Myanmar include the study of T. solium predilection sites such as the tongue, masseter, brain, shoulder, diaphragm, heart, and skeletal, fore limb as well as hind limb muscles [ T. asiatica are almost exclusively located in the liver, such local inspections would not be sensitive enough to detect infected livers [ T. asiatica cross-reacts even in the most specific immunological method to detect T. solium cysticercosis, the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) [ T. asiatica cysticercosis.A specific meat inspection should be carried out to detect muscles . Consided livers . In addit (EITB) . Therefo T. asiatica cysticerci can easily be differentiated from those of T. solium due to their smaller size as well as the lack of hooklets or the presence of vestigial ones [ T. asiatica is definitely present in Myanmar or not.For the aforementioned reasons, we urge Khaing and colleagues to take advantage of their research in pigs in Myanmar and carry out a detailed study of the surface as well as the parenchyma of pig livers.ial ones . Molecul"}
+{"text": "Dr. Sineenart Oota is not included in the author byline. She should be listed as the eighteenth author, and her affiliation is: National Blood Center, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. The contributions of this author are as follows: Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools."}
+{"text": "After publication of this work , we noteThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.YC and MN conceived the study. YC and MN participated in the design of the study. YC, MI, HI, NO, and MN participated in data interpretation, and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and Pseudoterranova decipiens. Recently, however, DNA sequencing of larvae from 15 of 16 anisakiasis patients confirmed the cause to be Anisakis pegreffii infection. Molecular analysis should be performed for all extracted larvae.Anisakiasis in humans in South Korea has been considered to be caused exclusively by the larvae of  Anisakis and Pseudoterranova, and the source of infection is marine fish or squids harboring these larvae , originally recovered from a Mediterranean monk seal ; however, molecular techniques can easily distinguish the 2 types of larvae , South Korea , and some European countries  where people eat raw or undercooked fish  genes.In South Korea, Anisakis type I larvae were removed from the stomach of 16 patients referred to the Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea, from 2000 through 2013 ; nested PCR and nucleotide sequencing were performed on the ITS region  according to procedures reported previously  with those of the A. pegreffii sequence available in GenBank (accession no. AB277823), whereas their identity with A. simplex s.s. (accession no. AB277822) was 99.2% (A. simplex s.s. (accession no. AB277822) and 99.2% identity with those of A. pegreffii (accession no. AB277823). On the basis of these results, A. pegreffii nematode infection was diagnosed for 15 of the 16 patients, and A. simplex s.s. infection was diagnosed for only 1 patient.Of the 26 as 99.2% . The remA. pegreffii nematode infection in humans in South Korea, making this the third country  in which this infection in humans has been identified. This high proportion of A. pegreffii nematode infections in humans is surprising and suggests that most cases of anisakiasis in humans in South Korea may be caused by A. pegreffii rather than A. simplex s.s. larvae. To confirm the source of infection, molecular analyses of Anisakis larvae extracted from human patients are required in South Korea.Our results confirm the presence of A. pegreffii nematodes was first documented in Italy by use of PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis  was not expected because in Japan (Kyushu and Hokkaido), which are geographically close to South Korea, Anisakis larvae from humans are mostly A. simplex s.s. (99/100 larvae from 84/85 patients); only 1 larva was identified as A. pegreffii , including Kyushu and Fukuoka (close to South Korea), showed more A. pegreffii than A. simplex s.s larvae (Anisakis larvae species that infect humans in South Korea and Japan.The markedly high proportion of A. simplex s.s. larvae for human patients was compared with that of A. pegreffii (A. simplex s.s. larvae had greater potential than A. pegreffii larvae to survive acidic gastric juice and to penetrate the human stomach, small intestine, and colon. However, further studies are needed to elucidate this finding.When the pathogenic potential of A. simplex s.s. and A. pegreffii larvae to elicit gastroallergic reactions. These reactions are characterized by urticaria on the arms and abdomen and by angioedema or anaphylaxis when the live parasite attempts to penetrate the gastric mucosa (Anisakis nematode allergy among patients in South Korea (Another clinicopathologic concern associated with anisakiasis in humans is the potential for A. pegreffii over A. simplex s.s. nematode infection among humans with anisakiasis in South Korea. The study highlights the need to perform molecular analysis for each larva extracted from human patients in this country.Our study demonstrates the predominance of"}
+{"text": "Bactrocera dorsalis species complex currently harbors approximately 90 different members. The species complex has undergone many revisions in the past decades, and there is still an ongoing debate about the species limits. The availability of a variety of tools and approaches, such as molecular-genomic and cytogenetic analyses, are expected to shed light on the rather complicated issues of species complexes and incipient speciation. The clarification of genetic relationships among the different members of this complex is a prerequisite for the rational application of sterile insect technique (SIT) approaches for population control.The Bactrocera dorsalis complex were cytologically characterized. The taxa under study were B. dorsalis s.s., B. philippinensis, B. papayae, B. invadens and B. carambolae. Mitotic and polytene chromosome analyses did not reveal any chromosomal characteristics that could be used to distinguish between the investigated members of the B. dorsalis complex. Therefore, their polytene chromosomes can be regarded as homosequential with the reference maps of B. dorsalis s.s.. In situ hybridization of six genes further supported the proposed homosequentiallity of the chromosomes of these specific members of the complex.Colonies established in the Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL) , representing five of the main economic important members of the B. dorsalis s.s. as reference maps for all these five biological entities is proposed. Present data provide important insight in the genetic relationships among the different members of the B. dorsalis complex, and, along with other studies in the field, can facilitate SIT applications targeting this complex. Moreover, the availability of 'universal' reference polytene chromosome maps for members of the complex, along with the documented application of in situ hybridization, can facilitate ongoing and future genome projects in this complex.The present analysis supports that the polytene chromosomes of the five taxa under study are homosequential. Therefore, the use of the available polytene chromosome maps for  Bactrocera dorsalis complex species is a group of true fruit flies belonging to Tephritidae, with great economic importance. Following the most recent taxonomic revisions, this complex is currently harboring approximately 90 morphological similar taxa [B. dorsalis s.s., B. philippinensis, B. papayae and B. carambolae. In 2003, an addition to the complex was made: B. invadens was detected in Kenya, and initially was considered a morphological variant of B. dorsalis s.s. [B. dorsalis complex [The lar taxa ,2. Among complex . Ever si complex .B. papayae with B. philippinensis; however there is also an ongoing debate about the species status of other important pests of the complex.In recent years, accumulating data cast doubt on the 'actual' number of different species in the complex. Research performed by different laboratories points to a possible overestimation in the number of discrete taxa in the complex and the need of another taxonomic revision to incorporate the synonymic status of different species. This research includes morphological/morphometric studies -10, behaB. dorsalis complex is not just a scientific question regarding evolution and speciation. It is also important for the agricultural economies of countries that heavily rely on fruit exports. The first aspect refers to quarantine measures. The current taxonomy leads to the implementation of certain quarantine policies; therefore it is critical to be as accurate as possible, when assessing species limits of economic important pest populations. As a characteristic example, the description of B. invadens as a separate species within the B. dorsalis complex prompted additional fruit export restrictions in many African countries, leading to increased economic losses [Ceratitis capitata [B. dorsalis complex, initially developed for the control of B. dorsalis s.s. [B. carambolae with B. dorsalis s.s. sterile flies point in such a direction.The delimitation of species within the c losses ,12. The capitata -23. In plis s.s. -26. The lis s.s. ,28, showDrosophila, based on mitotic and polytene chromosomes, were the first to detect interspecific inversions' differences [Drosophila species [Species limits can sometimes be obscure, and speciation can be driven by a variety of forces. Among them, chromosomal rearrangements (mainly inversions), are considered as key factors in Diptera speciation, especially in sympatric populations . Early cferences ,31. Sturferences  and Dobzferences  first sh species -38 and m species -41 suppo species ). More r species ,43. A po species , that caDrosophila species [repleta species group [Ceratitis [Bactrocera [Dacus [Rhagoletis [Anastrepha [Taking into account the above, it is evident that cytogenetic analyses can help in resolving species boundaries within species complexes. This has been well documented in different  species , such as species  and the es group . In resperatitis , Bactrocctrocera -53, Dacua [Dacus , Rhagoleagoletis -57,57 anastrepha  is valuaB. dorsalis complex have also demonstrated the importance of adequate and well characterized samples: when exploring species limits and characters that may overlap, it is important to develop well organized and comprehensive sampling schemes [Studies in  schemes ,16. SincB. dorsalis s.s., B. philippinensis, B. papayae, B. invadens and B. carambolae, through the analysis of their mitotic complements and the comparison of their polytene chromosomes with the published reference maps for B. dorsalis s.s. [1 bidirectional hybrids  were also analyzed, aiming at the detection of fixed chromosomal rearrangements among the parental colonies. We focused on these hybrids since: a) B. invadens is the only member of the complex originating from Africa, and its current recognition as a distinct species within the complex has severe quarantine consequences and b) B. carambolae is considered to be more clearly differentiated from the other four members of the complex [in situ hybridization was performed using unique genes, attempting to: a) provide diagnostic landmarks for the polytene chromosome arms, b) reveal small chromosome rearrangements undetectable by microscopic observation and c) test the utility of B. dorsalis complex polytene chromosomes and polytene maps for future mapping experiments.In the present study, we tried to identify chromosomal differences between five of the main agricultural pests of the complex, namely lis s.s. . As worklis s.s. ,11-13,16 complex ,11,16. FB. dorsalis s.s. (Saraburi - Thailand and Nakhon Si Thammarat - Thailand), one of B. philippinensis (Philippines), one of B. papayae , one of B. invadens (Kenya) and one of B. carambolae  were analyzed. In addition, the two following F1 bidirectional hybrids were analyzed: a) B. dorsalis s.s. (Saraburi strain) \u00d7 B. carambolae and b) B. dorsalis s.s. (Saraburi strain) \u00d7 B. invadens.Colonies representing the five economic important members of the complex currently established at the IPCL were used. Specifically, two colonies of oC). Chromosomes were stained with Giemsa . Chromosome slides were analyzed at 100 \u00d7 magnification, using a phase contrast microscope (Leica DMR), and photographs were taken using a CCD camera . At least 15 good quality preparations (each one representing one larva) per sample and at least 10 well spread nuclei per preparation were analysed.Chromosome preparations were made, as described in . Brain trd instar larvae, as described in [Polytene chromosome preparations were made from 3ribed in . Larvae in situ hybridization were made from salivary glands of 1-4 day-old pupae, as described in [Polytene chromosome preparations for ribed in . Six hetribed in . HybridiB. dorsalis s.s., B. philippinensis, B. papayae, B. invadens and B. carambolae) show five pairs of autosomes and one pair of heteromorphic sex chromosomes (XX/XY). The autosomes have been numbered II to VI according to descending size order [All the members of the complex analyzed here , previously found in B. dorsalis s.s. [A comparison of the polytene elements of all analyzed strains with the reference map of lis s.s.  revealedlis s.s. , was alsB. dorsalis s.s. samples  and F1 B. dorsalis s.s. \u00d7 B. carambolae hybrids  was performed. The analysis of chromosome preparations of the hybrids did not reveal signs of fixed chromosome differences between the parental strains, evident from the perfect synapses among the parental homologous chromosomes  in situ hybridization of selected genes confirmed that there are no differences among the five members of the complex based at least on the limited number of probes tested. The in situ results also provided characteristic landmarks for the recognition of the polytene arms and demonstrated the utility of polytene chromosomes and reference maps of the complex for in situ mapping projects.The main findings of the present study can be summarized as follows: a) mitotic karyotypes of the five members of the complex presented form A, the typical one for rding to  represenB. dorsalis species complex includes at least eight economic important pests [B. dorsalis s.s. [a priori suitable for mass rearing and release purposes. These strains have to exhibit a number of traits, such as genetic stability and good productivity in the laboratory or in mass rearing conditions over a number of generations as well as male mating competitiveness in the field. In respect to this, cytogenetic knowledge of the chromosomal events generating GSSs, along with standard Quality Control (QC) measures are of major importance for the assessment of the abovementioned traits [The nt pests  that inflis s.s. -26. Howed traits .B. dorsalis s.s., B. papayae, B. philippinensis and B. invadens), favour the 'universal' application of the B. dorsalis s.s. GSSs against all the above members of the complex. This is very important, considering the effort required in generating GSSs through classical genetic methods. In respect to this, the recent study of [B. dorsalis s.s. GSS against B. carambolae, after several generations of crosses aiming to integrate this strain to B. carambolae genomic background.The resolution of biological relationships among the different entities of species complexes is of high importance, since SIT application without this knowledge could jeopardize the effectiveness of such programs, especially in areas where different members of the complex overlap. This information is very useful in respect to the selection of appropriate laboratory strains for release purposes. The findings of the present study along with other studies that support a single species scenario ,13,16,17study of  presenteB. dorsalis s.s.[B. carambolae. In that study, samples derived directly from infested fruits and characterized as B. carambolae based on morphological, geographic and host criteria, were reported to possess \u00d7 chromosomes larger than the autosomes (form E karyotype). Our analysis does not confirm this report. A recent cytogenetic study on a B. carambolae colony derived from Malaysia also presented a typical form A karyotype for this species [Our analysis of mitotic chromosomes shows that all members of the complex studied here exhibit the same karyotype, described previously as form A . This foalis s.s.,61,63-65 species .Given that a) geographic origin and plant host alone cannot be regarded as absolute taxonomic criteria ,10,19 anB. dorsalis complex have shown that there is considerable variability in size and ratio of the X chromosome arms [A. fraterculus complex [Previous studies on mitotic karyotypes of the ome arms ,63-65. X complex . \u03a4he hig complex -58,68,69B. dorsalis species complex is based on the following observations: i) absence of fixed chromosomal rearrangements in comparison to the reference map of B. dorsalis s.s.; ii) absence of differences among the parental homologous chromosomes in the two hybrids studied; iii) identical heterochromatic mass of the centromeric regions of each chromosome element in all taxa; iv) common characteristic asynapsis of the chromosomal region 73-74 and v) in situ localization of each of six genes on the same chromosomal region in all taxa analyzed.The proposed chromosomal homosequentiality of the five members of the in situ mapping of unique genes show that chromosomal rearrangements characterize different species [B. dorsalis s.s. and B. tryoni, a species outside, but closely related to the B. dorsalis complex, clearly shows at least one fixed inversion in polytene arm 2R that differentiates the two species . A similar observation has been reported for another Thailand B. dorsalis s.s. population [B. dorsalis complex could provide important insight in the involvement of chromosomal rearrangements in speciation within this species group.Even though fixed rearrangements were not found in the polytene chromosome of the species studied, polymorphic inversions were observed in the two pulation . Althougpulation . The cytB. dorsalis s.s. \u00d7 B. carambolae hybrid, in respect to the B. dorsalis s.s. \u00d7 B. invadens hybrid, may indicate that the B. carambolae genome has small differences compared to the other members of the complex. Current literature tends to support B. carambolae as a discrete entity within the complex, but closely related to the others [B. carambolae to a) mate, although with reduced compatibility, b) produce viable and fertile progeny in the lab and c) produce hybrids carrying intermediate characteristics with other members of the complex [B. carambolae and the other members of the complex. Therefore, this is a case most likely representing incipient rather than complete speciation, a phenomenon also observed in the A. fraterculus complex [The minor polymorphic asynapses observed in all samples most probably represent differential gene expression of the two parental homologous chromosomes. However, the presence of small, undetectable (with microscopic observation) rearrangements, such as inversions, deletions or insertions of repetitive or heterochromatic material, cannot be excluded. Indeed, even small inversions can alter the control of regulatory elements and lead to differential gene expression (puffing activity) . Thus, te others ,13,16,19 complex ,28,70,71 complex ,69.B. dorsalis species complex. Our data are in accordance with other recent studies questioning the currently accepted number of discrete species within this complex, since no fixed chromosomal differences were found. This outcome is of major importance for SIT applications targeting the different members of the complex. Currently, there are efforts towards genome/transcriptome sequencing of the B. dorsalis complex [in situ hybridization of genes on the polytene chromosomes, highlight the importance of cytogenetics in gaining more insight regarding organization of newly generated contig sequences and chromosomal localization of genes of specific interest.The present study sheds important light in the delimitation of species boundaries within the  complex ,73 that No competing interests exist.AAA, AGP, AZ conceived the experiments. AAA, ED, AGP, PMT, AZ performed the experiments. AAA, ED, AGP, KB, PMT, AZ performed the analysis. AAA, ED, AGP, KB, PMT, AZ wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript."}
+{"text": "The following information is missing from the Funding section: Funding was also provided by the National Science Centre, decision no. DEC-2013/09/B/ST6/02317.Additionally, one of the affiliations for the third author is not indicated. Boleslaw K. Szymanski is also affiliated with the Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland."}
+{"text": "The hormonal family of vasoinhibins, which derive from the anterior pituitary hormone prolactin, are known for their inhibiting effects on blood vessel growth, vasopermeability, and vasodilation. As pleiotropic hormones, vasoinhibins act in multiple target organs and tissues. The generation, secretion, and regulation of vasoinhibins are embedded into the organizational principle of an axis, which integrates the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the target tissue microenvironment. This axis is designated as the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis. Disturbances of the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis are associated with the pathogenesis of retinal and cardiac diseases and with diseases occurring during pregnancy. New phylogenetical, physiological, and clinical implications are discussed. CleavagVasoinhibin species are detected in the rat , 73, mouThe presence of vasoinhibins in the pituitary gland and plasma reflect their hormonal nature, that is, their generation and secretion by an endocrine gland into the circulation. However, vasoinhibins can also act locally at their production site, as demonstrated in rodent studies in which antiproliferative and proapoptotic actions of vasoinhibins were observed in the anterior pituitary gland . In caseWhether the effects of vasoinhibins in the above-mentioned target tissues are due to their action on the vessel system in these tissues or on a tissue-specific cell-type is not always clear. The vasoinhibin effect in the heart, however, in which vasoinhibins utilize the cardiomyocyte to exert their effect on the heart's vasculature, points to the possibility of a complex interplay between both, vascular and nonvascular cells. Furthermore, the proportion as to which the total amount of vasoinhibins present in a target tissue is of systemic or local origin is unknown.2+/calmodulin-activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) -signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway, the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway . Of notee (eNOS) . They ale (eNOS) , the acte (eNOS) , 23. Thee (eNOS) . These vKd = 10 nM) than to PAI-1 (1 \u03bcM) or uPA-PAI-1 (0.5 \u03bcM). While the difference in affinity may suggest a higher Kd for the natural multicomponent PAI-1-uPA-uPA receptor complex, the contribution of other vasoinhibin binding sites, for example a new cell surface receptor, cannot be disregarded and continues to be an unresolved question.A target  and freqA role further downstream in the vasoinhibin-signaling cascade, downstream from a potential cell surface receptor or signaling via PAI-1-uPA-uPAR, is described for the vasoinhibin-miR146a (microRNA-146a) circuit. It appears from the studies in PPCM models, that vasoinhibins mediate part of their antiangiogenic effects via induction of miR146a in endothelial cells. If exposed to vasoinhibins, HUVEC proliferation is reduced via upregulation of miR146a and HUVEC release miR146a-loaded exosomes that can be absorbed by neonatal rat cardiomyocytes . In thesNo data exist about the half-life of vasoinhibins in the circulation. The extent as to which the liver and the kidney contribute to the clearance of vasoinhibins is also unknown. However, vasoinhibins were detected in the urine of women with preeclampsia , 65, poiNew physiological and clinical implications of the prolactin/vasoinhibin axis arise from the governing principle of the growth-restricting effects of vasoinhibins. Vasoinhibins mediate their growth-restricting effects via the inhibition of angiogenesis, which reduces tissue growth due to the lowering of oxygen and nutrient availability. Physiological tissue growth and angiogenesis is fundamental in pregnancy, where angiogenesis is a prerequisite for growth of the placenta and therefore fetal growth.During pregnancy, PRL level progressively rise to \u223c20\u201340 ng/ml at the end of the first trimester, 50\u2013150 ng/ml by the end of the second trimester, and 100\u2013400 ng/ml at term , perhapsVasoinhibins are generated in the human placenta with higher rates observed in placentas from women with preeclampsia  and TypeProlactin and growth hormone (GH) are phylogenetically related, they evolved from a common ancestral gene , and shaIt is unclear if the differences in molecular mass impact the structure and function of vasoinhibins. Also, it remains to be shown whether and to what extent each of the various proteases contributes to the physiological, endogenous level of vasoinhibins, and how the synthesis of different vasoinhibins is modified in disease conditions. Accordingly, the total composition and full identity of endogenous vasoinhibins in the circulation and at the target-tissue levels, including their interplay, has yet to be determined. The impact of glycosylation of PRL on vasoinhibin physiology is unknown. It is possible, however, that glycosylation alters the proteolytic cleavage of PRL and may thus impact vasoinhibin generation, as well as the action and clearance of these peptides . These uAnother major unresolved question is the normal concentration of endogenous vasoinhibins in the human circulation. This is owing to the lack of a quantitative assay, with which circulating vasoinhibin levels and reference ranges could swiftly be established. The only method for the evaluation of endogenous vasoinhibins, which is considered relatively reliable is immunoprecipitation and Western blotting. However, this method is only semiquantitative and subject to significant interassay variability. Mass spectrometric techniques were successfully adapted to determine vasoinhibins in sera ; howeverProlactin is a pleiotropic hormone whose functions are classified into seven categories: water and electrolyte balance, growth and development, endocrinology and metabolism, brain and behavior, reproduction, immunoregulation and protection, and actions associated with pathological disease states . As vasoProlactin, GH, and PL have evolved from a common ancestral gene. On the basis of sequence comparisons of tetrapod hormones, the divergence is located approximately 392 million years ago . Two modXenopus tropicalis, and none in the zebrafish and the spotted gar  in body fluids. The latter is a major demand for studying the involvement of vasoinhibins in pregnancy-associated diseases, diabetic complications, and cancer and for their implications in risk stratification, diagnosis, and treatment. Naturally, resolving the solution structure of vasoinhibins by NMR spectroscopy, possibly by analyzing recombinant human vasoinhibins, would enhance our understanding of the structure-function relationships of the vasoinhibin family and produce valuable insights into their mechanism of action. Upon successful resolution of these issues, the knowledge of the role of vasoinhibins in health and disease will be greatly enhanced and the development of a sustainable classification of vasoinhibins that provides orientation in future biomedical research, will commence.National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico .This study was supported by the No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author(s).Author contributions: J.T. and C.C. conception and design of research; J.T., D.R.-B., C.F.P., and C.C. analyzed data; J.T. and C.C. interpreted results of experiments; J.T., T.B., D.R.-B., G.M.d.l.E., and C.C. prepared figures; J.T. drafted manuscript; J.T., T.B., D.R.-B., C.F.P., M.H., G.M.d.l.E., and C.C. edited and revised manuscript; J.T., T.B., C.B., D.R.-B., C.F.P., M.H., G.M.d.l.E., and C.C. approved final version of manuscript."}
+{"text": "Bactrocera fruit fly species are economically important throughout the Pacific. The USDA, ARS U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center has been a world leader in promoting biological control of Bactrocera spp. that includes classical, augmentative, conservation and IPM approaches. In Hawaii, establishment of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) in 1895 resulted in the introduction of the most successful parasitoid, Psyttalia fletcheri (Silvestri); similarly, establishment of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) in 1945 resulted in the introduction of 32 natural enemies of which Fopius arisanus (Sonan), Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) and Fopius vandenboschi (Fullaway) were most successful. Hawaii has also been a source of parasitoids for fruit fly control throughout the Pacific region including Australia, Pacific Island Nations, Central and South America, not only for Bactrocera spp. but also for Ceratitis and Anastrepha spp. Most recently, in 2002, F. arisanus was introduced into French Polynesia where B. dorsalis had invaded in 1996. Establishment of D. longicaudata into the new world has been important to augmentative biological control releases against Anastrepha spp. With the rapid expansion of airline travel and global trade there has been an alarming spread of Bactrocera spp. into new areas of the world . Results of studies in Hawaii and French Polynesia, support parasitoid introductions into South America and Africa, where B. carambolae and B. invadens, respectively, have become established. In addition, P. fletcheri is a candidate for biological control of B. cucurbitae in Africa. We review past and more recent successes against Bactrocera spp. and related tephritids, and outline simple rearing and release methods to facilitate this goal. Bactrocera genus is particularly important throughout the Pacific. It consists of at least 440 species distributed primarily in tropical Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific . A. AF. ariFopiusarisanus occurs from south India to Taiwan, and has been introduced and established in Australia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Fiji, Hawaii, Mauritius, Samoa, Tonga, Reunion, and Israel . In augmentative releases of P. fletcheri against melon fly, numbers of B. cucurbitae emerging from fruits placed inside field treatment cages were reduced by up to 21 fold and numbers of parasitoids were increased by 11 fold [P. fletcheri into ivy gourd patches throughout the Kailua-Kona area, parasitism rates were 4.7 times higher in release plots compared to those in control plots. However there was no significant reduction in emergence of flies from fruits. Similarly, in releases of P. fletcheri in zucchini plots in Waimea, there was an increase in parasitoid recovery rates, but no reduction in melon fly damage. Fopius arisanus was also tested as an augmentative tool in small plots of guava in Waimea where the existing population of F. arisanus was low. Levels of parasitism were increased, but infestation was not reduced [The role of parasitoids were tested in the Hawaii AWPM fruit fly program at three levels of application: (1) conservation; (2) augmentative releases; and 3) classical releases [ classica 11 fold . In openF. arisanus and D. longicaudata into South America and Africa, where B. carambolae and B. invadens have become established, respectively [F. arisanus and D. longicaudata evolved in areas where the B. dorsalis complex species are indigenous and their success is likely to be higher on species of that complex than other fruit flies. Given F. arisanus attacks the egg stage and forages on ripening fruits, while D. longicaudata attacks third instar larvae and tends to forage among fallen fruits [F. arisanus and D. longicaudata could also be released against B. latifrons, which has recently invaded the African continent, and the peach fruit fly, B. zonata (Saunders), in Africa and the Indian Ocean region . Pystta"}
+{"text": "Troglostrongylus has grown due to the increased number of unexpected cases of infections with Troglostrongylus brevior in domestic cats from Mediterranean Europe, likely due to a spill-over from wild reservoirs. Thus, there is a merit to increase our knowledge on the occurrence of this parasite in felids from European regions. The present paper describes lung lesions associated with T. brevior infection in the endangered Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from Bosnia and Herzegovina.In the past few years the interest of the scientific community on lungworms of the genus T. brevior were found in tracheal scraping. The histopathological examination revealed multifocal to coalescing areas, centered on bronchi and bronchioles, and expanded alveoli filled with necrotic debris, degenerated inflammatory cells, mostly neutrophils and macrophages, and multiple cross sections of parasite larvae and thin-walled morulated eggs of lungworms. The paraffin-embedded lung samples were molecularly positive for T. brevior.The carcass of an illegally killed 3-year-old male Eurasian lynx was presented for necropsy at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Grossly, multiple, multinodular, consolidated and firm, tan to grey areas, occupying the caudal third of caudal lung lobes, were observed. At cut section, the catarrhal fluid was draining from the airways. Larvae of T. brevior in the Eurasian lynx and the associated host lung pathology. Given its pathogenic potential and the lack of data on troglostrongylosis in lynx populations, the occurrence and impact of Troglostrongylus spp. on wildlife health as well as the role of L. lynx as reservoir of infection for other felids, should be further investigated.This paper describes the first record of  Troglostrongylus Vevers, 1923 (Metastrongyloidea: Crenosomatidae) encompasses four species of parasitic nematodes that have been described for the first time from the respiratory system of wild felids, i.e. Troglostrongylus troglostrongylus Vevers, 1923, T. brevior Gerichter, 1949, T. subcrenatus Railliet and Henry, 1913 and T. wilsoni Stough, 1953 [T. brevior from the queen to the kittens has recently been hypothesised [The genus T. brevior has been described in domestic cats from islands of Spain [T. brevior may contribute to more severe lung pathology when co-infections with A. abstrusus occur [Felis silvestris silvestris) is the natural reservoir of T. brevior with prevalences of infection of up to 71.4\u00a0% [T. brevior burden and body condition index [T. brevior may actually cause moderate to severe lung lesions in infected F. s. silvestris [Although regarded as a parasite of wild felids , 2, 4, iof Spain , Italy [of Spain , 7 and Gof Spain  and fromof Spain \u201312. In tof Spain , 8\u201312. Fus occur . In Italo 71.4\u00a0% \u201315. A ston index . Nonethelvestris .T. brevior in both domestic and wild cats [Troglostrongylus spp. in another endangered European wild felid, i.e. the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), are available. Indeed, wild Lynx spp. are frequently infected with T. wilsoni, i.e. the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in several regions of the United States [Felis canadensis) in northern Ontario [T. brevior in an Eurasian lynx illegally killed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Despite an apparent spreading of ild cats , 13\u201315, d States , 17 and  Ontario . Given tc. 3-year-old male Eurasian lynx was presented for necropsy at the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Sarajevo. The lynx was shot by poachers in Central Bosnia, in the Fojnica municipality  on the eastern slopes of the Vranica Mountain. The animal was in a good body condition. Tissue samples from lungs, kidneys, intestine, stomach, liver and spleen, were fixed in 10\u00a0% neutral buffered formalin overnight, embedded in paraffin, and cut at 3 to 6\u00a0\u03bcm sections. Deparaffinised sections were stained with hematoxilin and eosin and examined under a light microscope. Tracheal mucosa was scraped and examined under the light microscope. Genomic DNA was extracted from three paraffin-embedded lung tissue samples where morulated eggs and embedded nematode first stage larvae were analysed as previously described [In February 2014, the carcass of a escribed , moleculT. brevior were detected  and the negative result for A. abstrusus in a very sensitive DNA-based assay [T. brevior. In any case, the presence of A. abstrusus in the animal examined here cannot be ultimately ruled out because the genomic DNA of A. abstrusus obtained from parrafin-embedded tissue could have been too fragmented to provide binding sites from specific primers or because A. abstrusus was not present in the three examined samples.The lesions observed in the lung of the present case are almost identical to those described in a kitten co-infected with  brevior . No adulrenchyma . In caserenchyma . A mixeded assay . Additioed assay , 10, 11 ed assay , and lesed assay . In the T. wilsoni have been described in Lynx spp., apart from the proteinaceous fluid noted in the lung of one bobcat in Alabama, United States [T. brevior to cause lesions and to hamper the respiratory system of this wild felid. Hence, further studies are warranted to investigate the occurrence of lungworms in this endangered felid species and if and how they may represent a threat for host's health and welfare. In fact, as the domestic cat, the Eurasian lynx could be affected by an overflow of pathogenic lungworms that are usually harboured by wildcats [No lesions caused by d States . Althougwildcats .T. brevior in an European lynx and the associated lung pathology. Given its pathogenic potential and the lack of data on Troglostrongylus spp. in lynx populations, the occurrence and impact of lungworms on Eurasian lynx health and welfare should be further investigated. Moreover, further studies are necessary to better elucidate the epizootiology of T. brevior in felids other than Felis spp., in order to understand whether the infection in the European lynx is due to bridging infections [This paper describes for the first time infection with fections , 4 or, afections , 4, 13,"}
+{"text": "Mycoplasma bovis is not clear and attempts to prevent M. bovis-induced disease by vaccines have been largely unsuccessful. In this investigation, joint samples from 4 calves, i.e. 2 vaccinated and 2 non-vaccinated, of a vaccination experiment with intraarticular challenge were examined. The aim was to characterize the histopathological findings, the phenotypes of inflammatory cells, the expression of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC class II) molecules, and the expression of markers for nitritative stress, i.e. inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitrotyrosine (NT), in synovial membrane samples from these calves. Furthermore, the samples were examined for M. bovis antigens including variable surface protein (Vsp) antigens and M. bovis organisms by cultivation techniques.The pathogenesis of caseonecrotic lesions developing in lungs and joints of calves infected with M. bovis antigens in necrotic tissue lesions was associated with expression of iNOS and NT by macrophages. Only single macrophages demarcating the necrotic foci were positive for MHC class II. Microbiological results revealed that M. bovis had spread to approximately 27% of the non-inoculated joints. Differences in extent or severity between the lesions in samples from vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals were not seen.The inoculated joints of all 4 calves had caseonecrotic and inflammatory lesions. Necrotic foci were demarcated by phagocytic cells, i.e. macrophages and neutrophilic granulocytes, and by T and B lymphocytes. The presence of M. bovis-infected calves, is involved in the development of caseonecrotic joint lesions. Only single macrophages were positive for MHC class II indicating down-regulation of antigen-presenting mechanisms possibly caused by local production of iNOS and NO by infiltrating macrophages.The results suggest that nitritative injury, as in pneumonic lung tissue of  Mycoplasma bovis. The. TheMycons occur \u20138]. Fur. FurMycoS and NO ,7],9].,[9].Myco.,[9].MycM. bovis induced disease. Certain vaccines give partial protection from respiratory disease and reduce the spread of M. bovis to internal organs including the joints but other attempts have largely been unsuccessful  only onlyM. bM. bovis-infected calves [M. bovis-infected calves.The antibodies used in this study for immunolabelling of macrophages detect calprotectin, which is a heterodimer of two calcium-binding proteins. Calprotectin is present in the cytoplasm of neutrophilic granulocytes and reactive tissue macrophages and is secreted extracellularly from stimulated cells or is released as a result of cell disruption or death . Calprotd calves . Recent d calves . FurtherM. bovis, following infection of a joint spreads to other joints causing necrotizing and inflammatory changes. The findings that the presence of M. bovis antigens in necrotic foci is associated with marked local production of iNOS and NT strongly suggest that in the development of these joint lesions nitritative injury is involved as in necrotizing lung lesions of M. bovis- infected calves. Also, the results of this study revealed that, as in pneumonic animals, M. bovis is evading the immune response and that the responses both in vaccinated and non-vaccinated calves do not protect them from the development and spread of arthritic lesions. Further investigations are needed to study the interference of M. bovis with the specific and innate immune responses of the host.The results of this study demonstrate that The authors declare that they have no competing interests.M. bovis antigens, T and B lymphocytes, and MHC class II. KH conducted the immunohistochemistry of iNOS, NT, S100A8, and S100A9. VRD, KH and MH-T performed the analysis and interpretation of the histological and immunohistochemical data. VRD and MH-T drafted the manuscript. All authors revised and finally approved the manuscript.FP designed and carried out the experimental infection, performed the necropsies, and carried out the bacteriological examinations. DLG selected and collected the tissues samples. VRD performed the histopathological and immunohistochemical examination for"}
+{"text": "The protein-protein interaction network (PIN) is a useful tool for systematic investigation of the complex biological activities in the cell. With the increasing interests on the proteome-wide interaction networks, PINs have been reconstructed for many species, including virus, bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. With the development of biological techniques, the reconstruction methods of PIN are further improved. PIN has gradually penetrated many fields in biological research. In this work we systematically reviewed the development of PIN in the past fifteen years, with respect to its reconstruction and application of function annotation, subsystem investigation, evolution analysis, hub protein analysis, and regulation mechanism analysis. Due to the significant role of PIN in the in-depth exploration of biological process mechanisms, PIN will be preferred by more and more researchers for the systematic study of the protein systems in various kinds of organisms. Protein\u2013protein interaction (PPI) refers to the physical binding of two or more proteins as responses to different disturbances and circumstances, which provide considerable adaptability for biological cells to adapt flexibly to the changing environmental conditions . Based oIn this review, the development of PIN in the last fifteen years is discussed, including the reconstructed PINs for different organisms, techniques for rebuilding a PIN, and applications of PINs on function annotation, subsystem investigation, evolution analysis, hub protein analysis, and regulation mechanism analysis.The study of PINs has covered a wide range of lifeforms, from viruses to humans, with tens of PINs reconstructed . SystemaEscherichia coli, one of the best studied model organisms, were explored with two different networks [et al. [E. coli proteins and finally obtained 716 stringent interactions involving 83 essential proteins and 152 non-essential proteins. A core sub-network was found broadly conserved across prokaryotes in this PIN, which is composed of 154 interactions and 71 proteins conserved in more than 125 genomes obtained by BLAST homologous searching in different organism genomes. This network provides an available access to the study of protein interaction in prokaryotes. Arifuzzaman et al. reconstructed the second PIN of E. coli with an analogous method as Butland et al. The PIN is composed of 16,050 interactions among 2667 proteins, including 798 uncharacterized proteins [et al. The common proteins were connected by 3088 and 5030 interactions in the two networks, respectively. However, only 218 common interactions were found in those interactions. This indicates that large differences may exist between PINs of the same organism reconstructed from different data sources and experimental strategies. However, both networks show an obvious scale-free property. Additionally, the connectivity of essential genes in Arifuzzaman\u2019s network was consistent with the conclusion that proteins with high essentiality intend to have many interactions [PINs of prokaryote mostly focus on bacterium, including several model organisms and the pathogens for plants, animals, and humans. For several more concerned organisms, multiple PINs were reconstructed by different research groups with the various approaches for the further investigation of latent information in the cell. For example, the protein\u2013protein interactions of networks ,11. Butl [et al.  detectedBacillus subtilis, an important industrial bacterium, started from a small network consisting of 91 interactions among 69 proteins [B. subtilis prove that the extension of current PIN is an efficient way for network improvement and a larger scale of information mining.The PIN of proteins  and was proteins . The finet al. [Helicobacter pylori, a pathogen that causes various gastroduodenal diseases in animals and humans. With querying to the Uniport database [H. pylori infection response was reconstructed, which was composed of 808 interactions and 604 proteins.For the pathogens, the detection of differentially-expressed proteins after infection is a specific approach for the reconstruction of a disease- or immune-related PIN. Kim et al.  filtereddatabase , the difdatabase  and the database . With thStaphylococcus aureus [Treponema pallidum [Many studies of PINs for prokaryotes focus on the pathogens, such as s aureus  and Treppallidum , which iSaccharomyces cerevisiae is the best-characterized organism, with over 90% of its proteins having been screened and the related interactions identified [S. cerevisiae were reconstructed based on a large number of datasets accumulated in the large-scale identification of protein interactions. Schwikowski et al. analyzed 2709 interactions encompassing 2039 proteins in S. cerevisiae and diagramed the set of links within a large protein network [et al. [S. cerevisiae. The largest sub-network in the PIN includes the vast majority of the proteins (87%) and interactions (94%). Ho et al. [PINs for eukaryotes are much more numerous than those for prokaryotes. There has been a lot of effort to explore the eukaryotic protein-protein interaction maps through high-throughput methods. However, no global maps have been fully characterized. entified ,21,22. T network . They de [et al.  built a o et al.  detectedPlasmodium falciparum were reconstructed based on in vivo [in silico methods [et al. [P. Falciparum. The reconstructed computational models have a larger scale but might contain a lot of false positive items [PINs for pathogens also exist in the eukaryote. Several PINs of  in vivo  or in si methods ,27,28,29 [et al. , includive items .et al. [Arabidopsis thaliana by aligning with S. cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Homo sapiens, including 1159 high-confidence, 5913 medium-confidence, and 12,907 low-confidence interactions. The confidence levels were identified based on three factors: (1) the number of datasets from which the interaction was predicted; (2) the kinds of experiments supporting the interaction; and (3) the number of species where the interaction was found. They found that the interacted proteins tend to locate in the same subcellular location based on the distribution analysis of interaction pairs. This hypothesis supplied a valuable reference for the prediction of protein functions, novel complexes and pathways, as well as providing more information on the known protein complexes and pathways. Cui et al. created an interactome of A. thaliana and collected the interactions into a database named Arabidopsis thaliana Protein Interactome Database (AtPID) [Arabidopsis. Moreover, the computational prediction is shown to be a significant complement to in vivo experiments in the discovery of novel proteins. Furthermore, De Bodt et al. [A. thaliana by identifying the orthologous groups from S. cerevisiae, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and H. sapiens. With the filter of GO biological process similarity, GO cellular component similarity, and the Pearson correlation coefficient, the confidence of interactions was improved. Ultimately, they obtained a filtered interactome of 18,674 interactions among 2233 proteins. However, less than 15% of the filtered interactions were covered by the PIN reconstructed by Geisler-Lee et al. and, in general, a quite small overlap of the filtered interactions with AtPID can be observed, which indicates the quite different results from the use of different interaction databases and different reconstruction techniques. Lin et al. [Arabidopsis PIN inferred from multiple pieces of evidence, such as homologous interactions, annotation, co-expression, co-localization, and co-evolution, presenting a predicted dataset, namely PAIR (Predicted Arabidopsis Interactome Resource). The dataset holds 149,900 potential molecular interactions, which are expected to cover about 24% of the entire interactome with about 44% precision compared with reported experimental interactions [PINs for plants were mostly reconstructed in the past eight years. As the data obtained from high-throughput technologies in plants is far from depicting the global PPI maps in a plant cell, most PINs for plants are reconstructed with the computational methods, which predict PPIs by sequence alignment ,31 or inet al.  identifi (AtPID) . The dat (AtPID) . AtPID pt et al.  found 51n et al.  providedractions .Populus trichocarpa was built with a genetic algorithm  which included 10,969 high-confidence co-complex membership interactions involving 2297 Drosophila proteins.The PINs for animals mostly focus on the model organism, such as nogaster ,41, C. e elegans , and H.  sapiens ,43,44. G [et al.  reconstret al. [H. sapiens containing about 8100 available Gateway-cloned open reading frames and 2800 protein interactions, 78% of which were verified through an independent co-affinity purification assay. The CCSB-HI1 dataset revealed more than 300 novel protein interactions, including 100 disease-related proteins. This research plays a critical role in the human interactome project. Rob et al. [H. sapiens protein interaction network containing 6643 interactions and 2235 proteins. With in-depth mining of this dataset, they uncovered some novel, previously-unknown, protein interactions and associations between pathways. It is a major step toward studying human disease in the future. The third proteome-scale human interaction network is HI-II-14, which was reconstructed based on literature and validated with different experiments [Due to the increased attention to the health problems, human PINs are usually correlated to diseases. Rual et al.  reconstrb et al.  reconstreriments . HI-II-1et al. [Eriocheir sinensis eyestalk, Y-organ, and hepatopancreas, based on the transcriptome sequencing and proteomes of six model organisms including D. melanogaster, C. elegans, H. sapiens, Rattus norvegicus, Mus musculus, and S. cerevisiae. It is the first large-scale PIN for an aquatic crustacean. This map was used as an effective tool for the function annotation of proteins, extraction of signal sub-network, and evolutionary analyses.In addition to the model organisms, certain important economical species have also attracted the interests of some researchers. Hao et al.  proposedE. coli), as well as \u03d529 (from B. subtilis), are among the best-studied bacterial viruses. An abundance of work has been done on learning the function of protein-protein interactions in the life cycles of phages [E. coli, have been investigated [et al. [E. coli [E. coli transcriptional network and \u03bb proteins, which opened a new door for the thorough understanding of biological regulation mechanisms. Recently, the research on pathogen-host interactions attracts many interests with several virus-human PINs reconstructed [Bacteriophages T7, \u03bb, P22, and P2/P4  and DNA-binding domain (BD). AD and BD are separated, firstly, with BD fused to the interest protein as bait and AD fused to another protein as prey. The interaction between bait and prey can elicit the reconstitution of AD and BD to function together as a transcription factor, which can direct the expression of the reporter gene downstream [in vivo, it shows the natural environment, to some extent, in the cell. Researchers can detect weak and transient interaction due to the accumulative effect of gene product [Y2H was first proposed in 1989 . It is awnstream . In addiwnstream , the stuwnstream , and thewnstream . The sys product .S. cerevisiae, D. melanogaster, E. coli, P. Falciparum, C. elegans, T. pallidum, C. jejuni, and H. sapiens, especially for the PINs reconstructed before 2006. Interestingly, the different PINs generated based on Y2H for the same organism usually have quite a low overlap. For example, the PIN of S. cerevisiae constructed by Ito et al. [et al. [Many PINs were reconstructed based on Y2H, including PINs of o et al.  has only [et al. , which rin vitro. The captured proteins are then digested into peptides and detected with MS. The bait protein can be endogenous or a protein fused to an \u201cepitope tag\u201d. The limitation of this method is that the result is usually influenced by the proteins co-purified from affinity purification, improper folding and mislocalization [in vivo interactions. TAP/MS is also based on the use of tags attached to the terminus of the target proteins. The genes encoding tags and target proteins are carried by a retrovirus to transfer and express in a host cell. Then, the target protein complexes are isolated by two steps of affinity purification. Coupled with mass spectrometry, the target proteins, and their interactions are identified [etc., which have been described in a previous review [Mass spectrometry (MS) is usually used coupled with an affinity purification method for the detection of protein interactions, such as affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry (AP/MS), tandem affinity purification coupled with MS (TAP/MS), and co-affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry (coAP/MS). Different from the pull-down method, which fixes the \u201cbait\u201d protein indirectly through tags, AP/MS directly immobilizes the \u201cbait\u201d protein on a solid support to capture target proteins from a soluble phase lization . TAP/MS entified . coAP/MSentified . Howevers review , can alsDPiM [S. cerevisiae [E. coli [Mycoplasma pneumonia [E. coli PINs were reconstructed based on the TAP/MS method by Butland et al. [et al. [E. coli ORF rather than the larger SPA tags at the C-terminal of ORFs used in the former work. Furthermore, an overproduction system with multi-copy plasmid clones was used in the work of Arifuzzaman et al. to avoid sensitivity problems but, in the mean time, it lost stoichiometry between bait and prey proteins. The scales of the two PINs are quite different, and the overlap is rather low. As the two PINs were reconstructed with different tags and overproduction system, it may indicate that these two factors have a significant influence on the final result, with the different tags may affect the conformation of proteins [The DPiM  was recorevisiae , E. coli[E. coli , and Mycneumonia . Two of d et al.  and Arif [et al. , respectproteins  and the Although the experimental method has detected thousands of PPIs in various model organisms, the current size of the interactome detected experimentally usually constitutes quite a small part of the whole genome size . MeanwhiArabidopsis PIN combined with four reference model organisms, S. cerevisiae, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and H. sapiens [P. Falciparum also includes the dataset obtained by comparing proteins of P. Falciparum with previously-known sequences in other organisms [Arabidopsis and E. sinensis. However, the interolog-based method is incapable of detecting the PPIs with non-conserved proteins. Interestingly, the reconstruction of the H. pylori PIN is based on the distant homology search of interologs between bacteria and human [Interologs are defined as the protein-protein interactions that are conserved in two species . The int sapiens . The homrganisms ,27,28. Tnd human , which mA. thaliana, P. trichocarpa, M. musculus, H. sapiens, and S. cerevisiae. The PIN of A. thaliana reconstructed by ENTS includes more than twice as many predicted interactions as the PIN reconstructed by Geisler-Lee et al. [et al. [Genetic algorithms are a search heuristic that mimics the process of natural evolution to find an optimum solution to a problem. In recent years, the genetic algorithm has usually been used in the prediction of PPIs based on the features of interacted proteins, such as the residue profiles  or domaie et al.  and De B [et al. . By cont [et al.  and less [et al. . HoweverInteractions predicted by computational methods compensate for the lack of PPIs obtained from experiments to some extent . HoweverWith the accumulation of PPI information obtained from different methods, a series of databases have been established to collect and manage the PPIs or PINs from various organisms. Moreover, the International Molecular Exchange (IMEx) consortium was founded with 16 major public interaction data providers for the purpose of establishing a non-redundant set of protein-protein interactions available in a common website . Proteinin vivo experiment. However, the interaction between an unknown protein with a well-characterized protein can supply a major clue to the function of the former. From this point of view, PINs supply a much more convenient, and relatively reliable way, for the detection of protein functions. Although further verification is still needed for the predicted protein functions, the PINs are of considerable value to predict functions for novel proteins and a step forward to complete our understanding of mechanistic information in proteomes. Here, we elaborated the main methods and cases of protein annotation with PINs in the following sections.Although the number of fully-sequenced organisms is increasing and the technique in analyzing the structure of proteins is developing, many proteins remain functionally uncharacterized. Since proteins usually function as complexes, it is hard to find the function of a given protein without knowing what kind of other proteins it interacts with. Function annotation of proteins is a complex and onerous mission by et al. demonstrated that the function and cell localization of interacting proteins have clustering features [S. cerevisiae by analyzing the function of adjacent proteins and retaining the top three highest frequency function annotations. Alexei et al. [S. cerevisiae reconstructed by Schwikowski et al. and the accuracy of the prediction was 60%\u201370% for the proteins with two neighbors. Hishigaki et al. [S. cerevisiae proteins with the accuracies of 72.7%, 63.6%, and 52.7%, respectively, based on the ontology annotation from Yeast Proteome Database [et al. [E. sinensis, which made up 76% of all the unknown proteins in the global PIN.As classified and unclassified proteins interact in a vast complex network, PINs naturally serve as a platform to place functionally-unclassified proteins in a biological context, which makes it possible to predict the function of unclassified proteins according to their neighborhood relationship . Schwikofeatures . Based oi et al.  further i et al.  extendedDatabase . Hao et  [et al.  took theet al. [Modularity is a common property of most networks. The nodes with similar features in a network intend to be classified into the same module/cluster based on different algorithm. For PINs, the proteins located in the same cluster usually reflect their similar function or membership in a complex. Therefore, the modularity feature of PINs has been used in the identification of protein complexes and the function of proteins. Guruharsha et al.  used DPiet al. . This meet al. [S. cerevisiae PIN. Additionally, three sub-networks consisting of proteins involved in autophagy, spindle pole body function, and vesicular transport were also extracted from the global PIN of S. cerevisiae [et al. created several sub-networks for different purposes with the PIN of maize [S-adenosyl methionine synthase sub-network, were also investigated, which can be applied in the analysis of specific responses to pathogens. The signaling transduction sub-network composed of 2039 interactions was extracted from E. sinensis and seven classical signaling pathways were found in it [Investigation of the subsystems by extracting and analyzing the sub-networks is one of the main applications of PINs. Subsystems are easily identified with PIN according to the function or pathway annotation of proteins in the network. A sub-network concerning a specific function is a good platform for deep investigation of the correlated subsystem. Ho et al.  gained arevisiae . Bryan eof maize . Two hignd in it . The appnd in it . The difnd in it . With thnd in it . The cloPINs are composed of a vast number of interactions which may have interologs in many other organisms, in particular for the PINs reconstructed based on the interologs. Therefore, PINs can serve as an evolutionary analytical tool for further understanding of the evolution routes of some specific sub-networks .C. elegans has been used for the evolutionary analysis and shed light on the assumption that new cellular functions rely on the interactions between evolutionarily new and ancient proteins, which is in line with the classical evolutionary theory [E. sinensis shows that various pathways have different evolution origins with the speculation that Hippo, Jak-STAT, mTOR, and Wnt pathways may grow and mature in the primitive and bilateria stages, respectively [The PIN of y theory . Additioectively . Furtherectively .S. cerevisiae can lead to the apoptosis with three-fold more possibility compared to non-hub genes [et al. revealed two types of hubs, party hubs and date hubs. The former bind most of their neighbors simultaneously, and the latter interact with their different neighbors at different times or locations. In a model with organized modularity, date hubs organize the proteins to connect biological processes or modules to each other, whereas party hubs function inside modules, which has been proved by both in silico studies of network connectivity and in vivo genetic interactions [et al. [Hub proteins refer to a small, but significant, proportion of proteins which interact with many partners. Biological PINs are particularly robust to the random removal of proteins, but are significantly influenced by the removal of hub proteins. It is demonstrated that the knockouts of hub-related genes in ub genes ,104,105.ub genes ,106,107 ub genes . Han et ractions . Howeverractions . In some [et al.  also dem [et al. . Further [et al. , which iH. pylori PIN [B. subtilis [In the lori PIN , with ansubtilis . The GoHsubtilis . The grosubtilis ,115. As E. coli was analyzed with a phage-host interaction network [As interactions in a PIN are not limited in a single organism, the PIN can be a useful analytical tool for the mutual influence between two or more organisms, in particular for the relationship between pathogen/bacteriophage and their hosts. The regulation between phage \u03bb and  network  and 78 s network ) and tarin vivo experiment to some extent, the quality of the reconstructed PINs is still far from satisfaction. The generation of interactions from protein structures might be a trend to invalidate the existing PPIs or predict new PPIs. Second, the PINs show the static situation of the interactions, whereas PPIs in a cell are time-variant. Therefore, the reconstruction of dynamic PINs is another challenge to further study. With these limitations, much more effort is still needed to make PIN a more efficient tool for the research on interactomes and proteomes in the cell.With the development of high-throughput techniques, PIN attracts more and more interest for the study of interactomes in the model or non-model organisms. The systematic property makes PIN a valuable tool for the large-scale study of interactomes, and the network nature makes it a significant platform for the detailed analysis of certain functions and processes based on the specific sub-networks. In this review, we detailed the published large-scale PINs in the past fifteen years and summarized the related reconstruction methods and applications. The urgent problem in the further development of PINs is to present a cell model which can reflect the true biological process dynamically and precisely. There exist two essential problems in the way to achieve this goal. First, the data from a high-throughput experiment, such as Y2H and TAP/MS, is not quite stable against the disturbances. Although the computational predictions for PPIs are complementary to the"}
+{"text": "Babesia and Theileria species in both domestic and wild animals in Xinyang city, Henan province, where tick-borne diseases have recently been reported. This study aims to analyze the distribution patterns of piroplasms infections in animals, and assess their potential threat to humans in Central China.Piroplasms are kinds of tick-borne parasitic apicomplexan protozoa, which are detrimental to humans and animals in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Up until now, there has been a limited amount of reliable information available about the prevalence of piroplasms infections in wild animals in China. Therefore, we have investigated the infections of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and identified by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Moreover, the characteristics of detected piroplasms in different animal hosts were compared between the two study regions.Blood samples were collected from sheep, dogs and hedgehogs in two regions, including Shihe District and Luoshan County, of Xinyang city, Henan province from August to December 2012. Babesia spp. was only detected in the two dogs. Theileria spp. was detected both in the sheep and the hedgehogs, and the total positive rate of Theileria spp. in the sheep and the hedgehogs was 57.53% and 13.82%, respectively. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Theileria spp. detected in the sheep and the hedgehogs were very close to T. lunwenshuni cloned from a small ruminant and Theileria spp. isolated from a febrile hospitalized patient in China.A total of 227 blood samples were collected from 73 sheep, two dogs and 152 hedgehogs. Babesia and Theileria infections were detected in both domestic and wild animals in Xinyang city, Henan province in Central China, thus warranting further studies in these regions. Please see Additional file Babesia or the Theileria species. These protozoan parasites are transmitted by vector ticks and can infect many different species of domestic and wild animals. Some species of the protozoan parasites are also pathogenic to humans [Piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease which is caused by infection with apicomplexan protozoa, such as the o humans -3.B. caballi and T. equi were detected in horses mainly in the northeastern and northwestern parts of China [T. buffeli, T. sergenti, B. bigemina, B. bovis, B. ovata and B. orientalis were detected in cattle and buffalo in Central and southern China [T. ovis, T. uilenbergi, T. luwenshuni and B. motasi were detected in sheep and goats mainly in Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Henan, Inner Mongolia and Jilin provinces [B. gibsoni and B. canis vogeli were detected in dogs in Jiangsu, Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Zhejiang provinces [B. microti infections were reported in animals and humans in the northeastern and southern parts of China [B. microti in Taiwan, Beijing, Zhejiang and Heilongjiang provinces [Theileria spp. in Hubei province [T. annulata was highly pathogenic to cattle [Theileriosis and babesiosis are distributed widely in China. For instance, of China -6. T. burn China -9. T. ovrovinces -13. B. grovinces ,15. B. mof China ,17. Howerovinces -21 and Sprovince . Some spo cattle . Some oto cattle .Babesia spp., such as B. microti and B. divergens, are the major pathogenetic species of piroplasms causing human infections. However, some Theileria species can also cause severe acute diseases in humans as human theileriosis [Theileria equi antigens by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) [Theileria species (18S rRNA GenBank accession number HQ844673) by Liu et al. [T. lunwenshuni.leriosis ,26. Prevu et al.  which waAlthough piroplasmosis is one of the most prevalent diseases of domestic animals, the epidemiology and transmission characteristics among vector ticks and animal hosts are still unclear, and the situation would become even more complex if wild animals were acting as the natural reservoirs.Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in both domestic and wild animals in Xinyang city where tick borne diseases were recently reported, in order to analyze the distribution patterns of piroplasms infections in animals and assess their potential threat to humans in Central China.Thus, we investigated the infections of The National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued the ethical and institutional approval documents for this study.This study was carried out in Luoshan County and Shihe District of Xinyang city in Henan province from August to December 2012  according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. Molecular detection of A et al. . AliquotCryptosporidium fragile (EU1627541) was included in the tree as an outgroup.The obtained 18S rRNA gene sequences were edited using the BioEdit 7.0.9 software. The pairwise nucleotide percent identity of the new sequences was calculated using MegAlign software . The neighbor-joining tree was constructed using the MEGA 5.05 package . DistancTheileria spp. in domestic and wild animals were tested by \u03c72-test, which was performed in SPSS 18.0.Differences in the positive rates of Theileria spp. in the two regions. Babesia spp. was only detected in the two dogs.Out of 227 samples, 63 (21 hedgehogs and 42 sheep) were detected positive for Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs and sheep in Shihe District were 37.25% and 50.94%, respectively (see Table\u00a0Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs and sheep in Shihe District (P>0.05). However, there was statistically significant difference in the positive rate of Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs and sheep in Luoshan County. The positive rate of Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs and sheep in Luoshan County was 1.98% and 75.00%, respectively. The positive rate of Theileria spp. in the sheep was 37.88 times  higher than that in the hedgehogs. The total positive rate of Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs and sheep in these two regions were 13.82% and 57.53%, respectively. The total positive rate of Theileria spp. in the sheep in these two regions was 4.16 times  higher than that in the hedgehogs  higher than that in Luoshan County  cloned from a small ruminant in China and Theileria sp. (HQ844673) isolated from a febrile hospitalized patient in China  cloned from a dog in Taiwan.The obtained sequences were edited and assembled to a final length of 350 base pairs (bp). All the T. luwenshuni. This result suggests that T. luwenshuni was the predominant Theileria species in both hedgehogs and sheep in the two studied regions. This study is the first to report on the identification of T. luwenshuni in small wild mammals in Central China. Other Theileria species, e.g. T. uilenbergi and T. ovis, have been reported in the southeastern parts of China [In this study, we found that 27.11% (61/225) samples from sheep and hedgehogs were positive for of China , but werT. lunwenshuni was transmitted by Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis[T. lunwenshuni did not show any clinical symptoms or signs of the disease. However, if vector ticks feed on these sub-clinical carriers, they can be infected and transmit the pathogen to exotic animals [It was reported that ghaiensis, and smaghaiensis, with highaiensis. In the  animals , and eveTheileria spp. detected in this study was very close to the Theileria sp. isolated from a febrile hospitalized patient in Suizhou city of Hubei province. In addition, Suizhou city is adjacent to Shihe District geographically. Thus, whether the pathogens were different strains of the same species, whether they would be pathogenic to different species of host animals, or whether they could be a potential threat to human beings is still unclear, and this finding warrants further studies.One exciting finding of this study was, as revealed by the phylogenetic analysis, that the Theileria spp. in the sheep in the two study regions was much higher than that in the hedgehogs, indicating that domestic animals might play a more essential role in the transmission of piroplasmosis. This result was supported by the following facts: First, the population density of domestic animals is much higher than that of wild animals. In fact, sheep husbandry is very common in the rural areas of the study regions. A total of 818.4 thousands of sheep were raised in Xinyang city, based on the data from the Henan Statistical Yearbook 2012. These huge numbers of sheep posed a high risk of exposure and infection to livestock, and increase the economic burden on animal husbandry and farmers in these regions. Second, the habits of animals are indicative of their exposures to infections. Although the population size of hedgehogs in these regions is unavailable, the living habits of hedgehogs are definitely different from domestic animals as hedgehogs are not gregarious animals [Theileria spp. in the hedgehogs in Shihe District was much higher than that in Luoshan County, it also indicated that the population density of sheep in Shihe District might be much higher than that in Luoshan County. Sheep might live in closer contact with hedgehogs in Shihe District due to the increased environmental and social economic activities.In this epidemiological study on piroplasms infection, it is important to understand the role of the different host animals in the transmission cycle -36. We f animals -40. ThisBabesia spp. was only detected in dogs. This could be attributed to only one transmission season, as well as to the limited number of host species that was taken into account. However, babesiosis had been reported in livestock in Henan province [B. microti, which could cause babesiosis in animals and humans. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out more studies on the epidemiology of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. infections in more species of domestic and wild animals, as well as on the infection status of vector ticks in these regions.In this study, province . Previouprovince  and rodeprovince  collecteBabesia spp. and Theileria spp. infections were detected in both domestic and wild animals in the study regions of Central China. Further studies are needed to estimate the impacts to local animal husbandry by piroplasms infection and to establish biological measures to control the vector ticks.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.ZC conducted the field sampling, performed the laboratory work, generated experimental data, and wrote the manuscript. QL, X-NZ and B-LX had a substantial role in the conception of the study, guidance of the practical work and writing of the manuscript. F-CJ helped with the sample collection. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Multilingual abstracts in the six official working languages of the United Nations.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Ixodes ariadnae has been discovered, adding to the two known ixodid tick species (I. vespertilionis and I. simplex) of bats in Europe.Recently a new hard tick species, I. ariadnae clustered closest to I. simplex, whereas according to their 16S rDNA gene they were closest to I. vespertilionis. The subolesin gene of I. ariadnae had only 91% sequence homology with that of I. ricinus, and is the longest known among hard tick species.Scanning electron microscopic comparison of adult females of these species shows morphological differences concerning the palps, the scutum, the Haller\u2019s organ, the coxae, as well as the arrangement and fine structure of setae. Molecular analysis of 10 geographically different isolates revealed 90-95% sequence homology in the 12S and 16S rDNA genes of bat tick species. Based on 12S rDNA sequences, genotypes of I. ariadnae may have a long evolutionary history.The present study illustrates the morphology and clarifies the phylogenetic relationships of the three known bat tick species that occur in Europe. According to its subolesin gene  Ixodes simplex) and the long-legged bat tick (Ixodes vespertilionis) [I. vespertilionis may feed on humans [In Europe and in the majority of the Old World, for more than a century two ixodid ticks were known to be highly specialized to bats, i.e. the bat tick (ilionis) . Recentlilionis) . The sign humans  and has n humans .I. ariadnae [I. vespertilionis (e.g. its relatively large size and long legs) and I. simplex . However, it was beyond the scope of the latter study to illustrate these similarities and differences with appropriate scanning micrographs of all three bat tick species. In addition, although the most important gene that is used for barcoding (species identification) among ticks [I. ariadnae was shown to differ considerably from those of I. vespertilionis and I. simplex [In the description of ariadnae  it was png ticks , i.e. th simplex , examinaIxodes vespertilionis and I. ariadnae were collected in Hungary; I. simplex was collected in Serbia. For scanning electron microscopy (performed as in [I. vespertilionis) or are unknown (I. ariadnae) [The morphology of two adult females of each of the three bat tick species was compared: ed as in ) femalesriadnae) .I. vespertilionis, four of I. ariadnae, and two of I. simplex [Total nucleic acid (TNA) was extracted as described . Ten TNA simplex . From th simplex -9. PCR p simplex  and Maxi simplex .Authorization for bat capture was provided by the National Inspectorate for Environment .I. vespertilionis are the longest and narrowest  in I. ariadnae , and for I. simplex only other genes have been published [Recently it has been suggested that for molecular identification of tick species sequencing of the COI gene should be the first method of choice, and analysis of 12S and 16S rDNA genes can be performed as complementary tests ,7,8. Priublished . TherefoBecause it is more likely that DNA samples of different geographical origin will show sequence divergence, as demonstrated for both the COI  and 12S/I. ariadnae and I. vespertilionis is of similar magnitude to that between I. ariadnae and I. simplex . With bootstrap analyses, isolates/genotypes of the same bat tick species always clustered together, but separately from isolates of other bat tick species. Based on its 12S rDNA sequences I. ariadnae clustered closest to I. simplex , as contrasted to the other two bat tick species (with up to five nucleotide differences)  Figure\u00a0. In lineI. ariadnae (KM455971). The subolesin gene of I. ariadnae clustered the closest to  that of I. hexagonus  in comparison with that of I. hexagonus and I. ricinus, respectively.The third target of molecular analyses in this study was the subolesin gene. It has an evolutionarily conserved function/sequence and plays a role (among the others) in immunity, development and reproduction of ixodid ticks . Sequencnae KM45571. The sI. ariadnae has the longest known subolesin gene/protein (with 191 amino acids). Taking into account, that according to phylogenetical analyses subolesin sequences may have evolved from longer sequences in Ixodes spp. to shorter ones in other tick genera [I. ariadnae is an ancient tick species. The importance of the latter finding, i.e. a new type of subolesin (protective) gene is further increased by the fact, that this gene is regarded as one of the most likely candidates among the targets of vaccines to control tick-infestations [These results also imply, that among all the hard tick species for which the subolesin gene and translated protein was reported so far (in : 10 speck genera , it is pstations .I. ariadnae as a separate species, and illustrate the morphological and phylogenetic differences between the three known European bat tick species. According to its subolesin gene I. ariadnae may have a long evolutionary history.These results support the taxonomic status of"}
+{"text": "Karel's innovations and patents span more than four decades.In the 1970s, the development of his extensive model of the human circulation among other things led to the first method and algorithm for the beat-to-beat computation of cardiac output from the pressure waveform, the so-called Wesseling cZ method , which wIn the 1980s, research on continuous, noninvasive finger blood pressure, building on the original volume clamp principle patent of Jan Pe\u0148\u00e1z , led to The major limitation of Finapres, measuring blood pressure at the finger, was solved by R&D in the 1990s, and the development of brachial blood pressure waveform reconstruction , 11, licThe R&D efforts in this period also resulted in a battery-operated, ambulatory, 24-h blood pressure device, called Portapres, which was provided to many research groups around the world but also was the basis for a series of contracts with space agencies  for the development of several generations of space-qualified \u201cspecials\u201d which were used in space shuttle missions, aboard the Russian space station Mir, and now, with Cardiopres, in routine use on the International Space Station.Further R&D in this period led to a new concept of modeling the real-time flow waveform from pressure, resulting in the second generation method and algorithm for the beat-to-beat computation of cardiac output from the pressure waveform, the so-called Modelflow method , which wA series of innovations and patents have led to widely available devices and methods that have changed the world of noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring for good. When we continue the R&D and product development in this field, we stand on the shoulders of a giant. (J.J.S.)The shape of the arterial pressure wave changes on its way to the periphery due to pulse wave reflections, pulse wave distortions, and resistance to pressure. During the development of Finapres, Karel realized at an early stage that peripheral and, especially, finger pressure measurements are sensitive to such effects , 23, 38.Karel was a physicist with a keen eye for the needs of physicians and physiologists. Across institutional borders, he collected a group of professionals consisting of physicists interested in physiology and medicine, and physicians and physiologists with a sense for physics. It has been a delight to participate under the guidance of Karel Wesseling. (W.J.W.B.)When we learned to know each other in 1969, Karel and I were both interested in the physical basis of arterial function. We discussed about the arterial windkessel model , where KBlood pressure has long been known to rise because of emotions or physical exercise and to drop during rest. With the advent of a method to measure blood pressure noninvasively on a beat-to-beat basis during daily life, this variability itself has become the subject of much research.Earlier analysis of cardiovascular variability was restricted to that of heart rate (HRV) . It was How can blood pressure be regulated and still exhibit the extent of variability that is observed during a normal day? Wesseling proposed the \u201cbaromodulation\u201d hypothesis , 37 to eIt was a pleasure and a privilege to have known Karel for some 35 years, in particular sharing his years at the Academic Medical Center. When he showed his experimental finger-pressure set-up with loudspeaker magnet, I never dreamed it would ever fly as high as it did, eventually. (J.M.K.)Knowledge of the physiological mechanisms underlying disturbances in cardiovascular control mechanisms is of direct relevance for clinicians: it is the key to taking an intelligent history and understanding the appropriate emphasis for the physical examination. Only then is the doctor able to diagnose the condition and reassure a worried patient by explaining it in lay terminology. In addition, mechanistic insight is a crucial factor for the design and the evaluation of therapeutic measures.In this context, the Finapres or volume clamp method developed by Pe\u0148\u00e1z and Wesseling , 35 withI had the good fortune to cooperate with Karel Wesseling in the Finapres evaluation studies since the early 1980s , the cloKarel Wesseling's contributions to cardiovascular physiology are immensely important and wide ranging. He will be remembered by innumerable physiologists, anesthesiologists, autonomic nervous function specialists, and most recently, a growing number of cardiovascular epidemiologists. Karel's development of the volume clamp method for noninvasive finger arterial blood pressure measurement into a true cardiovascular \u201cleatherman\u201d tool has opened the field of population studies for serial hemodynamic observations. Given the gap in cardiovascular health between the wealthy and the poor, and more intriguingly between various ethnicities in the world, there is a genuine need to study the origins, for example, of the impressive differences in stroke prevalence between white and black people, or the devastating coronary atherosclerosis in people of Asian descent. Understandably, conventional risk factor analysis has been monopolizing field studies for decades. Karel has now enriched our tool kit with reproducible arterial blood pressure curves that closely follow changes in blood pressure during simple circulatory challenges, and pulse contour-derived stroke volume and vascular resistance. Systemic hemodynamics can now easily be estimated outside the laboratory and related to rates of conventional risk factors to better detect and follow these inequalities from their early start. For instance, preliminary findings in our ongoing population survey in Dutch Suriname comparing healthy Creole and Hindustani subjects show interesting differences in blood pressure regulation during changing posture: in the face of similar rises in blood pressure, in Creole subjects, resistance increases more than in Hindustani subjects, while left ventricular contractility does not change, whereas contractility drops in Hindustani subjects .More accurate cardiovascular risk profiling, made possible by Karel's gentle, probing, independent mind, should ultimately broaden the evidence we need to obtain better-focused guidelines for those who suffer disproportionally. (G.A.v.M.)\u201cdie meisten Organe gar nicht Druck, sondern Stromvolumen brauchen [most organs don't need pressure but flow].\u201d By modeling aortic flow from pressure, Wesseling and coworkers Professor Wesseling passed away on September 4, 2014, in The Hague, The Netherlands. He leaves behind his wife Hanny, their three children, and a grandson whom he unfortunately did not live to see. While we are thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Karel for so many years, we are saddened by the loss.We will miss his original way of thinking, his wit, and his friendship. His intellectual heritage in the field of physiology and noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring will live on. (B.E.W.)B. E. Westerhof and J. J. Settels are employed by Edwards Lifesciences BMEYE.B.E.W. conception and design of research; B.E.W. prepared figures; B.E.W., J.J.S., W.J.W.B., N.W., J.M.K., W.W., G.A.v.M., and J.J.V.L. drafted manuscript; B.E.W. edited and revised manuscript; B.E.W., J.J.S., W.J.W.B., N.W., J.M.K., W.W., G.A.v.M., and J.J.V.L. approved final version of manuscript."}
+{"text": "There is an error in the 18th author's name; the middle initial is missing. The correct name is Jody D. Berry. This author's affiliation is also incorrect.The correct affiliation is: Cangene Corp, now a subsidiary of Emergent Biosolutions. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.This author's current address is: Proteos, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI"}
+{"text": "L. donovani in India and East Africa have not occurred. For most of the countries, there are sections on the distribution, clinical aspects, the causative agent, the reservoirs and the vectors. Serological surveys and research into therapy are also covered. Recent studies on VL in Uzbekistan covered the application of serological, biochemical and molecular biological methods to diagnose human and canine VL, to identify the leishmanial parasites causing them in Uzbekistan and neighbouring Tajikistan and the epidemiology of VL in the Namangan Region of the Pap District, Eastern Uzbekistan. More recently, two studies were carried out in Georgia investigating the prevalence of human and canine VL, and the species composition of phlebotomine sand flies and their rates of infection with what was probably L. infantum in Tbilisi, eastern Georgia and Kutaisi, a new focus, in western Georgia. Though published in English, summaries of this information have been included where relevant to update the parts on VL in Uzbekistan and Georgia.There is an extensive body of medical and scientific research literature on visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Crimean Peninsula and the southern part of The Russian Federation that is written in Russian, making it inaccessible to the majority of people who are interested in the leishmaniases in general and VL in particular. This review and summary in English of VL in what was Imperial Russia, which then became the Soviet Union and later a number of different independent states intends to give access to that majority. There are numerous publications in Russian on VL and, mostly, those published in books and the main scientific journals have been included here. The vast geographical area encompassed has been subdivided into four main parts: the southern Caucasus, covering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia; Central Asia, covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; the Crimean Peninsula and the northern Caucasus, which is part of The Russian Federation. Only rare cases of VL have been recorded in the northern Caucasus and Crimean Peninsula. In the other countries mentioned, human VL has been more intense but epidemics like those associated with  FolLiterature pertaining to this subject is very extensive and only those publications that are searchable for the readers have been included here. Most of them are in Russian and this review makes the information presented in them available to readers unfamiliar with Russian. Recent studies on different aspects of VL in Uzbekistan and Georgia were published in English and are also reviewed here for completeness. They covered the sand fly fauna , 5, the et al. [Generally, significant numbers of cases of VL were recorded in the southern Caucasus and Central Asia and single ones from the Crimean Peninsula and the northern Caucasus in The Russian Federation over the period covered by this review. The WHO held a meeting in Istanbul in 2009 called the \u201cConsultative Inter-Country Meeting on Leishmaniasis in the WHO European Region\u201d, in which representatives of all the countries mentioned below in this review participated. The numbers of human cases of VL and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) recorded for the five years from 2004 to 2008 for the countries represented at the meeting have been listed in the report by Alvar The foci from which cases of VL came were of two types: urban foci where domestic dogs served as the reservoir of the leishmanial parasites and natural foci where wild canids, jackals and foxes, were the putative reservoir hosts , 10\u201312. Leishmania isolated from people, dogs and a badger were characterized and identified as Leishmania infantum, using isoenzyme electrophoretic analysis [Phlebotomus belonging to the subgenera Adlerius and Larroussius were suspected of being the vectors. The vector status of two of these species, P. (A.) longiductus and P. (L.) smirnovi, was confirmed by a xenodiagnostic method and by comprehensive studies of their ecologies [Identification of causative agents was achieved by several studies carried out for different foci at different times. About 20 stocks of analysis \u201320. Sevecologies \u201323.Leishmania in Uzbekistan, and in neighbouring Tajikistan [P. kandelakii and P. balcanicus to be vectors of human and canine VL caused by L. infantum in Tbilisi [L. infantum in Tbilisi, eastern Georgia, and in Kutaisi, a new focus, in western Georgia [In 2007 and 2008, a consortium of researchers from research institutes in Samarqand, Moscow, Berlin and Jerusalem studied the epidemiology of canine VL in relation to human VL in the Namangan Region of the Pap District in Eastern Uzbekistan. Some of their results have been published, which covered surveying domestic dogs and infant and young children for VL, using clinical signs and symptoms and the application of serological  and molecular biological  methods to diagnose human and canine cases, and biochemical  methods to identify the parasites causing them as being leishmanial parasites and to determine the species of jikistan , 7. Two  Tbilisi ; the othL. infantum. The review moves from country to country within the two main geographical regions   revealedThe first case of VL in Azerbaijan was reported in 1913. Between 1913 and 1950, a total of 213 cases of VL were recorded  and betwL. infantum in the Geokchai Region of Azerbaijan was reported with 68 cases being recorded simultaneously in five villages and always with three to five cases in a single family. Twenty (44.4\u00a0%) sera of the 45 taken from cases of CL proved positive for anti-leishmanial antibodies, using antigen produced from the Indian strain L. donovani, MHOM/IN/1980/DD8. The other 25 (55.6\u00a0%) were negative. Serological testing of 62 healthy individuals living in close proximity to the cases of CL revealed that nine (14.5\u00a0%) were sero-positive. The highest number of cases was recorded in autumn and winter [In 1987 and 1988, an outbreak of CL caused by d winter .Cases of VL are mainly children under seven years of age and the young age of cases is a typical feature of VL in the Jalilabad Region. Most cases have been newly born infants between five and nine months old. Morbidity decreased sharply among children older than a year and a half. IFATs were negative in children younger than one year old, who had recovered from VL. Only a few of the children between one and a half and seven years of age who had recovered from VL gave positive IFAT result and then with only extremely low levels of antibodies . Cases bL. infantum in the Geokchai Region of Azerbaijan, the ages of the cases ranged, more or less, uniformly, from under one to 50\u00a0years old. The cutaneous lesions were localized at the site of the bite of the vector, circumscribed and mainly on the face but sometimes the neck or upper and lower limbs. Many amastigotes were seen in the stained smears made of skin tissue from the margins of lesions. The lesions healed spontaneously and without the need of treatment within one and a half to two years, supposedly, inducing immunity to re-infection with L. infantum. While L.infantum is generally considered to be one of the causative agents of VL, it has also been shown to cause cutaneous lesions without obvious signs of VL in several countries within the geographical range of the species, e.g., the Pyrenees in France [In the outbreak of CL caused by n France , 35, then France  and in Gn France .L. infantum, MCAN/TN/78/LEM78 [L. infantum, i. e., strain MHOM/AZ/1987/Geok-2 , albeit representing a new zymodeme, on comparing its enzyme profile to those of different Old World reference strains isolated from cases of VL and CL [MLEE of eight leishmanial strains isolated from human cases of VL from the Ordubad Region employing a 12-enzyme system indicated they were completely identical among themselves and to a reference strain of 78/LEM78 . Twelve L and CL , 20.Dogs with VL were found in all the human settlements surveyed. In the Geokchai Region, 470 dogs from six settlements were examined, giving infection rates of 1.4 to 7.1\u00a0% . Dogs haA total of 2388 wild animals were examined: cats, wolves, foxes, jackals, porcupines, badgers, hares and different species of rodent and birds , 40. LeiVector. P. kandelakii, P. balcanicus, P. tobbi, P. brevis and P. transcausasicus are considered to transmit VL in Azerbaijan [P. transcaucasicus is most abundant in the Jalilabad Region, it is thought to be the principal vector there [erbaijan , 41. Howor there .P\u2009=\u20090.0019). Tbilisi is an active focus of VL and its prevalence is very high in humans and dogs (see below). It is not high in Kutaisi, but it seems to be a newly evolving focus [The first case of VL was recorded in Georgia in 1913. From 1928 to 1999, 1355 local and 15 imported cases of VL were listed in the records of The Virsaladze Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Tbilisi. These came from six towns and 164 villages in 19 Georgian administrative sectors, most of which were in the Shida Kartly and Kakheti Regions in eastern Georgia , and a nCases of VL are usually children under five years old and, rarely, older children and adults . GeorgiaMeles meles, was characterized and identified as L. infantum by MLEE [P. kandelakii and one of which was isolated from a female P. balcanicus were characterized by sequence alignment of the 70\u00a0kDa heat-shock protein gene and identified as L. infantum [L. major by MLEE done at The Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine in Moscow . This was confirmed by excreted factor (EF) serotyping [L. major existing in Georgia and L. major has never been recorded as having caused VL in humans; except for the case of a young girl who developed a generalized infection of leishmaniasis, i, e., CL and VL, caused by L. major after she had received a blood transfusion donated by a person with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), after which she too contracted AIDS and her generalized leishmaniasis [L. major existing in Georgia and, also, of VL being caused by L. major or they constitute a laboratory error. Hence, this information should be treated with caution, until there is further evidence of L. major existing in Georgia and of its causing VL in humans.Leishmanial strains isolated from humans and dogs were antigenically identical by serotyping and were equally very virulent after injection into Syrian hamsters . A strai by MLEE , 17. Howinfantum . Eight lrotyping  done at maniasis . The eiget al. [Stray and domestic dogs were shown to be part of the natural transmission cycle of VL in different Georgian foci . Recentlet al.  examinedet al. . In 1980et al. .P. kandelakii and 'P. chinensis' were thought to be the vectors of the parasitic agents causing VL. However, according to current taxonomy and nomenclature, P. chinensis is a species restricted to China and what was the Caucasian ' P. chinensis ' constitutes three separate species: P. balcanicus, P. halepensis and P. brevis, of which the former two are found in Georgia [P. neglectus, P. tobbi and P. transcaucasicus might also be involved in the transmission of VL. In Georgia, the upper limit for the distribution for P. kandelakii is 1240\u00a0m above sea level [In Georgia, the sand fly season begins in early June, peaks in July and August, and declines to none early in September. The sand fly fauna is most diverse in the east of the country, the Tbilisi Region and even further east, where 11 different species of sand fly have been identified . P. kand Georgia , 29. In ea level .et al. [P. kandelakii; 2/40 (5.0\u00a0%) P. balcanicus. The three strains of L. infantum that were isolated from female P. kandelakii (2) and P. balcanicus (1) were genetically very similar (99.8\u201399.9\u00a0%) to strains of L. infantum isolated from human and canine cases of VL from the same focus, showing female sand flies of the species P. kandelakii and P. balcanicus to be vectors of VL caused by L. infantum in the vicinity of Tbilisi. For female P. kandelakii, blood meal analysis indicated they prefer feeding on dogs (76\u00a0%) but also feed on people, endorsing their role as a vector.From 2006 to 2008, Giorgobiani et al.  collecteL. infantum, and the putative vectors of human VL were different on each side of the River Mtkvari, which flows through Tbilisi. This was recently corroborated by Babuadze et al. [P. sergenti, none of which were infected, and 45\u00a0% were P. kandelakii, of which 5.5\u00a0% were infected. P. balcanicus (53.5\u00a0%) and P. halepensis (45.8\u00a0%), which were the two least prevalent species in Tbilisi, were most abundant in Kutaisi, and flagellates, supposedly leishmanial parasites, were detected in one female of each species.In 1961, Maruashvili  reportede et al. . The latIn Kazakhstan, VL is endemic to the regions of Kzylorda (now Kyzyl-Orda), Jambul (now Taraz), and Chimkent (now Shymkent). In the latter two regions, most of the human cases of VL have occurred in the cities. In the Kzylorda Region, human cases have been more prevalent among inhabitants of small rural settlements. The Village of Karmakchi at 45\u00b035\u2019 north latitude in the Kzylorda Region marks the northernmost border of the distribution of VL in the Eastern hemisphere. Most cases occurred in January, February and March . From 19Most cases have been young children. In the Kzylorda Region, 96\u00a0% of the cases are children under three years of age, of which 63\u00a0% are less than one year old , 59. Of L. infantum by MLEE [The strain MHOM/KZ/1975/Dzha*,  isolated in the City of Jambul from a patient with VL, was identified as  by MLEE , 17. ThiInfected dogs were found in the Kzylorda Region as mentioned above in the section on distribution where leishmanial parasites were detected in 5 (5\u00a0%) out of the 100 asymptomatic dogs investigated . In totaVectors. P. longiductus and P. smirnovi are the proven vectors of VL in Kazakhstan [P. smirnovi is primarily exophilic but is attracted into houses by light [P. longiductus is endophilic [zakhstan . This wazakhstan , 62 and zakhstan , 63. Botby light , 65. P. dophilic .Information on human VL in Kyrgyzstan is very limited. Between 1939 and 1950, 191 cases of VL were recorded mainly from the south of the country in the town of Osh and its environs. Infantile cases of VL were also recorded in the City of Frunze (now Bishkek) and its vicinity . From 19No information available.The parasite causing VL in Kyrgyzstan has not been isolated and, therefore, not characterized and identified.One dog with clinical signs of canine VL was found in the town of Osh .P. longiductus, , and P. caucasicus were incriminated as the putative vectors of human VL in Kyrgyzstan [P. caucasicus as a vector of VL.In the 1960s, rgyzstan , 69. HowHuman VL was reported in the cities of Dushanbe, Leninabad (now Khujand) and Ura Tube. From 1929 to 1935, six cases were recorded from the vicinity of Ura Tube. From 1933 to 1934, more than 30 adult and infantile cases were recorded from the settlement of Vakhshstroy . From 19The very limited information indicates that most cases are young children. A six-month old feeble male patient, with pale skin, little appetite, anaemia, hepato-splenomegaly, a blood count with decreased numbers of eosinophils and leucocytes, and an accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (SER) was treated at the Isaev Institute of Medical Parasitology, Samarkand, with 2\u00a0ml of Glucantime per day for 12\u00a0days after the case of VL had been microscopically confirmed and then discharged from the hospital in a satisfactory condition (unpublished data), showing the same situation seen in classical cases of VL described for the Mediterranean Region.et al. [L. infantum and very similar to those that had caused cases of VL in Uzbekistan. This was done by extracting and amplifying DNA by PCR and applying PCR-sequencing of the ribosomal ITS1 region [L. donovani complex' [Alam et al.  recently1 region , and alscomplex' , 74. In Infected dogs were shown to be the source of human cases of VL during the period from 1946 to1949 , 75 and P. major and P. chinensis, two species that might serve as vectors of VL, to the sand fly fauna of Tajikistan. However, according to the more recent taxonomic revision of the subgenus Phlebotomus (Adlerius) by Artemiev [P. major exists only in India and P. chinensis only in China. In 1995, Volkova [Adlerius: P. longiductus, P. turanicus, and P. angustus, all previously considered to be P. chinensis, and two species of the subgenus Laroussius: P. kandelakii and P. keshishiani, both previously considered to be P. major.Petrishcheva (1936)  and PerfArtemiev , P. majo Volkova  studied At the beginning of the 20th century, VL was not an obvious and widespread disease in Turkmenistan. One human case of VL was reported from Chardjou (now Turkmenabat) in 1911 , a secon-specifically compromised immune status before the onset of the disease.The disease mainly affects children up to three years old. The clinical manifestations of the disease are like those seen in Mediterranean infantile VL , 82. Adu-epidemiological surveying [L. infantum and, to a lesser extent, to that of the reference strain, MHOM/IN/1980/DD8, of the species L.donovani. The strains from the human cases represented a quite homogenous group. They encompassed two different zymodemes that showed a different electrophoretic mobility for only their GPI. Interestingly, the five strains isolated from human cases of VL from the south-eastern part of the Karakum Desert belonged to one of these zymodemes, which was distinct from the zymodeme to which the two strains isolated from human cases of VL from the western Kopet Dag region belonged. Three of the canine strains, of which two were isolated from dogs from the Kopet Dag region and one from a dog from south-eastern part of the Karakum Desert, were characterized by MLEE and differed from the strains from human cases of VL in the electrophoretic mobilities of two of the eight enzymes checked, MDH and ASAT, but the mobility of their GPI was the same as that of the human strains from Kopet Dag and the reference strains of the species L. infantum and L. donovani. The dog from which the fourth leishmanial strain, MCAN/TM/1990/IOL-5, was isolated came from the south-eastern part of the Karakum Desert. Its leishmanial strain differed from those from the people and the other three dogs, respectively, and also from the reference strain, MCAN/TN/1978/Lem-78, of the species L. infantum in its enzyme profile [L. infantum that had caused human and canine VL in Turkmenistan were genetically highly similar, but not completely identical [Sygmadon hispidus) but failed in three wolves, one fox, nine great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus), eight Libyan jirds (Meriones libycus), 82 white mice, 12 white rats, 28 Natal multimammate mice  and three Nile rats (Arvicanthus niloticus) [In 1963, three strains were isolated from human cases of VL and grown on NNN rabbit blood-agar slopes. Culture was successful only when parasites were isolated during the early stages of the disease and not later than two months. The isolated parasites grew slowly within the first 15\u00a0days but later grew normally. In tissue cultures promastigotes transformed into amastigotes after 24\u201348 hours. Attempts were made to infect 20 white mice, 16 Syrian hamsters, four hedgehogs, eight cats, three puppies, six foxes and one jackal but succeeded in only one puppy. Three months after being infected, the puppy became feeble, lost its appetite and presented partial alopecia. No leishmanial amastigotes were detected in stained liver and spleen smears however promastigotes were successfully grown from isolated liver tissue incubated in NNN rabbit blood-agar medium . One of urveying , 87. Tweurveying , 88. By  profile . Thus, tdentical , 88. Theloticus) .Hystrix indica) from a place between Kala-Kala and Kyzyl-Atrek (now Etrek) [Yakimov  was the w Etrek) . No furtw Etrek)  because P. chinensis, P. mongolensis and P. caucasicus were considered to be the vectors of the leishmanial parasites causing VL in Turkmenistan [P. turanicus, previously classified as 'P. chinensis', is endemic to the Turanian zoo-geographical region [P. turanicus is found in rodent burrows, wild animal dens and lairs and places of human habitation on the loess-piedmont plains in the valleys and the piedmont plains of the inhospitable Karakum Desert. Female sand flies of the species P. turanicus feed on, both, dogs and people. Significant variations have been seen in the abundance of the species. Human cases were recorded during years when the index of abundance of P. turanicus exceeded one sand fly per one standard sheet of paper in oil traps [In previous publications, menistan . In Turkl region  and now l region . P. turail traps .Knowledge of the existence of VL in Uzbekistan dates back to the early part of the 20th century when 30 human cases were recorded from five Uzbek cities: Tashkent, Andijan, Bukhara, Samarkand (now Samarqand), and Termez . During Retrospective screening of the population was carried out in the Provinces of Samarkand, Navoi, Bukhara, and the Kashkadarya Regions, and the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakiya, which were formerly very active foci of VL. From 1985 to 1988, 8652 people were tested in a sero-epidemiological survey, using an IFAT. Sero-positivity was low on average at 0.38\u00a0%, indicating the success of the control measures undertaken . Now theAge composition analysis of human cases of VL showed two out of three were children under the age of three and the incubation period was one to six months but mostly two to three months . Mirzoyaet al. ['L. donovani complex' [L. infantum. These Uzbek strains of L. infantum were very similar to strains that had caused two human cases of VL in 2006 in the neighbouring Penjikent Region of Tajikistan, showing them also to be strains of L. infantum [Many of the earlier studies addressed the question of VL in humans and dogs being caused by the same agent. Yakimov  succeedeet al. , who ampet al.  and MLMTcomplex' , 74 to tLeishmania, Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, CHU de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. All thirteen stocks were identified as strains of L. infantum belonging to zymodeme MON-1, the most ubiquitous zymodeme of this species. That the causative agent of human and canine VL in Uzbekistan is L, infantum was corroborated by sequencing the ITS1 amplification products of the ten strains from the dogs and the three from human cases of VL mentioned above. Microsatellite profiles were generated through MLMT for eight of the ten strains from dogs. They had the same genotype by MLMT and, in this, were identical to some and very similar other strains of L. infantum that had caused human cases of VL from the study area and the Jizzakh Region [Ten stocks of parasites were isolated from lymph node and spleen aspirates taken from dogs and three were isolated from bone marrow aspirates taken from human cases of VL from the area encompassing the villages of Chodak, Oltinkan, Gulistan and Chorkesar in the Namangan Region of the Pap District, Eastern Uzbekistan, during the survey done in 2007 and 2008 , 7. Theyh Region , 7. MLMTInfected dogs are the main animal reservoir and source of VL in the human population. Based on detecting leishmanial amastigotes in smears of splenic aspirates stained with Giemsa\u2019s stain, 116  of the dogs examined in Tashkent were found to be infected, as were 20  of the dogs in Samarkand and 27  of the dogs in Old Bukhara . Most ofL. infantum were isolated. Forty-two dogs (25.9\u00a0%) had clinical signs suggestive of canine VL and 51 (31.5\u00a0%) were sero-positive for anti-leishmanial antibodies. Of 119 asymptomatic dogs, 24 (20.2\u00a0%) were sero-positive. No association was found between the degrees of sero-positivity and either the age or gender of dogs or the particular village of their domicile but a significant one was found between sero-positivity and the presence of suspect clinical signs and symptoms of VL (p\u2009<\u20090.001). ITS1-PCR-sequencing was done on blood and tissue samples from 135 dogs, 40 (29.6\u00a0%) of which proved positive for leishmanial infections. Four foxes caught in the general area that were examined and screened similarly to the dogs, were not found to be infected.In 2007 and 2008, a study on canine VL was carried out in the villages of Chodak, Oltinkan, Gulistan and Chorkesar and their environs, which are situated in the Namangan Region of the Pap District . Owned dVectors. P. longiductus and P. smirnovi are the putative vectors of human and canine VL in Uzbekistan, the former being widely dispersed in areas of human settlement and the natural biotopes of the Fergana Valley [P. sergenti, 18.8\u00a0% P. papatasi, 15.5\u00a0% P. longiductus, 10.3\u00a0% P. alexandri and 9.6\u00a0% were other species. During an epidemiological survey of human infantile and canine VL carried out in the same region in 2007 and 2008, about 10,000 sand flies were caught that showed a very similar species composition to that described by Maroli et al. [P. longiductus was considered the most likely to be the vector of L. infantum in this region as it was found transmitting the parasite in other parts of Central Asia [P. smirnovi is possibly the vector where it is found on Tugai trees in the floodplains of the Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers.a Valley . The enti et al. . Of thesral Asia , 23. In Leishmania co-infection was diagnosed in 2009 [Up to 1990, only four confirmed human cases of VL were reported from the Crimean Peninsula. These infections were acquired in the vicinity of Feodosiya and on the coast between Sudak and Alushta \u2013112. FroIn three infant cases of VL, the disease was acute with the typical clinical signs of weight loss, splenomegaly and fever, and proved fatal in two. In contrast, the disease proceeded relatively smoothly in three adult cases but, owing to a late diagnosis, resulted in the death of one. One case was described in detail. The patient, a Lithuanian, acquired his VL in August 1981 during a short tour in East Crimea. In March 1982, after 6-7months, he felt feeble and suffered short bouts of high temperature and sweating. Only in October 1983, did he seek medical advice, was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute chronic bronchitis, and only in January 1984, when his liver, spleen, inguinal and axillary lymph glands became greatly enlarged, was a sternal puncture done and large numbers of leishmanial amastigotes were detected in his bone marrow smears and lymph node aspirates. He was treated with a course of Glucantime and successfully cured .L. infantum [L. donovani, but could not be assigned exactly to a specific sub-group and occupied an intermediate position between L. donovani and L. infantum in phylogenetic trees [L. donovani from India and Kenya that belonged to the zymodeme MON-37 and zymodemes close to zymodeme MON-37 [Tissue from an inguinal lymph node of the Lithuanian patient mentioned above was inoculated into NNN rabbit blood-agar slopes and also injected intra-peritoneally into ten young Syrian hamsters. Culture was successful and the strain MHOM/CR/1984/Krim  was sub-passaged 35 times before being cryo-preserved. However, growth of the promastigotes was always rather moderate . The strinfantum . When anic trees , 114. Bye MON-37 . Howeveret al. [There are no records of studies on possible animal reservoirs of VL in Crimea. Kellina et al.  suggesteP. longiductus, a proven vector of VL in other parts of its range, and P. balcanicus, P. perfiliewi and P. neglectus, which are considered to be putative vectors of VL [The sand fly fauna of the Crimea was studied intensively during the first half of the 20th century owing to the emergence of sand fly fever there at that time. According to current records and nomenclature, several phlebotomine species were found to exist in Crimea that included rs of VL , 116.Larroussius and Adlerius known to transmit the causative agents of VL, supposedly L. infantum, elsewhere, supports such a notion, should the causative agents somehow be introduced. Only two autochthonous human cases of VL have been reported from the Russian Federation: one, an adult who had always lived in and never left Dagestan [e.g., Moscow, Mogilyev, Kazan, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), though they were actually infected in places where VL was endemic, e.g., Tashkent, Kokand, Ashkhabad, Chardzhoy and Crimea [Stable foci of VL do not appear to exist in any of the Russian territories. However, opinions differ on whether local transmission of the parasites causing human and canine VL could arise in a region like the Northern Caucasus. On comparing natural and climatic conditions, Malkhazova and Neronov  concludeDagestan ; the othDagestan . The fird Crimea . FourteeNot described.Not isolated.Not investigated. The rare occurrence of human cases led to the conclusion that wild animals, especially jackals and foxes, might serve as a source of human infections. Infections of VL have been detected in jackals and foxes in other regions, including ones bordering Russia. The current extension of the distribution of jackals in the northern part of the Main Caucasus Ridge  suggestsP. neglectus was caught, was found to be the most northerly point of sand fly distribution in the North Caucasus [P. balcanicus and P. perfiliewi, putative vectors of human and canine VL, were also found in the Krasnodar Region [P. balcanicus and P. tobbi were found in the Stavropol Region, and P. kandelakii, P. balcanicus and P. transcaucasicus in Chechniya [P. kandelakii and P. neglectus, two putative vectors of human and canine VL.Owing to the almost non-existence of VL in the North Caucasus, vectors thereof have not been studied and identified; however the sand fly fauna in the North Caucasus was studied extensively during the 1940s and 1950s. The studies were undertaken in regions where cases of sand fly fever had been recorded. Far less information was collected on sand flies during the second half of the 20th century however information and results collected, collated and published previously were put into reviews published between 1989 and 2011 , 51, 116Caucasus . P. balcr Region . P. balchechniya , 122. Inhechniya , which iet al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [This review covers a century and more on the surveillance of and research on human and canine VL in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the southern part of the Russian Federation. Much of it is based on the history of VL during the time of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. In the 20th century, the majority of the articles were published in Russian and only sporadically in English, which made it very difficult for the experts in other countries to get information from this vast area. Studies and research like those of Maroli et al. , Alam et [et al. , Kovalen [et al. , 100, Ab [et al.  and Zhir [et al.  on VL in [et al.  and Babu [et al.  in GeorgL. infantum in the total area is zoonotic and very similar to that of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, and, though very worthy of consideration, does not appear to be as serious a problem as the anthroponotic VL caused by L. donovani which results in epidemics in India, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.VL caused by Nevertheless, until the mid-20th century, VL presented a serious public health problem for the countries mentioned in this review because significant numbers of the cases of VL were infants and children, and some form of control was necessary. The national malaria control programme undertaken in the USSR in the 1950s also led to a significant decrease in the sand fly population in addition to the mosquito population. Together with the antimalarial control measures, dogs with VL in areas of human population were eliminated. This reduced human VL to sporadic cases and the disease even ceased to exist for many years in some areas.etc. Also, climate change, for whatever reason, could lead to the extension of the regions of endemicity of VL.However, since 2000, VL has again become a problem for the health authorities in many of the countries mentioned in this review. This is related to the resurgence of locally acquired cases of VL and also to imported cases resulting from increased human migration, travel, i.e., Glucantime, are registered only in Georgia where treatment is financially supported by the government . In all the other countries, these chemotherapeutics are not registered, special permission is required for their importation and, thus, the supply is not continuous. Often the chemotherapeutics, mostly antimonial preparations and, rarely, Amphotericin B, have been made available through personal initiatives, e.g. by the patients\u2019 relatives, and through humanitarian aid by the WHO. As in other countries with few cases of VL, it is very difficult for medical practitioners to obtain the small quantities of medicine needed [Access to chemotherapeutics for the treatment of VL is problematic in almost all of the independent states that arose after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Antimonial drugs, e needed .L. major, an unexpected result, probably, indicating a laboratory error.Now, further surveillance and research should be done to expose the existing situation regarding VL in all the countries mentioned in this review. This should include the older well-studied foci where the situation might have changed with time and areas that have the potential of developing into new foci of VL. New leishmanial isolates from human cases, dogs, wild animals and sand flies are required to identify causative agents, animal reservoirs and vectors of VL and for comparison with strains from neighbouring territories, especially where isolates have not been identified, e.g., Armenia; Kyrgyzstan; and in Georgia where, many years ago, eight strains isolated from children with VL were identified as L. infantum but not displaying obvious signs and symptoms of VL, and the introduction and implementation of modern serological and molecular biological assays for the routine diagnosis of VL. This together with modern methods of identifying isolates will assist in exposing asymptomatic human cases of VL and also choosing treatment for patent human cases of VL. The research done through international joint projects in Uzbekistan and Georgia shows the great benefit of such collaboration for the implementation of modern diagnostic methods and the development of local expertise in the countries mentioned in this review.The present situation calls for new approaches to research on VL in the vast area that was considered here, and, in fact, also CL owing to the occurrence of cases of CL caused by"}
+{"text": "Scale-up of the main vector control interventions, residual insecticides sprayed on walls or structures and/or impregnated in bed nets, together with prompt diagnosis and effective treatment, have led to a global reduction in malaria transmission. However, resistance in vectors to almost all classes of insecticides, particularly to the synthetic pyrethroids, is posing a challenge to the recent trend of declining malaria. Ten International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) located in the most malaria-endemic regions of the world are currently addressing insecticide resistance in the main vector populations, which not only threaten hope for elimination in malaria-endemic countries but also may lead to reversal where notable reductions in malaria have been documented. This communication illustrates the current status of insecticide resistance with a focus on the countries where activities are ongoing for 9 out of the 10 ICEMRs. Most of the primary malaria vectors in the ICEMR countries exhibit insecticide resistance, albeit of varying magnitude, and spanning all mechanisms of resistance. New alternatives to the insecticides currently available are still to be fully developed for deployment. Integrated vector management principles need to be better understood and encouraged, and viable insecticide resistance management strategies need to be developed and implemented. The fight against malaria between 2000 and 2012 has resulted in global reductions of 42% in mortality and 25% in incidence of malaria.1Anopheles mosquitoes involved in malaria parasite transmission, resulting in the selection of highly resistant vector populations. According to the WHO, insecticide resistance is defined as the ability of an insect to withstand the effects of an insecticide by becoming resistant to its toxic effects by means of natural selection and mutations.kdr, or knock down resistance), reduced penetration, and behavioral avoidance.3A major threat for malaria control programs worldwide is the development and spread of insecticide resistance in vector populations. Unfortunately, the use of insecticides for both public health and agriculture has induced selective pressure(s) on numerous insect populations, including The goal of this communication is to review the current situation regarding insecticide resistance in the regions under study by nine out of the 10 National Institutes of Health (NIH) International Centers for Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMRs). The ICEMRs have activity on all continents with malaria transmission; Africa has four ICEMRs: west Africa , Uganda (Uganda), southern Africa (Zambia and Zimbabwe), and Mali , from which the former three contributed to this manuscript. Latin America (LA) has two ICEMRs: LA  and Amazonia (Peru and Brazil). Asia has three ICEMRs: India (India), south Asia (India), and southeast (SE) Asia . These investigations of malaria transmission and control in the ICEMR network provide an ideal opportunity to broadly examine global trends in insecticide resistance in the context of viable strategies for malaria elimination.Anopheles mosquitoes have been proposed and standardized by the WHO, using papers impregnated with the diagnostic dosage and exposure time for each insecticide,Anopheles species.The methods for evaluation of the status of susceptibility in A review of tests carried out in each of the ICEMR countries was compiled. Each ICEMR provided its own data, with a few records previously published. The data have been compiled and are presented by geographical region, with the proportion of mosquito mortality/susceptibility illustrated by country and vector species.Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles funestus s.s., two of the most important malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa and therefore globally, have been subjected to closely monitored evaluations for changes in susceptibility to all insecticides of public health use, given the devastating potential consequences of insecticide resistance in these species. Resistance to pyrethroids (PY), the main insecticide group currently used for malaria control, is now widespread in African vectors.6The vast majority (80%) of malaria cases and deaths (90%) from the entire world occur in the African region every year.An. gambiae s.s. is still completely susceptible to OP  and the organochlorines (OC) (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT] and dieldrin) , but showing resistance to PYs  and the carbamates (C) (bendiocarb and propoxur)Anopheles arabiensis, currently present at only one of the ICEMR sites in southern Zambia, has been reported as fully susceptible to all classes of insecticides at this site.8The third major African malaria vector, An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s. have previously been found to be potentially resistant to PY and DDT.kdr mutation in An. gambiae s.s. was observed when examined before and after the introduction of LLINs.An. gambiae s.s. has shown resistance to DDT and PY insecticides , with mortality rates ranging from 46% to 63%, but it remains completely susceptible to fenitrothion (OP) and bendiocarb (C).15In west Africa, the two major malaria vectors An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, but susceptibility to bendiocarb (C) and pirimiphos-methyl (OP)  and Senegal (Thies region) showed high resistance levels to DDT in both hyl (OP) . Any carAn. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis have been found to occur in sympatry at all the three sites, namely Jinja, Tororo, and Kanungu, with the highest levels of An. arabiensis species composition  found in Jinja.An. gambiae s.s. in Jinja,An. arabiensis from Jinja or Tororo (there is a very low abundance of An. arabiensis in Kanungu). However, resistance to deltamethrin and permethrin has been observed in An. arabiensis from both Jinga and Tororo. There is new evidence of incipient bendiocarb (C) resistance in two of the Uganda ICEMR sites, namely Kanungu and Tororo. This is of particular concern and a major challenge to the IRS campaign and further exacerbates the challenge of pyrethroid resistance at these sites.In the Uganda ICEMR, Anopheles darlingi, the main malaria vector in LA, and particularly responsible for malaria transmission in the Amazon region, is generally susceptible to all insecticides throughout its distribution. However, a population in western Colombia (Choco) exhibited DDT resistance in the 1990s,Anopheles albimanus has also been subjected to insecticide resistance surveillance throughout its range in the Americas. In Central America, resistance to a variety of insecticides was reported in 1970 and associated mainly with insecticide use in agriculture.An. albimanus in Peru overlaps with rice cultivation areas where insecticides are used frequently, and it is likely that this pressure has influenced the selection of resistance in vector populations.Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. is one of the main vectors of malaria in Colombia and Venezuela. This species has been described as endophagic but exophilic, with a tendency to avoid contact with walls sprayed with insecticides. In a series of evaluations conducted in Colombia, this species exhibited insecticide resistance in a population on the border between Colombia and Venezuela to PYs, OPs, and DDTAnopheles benarrochi and Anopheles pseudopunctipennis are considered of importance as vectors in Peru.Anopheles benarrochi is susceptible to PY, except for a population from Ucayali (on the border with Brazil) that demonstrated resistance to permethrin, whereas An. pseudopunctipennis from Cajamarca, in the northwest of the country has shown less than 95% mortality for all insecticides tested  (lathion) .An. darlingi, has shown susceptibility through most of its distribution, except for one population in Colombia.In general, resistance in vectors in LA is focal, probably due to insecticide pressure from agriculture use. Most importantly, at this time, the primary vector in LA, Given the local availability of supplies for the CDC bioassay, this methodology is performed in Colombia every year at sentinel sites selected by the insecticide resistance surveillance network (IRSN).4To directly compare these methods, WHO and CDC tests were conducted simultaneously on the same mosquito populations from 64 localities in ColombiaAnopheles farauti s.l. populations composed of An. farauti, Anopheles punctulatus, and Anopheles hinesorum from five study sites in the Madang, Manus, and east Sepik provinces in Papua New Guinea were tested for susceptibility to the PYs deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin and the presence of the kdr allele.An. farauti s.s. in Manus and two sites in Madang, An. punctulatus in east Sepik and anophelines composed of both An. hinesorum and An. punctulatus) were 100% susceptible  collected from seven different PNG provinces did not detect kdr allele in any of the An. punctulatus species.31An. farauti s.s. from the western Province , Temotu, Central, Choiseul, and Malaita . However, in 2013, moderate resistance to lambda-cyhalothrin was found in Malaita and Central provinces, to permethrin in Central and Guadalcanal provinces, and to deltamethrin in Guadalcanal .Similar results with the WHO paper test were found in 2014 in the Solomon Islands where 100% susceptibility to deltamethrin was shown in An. farauti s.l. following exposure to DDT used in IRS in both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.34The absence of high levels of resistance recorded in many geographic areas is not surprising given the well-documented development of behavioral resistance in Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles fluviatilis, Anopheles minimus, Anopheles dirus (Anopheles baimai), and Anopheles sundaicus. The first three species have been subjects for determination of insecticide susceptibility and are responsible for most of the malaria transmission in the region. There are two ICEMRs in India. The first is Malaria Evolution in South Asia with operational sites in Goa, Wardha (Maharashtra), Ranchi (Jharkhand), and Dibrugarh (Assam) where An. stephensi, An. culicifacies, An. minimus, and An. dirus (An. baimai) are the main vectors. The second ICEMR is Center for the Studies of Complex Malaria in India with an urban site, Chennai, with the urban malaria vector An. stephensi, and two rural sites in Gujarat and Odisha states where An. culicifacies and An. fluviatilis are the main vectors.India has six primary vectors of malaria; Anopheles culicifacies is resistant to DDT and malathion in most districts of Odisha and in other states, and highly resistant to deltamethrin although a few regions retain sensitive populations.An. culicifacies is acute in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh  and cyfluthrin (0.15%) was compared with the strains from Subbareddipalayam, an adjoining area located in the northern outskirts of Chennai city. Another study in Rameswaram Island in Tamil Nadu, has also reported reduced susceptibility to deltamethrin in An. culicifacies.An. culicifacies.An. fluviatilis S is also a dominant vector in Odisha. So far, An. fluviatilis remains completely susceptible to all insecticides including pyrethroids and DDT used for vector control and OPs used for agricultural purposes.36An. stephensi, has been reported to be resistant to malathion in Goa,Anopheles stephensi was highly susceptible to deltamethrin in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and lambda-cyhalothrin in Karnataka state.An. stephensi was found to be highly susceptible to DDT, illustrating the heterogeneity in these resistance patterns  and malathion (OP) resistance was reported from Rajasthan and GujaratAn. fluviatilis, an important malaria vector in the hills and foothills in IndiaIn An. minimus s.l. and An. dirus s.l. are the main vectors, whereas in more temperate regions (above 33\u00b0N latitude), Anopheles sinensis is the major malaria vector.Anopheles anthropophagus and Anopheles liangshanensis are important regional malaria vectors. In Thailand, in addition to An. dirus and An. minimus, Anopheles maculatus and Anopheles aconitus are considered to be primary human malaria vectors.46In SE Asia, malaria vectors are highly diverse in species composition, population dynamics, ecological niche requirement, host feeding preference, and vector competence.Reducing vector-human contact by the use of LLINs has been shown to be effective in reducing malaria prevalence in SE Asia.48An. dirus s.l. and An. minimus s.l., and permethrin resistance was also found in a population of An. minimus s.l. from northern Thailand.An. minimus populations were found, and An. minimus also showed resistance to DDT (OC) and pyrethroids in some sites in Cambodia and Laos.Anopheles dirus s.s., the main vector in forested malaria foci, was permethrin susceptible throughout the Mekong region, but in central Vietnam it showed possible resistance to pyrethroids.An. sinensis in China.An. sinensis , however, show remarkable susceptibility to most insecticides, as depicted here 57Anopheles populations in semiarid environments in EritreaAnopheles larvae , led to an important reduction in the mosquito vector populations.Few contemporary successful initiatives using alternative approaches as complementary control measures have been documented. Intensive environmental interventions to reduce Resistance management strategies include rotation of insecticides with different modes of action and resistance mechanisms, or mosaic applications. However, it is becoming more common to find populations that have been exposed to different groups of insecticides from use in public health and/or agriculture, and the emergence of multiple resistance, or populations in which a resistance mechanism is causing cross-resistance to multiple compounds, especially if those compounds are in different classes of insecticides.Usually, when results of the susceptibility bioassays indicate emerging or emergent resistance, malaria control program authorities make decisions regarding the necessary change of insecticides in that particular area. However, these bioassays do not provide any information on the strength of this resistance, and, because the correlation between results of diagnostic dose assays and control effectiveness remains undefined, simple detection of resistance in a mosquito population is often not sufficient evidence to implement a change in insecticide policy. Recently, an intensity test has been proposed to quantify the strength of resistance,An. farauti in Papua New GuineaAn. gambiae s.s., to the more exophilic and outdoor-adapted vector, An. arabiensis.An. gambiae s.s. populations with high susceptibility to P. falciparum.Besides physiological and genetic insecticide resistance, another challenge is behavioral resistance where vectors feed and rest outdoors as is seen with the main malaria vectors in LA and other regions.As evident in the 10 ICEMR programs distributed throughout the malarious regions of the world, insecticide resistance is a growing and alarming problem for malaria control programs. Novel insecticides and alternative strategies are desperately needed for vector control, and would be better coupled with IVM and IRM programs. The hope is that future malaria control programs will have the tools to better integrate vector control with complementary antimalarials or vaccines that reduce or prevent parasite loads in hosts. Realistically, in the next 15 or more years, vector control will remain an essential component of malaria control programs."}
+{"text": "Toxins welcomed applications for the 2016 Toxins Travel Awards for post-doctoral fellows and Ph.D. students. We received nearly 100 completed applications for the awards, and the overall quality of all the applications was outstanding. While this bodes well for the future of toxinology, it certainly made for a challenging task for the editors selecting the two finalists. On behalf of the editors of Toxins, I am pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Toxins Travel Awards for 2016.With the goal of promoting the development of early career investigators in the field of toxinology, Toxins Travel Awards are granted to Dr. Kartik Sunagar, Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Fellow in Dr. Yehu Moran\u2019s laboratory at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and to Dr. Philipp Wiemann, a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Nancy Keller\u2019s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. They will each receive 800 CHF to help support travel to present at scientific conferences in 2016.The Toxins. He has been invited to present at a number of international conferences, including a recent oral presentation at the 18th World Congress of the International Society on Toxinology. Dr. Sunagar will use the Toxins Travel Award to attend the annual conference of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, July 3\u20137, 2016. Dr. Kartik Sunagar received his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Porto in Portugal in 2013. In 2014, Dr. Sunagar was awarded the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, one of the European Union\u2019s most prestigious fellowships for post-doctoral researchers. He joined Dr. Moran\u2018s laboratory, where he studies animal venoms to understand various aspects in evolutionary biology and ecology, with particular emphasis on molecular evolution, predator\u2013prey interactions, mechanisms of toxic action and the role of environmental and ecological factors in driving the evolution of venom\u2014nature\u2019s most complex biochemical cocktail. In Dr. Moran\u2019s letter of support, he wrote: \"During the time Kartik spent in my lab he demonstrated originality, intelligence and research skills that I rarely encountered in a young researcher of a similar career stage.\" Dr. Sunagar has published 15 peer-reviewed research articles and five reviews or book chapters, including six papers in summa cum laude from Westf\u00e4lische Wilhelms-Universit\u00e4t M\u00fcnster, Germany in 2010 where he worked in the laboratories of Prof. Hans-Ulrich Humpf and Prof. Bettina Tudzynski. After a brief post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Tudzynski\u2019s laboratory, Dr. Wiemann joined the laboratory of Dr. Nancy P. Keller at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the Keller laboratory, he has been working with Aspergillus species, including the opportunistic human pathogen A. fumigatus, and the aflatoxin producing plant pathogen A. flavus. His research mainly focuses on a specific natural product of A. fumigatus, called hexadehydroastechrome, that, when over-produced, contributes to virulence in mice. In Dr. Keller\u2019s letter of support, she wrote: \"Philipp has been a fantastic post-doctoral scientist in my lab, excelling in every aspect of professional life from research to ethical standards and lab citizenship.\" Dr. Wiemann has co-authored 18 peer-reviewed research publications including a recent paper in Toxins. He is a frequent invited presenter at international meetings on fungal genetics. Dr. Wiemann will use the Toxins Travel Award to attend the Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology in Holderness, New Hampshire, USA, June 19\u201324, 2016.Dr. Philipp Wiemann received his Ph.D. in Food Chemistry Toxins Travel Awards and we are grateful to MDPI for their generous support of the awards this year and in the future. The editors, managing editors, and editorial board members congratulate Drs. Sunagar and Wiemann on winning the 2016"}
+{"text": "The affiliation for the fifth author is not correct. Christopher H. Willcox is not affiliated with #6 but with #3 School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. The publisher apologizes for the error.KHarris@psy.uq.edu.The Corresponding Author email is not correct. The correct email address is:"}
+{"text": "Dis. Model. Mech.8, 769-782.There was an error published in KRAS gene. The correct figure appears below. There are no changes to the figure legend, which is accurate.In We apologise to the readers and authors for any confusion that this error might have caused."}
+{"text": "Tool (Native Windows Application), imaging, DICOM. Upon request the tool may be provided for trial use or under a license agreement.Dr Eye viewer is an open access, flexible and easy to use platform for the intuitive annotation and segmentation of tumor region images Figure . Its cliThis tool is suitable for use by various clinicians such as radiologists or oncologists, and by anyone who needs to view DICOM images, or perform measurements and analysis of their imaging data Figure . It can The platform has been tested with hundreds of MRI datasets to assess and improve usability, extensibility and robustness. Technically it is based on the .NET framework architecture and can be used in any Windows based computer.Version 5.7 released on 1.5.2014, beta version.Oncologists, radiologists and clinicians with interest in handling DICOM images.http://biomodeling.ics.forth.gr and http://biomodeling.ics.forth.gr/?page_id=8"}
+{"text": "There are errors in the Funding Statement. The correct funding information is as follows: KDT was supported by EPSCoR NSF award #OIA-120892 and by NASA award NNX09AL03G. Fieldwork and data compilation from the Chandler/Colville Rivers was supported by NASA award NNX09AL03G Mapping Changes in Shrub Abundance and Biomass in Arctic Tundra using NASA Earth Observing System Data: A Structural Approach (PI: Mark Chopping). DDG and LGA received support from U.S. Geological Survey\u2019s Changing Arctic Ecosystem Initiative within the Wildlife Program of the Ecosystem Mission Area. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Additionally, the measured shrub height data from the Chandler/Colville Rivers that KD Tape helped to collect and was used in this study was published and archived online several months earlier, and thus should have been mentioned in the Data Availability Statement.http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1270. All other relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.The complete, correct Data Availability Statement is as follows: Data used to create Eq 1 are available in Walker DA. 1985. Vegetation and environmental gradients of the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska. Hanover, New Hampshire: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab. Report no. 85\u201314. pp. 238. Shrub height data from the Chandler/Colville Rivers are available in Duchesne, RR, MJ Chopping, and KD Tape. 2015. Capability of the CANAPI algorithm to derive shrub structural parameters from satellite imagery in the Alaskan Arctic. Polar Record. pp.1-10, available online at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center:"}
+{"text": "A commentary onHandbook of Psychology, 2nd Edn\u201cExploratory data analysis,\u201d in .by Behrens, J. T., Dicerbo, K. E., Yel, N., and Levy, R. (2013). Vol. 2, eds J. A. Schinka, W. F. Velicer, and I. B. Weiner , 34\u201370.Despite the importance of exploratory data analysis (EDA) in statistics and science, few people have worked on its philosophical foundations. In psychology, the present author Haig,  have comexplanatory hypotheses. In this sense, it contrasts with the more familiar ideas of inductive and deductive inference. Behrens et al. begin by taking their cue from Charles Peirce, and state that abduction is the form of inference involved in generating new ideas or hypotheses. However, surprisingly, Behrens et al. then elect to follow Josephson and Josephson .Hypothesis H explains D .No other hypothesis explains D as well as H does.Therefore, H is probably correct.hypothesis generation. Instead, it characterizes the abductive form of reasoning known as inference to the best explanation. Inference to the best explanation is used in science to appraise competing theories in terms of their explanatory goodness , and abductive methods as true to their name (they are methods concerned with the construction of explanatory hypotheses and theories).If researchers were to follow Behrens et al. and characterize EDA as fundamentally abductive in nature, they would risk construing descriptive hypotheses as explanatory hypotheses, when they had done no explanatory work at all. Better to put abduction to one side, and follow Tukey's philosophy of EDA.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "AbstractThe Atlantic Forest is a hotspot for biodiversity, an area which houses high species richness and endemism, but with high level of threat. With reference to the herpetofauna, until recently there has been no detailed information regarding diversity of snakes recorded in the Atlantic Forest, the number of endemic species and their distribution ranges. While these basic data were missing, large areas of original forest have continued to be lost to increased urbanization and human population, representing a severe threat to the biodiversity.Dipsadidae was the richest family with 14 species, followed by Colubridae (eight species), Boidae (two species), Viperidae (two species), and Anomalepididae, Elapidae and Typhlopidae (one species each). Most species were forest inhabitants (61%), of which 13 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. There were no clearly defined species clusters regarding species composition. None of the species recorded in Niter\u00f3i are listed as threatened in the Brazilian Redlist. However, most of them are strongly associated with forested areas and, perhaps, are not adapted to live in small fragments. Thus, more initiatives should be implemented to evaluate the true conservation status of these species in order to better protect them.We recorded 28 snake species in our study area.  Museum acronyms are taken from Species identification was based on the specimens examined by direct analysis of voucher specimens , followed by Colubridae (eight species), Boidae (two species), Viperidae (two species), Anomalepididae and Typhlopidae (one species each). The most common species found in the collections were Bothropsjararacussu (103 specimens), followed by Bothropsjararaca and Micruruscorallinus . The least common were Chironiusexoletus, Erythrolamprusaesculapii, Leptophisahaetulla, and Liotyphlopswilderi (one specimen each). We also established a first record from Niter\u00f3i for Cleliaplumbea, though it also seems to be very rare.We recorded 28 snake species from 18 genera and seven families , with a smaller percentage 39%) inhabiting both forested and open areas. All of them are typical of the Altantic Forest Domain. However, none of them exclusively inhabit open areas. The most species rich locality is the Serra do Mar with 60 species, followed by Duque de Caxias with 33 species Fig. . We also9% inhabiLeast ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is fLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil It is fossorial, nocturnal and diurnal, and feeds on arthropods Fig. .Linnaeus, 1758Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, diurnal and nocturnal and feeds mostly on vertebrates  Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is arboreal, nocturnal and feeds mostly on vertebrates  Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is sLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, diurnal and feeds mostly on frogs Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is sLeast ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is aLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is arboreal, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates (lizards) Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, nocturnal and feeds on vertebrates (snakes and lizards) Fig. .Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is fLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is sLeast ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is sLeast ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates (frogs).Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is aquatical, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates (fishes and frogs) Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, nocturnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. Dum\u00e9ril, Bibron & Dum\u00e9ril, 1854Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is tLeast ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is tLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is semi-arboreal, nocturnal and feeds on vertebrates (frogs) Fig. . See taxG\u00fcnther, 1863Least ConcernRecorded in forested and open areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilIt is terrestrial, diurnal and feeds on vertebrates (frogs) Fig. Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is fLeast ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. BrazilEndemic of the Atlantic Forest Fig. . It is tLacerda, 1884Least ConcernRecorded in forested areas of the Atlantic Forest. Municipality of Niter\u00f3i. State of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil It is terrestrial, nocturnal and feeds on vertebrates  Fig. .Bothropsjararaca and Micruruscorallinus in our samples).The species richness found in Niter\u00f3i represents 34% of the snake species known for the state of Rio de Janeiro  and 7.3%Information about diversity, taxonomy, and geographical distribution of species from scientific collections can be used for a broad range of purposes , includiChironius and Bothrops), and eleven (39%) inhabit both open and forested areas  is widely distributed in the Caatinga and Cerrado, with dubious records in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro . This species is morphologically similar to T.hypoconia that also occurs in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro. However, it cannot be treated as T.hypoconia because the later has dorsal scales strongly keeled, anterior and posterior region of the vent homogeneous, with longitudinal stripes very conspicuous, and dark gular region , Museu Nacional da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ), and Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (ZUEC).File: oo_58178.docxNathalie Citeli, Breno Hamdan, Tha\u00eds Barreto GuedesSupplementary material 2Raw data of occurrence of snakes in areas of the Atlantic Forest, Southeastern BrazilData type: Binary matrix in ExcelBrief description: Binary matrix that was the base to run the cluster analysis with Jaccard\u2019s coefficient and to draw the graphics provided in the results section .File: oo_63307.xlsxNathalie Citeli, Breno Hamdan, Tha\u00eds Barreto Guedes"}
+{"text": "Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex recognized to date some are considered to have a limited distribution, while others are worldwide dispersed. Among those are Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) and Borrelia bissettii which are distributed both in North America and in Europe. While B. burgdorferi s.s. is recognized as a cause of Lyme borreliosis worldwide, involvement of B. bissettii in human Lyme disease was not so definite yet.Out of 20 spirochete species from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains highly similar to those from endemic Lyme borreliosis regions of the northeastern United States, and an unusual strain that differed from any previously described in Europe or North America. Based on phylogenetic analysis of eight chromosomally located housekeeping genes divergent strain clustered between Borrelia bissettii and Borrelia carolinensis, two species from the B.burgdorferi s.l. complex, widely distributed among the multiple hosts and vector ticks in the southeastern United States. The genetic distance analysis showed a close relationship of the diverged strain to B. bissettii.Multilocus sequence typing of spirochete isolates originating from residents of Georgia and Florida, USA, revealed the presence of two B. bissettii. The potential of B. bissettii to cause human disease, even if it is infrequent, is of importance for clinicians due to the extensive range of its geographic distribution.Here, we present the analysis of the first North American human originated live spirochete strain that revealed close relatedness to  Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex is a diverse group of bacteria widely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. From the time of the discovery of the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), a large number of Borrelia isolates has been obtained from various vertebrate species, including humans. To date, five of the genospecies from B. burgdorferi s.l. complex are ensured human pathogenic, including B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. bavariensis, and B. spielmanii. Occasionally, B. lusitaniae and B. kurtenbachii have been detected in patients . The records of naturally occurring infections in multiple species of rodents, birds, and Ixodes ticks indicate that B. bissettii is widely distributed in the United States and is not narrowly confined to particular vertebrate host or tick species. With such well-established population of B. bissettii in its area of distribution, with wide availability of multiple hosts and tick vectors, it is not surprising that residents of the west and east coast are exposed to this species.Strains of the west  and in taffinis) . B. bisslifornia , and fro Georgia , [OliverB. bissettii investigated on murine models was sufficient to induce disease, causing pathology within the heart, femorotibial joint and bladder in vertebrate host [B. bissettii are able to infect humans and suggested they may be potentially human pathogenic [B. bissettii-infections in human-biting host seeking Ixodes vectors [The pathogenic potential of American strains of ate host . At the thogenic , 9 altho vectors \u201327.B. bissettii-related spirochete (strain M7p) from a resident of North America. The taxonomic status of this strain requires further investigation. Phylogenetic analysis resulted in clustering of M7p strain between two clades formed by B. carolinensis and B. bissettii with rather low node support (41\u00a0%). The value of genetic distance was above the species threshold compared with B. carolinensis and B. bissettii, which might mean that strain M7p represents a novel species from B. burgdorferi s. l. complex. The species threshold of 0.017 for the MLSA based on housekeeping genes was determined by comparison to data published by Postic and colleagues earlier [Borrelia. The same strains were used later [B.yangtzensis [B. yangtzensis do exist with genetic distances above the species threshold [Borrelia species and populations are structured.Here, we present analysis of the first recovered live  earlier . These aed later  in the Mgtzensis . Two quihreshold . These tB. bissettii-like spirochetes from a human provides evidence that this species, in addition to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, may cause human Lyme borreliosis in North America, possibly with clinical manifestations different from those related to B. burgdorferi s.s. infection [Isolation of live nfection ."}
+{"text": "Vector borne zoonoses are emerging threats in Europe. Data collection from animals may be useful to evaluate their occurrence and intensity of transmission, and to detect their introduction into previously free geographic areas. Indeed, vertebrates serve as hosts for pathogens and for arthropod vectors, although their ecological role can vary according to the diseases.Rickettsia slovaca  and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato , in the Apennine mountains, Tuscany , where human cases of tick-borne diseases were reported. Small rodents are preferential hosts for the immature stages of the two tick vectors and are involved in the transmission cycle of both diseases.Data collection on small rodents was used to study the eco-epidemiology of two tick-borne pathogens, Apodemus spp. and Myodes glareolus from 1100 to 1650 m above the sea level (a.s.l.). Rodents were found infested by immature I. ricinus and D. marginatus. The monthly activities of these two tick species on the same hosts were different, reflecting differences in their life cycles. Although few individuals were co-infested, both tick species tended to aggregate on the same Apodemus spp. males. R. slovaca and B. burgdorferi s.l. were detected in rodent ear biopsies and attached ticks up to 1650 m a.s.l. In our study area, rodents might play a role as amplifiers of R. slovaca infection; even in the absence of the host's systemic infection, tick aggregation on the same individuals might favour the transmission of the pathogen through co-feeding. While D. marginatus had been found at the same location in studies carried out in 1994, I.ricinus was very rare or absent. Data collection on small rodents thus highlighted the recent range expansion of I. ricinus and B. burgdorferi s.l. in a previously unoccupied area. Major land use changes, the increased abundance of wildlife populations, as well as a general climate warming in the Mediterranean area, might be interacting factors affecting the altitudinal range expansion of I. ricinus in the Northern Apennines, and in Italy in general.In the summers from 2009 to 2012, we live trapped"}
+{"text": "Change in climatic and socio-economic situations is paving the way for the spread of malaria in highland areas which were generally known to be malaria free. Despite this, information regarding highland malaria transmission is scarce. Thus, the present study investigated entomological parameters linked to malaria transmission in the highlands of Southern Ethiopia.A longitudinal entomological study was conducted in three localities situated at different altitudes ranging between 1300 and 2650m above sea level in Derashe district, Southern Ethiopia. Larval and adult anopheline mosquitoes were collected between October 2011 and February 2012.An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l existed at significantly higher densities in the lowland (Wozeka) in contrast to An. christyi and An. Demeilloni, which were more abundant in the highland localities (P\u2009<\u20090.01). Conversely, An. pharoensis and An. cinereus were scarce and only found in the lowland and highlands, respectively. Habitats of larvae of An. arabiensis were characterized as clear, sun-lit, permanent, still water (streams) without vegetation and situated close to human habitations. On the other hand, habitats of An. christyi are shaded, still, turbid and contain natural water (rain pools) with vegetation and mats of algae. The relative abundance of An. Arabiensis, which is the primary malaria vector in Ethiopia is significantly and positively correlated with water temperature, pH and average depth (P\u2009<\u20090.05). An. arabiensis, An. funestus s.l and An. demeilloni showed zoophilic and exophilic tendencies. None of the anophelines tested for P. falciparum and P. vivax sporozoite infections were positive.In conclusion, malaria parasites and vectors existed in the highlands of Derashe District. Therefore, appropriate disease and vector control strategies must be designed and implemented to prevent potential outbreaks. It has been generally known that malaria transmission usually only occurss in areas below 2,000 meters above sea level. However, this trend has now changed and has moved up to 2,500 meters above sea level, mainly due to climate change and land-use changes ,2. MoreoIn most highland areas, communities are non-immune against malarial parasites . Thus, aAn. arabiensis was the species often reported from the highlands [An. christyi, An. demeilloni and An. coustani are also other highland species in the country with no role in malaria transmission documented [Epidemics have frequently been reported in the highlands of Ethiopia  and An. ighlands ,8. An. ccumented ,9.The highland region of Ethiopia with altitudes ranging between 1,500 and 2,500 meters above sea level are known to be prone to malaria epidemics . This isNevertheless, there is limited information on malaria transmission in the highlands of Ethiopia and no report has been documented on the ecology and behaviour of malaria vectors in such regions. Therefore, the current study was aimed to determine the ecology, behaviour, species composition, distribution and other entomological indices of the vectors in the highland and lowland localities of Southern Ethiopia.The study was conducted in three rural localities in the southern part of Ethiopia with altitudes ranging between 1,300 and 2,650m above sea level. Mosquito sampling localities were Wozeka in the lowland (1300 masl), Walyte (2150 masl and 11 kms far from Wozeka) and Gidole town  in the highland , pipettes, and white plastic pans . When moA list of households of the three localities was used as a sampling frame, with an assumption of similar exposure of houses; a total of 33 households  were systematically selected from houses that are found near mosquito breeding sites . The same houses were used throughout the study and when the occupants refused to allow use of their house, the household nearest to it was selected.Space spray method  was perfOutdoor resting mosquitoes were collected from artificial pit shelters  using a sucking tube . Two pitDry cell battery-operated CDC light traps (John W. Hock Company)  were plaSpecies identification of adult anopheline mosquitoes was performed using morphological characteristics of their palps, wings, abdomen and legs . Larvae An. gambiae complex which is comprised of two species, An. arabiensis, and, An. quadriannulatus species B in Ethiopia were distinguished by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay [Sibling species of R) assay .Sandwich Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA)  was emplet al. [Fresh fed mosquitoes were tested for the source of blood meal using a direct ELISA procedure described by Bier et al. .Consent was sought from each kebele administration, and informed consent was also sought from head of households from where mosquitoes were collected. The study obtained ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board of ALIPB.The data obtained from the study was computerized using Epidata version 3.1 data entry format and analyzed by statistical software, STATA version 11. In addition to simple descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t-test, correlational analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and non parametric Kwallis test were applied to determine associations and differences among different variables. All statistical tests and generalizations were done by assuming 95% confidence interval and 5% level of significance.Anopheles species including An. arabiensis, An. christyi, An. demeilloni, An. funestus, An. pharoensis and An. cinereus were identified from larval collections. An. demeilloni was sampled from the three villages but it was more prevalent in Gidole. An. christyi was identified only from larval collection and existed in significantly high density in the highland locality (Gidole) (P\u2009<\u20090.05). Likewise, An. cinereus was found in Walyte and Gidole but it was scarce  in Gidole town. Pools from spring water and a small temporary stream which crosses the town created habitats during the dry months (January and February). Derek Wonz River and an irrigation canal were the two principal larval habitats in Wozeka during the dry months and no positive habitat was identified during the rainy months.An. arabiensis, the commonest species in the lowland was abundant in February while An. christyi existed only in December. The latter was collected more frequently in November and January from the highland. On the other hand, larval density of An. demeilloni and An. cinereus was relatively high in February . An. arabiensis and An. demeilloni were sampled from pools and edges of streams, whereas An. christyi was predominantly collected from rain pools. An. cinereus on the other hand showed preference to water pools created from spring water. In addition, An. christyi and An. arabiensis coexisted in irrigation canals in the lowland area though their density was low (Table\u00a0Each species of Anopheles species identified both from highland and lowland (P\u2009<\u20090.05). More anopheline larvae were collected from shallow habitats having low pH in Gidole. Nevertheless, An. arabiensis was abundantly found in relatively deeper and warmer water habitats with high pH in Wozeka but its existence in a single habitat in the highland limited further analysis. Average water depth and pH were inversely related with An. christyi in the lowland but only average depth in the highland  and it outnumbered the rest of the mosquitoes. Its presence was confirmed from species specific PCR and it was the only member of An. gambiae found in the locality. Similarly, adults of An. funestus s.l and An. pharoensis were also collected in small numbers from the lowland   shortly after the rainy season. The majority of ) Figure\u00a0. On the An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l were collected more frequently outdoors, whereas An. demeilloni was collected abundantly indoors, particularly in the highland locality (Gidole).More than half of the adult anophelines were collected indoors by CDC light traps and space spray with the remainder collected outdoors from artificial pit shelters. An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l, both being strongly exophilic. On the other hand, An. demeilloni showed mixed resting behaviour i.e. both endophilic and exophilic habit equally in the lowland. However, it became more endophilic as altitude increased (from 1300 masl in Wozeka to 2650 masl in Gidole), while its outdoor resting density significantly declined . Anopheline density decreased from low lying Wozeka to the highland Gidole (P\u2009<\u20090.01). An. arabiensis had relatively high indoor density followed by An. demeilloni and An. Pharoensis, while An. funestus s.l was the species with the lowest indoor density. High indoor density was recorded in January particularly for An. arabiensis and An. Demeilloni, whereas in February the highest recording was for An. funestus s.l. Conversely, An. pharoensis showed inconsistent indoor density , An. Demeilloni, 4(67%) and An. funestus s.l., 9(64%) originated from bovine feeding, showing these species to be more zoophilic. A few samples had mixed blood meals, while the source of some others could not be identified in the highlands of Southern Ethiopia.A total of 61 fresh fed anophelines were tested to detect the source of their blood meals. The majority of the blood meals of An. arabiensis, An. demeilloni, An. christyi, An. funestus s.l, An. pharoensis and An. cinereus in the lowlands and highlands of Southern Ethiopia.This study revealed the occurrence of An. arabiensis. Similarly, the studies in Central and South-Central Ethiopia [An. christyi larvae were found in all kinds of habitats but abundantly in rain pools. Its ability to exist in such type of sites was reported from Central Ethiopia (Akaki) [An. arabiensis, pools along streams serve as main breeding habitats for An. demeilloni.Investigation on characterization of breeding habitats showed that stream pools were the main breeding habitats of Ethiopia ,24 showe (Akaki) . SimilarDespite the presence of a number of streams and lower altitude, fewer numbers of anopheline larvae were collected from Wozeka as compared to Gidole. This might possibly be due to frequent drainage of the streams by the local people to their farms and directing back when not in use. This could disturb larvae. The absence of rain pools, swamps and springs which normally serve as potential breeding habitats during the rainy and dry months also played its role in this. Rain water usually dries up within a short period of time, which might be associated with the nature of the soil.In spite of larval abundance in the highland Gidole, adults were rarely collected, this might be due to different biological, methodological and environmental factors. One could be the unsuitability of the low local temperature and humidity that hinder the complete development of larva to adult . AnotherRelatively high numbers of adults and larvae were collected in December, January and February. This may imply that these months could be among malaria risk times in the study area and it is a bit later than one of the two malaria transmission seasons in Ethiopia, which occurs from September to December and March to May . The extAn. funestus s.l larvae in the study area might have a connection with its peculiar preference for a large, permanent or semi-permanent body of fresh water with emergent vegetation, such as swamps, large ponds and lake edges [The complete absence of ke edges  which arke edges  proved tAn. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l in the lowland (Wozeka). Although sporozoite infections could not be detected from the former species, no other anopheline could be incriminated as a vector of malaria other than this species. While An. arabiensis plays a primary role as a major malaria vector in Ethiopia, An. funestus and An. pharoensis have been indicated as secondary vectors [et al. (2005) indicated the presence of these three malaria vectors in Sille of Southern Ethiopia, 40 Km from the present study area [The study also showed the existence of  vectors . Similarudy area .An. demeilloni was the principal highland Anopheles species in the study area. This is in agreement with the finding in Western Kenyan highlands where it was the second most abundant next to An. christyi [, An. cinereus also showed highland existence both in its aquatic stage and adult; and its presence in highland areas has been reported previously [It was found that christyi . Despiteeviously . NeverthAn. arabiensis showed zoophilic and an exophilic tendency, which is in harmony with what was documented before [An.arabiensis to feed on cattle and rest outside after feeding in this study strengthens the findings of the study in Chalo of Southern Ethiopia, 65 km away from the current study area [An. funestus, which is known to be endophilic and anthropophilic [An. funestus s.l group contains ten sibling species [An. demeilloni showed entire zoophilic behaviour concordantly with what was reported from Kenya [We found that d before . The preudy area . The expudy area . Howeverpophilic , exhibit species ,33 with om Kenya .An. demeilloni as altitude varied. It was shifted from exophilic in the lowland to endophilic in the highland. It is well known that temperature affects the biology of anophelines [Variation in resting behaviour was noticed in phelines . Therefophelines .Plasmodium sporozoite infection in the entire anophelines tested might be because of low prevalence of the sporozoite in the mosquito population in the study area or due to low numbers of anophelines collected.Absence of A study in Kenya showed that certain areas in the highlands are more prone to malaria epidemics than others while the climate and altitude are similar . This coAnopheles species were identified in the present study. An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l were found to be important species in the lowland area. Despite lack of sporozoite infected Anopheles species, the former might be the major vector in the area as it is in the country. However, An. Pharoensis, which is a secondary vector in the country was scarce. In spite of the presence of malaria parasite and anophelines in the highlands of Derashe District, no appropriate disease and vector control strategies had been designed and applied before. In addition, the combined effect of the continuous movement of people in the area to lowlands in search of farm lands and job opportunities and the presence of few anophelines as well as low immunity may cause the occurrence of epidemics. Therefore, strategies considering vector resting and feeding behaviour should be designed and promptly employed for the control of both larval and adult mosquitoes.In conclusion, six"}
+{"text": "Reason for Corrigendum:In the original article, the name of the third author was mistakenly shortened to Elien van Wonterg. The correct name should be Elien Van Wonterghem instead of Elien Van Wonterg. The authors apologize for this miscommunication.This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The original article has been updated.Original Work: SL performed most of the experiments. EW, RV, and CL performed the hydrodynamic gene delivery. SL and MO planned and performed the cloning. KG and RM performed GC-MS measurements. JH did the histological analysis. SK, SL, and AK planned experiments, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript. AK designed and directed the study. All authors critically revised the work, approved the final version of the manuscript to be published, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Corrigendum: SL, SK, and AK wrote the Corrigendum.The project was funded, in part, by the Else Kr\u00f6ner-Fresenius-Stiftung (2012_A250 to AK and SK) and the Graduiertenf\u00f6rderung of Saarland University (to SL).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "AbstractHarmoniadunlopi (Crotch), a rare lady beetle species, was originally described from 'India' by H.dunlopi were suspected to be probably misidentifications of H.dimidiata (F.), a species common in northern and northeastern India and also widely distributed in the Oriental region.H.dunlopi. Comparison of this specimen with the collections at the Natural History Museum, London, confirmed that it belonged to Harmoniamanillana (Mulsant), hitherto known from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Harmoniamanillana is a highly polymorphic species with many synonyms and based on examination of the type material, the following nomenclatural changes are proposed. Harmoniadunlopi was found to be only a color variant of H.manillana and hence it is reduced to a junior synonym of H.manillana (syn. nov.). Harmoniadecussata  and H.flavomarginataH.decussata (syn. nov.). This is the first record of H.manillana for India and South Asia. The male genitalia of H.manillana are illustrated and compared with those of H.dimidiata, the more common Indian species, to facilitate its recognition.A single male specimen of a species collected in recent surveys from Arunachal Pradesh, India, was suspected to be ecussata  is remov Harmoniadunlopi  in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London. The male genitalia of the Indian specimen were also found to be identical to those of H.manillana illustrated by H.manillana for South Asia.During recent surveys in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India, a single male specimen of a species thought to be H.manillana, which were also followed by Harmoniamanillana is externally quite variable and examination of the type material of these species in the Crotch Collections at Cambridge and the Natural History Museum, London, by RGB indicates there is a need to revisit and change some of these synonymies. The following changes and new synonymies are proposed here: HarmoniadecussataH.manillana (stat. rev.) and HarmoniaflavomarginataH.decussata (syn. nov.). Harmoniadunlopi is considered by us as a mere color variant of H.manillana and synonymized with H.manillana here (syn. nov.). A brief diagnostic description is given for H.manillana based on the sole Indian specimen examined and the male genitalia of both H.manillana and H.dimidiata are illustrated to facilitate their identification in the event of any subsequent collection.The specimen examined was part of the collections made in Pasighat and nearby places in the north eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, in November 2014 and it is deposited in the reference collections of the National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bangalore. Photographs of the habitus and the male genitalia were taken using a Leica M205A Stereo microscope. Composite images were generated from image stacks using the software Combine ZP and touched up in Photoshop Elements 11.The following acronyms are used for the repositories mentioned in this paper:BMNH - Natural History Museum, London:MNHUB - Museum f\u00fcr Naturkunde der Humboldt Universit\u00e4t, BerlinUCCC - University of Cambridge Crotch Collections, CambridgeCariamanillanaLeisatrocinctaatrocincta).-NedapaulinaeCariapaulinae).-LeisdunlopiNew Synonym.LeiscerasicolorLeisaterrimaLeispapuensisLeispapuensisvar.suffusaSyn. nov.Type status:Other material. Occurrence: individualCount: 1; sex: Male; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Male genitalia; Taxon: scientificName: Harmoniamanillana (Mulsant); kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Coccinellidae; taxonomicStatus: accepted; Location: continent: Asia; country: India; stateProvince: Arunachal Pradesh; municipality: Pasighat; locality: Pasighat College of Horticulture & Forestry; verbatimLocality: College of Horticulture & Forestry; Identification: identifiedBy: J Poorani; Event: samplingProtocol: Yellow pan trap; eventDate: 2014-11-11/17; year: 2014; month: November; Record Level: institutionID: ICAR-NBAIR; institutionCode: NBAIRLength: 6.5 mm. Form Fig. a hemiphe11111Harmoniamanillana is externally highly variable and H.manillana from Malaysia at BMNH, on each elytron the spots are characteristically arranged in a 1-2-2-1/2 pattern and the pronotum has a larger median spot. The male genitalia in H.manillana are diagnostic. The male genitalia of the Indian specimen fully match the illustrations given by Harmoniadunlopi is very similar to H.dimidiata and likely to be confused with it as observed by H.dunlopi as having a 1-2-1-1 elytral pattern and observed that an additional sutural spot was present in some specimens. The lone Indian specimen appears to have this extra spot observed by Crotch. The illustration given by H.dunlopi also shows a tiny extra spot next to suture in the third row, which corresponds to the Indian specimen. The only specimen of H.dunlopi examined by JP in the collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, was collected in \"Haruhasa Mt. Sambawa\" (Indonesia) and identified by A.P. Kapur as Leisdunlopi var. nov. (compared with type) ; Philippines; Malaysia; Indonesia . This is the first record of H.manillana from mainland India and its absence in Indian and international collections is an indication that it is probably a very rare species and it probably needs to be listed as such in Indian faunal lists. It is worth noting that this was the only specimen collected along with several specimens of H.dimidiata from the same locality.Harmoniadecussata  (stat. rev.). This lectotype was examined by RGB in 1989 and found to represent the same species that Harmoniaflavomarginata (syn. nov.). This also appears to be the same species that Harmoniaincognita, but a formal synonymy of the latter must await further study.Two species, ecussata : 161 andLeissuffusa as a variety of L.papuensis (now a synonym of H.manillana) and papuensis in his catalogue. L.suffusa and mentioned that it appeared to be a synonym of H.manillana though it was not formally designated so by L.suffusa with H.manillana here (syn. nov.).H.manillana and H.dunlopi with rather inadequate / poor illustrations. He illustrated the adult and the female genitalia of H.dunlopi and indicated that it could be probably synonymous with H.dimidiata. He also mentioned that the specimen he examined from the Crotch Collection at the University of Cambridge (UCCC) was a holotype. However, Leisdunlopi listed material from India . 1H.dunlopi with H.manillana to be confirmed.Crotch\u2019s original description of"}
+{"text": "Cachexia is a complex wasting syndrome associated with a marked detrimental effect upon life quality and survival in patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic heart failure, AIDS, and chronic kidney disease, among other conditions. Its prevalence is of around 5 to 15% in cardiac patients at end stage, rising up to 30%, in COPD and chronic kidney disease patients, and to 80%, in patients with advanced cancer. Cachexia symptoms include pronounced weight loss, due to both lean and fat mass wasting: anorexia, malabsorption, nausea, asthenia, neuroendocrine changes, immune system function impairment, and disruption of energy metabolism. Despite its unquestionable relevance to the poorer outcome of treatment in disease and its high prevalence among patients, the syndrome is still underdiagnosed and seldom treated. Part of the difficulty in treating cachexia relies on the fact that, in the clinical setting, the syndrome is recognised solely in its most advanced stages, when therapy available to the present day is not able to fully reverse its symptoms. Therefore, scientists and clinicians should focus on identifying early changes, as to intervene in a precocious manner.The aetiology of cachexia has not been fully unveiled, yet it appears that chronic systemic inflammation is present in the vast majority of patients. The aim of the present special issue is to address the importance of systemic inflammation in cachexia, in regard to its consequences and to its possible role in providing early markers for the diagnosis of the syndrome.Cancer cachexia-related neuroinflammation is discussed by A. Molfino et al., as the authors propose a conceptual framework in which the hypothalamus transduces the peripheral challenge represented by the presence of the tumour into catabolic signals, as a result of central inflammation. A contribution by N. In\u00e1cio Pinto et al. examines the role of inflammatory signalling factors involved in the communication among the peripheral tissue, tumour microenvironment, and the central nervous system. Another view of such interactions is provided by J. M. Argiles et al., who bring similar emphasis on the conversation among different body compartments and organs in cancer cachexia. The authors comment on the significance of tissues other than the skeletal muscle in the mechanisms underlying the syndrome, proposing that the latter suffers wasting as a consequence of systemic inflammatory changes. Adding information on the role of inflammatory factors on muscle wasting, D. Costamagna et al. discuss the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle homeostasis disruption and mass loss.The quest for markers of the initiation of cachexia is also debated: M. Ebadi and V. C. Mazurak propose the adoption of adipose tissue-derived factors as indicators of early inflammatory alterations that induce fat mass wasting in the syndrome. R. Camargo et al. review the potential of microRNAs in the regulation of cancer-cachexia systemic inflammation and put forward the possibility that these molecules may serve as diagnostic tools. Finally, the article by D. Watt et al. presents the convenience and adequacy of employing prognostic scores that include systemic inflammation assessment as a valuable means for cachexia diagnosis.Taken together, the issue provides insights on the importance of detecting early signs of inflammatory changes in patients and examines the mechanisms that act in concert, inducing cachexia symptoms.M. SeelaenderM. SeelaenderA. LavianoA. LavianoS. BusquetsS. BusquetsG. P. P\u00fcschelG. P. P\u00fcschelT. MargariaT. MargariaM. L. Batista Jr.M. L. Batista Jr."}
+{"text": "In the Funding section, one of the funders is listed incorrectly. The complete, correct funding information is as follows:http://www.fapemig.br/ and http://www.portal.ib.ufu.br/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.The publication cost was fully funded by FAPEMIG and the Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation of Natural Resources, Federal University of Uberl\u00e2ndia. The links are:"}
+{"text": "Ilex, the largest genus of dioecious woody plants, is a good study system to assess the role of hybridization in speciation and evolution. Ilex dabieshanensis, a tree endemic to Dabieshan Mountains region, was initially described as a new species. Based on morphological intermediacy and sympatric distribution with its putative parental species, I. cornuta and I. latifolia, we proposed it as a natural hybrid between them. In this study, we sequenced one chloroplast intergenic spacer (trnH-psbA) and two nuclear genes (gapC and nepGS) in I. dabieshanensis and its putative parental species to test the hybrid origin hypothesis. Our results showed that there were one to two differentially fixed sequence differences between I. cornuta and I. latifolia at the two nuclear genes. Twelve of the 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis exhibited additivity in chromatograms on these differentially fixed sites at both nuclear genes, and the remaining two exhibited additivity in chromatograms on the fixed site at only the nepGS gene. Except one haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene, all of the haplotypes of I. cornuta at the two nuclear genes were well separated from those of I. latifolia, and most haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia. Phylogenetic analysis of these haplotypes was largely consistent with haplotype network analysis. I. cornuta and I. latifolia differed by two nucleotide substitutions in the chloroplast intergenic spacer, and 12 individuals of I. dabieshanensis had the same sequences as I. latifolia, while the remaining two were identical with I. cornuta. The molecular data provide convincing evidence for the hybrid origin of I. dabieshanensis and asymmetrical direction of hybridization. One haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene was nested with those of I. latifolia, indicating introgression to I. cornuta. When closely related species, especially those within a genus, come into contact, hybridization is a common consequence in many plant groups ,2. If hyIlex L. (Hollies) is the sole genus of Aquifoliaceae [Ilex are East Asia and South America [Ilex species are extremely important food for numerous species of birds, and some wild animals [Ilex species play important roles in the local ecosystems. There are many naturally occurring or cultivated interspecific hybrids in this genus [Ilex, as also suggested by substantial incongruence between the nuclear phylogeny and the plastid phylogeny of this genus [oliaceae , consistoliaceae \u20138. It isoliaceae ,9. The m America \u201312. Seed animals ,14, and is genus , 15\u201319. is genus \u201312,20.Ilex, which are mostly distributed in Southwest and South China, with the southern slopes of Qingling Mountains being the northern range margin of this genus [I. dabieshanensis K. Yao et M. P. Deng [I. dabieshanensis was initially described as a new species and is distributed only in the Dabieshan Mountains region [Many species in this genus have very limited geographic distributions and to date 97 species of this genus have been listed in the ICUN red list of endangered species . In Chinis genus . Among t P. Deng . I. dabis region ,22, a mas region .I. dabieshanensis, there are three other species of Ilex in the Dabieshan Mountains region, namely, I. latifolia Thunb., I. cornuta Lindl. et Paxt. and I. chinensis Sims. I. latifolia is distributed in Central and South China and Japan, with an elevation of 250\u20131500 m. I. chinensis has a very similar geographic distribution with I. latifolia, but with a broader range in elevation (from sea level to 2000 m). I. cornuta is native to North, Central and East China and Korea with an elevation of 100\u20131900 m, and is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in Europe and North America. While I. chinensis has papery leaves, crenate leaf margins and purple-red flowers, all other three species have thickly leathery leaves, serrated or spiny leaf margins and yellow-green flowers. Compared with the three other species, I. dabieshanensis is quite rare. It has many morphological characters intermediate between I. latifolia and I. cornuta. For example, I. comuta has the spiny leaf margins with one to two spines per side and one strong reflexed spine in the apex, and I. latifolia has serrated leaf margins, with over 20 pairs of teeth, while I. dabieshanensis has slightly revolute and serrated leaf margins, with four to eight pairs of spines. Based on its rare occurrence in the overlapping areas and morphological intermediacy between I. cornuta and I. latifolia, we propose that I. dabieshanensis might be an interspecific hybrid between them.In addition to Ilex species in the Dabieshan Mountains region to test the hypothesis that I. dabieshanensis is a hybrid of I. cornuta and I. latifolia. Because introgression is a common consequence of hybridization and can contribute to transfer of adaptive traits between species [Verifying the hybrid origins of taxa in question is valuable for studies on taxonomy, evolution and conservation. In the present study, we determined the sequences of one chloroplast intergenic spacer and two low-copy nuclear genes in the four sympatric  species \u201325, we aI. cornuta, 17 indi viduals of I. latifolia and 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis. We used different number of individuals for the three taxa because we could find only these individuals during our field work. We also sampled eight individuals of I. chinensis, which were used as outgroups. Leaves from each individual of these species were collected and dried in plastic bags with silica gel for subsequent DNA extraction.Our sampling site was located in Manshuihe, Huoshan, Anhui, China. At this location, no specific permissions were required for scientific research and no endangered or protected species were involved at this study. These four species were identified according to the diagnostic morphological traits described in the Flora of China ,8. Fig 1nepGS and gapC), which encode the nuclear encoded plastid glutamine synthetase (nepGS) and the cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPC), respectively. We obtained the primer sequences of nepGS from Emshwiller and Doyle [gapC, we first used its universal primers of angiosperms [Ilex species. The primer sequences were IgapC-F: 5' TTTGTATTGATATTGCTCCATTTTG 3' and IgapC-R: 5' TGAAATATCCATTCTCACCTGTTG 3'. We amplified the chloroplast trnH-psbA regions using the universal primers trnH and psbA [I. dabieshanensis and some individuals of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, direct sequencing produced the superimposed chromatograms on multiple sites and unreadable peaks were observed after intra-individual length polymorphisms at the two nuclear genes, so we used cloning sequencing to phase the haplotypes. We conducted ligation reactions with a pMD18-T&A cloning kit  and selected eight positive colonies for each individual for sequencing. We deposited all of the sequences in GenBank with accession numbers KP867812-KP867869 and KP903384-KP903390.We extracted genomic DNA of these samples from dried leaf tissues using the CTAB method . In thisnd Doyle . As for iosperms  for ampland psbA . We puriwww.fluxus-engineering.com) with the median-joining method [I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and for the three taxa together, respectively, using DNASP5.0 [We edited all of the sequences from the four species by using SeqMan  and aligned them in Clustal X . At the g method  to resolDNASP5.0 .I. chinensis was highly divergent with the three other species at the two nuclear genes and the chloroplast intergenic spacer, we used it as an outgroup to root the phylogenetic trees. For ML analysis, we selected an appropriate nucleotide substitution model for each gene based on the result of Modeltest 3.7 [For each nuclear gene, we also reconstructed the phylogeny of these haplotypes using maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods, as implemented in PAUP4.0b . We carrtest 3.7 . SimilartrnH-psbA regions from the four species of Ilex were 495 bp in length. No within-species variation was found in this region for each of I. cornuta, I. latifolia and I. chinenesis. I. chinensis differed from I. cornuta and I. latifolia by seven nucleotide substitutions and three insertion/deletions   . There watifolia . Of the  cornuta .gapC gene in the four Ilex species was 730 bp. There were 26 fixed nucleotide substitutions between I. chinenesis and the three other species. Although both I. cornuta and I. latifolia had relatively high levels of within-species polymorphism (see below), there were only one fixed nucleotide substitution (the 539th site: T for I. cornuta and G for I. latifolia) and one fixed 1-bp insertion/deletion (the 605th site:\u2014for I. cornuta and T for I. latifolia) between I. cornuta and I. latifolia. For I. dabieshanensis, 12 of the 14 individuals exhibited chromatogram additivity on these two differentially fixed sites between I. cornuta and I. latifolia; the remaining two individuals (Id1 and Id12) had the same sequence as I. latifolia on these two fixed sites. For the haplotype analysis, no polymorphism at this gene was detected for the eight individuals of I. chinenesis, while I. cornuta and I. latifolia had nine and seven haplotypes, respectively. In contrast, I. dabieshanensis exhibited much higher haplotype richness, with 15 haplotypes being detected. Eleven of the 15 haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia  were combined for this analysis, the number of minimum recombination events was three.The aligned length of the partial atifolia . The remhanensis . The hap species . RecombigapC gene matrix. Based on the Akaike Information Criterion in Modeltest, the best-fit model for the ML analysis is the HKY+G model. Phylogenetic analysis with the MP algorithm yielded one most parsimonious tree of 69 steps  were observed between I. cornuta and I. latifolia. All 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis exhibited chromatogram additivity on this fixed site. For the haplotype analysis, no polymorphism at this gene was detected for the eight individuals of I. chinenesis. Again, both I. cornuta and I. latifolia show relatively high levels of polymorphisms at this gene. Seven and six haplotypes were found in I. cornuta and I. latifolia, respectively. Thirteen haplotypes were detected in the 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis. Seven of the 13 haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and six haplotypes were unique to I. dabieshanensis  were combined for recombination analysis, the number of minimum recombination events was nine.The partial anensis  that exhibited chromatogram additivity between I. cornuta and I. latifolia at the nepGS gene but identical haplotypes with I. latifolia at the gapC gene, must be later-generation hybrids. Furthermore, because chloroplast DNA is maternally inherited in the majority of angiosperms [Ilex, that 12 and 2 individuals of I. dabieshanensis have identical trnH-psbA sequences with I. latifolia and I. cornuta respectively indicate that the hybridization was bidirectional and asymmetrical.iosperms  and if iI. dabieshanensis at the nuclear genes, most of which are only one or two mutational steps from the haplotypes of I. cornuta or I. latifolia. This pattern may stem from unsampled polymorphisms in the parental species, which is not surprising given that both I. cornuta and I. latifolia have a relatively high level of polymorphism. Of course, we could not exclude the possibility of new mutations occurred in I. dabieshanensis and intragenic recombination. At each of the two nuclear genes, the number of minimum recombination events in the combined data of the three taxa is higher than the sum of minimum recombination events in I. cornuta and I. latifolia, suggesting that intragenic recombination should contribute to this. Together, the scarcity of taxon-specific haplotypes and the evidence of its hybrid origin indicate that I. dabieshanensis is not a biological species, and therefore, does not merit recognition of the species taxonomic rank.We also observed several haplotypes unique to I. cornuta and I. latifolia may be attributable to several factors. First, I. cornuta and I. latifolia have overlapping geographic distributions in Dabieshan Mountains region of Central China. Both species can occur in sparse forests and streamsides, although I. latifolia usually has higher elevations than I. cornuta in Dabieshan Mountains region. Second, flowering periods of both species are from April to May [Ilex [Ilex species [Interspecific hybridization between l to May ,8. Moreoay [Ilex  is anothay [Ilex ,6\u20138. Bee species . All theI. dabieshanensis can produce a great number of seeds and these seeds can germinate [I. dabieshanensis are identified as later generation hybrids in the hybrid zone, indicative of potential introgression. This is further supported by the nepGS gene analysis. Both haplotype network analysis and phylogenetic analysis of the nepGS gene reveal that one relatively common haplotype, C6 (D7), of I. cornuta is nested within the clade of I. latifolia rather than in its own clade. Introgression of I. latifolia alleles to I. cornuta can account for this. Moreover, this haplotype possesses the diagnostic nucleotide G (the 823rd site) of I. cornuta, which can be generated by intragenic recombination between alleles of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and is also consistent with the occurrence of introgression. Introgression between species of Ilex has also been found in previous studies [I. cornuta and I. integra hybridize in Wando, Korea, the introgression is also skewed to I. cornuta [I. cornuta may contribute to its adaptation to local environments and thus facilitate its range expansion, a hypothesis in need of further testing.One of the prominent outcomes of natural hybridization is introgression. Introgression can facilitate adaptation by transfer of beneficial genes and corresponding traits \u201326. Unlierminate , thus of studies \u201318. InteIlex overlap to different degrees in geographic ranges and flowering periods [Ilex species [Ilex have proven successful with many combinations producing viable seeds [Ilex species should be incomplete. We propose that many species of Ilex that are morphologically intermediate between, and geographically overlapping with, other species, may in fact be of hybrid origin, a hypothesis in need of further testing.Besides the species mentioned here, many other species of  periods , 6\u20138. Fu species  also proIlex [I. dabieshanensis in this study and I. x wandoensis in a previous study [There are approximately 400\u2013600 species in Ilex  and a laIlex ,8, and mus study , have beus study \u201312,20.Ilex was cosmopolitan during the Eocene [Ilex is a good system for studying speciation, extinction and biogeography [The fossil record indicates that the genus e Eocene ,10,39. Neography ,20. OnceI. dabieshanensis is of hybrid origin and mostly, I. latifolia is the maternal parent. One haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene is nested with those of I. latifolia, indicating introgression to I. cornuta. Although some narrowly ranging species in this genus, including I. dabieshanensis in this study, are products of interspecific hybridization, precisely assessing the role of hybridization in the species diversity and evolution in Ilex relies on comprehensive identification of hybrid taxa.The molecular data clearly demonstrate that"}
+{"text": "Dr. Jeffery Cutter and Dr. Raymond Tzer Pin Lin should be removed from the author byline and included in the Group Authorship. Dr. Vernon Jian Ming Lee should be included in the author byline and listed as the thirty-first author. His affiliation is 13: Communicable Diseases Division, Ministry of Health, Singapore, Singapore. Dr. Ang Li Wei should be included in the author byline and listed as the fifty-fourth author. His affiliation is with Epidemiology and Diseases Control Division, Ministry of Health, Singapore, Singapore."}
+{"text": "Anachrysaadamsisp. nov., from Yunnan, China is described. Two new combinations are proposed, namely Anachrysaalviolata , comb. nov. and Anachrysatriangularis , comb. nov. An updated key to species is also provided.A new species,  The paper has been retracted by the publisher due to evidences of misconduct.The removed version is archived for the purpose of resolving nomenclatural questions and is available from the publisher upon request."}
+{"text": "Procyon cancrivorus and Nasua nasua are two neotropical carnivoran species that have different evolutionary adaptations in their thoracic limbs. The aim of this study was to describe the anatomical arrangement of the brachial plexus of these species to review intra- and interspecific anatomical variations. The brachial plexus may originate in both species from the last four cervical spinal nerves  and the first two thoracic spinal nerves (T1 and T2). The contribution from C5 was higher in Nasua nasua, while the contribution from T2 was higher in Procyon cancrivorus. Interestingly, both species develop ansa axillaris and ansa pectoralis, which is a primitive anatomical arrangement that is shared with other members of arctoid carnivorans. Therefore, this study confirmed that both structures can be present in some wild carnivorans.The brachial plexus is a nervous network from which nerves originate to innervate the thoracic limb and its adjacent parts. It has been found with different origins and distributions in the thoracic limb between carnivoran species (interspecific) and even in the same species (intraspecific). Anatomical knowledge of the brachial plexus allows us to understand the differences and similarities between species to be applied in evolutionary biology. Procyon cancrivorus and Nasua nasua are two procyonids with different evolutionary adaptations to use their thoracic limbs. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the differences in the brachial plexus between both species. Five P. cancrivorus and five N. nasua cadavers were used to perform this investigation with the permission of the bioethics committee and environmental license. Gross dissections were performed on the cervical, pectoral, and thoracic limb regions to find the origin and distribution of the brachial plexus. The brachial plexus of both species originated in a variant manner from C5-T1, C5-T2, C6-T1, or C6-T2. All brachial plexus nerves were observed and, interestingly, the musculocutaneous sent a communicating branch to the median nerve medially to the axillary artery, forming an ansa axillaris in both species. An ansa pectoralis was also observed medially to the axillary artery. Additionally, in P. cancrivorus, the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis muscles and communicates with the median nerve at the elbow level to continue as a common trunk at the antebrachium. The brachial plexus has differences between both procyonids, although in both species, it could conserve a primitive arrangement present within the infraorder Arctoidea. Procyon cancrivorus) and the coati (Nasua nasua) are two mammal species that belong to the order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia, and family Procyonidae [P. cancrivorus is geographically distributed in Central and South America [N. nasua is only distributed in South America [Procyon and Nasua had a common ancestor within the family Procyonidae [P. cancrivorus has crepuscular, nocturnal, and solitary habits [N. nasua is gregarious with diurnal habits, although adult males have mainly solitary habits [The crab-eating raccoon  and shred dead logs [Procyon, due to the well-developed sense of touch in its hands, uses them to locate and handle animal prey [Procyon is also a good swimmer and fisher [The tebrates ,9. The dtebrates ,10,11, atebrates ,10,12,13tebrates ; howeverferences ,15. Bothferences , althougead logs . Procyonmal prey , manipulmal prey ,18. In ad fisher .Procyon has long thoracic limbs adapted to semidigitigrade and cursorial locomotion, while Nasua has short thoracic limbs adapted to palmigrade locomotion with long claws [Nasua has an enlarged sensory cortex region for receiving the afferent projections from the vibrissae of the nose and tactile carpal hairs, and Procyon has a well-developed cerebral sensorimotor cortex, which is focused in its hands due to the high density of cutaneous nerves [ng claws ,17. Nasus nerves . Therefos nerves .P. cancrivorus and N. nasua.Some brachial plexus studies in wild carnivorans only reported the origin of the nerves ,21,22, wP. cancrivorus   were used to perform this investigation  and one N. nasua were donated by CORPOCALDAS  to the Universidad del Tolima. One P. cancrivorus was donated by CORTOLIMA . Four N. nasua and one P. cancrivorus were collected from roads to the Universidade Federal de Catal\u00e3o with a license from the Ministry of Environment of Brazil (SISBIO Number 37072-2). Three P. cancrivorus and four N. nasua had died from being run over on roads, and the other specimens died of natural causes. The bioethics committees of the Universidad del Tolima (agreement number 2.3-059), Universidade de S\u00e3o Paulo (CEUAx agreement number 3928240820), and Universidade de Catal\u00e3o (CEUA-UFCAT agreement number 01/22) approved the use of these specimens in this investigation.Five cadavers of females)  and fivetigation . Two P. P. cancrivorus and all N. nasua specimens were repleted with natural latex tinctured with red vinyl via the femoral artery. One P. cancrivorus was repleted via the axillary artery due to a previous necropsy. The other specimens were not replete.The specimens were fixed with a solution of 10% formaldehyde via the femoral artery and were posteriorly immersed and conserved in closed containers with 5% formaldehyde. One Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria -NAV- [NAV were used due to the presence of other nerves and muscles in carnivorans, such as n. brachiocephalicus [Gross dissections were performed at the Amphitheater of Veterinary Anatomy of the Universidad del Tolima  and Comparative Anatomy of Wild Animals Laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Catal\u00e3o . First, the skin was removed from the dorsal regions of the neck and trunk to the distal extreme of the thoracic limbs. The fascia around the muscles, nerves, and vessels was removed to review the distribution of the nerves. The pectoral muscles were disinserted from the sternum and the ventral part of the thoracic wall was removed to review the vascular relationships of the brachial plexus. Finally, the vessels, viscera, and ventral muscles of the neck and thorax were removed until the emergence of the ventral branches of the cervical and thoracic spinal nerves was found. The anatomical descriptions were performed according to the terminology of the ia -NAV- . Howeverphalicus , n. terephalicus ,35, m. pphalicus ,37, m. aphalicus , and m. phalicus . PhotogrP. cancrivorus originates bilaterally from the ventral branches of the cervical spinal nerves C6, C7, and C8, and the thoracic spinal nerves T1 and T2 (C6-T2). In one specimen, it originates from C5-T1 bilaterally (Pc5). In N. nasua, the brachial plexus originates from C5-T2 in six limbs, C5-T1 in two limbs, and C6-T1 in two limbs.The brachial plexus in four specimens of P. cancrivorus (Pc2), T2 is a large branch bilaterally. The ventral branches of C5, C6, C7, and C8 have a ventral relationship with the external jugular vein and the superficial cervical artery, while the common trunk of T1 and T2 has a ventral relationship with the axillary artery. C6 crosses ventrally to the scalenus muscle and sends two large branches , with the cranial directed laterally to form the suprascapular and brachiocephalic nerves. The caudal branch extends parallel to the scalenus muscle, forms the cranial subscapular nerve, and joins the ventral branch of C7. When C5 contributes to the brachial plexus, it joins C6 and forms the brachiocephalicus, suprascapular, and cranial subscapular nerves in N. nasua, and only the two former nerves in P. cancrivorus , it also forms an ansa pectoralis, which is a communicating branch with the caudal pectoral nerves . In the case of P. cancrivorus, the ansa axillaris forms the ansa pectoralis  and the m. subscapularis in all cases of N. nasua and one case bilaterally in P. cancrivorus (Nn5). The ventral branches of C8, T1, and T2 form two common trunks just lateral to the m. scalenus, the ventral caudal and dorsal caudal trunks. The former forms the common trunk of the median and ulnar nerves and a common trunk to the lateral thoracic and caudal pectoral nerves  and suprascapular nerves (N. suprascapularis) are formed from a single trunk in all P. cancrivorus and one limb of N. nasua (Nn1), while both originate independently in most limbs of N. nasua (P. cancrivorus (Pc3 and Pc4), the nerve receives communication from the ventral branch of C5 bilaterally just before passing through the space toward the skin. It innervates the cranial regions of the shoulder and the proximal half of the brachium and does not send a muscle branch to the m. cleidobrachialis. In one P. cancrivorus, it also communicates bilaterally with the cranial lateral brachial cutaneous nerve (Pc4). In one limb of P. cancrivorus (Pc5), the n. brachiocephalicus perforates the m. supraspinatus, innervates it, and continues laterally along its normal course. The suprascapular nerve passes between the subscapularis and supraspinatus muscles, cranially to the scapular incisure and laterally to the scapular neck until the m. infraspinatus. Two subscapular nerves (Nn. subscapulares) are formed in P. cancrivorus, and three are formed in N. nasua. However, three nerves are formed in one limb of P. cancrivorus (Pc4) and two nerves bilaterally in N. nasua (Nn4)  .N. axillaris) first sends one branch to the most caudal belly of the m. subscapularis and, in most cases, to the m. teres major in P. cancrivorus. In all N. nasua and one P. cancrivorus (Pc5), the nerve to the teres major muscle (N. teres major) originates directly from the dorsal cranial trunk and sends a small branch to the m. subscapularis , which extends between the m. brachialis and acromial part of the m. deltoideus to innervate the distal half of the brachium and elbow. It communicates with the medial branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in N. nasua and directly with the superficial branch of the radial nerve in P. cancrivorus. However, in one limb of N. nasua (Nn1), it also communicates with the lateral branch of the superficial radial nerve.The axillary nerve  extends laterally to the axillary and brachial arteries. Medial to the common tendon of the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles, it forms branches to the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii, capita longum, mediale, and accessorium of the m. triceps brachii. The nerve passes laterally between the capita accessorium and mediale of the m. triceps brachii at the proximal third of the brachium (Ramus profundus) first innervates the brachioradialis and extensor carpi radialis muscles and passes deeply to the m. supinator to innervate the other muscles. It also innervates the m. brachialis unilaterally in two cases in P. cancrivorus (Pc2 and Pc5).The radial nerve  are relatively larger in P. cancrivorus than in N. nasua. In N. nasua, it divides into two branches, lateral  and medial , which extend laterally and medially to the cephalic vein, respectively. In P. cancrivorus, the superficial branch at the proximal fourth of the antebrachium is a large trunk and distally divides into three branches: lateral, medial, and accessory medial. The accessory medial branch forms at the proximal third of the antebrachium and joins the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve, and both form the abaxial dorsal digital nerve I and the dorsal common digital nerve I. The accessory medial branch is not present in N. nasua; thus, the latter two nerves are formed by the medial branch of the superficial radial nerve. However, there are communicating branches from the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve at the level of the antebrachium in N. nasua. The medial and lateral branches form the common dorsal nerves II and III due to communication between them proximal to the manus and the dorsum of the manus in both species. In P. cancrivorus, the lateral branch of the radial nerve and the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve form the common dorsal digital nerve IV, although the radial nerve contributes mainly to forming the abaxial proper dorsal digital nerve IV, and the ulnar nerve mainly forms the axial proper dorsal digital nerve V. In N. nasua, the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve forms the common dorsal digital nerve IV, although it receives weak communicating branches from the lateral branch of the radial nerve in three cases . The superficial branch of the radial nerve forms the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve  in P. cancrivorus, while it forms from the lateral branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in N. nasua. However, in one limb of N. nasua, it formed similarly to P. cancrivorus (Nn4)  .N. musculocutaneus) extends cranially to the axillary and brachial arteries, which form several branches. At the axillary level in P. cancrivorus, it forms the branch to the m. coracobrachialis and an ansa axillaris. This latter is named ansa axillaris because it passes medially to the axillary artery and forms two communicating branches, one proximal to the caudal pectoral nerves  and one distal to the median nerve . The ansa pectoralis does not form from the musculocutaneous nerve. The origin of the branch to the m. coracobrachialis is variant; therefore, it forms proximally to the ansa axillaris in two limbs , from the ansa axillaris in four limbs , from one branch of the ansa axillaris and another branch proximal to the ansa axillaris in one limb (Nn4), and distally to the ansa axillaris in three limbs  (At the axillary level in lly\u2014Nn5) .Ramus muscularis proximalis) of the musculocutaneous nerve forms at the axillary level, and the main trunk of the musculocutaneous nerve continues distally between the brachial artery and the m. biceps brachii. At the distal third of the brachium, the nerve forms three branches: the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve , the distal muscular branch , and a branch to the elbow joint capsule. In P. cancrivorus, the main trunk of the nerve continues distally toward the antebrachium, which, at the elbow level, sends branches to the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis muscles and communicates with the median nerve distally to the supracondylar foramen (Ramus communicans cum n. mediano), forming a common trunk toward the manus , the musculocutaneous has a different arrangement at the axillary and brachial regions. The ansa axillaris receives communicating branches from the median nerve, forming an ansa axillaris that is more proximal and medial to the axillary artery. From there, the musculocutaneous and median nerves continue as a common trunk medial to the brachial artery, which receives a communicating branch from the proximal muscular branch of the musculocutaneous nerve. The distal muscular branch and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve form from a branch of the common trunk at the level of the middle of the brachium  extends medially to the brachial artery at the proximal half of the brachium and at the distal half lateral to the brachial artery to pass alone through the supracondylar foramen (without vessels). At the level of the antebrachium, the median nerve sends branches to the caudomedial antebrachial muscles but not the flexor carpi ulnaris and capita ulnaris of the flexor digitorum profundus. In P. cancrivorus, it does not send branches to m. pronator teres and communicates with the musculocutaneous nerve. The median nerve extends together with the median artery between the flexor carpi radialis and the capita radialis of the m. flexor digitorum profundus to reach the manus passing through the carpal canal. Distal to the carpus, it forms common palmar nerves I to III. It also forms the common palmar nerve IV in one N. nasua bilaterally (Nn1), which receives a communicating branch from the superficial palmar branch of the ulnar nerve) (The median nerve (r nerve) .N. ulnaris) extends caudal to the brachial artery and cranial to the brachial vein and is covered by the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii at the level of the brachium. It passes deeply to the m. anconeus medialis just proximally and caudally to the medial epicondyle to continue toward the antebrachium between the m. flexor carpi ulnaris and caput ulnare of the m. flexor digitorum profundus. The nerve divides into dorsal and palmar branches  at the proximal third of the antebrachium in N. nasua and at the middle third in P. cancrivorus. The dorsal branch sends branches to the distal third of the caudolateral surface of the antebrachium and continues distally to pass superficially between the tendon of the m. flexor carpi ulnaris and the styloid process of the ulna. It passes laterally to the accessory carpal bone toward the dorsum of the manus and forms the common dorsal digital nerve IV and the abaxial dorsal digital nerve V. The palmar branch at the distal fourth of the antebrachium sends a branch to the skin, which extends to the venous sinuses of the tactile carpal hairs and the distal extreme of the antebrachium. This branch passes between the palmaris longus and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles in N. nasua, while in P. cancrivorus, it perforates the m. palmaris longus. At the carpal level, the palmar branch continues deeply to the flexor retinaculum and medial to the accessory carpal bone, where it forms the superficial and deep branches. The superficial branch forms the abaxial palmar digital nerve V and the common palmar digital nerve IV, and the deep branch forms the metacarpal nerves and innervates most of the intrinsic muscles of the manus  is an independent nerve to the ulnar nerve, which originates directly from T1 or T1-T2. It passes medially to the ulnar nerve at the axillary level, while at the brachial level, it passes medially to the brachial artery and cranially to the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii, reaching the caudal surface of the antebrachium (N. nasua (Nn4).The caudal antebrachial cutaneous nerve . The predominant origins of the subscapular, musculocutaneous, axillary, ulnar, long thoracic, lateral thoracic, and cranial pectoral nerves of both procyonids were similar to those of most carnivorans  in F. catus [P. concolor [A. melanoleuca [P. flavus [P. cancrivorus, and N. nasua.Some nerves develop other branches when there are extra muscles. Therefore, the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the caput breve of the m. biceps brachii and the m. coracobrachialis longus in . flavus  and A. manoleuca . The medcrivorus , as was F. catus , P. concconcolor , A. melaanoleuca , P. flav. flavus , P. cancNAV [F. catus [M. foina [Leopardus pardalis [P. concolor, it was considered a branch of n. suprascapularis to m. cleidobrachialis [F. catus, it was also considered only as a cutaneous branch of the n. suprascapularis, which extends to the cranial skin to the shoulder and brachium [P. cancrivorus and a variant manner in N. nasua, the latter arrangement was similar since the nerve formed from a common trunk with the n. suprascapularis and did not innervate the m. cleidobrachialis. In another procyonid, P. flavus, the brachiocephalic nerve innervated m. cleidobrachialis in only 50% of cases [P. flavus [N. nasua, and P. cancrivorus [A. melanoleuca [A. microtis [C. l. familiaris [F. catus [P. concolor [Pars clavicularis). On the other hand, n. brachiocephalicus has developed mainly to innervate the cranial and lateral skin of the shoulder and brachium in carnivorans, which was found in both procyonids.The name n. brachiocephalicus is not in the NAV , but it NAV ,34,45,46NAV . Other aF. catus ,51 or n.M. foina  and Leoppardalis . On the achialis . In F. cbrachium ,52. In tof cases . However. flavus , N. nasucrivorus , which wanoleuca , A. micrmicrotis , and C. miliaris ,53, and F. catus ,50,51 anconcolor . Based oconcolor , m. cleiconcolor ,53. Therconcolor ,37 in whN. nasua and P. cancrivorus, such as occurs in most carnivorans [N. nasua has been described in A. melanoleuca [The communication of the cranial lateral cutaneous brachial nerve of the axillary nerve with the medial branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve was found in the common pattern of nivorans ,54,55. Canoleuca . TherefoP. cancrivorus and N. nasua is medial to the axillary artery, as was found in P. flavus [N. nasua has also been reported previously by other authors in the same species [Procyon lotor and P. flavus, while it was absent in the procyonid B. astutus [Procyon, Nasua, and Potos. However, in the case of P. cancrivorus, the ansa axillaris is formed more proximally than in other procyonid species. Other names were given to the ansa axillaris, such as axillary loop by Arlamowska-Palider [Neovison vison [M. martes [M. foina [M. meles [Mustela lutreola, Mustela putorius, and Mustela nivalis [Ailuropoda melanoleuca, Ursus americanus [Ursus arctos [Ailurus fulgens [N. procyonoides [M. meles, the ansa axillaris is formed by two branches [P. cancrivorus, one of the branches communicates with the caudal pectoral nerves. Therefore, the presence of an ansa axillaris in arctoid carnivorans  can bincluded . Even ityonoides  allows u a canid ,4. Howevby Davis , though by Davis ,45,46,58N. nasua. This common trunk of both nerves is a normal arrangement in ungulates [A common trunk of the musculocutaneous and median nerves at the brachial level has been found in Mephitis and some specimens of M. putorius , similarngulates ,53,58 anngulates . Therefongulates . ConsequN. nasua, which confirms other studies performed in the same species [P. flavus, it may be present but as a weak branch [P. cancrivorus, it is a large branch that is more a continuation of the musculocutaneous nerve together with the median nerve than a communicating branch. In one case of C. l. familiaris, it was reported that the musculocutaneous nerve did not join the median nerve but did not continue distally at the antebrachial region, replacing the median nerve to form common digital nerves I to III [A. australis [P. cancrivorus, the musculocutaneous nerve was a large nerve with two communicating branches (ansa axillaris and ramus comunicans), which differs from most carnivorans, who only have one communicating branch.The communicating branch of the musculocutaneous nerve with the median nerve at the elbow level was absent in all cases of  species ,58. In ak branch . In P. cI to III ,46,49,58ustralis , and felustralis ,24,32. Hustralis ,28,29,58A. melanoleuca [P. cancrivorus, and N. nasua, while it passes with the brachial artery in mustelids [P. flavus [P. concolor [P. onca [A. melanoleuca, it has been reported that the median nerve also innervates the m. flexor carpi ulnaris [A. melanoleuca presented by Davis [P. flavus [P. cancrivorus and N. nasua. It has a similar location in procyonids and is innervated by the median nerve. Therefore, palmaris longus or palmaris longus lateralis could have evolutionarily derived from m. flexor digitorum superficialis, not only from the last common ancestor of musteloids but also within arctoid carnivorans , both nerves also originate from a common trunk [The lateral thoracic nerve innervates m. cutaneus trunci in all carnivorans, although in some carnivorans, it also innervates m. pectoralis profundus, such as in . vulpes , C. thouC. thous , L. gymnnocercus , F. catuF. catus , P. yagouaroundi , and L. eoffroyi . In P. crofundus . Even inon trunk . Therefoon trunk  and the on trunk .P. cancrivorus and N. nasua is highly variable due to several communications between them. However, the communications between them in P. cancrivorus are by large branches of almost the same thickness as the main branch. In other carnivorans, both branches have a common pattern. Therefore, the medial branch forms the abaxial dorsal digital nerve I and the common dorsal digital nerve I, and the lateral branch forms the common dorsal digital nerves II to IV in canids, mustelids, and ursids [P. cancrivorus and N. nasua, the common dorsal digital nerves II and III originate from contributions of the lateral and medial branches of the superficial radial nerve. The medial cutaneous antebrachial nerve communicates with the medial branch of the radial nerve in felids [N. narica [N. nasua, and P. cancrivorus. Therefore, the axial and abaxial dorsal surfaces of digit I are innervated by the musculocutaneous and radial nerves in these species.The branching of the medial and lateral branches of the superficial radial nerve at the dorsum of the manus in d ursids ,35,43,54n felids ,54 and pP. cancrivorus, the most lateral branch forms the abaxial dorsal digital nerve IV, and this branch communicates with the axial dorsal digital nerve V, having a similar arrangement to that found in P. flavus [A. melanoleuca [F. catus, the lateral branch only forms the dorsal common digital nerves II to III, while the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve forms the dorsal common digital nerve IV [N. narica [N. nasua. In P. onca, the radial nerve does not innervate digit IV and is, thus, supplied axially and abaxially by the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve [P. concolor, dorsal common digital nerve III may be formed by communication between the lateral branch of the radial nerve and the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve [In . flavus  and A. manoleuca . In a fenerve IV ,29,52. Hnerve IV . Similarnerve IV ,54, ursiar nerve . In P. cP. flavus [N. nasua. The abaxial palmar digital nerve I in P. cancrivorus is formed by the median nerve, which occurs normally in other carnivorans [The medial cutaneous antebrachial nerve forms the abaxial palmar digital nerve I in . flavus , similarnivorans ,31,34,43P. cancrivorus and N. nasua, and a felid such as F. catus [A. melanoleuca [P. flavus [N. nasua. However, in A. melanoleuca [N. nasua, it may receive a communicating branch from the ulnar nerve. In felids such as P. concolor and P. onca, the median nerve does not innervate digit IV since the axial and abaxial palmar surfaces are innervated by the ulnar nerve [The ulnar nerve forms the palmar common digital nerve IV in canids ,34, mustF. catus ,28,29. Ianoleuca , in a pr. flavus , and as anoleuca  and N. nar nerve .N. nasua and P. cancrivorus were similar to those reported in P. flavus [C. l. familiaris [C. l. familiaris, it is normal because the fourth lumbrical muscle is absent [The branches of the ulnar and median nerves to the intrinsic muscles of the manus in . flavus , C. l. fmiliaris , and felmiliaris . Howevers absent .P. cancrivorus corroborates the anatomical adaptation of the nervous peripheral system of the genus Procyon to allow a higher touch sensitivity than other carnivorans. Even in P. lotor, a high innervation has been found with the presence of all types of sensory receptors in similar proportions compared with other mammals, such as primates [The large size of the palmar branches to the digits from the median, musculocutaneous, and ulnar nerves together with the large dorsal branches of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in primates ,76.N. nasua to the suprascapular and cranial subscapular nerves could be associated with a higher use of the scapular muscles to move the shoulder during digging. In addition, the innervation from the ulnar nerve to the sinusoids of the carpal tactile hairs should help to feel invertebrates underground and coordinate the movements in several terrestrial and arboreal substrates. On the other hand, P. cancrivorus has a higher contribution from T2, two communications from the musculocutaneous nerve to the median nerve, and relatively larger nervous branches to the skin. This arrangement could indicate that the thoracic limb nerves in P. cancrivorus have been more adapted to touch and greater manual skills than those in N. nasua, since P. cancrivorus uses its manus to bring the food to the mouth and even to search for food at night and underwater.The brachial plexus of both procyonid species originates in a variant manner from C5-T1, C5-T2, C6-T1, or C6-T2, from which form the thoracic limb nerves having a similar distribution to the muscles and skin. The major nerves, such as the radial and median nerves, originated from more spinal nerves than other nerves in both procyonids, which could be an anatomical adaptation to increase the function of the antebrachial muscles and skin sensitivity of the antebrachium and manus. However, some specific differences could be associated with the locomotor behavior in each species. The higher contribution from C5 in In general, through a comparative study with other species, the distribution and branching of the brachial plexus nerves also depends on the evolutive derivation of the muscles. The main nerve of the brachial plexus that presents changes in carnivorans is the musculocutaneous nerve, mainly due to the presence of communicating branches with the median nerve. The presence of ansa axillaris and ansa pectoralis in both procyonids mainly has a phylogenetic relationship within the infraorder Arctoidea since both structures can be in ursoid and musteloid species. The communicating branches between nerves also have a phylogenetic relationship not only with the common ancestor of carnivorans but also with other mammals and even reptiles. The dorsal sensory innervation of the manus is highly variable in most carnivorans due to the dorsal communicating branches and does not depend on the taxonomic family. However, in canids, it seems constant."}
+{"text": "Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) include a wide range of bacteria, parasites and viruses that cause a large spectrum of animal, human and zoonotic tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The object of this review was to establish an inventory and an analysis of TBPs found in domestic animals in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. This geographic area occupies a central position between several continents and is an area of movement for animals, humans and pathogens of interest and their vectors, which is important in terms of animal and human health. In this systematic review, we included a total of 271 publications produced between 2000\u20132021 concerning TBPs in domestic animals. Among this literature, we found a total of 90 pathogen species (known as TBPs) reported in the 20 countries of the area; these were detected in tick species from domestic animals and were also directly detected in domestic animals. In all, 31 tick species were recorded and 12 domestic animal species, the latter comprising nine livestock and three pet species. More than 50% of the publications were from Western Europe. Island data were extracted and assessed, as islands of the Mediterranean Basin were represented in 16% of the publications and 77.8% of the TBPs reported. Our results show the importance of islands in the monitoring of TBPs, despite the low percentage of publications. Pathogens are one of the largest threats to health worldwide. They can be divided into four main groups: bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. These groups are present on all the continents and in the oceans, and target all types of plants and animals as well as humans, depending on their tropism and life cycle . These pAmong the different pathogens, many are zoonotic and are transmitted between animals and humans, while others are non-zoonotic and specifically target either humans or animals. Zoonotic pathogens account for about 60% of pathogens worldwide and are particularly present in emerging diseases . TransmiRickettsia-like, Francisella-like or Coxiella-like organisms. These are endosymbiotic intracellular bacteria that are harmless to mammals and may be required for tick survival [Hematophagous arthropod vectors can transmit pathogens called vector-borne pathogens (VBPs), which may be zoonotic or non-zoonotic, from one individual to another. They can transmit bacteria, parasites and viruses . For exasurvival . In prevIxodida order. They are composed of three families distributed across the world. The Ixodidae family is divided into the Prostriasta  and Metastriata . These are also named \u201chard ticks\u201d, and the family includes most species. The Argasidae family is divided into two subfamilies, the Argasinae (genus Argas) and the Ornithodorinae , also named \u201csoft ticks\u201d. The Nuttallielliedae family is composed of just one species [Ticks (Ixodida) rank first for veterinary vector-borne pathogens and second for human pathogens, just after mosquitoes ,9. Ticks species . The tic species . Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and the genus Borrelia, and could be transmitted by a wide range of ticks [Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, with approximately 65,500 cases every year [Orthonairovirus, which is responsible for many outbreaks internationally, with a high fatality rate of 40% [Hyalomma, which act as both vector and reservoir [Babesia genus are transmitted by ticks and can threaten human and veterinary health [Ticks can transmit a wide range of bacteria, parasites and viruses . An examof ticks . In Euroe of 40% . It is meservoir . Regardiy health . Ixodes ricinus, in the Mediterranean Basin the development of dry areas with arid types of vegetation favors the proliferation of ticks such as Hyalomma marginatum [Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. [Given its geographic position between Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea is bordered by a significant number of countries with a high variation of biotopes, ranging from Mediterranean to arid climates. The Mediterranean Basin is an area highly affected by climatic change, animal migration and human activity ,16. Whilrginatum . This derginatum . This surginatum . Other meus s.l. .We focused our review on the countries of the Mediterranean Basin where the different TBPs detected in domestic animals and their ticks were screened. Moreover, in order to compare the geographical distribution of these TBPs, and to highlight possible changes in their spread in the future, four areas were considered: Western Europe, composed of France, Italy, Malta, Monaco and Spain; the Balkans, composed of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia; the Middle East, composed of Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey; and finally North Africa, composed of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The different areas were determined by common biotope and geographic proximity. The last part of our review was to investigate the potential role of the western and eastern islands in the monitoring of TBPs in domestic animals and their ticks, according to their geographic position, surface areas and potential role in TBP circulation through animal migration. In this part, we focused on the distribution of TBPs in the Mediterranean islands in order to determine a potential role of the islands in the distribution of TBPs.The aim of this study was to review, according to PRISMA guidelines, the literature published between 2000 and early 2021 addressing the presence of TBPs on domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, with the following objectives: Perform a bibliometric analysis of TBP studies.Review the diversity of TBPs, positive engorged tick species, domestic animal hosts of TBPs and positive tick species. Compare the distribution of TBPs from domestic animals and their ticks in the four main areas defined.Focus on the distribution of TBPs in the Mediterranean islands.n = 20). We followed PRISMA guidelines and used explicit and systematic methods to identify, select and evaluate the studies relevant to the topic [We undertook a literature review concerning tick-borne pathogens in all countries of the Mediterranean Basin n = . We follDid the study include a country with a Mediterranean coast: Yes/NoDid the study include tick-borne pathogens: Yes/NoDid the study exclude ticks collected in vegetation: Yes/NoAll articles published in English in international journals indexed by PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were considered . The datOnly publications considering TBPs in domestic animals and/or TBPs in engorged ticks collected on domestic animals in Mediterranean countries were included. This made it possible to conduct an overview of research about TBPs potentially infesting and circulating in the domestic animal population only. The articles were saved if the answers to the three questions were \u201cyes\u201d; otherwise they were eliminated. For the next step, we reviewed the full-text and entered the information of interest into a database for 299 articles. We also excluded articles that we found did not fit the criteria after reading the full text.n = 81). We reviewed the bibliography of each selected article in order to check for new articles to include in the review and relevant articles in the field of research. We followed the same steps as previously described for new articles (n = 109) and retained only articles dealing with domestic animals (n = 271). The selection steps are summarized in For the last step, we excluded articles dealing with wild animals . Babesia vogeli was the species found in the largest range of countries among the 15 Babesia species found in domestic animals. Babesia vogeli was found in seven countries  and was not detected in countries of North Africa. Among these seven countries, the highest prevalence of B. vogeli in animals was 14% from dogs in Italy and 10.5% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. ticks collected from dogs in France [B. canis and B. ovis. Babesia canis was found in five countries . The highest prevalence was 71.4% from dogs in Italy along with 5.65% from Rh. sanguineus s.l. and Dermacentor reticulatus from dogs in France. Babesia ovis was found in five countries . The genus Babesia is one of the most frequently screened or found pathogens, along with Rickettsia and Anaplasma, featuring in 17.7% of the publications. It was the most commonly screened or found of the parasites, featuring in 46.2% of the publications concerning parasites. It showed the highest species diversity, just after the genus Rickettsia.n France ,59. The HepatozoonHepatozoon are intracellular protozoa belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa that infect amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles [Hepatozoon canis was found in cats or dogs in eight countries . The highest prevalence was 22.3% in dogs along with 20.58% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs, both occurring in Turkey [Hepatozoon felis, with the highest prevalence found to be 5.1% from cats in Italy and 1.7% from Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs in Turkey [Hepatozoon was the third most commonly found or screened parasite, featuring in a total of 7% of the overall publications and 18.2% of the publications concerning parasites. Pathogens in the genus Hepatozoon were found only in two pet hosts (cats and dogs).Parasites in the genus reptiles . Two spen Turkey ,238. Then Turkey ,80. The TheileriaBabesia and Hepatozoon, the genus Theileria belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, and with Babesia, also to the piroplasmids group. Species in this genus infect mammals and have an obligatory cycle in ticks. They cause benign to fatal theileriosis in breeding animals [T. annae, T. annulata, T. buffeli, T. cervi, T. equi, T. lestoquardi, T. luwenshuni, T. orientalis, T. ovis, T. uilenberg and T. sergenti. The species found in the most countries were T. ovis, T. annulata and T. buffeli. T. ovis was found in six countries , as was T. annulata , while T. buffeli was found in five countries . The highest prevalence of T. ovis was 53.3% in goats and sheep from Algeria, along with 37.35% in ticks from the genus Rhipicephalus taken from goats and sheep in Algeria [T. annulata was found in 64% of cattle from Turkey and in 5% of Rh. (Bo.) annulatus collected from cattle, goats and sheep from Algeria [T. buffeli was 11.56% from cattle in Turkey along with 2.8% in three tick species, I. hexagonus, I. ricinus and Rh. sanguineus s.l., from cattle in Italy [Babesia, the genus Theileria has widespread distribution in a large number of countries. It was found in 17.3% of the overall publications and 45.2% of the publications concerning parasites.Along with  animals . A total Algeria ,66. T. a Algeria ,92. The in Italy ,240. SimAnaplasma includes intracellular Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Anaplasmataceae from the Rickettsiales order. Most of these bacteria are zoonotic and have a high impact on veterinary health; for instance, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma ovis; and also on human health; for instance, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma platys [A. platys, responsible for canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, which was found in 11 countries out of 20 in the Mediterranean Basin . Six different tick species were found to be positive and to transmit this pathogen, with Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. as the main tick species, and with the highest prevalence in Morocco at 6.25%. The most common host was the dog, with a prevalence of 40.8% and 33% positive blood samples in Italy [A. phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, found in 10 countries . Out of six tick species found to be positive for this bacterium, Rh. sanguineus s.l. was the main tick species, especially on dogs. The highest prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in Rh. sanguineus s.l. was 13.7% in Egypt. The main pathogen host was cattle, with a prevalence of 40.6% in blood samples in Algeria [The genus a platys ,242. Thein Italy ,113,148. Algeria ,130.Anaplasma genus is both highly represented in the Mediterranean Basin and also highly screened, with detection in more than 25.8% of the publications analyzed and in 44.9% of the publications concerning bacteria. This can be explained by the number of countries (12) and hosts affected (11), and shows the public health and veterinary importance of this genus in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, especially for the two zoonotic species A. phagocytophilum and A. platys.As seen above, the Bartonella are Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Bartonellaceae from the Rhizobiales order, and half of them are known to be zoonotic. They are responsible for diseases such as trench fever and cat-scratch disease, and frequently cause endocarditis [Bartonella henselae, responsible for cat-scratch disease, detected in five countries . Bartonella henselae were mainly found in Ixodes ricinus, with the highest prevalence in Italy at 5.4% [Bartonella species detected were observed in only one or two countries, mainly Italy and Spain.carditis . The mos at 5.4% . The tic at 5.4% . The othBartonella genus is less often screened for and less often found than the previous genus, featuring in only 7.7% of the publications and 13.5% of the publications concerning bacteria. It is mainly screened for in pets (cats and dogs). This genus is mainly transmitted by biting flies and by fleas; however, it is evident that ticks can also be involved [Bartonella genus in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Veterinary interest in the genus focuses on pets.The involved . This shBorrelia genus includes spirochetes bacteria belonging to the family Spirochaetaceae. It is divided into two groups: the Lyme borreliosis group responsible for Lyme disease, which is mainly caused by bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, and the relapsing fever group, which includes Borrelia miyamotoi [B. burgdorferi sensu lato group, with the highest prevalence in animal hosts at 1.47% in dogs from Italy; and in ticks at 53% and 26% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. and Rh. annulatus, respectively, from cattle in Italy. Concerning B. afzeeli, B. garinii and B. valaisiana, the highest occurrence rates in ticks were 4.3%, 4.3% and 6.4%, respectively, from Ixodes ricinus collected from dogs in Spain [Borrelia theileri, which is a relapsing fever bacterium responsible for bovine borreliosis [The iyamotoi . The maiin Spain ,127. Thereliosis . It was reliosis .Borrelia found in domestic animals from the Mediterranean Basin were mainly from the Lyme Borreliosis group, except for Bo. theileri. They were detected in only 4.1% of the publications analyzed and in 7.1% of the publications concerning bacteria. Among these publications, they were more commonly found in ticks (72.7%) than in animal hosts (27.8%). On the basis of these results, research seems to be more focused on the possible circulation of infested ticks than on the potential role of domestic animals as reservoirs of the pathogen. Borrelia is either poorly screened or not common in domestic animals from countries of the Mediterranean Basin.Chlamydia and Chlamydophila belong to the Chlamydiales, which are Gram-negative bacteria responsible for a wide range of diseases throughout almost the entire animal realm [Chlamydia/Chlamydophila [Chlamydia abortus, from the genus Chlamydia, with the highest prevalence at 40.5% in Ixodes ricinus from cats in Italy. The second, belonging to the genus Chlamydophila, is Chlamydia psittaci, with the highest prevalence at 4.4% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs and breeding animals in Italy. No bacteria were found in animal hosts. The Chlamydia genus was found in 0.7% of the overall publications and in 1.3% of the publications concerning bacteria. This shows a possible role of ticks in the circulation of Chlamydia species; however, transmission and circulation in the domestic animal population in the countries of the Mediterranean Rim cannot be confirmed.The genera al realm . Recentlydophila ,160. TwoCoxiella burnetii, responsible for Q fever, which is transmitted by ticks and affects both humans and animals. This disease has a worldwide distribution and can cause febrile illness, endocarditis, meningoencephalitis or pneumonia in humans, while it is mainly asymptomatic in animals apart from sporadic cases of abortion in pregnant animals [Rh. sanguineus s.l. from goats and sheep in Cyprus [C. burnetii, most of the publications investigated the ticks as well as their hosts, indicating a level of public health and veterinary interest.Only one pathogen is representative of this genus:  animals . It has n Cyprus ,177. ThiEhrlichia spp. is a genus closely related to Anaplasma spp., and is responsible for human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia canis) and for canine ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis) [Ehrlichia canis, which is responsible for disease in both humans and dogs. It has been detected in 10 countries  and its highest prevalence was found at 48.5% in dogs from Italy and 6.6% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from dogs in Turkey [E. equi, E. ewingii, E. minacensis and Candidatus E. urmitei, have a minor health impact and were each found in only one country. The Ehrlichia genus was the third most common bacterial genus found or screened for after Anaplasma and Rickettsia, featuring in 11.8% of the overall publications and 20.5% of the publications concerning bacteria. Among the publications dealing with the Ehrlichia genus, 93.5% concerned E. canis.a canis) . The main Turkey ,206. TheNeoehrlichia mikurensis, which causes chronic lymphocytic leukemia, for example. Its vectors are from the Ixodes genus, and rodents are the most well-known hosts [I. ricinus from cattle [Of the four bacteria in this genus, only one is a human pathogen: wn hosts . In domem cattle . This spFrancisella are Gram-negative bacteria with one important species, Francisella tularensis, responsible for tularemia in humans and animals [Francisella spp. level was identified. It was found only in Italy, with a prevalence of 66%, 21% and 8% in Hyalomma marginatum, Rh. bursa and Rh. (Boophilus) annulatus from cattle, respectively. As with the Neoehrlichia genus, no Francisella was detected directly in animal hosts [Bacteria from the genus  animals . In the al hosts .Leptospira includes spirochetes and zoonotic bacteria that are responsible for leptospirosis worldwide. The first case was documented over 100 years ago. The bacteria are usually transmitted by direct or indirect contact with a contaminated element, but can also be found in ticks [Leptospira spp. was detected. It was found in Egypt with a prevalence of 50%, 41%, 40% and 29% from camel, sheep, cattle and buffalo, respectively [Leptospira spp. was only found in domestic animals and not in ticks. However, similarly to the two previous genera, it was found in 0.4% of the overall publications and in 0.6% of publications concerning bacteria. Nevertheless, the Leptospira genus has already been found in ticks in Europe [The genus in ticks ,252. Agaectively . Unlike Mycoplasma is composed of commensal and pathogenic bacteria that can cause anemia in a wide range of mammals [Mycoplasma haemocanis, My. haemofelis, Candidatus My. haemonutum, Candidatus My. haematoparvum and Candidatus My. turicensis were found, but only My. heamocanis and Candidatus My. haematoparvum were found in two countries (Greece and Turkey). The prevalence of My. haemocanis was 5.6% in dogs from Greece and 26.2% in dogs from Turkey. For Candidatus My. haematoparvum, the prevalence was 4.2% from dogs in Greece and 6.7% from dogs in Turkey [Leptospira genus, the Mycoplasma genus was found only in animals in this review. It was found in 2.2% of the publications and in 1.3% of the publications concerning bacteria.The genus  mammals ,254,255.n Turkey ,186. TheRickettsia is one of the most important tick-borne pathogen genera. It is divided into two groups: the spotted fever group (SFG), including Rickettsia conorii, causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, and the typhus group (TG), which is less well-known and includes, for example, Rickettsia typhi [R. aeschlimannii, R. africae, R. conorii, R. conorii israelensis, R. felis, R. helvetica, R. hoogstraalii, R. massiliae, R. monacensis, R. raoultii, R. rickettsia, R. rhipicephali, R. sibirica mongolotimonae, R. slovaca, Candidatus R. barbariae and Candidatus R. goldwasserii), and one was from the TG: R. typhi. Of these Rickettsia spp., Rickettsia massiliae (SFG group) was the most widespread bacterium and was detected in 10 countries . Its highest prevalence was 40.4% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from cattle, dogs and sheep from Algeria, and 2.7% from camel blood in Tunisia [R. africae (SFG group), found in eight countries , with the highest prevalence at 26.7% in Hyalomma impeltatum collected from cattle and camels in Egypt, and 0.3% in camel blood from Tunisia [Rickettsia typhi was the only bacterium from the TG group, detected with a prevalence of 29.7% from cats in Greece [Rickettsia is widespread and diversified in domestic animals and their ticks, and is widely screened; it was found in 25.3% of the publications overall, and in 44.2% of the publications concerning bacteria. This genus is the second most commonly studied after Anaplasma spp. However, the SFG group (98.6% of the publications) was of the greatest scientific interest compared to the TG group (1.4% of the publications).The genus ia typhi ,257. Sev Tunisia ,213. The Tunisia ,201. Ricn Greece . On the Amblyomma, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus from cattle in Egypt, with a prevalence of 65.5% [This genus includes species that affect a broad range of domestic ruminants and that have a considerable economic impact, especially in Africa and the Middle East. It covers three species: lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), goatpox virus (GTPV) and sheeppox virus (SPV) . Among tof 65.5% . It was flavivirus, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), was found in two countries in domestic animals: in Greece, with a prevalence of 1.4% from I. ricinus ticks from goats, and in Italy, with a prevalence of 16.43% in goats [The flaviviruses are an important part of the arboviruses. They are transmitted by both mosquitoes and ticks. They mainly infect mammals and account for a large proportion of the recent outbreaks of public health and veterinary concern in terms of morbidity and mortality . The mosin goats ,225. TBEHyalomma, causes severe or even fatal human disease across almost all of the Old World, and its range has expanded with climate change [Hyalomma spp., Rhipicephalus spp. and Ixodes spp.) collected from buffalo, cattle, goats and sheep in Turkey [Globally, this genus is mainly represented by one species: Crimean\u2013Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV). This virus is transmitted by ticks, mainly from the genus e change . In domen Turkey ,230. CCHAmblyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus. These genera are widely distributed in this region. The last genus, which was collected in Algeria and Egypt, represents the soft ticks (Argasidae): Argas : ): Argas . The div): Argas .Rhipicephalus (Rh (Bo.). annulatus, Rh. appendiculatus, Rh. bursa, Rh (Bo.). microplus, Rh. pusillus and Rh. sanguineus s.l. Out of these 57 TBP species, 47 were detected in Rh. sanguineus s.l., which was the tick species with the highest number of pathogenic species found in our review  with tropism for large mammals upon reaching their adult forms, and for small mammals and birds while in their immature stages. Hyalomma species are mainly distributed in the southern part of the Mediterranean Basin, with a slow increase in range in Western Europe and the Balkans [Hyalomma, the species found positive for the largest number of TBPs was Hy. marginatum  have been identified. Positive ticks were only found on cattle. The virus and bacteria detected were lumpy skin disease virus and Rickettsia africae  and their ticks (63 studies) were found for 14 countries, while cat and rabbit data were found in only five countries and one country, respectively .Among the 90 TBPs listed in this review (in livestock or pets), 66 were detected in ticks from animals and 69 directly in the animals. The highest number of pathogens was found in ticks on dogs (66.7%) . The lisThe research effort, expressed by the number of publications, varies greatly from one animal to another. This is why it is difficult to conclude that an animal, or its ticks, are more or less susceptible to being infected by TBPs. In this sense, In this section, we divide the countries of the Mediterranean Basin into four different areas to allow for better comparison of the data found. Western Europe is made up of France, Italy, Malta, Monaco and Spain, which represented 45.7% of the publications. North Africa, which includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, had a percentage of 26.1% of the total publications included in this review. The Middle East, which is composed of Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey, represented 17.7%. The Balkans area is made up of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia, and had 10.33% of the publications. The five countries in which no pathogens were found on domestic animals or their ticks were Bosnia-Herzegovina, Libya, Malta, Monaco and Syria.Amblyomma spp., Dermacentor spp., Haemaphysalis spp., Hyalomma spp., Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. The most commonly found host was the dog , it was found both in livestock and pets, with equal importance in terms of health. The other main tick genus was Hyalomma spp. which was mainly found on livestock , from the eastern Basin, including Crete, Cyprus, Ios, Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos, Skopelos and Tinos (8 publications) .On the islands, a total of nine domestic animal hosts were studied: cats, cattle, dogs, donkeys, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits and sheep. Despite this host diversity, the majority of the islands followed the same schema as in the rest of the Mediterranean Basin, with the dog predominating as host of positive ticks and TBPs (43.2% of the island publications), followed by cattle, sheep and goats. We also observed a higher diversity of domestic animal hosts (eight species) in the data reported in the western islands  than in the eastern islands  . In the Amblyomma spp., Dermacentor spp., Haemaphysalis spp., Hyalomma spp., Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. , while only nine were reported (77.8% bacteria and 22.2% parasites) in the eastern islands. In both groups, the main reported genus was Anaplasma, followed by Rickettsia , a high diversity of TBPs was reported. This may indicate the importance of islands in the monitoring of TBPs in domestic animals in the Mediterranean Basin.Anaplasma spp. and Rickettsia spp. The data collected reflected a high diversity of TBPs in domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, which shows their importance in veterinary and human health. A wide range of pathogens was reported in seven positive tick genera (six hard ticks and one soft tick) and 31 tick species. The most-reported genus was Rhipicephalus spp., a genus found in a large range of domestic animals, from livestock to pets. This genus is also known for the transmission of TBPs from the genera Anaplasma and Rickettsia. These TBPs and positive tick genera were reported in 12 different domestic animal hosts divided into two groups: livestock and pets. The main domestic animal hosts were both dogs and cattle, from which the highest diversity of TBPs was reported. This seems linked to the quantity of data reported for these hosts. In the four areas of the Mediterranean Basin , the main studied host was the dog (except in North Africa) and the main positive tick genus was Rhipicephalus. Depending on the area, the second most important genera were Ixodes or Hyalomma. This could be due to the distribution area of Ixodes spp. in Europe and the distribution area of Hyalomma spp. on the south border of the Mediterranean Basin and its expansion through the islands [In this study, 90 TBPs from 18 genera of bacteria, parasites and viruses were reported in domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Most pathogens were bacteria, followed by parasites and viruses. The main genera detected were bacteria:  islands ,267. The"}
+{"text": "Heteroptera), the data accumulated today on the number of testicular follicles and ovarioles in their gonads are summarized. In addition, data on the number and type (mesadenia/ectadenia) of accessory glands are given. The hemipteran suborder Heteroptera constitutes one of the most diverse groups of non-homometabolous (\u2018Hemimetabola\u2019) insects, comprising more than 40,000 described species worldwide and approximately 100 families, classified into seven infraorders. Data are available for all infraorders; however, more than 90% of studied species belong to the largest and most evolutionarily derived infraorders Cimicomorpha and Pentatomomorpha. In true bugs, in general, the number of follicles varies from one to nine (in a testis), and the number of ovarioles varies from two to 24 (in an ovary). Seven follicles per testis and seven ovarioles per ovary prevail being found in approximately 43.5% (307 species) and 24.4% (367 species) of studied species, respectively. Such a structure of testes and ovaries is considered an ancestral character state in the Heteroptera. In the evolution of this group, the number of follicles and ovarioles both increased and decreased, but the trend towards a decrease clearly prevailed.The structure of testes and ovaries can be described in its simplest form by the number of follicles and ovarioles they contain. Sixty-five years after the last review of the internal reproductive systems in true bugs ( Heteroptera (or true bugs) displays remarkable morphological variation and comprises more than 40,000 described species worldwide in ~ 100 families classified into seven infraorders including Enicocephalomorpha, Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha, and Pentatomomorpha. The majority of true bug species are herbivorous but some are predators and blood-suckers , he concluded that there is still very little data to make any generalizations. A huge contribution was made by Heteroptera have been published. In most cases, studies concern single species, and comparative data across multiple species of a group are few . Much valuable information on true bugs can be found in special monographic works devoted to the reproductive systems of insects in general  is given. In Figs Heteroptera families taken from Hemiptera, and that the data may provide additional information for understanding relationships between the higher taxa of true bugs.During the years that have passed since the aforementioned overviews, the number of species and higher taxa of true bugs studied in relation to testes and ovaries has almost tripled, and it seems appropriate to publish an updated list. In this review article, all the data available today, including new data on 140 species obtained by the authors, are summarized in two tables. Suppl. material Heteroptera in general  and of theInstitute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research  of theBulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), and theZoological Institute (ZIN) of theRussian Academy of Sciences (RAS), St. Petersburg, Russia.The current review article is part of a long-term research project dedicated to the study of true bugs, including the morphology of their reproductive system, cytogenetics, and evolution. The data we have obtained over years on the structure of testes and ovaries of true bugs in terms of the number of testicular follicles and ovarioles constitute at the present time a significant part of all such data currently available for the Our original data cover 140 species belonging to 30 families, six infraorders, and represent 13.8% of all data on the structure of the testes and ovaries of true bugs accumulated to date and presented in Suppl. material Micronectidae which are treated as a separate family due to distinct cytogenetic features  and ovarioles per ovary (hereafter p.o.) observed within a given family. Therefore, states were coded as polymorphic in cases of large variability of follicle and ovariole numbers within a given family. This was the case for large and comparatively well studied families lacking widely accepted phylogenetic resolution e.g., duviidae , there wte 3.6.1  with theEnicocephalomorpha , Dipsocoromorpha , Nepomorpha , Gerromorpha , Leptopodomorpha , Cimicomorpha , and Pentatomomorpha . Below we will comment on the available data for each infraorder, with emphasis on those families in which such data are more or less representative. Data on male accessory glands, their numbers, and origins (mesadenia/ectadenia), although provided in Suppl. material In this work, we have compiled ~ 1200 records of the numbers of testicular follicles and ovarioles in 1008 true bug species from across 63 families and seven infraorders, including Heteroptera  are of medical importance and hematophagous at all stages  tribes, males have two follicles p.t. The exceptions are two of the eleven studied species of the genus Anthocoris Fall\u00e9n, 1814 (Anthocorini) having four ) and even 5\u20137  follicles p.t. Four species, Scoloposcelisobscurella  (Scolopini), Australmeidaderricki , the single studied member of Almeidini, and the two studied species (subgenera Proxylocoris and Arrostelus) of the genus Xylocoris Dufour, 1931 in the monotypic tribe Xylocorini, have seven follicles p.t. The females of six studied species  have seven ovarioles p.o.The family comprises more than 500 species with seven tribes . Data arCimex Linnaeus, 1758 (Cimicinae), have seven follicles p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o.The family consists of ~ 110 species and 24 genera in six recognized subfamilies . The thrJoppeicusparadoxus Putton, 1881. This relict family of non-specialized general predators feeding on small insects, has an obscure history of phylogenetic placement although sometimes regarded as related to the family Tingidae  have five or six ovarioles p.o. Five ovarioles are rarely observed in the Cimicomorpha  from the other tingid subfamily Tinginae.The family contains only one species, Tingidae . Thus, acomorpha  and its Anthocoridae and Lyctocoridae and formerly classified as a subfamily within the family Anthocoridae  campestris  has two follicles p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o., and the same structure of the ovaries was found in L.beneficus .A monotypic group of predominantly predaceous true bugs formerly classified, like the ocoridae . LyctocoMiridae  and Cylapinae (two), the deraeocorine tribe Hyaliodini (two), the phyline tribe Hallodapini (two), orthotyline tribes Coridromiini (one), and Nichomachini (one). However, available data for better studied taxa show a stable pattern of testis follicle numbers at the tribal and sometimes also subfamily levels. The modal numbers are briefly outlined below for each sufficiently studied subfamily.The variation of testis follicle number has been used as a potentially important character for the higher-level taxonomy and phylogeny of plant bugs by several authors including Miridae , and datDicyphini, a sister clade to the remaining bryocorines (Felisacini (two species examined). In two Dicyphini species, Tupiocorisrhododendri  and Dicyphus (Brachyceroea) annulatus , two follicles p.t. were found. The modal number of one was observed in the small tribe Bryocorini although Monalocorisfilicis  and M.americanus Wagner & Slater, 1952, respectively. Seven examined species of Monaloniini and the only examined Eccritotarsini species Stenopterocorislaticeps China, 1944 have either one or three follicles p.t. Females of the permanently parthenogenetic species Campyloneuravirgula  (Eccritotarsini) were found to have seven ovarioles p.o.In ocorines , the preOrthotylini have two follicles p.t. Only Cyrthorhinuscaricis  is an exception displaying testes with a single follicle each  shows no uniform pattern with a follicle number ranging from one to three.Forty-three examined species of the largest tribe cle each . In contPhylini have remarkably stable follicle number of three. Alternative structural variants found in several species, viz., Oncotylusviridiflavus  (four-five), Platyscytusdecempunctatus  (four to six), and Phylusmelanocephalus   may be treated as isolated cases of specialization  has two follicles p.t.). The same pattern applies for the tribes Cremnorrhini  and Nasocorini. The tribes Hallodapini and Semiini remain insufficiently studied, but also follow the pattern of three, as evidenced by the currently available data.Almost all species (28) of the large and diverse tribe lization . The modDeraeocorini. The testis follicle number ranges from one  to eight  and no apparent pattern for this tribe could be established at this point.Data on this subfamily are scarce and most examined deraeocorine species (17 of 19) belong to the tribe Mirini unequivocally have seven testis follicles (in 66 species). The exceptions are very few and include Garganusfusiformis  (two), Capsodesgothicus  (six), Neurocolpusjessiae Knight, 1934 (eight), and Poecilocapsuslineatus  (eight). Noteworthy, in three species , Leptopternadolabrata , Stenotusbinotatus ) testis follicle number varies from seven to eight in different specimens or even in a single specimen of the same species. Stenodemini, the second well examined tribe (18 species), which forms a sister clade to all other tribes of the family  to eight (Leptopterna spp.). Various authors documented contrastingly different numbers (3\u20137) for different species of the genus Stenodema Laporte, 1832.Being the best studied plant bug tribe (73 species examined), e family , also haBryocorinae, Cylapinae, Deraeocorinae, Mirinae, Orthotylinae, Isometopinae, and Phylinae. Most species have seven ovarioles p.o. . Other numbers, including eight , four (in one species), three (in one species), or 5\u20137 (in one species), occur sporadically in different subfamilies that have a modal number of seven.Data on the number of ovarioles are available for a total of 48 species and 17 genera from the subfamilies Prostemmatinae  and Nabinae (four tribes)  also have seven testis follicles. Available data suggest a remarkably stable follicle number of seven in these subfamilies. The only exception presently known in both Nabinae and Nabidae is Arachnocoristrinitatis Bergroth, 1916 (tribe Arachnocorini) which has three follicles p.t. but seven ovarioles p.o. All other studied species (16) from both subfamilies share the same pattern of seven ovarioles.A relatively small family of predaceous true bugs with more than 30 genera and ca. 400 species distributed in two subfamilies,  tribes) . In ProsPolycteninae and Hesperocteninae , have ovaries with two ovarioles each.The family currently comprises 32 species belonging to five genera and two subfamilies, cteninae . The femReduviidae are the second largest family of true bugs  is described as \u201cfewer than 7\u201d; however, a figure in the original paper  and Bobbavilliersi Wygodzinsky, 1966 (Metapterini) were reported to have two and five follicles p.t., respectively. Within Harpactorinae (28 species studied), unusual testis follicle numbers were reported for Polididusarmatissimus St\u00e5l, 1859 with nine follicles p.t., Nagusta sp. (eight), and Repiptataurus  for which two follicles p.t. were tentatively given. In P.armatissimus, the structure of the testis was shown to be complex: the follicles form two groups, one consisting of seven long and wide follicles and the other consisting of two smaller follicles , eight species of the subfamily Reduviinae, 19 species of the Harpactorinae as well as for Phymata sp. from the Phymatinae complex, a sister group to the remaining \u201chigher\u201d reduviids. The number of ovarioles p.o. is seven in most species; however, some species have six (one species), three (two species), or eight (five species) ovarioles p.o. The available data suggest, thus, a high level of family stability in terms of both traits.The testis comprising seven follicles are suggested to be an ancestral trait for the duviidae . This teThaumastocorinae (21 species) and the Xylastodorinae (10 species) including nine recent and one described from the Dominican amber , but differ in the number of ovarioles p.o., which is three in T.australicus Kirkaldy, 1908 and two in T.peregrinus Carpintero & Dellap\u00e9, 2006. In Xylastodorinae, two species studied in the genera Discocoris Kormilev, 1955 and Proxylastodoris Heiss & Popov, 2002 are similar in having three ovarioles p.o.The family comprises more than 30 species and six genera in two subfamilies, the an amber . Data arTinginae (~ 2500 species in 300 genera) and two smaller subfamilies, Cantacaderinae and Vianadinae (Tinginae (21 species), Cantacaderinae (three), and Vianadinae (one). Within the Cantacaderinae, Cantacaderquadricornis  and C.quinquecostatus  were shown to have one and two follicles p.t., respectively. In the last of these species, females have ovaries with five ovarioles each, and the same structure of the ovaries is characteristic of C.lethierryi Scott, 1874. All studied species of the Tinginae (21 in ten genera) share consistent testis composition, with two follicles p.t. Fourteen species (ten genera) studied in terms of the ovaries have seven ovarioles; however, Corythuchamarmorata  has five ovarioles p.o. The only studied species from the subfamily Vianaidinae, Anommatocoriscoleopteratus , has testes with a \u201cbilobed follicle\u201d each , and in the genus Cimex (Cimicidae); two follicles p.t. is the modal state in the family Anthocoridae, the subfamily Orthotylinae (Miridae) and the subfamily Tinginae (Tingidae); one follicle p.t. is the modal state in the tribe Dicyphini (Miridae). Data are scarcer on the ovariole numbers; however, in general, a pattern of seven ovarioles p.o. clearly predominates.In studied Dipsocoromorpha or minute litter bugs comprises ~ 430 species from 70 genera that are classified into six morphologically distinct families  coleoptratus  displays seven follicles p.t., and C. (Xylonannus) sp. has six ovarioles p.o.This small cosmopolitan family, historically treated as a subfamily of the Cryptostemma Herrich-Schaeffer, 1835 (two species), Alpagut K\u0131yak, 1995 (one), and Pachycoleus Fieber, 1860 (one), males have three follicles p.t. Females have five ovarioles p.o. in three studied Cryptostemma species while three ovarioles p.o. in Pachycoleuspusillimus .This cosmopolitan family was recently redefined to contain three genera and ca.30 species with many more awaiting descriptions . Data onHypselosomatinae. Males of Hypselosomahickmani Wygodzinsky, 1959 and Pateenapolymitarior Hill, 1980 have one follicle p.t., and females of Hypselosoma sp. have four ovarioles p.o.This family, which is the largest family of the infraorder, comprises approximately 355 species, 56 genera, and two subfamilies . Data arDipsocoromorpha may have seven, three or one follicle p.t., the number three being characteristic of Dipsocoridae and the number one for Schizopteridae. Females may have four, five or six ovarioles p.o. It is worth noting the stability of the number of ovarioles in the genus Cryptostemma (three p.o.).In general, data are available for 12 species (seven genera), which is only 2.8% of the global diversity of the infraorder. Males of Aenictopecheidae  and Enicocephalidae  . Although the authors did not study the number of follicles, they described a testis as voluminous, suggesting that it consists of more than a single follicle. In two species of the Enicocephalidae, Hoplitocorislewisi Distant 1903 and Stenopiratesjaponicus  , females have five ovarioles p.o.Unique-headed bugs comprise only two small families, amilies) , 2002. Eromorpha , a sisteeroptera , or rendromorpha . Data onHermatobatidae, Macroveliidae, and Paraphrynoveliidae).This infraorder of predatory, semiaquatic bugs, most of which live on the surface of the water or amongst floating plants, comprises more than 2100 species in 160 genera, eight families and five superfamilies . Data onVeliidae , Halobatinae , Hermatobatinae (one species), Ptilomerinae (one species), Rhagadotarsinae , and Rheumatobatinae (one species). The number of follicles p.t. is two in all species of the Gerrinae, while males of Rheumatobatescrassifemurcrassifemur Esaki, 1926 (Rheumatobatinae) have one follicle p.t. Available data on the number of ovarioles demonstrate a highly stable pattern of four for all taxa .The family comprises at least 750 species and 71 genera in eight subfamilies and represents the second largest group of the infraorder in numbers of genera and species after the Veliidae . Data arHebrinae only, in which both studied species, Hebrus (Hebrusella) ruficeps Thomson, 1871 and H. (Hebrus) pusillus , have two follicles p.t. These species and additionally H. (Hebrus) nipponicus Horv\u00e1th, 1929 have five ovarioles p.o.The family comprises 220 species and eight genera in two subfamilies . Data arHydrometrastagnorum  (Hydrometrinae) have long and fusiform testes, each with supposedly one follicle. Females have seven ovarioles p.o. in each of the four studied species of the genus Hydrometra Latreille, 1797.The family comprises at least 126 species and seven genera in three subfamilies . AccordiMesoveliinae, Mesoveliafurcata Mulsant & Rey, 1852 has one follicle p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o. Two more species of this genus were reported to have the same structure of the ovaries.The family comprises ~ 50 species and 12 genera in two subfamilies and is considered a sister group to all other families of the infraorder . In the Haloveliinae , Microveliinae , Rhagoveliinae , and Veliinae . All four riffle bug species studied in relation to the structure of the testes, two in the genus Rhagovelia Mayr, 1865 (Rhagoveliinae) and two others in the genus Velia Latreille, 1804 (Veliinae), have one follicle p.t. The number of ovarioles is also stable and equal to four in all studied species of the Microveliinae and in Strongyloveliaformosa Esaki, 1924 from the Haloveliinae, although another species of this subfamily, Haloveliaseptentrionalis Esaki, 1924, has two ovarioles p.o.The family comprises more than 970 species and 60 genera in six subfamilies and thus represents the largest family of the infraorder . Data arGerromorpha, males may have one or two follicles p.t., and females may have two, four, five, or seven ovarioles p.o. Available data for the taxa in which more data is available demonstrate a stable pattern of the follicle number  or of the ovariole number .In 43 studied species (in 21 genera) of the infraorder Saldidae and Leptopodidae, both of worldwide distribution, and two rare and highly endemic families, the Omaniidae with four species in two genera, and monotypic Aepophilidae (The infraorder (shore bugs) comprises ca. 380 species in 42 genera and four extant families, including two larger philidae .Aepophilusbonnairei Signoret, 1879 that has seven follicles p.t. in males.This enigmatic taxon encompasses a single species, Saldula Van Duzee, 1914, S.arenicola  and S.saltatoria , have seven follicles p.t., whereas Halosaldalateralis  has four follicles p.t. Seven ovarioles p.o. were found in Macrosaldulascotica  and Saldulaarenicola .The family comprises ~ 335 species in 29 genera. Two studied species of the genus Leptopodomorpha , males have seven or four follicles p.t. in four and one species, respectively. Note that the first number occurs in both explored families, and the same number of ovarioles p.o. is found in females of two studied species in two genera of shore bugs.In five studied species of Nepomorpha or water bugs is one of the most specialized groups of heteropterans, with most of its species spending the entire life cycle within the water. It comprises more than 2300 species arranged in 140 genera and 13 families (Diaprepocoridae and Potamocoridae) families.The infraorder families . Data onAphelocheirus Westwood, 1833 , males have four follicles p.t. and five ovarioles p.o., and the same structure of the ovaries was found in three more species of the genus.The family comprises at least 78 species in the only genus od, 1833 . In A.aeBelostomatinae , and three species of the subfamily Lethocerinae . All five studied Belostoma species have five follicles p.t., whereas the only studied Diplonychus species, D.rusticus , has seven follicles p.t. In Lethocerusindicus , testes consist of five follicles each, and in L.patruelis , the number of follicles p.t. is questionable (five or four). Females of the four studied species in the genera Belostoma (one species), Diplonychus (one), Adebus (one), and Lethocerus (one) have five ovarioles p.o.The family comprises ca. 160 species and 11 genera in three subfamilies . PresentCorixinae and the only representative of the subfamily Cymatinae, Cymatiacoleoptrata . All studied Corixinae species from the genera Sigara Fabricius, 1775 (two species), Cenocorixa Hungerford, 1948 (one) and Corixa Geoffroy, 1762 (one) have seven follicles p.t., whereas male C.coleoptrata has five follicles p.t. The ovaries in all studied species  consist of seven ovarioles each.The family comprises 607 species and 35 genera in four subfamilies . Data onOchteroidea  have two follicles p.t., and the same testis structure is typical for Nerthraterrestris  from the subfamily Nerthrinae. Females of Nerthramacrothorax  have five ovarioles p.o.The family comprises at least 111 species and three genera from two subfamilies and belong to the secondarily terrestrial superfamily teroidea . Data arPleidae .The family comprises more than 170 species  and is cPleidae . HelotreMicronecta Kirkaldy, 1897 (Micronectinae), in which males were reported to have two follicles p.t.The family comprises 150 species and five genera in two subfamilies . Data arLimnocoris St\u00e5l, 1860 (Limnocorinae), Pelocoris St\u00e5l, 1876, and Ilyocoris St\u00e5l, 1861 (Naucorinae) have seven follicles p.t. Various authors reported different numbers of ovarioles (seven or five) p.o. for Ilyocoriscimicoides .The family comprises ~ 420 species and 43 genera in six subfamilies . All thrRanatra Fabricius, 1790 (Ranatrinae) and Nepa Linnaeus, 1758 (Nepinae). Nepacinerea Linnaeus, 1758 have five follicles p.t., whereas males of R.fusca Palisot de Beauvois, 1820 and R.linearis  have six and five follicles p.t., respectively. Among seven species with known structure of ovaries, all four Ranatra spp. share five ovarioles p.o., whereas two species of the genus Laccotrephes St\u00e5l, 1866 (Nepinae), L.japonensis Scott, 1874 and L.maculatus , have five and four ovarioles p.o., respectively.The family comprises 268 species and 15 genera from two subfamilies . Data onNotonectinae and Anisopinae  consist of seven ovarioles each.The family comprises ~ 400 species and 11 genera in two subfamilies, isopinae . Data arNepomorpha, which returned to a terrestrial way of life. Most authors consider Ochteridae as a sister group to the Gelastocoridae , shares two follicles p.t. with studied gelastocorids (see above), but has seven ovarioles p.o.The family comprises at least 68 species and belongs to the lineage of the aquatic ae e.g., . The onlPleaminutissima Leach, 1817 have four follicles p.t., and females have four ovarioles p.o. The same structure of the ovaries is characteristic of Parapleaindistinguenda  and P.japonica .The family comprises ~ 40 species in three genera . Males oNepomorpha species, males may have testes with different numbers of follicles , and females have ovaries with different numbers of ovarioles . The numbers seven, five and two are most common, being found in 32%, 29% and 26% of studied species, respectively. In females, ovaries with five and seven ovarioles occur in 52% and 45% of studied species, respectively. Available data for relatively more fully studied taxa show a stable pattern of the follicle number at the generic level, e.g., five in Belostoma and two in Micronecta Kirkaldy, 1897, as well as at the subfamily level (seven in Corixinae), and it seems also at the family level (two in Gelastocoridae and Micronectidae). The ovariole numbers appear to show a stable pattern in some families . However, only 50 species (in 25 genera) have been studied in the infraorder in general, i.e., ~ 2% of the global diversity of the group, which is, of course, too small to draw any conclusions.In studied Aradoidea, Idiostoloidea, Coreoidea, Lygaeoidea, Pyrrhocoroidea, and Pentatomoidea .The family comprises approximately 1900 species, more than 230 genera, and eight subfamilies . Data onProsympiestinae. In two studied species of the genus Prosympiestus Bergroth, 1894, males have six follicles p.t. and females have six ovarioles p.o.Carventinae. Data are available for the genera Carventus St\u00e5l, 1865 (two species), Euricoris Kormilev, 1957 (two species), and Paracarventus Kormilev, 1964 (one species). Both testes and ovaries have the same range of numbers, three, four, or five, in each case the numbers of follicles and ovarioles coinciding in the same species.Calisiinae. In Calisiushackeri Kormilev, 1958, males have two follicles p.t. and females have six ovarioles p.o.Aneurinae. Data are available for the genera Aneurus Curtis, 1825 (six species) and Paraneurus Jacobs 1986 (one species). Both genera are characterized by a stable pattern of five follicles p.t. and five ovarioles p.o., with the only exception of A. (Aneurus) laevis  having six follicles p.t. For Aneurus (Aneurodes) avenius  four and five ovarioles are reported by different authors.Coreinae and Pseudophloeinae. The first is distinguished by the high stability of the structure of the testes and ovaries having seven follicles p.t. in all 16 studied species in 14 genera and the same number of ovarioles p.o. in all 16 studied species in nine genera. In the second subfamily, Coriomerishirticornis  also has seven ovarioles p.o., although Ceraleptuslividus Stein, 1858 has six follicles p.t.The family comprises more than 2570 extant species described in four subfamilies and 37 tribes . Data arRhopalinae and the Serinethinae ), whereas another species ) has five follicles p.t.In the sole genus of the family, Artheneinae, while Dilompinae and Nothochrominae remain monotypic , Gampsocorinae , and Metacanthinae . There is one follicle p.t. in the two latter subfamilies and two, but sometimes one, in the Berytinae. The number of ovarioles is seven p.o. in all but one species studied. These species represent all three subfamilies and the only exception is Gampsocorisviridiventris  (Gampsocorinae), which has six ovarioles p.o. although another species of the same genus, G.culicinus Seidenst\u00fccker, 1948, has seven.This worldwide family comprises ~ 37 genera and 174 species in three subfamilies . Data arBlissus Burmeister, 1835 spp., Macropesraja Distant, 1909 and Iphicratesspinicaput . However, seven follicles p.t. were also frequently observed across some studied taxa, e.g., Ischnodemus spp., Macropesobnubilus , Iphicratesspathus Slater, 1961, and Heinsiusexplicatus Distant, 1901, and four follicles were documented for Caveleriussaccharivorus . The number of ovarioles is either seven or six and appears to correspond to the number of follicles in males of a given species. Caveleriussaccharivorus  forms the only exception, having six ovarioles but four follicles.This family of strongly flattened and sap sucking lygeoids has a worldwide distribution and currently contains more than 400 species belonging to ca. 50 genera . No suprCyminae and Ontiscinae , males have four follicles p.t. (five species) and females have seven ovarioles p.o. (two species). Males of Henestarishalophilus  (Henestarinae) have seven follicles p.t. and females have seven ovarioles p.o.This family comprises 27 genera and ~ 280 species in five subfamilies . In the Heterogaster Schilling, 1829 and Platyplaxsalviae  have seven follicles p.t., and females of two studied Heterogaster spp. have seven ovarioles p.o.This small family currently consists of 23 genera and at least 105 species , four ofIschnorhynchinae , Lygaeinae , and Orsillinae . Except for Paranysiusfraterculus  (Orsillinae) having two follicles p.t., the number of follicles and ovarioles in seed bugs equals seven .The family comprises 107 genera and more than 970 species in three subfamilies . Data arChauliopsfallax Scott, 1874 (Chauliopinae), females have five ovarioles p.o.The family comprises more than 40 described species and three genera in two subfamilies . In the Ninomimusflavipes  have five follicles p.t., and the females of Ninusinsignis St\u00e5l, 1860 have five ovarioles p.o.Five genera and 14 species are recognized in this small pantropical group . Among tThis worldwide distributed family contains slightly less than 150 species from 27 genera not arranged into subfamilies or tribes . All stuPachygrontinae and Teracriinae  resulting in seven ovarioles p.o. in each case.With more than 80 species arranged in 14 genera, this predominantly tropical and subtropical taxon clusters into two subfamilies, acriinae . AvailabPiesmatinae and Psamminae , that has been observed to have four or six ovarioles p.o.This small but nonetheless worldwide distributed group contains less than 50 species arranged in six genera and two morphologically and ecologically distinct subfamilies, samminae . While tPlinthisinae and Rhyparochrominae, the latter with 14 tribes (Rhyparochrominae (six tribes). The number of ovarioles p.o. is seven in all studied species, whereas the number of follicles p.t. is either two (in Antillocorini and Drymini), three or five (in different genera of Myodochini), or seven , seven clearly prevailing in the family.The family comprises more than 2000 species in two subfamilies, 4 tribes . Data arAcanthosomatinae. The number of follicles may be seven , four (one species) or six (one species), and both last numbers occur in the genus Rhopalimorpha Dallas, 1851 . The number of ovarioles is seven in the majority (seven) of species. The genus Elasmucha St\u00e5l, 1864 is of interest showing seven ovarioles in E.graminea  while unusually high numbers, 17 and even 24, in five other species.The family comprises more than 50 genera and more than 280 species in three subfamilies . Data onCephalocteinae, Cydninae, Parastrachiinae, Sehirinae, and Thyreocorinae. In all species studied in the subfamilies Cydninae  and Sehirinae , testes consist each of seven follicles. Fourteen species  were studied with respect to the ovaries, and twelve of them have seven ovarioles p.o.; however, Stibaropus sp.  and Chilocorisconfusus Horv\u00e1th, 1919 (Cydninae) have four and five ovarioles p.o., respectively.The family comprises more than 1180 species in ca. 145 genera worldwide, arranged in nine subfamilies . Data arCoridiusjanus  (Dinidorinae) consist of seven follicles and seven ovarioles, respectively, and the same structure of the ovaries is found in Megynemumgracilicorne Dallas, 1851 (Megymeninae).The family comprises ~ 100 species in 16 genera and two subfamilies , and the structure of ovaries is studied in females of 57 species in 41 genera . The number of follicles varies from three to eight, but seven follicles appear to be the most frequent state being found in each subfamily and in most studied species and genera. The observed numbers of ovarioles were three, four, six, or seven and, like in the case of the number of follicles, seven ovarioles p.o. is the most common pattern found in more than two thirds of species and genera studied in this regard . Other numbers were observed in 14 species only. Nine of these species belong to the genera Eysarcoris Hahn, 1834 and Eurydema Laporte de Castelnau, 1833 , for which the characteristic number is six. For some species, different authors reported different numbers for the same species, for example, six and seven for Eysarcorisventralis  and Nezaraviridula . In Bagrada (Bagrada) hilaris , different numbers of ovarioles were observed in different ovaries of the same specimen.This third largest true bug family comprises almost 5 000 species in ca. 940 genera distributed in nine subfamilies including tarsinae . Data onDiscocephalinae, Edessinae, and Pentatominae  and six  ovarioles p.o.The family comprises ~ 530 species in 56 genera . The onlOdontotarsinae , Pachycorinae (one species), and Scutellerinae . All species have seven follicles p.t. (six species studied) and seven ovarioles p.o. (six species studied).The family comprises ~ 80 genera and 500 described species worldwide . Data arCyclogastrideanigromarginalis Reuter, 1884 , has seven follicles p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o.The family comprises three subfamilies, 49 genera and ~ 235 species worldwide . The onlUrostylis Westwood, 1837 and in Urochelaluteovaria Distant, 1881, females have seven ovarioles p.o.The family comprises four genera and ca. 80 species . No dataPhysopeltinae, Physopeltagutta  has seven follicles p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o.The family comprises ~ 200 species in two subfamilies worldwide. In the subfamily Pyrrhocorinae; all examined species have seven follicles p.t. and seven ovarioles p.o. The only exception is Dysdercus (Paradysdercus) koenigii  with a variable number of 5\u20137 follicles p.t.The family comprises more than 300 species worldwide in at least 30 genera and two subfamilies. Data are available for 11 species in four genera of the subfamily Pentatomomorpha species studied, males may have 3\u20138 follicles p.t., and females 3\u20137 ovarioles p.o., except the genus Elasmucha (Acanthosomatidae) in which a unique diversity (7\u201324 ovarioles p.o.) has been reported for the five studied species. The number seven is characteristic for some higher taxa studied in relation to the structure of the testes and ovaries . The exception is the family Aradidae for which this number seems to not be characteristic of either the ovaries or the testes, with seven being only reported for the ovaries of Aradus (Aradus) pictus Baerensprung, 1859. In some families , the number seven is typical for the ovaries but not for the testes, which consist either of two follicles (in the first two families) or of one follicle (in the third family).In Heteroptera  respectively. Approximately 40% of species have seven follicles p.t. and ~ 68% of species have seven ovarioles p.o. Numbers exceeding this modal value are rare; the exception is eight follicles in the genus Deraeocoris Kirschbaum, 1855 (Miridae), in which almost half of the studied species have this number. Lower numbers, on the other hand, are quite common; moreover, sometimes they characterize taxa of high rank. In the families Miridae, Pentatomidae, and Reduviidae, for which there is relatively much data, a variety of numbers is observed. It is most pronounced in the Miridae in which data on testes and ovaries are available for 220 and 48 species, respectively. Although the number of ovarioles in most mirid species is seven, the number of follicles varies widely, from one to eight (except five), the number seven and lower numbers (1\u20133) occurring with almost equal frequency. Some other families, e.g., Anthocoridae, Aradidae, Belostomatidae, Berytidae, Gerridae, Oxycarenidae, and Tingidae, usually have low numbers of follicles. Noteworthy is also the family Aradidae, in which ovarioles vary in number, with numbers below the modal predominating. However, there is still very little data for all these families.In this study, we analyzed the number of follicles in testes of 705 species  and the number of ovarioles in ovaries of 504 species  across all seven major lineages of the suborder Pentatomomorpha and all its superfamilies except Aradoidea, Cimicomorpha, Leptopodomorpha, and Nepomorpha. This is consistent with the fact that seven follicles p.t. were documented in the majority of studied species across Heteroptera , which is usually considered as a sister group to Heteroptera both on morphological , Cimicomorpha , Leptopodomorpha, Gerromorpha, and Nepomorpha. The infraorders Enicocephalomorpha and Dipsocorimorpha form an exception, with five ovarioles p.o. recovered for each of them as an ancestral state.Reconstruction of an ancestral state for ovaries Fig.  indicateHeteroptera in general.Summing up, the number of seven appears to be an ancestral state for both testes and ovaries of true bugs. It is still retained in many lineages but may increase or decrease in separate groups. The trend towards decreasing the number of follicles and ovarioles undoubtedly prevailed in the evolution of the suborder"}
+{"text": "Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-022-33018-0, published online 17 September 2022Correction to: The original version of this article contained errors in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.In the original version of Fig. 2, PCC values were missing from panels a, b and axes labels were missing from panels c, d. The correct version of Fig. 2 is:which replaces the previous incorrect version:In the original version of Fig. 4, the contents of the leftmost column in panel a were missing. The correct version of Fig. 4 is:which replaces the previous incorrect version:In the original version of Fig. 5, several legends as well as plot and axes labels were missing or incomplete and the order of panels did not match the descriptions in the figure caption. The correct version of Fig. 5 is:which replaces the previous incorrect version:This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article."}
+{"text": "Vaccination falls within the scope of practice of a pharmacist and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has seen an increase in pharmacies providing vaccination services. These vaccines are not without risk of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. The available guidelines for the management of anaphylaxis include the administration of intravenous (IV) fluids. However, IV administration does not fall within the scope of practice of a pharmacist. A gap was identified in the availability of guidelines for the management of anaphylaxis without the use of IV fluid administration.This review aimed to address this gap by describing the mechanisms of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis and developing an algorithm to assist pharmacy personnel to manage these within the scope of practice.The authors used the recommendations for developing guidelines.The availability of anaphylaxis guidelines and clinical studies catering for anaphylaxis and allergy management by pharmacists was deficient, thus the review modified the available management guidelines to align the management of allergy and anaphylaxis within the scope of a pharmacist. The items required for the management were also identified and listed as items that form part of the emergency tray in the pharmacy.The review designed algorithms based on the available literature to assist pharmacy personnel to manage allergy and anaphylaxis within the relevant scope of practice. The review also lists the equipment needed for an emergency tray.This review serves to offer guidance for the management of allergy and anaphylaxis in a pharmacy setting. On 16 August 2021, Business for South Africa (B4SA) listed at least 790 private sector businesses, including both independent community pharmacies and corporate pharmacy chains, accepting eligible persons for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine , a non-selective adrenoreceptor agonist, is critical for the management of anaphylaxis Terrie . PharmacCurrently, available protocols and guidelines related to acute allergy and anaphylaxis recommend the administration of specific (case-based) therapies, such as oxygen, antihistamine, epinephrine , glucocorticosteroids, resuscitation fluids (e.g. Ringers lactate), antacids (e.g. ranitidine/cimetidine), glucagon and bronchodilators   of the University of the Witwatersrand (reference number R14/49), South Africa.Allergic reactions may present with any of the following symptoms: urticaria/hives , angioedema, rhinoconjunctivitis, bronchospasm and/or wheezing  \u2013 tachycardia, hypotension, hypotonia (decreased muscle tone), syncope (loss of consciousness), incontinence and dizziness/vertigo.Source: Campbell, R.L., Li, J.T., Nicklas, R.A. & Sadosty, A.T., 2014, \u2018Emergency department diagnosis and treatment of anaphylaxis: A practice parameter\u2019, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 113, 599\u2013608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2014.10.007; Cardona, V., Ansotegui, I.J., Ebisawa, M., El-Gamal, Y., Rivas, M.F., Fineman, S. et al., 2020, \u2018World allergy organization anaphylaxis guidance 2020\u2019, World Allergy Organization Journal 13(10), 100472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2020.100472; Ewan, P., Dugu\u00e9, P., Mirakian, R., Dixon, T., Harper, J. & Nasser, S., 2010, \u2018BSACI guidelines for the investigation of suspected anaphylaxis during general anaesthesia\u2019, Clinical & Experimental Allergy 40, 15\u201331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03404.x; Oswalt, M.L. & Kemp, S.F., 2007, \u2018Anaphylaxis: Office management and prevention\u2019, Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America 27(2), 177\u2013191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iac.2007.03.004; Shaker, M.S., Wallace, D.V., Golden, D.B., Oppenheimer, J., Bernstein, J.A., Campbell, R.L. et al., 2020, \u2018Anaphylaxis \u2013 A 2020 practice parameter update, systematic review, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis\u2019, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 145, 1082\u20131123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.017; Simons, F.E.R., 2006, \u2018Anaphylaxis, killer allergy: Long-term management in the community\u2019, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 117, 367\u2013377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2005.12.002; Simons, F.E.R., 2010, \u2018Anaphylaxis\u2019, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 125, S161\u2013181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2009.12.981In general, skin and mucosal signs and symptoms occur in 90% of episodes, while respiratory signs and symptoms occur in 85% of episodes  permit issued by the Director General of Health is permitted to manage anaphylaxis. According to the Bill of Rights, chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, section 11, \u2018Everyone has the right to life\u2019, which makes it imperative for all community pharmacists to be trained in managing anaphylaxis.There should be easy access to the emergency medicines required for the management of anaphylaxis. The contents of the emergency tray should routinely be verified as part of the standard operational procedures for expiry dates, integrity of packaging and consumables. Other equipment should be validated as per the recommendation from the manufacturer. A recommendation is to carry out drills in the workplace to ensure that immediate action is possible in case of an emergency because of anaphylaxis. Up-to-date emergency contact details of ambulance services and nearby referral facilities should be available. Valid certification for the provision of first aid, basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) should be maintained and renewed.An allergy generally requires the administration of an antihistamine such as promethazine hydrochloride. If the patient is asthmatic, salbutamol should be administered 6\u201310 puffs via spacer  close at hand in case of progression of symptoms and the patient should be monitored closely for signs of severe reaction, for at least 15 min  injection of epinephrine at the earliest opportunity, followed by epinephrine by IM or IV injection as needed.Placement of the patient in the supine position with the lower extremities elevated, unless there is prominent upper airway swelling which will prompt the patient to remain upright (and often leaning forward). If the patient is vomiting, placement of the patient semi-recumbent position with lower extremities elevated.Ensure that supplemental oxygen is utilised.Volume russification with IV fluids and if the patient is normotensive, isotonic (0.9%) saline should be infused at a rate of 125 mL/h to maintain venous access. In normotensive children, isotonic saline should be infused at an appropriate maintenance rate for weight to maintain venous access (only if personnel that can administer IV fluids is available).In a pharmacy setting the following should be adhered to regarding the management of anaphylaxis  IM should be administered in the mid-outer aspect of the thigh .Placement of the patient in the supine position with the lower extremities elevated, unless there is prominent upper airway swelling which will prompt the patient to remain upright (and often leaning forward). If the patient is vomiting, placement of the patient semi-recumbent position with lower extremities elevated. Place pregnant patients on their left side.Supplemental oxygen .Monitoring blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate, as well as monitoring of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry, is required for the duration of the episode.For a pregnant woman experiencing anaphylaxis, place the patient on her left side while providing a high flow rate of oxygen. Monitor her blood pressure, and if possible, perform foetal monitoring (Campbell & Kelso \u00ae as mechanisms to report AEFI\u2019s. Step-by-step assistance is available on the SAHPRA (Theoretically, all AEFIs, including those that resolve spontaneously or are of minor clinical significance and those that are unexpected, undocumented, serious and severe should be reported (World Health Organization e SAHPRA  website.This review serves to offer guidance for the management of allergy and anaphylaxis in a pharmacy setting. Immunisation in a pharmacy setting is increasing and it is likely that pharmacists will encounter patients with anaphylaxis. Future research needs to focus on re-assessing the scope, training and education of a pharmacist to include venipuncture and simulation-based training in the management of anaphylaxis for pharmacists and pharmacy students. Based on the findings of this review, it is recommended that pharmacists prioritise contacting an ambulance once it is identified that the patient is experiencing anaphylaxis. Focus needs to be kept on symptomatically managing the anaphylaxis until the ambulance arrives. As a result of IV administration not being within the scope of practice of a pharmacist, it is recommended that the patients\u2019 legs be elevated to assist with the drop in blood pressure.The guidance provided should assist pharmacy personnel to manage allergy and anaphylaxis within the relevant scope of practice. The contents of the emergency tray should be regularly inspected, and personnel should be aware of the prompt intervention required to manage allergy and anaphylaxis within the scope of practice in order to reduce the risk of death."}
+{"text": "Thishttps://www.rcsb.org/) is used to obtain models of MHC molecules and then HEPEDOCK 2.0 is used to predict the possibility of MHC-peptide complexes and provide multiple docking models . That is, 3D atomic models were building from different stringing arrangements and iterative structural assembly simulations according to amino acid sequences, and then the models are optimized by MD. MD is a computer simulation method which is employed in various engineering and science disciplines to calculate motion and equilibrium of each individual atom or molecule. It can be used to explore conformational space, and is often the method of choice for large molecules such as proteins. Recently, due to the continuous development of MD, molecular models and docking are closer to the real response  cell epitopes and promoting cytotoxicity  generatedtoxicity . On the toxicity . Most cltoxicity , leadingtoxicity  or the atoxicity  to autoaT-cell (CD8 + and CD4 + T-cell) epitopes and B-cell epitopes are the material basis of adaptive immune responses as allure to most of studies. However, few has addressed the association among them so far. It is well known that CD4+ T cells, as helper cells, promote both killer T cells and B cells and then strengthen humoral and cellular immunity . ObeyingThe above renders multiple \u201cintegration\u201d ideas. 2in silico under the precondition for immunology principles will be critical issues to be addressed. In this opinion, the \u201cintegration\u201d tenet was first put forward, dedicated to compensating for inherent deficiencies in current algorithms and simulating the realistic immune response model. It provided a novel train of thought for peptide-based immunotherapy in silico against infection, neoplasms and autoimmune diseases, and would by all odds promote the development and progress of the bioinformatics discipline.The evolution of epitope-based vaccines is one of the most promising developments arising from bioinformatics-based research , and theConceptualization: DJ, BS, and KY. Methodology: DJ, BS, and JZ. Formal analysis: SB and DJ. Investigation: BS, DJ, and YoW. Resources, DJ, and KY. Writing\u2014original draft preparation: BS and JZ. Writing\u2014review and editing: DJ, JZ, ZL, MX, and YoW. Peer discussion: YoW, CL, LC, and YuW. Visualization, BS, JZ, ZL, and MX. Supervision, DJ and KY. Project administration, DJ and KY. Funding acquisition: DJ and KY. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version."}
+{"text": "The Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Award Lecture will feature an address by the 2021 Baltes Award recipient, Laura B. Zahodne, PhD, of the University of Michigan. This session will also include the presentation of the 2022 Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Award to recipient Eric S. Kim, PhD, of the University of British Columbia. The Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology recognizes outstanding early-career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology. The award is generously funded by the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation."}
+{"text": "Dear editor,Picornaviridae family, is the primary cause of the highly contagious and crippling disease polio which primarily affects children under the age of five. It attacks the neurological system and results in paralysis or even death. Since it has no cure, immunisation is the only way to escape lifelong paralysis [The poliovirus, a species of Enterovirus C of the aralysis . There earalysis . As of 2aralysis . Pakistaaralysis . Pakistaaralysis . Howeveraralysis . This isIn Pakistan, all the cases reported in 2022 are from the southern part of the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This province shares a border with Afghanistan, the only other polio-endemic country. This area includes the districts of North Waziristan and Laki Marwat with case counts of 13 and 1 in 2022 respectively . In 2020N/A.No source of funding to declare.Muhammad Hashir Nazir and Muhammad Ahmad: Performed data analysis and participated in writing the letter. Muhammad Umer: Participated in data analysis. Saleha Azeem: Reviewing the letter.Name of the registry:N/A.Unique Identifying number or registration ID:N/A.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked): N/A.Muhammad Ahmad.Muhammad Hashir Nazir.N/A.No conflict of interest to declare."}
+{"text": "India has reported 82 cases of kids below five years of age and 26 children in the age group of 1\u20139 years with Tomato flu in Kerala and Bhubaneswar respectfully as of August 21st, 2022 . AnotherAs viral infections are widespread in children, they are most affected, however if it is not controlled and prevented, it might lead to negative effects on adults as well .Like othIts major symptoms, which include a high fever, rashes, and excruciating joint pain, are similar to those of chikungunya . Tomato To stop the virus transmission, isolation must be used for five to seven days after the beginning of symptoms. The ideal method of prevention is maintaining good hygiene, sanitising the immediate area, and keeping the sick kid from exchanging objects, garments, food, or any other objects with other children who are not ill.The most efficient and cost-efficient methods for safeguarding the general population against viral infections, particularly in children, the elderly, and those with impaired immune systems, are drug repurposing and vaccination. For the time being, there are no antiviral medications or vaccines available to treat or prevent tomato flu. Long term follow up is needed to better understand the morphology of the virus and potential treatment plans.NA.None.MK: designed the study. MK,SG,SD: made the first draft. MK and SG: updated theManuscript. MK, SG and SD: reviewed the final draft and edited final. All authors have critically reviewed and approved the final draft and are responsible for the content and similarity index of the manuscript.NA.1.Name of the registry: N/A2.Unique Identifying number or registration ID: N/A3.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will bechecked): N/ANA.Not commissioned, externally peer reviewed.None."}
+{"text": "Entomopathogenic fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes are globally distributed soil organisms capable of infecting and killing a vast variety of insects. Therefore, these organisms are frequently used as biocontrol agents in insect pest management. Both entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes share the soil environment and thus can infest and compete for the same insect host; however, natural co-infections are rarely found due to the cryptic soil environment. Our current knowledge on their interactions within hosts mainly comes from laboratory experiments. Because of the recent trend of combining biocontrol agents to increase their efficacy, many studies have focused on the co-application of different species of EPF and EPNs against various insect pests with variable outcomes ranging from synergistic effects and additive effects to antagonism. In addition, the effect on the development and reproduction of each pathogen varies from normal reproduction to exclusion, and generally the outcomes of the interactions are dependent on pathogen and host species, pathogen doses, and the timing of infection. The present review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the interactions of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes within an insect host and to estimate the possible effects of the interactions on natural pathogen populations and on their use in biocontrol. Steinernema Travassos (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and Heterorhabditis Poinar (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) are obligate and lethal parasites of insects [Heterorhabditis, and invade the haemocoel through the mid-gut wall and release bacteria; these bacteria provide nutrients and inhibit the growth of other microrgnaisms establishing suitable conditions for nematode reproduction. The associated bacteria multiply rapidly causing septicemia and host\u2019s death after 24\u201348 h, during which time the nematodes feed on the bacteria and reproduce in the cadaver [Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) belonging to the genera  insects ,2. Their cadaver .Metarhizium Sorokin, and Beauveria Vuill. are the best known entomopathogenic fungi. These organisms usually attach to the external body of insects by conidia adhering to the host\u2019s cuticle. Under the right temperature and humidity conditions, these spores germinate, grow as hyphae, and colonize the insect\u2019s body. After a few days (4\u20137), the insect is usually killed, especially by fungal toxins, and new spores are formed in or on the insect (sporulation), ready to be spread in the environment [Entomopathogenic fungi, mainly Ascomycetes, are regularly found infecting insects in the environment, especially in the soil. The species of the genera few days \u20137, the iThe combined use of the entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) and nematodes (EPNs) is considered an interesting and effective approach in microbial pest control. The studies conducted so far have focused mainly on the combined use of both groups of biological control agents to increase their insecticidal efficacy under laboratory conditions ,7,8,9,10Steinernema ichnusae Tarasco, Mracek, Nguyen, and Triggiani (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and Beauveria bassiana s.s. (sensu stricto)  Vuill.  in the samples from an oak forest in Sardinia, Italy.Both entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes are pathogens/parasites with a broad host range ,13,14,15In response to competition, parasites and pathogens exhibit a diverse array of strategies that improve their chances of growth or reproduction over competitors . During Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) were repelled from the insects infected with B. bassiana s.l. (sensu lato). Similarly, in dual infection with the fungus Cordyceps fumosorosea (Wize) , the invasion rate of Steinernema feltiae Bovien (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) was lower in comparison with the nematode-only application [One of the common modes of adaptation by nematodes to entomopathogenic fungi involves the avoidance of competition, and this has been demonstrated by Barbercheck and Kaya . In theilication . NeverthB. bassiana s.l. in Galleria mellonella L.  was inhibited in dual infection with S. feltiae, if the nematodes were applied simultaneously or 12 h after the fungus. The authors suggested that the main cause of inhibition was the bacterial symbiont of S. feltiae, Xenorhabdus bovienii. Since then, Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus bacteria have been shown to produce many compounds with an antifungal activity. For instance, hydroxy\u2013stilbenes (isopropylstilbene) produced by Photorhabdus luminescens effectively suppressed fungal human pathogens Aspergillus flavus Link , Aspergillus fumigates Fresenius , Botrytis cinerea Pers , Candida tropicalis Berkhout , and Cryptococcus neoformans (San Felice) Vuill  [Xenorhabdus nematophila produces antifungal PAX peptides that suppress serious plant and human fungal pathogens. Similarly, the secondary metabolites of Xenorhabdus budapestensis and Xenorhabdus szentirmaii suppress plant pathogenic fungus Phytophthora nicotianae Breda de Haan  [X. szentirmaii proved effective against four plant-pathogenic fungi, Monilinia fructicola, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Fusarium oxysporum [X. szentirmaii.Once the nematodes enter the fungus-infested insects, strong competition for resources occurs. Barbercheck and Kaya  have shollaceae) . Gualtiellaceae)  demonstrporacae) . The metxysporum . Cimen exysporum  identifiXenorhabdus and Photorhabdus bacteria were found to be effective during the competition of entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi within insect hosts. For instance, X. nematophila inhibited the growth of B. bassiana s.l. on agar plates [Photorhabdus luminescens inhibited the growth and conidial production of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metch.) Sorokin, B. bassiana s.l., Beauveria brongniartii (Saccardo) Petch , and C. fumosorosea [Xenorhabdus bovienii inhibited the growth of B. bassiana s.s.The secondary metabolites of r plates . In anotosorosea . Similarosorosea  demonstrM. anisopliae s.l. inhibited the growth of P. luminescens and Xenorhabdus poinarii. Similarly, fungal extracts from B. bassiana s.s. impaired the growth of X. bovienii [During dual infections with entomopathogenic fungi, numerous studies recorded negative effects on the nematodes as well ,18,27. Nbovienii .Metarhizium brunneum (Petch)  produces volatile organic compounds that are highly toxic to the infective juveniles (IJs) of the EPN, S. carpocapsae, S. feltiae, and H. bacteriophora, and these compounds can shape the interaction of these pathogens in the rhizosphere. These findings suggest that the interactions between entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes also occur outside the host.Recently, Hummadi et al.  revealedB. bassiana s.l. and nematodes, and the fungus was detrimental to the development of S. feltiae and Heterorhabditis heliothidis  (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) when applied to the insect more than 48 h before nematodes [B. bassiana s.l. develops exclusively. Such an exclusion could be attributed to indirect interactions related to competition for the same host resources [M. anisopliae s.l. applied 2 days before H. bacteriophora decreased nematode reproduction [Both entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi possess numerous adaptations for competition with each other. Barbercheck and Kaya  observedematodes . Barbercematodes  hypothesesources . Similaroduction .Heterorhabditis megidis Poinar, Jackson, and Klein (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) and Steinernema glaseri Steiner (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) was totally detrimental for the reproduction of M. anisopliae s.l. Interestingly, Shaurub et al. [Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar, and Raulston (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and H. bacteriophora were recorded in Spodoptera littoralis  (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) previously exposed to B. bassiana s.s. Interestingly, Molina et al. [M. anisopliae s.l. totally inhibited the reproduction of H. bacteriophora even when applied simultaneously with the nematodes, and reduced nematode reproduction when applied after the nematodes. This observation suggests that the fungus directly interacts with the nematodes via the production of metabolites that are toxic to symbiotic bacteria or nematodes. Toxicity to bacteria is more probable, as the crude extract of M. anisopliae s.l. was found to be toxic to bacteria, while it had no toxic effects on H. megidis and S. glaseri even at the highest concentration [In simultaneous applications, nematodes usually outcompete the fungus . Ansari b et al.  observeda et al.  observedntration .H. bacteriophora and H. megidis with B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s., no southern masked chafer white grub, Cyclocephala lurida Bland (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) showed both fungal sporulation and nematode development. On the other hand, Tarasco et al. [S. ichnusae and B. bassiana s.s. developed in G. mellonella. The authors described that both pathogens started the infection process in different parts of the host body and further developed in these defined spaces and competed in the haemocoel to conquer every available space. Therefore, the reproduction of both pathogens within one host is obviously possible, but this phenomenon is likely very rare.As mentioned above, Barbercheck and Kaya  observedo et al.  observedIt can be concluded that the interactions between entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes are very competitive and, in general, the nematodes appear to be stronger competitors due to their faster infestation and development inside the host. Nevertheless, in particular pathogen species and strain combinations, the outcome can be different.As was demonstrated above, the relationship between entomopathogenic fungi and the nematodes is mostly antagonistic, where one or both competitors are negatively affected. Nevertheless, the effect of dual pathogen infection can have an additive or synergistic effect on host mortality and can be used to increase the effectiveness of both pathogens in biological control. Ansari et al.  suggesteIt is generally accepted that the efficacy of pest control agents can be improved by their combination . AccordiM. anisopliae s.l., which, in combination with a Spinosad product provided synergistic control of exotic wireworms Agriotes lineatus L. and Agriotes obscurus L. (Coleoptera: Elateridae) [Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) [The efficacy of biocontrol agents can be enhanced by their combination with chemical insecticides, as has been shown for the entomopathogenic fungus teridae) . A similionidae) . This stThe efficacy of biocontrol agents can be improved by their combination with another biocontrol agent ,43 and tB. brongniartii with two EPNs S. carpocapsae and H. bacteriophora against the white grubs Ectinohoplia rufipes (Motschulsky) and Exomala orientalis (Waterhouse) in golf courses in Korea. Interestingly, combining B. brongniartii with S. carpocapsae resulted in a significant increase in grub mortality over the application of the fungus alone or in comparison with the application of both nematodes S. carpocapsae and H. bacteriophora. In their study, Choo et al. [In one of the first studies addressing the combination of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes, Choo et al.  evaluateo et al.  used onlM. anisopliae s.l. and the entomopathogenic nematodes H. megidis and S. glaseri during co-application against third-instar white grub, Hoplia philanthus F\u00fcessly, and the authors also assessed different timings for pathogen application. In general, the combination of the fungus with nematodes increased insect mortality and the effect was either additive or synergistic, depending on the dosage and timing of the application, as a stronger synergistic effect was apparent in the insect that had been exposed to M. anisopliae s.l. at least 3 or 4 weeks before the nematodes. This highlights the important effect of the timing of application.Ansari et al.  studied M. anisopliae s.l. was tested in the field conditions for the control of H. philanthus in combination with the commercial formulation of entomopathogenic nematode H. bacteriophora (Nema-green\u00ae), and their performance was compared with single pathogen applications and with the chemical insecticide chlorpyrifos [H. philanthus larvae. From an economical point of view, the use of similarly effective organophosphate and carbamate insecticides is cheaper, but has inherent negative non-target effects.The same fungus rpyrifos . The comH. bacteriophora and Steinernema yirgalemense Nguyen et al. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae), and three entomopathogenic fungal isolates of M. anisopliae s.l. were applied against the barley chafer grub, Coptognathus curtipennis Faimaire, in simultaneous and sequential combinations [M. anisopliae s.l. weeks before the addition of nematodes. Obviously, the combined use of M. anisopliae s.l. with nematodes may offer an integrated approach to increase the efficacy of EPN for C. curtipennis control.Two entomopathogenic nematodes, inations . The autH. bacteriophora and H. megidis with entomopathogenic fungi B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. in the laboratory and greenhouse experiments against the third instar southern masked chafer white grubs, Cyclocephala lurida Bland. In laboratory experiments, additive interactions were found between H. megidis and B. bassiana s.s., and between H. bacteriophora and B. bassiana s.s. or M. anisopliae s.s. in most combinations, while few treatments showed synergism or antagonism. Surprisingly, there was no effect regarding different timings of pathogen applications. In the greenhouse, an additive or synergistic interaction was found between H. bacteriophora and B. bassiana s.s. or M. anisopliae s.s. in different formulations, again, both in simultaneous applications and when the nematodes were applied 4 weeks after the fungi. Based on the data, the authors stress that the combination of nematodes and fungi may achieve an effect comparable or superior to an imidacloprid insecticide for the curative control of Cyclocephala lurida, and recommend the need for more virulent fungal strains to achieve a stronger interaction with the nematodes.Wu et al.  combinedM. brunneum with entomopathogenic nematodes was also tested for the control of the black vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus Fabricius [H. bacteriophora, S. feltiae, and Steinernema kraussei Steiner (Rhabitida: Steinernematidae) provided increased control of the pest in both the laboratory and greenhouse. The highest control was achieved with the nematodes S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora, applied 1\u20132 weeks after the fungus, which showed the highest synergistic effect. Interestingly, for the application of S. kraussei, the synergistic effect was present when the nematode was applied simultaneously with the fungus, suggesting the species-specific outcome of the interaction. The greenhouse tests suggested that both M. brunneum and the nematodes can be used at significantly lower rates and still provide good control of black vine weevil larvae, while being cost-effective. Therefore, the tested system was deemed to be an economically feasible approach for black vine weevil larval control. In the following study [M. brunneum and a cold tolerant strain of S. kraussei, which resulted in 100% control of the overwintering pest and the interaction was synergistic in the first trial, but when the trial was repeated, the results were additive. This discrepancy was attributed to the fact that in another trial, M. brunneum had already caused a high larval mortality, which did not leave enough room for further significant improvement from the addition of nematodes.The combination of the insect-pathogenic fungus abricius . The comng study , the oveB. bassiana s.l., M. anisopliae s.l., and C. fumosorosea and nematodes Heterorhabditis indica Poinar, Karunakar, and David (Rhabditida: Hetrorhabditidae) or S. carpocapsae was evaluated for the control of the pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn), larvae [C. fumosorosea with the nematodes always resulted in antagonism, while the result of the interaction of two other fungi depended on the nematode species. The interactions between H. indica and B. bassiana s.l. were antagonistic, whereas the interactions between H. indica and M. anisopliae s.l. were additive. Interactions between S. carpocapsae and B. bassiana s.l. or M. anisopliae s.l. differed depending on the application rate. Based on these results, the authors concluded that the tested pathogen combinations were not likely to improve the suppression of C. caryae larvae in comparison with the single application of the pathogen with greatest virulence. Furthermore, the results highlighted the effect of the pathogen species and the application rate on the final outcome of the interaction.The combined effects of different fungal species of , larvae . No syneM. anisopliae s.s. fungus and S. carpocapsae, S. feltiae, Steinernema sp., and H. bacteriophora against the larvae of Curculio nucum L.; however, there was neither a synergistic nor antagonistic effect of te pathogen combination on the C. nucum larval mortality. The lack of increase in mortality after the joint application was attributed to the fact that fungi alone caused only a low mortality compared with the nematodes alone (22% to 53%), and the effect of fungus in the joint application was diminished due to competition with the nematodes. These results thus suggest that the combination of EPF with EPN is not likely to improve the suppression of C. nucum larvae.Batalla-Carrera et al.  evaluateRhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, were targeted by the combination of the fungi B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. with the nematode H. bacteriophora [H. bacteriophora combined with B. bassiana s.s. in comparison with the combination with M. anisopliae s.s. Furthermore, 1\u20132-week delay in nematode application after the fungus enhanced the efficacy, and generally, combined applications were more effective in early R. ferrugineus instars, showing the importance of the stage of the target pest. Overall, the results encouraged the authors to recommend the integration of the delayed application of H. bacteriophora after the application of B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. in order to achieve successful control of the red palm weevil.Larval instars of the red palm weevil, riophora . In combHylobius abietis L., a major forest pest in northern Europe, was treated through the joint application of the nematodes, S. carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis downesi Stock, Griffin, and Burnell (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) with entomopathogenic fungi  [H. abietis adult emergence. The effect of the bioagent combination was only additive, with no synergistic action observed. Similarly, no synergy was found in the combination of the fungi M. brunneum, B. bassiana s.s., and Beauveria caledonica Bissett and Widden  and nematodes S. carpocapsae and H. downesi against the same pest, H. abietis [H. abietis populations, and suppression by the mixture did not surpass suppression by EPNs alone. It is likely that the lack of synergy could be because a high mortality caused by the EPNs alone did not leave enough room for improvement by the addition of the fungus. Based on these results, the combination of the tested EPF strains was not recommended, as there would be a need for more effective fungal strains.The large pine weevil ae s.s.)  that wer abietis . While tLeptinotarsa decemlineata (Say). Hussein et al. [C. fumosorosea with the nematode S. feltiae and recorded an increased efficiency against immature stages of L. decemlineata compared with a single biocontrol agent application. The best results were obtained when the nematodes were applied simultaneously with the fungus in comparison with delayed application, which, surprisingly, resulted in an antagonistic effect. Both agents applied alone caused a high pest mortality, and to achieve a synergistic effect, the agents would have to be applied at lower rates. Recently, pupae of the Colorado potato beetle (L. decemlineata) were treated with several strains of another fungus, B. bassiana s.s., in combination with the nematodes S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora, also resulting in a higher pupal mortality in comparison with single pathogen application [To date, the only chrysomelid pest that has been targeted by the combination of the fungi and nematodes is the Colorado potato beetle, n et al.  evaluatelication . Similarlication , the morH. bacteriophora and fungus B. bassiana s.l. had an additive effect, causing a higher level of mortality in the larvae of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (H\u00fcbner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). However, no such increase was observed with S. carpocapsae, which confirms the effect of pathogen species on the outcome of the interaction.Many lepidopteran insects are among the important agricultural pests, and thus a considerable number of studies were performed to evaluate the joint use of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes. In one of the pioneer studies on the interaction of these pathogens, Barbercheck and Kaya  demonstrS. riobrave and H. bacteriophora with the fungus B. bassiana s.s., on the last instars of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, S. littoralis. All pathogens were applied at the LC25 level, either simultaneously or sequentially, and the synergistic interaction was observed among the different entomopathogen pairings, suggesting that the combination of these entomopathogens could improve the control of S. littoralis.Shaurub et al.  evaluateDiatraea saccharalis (Fabr.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was exposed to the nematode H. bacteriophora nematode in combination with several strains of M. anisopliae s.l. of different virulence to the D. saccharalis [The sugarcane stalk borer, charalis . InteresH. bacteriophora with the fungi M. anisopliae s.s. and B. bassiana s.s. on the larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xyllostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), was evaluated in laboratory experiments [H. bacteriophora and fungi B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. against P. xylostella was evaluated also both in greenhouse and field conditions [H. bacteriophora and M. anisopliae s.s. The results confirm that the combined use of fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes is an efficient alternative to control diamondback moth.The effect of the dual application of the nematode eriments . The effnditions . CombineSteinernema yirgalemense Nguyen et al. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and the fungus Metarhizium pinghaense Q.T. Chen and H.L. Guo  were found to act synergistically in the control of soil-dwelling life stages of the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a major pest of citrus plants in South Africa [H. noenieputensis Malan, Knoetze, and Tiedt (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) and M. pinghaense applied simultaneously, and Steinernema jeffreyense Malan, Knoetze, and Tiedt (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) applied 24 h post-fungal application, resulted in antagonistic interactions. This, again, highlights the strongly pathogen species-specific outcome of the interaction. Overall, the study shows the potential of EPN and EPF combination for the control of T. leucotreta in citrus orchards in South Africa, which should be further investigated.In a recent study, the nematode h Africa . InteresB. bassiana s.s., M. brunneum s.s., Cordyceps javanica , Samson and Hywel-Jones , and C. fumosorosea were tested in combination with nematodes S. carpocapsae and S. riobrave against the pupae of Rhagoletis pomonella  (Diptera: Tephritidae) [R. pomonella populations. However, only a combination of S. riobrave with C. javanica was significantly more virulent than the EPN-only treatments, highlighting the need for proper screening including more EPN and EPF species in order to detect the most efficacious combination. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated, for the first time, that dipteran insect pests can be successfully targeted through the combination of fungi and nematodes.Four species of EPF, ritidae) . The autBactrocera zonata (Saunders) and B. dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) by exposing the larvae, pupae, and pharate adults to B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. in combination with H. bacteriophora and S. carpocapsae in laboratory, glasshouse, and field cage conditions [B. bassiana s.s. was more effective in mixed treatments than M. anisopliae s.s. In laboratory tests, many combinations resulted in a synergistic effect, while the interactions in the soil pots, glasshouse, and in the field were mostly additive. Based on the results, similarly to R. pomonella [Bactrocera could be successfully targeted through the combination of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes.Another research work evaluated the effects of the combination of fungi and nematodes on fruit flies using nditions . Interesomonella , fruit fH. bacteriophora and S. feltiae with the fungi B. bassiana s.s. and M. anisopliae s.s. resulted in a greater mortality of the onion thrips Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) compared with a single application of each agent, with a prominent additive interaction observed [T. tabaci.In a recent study, the joint application of the nematodes observed . The fieFrankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in which the soil predatory mite Stratiolaelaps scimitus Berlese (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) and the plant-inhabiting mites Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) and Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) collected and transported the conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana s.s. directly from a commercial rearing substrate.Various invertebrates can effectively transmit fungal spores in the environment and increase the chances of their encounters with the insect hosts. This phenomenon received attention because of its potential as biocontrol. The first studies focused on the use of pollinating insects ,59,60, aC. fumosorosea. The authors assessed the dispersal of both the conidia and blastospores of C. fumosorosea by entomopathogenic nematodes S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora. The dissemination was studied in agar plates with sand barriers and glass tubes filled with soil in order to simulate the effect of environmental heterogeneity. In agar plates, the dissemination was the highest on clean agar, while the presence of silver sand barriers reduced spore dissemination. Both nematodes dispersed fungal spores through the tubes, with H. bacteriophora being more efficient. The authors suggested differences in the presence and persistence of second-stage cuticles or a different foraging behavior of the nematodes could explain this difference. The nematode second stage cuticle was found to be of great importance for spore transmission, as after its removal, the transmission dropped to negligible values. As the authors hypothesized, corrugated and frequently disrupted second stage cuticle probably increases the opportunity for the adhesion of spores that can consequently be transported over a longer distance in the soil environment. In general, blastospores were disseminated more efficiently in comparison with the conidia, which was attributed to the fact that hydrophilic blastospores could better adhere to the nematode cuticle in comparison with the hydrophobic conidia. In general, this study showed a good potential for EPNs to spread EPF spores in the environment.Recently, Nermu\u0165 et al.  studied H. bacteriophora was the most effective at transmission through the soil filled tube, mimicking the conditions deeper in the soil, whereas the soil surface dwelling [S. carpocapsae was the most effective in the soil column system that was more similar to the soil surface. The experiments with various adhesives showed that sunflower seed oil enhanced spore adhesion to the nematode cuticle and increased spore distribution for all of the tested nematode strains. These findings indicate the potential use of adhesives in pest management to enhance the nematode dissemination of EPF spores, and further research on adhesives optimization, as well as the mechanisms of spore adhesion to the nematode cuticle, may be of importance in the future.The study of  focused dwelling  \u201cambusheThe combined use of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes has received increasing attention over the last decades, with many studies appearing from the last few years. Overall, most studies recorded an additive or synergistic effect, while only a small part observed an antagonistic effect . SimilarH. bacteriophora and S. carpocapsae and the fungi B. bassiana s.l. and M. anisopliae s.l. (L. decemlineata revealed that there are both highly virulent and almost nonvirulent strains of the nematode S. feltiae [B. bassiana s.s. [The existing research on the joint application of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes included ca 7 fungal species and 10 nematode species, with most of the studies using the nematodes iae s.l. . Clearly feltiae  and the ana s.s. . TherefoIt is generally accepted that the timing of the pathogen application had an important effect on the effectiveness of the combined application of the fungi with nematodes, and the effect of the timing can also be pathogen species specific. On the other hand, some studies found no difference between the simultaneous and sequential application of the pathogens. To conclude, the effect of timing is important but very variable, and a general conclusion cannot be made. Therefore, both simultaneous and sequential pathogen application should be compared for each pest\u2013pathogen combination.P. xyllostella [To date, most of the research focused on the larval stages of scarabaeids, curculionids, or some lepidopterans. Entomopathogenic nematodes are most often used against soil dwelling insect stages , as theilostella ,53. NeveIn conclusion, the combined application of nematodes and fungi in biocontrol is a promising strategy that could improve on the environmentally safe control methods of many insect pests. The decisive factor will always be the economic viability, but it could be stimulated by growing public concern about the environmental impact of traditional insecticides, as well as the development of pesticide-resistant pathogens."}
+{"text": "This paper is dedicated to the discussion of applications of carbon material in electrochemistry. The paper starts with a general discussion on electrochemical doping. Then, investigations by spectroelectrochemistry are discussed. The Raman spectroscopy experiments in different electrolyte solutions are considered. This includes aqueous solutions and acetonitrile and ionic fluids. The investigation of carbon nanotubes on different substrates is considered. The optical absorption experiments in different electrolyte solutions and substrate materials are discussed. The chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes is considered. Finally, the application of carbon materials and chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes in batteries, supercapacitors, sensors, and nanoelectronic devices is presented. Carbon nanotubes include single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with unique properties ,2 and muA high current carrying capacity, long cycling stability, excellent electrical conductance, and good capability in rapid charge and discharge make SWCNTs electrodes possible, leading to a high performance . The electrochemical doping allows for the alteration of the doping level ,111,112.In 1999, the first example of electrochemical doping appeared . The metThe aim of this review is to summarize the reports on the investigations of the electrochemical properties of carbon material. In For voltamperometry, it is important that the MWCNTs do not destroy under electrochemical charging. MWCNTs are stable up to a ~\u00b12 eV applied potential. This allows for one to use them for voltamperometry measurements. Measurements are conducted at different scan rates. The data present the dependence of the voltage on the capacity. The insertion of the electrolyte happens. For MWCNTs, a capacity of up to ~1000 mAh/g was observed. irr (from 460 to 1080 mAh/g) were obtained. The authors plotted the dependence of Cirr on the mesopore volume, which showed the linear behavior [In Ref. , the elebehavior .irr are extremely high. It is believed that one factor that makes the value of Cirr is the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation. irr data versus the mesopore volume. The authors of Ref.  plotted In Ref. , the volThe electrochemical experiments are combined with Raman spectroscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy. Yet, other methods are possible.To present the method, in the spectroelectrochemical technique, SWCNTs serve as a working electrode. The spectrum is measured under an applied potential. The spectra obtained at different applied voltages are plotted for comparison and tracing changes.Historically, the first experiment on the electrochemical doping of SWCNTs was performed in 1999 . In thisIn Ref. , the aut\u22121. In the G-band, there is the peak of the tangential modes (TM) at 1590 cm\u22121. The authors of Ref.  investigIn Ref. , the potThus, the spectroelectrochemistry technique is a modern, useful, and powerful method based on the Raman spectroscopy method. The substances for electrodes should be stable in electrolyte solutions, and they should not destroy under applied voltages. Raman maps are plotted using the obtained data; they are the dependence of the Raman peak position on an applied voltage. In Raman maps of carbon nanotubes, the modifications of the electronic properties are observed.The optical absorption spectroscopy was first combined with electrochemical charging in the year 2000 . Indium-In Ref. , electroIn Ref. , the in There is a large field of work on chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes. It was shown that metal halogenide-filled SWCNTs with a decreased ,159,160 The covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes was made with fluorination. This method is performed with different chemicals and synthesis parameters ,185,186.In Ref. , the covIn Ref. , the out3  a mixture of BrF3 and Br2 at room temperature, and (3) radio frequency CF4 plasma. 2 at 200 \u00b0C [In Ref. , DWCNTs t 200 \u00b0C .In Ref. , the covGas sorption on carbon nanotubes is possible. It can be reversible depending on the experimental conditions ,188. ThiMany studies were dedicated to the substitution of carbon atoms of carbon nanotubes by other atoms. The electronic properties depend on the type and concentration of the doping atoms . The firIn Ref. , nitrogeIn The intercalation of carbon nanotube bundles means incorporating simple substances and chemical compounds to the space between nanotubes in the bundles. The intercalation with p- and n-dopants was demonstrated. The electronic properties of SWCNTs were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques ,236,237.OAS spectroscopy is used to identify the charge transfer in filled SWCNTs ,180,181.Raman spectroscopy is used to identify the charge transfer and electronic and vibronic properties of filled SWCNTs ,184,185.XPS is used to identify the direction and value of the Fermi level shift of the filled SWCNTs ,180,181.Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) was applied to analyze the local interactions between encapsulated substances and SWCNTs ,180,181.The schematics of the modification of the electronic properties of filled SWCNTs are shown in The electrochemical doping of materials can find applications ,243,244 In Ref. , SWCNT fThe authors of Ref.  made hig2SO4 and 6 M KOH electrolytes. In Ref. , the nit\u22121 and the log(i)\u2013log(v) plots  plots b obtaineIn Ref. , anneale\u22121 [In Ref. , the ele\u22121 .\u22121 show a nearly rectangular shape. In Ref. , the eleIn Ref. , the eleThe filled nanotubes show great promise in many areas ,253 and"}
+{"text": "Anacyclus pyrethrum L., a threatened medicinal species endemic to Morocco, we are the first to study the reproductive biology of two varieties of Anacyclus pyrethrum L.: Anacyclus pyrethrum var. pyrethrum (L.) Link and Anacyclus pyrethrum var. depressus  Maire. The reproductive biology of the two varieties was examined in detail by studying the development of the inflorescence, phenology of flowering, breeding system, pollinators, production, and seed dispersal. The experimental results described in this work suggest that Anacyclus pyrethrum L. is a gynomonic species, with a mixed autogamy\u2013allogamy reproductive regime with a high predominance of allogamy. It appears to be partially self-incompatible, with allogamy rates for Anacyclus pyrethrum var. depressus  Maire and Anacyclus pyrethrum var. pyrethrum (L.) Link of 78.70% and 79.01%, respectively. It depends on pollination vectors to produce a large number of seeds. This study on the breeding system of Anacyclus pyrethrum L. provides a tool for developing management strategies and adequate conservation measures.The reproductive system is essential for the structuring and transmission of genetic diversity. Understanding the reproductive biology of threatened endemic species is considered to be a crucial element for the implementation of effective conservation strategies. Given the lack of information and the insufficient state of knowledge on the reproductive system of  Reproductive biology is an important and critical trait as it characterises growth and development, and plays a role in the implementation of conservation strategies ,2. PlantFor a long time, the diversity of reproductive systems observed in plants has fascinated biologists ,10,11. THistorically, the identification of Asteraceae has been based on their capitula, with flowers closely arranged on a receptacle surrounded by bracts ,15,16,17Anacyclus pyrethrum L. is a medicinal species endemic to Morocco, Algeria, and Spain belonging to the Asteraceae family genus Anacyclus. In 1979, the species was identified with two varieties: Anacyclus pyrethrum var. pyrethrum (L.) Link (A.P var. pyrethrum) and Anacyclus pyrethrum var. depressus  Maire (A.P var. depressus) [pressus) ,21,22. Tpressus) ,24,25, apressus) ,29,30,31pressus) ,33, an apressus) , and a mpressus)  as well pressus) ,37,38,39pressus) ,41, antipressus) , insectipressus) ,44,45, lpressus) , anti-inpressus) ,48,49, apressus) ,50,51,52pressus) ,54, antipressus) ,55,56,57pressus) , antiamnpressus)  propertipressus) .The excessive overexploitation of the roots of the plant for trade makes it very local, uncommon, and quite rare in most of its known sites. Recently, it has been placed in the \u2018vulnerable\u2019 category according to the IUCN red list and the red list of vascular plants in Morocco. Anacyclus pyrethrum L., the objective of this study was to analyse its reproductive biology; specifically, to examine the development of the inflorescence, the phenology of flowering, the reproductive system, and the production and dispersal of seeds as well as the insect pollinators. The ultimate aim was to understand the implications of these data in evaluating future breeding and conservation strategies for the studied species. The questions we attempted to answer were:Anacyclus pyrethrum L.?\u2212 What is the reproductive system of \u2212 Are pollinating insects necessary for the two varieties to be successful in producing seeds?Given the insufficient state of knowledge and the lack of information on the reproductive biology of the two varieties of After setting up quadrats, the number of individuals within the limits of each quadrat was counted. The size of each population is represented in The results showed that the individuals constituting each population were randomly dispersed according to an aggregate dispersal pattern, and that the density of plants in 2019 was significantly lower than observed in 2018, with the exception of the Ifrane station where we observed an increase in the number of individuals. This increase was explained by the protection of this population due to its proximity to the royal palace. This confirmed that the number of individuals increased in legally protected populations.A.P var. depressus being more frequent than A.P var. pyrethrum. The plant density in 2019 was low compared with 2018; these differences were mainly due to the collection process. In recent years, local collectors have reported a significant decline in both varieties of Anacyclus pyrethrum L., aggravated by premature harvesting ; A.P var. pyrethrum is the variety most affected by this overexploitation. Our results on the decline of A.P var. pyrethrum in the Middle Atlas were consistent with those of Ouarghidi, who showed a significant decline in A.P var. pyrethrum populations in southern Morocco  [A comparison of the different quadrats revealed that the plant density was significantly higher in the quadrats closest to habitations, indicating that individuals closer to habitations were more protected. The plant density per quadrat was also significantly different between the two varieties, with  valley) ,22.The natural populations remain dormant as underground rhizomes throughout the winter; they start to develop from the fourth week of March and continue until the end of the vegetative phase and the beginning of the sexual phase (inflorescence) in the third week of April. The formation of floral buds continues until the fourth week of June; the flowers of the same plant do not flower at the same time. At the capitulum level, the flowering is centripetal; the florets open from the periphery of the floral ray toward the centre and they remain fully open for about 4 weeks after the emergence of the floral bud. Senescence takes place during July and August; during these months, all aerial parts dry out and the dry flower heads are dispersed. Seeds do not immediately disintegrate from the capitula. Under greenhouse conditions, the activation of the vegetative phase starts in the first week of March and enters the sexual phase (appearance of the first flowers) at the latest from the fourth week of May until the first or second week of July. The beginning of flowering is signalled by the centripetal blooming of the peripheral ray florets and the continuation of the tubular florets. The plants begin to senesce by the latest at the end of July and continue until the second week of August.A.P var. depressus and from 13 mm to 23 mm for A.P. var. pyrethrum  (The results showed that the variety ge (90%) .Under the experimental conditions in a greenhouse, the bagged capitula failed to form seeds. The capitula of bagged individuals only produced seeds from the female peripheral flowers whereas the non-bagged individuals produced seeds not only from the central (hermaphroditic), but also from the peripheral  flowers .A.P. var. depressus and A.P. var. pyrethrum, respectively, for the lot of bagged individuals (lot 2). The fructification index was 0.75 for A.P. var. depressus and 0.74 for A.P. var. pyrethrum for the free pollination lot (lot 3). The allogamy rate was 100% for lot 1; for lot 2, the allogamy rates for A.P. var. depressus and A.P. var. pyrethrum were 78.70% and 79.01%, respectively. Therefore, Anacyclus pyrethrum L. had a mixed self-pollinated\u2013allogamous reproductive regime with a strong predominance of allogamy. We could deduce from these results that the absence of seeds in the bagged capitula lot showed that there was a self-incompatibility between the female peripheral flowers and the hermaphrodite central flowers in the capitula. In the case of the bagged individuals, only the peripheral female flowers produced seeds, showing intra-individual self-compatibility between the peripheral female flowers and the central hermaphrodite flowers, and intra-individual self-incompatibility between the central hermaphrodite flowers of the same individual.The fructification index was nil for both varieties for the bagged capitula lot (lot 1), and 0.16 and 0.15 for Anacyclus pyrethrum L. and show that the two varieties, A.P. var. depressus and A.P. var. pyrethrum, are able to reproduce in xenogamy with a fructification index of 0.75 and 0.74, respectively. In geitonogamy, only the peripheral flowers produce fruit; we observed a fructification index of 0.16 in A.P. var. depressus and 0.15 in A.P. var. pyrethrum. However, fruit production is significantly higher in allogamy than in autogamy. In light of these results, we can state that Anacyclus pyrethrum L. is a gynomonoecious species and partially self-incompatible, with geitonogamous peripheral flowers that have adapted to the absence of pollinators and xenogamous central flowers. These results were in alignment with those of Humphries, who found that four populations of A.P. var. pyrethrum and A.P. var. depressus were self-incompatible; all attempts to cross A.P. var. pyrethrum or A.P. var. depressus with annual taxa of the same genus ended in failure [Anacyclus pyrethrum L. can reproduce asexually from root cuttings [In Asteraceae, mutations probably related to organ identity genes may have occurred independently during angiosperm evolution, leading to gynomonoecy as the main sexual system in all species with radiate capitula ,62,63. I failure . A few s failure . Self-po failure ,70. Howe failure . Differecuttings ,21,22,36At anthesis, the stamens release a large quantity of pollen grains. Microscopic observations showed spheroidal pollen grains that were radially symmetrical, circular-polar, and equatorial in outline; they were echinulate with triangularly outlined spines tapering toward the tip and broad at the base, and densely arranged . This poA.P. var. pyrethrum and A.P. var. depressus , the seedlings were placed in the field and monitored until flowering. Flower heads emerged between 12 and 14 months after sowing, from which we determined, under experimental conditions, the modalities of reproduction. In particular, we quantified the production of seeds under self-pollination and open pollination.A total of 20 capitula bagged at the bud stage to test self-pollination (Lot 1).A total of 10 individuals bagged at the bud stage to test intra-individual self-compatibility (Lot 2).A total of 20 individuals not bagged to test seed formation in free pollination (Lot 3).The sample size was 50 plants. The observations on the reproductive biology were made in 12\u201314-month-old plantations. At the beginning of the flowering period, the capitula/individuals, in bud, were bagged in a fine mesh netting in order to allow abundant entry of light, humidity, and gas exchange with the outside environment and to prevent visits from pollinators. The bags were regularly shaken during the day to encourage the deposition of pollen on the stigmas. The bags were not removed until the fruit had formed or the flowers were falling. The number of mature and non-mature seeds per capitula was recorded for each treatment:The fructification index (FI) was calculated for each treatment according to the following formula :(1)IF=The difference between the fruiting indices of the different treatments was used to determine the rates of allogamy (TC) and autogamy (TA), which were calculated according to the following formulae ,85:TC=IThe pollen was mounted in glycerine water and was observed by light microscopy to determine the structure and diameter. Photographs were taken to document the morphology of the pollen.The capturing of pollinators was favoured during days without strong winds and significant cloud cover. The insect specimens encountered at each site were captured and preserved in ethyl acetate. The taxonomic identification of the insect specimens was carried out by an entomology specialist.p < 0.05.The results were analysed using Graph Prism version 7 and Microsoft Excel 2010 in order to highlight the effect of the various factors and their possible interactions. Statistical processing was performed through an analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey multiple comparison test. A significant difference was considered at Anacyclus pyrethrum L. is a gynomonoecious, partially self-incompatible species with geitonogamous peripheral flowers and xenogamous central flowers. The pollinators of the two varieties, A.P var. depressus and A.P var. pyrethrum, mainly belonged to Coleoptera and Hymenoptera.The results of the experiments described in this work revealed that"}
+{"text": "Capparis spinosa L. distributed on Calcisols formed on eroded alluvial-proluvial gravel textured rocks in the south of the Fergana Valley . The predominance of immature plants in the cenopopulation was detected in the Arsif hills massive, and quantitative indicators of micronutrients in the vegetative and generative organs of C. spinosa L. were determined. The study of biomorphological characteristics of the plant during the growing season (April-October) was carried out in the identified 10 observational experimental field populations. The cenopopulation dynamics and plant development patterns of Capparis spinosa L. were characterized for environmental conditions of south Uzbekistan for the first time. Soil, plant element analysis was performed by neutron-activation method. In this case, the samples were irradiated in a nuclear reactor with a neutron flux of 5 \u00d7 1013 neutrons/cm2 s, and their quantities were determined in accordance with the half-life of chemical elements. It has also been compared with research materials conducted by world scientists on the importance and pharmacological properties of botanicals in medicine and the food industry, as well as their botanical characteristics. The plant can serve to conserve soil resources, as it prevents water and wind erosion of dense clay soils in the dry subtropical climate of Central Fergana and could be considered an effective agent of destroyed soils remediation. The development of this plant will contribute to the diversification of agriculture in Uzbekistan  and the development of the food industry and pharmacology.The article provides an analysis of the cenopopulation and tissues element composition of the medicinal caper plant  Mankind has been using various herbs for thousands of years to find a cure for food support, and people have been particularly well aware of the properties of medicinal plants and have been able to use them effectively. Unfortunately, nowadays, natural medicinal plants have been virtually non-existent. If one looks at the countries of the world, the propagation and processing of medicinal plants are widely developed in countries such as China, India, Canada, and the United States. Trade-in medicinal plants is growing in volume and in exports. It is estimated that the global trade in medicinal plants is US$800 million per year . The annC. spinosa L. plant.One of the most pressing issues of today is the development of technology for the cultivation and cultivation of natural flora and medicinal plant species belonging to foreign flora, targeted research to obtain environmentally friendly products, introduced into medical practice. One such naturally occurring medicinal plant species is the C. spinosa L.), a drought-tolerant plant belonging to the genus Capparis of the family Capparidaceae is mainly distributed in arid and semi-arid regions of the tropical and subtropical environments. The plant, as a potential source of valuable nutrients such as vitamins  to investigate biogeochemical features of soil and various parts of the C.spinosa L. Plants.In the following period, population growth dramatically increased the demand for medicinal plants. As a result, due to the unplanned use of medicinal plants, their natural resources are reduced, and even some species have to be considered as species with protected status. Therefore, the cenopopulation analysis, which reveals the soil-climatic conditions of each species and the laws of natural regeneration, is of great scientific and practical importance. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the dynamics of the cenopopulation of caper and geochemical peculiarities of the environments of caper in Fergana valley. Following objectives were formulated: (1) to evaluate the dynamics of cenopopulation within the onthogenesis of plants in one season, (2) to identify soil types, key soil properties and to characterize environments, suitable for plantation of Cenopopulation analysis of biomorphological properties of plants during ontogenesis was studied using the methods of O.V.Smirnova and others , root syC. spinosa L., which is widespread in this area. Soil profile consists of the following horizons: A\u2014humus accumulative with high roots content, BCA\u2014horizon of secondary accumulation of carbonates, C\u2014pebble gypsum parent materials. Detailed soil characteristics of this region are provided in [The object of study is the light Calcisols and irrigated soils (old irrigated hydromorphic soil (7 A) and recently irrigated hydromorphic soils (6 A) formed on the eroded weakly skeletal alluvial-proluvial rocks of southern Fergana, and the plant vided in . In geneThe location of plots is given in Phenological and morphological methods were used  methods C. spinosa L. [The morphogenetic methods of V.V.Dokuchaev, pedogeochemical approaches of M.A. Glazovskaya, and A.I.Perelman were used as the main methods in the study of soil properties of inosa L. . Soil prinosa L. .The number of soil transects was 10, of which 8 represented automorphous Calcisols and 2 represented semi-hydromorphic soils. In addition, according to the methodology of the field survey around each reference soil section, samples were taken from four small sections for soil description and sampling. For chemical analysis 20 plants were selected and each plant was analyzed in 5 replicates. Roots, stems, leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits were sampled.Mathematical processing was performed according to the method of Kuziev R.K., Yuldashev G. et al. ,33. Stat13 neutron/cm2 s. When irradiated with a neutron flux, natural chemical elements present in the samples under study are converted into radioactive isotopes with different half-lives. It is convenient to measure the content of some elements by short-lived radioisotopes, some by medium-lived radioisotopes, and some by long-lived isotopes. Therefore, samples under study are usually irradiated in three modes: for analysis of short-lived, medium-lived, and long-lived radioisotopes. Short-lived ones have a half-life from a few seconds to several hours, medium-lived from several hours to several days, and long-lived have a half-life of months, years after irradiation in a nuclear reactor.The neutron activation method was used for elemental analysis at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, ANRUz. The Microelement software was applied for statistical processing with the methodology by Kuziev et al. , Kuziev 2SO4 and HClO4 mixture. After 30 min of reaction, the mixture was boiled on the electric stove. The mixture was poured into the measuring flask and passed through the filter. A 2 mm aliquot was taken and poured into a 50 mL flask and further amended by Rochelle\u2019s salt. Then the mixture was neutralized by sodium hydroxide, the final solution was used for colorimetrical determination of the oxides with a coloring reagent (Nessler solution) The fine earth samples were prepared by the grounding of the bulk soil mass and passing the soil through a 2 mm sieve. Soil chemical analyses were performed according to the routine methods of soil chemistry : total cC. spinosa L cenopopulation and its conditions of existence in the dry subtropics of southern Uzbekistan was carried out. Pictures of vegetative C. spinosa L. are giver on A study of the C. spinosa L. roots, stems, leaves, buds, flowers, fruits also expands the use of this plant species in phytobars, food and pharmaceutical industries. In biogeochemical research, the identification of correlations between the chemical, more precisely the elemental composition of plants and the elemental composition of the soils in which they grow is of great scientific and practical importance in establishing programmed yields in agriculture. In particular, knowledge of the exact amount of macro and micronutrients in the generative and vegetative organs of the plant C. spinosa L. belongs to Capparaceae. Capparidaceae is a family of two genus plants with 40 genera and 850 species. Most of the plants belonging to the Capparis family are wild species, which are mainly distributed in arid regions of tropical and subtropical regions [C. spinosa L. in Uzbekistan depends on different geographical conditions [The study of ontogenetic and phenological properties of plants is one of the most convenient and effective methods to determine changes in different phases of the observed plant species, their resistance to environmental conditions, productivity, as well as the rhythm of life processes in them.  regions . The Fer regions ,38. The nditions . The patnditions .C. spinosa L. to soil and air drought allows it to grow in arid areas where water is scarce and in soils with high concentrations of water-soluble salts. Thus, environments of C. spinosa L. habitat were characterized in detail for Souht Uzbekistan for the first time.During our studies, it was found that this species has entered the desert and semi-desert zone, in the foothills and lower mountain regions, sometimes up to the middle zone of the mountains. The study of the biological and ecological properties of any plant requires, first of all, the study of its condition under natural conditions. The natural adaptation of C. spinosa L., has been observed by Saksali et al. as a promising plant that can grow in arid and strongly saline soils with nutrient deficiencies as well as in high-temperature regions [ regions . While tThe length of the stem of plants distributed in the study areas reached 70\u2013170 cm depending on the growing conditions. The inside of the newly formed young stems is covered with fine short hairs, but the hairs fall off as the branch grows during the growing season. The color of the stem is green, there are twisted spines on the underside of the leaf bundle. The number of side branches was 2\u20136, depending on the stage of development, and was 10\u201315 cm long. Poya diameter 7\u201312 mm. The leaves on the stem of the plant differ in shape, width, and length. Usually the leaf shape is round, inverted ovate or elliptical, 3\u20136 cm long, green, hairless or the lower side has scattered hairs, arranged in series on the main stem and lateral branches through a short leaf band.The flowers are solitary, slightly zygomorphic, 5\u20138 cm in size, fragrant, located in the axils of one leaf, the petals are 4, curved, ovoid, green, covered with small short hairs on the outside. The petals are 4, but 2 are up to half, white or light pink, many paternal pollen, varying in length, pollinated, brown (flowers turn red after pollination). The flowers are 4\u20136 cm long. Normally, it blooms in April\u2013May, depending on the amount of precipitation in the study area. The fruit is a multi-seeded berry. The color is green, with long white stripes. The shape is inverted ovate, oblong, walnut or round, many-seeded, or elongated. The outside is smooth, the inside is dark red. The fruit resembles the appearance of a watermelon. When the fruit was ripe, the fruit peel turned outwards and opened. Fruits are 3\u20135 cm long and 1.3\u20132.7 cm wide.C. spinosa L. to the diet helps to relieve rheumatic pains. Currently, all parts of the plant are used in modern medicine and folk medicine in the treatment of meteorism, goiter, dentistry , cardiovascular diseases, as well as hypertension, pruritus, jaundice, neurosis, brucellosis [Nowadays, the regular addition of cellosis . Biochemcellosis ,41. C. spinosa L., the need for in-depth study of its biogeochemistry and agroecology was put on the agenda, given the special attention paid to its export potential. It is important to determine the position of the C. spinosa L. in the vegetation cover, the status, ontogeny, and viability of the populations that determine its natural recovery, and thus its current and future raw material reserves.Given the growing demand for raw materials of C. spinosa L. cenopopulation in 10 experimental observation sites (100 m2 each) in Arsif, Satkak, Chimgan, and Altiariq hills were as follows (p) plants averaged 6.0, 5.0 plants belonging to the juvenile (j) state, 10.8 plants belonging to the immature (im) stage, 5.5 plants belonging to the virginil (v) state, 3.5 plants belonging to the generative (g) period, plants typical of the senile (s) period were 2.3.Results of the analysis of  follows : grass  order. It was observed that 60\u201370% of plants belonging to the immature stage go to the virginil stage in late June and early July, and 10\u201315% go to the virginil stage in early May after the winter dormancy period. The duration of the immature phase lasts from 20\u201325 days to 10 months.C. spinosa L., plants belonging to the juvenile and immature stages, are resistant to drought, but most of them die due to the crushing of livestock.Seedlings of Plants belonging to the virginil stage are observed in late June to early July, the length of their main stem reaches 40\u201380 cm, and it branches up to 2 orders. The root reaches 90\u2013110 cm and branches in 3\u20134 orders. At this stage is characterized by the formation of thorns on the stems and the thickening of the main root (diameter 4\u20135 mm). The duration of the virginil state depends in many respects on external environmental factors. It was observed that 15\u201320 per cent of virginil plants enter the full generative period in the first year and the rest in the second year.Vegetation of plants belonging to the middle-aged generative stage in the Arsif hills lasted from April to December. The length of the main generative stem is 70\u2013170 cm, branched to 2\u20133 rows, with leaves 4 \u00d7 3 cm. In one bush formed an average of 9\u201314 generative stems. The growing of generative plants was observed in May, flowering in late May, and the formation of fruits began in the second half of June.C. spinosa L. lasted from June to October. One bush, C. spinosa L., produced an average of more than 80 fruits (180\u2013210 in the Arsif and Satkak hills) on the Chimgan hills, and 150 on some bushes. An average of 220\u2013235 seeds were observed in each fruit, the absolute weight of 1000 seeds was 7.25 g. Seed length was about 1\u20133 mm [The fruiting process of C. spinosa L. in Uzbekistan [C. spinosa L. plant, the migration of chemical elements in the plant-soil chain, and the biogeochemical properties were studied. The population studies of C. spinosa L. have been carried out in a neighbouring country, Iran. It was found that the present population of the plant is very heterogeneous at the genetic level, which is due, among other things, to environmental factors [A few works were published previously about ecology of bekistan ,17. Howe factors .C. spinosa L. contains: phosphorus (679 mg/g), sodium (652 mg/g), calcium (419 mg/g), magnesium (213 mg/g), potassium (157 mg/g), macro and micronutrients such as iron (6.8 mg/g), zinc (5.5 mg/g), manganese (3.30 mg/g) have been reported [This plant is valued by many peoples of the world as a potential source of nutrients, vitamins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, nutrients in its organs, as well as its strong antioxidant properties and ability to grow in arid conditions. According to the data , 100 g ootassium 7 mg/g, mC. spinosa L. buds contain elements of vitamin K, potassium, calcium and magnesium, which strengthen the bones and prevent the development of osteoporosis. C. spinosa L. prevents hair loss due to the presence of iron and B vitamins, and makes hair grow beautiful and shiny [C. spinosa L. has aroused great interest among scientists. This substance has strong antimetastatic properties and is used in the treatment of prostate cancer. This substance stops the growth and development of cancer cells. This scientific breakthrough is important in the development of anti-cancer drugs. The use of this plant in bowel cleansing and prevention of colon cancer plays an important role [nd shiny . The recant role .C. spinosa L. may be problematic in humans when consumed in the existence of the following diseases: hypotension, constipation, and is not recommended for pregnant women because high sodium levels have been shown to affect the fetus, in individual cases, and in some cases to cause allergies [The high content of sodium in the vegetative and generative organs of plant species, especially in salinized soils of desert areas, requires caution in some diseases. llergies . Althougllergies ,46 and bllergies .The sodium content in the genetic layers of Calcisols ranges from 0.68\u20130.94 \u03bcg/g, which indicates its accumulation in 1.08\u20131.49 times higher than in Phaeozems of subboreal steppe ecosystem. The medicinal plant C. spinosa L. absorbs in its organs an average of 439 \u03bcg/g sodium .The granulometric composition of the soil investigated is characterized by the amount of sand, silt and clay particles in the fine earth. The amount of each particle, together with the amount of other particles, affects the number of properties of the soil. In particular, small particles allow the particles of soil to stick together and grow, and participate in the formation of structural aggregates in the soil. Larger particles are involved in the formation of soil skeletons, improving water and air permeability. Data obtained on soil texture vertical distribution  are in gIt is known that humus is a complex structural substance with a variable composition, the composition of which is constantly changing and renewing. This dynamic condition applies primarily to humic substances, such as humic and ulminic acids, fulvic acids, hyimatomelane acid, etc., along with humic substances, carbohydrates, organic acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, ethers, aldehydes, nitrogenous substances, and others. Calcisols investigated do not show high content of organic carbon, which well corresponds with data, published recently . The dynIn the soils of Central Fergana, the root system of natural and cultivated plants is located in the very superficial layers of the soil, so the humus layer is weak in these soils. This is true even for soils with arzyk-shokh and shokh-arzyk horizons at different depths .Based on the data, given in the In the upper driving layers of newly irrigated soils, humus content is about 0.8\u20130.9%.The total amount of nitrogen in the soil humus is correlated, so the law of cross-sectional changes in the amount of nitrogen in the studied soils is reminiscent of humus. The C:N ratio in the soil is a relative measure of the nitrogen content of humus, a characteristic of most irrigated soils. This ratio Kuziyev R.K. data has been found to vary from 7.2 to 13.5, especially in gray-oasis soils. For gray soils, this value is 8 and indicates that nitrogen is rich in nitrogen . The C:NThe total amount of phosphorus and potassium in these soils is not high. For example, gross phosphorus fluctuates around 0.03\u20130.125% in soil sections. The amount of total potassium fluctuates around 0.80\u20132.45%, of course 0.80\u20130.90% corresponds to the man-made strata, while 2.45% corresponds to the driving layer of old irrigated soils. According to the amount of mobile nutrients, these soils belong to the low-income group.In this regard, we can conclude that the total phosphorus and potassium content in the soils of the old irrigated deep 7A section (93\u2013111 cm) and the newly irrigated hydromorphic 6A section (32\u201355 cm) also decreased sharply as humus.+, Mg2+, Fe2+ and Zn2+ which could be problematic in desert and dry conditions. The regulation of uptake is possible by adding native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum into soil under plantation of capper. In any case numerous eco-engeniring strategies could be elaborated with the aim to increase the productiveness and yield of C. spinosa [It is known that the amount of chemical elements and substances varies in different soil types  Table 4Table 4.  spinosa . According to the data in Strengthening the process of hydromorphism leads to an increase in the amount of Mn, Zn, Mo in the soil and its layers from Calcisols to meadow soils. This can also be explained by the fact that the geochemical migration of these elements towards a naturally dependent landscape is accumulated with taking into account that fact that investigated soil were not amended be any fertilizers.C. spinosa L. which is widespread in the Calcisols of South Fergana, changes under the influence of soil properties, plant type, natural climatic conditions and other factors. It was observed that the amount of elements in the composition of C. spinosa L. varies several thousand times depending on the physiological properties of plant organs.The elemental composition of the Our data shows that Mo belongs to the group of strong and very strong aggregates by root bark and fruit. According to the range of biological absorption coefficients, the elements Co, Zn, and Mn belong to the group of very weak, weak, and moderately biodegradable, respectively.There is a positive correlation between the content of trace elements in the soil and their amount in the organs of medicinal plants. The range of correlation is from 0.80 to 0.95 . The higThis, in turn, satisfies the need for certain macro and micronutrients by consuming a biologically active supplement made from this medicinal plant as well as the daily norm of food. The study of the correlation between the elemental composition of the plant and the elemental composition of the soil in which it grows expands the scope of its use in folk medicine, phytobars, modern medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry. This makes a huge contribution to socio-economic development.C. spinosa L. is related to the types of products made from it. In particular, pickled flower buds, known as \u201ccapers\u201d or \u201ccaper berry\u201d, are the main subject of trade in international markets. In recent years, the annual growth rate of production from C. spinosa L. has increased by 6%. Currently, pumpkin is valued as an important consumer product in the United States and about 60 countries around the world, where the cost of 1 kg of ready-to-eat product is $25. From this round, the Chinese earn three million a year. They are making a profit in the amount of USD. Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and the Mediterranean countries have proposed C. spinosa L. as the main crop type to raise the socio-economic level [C. spinosa L.  are used as anti-aging, skin protection, or anti-inflammatory agents. was commercialized and put up for sale [The main economic importance of ic level . Howeverfor sale .C. spinosa L. It should be noted that until recent years, this plant has been neglected, whereas C. spinosa L. is a very valuable raw material in the pharmaceutical, and food industry. In 2019, in the Jizzakh region, this plant was harvested from existing natural resources and cultivated. 1909 tons of ready-to-eat products were made from its flower buds and fruits. It exported $3.2 million worth of goods to Turkey and Spain. In addition to productivity and yield parameters C. spinosa L. this plant species is characterized by good adaptation to conditions of marginal environments [In the Jizzakh region of the country, 12 enterprises have launched the export of ronments  and, thuC. spinosa L. plantation located on dry subtropical Calcisols of Central Fergana provided for the first time for Central Asia on the territory of the Former Soviet Union (NIS). It was shown, that C. spinosa L. is well adapted to dry soils with alkaline reaction, low humus percentages, and middle key nutrients content. The increasing of soils humidity is not a critical factor for growing C. spinosa L. dynamics. Soil-plant interaction in a case study of C. spinosa L. in a field experiment in case of the various soils was conducted. According to the observations, the viability, and drought tolerance of C. spinosa L. populations is relatively high, and studied plants of the population belonging to the immature and virginil stage are 5\u201310 times more than senile. This shows that it is possible to collect raw materials of the caper from the southern Fergana hills with severe climatic conditions on a regular basis. Determining the quantitative supply of nutrients and medicinal substances in C. spinosa L. and other medicinal plants will further increase the productivity and increase the medical features of vegetated medical plants in the Central Fergana oasis.Cenopopulational observation of 0, 0n \u2192 0,n \u2192 n \u2192 10n, depending on the amount of elements studied. Molybdenum showed features of very strong biological accumulation in plants, while manganese, Zinc, and Cobalt occupy a medium, weak, and very weak retention line.The series of biological absorption is assimilated in the form of C. spinosa L. depending on the composition of the soil, it is possible to assess its sanitary and hygienic characteristics, as well as the level of safety in pharmaceutical use and food quality. Because this plant has anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and anti-viral effects, further surveys of its chemical composition and biochemical specificity should be provided. C. spinosa L. can be used as a raw material in the creation of new medicines.By studying the amount of chemical elements in the organs of the plant C. spinosa L. the global increase in its use in the food industry, and modern medicine, the increase in natural products made from it in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, in turn, increase the pressure on natural resources of this plant species. This would jeopardize the natural reserves of C. spinosa L. in the nearest future. Thus, further research of C. spinosa L. population dynamics in various environmental conditions should be conducted together with a simultaneous determination of the productivity of the plant species.The intensively increasing demand for natural and environmentally friendly products made from"}
+{"text": "Probiotic microorganisms that are potentially beneficial to the health of the host are commercially available in a great variety of products. Not all microorganism strains present in products have proven beneficial to the health properties. These products include not only foodstuffs but also dietary supplements, food for special medical purposes, medicinal products, as well as cosmetics and medical devices. These products contain from one to a dozen bacterial strains of the same or different species and sometimes also fungal strains. Since the pro-health effects of probiotics depend on a specific strain, the number of its cells in a dose, and the lack of pathogenic microorganisms, it is extremely important to control the quality of probiotics. Depending on the classification of a given product, its form, and its content of microorganisms, the correct determination of the number of microorganisms and their identification is crucial. This article describes the culture-dependent and culture-independent methods for testing the contents of probiotic microorganisms, in addition to biochemical and genetic methods of identification. The microbiological purity requirements for various product categories are also presented. Due to numerous reports on the low quality of probiotic products available on the market, it is important to standardise research methods for this group of products and to increase the frequency of inspections of these products. Recently, interest in biologically active products with potentially beneficial effects on the patient or consumer has increased significantly. Some of the products containing probiotic microorganisms can be used for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Depending on the indications, probiotic microorganisms are applied to humans in the form of foodstuffs, mainly fermented food, dietary supplements, foods for special medical purposes, medicinal products, or medical devices. They can also be found in cosmetics, most commonly in the forms of creams or serums . In addiLarge and important sources of probiotics also include yoghurts, kefirs, and fermented food, most often in the form of cheeses, vegetables , and meaProbiotics are used not only by humans but also in animal production. In recent years, due to the limitation of the use of antibiotics, especially growth promotor factors, the use of LAB on farms to intensify meat production and prevent the development of certain pathogenic microorganisms has started . ProbiotTaking into account the large variety of probiotic products available on the market, some of which are of low microbiological quality, it is unclear how the quality of these products is controlled and whether it is possible to standardise these methods to ensure a safe product with health-promoting properties.An extensive analysis of the available literature describing numerous different methods of determining the contents of probiotic microorganisms and their identification was performed. The aim of this review is also to present the variety of available normative methods for determining the contents, purity and identities of microorganisms in probiotic products. In addition, this review presents the advantages and disadvantages of the presented methods.Lactobacillaceae family, in particular L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus, as well as L. plantarum, L. casei, L. paracasei, and L. salivarius [Bifidobacterium  [Lactococcus, Bacillus or strains of Streptococcus thermophiles. Strains of yeast species, such as Saccharomyces boulardii, may also be present in these preparations , Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter jejuni, or Clostridioides difficile. They prevent the adhesion of these pathogens to the intestinal mucosa through competition for receptors, but they also inhibit their multiplication by competing for nutrients or producing antibacterial substances such as organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, and/or bacteriocins [The group of probiotic organisms includes bacteria and fungi which, when administered in appropriate amounts, may exert a beneficial effect on the host\u2019s health . The moslivarius . Frequen. breve) , Lactocoarations . Lactobaeriocins ,17,18,198\u20131011 CFU (colony-forming units) of bacterial or yeast cells in the daily dose [Both the FAO and the WHO ,20 definily dose .To assess the safety of probiotics application, the following factors should also be taken into account: a large variety of probiotic strains, the risks associated with the use of strains which do not have GRAS or QPS  status, as well as the possibility of interaction between the probiotic strains and the host microbiota. Probiotics may be responsible for systemic infections; excessive immune stimulation, especially in immunocompromised individuals; deleterious metabolic effects; and gene transfer .Enterococcus, namely E. durans, E. faecium and E. faecalis, classified as probiotic bacteria , although they are opportunistic microorganisms capable of causing infections in humans. Numerous studies indicate the increasing importance of multidrug-resistant Enterococcus sp., especially those resistant to vancomycin, and the possibility of transferring resistance genes through horizontal gene transfer to other bacterial genera [E. faecalis DSM 16431 is a compound of a drug called Symbioflor 1 and is used in acute and recurrent sinusitis and bronchitis [E. faecium M74 and E. faecium SF-68 are included in dietary supplements such as FortiFlora and Cernivet, which are considered effective and safe [Some concerns have been raised regarding strains of the genus l genera . Howeverl genera ,25,26,27onchitis . On the The probiotic preparations available on the market are present in a variety of forms. Without consideration of fermented foods such as yoghurts and kefirs as probiotics, present in almost every supermarket, the most common pharmaceutical forms of probiotics are lyophilised capsules  and oral drops. Recently, however, it has become possible to frequently encounter microencapsulated lyophilisates, which are designed to preserve the stability of probiotics during storage, protect them from harsh conditions in the upper gastrointestinal tract, release them in the colon, and facilitate probiotic microorganisms to colonise the mucosal surface ,38,39. TMoreover, lyophilised probiotics are also available in the form of ampoules, vials, or sachets. Probiotics in the form of tablets, as well as chocolate tablets in various forms , or even lollipops, are also on sale.S. salivarius K-12, S. salivarius M-18 and L. plantarum 8P-A3), which, by producing bacteriocins, could inhibit the growth of bacteria present on the surface of the skin as well as pathogens that cause wound infections  [Probiotic microorganisms are also included in cosmetic products. The most common products of this group found on the market are creams, serums, masks, and gels, but also exfoliants, cleansers, foundations, soaps, lotions, shampoos, toothpaste, or deodorants ,42. Mostuginosa) .Determination of the microbial content in probiotic products can be performed using various methods presented in the literature. The most common ones are cultivation methods with the use of appropriate media, as well as the increasingly popular method of flow cytometry. Other methods are also described, such as fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH)  or nucleBifidobacterium and E. coli present in the same product, using Blaurock medium with sodium azide and Endo Agar [Cultivation methods, such as plate count methods, are the gold standard . The plando Agar .In analytical tests carried out in various laboratories on the contents of probiotic microorganisms in products, described in the literature, the following procedure can be recommended. The weighed sample is dissolved in a peptone buffer ,3,7 or pBifidobacterium. However, it is necessary to apply appropriate sterilisation conditions during the preparation of the medium. According to the information provided by the manufacturer, MRS agar should be sterilised at 121 \u00b0C for 15 min. Moreover, if the growth of the Bifidobacterium spp. is desired, a temperature of 118 \u00b0C for 15 min should be applied [Bifidobacterium strains, it is more practical to use two different media, e.g., MRS agar for quantifying lactobacilli and TOS-MUP for quantifying Bifidobacterium [Bifidobacterium bacteria on the MRS agar medium is excluded. The problem grows when products containing even more types of probiotic microorganisms are tested. The media should be selected in such a way that only one type of microorganism will grow on each of them. For instance, the most common medium used for the cultivation of S. thermophilus and Lc. lactis is the M17 medium. However, to obtain the growth of only the desired group of microorganisms or to determine the number of cells of each type in the product separately, it is necessary to apply different incubation conditions  and ciprofloxacin (10.0 mg/L) to the medium is recommended. These antibiotics inhibit the growth of the mentioned species, except for L. acidophilus (ISO 20128:2012) [To mark the microorganisms of the species 28:2012) .Bifidobacterium consists of strictly anaerobic bacteria which grow on the agar surface in the form of round, whitish colonies, some of them star-shaped or triple-lobed [L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus forms lenticular colonies with sharply defined contours on the acidified MRS agar [L. acidophilus grows in the form of flat, opaque grey or whitish colonies with uneven edges [S. thermophilus, however, grows on this agar medium in the form of lenticular colonies [In some cases, it is possible to distinguish bacterial colonies of different species remaining on the same Petri dish. The genus le-lobed . In contMRS agar , and L. en edges . The specolonies .Although the direct plating on Petri dishes with agar medium is the most popular method, it also has its limitations. For example, sample preparation\u2014the rehydration of lyophilised probiotics \u2014is extreThe analytical, flow cytometry method enables the qualitative and quantitative determination of microorganisms in the tested sample within a very short time, which is an advantage compared to culturing methods. The study uses fluorescent dyes, which enable the assessment of parameters related to the surface, structure, and size of cells . By usinIn a study using flow cytometry, the number of bacterial cells was determined directly in the test sample after the addition of an appropriate dye. Bacteria capture the dye, which, under the influence of intracellular enzymes, splits and releases molecules capable of fluorescence . DependiThe results obtained with the cytometry method are expressed in units of fluorescence activity (Active Fluorescent Unit AFU/g). Additionally, it is possible to quantify the value of the non-Active Fluorescent Unit (n-AFU/g), which represents damaged and dead bacterial cells, stained with PI, as it enters cells with an intact membrane and binds to DNA. The Total Fluorescent Unit (TFU/g) represents the total number of cells as the sum of AFU and n-AFU .Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. pumilus and B. velezensis strains with the use of SYTO 24 and LDS 751 (Laser Dyes Styryl)\u2014cell permeant nucleic acid stain. The obtained results indicate no statistically significant differences in the determination of the number of spores by flow cytometry and the use of the plating methods [Genovese et al.  used flo methods .B. longum strain was an exception, for which a greater number of colony-forming units was demonstrated with classical microbiological methods. On the other hand, a study conducted by Michelutti et al. [B. animalis and L. acidophilus in probiotic products. Moreover, the flow cytometry method was characterised by greater repeatability and better precision. However, the flow cytometry method is used to quantify all microbial cells in the tested sample, not only probiotic cells but also microbes contaminating the preparation, which may cause false-positive results.Comparative studies of the two methods used for the quantification of probiotic bacteria, the culture method and flow cytometry, conducted by Chiron et al. , demonsti et al.  showed aP. acidilactici, P. pentosaceus and L. plantarum as well as spores of B. subtilis. The number of cells estimated in the presented method was higher than the manufacturer\u2019s declaration for all the species mentioned. The second product contained a mixture of spores of four Bacillus species: B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. licheniformis and B. pumilus. The number of estimated Bacillus spores was consistent with the declaration on the label [Other methods of microorganism counting are much less frequently used . Fluoreshe label .P. acidilactici, P. pentosaceus, L. plantarum, and B. subtilis in 20 samples of a complex probiotic product. In their study, flow cytometry and the qPCR method gave similar results, which were, however, significantly higher compared those provided by the plate method, especially in determinations performed in the later storage periods. These results suggest that some bacteria in the population entered the VBNC state and could only be counted by flow cytometry and qPCR methods [Other methods, namely molecular techniques based on the detection of nucleic acid sequences, can also be used to count bacterial cells. These methods include, e.g., polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), or real time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR or qPCR). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a technique that enables the quantitative assessment of the microbial population using appropriate dyes and probes. Appropriate equipment is necessary, and the method facilitates the monitoring of the increase in DNA in each subsequent reaction cycle . Gorsuch methods .P. acidilactici, P. pentosaceus, L. plantarum, and B. subtilis in 20 samples of a complex probiotic product. In their study, flow cytometry and the qPCR method gave similar results, which were, however, significantly higher compared those provided by the plate method, especially in determinations performed in the later storage periods. These results suggest that some bacteria in the population entered the VBNC state and could only be counted by flow cytometry and qPCR methods [Other methods, namely molecular techniques based on the detection of nucleic acid sequences, can also be used to count bacterial cells. These methods include, e.g., polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), or real time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR or qPCR). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a technique that enables the quantitative assessment of the microbial population using appropriate dyes and probes. Appropriate equipment is necessary, and the method facilitates the monitoring of the increase in DNA in each subsequent reaction cycle . Gorsuch methods .Identification of probiotics is usually carried out by known standard microbiological methods. According to the FAO/WHO  recommenLactococcus, the API 50 CHL test. Boyd et al. [Bifidobacterium should be performed using the API 20A kit, dedicated to anaerobic bacteria. On the other hand, the identification of S. boulardii yeasts can be performed with the API 20C AUX test, dedicated to yeasts. In addition, the API ZYM Kit can be used to help identify bacteria and determine the potential of probiotic microorganisms [Initial characterisation of probiotic bacteria consists of the determination of the cells shape after staining with the Gram staining method as well as the assessment of mobility and the ability to produce catalase . The easd et al.  correctlrganisms .Bifidobacterium only to the genus level. However, the test results obtained are often inconclusive [The VITEK system (bioM\u00e9rieux) is characterised by a similar principle of operation, where microorganisms can be identified on the basis of biochemical reactions. The VITEK 2 ANC system card allows for identifying lactobacilli to the species level and nclusive ., Lactococcus, and Bifidobacterium [E. faecalis, four E. durans, two Streptococcus spp., and one Lc. lactis; twelve isolates were classified as other species, whereas five were not identified at all. Analysing the same samples using API 50 CHL tests resulted in fourteen L. plantarum, six L. paracasei, six Lc. lactis, and one Lactobacillus spp.; one sample was classified as a different species, and one was not identified at all. The authors of this publication confirmed their results using molecular identification\u201416S rDNA sequencing, in which 20 results were obtained, identifying the tested microorganisms as Enterococcus spp., five L. plantarum, three Lc. lactis, and one Streptococcus spp. [Another method of microbial identification is the BIOLOG system , which is used to identify species of aerobic as well as anaerobic bacteria, yeasts, and fungi , includiacterium . This syacterium . Moraes acterium  identificus spp. .Databases for the analysis of phenotypic results often do not take into account the latest taxonomic changes or newly described species, and therefore, the interpretation of the obtained results is not accurate.B. animalis, B. breve, B. longum, B. bifidum, B. infantis, E. faecium, L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. gasseri, L. paracasei, L. plantarum, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus, L. salivarius, Lc. lactis, S. thermophilus, and S. cerevisiae. The accuracy of this identification was also confirmed with the PCR method. Nevertheless, when the MALDI-TOF method is used, errors also occur in the identification of lactic acid bacteria, especially in the case of closely related species such as L. casei and L. paracasei [Another method enabling accurate and prompt identification of the tested microorganism is the MALDI-TOF MS\u2014Matrix\u2014Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation\u2014Time of Flight\u2014Mass Spectrometry technique. This method allows a comprehensive analysis of the protein panel of a given microorganism. The test consists of analysing the spectral distribution of proteins directly in bacterial cells ,80. Protaracasei ,78,82. CLactobacillaceae: L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii, L. casei, L. gasseri, L. plantarum, L. reuteri, and L. rhamnosus [L. acidophilus group . In this case, it is impossible to distinguish particular species [L. acidophilus, L. plantarum and L. casei. The obtained results of the analysis of 17 probiotic products showed that not all products contain bacterial species corresponding with the information provided on the package.The problem with unequivocal identification of a species using phenotypic methods is related to the common phenomenon of phenotypic variability, resulting, among other things, from changes in gene expression under the influence of environmental conditions. Molecular biology methods, based on the analysis of the genetic material of bacteria, are much more accurate, sensitive, and reproducible. These methods are less reliant on the growth conditions of the bacteria, allowing the microorganism to be identified not only down to the species level but even to the strain. Many different molecular biology methods are used to identify and differentiate probiotic microorganisms. The most commonly used molecular assays for the identification of lactic acid bacteria are nucleic acid amplification tests. The PCR-based research is characterised by high sensitivity and specificity. The process of identifying lactic acid bacteria is performed based on gene sequences which encode ribosomal RNA , amplification of ITSs (intergenic spacer regions) located between the genes encoding the 16S and 23S rRNA (ITS-PCR) and amplification of regions between genes encoding tRNA (tDNA PCR), sequence analysis of the genes encoding 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, or ITS, restriction analysis of the rDNA gene amplification product ARDRA , ribotyping and DGGE/TGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis/Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) ,80. In mhamnosus . However species . Kim et  species  determinL. helveticus, L. sake, L. plantarum and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus [L. casei group: L. rhamnosus, L. paracasei subsp. tolerans, and L. zeae.Another technique used for probiotics identification based on DNA amplification is RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA). This method is based on amplification with the use of a short primer , where the ratio of G-C to A-T pairs is taken into account. The primer bonds with numerous homologous sequences in the analysed chromosomal DNA of a given species ,86. The lgaricus  can be slgaricus , with thL. acidophilus and L. crispatus; L. casei and L. rhamnosus, as well as L. acidophilus, L. helveticus, and L. amylovorus. Moreover, with the additional use of Sau3AI or Mse I restrictase, they were able to distinguish L. plantarum and L. pentosus species.Among the methods that use restrictive analysis to identify probiotic bacteria, the RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) method may be employed. In this method, the differences in the band patterns reflect changes in the DNA sequence, which result in the absence or an additional restriction locus recognised by the restriction enzyme used . BlaiottThe T-RFLP technique  is a modification of the PCR-RFLP technique, in which the 5\u2032-end primer is labelled with a fluorescent dye  so that only the labelled terminal restriction fragments are detected. This method does not require conducting a culture to identify a species from a mixed bacterial population; moreover, its accuracy can be increased by using more restriction enzymes . This meL. plantarum, L. pentosus and L. pseudoplantarum. Jarocki et al. [L. casei group.Another molecular biology method used to identify probiotic strains is the AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) method, based on the analysis of the entire bacterial genome. This technique employs the phenomenon of the ligation of nucleotide adapters and the selective amplification of restriction fragments. In the AFLP technique, the following restriction enzymes are used: frequently cutting  and rarely cutting , leaving sticky ends ,86,88. TL. casei group: L. casei, L. paracasei, L. rhamnosus, and L. zeae. Xu et al. [L. rhamnosus, L. paracasei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. curvatus, and L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis.The method in the differentiation and relationship searching of strains, recommended by the FAO/WHO, is Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) . This meu et al.  digestedThe gold standard method that serves both to identify and to determine the LAB drug resistance profile is the whole genome sequencing method (WGS). The identification of strains using WGS can be performed using one of the available methods\u2014single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis or the gene-by gene analysis method. The SNP method consists in comparing the genome of a given bacterium with a reference genome, as a result of which information about nucleotide differences is obtained. In turn, the gene-based method can be used to analyse the genetic relationship between LAB strains . SpecialE. coli or Salmonella sp. Depending on the consumer groups for these products, consideration should also be given to excluding the presence of other pathogens such as S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridioides or Cronobacter sakazakii in infant products. The requirements to be met by individual product groups are regulated by the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) [Probiotic products, both those classified as medicinal products and food, should meet several quality requirements which are regulated depending on the status of the product. Regardless of the classification of the product as food or medicine, the product should not be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, such as h. Eur.) ,98,99, th. Eur.) ,101,102,h. Eur.)  and the h. Eur.) .Bacillus clausii spores, yeast S. cerevisiae var. boulardii), various media and incubation conditions should be used, tailored to the specifics of the test product and the presence of the microorganisms in it  should be excluded , there are maximum permissible counts of contaminating microorganisms [E. coli or Salmonella sp. are specified. If there is a risk of contaminating raw materials or the finished product, the presence of L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa should also be excluded, whereas in the products intended for infants, bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens and Cronobacter sakazakii must also be excluded [The US Pharmacopeia specifies the microbial purity requirements for products classified as both medicinal products and dietary supplements . Dependirganisms ,100. In excluded ,101.Salmonella [Cronobacter spp. [E. coli [Enterobacteriaceae [Enterobacter sakazakii [L. monocytogenes [Documents published by the FDA and the European Commission  regardinlmonella ,104, Croter spp. , E. coli[E. coli , Enteroberiaceae , Enterob3 CFU in 1 mL or 1 g of the product; preparations used in the vicinity of the eyes are an exception [2 CFU per 1 g [2 CFU per 1 g or 1 mL [S. aureus [P. aeruginosa [Streptococcus pyogenes [Klebsiella pneumoniae [E. coli [C. albicans [The FDA , like thxception ,106. Whe per 1 g , and in . aureus ,106, P. ruginosa ,106, Strpyogenes , Klebsieeumoniae , E. coliE. faecium, even at the level of 109 CFU/dose. In addition, contamination with microorganisms such as Acinetobacter baumannii (1011 CFU/dose), Lysinibacillus fusiformis (1011 CFU/dose), B. cereus (1010 CFU/dose), Bacillus leantus (109 CFU/dose), and Staphylococcus spp. (102 CFU/dose) was detected [Mazzantini et al.  collectedetected .An increasing number of probiotic products appear on the market. In the literature, there is a large amount of information about the incorrect number of probiotic microorganisms, contamination of the tested products at a very high level, and the lack of proper labelling of the strains included in the composition of the preparations.There is no doubt that methods of testing the contents of probiotic products, especially the proper preparation of the sample and the selection of the appropriate method for counting and identification of microorganisms, are necessary. However, there are no detailed, universal guidelines for testing these products, especially when they contain many different types of microorganisms (strains of the same or different species and genera), which may cause differences in the results obtained by laboratories. The different survival times of microorganisms in the product also affect the identification of the strains declared by the manufacturers, which often, during the shelf life of the product, are found in very low numbers that are not sufficient to provide the health benefits to the host in any way, which is the basic task of probiotics.Besides, the probiotics contaminants may include pathogenic microorganisms, which suggests that products containing live microorganisms, regardless of whether they belong to the category of medicinal products, dietary supplements, food or cosmetics, may not be safe and should be subject to strict quality control.Taking into account reports on the poor survival of microorganisms in products, they should be also subjected to stability tests, similarly to medicinal products, to eliminate poor-quality preparations or to shorten the validity period. Detailed information about the strains contained in particular product should be provided by the manufacturers on the product package or in informational materials. Not only the generic or species name but also strain designation should be stated, because the properties of probiotics are strain-dependent.Based on this review, a substantial amount of work needs to be done to ensure that the probiotic products available on the market are of good quality, safe and fulfil a pro-health function."}
+{"text": "Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (Bey-Bienko) populations are highly concentrated in Xilingol League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region where they regularly harm the ecosystems protecting northern China. In order to prevent the occurrence of O. d. asiaticus in the Xilingole grassland, the establishment of a high-precision method and extracting the area of occurrence for O. d. asiaticus is required. The primary objectives of this study were: (1) to project the potential distribution of O. d. asiaticus by MaxEnt model and remote sensing data, and (2) to explore the responses and relative contributions of habitat factors to the distribution of O. d. asiaticus. The study will help guide managers and decision-makers to prevent and control the occurrence of O. d. asiaticus early on and this work may facilitate meaningful reductions in pesticide application.Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (Bey-Bienko) (O. d. asiaticus) is the most serious species in Xilingol League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The region is not only an important grassland but also a site of agricultural heritage systems in China. Therefore, projecting the potential geographic distribution of O. d. asiaticus to provide an early warning is vital. Here, we combined temperature, precipitation, soil, vegetation, and topography with remote sensing data to screen the predictors that best characterize the current geographical distribution of O. d. asiaticus. A MaxEnt model approach was applied to project the potential suitable distribution of O. d. asiaticus in Xilingol League (the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China) combined with a set of optimized parameters. The modeling results indicated that there were six main habitat factors that determined the suitable distribution of O. d. asiaticus such as the soil type (ST), grassland type (GT), elevation, precipitation during the growing period (GP), precipitation during the spawning period (SP), and normalized difference vegetation index during the overwintering period (ONDVI). The simulated result was good, with average AUC and TSS values of 0.875 and 0.812, respectively. The potential inhabitable areas of grasshoppers were 198,527 km2, distributed mainly in West Urumqi, Xilinhot City, East Urumqi, Abaga Banner, and Xianghuang Banner of Xilingol League. This study is valuable to guide managers and decision-makers to prevent and control the occurrence of O. d. asiaticus early on and this study may facilitate meaningful reductions in pesticide application.Grasshopper populations can quickly grow to catastrophic levels, causing a huge amount of damage in a short time.  Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (O. d. asiaticus) populations are highly concentrated in Xilingol League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region where they regularly harm the ecosystems protecting northern China. Moreover, previous research has explored the relationships between O. d. asiaticus and climate and showed that the O. d. asiaticus would occur with a high density since the El Ni\u00f1o phenomenon happens [O. d. asiaticus is not only valuable for the construction of ecological grasslands but it is also vital to maintaining healthy grass ecosystems and supporting the livestock depending on grass.The  happens ,2. ThereDisasters caused by locusts and grasshoppers have occurred in China over thousands of years. Analyzing the occurrence patterns of locusts and grasshoppers and their drivers is the basis of related prediction researches ,4. PreviThe methods for extracting the habitat factors mainly consist of species distribution models and expert empirical scoring. However, the expert empirical method is inadequate in the quantification of indicators due to the subjective experiences of researchers . The speO. d. asiaticus, Dasyhippus barbipes , and Bryodema luctuosum. Here, the O. d. asiaticus was selected due to the most serious species of disaster. O. d. asiaticus eggs are laid from July to September, remain in the soil during the cold winter period (October\u2013March), before hatching during the period of April\u2013May in the following year, and finally grow to maturity in June. Therefore, we divided the reproductive periods into four stages, such as the spawning period (July\u2013September 2019), overwintering period (January\u2013February 2020), incubation period (April\u2013May 2020), and growing period (June 2020). Note that these stages are correspond to the habits of O. d. asiaticus  to select a MaxEnt model with the optimal combination of parameters to best predict the potential distribution of O. d. asiaticus; (2) to explore the responses and relative contributions of habitat factors to the distribution of O. d. asiaticus; and (3) to characterize the areas in Xilingole, which are suitable for O. d. asiaticus. The study can guide managers and decision-makers in providing an early warning for the disaster occurrence of O. d. asiaticus and may further help the precise control by using pesticides and reducing the amount of pesticide application.In summary, in order to prevent the occurrence of grasshoppers in the Xilingole grassland, a high-precision method needs to be established and a suitable area of the occurrence of O. d. asiaticus populations are concentrated in Xilingol League of China, containing existing areas of grasshoppers\u2019 occurrence of nearly 300 km2 across 13 banners . Hundreds of tons of chemical pesticides have been applied to prevent and control O. d. asiaticus disasters in this region [O. d. asiaticus damaged grasslands in an area of 235.10 km2 in the Xilingol League, mainly distributed in the West Ujimqin Banner, Xilinhot city, East Ujimqin Banner, and Abaga Banner . O. d. asiaticus surveys were conducted from June to August 2020. If the grasshopper densities were above 15 specimens per square meter in the grassland, the location was marked as a grasshopper distribution site, and a total of 310 occurrence points were collected . The topography indicator (elevation data) was derived from the ASTER GDEM V3 data, obtained from China\u2019s Geospatial Data Cloud .The soil indicator (soil type data) was obtained from the 1:1 million China soil map . To describe the vegetation condition, MOD13A2 V6 was used to calculate NDVI .The vegetation indicators, including the vegetation type and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), were obtained from China\u2019s Resource and Environment Science and Data Center . To describe the precipitation conditions, this study used the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), which is a quasi-global precipitation dataset . The meteorological indicators, including the land surface temperature and precipitation, were inverted by remote sensing. To describe the temperature conditions, MOD11A2 V6 was applied to determine the average 8-day land surface temperatures (LST) . Data during the period of July 2019\u2013July 2020 were extracted, covering the growth and reproduction periods of the O. d. asiaticus. The whole data were further processed following these steps: (1) the resolution of all environmental variables were either at 1 km or were resampled to 1 km by using the nearest-neighbor method; (2) the World Geodetic System 1984 benchmark was used to project all the geographic data into a geographic coordinate system. A batch processing code based on Python in ArcGIS was used to pre-process to a unified data coordinate system, spatial resolution, and data analysis range, so as to facilitate the subsequent modeling analysis.We downloaded these data for each reproductive period from the Google Earth Engine  [Moreover, we used the subsampling replicated run type, and 70% of the sample points were randomly selected for the training dataset, while the remaining 30% were set aside as the test dataset. The convergence threshold was set to 100 and 1) .We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of the test data, i.e., the AUC, to evaluate the quality of MaxEnt models. The AUC value ranges within 0\u20131.0. The overall accuracy of the developed model was divided into excellent (AUC > 0.9), good (0.8 < AUC \u2264 0.9), fair (0.7 < AUC \u2264 0.8), poor (0.6 < AUC \u2264 0.7), and fail (AUC \u2264 0.6) . MeanwhiThe environmental variables of the same category may be correlated with each other, reducing the predicted accuracy of the model . The \u201cCoAdditionally, the percent contribution and permutation importance are the contribution and dependence  of each environmental variable. The high value of the percent contribution and permutation importance represent the large contribution and dependence .p < 0.05, 0.05 \u2264 p < 0.33, 0.33 \u2264 p < 0.66, and p \u2265 0.66 represent a low, moderately low, moderately high, and high suitability area, respectively [Combining the sample dataset with the optimal combination of environmental variables affecting the distributions of grasshoppers, the MaxEnt model was used to reconstruct their relationship. The existence probability (P) of grasshoppers was graded based on the expert empirical method at each grid point, where ectively ,33.The correlation of all the habitat factors was calculated using the Spearman\u2019s rank correlation coefficients to eliminate the influence of covariance on the modeling process and the interpretation of the results. The results indicated that the correlation coefficients of all the habitat factors were below 0.8, which implied that the combination of all the habitat factors can be used to develop the MaxEnt model a. The RO2, 73,575 km2, 53,005 km2, and 7442 km2, respectively, accounting for 32.49%, 37.06%, 26.70%, and 3.75% of the grassland areas  Keng, Stipa krylovii Roshev, and Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel were all highly suitable with values of 0.87, 0.77, 0.62, and 0.58, respectively. The elevation ranged from 800 m to 1400 m with a suitability value of above 0.5. The relationship between the suitability of O. d. asiaticus and precipitation was positive when the precipitation was below 1.3 mm/day during the growing period, and negative if the precipitation was over 2.0 mm/day. However, the precipitation during 1.3\u20132.0 mm/day was the most suitable. In addition, the suitability of O. d. asiaticus increased when the mean precipitation during the incubation period was less than 0.5 mm/day, while the suitability decreased when the value of the precipitation was over 0.7 mm/day. The suitability is high when the ONDVI was between \u22120.1 and 0.1. The relationship between the suitability of O. d. asiaticus and ONDVI during the overwintering period was positive when the value of ONDVI was below 0, while the suitability decreased when the value of ONDVI was over 0.The response curves of dominant habitat factors are shown in O. d. asiaticus distribution. This study used MODIS remote sensing products from assimilation systems as the main data sources of the environmental factors from September 2019 to June 2020 in Xilingol League. The addition, the remote sensing data improved the spatial and temporal resolutions of the potential distributions and increased the accuracy of the simulated results. To date, remote sensing has been widely applied in monitoring plant diseases and pests [O. d. asiaticus in the coming decades. For example, it will be used to monitor the severity of grassland disasters caused by pests based on the changes in forage biomass. Meanwhile, it will be applied to narrow the scope of the control through a remote sensing inversion of the host plants, further improving the precision of the preventative measures. Currently, the grassland grazing activities by pastoralists resulted in a large variability in the growing periods of the pastures. Likewise, cloud and foggy weather frequently interfered with the coefficient of crop remote sensing inversion in Xilingol League. Under these circumstances, the vegetation index, as a relatively convenient and efficient method, can reflect the vegetation conditions and improve the accuracy.Remote sensing data enable the possibility of real-time monitoring, allowing short-term predictions of nd pests . FurtherO. d. asiaticus [O. d. asiaticus, the influences of vegetation and soil cannot be ignored.This study showed that the majority of potentially habitable areas for grasshoppers were distributed in West Urumqi, Xilinhot City, East Urumqi, Abaga Banner, and Xianghuang Banner of Xilingol League. This analysis also identified the key habitat factors determining the suitability for grasshoppers. To comprehensively consider the impact of the environmental factors, this work used a total of six environmental factors from three categories, including meteorologic, vegetation, and soil. However, most previous studies only considered the impact of meteorological factors on the suitability for siaticus ,42,43. AO. d. asiaticus distribution for the soil and vegetation were 31.3% and 19.7%, respectively. Both the type and composition of vegetation affected the O. d. asiaticus feeding. In addition, the growth of vegetation affects the near-surface hydrothermal conditions, which ultimately affects the survival and development of O. d. asiaticus. A previous study indicated that needlegrass and sheepgrass survived well in warm and dry climatic conditions, which agreed with the results of our study [O. d. asiaticus because it affects its growth and development [O. d. asiaticus distribution.The temperature, texture, moisture content, and salt content of soil influence the growth and reproduction of grasshoppers in grasslands . The phyur study . AdditioO. d. asiaticus was when the ONDVI value was less than 0. This is because an ONDVI value of less than 0 represents that there is a snow cover [O. d. asiaticus, directly affecting the O. d. asiaticus growth, changing the grassland vegetation to indirectly influence its growth. We manifest that GP accounted for 11.0% among the whole environmental factors. The relationship between the suitability of O. d. asiaticus and the precipitation was positive when the precipitation was below 1.3 mm/day during the growing period, and negative if the precipitation was over 2.0 mm/day. Meanwhile, GP with the value of 1.3\u20132.0 mm/day was most suitable for O. d. asiaticus. The reason is that the hatching rate of O. d. asiaticus was reduced when they were immersed in warm and wet soil for a long period, which was consistent with other studies [O. d. asiaticus distribution is higher than the other climatic factors.Moreover, the land surface temperature, precipitation, and NDVI factors were divided into four periods according to the different growth stages of grasshoppers in this region. We concluded that the highest suitability for ow cover . The mea studies ,45. TherO. d. asiaticus. Certainly, a further data collection should follow to improve the accuracy of the future modeling predictions. Furthermore, the selection of influence factors was limited, and other factors, such as the grasshopper control situation, grazing situation, and the migration of grasshoppers from external areas, are not considered. It is well known that the modeling precision with species distribution model ensembles is better than a single species distribution model due to the uncertainties of each model. Therefore, the next step is to predict suitable grasshopper areas with multispecies distribution models.In general, this study only extracted a suitable distribution using grasshopper occurrence data from a short time series; thus, this research could provide methodological support for an early warning and the efficient prevention and control of"}
+{"text": "Proc. R. Soc. B. 275, 2831\u20132899. (Published online 26 August 2008). (https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0876)Due to an error in their calculation, the standard errors reported in if chemical cues are used in habitat selection, rather than determining a detection threshold for this species of a concentration gradient.Additionally, we would like to clarify that the strong treatment effects found in this experiment are likely the result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to, the ecology of the focal species, the flume apparatus, the chemical comparisons being tested as well as the concentration of the chemical cues tested. The chemical cue concentration is likely higher than the organisms would experience in nature and therefore likely a form of supernormal stimuli. Simply put, supernormal stimuli are bigger and more intense than normal, and elicit a larger than normal response from the animal . Here, t"}
+{"text": "Gossypium has important ethnobotanical and economic value for Amazonian Native Communities (A.N.C.). However, little research has been undertaken on the distribution and genetic diversity of cotton populations maintained in the Peruvian rainforest. This work aims to present the first report on the genetic diversity of Gossypium spp. populations in the A.N.C. of the province of La Convenci\u00f3n, Cusco-Peru. The methodology was based on exploring, collecting, identifying, and characterizing the Gossypium populations present in the A.N.C. Twenty-six descriptors were evaluated , and with this information, distribution, correlation, and principal component (PC) analyses were carried out. As a result, plants of two species [G. barbadense L. (44 samples) and G. hirsutum L. (19 samples)], one variety [G. barbadense var. brasiliensis (75 samples)], and three previously unidentified variations (9 samples) were identified. Altogether, 147 samples were collected. G. barbadense var. brasiliensis, which was always found in association with other economic crops within an altitude range of 338 to 1086 m, was the most predominant (51%), distributed in eleven A.N.C. and always in small plots (up to 2 ha). G. barbadense L. was cultivated between 397 and 1137 m of altitude in eight A.N.C. in plots of up to 3 ha in marginal lands. G. hirsutum L., with a smaller distribution (13%), was found between 334 and 497 m of altitude in only three communities; this species is cultivated in marginal areas throughout the year. The variability found for the first two PCs when considering the quantitative and qualitative descriptors was high (74.7%) and moderate (48.2%), respectively. When combining all the descriptors, the analysis showed that the first two PCs accounted for 51.8% of the total variability of the data. The PCs of the two types of data and their combination confirmed that the three populations found were grouped. The nine undefined samples were close to or intermediate between the described ones, showing that these samples may be the result of spontaneous crosses; as such, these samples need to be better evaluated with other tools for further definition. The information obtained shows that in the A.N.C. of Cusco-Peru, there is variability conserved by the inhabitants, who have been able to maintain and use these genotypes, even from their Amazonian indigenous ancestry, and the environment has been able to generate variability among the species, as will be highlighted in future works.The genus  Gossypium spp. in some Peruvian Amazonian regions. To date, some species cultivated on the Peruvian coast have been described and found in more than 68 countries  and one botanical variety [G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis (51%)] were identified and characterized from a total of 147 samples collected in the two districts of La Convenci\u00f3n Province, distributed in 12 A.N.C.Two species  (G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis (red) and G. hirsutum L. (Green), G2 was located close to G. hirsutum L. (Green), and G3 was located close to the group formed by the samples of G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis (red)  in the PCs, we found that 51.8% of the variability of the data was retained in the first two components . As obse(green)] . For theis (red) .Gossypium species, which prevents clearer information about this genus from being made available [G. barbadense L. (30%) and populations of the introduced species G. hirsutum L. (13%)], one botanical variety G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis (51%), and in 6% of the total samples collected , the evaluated characteristics did not allow us to identify the samples at the species level. However, this is the first report of the presence of G. hirsutum L. in the Peruvian Amazon. The conservation and distribution levels found for G. barbadense L. and G. hirsutum L. showed the economic importance they represent for Amazonian communities, owing to the quality of their fibers, as already described by Ozyigit [Currently, there are difficulties in identifying and determining the exact distribution of the cotton populations of the vailable . There available ,3,24, bu Ozyigit  and Ahme Ozyigit .Gossypium comprises more than 50 recognized species distributed in arid and semiarid zones in the tropics and subtropics [G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense [G. hirsutum L. in the region of Cusco; however, in the regions of Cajamarca, Lambayeque, and Pasco, these species can be found. On the other hand, it is known that G. hirsutum L. is an introduced and cultivated species [The genus btropics . Four sprbadense ,27. The  species ; its ori species , and its species ,21. The G. barbadense L. has been reported in 24 regions in Peru [ in Peru ,29. The  in Peru . However in Peru  and MINAG. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis is of the Amazonian type, with an undetermined origin. It has been noted that it may have spread through the Apure River to the northwest of Colombia, being of interest for the study of the west and east of the Andes. This variety within G. barbadense L. was more prevalent (51% of the collected samples) in the districts of Echarate and Megantoni. This result agrees with the studies of Lazo [G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis has peculiar characteristics, i.e., its seeds are welded or kidney-shaped, as also observed in our research  and in the Miar\u00eda, Timp\u00eda, Shivankoreni, Kirigueti, Nuevo Mundo, Sensa, Ticumpin\u00eda and Camisea communities of the Megantoni district, located between the coordinates UTM WGS-84 Zone: 18 South (724020 E and 8703864 N) Gossypium spp.) were collected in 12 native Amazonian communities in the districts of Echarati and Megantoni. The type of sampling was nonprobabilistic purposive, by convenience [Gossypium spp. was cultivated or found naturally, according to the collection and pressing procedures recommended by MINAM [The collections and evaluations were conducted during the period from April to December 2021. Permission was requested from the native Amazonian communities for the collection. Samples of cotton ; for FLOWERs: the presence of spots, color of the flower spots, flower color, and position of the stigma in relation to the anthers; for SEEDS: arrangement, number, main characteristics, color, and shape; for BRACTS: types of serration and color; for CAPSULES: shape in longitudinal section, characteristics and prominence of the tip; and finally, for LEAF: shape and presence of pubescence. All these descriptors were evaluated following the recommendations of Manco C\u00e9spedes et al.  and MINAAll the descriptors were tabulated, and different classes were established for the different species, which allowed us to undertake a descriptive study of the collection sites and the distribution of the main cotton species collected in each locality.The length and width of the flowers, bracts, capsules, and leaves were determined for all samples. All these measurements were made in cm using a ruler. The height of the plants was also determined in meters with the aid of a ruler. The evaluations followed the recommendations of Manco C\u00e9spedes et al.  and MINA\u00ae (Systat Software Inc.) were used for the elaboration of the graphs, and R [To verify the relationship between the quantitative descriptors and the groups of species, ANOVA was initially performed considering the unbalanced treatments (species), and when significant, the means were compared by Tukey\u2019s test at 1% probability. Using the quantitative data, a scatter plot was made showing the Pearson correlations and the dispersion of each characteristic. The quantitative and qualitative data were used to perform a multivariate analysis using the PCA method to see the overall variability of the two individual datasets and combined for the various groups formed, as well as the trends of the groupings and descriptors. Rbio software  and Sigms, and R  with theGossypium spp. (G. barbadense L. and G. hirsutum L.) and a botanical variety G. barbadense L. var. brasiliensis, located in the districts Echarati and Megantoni, along with three groups of samples that could not be identified using the qualitative and quantitative descriptors evaluated. This report contributes to the information that has been presented for this region of the Peruvian Amazon, verifying that there is phenotypic variability for the species Gossypium spp. and that conservation efforts are being made by the indigenous people who populate these places. The multivariate analysis tools and the evaluation of different descriptors allowed us to affirm that variability exists within the described species and that the new groups identified may be the result of spontaneous crosses between the described species of Gossypium spp.; further studies will be necessary to confirm this hypothesis. The results also show the existence of G. hirsutum L. in this zone, and the greatest distribution was observed for the species G. barbadense L.The present study allowed us to identify two species of"}
+{"text": "Corydoras pygmaeus Knaack, 1966, is the smallest member of the genus Corydoras, belonging to the family Callichthyidae and order Siluriformes. The complete mitochondrial genome of C. pygmaeus was sequenced and assembled using next-generation sequencing technology, and phylogenetically compared with those of other species of this genus. The mitochondrial genome of C. pygmaeus is a circular DNA molecule with a size of 16,840\u2009bp (GenBank no. ON729306). A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on 13 protein-coding genes of C. pygmaeus and 13 species of the family Callichthyidae, which showed that C. pygmaeus clustered with other species of this genus, but was the first branch to differentiate. These results could provide basic data for phylogenetic analysis and population genetic diversity protection of Corydoras and Callichthyidae fish in the future.The Pygmy corydoras  Aspidoras, Brochis, and Corydoras of the subfamily Corydoradinae. They have two cute \u2018moustaches\u2019 next to their mouths and look like small mice swimming in water, and thus the name \u2018mouse fish.\u2019 Mouse fish are typical benthic and migratory fish with omnivorous feeding habits. They are found in South America. Almost all the main and tributary water systems of the Amazon River contain pikes, but the composition of species in the watersheds where various species are distributed is different  is maternally inherited, undergoes rapid evolution, and small in size, making it an important molecular marker for research on fish evolutionary genetics, molecular ecology, species identification, and conservation biology .The sample was collected from Duyun City, Guizhou, China  on June 10, 2021. This study was reviewed and approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities. Voucher specimens were stored at the School of Tourism and Resource Environment, Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities, Guizhou, China, under the voucher number C_pygmaeus_A (http://mitofish.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/annotation/input.html) and MITOS (http://mitos.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/index.py). The tRNAscan-SE 1.21 (Lowe and Eddy http://lowelab.ucsc.edu/tRNAscan-SE/index.html) online tool was used to predict the secondary structure of tRNA, which was corrected manually and finally submitted to GenBank (Accession no. ON729306). To determine the phylogenetic significance of C. pygmaeus in the genus Corydoras, 11 other species of this genus were used to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree based on 13 protein-coding genes, using Hemigrammus erythrozonus as the outgroup  were observed for most protein-coding genes, except for incomplete terminal codons T for ND2, COII, COIII, ND3, and ND4; AGA for ND5; and AGG for COI.The complete mitochondrial genome of n length , with a Brochis multiradiatus clustered with other species of the genus Corydoras before C. pygmaeus (C. pygmaeus clustered with other species of this genus, but was the first branch to differentiate.Phylogenetic analysis showed that Callichthyidae species formed a branch and were well separated from the outgroup, and that pygmaeus . The tarC. pygmaeus mtDNA were predicted and analyzed to provide basic data for phylogenetic analysis and population genetic diversity protection of Corydoras and Callichthyidae fish in the future.In this study, the composition and structure of"}
+{"text": "Pectobacterium parmentieri, P. brasiliense, P. atrosepticum, and Dickeya spp. Extracted plant parts enriched for BL-SRP were analyzed with TaqMan assays specific for the detection of blackleg-causing BL-SRP. In 2019, low incidences of P. parmentieri (1\u20136%) in leaves were found at four growing sites. At one farm, reactions were detected in TaqMan assays for D. zeae and D. chrysanthemi in leaves. In 2020, the crops of two growers were largely free from BL-SRP. At one farm, a high infection incidence (21%) was found for D. fangzhongdai in tubers. The isolated pathogen was able to cause potato blackleg. At two other farms, high infection incidences in tubers were found with P. brasiliense (35\u201339%) and P. parmentieri (12\u201319%), whereas the incidence of P. brasiliense in leaves was also high (8%). In conclusion, high infection incidences with BL-SRP in potatoes can be found in a PB1 crop at the end of the growing season. Infections in individual plants were found either in tubers or in leaves. The potential sources of initial infection are discussed.Information on the infection incidence of blackleg-causing soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (BL-SRP) in potato crops grown from minitubers (PB1-crop) and the distribution of BL-SRP in individual plants was collected during a two-year survey conducted at five potato growers located in the Netherlands. In the last weeks before haulm destruction, leaves, stems, and tubers of 100 or 200 plants were analyzed separately for the presence of  Dickeya and Pectobacterium, responsible for diseases in various important crops worldwide, including potato, tomato, maize, cabbage, and ornamental plants  wI) of infected tubers in composite samples was estimated using the statistical equation I = {1 \u2212 [(N \u2212 p)/N]1/n} \u00d7 100, in which N is the total number of subsamples tested, p is the number of subsamples tested positive, and n is the number of individuals per subsample [p = 0.05).The incidence . For tubers, the estimated infection incidence was approximately 6%. Relatively high incidences of P. brasiliense were also found in leaves at growers D and E . Interestingly, plants with leaf infections of P. brasiliense or P. parmentieri were not infected in tubers and vice versa. In 20% of all SRP-infected samples, co-infections with P. brasiliense and P. parmentieri occurred, predominantly in tubers at growers D and E. Ct-values of positive samples were low, in particular for P. brasiliense, indicating the presence of high bacterial densities after enrichment  TaqMan assay against the virulent P. brasiliense clade [P. brasiliense   . InoculaDickeya sp. strains, isolated from the tubers of grower C, strongly reacted with the Dickeya genus-specific TaqMan assay but not with TaqMan assays developed for detecting D. solani, D. dianthicola, D. chrysanthemi, D. dadantii and D. zeae, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis with gapA sequences of two isolates indicated that the tubers were infected with D. fangzhongdai, as they clustered with D. fangzhongdai strains from orchid, onion, pear, and water streams  was positive and further confirmed the identity of the strains. The D. fangzhongdai strains from potatoes were able to macerate potato tuber tissue .The P. parmentieri. Surprisingly, P. brasiliense, the dominant blackleg-causing agent in the Netherlands in the last five years, was not detected [P. parmentieri assay were weak, even though the samples were incubated under conditions favoring the growth of SRP, indicating that mainly dead cells were detected. We speculate that although haulms came in contact with airborne inoculum, conditions were unfavorable to establish an infection. As an exception, at grower D, 5% of the leaves were infected with Dickeya sp. Strong TaqMan reactions were found, indicating a successful infection. Interestingly, analysis of samples with TaqMan assays for individual Dickeya species indicated that the leaves were infected with D. chrysanthemi and D. zeae. So far, in Europe, blackleg was predominantly caused by D. dianthicola and D. solani [D. chrysanthemi has been associated with potatoes in Taiwan [D. zeae was only described in association with potatoes in Australia, where it caused soft rot but not blackleg [Dickeya species found in leaves, indicating that infections were airborne. In the Netherlands, D. chrysanthemi was isolated from begonia, chrysanthemum, dahlia and Pastinaca sp. [A two-year field survey, in which plants grown from minitubers were analyzed for infections with SRP, showed that infection prevalence was strongly dependent on location and year. In 2019, there was a low prevalence of mainly leaf infections with detected . The Taq. solani . D. chryn Taiwan  and in tn Taiwan . Recentln Taiwan . D. zeaeblackleg ,27,28. Tnaca sp. . It may D. fangzhongdai, while at growers D and E, infections with P. brasiliense and P. parmentieri were found in the PB1 crop.In our studies, minituber seed lots were not tested for BL-SRP prior to planting, but we do not expect them to be the source of infection. Between 2005 and 2008, 25\u201330 different seed lots of potato minitubers were tested in the Netherlands annually for the presence of BL-SRP, but they were never detected . MoreoveP. brasiliense was found after storage. The infections may be a result of low incidences of infected, rotten tubers present in the sampled crop at harvest but may also originate from other crops if machines and equipment used during harvesting and storage were not thoroughly washed and disinfected prior to use [Although BL-SRP was not detected in tubers of the sampled crop at the end of the growing season, at grower D, a high infection incidence with r to use ,30.P. brasiliense (35\u201338%) were found, particularly in tubers. More than 10% of the tuber samples were also infected with P. parmentieri. In addition, at growers D and E, relatively high incidences of P. brasiliense (8%) were found in leaves. P. brasiliense is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous group in which strains vary in their ability to cause blackleg [P. brasiliense reacted with a TaqMan assay specific for a genetically homogeneous clade of strains, from which most strains can cause blackleg [P. parmentieri strains tested previously in a field bioassay, erroneously described as a virulent group of P. carotovorum, were all able to cause blackleg, although the aggressiveness seems to be lower than of other blackleg-causing species and varies between strains [In 2020, the weather conditions during the growing period (June and July) for blackleg development were more favorable than in 2019, with a high level of precipitation. At growers A and B, low infection incidences were found, similar to 2019. However, at growers D and E, high incidences of blackleg ,31. A hiblackleg . P. parm strains ,20,32,33Plants with infected leaves did not have infected tubers and vice versa (results not shown). It is highly unlikely that the minitubers (seed potatoes) were the source of inoculum, as the seed used by growers B, C, D, and E were from the same producer, whereas only at growers D and E high infection rates were found. In addition, the infection incidence of rotten mother tubers was relatively low, 1% compared with an estimated 6% for the progeny tubers. If the minitubers had acted as an infection source, a high incidence of rotten mother tubers would have been expected.6 cfu per gram of leaf material [D. solani was transmitted during the growing season from an infected plant to the third plant in a row and to nearby plants in the next row [We hypothesize that the presence of nearby located SRP-infected potato crops of a lower class was predominantly responsible for the initial infections. As in most cases, tuber and leaf infections were not found on the same plant, we conclude that transmission pathways resulting in leaf or tuber infections were different. Leaf infections may be due to transmission of the pathogen via insects or splashing rainwater. It has been shown in glasshouse experiments that after infection, SRP populations can build up in leaves to densities of up to 10material . Tuber iD. fangzhongdai. The presence was evidenced after the isolation of the pathogen by gapA sequencing and the use of a target-specific TaqMan assay. The pathogen was not detected in leaves or stems. D. fangzhongdai was recorded for the first time in 1973 in China, where it caused a bleeding canker disease in pear [In 2020, at grower C, a relatively high percentage of the (composite) tuber samples (21%) and an estimated 5% of the tubers were infected with  in pear , and sin in pear  but neveUsing a two-step analysis, first, a multiplex assay detecting all blackleg-causing species, followed by a characterization of the causative agent using simplex TaqMan assays for individual species, worked efficiently. Most infections found in the multiplex assay could be traced back.D. zeae and D. chrysanthemi were detected, whereas, in 2020, samples were used in which P. brasiliense and D. fangzhongdai were detected by the enrichment TaqMan assay.The chance to isolate BL-SRP from latently infected plant samples positive in the enrichment TaqMan assays seems to depend on the enrichment procedure. We were more successful using extracts from vacuumed plant tissues after incubation than using incubation in a pectate enrichment broth under low oxygen conditions. The efficiency may also be dependent on the pathogen present. In 2019, attempts were made to isolate from samples in which D. zeae, D. chrysanthemi, and D. fangzhongdai, but still, they may pose a threat to seed potato production. In this study, for D. fangzhongdai, it was shown that under experimental conditions, it is highly virulent and can cause blackleg at a similar level as P. brasiliense, but up to now, it has never been isolated from diseased plants in farmers\u2019 fields in Europe. The existence of blackleg-causing species within the genus Pectobacterium, other than P. atrosepticum, P. brasiliense, and P. parmentieri, cannot be excluded. However, in surveys in the Netherlands on blackleg-diseased plants, these three Pectobacterium species were dominant as causative agents [At this moment, only incidentally new SRP variants are found in tubers such as e agents .D. solani and P. brasiliense [The occurrence of new pathogenic variants is likely. In a recent analysis of the pangenome of SRP, it was demonstrated that the evolution of soft rot Pectobacteriaceae is a highly dynamic process, which includes gene acquisitions partly in clusters, genome rearrangements, and loss of genes . Variantsiliense ,24,36. TDickeya species in crops indicate the risks for the occurrence of new SRP variants in potato and emphasizes the need for regular surveys.In conclusion, we found that before haulms are destructed, already high infection incidences can occur in a potato crop grown from minitubers with SRP, although the risks seem to be dependent on the environmental conditions during the growing season. Data suggests that the transmission pathway of the pathogen for haulm infection is different from that of tubers. The detection of various"}
+{"text": "Silene based on optical images and image analysis has recently been described on the basis of morphological measurements of the lateral seed views. According to the outline of their silhouettes, seeds from 52 species (49 of Silene and three related species) were classified in three groups: smooth, rugose and echinate, revealing remarkable differences between these groups. This methodology has been applied here to 51 new species, making a total of 100 species of Silene analyzed so far. According to our data, a new group was described, termed papillose. The results showed morphological differences between the four mentioned seed groups, with reduced values of circularity for dorsal and lateral seed views in the papillose and echinate groups and reduced values of solidity in the papillose seeds. The method was applied to the analysis of individual as well as to average seed silhouettes and some of the differences between groups were maintained in both cases.Seed morphology is an important source of information for plant taxonomy. Nevertheless, the characters under study are diverse, and a simple, unified method is lacking in the literature. A new method for the classification of seeds of the genus  Silene L. with ca. 700 species is the largest one of the Caryophyllaceae Juss. [Silene species belong to the Northern Hemisphere, with regions of high diversity in the Mediterranean area [S. burchellii Otth. [S. undulata Aiton [S. thysanodes Fenzl. and S. mandonii (Rohrb.) Bocquet) [The genus ae Juss. ,2. An imean area ,7,8,9,10ean area ,12,13. Oean area , and eveean area . In addiii Otth.  and S. uta Aiton ), or in Bocquet) ,19.Silene has been recognized for a longtime as a valuable source of information for intrageneric classification, and seed morphological characters have been used with diverse applications for the taxonomy of this genus [The diversity in shape and ornamentation observed in the seeds of is genus ,26,27,28Silene species.The shape of lateral seed views, with the hilum oriented towards one side, has often been termed as reniform, and it could be more precisely defined as \u201ccardioid related\u201d, based on the quantification by comparison with models derived from the cardioid curve. A variable degree of opening of the central side, corresponding to the proximity of the hilum, revealed different shapes that can be compared with algebraically defined geometric models derived from the cardioid ,30,31,32Concerning seed coat ornamentation, there is not a complete agreement about the terminology and definition of the characters under study. For example, Arman and Jolipour  classifiSilene seeds was based on the consideration of the seed silhouettes as geometric figures. In relation to general seed shape, it allowed for comparing the seed outline with algebraically defined geometric figures providing a quantity, J index, that indicates the percentage of similarity of the seed silhouette with a given geometric figure taken as a model [Silene, one of Atocion and two of Viscaria [S. subg. Silene, while species of S. subg. Lychnis were absent. Most of the species in the group of rugose seeds belonged to S. subg. Silene, and species in the group of echinate seeds corresponded mainly to both S. subg. Behenantha and S. subg. Lychnis [The proposed description of the lateral and dorsal views of  a model ,30,31,32Viscaria . The groIn addition, previous published data indicated a relationship between the morphological groups defined based on their seed silhouettes  and the geometric models adjusting to the shape of seeds, both in the lateral and dorsal views ,32. LateSilene, making a total of 100 species of Silene analyzed so far by this method. The species Eudianthe coeli-rosa (L.) Fenzl ex Endl. was included since this taxon has also been considered as a member of the genus Silene [To explore further the relationship between morphological groups based on the geometry of the seed silhouettes and the taxonomic position of the species, we have expanded the seed morphological analysis to 51 new species of s Silene . Our aims Silene , based oSilene and Eudianthe coeli-rosa used in this study are shown in Silene seeds with the mean, minimum and maximum values of area, perimeter, circularity, roundness, aspect ratio, and solidity. Similar to other Silene species [The lateral and dorsal images of representative seeds belonging to 51 species of  species ,32, the Silene species, only four  had a smooth outline on the lateral view, since no projections appeared on their surface , with a unique sample of S. subg. Behenantha (S. baccifera).Among the studied  surface . The see surface , in contS. bupleuroides, S. caryophylloides, S. chloranta, S. chlorifolia, S. dinarica, S. foliosa, S. frivaldskyana, S. gigantea, S. hayekiana, S. hookeri, S. integripetala, S. koreana, S. linicola, S. marizii, S. multicaulis subsp. multicaulis, S. paradoxa, S. pygmaea, S. regia, S. roemeri, S. saxatilis, S. spinescens, S. squamigera subsp. vesiculifera, S. swertifolia, S. vallesia subsp. vallesia, S. villosa, S. virginica and S. waldsteinii. As with smooth seeds, most of the species with rugose seeds correspond to S. subg. Silene , while only five species belong to S. subg. Behenantha. A notable diversity about the degree of concavity around the hilum was observed, with species characterized with this region almost plane or convex  or with some degree of concavity . Regarding the dorsal seed view , while a few species were characterized with convex dorsal views without any depression .The group of rugose seeds was the largest in number, formed by 27 species : S. bupleed view , most ofS. aprica, S. chungtienensis, S. ciliata, S. dichotoma, S. fabaria, S. firma, S. fruticosa, S. jeniseensis, S. longicilia, S. multiflora, S. nana, S. petersonii, S. samojedorum, S. suksdorfii, S. viridiflora and S. yunannensis. Most of the species in this group belong to S. subg. Behenantha , while only six species belong to S. subg.Silene. In general, the lateral views of the seeds are plane around the hilum region  or present concavities smaller than the rugose seeds . A notable diversity in size and relative distribution of the spines was observed for both lateral and dorsal seed views , with a clear concavity in the upper or lower part of the seeds only observed in S. ciliata . Their dorsal silhouettes showed a rectangular shape, with the presence of marked prolongations , as well as E. coeli-rosa are shown in The mean values for all general morphological measurements, coefficients of variation and the results of the Kruskal\u2013Wallis and post hoc tests for the comparison between the groups of p < 0.05) on the lateral views between the groups for all the measurements except aspect ratio and roundness. These measurements were excluded from further analysis. For the remaining measures, the Campbell and Skillings post-hoc test results are summarized in E. coeli-rosa populations have lower values for area and perimeter, whereas the papillose seeds have a high perimeter (p < 0.05). Regarding the circularity and solidity, there were four groups, with the lowest values in the papillose seeds, followed by echinate and E. coeli-rosa, then rugose and the highest values of the smooth seeds (p < 0.05). The obtained data for the seeds of E. coeli-rosa were, in general, similar to those for the echinate seeds in all measurements. The coefficients of variation for the lateral seed view were notably higher for the measurements of area and perimeter, intermediate in aspect ratio, circularity and roundness, and the lowest values were obtained in solidity ; and, finally, (iii) a group characterized by the highest values of roundness (p < 0.05) formed by the papillose and E. coeli-rosa seeds. The circularity results show lowest values for the papillose population, followed by echinate, and, finally, E. coeli-rosa, the rugose and smooth species with the highest values (p < 0.05). The lowest values of solidity were obtained for the papillose species, an intermediate group was formed by echinate and smooth seeds, and the highest values corresponded to the rugose population. The species E. coeli-rosa resembled different seed groups depending on the morphological feature: echinate seeds for area, perimeter and solidity; papillose seeds for aspect ratio and roundness; and rugose and smooth seeds for solidity and circularity. Finally, the coefficients of variation for the dorsal seed view revealed the highest values for the area and perimeter, the lowest values were obtained in solidity, while aspect ratio, circularity and roundness showed similar intermediate values  belong to S. Sect. Siphonomorpha. In the cases of S. subgen. Behenantha, 3 out of 8 species of the group of rugose seeds are included in S. sect. Physolychnis. Finally, the case of S. baccifera and S. littorea, of S. subgen. Behenantha are quite remarkable, since both of them are characterized by a convex shape and bright surface, and hence, they are the only species belonging to this subgenus and classified within the smooth group.The results reported here confirm and expand a certain relationship between the morphological groups obtained by the analysis of the outline of the silhouettes. A summary of them is presented in Silene and 3 related species) classified the seeds according to the outline of their silhouettes in 3 well distinguished groups: smooth, rugose and echinate [Silene classified them in the three mentioned groups plus a new group, named papillose. The four species classified as having papillose seeds  conformed a compact group well differentiated at a glance. They had distinctive morphological characteristics, such as the presence of long and broad prolongations (papillae) with mostly flat tips. The lowest values of circularity and solidity of the lateral and dorsal seed views for both individual and average seed silhouettes corresponded to this group as well.A recent report with 95 populations belonging to 52 species (49 species of echinate . In addiechinate . The datS. baccifera). In the previous report [S. littorea), this group was more numerous with a total of 12 species. Therefore, the lack of roughness of the outline of the seeds could be the main factor to support the high levels of circularity of the smooth seeds. Nevertheless, the two species S. baccifera and S. littorea would deserve further attention because they are the only species belonging to S. subg. Behenantha classified as smooth seeds. A high degree of homoplasy has been described in Silene [S. subg. Behenantha showed classification problems in phylogenetic analysis and morphological studies [Silene taxonomic work.Some differences were found between the results reported here and those given by Mart\u00edn-G\u00f3mez et al. . Accordis report , althougn Silene . This me studies ,34. AccoSilene samples to check the continuity of the observed tendencies, including samples for the new seed group, papillose.The main results of the measurements of aspect ratio agreed with the results published . This siConcerning solidity, the previous work  reportedSilene regarding subgenera and can be added to other tools developed for the analysis of Silene seeds [Silene will enable, eventually, a combination with phylogenetics for a better understanding of the Silene taxonomy.The analysis by the average seed silhouettes allowed to compare between morphological properties of seeds, as independent individuals, and those of a set of images grouped together. The use of average seed silhouettes reduced the morphological variation during the process of obtention of the data, which was remarkable for rugose and echinate seeds. Despite these differences, this comparison might reaffirm the morphological tendencies found in the analysis by groups of seeds based on individual seed silhouettes. For example, the papillose seeds showed the lowest values for circularity and solidity of the lateral and dorsal seed views for both individual and average seed silhouettes. In this work, we showed robust morphological tools for large sets of seeds. These tools resulted in similar clustering than phylogenetics classifications in ne seeds ,35. The S. latifolia subsp. alba [Silene for Flora Iberica [S. latifolia  the accurate description of the characters under analysis and (2) the stability of the characters under scrutiny. The overall shape may change with aging of seeds, and also a level of variation in the shape of the surface protuberances has been reported in sp. alba . Accordi Iberica , reportstifolia d Italy  equipped with a camera Nikon DS-Fi1 of 5.24 megapixels ; lateral and dorsal views of these seeds used in the morphological analysis were taken with a camera Nikon Z6 equipped with an objective AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60 mm f/2.8G ED.https://zenodo.org/record/4478344#.YzxbmExBxD8 (accessed on 1 December 2022).The seed individual outlines and their corresponding average silhouettes for the lateral and dorsal views of the seeds in each species were obtained from 20 representative seed images by the method described ,38. A viSilene followed the previous proposed classification of the outline of the seed silhouettes [Silene seeds were classified in three groups named: smooth, rugose, and echinate. The smooth seeds were characterized by the lack of superficial projections; the rugose seeds showed rounded projections or rounded tubercles; and those seeds with most of part of the silhouette highly projected with acute tubercles or spines were classified as echinate seeds.The morphological characterization of the seed silhouettes of the different species of houettes . Based o2). The measurements of length and width were omitted from the results because the data for area and aspect ratio gave enough information concerning seed size. Circularity index is the ratio (4\u03c0A)/P2 [Measurements corresponding to the lateral and dorsal views of seeds included: area (A), perimeter (P), length of the major axis (L), width (W), aspect ratio (AR is the ratio L/W), circularity (C), roundness (R) and solidity (S). They all were obtained with ImageJ . A ruler(4\u03c0A)/P2 , while r(4\u03c0A)/P2 . Seed suMean, minimum and maximum and the standard deviation values were obtained for all the measurements indicated above . Statistical analyses were done on IBM SPSS statistics v28 (SPSS 2021) and R software v4.1.2 . As someSilene species have been classified in four well differentiated groups: smooth, rugose, echinate, and papillose. Morphological differences were found between the groups with circularity values in the lateral and dorsal seed views lower in the papillose and echinate seeds. The analysis involved the obtention of average silhouettes permitting to find those differences between groups that were more relevant. The differences found in circularity between the echinate and the smooth and rugose groups disappeared in the analysis with average silhouettes, while these between the papillose and the smooth and rugose groups were maintained after the analysis with average silhouettes. These morphological types for the lateral and dorsal views of the seeds may be related to the taxonomy of Silene based on DNA sequence analysis [Based on optical photographs and the obtention of silhouettes from the seed images, the seeds of 51 analysis ,34."}
+{"text": "Proc. R. Soc. B283, 20152694 (Published online 25 May 2016) (https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2694)The published article  requireshttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6565204.Second, a summary table rather than the raw dataset was uploaded to a public repository. This has been corrected, and the raw data are available at if chemical cues are used in habitat selection, rather than determining a detection threshold for this species of a concentration gradient.Additionally, we would like to clarify that the strong treatment effects found in this experiment are likely the result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to, the ecology of the focal species, the flume apparatus, the chemical comparisons being tested as well as the concentration of the chemical cues tested. The chemical cue concentration is likely higher than the organisms would experience in nature, and therefore likely a supernormal stimulus. Simply put, supernormal stimuli are bigger and more intense than normal, and elicit a larger than normal response from the animal . Here, t"}
+{"text": "Trypanosoma cruzi transmission is chemical control of vectors. This study presents a descriptive analysis of synanthropic triatomines before and after the implementation of a vector-control program in Bahia, Brazil.  Neglected tropical diseases are a growing threat to global health, and endemic Chagas disease has emerged as one of the most important health problems in America. The main strategy to prevent  Descriptive analysis and geospatial statistics were performed on triatomine data, (1) the relative abundance and (2) proportional spatial distribution, from Bahia during two periods: (A) 1957 to 1971 and (B) 2006 to 2019. Panstrongylus megistus  and Triatoma infestans , as well as an increase in the relative abundance of T. sordida  and T. pseudomaculata .  We observed a decrease in the relative abundance of P. megistus and T. infestans (last record in 2015) and an increase in the relative abundance and geographical distribution of T. sordida and T. pseudomaculata after 40 years of the vector-control program. The high frequency of other triatomine species in the municipalities of the state of Bahia and their abundance in recent years highlight the need to reinforce permanent entomological surveillance actions to prevent Chagas disease. Our results indicate a clear reduction in the occurrence of  Trypanosoma cruzi , the etiological agent of Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis. Some synanthropic triatomine species adapt to anthropic changes within their natural landscape, colonizing the household environment  and occasionally inside houses, increasing the risk of T. cruzi transmission,,,, and the environment around the householdTriatomines are blood-sucking insects (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) that are vectors of the parasite ,Triatoma infestans , which occupied household units among 12 states of Brazil and was considered the main vector involved in T. cruzi transmission in Brazil,T. infestans in 1991, a sustained decrease in domestic populations of vectors was observed-T. infestans from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)T. cruzi to humans and domestic animals.In Brazil, some triatomine species have succeeded in occupying the domestic environment and expanding their spatial distribution beyond their original biomesT. cruzi was described by Carlos ChagasConorhinus megistus triatomines - syn. Panstrongylus megistus  - in the city of Mata de S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, near Salvador, the capital city of Bahia. Piraj\u00e1 da Silva also identified triatomines among the cities of Feira de Santana, Candeias, S\u00e3o Francisco do Conde, and SalvadorP. megistus and Triatoma rubrofasciata  naturally infected by T. cruzi were found at the historic center of Salvador city, associated with human cases, which motivated a chemical control campaignP. megistus maintained T. cruzi transmission to families in the neighborhoods of SalvadorP. megistus and T. rubrofasciata were examined in Salvador, of which 16% were infected with T. cruziPiraj\u00e1 da Silva initially described the existence of triatomines in the state of Bahia in 1911, shortly after National campaigns focused on active vector surveillance for the identification of household infestation areas in Brazil and strategies of triatomine vector-control using chemical insecticides (BHC and pyrethroids). The 1983 Brazilian campaign was executed by the Superintendence of Public Health Campaigns (SUCAM) of Brazil\u2019s Health Ministry. During this period, new triatomines were recorded, and new species were describedT. cruzi infection (0.77% to 2.22%) compared to the Northeast region of Brazil (0.69% to 0.88%) between 1987 and 1994T. cruzi transmissionRecent epidemiological studies indicate that Bahia had a high prevalence of human -T. cruzi vector occurrence, the use of retrospective epidemiological and entomological data has become a relevant strategy. In this study, we describe the relative abundance and proportional spatial distribution of synanthropic triatomines at the municipal level before (1957 to 1971) and after (2006 to 2019) the vector-control program implementation in the state of Bahia, which is one of the states with the greatest diversity of triatomines and highest rates of epidemiological information related to Chagas disease in northeastern Brazil.Currently, 26 triatomine species have been recognized in BahiaThe state of Bahia has 417 municipalities and is located in the southern region of northeastern Brazil, bordering eight other Brazilian states and the Atlantic Ocean in the east . DescripT. infestans: Epidemiologic Surveillance team of the State of Bahia\u2019s Health Service (SESAB), Epidemiological Surveillance Office (DIVEP), and Central Public Health Laboratory of Bahia (LACEN/BA) Information regarding period B was obtained from the following state government databases after the certification of interruption of Chagas disease transmission by Entomological data were obtained in three different ways: (a) notification of triatomines (surveillance and community participation) performed by the population itself by taking suspicious insects to health agents; (b) notification attendance (active surveillance) performed by the health agents of each municipality, dependent on (a); and (c) active search (active surveillance), in which vectors were searched among household units around the area, regardless of any notification performed by the population. T. cruzi vector species information from both periods of the study, we evaluated: (1) the relative abundance, calculated as the proportion of each triatomine species divided by the total number of triatomines for each period; and (2) proportional spatial distribution, calculated as the proportion of municipalities that recorded a triatomine species divided by the number of sampled municipalities.To compare Spreadsheets were used to collect the following data: species, municipality, date, geographic information system (GIS) coordinates, sampling environment , and data reference. Graphs and descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS 24. In the absence of specific GIS information, the coordinates of the city's headquarters from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were usedIn this study, information regarding 315 municipalities and 215597 triatomines collected during the two periods was evaluated, among which 35588 were from period A (1957-1971) and 180020 were from period B (2006-2019). During period A, data were gathered from 202/290 (71%) municipalitiesP. megistus was present in 122 (60.4%) of the sampled municipalities, followed by T. sordida (37.1%), T. pseudomaculata (19.8%), and T. infestans (12.8%). During period B, T. pseudomaculata was widely distributed, being recorded in 176 of 258 (68.2%) sampled municipalities, followed by T. sordida (61.6%), and T. brasiliensis (36.4%) ( (36.4%) .P. megistus was the most abundant species (n=22032), representing 61.9% of triatomines, followed by T. sordida (23.3%), T. brasiliensis species complex (4.3%), and T. infestans (3.6%). Conversely, in period B, T. sordida represented 81.6% of all collected triatomines, followed by T. pseudomaculata (9.2%) and T. brasiliensis species complex (6.3%).In period A, T. cruzi vector-control actions, we observed a reduction in the municipal occurrence of synanthropic populations of T. infestans and P. megistus. T. infestans was no longer detected in some municipalities in the west  and north  of Bahia  and the central region (Caatinga biome) of Bahia  and T. infestans , as well as an increase in the relative abundance of T. sordida  and T. pseudomaculata . During period B, most triatomines were captured in peridomestic habitats, with a predominance of T. sordida  and the relative abundance (%) of species in periods A and B showed a reduction for  sordida .T. cruzi vectors, initiated in 1975. Our results indicate a clear reduction in the occurrence of P. megistus and T. infestans (last record in 2015) and an increase in the relative abundance and geographical distribution of T. sordida and T. pseudomaculata after the Brazilian vector-control program.This study indicated changes in the spatial distribution and relative abundance of synanthropic triatomines in the state of Bahia, Northeast Brazil, before and after 44 years of structured control actions of Panstrongylus megistus was the predominant species between 1957 and 1971; it was found in 60% of municipalities, with a relative abundance of 62% of collected triatominesP. megistus spatial distribution has also been reduced in other Brazilian states,-P. megistus; (b) intense urbanization in these municipalities resulted in deforestation and fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest biome areas, which is the natural habitat of this species,P. megistus colonization. P. megistus is a native Brazilian species with a wide spatial distribution and high epidemiological and entomological relevance due to the high rates of T. cruzi infection and its proximity to human dwellings, as it can colonize intra-and/or peridomicile areas. In 2021, P. megistus foci were described in the metropolitan region of S\u00e3o Paulo, with T. cruzi-infected triatomines associated with marsupials, revealing the importance of continued surveillance of synanthropic P. megistusT. infestans were found in 12.8% of the sampled municipalities and represented 3.7% of the sampled triatomines. During period B, T. infestans was identified in only seven municipalities with residual colonies-T. infestans identification errors and the appearance of new records of this species in the study areaT. infestans in several municipalities in western and central Bahia can be explained by the T. infestans elimination plan. This plan was intensified in 2004 and included spraying households with insecticides, followed by research and capture of triatomines, surveying approximately 500000 households,T. infestans,T. infestans and other household species,.During period A, T. infestans, several native species have been recorded in a large number of municipalities. They were captured in households and frequently colonized peri domestic areas. Among them, some were infected by T. cruzi and many of them fed on domestic animals and human bloodT. sordida was recorded in 37% of the municipalities, representing 23% of the collected triatomines, while T. pseudomaculata was recorded in 19% of the municipalities, with a relative abundance of 2.5% of the gathered triatominesT. sordida was recorded in 60% of the municipalities, representing approximately 81% of the triatomines. T. sordida is the most common species in different regions of Bahia. Similarly, T. pseudomaculata was identified in the largest number of municipalities during period B (67.4%). Systematic vector-control actions had a low impact on the spatial distribution of T. sordida and T. pseudomaculata in Bahia. There was a higher occurrence of T. sordida in western and south-central Bahia, where there are areas of Cerrado, which is the original biome of the species\u2019 natural populations,,T. pseudomaculata in western and central Bahia followed the occurrence predictions of the species based on environmental variablesT. sordida and T. pseudomaculata exceeded 90% of all triatomines collected in the state between 2006 and 2019.Although successful in controlling T. brasiliensis and similar species in Bahia, thus expanding the observations of Ribeiro-Jr et. al.T. brasiliensis species complex was registered in 10% of the municipalities of Bahia, and between 2006 and 2019, at least 94 municipalities (36%) registered this species. In the last few years, other species of the T. brasiliensis complex have been described in the state of Bahia, including T. juazeirensis, T. melanica, T. sherlocki, and T. petrocchiaeT. juazeirensis is noteworthy because it was predominantly collected inside household units. Other species, such as T. tibiamaculata, P. geniculatus, T. melanocephala, and P. lutzi, were intrusively detected inside the houses, mainly adult specimens.We observed a higher occurrence of T. tibiamaculata between the two periods. In period A, it was recorded in approximately 1% of the municipalities with a relative abundance of 0.01%T. tibiamaculata has been naturally found inside nests of marsupials, rodents, and epiphytes in forests,T. cruzi-infected T. tibiamaculata generates a transmission risk in Salvador, probably in the entire metropolitan region, and in the Atlantic Forest areasThere was a significant difference in the occurrence of T. cruzi can be classified as native/non native, wild/non wild, domestic/peridomestic to enable the definition of effective vector-control strategiesT. cruzi transmission in the domestic environment.Triatomine vectors of T. brasiliensis complex species were considered as one, and to avoid misinterpretations, data obtained in this study were evaluated at stricto sensu level,,Belminus laportei, Eratyrus mucronatus, Microtriatoma trinidadensis, Panstrongylus tupynambai, P. lignarius, Rhodnius prolixus, Triatoma maculata, T. circummaculata, and T. rubrovaria. To reduce taxonomic identification errors, a guide was developedThis study has several limitations. Since the use of reference databases does not allow a broad analysis of data, it was impossible to obtain data on triatomines within habitats (intra-and peridomicile) in period A (1957-1971). The effects of passive dispersion and seasonal changes on vector behavior were impossible to measure. In addition, the database does not allow descriptive evaluations of nymph occurrence. Moreover, not all municipalities collected data regularly during the evaluated periods, and the health surveillance service classifies municipalities among the high, medium, and low risk of transmission, emphasizing that there is no obligation to conduct regular entomological research among low-risk municipalities based on the classification presented by Brazil\u2019s Health MinistryT. cruzi vectors P. megistus and T. infestans, respectively. In addition, we described an increase in the native species T. sordida, T. pseudomaculata, and T. brasiliensis species subcomplex and highlighted the important role of native triatomine species in T. cruzi transmission in the domiciliary environment. The observed changes in T. cruzi main vectors between the evaluated periods demonstrate the importance of reinforcing entomological surveillance actions. Furthermore, promoting and disseminating community-based scientific knowledge and health education actions on Chagas disease at a local scale will help mitigate surveillance challenges and control native triatomines.This study describes changes in the triatomine fauna of Bahia between the analyzed periods more than 40 years after the implementation of the vector-control program in the state. During this period, we observed changes in the Chagas disease surveillance policies in Brazil due to decentralization. The centralized Brazilian control program was transferred to municipalities without corresponding training. The decentralization policy of the Chagas disease vector-control program aimed to bring the actions of the government closer to the communities, but true engagement by local communities has not been achieved. After decentralization, the efficacy of some municipalities in detecting triatomines has been reduced. We observed a reduction in the relative abundance and proportional spatial distribution of domestic and domesticated species of The procedures followed the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Committee of the Gon\u00e7alo Moniz Institute . The consent form was waived since the analysis was performed using a database. However, to provide full anonymity to participants, no personal identification data were used. The research did not cause any physical, psychological, moral, intellectual, social, cultural, or religious risks to the residents or animals in the study areas. In addition, this study did not include endangered or protected species."}
+{"text": "Proteus mirabilis, the most widespread species of all Proteus spp. bacteria, is proven to be one of the most universal pathogens in chronic wounds. In this case, a woman in her 40s consulted a physician about an asymptomatic ulceration with a stalactite appearance at the distal end of the index finger after she was exposed to a needle when vaccinating chickens. The patient did not response to ceftazidime. Physical examination revealed a well-demarcated violescent ulceration with a stalactite appearance at the distal end of the index finger. A biopsy of the lesion showed dense infiltration of multinucleated giant cells, histiocytes, and lymphocytes in the dermis. The result of metagenomics next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed 306 unique sequence reads of P. mirabilis, covering 33.49% of the nucleotide sequences. The pathogen was identified as P. mirabilis, which was resistant to ceftazidime. The patient was treated with ciprofloxacin hydrochloride and improved considerably. This case reported a distinctive cutaneous lesion of P. mirabilis on human infection and showed a successful use of NGS in P. mirabilis. Proteus mirabilis is the most widespread species of Proteus spp. bacteria , and her lesion showed substantial improvement   . The phe similar . Celluli similar . Howeverhy smell . There airabilis .P. mirabilis may be in a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. It was a state of bacteria where bacteria under certain conditions of starvation or stress could enter a state of no division and, therefore, become non-culturable but in the same time keep their viability and sometimes their ability to cause infection  was ineffective, and the culture was negative. nfection . Thus, Vl effect , 15.P. mirabilis, including TEM genes, VEB-1 genes, OXA genes, CTX-M genes and CIT genes, with the TEM genes being the most common resistant gene  for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.LZ, YD, CJ, and DC conceptualized and designed the study. LZ and YD wrote the manuscript. TG, BC, CJ, and DC revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. ML, QX, and TL collected clinical pictures and analyzed the data. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Eucalyptus. These crops are the most productive in the world, but may suffer losses due to exotic pests, including Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore  found in Brazil since 2003. Interactions between Eucalyptus plants and insect pests may led to the selection of resistant genotypes. Eucalyptus species are either susceptible or resistant to this pest group, but the damage they suffer needs to be evaluated. The objective was to determine possible leaf anatomy indicators of different Eucalyptus species associated with G. brimblecombei infestations, focusing on plant resistance to this pest. The study was carried out with Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus saligna and Eucalyptus urophylla saplings infested or not by G. brimblecombei eggs and nymphs. Eighteen anatomical characteristics of the leaves of these plants were analyzed. The number of stomata on the adaxial and abaxial sides and the glandular area in the central leaf vein are associated with greater or lesser infestation by G. brimblecombei in the Eucalyptus genotypes.The total area of forest crops in Brazil is 9.55 million hectares, of which 7.5 million hectares are  Eucalyptus. Forest plantations in Brazil are among the most productive in the world with 36.8 m\u00b3/ha year and with economic, social and environmental importance  was reported in Brazil , glands that produce essential oils, often rich in terpenoids, hardness (sclorophilia), heterophilia (differentiation between young and mature leaves) and high regrowth of enotypes .Eucalyptus plantations depends on knowledge of plant/insect interactions. The objective of this study was to determine possible indicators based on leaf anatomy of four Eucalyptus species associated with G. brimblecombei infestations. These indicators may be useful in breeding programs for plant resistance to this pest.Leaf anatomy is poorly studied and may allow us to understand pest infestations and the development of new tools for their management. Developing integrated psyllid management in Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. grandis, E. saligna and E. urophylla were planted in 1.5 L pots with an autoclaved mixture of soil: sand: manure (2: 1: 1) and kept in a greenhouse for infestation with G. brimblecombei.The study was carried out at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCA/UNESP) in Botucatu, S\u00e3o Paulo state, Brazil. Eucalyptus species were previously classified according to their response to G. brimblecombei with E. saligna and E. urophylla being resistant, E. grandis tolerant and E. camaldulensis susceptible to damage , weekly, for 4 weeks.Eucalyptus species were used per treatment, with 10 plants (replications) infested with G. brimblecombei and another 10, as a control, free from the pest. All the plants in the control were sprayed with systemic insecticide (acephate) and the others only with water, to evaluate the effects of mechanical action of the water.Twenty seedlings of each Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. grandis, E. saligna and E. urophylla leaves, infested or not, were analyzed. The samples were one to two leaves from the middle third of each eucalypt sapling, cut in three parts with the middle third analyzed. These samples were placed in formaldehyde + glacial acetic acid + 50% alcohol fixative solution (FAA-50) for 48 h and stored in 70% ethanol  per species of Eucalyptus infested or not by G. brimblecombei. Eighteen variables for anatomical characterization of the leaf were evaluated.The thickness and the area with the epidermal, parenchymal and vascular leaf tissues were obtained with the computer program Image Tool 3.0 (UTHSCA) to evaluate the damage by 2) (CS) in the region of the central rib, thickness of the upper (TUE) and lower (TLE) epidermis, upper (TUPP) and lower (TLPP) palisade parenchyma, spongy parenchyma (TSP), leaf (TL), mesophyll (TM), the mean area of a gland (MGA), and number of stomata/mm2 of the upper (NUS) and lower (NLS) surfaces in the internervure region (The 18 variables related to leaf anatomy were: percentages of upper (%UE) and lower (%LE) epidermis, collenchyma (%Col), phloem (%Ph), xylem (%Xy), chlorenchyma (%Chl), gland (%Gl), and total cross-sectional area   to verifG. brimblecombei was constant with low plant mortality. Eucalyptus camaldulensis was more infested than E. urophylla and E. grandis and all G. brimblecombei nymphs died in the first instars on E. saligna without development on plants of this species. Sooty mold developed on G. brimblecombei lerps. The occurrence of leaf spot from Teratosphaeria epicoccoides was observed on E. camaldulensis, E. grandis and E. urophylla and with greater damage to E. saligna.The infestation of Eucalyptus species   . The gras leaves .Eucalyptus leaves and the first two principal components (Y1 and Y2) were found to be thickness variables of the lower palisade parenchyma, mesophyll, leaf, upper palisade parenchyma, upper epidermis, as well as the number of stomata of the upper and lower surfaces. These were the main variables that served to discriminate the four Eucalyptus species, based on the first principal component (Y1)  were lower than those of the group 1 species   . The disent (Y1)  and the ent (Y1)  showed tophylla) .E. camaldulensis were higher than those for other species. The E. camaldulensis leaf profile was classified  on shoots and apical parts of Eucalyptus, which may reduce chlorenchyma, impairing plant development (E. grandis leaves in the central vein region, and phloem and xylem in the central vein than in other species may be related to the presence and production of phenolic compounds in the epidermis (G. brimblecombei.The similar percentage of epidermis in the central vein region, collenchyma and epidermis thickness in the internervural region, and thickness of spongy parenchyma for the resistant and susceptible  species , indicatelopment . The higpidermis , as a reE. camaldulensis due to stomata on the adaxial surface and a double layer of palisade parenchyma on both sides of its leaves. The single layer of palisade parenchyma was found only on the adaxial surface of the other species (Differences in the number of stomata on the upper surface, and thickness of the upper and lower palisade parenchyma on  species .Eucalyptus spp. to G. brimblecombei, because this structure is duplicated on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of E. camaldulensis leaves and single in the adaxial surface of E. grandis, E. saligna and E. urophylla, as well as thicker, on both sides, in E. camaldulensis than in the other species. The signs of stylet insertion by G. brimblecombei nymphs through the E. camaldulensis leaf sections indicates that they passed through the parenchyma cells rather than between them. Cell-degrading proteins such as amylase, cellulase, pectinase and pectinesterase enable stylet entry into the plant tissue (E. grandis, E. saligna and E. urophylla, whereas they are present on E. camaldulensis leaf side surfaces. The total number of stomata is similar between these species, but this may explain the similar infestation on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of E. camaldulensis compared to E. urophylla, with greater infestation on the abaxial surfaces. Stylets of G. brimblecombei nymphs penetrated the mesophyll, crossing between the guard cells of the stomata, similar to that observed for this insect in E. globulus (E. camaldulensis may confer greater susceptibility to G. brimblecombei.The palisade parenchyma probably does not confer resistance on t tissue . Stomataglobulus , 2001b aEucalyptus trees for insects include physical barriers and constitutive and inducible chemical defenses (Eucalyptus resistance to G. brimblecombei (Defense strategies of defenses . The condefenses , amountslecombei .G. brimblecombei nymph infestation and to explain E. camaldulensis susceptibility to this pest. The thinner epidermis of the adaxial surface and lower percentage of epidermal tissue on the abaxial surface of E. camaldulensis leaves are possibly related to the higher susceptibility to G. brimblecombei. This is a pioneering study evaluating anatomical foliar indicators in relation to Eucalyptus pests, and allows us to better understand pest infestation patterns, and concomitantly, the morphological characteristics that normally confer resistance, such as waxy coating, trichoids, and stomata in these plants.The proportional area and number of stomata occupying the epidermis may also be important for Eucalyptus plants to G. brimblecombei.The number of stomata in the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces and percentage of gland area in the central vein of the leaves are related to the resistance or susceptibility of Eucalyptus grandis, E. urophylla and E. saligna, with higher values of the leaf characteristics evaluated, may be considered resistant or moderately resistant to G. brimblecombei.10.7717/peerj.13346/supp-1Supplemental Information 1The evaluations of the quantitative anatomical variables of the different Eucalyptus genotypes.Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Metastrongylus spp. in wild boars and the earthworm intermediate host species contributing to the maintenance of the life cycle. Here, wild boars were subjected to parasitological necropsies, and lungworm species were identified morphologically, followed by confirmation using ITS-2 sequencing and a phylogenetic analysis. Earthworms were collected from wild boar habitats and investigated for the presence of larvae. The prevalence of Metastrongylus spp. in wild boars was 78.8%, and many individuals were positive for all three detected species, Metastrongylus pudendotectus, Metastrongylus salmi and Metastrongylus elongatus. The phylogenetic analysis did not clearly resolve all species, except for M. pudendotectus. Age group and season had no influence on prevalence, while intensity was significantly higher in autumn than in spring and summer . Three out of six investigated earthworm species were positive for metastrongyloid larvae , but neither their phylogenetic relationship nor ecological microhabitats were able to explain these differences. Further sequence data should be used to improve the resolution in phylogenetic trees to determine potential cryptic species in the genus, while the application of deep sequencing approaches might provide insights into species-specific epidemiology and pathology.The aim of the present study was to characterize the diversity of  Metastrongylus Molin, 1861 [The superfamily of Metastrongyloidea Lane, 1917) is composed of approximately 200 nematode species divided into eight families. Several species infecting wild and domestic animals have a worldwide distribution 917 is co,4,5,6. Ain, 1861 ,11,12,13Wild boars live in small groups, constantly migrating from one place to another. They are omnivorous, feeding on vegetative underground  and the above-ground parts of plants, as well as various fruits, berries and seeds. Animals play a significant role in the diet of the wild boar, which is dominated by earthworms, mollusks, the larvae and adults of soil insects, small reptiles, amphibians and even small rodents, and they also scavenge on carrion and dead fish. Usually, wild boars obtain food by digging up the top layers of soil .Metastrongylus have been described: Metastrongylus elongatus Dujardin, 1845 ; Metastrongylus salmi Gedoelst, 1923; Metastrongylus pudendotectus Vostokov, 1905; Metastrongylus confusus Jansen, 1964; Metastrongylus asymetricus Noda, 1973; Metastrongylus madagascariensis Chabaud and Gretillat, 1956; and Metastrongylus tschiauricus Kojawa, 1956 [M. tschiauricus from wild boars in Georgia is closely related to M. pudendotectus and possibly identical to it.To date, seven species of the genus wa, 1956  indicateMetastrongylus species in order to avoid further misclassifications of Metastrongylus species. The identification of these worms is based on the morphology of the female\u2019s posterior body and the length of the male\u2019s spicules [Gasso et al.  developespicules . The speMetastrongylus spp. in the bronchi and bronchioles of the lungs. However, several cases of the infection of humans with M. elongatus and M. salmi have been described, indicating that these species are at least zoonotic [Metastrongylosis is an invasive disease of wild boars and domestic pigs caused by zoonotic ,18,19. Metastrongylus  were reported in Kazakhstan [Metastrongylus occurring in Uzbekistan are fragmentary, which is reflected in the small number of publications [M. elongatus, M. salmi and M. pudendotectus, were found, but the dominant species was M. pudendotectus [Helminthological studies of wild boars in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, were carried out at the end of the 19th century and in the last century ,20,21. Tzakhstan . In the ications ,23,24. Idotectus .Metastrongylus spp. females shed fully larvated eggs that are transported up the trachea before they are swallowed and passed with feces [Metastrongylus spp., and they allow for the completion of the parasite\u2019s life cycle. Data regarding earthworms as intermediate hosts of Metastrongylus spp. are very limited [th feces . First-sth feces . The finth feces . Various limited ,33,34,35Metastrongylus spp. found in the lungs of wild boars  to evaluate genetic similarities and to perform phylogenetic analyses [In recent years, the first and second internal transcribing spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA have been proven to be useful genetic markers for pulmonary and intestinal Strongylida ,39,40,41analyses ,42,43. Metastrongylus species endemic in Uzbekistan.The current study initially focused on the identification of ITS-2, which has future diagnostic potential to identify the sympatric assemblages of boar hosts and metastrongylid parasites from Uzbekistan. The goal of our research was to study the infection of definitive and intermediate hosts and to use molecular diagnostics to unequivocally identify the Between 2012 and 2020, the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan subjected the lungs of 33 wild boars (shot and dead) to helminthological autopsy. The lungs were delivered by hunting farms from the Bekabad district and the western spurs of the Chatkal ridge (Akhangaran district) of the Tashkent region, the Bukhara and Karakul hunting farms of the Bukhara region and the Arnasay hunting farm of the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan. Adult worms were recovered at necropsy from boars as specified by Kontrimavichus et al. . Adult wMetastrongylus species were differentiated based on morphological features under an ML 2000 series microscope . Adult nematodes were identified based on the morphology of the female\u2019s posterior body, a pair of massive trilobed lips and long filiform spicules and on the male\u2019s atypical bursa. The female has a relatively long vagina. The females and males of the different species were identified based on small differences in the morphology of the vulva and the spicules, respectively [The ectively ,4,16.More than 500 specimens of earthworms were studied regarding their potential role as intermediate hosts of metastrongylid nematodes. The collection of earthworms was carried out in juniper forests near springs, tugays, reed thickets and grasslands, which are all well-known places for rookeries and the feeding of wild boars in the Tashkent, Jizzakh and Bukhara regions of Uzbekistan . For a qMetastrongylus is 0.570 mm \u00d7 0.03 mm, and the posterior end ends in a tip ; not far from the caudal end, there is a small cuticular spine; the anterior end is blunt and cut off.The species identification of earthworms (Lumbricidae) was established in accordance with the guide developed by Perel . FurtherDNA was extracted using a DNA Purification kit  and eluted twice with 100 \u00b5L of the AE buffer provided in the kit. PCR amplification used 0.25 \u00b5M of each of the primers NC1 (ACGTCTGGTTCAGGGTTGTT) and NC2 (TTAGTTTCTTTTCCTCCGCT) , 0.2 U PMetastrongylus and two sequences of Angiostrongylus vasorum, one Aleurostrongylus abstrusus sequence and one Protostrongylus hobmaieri sequence, the latter to be used as an outgroup, were downloaded. The sequences were aligned using MAFFT 6.5 [The sequences of both strands were compared and edited using BioEdit . SimilarAFFT 6.5  on an onAFFT 6.5  using thAFFT 6.5 ,53. ModeAFFT 6.5  was usedAFFT 6.5 , the ShiAFFT 6.5  and an aAFFT 6.5 . The treStatistical analyses were either conducted in GraphPad Prism 5.02 or in R 4.1.1. Prevalence with 95% confidence intervals and significant differences in prevalence were calculated with the functions binom.wilson and tab2by2.test from the epitools package 0.5-10.1. Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests, followed by Dunn\u2019s post hoc tests and Mann\u2013Whitney U tests, were conducted in GraphPad. If p values were corrected for multiple testing, the Bonferroni method was used.Metastrongylus were found: M. elongatus, M. pudendotectus and M. salmi. Quantitative data on the prevalence and intensity of infection  for the three regions of Uzbekistan are shown in M. pudendotectus and either M. salmi (n = 3) or M. elongatus (n = 2). One pig was only positive for M. pudendotectus, which was also the species with the highest prevalence, but the prevalence of the different species was neither significant for the complete dataset nor for the individual regions. Moreover, the differences between the regions were not significant.As a result of the parasitological examination of the wild boars, sexually mature nematodes of three species from the genus M. podendotectus and M. salmi, as well as for all Metastrongylus spp. together. Moreover, worm counts were significantly higher in M. podendotectus than in M. salmi and M. elongatus.The intensity was significantly higher in Jizzakh than in Tashkent  for M. pIn order to confirm the morphological species identification, the ITS-2 regions were successfully amplified and sequenced from adult lung nematode specimen samples, resulting in sequences of approximately 495 bp for all three species. One ITS-2 sequence for each species was deposited in GenBank . The obtM. pudendotectus formed a very homogenous, moderately well-supported cluster clearly separated from all other species. The other species M. elongatus, M. salmi, M. confuses and M. asymetricus formed a highly supported supracluster (indicated in M. elongatus (syn. M. apri) named in M. elongatus genotype group (GG) I and II. Between the two M. elongatus GGs, two sequences were located that only differed by a two-base-pair IN/DEL, i.e., Y08009 and Y08007. While the former is labeled as M. salmi in GenBank, the latter is M. confuses. The M. salmi sequence must have been obtained from a morphological misidentified specimen since it is the only M. salmi labeled sequence within this cluster. Thus, these sequences most likely represent M. confuses. A second, poorly supported large cluster 2 (43.1% SH-LRT support) was dominated by sequences labeled as M. salmi. This cluster 2 contained three well to highly supported subclusters with different M. salmi genotypes . However, species negative for metastrongylid larvae were also sometimes endogeic (A. jassyensis) or epigeic, i.e., species dwelling on the ground and in the litter layer and feeding predominantly from plant litter [In total, six different species of earthworms were identified, and the sample size of each species was considerably high (n = 46\u201396). Metastrongylid larvae were found in three species, negative . Almost t litter .Metastrongylus contains several parasites of pigs that are rarely investigated. Due to the obligate intermediate host, these parasites are not relevant in industrial pig production [The genus oduction , and theoduction . Since wMetastrongylus spp. have been reported worldwide with variable frequencies [Metastrongylus. In this study, M. pudendotectus was slightly more prevalent than the other two species. Another study from Central Asia involved only 10 wild boras from two different regions of Kazakhstan. Again, the same three species were found. However, the prevalence was considerably lower, with 42.8% for M. pudendotectus and M. elongatus, but the authors did not report the prevalence of M. salmi [M. pudendotestus and M. elongatus [M. elongatus, M. pudendotectus and M. salmi [Metastrongylus spp., with M. pudendotectus being the most prevalent species, followed by M. elongatus and M. salmi [M. pudendotectus being found most frequently, followed by M. salmi, M. confusus and M. apri, with M. asymetricus being the least frequently found [M. pudendotectus, M. salmi, M. asymmetricus, M. elongatus and M. confusus. When looking into geographical regions other than Eurasia, a high prevalence of 84.5% for Metastrongylus spp. was described for wild boars in Morocco. Again, M. pudendotectus was the most prevalent species (84.5%), but with a prevalence of 72.7%, M. confusus was the second most frequently found species, followed by M. salmi (51.5%), whereas M. elongatus was not found. In Japan, wild boars showed 100% prevalence, and 64.3% were infected with all four species that were detected. The order of prevalence was M. asymmetricus, M. salmi, M. pudendotectus and M. elongatus. In feral pigs in Florida, M. apri, M. salmi and M. pudendotectus were collected during necropsies, with a prevalence of 94%, 76% and 65%, respectively [M. pudendotectus, M. elongatus and M. salmi  is widely observed, and the results from Uzbekistan are in line with many previous data from this region. quencies ,66,67,68quencies , a similM. salmi . In Eastlongatus . In a naM. salmi . In BelaM. salmi . The samM. salmi . In contM. salmi , Poland M. salmi  and SwitM. salmi . In Switly found . In PolaMetastrongylus species. This was also the case for all other studies cited above regarding the prevalence and species composition of pig lungworm. The high number of Metastrongylus species in combination with the very high overall prevalence that was described in all the studies make it clear that co-infections must be the rule rather than the exception. However, none of the studies, including the present one, has attempted to statistically analyze whether co-infections occur more frequently than one would expect according to the prevalence of each individual Metastrongylus species. The simple reason for this is that the number of animals included in these studies ranged from 5 to less than 50, and, thus, this is far too low for meaningful analyses of such dependencies.In Uzbekistan, the majority of wild boars were infected with multiple Metastrongylus spp. turned out to be highly prevalent (63.6\u201392.3%), with infections reaching very high intensities in the present study. While the prevalence of the nematodes was not significantly influenced by age group or the season of the year, there was a significant effect of the season on intensity, with autumn showing a higher intensity than summer and winter. However, these results should be considered with caution since the very low intensities in summer were due to only three infected wild boars from this season. The difference between summer and autumn was based on much higher animal numbers, but it was also only moderate. In contrast to the results shown here, the infestation of earthworms in spring, summer and autumn has been described to be approximately the same in Belarus [Earthworms are a major part of the feed of wild boars, and, thus,  Belarus . This suAporrectodea caliginosa, Dendrobaena octaedra, Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus terrestis [Metastrongylus spp. has been shown to be the major factor influencing infections in earthworms [A. jassyensis were all negative.Earthworms of the family Lumbricidae that serve as intermediate hosts can have a very high prevalence of almost 100%, with an intensity of tens to a few thousand larvae in one worm as described for species such as errestis . The infrthworms . Earthworthworms , which crthworms . HoweverMetastrongylus spp. with wild boars and relevant lumbricid earthworm species has rarely been investigated. The earthworms collected in the present study came from typical wild boar habitats. The fact that very closely related earthworm species, such as the two Aporectodea and the two Eisenia species, differed so strongly in the prevalence of metastrongylid larvae suggests that the members of these species pairs differ in their ecological macro- or micro-habitats. Since both are considered to be endogeic, different macrohabitats with different wild boar densities or activities might be important variables. The collection of different earthworm species with sampling sites that are georeferenced on a very small scale and with reference to the surrounding vegetation and wild boar activity might help to provide explanations for the unusual distribution pattern of metastrongyloid larvae observed here. However, such investigations are very labor-intensive since the sample site should be considered the statistical unit in many of the methods needed to analyze such data.The interaction of M. elongatus, M. pudendotectus and M. salmi. As discussed above, many of the wild boars were infected with multiple Metastrongylus species simultaneously. This makes it difficult to determine whether there are differences in the epidemiology  or pathogenicity of the different species. Molecular tools have the potential to improve the available data on individual Metastrongylus spp., e.g., tools based on non-invasive fecal samples, in the future.Based on both morphologic and molecular data, all isolated lungworms from the wild boars in Uzbekistan were M. elongatus, M. pudendotectus and M. salmi in wild boars, which allowed for the direct display of sequence variation within and among individuals representing each species.The literature data on the comparative study of the ITS-2 of other representatives of lungworms show that there are small but stable species differences that allow for the information about the structure of this site to be used as a rather effective tool for resolving the controversial issues of the taxonomy of nematodes of this group ,76. For M. pudendotectus is clearly separated from the other species. The separation of the four species M. elongatus, M. salmi, M. confusus and M. asymetricus was not completely clear. Neither the sequences of M. elongatus nor those of M. salmi formed monophyletic clusters in the phylogram since M. confusus is located in the M. elongatus and M. asymetricus in the M. salmi cluster. This could be interpreted as if M. confuses is only a special morphotype of M. elongatus and M. asymetricus a morphotype of M. salmi and that these names should be considered synonyms. However, statistical support for those clusters containing all M. elongatus (and M. confusus) and all M. salmi (and M. asymetricus) was also only poor. Alternative interpretations of the tree could be that all sequences in the supracluster belong to a single, genetically quite variable species, or that each of the genotype groups represents a different species. This would mean that M. elongatus would be split into two species, and M. salmi would be split into three species. Additional sequence data are required to determine which of these alternatives is the preferable hypothesis and to also better understand the phylogenetic history of M. asymetricus in the genus. In previous studies, it was shown that combined analyses of nuclear  and mitochondrial  genes can help to obtain both a reliable phylogenetic tree and enough resolution to discriminate between closely related, sometimes cryptic, species [M. confusus and M. asymetricus.In the phylogenetic tree,  species ,77,78,79PCR-based approaches have become an important tool for investigating parasite communities and populations but also host\u2013parasite interactions, and they will probably also help in livestock management in the future . The abi"}
+{"text": "This allowed the nucleus to sink ((3).A 63-year-old man was referred to our hospital with a complaint of decrease in the vision of his left eye. The visual acuity of his left eye was hand motion. His intraocular pressure was 18 mmHg, with no evidence of intraocular inflammation. The lens had hypermatured as a Morgagnian cataract characterized by total liquefaction of the cortex  to sink , as show to sink . PhacoemNone.T.O. and K.M. contributed to the design and conduct of the study and the collection, management, and interpretation of data. K.M. contributed to the preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript.Not applicable.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient."}
+{"text": "Dear Editor,Nephelium lappaceum var. lappaceum), a tropical fruit tree native to southeastern Asia, belongs to the family Sapindaceae. Rambutan is a popular table fruit and is also processed into preserves, juices, wines, and sorbets  and partially by a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award [DBI-1933521], a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 award [R01GM140370], and a start-up grant from UNL [2019-YIN] to Y.Y. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.YY, DZ, LWM, RG, and TM conceived and designed the project. DZ, LWM, and RG collected the plant materials and generated the sequencing data. JZ performed all the data analysis under the supervision of YY. JZ and YY drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript.N. lappaceum cultivar R-162 have been submitted to NCBI. The BioProject ID is PRJNA766632, the BioSample ID is SAMN21855570, and the Whole Genome Shotgun accession number will be available upon publication of the paper. The genome and annotation data can also be accessed at https://bcb.unl.edu/Nla/.The raw DNA sequencing reads and the assembled genome of No conflicts of interest are declared.Horticulture Research  online.Web_Material_uhac014Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Both subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have a high risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD). While most of the available evidence described changes in functional connectivity (FC) in SCD and aMCI, there was no confirmation of changes in functional connectivity density (FCD) that have not been confirmed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the specific alterations in resting-state FCD in SCD and aMCI and further assess the extent to which these changes can distinguish the preclinical and early-stage AD.A total of 57 patients with SCD, 59 patients with aMCI, and 78 healthy controls (HC) were included. The global FCD, local FCD, and long-range FCD were calculated for each voxel to identify brain regions with significant FCD alterations. The brain regions with abnormal FCD were then used as regions of interest for FC analysis. In addition, we calculated correlations between neuroimaging alterations and cognitive function and performed receiver-operating characteristic analyses to assess the diagnostic effect of the FCD and FC alterations on SCD and aMCI.FCD mapping revealed significantly increased global FCD in the left parahippocampal gyrus (PHG.L) and increased long-range FCD in the left hippocampus for patients with SCD when compared to HCs. However, when compared to SCD, patients with aMCI showed significantly decreased global FCD and long-range FCD in the PHG.L. The follow-up FC analysis further revealed significant variations between the PHG.L and the occipital lobe in patients with SCD and aMCI. In addition, patients with SCD also presented significant changes in FC between the left hippocampus, the left cerebellum anterior lobe, and the inferior temporal gyrus. Moreover, changes in abnormal indicators in the SCD and aMCI groups were significantly associated with cognitive function. Finally, combining FCD and FC abnormalities allowed for a more precise differentiation of the clinical stages.To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate specific alterations in FCD and FC for both patients with SCD and aMCI and confirms differential abnormalities that can serve as potential imaging markers for preclinical and early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Also, it adds a new dimension of understanding to the diagnosis of SCD and aMCI as well as the evaluation of disease progression. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have been recognized as the preclinical and prodromal stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), respectively , known as a non-invasive technique, is extensively applied in the AD-related spectrum for detecting functional activity in the brain by measuring various indicators such as functional connectivity (FC) and others  . According to previous studies , executive function (EF), visuospatial function (VF), and information processing speed (IPS), was conducted among the participants , with the center corresponding to the peak voxel (radius = 6 mm), and then conducted a Pearson correlation analysis between the average time courses of ROI and whole-brain voxel under the gray matter mask of the whole brain. Finally, fisher's r - z transformation was performed on all FC maps for normality .Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 22.0 , was used to perform statistical analyses that were not related to voxel computations. The \u03c7p < 0.01 with a cluster size > 150 voxels. Post-hoc comparisons, using the two-sample t-test with the results of ANOVA analyses as the mask, were conducted with age, gender, education level, and gray matter volumes as covariates. To strictly correct the results, a TFCE and the familywise error (FWE) were applied with a threshold of p < 0.05 and a cluster size > 50 voxels.Using DPABI software, a one-way ANOVA was applied to compare the differences in gFCD, lFCD, and lrFCD across three groups with age, gender, years of education, and gray matter volumes as covariates. The nonparametric permutation test (1000 permutations) was applied, and the significance level was set to For the resting-state FC analysis, it is important to note that we only performed further FC analysis between groups with significantly different FCD values. That is, if the FCD value of a seed point differed between all three groups, we would apply ANOVA and a two-sample t-test to determine the FC changes between groups. However, if the FCD value of the seed point differed between two groups, we would perform a two-sample t-test to analyze the FC changes between only these two groups. All statistical analyses included age, gender, years of education, and gray matter volume as covariates.The Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the correlation between the altered FCD, FCs, and cognitive domains after controlling age, gender, and education level using SPSS software. Additionally, also in SPSS software, ROC curves were analyzed based on substantially changed indicators between the patient and HC groups, such as FCD and FC, to assess their value in the distinction of pre-Alzheimer's spectrum. Each index's discriminating performance was assessed independently. Moreover, significantly altered indexes were combined using a binary logistic regression model, and the model's performance was also evaluated. Finally, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of each biomarker individually and in combination.P = 0.3435) between the three groups but found significant differences in gender (P = 0.0252) and education level (P = 0.0402). To avoid the impact of demographic differences on subsequent analyses, all statistical analyses included gender, age, and education level as covariates. As expected, general cognitive function scores  of patients with aMCI showed significant decreases as compared to those of patients with SCD (p < 0.01) and HCs (p < 0.001). In teams of every cognitive domain, including EM, EF, IPS, and VF, patients with aMCI also had statistical deficits in comparison with HC (p < 0.05) and SCD (p < 0.05). Moreover, for the Subjective Cognitive Decline Questionnaire (SCD-Q), there were significant alterations between the three groups (p < 0.001). Details can be obtained in We found no statistical discrepancy in age  and the right temporal pole: the middle temporal gyrus. In comparison to HC, the value of gFCD of the PHG.L was significantly different between groups, with significantly higher values in patients with SCD and significantly lower values in patients with aMCI .post-hoc test, patients with SCD exhibited significantly higher lrFCD in the left hippocampus than HCs and significantly higher lrFCD in the PHG.L than patients with aMCI , and the left hippocampus. In the ith aMCI .post-hoc test were carried out. Compared with HCs, patients with SCD showed markedly increased FC in bilateral superior occipital gyrus/middle occipital gyrus (SOG/MFG) and bilateral cuneus with the peak coordinate  located in the left SOG (SOG.L). In addition, in comparison with SCD, the aMCI group presented significantly decreased FC in bilateral SOG/MFG and right calcarine with the peak coordinated  located in the right calcarine. No statistical significance was found between aMCI and HC groups , the statistical differences in FCD values of this brain area involved three groups. An ANOVA analysis and a C groups .For the left hippocampus seed , a two-sample t-test was applied between SCD and HC groups. In this comparison, the SCD group exhibited increased FC in the left cerebellum anterior lobe (CAL.L) and the ITG.L .Pearson correlation analysis showed that, in the groups consisting of aMCI and SCD, the abnormal gFCD value in the PHG.L was prominently positively correlated with EM and EF. Besides, the altered FC between the PHG.L and right calcarine was also correlated with EM positively .p < 0.001 and 0.652 with p = 0.003. FC between PHG.L and SOG.L, FC between the left hippocampus and CAL.L, and FC between the left hippocampus and ITG.L had AUC values of 0.684 with p < 0.001, 0.722 with p < 0.001, and 0.661 with p = 0.001, respectively. In addition, using a binary logistic regression model, we obtained individual predictors of the combination of multiple indexes. The AUC value of the combination of multiple indexes was 0.827 with p < 0.001, sensitivity = 87.7%, specificity = 66.7%  values of gFCD of the PHG.L and lrFCD of the left hippocampus were 0.678 with  = 66.7% .p < 0.001 and 0.771 with p < 0.001. The AUC values of gFCD of the PHG.L and lrFCD of the PHG.L were 0.741 with p < 0.001 and 0.643 with p < 0.08. The AUC value of FC between the PHG.L and right calcarine was 0.635 with p < 0.012. In addition, the AUC value of the combined index was 0.941 with p < 0.001, sensitivity = 93.2%, specificity = 80.7%  were first found in the left hemisphere. It is well-known that directional hemispheric dominance has been established for a variety of cognitive functions and that lateralization is particularly important for cognitive functions  and the VN  for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.XLin, JC, and YS designed the study. HW, SC, CX, YS, QY, HG, WQ, XLia, and ZY collected the data. YS, HW, and SC analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81701675); the Key Project supported by Medical Science and the Technology Development Foundation, Nanjing Department of Health (No. JQX18005); and the Key Research and Development Plan  Project of Jiangsu Province (No. BE2018608).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, with approximately one third of the population around the world seropositive. The consumption of contaminated food is the main source of infection. These include meat products with T. gondii tissue cysts, and dairy products with tachyzoites. Recently, contamination has been detected in fresh products with oocysts and marine products. Despite the great health problems that are caused by T. gondii, currently there are no standardized methods for its detection in the food industry. In this review, we analyze the current detection methods, the prevalence of T. gondii in different food products, and the control measures. The main detection methods are bioassays, cell culture, molecular and microscopic techniques, and serological methods, but some of these do not have applicability in the food industry. As a result, emerging techniques are being developed that are aimed at the detection of multiple parasites simultaneously that would make their application more efficient in the industry. Since the prevalence of this parasite is high in many products , it is necessary to standardize detection methods, as well as implement control measures. Toxoplasma gondii. This protozoon of the Apicomplexa phyla presents only felines as the definitive host, being the ones where the parasite can complete its life cycle. However, all warm-blooded animals, including mammals and birds, can act as intermediate hosts  used a recombinant dense granule antigen 7 protein for the detection of parasites in blood samples [T. gondii are necessary [T. gondii infection through food, prevalence of different food products, its detection and control, and future perspectives.However, and despite the great health public problem that it poses, there are currently no specific detection criteria for at costs . The altat costs . Other sat costs ,25. The  samples . In addiecessary , and theT. gondii is a high priority foodborne zoonotic pathogen around the world, it is not systematically controlled [T. gondii in any food matrix [T. gondii DNA in samples, while information on the viability and infectivity can be obtained by in vivo assays  or by in vitro culture techniques. A summary of these methods with sensitivity and type of food product where these methods have been used are shown in Although ntrolled . At presd matrix . Even soT. gondii detection, the cat bioassay works best, followed by the mouse bioassay [T. gondii oocysts, and serum samples may be analyzed to detect specific antibodies against the parasite [This method allows the study of the infectivity of the oocysts and tissue bradyzoites of the parasite. For bioassay . In catsparasite . The catparasite . Howeverparasite .T. gondii oocysts [T. gondii by microscopy or PCR in addition to detect specific antibodies in serum. Immunosuppressive drugs can be administered to mice to increase the sensibility of the bioassay [Therefore, mice are the main animal model to evaluate the infectivity of oocysts. In this technique, 50 to 200 g of tissue are digested with acid pepsin or trypsin and a fraction of the sediment is inoculated in mice, generally intraperitoneally or subcutaneous; although mice can also be infected orally with  oocysts . Typicalbioassay . The sambioassay . These mbioassay , and to bioassay . Bioassabioassay ,59. HoweT. gondii by isolation in cell culture. The test sample is brought into contact with culture of different cell lines. If the parasite is present in the sample and it is viable, the culture cells will become infected, causing the tachyzoites to multiply, which can be observed with an inverted microscope after 3\u201310 days [T. gondii could be detected [Despite the fact that molecular techniques are very specific and sensitive, they only detect parasite DNA, regardless of whether it is viable. A solution to this problem is the detection of \u201310 days . Cell cu\u201310 days . Even so\u201310 days . Moreovedetected .T. gondii cannot be detected by gross inspection but can be identified by microscopy. In fact, microscopic methods are used for the detection of oocysts in fresh products and shellfish. Parasites are visible using nonspecific stains such as Giemsa or hematoxylin and eosin, but the use of specific stains with fluorescence-conjugated enzymes or antibodies allows them to be differentiated from other structures or apicomplexan parasites and increases the sensitivity [Oocysts, tachyzoites, or tissue cysts of sitivity . The maiThe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is based on the in vitro amplification of specific DNA sequences. For these sequences, the DNA that is present in the analyzed samples is extracted, and several amplification cycles are carried out. The presence of parasite-specific DNA in the sample is visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. If the sample contains the target DNA, a specific band is observed in the gel .T. gondii by PCR. The most common are the B1 fragment, which is repeated 35 times in the parasite genome, and a region of 529 bp that is repeated 200\u2013300 times [T. gondii in such a small sample is low. To allow analysis of large samples and to increase the detection sensitivity, methods that are based on artificial digestion, homogenization and isolation on Percoll gradients, and sequence-based magnetic capture have been described [T. gondii and the release of bradyzoites [There are different targets that are available for the detection of 00 times . Howeverescribed . This aldyzoites .T. gondii by qPCR the most widely used fluorophores are SYBR Green and TaqMan probes [T. gondii, in berry fruits [T. gondii, in spinach. This method was found to be more sensitive than traditional qPCR [Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a variant of conventional PCR, which allows the detection of the parasite DNA concentration in the analyzed sample with elevated sensitivity, precision, and speed than conventional PCR, in addition to not requiring the use of gels. For the detection of n probes ,66. The n probes . The PCRy fruits . The resnal qPCR .T. gondii. For the detection of oocysts in fresh products, an adaptation of the LAMP technique has been developed. This new technique includes a chromatographic detection system with a lateral flow test strip that allows to accelerate the visualization of the results [T. gondii in meat samples. The results suggest that RT-LAMP is a simple and reliable tool to detect meats that are contaminated with T. gondii [Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) enables DNA amplification with high sensitivity and specificity, efficiency, and speed . It is a results . In 2013. gondii . LAMP se. gondii .T. gondii is unknown. So, other methods are required to establish whether the detected DNA belongs to viable parasites [These molecular techniques detected the DNA of the parasite, and genotyping is possible with them. However, different available genotyping methodologies have been irregularly applied in different geographic areas and over different matrices . The maiarasites . Until narasites , and itsarasites .T. gondii in animals and humans, but they have been adapted for testing meat and meat juices. Generally, they serve as a first screening to detect seropositive animals, in which later the infection will be confirmed in the tissue samples through a bioassay. However, these methods can also be used to detect infection in meat juice samples, for example [T. gondii in serum or meat juice are indirect hemagglutination antibody (IHA), the latex agglutination test (LAT), indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), modified agglutination test (MAT), Western blot, and ELISA, with MAT, IFAT, and ELISA being the most used and validated methods [T. gondii [Serological methods are indirect methods that are intended to confirm infection with  example . The ser methods . All the methods . The ELI. gondii ,76. The . gondii .T. gondii that improve the efficiency and reproducibility.The traditional methods of detection have limitations and there are no standardized protocols for their application in the food industry. For this reason, new detection methods are being developed for T. gondii in fresh products [T. gondii and other protozoan, with better results for Toxoplasma than other molecular approaches [T. gondii genotypes can provide relevant information for the control of this zoonosis. For this reason, different studies have evaluated detection and genotyping methods. Recently, similar sensitivity and specificity has been observed of the B1 and ROP8 genes for detection, whereas the latter seems more appropriate for genotyping [In fresh products in particular, oocyst detection methods are scarce. In the last years, different authors have been developed methods for their detection. Lalonde and Gajadhar (2016) developed real-time PCR methods for the identification of protozoan oocysts in vegetables and fruits . Slana eproducts . In bivaproaches . The DNAproaches . The detnotyping .T. gondii in food, but it requires further validation before it can be applied to other food samples. Furthermore, since qPCR only allows determining the presence of the parasite, but cannot directly confirm the viability [T. gondii RNA using reverse transcription and subsequent PCR (RT-PCR). This technique uses the enzyme reverse transcriptase to synthetize complementary DNA (cDNA) from the RNA molecules that are present in the sample. Although this technique has a high sensitivity, RNA degrades much faster than DNA and it is more easily contaminated, so this technique must be performed by highly qualified and experienced personnel. It has difficulty detecting tissue cysts, since it needs the parasite to be metabolically active at the time of analysis [One of the most relevant steps for molecular methods detection is the DNA extraction approach, that depends on matrix analyses. However, few studies have been done that are related it. Temesgen et al. (2020) compared two commercially available DNA extraction procedures in berry fruits . On the iability , recentlanalysis . Recentlanalysis  and a neanalysis .T. gondii [T. gondii in serum chicken, and they obtained high sensitivity (90.5%) and specificity (95.4%) [Loreck et al. (2019) developed a protein microarray for the simultaneous detection of IgG antibodies against different zoonotic agents and pathogens that cause disease in pigs, among which is . gondii . This is (95.4%) . The bes (95.4%) .T. gondii, but which is generalized in all foodborne parasites, to a lesser or greater extent. In this context, a novel metabarcoding assay followed by next generation sequencing (NGS) has been developed to simultaneously detect Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and T. gondii in shellfish [T. gondii . About this, Guggisberg et al. (2020) have fine-tuned a one-way sequential sieving method to identify different stages of parasites in lettuce [Different recent studies are aimed at improving sensitivity, looking for alternatives to bioassays that allow detecting the viability of the parasite, and a possible validation to be able to apply in the food industry. Moreover, the detection of different parasites simultaneously is relevant to the food industry, so the lack of standardized protocols does not only refer to hellfish . The app lettuce . Even soT. gondii to humans [Transmission through food is the main system of transmission of o humans . Tissueso humans , and spoo humans . Next, wT. gondii infections have been reported in all meat production animals around the world, although the prevalence depends on the detection method that is used  has been detected by different methods [T. gondii DNA was 9.2% and 8.1%, respectively [In China, Japan, and the USA, recent studies indicated a 10\u201320% infection rate of quick-frozen chickens ,130,160. tenella . Not onld organs . But T.  Romania . In the  Romania ,150, whi Romania . In Cana methods . The com methods . In thisectively ,137.T. gondii and a reservoir of the parasite. Wild ruminants have been analyzed in different European countries and the studies showed a high seroprevalence in roe deer (39.6%), fallow deer (37.1%), red deer (16.6%), Southern chamois (14%), mouflon (11.5%), Iberian wild goat (7.8%), Barbary sheep (5.6%) [T. gondii around the world, with a seroprevalence of 76.9% in Brazil [T. gondii in meat for human consumption is high in Asia, Europe, and the USA, with its detection and control before sale being of vital importance. In the last years, several studies have indicated that wildlife can be a source of infection by p (5.6%) , and othp (5.6%) ,147. Frop (5.6%) . Wild bon Brazil , around n Brazil ,145, 14%n Brazil , 15% in n Brazil , and 9% n Brazil . Crotta n Brazil . From thT. gondii in milk samples from sheep, goat, camels, and donkeys [T. gondii antibodies in the goat serum with a prevalence of T. gondii DNA in milk samples [Tachyzoites can be shed in the milk of acutely infected animals, so both raw milk and raw dairy products can pose a risk of infection for consumers  Table 3Table 3.  donkeys ,169,170, donkeys . However donkeys , and wer donkeys . Other s samples .T. gondii through cow\u2019s milk has not been detected [T. gondii DNA does not allow the viability of the parasite to be determined. For this reason, other techniques have been used to determine the viability of parasites in milk and dairy products, including the viability assay in cell culture, where the cytopathic effect of tachyzoites on Hep-2 cells is measured, including mouse and cat bioassays [T. gondii in the milk and cheese of goats, demonstrating that fresh milk and cheese are a source of transmission, so the protozoan survives cold-enzyme treatment [T. gondii antibodies in goat milk samples. The study showed that this technique in milk samples could easily be applied to detect the seroprevalence of T. gondii, although it does not allow the detection of tachyzoites [Although the transmission of detected , tachyzodetected , which cdetected , or the detected . Howeverioassays . Mouse areatment . The ELIhyzoites .T. gondii oocysts from cat feces or contaminated water, and act as a source of infection in humans. Oocyst detection in environmental and food samples is difficult due to complications in separating and concentrating oocysts from complex matrices, such as raw vegetables, so there is a lack of optimized laboratory methods for its detection [T. gondii in water, soil, and food samples , based on methods that are used for other protozoa [T. gondii in experimental contaminated baby ready-to-eat lettuces. The detection limit of this method was approximately 25 oocysts per 50 g of lettuce leaves [T. gondii, detecting two to nine oocysts per gram of spinach [Fresh products can become contaminated with etection . Howeverprotozoa . Hohweyeprotozoa . In addie leaves . Recentl spinach .T. gondii DNA in fruits and vegetables was in 2012 [T. gondii has been observed in different vegetables around the word, including lettuce, chicory, rocket, parsley, spinach, pack choi, cabbage, rape, asparagus, endive, Chinese chives, carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, and radish [The first detection of  in 2012 . Nowaday in 2012 ,179,180. in 2012 . Contamid radish   [In Poland, vegetables from shops and home gardens presented a contamination rate by  of 9.7% . In Chin of 9.7% , whereas of 9.7% . In Ital produce  or it wa produce . The pregetable) . Also wigetable) .T. gondii oocysts. Mollusks such as clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops, filter-feed and trap phytoplankton in the gills. This filter feeding process can also concentrate waterborne pathogens within their tissues, including oocysts, which can survive for long periods of time in both fresh- and salt-water [T. gondii [T. gondii [Aquatic environments can be contaminated with wastewater carrying lt-water . For detlt-water ,190. Var. gondii . In addi. gondii . Serolog. gondii , rather T. gondii infection. The consumption of raw mollusks is considered a risk factor for T. gondii with elevated temperatures and precipitations [T. gondii in fish has been investigated. There is still controversy about possible parasitic infection in cold-blooded hosts. Some studies support that these animals can act as mechanical vectors, such as mollusks, containing oocysts in their digestive system [T gondii DNA has been found in different fish species of local fish markets [Different studies showed the prevalence of infection in Mediterranean bivalves of 6.6% to 9.4% in countries such as Turkey and Italy ,190,198.itations . Similaritations . Recentle system . In fact markets  and mari markets .T. gondii infection must be done at several levels. First, certain risk factors increase the prevalence of the parasite in farm animals. Hygienic management practices and correct management which involves keeping cats away from crops and gardens and animal feed, are essential to control this pathogen in farms [T. gondii infection in humans. In fact, pasteurization of milk and milk products is also an important control measure. Undoubtedly, stopping consuming these types of products could considerably reduce the prevalence of infection in humans. On the other hand, as occurs in meat products, adequate hygienic and sanitary conditions on farms would lead to this reduction. In fresh products and vegetables, the most common mechanism of contamination is irrigation with water that is contaminated by oocysts, so sanitary control measures in irrigation water would be interesting. Furthermore, washing fresh produce after harvest and before consumption is an important control measure, since the chemical disinfectants are not effective [The control of in farms . Temperain farms ,202. Thein farms . In the in farms . Neverthin farms ,112. Conffective .T. gondii in food production is essential. However, control measures during food inspection are not applied [T. gondii can be eliminated from meat in 5\u20136 min at 49 \u00b0C, in 44 s at 55 \u00b0C, or in 6 s at 61 \u00b0C [T. gondii during cooking and low temperature storage and concluded that the parasite was not found when the internal temperature reached 64 \u00b0C and below \u221218 \u00b0C [The control of  applied . Current applied ,203. Rel applied . In factat 61 \u00b0C . Differeat 61 \u00b0C . Rani anw \u221218 \u00b0C .T. gondii. To inactivate isolate tissue cysts, a minimum of three days is required at \u221220 \u00baC [T. gondii in food for thermal and non-thermal methods has been extensively analyzed in the review that was published by Mirza et al. (2018) [However, these elevated temperatures are not applicable to all food matrices. This is the case of vegetables and fresh products . Regardit \u221220 \u00baC . In addit \u221220 \u00baC ,154,210,t \u221220 \u00baC ,212, andt \u221220 \u00baC ,75. The . (2018) .T. gondii in food products has been realized traditionally with high temperatures  and when cured and salted [T. gondii in food. High pressure processing (HHP) is a novel method for liquid and solid food products where pressures of 340\u2013550 MPa during 1 min can inactive cysts of the parasite [T. gondii cysts in meat [The inactivation of d salted ,214, wheparasite . The sec in meat . HoweverT. gondii infection is carried out at home, setting recommendations on food consumption in the groups that are most vulnerable to the parasite. This situation occurs because there are no regulations governing control measures against T. gondii in the food industry. Inactivation methods have yet to be optimized and validated to be applied against this parasite is a systematic way. More, different prevention measures could also be applied to its control. In farms, biosecurity and control will be factors of great relevance for infection control. Other measures such as restricting the access of cats to crops, gardens, and livestock feed, or the development of a vaccine that is aimed at cats to prevent the active release of oocysts could be used. Prevention measures could also be implemented at the livestock farm, such as the vaccination of cattle. Today, a vaccine against T. gondii is available for sheep, which prevents the spread of parasites to the placenta, and is used for the prevention of abortions in this species [Currently, most of the control of  species . This va species . This meT. gondii and deriving its use for preheated or frozen meat products since, as we have seen, these methods are effective for the inactivation, as well as marking negative products as free from T. gondii [It would be useful to carry out a follow-up program at slaughter, detecting the meat that is positive for . gondii . DetectiT. gondii is the food parasite with the greatest epidemiological relevance, which is distributed worldwide, and with a complex life cycle that makes its detection very difficult. The main foods that are involved in the transmission of this parasite are meat and fresh products (vegetables and fruits) products through tissue cysts, mollusks, and fish, as well as through oocysts, and milk and dairy products through tachyzoites. Currently, the main detection methods are bioassays, in vitro culture, molecular methods (PCR and LAMP), and microscopy as direct methods, and serological techniques as MAT, IFAT, and ELISA as indirect methods. Due to the limitations of these methods, the emerging detection methods are aimed at developing methods with greater sensitivity and reproducibility, and generally, are aimed at the detection of several parasites simultaneously, which would increase their efficiency and facilitate their application in the food industry. Control methods include thermal methods such as heat, cooking, and freezing, as well as non-thermal methods such as HPP, IR, curing, or salting. Most of the control of T. gondii is carried out at home since there are no microbiological criteria for this parasite in the food industry and, therefore, it is not mandatory to comply with control measures. In the future, new detection methods should be validated to optimize the control of infection in food and apply them in the food industry."}
+{"text": "Trichophyton (T.) indotineae is a newly identified dermatophyte species that has been found in a near-epidemic form on the Indian subcontinent. There is evidence of its spread from the Indian subcontinent to a number of countries worldwide. The fungus is identical to genotype VIII within the T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale species complex, which was described in 2019 by sequencing the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA of the dermatophyte. More than 10 ITS genotypes of T. interdigitale and T. mentagrophytes can now be identified. T. indotineae causes inflammatory and itchy, often widespread, dermatophytosis affecting the groins, gluteal region, trunk, and face. Patients of all ages and genders are affected. The new species has largely displaced other previously prevalent dermatophytes on the Indian subcontinent. T. indotineae has become a problematic dermatophyte due to its predominantly in vitro genetic resistance to terbinafine owing to point mutations of the squalene epoxidase gene. It also displays in vivo resistance to terbinafine. The most efficacious drug currently available for this terbinafine-resistant dermatophytoses, based on sound evidence, is itraconazole. Trichophyton (T.) rubrum, the erstwhile predominant dermatophyte not only responsible for tinea pedis and onychomycosis, but also for dermatophytosis involving the whole body, worldwide\u2014including India over the past few decades  in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, which consistently classified all strains within the species complex T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale as T. interdigitale until 2016 [T. mentagrophytes (zoophilic) and T. interdigitale (anthropophilic) [The f et al.  can be sof Delhi , in whictil 2016 . It was ophilic) . It has ophilic) . T. mentagrophytes genotype VIII has also recently changed [T. mentagrophytes is now classified as T. indotineae [T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale, are also referred to as cryptic species or molecular siblings. It has been suggested that it makes sense to describe such genotypes as independent species only if they have significant morphological differences that have clinical significance . Since that is not the case for most genotypes, it has been suggested to designate these as mere \u201cclonal offshoots\u201d [T. indotineae is morphologically  [The current designation of  changed ,34. Accodotineae   . T. indotineae is mainly transmitted from person to person. Spread of T. indotineae infection as a family case was documented in Iran [T. indotineae in Germany was documented in a tinea-corporis-affected baby from Bahrain and his multiple family members, a German woman and her husband from Saudi Arabia, and from a Libyan to his female partner and their child. According to current knowledge,  in Iran . None of in Iran . TransmiT. indotineae has clearly adapted excellently to the milieu on the human epidermis and is also easily transmitted to other persons directly by physical contact. However, an indirect transmission is also seen via inanimate surfaces in the living environment, such as bathrooms and lavatories, and also via contaminated bed and body linen.Animal infections or sources of infection are documented in just six cases  . A so-caT. indotineae was initially observed clinically by the fact that the dermatophytosis does not respond to treatment and worsens despite adequate oral antifungal therapy. This may be due to in vitro resistance or at least reduced in vitro sensitivity of the respective dermatophytes [T. indotineae [T. indotineae. In 2017, the first reports of in vitro resistance to terbinafine in India appeared.The terbinafine resistance of tophytes . The tredotineae . It is nT. rubrum isolates were resistant to terbinafine in vitro in a multicenter study in India [T. indotineae no longer respond satisfactorily to topical or oral treatment with this allylamine [T. indotineae is already being seen and must also be expected in the future in countries like Germany and others in Europe and elsewhere [Up to 76% of the isolates of this species and at least 57.1% of the examined in India . It is alylamine . A similThere seems to be an indubitable and oft-considered temporal association of proprietary creams containing topical steroids and antifungal/antibacterial agents with this relatively sudden occurrence of previously uncommon and extensive therapy-refractory chronic widespread dermatophytoses. These creams at times contain as many as four different antimicrobial agents, with three being the norm. These include antimycotic agents , antibiotics  and/or antiseptics  ,44,45. TSteroid combination creams such as those found in India are available in a multitude of countries worldwide, e.g., in the African continent, and in Arab countries. In some countries, e.g., in Germany and other European countries, it is not possible by law to obtain these without prescription, but these countries are the exception.tinea pseudoimbricata [T. concentricum, endemic to the Philippines and Indonesia [T. tonsurans infections, it is seen regularly, if not commonly, in patients of dermatophytosis caused by T. indotineae in India and beyond [T. indotineae often begins as tinea corporis, tinea cruris, or tinea genitalis, sometimes concurrently, as inflammatory or hyperpigmented scaly and severely itchy lesions. Sometimes the lesions are difficult to label as dermatophytosis, but eventually lesions in the groin spread posteriorly to the gluteal region and to the trunk and extremities as direct spread, leading to large lesions , is reported to have superior in vitro activity against zoophilic and anthropophilic dermatophytes [T. indotineae in India [Reduced in vitro sensitivity of strains isolated in Germany to itraconazole has been reported recently . The poitophytes  and espein India .T. rubrum to T. indotineae causing an epidemic-like situation in countries of the Indian subcontinent, especially India, and neighboring countries like UAE, Oman, Iran, amongst others, and now found spreading to Europe, is not only a bothersome disease but has become a public health issue due to the number of individuals affected and the misery it causes. Population-based studies are needed from the Indian subcontinent to understand this disease better. Molecular diagnosis of the incriminated T. indotineae is essential but is not readily available to the vast majority, including large teaching hospitals. The quality of antimycotic drugs, especially itraconazole, needs to be rigorously checked, and finally, strict implementation of laws favoring prescription-only drugs, curbing over-the-counter sales of antifungal drugs, and a strict ban on the manufacture and sale of FDCs containing antifungal agents and potent topical steroids, especially clobetasol propionate, are measures that are the need of the day. Regular discussions with policy makers and bureaucrats involved in ministries of health should be encouraged to act, and plans made with their cooperation should be implemented as soon as possible to curb this menace which is sweeping through several countries and which may reach hitherto unaffected regions by the virtue of migration and tourism, which are bound to increase in the post-COVID era.To conclude, the rather sudden epidemiologic shift from"}
+{"text": "Dear Sir,Taenia eggs by a woman with the aim of losing weight.Cysticercus bovis, the Taenia saginata metacestode), usually in the form of a pill. The theory is that the tapeworms will reach maturity in the intestine, and that the adult stage will absorb food. This could cause weight loss, along with possible symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting.We have read with curiosity, as well as with alarm, the article by Zhang et\u00a0al. on a human case of disseminated cysticercosis because of the intentional ingestion of T. saginata contained in the pills. If the eggs were viable, they would turn into cysticerci, but only in intermediate hosts, cattle in the case of T. saginata. Therefore, these eggs would not have any effect in humans, which was the reason why the authors did not find any reference to the ingestion of Taenia eggs to lose weight. Likewise, the authors speculated that the ingested eggs could be T. solium, rather than T. saginata, as the patient developed disseminated cysticercosis, and among human Taenia tapeworms only the eggs of T. solium are infective for humans.T. asiatica, a species whose ability to cause human cysticercosis is still unknown,T. saginata adult stage) through the morphology of the gravid proglottids, it should be considered that T. asiatica has the same gravid proglottid morphology as T. saginata. Taenia asiatica is present not only in China (where the case is reported) but also in many other Asian countries,T. asiatica cross-reacts with T. solium in the ELISA the authors used.T. asiatica was responsible should not be ruled out.According to the case report, the patient did not ingest any cysticerci, but rather the eggs of T. solium eggs for human consumption, considering the risk of dying of neurocysticercosis, as happened in an illustrative case with death after the intentional ingestion of T. solium eggs published in 1994.T. solium, to prevent possible fatal cases of neurocysticercosis in other pill consumers.It would be hard to believe that the providers of the pills purposely supplied"}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium (M.) avium complex; M. fortuitum; and other NTM species, including M. marinum infection, known as fish tank granuloma, and M. ulcerans infection, which is described as a Buruli ulcer. NTM could be considered as water-borne, air-borne, and soil-borne pathogens (sapronoses). A lot of clinically relevant NTM species could be considered due to the enormity of published data on permanent, periodic, transient, and incidental sapronoses. Interest is currently increasing in mycobacterioses diagnosed in humans and husbandry animals (esp. pigs) caused by NTM species present in peat bogs, potting soil, garden peat, bat and bird guano, and other matrices used as garden fertilizers. NTM are present in dust particles and in water aerosols, which represent certain factors during aerogenous infection in immunosuppressed host organisms during hospitalization, speleotherapy, and leisure activities. For this Special Issue, a collection of articles providing a current view of the research on NTM\u2014including the clinical relevance, therapy, prevention of mycobacterioses, epidemiology, and ecology\u2014are addressed.Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) represent an important group of environmentally saprophytic and potentially pathogenic bacteria that can cause serious mycobacterioses in humans and animals. The sources of infections often remain undetected except for soil- or water-borne, water-washed, water-based, or water-related infections caused by groups of the  The first comprehensive piece of information on the ecology of mycobacteria came from a book by Jindrich Kazda that was published in 2000 . The secIt can be assumed that due to changes in the environment, and especially the permanent decline in the healthy resistance of the human population , mycobacteriosis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) will present an ongoing issue. In addition, improvements in water treatment, namely, the introduction of widespread water disinfection (chlorination), have provided a selective environment for NTM. New findings on the ecology of NTM have revealed previously neglected or unknown facts related to their long-term survival in various components of the environment, their ability to colonize new substrates, and their interaction with humans. Finding new, abundant, or yet undiscovered sources of some clinically important NTM species will help to more effectively prevent exposure to predisposed individuals. Preventing the exposure of NTM to susceptible individuals is currently one of the most important ways to prevent mycobacteriosis.The persistent incidence of pulmonary and extrapulmonary mycobacteriosis in children and adults is described herein for 2020\u20132022. Pulmonary mycobacteriosis is severe in individuals with a predisposition to infection and in individuals with comorbidities in the United States ,24, and Mycobacterium (M.) mageritense infection [M. marinum hand infection masquerading as tinea manuum [M. marinum infections in 40 patients in the Netherlands [M. terrae and M. intracellulare tenosynovitis following hurricane relief efforts in the USA [M. smegmatis skin infection following cosmetic procedures [M. abscessus outbreaks at pediatric dental clinics were documented with more than 20 confirmed infected children with a median age of 6 years in both clinics in Atlanta, Georgia [M. szulgai infection was diagnosed in a 25-year-old female with systemic lupus erythematosus graduating in veterinary medicine in Portugal [Extrapulmonary mycobacterioses have been described primarily as skin infections. The following species of NTM have been demonstrated: tattoo-associated cutaneous nfection , M. maria manuum  and the herlands , M. terr the USA , and M. ocedures . Two M.  Georgia . DissemiPortugal .There are reasons for diligently seeking NTM resources for patients. The review article from Faverio et al. shows that the common aim in Italy is a comprehensive approach to the treatment and prevention of pulmonary mycobacteriosis. In addition to antibiotic treatment, it seeks the following four preventative steps: (1) avoiding exposure to environments colonized with NTM and evaluating the lifestyle and habits of patients; (2) implementing a personalized pulmonary rehabilitation plan and airway clearance techniques to improve symptoms, exercise capacity, health-related quality of life, and functional capacity in daily living activities; (3) evaluating the patient\u2019s nutritional status, intervening to improve their health-related quality of life and control gastrointestinal side-effects during antimicrobial therapy ; and (4) managing comorbidities affecting disease outcomes, including structural lung diseases, immune status evaluation, and psychological support . As the M. tuberculosis is primarily transmitted by person-to-person contact. In contrast, NTM are mainly transmitted from the environment [p < 0.001). The following parameters were significant in terms of the personal characteristics of patients: female sex (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001), and HIV/AIDS incidence (p < 0.001) [ironment ,2. Due t< 0.001) .M. avium complex isolates [M. avium complex isolates from human patients with lung and disseminated infection from animals and the environment. In particular, isolates from humans and animals differed. Similarly, this has also been demonstrated in isolates from human patients and their environment [Sophisticated molecular biology methods have been used for the clinical and environmental epidemiology of isolates . In the ironment . In the ironment .In 2020\u20132021, a survey of the Czech market was conducted on plant fertilization products that contained peat and/or bat guano. We found a high incidence of NTM that contaminated up to 80\u2013100% of these products . FurtherIn many known and newly described mycobacterial species, we often encounter only a vague statement that their source for humans or animals is \u201cmost likely\u201d the environment. In the \u201cbetter cases\u201d, at least the component of this environment  in which the species \u201cmost likely\u201d occurs is mentioned. It is not at all easy to find comprehensive knowledge about the ecology of the exact mycobacterial species that often causes serious human and animal diseases. There are few scientific teams that have systematically studied the ecology of mycobacteria. These teams usually carry out research with the intensive cooperation of physicians and veterinarians, biologists, zoologists, ecologists, climatologists, pedologists, microbiologists, biostatistics, molecular biologists, and other experts. In this way, they succeed in connecting these relatively \u201cclosed parallel highly specialized worlds\u201d.Humans have created ideal habitats for the NTM, particularly via plumbing. Specifically, the following characteristics of plumbing have been selected to increase the presence of NTM: surfaces that promote adherence and biofilm formation; disinfection to kill off microbial competitors; heating, which increases the numbers of NTM; and stagnation, under which NTM can grow while other pathogens may not.Therefore, this Special Issue presents a number of results, opinions, and conclusions regarding various environmental matrices in relation to mycobacteria.M. fortuitum was first described as a new species in 1938. Since then, a total of 16 members of the M. fortuitum group has been described. Their occurrence in aquarium freshwater and marine fish can be found in the article by Mugetti et al. [M. fortuitum group.i et al. . Their ci et al. ,45. All M. chimaera in the aquatic environment, especially in water pipes and cooling tanks of cardiology units, currently represents a significant health risk. Its capture is described in the publication by Zoccola et al., which concerns the validation of a novel diagnostic approach combining the VersaTREK\u2122 system for recovery and real-time PCR for the identification of M. chimaera in water samples [The occurrence of  samples .M. algericum, M. bohemicum, M. duvalii, M. europaeum, M. fallax, M. goodii, M. hassiacum, M. hiberniae, M. malmoense, M. mucogenicum, M. nebraskense, M. numidimassilliense, M. parmense, M. porcinum, M. saskatchewanense, M. simiae, and M. timonense. Especially surprising was the high concentration of M. avium ssp. hominissuis, M. malmoense, and M. xenopi in peat and plant material. The detection of mycobacterial DNA with qPCR from live and dead mycobacterial cells greatly accelerated and facilitated the detection of the NTM load in various environmental matrices.The cultivation evidence of NTM from heavily contaminated environmental matrices was often accompanied by the contamination of culture media. This greatly hindered the capture of different NTM species, which were present in different matrices. The publication by Ulmann et al.  presentsM. fortuitum group, M. chelonae group, M. mucogenicum group, and M. avium complex) and NTM species belonging to risk group one  were isolated from guano for the first time [Based on the results published in this Special Issue, bat guano can be considered a significant source of NTM. High culture positivity and the considerably wide spectrum of NTM species in guano originating both from caves (cave guano) and from summer colonies from attics (attic guano) is necessary in European conditions , considered as highly interesting. Many species from risk group two  and NTM belonging to risk group two  is interesting. Indeed, dust is not very often considered to be a significant source of NTM compared to water and water biofilms [From another publication by Hubelova et al. , it is pbiofilms ,2.Two reviews published in this Special Issue open novel perspectives on the ecology of NTM ,51. The The second review, written by Pavlik et al. , comes uThe purpose of these articles is not to tire or bore the reader with data. These researchers show new methods of detecting mycobacteria, new perspectives on the importance of the environment in their survival and spread, and the current understanding of the ecology of mycobacteria. We, therefore, hope that these published data will also serve as a guide for further thinking about the ecology of mycobacteria."}
+{"text": "Plodia interpunctella (H\u00fcbner) is an important grain storage pest in China that is distributed in almost every province and that has caused huge economic losses. In this study, we adjusted the biological parameters of the Indian grain borer and then used the CLIMEX model to predict the detailed potential distribution of P. interpunctella in China under current and future conditions. Under historical climatic conditions, the central, northeastern, and southern regions of China are highly suitable habitats for it. Because of temperature change in the future climate, suitable habitats will increase in the eastern part of Qinghai and will decrease in the mid-eastern, northeastern, and southeastern parts of China. This study provides important information for controlling the further spread of the Indian corn borer in China.Plodia interpunctella (H\u00fcbner)  is a notorious stored-grain pest that can be found in most parts of China. The corpses, excretions, and other secretions of P. interpunctella larvae cause serious grain pollution, seriously affecting the nutritional and economic value of stored grain in China. To elucidate the potential distribution of P. interpunctella in China, we used the CLIMEX 4.0 model to project the potential distribution of the pest using historical climate data (1960\u20131990) and estimated future climate data . Under the historical climate situation, P. interpunctella was distributed in most areas of China, and its highly favorable habitats account for 48.14% of its total potential distribution. Because of temperature change in the future climate, suitable habitats will increase in the eastern part of Qinghai and will decrease in the mid-eastern, northeastern, and southeastern parts of China. Under these scenarios, the area of this pest\u2019s highly favorable habitat will be reduced by 1.24 million km2, and its proportion will decrease to about 28.48%. These predicted outcomes will help to distinguish the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of P. interpunctella, thereby providing important information to design early forecasting and strategies to prevent pest harm to stored grain.The Indian meal moth  Plodia interpunctella (H\u00fcbner) is a primary injurious insect to raw and processed stored food products [P. interpunctella can migrate and spread via infected food goods, which is accelerated due to the development of globalization, leading to it spreading wherever there is permanent human habitation [P. interpunctella harms more than 170 species in storage, including various grains, dried fruits, pulses, dried vegetables, etc. [P. interpunctella has caused great economic losses in the United States, China, Korea, Ethiopia, and in other countries [The Indian meal moth products ,2. The fproducts ,4,5. Becbitation ,7. P. ines, etc. . After tountries ,10,11,12P. interpunctella is widely distributed and occurs with high frequency in China, and with the warming climate, it has multiplied in the high-latitude regions of China in Alar, Xinjiang [P. interpunctella in China mainly focuses on its molecular biology [P. interpunctella in China. Understanding its potential future distribution pattern will enable the governmental pest management agencies to implement corresponding measures to prevent it from continuing to cause losses.Xinjiang ,14. The Xinjiang . RelevanXinjiang . ClimateXinjiang . The res biology ,19, sex  biology , and con biology ,22, whilThe potential geographical distribution of different invasive species has been shown to be primarily evaluated using ecological niche models, such as ANUCLIM/BIOCLIM, CLIMATE, CLIMEX, DOMAIN, GARP, HABITAT, and MaxEnt . Among tP. interpunctella in China under future climate conditions. We adjusted parameter values according to the published literature to better fit the known distribution in China [P. interpunctella in China under historical and future climatic conditions is helpful for relevant pest management departments to implement early warning and prevention policies.There is little research on the detailed potential distribution of in China . In thisThe CLIMEX model is a dynamic and bioclimatic niche simulation model that uses species parameters and climate data to predict the potential geographical distribution of species . In thishttps://www.climond.org/ (accessed on 4 November 2021)) gridded 10\u2019 spatial resolution meteorological data were used for modeling the distribution of P. interpunctella in CLIMEX because of its good spatial resolution [P. interpunctella in the future climate change scenarios predicted for 2030, 2050, and 2070 [CliMond , the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and the published literature reviews related to biological characteristics, as well as scientific information on Web of Science, Science Direct, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI http://cnki.net/ (accessed on 23 December 2021)), PubMed, and ASP. Up until now, the P. interpunctella has been distributed in most parts of China, except in areas with a harsh climate.Records detailing the distribution of P. interpunctella feeds on different diets, differences can be observed in its biological parameters. Rice is the staple food of most people in China and is stored in every household [P. interpunctella to rice. Therefore, we chose to set the relevant biological parameters of P. interpunctella as the standard when it fed rice. Jung [P. interpunctella is higher when the temperature range is 20\u201328 \u00b0C, with growth inhibition being observed at 32\u201335 \u00b0C [P. interpunctella died within 15 d of being at 30 \u00b0C [When ousehold . China rousehold , so it wce. Jung  found th32\u201335 \u00b0C . Lee\u2019s eat 30 \u00b0C . Based oP. interpunctella. When fresh vegetables and fruits are dried, they emit fragrances and are easily infected by P. interpunctella. Therefore, combined with the lowest default value provided by the CLIMEX template, the lower soil moisture threshold (SM0) was set to 0.05 to indicate that P. interpunctella can continue to develop in dry environments. The lower optimal soil moisture (SM1) was set to 0.2, representing relatively dry soil, to match the distribution records of P. interpunctella in northwest Xinjiang, China. The widespread distribution of P. interpunctella in Shanxi, Henan, and other northern provinces shows that it can grow well in temperate climates. Therefore, according to the template in the software and Jung\u2019s research [There are few moisture index studies related to research , we alsoP. interpunctella is unable to survive at temperatures above 35 \u00b0C.Heat Stress: The heat stress threshold temperature (TTHS) was estimated to be the same as DV3 (35 \u00b0C), and the heat stress temperature rate (THHS) was estimated to be 0.0048; P. interpunctella larvae by Feng et al. [P. interpunctella in the southwest part of Liaoning province and in the midwest part of Inner Mongolia [Cold Stress: Using information from a supercooling point study of g et al. , the colMongolia .P. interpunctella, the relevant parameter values could not be estimated. Recent surveys show that the frequency of the P. interpunctella in northern China is significantly higher than that in southern China, with the highest frequency in Shanxi Province [Dry Stress and Wet Stress: Due to the lack of available information on the dry and wet stress of Province . Shanxi Province . We thusMoisture parameters without units are dimensionless indices of soil moisture .P. interpunctella in different areas of China more intuitively, we refer to its actual distribution in China and Lee\u2019s research [In order to present the suitability of research  and diviP. interpunctella in China. From the distribution map generated by ArcMap, we can calculate the total area of the potential distribution of P. interpunctella in China to be 7.00 million km2; this represents 72.92% of the total area of mainland China. The area comprising a highly favorable habitat was 3.37 million km2, which is 35.11% of the total area of mainland China and accounts for 48.14% of the total area of potential distribution. This potential distribution includes most of the area of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Hebei, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guanxi and Yunnan, Liaoning, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, Guanxi, Yunnan, the southeast of Gansu, the east Sichuan, the north of Jiangsu and Anhui, the south of Guizhou and Fujian, the northeast of Inner Mongolia, the southwest Taiwan, and a small area of Tibet.The model prediction results show that, except for Alar, the recorded distributions collected from CNKI were within the potential distribution area predicted by CLIMEX . This pr2, which is 18.54% of the total area of mainland China and accounts for 25.43% of all the area of potential distribution. The distribution of this habitat covers southern Hubei, Jiangsu, and Anhui; most areas of Hunan and Jiangxi; northern Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Fujian, and Taiwan; and small areas of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Tibet. The area of the marginally favorable habitat was 1.85 million km2, which is 19.27% of the total area of mainland China and accounts for 26.43% of the entire region of potential distribution. The main areas belonging to this habitat were the northwest of Gansu, Xingjiang, and Qinghai; the middle part of Hunan, Inner Mongolia, and Zhejiang; northern Yunnan; western Sichuan; and southeastern Tibet.The area of the favorable habitat was 1.78 million kmP. interpunctella in China under future climate conditions is shown in The potential distribution range of P. interpunctella in the six major agricultural provinces of China [P. interpunctella for a long time. By 2070, except for Jilin, the unfavorable habitat areas in five other provinces had begun to increase. The highly favorable habitat areas of Anhui, Henan, and Shandong decrease year by year, and those of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Jinlin increase and then decline. P. interpunctella in China over time. The total region of potential distribution and the area covered by marginally favorable habitat will increase, while the district covered by highly favorable habitat will show a marked decline, with the favorable habitat changing very little. The area of the total potential distribution is observed to increase by 480,000 km2 from 1990 to 2070. The increased region of marginally favorable habitat is the largest, covering an area of 1.86 million km2. The reduced area of the highly favorable habitat was 1.24 million km2.of China . Before The subtraction of the difference data between three sets of future climate EI values and historical climate EI values was interpolated into ArcMap, generating EI interpolation variation maps . We founP. interpunctella survival in China during different periods from 2030 to 2070, the climatic favorability levels increase in the southeast of Liaoning, Tibet, and Jilin; the northern regions of Yunnan; the southern regions of Sichuan and Gansu; and most areas of Guizhou and Taiwan, and the EI value increased from 1 to 40. The EI values for the north of Sichuan; the eastern part of Qinghai; and the junction of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan would increase the most, by up to 40. Climatic favorability levels for P. interpunctella would decrease in the northern, southern, and east-central parts of China, with decreasing EI values ranging from 1\u201332. EI values for the southwest of Guangdong, most of Guangxi, and the northern part of Hainan would decrease the most, reaching 42.By comparing the changes favoring P. interpunctella has the characteristics of euryphagy and crypticity, and it is distributed all over the world, which indicates that it has a strong continuous transmission ability. Therefore, we predicted its potential distribution under the current and future A2 SRES climate scenarios in China. Among the cities in China where the distribution of P. interpunctella is known, except for Alar, Xinjiang, the rest are within our forecast range, which proves that our model is reliable.The development of models for predicting the potential distribution of insects in different climatic conditions makes the prediction results more accurate and can provide valuable data for the monitoring and control of harmful insects ,46. CLIMP. interpunctella negatively in the central-eastern and southern provinces of China. In general, the total area suitable for this pest will decrease by 2070. It should also be noted that northwestern China will become more suitable. The global climate model (GCM) CSIRO-Mk3.0 (CS) data under the A2 SRES scenario used in this study predict that the global climate is warming at a rate of 0.5 \u00b0C per decade and that precipitation will decrease [P. interpunctella cannot survive above 35 \u00b0C and that high temperatures inhibit its growth, with a survival rate of only 1% when the temperature was 35 \u00b0C [P. interpunctella.The predicted climate changes will affect decrease . Previouas 35 \u00b0C ,31,48. Ias 35 \u00b0C . By 2070P. interpunctella around the world according to four different diets. Jung indicated that rice production areas, such as Hunan and Jiangxi, are high-risk areas that are susceptible to infestation by the P. interpunctella, and our findings support this conclusion. Jung predicted that only Henan province in northern China has EI values that indicate that it could be infested by the P. interpunctella, while our model showed that most of the provinces in northern China had high EI values. The report shows that, among the different grain-producing areas of the 11 provinces in China\u2019s main grain storage ecological areas, the occurrence frequency of P. interpunctella is the highest in Shanxi, Liaoning, and Henan in the north, with occurrence frequencies of 42.3%, 39.5%, and 36.8%, respectively [P. interpunctella in China. Because the climate data are from the same source, the differences in the biological parameter settings lead to differences between the two research results. In recent years, the discovery sites of P. interpunctella in China have continued to increase. Based on its biological parameters, such as its supercooling point and current distribution, the parameters have been adjusted. Finally, the EI values calculated by the model may be different, which makes the specific prediction distribution range different.Before this study, Jung et al.  predicteectively , which pP. interpunctella to survive under such conditions. The Tarim Basin in the south of Xinjiang has a higher distribution of desert, low vegetation coverage, perennial natural disasters, such as sandstorms and dry\u2013hot wind, and a high dry stress index, which is also not suitable for the growth of P. interpunctella. In recent years, the Zhungeer basin in the north of Xinjiang and the Qaidam basin in the northwest of Qinghai have experienced changes in their local hydrothermal conditions due to the continuous transformation of the local agricultural ecosystem [P. interpunctella. The plain in the northern and hilly areas in the south is mild and suitable for planting, and most areas are in a highly suitable living environment for P. interpunctella, making it extremely vulnerable to infection.China\u2019s terrain has gradually increased from the eastern coast to the western inland area and is arranged in stepped shape . The avecosystem . Both haP. interpunctella harms stored grain, its biological characteristics will change with time due to the different positions and environments of granaries, and these factors may also affect the predicted distribution. The adults of P. interpunctella have strong mobility, which can infect storage within the range of 21~276 m, and its dispersion ability also has an important influence on the distribution [P. interpunctella will be further explored. In a subsequent study, we will also continue to investigate the distribution of the P. interpunctella in China, explore the specific effects of external environmental changes in the biological parameters of the P. interpunctella, and establish a model evaluation system to improve model performance.CLIMEX model predictions are primarily based on climatic factors, but nonclimatic factors, such as biological interactions, genetic evolution, graphic barriers, and human activities, might affect the studies of species distribution . By moniribution . Recent ribution . With thP. interpunctella. Since the beginning of the 21st century, grain production in northern China has increased substantially and has been shipped to the south in large quantities, directly promoting the construction of grain logistics node layout, logistics parks, and grain storage warehouses [P. interpunctella are small, so it is easy for it to spread with the host for a long period time. If no active control measures are taken, the spread of P. interpunctella in China will continue to accelerate. The intelligent detection and early warning technology of P. interpunctella can determine its dynamic changes in a timely manner and accurately provide a powerful guarantee for preventing it from infecting stored grains. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) coupled with discriminant and modeling classification methods can be used to detect the presence of P. interpunctella and is not destructive to the tested grains [P. interpunctella, it can be used to control gamma radiation, gaseous ozone, and high nitrogen [P. interpunctella in large commodities. However, the extensive use of methyl bromide has been proven to cause damage to the ozone layer, and it is being phased out [The model in this study shows that in the next 50 years, most of China will be a potentially suitable distribution area for rehouses . The ward grains . Metal sd grains . Once grnitrogen ,65,66. Onitrogen . The cheased out ,69. Phosased out . Studiesased out . Extractased out .P. interpunctella in China under historical and future climate data using the CLIMEX model. The results show that in the next 50 years, most areas of China are potential distribution areas for P. interpunctella, except for parts of the Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau and Tarim Basin. With the warming of the climate, the expanding areas are mainly located in the eastern part of Qinghai, while the mid-eastern, northeastern, and southeastern parts of China appear likely to become unfavorable areas. China should continue to implement strict monitoring, prevention, and control measures for P. interpunctella to prevent its spread all over the country and to achieve the goal of ensuring food security.In this study, we analyzed the potential distribution of"}
+{"text": "Blattisocius mali is a promising predatory mite for pest control, and a thorough understanding of its dispersal pathways in crops could be crucial for successful plant protection. So far, it has been reported as transported by several species of drosophilids. Our research indicates an ectoparasitic relationship between this species and drosophilid fruit flies. We used the flightless D. melanogaster and D. hydei commercially raised as live pet food. Female mites not only attached to flies but also fed on them, and their presence resulted in an increase in fly mortality. Although both fly species used similar defense tactics, mites had more difficulties getting onto D. hydei. Whether the wild D. hydei and D. melanogaster can also transport B. mali will be shown by further laboratory and field studies.There are a number of reports on the dispersal of predatory mites on insects, although much less is known about their mutual interactions and possible relationships. While some mite species use insects only as means of transport, others also feed on them, significantly lowering the carriers\u2019 fitness. Blattisocius mali is a promising biological control agent which has been reported as transported by several drosophilid species. Our goal was to determine the type of relationship between this mite and fruit flies. We used flightless females of Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei, which were commercially raised as live pet food. The predatory females mostly attacked the tarsi of the flies and then preferentially moved to the cervix or close to coxa III, where they eventually drilled their chelicerae and started feeding. Although both fly species used similar defensive tactics, more B. mali females did not attack D. hydei or did so with a delay, and a higher percentage of mites fell off the D. hydei tarsi during the first hour of observation. After 24 h, we noted the increased mortality of flies exposed to the presence of mites. Our study indicates the ectoparasitic relationship of B. mali with drosophilids. However, further research is needed to confirm the transport of this mite on wild D. hydei and D. melanogaster, both in the laboratory and under natural conditions.Predatory mites dispersing by means of insects are often ectoparasites and may use various tactics to get onto the host, counteract its defenses, and diminish its survival.  Poecilochirus carabi G. Canestrini and R. Canestrini on the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst [Parasitellus fucorum (De Geer) on bumblebees Bombus sp. [Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Scopoli) and M. subbadius (Berlese) [Spreading using insects is a common mode of dispersal in mites ,2,3,4,5.s Herbst  or Parasmbus sp. , others Berlese) ,11. MoreBerlese) . DespiteBerlese) , there iBlattisocius mali (Oudemans). It is a promising biological control agent for acarid mites, eggs of the potato tuber moths, and nematodes [Over a dozen mite species are reported as associated with drosophilid flies, both in the wild and in laboratory cultures ,16,17,18ematodes ,23,24,25Blattisocius mali belongs to Blattisociidae (Mesostigmata), a family of cosmopolitan predatory mites found both in the soil and in litter, on plants and stored products, and is frequently associated with rodents, insects, and birds [Blattisocius Kegaan, B. keegani Fox, B. dendriticus (Berlese), B. patagorium Treat, and B. tarsalis (Berlese) have been reported as transported by noctuiid and pyralid moths [B. patogorium and B. tarsalis, an ectoparasitic relationship with moths has been suggested [B. apis Basha and Yousef and B. trigonae Radhakrishnan and Ramaraju, were found on the body of honey bees, while B. capsicum Basha and Yousef was found in association with juveniles of psocopterous species inhabiting stored hot peppers [nd birds . Among sid moths ,27,28,29uggested . Others, peppers ,32.B. mali has been recorded only in fruit flies (Drosophilidae) from both the Drosophilinae and Steganinae subfamilies. In Finland, the mites  have been found on Drosophila littoralis Meigen, D. montana Stone, D. ezoana Takada and Okada, and D. lummei Hackman [B. mali has been attached to D. hexastigma Patterson and Mainland [Phortica semivirgo M\u00e1ca. Blattisocius mali has also been reported as associated with drosophilids in laboratory cultures [So far,  Hackman . In the Mainland . FinallyMainland  found fecultures .B. mali seemed to be inserted through the integument of fruit flies, which suggests that the association of this mite with drosophilids could be parasitic.Phoretic mites attach themselves to insects in a variety of ways ,5,33,34.B. mali and drosophilid flies. First, we examined the behavioral tactics the mite uses to get onto the body of the flies, where it preferentially attaches itself, and what the influence of the drosophilid species could be on this process. Secondly, we checked whether B. mali feeds on the fruit flies during transportation, and thirdly, whether the dispersal of the mite with the aid of the flies affects the survival of its carriers.The aim of this study was to determine the type of relationship between B. mali and the mold mite Tyrophagus putrecentiae (Schrank) came from the laboratory mite cultures maintained in the Section of Applied Entomology, Department of Plant Protection at Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS). Blattisocius mali was identified by Dr. K. Michalska using the key by Karg [Blattisocius mali was mass-reared on various stages of T. putrescentiae in wheat bran on soaked foam platforms (22 cm \u00d7 15 cm \u00d7 2.5 cm), which were covered with foil and placed within broader vessels (50 cm \u00d7 70 cm \u00d7 20 cm) filled up with water. The cultures of B. mali were maintained in a climatic room, at 21\u201323 \u00b0C, with a photoperiod of 16/8 h (L/D). The population of T. putrescentiae was fed with instant yeasts and maintained in a desiccator  at 26 \u00b0C and 80\u201385% RH in darkness.The stock population of  by Karg  and subsD. melanogaster Meigen and D. hydei Sturtevant  and females of D. melanogaster (n = 30) or D. hydei (n = 30). Apart from the treatment combination, a control was prepared in which female flies of D. melanogaster (n = 30) and D. hydei (n = 30) were kept singly, without mites. Observations were made at 5\u201350\u00d7 magnification using a stereo microscope  connected to a cooled light source. The observational chambers were constructed from colorless, transparent 200-\u03bcL Eppendorf pipette tips  that were 3 cm long. The chamber had a vent (ca. 0.5 mm in diam) at the narrower end, and at the broader end, it was plugged with a piece of cotton wrapped in gauze. First, single fruit fly females were introduced into the chamber, and then , the single 24-hour-starved females of B. mali were released into it. In contrast to fully satiated mites, the idiosoma of hungry mites was flat and brown. The mites were transferred with the aid of a fine brush, while the fruit flies were transferred using an aspirator (handmade). The mites were starved in isolation within a conical chamber of glass cages (4 cm \u00d7 3 cm \u00d7 0.3 cm) following the methods described by Robertson [The tests were carried out within small observational chambers using pairs of randomly selected females of obertson . The conB. mali attachments to D. melanogaster and D. hydei were conducted. We regarded the place of location of the mite\u2019s mouthparts on the fly\u2019s body as a site of the mite\u2019s attachment. For the description of the flies\u2019 thoracic morphology, we used the nomenclature from Fabian et al. [B. mali females fed on fruit flies and whether the flies defended themselves against them. The mite\u2019s feeding on the fly was judged by the degree of filling of its idiosoma. We arbitrarily assumed three degrees of the mite\u2019s idiosoma filling: flat, partially filled, and full. The times of particular mite behaviors were measured using a stopwatch.The experiment was divided into two parts. In the first part, which lasted one hour, detailed ethological observations and time measurements of the n et al. . The paiB. mali may remain attached to a fly and feed over a longer period of time and how this may affect the viability of the fly and the mite itself, observations were continued for the next 23 h. After the completion of 1-h observations, the position of the mite on the fly\u2019s body, the degree of the filling of its idiosoma, and the viability of the flies and the mite were noted, and then the observational chambers with the flies and B. mali females, as well as the control flies, were placed in an incubator with a temperature of 23\u00b0 C and a 16/8 h (L/D) photoperiod. Additionally, we kept the relative humidity in the incubator at 60\u201370% RH, which, as investigations by Shaffer et al. [B. mali females that stayed with flies, which were either living or already dead, and could be either attached to or separated from the flies\u2019 bodies.In order to examine whether r et al.  and Kamar et al.  have shoB. mali individuals, the analysis took into account the structure of variance and covariance of AR1. An overall assessment of differences in observations expressed as percentages was made using the chi-square test for contingency tables, while pairwise comparisons between observations were made using the chi-square test of independence. Data were presented as mean \u00b1 standard error (SE).The statistical analyses were performed using R 4.2.1 software . In the D. melanogaster females showed markedly greater mobility than D. hydei in the first 10 min, even before the mite was placed into the chamber. These females very quickly moved from one end of the chamber to the other, seeking an exit. In the following minutes, D. melanogaster flies, both from the control and the treatment combination, were more often seen in the narrower end of the chamber, where there was a vent. When squeezing into the chamber tip, they curled their legs under them. Drosophila hydei females behaved differently. After one or two attempts to squeeze into the chamber tip, they moved towards the wider end, and when stopped, they remained in a standing position with straight legs.The behavior of D. melanogaster and D. hydei females responded to the mite attack and could make several different attempts to get rid of the mite. When B. mali attached the chelicerae to the tarsus of the fly, then the fly often curled her leg up under her or began to run. To get rid of the mite, she flicked with her tarsus and hit it against the walls of the chamber. Alternatively, she began by grooming and attempted to remove the mite using a leg of the same or one of the other pairs. Similarly, when B. mali stuck its chelicerae in the wing, thorax, or abdomen, then the flies tried to throw the mite off, rubbing the places where the mite had attached intensively with their legs I, II, or III. The attacked fly could also jump or roll over on her back, waving all her legs intensely.Both D. hydei than in D. melanogaster . In D. melanogaster, only one trial out of 37 attempts to remove B. mali was successful (2.7%), while in D. hydei, 8 out of 21 trials (39%) were completed with the removal of the mite. By contrast, the percentage of successful attempts to throw B. mali off other body parts did not differ significantly between fly species . Drosophila hydei females managed to remove the mite 4 times out of 8 attempts (50%), while D. melanogaster only once in 6 attempts (16.67%).During the first hour of observation, the percentage of successful attempts to throw the mite off the tarsus was significantly higher in B. mali getting onto D. melanogaster or D. hydei and its final attachment to their body. The first one was attack. During this phase, the mite most frequently attached to the tarsus of the fly leg, rapidly sticking its chelicerae into the first, second, or third segment of the tarsus. Only when the fly \u2018calmed down\u2019 (stopped and did not wave its legs) did the mite begin to climb up the fly\u2019s body. Either (1) it moved along the more or less straight leg, onto the cervix (neck), thorax, or abdomen, or (2) if the fly had curled its leg under her, it moved from the tarsus or another part of the leg which was touching or a short distance from the fly\u2019s body, directly onto the fly\u2019s body. In the latter case, the predator stretched legs I or legs I and II in front of him and hooking them on the protruding part of the fly\u2019s body, passed onto its cervix, thorax, or abdomen. (3) B. mali also got on drosophilids when body parts other than the tarsus were in contact with the wall of the observation chamber or the chamber plug at its wider end. In this case, the mites stuck their chelicerae into the thorax, abdomen, or wings and much more rarely into the head or mouth parts of the flies  was noted  or nearby, and when the fly stopped there, the attack began. The predators could attack the fly from the front  or from the back , or from any other side if it happened to be close to the contact point of other parts of the fly\u2019s body with the wall of the chamber.as noted . Not infThe passage of the mite from the site of attack to the site of the final attachment on the fly\u2019s cervix, thorax, or abdomen was mostly very slow, as if the mite were \u2018creeping\u2019, and took place with or without stops. The final attachment was preceded by a characteristic drilling of the mouthparts into the integument of the insect. After inserting the chelicerae, predators raised the idiosoma upwards and began waving legs IV, III, and even II and turning the body sideways intensively. It was only after some time that the predators stopped waving their legs, their bodies settled on the flies \u2018for good\u2019, and they became motionless.D. melanogaster females, while in the case of D. hydei, 23.33% of B. mali females showed no interest in the insects . The mite attacked the D. melanogaster fly after, on average, 479.77 \u00b1 80.31 s from the moment of release to the chamber, while attacking D. hydei after a significantly longer time, on average after 729.09 \u00b1 113.21 s . We observed, in total, 31 mite attacks (and first attempts to attach) on D. melanogaster and 32 mite attacks on D. hydei. However, in the case of D. hydei, the percentage of failed attempts to attach at the attack site was significantly higher, at 53.13%, while in the case of D. melanogaster, it was only 6.45% . The mite failed to attach to the tarsus, rim of the wing, head, or tip of the abdomen of D. hydei, and it was usually thrown off these sites by a defending fly (13 attempts), much more rarely dropping off by itself (4 attempts). During the attacks on D. melanogaster, the mite attempted to attach to the tip of the abdomen. Once, it was thrown off by a fly, and once, it fell off by itself.During the first hour of observation, all the tested female predators attempted to attack 2 = 11.73, df = 1, p = 0.0006). A total of 25 out of the 30 B. mali females kept with D. melanogaster (83.33%), and only 11 out of the 30 females (36.67%) kept with D. hydei got onto the cervix, thorax, or abdomen of the fly, where they finally drilled into its body. There were significant differences in the percentage of mites entering the body of D. melanogaster, either from the tarsus of a straight or curled leg or from the junction of the other fly\u2019s body parts with the chamber wall . Most B. mali females entered the body of D. melanogaster by moving from the tarsus, especially from that of the curled leg . However, in comparison with D. melanogaster, a much greater percentage of mites entered the D. hydei body by using the contact of body parts other than the fly\u2019s tarsus with the chamber wall   .B. mali to finally attach to the fruit flies and also the time spent in each location phase varied greatly among mites , and to D. hydei was 1193.46 \u00b1 326.07 s  for D. hydei, and did not differ significantly between mites attacking either fly species . The fly species also had no effect on the average time the predator spent in a given phase of location on the fly\u2019s body , and no significant interaction between the fly species and the location phase was detected  . The mean time spent by a predator in the phase of attack and first attachment was significantly longer than that spent during the passage from the attack site to the site of final attachment (p \u2264 0.05) or during the drilling phase (p \u2264 0.05), both in D. melanogaster or D. hydei (p > 0.05).The total time it took for ng mites . The ave 0.2507) . HoweverD. hydei . In neitB. mali females moving from the attack site could have attached to flies in various places all over their body, but eventually, they began to drill with their chelicerae only in one of them. In D. melanogaster, there were 4 such sites on the cervix, thorax, and abdomen, while in D. hydei, there were 8 sites  and 24 h . In D. hydei, however, the percentage of mites drilled into the cervix or near the coxa III during the first hour was similar to other places on the thorax or abdomen . Only for the total records of attachment, obtained during 24 h, were there significant differences in the frequency of B. mali females attached to the various sites on D. hydei , with a distinct predominance of females stuck, similarly as in the case of D. melanogaster, to the cervix and near the coxa III  or coxa III of D. melanogaster  differed significantly depending on whether the mite attacked the tarsus I, II, or III or other sites of the fly\u2019s body in contact with the observational chamber. The greatest percentage of mites reached the cervix of D. melanogaster by climbing from the tarsus I, while the greatest percentage of mites reached the fly\u2019s coxa III by climbing from her tarsus III. A similar analysis was not performed for D. hydei due to insufficient sample size  or D. hydei   a,b.D. melanogaster and three cases on D. hydei. Only when B. mali females attached to the fly cervix, thorax, or abdomen did their idiosomas gradually fill. Initially, only a thickening of the back of the body, in the area of histerosoma, could be observed in the feeding mites. In the case of mites attached to D. melanogaster, a partial filling of the idiosoma was recorded in the second hour of observation. At this time, the idiosoma of one mite was already completely full. On D. hydei, the first cases of B. mali with completely filled idiosomas were not recorded until the third hour. The mites with full idiosomas were bulky, light brown on the dorsal side, and yellowish on the sides. Interestingly, after 24 h, most of the females feeding on D. hydei had completely filled idiosomas, while on D. melanogaster, partially filled idiosomas.In the 24-h-starved mites, the body was flat and dark brown. They remained flat also when they became stuck to the tarsus of the leg or to the wing and failed to get onto a fly body. Two such cases have been observed on 2 = 3.987, df = 1, p = 0.0354). The mortality was much higher in D. melanogaster than in D. hydei, both with B. mali  and without the mite , and no significant influence of the mite on survival of D. melanogaster was detected   .D. hydei, after 24 h, in combination with a mite, a significantly higher percentage of dead flies of this species was recorded than in the control.   .B. mali females can not only be transported by females of the flightless forms of D. melanogaster and D. hydei but can also feed on them during transport and negatively affect their viability. This indicates an ectoparasitic relationship between this mite and the flies of the Drosophillidae family, as previously suggested by Lehtinen and Aspi [D. melanogaster and D. hydei showed defensive reactions. However, the species of fly had a significant impact on the effectiveness of the mite\u2019s attack, as well as on its subsequent attachment to the fly\u2019s body.This study showed that and Aspi , as welland Aspi . In our B. mali females took every opportunity to get onto the body of the flies and start feeding. This behavior was innate, as the tested mites had no previous experience with fruit flies or other insects. The whole process of embarkment on the host, however, could take B. mali females up to several dozen minutes, which might have been partly due to intense defense by the flies.In the observational chambers, hungry B. mali females favored the capture of flies by the tarsus or wing. In their general plan, they are typical of most free-living mesostigmatic predatory mites, i.e., they are robust and chelate-dentate with retractable movable and fixed digits. In the Mesostigmata, these are used for a variety of purposes, including capture, penetration of the victim\u2019s cuticle, and delivery of salivary enzymes that facilitate prey liquefaction [B. mali have relatively strongly curved ends, the movable digit has two teeth, and the fixed digit has one tooth [B. mali, there seems to be a kind of compromise between its polyphagy and the necessity of (facultative) transportation on an insect body. Other ectoparasites of drosophilid fruit flies with a similar structure of chelate-dentate chelicera may face this problem, such as M. subbadius [Proctolealeps regalis DeLeon [Blattisocius, namely B. patagorium and noctuid moths, led to the development of an elongated edentate movable digit with a simultaneous reduction of the immobile digit. Individuals of this species not only fed on these insects but also mated, and the offspring could reach adulthood on the original host [B. patagiorium are short and robust. However, as shown by Treat [Undoubtedly, the morphology of the chelicera of efaction ,51. The ne tooth ,52. Theyubbadius  or Procts DeLeon . Piercins DeLeon ,55. It inal host . Interesby Treat , the larD. hydei flies were undoubtedly more \u2018difficult\u2019 hosts for B. mali. A greater percentage of female mites did not attack D. hydei at all, or their attack ended in failure. Perez-Leanos et al. [M. subbadius clearly preferred representatives of the subgenus Drosophila and repleta group (D. hydei) as opposed to the subgenus Sophophora (D. simulans Sturtevant), both in the field and in choice and no-choice experiments on immobilized (which were incapable of defending themselves) flies. It cannot be ruled out that B. mali may also have a preference for D. melanogaster in contrast to D. hydei. However, this requires further research. Undoubtedly, however, D. hydei defended itself more effectively while removing the mites from the tarsi. As a result, within the first hour of observation, more than 50% of the attacks ended in the failure of mite attachment to the tarsi, and of all B. mali females tested, only 1/3 finally entered the body and drilled their chelicerae into the abdomen, cervix, or thorax.Our research showed that the species of fruit fly had a significant impact on the effectiveness of the mite\u2019s attack, as well as on the way it entered and where it located on the body of the flies. Although both species of flies used similar tactics to throw off mites , the s et al.  point toD. nigrospiracula Patterson and Wheeler [M. subbadius, the flies flew up into the air, and they could also approach mites and appeared to exhibit reflex behavior in the form of sudden, brisk movements away from a mite. It should be mentioned that D. hydei is larger than D. melanogaster [D. hydei could be more resistant to stress than D. melanogaster, which may also have resulted in its higher persistence in defense. In our study, the fruit flies were held in quite stressful conditions; apart from the exposure to the presence of mites, they were kept in a confined space, without the opportunity to escape and without food. Flying forms of D. hydei appear to have a higher tolerance to some kinds of stress, such as starvation and heat knockdown temperatures [D. melanogaster may be more sensitive to stress in comparison to normal flies. Our 24 h observations appear to indicate differences in stress tolerance between the flightless forms of the two species. While the mortality of D. hydei in the control chamber (without mites) was 20%, in D. melanogaster, it was close to 80%.Drosophilid fruit flies\u2019 defenses against ectoparasitic mites have been observed in  Wheeler . Their bnogaster ,58,59, aeratures ,61. As seratures , some stB. mali females usually attempted to get onto flies when the insects stopped walking. Interestingly, they started to attack D. hydei after a longer time than D. melanogaster. It is likely that D. hydei flies were simply more mobile, and therefore, the mites had to wait longer for a convenient moment to attack. Drosophila melanogaster more frequently pressed into the narrow end of the chamber, where she also curled her legs. This behavior clearly favored the mites\u2019 embarkment, as it was from the tarsus of a curled leg that B. mali females most frequently got onto the fly\u2019s body. On the other hand, mites more frequently used the point of contact of the wall with the other fly\u2019s body parts in order to enter D. hydei than D. melanogaster. One explanation for this could be that D. hydei flies are larger than D. melanogaster, and the contact of their bodies with the wall could have occurred more frequently. This, in turn, could be eagerly used by a mite. However, since the attacks directed at D. hydei tarsi often ended in defeat, B. mali females could seek \u2018safer\u2019 ways to enter the body of this fly species. This can be exemplified by the parasitoid Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko, which is occasionally phoretic on white cabbage butterflies [Our study showed that terflies . It avoiB. mali females. Indeed, these places have a flexible, intersegmental cuticle and were relatively safe, i.e., out of the reach of the tarsi of all three pairs of legs during the fly\u2019s grooming.Mites transported by insects often show a preference for attachment sites on the host body. This preference may depend on the species and sex of the host . It may D. melanogaster. On D. hydei, the mite chose both the sites on the cervix and close to coxa III, as well as those on the thorax and abdomen. This was probably due to the fact that during the first hour, some B. mali females failed to attach to the D. hydei tarsus (from which they most often moved to the preferred places on the fruit flies) or even if they managed to do so, they had not started climbing the leg yet. Others got onto D. hydei from the contact of the chamber wall with other parts of the fly\u2019s body and drilled themselves into less preferred sites on the fly\u2019s thorax or abdomen. During the following hours, however, some mites finally reached the preferred places, which may have been the result of a gradual weakening of D. hydei\u2019s defenses and/or the mites\u2019 gain in experience. Interestingly, the sites which were preferred by B. mali in our study differ from those observed by Lehtinen and Aspi [B. mali specimens, mostly deutonymphs, were located under the fruit fly head, as in our study, but with the chelicerae stuck between the legs of the first pair, not in the cervix. Kerezsi et al. [B. mali females on Ph. semivirgo; two specimens on fly females were in a similar position as that described by Lehtinen and Aspi 1992 [B. mali attached to the coxa III. Interestingly, both the cervix and coxa III were the preferred sites of M. subbadius in field studies on D. nigrospiracula and 13 other species of drosophilid fruit flies [B. mali females depended on which D. melanogaster leg had been previously attacked. When mites attacked the tarsus I, they climbed the leg and most often attached themselves to the fly\u2019s cervix. On the other hand, those attacking tarsus III located themselves at the coxa of these legs. Undoubtedly, this shortened the time of wandering about on the fly\u2019s body and enabled the mite to get to each of these places as soon as possible.The mite\u2019s preference for the attachment to the fly\u2019s cervix or at coxa III was already detected in the first hour of our experiment, but only with and Aspi  and Kereand Aspi . It shouand Aspi , the locand Aspi , four Dri et al.  reportedspi 1992 , and theit flies . Our resM. subbadius and radiolabeled D. nigrospiracula. Moreover, in the representative of the genus Blattisocius, B. patagorium, the behavior of the mite and scars on the body of some noctuid moth species suggested that this mite fed on its hosts during transportation [B. mali females was similar to that noted during their feeding on eggs and first-stage larvae of D. melanogaster and D. hydei, as well as various stages of the mold mite T. putrescentiae .As our study has shown, after drilling with their chelicerae into the body of flies, female mites, initially completely flat, gradually filled their idiosomas, most likely by sucking out hemolymph and other tissues dissolved in saliva. This feeding by predatory mites on the drosophilids carrying them was confirmed by Polak 1996  using M.ortation . AlthougB. mali individuals that attached to the tarsus or wing, as well as the individuals that had no interest in the fruit flies during the experiment, remained flat. This indicates that attack sites such as the fly\u2019s tarsus or wing, while used by mites for attachment, are not suitable for feeding. This does not exclude, however, the possibility that the mite could feed on the tarsus of smaller prey that does not defend as vigorously as the fruit flies and has a much thinner cuticle as well. Examples are phytoseiid mites frequently attacking and then feeding on the tarsus and tibia of female spider mites [Only the er mites .B. mali. Several times, we observed that the mite, instead of getting off the freshly dead D. hydei or D. melanogaster, remained on the fly during subsequent hours with its chelicerae inserted in the same place on the insect body. Many species of mesostigmatic predators appear to be facultative scavengers, especially on freshly dead victims [Blattisocius, namely in B. keegani [Amyelois transitella Walker to the moth\u2019s eggs increased the predator\u2019s fertility. In our study, even if a mite remained on the dead fly for many hours, we did not observe any changes in the filling up of its idiosoma. On the contrary, there was often a decrease in the filling up of the mite body. This may mean that the content of hemolymph in the dead flies gradually decreased, which, in turn, did not allow B. mali females full engorgement. Perhaps the mite could also feed a bit on a different type of the fly\u2019s tissue through preoral digestion. This, however, requires further detailed research.Our study also suggests possible scavenging in  victims . Scaveng keegani . InteresB. mali on the viability of female fruit flies. In D. hydei, after 24 h in the chambers with a mite, the mortality of females was twice as high as that in the combination without a mite. In D. melanogaster, a similar analysis was not possible due to the high mortality of flies already in the first hour of the test, both in combination with a mite and in the control group. The increased mortality of D. hydei could have resulted not only from B. mali feeding but also from energy expenditure incurred by the flies during defense against a mite and during attempts to remove it or due to stress . As the experiments by Luong et al. [M. muscadomesticae (Scopoli) mites, without their attachment to a D. hydei body, can significantly increase the energy expenditure of the fly, as manifested by its elevated CO2 production. A similar effect was found in D. nigrospiracula exposed to the presence of M. subbadius [M. muscaedomesticae mite significantly reduced the survival rate of the housefly. In turn, the presence of M. subbadius on the body of D. hydei and D. nigrospiracula significantly shortened the duration of their flight, limiting the possibility of their dispersal [D. nigrospiracula but also reduces the fertility of the females and males of this fly [Our experiments revealed the significant effect of the presence of g et al.  showed, ubbadius . The negubbadius , the parispersal . The mitthis fly ,70.B. mali can act as an ectoparasite in relation to drosophilids. Not only can it feed on them during transport, but it probably also affects their survival and feeds on dead fruit flies. However, since we used the flightless forms of D. melanogaster and D. hydei, further research is needed on the wild forms of these species, both in the laboratory and in the field.In summary, our research has shown that"}
+{"text": "Agaricus is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae, with several highly priced edible and medicinal species. Here we describe Agaricus macrochlamys, a new species, in A. sect. Arvenses, sympatric and morphologically cryptic with the edible and medicinally cultivated mushroom, A. subrufescens. Phylogenetic analyses showed that A. macrochlamys is closely related to A. subrufescens, and that A. fiardii is a new synonym of A. subrufescens. Despite being morphologically cryptic, A. macrochlamys can be distinguished from A. subrufescens by several ITS and tef1\u03b1 species-specific markers and a 4-bp insertion in the tef1\u03b1 sequence. Furthermore, A. subrufescens is a cosmopolitan species, while A. macrochlamys distribution is so far restricted to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Agaricus L.  includes saprotrophic mushrooms of medicinal, nutraceutical and nutritional interest. The genus has a worldwide distribution comprising around 580 species  @ 202; ttggaAtgtgg @ 502; ctt[-]tGyggkg @ 528. No specimens having allelic ITS sequences characteristic of both A. subrufescens and A. macrochlamys are known, strongly implying that they are reproductively isolated, as well as being phylogenetically distinct.However, A. subrufescens; the remaining samples from Mexico (10), the Dominican Republic (6) and the USA (1) belong to the new species A. macrochlamys. In addition, A. fiardii is now considered a new synonym of A. subrufescens, based on the molecular phylogenetic analyses presented in this paper. The molecular data from twenty-four samples that were morphologically highly similar were identified as follows: two and five samples from Mexico and the Dominican Republic, respectively, belong to A. macrochlamys formed a full-supported sister clade to A. subrufescens. Because no significant morphological differences were observed between the two species, the molecular data remain essential for species identification. Indeed, in comparison with A. subrufescens, the new species has five distinguishing ITS nucleotide substitutions, of which four are unique within the A. sect. Arvenses. This level of genetic divergence is higher than is generally observed between the closely related species in the genus [According to our combined phylogenetic analyses, the new species he genus . Agaricus macrochlamys remains to be studied in detail. Its geographical range in Mexico and the Dominican Republic seems to be restricted to cloud forests . However, the ARB1353 sample from Georgia, USA, was collected in an area with subtropical weather. The life cycles of A. macrochlamys need to be compared with those of A. subrufescens, which is known to be amphithallic  and versatile [The biology of ersatile ,43. Othe"}
+{"text": "Tyto furcata. The body mass of the subspecies in North America (T.f.pratincola) is about a factor of two higher than that of the subspecies living on the Galapagos archipelago (T.f.puncatissima). We asked how this difference translates into aerodynamic parameters. The key question was whether there is so-called similarity scaling or not. In other words, whether important aerodynamic parameters scale according to body mass. This is called isometric scaling. Deviation from isometric scaling is called allometric scaling. If we use the subspecies from the continent as a reference, we find that the Galapagos barn owl has relatively larger wings than expected from isometric scaling. This translates into a lower wing loading in punctatissima than in pratincola. A lower wing loading means higher maneuverability. We speculate that the higher maneuverability allows the Galapagos owl to catch smaller prey, especially insects.Morphology and function depend on the ecological niche in which an animal lives. Barn owls, occurring on all continents, occupy a nocturnal niche. These birds prey mainly on small rodents but include other small vertebrates and invertebrates in the diet. The size of the barn-owl species and subspecies varies considerably. The American continent harbors the species Tyto furcata), the North American subspecies, T.f.pratincola, and the Galapagos subspecies, T.f.punctatissima, with respect to aerodynamic parameters and compared our findings with those in other owl and bird species. The body mass of T.f.pratincola is about two times higher than that of T.f.punctatissima. Wing loading between the two subspecies scales allometrically. Wing loading in T.f.pratincola is about 50% higher than in T.f.punctatissima. The scaling of wing length is not statistically different from the prediction for isometric scaling. By contrast, the wing chord in T.f.punctatissima is larger than predicted by isometric scaling, as is the wing area. The scaling of wing loading observed here for T.f.punctatissima differs considerably from the scaling in other owl and bird species as available in the literature. We speculate that the allometric scaling helps T.f.punctatissima to catch smaller prey such, as insects that are found in many pellets of T.f.punctatissima, despite the fact that in both subspecies, small rodents make up most of the diet.Aerodynamic parameters, such as wing loading, are important indicators of flight maneuverability. We studied two subspecies of the American Barn owl ( Tyto sp.) are interesting when studying flight [Tyto alba) is in the lower range compared with other bird species. A similar conclusion may be derived for the North American barn owl from the data in [Barn owls  and the Galapagos barn owl (Tyto furcata punctatissima), have very similar habitus and general behavior [T.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima, respectively. Despite the similar habitus, the body-mass difference in these two subspecies is large. This provides the opportunity to study, on the one hand, how body-mass difference translates into aerodynamic parameters in two closely related taxa and, on the other hand, whether T.f.punctatissima, living on remote islands, might show some specific adaptations.The genus Tyto has about 50 taxa ,19,20. Sbehavior ,21,22,23These issues may be tackled by determining the important aerodynamic parameters and by checking whether they scale isometrically or allometrically. With respect to aerodynamic parameters, theoretical expectations may be derived from the relation of several parameters with body mass. If we accept the simple model that body mass scales with the third power of length and with the second power of area, we can test whether the relations are isometric or allometric .T.f.punctatissima. A further aim was to compare the data of T.f.punctatissima with the data of T.f.pratincola. Finally, we wanted to find out how these parameters scale in these two subspecies. In the following, we show that despite the similar habitus and behavior, many aerodynamic parameters scale allometrically in the two subspecies T.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima and discuss why this may be so.Thus, the main aim of this study was to provide the first data ever on the aerodynamic parameters for Tyto furcata). On the one hand, data from 10 adult specimens of the North American barn owl (Tyto furcata pratincola), four males and six females, were included (sample \u201cpr\u201d). These birds are descendants of specimens that originally came from California (USA), which had been held and bred in captivity for more than 30 years and stemmed from the colony at the Institute of Biology II at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. This colony was kept under a permit of the Umweltamt Aachen and a permit for animal experiments of LANUV, Recklinghausen (Germany). The second source of data came from 7 living animals of the Galapagos barn owl (Tyto furcata punctatissima), three males and four females (sample \u201cpu\u201d). This sample includes the data from the wings of specimens that were studied in successive years. For the determination of the body mass, the data of four more birds  was available. While we averaged the body mass of the birds that were caught and weighted several times  to the tip of the wing and measured it parallel to the leading edge of the wing. Although this is different from the standard ornithological morphometrics [Wing length l (unit meter (m)): We defined wing length as the distance from the base  perpendicular to the proximal part of the leading edge and measuring the proximal part of the long axis from the intersection point to the point where the wing started to angle : the sum of the length of the left- and right-wing lengths plus body width.Wing chord c (unit m): the distance between the leading and the trailing (posterior) edge of the wing. The wing chord was measured perpendicular to the long axis of the wing from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing. Wing chord changes from the base to the tip of a wing. It was typically determined at about 40% of wing length as calculated from the base of the wing (see dashed black line in Aspect ratio AR: AR = b/c. 2): The wing length and wing chord were first multiplied for each wing separately to arrive at Sr = l\u2219c. Here, the subscript \u201cr\u201d refers to the fact that Sr represents a rectangular area. Since the wing chord is, however, not constant along the long axis of the wing, Sr has a larger value than the true wing area S. A correction factor was calculated from a wing that was stretched as in flapping flight (r\u2219(1\u22120.12). We applied this correction to every wing examined.Wing area S : This parameter was measured to the closest 0.005 kg. We are aware that the body mass of owls may undergo considerable changes. In the birds caught in the field, the actual measured body mass was used. If body mass was taken more than once in a bird, the results were averaged see . In the 2, with N = Newton): WL = bm/S. Here we deviate from using SI and use force, measured in Newton (N), as is performed in most other studies.Wing loading WL  should scale with body mass as y~bm0.67. We plotted the relations in a log\u2013log plot and derived the slopes that correspond, in such plots, to the exponent of the non-logarithmic equations. The data from the whole samples, but also separately for males and females, were obtained.For the judgement of the scaling of the aerodynamic parameters, the predictions for the parameters in the case of isometry are available . In theT.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima samples and between the sexes in each of these samples was checked with a Mann\u2013Whitney U-test. Such a test was not carried out for wingspan because, due to the definition, the statistics are the same as with wing length. A Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to test the independence of the measurements on the left and right wings. Confidence intervals for the slopes in the log\u2013log plots were calculated to obtain insight into whether the measured slopes were different from the predictions outlined in the last paragraph or not. We used non-parametric statistics as a measure of caution because, with the low number of cases, it is difficult to prove that data are normally distributed. Non-parametric statistics do not have such a requirement. The statistical significance between the T.f.punctatissima specimens for which we have data for both wings did not allow us to reject the null hypothesis . Therefore, we averaged the data from the two wings and included only the averaged value in the following analyses.Since we typically took measurements from both wings of an animal, the question arose whether the left and right wings may be treated as independent measures. A comparison of the lengths, chords, and areas of the left and right wings in the seven T.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima are distinctly different in size, with T.f.pratincola having a body mass approximately twice that of T.f.punctatissima  . The relnificant . The relatincola , Table 1expected . The 99%expected . In otheatincola . T.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima, as shown in Overall, the comparison of the data from T.f.pratincola . The few field measurements (three birds) in successive years and different times of the year in T.f.punctatissima yielded body-mass differences of up to 15% but not more (p < 0.1) seen in the analyses . This hIn this study, we did not consider the influence of the tail and the tail feathers on barn-owl flight because we did not have data on feather spreading and tail movement of these birds during flight. The inspection of photographs shows that, especially during landing, tail feathers are widely spread and influence aerodynamic performance . TherefoTyto alba), which is intermediate in size compared with T.f.pratincola and T.f.punctatissima, had an intermediate wing loading  is very close to the body mass de Groot [T.f.punctatissima than in other barn-owl species. Despite these consistencies, it would be interesting to study more specimens of both subspecies to find out whether aerodynamic parameters differ as in [Data on the aerodynamic parameters of ble from ,13,14, able from  (compareble from  in Tableble from  with resble from . In addiory well . The sim data in . For exade Groot  reporteder as in  or not.T.f.punctatissima stood out in that it had (1) a lower wing loading than expected from the relation seen in other owl species (the other data point in 2) is from the long-eared owl, with a comment by the author that this may be an artifact ), and (udied in  consumed as well ,30. Thisgoniidae  that sinT.f.punctatissima may be an outlier. We cannot discriminate between these two hypotheses. However, both results would be interesting. The earlier would point to a special adaptation in the genus Tyto, and the latter would argue for a special adaptation in a subspecies living on a remote island. To get better insight in such issues, it would be interesting to study more barn-owl species and more specimens of the two subspecies examined here.What may this result mean? On the one hand, there may be a special scaling for the three barn-owl taxa we examined. On the other hand,"}
+{"text": "Akkermansia muciniphila is a member of the gut microbiome, using mucin as sources of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. Since the first discovery of this unique bacterium in 2004, A. muciniphila has been extensively studied. It is considered a promising \u201cnext-generation beneficial microbe.\u201d The purpose of this paper is to sort out the research status and summarize the hotspots through bibliometric analysis of the publications of A. muciniphila.A. muciniphila from January 2004 to February 2022 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. Visualization analyses were performed using three bibliometric tools and GraphPad Prism.The publications about PNAS was the keystone taxa in this field, with high betweenness centrality (0.11) and high frequency. The keywords with high frequency in recent years include: oxidative stress, diet, metformin, fecal microbiota transplantation, short-chain fatty acids, polyphenols, microbiota metabolites and so on. The keyword \u201coxidative stress\u201d was observed to be increasing in frequency recently.A total of 1,478 published documents were analyzed. Annual publication number grew from 1 in 2004 to 336 in 2021, with China being the leading producer (33.36%). De Vos, Willem M was the most productive author with the highest H-index , followed by Cani, Patrice D . And Scientific Reports published the most papers. A. muciniphila has gradually increased, and was gradually deepened and developed toward a more precise level. A. muciniphila is likely to remain a research hotspot in the foreseeable future and may contribute to human health.Over time, the scope of the research on the clinical uses of  Akkermansia muciniphila, discovered in 2004, is a Gram-negative, non-motile, ovoid intestinal anaerobe that lacks endospores  blockers in cancer immunotherapy studies . A plain-text file was exported with all the full records and cited references for further analysis , a popular multidisciplinary database in the field of scientometrics ,b,c. To analysis .via discussions and negotiations. The 2021 Journal Citation Report  was used to obtain journal information.Deduplication of the obtained data was performed using the CiteSpace software (version 5.8. R3). Two researchers independently extracted the publications, countries, institutions, funding agencies, authors, journals, citations, keywords, highly cited references, Hirsch index H-index; , and aveThe CiteSpace  were analyzed . Figure A. muciniphila-related publications worldwide. East Asia, North America, Western Europe, and South Europe were the most productive countries/regions , followed by the United States . The United States had the highest H-index (63), whereas Finland (138.88) and the Netherlands (130.13) had the highest ACI  are listed in A. muciniphila research are listed in Scientific Reports published the highest number of papers , followed by Nutrients  and Frontiers in Microbiology . A co-citation analysis was also conducted to investigate the influence of the journals. The top four most-cited journals were Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , PLOS One , Nature , and Gut  and cluster #1 (metformin). As shown in Research hotspots were traced using co-citation analysis of the references. The co-citations were visualized and clustered to analyze the research focus. The modularity value  and the mean silhouette value  were calculated to evaluate the clustering quality, where Q\u2009>\u20090.3 and S\u2009>\u20090.7 indicate that the clustering structure is significant and convincing . Figure A. muciniphila research field . The remarkable efficacy of A. muciniphila on obesity and diabetes has promoted its exploration in various fields. The cliff-like shape of the citation curve shown in The frequency of The most productive countries were China and the United States. Initially, the United States was the topmost productive country; however, with increasing interest in the field among Chinese researchers, this gap gradually narrowed as publications from China increased in frequency. Combined with the institutional and funding agencies analyses, the high output of China and the United States is likely related to human investments and financial resources. The H-index is a crucial parameter for assessing the publication quality and academic influence of countries, institutions, journals, or researchers . As withA. muciniphila research field. Furthermore, De Vos and Willem is a leading expert in gut microbiota research and is at the forefront of exploring microorganisms through molecular (meta-) genomics and systems approaches, focusing on the human gut  that plays a role in reducing fat development, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia in mice after pasteurization. This study proposed a solution for the unknown safety of A. muciniphila growth medium substances when ingested by humans. The most logical explanation for a sudden increase in the citation frequency of an article is that it addresses a specific lack of information in currently available literature (2003). The article with the strongest citation burst was the article published by A. muciniphila supplementation. This study indicated that A. muciniphila is safe and well-tolerated by patients; it also suggested that dead A. muciniphila bacteria may be more beneficial than live bacteria. The third strongest citation burst was that of an article published by A. muciniphila and disease to the causal relationships between them, and from animal experiments to human studies of safety and efficacy.Within A. muciniphila field  can be applied to identify popular research topics in a particular field at a certain time. Our results showed the following four main research directions in the la field :A. muciniphila . In recent years, dietary strategies for improving gut A. muciniphila abundance have attracted research and development interest  associations. Basic research focuses more on the biological mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets of A. muciniphila. The active components of A. muciniphila are still being clarified. Interestingly however, pasteurized A. muciniphila, live A. muciniphila, and even secreted proteins  and extracellular vesicles can regulate gut barrier function and/or the immune system by acting on different molecules. Regarding the effects of A. muciniphila on human health , interested readers may wish to refer to previous detailed explorations of such topics   .A. muciniphila may be associated with oxidative stress regulation (A. muciniphila growth (A. muciniphila is an important topic for future research.Among the top 25 keywords with the strongest citation bursts, \u201coxidative stress\u201d showed increasing strength. Oxidative stress is caused by imbalances between intracellular reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense systems , and is gulation  and may gulation . Polyphea growth . The relA. muciniphila research field, and cannot represent influences outside this field.Our study has some limitations. Firstly, since it takes time for an article to achieve a certain number of citations, recent high-quality articles may not have been included, causing biased results. Secondly, there may be a time delay when exploring the research frontier. Finally, our analysis can only show the influence of the research content in the A. muciniphila and visualized the hotspots and global research trends in this field. Over the past 19\u2009years, publications on A. muciniphila have increased significantly in frequency, with China having the highest number of publications. De Vos and Willem was the most productive author and had the highest H-index, followed by Cani and Patrice. \u201cOxidative stress,\u201d \u201cdiet,\u201d \u201cmetformin,\u201d \u201cfecal microbiota transplantation,\u201d \u201cshort-chain fatty acids,\u201d \u201cpolyphenols,\u201d and \u201cmicrobiota metabolites\u201d are some of the frequently used keywords in recent years. These keywords are potential hotspots for future research and require further exploration. Although studies consider A. muciniphila to be a beneficial probiotic and has potential in the treatment of many diseases, providing an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms underlying its role in promoting human health with respect to high-frequency diseases may improve the research status of A. muciniphila.We evaluated and quantified articles on The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/YC, ZL, QL, and PW: conceptualization. HK, YW, XL, and SC: data curation. HK and ZL: writing\u2014original draft preparation. ZL, HK, YW, SC, and YC: writing\u2014review and editing. YC, QL, and PW: supervision. YC: funding acquisition. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.This work was supported by the Special Scientific Research Fund for National Natural Science Foundation, grant numbers 82070543 and 8177031240, and the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, grant number 2021YFA0717001.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Leptostraca, Sarsinebaliaagoensissp. nov., from Ago Bay, Japan is described from specimens found at a depth of 120 m. The new species differs from other known Sarsinebalia species as follows: the compound eye has three distal lobes; the anterior margin of the first antennal segment has one distal process covered with setae; and the lateral margin of pleopod 1 exopod bears 5\u20136 simple, robust spines. A taxonomic key to all species of Sarsinebalia is also provided.A new species of  Sarsinebalia Dahl, 1985 belongs to the family Nebaliidae . The type species of the genus, Sarsinebaliatyphlops , was initially included in the genus Nebalia Leach, 1814. However, in the revision of the European shelf species by Nebaliatyphlops showed several morphological characters not present in any known Nebalia species at the time, i.e., rostrum with a ventral keel and terminal spine; compound eye disc-shaped and lacking pigment or externally discernible visual elements; first pleopod exopod lacking a row of serrated spines on the lateral border; and second maxilla exopod shorter than first article of endopod. Therefore, Dahl established the genus Sarsinebalia based on these characters. However, the validity of the genus Sarsinebalia was challenged by the phylogenetic analyses of Sarsinebalia is currently composed of seven species that have been recorded from the Bay of Biscay , Paranebalialongipes , and Nebaliopsistypica . Later, Nebaliatagiri Hirata, Fujiwara & Kikuchi, 2019 from a hydrothermal field in Kagoshima Bay, Japan. Here, we report three specimens belonging to the genus Sarsinebalia collected from a depth of 120 m near Ago Bay, Japan in 1986. These specimens represent a new species that is described here as Sarsinebaliaagoensis sp. nov.. There have been few studies of Leptostraca in waters near Japan, and previous findings have not explained the full diversity. This report is considered to be a very important discovery for the evaluation of the diversity of Leptostraca in waters near Japan.Three leptostracan species had long been reported from waters off the coast of Japan: TL: measured from the articulation between the rostrum and the carapace to the posterior end of the caudal furca), lateral carapace length , carapace height , and rostrum length . Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida on a stereomicroscope . The type material of the new species is deposited at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo (NSMT).Samples were collected by ORI dredge; specimens ware sorted in the laboratory, and then identified and sexed. The following measurements were considered: Total length  collected from the Japanese Pacific coast near Ago Bay, during the R/V \u201cTansei Maru\u201d KT 86-6 cruise ; 34\u00b012'00N, 136\u00b043'00E; 120 m; May 1986.Three \u2640\u2640 (Holotype: (NSMT-Cr 28987), adult \u2640, 8.0 mm TL. Paratypes: two adult \u2640\u2640 (TL: 5.6\u20136.5 mm) .Female holotype:Carapace  and S.pseudotyphlops Petryashov, 2016, lack both ommatidia and pigments. On the contrary, S.cristoboi Moreira, Gestoso & Troncoso, 2003, S.kunyensis Ledoyer, 2000, S.ledoyeri Moreira, Esquete & Cunha, 2021, and S.urgorrii Moreira, Gestoso & Troncoso, 2003, have compound eyes provided with ommatidia; S.cristoboi, S.kunyensis and S.urgorrii also bear red eye pigment. Therefore, S.agoensis sp. nov. is close the latter four species for the presence of ommatidia, but differs from them in a number of features (Table The seven known species of the genus S.agoensis sp. nov. is the only known species in the genus with three lobes on the terminal margin of the eyestalk; inS.cristoboi the eyestalk is slightly longer than wide and the distal border is straight; inS.kunyensis it is oval and tapering distally, oblong inS.urgorrii, and oblong with concave disto-ventral margin inS.ledoyeri.S.agoensis sp. nov. andS.ledoyeri, along the proximal two-thirds inS.kunyensis andS.urgorrii, and beyond the terminal margin of the eyestalk inS.cristoboi.The tip of the supraocular plate extends along the proximal half of the eyestalk inS.agoensis sp. nov. This process ends in one tooth inS.ledoyeri,S.cristoboi, andS.urgorrii; apparently, there is a second tooth/spine inS.cristoboi that is not mentioned in the original description but illustrated (cfr. fig. 2A in S.kunyensis.Article 1 of the antenna peduncle has a rounded process covered with eight setae inS.agoensis sp. nov., but extends well beyond the level of the second article of the endopod inS.cristoboi,S.kunyensis,S.ledoyeri, andS.urgorrii.The tip of the exopod of the second maxilla just reaches the distal end of the first article of the endopod inS.agoensis sp. nov., whereasS.kunyensis bears seven serrated spines; the lateral margin is smooth inS.cristoboi,S.ledoyeri, andS.urgorrii.The lateral margin of the pleopod 1 exopod bears a row of four to six simple spines inS.agoensis sp. nov. andS.cristoboi, elongated and distally rounded inS.kunyensis, distally bluntly rounded inS.urgorrii, and elongated and distally slightly triangular inS.ledoyeri.The denticles of the posterior margins of pleonites 6\u20137 are distally rounded inS.agoensis sp. nov. stands out from other known species of Sarsinebalia by having the eyestalk provided with distal lobes and pleopod 1 exopod with a lateral row of several spines.In conclusion, Leptostraca in waters near Japan; in addition, only limited sea areas have been studied. For this reason, previous studies have never been able to accurately evaluate the diversity of Leptostraca in waters near Japan. Ago Bay is also one of the sea areas that has never been investigated, and this paper is the first report from this area. This is also the first report of the genus Sarsinebalia in waters near Japan. The discovery of S.agoensis sp. nov. suggests that further investigations may uncover further diversity of Leptostraca in waters near Japan.Until now, there have been few studies on"}
+{"text": "Physaliscordata Mill. and compared it with seven species of the genus Physalissensu stricto. Sequencing, annotating, and comparing plastomes allow us to understand the evolutionary mechanisms associated with physiological functions, select possible molecular markers, and identify the types of selection that have acted in different regions of the genome. The plastome of P.cordata is 157,000 bp long and presents the typical quadripartite structure with a large single-copy (LSC) region of 87,267 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,501 bp, which are separated by two inverted repeat (IRs) regions of 25,616 bp each. These values are similar to those found in the other species, except for P.angulata L. and P.pruinosa L., which presented an expansion of the LSC region and a contraction of the IR regions. The plastome in all Physalis species studied shows variation in the boundary of the regions with three distinct types, the percentage of the sequence identity between coding and non-coding regions, and the number of repetitive regions and microsatellites. Four genes and 10 intergenic regions show promise as molecular markers and eight genes were under positive selection. The maximum likelihood analysis showed that the plastome is a good source of information for phylogenetic inference in the genus, given the high support values and absence of polytomies. In the Physalis plastomes analyzed here, the differences found, the positive selection of genes, and the phylogenetic relationships do not show trends that correspond to the biological or ecological characteristics of the species studied.In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the plastome of  Physalis L. (Solanaceae) includes 95 morphologically and ecologically variable species . The corolla is commonly yellow but can vary to greenish, whitish, orange (P.campanula Standl. & Steyerm.) or purple  Axelius). The fruits are green, yellow, orange, or purple berries, and are covered by an accrescent fruiting calyx  M.Mart\u00ednez in the United States, P.angulata L. and P.philadelphica Lam. in Mexico, and P.peruviana L. in South America  with antimicrobial, cytotoxic (anticancer and antitumor), neuropsychiatric, and metabolic properties (operties . This ge America . Some spmedicine . In addioperties . This diLSC) region and a small single-copy (SSC) region separated by two inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb), and the order and content of genes and introns are overall conserved  are larger in algae and smaller in gymnosperms, relative to angiosperms. However, the loss of regions, genes, and introns is recurrent in all plant lineages  contractions . In this study, variation was seen in expansions and contractions in IRs, intergenic spacers, and nucleotide content. P.philadelphica, one representing the wild gene pool and the other the domesticated gene pool and found differences in microsatellite and InDels in coding and non-coding regions, with no apparent trace of changes due to the domestication process. To increase knowledge about the evolution of the plastome in the genus, we selected P.cordata \u2013 an annual, wild species that grows in tropical areas, and whose fruits are consumed by traditional farmers \u2013 to sequence and annotate its plastome and compare it with those of other species of Physalis. Our objectives were (1) to obtain and characterize the plastome of P.cordata, (2) to compare its structure and genetic composition with those of seven available Physalis plastomes, (3) to identify genes with greater variation as potential markers for genetic studies and genes that are under positive selection, and (4) to obtain a phylogenetic perspective for the genus based on the eight Physalis species for which whole plastome sequences exist.Several comparative plastomic analysis have been conducted on the family P.cordata were collected in the field and immediately dried with silica gel for further DNA extraction. The cpDNA was isolated based on LaniVeg) at the University of Guadalajara  protocol (200 bp fragments). The library was quantified by qPCR. The template was amplified in Ion OneTouch2 and enriched in OneTouch2 ES. Sequencing was performed using the Ion PGM Hi Q View Sequencing Kit. Raw data are available under the BioProject number PRJNA870909 in NCBI.Fresh leaves of P.philadelphica  were evaluated in IRscope  length \u2265 21 bp, repeat identity \u2265 90%, and a Hamming distance of two. In addition, microsatellites present in each of the eight plastomes were identified with the MIcroSAtellite (MISA) identification tool  and synonymous (Ks) substitutions. The Ka/Ks ratios of 51 genes that showed variation were evaluated. The aligned sequences were analyzed in KaKs_Calculator 2.0 (th genetic code (-c 11) was used. Ka/Ks ratios > 1, Ka/Ks = 1, and Ka/Ks < 1 suggested positive, neutral, and purifying selection, respectively.To investigate the type of selection that has acted on ator 2.0 . The 11tP.cordata and the other seven species of Physalissensu stricto we used A.officinarum as outgroup. The sequences of nine plastomes were aligned in MAFFT (ML) analysis was conducted in Garli 2.01  with 1,000 bootstrap replicates.To obtain a phylogenetic perspective on the relationships of in MAFFT . The evoin MAFFT . GTR + IPhysaliscordata plastome is 157,000 bp long and presents a quadripartite structure, with an LSC region of 87,267 bp, an SSC region of 18,501 bp, and two IRs of 25,616 bp  than in the LSC (35.57%) and SSC (31.26%) regions  and the remainder with one . The rps12 gene  was the only gene that was trans-spliced. This result implies that it has an intron, the first exon (5\u2019 end) is in the LSC region, and the second (3\u2019 end) is in IRb; therefore, it is duplicated in IRa , and by region, the total GC content was higher in the IRs (43.03% in P.minim up to 43.19% in P.pruinosa), intermediate in the LSC region , and lower in the SSC region (31.26% in P.cordata and up to 31.4% in P.angulata and P.minima).The comparison of the plastome of on Table . The sizP.cordata presented 115 genes. This number is only shared with P.philadelphica since P.angulata, P.minima, P.peruviana, P.pruinosa, and P.pubescens have 114 genes and P.chenopodiifolia 113 genes. Of the species sharing 113 genes, P.cordata and P.philadelphica differed in the presence of the trnP-GGG gene, and P.chenopodiifolia was lacking orf188. All species presented 22 genes in IRs and the rps12 gene was trans-spliced . The number and distribution of introns were identical, 19 in 17 genes; however, 12 introns ranged from three to 99 bp , presenting the second exon of rpl2 in the LSC region and the first in the IRb (P.peruviana and P.pruinosa) or the rpl23 gene in the LSC region and the trnM-CAU in the IRb (P.angulata). At the limit of IRb and the SSC region, two variations were observed: \u03c8ycf1 was in the IRb and ended at the beginning of the SSC region , followed by the ndhF gene or the final sequence of \u03c8ycf1, which ended at the limit of the IRb, and in the SSC region, the ndhF gene (P.minima and P.pubescens). In the SSC/IRa limit, the eight Physalis species and A.officinarum presented the ycf1 gene. Finally, the IRa/LSC limit showed three variations: the IRa may have the trnM-CAU gene and rpl23 (P.angulata) in the LSC region; the IRa may have the second exon of rpl2 and the trnH-GUG in the LSC region ; or the IRa may have the first exon rpl2 and the second exon in the LSC region (P.peruviana and P.pruinosa) present. In addition, an extension of the LSC region and contraction in IRs were identified in P.angulata and P.pruinosa.The comparison of the limits of the ons Fig. . At the P.cordata and those of the other seven Physalis species was high. Identical sequences were mainly found in coding regions, and the greatest divergence was in the intergenic regions. The comparison between regions showed that the LSC and SSC regions were more divergent than were IRs. Introns also exhibited greater variation than the exons. The most divergent genes were ycf1 and ycf2, as well as the intergenic regions trnH-GUG-psbA and trnL-UAA-trnF-GAA  and 10 intergenic regions .The sequences of 51 genes and 75 intergenic regions showed variation. The lowest variation in genes was one change in 14 genes, and the highest variation was 173 changes in P.philadelphica to 49 in P.cordata , followed by palindromic (five in P.philadelphica up to 23 in P.angulata) and finally reverse . The number of microsatellites fluctuated from 52 in P.peruviana to 62 in P.angulata , and G was not found in any regions. In turn, the region with the highest number of microsatellites was the LSC region, followed by the SSC region, and then IRs.The repeated sequences in the plastome ranged from 35 in cemA, ndhB, ndhJ, ndhK, psaC, rbcL, rpoA, and ycf1, Fig. cemA, ndhB, ndhJ, ndhK, rbcL, and rpoA- are under positive selection in all eight species, psaC in five , and ycf1 in four . The values in ndhB, ndhJ, ndhK, and psaC were slightly higher than 1, compared to those in cemA, rbcL, rpoA, and ycf1, which presented higher values (Ka/Ks = 1.516 to Ka/Ks = 6.029). The other 43 genes showed Ka/Ks values <1, which indicates they are under purifying selection.In 51 genes, eight showed values of Ka/Ks > 1, indicating that they are under positive selection . This group was in turn sister to the clade formed by P.pubescens and P.cordata (BS = 91).The P.cordata analyzed here presents the typical quadripartite structure and the same order of genes as has been found for other species of the genus. However, the species vary in the total size and the size of the regions. In general, the average size of plastomes in Physalis is 156,814 bp, and the difference between the largest  and the smallest plastome  was 315 bp. Phylogenetically, closely related species tend to be homogeneous in size and their regions  to 37.56% (P.pruinosa). These values are similar to those documented in other genera of Solanaceae, such as Atropa L., Capsicum L., Nicotiana L., and Solanum L. . Physalis does not have an intron in the petD gene (gene of the cytochrome b6-f subunit 4 complex), unlike that which occurs in other genera of Solanaceae such as Atropa, Capsicum, Datura L., Nicotiana, Solanum, and Withania Pauquy  and a contraction of IRs (ca. 0.7 kb) like that in P.pruinosa. Boundary variations are heritable and provide information on evolutionary and speciation processes. These mutations can be traced throughout the evolutionary process and used as evidence of shared ancestry , and ycf1 occurred in four species .The evolutionary history of species is shaped by two main factors: mutation, which generates new genotypes, and selection, which determines the probability that new genotypes will be fixed or eliminated . If seleiminated . Howeveriminated . Under tPhysalis, the eight genes that are under positive selection can confer certain advantages. The genes ndhB, ndhJ, and ndhK  protect against stress caused by high concentrations of light, stabilizing the NADH complex and adjusting the photosynthetic rate, in addition to delaying plant growth because of drought (cemA gene (protein that envelops the chloroplast membrane) contributes to the absorption of more CO2 by chloroplasts (rbcL gene (large subunit of RuBisCO) increases the transfer of electrons during the process of photosynthesis, as well as the catalytic activity on CO2 (psaC gene (subunit of photosystem I), which occurred in the six species that are under positive selection, increases the photosynthetic rate when plants are exposed to high concentrations of ambient light  increases the transcription and expression of plastomic photosynthetic genes so that a plant develops correctly (ycf1 gene (membrane protein) is essential for cell survival and improves the construction of the cell membrane and the importation of photosynthetic proteins that contribute to the environmental adaptation process .Coding and non-coding regions of plastomes both tend to have a high degree of conservation . But somicotiana  and CapsCapsicum . In Physand ycf1 . Use of Physalis, despite the limited number of species studied. In comparison with other studies that include partial nucleus and chloroplast sequences P.minima forms a clade with P.angulata, P.cordata, and P.pubescens. Similar to P.angulata and P.pruinosa maintain a sister species relationship, while in Zamora-Tavares et al. (2016)P.pubescens is sister to P.angulata. Furthermore, the phylogenetic relationship of the Physalis species studied based on the plastome does not reflect groupings according to the chromosome number, as P.angulata, P.minima, P.peruviana, and P.pubescens have n = 24, while the other species have n = 12. This agrees with the results of Physalis, Quincula Raf. and Chamaesaracha (A.Gray) Benth. & Hook comprise a lineage with asymmetric karyotypes. For its part, A.officinarum has a symmetric karyotype (Physalis includes 95 species, the inclusion of a large number of species is needed to elucidate its evolutionary history and to analyze if it has a correlation with their ecological affinities and the life history of the species.The phylogenetic perspective we obtained confirms the usefulness of the plastome as a source of information for conducting phylogenetic studies in equences , our anaaryotype  and is aPhysaliscordata has the typical quadripartite structure, total size, and GC content similar with other Physalis species for which full plastome sequences are available. Physalis plastomes have 113 to 115 genes with the same distribution and number of introns. Comparative analysis among eight Physalis species showed differences in the boundary of the LSC/IR and SSC/IR regions and three distinct types were identified, given by the variation in genes present. The high percentage of conservation of the sequences and the variation observed at the boundaries of the plastome regions, in the ycf1 and ycf2 genes, and in some coding and intergenic regions are relatively common evolutionary processes, and is seen here in all the Physalis species studied. Likewise, the presence of genes under positive selection, in some or all of the Physalis species analyzed, suggest that they are differentially expressed, and could favor the photosynthetic process and environmental adaptation, which needs to be verified. We have shown that the plastome is potentially useful for further phylogenetic studies if key highly variable genes are used. Finally, we identified that despite the level of conservation in the plastome of Physalis, variation in sequence does exist and probably reflects independent evolutionary processes. Future studies should include a larger number of species representing the variation in biological and ecological characteristics to understand the evolution of the plastome in Physalis.The plastome of"}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. In addition, the duration after H. pylori eradication was demonstrated to be negatively correlated with its prevalence. Nishizawa et\u00a0al.H. pylori infection and was improved by H. pylori eradication.We thank Drs. Nishizawa, Yoshida, and Toyoshima for their interest in our manuscript,Norihisa Ishimura is an Associate Editor of DEN Open. The rest of the authors do not have any conflict of interest.None."}
+{"text": "Cells is experiencing a rapid increase in attractiveness and impact. This is reflected in our recently established section \u201cCells of the Cardiovascular System\u201d. For example, in 2019, four papers in the section were published in Cells, and this number increased to 79 in 2021. This is not only increasing the workload for editors and reviewers, but allows us to highlight the most exiting research and papers which are particularly interesting and important in the field on a dedicated website . Nevertheless, all other published papers in our section are highly valuable for the scientific community. Non-inclusion in the editor\u2019s choice does not mean that they are esteemed of lower importance. The selection is based solely on the editor\u2019s personal choice. Overall, for a period from 2020 to 2021, I selected three original publications and three reviews. Here, I will summarize my view of the most interesting aspects of the selected papers.Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors with important roles in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and cancer ,2,3,4,5.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is another cardiovascular disease affecting a significant number of people. Blood clotting in the non-contracting atria with the risk of stroke and a general increase in mortality are the major complications of AF . AlthougTo make the next step forward in innovative treatment of AF, the same groups of authors (N.M.S. de Groot and B.J.J.M. Brundel groups) performed a small pilot study of dietary supplementation with L-glutamine in patients with AF . GlutamiCells \u201cThe Role of PPARs in Disease\u201d as the paper of D. Bishop-Bailey, the group of W. Wahli reviewed the implication of peroxisome proliferator activated receptors in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) [In the same Special Issue of  (NAFLD) . NAFLD i (NAFLD) ,14,15. TCells, the process of novel therapeutic developments might reasonably speed up.Another organ in which crosstalk between immune, vascular, and parenchymal cells in pathophysiology is increasingly recognized, is the lung. Hu and colleagues reviewed perivascular inflammation in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) . As the As a pre-requisite to modifying vascular phenotype and response, knowledge on the differences in distinct vascular beds is required. Hennigs et al. reviewed in detail the heterogeneity of vascular endothelial cells. They first introduce the general characteristics of the endothelium and physiological endothelial heterogeneity, which is a timely introduction to the topic for scientists working in the field. Afterwards, modifications of the endothelium in response to stress, i.e., inflammation, ischemia, and cancer, are discussed, and finally the different strategies to target distinct endothelial cell populations are reviewed. This provides an excellent overview and guidance for researchers aiming at selective endothelial cell modifications."}
+{"text": "Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex are the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis (LB). Even if the conventional diagnosis of LB does not rely on the species itself, an accurate species identification within the complex will provide a deepened epidemiological scenario, a better diagnosis leading to a more targeted therapeutic approach, as well as promote the general public\u2019s awareness. A comparative genomics approach based on the 210 Borrelia spp. genomes available in 2019 were used to set up three species-specific PCR protocols, able to detect and provide species typing of Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) and Borrelia garinii, the three most common and important human pathogenic Lyme Borrelia species in Europe. The species-specificity of these protocols was confirmed on previously identified B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii specimens detected in Ixodes ricinus samples. In addition, the protocols were validated on 120 DNA samples from ticks collected in Sweden, showing 88% accuracy, 100% precision, 72% sensitivity and 100% specificity. The proposed approach represents an innovative tool in epidemiological studies focused on B. burgdorferi s.l. occurrence in ticks, and future studies could suggest its helpfulness in routine diagnostic tests for health care.Bacteria of the  Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex transmitted by hard ticks belonging to the family Ixodidae  Protein Sequence ID: WP_004790520.1B. burgdorferi s.s.: exodeoxyribonuclease III [Borrelia burgdorferi] Protein Sequence ID: WP_002656039.1B. garinii: ribosome maturation factor RimP [Borrelia garinii] Protein Sequence ID: WP_029362206.1B. afzelii, two for B. burgdorferi s.s. and two for B. garinii; see B. afzelii out of 24 Fluidigm-positives, 1 B. burgdorferi s.s. out of 9 Fluidigm-positives and 19 B. garinii out of 22 Fluidigm-positives. Additionally, six samples were identified by Fluidigm as Borrelia spp. (n = 4), B. spielmanii (n = 1) and B. miyamotoi (n = 1) were identified as B. garinii (n = 4) and B. afzelii (n = 2) by LyDet; these results were also confirmed by 5S-23S rRNA amplicon sequencing . Indeed, numerous typing methods to identify Borrelia spp. that cause LB in both arthropods and vertebrates have been proposed over the years [The comparative genomics performed in this work highlights the lack of a core genome in he years .B. burgdorferi s.l. species typing should be Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), although several issues related to genome assembling are still limiting factors [Thus, the best approach for  factors . HoweverBorrelia spp. has revealed that frequent inaccurate species assignments are present in public databases. This can possibly lead to incorrect interpretations concerning, e.g., the circulation of a certain B. burgdorferi s.l. species in a specific geographical area (leading to non-reliable distribution patterns), or incorrect diagnosis could also occur, resulting in improper therapeutic strategies. To our knowledge, there is no standardized procedure to fill the gaps in these discrepancies, and this can represent a growing problem in the future.Interestingly, comparative genomics on several B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii in ticks. For this purpose, bioinformatics analyses were performed to select species-specific loci for each species. Based on the alignment of each locus, species-specific primers were designed on conserved regions flanking variable ones. The intraspecific variability of the amplified fragments would not have allowed the specificity\u2014and consequently the sensitivity\u2014of a probe-based approach. For this reason, the three newly designed qPCRs were set up in separate tubes and using SybrGreen reagent as a fluorescent molecule. The species-specificity of the protocol and the absence of cross-reactions with other Borrelia species were assessed on a dataset of already species-typed samples identified as B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii, as well as on tick samples previously analyzed and typed using a Fluidigm approach (unpublished data). Furthermore, two specimens identified using Fluidigm as B. miyamotoi and B. spielmanii were amplified by LyDet assay and assigned to B. afzelii and B. garinii species, respectively. The subsequent sequencing of the 5S-23S gene fragment confirmed the result provided by LyDet, reiterating the species-specificity of the proposed protocol.The aim of this work was to develop a typing protocol for an easier, rapid detection and identification of B. burgdorferi s.l. in ticks revealed that species typing was occasionally not determinable [B. garinii and one B. afzelii, which were generically assigned to Borrelia spp. group by Fluidigm, thus leading to an improvement of the species-specific detection of Borrelia bacteria.Some previously published investigations on rminable ,34. On tBorrelia spp. in ticks [Borrelia species are present. The detection of co-infections by different Lyme Borrelia species is another potential outcome linked to using the LyDet protocol. One potential limitation of LyDet is that this protocol is able to detect only three given Borrelia species, and it might thus miss other, new, emerging or re-emerging ones. This might become an issue since these undetected species could be involved in the clinical picture or could be relevant when performing a general screening aimed at assessing the occurrence of more Borrelia species. One possible solution would be to perform a general Borrelia spp. screening according to an already described method , along B. afzelii, 11% of B. burgdorferi s.s. and 86% of B. garinii samples, while the remaining were negative. The lower detection rate of LyDet compared to Fluidigm could be attributed to the template sample. Indeed, in LyDet assays total NA alone was used as template, while in Fluidigm a mix of total NA and cDNA was used for the detection of genetic material from pathogens in the screened tick samples . It is worth mentioning that the Fluidigm approach is also based on a pre-amplification step that can increase the signal of those targets showing extremely low DNA concentrations.The LyDet approach confirmed the Fluidigm results to only 50% of Borrelia genomes.Even if setting up a method for the quantification of bacterial DNA (and therefore the number of bacteria) in a given sample was beyond the scope of the present study, bacterial load in ticks is considered relevant by some authors. For example, if the analyzed tick has been detached from a patient, information on the bacterial load can help in predicting transmission risks of the bacteria to the host ,28. In sB. burgdorferi s.s. with the Fluidigm test produced negative results when analyzed with the LyDet protocol. This result was also confirmed by the absence of amplification of the 5S-23S rRNA fragment. This can be attributed to either a low DNA quality of the template or to an interpretation of Fluidigm results for B. burgdorferi s.s. that \u201cshould be interpreted with care\u201d as stated in the first description of the method [B. burgdorferi s.s. specimens detected by LyDet are coherent with low prevalence rates of this Borrelia species in Sweden, as recently described [B. burgdorferi s.s. positive samples for an enhanced validation of the method.Eight out of nine samples identified as e method . Howeverescribed . FurtherB. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii detection. The epidemiology and ecology of these species are indeed pivotal for human health and could help to promote prevention against tick exposure. However, the low number of genomes available in PATRIC for B. garinii and B. afzelii and the genomic plasticity of Borrelia DNA may decrease the sensitivity of the tool. Nevertheless, genomes of B. burgdorferi s.l. available in the PATRIC database are continuously upgraded [The absence of gene sequencing and the sensibility and specificity of the LyDet assay make this method particularly reliable for large screenings of ticks for upgraded , and theBorrelia spp. This method could certainly complement, but not replace, the clinical evaluation and the diagnostic tests currently used. In fact, the validity of methods such as LyDet needs to be checked periodically by comparing the target sequences to those that are continuously generated and successively made available in sequence databases.Future applications of the recently developed method could include clinical investigations on LB patients to provide a quick and straightforward identification of the related"}
+{"text": "Squatina tergocellatoides Chen, 1963) is a threatened shark within the family Squatinidae. In the present study, we reported the mitochondrial genome sequence of the ocellated angelshark. The complete mitochondrial genome is 16,683\u2009bp in length and contains 37 mitochondrial genes and a control region as similar to most fishes. In addition, we constructed a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of S. tergocellatoides and its relative species. This work will provide molecular data for further studies on S. tergocellatoides.The ocellated angelshark ( Squatina, four species were reported in the western North Pacific, including S. tergocellatoides, S. formosa, S. japonica, and S. nebulosa  were collected in 23 September 2018. Then, the sample was preserved in our laboratory. Genomic DNA of S. tergocellatoides was extracted using a Tiangen marine tissue genomic DNA Extraction Kit. The mitogenome of S. tergocellatoides was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform (Table S1). The specimen and its DNA were deposited at Key Laboratory of Marine Ranching, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, PR China  under the voucher number Squatina_tergocellatoides_SCS_01.Tissue samples (muscle) from a S. tergocellatoides and other related sharks (S. tergocellatoides, S. nebulosa, S. formosa, and S. japonica in genus Squatina, have a close relationship. Furthermore, the four species cluster into a sister group to S. squatina and S. aculeata. The result of our study is an important resource for further genetic studies of S. tergocellatoides.After trimming and assembly, we obtained a mitochondrial genome sequence with a total length of 16,683\u2009bp . We annod sharks . The seld sharks . The topS. tergocellatoides. We annotated the genes and estimated base compositions of the mitochondrial genome. In addition, we constructed a phylogenetic tree using the maximum-likelihood method based on the 13 protein-coding genes of S. tergocellatoides and other species. We expect that the results of the present study will facilitate further investigations on the molecular evolution and conservation biology of S. tergocellatoides.In the present study, we sequenced and assembled the mitochondrial genome of Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Rapistrum rugosum is an invasive agricultural weed in many countries. Wild populations of R. rugosum have been recorded in China, representing a great threat to the regional crops. Based on distribution records from different regions and relevant environmental variables, the present study predicted the potential distribution and estimated the invasive risk of R. rugosum in China. Ecological niche shifts strongly affected the potential invasive risk of R. rugosum in China. The two most important variables were annual temperature range (Bio7) and mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11). The total suitable habitat for the species covered an area of 287.53 \u00d7 104km2 and was mainly distributed in Southwest, Southeast, and Central China. Australia, Canada, Brazil, the United States, and Argentina accounted for over 90% of the inspection records of R. rugosum from Chinese entry ports during 2015\u20132018. The intercepted R. rugosum was frequently mixed in Glycine max (L.) Merr., Hordeum vulgare L., linseed, Triticum aestivum L., and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Moreover, 80% interceptions were recorded from Tianjin, Guangdong, Nanjing, and Chengdu customs. Climatic conditions do not limit the establishment capability of R. rugosum in China. Our results provide a theoretical reference for the development of monitoring and control measures for this invasive weed.Ecological niche is a key concept that links species distributions. Ecological niche shifts are expected to affect the potential invasive risk of alien species.  Rapistrum rugosum (L.) All., a new reported invasive alien plant in China, belongs to the Brassicaceae family, and it is a relatively common weed in agricultural fields in wheat- and corn-growing regions ; it was found growing in patches and showed the tendency to disperse rapidly  have been playing an increasingly important role in predicting the potential geographic distribution of species, particularly IAS . The MaxR. rugosum in native, invasive, and native + invasive regions, the present study simulated the invasion risk habitats of R. rugosum in China. For the simulated risk area in China, we speculated that the ecological niche of R. rugosum would shift based on the distribution records of native, invasive, or native + invasive. Therefore, the risk area identified based on the native and invasive distribution records of R. rugosum was integrated as the final result of the invasion risk habitat in China. Further, the environmental variables that significantly affect the invasion risk habitats of R. rugosum in China were clarified. Finally, the specific distribution range in the invasion risk habitats of R. rugosum in China was explored to predict its dispersal risk and propose early warning measures.To this end, based on the optimized MaxEnt model, related environmental variables, and distribution records of R. rugosum were collected from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF1) and Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) of the Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI2). A total of 31.585 distribution records were obtained. Duplicate records and distribution points without detailed geographic information were removed using ENMtools  curve and area under the curve (AUC) were used to test the accuracy of the model results. The ROC curve is an acceptance curve with the horizontal coordinate indicating the false positive rate (1 - specificity) and the vertical coordinate indicating the true positive rate (1 - omission rate)  . Becauseon rate) .R. rugosum, ranging from 0 to 1. A higher P values indicates a higher probability of the presence of R. rugosum. The results were converted to a raster file and extracted using the administrative division map of China in ArcGIS. Then, the suitable habitats were ranked and visualized. The suitable areas were classified into four classes: highly suitable habitat (0.5 < P \u2264 1.0), moderately suitable habitat (0.3 < P \u2264 0.5), slightly suitable habitat (0.1 < P \u2264 0.3), and unsuitable habitat (0.0 \u2264 P \u2264 0.1). Grids in each class were counted, and the proportion of suitable habitats in each class was calculated. Next, the precise invasion risk area of R. rugosum was determined by removing the suitable habitats of R. rugosum in water and unused land as the final result. The ecological niche overlap of R. rugosum was expressed in terms of the Schoener\u2019s D (D) value in ENMtools. A higher Schoener\u2019s D indicates a greater overlap of the ecological niches  of the presence probability of l niches .R. rugosum, the FCs were L and Q and the RM was 0.7 in the optimized model. Based on the invasive distribution records of R. rugosum, the FCs were L, P, T, and H and the RM was 0.4 in the optimized model. Based on the native + invasive distribution records of R. rugosum, the FCs were L, P, T, and H and the RM was 1.3 in the optimized model  and mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11). These two environmental variables provided information that the other environmental variables did not , the corresponding interval was suitable for the growth of R. rugosum. The annual temperature range suitable for the growth of R. rugosum was 1.2\u201329.5\u00b0C, and the mean temperature of the coldest quarter suitable for the growth of R. rugosum was 8.1\u201313.4\u00b0C.In the present study, the relationship between the presence probability of bability . When thR. rugosum differed based on invasive, native, and native + invasive distribution records  was observed in the simulation results based on the invasive and native + invasive distribution records of R. rugosum, while the lowest overlap (Schoener\u2019s D = 0.25) was between the native distribution records of R. rugosum  Merr., 20.9% from Hordeum vulgare L., 17.3% from linseed, 9.5% from Triticum aestivum L., 7.2% from Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, and the remaining 7.6% from other goods. The frequent R. rugosum interceptions were recorded from 17 of 42 customs directly under the General Administration of Customs, China. Overall, 80% interception records were primarily from Tianjin, Guangdong, Nanjing, and Chengdu customs (more than 50 records each). Given the diversity of the countries of origin and commodities of R. rugosum interceptions at Chinese customs, the risk areas of this IAS in China must be first identified based on the invasive or native distribution records and then subjected to overlap analysis.There have been 1.061 inspection records of 015\u20132018 . The topR. rugosum in China was 91.09 \u00d7 104 km2, accounting for 9.49% of Chinese mainland, and these habitats were mainly distributed in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Xizang, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Taiwan . Therefore, multiple invasions of mixed populations are expected to contribute to the further spread of R. rugosum in China. Therefore, in the present study, the native and invasive records of R. rugosum were separately used to model the potential invasive risk areas of this IAS in China. Overall, the ecological niche of R. rugosum has shifted, affecting its potential invasion risk in China.Comprehensive multi-angle considerations are fundamental to predict the invasion risk areas of s of IAS . MaxEnt s of IAS . Meanwhis of IAS . Shifts s of IAS . Therefos of IAS . Our preRapistrum rugosum is a globally important IAS. All customs in China should implement strict plant quarantine regulations on imported grain from Australia, Canada, Brazil, the United States, and Argentina to prevent the introduction of this species to new areas in the country. R. rugosum poses a great risk of invasion in China. The number of interception records from Tianjin Customs was the highest. Even though Tianjin customs is located in a slightly suitable habitat, it was also associated with the greatest risk of potential introduction. Moreover, Guangzhou Customs is associated with a high risk of potential introduction, because it is located in a highly suitable habitat and recorded many interceptions. Thus, Tianjin and Guangzhou customs should be closely monitored in terms of the quarantine of imported grain to prevent the introduction of R. rugosum mixed in imported grain. A wild population of R. rugosum has been discovered in Xi\u2019an, and this population continues to spread in the surrounding areas. American countries accounted for over 50% of the total interception records of R. rugosum. In general, China, Europe, and North America have comparable climatic conditions. North America, Europe, and China have climate zones located south of the 40th parallel; therefore, most North American species can readily adapt to new habitats following their introduction into China and can effectively colonize in a relatively short time  and mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11). These results further proved that temperature was an important factor limiting the survival of this weed. R. rugosum is a fast-growing weed, and its invasiveness is facilitated by its ability to germinate under a wide range of temperatures. In Australia, the seeds of R. rugosum could germinate at most temperatures ranging from 5 to 30\u00b0C (R. rugosum were 1.2\u201329.5\u00b0C and 8.1\u201313.4\u00b0C, respectively. We found that when the mean temperature of the coldest quarter was between 0 and 20\u00b0C, the survival probability of R. rugosum showed a fluctuating increase, followed by a fluctuating decrease. Our results are consistent with previous reports. Moreover, the mean annual temperature of suitable habitats for R. rugosum in China was >10\u00b0C, and the mean annual temperature of highly suitable habitats was >15\u00b0C. Overall, the mean annual temperature and mean temperature of the coldest quarter in southern China are suitable for the germination of R. rugosum seeds; thus, this region faces a risk of colonization and dispersal of R. rugosum.Many Brassicaceae weeds germinate in a similar manner under different temperature conditions . Temperaum seeds . Our ana to 30\u00b0C . Our resR. rugosum was frequently detected in the commodities and containers of importing grains and seeds, indicating that this weed can spread over long distances aboard other seeds, logs, and other contaminated materials. Early warning and control measures are essential to prevent and reduce R. rugosum invasion in China. Tianjin, Guangdong, Nanjing, and Chengdu customs have reported frequent interceptions of R. rugosum, underscoring the need for strict quarantine measures to prevent and reduce the introduction and survival of this IAS in the surrounding areas of entry ports and imported grain processing factories. Specific attention should be paid to the imported grains, including Glycine max, Hordeum vulgare, and linseed, from Australia, Canada, and Brazil. For wild populations of R. rugosum, chemical control tends to be problematic because of the potential risk of development of resistance to a number of specific herbicides (In recent years, rbicides . Manual R. rugosum would shift, and our model results confirmed this assumption. The two most significant variables shaping R. rugosum distribution were annual temperature range and mean temperature of the coldest quarter. Invasion risk assessment revealed that the area of the total suitable habitat for R. rugosum in China is 287.53 \u00d7 104 km2, and these habitats are mainly distributed in Southwest, Southeast, and Central China. The potential habitats of R. rugosum accounted for a large proportion of Chinese mainland. Furthermore, climatic conditions will not limit the ability of R. rugosum to establish populations in China, and it has already successfully colonized specific regions within the country. Australia, Canada, Brazil, the United States, and Argentina are the five major source countries of R. rugosum in China. Meanwhile, Glycine max, Hordeum vulgare, linseed, Triticum aestivum, and Sorghum bicolor are the major grain sources of R. rugosum. Tianjin, Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Chengdu customs are the high-risk regions for the introduction of R. rugosum into China. Our results can serve as the reference to develop effective control measures against this IAS. Information about latitudinal clines in defense and joint clinical evolution of growth and defense in R. rugosum is essential for its adaptive evolution. Our further investigations will primarily focus on the re-establishment of heritable latitudinal clines in growth-related traits of R. rugosum.The present study used the R package \u201ckuenm\u201d to develop comprehensive MaxEnt models. The overall model fit was excellent. Through the simulation of risk areas based on distribution records from different regions in China, we predicted that the ecological niche of The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/XX, HZ, and WL: conception and design of the research. XX and HZ: acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis, and drafting the manuscript. RW, HQ, JG, GZ, and FW: manuscript revision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Triassopsyllidiida pectinata gen. et sp. nov. is described from the latest Middle Triassic Tongchuan biota of China. The phylogenetic relationships of the Protopsyllidioidea are discussed.The new sternorrhynchan Triassopsyllidiida pectinata gen. et sp. nov. is described from the latest Middle Triassic Tongchuan biota of China and tentatively attributed to the superfamily Protopsyllidioidea. Its forewing venation is unique among this superfamily in the anteriorly pectinate vein ScP + RA and the presence of a veinlet between R and M + CuA. Its exact position in this group remains uncertain, mainly because of the weak diagnostic value of the wing venation characters in these insects. The phylogenetic relationships of the Protopsyllidioidea are discussed. The Protopsyllidioidea Carpenter, 1931, is a group of extinct Psyllaeformia with fossils ranging between the Late Permian and the Late Cretaceous, and is currently subdivided into four families: Postopsyllidiidae Hakim, Azar & Huang, 2019; Permopsyllidiidae Becker-Migdisova, 1985; Protopsyllidiidae Carpenter, 1931; and Paraprotopsyllidiidae Hakim, Azar, Szwedo, Drohojowska & Huang, 2021. After the morphological phylogenetic hypothesis of Hakim et al. , branch CuA2 sometimes weakened; clavus triangular, shortened with two claval veins, or A2 fused with margin. All these characters are present in Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov.Hakim et al.  proposedTriassopsyllidiida gen. nov. has a M with five branches, excluding it from this family. Hakim et al. (2019) also gave the following characteristics in their diagnosis of the Protopsyllidiidae: forewing with pterostigma absent ), basal cell normally absent; vein M two-branched , vein CuA forked, rarely simple; crossvein rp-m normally absent.Hakim et al.  characteTriassopsyllidiida gen. nov. in the absence of setae on veins and the presence of crossvein(s) between RP and M. The absence versus presence of setae on veins is sometimes hard to determine on fossils, as demonstrated by their bases, which are clearly visible on the imprint of the holotype of Triassopsyllidiida pectinata sp. nov., while they are not detectable on its counter-imprint. Thus, this character remains uncertain. The presence versus absence of crossvein rp-m can be more diagnostic, at least at the genus level, but it is hard to determine its value at the family level and it is not stable in the family.Hakim et al.  also proPermopsyllidium from three branches in Permopsyllidium lesclansis Prokop et al., 2015; Permopsyllidium mitchelli Tillyard, 1926; and Permopsyllidium affine Tillyard, 1926; to four branches in Permopsyllidium australense Becker-Migdisova, 1985 or Permopsyllidium quadrimediatum Becker-Migdisova, 1985; but in that case, M is forked twice, while it is pectinate in Triassopsyllidiida pectinata sp. nov. [The number of branches of M varies in sp. nov. ,19.Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. differs from all the genera currently in the Protopsyllidioidea in the presence of a series of straight, parallel veinlets between ScP + RA in the distal half of forewing, and the presence of a short veinlet between R and M + CuA [Triassopsylla Tillyard, 1917, has a ScP re-emerging distally from RA and a distal fork of RA, which is very different from the series of eight veinlets emerging from ScP + RA as in Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. [Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. on the basis of this curious character, but such veinlets distally emerging from ScP + RA are also present in some extant species of Psylloidea, e.g., Euphyllura pakistanica Loginova, 1973, while the other representatives of Euphyllura have only two branches of ScP + RA [Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. strongly differs from all genera of the Protopsyllidioidea. The second character, \u2018presence of a short veinlet between R and M + CuA\u2019, is also very unusual among the Protopsyllidioidea, but it would be necessary to find it on further specimens of Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. to determine if it is stable or not before erecting a new family for Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. M + CuA ,27,28,29en. nov. . One wouScP + RA . Thus, tTriassopsyllidiida gen. nov. would fall in the clade (Postopsyllidiidae (Protopsyllidiidae (Psylloidea + Aleyrodomorpha))) on the basis of the absence of the crossvein rp-m, which is a homoplastic character. These authors did not consider the presence of robust setae on the veins in their analysis, a character present in the Postopsyllidiidae, the Protopsyllidiidae, and the Paraprotopsyllidiidae [After the phylogenetic hypothesis of Hakim et al. , Triassolidiidae . It woulTriassopsyllidiida gen. nov. remains somewhat uncertain because it does not have the putative apomorphy of the Postopsyllidiidae (absence of pterostigma), and neither that of the Protopsyllidiidae (vein M reduced to two branches). The Paraprotopsyllidiidae have a simple median vein. Hakim et al. [Triassopsyllidiida gen. nov. does not fit with the diagnoses of the four families Postopsyllidiidae, Protopsyllidiidae, Paraprotopsyllidiidae, and Permopsyllidiidae. The differences in forewing venation between all these families are relatively weak characteristics, rendering their definitions and limits somewhat uncertain, especially for the Permopsyllidiidae that are only based on forewing characters.The exact position of m et al.  did not The Permopsyllidiidae are currently restricted to the Upper Permian Period of Australia and the Russian Federation, while the Postopsyllidiidae and Paraprotopsyllidiidae are Cretaceous, and the Protopsyllidiidae are known in the Permian of Australia, France, the Russian Federation, and South Africa; the Triassic of South America, Australia, and South Africa; the Jurassic of China, Europe, and Central Asia; and the Cretaceous on nearly all the paleo-continents. These families seem to be very ancient and were probably very widely distributed during the period between the late Permian and the late Cretaceous. While the Protopsyllidioidea survived the Permian\u2013Triassic episode, known as the \u2018mother of all extinctions\u2019, the causes and exact period(s) of their extinctions remain obscure. It is probably not due to competition with some other acercarian groups because they co-habited with the stem groups of the modern sternorrhynchan clades for a long time. A link with the floristic changes of the early Late Cretaceous could also be unlikely, as the youngest representatives are known in the Raritan amber (Turonian). They possibly became extinct during the period between the Turonian and the Maastrichtian, when the \u2018Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution\u2019 was at its maximum , or at t"}
+{"text": "After the publication of our article, we detected one unintentional error during the preparation of Fig. S2B in PowerPoint. Western blot bands of GAPDH in MCF-7/WT were run on a same gel with that of MCF-7/ADM, but the images were mistakenly inserted. After carefully checked the original data, a correction was made. This error did not change the data or conclusions of the article in any way.Furthermore, Prof. F Gu was the major supervisor of clinical experiments designing and performing, with the permission of Prof. L Fu. However, we are deeply grieved by the passing of Prof. F Gu. In this situation, Prof. L Fu personally feels she cannot give full advices during the process of corrigendum or in future without detailed experimental information from Prof. F Gu. Therefore, all authors agreed to remove authorship of Prof L Fu and F Gu.We apologize for the inconvenience for these changes."}
+{"text": "Flavonoids are a category of plant-derived compounds which exhibit a large number of health-related effects. One of the most well-known and studied flavonoids is kaempferol, which can be found in a wide variety of herbs and plant families. Apart from their anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects, kaempferol and its associated compounds also exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal activities. The development of drugs and treatment schemes based on these compounds is becoming increasingly important in the face of emerging resistance of numerous pathogens as well as complex molecular interactions between various drug therapies. In addition, many of the kaempferol-containing plants are used in traditional systems all over the world for centuries to treat numerous conditions. Due to its variety of sources and associated compounds, some molecular mechanisms of kaempferol antimicrobial activity are well known while others are still under analysis. This paper thoroughly documents the vegetal and food sources of kaempferol as well as the most recent and significant studies regarding its antimicrobial applications. In general, natural substances have been a recent target of research for their numerous health benefits and also for their potential as the basis for new drugs ,2,3. TheCamelia sinensis (tea tree) -b-d-glucopyranoside and kaempferol 3-O-b-D-kaempferol 3-O-b-D-glucopyranoside, from S. hymettia, were found to be active in vitro against C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis [C. albicans was exhibited by some kaempferol-containing extracts from Allium ursinum [Labisa pumila Benth, discussed before, also has a quite notable antifungal effect [Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lank.) Oken exhibited interesting antifungal activity against C. albicans, C. parapsilosis and also Cryptococcus neoformans [Probably the first antifungal action of a kaempferol-containing compound was documented by , who tesopicalis . As ment ursinum . The extl effect . The extoformans .Baseonema acuminatum [C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo in mice [Candida spp. was reported for the extract of Trachyspermum ammi, which contained kaempferol-(coumaroyl glucosyl)-rhamnoside [Y. gigantea had a definite antifungal effect [A comparatively weak inhibitory activity, at maximum concentration, was exhibited by kaempferol-3-O--\u03b2-D-glucopyranoside, isolated from uminatum . Pure ka in mice . A possiamnoside . The extl effect . In the l effect , it was Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus. Moreover, significant fungistatic activity was exhibited by the bark extract of Spondias mombin [The antifungal activity of kaempferol was also proven by the research of . The exts mombin . A summaPlant extracts containing kaempferol have shown antiprotozoal activity based on a number of researches against some of the most common protozoal pathogens . In thisHelianthemum glomeratum against Entamoeba histolytica in vitro, with successful results. Shortly after, kaempferol was also isolated from the roots of Cuphea pinetorum; it too was effective against E. histolytica and Giardia lamblia [H. glomeratum, and the importance of kaempferol, were also examined by [E. histolytica were obtained when using the extract of Morinda morindoides [E. histolytica was also demonstrated by [E. histolytica and G. lamblia, kaempferol-3,7-dimethylether was shown to have a degree of antiprotozoal activity in vitro [E. histolytica is important in the wider context of the activity of numerous flavonoids against this parasite [Probably the first description of an antiprotozoal activity of a kaempferol-containing extract was made by  who stud lamblia ,357 in v lamblia . The antmined by . These pindoides . The potrated by . Againstin vitro . This anparasite ; such naTrypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. It is a disease endemic to African countries [Glossina, although transmission by other blood-sucking insects has also been documented [This disease, also known as the sleeping sickness, is caused by ountries . It is mcumented ,370; it cumented . The trecumented . While ccumented . At the cumented ; furthercumented .Alomia myriadenia which was very effective against Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro [Conyza filaginoides, was not found to be effective against Trypanosoma spp. and Giardia spp. [Cayratia trifolia Linn [Zanthoxylum pistaciifolium Griseb. found that they had no significant activity against either T. cruzi or T. brucei [T. brucei [Lotus corniculatus L. was found to be effective against Trypanosoma spp. [Kaempferol-7-methylether was one of the compounds identified in the extract of in vitro . On the dia spp. . Possibllia Linn . Contrarlia Linn  were dis. brucei . The com. brucei . The extoma spp. .P. malariae, P.falciparum, P.vivax, P.ovale, P.knowlesi); others are rarely infectious [Anopheles [Malaria is a well-known disease since ancient times and is caused by the amoeboid intracellular parasite Plasmodium; five of the 172 Plasmodium species are infectious to humans -DMA-kaempferide, a flavonoid very similar to kaempferol , was foulciparum . Based olciparum , the extin vitro . The inain vitro  to suggein vitro , found tium spp. .Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia [Leishmania parasite which can infect humans; leishmaniasis is a zoonosis and can be divided into visceral, cutaneous, and mucocutaneous [Leishmaniasis is a tropical and subtropical disease, mainly transmitted to humans through the sand flies of the genuses utzomyia . The disutzomyia . There eutaneous . The trautaneous ; antimonutaneous ,394.K. pinatta were found to have antileishmanial activity [Leishmania amazonensis [L. amazonensis in vitro [Compounds from the extract of activity . In an izonensis . When isin vitro .As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, a number of plants that contain kaempferol compounds are included in many traditional medical systems, all around the world. It is interesting to note that their traditional applications frequently correspond with their current effects under research. In this section, we will group the most important such plants, and their applications mentioned in this paper , and theHerbal medicine is still regarded as an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine , and conThe use of the flower of the clove, known as dingxiang, is indicated to counteract the invasion of cold, and also to warm the kidneys; associated clinical signs include vomiting, hiccup, diarrhea, impotence, and leg weakness .Bupleurum chinense, also known as radix bupleuri, or chaixu, is used in a variety of herbal formulas, which are associated with harmonizing lesser yang-stage disorders; some formulas, are also used against malaria. Other formulas, containing B. chinense are used to release exterior wind and heat [radix bupleuri is derived from the roots of B. chinense [and heat . To be mchinense . Modern chinense ,446,447.Geranium is also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, both in anti-inflammatory and anti-microorganism applications ; currentAstragalus creticus is a plant that is endemic both to Greece and China [nd China ; it is und China . In warmnd China . In Westnd China . This isnd China ,457,458.Lastly, propolis, which is a bee product containing plant elements, not a plant per se, is an integral compound of many medicinal systems. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine, for its anti-inflammatory properties  and alsoIn recent years, the field of phytochemistry has been rapidly developing with the aim of developing new drugs based on plant-derived compounds. At the same time, the field of ethnopharmacology studies the use of traditional medicinal plants of different regions and their possible applications in modern medical and pharmacological practice. Such approaches are integrated into the innovative practices which constitute the driving force behind the development of new therapeutical approaches .As discussed in this paper, plants that contain kaempferol and its associated compounds have been tested for a number of effects, from anticarcinogenic to antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal. Indeed, the identification of natural compounds with anticarcinogenic potential has been a mainstay of medical research in the last decades . ApplicaRegarding the focus of this paper, in light of the promising effects of kaempferol compounds in the field of clinical microbiology, it can be said with a degree of certainty that it represents a novel potential for drug design. This is all the more important given the emerging resistance of many pathogens to traditional drugs. We may further postulate that given the wide range of kaempferol effects, drugs that may combat more than one condition may be developed; for example, using kaempferol as the basic agent, infections in cancer patients may be treated, combatting the pathogen and the cancer cells at the same time. This is a subject for future research.Finally, as presented in the last part of the paper, kaempferol-containing plants are found in the traditional medicinal systems of almost every region; this attests to the efficacy of such treatments. In the particular case of traditional Chinese medicine, more often than not, such plants are used in conjunction with other plants and herbs, in herbal formulas. We propose, from a future research perspective, that these formulas should be tested, initially in vitro, to ascertain the relative efficacy of their components, and whether the kaempferol compounds of the ingredients can exert their actions on their own or in tandem with some of the other contained compounds."}
+{"text": "National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. DEC-2012/06/M/NZ4/00138 granted to Wojciech Fortuna was not included. The authors state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. This correction was approved by the Academic Editor. The original publication has also been updated.In the original publication , the fun"}
+{"text": "Medical imaging techniques are a helpful tool for physicians to diagnose and treat diseases. Some of these techniques are conventional and include X-rays, Ultrasounds while others are advanced imaging modalities such as MRI and CT scans. Recently, more and more physicians are relying on these advanced imaging modalities because of advancements in technology, increased patient demand, greater finances, and the fear of any malpractice suits in case of missed diagnosis. While these techniques, no doubt, offer a quicker and correct diagnosis owing to their sharp resolution and sensitivity, they do expose the patient to a great source of radiation, are expensive, time consuming, and are not an ideal means to be used in all situations. Thus, it is crucial to mitigate their unnecessary use. The following article focuses on the growing use of such techniques, their advantages and disadvantages and how to alleviate their exaggerated use. Medical imaging techniques aid in the diagnosis and treatment of both adult and children population , and latThe rise in the use of imaging facilities can be due to advancements in technology, increased demand by physicians and patients, and greater financial means . There hThe advancement in technology has encouraged the physicians to order more CT scans and MRI for the conditions used to be investigated with more basic imaging techniques . CT scanIt is important to realize that not every imaging modality is suitable for every situation . Among tContrast enhanced CT scans, although necessary in certain circumstances such as assessment of neoplasms, can potentiate certain adverse effects , such asDependence on advanced imaging techniques in clinical practice is also impactful on education of the new generation. The new generation radiologists and physicians are less experienced in the use of x-rays and ultrasounds, and less confident in establishing the diagnosis of some conditions using those imaging modalities. According to the European Society of Radiology ultrasound subcommittee, the young radiologists often regard ultrasound as less appealing than CT or MRI for some reasons, like physical presence and full attention for a specific period of time, direct contact with the patients and perceived high patient turnover. The most important point is educating and preparing the new young radiologists about the use of newer ultrasound technological developments and their clinical applications .It is important to perform the right imaging tests at the right times in order to establish the correct diagnosis and allow a prompt treatment and better patient care . Not onlExternally peer reviewed not commissioned.No financial support was acquired for this article.Not required.All sources of funding should be declared as an acknowledgement at the end of the text. Authors should declare the role of study sponsors, if any, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the study sponsors had no such involvement, the authors should so state.M.J.T, S\u00b7Y and Z.Y conceived the idea; S\u00b7W, O.A, I\u00b7U, M.J.T, and Z.Y, collected the data; I\u00b7U, S\u00b7W, S.G.I, and M.J.T did write up of the manuscript; and finally, Z.Y, M.S.A, and S.G.I reviewed and revised the manuscript for intellectual content critically. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.None.Not required.Name of the registry: Not required.Unique Identifying number or registration ID: N/A.Hyperlink to your specific registration (must be publicly accessible and will be checked):Muhammad Sohaib Asghar and Muhammad Junaid Tahir.The authors declare no conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Crotalaria juncea L.), wild beans from Cear\u00e1 , Guand\u00fa \u2018BRS mandarin\u2019 [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], millet \u2018BR05\u2019 [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.] and sorghum \u2018BR 304\u2019 [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. The absolute control of the experiment was the treatment without the use of cover crops, that is, the vegetation of spontaneous occurrence in the area. The experimental design was randomized blocks in subplots with three replications. Spore density, mycorrhizal colonization rate, easily extractable glomalin, and species present in the rhizosphere of the cover crops were determined. No differences were found in the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the different cover crops studied or in the values of spore density, root colonization, or glomalin content. Nitrogen application did not influence the mycorrhizal activity in the investigated cover crops. The most frequent species associated with cover crops were Scutellospora pellucida and Scutellospora persica in C. juncea; Gigaspora sp. on Sorghum; Glomus macrocarpum in Guandu; G. macrocarpum and Glomus clavisporum in millet; and Glomus microaggregatum and Glomus tortuosum in Spontaneous Vegetation.This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin content in soil under different cover crops with and without the application of nitrogen in the cover. The following cover plants were used: Crotalaria juncea ( Conservation cultivation systems, such as no-tillage, are at the forefront of sustainable soil management and water resources . One of Cover plants are responsible for soil protection in these systems and can influence the diversity and richness of the rhizospheric microorganism community in the soil . ArbuscuDifferent species of cover crops are used in sustainable agricultural management in the Brazilian Cerrado region, which is considered one of the main agricultural frontiers of today . Among tNitrogen availability is another factor to be considered when handling vegetation cover in the soils of tropical regions, such as the Cerrado. Nitrogen contributes to plant biomass protein, providing more efficient soil protection, and when managed before planting, vegetation cover promotes more efficient nutrient cycling for subsequent crops . This maGiven its importance in the regional development of agriculture in the Cerrado region, understanding the biodiversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with the main cover crops used in conservation systems is of fundamental importance for the effective management of management practices in this region .The objective of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin content in soil under different cover crops cultivated after corn crops, with and without nitrogen (N) addition in the cover.Zea mays L.) in succession to the cover crops was planted in 2005 in an area of Embrapa Cerrados in Planaltina, DF . Between 1995 and 2005, the area was in the field. The soil of the experimental area is classified as typical dystrophic Red Latosol, Moderate A, and tropical Cerrado phase, with smooth wavy relief, and clayey texture  and the occurrence of periods of drought during the rainy season , cear\u00e1 wild beans , Guandu \u201cBRS mandarin\u201d [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], Millet \u201cBR05\u201d [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.] and Sorghum \u201cBR 304\u201d [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. The absolute control of the experiment was the treatment without the use of cover crops, that is, the vegetation of spontaneous occurrence in the area (Spontaneous Vegetation). The plant density was 20 plants per linear meter for C. juncea, Guandu, sorgo, wheat, and Brachiaria ruziziensis; 40 plants per linear meter for millet and turnip; and 10 plants per linear meter for wild beans. The spacing between sowing lines was 0.5\u00a0m for all plant species  until 2012. In the flowering period of the cover plants, roots and rhizosphere soil were collected at a depth of 0\u201320 cm with Dutch trade in June 2012. From each of the treatments, a composite sample consisting of three subsamples of random points in the subplot was taken, and these composite samples were homogenized and transported to the Soil Biology Laboratory of Agronomy-UnB.The spores were extracted from the soil using 50\u00a0ml of each composite sample by the wet sieving technique , followeFor the identification of AMF species from morphological characteristics, spores were separated according to their morphotypes and mounted on blades with pure polyvinyl-lactoglycol (PVLG) and PVLG mixed with Melzer (1:1 v/v). The identification of mycorrhizal fungi species was performed in the Mycorrhizas Laboratory of Embrapa Agrobiologia, following the descriptions of the reference cultures present in the International Culture Collection of Arbuscular and Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi .The data were submitted to variance analysis by the Assistat  analysesThe analysis of variance Table\u00a01 C. juncea had the highest number of spores compared with the other treatments, and the soil under millet had the lowest spore density values. The treatments using wild beans from Cear\u00e1, sorghum, and spontaneous vegetation showed intermediate values of spore density , with the application of nitrogen in the corn cover, the species G. microaggregatum, Gigaspora sp., and S. persica, which occurred only in this treatment. On the other hand, in the treatments without the application of nitrogen in topdressing in the corn crop, the identified species were A. scrobiculata and G. tortuosum. The species Ar. leptoticha, G. macrocarpum, S. gregaria, and S. pellucida were identified in both treatments, with and without nitrogen application.In millet rhizospheric soil, with and without nitrogen application in topdressing in the corn predecessor crop, the following species were identified: G. microaggregatum, S. gregaria, G. clavisporum, and A. foveata present little proximity to the analyzed cover, which indicates the chance of the appearance of these species in the rhizosphere of the plants studied.When considering only the cover crops Figure\u00a02The canonical correspondence analysis showed a correlation between the occurrence of the species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi identified with the cover crops with and without N application Figure\u00a03C. juncea rhizosphere, the frequency of AMF species did not differ in treatments with and without nitrogen application  in the treatment with nitrogen application in topdressing in the corn crop was lower than that in the treatment without nitrogen application (567.83 spores/50\u00a0g of soil).There are few studies that evaluate the influence of the effect of applying nitrogen fertilizer to corn crops in succession to cover crops on the mycorrhizal population. However, The verified spore density data can be considered high. This finding can be explained by the seasonal characteristics of the region where the plants were grown. The Cerrado is a region that has two well-defined climatic seasons, the dry season and the rainy season . The behC.\u00a0juncea, millet, Guand\u00fa + millet, C. juncea + millet, and spontaneous vegetation with the application of four nitrogen rates  on the rate of mycorrhizal colonization and did not find significant differences between the treatments. The mycorrhizal colonization was between 58% and 63% in the soil under the different cover plants.Despite the mycorrhizal colonization rate being similar among cover crops, other works, such as C. juncea, jack bean, Guand\u00fa, velvet bean, and sorghum in succession to crops in agroforestry systems in the Cerrado and found that the highest levels of glomalin were observed in treatments with velvet bean and C. juncea in succession to maize and beans. Lower levels were observed in bean plots in succession to jack bean and Guand\u00fa.Although it is not possible, with the analyses carried out in this work, to state that the quantified glomalin is totally produced by soil mycorrhizal fungi, its values constitute an important parameter of microbial activity in the soil . Soil glAcaulospora, Archeospora, Glomus, Gigaspora, and Scutellospora were identified in the rhizosphere of C. juncea, sweet bean, sorghum, Guand\u00fa, millet and spontaneous vegetation, with and without nitrogen application (Soil turning destroys fungal hyphae and thus negatively influences AMF production of glomalin. Aggregate and glomalin t values, in areas even after 3 years of no-tillage system, were substantially lower when compared to values observed in areas of continuous pasture for 15 years . Specieslication Table\u00a05.lication .A. delicata, A. spinosa, G. caledonium, G. etunicatum, G. tortuosum, and S. persica were associated with the millet rhizosphere. A. laevis, G. microaggregatum, and G. etunicatum were associated with the rhizosphere of Guand\u00fa, A. spinosa, A. scrobiculata, G. etunicatum, G. geosporum, and Glosmus sp. in the C. juncea rhizosphere. The species A. spinosa, G. microaggregatum, G. claraideum, G. etunicatum, G. geosporum, and Scutellospora sp. were associated with spontaneous plants without nitrogen application. A. spinosa, A. scrobiculata, G. microaggregatum, G. etunicatum, G. geosporum, S. gregaria, and S. persica were detected in the rhizosphere of spontaneous plants with nitrogen application.G. microaggregatum that does not occur in the rhizosphere of cover plants, with or without the addition of N, but, only in the rhizosphere of spontaneous vegetation with the addition of N. Thus, it can be inferred that this species is adapted to soils with vegetation occurrence spontaneous in the area. However, further studies are needed on the dynamics of the diversity of this and other species of mycorrhizal fungi that occur in the rhizosphere of cover crops.In this work, a result similar to that found by C. juncea, millet, and spontaneous plants, as well as in the data of this work presented in Glomus, eight to Acaulospora, six to Scutellospora, one to Entrophospora, and one to Gigaspora.When analyzing the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi community of cover crops in Cerrado agricultural systems, C. juncea, A. scrobiculata, A. mellea, Acaulospora sp., Gigaspora sp., G. tortuosum, S. scutata, and S. gregaria. A. scrobiculata, A. scavata, A. mellea, Ar. leptoticha, Gigaspora sp., G. macrarpum, G. tortuosum, S. scutata, and S. gregaria. The frequency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi found in the rhizosphere of spontaneous vegetation did not differ between treatments with and without nitrogen application in the top dressing (G. microaggregatum and G. tortuosum are not commonly found in the soil rhizosphere under spontaneous vegetation, indicating their occurrence by chance. All other arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi found in the rhizosphere of wild plants are commonly associated with these cover plant species.In soybean and corn rhizospheres cultivated in succession with dressing Figure\u00a01A. scrobiculata, A. scavata, A. mellea, Gigaspora sp., G. microaggregatum, G. tortuosum, S. scutata, and S. gregaria.S. pellucida and S persica in C. juncea; Gigaspora sp. in sorghum; G. macrocarpum in Guandu; G. macrocarpum and G. clavisporum in millet; and G. microaggregatum and G. tortuosum in spontaneous vegetation.No influence of nitrogen application on soil spore density was verified, and among the cover crops studied, Guandu and Crotalaria presented the highest numbers of spores in the soil. There were no differences in the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species associated with the studied cover crops. The most frequent species associated with cover crops were The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Materials. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.JM\u2014Project coordinator and responsible for writing. MR\u2014Work advisor. MK\u2014advisor on mycorrhizae. OJ\u2014responsible for mycorrhizal analysis. WJ\u2014responsible for the experimental area and experiments. AC\u2014responsible for the experimental area and experiments. LS\u2014responsible for laboratory analysis. RS\u2014responsible for statistical analysis. SD and SS\u2014text review. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.The handling editor declared a past collaboration with authors JM, RS, and SS.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Robinson is native to tropical America, and has naturalized in many other countries in tropical Asia, Austria, and West Africa. The species often forms dense thickets and reduces the native species diversity and population in the invasive ranges. The species is also considered as a noxious weed in agriculture fields, and listed in the 100 of the world\u2019s worst invasive alien species. The characteristics of its life-history such as the seed production rate, growth pattern, and adaptative ability to the environmental conditions may contribute to the invasiveness of the species. Possible evidence of the defense capacity against the natural enemy, and the allelopathic potential against the competitive plant species for C. odorata has been accumulated in the literature over three decades. The extracts, residues, and/or rhizosphere soil of C. odorata increased the mortality of various insects and parasitic nematodes, and decreased their population. The extracts, residues, and/or rhizosphere soil of C. odorata also inhibited the germination and growth of several plant species including the indigenous plant species in the invasive ranges of C. odorata. Toxic substances, pyrrolizidine alkaloids were found in the leaves and flowers of C. odorata. These pyrrolizidine alkaloids may work as the defense agents against the natural enemies. Several potential allelochemicals such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenoids were also found in the plant extracts of C. odorata. Some of these compounds may work as allelopathic agents of C. odorata and inhibit the germination and growth of the competitive plant species. These characteristics of C. odorata for the defense function against their natural enemies such as insects and parasitic nematodes, and allelopathic potential against the competitive native plant species may contribute to the invasiveness and naturalization of C. odorata in the new habitats as invasive plant species. However, it is necessary to determine the concentration of these allelochemicals in the neighboring environment of C. odorata such as the rhizosphere soil since allelochemicals are able to work only when they are released into the neighboring environment. It is the first review article focusing on the defense function and allelopathy of C. odorata. Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Robinson , belonging to Asteraceae, is a perennial shrub, and grows to 2\u20133 m in height, but it can scramble up other plants and reach 5\u201310 m in length. Its stems are cylindrical and pithy, become woody, and often branch in pairs from the axillary buds. The opposite leaves are ovate-triangular, 6\u201312 cm long and 3\u20137 cm wide with a 1\u20133 cm petiole, and smell a strong odor when they are crushed [ crushed ,5. Howev crushed .C. odorata is from southern Florida and Texas (30\u00b0 N) to north-western Argentina (30\u00b0 S) including the Caribbean islands [C. odorata was in the 1870s in Indo-Gangetic Plain [The native range of  islands ,11,12,13C. odorata infests in a wide range of natural vegetation such as grassland, savanna, bush, forest margins and gaps, dry deciduous and degraded forests. The species scrambles up to the canopy of trees, and spreads over the trees, eventually reducing the vigor of the trees [C. odorata was reduced by 31% [C. odorata also infests as a weed in agricultural lands such as oil palm, rubber, cacao, coffee, coconut and banana plantations, pastures, crop fields, and abandoned agriculture fields. The species is considered as a noxious weed in agricultural fields and commercial plantations [C. odorata is only weedy on some occasions such as after the fire, hurricane, human activity, and other destruction events. It is then forced out by the successional vegetation and disappears [he trees ,15,16. Ahe trees ,18. It whe trees ,20. Averd by 31% . C. odorntations ,23, and ntations ,12. In isappears ,25. Howesappears .It was estimated that approximately 10% of the introduced plant species could be established in the introduced ranges, and 10% of the established plants become invasive , which iC. odorata is also a prolific seed producer. It was reported to produce 2000 (1 year old C. odorata)\u2013260,000 (10 year old) seeds per m2 with 20\u201346% of seeds being viable. The germination rate of the seeds collected from the seed banks was 5\u201320% [C. odorata from its underground stems, corms, arises quickly after the fire, and the regeneration of the species occurs [C. odorata dominated ecosystem.as 5\u201320% ,33. The as 5\u201320% ,35. The s occurs ,37. TherC. odorata in the introduced ranges was lower than that in the native ranges [C. odorata such as flower color, leaf shape, and plant shape is high in the native range, while there are only two main biotypes, Asia/West Africa biotype and South Africa biotype, in the invasive ranges [C. odorata obtained from invasive ranges were larger than those from the native ranges [C. odorata in the invasive ranges were smaller than those of the native ranges [C. odorata in the native ranges was 30% greater than that in the invasive ranges [Genetic diversity of e ranges ,39,40,41e ranges , while Se ranges ,43. Howee ranges ,45. Droue ranges ,45. It we ranges .C. odorata is allelopathic, and contains the compounds involved in the allelopathy. The plant species was also reported to show the defense response against the natural enemies such as herbivores and pathogens, and contain the compounds involved in the defense function. However, there has been no review paper focusing on the allelopathy and defense response of C. odorata, and compounds involved in these functions. This review provides an overview of the defense response and allelopathy of the species and compounds involved in the defense and allelopathy. Then, their possible involvement in the invasiveness of the species is discussed.Plants produce large number of secondary metabolites in many chemical classes. The biosynthesis of some secondary metabolites is induced or synthesized de-novo under certain circumstances. Many of these secondary metabolites in the invasive plants have been reported to show multiple functions such as anti-herbivore, anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and allelopathic activity, and contribute to increasing the fitness of the plants in the invasive ranges ,54,55,56C. odorata is controlled by many insects and pathogens in its native ranges [C. odorata, and 25% of them are specific species in the native ranges [C. odorata in the invasive range (South Africa) were counted [The interaction between the invasive plants and their natural enemies such as herbivores and pathogens, is one of the important factors for the naturalization of the invasive plants ,31,57,58e ranges ,60. Moree ranges . There m counted . Accordi counted ,64.C. odorata increased the mortality of leaf beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius [C. odorata leaves also increased the mortality of adult weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky [C. odorata induced the increasing larval mortality of black fly, Simulium spp. [Periplaneta americana Linnaeus [C. odorata were applied to Aabelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench once a week for 4\u20137 weeks after its planning. The treatments resulted in the reduction of the population of whitefly, Bemissa tabaci Gennadius, and leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula Ishida on Aabelmoschus esculentus [C. odorata leaves also showed ovicidal, antifeedant, and larvicidal activity on a leaf-eating insect, Spodoptera litura Fabricius [C. odorata possess anti-insect activity and contain certain compounds involved in the activity.Powder of the roots, stems, and leaves of abricius ,66. Esseschulsky ,68. Aqueium spp. , and an Linnaeus . Aqueousculentus . The metabricius . These oC. odorata [N-oxide and intermedine N-oxide were identified in its roots [C. odorata may be involved in the anti-insect activity caused by the extracts and power of the species as describe above, and contribute to the protection of the species from herbivore attacks.Pyrrolizidine alkaloids such as 7- and 9-angeloylretronecine, intermedine, rinderine, and 3\u2032-acetylrinderine were isolated from roots and mature flower heads of  odorata , and rints roots  , Helicotylenchus spp., and Pratylenchus spp. feed on the roots of plants, and their feeding process causes serious injuries and reduces the ability of the plants to absorb nutrients and water, leading to losing plant vigor and defense capability against other pathogen attacks [Meloidogyne spp., Helicotylenchus spp. and Pratylenchus spp., was suppressed by the C. odorata infestation into the invasive ranges with various soil conditions [C. dorata reduced by 77\u201381% of plant parasitic nematode population; Meloidogyne spp., Helicotylenchus spp., and Pratylenchus spp. in the soils after two years invention [C. odorata also suppressed the increasing population of Meloidogyne incoginita Kofoid & White in the pot experiments [C. odorata and accumulated in the soils, and these compounds may suppress the population of plant parasitic nematodes in the soils.Plant parasitic nematodes such as  attacks ,87,88. Tnditions . It was nvention . C. odoreriments . These oC. odorata into the field soil prevented the increasing population of Meloidogyne incoginita [C. odorata showed the suppression of the parasitism of Meloidogyne incoginita into the roots of Lactuca sativa L. [C. odorata may work for the suppression.The incorporation of plant powder of coginita . Aqueousativa L. . TherefoC. odorata and the compound showed anti-nematode activity [C. odorata [of C. odorata, and the soil under C. odorata may suppress the population of the nematodes, and prevented the hatch and parasitism of the nematodes. Certain compounds including 1,2-dehydropyrrolizine alkaloid may cause the suppression and acts as anti-nematode agents of C. odorata  was reported to be 50% of its native ranges (Puerto Rico) [The invasion of  odorata . The pop odorata . Arbuscu odorata ,98,99. T species ,101. Theto Rico) .C. odorata increased the population of the soil borne fungal pathogen, Fusarium ssp., and inhibited the growth of Amaranthus spinosus L. and Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss. Sterilization of the soil eliminated these effects. The root leachate of C. odorata increased the spore density of Fusarium spp. in C. odorata-free soil. The increases were illuminated by adding activated carbon into the soil [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. and Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. increased the population of Fusarium spp. [Glycine max (L.) Merr. increased the population of Fusarium spp. [C. odorata may stimulate the increasing population of Fusarium spp. However, it is not clear if the increased Fusarium spp. population affects the growth of C. odorata.The rhizosphere soil of the soil . It was ium spp. , and pheium spp. . The obsC. odorata suppressed the growth of some soil borne fungal pathogens including Fusarium spp. Aqueous methanol leaf extracts of C. odorata significantly suppressed the colony growth of the pathogens, Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl. and Lasiodiplodia pseudothobromae A.J.L. Phillips, A. Alves & Crous [Lasiodiplodia spp. are members of the Botryosphaeriaceae family and cause leaf necrosis, canker, and dieback in many plant species [C. odorata suppressed the growth of Bacillus subtilis Cohn, and Bacillus cereus Frankland & Frankland [C. odorata suppressed the growth of soil borne pathogen fungi, Phytophthora colocasiae Racib., and Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. emend. Snyder & Hansen [C. odorata also suppressed the colony growth of the pathogen fungi, Pythium ultimum Trow, Rhizoctonia solani J.G. K\u00fchn, Fusarium oxysporium Schlecht. emend. Snyder & Hansen, and Phytophthora nicotianae Breda de Haan [Pyricularia oryzae Cavara [C. odorata suppressed the growth of Rhizoctonia solani J.G. K\u00fchn, Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) K.J. Leonard & Suggs, Botrytis cinereal Pers., and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary [C. odorata possess the anti-fungal activity, and may contain certain compounds involved in the activity.On the contrary, it was reported that the extracts of  & Crous . Both La species ,108. Therankland . The eth& Hansen . Acetone de Haan  and Pyrie Cavara . Essenti de Bary . These oC. odorata may be involved in the alteration of the microbial community as the observations in those publications  and invasive (China) ranges, were germinated and grown in a field in China under natural condition for 10 months. The biomass of C. odorata seeds obtained from the invasive range was greater than that from the native range. Both the C. odorata from Mexico and China were grown together with other plant species from Mexican origin and those from Chinese origin. The biomass of the C. odorata seed variety grown with Chinese original plant species was greater than that grown with Mexican original plant species, while these Mexican original plant species grew well with both C. odorata than the Chinese original plant species [C. odorata than the Chinese original plant species. The co-evolutional history of the neighboring plant species in the native ranges of C. odorata are longer than the plant species in the invasive ranges, and those neighboring plant species in the native ranges may have more competitive ability to C. odorata than the plant species in the invasive ranges. These observations may be consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis described above.The seeds of  species ,115,116.C. odorata in its plant residues and extracts from different plant parts of C. odorata  Gaertn., Cyperus iria L. and Ageratum conyzoides L. [Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. [C. odorata also suppressed the growth of Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore [C. odorata leaves contain some allelochemicals, and those allelochemical were released into the soil during their decomposition process.The incorporation of ngena L. . The leaoides L. , and Lycum Mill. . The leaS. Moore . These oC. odorata suppressed the germination and growth of five plant species from the native ranges of C. odorata such as Bidens pilosa L. , Ageratum conyzoides L. , Amaranthus spinosus L. , Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. Walker (South America), and Chenopodium ambrosioides L. , and other five plant species from the invasive ranges such as Rottboellia exaltata (Lour.) Clayton , Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. , Hemisteptia lyrata Bunge. (Eurasia and north Africa), Youngia japonica (L.) DC. (Eastern Asia), and Dicliptera chinensis (L.) Juss. (Eastern Asia). Growth inhibitory effect on these ten test plant species was higher with the leaf extracts than the root extracts of C. odorata, and on plant species from the invasive ranges than that from native ranges of C. odorata [C. odorata collected from invasive ranges (China) was higher than that collected from native ranges (Mexico) against the growth of the indigenous plant species in China; Eupatorium japonicum Thunb., Eupatorium stoechadosmum Hance and Eupatorium lindleyanum DC [C. odorata extracts from the invasive ranges was greater than that from the native ranges, and the plant species from its invasive ranges were more susceptible to the extracts than those from the native ranges of C. odorata.Aqueous extracts of leaves and roots of  odorata . It was yanum DC . Those oLathyrus sativus L. were dipped in the aqueous leaf extract of C. odorata for 8 h, washed with distill water, and dried. Then, the seeds were sown and the germination and growth of Lathyrus sativus were determined after 10 days and 30 days, respectively. The treatments resulted in the suppression of the germination and the growth of Lathyrus sativus [The seeds of  sativus . The obsC. odorata showed the suppression of the germination of weed plant species, Cynodon dactylon L., Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S.Moore, and Ageratum conyzoides L. [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn., Cyperus iria L., and Ageratum conyzoides L. [C. odorata inhibited the germination and growth of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv., and Amaranthus viridis L. [Aqueous leaf extracts of oides L. , and theoides L. . Aqueousridis L. .C. odorata also inhibited the germination and growth of crop plant species, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, Zea mays L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., Vigna radiata (L.) R.Wilczek, and Centrosema pubescens Benth. [Brassica chinensis L. [Glycine max L., and Gossypium hirsutum L. [Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. [C. odorata inhibited the germination and growth of Sesame indicum L., Brassica nigra (L.), Brassica juncea (L.) Czern., and Raphenus raphanistrm L. [C. odorata were extracted with methanol, and the extract was sprayed to Amaranthus spinosus L. and Amaranthus spinosus L. The treatments resulted in the reduction of the growth parameters of both plant species such as their plant high, leaf areas, root length, and plant masses [Aqueous leaf extracts of s Benth. ,129,130,ensis L. , Glycinesutum L. , and Lycum Mill. . Aqueousistrm L. . The leat masses .C. odorata possess allelopathic activity on the germination and growth of both weed and crop plant species, and may contain water and/or methanol extractable allelochemicals. Effectiveness of these allelochemicals was greater on the plant species from the invasive ranges than the native ranges of C. odorata.These observations suggest that the aqueous and methanol extracts of all parts of C. odorata on the germination and growth of several plant species was also investigated. Aqueous leaf extracts of C. odorata suppressed amylase activity in the seeds of Cicer arietinum L., and Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. [C. odorata were sprayed onto 21-day-old plants of Ageratum conyzoides L. every two days for 28 days. The treatments resulted in the reduction in the contents of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and stomata number in the leaves of A. conyzoides [C. odorata were soaked in water for 48 h, and the soaking water also reduced the contents of chlorophyll and protein, and cell division of Allium cepa L. [C. odorata suppressed chlorophylls and carotenoid contents in the leaves of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. [C. odorata . Total terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, and steroids were also determined in the ethanol extracts of C. odorata [C. odorata are allelopathic and contain allelochemicals. Allelochemicals in the extracts of C. odorata should be identified in the furfure. C. odorata described in the The inhibitory mechanism of the extracts of  Millsp. . Aqueousnyzoides . The lea cepa L. . The hexP.Beauv. . These oP.Beauv. ,139. Tot odorata . HoweverSome of the plant secondary metabolites function as defense molecules against herbivores, pathogens, and competing neighboring plants. These compounds are important for the plant\u2019s survival and fitness, and represent the adaptive characters of the plant species that have been subjected to natural selection during the evolution. The pattern of the plant secondary metabolites is complex, and changes in an organ- and tissue-specific way, and during the developmental stages of the plants. The biosynthesis of some secondary metabolites is induced or synthesized de-novo upon herbivore-attack, pathogen\u2013infection and competition with neighboring plants ,143,144.C. odorata obtain from the native ranges (USA) and that from the invasive ranges (South Africa) were observed by the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major differences were high concentrations of flavonoids and flavone glycosides in the C. odorata from the invasive ranges comparing to those from the native ranges [C. odorata are not apparent, the observation suggests that the invasive plant species may employ the metabolic flexibility and/or rapid adaptive evolution to succeed as the invasive plant species.The significant difference in the metabolomic profiles between e ranges . AlthougC. odorata collected from invasive ranges was higher than that collected from the native ranges [C. odorata obtained from the invasive ranges (China) was greater than that from the native ranges (Mexico) [C. odorata in the invasive ranges  than those in the native ranges  [C. odorata obtained from an invasive range was 2.4-fold greater than that from the native ranges. However, the specific compounds of the increasing phenolics were not identified. The function of these flavonoids on the allelopathy of C. odorata is also not clear. In addition, the chemical structure of odratin in the publication is not correct [As already described in the e ranges ,125. Tot(Mexico) . Concent Tobago) . The con correct   P.Beauv. and Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin et Barneby, and reduced all stages of mitosis of the root tips of Allium cepa L. [C. odorata and showed anti-herbivore and anti-nematode activity as already described in the Several terpenoids were identified in the essential oil and leaf extracts of  odorata ,148. Ter odorata ,178,179. odorata ,181,182.extracts . \u03b1-Pinenium Cav. . 1,8-Cin cepa L.  (Figure C. odorata may affect the physiological processes of the neighboring plant species, causing growth inhibition and reducing their fitness as allelochemicals. Pyrrolizine alkaloids found in C. odorata may also have defense functions against herbivores, and pathogenic fungi, microbes, and nematodes. Therefore, these compounds may contribute to the invasiveness and naturalization in the introduced rages of C. odorata.As describe above, some of cinnamic acid and benzoic acid derivatives, flavonoids, and terpenoids found in C. odorata is highly invasive and has naturalized in many countries. The paper described the interaction between the species and their natural enemies, and the species and the indigenous plant species in the invasive ranges for the naturalization of the invasive plants. The extracts of all plant parts, residues, and rhizosphere soil of C. odorata showed the inhibitory activity against various insects, parasitic nematodes, and fungal pathogens, and several pyrrolizidine alkaloids were identified in the roots and flower heads of C. odorata. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are toxic against insects and other organisms. Therefore, pyrrolizidine alkaloids of C. odorata may act as chemical protection agents against natural enemies including herbivores.C. odorata were more susceptible to the extracts than plant species from the native ranges of C. odorata. Those observations suggest that C. odorata possess allelopathic activity, and may contain certain allelochemicals. These allelochemicals may be more effective on the plant species from the invasive ranges of C. odorata than on the plant species from its native ranges.The rhizosphere soil, extracts, and residues of all plant parts showed the suppression of the germination of growth of many plant species including indigenous plant species in the invasive ranges. The indigenous plant species from the invasive ranges of C. odorata contains secondary metabolites in many chemical classes, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and terpenoids. Although many of these compounds have not been related to the allelopathy of C. odorata, benzoic acid and cinnamic acid derivatives such as p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and p-coumaric acid; flavonoids such as sakuranetin, quercetin and kaempferol; and monoterpenes such as \u03b1-pinene and 1,8-cineole identified in the leaves of C. odorata were reported to be involved in the allelopathy of other plant species. Therefore, these compounds may also work as allelopathic agents for C. odorata and inhibit the germination and growth of the neighboring plant species.Pharmacological investigations showed that C. odorata for the defense function against their natural enemies such as insects, parasitic nematodes, and fungal pathogens, and allelopathic potential may contribute to the invasiveness and naturalization of C. odorata in the new habitats as invasive plant species. However, allelochemicals are able to work only when they are released into the neighboring environment of the donner plants either by root exudation, volatilization, rainfall leachates, or decomposition of plant litter and residues. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the concentration of these allelochemicals in the neighboring environment of C. odorata such as the rhizosphere soil.These characteristics of"}
+{"text": "Multiple-input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems require orthogonal frequency division multiplexing to operate efficiently in multipath communication (OFDM). Channel estimation (C.E.) is used in channel conditions where time-varying features are required. The existing channel estimation techniques are highly complicated. A channel estimation algorithm is needed to estimate the received signal\u2019s correctness. In order to resolve this complexity in C.E. methodologies, this paper developed an Improved Channel Estimation Algorithm integrated with DFT-LS-WIENER (ICEA-DA). The Least Square (L.S.) and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) algorithms also use the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT)-based channel estimation method. The DFT-LS-WIENER channel estimation approach is recommended for better BER performance. The input signal is modulated in the transmitter module using the Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) technique, pulse modeling, and least squares concepts. The L.S. Estimation technique needs the channel consistent throughout the estimation period. DFT joined with L.S. gives higher estimation precision and limits M.S.E. and BER. Experimental analysis of the proposed state-of-the-art method shows that DFT-LS-WIENER provides superior performance in terms of symbol error rate (S.E.R.), bit error rate (BER), channel capacity (CC), and peak signal-to-noise (PSNR). At 15 dB SNR, the proposed DFT-LS-WIENER techniques reduce the BER of 48.19%, 38.19%, 14.8%, and 14.03% compared to L.S., LS-DFT, MMSE, and MMSE-DFT. Compared to the conventional algorithm, the proposed DFT-LS-WIENER outperform them. Enabling 5G technology is recognized by MIMO in mobile communications . PerformMIMO transmission will be a significant part of wireless communication in the coming days in wireless technology. This type of system has minimum difficulty executing OFDM and is simple. In contrast, in the case of non-orthogonal multi-carriers, the MIMO structure of the receiver has become more complicated since it has to handle various interference measurements, i.e., inter-symbol interference (I.S.I.), inter-carrier interference (I.C.I.), and inter-antenna interference (I.A.I.) ,10,11. TIn ref. , it was It can also be referred to by correctly localizing the pilot energy up to the terminated point of the block. It needs to possess maximum energy while it is copied to the C.P. Identification of symbols in the data of non-orthogonal multi-carriers and acquires the various Channel Estimation and C.Q. modules independent of the usual practice. The earlier works on Channel Estimation  were calChannel Estimation (C.E.) utilizes C.S.I. to transmit and receive the wireless signal. In a wireless communication medium, C.S.I. causes power degradation, fading, and wave scattering as a function of transmission distance. The channel state information (C.S.I.) is determined by comparing the pilot signals used during the transmitter to the received pilot signals. In contrast, the SNR reflects the resilience of the bit stream about the channel noise. The concept of C.E. is evolving based on the objective of the correlation of signal at the center point integrated with suppression of the M.A.I. This signal quality impacts receiver BER performance . In C.E.Currently, for uplink MU-MIMO communication, countless MIMO detectors are used. In addition, an optimal maximum likelihood detector and a low-complexity environment are also developed.The channel estimate is crucial in OFDM systems. Enhancing the system\u2019s bit error rate performance is utilized to boost the channel capacity of an OFDM system. Based on a comb-shaped pilot array, channel estimation is performed on the pilots, and a Rayleigh fading channel is considered.A performance measure of the M.S.E. of the channel estimator fusing DFT-based procedure obtains the best results as contrasted with the consolidation of LS-based strategies. The comparative analysis is carried out by varying parameters, such as the number of subcarriers, channel taps, cyclic prefix length, and pilot frequency.This article recommends a channel estimation method incorporating differential evolution and L.S. with DFT. The proposed ICHE-DA is included in the central part of the OFDM-MIMO block. We consider a two-user interference channel for MIMO-OFDM systems. We demonstrate the basic idea of a user-based transmitter and receiver using DFT-LS-WIENER. Further, we focus on interference from frequency-selective channels. By doing so, the main struggle is to evaluate the accuracy of covariance matrices, which may need accurate information on interference parameters. Moreover, one of the contributions is to analyze the firmness of the spectrum by coinciding with the DFT series. The findings showed that the suggested system outperforms the current technique in terms of BER, PSNR, CC, and MMSE.In an ideal radio channel, there would only be one direct path signal, a flawless recreation of the transmitted signal. On a natural channel, the signal is altered during transmission. Copies of the transmitted signal that have been attenuated, reflected, refracted, and diffracted make up the received signal. Additionally, the channel puts noise into the signal and causes the carrier frequency to shift as the transmitter or receiver moves (Doppler effect). A radio system\u2019s performance depends on the radio channel\u2019s characteristics. Therefore, understanding these effects on the signal is crucial. As a result, in our work, we consider a MIMO-OFDM system before employing pilot permutation to estimate the channel. This article compares the L.S., MMSE without DFT, and the L.S., MMSE with DFT. A new DFT-LS-WIENER hybrid channel estimation technique is also proposed to improve bit error rate performance.The rest of the paper is organized as follows: In their introduction of the MIMO-OFDM for hybrid channel estimator, Nie et al.  underlinQiao et al.  determinAlkhateeb et al.  anticipaThe estimation of the channel covariance matrix of the received sampled signals in the frequency domain is proposed by Ngo et al. . An asymZarifi et al.  proceedeThe angular resolution is improved by utilizing redundancy samples containing substantially more uniform DSFT premises than the antenna numbers proposed by Lee et al. . DSFT nuLi et al. propose the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) scheme with second-order statistics . The limThis work presented an improved channel estimation algorithm DFT-LS-WIENER integrated with a differential approach. Moreover, this paper uses the L.M.DFT approach for channel estimation in the wireless communication medium. The middle area of the MIMO framework is where the suggested DFT-LS-WIENER is located. MIMO systems typically include several transmitters and a receiver antenna for parallel data transmission. The proposed model is examined for two transmitters and four-receiver antennae. Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying modulation (QPSK) is utilized for input modulation on the transmitter side ,45,46,47If signal bandwidth is more effective than channel bandwidth, it leads to signal distortion. This distortion is observed in the I.S.I. environment. To control I.S.I. in wireless communication, a pulse shaping filter (P.S.F.) is utilized for analysis. On each transmitter side, symbol mapping and IFFT operations are performed. Subsequently, this leads to transmitting information over the Multipath channel and includes AWGN noise on the receiver side. At the receiver, this operation is performed inversely with the utilization of DFT-LS-WIENER. With the utilization of LMMSE and DFT, a semi-blind review is performed. All of the subcarriers have been modulated using different techniques. The results have been simulated using the QPSK modulation technique. The next step in aligning the bit stream over the subcarriers is the mapping of the subcarriers. In the OFDM design, the Wiener filter is employed because it reduces the mean square error between the actual transmitted signal and the received signal. Here, L = 7 is the Wiener filter order under consideration. Initially, the incoming signal information is transmitted through pilot sequences and modulation schemes such as the QPSK scheme ,49. The The signal shift consists of \u20184\u2019 signal states with the transmission of information through the QPSK scheme as 2 bits/symbol. Each signal in the system is modified by 1 bit thanks to the encoding strategy. The transmitted signal is represented by the sine and cosine of the following Equation (1):Here, In the modulator of the MIMO scheme, 4 phases of the signal are generated, which consists of 2D signal space with unit function From the above, Equations (2) and (3) Here, the system\u2019s full power, distributed equally between the two carriers involved, is represented by the signal factor 1/2. At the receiving end, the symbols are demodulated by removing the carrier phase factor, and the continuously received robot in phase 2 is determined from the input data.Let Here, Equation (5) represents/denotes noise placed in the uncorrelated spatial and temporal region and/or represents the presence of noise in transmitting the time-domain signal at their antenna. After the removal of I.S.I., with the utilization of IFFT, ISI is eliminated. Moreover, it uses the symbol mapping technique at each transmitter side. Fourier analysis is performed in frequency domain components for signal transmutes in time or spatial domain factors. IFFT is implemented at the receiver end to improve flexibility, execution speed, and precision. Different complexes and data points are transformed for the same number of time-domain points when the IFFT procedure is used. The IFFT involved in the execution of N-point receiver operation in Equation (6) IFFT is presented mathematically as follows: k = 0, 1, \u2026, N \u2212 1, and kth end. Then, FFT analysis transforms the signal in the receiver block in the time domain. The following is the mathematical formulation for the FFT in Equation (7).The represented data frame transforms where/the size or the number of signal points. Moreover, the information is passed in a multipath channel environment with added AWGN noise characteristics. Instead of the message signal, AWGN is used in this document due to its higher bandwidth. The example that follows shows how system n\u2019s noise generates a vector that has the same components as the message defined in Equation (8) and a random stationary point with mean 0 of a complex Gaussian distribution:0 = 1/T0, where T0 is the signal\u2019s period. This translates to a frequency of 1/N for discrete-time transmissions. Since all other frequencies are multiples of this fundamental frequency, the resolution of the spectrum is determined by the number of samples N. At k = N/2, it is possible to determine the highest signal frequency that X[k] may represent. According to Shannon\u2019s sampling theorem, the highest frequency of the original signal, which is assumed to be an audio stream sampled at 44.1 kHz, is 44.1/2, or 22.05 kHz. In the case of N = 1024 samples, the coefficient at k = N/2 corresponds to a frequency of 22.05 kHz, and the coefficient at k = 1 to a frequency of 22.05/512 43.1 Hz. The DFT coefficients would represent various frequencies  if we sampled another area of an audio signal with just 1000 samples (at the same sample rate). According to the conclusion, the spectra can only be compared if the DFT spectra are computed using the same number of samples. The second numerical sample demonstrated another impact on the resolution. The DFT spectrum cannot fail to reflect the genuine contribution of the individual frequencies of an arbitrary signal x[n], even if the signal is periodic because it is sampled, i.e., it only has information about particular discrete frequencies.When a signal is delivered, the fundamental frequency is fA receiver with channel estimation and MIMO detection is proposed using LS-DFT with overlapping pilots. Without sacrificing generality, each subcarrier in each frame-block is assumed to have a pilot, i.e., NF = NT = 1, yielding N(T.S.) = N.N.T., and pilot existence of multiple or redundancy N.R. = N (T.S.)/N.G. The phase difference of the received signal causes multipath fading. This is because the signal strength moves over varying distances and paths. Use a Rayleigh distribution to reach the receiver via multiple paths. For fast-fading situations, the Rayleigh distribution is most commonly used. The pilots are assigned by reusing the pilot sequence from the multiple request pilot requests themselves. The multi-objective optimization algorithm can easily optimize the time-varying channel metric. The proposed pilot allocation method has the potential to provide a powerful method for counting the sends with a request to users within their cells. The fitness function (F.F.) is a crucial component of evolutionary algorithms. The pilot pattern of multiple pilot requests is reused in this document for the pilot assignment. The optimization algorithm can optimize the channel measure that changes over time.The proposed pilot allocation method has the potential to provide a powerful method for counting the requesting users in their cells. The fitness function (F.F.) is critical to the receiver-side optimization concept.In order to develop a solution for parallel search optimization and the continuous process, the DFT-LS-WIENER technique is proposed. Because control parameters are included, the suggested DFT-LS-WIENER offers improved convergence benefits. With efficient continuous variable handling and integer variable optimization, the suggested DFT-LS-WIENER is provided in canonical form.If \u2018Z\u2019 is sent through a channel \u2018j\u2019 such that it can be written in matrix form as,Then, the error \u2018e\u2019 can be defined asThe definition of the squared error (S) isBy taking the derivative with respect to \u2018j\u2019 and setting it equal to zero, we may minimize this equation. The result of the final equation is:Both SISO and MIMO systems can use Equation (14).At the pilot frequencies, channel estimation is performed using the Least Squares (L.S.) approach. In this case, DFT-based channel estimation is used. As a result, the channel answers are shortened to the number of channel taps before being approximated using the least square method.After completing the DFT-based LS estimation, the estimates are fed to the Wiener filter model.The goal of applying the Wiener filter model in channel estimation is to decrease the quantity of noise in a noise-affected signal and to decrease the mean square error between the actual broadcast signal and the received signal.Wiener coefficients are produced based on the order of the Wiener filter; for example, if the order is six, then the Wiener filter model produces six Wiener coefficients.DFT-LS estimates are filtered using these Wiener coefficients.The desired output is a noiseless channel estimate.By applying linear time-invariant (L.T.I.) approaches to filter a noisy experimental process, a Wiener filter is a signal processing filter that generates an estimate of a desired or target stochastic process. The Wiener filter decreases the mean squared error between the estimated and predicted random processes. By using the pertinent signal as input and filtering the known signal to obtain an estimate as output, a Wiener filter aims to compute a statistical estimate of an unknown signal. For instance, an interesting unknown signal tampered with by additive noise can be present alongside a known signal. It is possible to estimate potentially important signals using Wiener filters to remove noise from distorted signals. A typical deterministic filter\u2019s frequency response is designed for the selected carrier frequency. The Wiener filter, however, is created differently. To develop a linear time-invariant filter whose output is as close as possible to the original signal, one must be aware of the spectral properties of both the original signal and noise.ls[n]. The DFT-LS estimates (Hls[n]) are supplied to a Wiener filter with coefficients a0, a1\u2026aN of order (number of touches passed) N in order to produce the Wiener filter coefficients. The expression\u2019s result, x[n], is used to signify the filter\u2019s output. The difference between the estimated and original signals is reduced to a minimum via the Wiener filter model. It significantly reduces root mean square error and improves bit error rate performance. The block diagram of the F.I.R. Wiener filter with DFT_LS estimates as input is shown in The output of the Wiener filter g[n] is compared with the reference signal s[n] after being convolved with the input signal HThis research was conducted to determine and compare the proposed algorithm\u2019s performance to that of other systems. To evaluate the proposed approach system performance, the measures that will be evaluated are BER, M.S.E., and MMSE. The proposed algorithm measures network performance by varying the system\u2019s SNR concerning the number of receiver and transmitter antennas. The suggested algorithm is run using machine configuration on the MATLAB platform.Here, the proposed ICEA-DA with LS FFT is utilized to analyze the system\u2019s performance. The metrics considered for analysis are expressed as follows:In characterizing data channel performance, it is used as an essential parameter. At the remote end, errors in critical parameters appear while transmitting data from one to another point in wireless link/radio or wired telecommunication link.It is calculated as the average squared deviations between estimated and actual values. Its risk function is equivalent to the predicted values of error function loss.A comparison of the simulation and analytical results, which yield the M.S.E. and BER of equalization generated by DFT-based then Wiener channel estimators, is shown in The performance of the proposed method is checked against state-of-the-art  and modulation-free schemes. The parameters considered in the analysis are L.S., MMSE, BER, and PSNR. The details of the comparison are presented in the following sections. In The proposed DFT-LS-WIENER estimate performs better than L.S., LS-DFT, MMSE, and MMSE-DFT channel estimation algorithms in terms of BER performance for the channel estimation of MIMO-OFDM. When the number of subcarriers increases, the bit error rate is reduced. As the number of channel taps increases, the bit error rate also increases. As the cyclic prefix length increases, the bit error rate is reduced considerably. When the pilot frequency is increased, the bit error rate is also increased. Including the DFT technique in L.S. and MMSE improves the bit error rate performance. The computational complexing and time complexity of the DFT-LS-WIENER algorithm depends on the number of transmitting and receiving antennas in the system. If the number of transmitting antennae is N and the number of receiving antennae is M, then its time and computational is N*M. The accuracy of the proposed technique is high compared to the L.S., MMSE, LS-DFT, and MMSE-DFT channel estimation algorithms. Compared to the proposed approach, the efficiency of the introduced method attained 85%, 79.5%, 84.9%, and 84.1% compared with L.S., MMSE, LS-DFT, and MMSE-DFT. The proposed DFT-LS-WIENER algorithm is less complex and very easy to implement. The demerits include introducing the Wiener model in channel estimation, increasing the cost of implementation, and extra circuitry required for implementing the Wiener filter model. Our future works include implementing other adaptive filters such as the Kalman and Kernal filters in the channel estimation algorithms. Further, there will be minimal hardware implementation using the proposed methodology, and it will be simultaneously carried out without compromising the proposed methodology\u2019s performance."}
+{"text": "The gut microbiota is composed of a large number of microorganisms with a complex structure. It participates in the decomposition, digestion, and absorption of nutrients; promotes the development of the immune system; inhibits the colonization of pathogens; and thus modulates human health. In particular, the relationship between gut microbiota and gastrointestinal tumor progression has attracted widespread concern. It was found that the gut microbiota can influence gastrointestinal tumor progression in independent ways. Here, we focused on the distribution of gut microbiota in gastrointestinal tumors and further elaborated on the impact of gut microbiota metabolites, especially short-chain fatty acids, on colorectal cancer progression. Additionally, the effects of gut microbiota on gastrointestinal tumor therapy are outlined. Finally, we put forward the possible problems in gut microbiota and the gastrointestinal oncology field and the efforts we need to make. Chronic infection by H. pylori is the most well-described cause of non\u00adcardia GC  and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA)  . On the agosomes . Additioagosomes . Further stomach . Howeverongation . AdditioH. pylori induces chronic gastritis and peptic and duodenal ulcers and is linked to more than 90% of GC cases, only approximately 1 to 3% of infected individuals progress to GC   . Consistonous GC , 27. Furrichment . Thus, HH. pylori. Nasr et\u00a0al. revealed the major studies in which non-H. pylori have been implicated in GC development before 2019 , can enhance gastrointestinal health, immune regulation, and cancer prevention . Even th species  which in species . In addi species , 44, whi species \u201347. Furt species , 49.Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), Bacteroides fragilis (B. fragilis), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Enterococcus, Campylobacter, Peptostreptococcus, Shigella, Klebsiella, and Akkermansia in CRC patients, and lower levels of Ruminococcus, Bifidobacterium, Eubacteria, and Lachnospira compared with healthy subjects  , which codes for the synthesis of colibactin, a genotoxin that induces DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, mutations, and chromosomal instability in eukaryotic cells. In addition, Iyadorai found that pks+E. coli was isolated in CRC patients  ; E. colipatients . Furthers of CRC , 93, andnescence . Howeverrobiotic .F. nucleatum, B. fragilis, and E. coli in CRC susceptibility or progression are supported by preclinical studies and clinical sample-based studies. In view of the complex interactions between bacteria, these three samples are not the only microbes important for CRC, but they provide insight into targetable mechanisms of action in CRC. In the future, more research is needed to elucidate the association between gut microbiota and CRC.In conclusion, the roles of Despite various explorations into the interrelation between gut microbiota and cancer, the exact mechanisms of this interaction are still unclear. It has been reported that this interplay may be related to bacterial metabolites. Here, we focused on short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), one of the most important gut microbiota metabolites, and discussed the current studies on the association between SCFAs and gastrointestinal cancer.Bacteroidetes, whereas Firmicutes produce butyrate  could inhibit intestinal tumor development by suppressed the Wnt/B-catenin signaling pathway, and activated G-protein coupled receptors , a genetically tractable probiotic with a well-established human safety record, is emerging as a preferred chassis . Additionally, Kassan et\u00a0al. evaluated the suitability of stool from candidate FMT donors for clinical use and suggested that only 3% of donors would pass such quality control assessments , the Medical Science and Technology Research Project of Henan Province (no. LHGJ20190675), and the Doctoral Research Start-up Foundation of Henan Cancer Hospital.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Laelia is an endemic genus of the neotropical region, with the greatest richness occurring in Mexico. A recent phylogenetic study transferred some Mexican laelias to the genus Schomburgkia, which has generated debate. The aim of the present study was to analyze the patterns of species richness and endemism and the current and potential geographic distributions of the taxa of Laelia s.l., as well as the putative Laelia s.s., distributed in Mexico as part of an exploratory evaluation of the generic limits to sheds light on the taxonomic debate and generate baselines to guide conservation efforts. A database was generated with information from herbarium specimens and publications. The species richness was estimated by political division, biomes, and elevation. The endemism was analyzed by political division and using the weighted and corrected weighted endemism indices. Geographic data, climatic, and topographic variables were used to predict the distributions with the maximum entropy algorithm. The results supported the proposal to transfer some species to the genus Schomburgkia. Some areas of the Sierra Madre del Sur and Oriental should be included as priority areas in the conservation strategies of Laelia. This study highlights the importance of the taxonomy, distribution, and hotspots in diversity conservation. Laelia Lindl. sensu lato (s.l.), is a genus comprising 25 species of epiphytic orchids restricted to the neotropical region, with its main center of diversity being in Mexico, but with a greater affinity towards the mountains [Laelia albida Bateman ex Lindl., Laelia anceps Lindl., Laelia autumnalis (Lex.) Lindl., Laelia furfuracea Lindl., Laelia gouldiana Rchb. f., and Laelia speciosa (Kunth) Schltr. are traditionally used to decorate offerings and tombs, as well as in traditional medicine to treat hemorrhages, wounds, dysentery, inflammation, and fever [ountains ,2. The sountains ,3. Due tountains ,4. In Mend fever .Given the problems in the delimitation of the genus and species, to date there is no consensus on the number of species recognized in Mexico. Halbinger and Soto-Arenas  reviewedLaelia has a long history of taxonomic changes, including the combination of Schomburgkia Lindl. with Laelia, which had already been proposed by Williams [Laelia s.l. were evaluated, found two strongly supported clades, one corresponding to elements endemic to Mexico and another that includes the taxa that were originally circumscribed to the genus Schomburgkia, whose species have a wider distribution. After analyzing the results and re-evaluating the morphology, as well as the taxonomic delimitation, the authors recognize both genera as valid and independent. Additionally, they transferred Laelia anceps, L. aurea A.V.Navarro, L. dawsonii (J.Anderson) De B.Crawshay, L. halbingeriana Salazar and Soto Arenas, L. rubescens Lindl., L. superbiens Lindl., and L. \u00d7 oaxacana Salazar and R.Jim\u00e9nez to Schomburgkia, leaving only L. albida, L. autumnalis, L. crawshayana Rchb.f., L. eyermaniana Rchb.f., L. furfuracea, and L. speciosa within Laelia sensu stricto (s.s.). Based on their results, the authors also treated L. gouldiana as a hybrid under the name of \u00d7 Schombolaelia gouldiana (Rchb.f.) Peraza and Carnevali, and indicated that the parents are Schomburgkia anceps \u00d7 Laelia autumnalis. After this publication, several authors continued considering this taxon in the species range and to the genus Laelia in its broad delimitation [The genus Williams  and takeWilliams . A recenWilliams , where 2mitation ,8,9,13.Laelia species, highlighting the importance of generating different sources of evidence that contribute to resolving this taxonomic uncertainty and at the same time providing information that is useful for the implementation of adequate strategies for their conservation and management.Said changes will not only reduce the number of recognized species for Mexico from 13 to six but the distribution of the genus will be restricted to the Mexican territory. The above has profound implications for the management and conservation of The knowledge about the current and potential distribution patterns of taxa and geographical areas with greater species richness provides essential information for understanding the processes that shape their diversity and generate basic information on conservation issues ,15. ThesLaelia have been addressed. However, no studies have addressed the current or potential distribution and richness patterns of the genus on a national scale. To contribute to this knowledge and generate useful information to establish strategies for the conservation and management of the species, as well as to explore additional evidence that clarifies the correct circumscription of the group, the present study aimed to analyze the current and potential geographic distribution and richness patterns of the taxa of Laelia s.l., as well as Laelia s.s. and species proposed to be transferred to Schomburgkia distributed in Mexico, following the circumscription proposed by Peraza-Flores et al. [To date, ethnoecological , phyloges et al. .Laelia were obtained, of which 860 corresponding to duplicate data; cultivated species; and purchased, incomplete, or confusing information were excluded. The final database consisted of 479 records, of which 19% had to be georeferenced and 2.5% needed nomenclatural corrections since synonymy errors were found. Among the most notable cases were Laelia crawshayana Rchb.f., where 100% of its records were found under the name of L. bancalarii R.Gonz\u00e1lez and H\u00e1gsater, which is currently invalid. Likewise, the names L. catarinensis Rosillo and Schomburgkia superbiens (Lindl.) Rolfe were commonly found in the databases and are currently synonyms of L. eyermaniana Rchb.f. and L. superbiens Lindl. respectively. No species were classified in a risk category according to the IUCN Red List [L. gouldiana stands out, as it is the only one in the category of \u2018probably extinct in the wild\u2019.A total of 1339 records of Red List . HoweverRed List . Among tLaelia s.l., which are distributed in 24 of the 31 states of the country  and L. eyermaniana (358\u20132850 m) had the widest altitudinal ranges. Laelia autumnalis is the only species that reaches altitudes above 3000 m, in contrast to L. aurea, whose upper elevational distribution range does not exceed 739 m, representing the most restricted elevational distribution range (135\u2013739 m).According to the elevation distribution analysis, d 1500 m a. Accordd 1500 m a, L. ancL. speciosa was the one that registered the widest distribution in the country, located in 12 states, followed by L. autumnalis in 10 states. Jalisco (4), Nayarit (4), and Oaxaca (2) were the states with the highest number of endemic species, while L. crawshayana , L. furfuracea (Oaxaca), L. gouldiana , and L. halbingeriana (Oaxaca) were not recorded beyond a state limit, for which reason they are considered microendemic in this study.Of the species included in the genus, 77% (10 species) are endemic to Mexico . Of thesThe cells with the highest values of endemism discussed below are labeled with capital letters in When endemism values are weighted to remove the influence of species richness ), the results change slightly. Again, cells A and B recovered the highest values but were lower than those obtained with the WE index. Cell A, which previously had a value of WE = 1.72, now displays a value of CWE = 0.34, and cell B, which had a value of WE = 1.12, now shows a value of CWE = 0.37 b. Now, cLaelia s.s. is represented by seven species and two hybrids , Guanajuato (3), Michoacan (3), and Nayarit (3)  c. Oaxacamburgkia e. Both pmburgkia d,f. It sLaelia s.s. by the type of biome  distributed in humid mountain forests stand out. The species proposed as part of Schomburgkia show a greater affinity towards tropical seasonally dry forests and temperate forests, with five species each, followed by tropical humid forests with four species. On the other hand, the xerophytic scrublands are the least represented, with only S. anceps distributed in this biome. It is also possible to observe a distribution pattern with a greater affinity towards the lowlands of the Gulf and South Pacific slopes for this last genus. Meanwhile, Laelia s.s. shows its greater distribution towards the central-western and central-southern mountainous regions of the country.Regarding the distribution of of biome b, a greaLaelia s.s. develops between 358 and 3041 m a.s.l., with a greater affinity towards elevations between 1700 and 2500 m , Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Nayarit (3 each), with one being microendemic in Jalisco and another in Oaxaca. The largest number of endemic species assigned to Schomburkgia was found in Oaxaca (3), with two of them being microendemics. The WE index again showed two cells with the highest values of endemism, but these did not correspond to those detected for Laelia s.l. Cell F showed the highest index (WE = 0.61), followed by cell E (WE = 0.5), both located at the convergence of the PL and the SMS  located in the SMOR and cell J (WE = 0.45) in the SMS , Tamaulipas (TAM), PL, Veracruzan (VE), or the Yucatan Peninsula (YP)\u2019s biogeographic provinces. One of the results worth highlighting is that the potential distribution of the species assigned to Schomburgkia, except for S. anceps and S. rubescens, is limited by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt province (TMVB), since none of them is present in this province.The models presented AUC values similar to 0.8 and higher than 0.9, so the performance was good, while in others it was excellent according to Peterson et al. . The parrovinces , and excp = < 2 \u00d7 10\u221216) and ANOSIM  showed significant differences between the climatic variables for both putative genera  and ANOSIM , significant differences were detected. These differences were identified as occurring between \u00d7Schombolaelia and Schomburgkia, as well as between Laelia s.s. and Schomburgkia in PC1, and only between Laelia s.s. and Schomburgkia in PC2 . The MTZ is a varied and complex area where nearctic and neotropical biotas overlap [L. halbingeriana and L. \u00d7 oaxacana are distributed in the SMOR. However, Arag\u00f3n-Parada et al. [L. crawshayana, L. furfuracea, and Laelia \u00d7 meavei in their catalog of endemic vascular plants of the SMS, which partially coincides with our results. Some species such as L. eyermaniana and L. speciosa have extended their distribution to this province, contrary to what was reported by Halbinger and Soto-Arenas [Laelia species as micro-reserves. This is especially important when hotspots and endemism areas are located throughout heterogeneous environments such as the SMS and SMOR. At the same time, other species would be protected, as proposed by Salinas-Rodr\u00edguez et al. [Most of the taxa of  overlap ,66,67. T overlap ,69. Sala overlap  mention a et al.  recordedo-Arenas . Consequz et al.  and Aragz et al. .Laelia s.s., which had already been suggested by Halbinger and Soto-Arenas [Schomburgkia are distributed throughout the Isthmus, particularly S. anceps, S. rubescens, and S. superbiens. Large changes in the distribution patterns of many groups have been reported in this area [According to our results, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec seems to constitute an important geographical barrier for the genus o-Arenas . In addihis area ,71, and his area .Laelia species distributed in Mexico to the genus Schombugkia. Taking into account the previous morphological and phylogenetic evidence [Laelia s.s. is endemic to Mexico, which has important implications for conservation and management. Therefore, the conservation of Laelia s.s. should be prioritized if it is proven to be an endemic genus to Mexico.The results obtained from the climatic variables showed that the genera are statistically different in their environmental space, which together with the data on the distribution support the proposal by Peraza-Flores et al.  to transevidence , as wellLaelia gouldiana as \u00d7Schombolaelia gouldiana according to Peraza-Flores et al. [L. gouldiana must be analyzed in depth, and we must establish whether or not it is a hybrid, as supported here. Accurately identifying plants is a huge challenge, even more so in organisms that we are interested in protecting. Hence, taxonomic changes can affect the conservation status of organisms, as emphasized in several studies [In addition, our statistical analyses also support the new combination for s et al. , which hs et al. . Soto-Ars et al.  had alre studies ,76,77,78Laelia populations are highly vulnerable, and studies should continue to be carried out to allow adequate measures to be taken for their correct management, as well as for the establishment of efficient strategies for their conservation. In this sense, the hotspots detected and the distribution and endemism patterns identified in this study should be used as references to establish and focus efforts on conservation in situ. In particular, the patterns described are important to define priority sites and areas for the conservation of these species, since among the attributes associated with the narrow geographical distribution are a local and global rarity, isolation, as well as functional diversity [Laelia and highlights the integrated importance of taxonomy, distribution patterns, and richness hotspots in diversity conservation.Although taxonomy and conservation are not the same, they do go hand in hand ,76,77,78iversity ,81,82. OLaelia in Mexico [https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed on 10 February 2022)), National Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU) (http://www.ib.unam.mx/botanica/herbario/ (accessed on 1 January 2022)), Network of Herbariums of Northwest Mexico ), SNIB-MX (http://www.snib.mx/ (accessed on 8 March 2022)), and Tropicos (www.tropicos.org (accessed on 10 March 2022)), as well as databases of herbaria such as CHAPA, CIB, CIIDIR, CITRO, CORU, EBUM, EAP, GBH, GUADA, HNMN, HUUA, LAGU, PMA, QMEX, SLPM, TEFH, UADY, UAS, WLM, XAL, and ZEA [\u00ae Excel v15.0. with the information collected.A preliminary list of species was compiled from an exhaustive review of the floristic\u2013taxonomic literature on the genus n Mexico ,7,8,12.  and ZEA , the recwww.ipni.org (accessed on 12 April 2022)) and Plants of the World Online (http://powo.science.kew.org/ (accessed on 12 April 2022)). The risk statuses were consulted from the IUCN Red List [\u00ae Earth Pro v7.3  using the description of the collection location.The names of the species and their authors were verified on the web pages The International Plant Names Index  test was used, which is a measure of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. According to Peterson et al. , models L. gouldina, a second PCA was carried out, integrating this species as a third group under the name of \u00d7Schombolaelia gouldiana. In order to find out the differences between the three groups, a Tukey\u2019s comparison of means was carried out. For both cases, a non-parametric post hoc analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) based on Euclidean distances was performed using all available variables and by applying the Bonferroni probability value (p) correction. All statistical analyses were carried out in RStudio v554.In order to explore differences in the environmental conditions in which the two putative genera inhabit, a principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out, taking into account the values of the 23 bioclimatic and topographic variables associated with each of the records of the different species. To determine the existence of significant differences between groups, the values of the most explanatory variables from the PCA were compared using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). To explore whether the abiotic variables contribute to clarifying the taxonomic status of"}
+{"text": "Smart Grid (S.G.) is a digitally enabled power grid with an automatic capability to control electricity and information between utility and consumer. S.G. data streams are heterogenous and possess a dynamic environment, whereas the existing machine learning methods are static and stand obsolete in such environments. Since these models cannot handle variations posed by S.G. and utilities with different generation modalities (D.G.M.), a model with adaptive features must comply with the requirements and fulfill the demand for new data, features, and modality. In this study, we considered two open sources and one real-world dataset and observed the behavior of ARIMA, ANN, and LSTM concerning changes in input parameters. It was found that no model observed the change in input parameters until it was manually introduced. It was observed that considered models experienced performance degradation and deterioration from 5 to 15% in terms of accuracy relating to parameter change. Therefore, to improve the model accuracy and adapt the parametric variations, which are dynamic in nature and evident in S.G. and D.G.M. environments. The study has proposed a novel adaptive framework to overcome the existing limitations in electrical load forecasting models. The current developments and modifications in electrical networks and infrastructures, including distributed energy resources (D.E.R.s), have supported the energy demand. These advancements have helped clean power production through renewables integration and have also increased electrical power systems\u2019 complexity . It has Since E.L.F. is responsible for meeting the demand-supply gap, their accuracy is of utmost importance and paid immense attention . Many faIn E.L.F., short-term load forecasting (STLF) is a driving factor of day-to-day operations. It impacts operations, financial costs, and savings, which are considered essential. Several STLF models have been proposed using statistical, regression, and artificial intelligence (A.I.) ,5. BasedIn a Smart Grid (S.G.) environment, the electrical consumption patterns keep changing. These changes are observed due to different factors, but not limited to weather, processes, activities, and events. While these factors are not cyclic, the consumption pattern of electrical load differs from one hour to another throughout time. Since the data streams in the S.G. environment are continuous, pattern changes are observed on a large scale. Numerous E.L.F. models have been proposed, but when new and unknown parameters influence the electrical consumption pattern, the conventional machine learning (ML) models cannot observe the changes and stand obsolete to handle such issues. These models can be differentiated as below:Traditional/Shallow learning models: The shallow learning models (S.L.M.) can be described as the models designed for dedicated applications, industries, utilities, sectors, and regions. These models have a pre-defined set of features and functions that cannot update, change, or modify themselves over the requirement. Any change requirement needs to be set manually and offline for each change operation. Therefore, these models stand obsolete in continuous data streams in the S.G. environment. Thus, the deep learning (DL) models have replaced them. Still, it is challenging for researchers to discover new ways to improve precision and accuracy during the forecast and make models adaptive. Despite many DL methods proposed by different researchers, the accuracy and adaptability factors are still unsatisfactory.Back draw of Traditional Models: The recent machine learning models for electrical load forecasting comprise a set of trained features, and the same elements are kept constant while testing. Therefore, the models keep specific acceptable results until the input feature or application changes. However, when we observe a single or multiple changes in the input features in an online system, the model starts to deteriorate and produce poor forecasts. Such forecasts impact energy management and thus cause a loss in terms of millions of dollars in operations and maintenance. The change in feature could occur due to a change in database, application, sector, or modality since the features selected in recent ML models are not standardized for any particularity. Therefore, their importance could change with respect to time. Moreover, the electrical pattern observes continuous change depending on different factors. Therefore, considering those factors are of utmost importance, and their integration as essential features needs to be considered while designing the model.It is observed that different parameters have a different impact on load forecasting. This impact needs to be calculated before involving any parameter since it can either increase/decrease the accuracy or cause complexity in the model performance.Adaptable Machine Learning Model: Adaptability is a feature that transforms any machine learning model to adjust itself and perform self-regulations following the environment. This is a self-regulatory attribute responsible for dynamically adjusting the model concerning changes in data trends. These ML models can retain their precision and accuracy even after parameter, application, utility, region, and sector variations. The adaptability approach is categorized into the semi- and fully-adaptive approaches, with few dynamic changes by fundamental structure improvement and autonomous module incorporation for self-tuning as per required features.The existing ML models have the nature of modeling static data. Therefore, these models cannot capture the dynamic changes observed in input parameters for load forecasting in the S.G. environment and cannot update themselves automatically (neither the features nor the model). This directs them to generate poor forecasts, have model limitations, and have an inconsiderable error percentage in the results, causing a loss in terms of cost for operations and generations . The electrical consumption patterns in S.G. and D.G.M. are acyclic, for which the model needs to be updated automatically with new features and patterns. These changes in input parameters need to be automatically updated in the model because the parameter tuning could not be performed physically in a real-time environment. Therefore, along with the discussion of the deterioration of E.L.F. models, we have also proposed an adaptive model framework for our future works, which can update itself for variations in parameter, application, utility, region, and sector utilizing self-adaption strategies. The proposed framework can entertain the S.G. and D.G.M. environment changes, perform real-time correlation with different parameters, and utilize the input parameters that have a more influential impact on the load while discarding the irrelevant features. The difference between the previous and our proposed model lies in model adaptation, modality recognition, parameter defining concerning modality, and continuous up-gradation of the model with its relevant features in a real-time environment.In this paper, we have examined the performance deterioration of existing load forecasting models concerning S.G. and D.G.M. environments, considering simple parametric variations to support the theory and proof the same with the help of experimentation. The study confirmed the performance deterioration of forecasting models on three different datasets. The evaluation is based on forecasting results produced by the models conducted before and after the change in input parameters. Based on the experimental results and our observed limitations of existing load forecasting models. The study has proposed a novel adaptive framework to overcome the existing challenges experienced in S.G. and D.G.M. environments. To highlight the performance deterioration in E.L.F. models due to changes in parameters and modality.To highlight the importance of STLF in the S.G. and D.G.M. environment.To evaluate existing load forecasting models.To propose a novel adaptive framework to improve the model deterioration in E.L.F.To emphasize the importance of adaptive models in real-time E.L.F.The main contributions of this study can be summarized as follows:The study discusses the limitations that cause the model deterioration, and a novel adaptive framework is proposed to improve the model deterioration since conventional models are obsolete in such a dynamic environment. The proposed model is believed to contribute to the D.G.M. and S.G. environment, where operation and power management are susceptible tasks. The proposed framework is crucial to assist utilities, independent power producers (I.P.P.), industries, off-grid consumers, and Smart Grid management in forecasting energy demand. It is also believed to help manage it through efficient adaptability features to integrate D.G.M. and manage power under respective elements affecting the power generation. Thus, intelligent energy management will be enabled through the proposed novel framework to direct an intelligent implementation of D.E.R.s. It will help with electricity planning, generation, transmission, distribution, scheduling, operations, and efficient integration of multiple power sources for clean optimum power generation and consumption. The rest of the paper is distributed as Based on the intensive literature review, we conclude that the traditional methods deployed for load forecasting and associated factors such as generation, transmission, distribution, and operations and planning would require a more robust forecasting solution to be deployed for S.G. and D.G.M. In the era of continuous technological evolution, one hundred and ninety-three countries at the United Nations have agreed upon the agenda of the sustainable development goals (S.D.G.s). Out of these goals, the smart city is of crucial importance since it is estimated that today 54% of people live in cities worldwide, but by 2050 this proportion is estimated to reach 66%. The cities are already facing the issues such as power management, unsustainability, and some other fragile problems . In suchThe S.G. is comprised of D.G.M., which could include D.E.R.s. This further integration of different power resources supports system availability and increases robustness, but the system complexity also increases. Though the S.G. is an unprecedented opportunity to adapt IR 4.0 and update the energy industries into the era of reliability, availability, and efficiency that contributes to intelligent power systems , E.L.F. E.L.F. helps control and manage energy generation and reduces the behavior of energy fluctuation . Since lEfficient generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity,Power acquired from different generation modalities,Fast network restoration (in case of any disturbance),Operations and management cost reduction for utilities,Reliable integration of large-scale renewables.Though the transition period from conventional grids to Smart Grids is critical, the benefits are rewarding. Some of the benefits include: Since S.G. is dependent on accurate and efficient load forecasting, E.L.F. is treated as a critical operational task. Thus, it has been distributed into four categories concerning the forecasting time-domain long-term load forecasting (LTLF), medium-term load forecasting (MTLF), short-term load forecasting (STLF), and very short-term load forecasting (VSTLF) . SeveralIn S.G. and D.G.M. environments, the STLF  is a significant factor in day-to-day operations and planning of a power utility and critical component of an energy management system. The STLF approach is efficient in reducing financial costs and operational risks, and it impacts directly on savings. Therefore, it is given much prominence and treated as a critical problem in the competitive energy market ,12. FiguSeveral STLF techniques have been proposed, some of which have been classified as statistical methods, including linear regression, auto-regressive moving average (ARIMA), and exponential smoothing (E.S.) . Later iNumerous statistical, machine learning, and deep learning models have been proposed in the literature for different forecasting applications . Still, Some of the traditional load forecasting models include  where TiRai, S. and De, M.  presenteWu, T. and Wang, J.  discusseHafeez, G. et al.  proposedZheng J. et al.  proposedBouktif S. et al.  modeled Azeem A. et al.  presenteJahan, I. S. et al.  reviewedWhen the load forecasting environment kept improving, new D.E.R.s were introduced to the power generation system. It enhanced the generation capability but also increased the system complexity. Several adaptive models were proposed to accommodate those complexities, including , where DMohammed, N.A. and Al-Bazi A.  proposedWu, S. F., and Lee S. J.  presenteLaib O. et al.  presenteS-Medina, J. J. et al.  proposedGuo T. et al.  discusseParameter optimization and selection of suitable models are critical when dealing with E.L.F. Some other studies that proposed parameter optimization and dimension reduction to improve the implication of critical parameters were also presented ,37. StilIn the current challenging environment, the evolution of data occurs over time. The patterns and associated correlations evolve, and this phenomenon in ML is termed concept drift. A similar phenomenon occurs in dynamic electrical environments, which involves S.G. and D.G.M. Some other studies considering the concept drifts are:Jagait, R. K., et al.  presenteMadireddy S. et al.  proposedFekri, M.N. et al.  presenteNalacaci G. et al.  utilizedAmong the literature survey, Jameel S. et al. ,50,51 prFrom the literature, we can safely state that the load forecasting models face accuracy challenges due to parametric variations causing irregular consumption patterns, and non-or-partial adaptability in the models is a critical problem . Some reThe literature reveals many approaches used for load forecasting, whether as a single method, hybrid method, mixture of different techniques, or clustering and optimization methods for improved electrical load forecasting results. After an in-depth literature review, we found some most prominent load forecasting approaches used in literature either in singular form or with different techniques. It is also highlighted in tx, where \u201ct\u201d is the time constant. The number of hidden layers depends on the methodology.ANN has apprehended numerous applications due to their high skill in learning. These methods are popular for forecasting for their reliability and accuracy. An estimation of function could be performed using ANN. It consists of layers termed input, hidden, and output, shown in HN weighting a matrix of HW with a bias Hb vector, using activation For a single hidden layer consisting of Treating its input for the final output we receive:oT minimize the error criterion, the ANN throughout training changes biases and weights, which can be expressed as below function:tx as input at the current time, th\u22121 as output from prior LSTM, t\u2212C1 as previous unit memory, th as current system output, tc as current unit memory, it as model input, ot as model output, and tf as forget gate.One of the deep recurrent neural network family members is LSTM, used in various models such as time series, recognition of speech, and language. LSTM models have outperformed other methods for learning from earlier stages which is vital for the future forecast. In contrast to a feed-forward neural network, LSTM consists of cycles of network activation, which feeds from the recent step as a network input, influencing current time predictions . Consequt\u2212h1, only keeping the most relevant information, and the output gate takes a decision regarding out info from the current cell state. The equations controlling the cells of LSTM are as follows:The input gate decides to add info from the present input state of the cell. The forget gate\u2019s decision includes removing the report from tC is the cell state, th is the hidden state, and \u03c3 is the sigmoid function. Thus, the system performs computation that decides the output and is dependent on input, past values, and past analyses, enabling the model to grasp different time-scaled information for current computation purposes.p and q values. A criterion, namely B.I.C., is used out of a set of models to select the optimal model used to reduce uncertainty and improve prediction accuracy. The lowest B.I.C. score is chosen as the best fit model [k\u2019 represents the number of model parameters, \u2018m\u2019 sample size, and \u2018L\u2019maximizes the value of the function. Though the ARIMA model was modified with the help of B.I.C., it is not yet adequate to accommodate the electrical load without its combination with some other method that can change the absence of data compensation [When the data perceived in a process is not stationary, it must first be transformed into a static form. The variance in the ARMA and ARIMA model transforms time series into static by d-order difference before fitting the series (d represents order difference). ARIMA also has issues such as over or underfitting data due to it model .(10)BICensation .It is evident from the literature and our experimental results that most load forecasting models are static and cannot adapt to the changes. The changes could be for parameters, application, sector, region, modality, etc. Due to this deficiency, they do not improve their model accuracy and are dedicated to only designing static applications. Therefore, such models need manual modifications to update themselves whenever a new feature is introduced. Besides, every application has a dedicated model, which stands obsolete in a different environment. Moreover, the existing literature lacks in addressing a model which encompasses different generation modalities, fully adaptive forecasting, and fully adaptive real-time forecasting. A model that can accommodate the changes in input features, applications, modality, and regions can be sufficient for the S.G.M. and D.G.M. environment and possess the dynamic ability to enhance the model\u2019s ability to adapt to multi-variable online and real-time environments. Therefore, such models are required can adapt themselves automatically without interruption and manual modifications. Considering such capabilities, we have proposed a novel framework to address the issues and challenges experienced by existing load forecasting models. The proposed approach is designed to obtain data from multiple sources. The data is then deployed to the classifier and outlier sub-module in its feature identification module to fulfill the initial D.G.M. requirements. Later, to record the old and new changes, a repository is formed which captures dynamic features and constantly compares itself with identification and classification to fulfill S.G. and D.G.M. requirements of continuous change interpretation.Furthermore, the online training module consistently receives the input from the output. The LSTM ensemble is designed in a multi-layer parallel working mode that evaluates the forecast and generates optimum results. Thus, all incoming data is assessed for new data, features, and other changes to be adapted if observed, making it a novel framework. The description of the proposed framework, its modules, and their working is detailed in the methodology section.The existing models cannot adapt to the dynamic changes observed in S.G. and D.G.M. environments. Such as input feature changes in a real-time deployed environment and observed differences following region, modality, sector, and application. Thus, these models stand obsolete in such vibrant scenarios. Therefore, due to its ensembled module capabilities and novelty of continuous adaptivity in features and observed changes in its environment, the proposed model stands unique in comparison to existing models. It is deduced that the traditional models stand obsolete, and the proposed adaptive models face various challenges to contend in such a dynamic environment. They pose challenges for accuracy and precision, effective energy management, planning and operations, and future load prediction. Therefore, it generated the need to investigate the recent models concerning the challenges encountered in the S.G. and D.G.M. environment, observe the model\u2019s behavior, and produce forecasts with different variable shifts and parameter changes.To overcome the described adaptability challenges, this study is crucial to explore the E.L.F. models and observe their performance in a distinct environment where the data has multiple changes in terms of modality and parameter. Moreover, it discusses the existing challenges and the proposition of a new framework to overcome the current issues in E.L.F. models following S.G. and D.G.M.This section explores the existing load forecasting models regarding S.G. and D.G.M. and elaborates on the proposed tentative adaptive framework. The intuition behind this framework is to adapt the modality and variations in parameter and region features. It is evident from the literature that to achieve accuracy in E.L.F. models, the data under observation shall be free of noise, loss, and error to attain acceptable results. In this study, we have considered two open-source datasets provided with the name of American electric power (A.E.P.) ranging from 2004 to 2018 and New York City (N.Y.C.) ranging from 2012 to 2017. The third dataset belongs to the real environment of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (U.T.P.), ranging from Nov to Dec 2019The dataset comprises \u201chourly load data\u201d in megawatts (M.W.s) but have different parameters.Due to the involvement of unidentical parameters, we have observed the change of performance in model accuracy with the evolution of parameters. Thus, the difference in parameters has caused the models\u2019 performance deterioration. The study uses ARIMA, ANN, and LSTM models on each dataset. Therefore, the study is subdivided into three case studies for better understanding and description.The utilized database comprises three datasets; two of them are available online at Kaggle with descriptions provided below. Since the load data is time series, the analysis of such vital attributes is required. To observe those attributes, we have decomposed our datasets into \u2018trend\u2019 showing the stability and instability of data, \u2018seasonality\u2019 expressing the fluctuations occurring at a certain periodicity, and \u2018residual/noise,\u2019 which depicts the remains. Further details are discussed below:The dataset was obtained from the A.E.P., a power utility company covering 11 states in the United States and delivering energy to more than 5 million consumers. The collected data is in univariate time series and ranges from 31 December 2004 to 2 January 2018. The dataset was obtained from the N.Y.C., and it is a multivariate dataset that additional includes temperature and precipitation values and ranges from 2012 to 2017. This data set was obtained from the U.T.P. gas district cooling (GDC) department, which provides the rest departments\u2019 electrical services. This is a real data set comprised of hourly load demand for November and December 2019. The dataset is multi-variable with load demand, temperature, humidity, and wind speed variables. The datasets were preprocessed to eliminate the existence of any loss, noise, or insufficient data. Such values were eliminated considering respective appropriate algorithms. Later, the datasets were decomposed to attain the daily, weekly, and monthly hidden features. The features were then compared according to their correlations and influence on the output. The most optimized features were obtained, and the rest were discarded. However, during the data preprocessing, it was also noticed that weekly and monthly features had a similar impact on all three datasets. Moreover, the influence of specific parameters in combination was more significant than as individuals.Framework: The developed framework was to analyze the behavior of the ARIMA model on different datasets to calculate the performance change along with respective factors. Moreover, to observe the model deterioration when applied to different datasets, sectors, and applications. The model comprised modules performing data processing, verifying the seasonality, and removing the seasonality. Later, the model estimates the model parameters, checks for any residuals, and performs testing of the model. Finally, to produce a forecast considering all three datasets with parameter variations over the period.Framework: The developed framework was based on the ANN architecture and is believed to provide the model performance and deterioration when input parameters vary with time. The process includes data preparation modular and forecasting modular. A brief pictorial is presented in t \u2212 1 and t \u2212 2 times the historical load. The scaled values are then processed for prediction.Data Preparation Modular: Databases provide the data, which are filtered for NaN and 0 values. Later the data is further preprocessed and scaled following the model requirements. Once the dataset is mounted, the input parameters are defined along with the data distribution with training, testing, and validation split with 70, 10, and 10, respectively. The input parameters are kept constant for initial simulations, and later the parameter changes are applied to observe the model behavior over time for the changed parameter. At this stage, the initial parameter change is limited to change in one parameter, including change in the Forecasting Modular: The forecasting modular comprises ANN architecture called neural networks and is inspired by the human brain. The neural networks are intelligent enough to learn from data to recognize the patterns, data classifications, and prediction of future values based on historical information. The architecture of ANN is discussed in detail in the literature review section.The ANN forecasting modular comprises two input, three hidden, and one output layer. The parameter optimization is performed along with minimization of the loss function to avoid overfitting. An overfit function fails to uncover the hidden features, due to which it performs poorly. Different combinations for layers were utilized for optimal performance, but better results were generated using 27, 18, and 18 combinations for hidden layers and a dropout of 0.2. The model ran with 25 epochs at a batch size of 100 with a linear activation function known as \u2018Relu.\u2019Framework: We developed the framework to examine the performance of existing E.L.F. models on different datasets, which explored the impact and factors affecting the accuracy of E.L.F. models and causing model deterioration. The process flow includes data preparation involving data cleaning, transformation, reduction, and feature extraction. Later it is introduced to the forecasting modular to produce the forecasting involving parametric tuning, error comparison, and forecast production, as depicted in In this case study, we considered the datasets mentioned above. We also observed the impact and performance of the forecasting model before and after parametric tuning. We noticed the improvements in the forecasting results using the long short-term memory (LSTM) model. The methodology flow is distributed into two modules, namely, data preparation and forecasting. Training Accuracy: We get the accuracy if we apply the model to training data.Training Loss: It indicates how well the model fits the training data.Validation Loss: It indicates how well the model fits new data.The model performance is observed on the below basis:Dataset Preparation Modular: The data are received from databases and forwarded for sorting to separate the null values from the dataset to improve its credibility. Later, the clean dataset is processed for data extraction of existing features and values such as load behavior daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Based on respective segments, the graphs are plotted to understand the load behavior concerning the different time ranges. For final processing, the received data is later considered for daily values, taken through average means. These values are scaled using Minmax Scaler. The absolute values are subsequently processed to forecast modular for further actions.Forecasting Modular: The forecasting modular comprises sub-modules, namely, data split, model development, parametric tuning, error measurement and comparison, and production of load forecast.Data Split: The dataset is split into training and testing, considering 70 and 30 percent ratios.Model Construction: The construction of the LSTM model is comprised of 4 layers with unit values of 64, 32, and 16 with 25 epochs, the batch value of 32, Adams as an optimizer, and Relu as the current activation function. The drop out layer is set with a value of 0.3 and dense with a unit value of 1.Parametric Tuning: The tuning of parameters is performed by selecting different combinations of values from Error and Comparison: After every simulation is performed, the values of tuning parameters are changed, and each simulation has its product of error measurement, which is then stored to compare with other simulations to decide the optimal parameters for E.L.F.Forecast: Once the different combinations of unique optimal parameters are obtained after continuous and regressive simulations. The results are compared, and the most effective combination of parameters is selected for producing the forecast.Due to the rapid change in electrical dynamics and exponential growth in load demand, there is a need for continuous developments in machine learning and deep learning models. These models are capable of self-learning and adaptation to changes. Though the researchers are covering some dynamics in other fields for the transformation of models in classification applications ,50,51, sSince electrical data is acyclic and the demand continuously varies depending on different factors, including meteorology, region, power modality, events, etc. . TherefoThe intuition behind this framework is to adapt the modality and variations in parameter and region features. In the proposed framework, the projected ensemble mechanism\u2019s diversity helps to handle the new features\u2019 possible arrival, specifically modality, parameters, and meteorological features. More precisely, this ensemble proposes a novel approach that contributes diversity to a simple yet effective ensemble system. Considering the existing research gaps in the proposed framework, we have integrated two different modules to introduce adaptive load forecasting. These modules incorporate the requirements to enhance and develop a novel adaptive model to fulfill the demand of modern load forecasting comprised of multi-modality generation and Smart Grid. Modular-1 consists of a data stream pipeline composed of different modalities and features, including the changing scenarios. Modular-2 is termed an adaptive ensemble framework modular, which is further sub-sectioned into three sub-modules: feature change identification, online training, variable weightage, and forecasting module. The detail of Data Stream Pipeline: The data stream pipeline is responsible for providing the data from input sources  to the adaptive framework after observing the feature change. This module further consists of feature change scenarios which could be one or many concerning the case.t \u2212 1 may experience a change at time t \u2212 2 . Such changes could occur as a completely new feature or a transformation of existing into new segments. Moreover, these changes could be experienced as single or multiple value changes.Feature Change Scenario: The first modular, namely the feature change scenario, takes input from the different generation modalities and sorts the features accordingly. This modular might experience a change of input features at the different time stamps from any or each input database involved. Thus, the set of features introduced at time Consequently, they cause the model deterioration in terms of its performance. Thus, examining the features and relevant changes at the initial stage is of utmost importance for the better performance of the model. Therefore, we capture these changes at an earlier stage to counter the impact on the model and work towards the timely provision of an appropriate solution.Adaptive Framework: This modular comprises three further modules , which complete the requirement of an adaptive framework for a dynamic and challenging environment. The modules could be further described as below:Feature Change Identification: The features received from the \u201cfeature change scenario\u201d modular are now processed in the feature change identification modular. The modular is responsible for identifying the features and classifying them according to their presence or absence from the standard feature repository. The features resulting in negative compared to the standard feature repository are considered feature changes or new features. The modular involves feature classification and new feature recognition based on classified and outlier approach, later compared to the standard feature repository. Each feature is then identified, analyzed, and compared with the common feature repository to decide whether the feature is new or old. The features with favorable comparison travel to the old library whereas the features with negation are identified as new features and stored in the new feature repository.This phenomenon of new feature identification repeats itself after the standard period, and these identified variables are then trained accordingly. The introduced features are updated in the library to feed the ensemble LSTM model for feature selection. These new features, unidentified in traditional load forecasting models, are responsible for the model\u2019s performance deterioration. Therefore, we have integrated this modular to identify the feature change phenomenon in our framework. This will help the model analyze the input parameters with respect to changing modality and produce acceptable results compared to traditional models. Variable Weightage Module: Once the change in feature is identified and compared with the features library. The element is later weighted along with the existing and new library to compare the consideration weightage, and final variables are processed for dimensional reduction to filter only relevant and essential features to be considered for load forecasting. This function could be a single or a combination of multiple strategies to decide the variable weightage depending on the factors related to the application of forecasting.Ensemble LSTM Forecasting Module: The forecasting module is built on a parallel concept working with multiple layers. It comprises parallel working LSTM modules that work in parallel to perform better forecasting to attain the desired results. LSTMs are believed to work better on large datasets, and due to their excellent performance, they produce acceptable results. However, we plan to introduce the modified LSTM network that will further enhance the capabilities and fit the requirement of multi-modality generation and S.G.s.The existing models do not accept multiple input sources of generation or changes in input parameters at different time intervals  system using natural gas as a primary fuel source. The electricity generated at the U.T.P. comprises two units of gas turbines that support U.T.P. demand, internal usage, and chillers usage for the air-conditioning system. The data provided insights into peak hours ranging from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., whereas off-peak hours are from 10:00 to 7:00 a.m. The change combination of parameters used before and after comprised date, time, historical load, temperature, wind speed, and humidity. Furthermore, the system under observation could experience constraints such as noise, insufficient data, false data, or data anomaly. The current framework consists of a module for dealing with noise, but more implications are required for further improvement. However, during the deployment of the framework, respective modules need to be actively deployed along with the framework.Thus, this framework provides better results in a dynamic environment than existing load forecasting methods that stand obsolete in such environments, employing continuous updates on features, rigorous training of variables, and an ensemble of multiple multi-layer LSTM regression modules. Our future work is implementing the proposed framework to enhance load forecasting practically and lay the forecasting foundation for multi-modality generations.We explored three different datasets with ARIMA and observed their behavior over time. We have presented the results of all these three different data sets before and after the variable change in After reviewing several proposed models for load forecasting utilizing ANN ,33,42,44Therefore, the results presented in In this article, we reviewed studies that proposed LSTM models for electrical load predictions ,30,31,32The dataset of A.E.P. and N.Y.C. were distributed over two years and are open-source datasets, whereas the U.T.P. dataset is a real environment dataset available for only two months. The before variables included DateTime and load, and the after variables included temperature along with earlier variables. The LSTM model was first run with different combinations of activation functions and optimizers and tested on distinct varieties described in the modular forecasting section to optimize and tune the parameters for optimum results.It is to be noted that when we introduced a new change in the dataset, it was unrecognizable in 2 cases. In contrast, the third case decreased its output accuracy after introducing a new parameter. Therefore, to measure the importance of this new variable, we introduced it to the model manually and measured the error percentage before and after the introduction of the new variable. The introduction of a new variable has improved the forecasting accuracy in all three cases. Therefore, it is deduced that the models cannot notice the presence and importance of any newly introduced variable until or unless it is present in the model or altered manually, which affects the model performance. 2 score; however, the highest score is considered better, which shows the data fit percentage.The experimental results are presented in When we compare the performance of different models over the A.E.P. dataset, it is evident from the results that the ANN model has outperformed ARIMA, and LSTM results were the nearest. A similar situation was encountered in the N.Y.C. and U.T.P. datasets as well. The performance of models can be graphically observed in However, it is evident from the presented results that the performance of E.L.F. models deteriorates over time with different changes and is also dependent on the methodology adopted at development time. Moreover, it is also evident from presented facts and literature that the S.G. and D.G.M. environments are dynamic, and such traditional models will stand obsolete. Furthermore, the literature\u2019s proposed adaptive models have limitations discussed in Therefore, an adaptive model framework is proposed in this study as future work, which will adhere to the adaptability limitations of features, parameters, modality, region, industry, utility, power sector, D.E.R.s, I.P.P.s, and application environment. The presented framework is believed to be significantly crucial in S.G. and D.G.M. environments where the data is highly nonlinear with dynamic behavior and consists of multiple different generation resources having various factors which impact the prediction accuracy of E.L.F. model.STLF has been of utmost importance for implementing S.G.s and integrating D.G.M.s. Several factors challenge accurate load forecasting, including meteorological and production sources. Moreover, the models that can incorporate the characteristic change over time and are adaptable are significant. Since the traditional models are obsolete in dynamic and real-time environments. Several models have been discussed, but industry, residential, utility, S.G.s, D.G.M.s, and D.E.R.s are the environments where an efficient adaptive E.L.F. model is of paramount significance.This paper investigated the limitations of recent models. It proposed a framework by combining a classifier approach and outlier detection to improve the feature change and identification scenario significantly. An LSTM ensemble working with feedback and continuous feature update will adapt the model to the outer environment, parameter, modality, and scenario change. Minimal studies explore or employ the online E.L.F. learning techniques and require sufficient modifications and diversification for dynamic environments.Despite the described advantages of the presented framework, some limitations include defining significant differences in training and forecasting in real-time due to non-stationarity and continuous data input. Furthermore, some challenges that we would like to address in future works include analysis of injection of unlabeled and labeled data, defining boundaries for noise removal modular, different parametric tuning incorporation, and defining standards for inclusion or exclusion of parameters.Change in input variables deteriorates the performance of load forecasting models.Input variables impact the rate of error, which is inconsiderable for the S.G. and D.G.M. environment.Change in input variables impacts error percentage depending on the parameter introduced.Consideration of month and week as variables has no significant impact on considered datasets.Meteorological variables profoundly impact the E.L.F. model performance, and no standard is defined for such parameters since the parameter change concerning region, sector, modality, and application.Traditional models stand obsolete in S.G. and D.G.M. environments. Thus, real-time adaptive models are required.By analyzing the experiments performed above, the following conclusions can be drawn:"}
+{"text": "TVIR database contains numerous important functional genes, including 5215 auxin genes, 2437 anthocyanin genes, 15\u2009002 flowering genes, 79\u2009830 resistance genes, and 2639 glucosinolate genes of 59 vegetables. In addition, 2597 N6-methyladenosine (m6A) genes were identified, including 513 writers, 1058 erasers, and 1026 readers. A total of 2\u2009101\u2009501 specific clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) guide sequences and 17\u2009377 miRNAs were detected and deposited in TVIR database. Information on gene synteny, duplication, and orthologs is also provided for 59 vegetable species. TVIR database contains 2\u2009346\u2009850 gene annotations by the Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL, Gene Ontology (GO), Pfam, and Non-redundant (Nr) databases. Synteny, Primer Design, Blast, and JBrowse tools are provided to facilitate users in conducting comparative genomic analyses. This is the first large-scale collection of vegetable genomic data and bioinformatic analysis. All genome and gene sequences, annotations, and bioinformatic results can be easily downloaded from TVIR. Furthermore, transcriptome data of 98 vegetables have been collected and collated, and can be searched by species, tissues, or different growth stages. TVIR is expected to become a key hub for vegetable research globally. The database will be updated with newly assembled vegetable genomes and comparative genomic studies in the future.Vegetables are an indispensable part of the daily diet of humans. Therefore, it is vital to systematically study the genomic data of vegetables and build a platform for data sharing and analysis. In this study, a comprehensive platform for vegetables with a user-friendly Web interface\u2014The Vegetable Information Resource (TVIR,  Cucumis sativus (cucumber) in 2009, and since then the genomes of several vegetable species have been sequenced , edna and 2639 glucosinolate genes in the genomes of 59 vegetable species . All of One of the most important RNA modifications in plants is m6A methylation. The function and characterization of m6A are a major focus in current plant research. The genes involved in m6A modification are highly conserved across different plants . TherefoA. thaliana, while in the miRBase database 3913 miRNAs were identified from 15 vegetables and A. thaliana. In TVIR database the bar or line charts clearly display the number of miRNAs in each species, making it easier for users to perform comparisons among different vegetable species. Furthermore, the hairpin sequences, mature sequences, and target genes of miRNAs were predicted and can be downloaded from TVIR database. Moreover, the structure of each miRNA is illustrated and shown in TVIR. Publications related to each miRNA and links to the NCBI database are also provided. The multi-select dropdown menu allows users to select species to search miRNAs according to their needs. Users can also select all organisms from the dropdown menu, which will then show the search for a certain miRNA in all species.To facilitate the study of vegetable miRNAs, information on miRNAs was collected from the sRNAanno and miRBase databases . In the In addition to vegetable genome data, the transcriptome data of 98 vegetables were collected and collated. Users can easily and quickly select the corresponding transcriptome data according to the Latin name of the species, the plant tissue, or the settings of different growth and development periods. In the retrieved information table, users are provided with accession numbers and links to transcriptome data, sample information, sequencing library, and author information. Moreover, the informationtable can be downloaded, providing useful data resources for theretrieval, collection, and analysis of gene expression of vegetable species.Four popular tools\u2014Synteny, Blast, Primer Design, and JBrowse\u2014are included in TVIR database to help users conduct comparative and functional genomic analyses. Two syntenic tools, the Multiple Collinearity Scan toolkit (MCScanX) and Python MCscan, are provided and users can conduct syntenic analyses among species with these tools. Both Python MCscan and MCScanX have online and database modes in TVIR database.For Python MCscan, users can upload bed and coding sequence (CDS) files for syntenic analysis in the online mode. The configuration files \u2018layout\u2019 and \u2018seqids\u2019 can be created according to the manual of the Python MCscan program. Depending on the user\u2019s needs, this tool can perform a collinear analysis of two to four species at a time. For database mode, users only need to select two to four species in TVIR database, then the syntenic diagram is rapidly illustrated.For MCScanX, users can upload Blast and general feature format (gff) files for syntenic analysis in the online mode. The database also provides a visualization using the results of syntenic analysis, including gff and collinear files. Four syntenic types, including dot plotter, circle plotter, bar plotter, and dual synteny plotter, can be obtained by selecting different configuration files. For the database mode, users only need to select two species among the 59 vegetable species, and the corresponding syntenic diagram is rapidly displayed according to the selected drawing type.The Blast tool was included in TVIR database to facilitate sequence alignment. A user-friendly interface was created and Blast databases were constructed using CDS and protein sequences of the 59 vegetable species. All users can easily perform sequence alignment by uploading a Fasta format file or directly copying sequences to the frame. A Primer Design tool was deposited in TVIR to help researchers design primers for genes in the 59 vegetable species by entering the related gene accession number. Moreover, users can also design primers for their gene sequences with Fasta format. In addition, a JBrowse tool was built to show the genomic sequences and features of vegetable genes. This tool allows users to check the detailed information for selected genes on the corresponding chromosome or scaffold sequences.B. rapa, C. sativus, L. albus, R. sativus, S. lycopersicum, S. melongena, and Solanum tuberosum, were also provided. Finally, the simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were identified from all the coding genes of each species, and they can also be downloaded from TVIR database. All these genomic datasets and resources facilitate rapid and easy comparative genomic analyses of vegetable crops.The genome sequences, gff, CDS, and protein sequences of each vegetable species can be obtained from TVIR database. Moreover, the pan-genomes of seven species, including The Resources section of TVIR provides information on the database, publication, yield, and planting area of related vegetables. Through the Resources page, users can quickly understand the research value and status of major vegetables, and rapidly obtain relevant vegetable data resources. In the Help section, a detailed manual for each interface of the TVIR database is supplied. Furthermore, e-mail addresses and phone numbers are provided to enable users to easily contact us.Brassica , and erasers [Alkylation repair protein-B (AlkB)] . WritersThe mature, hairpin sequences, and gff files of miRNAs were downloaded from sRNAanno and miRBase (Release 22.1) , 68. TheThe CasFinder pipeline was used to design the Cas9 target sites for CRISPR . FirstlyBased on the Django framework, the TVIR database was built with MySQL database management according to our previous reports , 73 and This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholar of Hebei Province (C2022209010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China , the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei (C2021209005), the Educational and teaching reform research and practice project of North China University of Science and Technology (L21106), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation .X.S. conceived the project and was responsible for project initiation. X.S. and T.Y. supervised and managed the project and research. The data collection and bioinformatics analyses were led by X.S., T.Y., X.M., Z.L., Z.W., and X.F. The database construction was led by X.S., T.Y., Z.L., and F.N. The manuscript was organized, written, and revised by X.S., T.Y., X.F., X.M., R.C., Y.Z., and J.R. All authors read and approved the manuscript.All materials and related data in this study are provided in the TVIR database and supplementary files. Other datasets are available upon request to the corresponding author.The authors declare no competing interests.Web_Material_uhac213Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori-related gastric ulcer (H. pylori-related GU) is one of the most common digestive system diseases that have received widespread attention from researchers. The purpose of this article was to analyze the research status and hotspots of H. pylori-related GU and to predict its future research directions.H. pylori-related GU published from 2012 to 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The analysis of knowledge maps and bibliometrics was done with CiteSpace 6.1.R2 Basic and VOSviewer 1.6.18.The article and review papers associated with World Journal of Gastroenterology published the most articles on the H. pylori-related GU field, and GUT was the journal with the most cited articles. Yamaoka Y from Japan was the most productive author, and Graham DY from the USA was the most influential author. A keyword and reference analysis showed that the hot topics of research were the mechanism of H. pylori and the treatment of H. pylori-related GU. The keywords that emerged in the recent 5 years were oxidative stress, probiotics, competitive acid blocker, vonoprazan, gut microbiota, and neutrophil-activating protein.A total of 2,971 articles were included in the study. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of papers published showed an increasing trend. China was the most prolific country, and the United States was the most influential country. Baylor College of Medicine had the largest number of publications and citations among publishing agencies. H. pylori-related GU has generally shown an increasing trend. The treatment and pathogenesis of H. pylori-related GU remain a hot topic of research. The treatment of H. pylori by oxidative stress and competitive acid inhibitor mechanisms, the influence of gastrointestinal flora on H. pylori, probiotic adjuvant therapy of H. pylori-related GU, and the immunoprotective effect of neutrophil activator protein could be popular research directions and trends in the future.Over the recent 10 years, research on  Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a Gram-negative bacterium that selectively colonizes the epithelium of the gastric mucosa  is one of the most common diseases affecting humans. An unbalance in defense factors and detrimental factors is the primary cause of GU, which is characterized by rhythmic epigastric pain after eating , 2. Helic mucosa . It is ac mucosa . Approxi. pylori . It is kc cancer , 7. An i. pylori \u201310. H. pifficult . NowadayH. pylori-related GU are still absent. In this study, we conducted bibliometric research on H. pylori-related GU papers that were published from 2012 to 2022 and analyzed the research status, hotspots, and trends in the field. This study will hopefully provide valuable information and aid in future research on GU-related H. pylori.In bibliometric analysis, the literature is identified, developmental trends are clarified both objectively and visibly, the current status is determined, and the future development of the field is predicted . BibliomH. pylori-related GU and to propose research directions for the future. By using bibliometric analysis software, such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace, these questions were addressed through the following goals: (a) the number and timing of publications; (b) journals, institutions, and countries of publications; (c) domains of study; (d) citation and co-citation of publications; and (e) keywords used in publications.A major objective of this article was to review the current research status and hotspots of H. pylori-related GU research, including clinical, therapeutic drugs, risk factors, pathogenesis, and prognosis; and articles published in English due to their higher recognition. If an article met one or more of the following criteria, it was excluded: non-English text, retracted publication, letter, meeting abstract, editorial material, and articles irrelevant to the H. pylori-related GU.The papers were screened according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines . The stuHelicobacter pylori) or H. pylori] and (Language = English) and (Document type = Article or Review), Publication date from \u201c2012-01-01\u201d to \u201c2022-07-17.\u201dThe data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The following was the search strategy: [TS = (gastric ulcer) or GU] and [TS = HP or  was used to measure the output capacity of an author, institution, or country in a field. The number of citations (Ncs) and the global citations score (GCS) were used to determine the growth of scientific impact . The H-iThe bibliometric mapping and clustering analysis were conducted using VOSviewer, which builds and visualizes bibliometric networks. Nodes represent publications, and lines show the strength of the relationship. By assigning nodes to different clusters, the same color indicates the nodes belonging to the same cluster and have a high correlation between them . Co-authA bibliometric tool, CiteSpace, identifies trends and hotspots in the publications and enables users to explore areas of expertise and emerging research topics within knowledge areas . In this1) was used to generate pictures, and Excel was used for data statistics and tabulation.Bioinformatics . H. pylori-related GU remained at a high level and showed a fluctuating upward trend in H. pylori-related GU is a major concern for researchers.The global trends in publications on H. pylori-related GU, and the number of publications issued by countries/regions is shown in A total of 115 countries/regions around the world contributed to the research on H. pylori-related GU research.As shown in H. pylori-related GU publications are listed. World Journal of Gastroenterology was the most productive journal with 129 publications, which was followed by Helicobacter (113) and PLOS One (78). As shown in GUT (IF: 31.793) published only 13 articles, it had the highest Nc in the field of H. pylori-related GU. While Gastroenterology and the American Journal of Gastroenterology had only a few articles, their citations were very high. A great deal of impact was caused by H. pylori on the field of GU in these journals. Besides, the association between cited and co-cited journals was analyzed using a dual-map overlay , next was Graham DY from Baylor College of Medicine in the United States with 30 articles (H-index: 21), and Sugimoto M from Tokyo Medical University in Japan with 20 articles (H-index: 10). Graham DY had the highest number of citations , followed by Malfertheiner P from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany with 3,698 times and Yamaoka Y with 1,024 times. It indicated that the studies of Graham DY, Malfertheiner P, and Yamaoka Y have attracted more attention from researchers.GUT, followed by the article written by Hooi JKY published in 2017 in the Gastroenterology, and the article written by Malfertheiner P published in 2017 in the GUT. The network of articles with high citation frequencies is shown in Lancet (288 times), followed by the article written by Malfertheiner P published in 2012 in the GUT (277 times), and the article written by Kusters JG published in 2006 in the Clinical Microbiology Reviews (274 times). The co-citation of cited references is presented in H. pylori infection, prevalence, and management. Cluster 3 (blue) was primarily concerned with gene expression. Therapy and resistance were the main concerns of cluster 4 (yellow). Cluster 5 (purple) mainly focused on the disease related to H. pylori infection. The average year of these keywords is shown in H. pylori-related GU. Keywords reflect the core content of the paper. The network visualization of the keywords is shown in H. pylori-related GU were collected through the WoSCC database. The bibliometric software, such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace, were used to visually analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of literature, keywords, and the citations and co-citations of publications. Additionally, VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to clarify the research status, hotspots, and trends of H. pylori-related GU. This article aimed to provide a reference for researchers in the field of gastrointestinal diseases.In this article, the publications related to H. pylori-related GU papers showed an increasing trend between 2012 and 2022, and researchers have been paying close attention to it. Among the 115 countries that have published a paper on H. pylori-related GU, China was certainly the most productive country, followed by the United States, and Japan. The largest number of publications in China indicated that H. pylori-related GU has a high incidence rate in China, which may be related to the eating habits of the Chinese. In terms of affiliations, Baylor College of Medicine had the highest number of publications, citations, and H-index. Three of the top five agencies were from the United States, indicating that the United States has a strong academic ability in the field.In total, 2,971 articles were included in our analysis. H. pylori-related GU, the United States has the highest citation and H-index, indicating it has the greatest influence. This apparent superiority might be attributed to the leading academics with advanced research facilities and technologies. Although China has the highest number of publications, the number of citations was close to Japan and Germany. This means that Germany and Japan had a higher quality of research on H. pylori-related GU, and Chinese researchers should improve the quality of their work.In the field of H. pylori-related GU, fewer articles were published in journals with high IF. The World Journal of Gastroenterology published the most in H. pylori-related GU studies, and it was also the second most cited journal. There is no doubt that this journal played a crucial role in studying H. pylori-related GU. Remarkably, the GUT ranked first in terms of citations with 13 publications, and the Gastroenterology ranked fifth with five publications. Researchers interested in this field should pay closer attention to these journals since the articles in these journals were of high quality.An article with a high IF is considered to be of higher quality when it appears in a journal. The journals were mainly in the gastroenterology and hepatology, microbiology, and pharmacology and pharmacy fields. In the field of H. pylori-related GU fields and received 1,024 citations. Yamaoka Y mainly studies the virulence factors of H. pylori and its mechanism of action (H. pylori in different regions, and the pathogenicity of H. pylori is correlated with virulence factors (H. pylori-associated ulcers, and in one of his highest-cited articles, he followed up patients with ulcers who participated in randomized controlled trials to cure ulcers for 2 years and found that triple therapy could reduce ulcer recurrence rates and that most peptic ulcers associated with H. pylori infection were curable (H. pylori was reduced and proposed treatment suggestions and follow-up clinical experimental research directions for this condition, which provided great help for the treatment and clinical research of H. pylori (The most productive author, Yamaoka Y, has published 47 papers on f action . Based o factors . In addi curable . In anot. pylori .GUT in 2012 and 2017 were ranked first and third in GCS. In those two Consensus Reports, the author and experts made recommendations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of H. pylori, which provided support for clinicians in the treatment of H. pylori-related disease (Gastroenterology in 2017 ranked second. Through the systematic review and meta-analysis, the authors found that there were differences in infection rates in different countries/regions and that more than half of the world\u2019s population was infected with H. pylori (H. pylori have always been a hot issue in this field.Articles with high citations can reflect the issues of concern in a research field. The papers written by Malfertheiner P published in the  disease , 23. A p. pylori . It suggH. pylori-related GU research. It can be seen from the co-cited references timeline view that eradication therapy and immunotherapy were the common concerns in H. pylori-related GU. Lim JH and his team found that the efficacy of levofloxacin-based 3-line eradication therapy for H. pylori-associated peptic ulcers was similar to that of first-/second-line eradication therapies (H. pylori-related diseases and discussed the potential and possibility of VacA as a targeted immunotherapy for the treatment of H. pylori (H. pylori infection in the Three Navajo Nation Chapter Communities and found that H. pylori infection in the region was associated with households and the use of uncontrolled water sources (H. pylori resistance rates were 80.6% for clarithromycin, 71.7% for amoxicillin, 49.4% for metronidazole, 45.1% for levofloxacin, and 11.4% for tetracycline, especially in children who had previously received H. pylori eradication treatment (The keywords and co-cited references timeline view can reflect hotspots in the field of herapies . Fahimi . pylori . In the  sources . Le LTT reatment .H. pylori-related GU disease research continues to progress, the research hotspot is changing as well. Co-cited references with the most bursts, keyword average year view, and emergence map show hot issues and directions in current research. The cited literature studies in the past 5 years have highlighted the main research directions for H. pylori-related GU and are listed as follows: the treatment of antibiotic-resistant H. pylori-related Gus (H. pylori (H. pylori therapy (H. pylori infections. Based on oxidative stress mechanisms, Silvan JM and his team explored a treatment method for H. pylori infection (H. pylori is related to the gastric microbiota, which shows a decrease in gastric microbial diversity and an increase in the relative abundance of bacteria (H. pylori infection and to protect against H. pylori-associated stomach disorders. Research by Zhao et al. (2O2-induced biofilm formation in bacteria, which makes them multidrug resistant. Based on these keywords, it can be seen that H. pylori-associated GU research is focused on pathogenesis and treatment. There is no doubt that future studies will continue to focus on H. pylori pathogenesis and the efficacy and safety of therapeutic drugs.As ated Gus , 24, the. pylori , and the therapy . Among t therapy . The stu therapy  and his nfection , 39. Stubacteria , 41. In bacteria , bifidobo et al.  found thH. pylori-related GU, and the results were objective and reliable. It provided an overview of the status, trends, and hotspots in H. pylori-related GU research. However, there are still some limitations to the research presented in this article. Only the WoSCC database was analyzed, and only English publications were included, which may lead to selection bias.In this article, CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of H. pylori-related GU are on the rise, and the disease is receiving widespread attention. The findings of the study indicated that China published the most articles, while the United States was the most influential country. The pathogenesis and treatment of H. pylori-related GU have always been hot topics of research. Research on oxidative stress mechanisms, competitive acid blocker, and neutrophil-activating protein may be at the forefront of future research. Besides the traditional antibiotic-based triple and quadruple therapies, other treatments can also be studied, such as natural medicine preparations. Essentially, this article provides a scientific and quantitative analysis of H. pylori-related GU research from a global perspective and suggests future research directions.Through bibliometric research, the global publications of CY analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. CO and MZ carried out a literature search. JQ and MX drew the figures. HS reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors produced the results of this study and gave final approval to the version submitted."}
+{"text": "One hundred and ninety-five staphylococci were recovered, and 94% of isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Eighty-five staphylococci were mecA gene-positive, and 40% of them harbored SCCmec IV and V. The genotype of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was ST25, and the dominant genotype of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) was ST59. Three new sequence types were assigned as ST840, ST841, and ST842. One (2%) frequently touched surface was contaminated by S. aureus, which suggested that environmental contamination occurred in the hospital in China. Nineteen (39%) frequently touched surfaces were contaminated by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS), and 46% of HP carried MRCoNS. Varied staphylococcal species and antimicrobial-resistance rates were observed between staphylococci that were recovered from hospital personnel and frequently touched surfaces. The transmission of MRSE and S. aureus between hospital personnel and frequently touched surfaces was detected. Hospital items and personnel may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci, and cleaning strategies should be carried out to decrease the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci in hospitals in China.Staphylococci are major hospital-associated pathogens, and the dissemination of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in hospitals poses a great challenge for managing hospital-acquired infections. Little is known about the dissemination of staphylococci recovered from the hospital environment and personnel in China. In this study, antimicrobial susceptibility tests,  Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) pose a health threat to humans worldwide. In China, staphylococci (13.4%) are on third place as a cause of clinical infection , whi, whimecAS. epidermidis ST59, ST200, and ST210 were recovered from samples that were collected from the hands of HP as well as FTS, which suggested the transmission between the hands of HP and FTS in the hospital. S. epidermidis ST200 was reported to be associated with healthy individuals only, and ST210 was the genotype that was previously recovered from the hands of HP [S. epidermidis ST59 was the community-associated pathogenic clone in Asia [S. epidermidis ST59 in this study indicates that the HP and FTS were contaminated by pathogenic clones. Hospital environment screening should be included in regulatory monitoring. in Asia , and theS. epidermidis, and ST59, ST200, and ST210 were found in S. epidermidis that were recovered from samples of HP and FTS. In contrast, 12 sequence types were exclusively identified in FTS, and 17 sequence types were only identified in HP. However, most STs belonged to CC2, which is the dominant clonal complex in HP in China [S. epidermidis ST210 was identified in samples that were collected from HP and FTS, respectively, and the samples were both gathered from the emergency room. Thus, the cross-transmission of S. epidermidis between HP and FTS was highly plausible. Microbiota of patients might affect the microbiota of FTS [S. epidermidis that were isolated from FTS, such as ST4, ST325, ST337, ST344, ST374, ST788, ST826, ST878, and ST916, were not reported before. Diverse STs were identified in S. epidermidis that were recovered from the hospital environment, and attention should be paid to hospital environment monitoring.In this study, 32 sequence types were determined in mecA-genes carriage rate, and the sequence types differed between staphylococci recovered from HP and FTS. S. epidermidis STs identified in HP samples were associated with both community and hospital clones, while STs of S. epidermidis that were isolated from FTS were partially associated with hospital clones. The sources of some S. epidermidis isolated from FTS remain unknown, and attention should be paid to tracing the sources of clones that were disseminated in the hospital environment in China. S. aureus ST25 was identified in samples of HP and FTS, which suggested the transmission of S. aureus between HP and FTS. Three new MLST types were identified in this study. The limitation of this study was that no patients were recruited in this study; whereas, the cross-transmission of S. aureus and S. epidermidis between HP and FTS in the hospital was observed, and cleaning strategies should be carried out to decrease the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci in hospitals in China.In conclusion, species of staphylococci that were isolated from FTS were much more diverse than that from HP. The antimicrobial-resistance rate,"}
+{"text": "Demodex mites is a common occurrence, especially in adults and the elderly. More recent attention has been paid to the presence of Demodex spp. mites in children, even ones without comorbidities. It causes both dermatological and ophthalmological problems. The presence of Demodex spp. is often asymptomatic, thus it is suggested to include parasitological investigation tests in dermatological diagnostics, in addition to bacteriological analysis. Literature reports show that Demodex spp. are related to the pathogenesis of numerous dermatoses, including rosacea or demodicosis gravis, and common eye pathologies reported by patients such as dry eye syndrome or ocular surface inflammatory conditions, such as blepharitis, chalazia, Meibomian gland dysfunction, and keratitis. Treatment of patients is a challenge and is usually prolonged, therefore it is important to carefully diagnose and properly select the therapy regimen for the treatment to be successful, and with minimal side effects, especially for young patients. Apart from the use of essential oils, research is ongoing for new alternative preparations active against Demodex sp. Our review was focused on the analysis of the current literature data on the available agents in the treatment of demodicosis in adults and children.Infestation with  Demodex spp. mites. They are considered to be one of the most common microscopic ectoparasites [Demodex mites have been described that are associated with human demodicosis: D. folliculorum  and D. brevis  [Demodex spp. in humans is the subject of much debate since these microorganisms can be present in humans without showing any symptoms. It was found that this microorganism occurs in the majority of people over 60 years of age (84% of the population tested) and in all people over 70 (100%) [Demodex spp. play an important role in the development of many skin and eye diseases [Demodex spp. [Demodex folliculitis/abscess, demodectic prurigo, vesicular and follicular eczematidis, and demodectic post-inflammatory pigmentation. However, the exact prevalence of demodicosis in the human population has not yet been estimated [Demodex spp. mites on eyelashes were found in 12%. Microorganisms were present both in children without eye discomfort and in children with diagnosed eyelash abnormalities  associated with progressive demodicosis. Moreover, the relationship between living conditions and the higher incidence of Demodex spp. in children from rural areas was emphasized [Demodex spp. mites can also occur in humans as saprophytes, a therapeutic problem also arises. The search for the most effective treatment has been ongoing for years. In the case of ocular demodicosis, standard eyelid hygiene was used, sometimes with sulfur ointment, yellow mercury ointment, pilocarpine gel or local antibiotics, and anthelmintics. Therefore, there are attempts to develop alternative therapies that will be simultaneously effective and their potential for side effects minimized, e.g., with topical treatment based on tea tree oil (TTO) and terpinen-4-ol (T4O) [The human body is colonized by many microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and ectoparasites, often related only to the human body. The multicellular, external microorganisms inhabiting the human skin and other mammals include the arasites . The extm Simon, 842 and Dstimated , malignaDemodex spp. belong to a large group of mites with a very wide geographical range, covering many climatic zones. Currently, over 100 species are known, and the most significant species for humans are D. folliculorum and D. brevis. They are highly specialized parasites closely connected to their host, attacking different skin areas of one host  [Demodex spp. mites have a worm-like shape, and their surface is covered with a thin cuticle. Elongated D. folliculorum can be 0.3 to 0.4 mm long. Its presence is found in the outlets of hair follicles, in which it forms clusters composed of several individuals. Shorter and spindly in its shape, D. brevis reaches a length of 0.2\u20130.3 mm and also has shorter legs. It usually attacks alone and locates itself deep in the apocrine and sebaceous glands of the face, chest, Meibomian gland (causing its destruction), in the external auditory canal (causing periodic leakage and unpleasant odor from the ears), or in the genital area [tal area ,12.The life cycle of the parasite  is approDemodex has a gnathosoma with mouthparts, while the rest of the body is made up of podosome and opisthosoma. The Demodex folliculorum has chelicerae located on the gnathosoma, which are sharp, dagger-like, and more developed than in Demodex brevis. The function of chelicerae is to absorb and grind food, while legs are supported by pedipalps. Both Demodex species have four pairs of legs on the podosome [The anterior body of podosome . It is epodosome ,14. The podosome .Demodex spp. mites prefer moist and warm environments. Humans become infected with the parasite that penetrates healthy skin and looks for sebaceous glands in hair follicles rich in sebum. Ocular signs may include eyelash debris such as waxy debris, scaly debris, cylindrical dandruff, or erythema and telangiectasia of the eyelid [e eyelid ,16.Demodex sp., the life cycle, the mode of transmission, and its pathogenicity and coinfections in different age groups. Risk factors for infestations and accompanying symptoms, as well as prophylaxis, were taken into account. An analysis of routinely used diagnostic methods and available alternative therapeutic options was undertaken. Although there are more and more reports on this microorganism, opinions on its pathogenicity still vary. Therefore, the primary goal of our article was to review the literature reports on the currently used and alternative treatment options for Demodex sp. infestations, as well as the available, particularly routine, diagnostic methods in the diagnosis of demodicosis. A literature search was performed using PubMed and the Cochrane Library. Articles on the potential therapeutic possibilities of demodicosis have been limited to the years 1980\u20132022. The search covered original studies, guidelines, and syntheses. We also included some in vitro analyses of alternative preparations based on essential oils that can become helpful and effective in the fight against this microorganism. The analyses varied in both quality and design, some of which were randomized controlled trials.This review presents the anatomical features of Demodex sp. mites on humans causes direct damage. It leads to distension of the hair follicles, microabrasion, epithelial hyperplasia, and reactive hyperkeratinization (D. folliculorum), as well as mechanical blockage of the Meibomian glands and granulomatous reactions due to the presence of a chitinous skeleton (D. brevis). There are many factors involved in hair loss from Demodex spp. infestations and the process likely needs more research. Demodex spp. produce an immunologically active lipase that stimulates inflammation [Demodex spp. can lead to degradation of the follicle epithelium, and consequently, increased invasion causes excessive destruction of the hair follicles and perifollicular inflammation [Demodex spp., and extra-alveolar mites may induce a granulomatous reaction to the chitinous skeleton [Demodex spp. feed on sebum and keratinocyte debris [Demodex spp. and associated bacteria  acnes, Staphylococcus aureus) that are present in the hair follicles, and they induce these processes [Demodex spp., which correlates with a decrease in type 2 cytokines (IL-2). Research by Ricardo-Gonzalez et al., 2022 [Demodex spp. mite infestation. It was observed that as a result of their dysfunction and the loss of such a barrier, colonization of Demodex spp. resulted in increased epithelial proliferation and, through the current inflammation, genetic changes in repair programs, which consequently led to the depletion of the hair follicles [Demodex spp. acts as a vector for bacteria such as Streptococci, Staphylococci (on their surface), and Bacillus oleronius . They are believed to be a potential cause of chalazion and MGD. Additionally, Demodex spp. can induce an inflammatory response in the host through delayed hypersensitivity or an innate immune response of the host, due to the action of proteins present inside the mite, their debris, or waste [It is believed that the effect of ammation . In the ammation . In addiskeleton . An exame debris , and alte debris . Althouge debris , are yetrocesses . It is ior waste .Demodex spp. crawl, multiply, and excrete feces, and their entire life cycle takes place in the sebaceous gland. Dead individuals decompose into sebum and, together with the remaining feces, lead to mechanical and chemical irritation of the skin and hypersensitivity reactions. In addition, they trigger an immune response in the form of cellular activity with the participation of T lymphocytes and an increase in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, primarily IL-17. Kim et al. suggested that in the tears of patients with eyelid margin inflammation and ocular surface due to a Demodex sp. infestation, the concentration of IL-17 is higher in comparison to the people without Demodex spp. infestation [Demodex folliculorum activates IL-17/MMP-9 signaling and thus may even enhance the function of the corneal epithelial barrier [Demodex spp. infestation of a human host, the immune system response is stimulated with the participation of Toll-like receptors (TLR) [Demodex spp. exoskeleton, i.e., chitin [Demodex spp. are capable of secreting bioactive molecules, influencing the immune reactivity of sebaceous cells, and therefore they can modulate the TLR signaling pathway of the immortalized human sebocyte lineage. It was shown that the increase in the number of Demodex spp. influenced the secretion of interleukin-8 by these cells [estation . Zhang eestation  have sho barrier . Il-17 c barrier . Moreove barrier . During rs (TLR) . It is s, chitin . The enz, chitin . Lacey ese cells .Demodex spp. infection is known for its coincidence with bacterial and fungal infections, as it can facilitate the transmission of other microbes to adjacent tissues or other people [r people . ExampleDemodex sp. such as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Novosphingobium, and the Anoxybacillus and Pseudomonas genera [Demodex sp. infestation in patients with herpetic keratitis [Demodex spp. papulopustular rosacea or ocular rosacea, stimulation of the inflammatory response is observed due to the antigenic proteins and stimulation of cathelicidin production of B. oleronius [Demodex spp. [S. epidermidis [S. aureus with pathogenic potential [S. epidermidis is modified, leading to its participation in skin inflammation, as the antigens of this bacterium are recognized by TLR-2 [The studies of Liang et al., 2021  emphasizs genera . It has s genera . Moreoves genera  on coexieratitis . Due to leronius , bacteridex spp. . In addidex spp. ,43. Thesdex spp. . Moreovedermidis  or S. auotential . In the otential , the depotential . Therefootential . The actby TLR-2 . Therefoby TLR-2 . Demodex spp. Some studies indicate a 13% share of Demodex spp. infestations between the ages of 3 and 15 years, and at the age of 19\u201325, the percentage increases to 34% [Demodex spp. was demonstrated, with Demodex folliculorum dominance. The higher detection rate of Demodex spp. was correlated with the autumn\u2013winter period. Children with Demodex spp. infection usually did not report any discomfort. In the subgroup aged 3\u20136, a higher percentage of infections was found in children from rural areas. On the other hand, in the subgroup of older children aged 7\u201314, the symptoms of demodicosis were found more often, e.g., abnormalities of the eyelashes, cylindrical dandruff, or a scaly discharge at the root of the eyelashes [It is now believed that children under 16 are relatively rarely affected by s to 34% . In a sts to 34%  on eyelaDemodex sp., but due to the low production of sebum, the density of this microorganism is low [Demodex spp. infestation. Dermatological demodicosis develops in young patients with primary or secondary immune suppression due to disease or drugs [Demodex spp. infestation may lead to severe inflammation of the face and eyelids [Demodex spp. infestation. Studies have shown that Demodex spp. is involved in infestations of up to one-quarter of malnourished children and one-third of children with cancer [Demodex spp. infestation, especially in children, are known. An example is the case of a 7-year-old immunocompetent girl described by Guerrero-Gonzalez et al., 2014 [Demodex sp. as an etiological agent in the development of eyelid inflammation and conjunctivitis in pediatric patients without reduced immunity, even in the first decade of life [Demodex spp. infestation in the pediatric population should be of particular concern. In eyelash studies by Huang et al., 2022 [Demodex spp. infestation occurred significantly more often  compared to the control group of children with non-inflammatory eye diseases (0%). Chalazia is considered a common pediatric problem due to its recurrence, higher frequency in children than in adults at a level of up to 25% [Demodex spp. as a risk factor for the development of chalazia in children is emphasized. In addition, special attention should be paid to preventive check-ups and comprehensive treatment in the case of an infestation in order to prevent the recurrence of a chalazion in children [Demodex spp. were found to influence its severity [Demodex spp. infestation in the pediatric population is also indicated by studies by Liang et al., 2010 [Demodex spp. in all analyzed patients, and the implemented treatment with TTO (tea tree oil) resulted in the resolution of eye irritation and inflammation and a reduction in the number of Demodex spp. Hence, even in the case of children without accompanying immunological disorders, it is worth considering demodicosis in blepharitis and conjunctivitis, especially in the case of therapeutic failures with conventional methods [It is believed that even close contact with the newborn in the first days of life or contact with the mother\u2019s skin during breastfeeding is associated with the transmission of m is low . Moreoveor drugs ,51. In i eyelids . In the  eyelids  in immunh cancer . Not alll., 2014 . Long-tel., 2014 . There a of life . In chill., 2022  on 446 cp to 25% , poor cochildren . Xiao etchildren  also shoseverity . The impl., 2010  in patie methods . Demodex sp. increases with age, hence in middle-aged and older adults, it reaches 100%. Moreover, it reaches 84% of the total population over 60 and 100% of the total population over 70 [Demodex sp. in the general population is less than <5 Demodex sp./cm2. The average rate of infestation with Demodex spp. in the world population is estimated at approximately 60%. It can occur in the skin of people without any symptoms, and the infestation rate does not equal its incidence [Demodex spp. individuals on the human skin and the condition of the immune system [Demodex spp. in humans occurs primarily through direct contact with an infected person, e.g., contact with the skin of the face, kisses, shaking hands, using shared towels, bed linen, pillows, blankets, cosmetics , and hairbrushes at home, at a hotel, or at a hairdresser or beauty salon. Demodex spp., as well as other mites, can also spread through used clothes  [Demodex sp. among users [Demodex spp. was highlighted [Demodex spp. infestation was shown in 62% of people. The study found an increase in the incidence of Demodex spp. in patients over 50 years of age and in those who reported itchy eyes [Demodex spp. The analyses highlight the importance of such symptoms as helpful in determining the Demodex spp. etiology. Furthermore, it has been shown that the eye pathology of Demodex spp. etiology is attributed to individuals in the presence of mite numbers \u2265 2 [Demodex spp. as the etiological agent. Further under consideration is the potential use of corticosteroids in demodicosis or in the case of unrecognized demodicosis, which would alleviate inflammation and granulomatous reactions but, by impairing immunity, result in delayed clearance of the mites from the host\u2019s body [Demodex spp. proliferation leads to demodicosis development, it may present a wide variety of non-specific symptoms, e.g., unexplained itching, dry and blotchy facial skin, hypersensitivity, or non-specific papulopustular and nodular lesions, while also imitating other dermatoses [Demodex sp. infestation is considered much more common in the elderly, the role of the patient\u2019s age has not been fully explained, especially in ocular demodicosis. The study by Li et al., 2021 [D. brevis infestation, more severe corneal lesions, and MGL in young patients with demodicosis of the eye (<35 years of age) than in older patients (>45 years of age) with D. folliculorum dominance. In the study, differences in the symptoms presented by the patients were observed. For the elderly, eye dryness, eye fatigue, itching, and MGD (Meibomian gland dysfunction), which led to ocular surface discomfort, predominate. In younger patients, however, blurred and disturbed vision, eye pain, severe MGL (Meibomian gland loss), and corneal lesions were reported [Demodex sp. in ocular inflammation and blepharitis, it is believed that the increase in the number of Demodex sp. mites causes or worsens symptoms, although the minimum number necessary to induce symptoms has not been demonstrated so far [Demodex spp. infestation, and the contribution of age requires further analysis. Therefore, regardless of the patient\u2019s age, appropriate diagnostics for Demodex spp. should be performed, if there are grounds for this.It is estimated that the incidence of  over 70 . It is encidence . The ince system ,58. Howee system . Spreadiclothes) . In studclothes) , it has ng users . Studieshlighted  of patiechy eyes . Researcchy eyes  in patiebers \u2265 2 . Therefot\u2019s body . As Demormatoses ,62. Althl., 2021  showed hreported . Hence, d so far . Many scDemodex spp. has been considered the etiological factor of rosacea, chronic inflammatory dermatosis of the facial skin since the 1930s. Symptoms of facial dermatosis are manifested by the presence of many small, domed erythematous and maculopapular papules that arise against the background of permanent inflammatory erythema. It has been suggested that an increase in mite density per cm2 (>5) correlates with the pathogenic potential. Therefore, there is also a seasonal exacerbation of rosacea in the warmer spring and summer months, associated with the increase in the number of Demodex spp. Temperatures in the range of 16 \u00b0C to 20 \u00b0C have been found optimal for the development of Demodex spp. Additionally, it has been observed that temperatures below 0 \u00b0C and above 45 \u00b0C have a destructive effect on these parasites, and a temperature of 54 \u00b0C is lethal [s lethal .Demodex spp. also include follicular dandruff (associated with excessive use of make-up), perioral dermatitis (as a rash), scabies-like lesions, hairless scalp eruptions, Demodex folliculitis, demodicosis gravis (with skin granulomas), and sometimes even association with basal cell carcinoma. In the case of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), apart from UV radiation as the main cause, local factors, e.g., inflammation, irritation, or chronic trauma, are emphasized. Hence, the role of Demodex spp. in the etiopathogenesis of BCC is suggested, due to the main location of skin areas colonized by these mites, e.g., around the nose and eye sockets, most often affected by BCC and association with chronic inflammation. Therefore, due to the irritating/traumatic effect inducing chronic inflammation, the importance of demodicosis as one of the factors stimulating carcinogenesis in BCC of the eyelids in predisposed people is also emphasized [Skin diseases caused by phasized . Furtherphasized  showed tphasized . In addition, the relationship between the development of demodicosis in patients with a reduced state of the immune system, e.g., in connection with the use of steroid drugs or immunosuppressive preparations, and in the course of leukemia or HIV infection, is emphasized . Demodex mites from the skin of the face to the surface of the eyelids, many eye diseases have been observed. The following species are dominant: D. folliculorum  and D. brevis (deep in the Zeiss\u2019 glands\u2014sebaceous glands of the eyelashes and Meibomian glands). The presence of these microorganisms is not necessarily related to the disease state, as they can sometimes also appear in small numbers in asymptomatic individuals [Demodex spp. mites can be isolated in people who do not present symptoms of dermatological diseases, they constitute a conditionally pathogenic microbiome of the facial skin [Demodex spp. mites does not have to lead to symptoms such as acne vulgaris, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, or eyelid inflammation [Demodex spp. [Due to the possibility of the spread of ividuals . Some scial skin . On the ammation ,67, and ammation . Moreoveammation . Howeverdex spp. . Figure Demodex mites. In the case of the skin, the development of an infestation with Demodex spp. is initially characterized by small flaky lumps on the skin of the face, as well as a feeling of dryness and itching. The skin lesions of the face are most often located on the cheeks, paranasal areas, and eyelids. Demodex spp., primarily D. folliculorum, is the etiological factor of demodicosis (rosacea-like demodicodis), recognized as a disease since 1961. The existence of Demodex spp. is more often observed on the skin of patients with rosacea [Demodex sp. easier than men [Demodex folliculorum causes skin erythema, peeling, and dryness [2. In the course of rosacea, another characteristic symptom may be the maculopapular rash, and in this case, the number of mites is estimated at 36/cm2 [Clinical symptoms may also depend on the species of the  rosacea . It is s rosacea . Moreovethan men . Demodex dryness . Changest 36/cm2 ,76,77. Demodex spp. include exposure to sunlight, temperature changes, skin phototype, stress, and using stimulants, e.g., alcohol and tobacco [Demodex species D. folliculorum and D. brevis can lead to eyelid margin inflammation. Demodex folliculorum primarily causes the so-called \u201canterior blepharitis\u201d, which is manifested by the characteristic keratin-fatty cuff at the base of the eyelashes. In addition, numerous telangiectasias are observed covering the edges of the eyelids with persistent itching, burning and redness, dryness, foreign body sensation and unusual visual disturbances, brittle eyelashes, and irritation leading to damage to the eye structures, e.g., the cornea. Eyelash growth may be impaired and eyelash loss may be observed, in addition to corneal lesions, Meibomian gland dysfunction (mainly in the case of Demodex brevis), and peripheral cloudiness [Demodex brevis, the so-called \u201cposterior blepharitis\u201d and symmetrical maculopapular eruptions are observed [Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis), is also an infection/colonization with bacteria  and fungi. MGD is caused by blocking the gland orifices and, in consequence, blocking the outflow of the secretions with the participation of, among others, Demodex brevis. A granulation reaction occurs, and a link between Demodex sp. and the formation of recurrent chalazions and styes has been suggested. Other changes related to the Demodex spp. infestation include, among others, dry eye syndrome, ulcerations, keratitis, and endophthalmitis. Recent literature reports the presence of the Demodex mite as one of the etiological factors in the development of basal cell carcinoma of the eyelids [The state of the immune system plays an important role. Additional factors predisposed to increased human colonization by  tobacco . The cou tobacco . Both Deoudiness . In the observed . The conobserved ,80,81. T eyelids ,64,82. TDemodex spp. detection in a patient\u2019s biological material is based primarily on microscopic examination. Samples taken from the patient\u2019s skin, hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes are used. The skin/epidermis samples are obtained from a surface biopsy using cyanoacrylate adhesive glue, skin biopsy, skin scrapings, or using adhesive tape. Eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, or pubic hair are collected via depilation/epilation [Demodex spp.: D. brevis from 100 to 200 \u03bcm and D. folliculorum from 200 to 400 \u03bcm, at the level of the spinous layer of the epidermis [Demodex spp. Superficial skin scraping (SSS) and tape imprint (TI), which are also applied to detect other parasites, can also be used as diagnostic tools [2 and allows the identification of living, moving parasites of Demodex spp. The analysis is performed using a microscope slide with a designated 1 cm2 spot containing a drop of cyanoacrylate glue placed on the skin in the affected area. Then, after approximately 30 s, the glass is removed and the material is covered with an immersion oil and a coverslip, and the analysis is performed under an immersion microscope [In the diagnosis of demodicosis, the most common method of pilation ,90. Othepilation ,87, and pidermis ,88. The pidermis ,92. Skinic tools . At timecroscope ,89,93. Acroscope .Demodex spp. infestation and confirmed demodicosis, the therapy is very complex. It is usually a difficult and lengthy process, lasting up to several months. The choice of drugs is an individual matter. Without an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment to eliminate Demodex mites from infected areas, microorganisms can continue to reproduce, causing recurring inflammation, the formation of uneven scars, dilated pores, dilated capillaries, extensive swelling, and pustules [Demodex spp. density reduction in the application of metronidazole systemic therapy, even in a short cycle, is indicated. The effectiveness of local therapy with permethrin, as well as crotamiton and benzyl benzoate, has also been demonstrated. However, the use of such agents may be associated with skin irritation in patients. Moreover, there are no unequivocal results of studies that standardize the treatment regimen and indicate its long-term effectiveness [In the case of a pustules . The goapustules . The imppustules . One of pustules . The systiveness .In addition, apart from antibiotics, various medicinal oils are used in therapy including camphor oil, bergamot oil, tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and salvia oil, as well as sulfur ointment, yellow or white mercury ointment, and choline esterase inhibitors ,98. AddiSome of the most commonly applied therapies, both conventional and alternative, have been summarized in Demodex mites externally and internally. Ivermectin is used alone or in combination with metronidazole, which leads to a higher effectiveness of the therapy in the treatment of ocular and skin lesions of Demodex spp. [Ivermectin works by combating dex spp. . Metronidex spp. . In the dex spp. . Demodex spp. [An alternative or complementary form of demodicosis therapy is the use of preparations of natural plant origin in the form of essential oils (EO). They are even more than 80% of a mixture of volatile compounds from the group of (a) terpenes and terpenoids and (b) aromatic and aliphatic components. Due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, they have found use in many therapies, although dosing must be strictly controlled . Researcdex spp. . Demodex spp. mites also plays an important role, e.g., cleansing the face twice a day with soap-free make-up remover, avoiding mineral oil-based preparations and oily makeup, and periodic exfoliation of dead skin [Demodex spp. occurrence. Therefore, preparations are sought to counteract the invasion and kill mites. Hence, essential oils or their active compounds, e.g., terpenes, provide great opportunities, in various forms, e.g., lotions, shampoos, ophthalmic liquids, gels, or ointments.Long-term treatment of demodicosis often has a short-term effect, therefore the prevention of excessive multiplication of ead skin . Skin hyTea tree oil exhibits strong antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic properties. It has been found to be effective against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, molds, and dermatophytes. It has anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties, accelerates the renewal of the epidermis and the process of wound healing, and has the potential to heal ulcers. It supports the treatment of acne, eczema, lichen, and redness, especially in the course of demodicosis. Treatment (lasting approximately 4\u20136 weeks) using 50% of tea tree oil for intensive massages of the eyelids and daily hygiene and using a shampoo with tea tree extract has been shown to be very effective. It is intended for external use, although it is used in the form of aromatherapy or inhalation. It can also be used as an antitoxin against Australian spider venom. Safe application time is between 1 and 2 days in concentrations of 1\u201310%, and it can be applied for up to 6 months. In the case of demodicosis, the action of tea tree oil causes the expansion of mites to the surface of the eyelids, which, in turn, enables their thorough removal. The oil in a concentration of 50% used regularly (once a week) was found to have an excellent eradication effect. Studies by Gao et al. demonstrated effective control of ocular demodicosis using a weekly eyelid peel containing 50% TTO and daily peeling of the eyelids with a tea tree shampoo [1.  shampoo ,105,106.Salvia oil has a broad spectrum of applications. In general, salvia was reported to be used in the treatment of eye and skin diseases and oropharyngeal inflammation and possesses mosquito larvicidal properties [Demodex spp. effectively and rapidly, while salvia extract was found to be less effective, most likely due to the low content of the essential oils. The authors suggest that the terpenes in essential oils are responsible for the decreasing vitality of Demodex mites when applying Salvia preparations. [2. operties . Antitumoperties . Accordioperties , essentirations. . Peppermint oil has a broad application range, especially as a flavoring agent in the cosmetic and food industries. It is also proven to exhibit antiseptic properties [Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterococcus fecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and Candida albicans ATCC 90028 [Demodex mites when compared to tea tree oil and salvia oil [Listeria monocytogenes Scott A and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, two known foodborne pathogens [Demodex mites to match the inhibitory effect of more irritating oils, such as tea tree oil. 3. operties . Accordioperties , peppermCC 90028 . In the athogens . This caCastor oil is a natural derivative of the Ricinus communis plant. It is widely used in cosmetic products in the form of emollients  due to the ease of penetration through human skin, but also, among others, in dressings. It contains fatty acid, which facilitates the regeneration and reconstruction of eyelashes, stimulates their growth, and inhibits the process of hair loss. Castor oil is considered safe and well-tolerated. It has strong properties, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, wound-healing, and vasoconstrictor aspects. Its important role in replenishing the physiological lipid deficiencies of the tear film, due to ricinolein acid, is indicated. As a result, when applied topically to the eye surface, it is characterized by extended residence time, stability, and an effect on the thickening of the lipid layer of the tear film. Castor oil can be used in the treatment of demodicosis with symptoms of eyelash and eyebrow loss [Demodex sp. mites, inflammatory processes, and clinical symptoms of eye dryness and discomfort, is characterized by therapeutic potential [4. row loss . A promirow loss , where crow loss . Hence, otential .Black seed oil\u2014Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae), also known as black cumin or black seeds, is a medicinal plant with historical value in traditional medicine used as an essential oil, but also as a paste, powder, or extract, indicated for the treatment of many diseases/conditions. Numerous scientific studies have shown the effectiveness of therapy with the use of black cumin seeds in the treatment of chronic diseases, including inflammation and parasitic infestations, and bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Nigella sativa oil\u2019s main active component, thymoquinone, plays an important role [Demodex spp. mites. It is widely used in the case of skin problems of various etiologies, including acne, blackheads, oily skin, pimples, discoloration, lack of firmness, and signs of aging. The oil softens the skin, soothes irritations, and improves its color. It has been shown to accelerate wound healing and moisturization by accelerating the formation of collagen and the rate of epithelialization. Moreover, it has an antipsoriatic effect [5. ant role , in addiant role . It has c effect . Topicalc effect  and in ac effect , withoutc effect . In addic effect .Bergamot oil (BEO) is primarily used as a fragrance oil, especially in aromatherapy. However, in addition to relaxing properties, it is used to treat skin problems and has antiseptic, cooling, toning, and soothing properties. BEO has remarkable biological activity, including pain relief, wound healing, and neuroprotective effects, as well as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory and even anti-cancer properties [6. operties ,116,117.operties , which cDemodex spp. in humans, its role as a major contributor to human diseases, and the background of developing demodicosis with varied courses of disease. The vast majority of research studies concern adults and the elderly, although recently, more analyses also cover young adults, adolescents, and young children. There are many considerations about the presence of Demodex spp. is usually low in number and is considered a microorganism, sometimes referred to as a commensal sebaceous unit. However, when it occurs, it may develop a primary eruption or exacerbate facial dermatosis, with the dominance of maculopapular lesions, often on the skin of the face (including the nose) [Demodex spp. was found in 12% of respondents with eyelash abnormalities, including trichiasis, cylindrical dandruff, or flaky discharge at the base of the eyelashes [Demodex spp. infestation can cause severe inflammation of the face and eyelids as shown in a study by Damian et al., 2003 [Demodex spp. Therefore, in severe demodicosis, it is suggested that effective therapy should include the use of, for example, oral ivermectin in combination with topical treatment with permethrin [Demodex sp. was shown. They did not respond to conventional treatment only after introducing demodicosis infestation in pediatric blepharitis and conjunctivitis. Patients were treated with therapy lasting several weeks based on the use of 50% tea tree oil (TTO) in the form of eyelid peels or eyelid massage with 5% TTO ointment. In all patients, after a week of TTO treatment, an improvement in eye irritation and inflammation was noted, and the number of Demodex sp. decreased. It was also shown that corneal symptoms were essentially resolved within 2 weeks. Furthermore, although one of the patients had a recurrence of demodicosis, the re-introduction of TTO therapy was already successful. Therefore, the application of such a therapeutic model may be beneficial and effective, especially in the case of pediatric patients [In children and adolescents, he nose) . Zhang ehe nose)  conducteyelashes . In immul., 2003  in a 6-yrmethrin . In the rmethrin  in patiepatients . Demodex spp. not only with reduced immunity but also with malnutrition was indicated. Approximately one-quarter of malnourished children were infected with Demodex spp. A 6-month analysis based on the elimination of poor nutritional status led to the elimination of demodicosis in at least some of the patients [Demodex spp., especially in children. The condition of the immune system of an infected patient has a crucial impact on the development of the disease and the severity of symptoms . An incrDemodex spp. in the group of children with cancer, and maintenance treatment is necessary in order to prevent delays in the implementation of appropriate therapy [It is also worth mentioning the treatment-resistant maculopapular eruptions resistant to antibiotics caused by  therapy . Demodex spp. occurrence in patients in different age groups, there are certain factors that favor the multiplication of these mites and predispose individuals to the development of consequences of varying severity, including local immunodeficiency [In studies by Wu et al., 2019  BKC patificiency . The basficiency . Sometimficiency  emphasizficiency .Demodex sp. are related to the density of mite individuals, which include blocking of the mouth of the hair follicles. In addition, inflammation and the development of further complications are often associated with the transmission of bacterial infections, e.g., B. oleronius, S. aureus, or fungal infections carried along with the Demodex spp. [Demodex spp. and the formation of rosacea have a mutual influence, which can be considered in the development of effective therapies [Demodex spp. influence the innate and acquired immune response, and the cellular immunity of the attacked organism plays a key role [Demodex spp. mites [Researchers suggest that clinical changes resulting from infestation with dex spp. . In demodex spp.  showed therapies . It is skey role . Additiop. mites  on the ap. mites . On the p. mites .Demodex spp. in 1% of sage oil with paraffin was observed than in the case of triglycerides [Demodex spp. [Demodex species (D. folliculorum and D. brevis) that cause diseases in humans [Demodex spp. [In the treatment of demodicosis, various therapies are proposed, based on, among others, medications such as metronidazole, ivermectin, and permethrin, and antibiotics that work against possible bacterial co-infections. The importance of proper diagnosis and the implementation of effective therapy is emphasized, which, especially in the case of dermatoses, disfigures and stigmatizes patients . Currentycerides . TTO witycerides  on blephdex spp. . In addidex spp. , castor dex spp. , black sdex spp. , chia (Sn humans . In the dex spp. . Currentdex spp. . Demodex spp. can cause dermatological and ophthalmological problems. Infestation is reported as rather common in adults and the elderly, but more attention has been paid recently to the presence of Demodex sp. mites in children, even without comorbidities. The presence of Demodex spp. is often asymptomatic and, in many cases, patients struggle with undiagnosed ailments for a long time. Literature reports show that Demodex spp. are related to the pathogenesis of numerous dermatoses, including rosacea or demodicosis gravis [s gravis  and comm"}
+{"text": "Exophiala spp. is increasingly reported as a pathogen causing the cutaneous, subcutaneous or invasive infection. In this report, we present a case of cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis due to E. jeanselmei on the right hand of a farmer, who suffered from this disease three years ago which had not been definitely diagnosed until he was admitted to our hospital. In our hospital, a potential fungal pathogen was observed by histopathological examination, and then was recovered and identified as E. jeanselmei by sequencing its internal transcribed spacer region. After 4\u00a0weeks of antifungal treatment, his hand recovered very well. To investigate the in vitro susceptibility of E. jeanselmei isolates to antifungal agents and compare the characteristics of their related infections among immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients, we reviewed 84 cases published in PubMed database between 1980 and 2020. Alternaria spp. Phialophora spp. and Exophiala spp. . InE. jeanselmei was diagnosed based on the clinical features, histopathological examination, culture and ITS sequencing of the isolate.Accurate identification of the pathogen can provide an important basis for precise diagnosis and treatment of phaeohyphomycosis. Otherwise, prolonged disease process, disseminated or relapsed situation, even poor clinical outcomes might be brought about , 101. TrE. jeanselmei isolates to antifungal agents were also reviewed. As shown in Table E. jeanselmei [In our study, in vitro susceptibility of anselmei .Though ianselmei , 104. Voanselmei . Echinocanselmei . Terbinaanselmei . The lacanselmei .E. jeanselmei. The surgical resection was recommended for treating the phaeohyphomycosis in immunocompromised host, because the recurrence of the infection occurred in about 30.0% of these patients [According to ESCMID/ECMM guidelines, antifungal therapy combination with surgical excision was recommended for managing phaeohyphomycosis . In our patients . The surpatients . Modifyipatients , 96, 108patients .We also found that more than 80.0% of the cases occurred in the patients over 50\u00a0years old and 95.2% of the related infections presented as localized subcutaneous or cutaneous lesions. The trauma, particularly in the face and extremity (61.9%), might be the common cause of the infections, which could lead to the inoculation of the fungus in the cutaneous or subcutaneous tissue as described previously , 110.E. jeanselmei. As listed in Table In addition, we payed attention to the correlation between immunity status and clinical characteristics of the infections caused by E. jeanselmei, as demonstrated in our case. The findings of our review based on the cases reported in PubMed database indicated that E. jeanselmei isolates had good in vitro susceptibility to antifungal agents and immune status of the patients might not be correlated to the characteristics of the infections.In all, the results of histopathological examination, culture and species identification can provide the important basis for precise diagnosis and effective treatment of the infection due to"}
+{"text": "This article has been retracted: In July of 2020, the Academic Committee of Jiangsu Normal University launched an investigation of this paper and requested that the major authors provide the original experimental records and data for verification. To date, however, the authors have failed to provide the requested documents. The committee has concluded that this paper violates academic integrity. In light of this, the paper is retracted.101345-101361. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.21167Original article: Oncotarget. 2017; 8:101345\u2013101361."}
+{"text": "Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus subrufescens, Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus, during batch culture in shaking flasks, was studied. Fungi were cultured for 26 days in defined media with glucose as carbon source and were primarily evaluated for their ability to consume glucose and produce mycelial mass and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS). Results showed that on the 26th day of cultivation, P. ostreatus produced the maximum biomass (16.75 g/L), whereas P. eryngii showed the maximum IPS concentration (3.82 g/L). All strains presented a similar pattern in total protein production, with A. bisporus having the highest percentage of total proteins . The calculated correlation coefficients among ribonucleic acid (RNA) vs. biomass (0.97) and RNA vs. protein (0.97) indicated a very strong relation between RNA and biomass/protein synthesis. The studied strains exhibited an increase in total glucan and glucanase  production during cultivation, with A. bisporus reaching the highest glucan percentage  and glucanase activity (12.7 units/g biomass). Subsequently, processed analytical data were used in contour-graph analysis for data extrapolation to optimize future continuous culture. The production of various biochemical compounds such as proteins, glucans and glucanases, from the mycelium of four strains of Basidiomycetes species,  Agaricus and Pleurotus being well-established in food and industrial uses  and observed that the maximum biomass, 4.5 g/L, was produced on 9th day. In contrast, when the fungus was grown on a substrate containing glucose (40 g/L) and extract (20 g/L) in flasks at an agitation rate of 120 rpm, the weight of the dry biomass was 20.49 g/L [P. ostreatus AMRL 150 was grown for 16 days in a similar medium to this study. In similar experiments with the same fungal species, it was also noticed that there is great variation in the produced biomass. For example, Sarris et al.  reporteda et al.  cultivatand Wang  used a m11.2 g/L . Kim et 11.2 g/L  culturedy et al. , culture0.49 g/L ,36. Fina0.49 g/L  achievedThe reported in literature variation in biomass production indicates that beyond genetic differences among strains of the same genus, there is also a need for additional studies to optimize media composition and culture conditions in order to establish large-scale continuous cultures for potential commercial production. A. bisporus, A. subrufescens, P. eryngii and P. ostreatus are presented in P. eryngii and P. ostreatus, reaching the maximum values of 3.82\u20133.56 g/L, whereas in A. bisporus cultures the respective values were stabilized between the 16th and 21st day and reduced afterwards, probably due to degradation. For A. subrufescens, a small amount of IPS was produced at the end of the cultivation period (1.3 g/L). It is also observed that all cultures resulted in IPS ranging between 20 and 40% w/w of the total biomass. Specifically, P. eryngii synthesized the highest IPS amount  exhibiting a small decline in the last days of culture, followed by A. subrufescens, A. bisporus and P. ostreatus. However, as reported by Kr\u00fczselyi et al. [w/w) compared to that of 62.77% in pileus and 78.36% w/w in stipes of fruiting bodies of P. eryngii. Additionally, it was observed that although A. subrufescens produced the lowest biomass of all strains, it produced a high IPS amount , similar to those of A. bisporus . It is also noticeable that in all cases, the highest values of IPS were produced in the early stages of cultivation, when biomass concentration was low, and as the mycelium mass was increasing, the concentration of IPS was decreasing. This indicates that part of IPS was used for cell structures, such as cell walls, leading to the observed increase in biomass. IPS accumulation and degradation, occurring when growth was limited by glucose depletion has been also reported in liquid cultures on glucose-based media with C/N 20 for Volvariella volvacea [Morchella esculenta and Flammulina velutipes [Tuber sinense [Ganoderma lucidum [Grifola umbellata [Mean absolute (g/L) and relative (mg/g) values of IPS produced by strains i et al. , the carvolvacea ,68, Morc sinense , Ganoder lucidum  and Grifmbellata . Differembellata . w/w values) are presented in w/w), except A. subrufescens in which protein levels were low . The maximum protein concentration was recorded for A. bisporus , followed by P. ostreatus  on the 21st day of culture, but no significant difference was observed between them. However, these values showed a significant difference compared to the maximum protein concentration of the rest two fungi. It is noticeable that P. ostreatus on the 6th day of culture had already reached a protein percentage of 8.17% (w/w), when the rest of the fungi presented values of 0.5\u20134% (w/w), being efficient in the production of proteins from the very first stages of culture when biomass concentration was still low. A. bisporus exhibited the highest rate of protein production between 6th and 12th day of culture, reaching almost its peak value on 12th day. In regard to protein production of P. eryngii, it is noticed that even though the carbon source was not completely consumed on the 21st day of culture, protein content was satisfactory . Results are comparable to those reported in literature, where according to Chang and Miles [P. ostreatus carposome is between 10.5 and 30.4%, w/w, while that of mycelial mass ranged from 14.31 to 29.76% w/w [P. eryngii was 24.52% w/w, which is higher than the protein content (18.91% in pileus and 11.34% w/w in stipes) of carposomes [w/w) protein content for A. bisporus mycelium. These data reveal that the protein content in biomass of P. ostreatus, P. eryngii and A. bisporus produced in the nonoptimized medium of this study was satisfactory. However, Chang et al. [w/w) proteins produced in the mycelium of A. blazei, a value relatively higher than that of A. subrufescens, which was used in the present study. The results of protein production of the fungi  where it is visually also noticed that its signal increases with biomass increase, reflecting the growth profile of each fungus during batch culture. It has to be mentioned that determined absolute RNA quantities by purification do not reveal actual RNA content, as purification technologies mainly aim to isolation of large RNA molecules for subsequent use in other analytical procedures with loss of short or degraded RNA ,77. The A. bisporus 0.435 and P. eryngii 0.379 mg/g) and the 26th day (A. subrufescens 0.372 and P. ostreatus 0.443 mg/g) of culture , indicating that production efficiency of this fungus is low at the early stages of culture. It has to be noted that although RNA values per unit biomass (mg/g) tend to be similar at the end of the culture, the actual RNA yield of each fungus varies significantly (Maximum purified RNA quantity per dry weight (mg/g) appeared on the 21st  were observed in A. bisporus after 21 days  and P. ostreatus after 26 days  of culture. The max value of A. bisporus was significantly different to the corresponding values of the three rest fungi, while the maximum values of A. subrufescens and P. eryngii were similar (not significantly different), 4.7%, w/w and were achieved at the end of the cultivation period. Since most of the glucose is consumed during the last stages of fermentation, producing biomass, the positive correlation of glucan production with biomass production was expected . These data indicate that the mycelium of A. subrufescens is quite high in glucans and this fact may increase interest in the wide cultivation of this mushroom [w/w mainly reflects metabolic behaviors but may not correspond to final yields. A decrease in the concentration of glucans was detected for mushroom . FinallyP. ostreatus contained 4.64 w/w of \u03b2-glucans, while the carposome contained 9.05; values higher than those of A. bisporus that were 3.79 and 6.00 w/w, respectively. Toledo et al. [P. ostreatus contained larger amounts of glucans, followed by P. eryngii and A. subrufescens, which had similar values, and then A. bisporus. Finally, the mycelium of P. eryngii was the poorest in glucans, compared to those of the above fungi . Total glucan-production patterns of the four fungi in relation to biomass are presented in A. bisporus appeared to be the most efficient of the studied strains in regard to its content of glucans. On the contrary, P. ostreatus, having consumed 99% of the carbon substrate at the end of the culture, produced the maximum biomass and had the highest yield of glucans among all strains. Production of polysaccharides such as glucans from P. ostreatus species is important and is under thorough investigation not only for their nutritional properties, but also for their biological value in medicinal applications. They are investigated as immunomodulators, antigens in the formulation of vaccines for cancer therapies, as well as for cholesterol reduction [A. subrufescens on the 26th day of culture exhibited a higher percentage of glucans than P. eryngii, despite the fact that its biomass production was almost half that of P. eryngii. These data indicate that the mycelium of A. subrufescens, contrary to its low biomass production, is efficient in glucan synthesis, and this is one of the reasons for the increasing interest in the cultivation of this mushroom [In previous studies, the concentration of glucans in the mycelium has been compared to that of the carposomes. According to Nitschke et al. , the myco et al.  analyzededuction ,13,14. Imushroom . \u03b2-glucamushroom .A. bisporus and P. ostreatus  had reached the certain day with almost two-fold higher activity, which is significantly different in comparison to the rest of the fungi. Their maximum glucanase activity coincides with their maximum protein concentration and RNA quantity of that day. A. subrufescens had much lower and delayed production of glucanases until the 16th day. Instead, P. eryngii showed a low increase in the enzyme activity values presenting a maximum at 26th day. It appears that the production of glucanases is a process related to the growth stage of the fungus, as these enzymes were highly produced during the later log and the stationary phase of biomass production. The activity of the fungal glucanases might be triggered in response to carbon-source reduction in the growth medium. These enzymes hydrolyze glycosidic linkages of sugars, thereby might release glucose units in their environment from fungal cell walls. In the present study, glucose was used as a main carbon source, consumed during culture to produce biomass. It seems that fungi perceive the decrease in available glucose levels and scavenge carbon sources by increased enzymatic activity. Glucanases are enzymes that are specialized in the hydrolysis of specific glycosidic bonds. Endo-1,3-\u03b2-D glucanase production of the four fungi, expressed as units of enzyme activity per g biomass, is presented in A. bisporus and P. ostreatus, the total glucose amount in the growth media was mostly consumed on the last day of culture, while A. subrufescens and P. eryngii had consumed around half of their glucose source at the same day.As has been already mentioned, the production of glucanases increased from the first days of cultivation when the carbon source was not a limiting factor . This phA. bisporus, exhibiting a wider flexibility in the combinations of biomass-production rate with carbon-source-utilization rate, while P. ostreatus shows the potency for the highest glucanase production of all strains. However, these observations need further experimental verification in continuous cultures.It is noticed from the data of the batch fungal cultures that there is significant variability in the production of glucans and glucanases among the studied fungi. Thus, optimization for future continuous cultures will need large-scale experimental designs that become cumbersome and costly. As a first step for optimizing future continuous production, batch-culture results were further statistically analyzed using response 3D surfaces and contour graphics to extrapolate potential culture parameters . ResultsA. bisporus strain seems to be the most efficient in glucan and glucanase  production. RNA analysis also showed that RNA production can be a valuable prognostic biomarker of successful cultures, as it is strongly correlated with fungal growth. The yields of the fungi in terms of the studied characteristics are not related to the genera of the fungi, but each fungus is an independent case. Since the medium and culture conditions were identical in all cases, differences observed in the biomass production, growth rate and substrate consumption reflect mainly the genetic diversity of the fungal strains. However, this conclusion would be clear if more species of fungi were compared per genus.All fungi showed the ability to produce glucans and glucanases. Based on the results from the batch cultures and extrapolated-data analysis, the"}
+{"text": "Children has a significant publication record on the topic of Atopic Dermatitis (AD) the past four years. In this commentary, the author highlights those specific articles and provides clinical pearl(s)/perspectives taken from the review of the article. The journal Children has included an excellent group of manuscripts and reviews of AD, and future reviews can include more recent and potential therapies. The biggest obstacle in pediatric AD care is the slow expansion  of approved medication/therapies for the younger pediatric AD population, especially biologics. The author provides perspective on each manuscript and thoughts on the status of AD therapy in children.The journal New Cosmetic Formulation for the Treatment of Mild to Moderate Infantile Atopic Dermatitis. de Lcas R et al. [R et al. .Comment: There is probably nothing more vexing for caregivers and healthcare providers than picking a moisturizer for base therapy in AD children. The authors used an extensive subjective and objective data collection to monitor the benefits for a new complex topical agent. Less relevant to their product is a good review of the underlying skin dysfunction in AD children and the multiple components of their benefits to their product. The product is in lotion form and attempts to repair the multitude of skin barrier issues seen in AD. The small sample size and its eventual international availability limits the usefulness of the product.The Role of Probiotics in Preventing Allergic Disease. Wang, H.T. et al. [. et al. .Comment: In this relatively up-to-date review of probiotics in general in allergic diseases, with an emphasis on AD and food allergy, the authors report on three systematic studies of probiotics in AD with encouraging results and two studies with more contradictory data. They conclude that further studies are warranted.Biologic Treatment Options for Pediatric Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis. Cline, A. et al. [. et al. .Comment: A now somewhat dated review of biologic therapies for AD.Pathophysiology of Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis: Implications for Management in Children. Chovatiya, R. and Silverberg, J.I. [rg, J.I. .Comment: A excellent and concise review of pathophysiology and therapy options for AD. Extensive references. Worthy of attention for interested parties.Complementary and Integrative Therapies for Childhood Atopic Dermatitis. Adler-Neal, A.L. et al. [. et al. .Comment: A Pub-Med approach to what is known or available on alternative therapies for pediatric AD. A very extensive list of probiotics used in AD is presented. A much shorter discussion on vitamins, minerals, and herbal products is presented. Interestingly, no mention of Vitamin D was included. References are limited to searched publications.Topical and Oral Therapies for Childhood Atopic Dermatitis and Plaque Psoriasis. Frantz, T. et al. [. et al. .Comment: Both AD and psoriasis are intermingled in the review. It provides a good companion to the review of Chovatiya and Silverberg [lverberg . There iQuality of Life and Disease Impact of Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis on Children and Their Families. Na, C.H. et al. [. et al. .Comment: There are few greater complexities as a Pediatric Allergist than to explain the complex pathophysiology of asthma and its effect on pulmonary function, especially when severe asthma is present, as patients may facilitate to their internal disease. Not as difficult is AD, when the disease\u2019s consequences are so visible. The indices of Quality of Life (QoL) scales in AD are discussed. Good references are provided.The Role of the Microbiome in Food Allergy: A Review. Nance, C.L. et al. [. et al. .Comment: The skin in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) has a significant skewing to an abnormal microbiological population. It is conceivable that a GI bacteria or skin-applied bacterial transplant could have a future role(s) in AD therapy or earlier resolution.Breastfeeding and Allergic Disease: What\u2019s New? Nuzzi, G. et al. [. et al. .Comment: The role of breast feeding as a protection from AD is limited. In some circumstances, partially digested food transferring from the breast milk to the child may be a cause for sensitization or potentially triggering atopic dermatitis flares in infants, and this topic has been reviewed recently [recently .Addressing Common Misconceptions in Food Allergy: A Review. Anagnostou, A. [stou, A. .Comment: Sensitization to food is not uncommon in AD in children. Food allergy becomes a true IgE-mediated disease with immediate and potentially significant outcomes. The astute clinician needs to separate sensitization from AD causation but also be aware of concomitant sensitization and food allergy in an AD patient.Atopic Manifestations in Children Born Preterm: A Long-Term Observational Study. Pagano, F. et al. [. et al. .Comment: In a case\u2013control study, gestational diabetes was significantly associated with AD, and pre-term birth before 29 weeks was negatively associated with AD. The relatively small numbers from a single neonatal center may not hold up in large populations, but extensive references provide some perspective.The Association between the Concentration of Heavy Metals in the Indoor Atmosphere and Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms in Children Aged between 4 and 13 Years: A pilot study. Choi, H.S. et al. [Comment: A selected population in cities on a Korean island served as the study basis. Indoor pollutants and heavy metals were measured in homes of children with or without AD. Significant differences for children\u2019s AD were found in volatile organic compounds (VOC) and lead in their homes (elevated for both). The small sample size limits the applicability.Skin Disease in Children: Effects on Quality of Life, Stigmatization, Bullying, and Suicide Risk in Pediatric Acne, Atopic Dermatitis, and Psoriasis Patients. Kelly, K.A. et al. [. et al. .Comment: Using a Pub-Med search strategy, quality of life, bullying, and suicide risk were explored in several chronic skin conditions, including AD. These issues are important but often overlooked downsides to the lives of children with AD. They also explored the potential that allergic inflammation has CNS effects.Barrier Impairment and Type 2 Inflammation in Allergic Diseases: The Pediatric Perspective. Ghezzi, et al. [, et al. .Comment: Although not directly about AD, this review discussed an under-recognized component of AD: the barrier defect that maybe intrinsic to AD but certainly becomes worse with AD. This is a review worthy of mention for its background review of the barrier dysfunction in AD but also asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis. A worthy read.Atopic dermatitis, along with asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis are exceedingly complex allergic diseases. A small consolation is the greater potential for resolution of AD during the pediatric years , althougThe prevention of atopic dermatitis is an incomplete picture, with parental atopic dermatitis having a strong genetic predilection, although the co-factor of filaggrin mutations also has a strong association. Overcoming genetic factors allowing AD to occur may be difficult . PotentiThe early childhood presentation of eczematoid skin conditions, coupled with underlying filaggrin mutations presents a perplexing scenario for halting the atopic march . AlthougEarly moisturizers addition has had a role as a prevention product. This approach was recently summarized . It is pOther pre-AD development strategies, in part, could include vitamin D supplementation, pro-biotics, or nutritional modifications. Whether aggressive microbiome adjustment in highly susceptible children might be of future value has been postulated . Bleach-At present, biological modifiers are not approved in the United States for atopic dermatitis until age 6. Duplimab, an anti-IL-/IL-13 monoclonal antibody, is, however, in clinical trial in children as young as 6 months, with preliminary data presented at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis Conference in 2021 . Future Consider the pre-biologic medication sphere  physicians live in when taking care of moderate to severe pediatric AD patients . TopicalChildren, particularly Reviews on chronic skin conditions in children and especially atopic dermatitis. Topics have ranged from basic pathophysiology to treatment to psychological components of chronic skin disease. This has been an outstanding grouping of articles, with the potential to add to the care of children with AD. However, major limitations persist in AD prevention and early childhood therapy. With new therapies forthcoming, additional publications in Children on the atopic dermatitis care of children and adolescents are welcomed.With a current 2020 impact factor of 2.863, the past four years has seen an impressive group of manuscripts in"}
+{"text": "The general framework of landscape genomics for tree conservation as published. We missed the proper citations about plots of FST outlier test, cluster and RONA which were depicted in In the original article, there was a mistake in the legend for In the original article, there was a mistake in Rheum palmatum complex in the Eastern Asiatic Region. Mol. Ecol. 29, 1791-1805. doi: 10.1111/mec.15448 was not cited in the article. The citation has now been inserted in the legend of In the original article Feng, L., Ruhsam, M., Wang, Y. H., Li, Z. H., and Wang, X. M. (2020). Using demographic model selection to untangle allopatric divergence and diversification mechanisms in the FST outlier test and RONA are modified from Du et al. (The general framework of landscape genomics for tree conservation. The plots of cluster, u et al.  and Fengu et al. , respectThe authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Antibiotics, as pollutants of emerging concern, can enter marine environments, rivers, and lakes and endanger ecology and human health. The purpose of this study was to review the studies conducted on the presence of antibiotics in water, sediments, and organisms in aquatic environments . Most of the reviewed studies were conducted in 2018 (15%) and 2014 (11%). Antibiotics were reported in aqueous media at a concentration of <1 ng/L\u2013100 \u03bcg/L. The results showed that the highest number of works were conducted in the Asian continent . The highest concentration of antibiotics in water and sea sediments, with a frequency of 49%, was related to fluoroquinolones. According to the results, the highest amounts of antibiotics in water and sediment were reported as 460 ng/L and 406 ng/g, respectively. In rivers, sulfonamides had the highest abundance (30%). Fluoroquinolones (with an abundance of 34%) had the highest concentration in lakes. Moreover, the highest concentration of fluoroquinolones in living organisms was reported at 68,000 ng/g, with a frequency of 39%. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones are among the most dangerous antibiotics due to their high concentrations in the environment. This review provides timely information regarding the presence of antibiotics in different aquatic environments, which can be helpful for estimating ecological risks, contamination levels, and their management. Today, drugs are an integral part of life and are used to treat diseases of humans and other organisms . AntibioAntibiotic compounds have different mechanisms in cells, such as suppression of cell wall synthesis, inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis, modification of cell membranes, suppression of protein synthesis, and inhibition of DNA, depending on the different functions of the molecule .Some antibiotic molecules are metabolized in the bodies of humans or animals, while most 70\u201390%) are excreted unchanged via feces and urine ,6. The a0\u201390% areThe accumulation of antibiotics in different parts of aquatic environments threatens the relevant ecosystems and affects the health of humans and other organisms. Antibiotic residues in marine ecosystems cause the spread of antibiotic-resistance genes, and also lead to serious environmental problems. Connecting antibiotics to pathogens and transferring them to the human body  can cause severe human risks . The preRecently, due to the high production and use of antibiotics and the emergence of antibiotic-resistance genes in aquatic environments, the attention of researchers around the world has been drawn to this issue . To imprThe Web of Science database was used to find published articles related to the present study. Additionally, for a specialized search, keywords such as \u2018Antibiotics + Marine environment\u2019, \u2018Antibiotics + Sediment\u2019, \u2018Live creatures + Antibiotics\u2019, \u2018Antibiotic + river + lake + marine + Sea + sediment + organism + water body\u2019, and \u2018Review Antibiotics + microorganism + biota\u2019 were used. There were 99 articles on antibiotics in sediments, water, and biota in the environments (aquatic environments), as well as several review studies. To draw the figures, first, the studies were categorized by year, parts of aquatic environments, country, and continent, and then the graphs related to each item were drawn using Excel software. ow), distribution coefficient (Kd), separation constants (pKa), vapor pressure, and Henry\u2019s law constant (KH) [According to their chemical structures, antibiotics are classified into several groups, including macrolides, beta-lactams, tetracyclines, quinolones, fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, phenicols, and penicillin . The tenant (KH) . Antibioant (KH) . The preant (KH) . Fluoroqant (KH) . Accumulant (KH) . AntibioMacrolide (ML) antibiotics form a group of 12\u201316 organ lactone rings that are replaced with one or more sugars (amino sugars). Other characteristics of this group include being lipophilic, having low solubility in water, and being weakly acidic. Macrolides are generally bacteriostatic; however, some of these drugs may be bactericidal at very high concentrations ,37. ThisBeta-lactam antibiotics include a wide range of molecules that contain at least one beta-lactam ring in their molecular structures. These drugs are active against many Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and anaerobic organisms, interfering with the cell wall synthesis of reproducing bacteria . The preSulfonamides (SAs) are derived from a p-amino-benzene-sulfonamide functional group. This group has acidic and basic properties . These aTetracyclines are one of the main groups of antibiotics used for veterinary and human medicine, agriculture, and as food additives to enhance the growth of animals. These are amphoteric and degradable antibiotics that are unstable in bases but stable in acids. These antibiotics cause severe environmental problems and serious damage to human health. Since conventional WWTPs are not able to fully eliminate these micropollutants, the removal efficiency of tetracyclines in treatment plants has been reported between 12 and 80% ,43. StudThe quinolones\u2019 properties are fat-solubility and resistance to acidic hydrolysis, alkalinity, high temperatures, and ultraviolet radiation damage. This group has many applications, including the treatment of infectious diseases and the promotion of livestock and aquaculture. They enter aquatic environments through untreated human and animal wastewater or direct discharge from aquaculture products .Over the past decades, the presence of antibiotics in the environment has created concerns around the world. Antibiotics are widely used in human and veterinary medicine and enter the environment through different pathways. The presence of antibiotics in the sludge and effluent of municipal treatment plants, hospitals, industrial centers, and livestock farms has resulted in the occurrence of pollution in marine environments, surface water, soil, and groundwater . ConsumeThe antibiotics SMT (15\u2013328 ng/L), SMZ (20\u2013174 ng/L), and TMP (4\u20137 ng/L) had the highest concentrations among the 12 studied antibiotics in Vietnamese waters . In a std, s) is used. However, because there is no dynamic adsorption between sediment and water, this value cannot be considered an accurate partition coefficient [Sediments are considered to be reservoirs of pollution and receive large amounts of organic pollutants . Antibiofficient . Negligifficient . Factorsfficient . High cofficient . Other ffficient . The confficient . Zhang efficient . Arikan fficient . AntibioInvestigating the occurrence of antibiotics in aquatic environments helps us to assess their potential threat to ecosystem balance . AntibioAs the use of antibiotics is increasing in industrialized and developing countries, it has led to the identification of these contaminants in surface waters, sediments, and biota around the world. The entry of antibiotics into aqueous media takes place through several sources. Most wastewater treatment plants are not able to effectively remove antibiotics, so their output can contaminate surface waters with antibiotics . The antow partition coefficient. If the degree of ionization is not high and the Kow partition coefficient is not between 2 and 6, the concentrations of antibiotics in oysters decrease [Lutjanus russelli, Lutjanus erythopterus, and Trachinotus ovatus), mollusks , crabs , and shrimps (Fenneropenaeus penicillatus) in southern China, concluded that enrofloxacin was a high-concentration antibiotic in the muscles of the studied samples [Oncorhynchus mykiss) [Antibiotics are widely used to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals. Some are also used as growth stimulants in pigs  and plandecrease . Extensidecrease . Figure  samples . Sulfame samples . In Bang samples . In anot mykiss) . Table 5Detect the concentrations of antibiotics in more aquatic organisms.The function of antibiotics is different in different organisms; therefore, it is necessary to study the concentrations of antibiotics in different organisms  simultaneously.Since antibiotics can accumulate in sediments of aquatic environments, it is recommended that future studies study the concentrations of antibiotics in sediments at different depths.The widespread use of antibiotics and the lack of advanced sewage treatment systems in developing countries have caused the pollution of water sources, necessitating more detection of antibiotic contamination and the improvement of treatment systems to remove pollutants.The present study reviewed the reports of antibiotic concentrations in different parts of aquatic environments . It can be concluded that among the different antibiotics, fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides had the highest concentrations in most of the studied environments. The average concentration of fluoroquinolones in sea, lake, and river sediments was 539.79 ng/g, while in sea and lake water it was 204.85 ng/L and 369.74 ng/L, respectively. Moreover, sulfonamides had the highest concentrations in rivers, with an average concentration of 191.11 ng/L. Antibiotics in aquatic tissues such as shrimp, fish, etc., can threaten the health of humans as consumers of these aquatic organisms. The average concentration of fluoroquinolone, as the most abundant antibiotic in marine organisms , was reported as 145.77 ng/g. Among different countries around the world, the highest concentrations of antibiotics were reported in China. Furthermore, the results of the studies conducted in aquatic environments showed that the environments that are exposed to various effluents  have higher concentrations and a greater variety of different antibiotics. Therefore, it is necessary to take the required approaches to reduce the entry of these pollutants into the environment. The following recommendations can be made for future investigations:Conceptualization, Z.M. and A.M.S.; methodology, T.M. and B.R.; software, M.S.; validation, S.F., B.R., T.N. and M.S.; investigation, Z.M. and T.N.; resources, T.M.; data curation, B.R.; writing\u2014original draft preparation, B.R. and T.M.; writing\u2014review and editing, M.S.; visualization, B.R.; supervision, M.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Kleine\u2013Levin syndrome (KLS) is characterized by episodes of hypersomnia. Additionally, these patients can present with hyperphagia, hypersexuality, abnormal behavior, and cognitive dysfunction. Functional neuroimaging studies such as fMRI-BOLD, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or SPECT help us understand the neuropathological bases of different disorders. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the neuroimaging features of KLS patients and their clinical correlations. This systematic review was conducted by following the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and PRISMA protocol reporting guidelines. We aim to investigate the clinical correlation with neuroimaging among patients with KLS. We included only studies written in the English language in the last 20 years, conducted on humans; 10 studies were included. We excluded systematic reviews, metanalysis, and case reports. We found that there are changes in functional imaging studies during the symptomatic and asymptomatic periods as well as in between episodes in patients with K.L.S. The areas most reported as affected were the hypothalamic and thalamic regions, which showed hypoperfusion and, in a few cases, hyperperfusion; areas such as the frontal, parietal, occipital and the prefrontal cortex all showed alterations in cerebral perfusion. These changes in cerebral blood flow and regions vary according to the imaging  and the task performed while imaging was performed. We encountered conflicting data between studies. Hyper insomnia, the main feature of this disease during the symptomatic periods, was associated with decreased thalamic activity. Other features of K.L.S., such as apathy, hypersexuality, and depersonalization, were also correlated with functional imaging changes. There were also findings that correlated with working memory deficits seen in this stage during the asymptomatic periods. Hyperactivity of the thalamus and hypothalamus were the main features shown during the asymptomatic period. Additionally, functional imaging tends to improve with a longer course of the disease, which suggests that K.L.S. patients outgrow the disease. These findings should caution physicians when analyzing and correlating neuroimaging findings with the disease. The first cases of Kleine\u2013Levin syndrome (K.L.S.) were described by Kleine and Levin separately, in 1925 and 1929, respectively . K.L.S. The disorder is characterized by episodic hypersomnia; each episode lasts ten days and recurs every 3.5 months on average . PatientThe cases also report normal periods of cognition and behavior in between these episodes . A studyThe etiology of this syndrome is not well understood. It is hypothesized that hypothalamic pathology plays a role in the development of the syndrome, but an exact association has not been made . Other pThis syndrome is diagnosed using the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Radiological investigations conducted in cases of K.L.S. were mostly to identify and treat potential causes such as meningitis or encephalitis (CSF), focal brain lesions (brain imaging), or epilepsy (E.E.G.) .Among all the treatment modalities available, no definitive treatment has been found. In one study, 41% of patients showed termination of episodes and a \u201cclear mind\u201d with amantadine, an antiviral with dopamine reuptake inhibitory capacity . Their sThis systematic review was conducted by following the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and PRISMA protocol reporting guidelines ,11.We included observational studies, defined as case\u2013control studies and cohorts, conducted on humans and written in the English language. Animal studies were excluded. We excluded papers that did not fulfill the aims of our study. After screening the studies, we included papers with one of the following characteristics: (1) patients with KLS; (2) intervention: use of functional imaging to evaluate the patients such as fMRI, SPECT; (3) comparator: there was not a comparison because of the low prevalence of the disease; and (4) outcomes: areas of the brain with hypo/hypermetabolism, hypo/hyperactivity, during episodes and between the episodes of KLS.We used the PubMed and Google Scholar databases for this systematic review. The search was conducted between December 2021 and January 2022. We used an advanced search strategy with the following terms: (\u201cKleine Levin Syndrome\u201d [Title/Abstract] AND \u201cMRI\u201d [Title/Abstract]) OR (\u201cKleine Levin Syndrome\u201d [Title/Abstract] AND \u201cSPECT\u201d [Title/Abstract]) OR (\u201cKleine Levin Syndrome\u201d [Title/Abstract] AND \u201cfMRI\u201d [Title/Abstract]) OR (\u201cKleine Levin Syndrome\u201d [Title/Abstract] AND \u201cImaging\u201d [Title/Abstract]).We collected from each paper in the first table the following information: the author, year, country, age, sex, number of participants, and methods of the study.We collected from each paper in the second table the following information: the author, year, country, functional study, and areas with hyper/hypometabolism or hypo/hyperactivity. We used the Robins-1 analysis for bias assessment in each study . We found 10 observational studies that specifically discussed the role of functional imaging in patients with K.L.S.; There were five studies that reported cases in the asymptomatic period, one study in the symptomatic period, and four studies in both periods. Hypometabolism, less activity or hypoperfusion were found in seven studies such as Engstrom et al. in 2016, Engstrom et al. in 2009, Huang et al. in 2005, Dauvilliers et al. in 2014, Dudoignon et al. in 2021, Ket et al. in 2014, Engstet et al. in 2014. This hypometabolism was located mainly in the frontal, temporal, occipital, lobe, thalami, and cingulate zone. On the other hand, hypermetabolism, greater activity or hyperperfusion was established in five studies: Engstrom et al. in 2009, Dauvilliers et al. in 2014, Dudoignon et al. in 2021, Engstrom et al. in 2014, Vigren et al. in 2013. The increased of activity was presented mostly in the thalamus and prefrontal cortex. A total of 4 out of the 10 studies established limitations; a major limitation was the absence of a matched control group in Vigren et al., 2014 and Dudoignon et al., 2021. A heterogeneous group of patients participated; they had no similarities in state of disease, some were assessed while having K.L.S. episodes, while, others were in remission. Symptomatology and disease duration were not similar either. Due to these features, perfusion patterns could change and be associated with specific symptom patterns such as those found in Vigren et al., 2014. Additionally, in Dudoignon et al., 2021, the FDG-PET/CT was performed in a single expert center that is highly experienced in K.L.S., which means they were more capable of detecting subtle changes in K.L.S. brain imaging, unlike many other studies. Another limitation was found in Engstrom et al., 2014, where there was no adjustment for the time when the patients had their last episode in the data analysis. Finally, Vigren et al., 2013 includes some limitations, such as technical issues in Magnetic Resonance Spectography (M.R.S). Technology at the time of the study design. Additionally, the latter presented different limitations related to the analysis of the results, as the use of a voxel of interest in the M.R.S. study\u2014including the entire thalamus and not only the anterior-medial parts\u2014may also cause individual variation of N acetyl aspartic acid (NAA)-concentrations in both groups and could contribute to a variable distribution of the thalamic neurons. Furthermore, the absence of a significant difference in thalamic levels of N.A.A. between patients and controls is an argument against a primary thalamic dysfunction. We found multiple relationships between K.L.S. clinical features and the different affected areas of the brain with different neuroimaging studies. The asymptomatic period in K.L.S. is free of hypersomnolence attacks but working memory task deficits remain. Additionally, functional imaging is abnormal between episodes . Functional imaging in patients with K.L.S. is similar to other central parasomnias such as narcolepsy. Patients with narcolepsy have decreased activity in the frontal, anterior cingulate, and parietal areas. At the same time, the parietal region of patients with K.L.S. seems to be unaffected ,27. AddiThree studies showed increased thalamic activity during the asymptomatic period, correlating with working memory task deficits using fMRI ,22,23. HIn the first two studies, thalamic hyperactivity correlated with lower activation in the anterior cingulate and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex . The autIn Dudoignon et al.\u2019s study, more patients with hippocampal hypometabolism had working memory deficits than those without hippocampal metabolism . ExecutiN-acetyl aspartate (NAA) is a biomarker of neuronal loss and malfunction, so a decrease in the NAA levels suggests neuronal deficit . Vigren Significant connections between the pons and the frontal eye field have been established before. In 2016 Engstrom et al. found decreased connectivity between the frontal eye fields and the pons compared to controls , while nA previous case report found a disrupted connection between the thalamus and the pons . Still, The study by Engstrom 2014 analyzed working memory pathways in patients with K.L.S., specifically the executive network and the salience networks during the asymptomatic phase . The salRegarding the executive network, K.L.S. patients had increased activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left hemisphere in the region of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) tested . This fiRegarding the salience network, K.L.S. patients have increased activation of the left thalamus, more activation of the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and decreased activation left insular cortex (AIC) . The lonDecreased perfusion in the temporal and occipital cortex was related to depersonalization and derealization. The more the patients suffered from depersonalization/derealization, the greater the affected area . The corIn the Dudoignon study, hypometabolism in the posterior associative cortex and hippocampus and increased metabolism in the prefrontal cortex was associated with the younger onset of age and shorter course of the disease . HypometDecreased level of consciousness can be explained by the involvement of the reticular activating system because there might be disruption between the connection in the thalamus  and cerebral cortex. Lesions of the thalamic nuclei also have been reported to cause limbic symptoms . AnotherOther studies suggest that the connections between the brainstem and the thalamus can be diminished during a hyper somnolent state. This finding suggests a relationship between the thalamus and the brainstem, which regulate sleep and wakefulness . The ascWhile imaging modalities have revealed hypoperfusion of both thalami on SPECT imaging during the symptomatic period in K.L.S. patients, its potential clinical implications have not been thoroughly investigated . In contDepersonalization and derealization were correlated with hypoperfusion in the left and right parietal-temporal junction . The angThere was more hypoperfusion as compared to control in the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex . PatientAs suggested by AlShareef et al., abnormal sexual behavior may orientate towards hypothalamic dysfunction; however, the hypothalamus seems to be intact . This suThere have been many reports showing the hypermetabolism of the striatum during the symptomatic period of patients with K.L.S. Some authors, such as Haba-Rubio et al., explain that this enhanced activity in the striatum occurs due to compensatory mechanisms surrounding the primarily affected regions ; howeverThe disease seems to improve over time. In one study, there was less activation in the asymptomatic period in the anterior cingulate cortex, left precuneus, and left occipital cortex in the second examination compared to the first examination using fMRI . A seconRegarding remission, almost half of the patients that have undergone remission showed the persistence of the same pattern. This may imply that some patients could have chronic and persistent cognitive deficits and maybe a non-basic course of the disease . KLS patVirgen et al. concluded that SPECT may be a diagnostic aid only for experienced neurologists able to recognize and consider K.L.S. and its differential diagnoses as potential causes of hypersomnia in young patients. SPECT has a low sensitivity (48%) and should not be used as the only diagnostic tool for K.L.S. . In the Our findings reflect that there are changes in functional imaging studies during symptomatic, asymptomatic, and between episodes in patients with K.L.S. These changes vary according to the study  used to identify these modifications; some of them are conflicting.Hyper insomnia, the main feature of this disease during the symptomatic periods, was associated with decreased thalamic activity. Other features of K.L.S., such as apathy, hypersexuality, and depersonalization, were also correlated with functional imaging changes. Some findings correlated with working memory deficits seen in this stage during the asymptomatic periods. Hyperactivity of the thalamus and hypothalamus were the main features shown with these working memory deficits during the asymptomatic periods. Additionally, functional imaging tends to improve with a longer course of the disease, suggesting that K.L.S. patients outgrow the disease. These findings should caution physicians when analyzing and correlating neuroimaging findings with the disease."}
+{"text": "Juniperus L. is the second-largest genus of conifers, having the widest distribution of all conifer genera. Its phytogeographic history is, however, obscure due to its very poor fossil record. We described a wood of Juniperus sp. from the lower Maeotian sediments of the Popov Kamen section, Taman Peninsula, South Russia, in order to clarify its taxonomic position shedding light on the phytogeographic history of the genus. This fossil wood was well-preserved by mummification, which allowed for it to be studied by the same methods as used for the anatomical examination of modern woods. The wood from the Popov Kamen section shows the greatest similarity to the extant Mediterranean species J. excelsa, belonging to the section Sabina. This is the first reliable macrofossil evidence of the sect. Sabina from Eurasia convincingly dated to the Miocene. The age of the mummified wood from the Popov Kamen section is consistent with molecular dating of diversification of the lineage comprising juniper species of the sect. Sabina from Europe, Asia and eastern Africa. The wood of Juniperus sp. has not been buried in situ, as it was found in the relatively deep-water marine sediments. The available coeval pollen series and macrofossils of Cupressaceae from the surrounding regions suggest that this wood was likely transferred by sea current from the northwestern side of the Black Sea, which was a part of the Eastern Paratethys. Juniperus L. is the second-largest genus of conifers, and the largest member of the family Cupressaceae. Comprising 75 species Genus Sabina Spach, 1841Section Juniperus sp.Material: PK-2020, three fragments of well-preserved mummified wood from an entire fossil stem, discovered from the Late Miocene sediments of the Popov Kamen section, Taman Peninsula, South Russia, deposited at the Laboratory of Paleobotany, Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia. Duplicates of these samples were deposited at the Department of Paleontology, Geological Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia .Growth rings are distinct, 0.19\u20131.60 mm wide; the transition from earlywood to latewood is gradual A. EarlywThe axial parenchyma is abundant, tangentially zonate A and occRays are exclusively uniseriate D, compleDark-stained compounds are common in axial parenchyma cells and occur in ray cells. Crystals are not found.Fitzroya cupressoides (Molina) I.M. Johnst. and eight speices of Juniperus . Among these species, the presence of marginal axial parenchyma has been reported only in J. drupacea [J. excelsa and J. oxycedrus [J. drupacea and J. oxycedrus are distinctive, however, from the fossil wood from Taman Peninsula by larger pits on tangential tracheid walls  and also by the occurrence of higher  rays. The latter species also differs from the wood sample under study by fewer (mostly 1\u20132) pits per cross-fields [J. excelsa shows greater similarity with the Miocene wood, but it differs from the fossil wood in thinner horizontal walls of the ray cells, and the occasional occurrence of biseriate rays [The fossil sample from Taman Peninsula represents a typical homoxylic wood, showing the tracheids bearing large (up to 24 \u00b5m in diameter) circular bordered pits on radial walls as well as exclusively uniseriate rays. This suite of traits occurs only in conifers. The InsideWood  search fdrupacea , J. excexycedrus ,20. J. ds-fields . J. exceate rays ,20,21.Juniperus species having this trait. Apart from J. drupacea, J. excelsa and J. oxycedrus, marginal axial parenchyma has been reported in J. conferta [J. monosperma (Engelm.) Sarg., J. thurifera L., J. scopulorum Sarg. and J. tibetica Kom. [J. scopulorum and J. thurifera differ from the fossil wood from Taman Peninsula by the occurrence of larger pits (>10 \u00b5m in diameter) on tangential walls of tracheids [J. thurifera is also distinctive by much more numerous rays , lower ray cells , and the lack of indentures [J. conferta has mostly unpitted end walls of ray cells [J. scopulorum, J. monosperma, and J. tibetica share the occurrence of higher rays  than the fossil wood from Taman Peninsula. The latter two species and J. conferta are also distinctive from the sample under study in having fewer (up to three) pits on cross-fields [As the presence of marginal axial parenchyma is a prominent feature of the fossil sample from Taman Peninsula, which is uncommon in the wood of conifers, we compared it with other extant conferta , J. monoica Kom. ,20. J. sracheids . J. thurdentures . Unlike ay cells . Then, Js-fields .Juniperus, but it cannot be convincingly placed into any modern species that have been examined to date by wood anatomists. It shows the greatest similarity to the Mediterranean species J. excelsa, belonging to the section Sabina.In summary, our fossil wood belongs to the genus Juniperoxylon Houlbert [Juniperus [Juniperoxylon pottoniense (Stopes) Kr\u00e4usel from the early Cretaceous of England [J. wagneri S\u00fcss & Rathner from the Miocene of Germany [Juniperoxylon, including J. zamunerae Ruiz & Bodnar from the Middle Triassic of Argentina [J. breviparenchmatosum Watari & Nishida from the Eocene of Hokkaido, Japan [Juniperoxylon acarcae Akkemik, from the early Miocene of the central Turkey [J. juniperoides (Kownas) Huard, J. pachyderma (G\u00f6ppert) Kr\u00e4usel, J. rhenanum Burgh from North Rhine-Westphalia [J. schneiderianum Dolezych from Lusatia [Juniperus sp. from the early Miocene of the Galatean Volcanic Province, northwestern Turkey [The fossil homoxylic woods showing a combination of spaced arrangement of circular pits on radial tracheid walls, cupressoid cross-field pits, nodular transverse walls of axial parenchyma cells and usually also nodular walls of ray cells have been ascribed to the genera Houlbert ,23 and Juniperus ,24. Juni England  and the  England  and J. w Germany  are distrgentina ; J. brevo, Japan ; Juniperl Turkey ; and foustphalia  and J. s Lusatia , differ n Turkey , show grSabina of the genus Juniperus, as well as to the early Miocene woods from the northwestern Turkey assigned to the Juniperus sp. Although the studied sample is distinctive from any woods of modern or extinct junipers described to date, its anatomical traits are not sufficient for its reliable taxonomic attribution. Thus, we do not consider the fossil wood as a new species of this genus, but designate it as Juniperus sp. seemingly belonging to the section Sabina.Overall, the mummified wood from the late Miocene deposits of the Taman Peninsula shows a close affinity to some extant species from the section Juniperus sp. from the lower Maeotian sediments of Taman Peninsula is the first reliable macrofossil evidence of the section Sabina from Eurasia whose age is convincingly dated to the Miocene. The most ancient fossils of junipers attributed to this group have been described from the Eocene/Oligocene boundary of north Bohemia, the Czech Republic [Sabina includes three extinct species from the Oligocene to the middle Miocene of the North America [J. foetidissima from the Miocene\u2013Pliocene boundary from the Sofia Basin, Bulgaria [J. sabina from Bashkortostan, Russia [Juniperus sp. from the Popov Kamen section shows that the species of this lineage occurred in the regions adjacent to Eastern Paratethys at least since the early Maeotian age.The mummified wood of Republic . More re America ,9,10,11 Bulgaria , and the, Russia . The mumJuniperus sp. has not been buried in situ, as it was found in relatively deep-water marine sediments. The only coeval occurrence of the pollen grains ascribed to Juniperus sp. has been reported from the lower Maeotian deposits of Odessa Oblast, southern Ukraine [J. bessarabica Negru has been described from the lower Sarmatian of Moldova [Juniperus, i.e., to another lineage of junipers than the fossil wood under study attributed to the section Sabina. Cupressaceae have not been reported, however, in other pollen series studied in the Sarmatian and Maeotian deposits of the Eastern Paratethys regions, including those from the Taman Peninsula [Juniperus have also been found in coeval paleofloras in southern Ukraine [Juniperus sp. was likely transferred by sea current from the northwestern side of the Black Sea, which was a part of the Eastern Paratethys in the Miocene. Transportability of driftwoods over large distances has been supported by strong evidence [Obviously, the wood of  Ukraine . More an Ukraine . As for  Moldova  (Figure eninsula ,36, the eninsula , Bulgarieninsula , Abkhazieninsula  and seveeninsula . No macr Ukraine , Krasnod Ukraine  and Geor Ukraine ,42,43. Tevidence .Juniperus sp. shows the greatest similarity to the extant Mediterranean species J. excelsa, belonging to a well-supported \u201cclade IV\u201d within the section Sabina [J. thurifera, the Asian J. chinensis and J. polycarpus, as well as J. procera from east Africa and south Arabia. As suggested by molecular dating [Juniperus sp. from the Popov Kamen section. The reported fossil records of this group, up to now, are too sparse, however, for detailed reconstruction of its phytogeographic history.The fossil wood of n Sabina . This lir dating , this liThree fragments of totally mummified portion of entire tree trunk, 23 cm in length and 7 cm in diameter, without any traces of organisms feeding , were coSince its first description by Andrusov , this geThe fossil wood in this study was well-preserved by mummification. This specimen was processed and sectioned using the same methods as used for modern wood. The wood samples were boiled in water for about one hour and sectioned with a sledge microtome. Transverse, radial and tangential microtome sections of 20\u201330 \u00b5m in thickness were stained with alcian blue/safranin  or left"}
+{"text": "Borrelia encompasses spirochetal species that are part of three well-defined groups. Two of these groups contain pathogens that affect humans: the group causing Lyme disease (LDG) and the relapsing fever group (RFG). Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., which is distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and relapsing fevers are caused by Borrelia spp., which are found in temperate and tropical countries and are an emerging but neglected pathogens. In some departments of Colombia, there are records of the presence of Borrelia sp. in humans and bats. However, little is known about the impact and circulation of Borrelia spp. in the country, especially in wildlife, which can act as a reservoir and/or amplifying host. In this context, the objective of our research was to detect and identify the Borrelia species present in wild mammals in the departments of Caldas and Risaralda in Colombia. For morphological detection, blood smears and organ imprints were performed, and molecular identification was carried out through a nested PCR directed on the flagellin B (flaB) gene. A total of 105 mammals belonging to three orders  were analyzed, of which 15.24% (n = 16) were positive for Borrelia. Molecularly, the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. in lung tissues of Thomasomys aureus and blood of Mus musculus (Rodentia) was detected, with 99.64 and 100% identity, respectively. Borrelia sp. genospecies from a clade branch of a bat-associated LDG sister group were identified in seven individuals of bat species, such as Artibeus lituratus, Carollia brevicauda, Sturnira erythromos, and Glossophaga soricina. Furthermore, two Borrelia genospecies from the RFG in seven individuals of bats  and rodents  were documented. Additionally, the presence of a spirochete was detected by microscopy in the liver of a Sturnira erythromos bat specimen. These results contain the first molecular evidence of the presence of B. burgdorferi s.s. in South America, which merits the need for comprehensive studies involving arthropods and vertebrates (including humans) in other departments of Colombia, as well as neighboring countries, to understand the current status of the circulation of Borrelia spp. in South America.The genus  Borrelia  comprises about 43 recognized species of gram-negative motile spirochetes, ranging in length from 10\u201340 \u00b5m and 0.2\u20130.5 \u00b5m in diameter  from the RFG  were examined. The prevalence of xamined) a. An ind the RFG . Additioythromos b, while flaB gene (~315 pb) were obtained and were deposited in GenBank with accession codes . Seven of these sequences showed identity between 99.19%\u201399.64% with B. venezuelensis [MG651650] and Borrelia turicatae [MH632129] from the RFG. Two sequences showed an identity of 99.64% and 100% with B. burgdorferi s.s.  from the LDG, and 15 sequences showed an identity between 94.52% and 98.56% with one of the Borrelia genospecies [MT154618] found in Macaregua Cave in Colombia. Furthermore, four allelic variants were found in the Borrelia typing database, one for RFG and three for LDG (Twenty-four (24) partial sequences of the  for LDG .flaB sequences showed that two of the sequences of this study form a monophyletic clade with B. burgdorferi s.s. with a statistical support greater than 92% and a group with the sequences of the same species that were reported in the USA and Canada, with divergences between 0\u20131.1% , which branches as a sister group of the LDG borreliae and are related to the sequences recorded in Macaregua Cave, Colombia (B. venezuelensis (Brazil) with a statistical support of 83.5% in the ML tree and with genetic distances between 0\u20131.1%  and Mus musculus (Rodentia: Muridae)  . Overallis study g.B. burgdorferi s.s. in South America, a species that was considered absent in this region of the continent, where the presence of its known vectors is not recorded [B. burgdorferi s.s. [Our results represent the first molecular evidence of the presence of recorded ,75. Neverecorded ,76,77. Frecorded ,78,79,80recorded ; howevereri s.s. .Borrelia sequences recorded from bats in the present study are closely related to genospecies isolated from Carollia perspicillata in the Department of Santander, Colombia [Borrelia restricted to bats, but further studies are needed to help support this hypothesis. The ML reconstruction is congruent with previous reported phylogenetic inferences ,52,80,83Colombia . This reColombia  and JorgB. burgdorferi s.s. in rodents  indicates their potential role as reservoirs for Lyme disease in the country, as has been observed in other rodents in Eurasia and North America [Peromyscus leucopus) have been evidenced to be competent reservoirs for B. burgdorferi s.l. in North America [B. burgdorferi s.l. and other Borrelia species has been reported in other rodents such as murids [Furthermore, the presence of  America ,85. Cric America ,85,86,87 America . A high s murids ,89. MuriBorrelia in the brain of M. altissimus coincides with the neurotropic characteristic of several Borrelia species [Treponema pallidum [Borrelia species are thought to infect the brain to evade the host immune response and may occasionally invade the blood to facilitate bacterial transmission [B. duttonii and B. turicatae, which have detected in the brains of rodents [B. miyamotoi and B. burgdorferi, which were detected in the brain of rodents and a shrew (Sorex maritimensis) [B. burgdorferi complex have been shown to use the liver as a refuge to evade the immune response in long-term infections [The presence of  species ,91, as ismission . This is rodents ,93, and imensis) . Due to imensis) . Additioimensis) . Furtherfections ,97,98.B. burgdorferi s.s. in South America. Likewise, new associations between mammals and Borrelia sp. are presented for the American continent. These findings suggest that the presence of species of the genus Borrelia could be widely distributed in the wildlife of Colombia. However, complementary studies should be carried out to determine the real status of Borrelia spp. in South America and to establish the role played by wild mammals in the maintenance of infections by these spirochetes, as well as their participation in the enzootic and zoonotic cycles of Borrelia sp.Finally, this research provides molecular evidence of the presence of"}
+{"text": "Elizabethkingia species are antibiotic-resistant microbes. It is a serious bacterial pathogen that can cause the patient to die. Thanks to the technology of sequencing, we can identify different strains of Elizabethkingia species. The Elizabethkingia genus currently comprises 6 species, E. meningoseptica, E. miricola, E. anophelis, E. bruuniana, E. ursingii and E. occul. In the previous study in Taiwan, E. meningoseptica was the major strain that caused infection from 2009 to 2016. But in another reference, we found that E. anophelis became the dominant strain in other countries. Due to this ascertainment, we did an experiment to check the true situation in Taiwan.Elizabethkingia species from bacteraemia patients. And the storage period from January 2018 to June 2020. Then we used the DNA extraction kit to collect the DNA and did the PCR to check whether the target gene was detected or not. Once anoR gene was detected, it would be E. anophelis, if the mengF gene was detected, it would be E. meningoseptica, or if the ureGF gene was detected, it would be E. miricola.Because of the limitation of the tool, in our hospital, we could spread different strains of Elizabethkingia Species by the traditionally identified methods in our bacteria room. That's why we collected the bacteria to our bacteria bank for research. In this study, we collected 65 E. anophelis became the major species , and E. meningoseptica is the second most common species . We didn't find any E. miricola.In this study, we found E. anophelis remains unclear. The case-fatality rate of patients with E. anophelis infection is critically high, ranging from 24% to 60%. To avoid hospital associated infection with E. anophelis, environment cleaning plays an important role. In a recent study, UVC machines can reduce the infection rate, and may be another solution for environment cleaning besides bleach wipes.The transmission route of"}
+{"text": "Ticks are arthropods that can host and transmit pathogens to wild animals, domestic animals, and even humans. The microbiome in ticks is an endosymbiotic, pathogenic and is yet to be fully understood.Amblyomma scalpturatum  and Amblyomma ovale  ticks were collected from Tapirus terrestris (T. terrestris) captured in the rural area of San Lorenzo Village, and males Amblyomma sabanerae were collected from Chelonoidis denticulate (C. denticulate) of the Gamita Farm in the Amazon region of Madre de Dios, Peru. The Chao1 and Shannon\u2013Weaver analyses indicated a greater bacterial richness and diversity in male A. sabanerae  compared to male A. scalpturatum and A. ovale . Taxonomic analyses identified 478 operational taxonomic units representing 220 bacterial genera in A. sabanerae and 86 operational taxonomic units representing 28 bacterial genera in A. scalpturatum and A. ovale. Of the most prevalent genera was Francisella (73.2%) in A. sabanerae, and Acinetobacter (96.8%) in A. scalpturatum and A. ovale to be considered as the core microbiome of A. sabanerae and A. scalpturatum/A. ovale respectively.Adult male A. sabanerae collected from C. denticulata showed prevalence of Francisella and prevalence of Acinetobacter in male A. scalpturatum and A. ovale collected from T. terrestris. The greatest bacterial diversity and richness was found in males A. sabanerae. This is the first bacterial metagenomic study performed in A. scalpturatum/A. ovale and A. sabanerae collected from T. terrestris and C. denticulata in the Peruvian jungle.We found a high bacterial diversity in male of The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-022-02717-5. Babesia and Rickettsia respectively, can be identified by microbiological methods such as microscopy and culture in addition to molecular methods such as new generation sequencing techniques (NGS)  compared to the specific bacteria genus in A.scalpturatum/A. ovale [8 (3.5%)] and A. sabanerae ticks [200 (87.3%)]. We suggest that these differences have a behavioral origin related to the host (T. terrestris and C. denticulata) [A. sabanerae collected from C. denticulata change host that are linked to different genus of reptiles compared male A. scalpturatum collected from T. terrestris which are more specific for its host [In addition, a moderate bacterial microbiome was shared between iculata) \u201313. Thusiculata) . This hyits host , 35, 36.A. scalpturatum/A. ovale was identified as Acinetobacter (96.8%), whose members cause infections at the level of the respiratory, urinary system and wound, in addition this bacterium tends to acquire resistance to various antibiotics and is of importance in Public Health, especially at the hospital level, Acinetobacter has been reported in a metagenomic study in I. persulcatus, I. pavlovskyi, and Dermacentor reticulatus [Rhodococcus (2.5%) the second most abundant genus in A. scalpturatum/A. ovale has the ability to metabolize a large number of substrates and cause pulmonary infections, especially in immunocompromised people [The most prevalent bacterial genus among of iculatus . Rhodocod people .A. sabanerae, Francisella (73.2%) was the most prevalent bacterial genus. Regarding the role of bacteria in ticks, note that nonpathogenic microorganisms present in ticks could cause infections in humans and other animals. For example, ecological studies have shown that Rickettsia, Francisella, and Coxiella, which are considered vertebrate pathogens, can change their pathogenic role and have a mutualistic and symbiotic relationship with ticks [Francisella it is considered as a representative genus of endosymbionts related to pathways for biotin, folic acid, and riboflavin biosynthesis and it is found on rare occasions in some ticks and in the case of F. tularensis as a causal agent of tularemia, a very contagious and life-threatening disease [Coxiella sp. and Francisella sp. are linked to the synthesis of vitamins necessary for the survival of Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus [Rickettsia, and Rickettsiella, have been reported in ticks [Coxiella neither Rickettsia was found.In th ticks . In the  disease , 39, 40. disease . Symbiotcephalus \u201345. LikeParacoccus, the second most abundant genus (5.4%) in A. sabanerae, is a coccobacillary bacterium that is typically present in a wide range of ecosystems and this bacterium is considered by its diversity of metabolic production in different ecological environments and with biotechnological interest [interest .A. scalpturatum that is found only in South America is a tick that mainly parasitizes T. terrestris. This tick exhibits host specificity so this is the reason for the specificity microbiome, sometimes A. scalpturatum can bite human and is related to transmit Rickettsia [A. scalpturatum was found in T. terrestris.In our case, ckettsia , 12. A. T. terrestris was likely infected by ticks in the jungle and them could infect human due to the proximity of San Lorenzo Village, where livestock farming and hunting are practiced. Previous studies highlight that A. scalpturatum can infect T. terrestris, Pecari tajacu, and humans [A. ovale collected from T. terrestris can parasite many mammals as P. tajacu and can transmit Rickettsia and is found predominantly in sylvatic areas [T. terrestris.d humans , 12, witic areas , 15. In A. sabanerae was collected from C. denticulata. A. sabanerae can parasite different types of reptile as turtle, a previous study showed Rickettsia in A. sabanerae collected from a turtle (Kinosternon sp). In our study A. sabanerae was found in a turtle (C. denticulata) in the Chacra Gamitana Village where the farming is practicing, so the farmer could be parasite by the ticks and infected with some pathogenic bacteria as Rickettsia and Francisella [ncisella , 35, 36.A. scalpturatum/A. ovale collected from T. terrestris and A. sabanerae collected from C. denticulata.According to previous studies, the endosymbiont bacteria of a species of tick vary depending on the ecology and the number of ticks studied . TherefoAmblyomma ticks are not very common studied on the wild host T. terrestris and C. denticulata in the jungle of Madre de Dios-Per\u00fa; therefore, we could not collect a larger sample of ticks. Our interest was to study the microbiota of ticks as A. scalpturatum/A. ovale and A. sabanerae that parasitizes T. terrestris and C. denticulata respectively and who live in the Peruvian Amazon.The small number of ticks was justified by the fact that T. terrestris and 10 males\u2019 ticks collected from C. denticulata, which implies a bacterial microbiome representative of a specific circumstance and ecology. Therefore, studies with a greater number of samples could show a greater diversity of species and different percentages of bacterial abundance.Among the limitations of our study is the bacterial microbiome found in 5 males of ticks collected from A. sabanerae collected from C. denticulata showed prevalence of Francisella and prevalence of Acinetobacter in male A. scalpturatum/A. ovale collected from T. terrestris. The greatest bacterial diversity and richness was found in males A. sabanerae. This is the first bacterial metagenomic study performed in A. scalpturatum/A. ovale and A. sabanerae collected from T. terrestris and C. denticulata in the Peruvian jungle. This study lays the foundations for future studies on the importance of the role of the identified bacteria on arthropods and animal and human health.In this study, we found a high bacterial diversity in male of Additional file 1."}
+{"text": "Ixodes ricinus were the most frequently collected. Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.), Hyalomma marginatum, Hy. lusitanicum, Dermacentor marginatus, D. reticulatus and Haemaphysalis punctata were also found, with adults as the main stage. The number of collected Hyalomma spp. and R. bursa has been progressively increasing over time. Although bites occurred throughout the year, the highest number of incidents was reported from April to July. The distribution patterns of the tick species were different between the north and the south of the region, which was related to cases detected in humans of the pathogens they carried. Adult men were more likely to be bitten by ticks than women. Ticks were most frequently removed from adults from the lower limbs, while for children, they were mainly attached to the head. Epidemiological surveillance is essential given the increase in tick populations in recent years.We conducted a tick surveillance study in northwestern Spain. Nymphs of I. ricinus were the most frequently collected. Rhipicephalus bursa, R. sanguineus s.l., Hy. marginatum, Hy. lusitanicum, D. marginatus, D. reticulatus and H. punctata were also found, with adults as the main stage. The number of collected Hyalomma spp. and R. bursa has been progressively increasing over time. Although bites occurred throughout the year, the highest number of incidents was reported from April to July. The distribution patterns of the tick species were different between the north and the south of the region, which was related to cases detected in humans of the pathogens they carried. Adult men were more likely to be bitten by ticks than women. Ticks were most frequently removed from adults from the lower limbs, while for children, they were mainly attached to the head. Epidemiological surveillance is essential given the increase in tick populations in recent years, mainly of species potentially carrying pathogens causing emerging diseases in Spain, such as Crimean\u2013Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCFH).Ticks transmit a wide diversity of pathogens to a great variety of hosts, including humans. We conducted a tick surveillance study in northwestern Spain between 2014 and 2019. Ticks were removed from people and identified. Tick numbers, species, development stages, the timeline, seasonal and geographical distribution and epidemiological characteristics of people bitten by ticks were studied. We collected ticks from 8143 people. Nymphs of  Ticks are hematophagous parasites distributed worldwide, and they are of great importance from an epidemiological and clinical point of view. They can transmit a wide variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa . FurtherIxodes, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma) and 54 species have been found, with I. ricinus being the most widely distributed tick [Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex [Ixodes, Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, Haemaphysalis and Hyalomma, which are potential transmitters of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, several genospecies of Rickettsia, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the Crimean\u2013Congo virus [Ticks from 896 species are known around the world, and the most prevalent Ixodidae family comprises 702 species in 14 genera. Moreover, ixodid ticks are the main vectors of zoonotic pathogens in Europe , where 5ted tick ,12. Lyme complex . In the I. ricinus was the dominant species, followed by both species of Dermacentor and H. punctata. In the south, in addition to the species mentioned above (except D. reticulatus) we found R. bursa, Hy. marginatum and R.sanguineus, which were very abundant in zones rich in livestock and dogs. Although some species are active all year round, most of them are most active in spring\u2013early summer (April\u2013July) and autumn. A long time has passed since then, and given the emergence of new species of ticks and the introduction of new TBDs, such as Crimean\u2013Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and DEBONEL (Dermacentor-borne necrosis erythema and lymphadenopathy), it seems essential to re-examine the current situation in this area of Spain. Thus, the purpose of this work is to update data about species of ticks removed from people and their spatial and temporal patterns. This will allow identifying the risk areas, activity peaks and dynamics of these vectors.The association between global warming and the emergence of TBDs is well documented in Europe and Eurasia . The geo2 and is one of the most extensive regions of the European Union. Although there is a marked continental climate in most of the territory, characterized by cold winters and hot summers with short periods of spring and autumn, regional variations in both temperatures and rainfall allow us to distinguish different climatic domains in the region: continentalized Mediterranean in the center, with semi-arid enclaves in some areas, mountain Mediterranean in mountainous areas in the northeast, east and south and Atlantic in the north , an area located in northwestern Spain. It covers a surface of 94,224 kmhe north . This grR. sanguineus (s.l.) ticks, which were identified only to the \u201cgroup\u201d level as the re-definition of R. sanguineus sensu stricto (s.s.) [Rhipicephalus turanicus specimens were also reported as R. sanguineus s.l. Tick species, developmental stages , sex and feeding degree were recorded, as well as the epidemiological characteristics of the patients  and anatomic location of the attachment of the tick on the patient. A unique individual identification number was assigned to each tick and its corresponding file.During 2014\u20132019, ticks were collected from people who went to primary healthcare centers and hospital emergency services in Castilla y Le\u00f3n for their removal through a program of the Junta de Castilla y Le\u00f3n for the prevention and control of tick-borne anthropozoonoses. The ticks were removed from the hosts with tweezers and sent to our laboratory  at room temperature in a container. Each tick was morphologically identified under a binocular lens in terms of life stage and species using taxonomic reference keys ,22,23. Eo (s.s.)  was not https://geocode.localfocus.nl, accessed on 28 February 2022), prior to data curation. The latitude and longitude were then projected to the coordinate reference system ETRS89 to map the distribution of the species of interest through the years and the median temperature in the provinces of the autonomous community of Castilla y Le\u00f3n, using pretty breaks as a data classification method. All the maps were constructed in QGIS 3.18.3 \u201cZ\u00fcrich\u201d  [Information about tick bites was obtained from the database of the center of reference of the Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca-Research Center for Tropical Diseases at the University of Salamanca. To obtain the geographical coordinates of every tick bite, we geocoded the locations of tick collections using \u201cBatch geocoder for journalists\u201d (ndation) .Absolute frequencies were used to summarize the number of each species and show visual tendencies across years and seasons. Relative frequencies converted into percentages were used to visualize tendencies between the sex and life stages of the collected ticks, and both frequencies were used to show the epidemiological characteristics of people bitten by ticks. ggplot2 [p were adjusted using the false discovery rate and Bonferroni methods, considering values less than or equal to 0.05 as statistically significant.In addition, we searched for signals of displacement in the geographic distribution of the collected ticks. For the visual pattern, we used geographic coordinates of the previous geocode step. The comparative figures were constructed using the package ggplot2 , in the ggplot2 . The KruI. ricinus was the most frequent species infesting humans (52.29%), followed by R. bursa (12.15%), R. sanguineus s.l. (10.38%), Hy. marginatum (9.08%), D. marginatus (8.06%), Hy. lusitanicum (3.79%), D. reticulatus (2.48%) and H. punctata (1.73%). Although this general trend was maintained over the six years of the study, during recent years, there has been a clear increase in Hy. lusitanicum and Rhipicephalus bursa.A total of 8143 ticks were collected over 6 years, of which 8081 were identified to the species level and life stage . The remaining 62 were discarded as their morphological identification was impossible due to the structural and conservation state in which they were received. Ixodid ticks belonging to five genera and eight species were found ; I. riciD. reticulatus and H. punctata), others underwent changes. Hyalomma lusitanicum is a clear example of how a species has increased over time , especially since 2015. Similarly, this occurred with R. bursa, with a huge growth spike in 2019 . Dermacentor marginatus and Hy. marginatum had roughly identical temporal distributions with clear downward trends in 2017 and 2018 before recovering in 2019. Rhipicephalus sanguineus and I. ricinus both had their maximum peak in 2015. Despite this, both species exhibited a downward trend.Regarding the temporal distribution , while sIxodes, where nymphs (60.31%) were collected in much larger numbers  for all the species, while for Hyalomma species, the adults recovered were mainly males (68.20%). Larvae were recovered only from I. ricinus. This composition of females and males did not change throughout the study. The adult stage  was the most frequent in all genera  except f numbers . For Dern = 6303) was reported during spring and summer (April to July) and the lowest in winter (January and early February) . Ixodes ticks were the most frequent and widely distributed species . Rhipicephalus had one activity peak in spring with a decrease in summer (most bites in May and June) and practically disappeared in autumn and winter in the case of R. bursa. For R. sanguineus, despite the decreases in the number of cases, it was still active during these seasons. Both species of Dermacentor were active all year, although they showed pronounced seasonality with two annual peaks of maximum activity in spring and autumn for D. marginatus and autumn and winter for D. reticulatus, with very little or no presence in summer. Most D. marginatum bites were in April and May, with slightly lower peaks in October and March, while most bites by D. reticulatus occurred in December and March, with a smaller peak in April. Haemaphysalis had a very low occurrence and was limited to spring (May and June).The highest number of tick bites  and by year: 2018 compared with 2015 , 2019 compared with 2014  and 2019 compared with 2015 . In the case of the latitude, this was statistically significant only at the group level .Looking at how the distribution of ticks has varied over the years by analyzing the latitude and longitude , we can Data on sex, age and sites of tick bites on people are shown in 2 = 339.90, df = 21, p < 0.05), we observed statistically significant differences between age groups for each of the species, except in the case of D. reticulatus. We removed the greatest number of ticks from the species I. ricinus, R. bursa, D. marginatus, Hy. marginatum and Hy. lusitanicum from the 55+ age group, while R. sanguineus and H. punctata were mostly retired from the children\u2019s age group (0\u201314).Using the chi-square test . We observed that for all species, the number of ticks removed from men was significantly higher than from women, except in the case of Ixodes ricinus and Hyalomma spp. were removed more frequently from the lower limbs than from other body locations, while R. sanguineus., Dermacentor spp. and H. punctata were mainly fixed on the head. In the case of ticks belonging to the R. bursa species, the main attachment site was the thorax.Ticks were most frequently removed from adults from the lower limbs (29.12% of 3561), and children were mainly bitten on the head (38.25% of 1422). The emergence of novel tick-borne diseases in recent years has made it essential to understand the distribution of tick populations. Although there are already studies on the distribution of ticks in different areas of Spain ,19,28,29Ixodes ricinus was the most predominant and widely distributed species, both spatially and temporally, with a clear dominance over the others, followed by R. bursa. These results coincide with those observed in other studies carried out by our group seventeen years ago [I. ricinus and R. bursa were also the prevalent species. However, data about other ticks have changed over the years. Hyalomma marginatum is currently the fourth most frequently removed species from humans, followed very closely by R. sanguineus s.l, whereas in a previous study (1996\u20132002), it was ranked fifth behind D. marginatus. Nevertheless, the percentage of recovered ticks belonging to D. marginatus was higher in the 1997\u20132002 period. The most evident case of a change in distribution patterns and abundance was found for Hy. lusitanicum, which currently accounts for 4.2% of the ticks removed from humans, compared to 0.85% in the previous study. In this sense, keep in mind that ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the main vectors of CCHFV, which is currently considered an emerging or possibly a re-emerging pathogen in Southern Europe. Although the presence of this virus was already reported in Spain in 2010 [Hyalomma ticks observed in this area. All observed changes in both distribution patterns and frequency of ticks are determined not only by biotic factors such as climate or abiotic factors (vegetation), but also by the accessibility of hosts.ears ago , in whic in 2010 , an incr in 2010 ,32. The I. ricinus over the other species is not unique to the study area. The same pattern has been observed in studies carried out in different locations in Spain [I. ricinus, which is also consistent with what was observed in a study previously conducted by our group [The predominance of in Spain ,33,34,35ur group . Our resur group ,37.Although we cannot conclude that ticks have a preference among human hosts according to their sex, of the 7862 participants included in this study, 65.40% were men and 34.59% were women. This preference for males is very similar to that observed by Fern\u00e1ndez Soto in 2003 (62% men and 38% women). The fact that this pattern remains the same as it was almost 20 years ago may indicate that the occupational and behavioral habits in terms of outdoor activities among men and women have not changed. Thus, 22.59% of tick bite victims are in the age group of 14 years old or younger, while the 15\u201335 group has the lowest number of tick bites at 16.94%, in line with Northern Europe .Differences in anatomical sites of attachment were observed for both children and adults. Tick bites occurred most frequently on the lower limbs and thorax in adults and on the head in children. Similar results have been observed in other studies in Western and Northern Europe, with a predominance of bites on the legs in adults and the head and neck in children ,39,40,41Ixodes were detected throughout the year but mostly in spring, autumn and later winter (March), which differed somewhat from previous years in the same study area where adults were biting mainly in autumn and spring but not in winter [Hyalomma is infrequent in winter, with its peak activity in spring and summer, with June and July being the months with the most reported cases for both species. In recent years, we have seen that Hy. marginatum bites are being brought forward to May. The activity pattern of Rhipicephalus has been maintained in northwestern Spain over time, with two peaks in spring and summer, although as with Hyalomma, in the case of R. bursa, there are many reports of bites as early as May. Dermacentor shows a particular seasonality, being practically absent in summer for both species, which could lead us to think that it does not feel comfortable with hot temperatures. Dermacentor marginatus presents a bimodal activity pattern with peaks in spring (April\u2013May) and autumn, and the peak number of bites always in April. In the case of D. reticulatus, bites occur similarly in autumn, winter and spring (from October to March). This differs from the situation observed in Belgium, where the highest peaks of activity occur in spring (March\u2013May) and late summer and autumn (August\u2013November) [Haemaphysalis is practically limited to spring. Although previous studies have reported cases in summer, we have not seen them.Although ticks are removed during all months of the year, the highest number of tick bites are recorded during spring and summer, with a peak of tick activity in June and July, as observed in this same area in previous studies. These data are also in accordance with several studies carried out in Europe ,42,43,44n winter . These an winter ,36,42,45Dermacentor marginatus, D. reticulatus and H. punctata were mainly distributed in the north of the study area, although the greatest increase in D. marginatus was seen in the southwest. On the other hand, Hy. marginatum, Hy. lusitanicum and R. bursa were found in greater numbers in the south. Hyalomma marginatum is expanding its habitat to southwestern areas, and Hy. lusitanicum in recent years to arid or semi-arid areas in the west. The wider distribution of Hyalomma in the south could explain the increasing occurrence of CCFH virus observed in this area in recent years. Finally, I. ricinus and R. sanguineus were distributed in both areas. However, the greatest number of specimens was found in the northeast for both, especially I. ricinus.While studying the geographical distribution of the ticks, we observed quite stable and different distribution patterns between the north and the south. These distribution patterns were determined by various climatic (temperature and humidity) and ecological factors. I. ricinus nymphs. Ticks bite particularly on the legs of adults and on the head of children. Therefore, although the peak season for tick bites is spring and summer, tick bites are becoming increasingly frequent in autumn and even winter. Seasonal tick patterns have changed in recent years, both in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, where many species of ticks have expanded their distribution. The increased period of activity increases the likelihood of being bitten and therefore of being infected by a tick-borne pathogen. This study is essential for proper epidemiological surveillance. Moreover, knowledge of tick populations and human exposure to tick bites could suggest ways to reduce the risk of tick-borne diseases.Our results show that humans from northwestern Spain are mainly bitten by"}
+{"text": "The Plesiosauria (Sauropterygia) are secondary marine diapsids. They are the only tetrapods to have evolved hydrofoil fore- and hindflippers. Once this specialization of locomotion had evolved, it remained essentially unchanged for 135 Ma. It is still controversial whether plesiosaurs flew underwater, rowed, or used a mixture of the two modes of locomotion. The long bones of Tetrapoda are functionally loaded by torsion, bending, compression, and tension during locomotion. Superposition of load cases shows that the bones are loaded mainly by compressive stresses. Therefore, it is possible to use finite element structure analysis (FESA) as a test environment for loading hypotheses. These include muscle reconstructions and muscle lines of action (LOA) when the goal is to obtain a homogeneous compressive stress distribution and to minimize bending in the model. Myological reconstruction revealed a muscle-powered flipper twisting mechanism. The flippers of plesiosaurs were twisted along the flipper length axis by extensors and flexors that originated from the humerus and femur as well as further distal locations.Cryptoclidus eurymerus (Middle Jurassic Oxford Clay Formation from Britain) were analyzed using FE methods based on the concept of optimization of loading by compression. After limb muscle reconstructions including the flipper twisting muscles, LOA were derived for all humerus and femur muscles of Cryptoclidus by stretching cords along casts of the fore- and hindflippers of the mounted skeleton. LOA and muscle attachments were added to meshed volumetric models of the humerus and femur derived from micro-CT scans. Muscle forces were approximated by stochastic iteration and the compressive stress distribution for the two load cases, \u201cdownstroke\u201d and \u201cupstroke\u201d, for each bone were calculated by aiming at a homogeneous compressive stress distribution.To investigate locomotion in plesiosaurs, the humerus and femur of a mounted skeleton of Humeral and femoral depressors and retractors, which drive underwater flight rather than rowing, were found to exert higher muscle forces than the elevators and protractors. Furthermore, extensors and flexors exert high muscle forces compared to Cheloniidae. This confirms a convergently evolved myological mechanism of flipper twisting in plesiosaurs and complements hydrodynamic studies that showed flipper twisting is critical for efficient plesiosaur underwater flight. Plesiosauria are secondarily aquatic tetrapods that lived in the sea from the Late Triassic  until thi.e., Cheloniidae + Dermochelyidae)). Unlike plesiosaurs, only the foreflippers of penguins, sea turtles, whales and dolphins (Cetacea), and sea lions (Otariinae) are hydrofoil-like flippers  , and forflippers . The hinflippers  which arflippers . The hinCryptoclidus eurymerus, a Middle Jurassic cryptoclidid known from many specimens from the lower Oxford Clay Formation of England  shows these features well. The humeral and femoral heads of plesiosaurs were probably covered by a thick and vascularized cartilaginous cap  gastrocnemius)   or wallacnemius) . In contba livia  or aboutrhynchos . In generhynchos .As measurements with strain gauges show, the long bones of Tetrapoda are functionally loaded by torsion, compression, and bending in an intermittent fashion. Most often they are loaded by bending in alternate directions or mainly by compression and subordinately by tension. High torsional loads act on the long bones of terrestrial tetrapods .To represent such changing loading conditions, a series of load cases can be analyzed using finite element structural analysis FESA;  and thenvia tension chords. Tension chords are either muscles and tendons (active tension chords) or ligaments (passive tension chords), and they act in pairs of agonists and antagonists  exhibited at the Goldfu\u00df Museum, Section of Paleontology, Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn (IGPB), on which the muscle reconstructions of LOA represent the direct connection in a straight line between the origin and attachment of a muscle . HoweverDermochelys coriacea and its associated osteological correlates    and the e.g., m. subcoracoscapularis, m. coracobrachialis brevis, m. pectoralis). In the case of the m. latissimus dorsi, for example, a position between the most cranial and the most caudal origin was chosen. This was done to represent the parts that are best supported by the EPB , but also to cover the less well supported part   were taken from al part) .e.g., m. pectoralis, m. latissimus dorsi, m. puboischiofemoralis internus, and m. puboischiofemoralis externus. Muscles with two or more heads , m. flexor tibialis internus, m. flexor tibialis externus, m. puboischiofemoralis internus, and m. puboischiofemoralis externus) were implemented as two (or more) cords. The resulting vectors of the different subsections of these muscles, which have a large area of origin, were included in the FE models. Agonistic and antagonistic muscles attaching to, originating from, or spanning the humerus   and 7B, We chose not to refer to the neutral flipper position as the resting position of the flipper because it is probably impossible to determine the resting position of the flipper for an extinct species. Furthermore, in the muscle physiology literature, the term \u201cresting length\u201d usually refers to individual sarcomeres  or fascii.e., maximum deflection on downstroke, neutral position, and maximum deflection on upstroke, were measured in cm using a tape measure as the distance between the respective terminal strips. The changes in length between the maximum deflection on the downstroke and the neutral position and between the maximum deflection on the upstroke and the neutral position were recalculated as percentages, with the resting length set to 100%. Then, muscle stretching, muscle contraction, and the difference between the two, the total change in muscle length, were calculated in % . Hence, a different area of origin  was tested, which yielded physiologically plausible results, which were then measured for all three positions.All three positions of the fore- and hindflippers were fixed in sequence with black nylon cords suspending the flippers from the wooden frame. For each of the three positions, the length of each muscle was fixed using the terminal strips by tightening the small screws in the terminal strips on the muscle cords. Then, each muscle cord was removed from the model by unhooking it from the screw eye pins, and all three muscle lengths, ted in % . Bar grated in %  and 8B. z-direction for the humerus and femur.FESA requires a 3D model of the bones to be investigated. Hence, the right humerus and left femur were removed from the mounted skeleton IGPB R 324 and scanned with the micro-CT scanner at IGPB. The scanner is an industrial high-resolution computed tomography scanner . The scans were processed using the dedicated datos|x software and the VGStudio MAX (Volume Graphics) program to obtain image stacks in the i.e., cortical vs. spongy, because this would have precluded implementation of torsion in the FESA. The reason is that the much stiffer cortex would take up all the stress peaks.The two image stacks were loaded into Simpleware ScanIP 5.1  for furtThe 3D model was then imported into ANSYS 16.0  as the .stl file. The dimensions of the humerus and femur from IGPB R 324 were used to scale the respective volumetric model to the original size. Subsequently, the proximal articular cartilage or articular surface between the glenoid and acetabulum was modeled as a volume. Bonded contacts between the artificial cartilage structures were implemented in the analysis. The models were constrained by fixed boundaries on the upper surface of the cartilage volume. Similar to other established finite element models , the matNext, the LOA and muscle insertions had to be implemented in the FE model. We did this by taking photographs of the analog model in anterior, posterior, dorsal and ventral views and in these traced the LOA and their angles of attachment on the humerus  and femuForce transmission to the distal articular surfaces of the humerus and femur due to muscle activity was initially applied in one point. This resulted in artificially high, localized stress peaks. Therefore, the force application was divided into several application points distributed over the distal articular surfaces to perform a more realistic simulation of load application over one surface.The stress distribution was calculated for both bones \u201310N. TheTwo load cases, downstroke and upstroke, were selected for calculation to reflect the constantly changing load on the humerus and femur during the flipper beat cycle \u201310J. TheFor both load cases, a position was chosen in which the humerus was held horizontally at the level of the glenoid and pointed laterally and slightly forward, as in the analog model. Similarly, the femur was positioned horizontally at the level of the acetabulum with the flipper tip pointing mainly laterally, but also angled slightly posteriorly. On the downstroke, the humerus and femur were also rotated anteriorly downward around their long axis by approximately 19\u00b0  to modelFor the implementation of load cases, it is crucial to identify and consider which muscles act as agonists and antagonists . The shoTo identify agonists and antagonists, opposing muscle functions  and 3 arAs detailed above, humeral muscles reconstructed based on comparative anatomy  were tesvia a common tendon or on the posteroproximal part of the radius and anteroproximal part of the ulna. In addition, the m. triceps brachii was suggested to originate anterodorsally from the bony ridge surrounding the glenoid on the scapula and from the coracoid immediately posterior to the glenoid and suggested to insert into the posterodorsal ulna .M. coracobrachialis brevis, m. coracobrachialis longus, m. biceps brachii, the large posterior portions of m. pectoralis, m. subcoracoscapularis, m. supracoracoideus and m. latissimus dorsi are humeral retractors. They are opposing the humeral protractors, namely the m. deltoideus clavicularis, m. deltoideus scapularis, and the small anterior portions of the m. supracoracoideus, m. subcoracoscapularis, and m. latissimus dorsi. The m. deltoideus scapularis, the m. subcoracoscapularis, the m. latissimus dorsi, and possibly to a very small extent the m. triceps brachii, the m. scapulohumeralis anterior, and the m. scapulohumeralis posterior cause elevation of the humerus. The humeral depressors m. supracoracoideus, m. coracobrachialis brevis, m. coracobrachialis longus, m. deltoideus clavicularis, m. biceps brachii, and m. pectoralis act antagonistically to the humeral elevators. The m. triceps brachii, the smaller anterior portion of the m. subcoracoscapularis, the large posterior portion of the m. pectoralis, the m. biceps brachii, the m. scapulohumeralis anterior, the m. scapulohumeralis posterior, and the m. deltoideus clavicularis contribute to the downward rotation of the foreflipper. Functionally antagonistic are m. deltoideus scapularis, m. coracobrachialis brevis, m. coracobrachialis longus, the larger posterior part of m. subcoracoscapularis and m. latissimus dorsi .Further subdivisions into agonistic and antagonistic muscles are possible: The small anterior portion of the m. latissimus dorsi (providing weak elevation and protraction) is opposing in function to the large posterior portion of the m. pectoralis (providing strong retraction and depression). The small anterior m. pectoralis portion (providing protraction and depression) and the large posterior m. latissimus dorsi portion (providing strong elevation and retraction) act as agonist and antagonist. The m. subcoracoscapularis and m. deltoideus scapularis, which elevate and retract the humerus, find their functional antagonists in the m. coracobrachialis brevis, m. coracobrachialis longus, m. biceps brachii, and the posterior portion of the m. supracoracoideus, which depress and retract the humerus. The large posterior portion of the m. subcoracoscapularis acts as a humeral elevator and retractor, and the anterior portion of the m. supracoracoideus and m. deltoideus clavicularis act opposite to them as humeral depressors and protractors .Muscles originating from the humerus aid in flipper twisting : the m. The elevators of the hindflipper are m. puboischiofemoralis internus, m. iliotibialis, m. iliofemoralis, m. iliofibularis, m. caudofemoralis brevis, m. caudofemoralis longus, m. flexor tibialis externus (iliac portion), and m. flexor tibialis internus . M. puboischiofemoralis externus, m. adductor femoris, m. ischiotrochantericus, m. puboischiotibialis, m. flexor tibialis externus  and m. flexor tibialis internus  act as femoral depressors. Protractors are the m. puboischiofemoralis externus (pubic portion), m. puboischiofemoralis internus , m. ambiens, and m. pubotibialis. The retractors of the hindflipper are m. puboischiofemoralis externus , m. puboischiofemoralis internus , m. adductor femoris, m. ischiotrochantericus, m. iliofemoralis, m. iliotibialis, m. caudofemoralis brevis, m. caudofemoralis longus, m. flexor tibialis externus, and m. flexor tibialis internus. The downward rotation of the flipper leading edge during the downstroke is controlled by the agonists m. puboischiofemoralis internus (pubic portion), m. puboischiofemoralis externus , m. caudofemoralis brevis, m. caudofemoralis longus, m. ambiens (when the femur is elevated), m. ischiotrochantericus, m. iliofibularis (as long as the fibula is below the origin of these muscles), m. puboischiotibialis, m. pubotibialis (when the femur is elevated), m. flexor tibialis internus and m. flexor tibialis externus. The agonists are opposed by the antagonistically acting m. iliotibialis, m. ambiens (when the femur is depressed), m. pubotibialis (when the femur is depressed), m. iliofemoralis, m. puboischiofemoralis internus  and m. puboischiofemoralis externus (large pubic portion) .In addition, the muscles can be assigned to the following subgroups: The m. puboischiofemoralis internus, which originates from the dorsal pubis and vertebral column, is opposed by muscles originating from the ventral ischium , m. adductor femoris, and the ischial portions of m. flexor tibialis internus and m. flexor tibialis externus). The pubic portion of m. puboischiofemoralis externus, m. ambiens and m. pubotibialis, which originate from the ventral region of the pubic bone, have muscles originating from the ilium and posterior vertebral column as antagonists ). Musculus ambiens and m. pubotibialis have m. iliofibularis as antagonist. M. femorotibialis and m. extensor digitorum longus mostly originate dorsal to the femur. M. gastrocnemius externus, m. gastrocnemius internus and m. flexor digitorum longus arise ventrally from the femur. M. gastrocnemius externus and m. gastrocnemius internus as well as m. flexor digitorum longus (flexion of the toes) appear to be opposite to m. extensor digitorum longus (extension of the toes) and m. femorotibialis .Compressive stress distribution and muscle forces were calculated for the downstroke and upstroke load cases of the humerus FE model. For the initial FESA runs, the dorsal tuberosity of the humerus was left unloaded. Augmenting the FESA to include wrapping of the m. latissimus dorsi and m. subcoracoscapularis around the dorsal tuberosity, which resulted from LOA observations, helped to apply compressive stress to this process. In addition, extensor and flexor muscles wrapping around the anterior and posterior distal processes (ectepicondylar and entepicondylar processes) of the humerus allowed their loading by compressive stress. This is because muscles that wrap around a bone exert compressive stress on it. In contrast, muscles that do not wrap around the bone exert only local tensile stress on the bone.In the FESA results for the humerus  and 9L, On the distal articular surface of the humerus, high stress peaks occur in a very confined manner  and 9K. i.e., m. latissimus dorsi and m. subcoracoscapularis. Nevertheless, both, m. subcoracoscapularis  and m. latissimus dorsi , develop high forces to maintain the upstroke together. In general, it appears that greater muscle forces are generated by the retractors and depressors of the humerus than by its elevators and protractors. In addition, extensors and flexors sometimes develop extremely high muscle forces, with the m. flexor carpi radialis generating 8,460 N on the downstroke and the m. extensor digitorum communis generating 6,000 N on the upstroke  among the muscles spanning the glenoid. Surprisingly, on the upstroke, the m. pectoralis still develops a higher force  than either of the two main humeral elevators, upstroke .There is a wide range of values for the Young\u2019s modulus of bone in the literature, and the value of 12,000 MPa chosen in this study is a relatively low estimate. We justify our choice of this low value because the flipper model is made of a homogeneous material. A higher value would not change the stress distribution or the stress level but would affect the strain: a higher Young\u2019s modulus is associated with lower strains in linear elastic materials.The compressive stress distribution and muscle forces were calculated for the down- and upstroke load cases of the femur FE model. In the initial femur FESA runs, we were unable to apply compressive stresses to the dorsal trochanter and distal epiphyses of the femur because the muscles would simply pull away from their origin. Thus, only localized tensile stresses were observed in the FESAs. We then introduced muscle wrappings as in the humerus, with the m. iliofemoralis and m. puboischiofemoralis internus wrapped around the dorsal trochanter and the extensors and flexors wrapped around the distally greatly expanded epicondyles of the femur. This resulted in these structures being loaded by compressive stress.Color coding of compressive stress distribution in the plesiosaur femur  and 10L The muscle forces of the many two-joint muscles  in the hindflipper cannot be determined, because they influence the femur only indirectly by contributing to the counterforce. On the downstroke, the m. puboischiofemoralis externus generates the highest muscle force . On the upstroke, the m. puboischiofemoralis internus generates up to 7,611 N. The forces of the extensor and flexor muscles are much lower in the femur than in the humerus. The gastrocnemius muscle, a flexor muscle, develops a total force of up to 1,176 N .Muscles originating dorsally from the glenoid and acetabulum extend on the downstroke and contract on the upstroke. Muscles originating ventrally from the glenoid and acetabulum contract when the humerus and femur are depressed on the downstroke and lengthen on the upstroke when the humerus and femur are elevated.i.e. the length changes were not measurable with the technique used here, i.e. they are smaller than 1.7 cm . The m. coracobrachialis brevis (posterior part) shows very small muscle shortening (3.88%). Otherwise, the changes in total muscle length cover the entire physiological spectrum, from about 9% in the posterior part of the m. subcoracoscapularis to 37% in the anterior part of the m. latissimus dorsi. The only muscle that stands out is the m. deltoideus scapularis with a total length change of over 70%. This is clearly not physiological. Therefore, a screw eye pin was screwed into a different hypothetical region of origin of the m. deltoideus scapularis. This different origin was located at the ventral to ventrolateral scapula anterior to the glenoid. The total muscle length change was again measured in all three flipper positions and was now within the measurement error of the analog model and well within physiological limits  ) show no length change, l limits .Total muscle length changes for the hindflipper range from 0% to 35.8%. We detected no length changes for the m. caudofemoralis brevis (ilium portion) and the m. pubotibialis. In addition, the m. caudofemoralis brevis, which originates from the vertebral column, shows little change in total muscle length (5.2%), while the muscle with the greatest change (35.82%) in total length is the part of the m. puboischiofemoralis internus that originates from the vertebral column .e.g., m. puboischiofemoralis externus (23.55%)), for example, exhibited similar shortening to a muscle originating from the anterodorsal pubis ).Considering the agonistic and antagonistic muscles, the total length changes of m. pectoralis and m. latissimus dorsi, the two muscles that mainly drive the downstroke and upstroke of the foreflipper, are quite similar: the anterior part of m. latissimus dorsi (36.96%) and the posterior part of m. pectoralis (35.65%), and the posterior part of m. latissimus dorsi (21.92%) and the anterior part of m. pectoralis (18.75%). We expected that the overall changes in muscle lengths of agonists and antagonists would be similar because of their opposite functions. Instead, we found that the muscles exhibiting comparable total length changes were more likely to be determined by their geometric arrangement relative to the glenoid or acetabulum. That is, a muscle originating from the posteroventral ischium  .The muscle reconstructions on which this study is based were obtained by evaluating comparative anatomical data (the EPB) . These bOne muscle, the m. scapulohumeralis anterior, was added here to the reconstructions of M. scapulohumeralis anterior occurs exclusively in lepidosaurs and not in turtles or crocodylians . In lepiWe reconstructed m. scapulohumeralis anterior in agreement with i.e., a small change, would better account for the often non-parallel and rather complex architecture of the deltoid muscle  could free or largely free the ilium from locomotor muscles, allowing for its reduction in size.Total length changes were calculated for glenoid and acetabular muscles and tested to see if they were within physiological limits. If it had originated from the lateral scapula, the total length change of the m. deltoideus scapularis is not physiological and would not allow the muscle to produce much force see  Table 1. This mae.g., m. deltoideus clavicularis, both m. triceps brachii heads, m. coracobrachialis brevis (posterior part); m. caudofemoralis brevis (ilium), m. pubotibialis) have similar length changes for elevating and depressing the humerus and femur. If protraction and retraction were also considered, as well as rotation of the humerus about the long axis, the muscle length changes would give different results for all these muscles. It is possible that these nearly isometrically contracting muscles had a complex muscle architecture . Another possibility is that the muscles that do not show length changes were reduced in plesiosaurs. Some clues might be provided by the EPB: The m. triceps brachii is greatly reduced or completely reduced in Chelonioidea, depending on the species. The m. coracobrachialis brevis is significantly reduced in Testudines in general  compared to the m. extensor digitorum communis . M. flexor carpi radialis and m. flexor digitorum longus are topologically arranged similarly to m. extensor carpi ulnaris and m. extensor digitorum communis, but on the ventral side of the foreflipper. In contrast, the m. flexor carpi radialis and m. flexor digitorum longus develop much lower muscle forces  . HoweverCryptoclidus (as opposed to many other plesiosaurs), and it is possible that the hindflipper contributes less to propulsion than the foreflipper, as suggested by When comparing the muscle forces of the extensor and flexor muscles of the plesiosaur foreflipper and hindflipper, it is noticeable that those acting on the femur  are geneCryptoclidus eurymerus and in Cheloniidae: The m. pectoralis develops the highest force of all muscles that attach proximally to the humerus  in the shoulder girdle were large and occupied a lot of space. Therefore, it is problematic that the extensor and flexor muscles were inferred to generate similarly large forces because their potential areas of origin are much smaller than those of the glenoid-spanning muscles. There may be several solutions to this paradox. For example, the m. flexor digitorum longus in Sauropsida has a second head originating from the carpus , so it mAnother possibility, how large muscle forces in distal muscles may have been attained, can be observed in dolphins. Dolphins have a relatively well ossified flipper skeleton, although essentially no individual muscles are recognizable. They have only layers of parallel, fibrous connective tissue covering the flipper bones see , p. 1128Cryptoclidus based on the mounted skeleton IGPB R 324. These models are consistent with underwater flight in plesiosaurs based on comparative anatomical and muscle physiological data in accordance with mechanical principles.The highly aquatic-adapted locomotory system of plesiosaurs changed little throughout the 135 million years of plesiosaur evolution. The question of whether plesiosaurs rowed, flew underwater, or used a combination of both has not yet been fully answered. Here we present analog muscle reconstructions and a computer model of the plesiosaur i.e., the dorsal tuberosity of the plesiosaur humerus and the dorsal trochanter of the plesiosaur femur, as well as their epicondyles, proved to be necessary to load the bony structures. Measurements in an analog model of the total length changes of all muscles attaching to, originating from, and spanning the humerus and femur of a plesiosaur revealed that an origin of the m. deltoideus scapularis at the lateral scapula is unphysiological. This suggests a reduction of this muscle from this part of its site of origin, which is well documented in Sauropsida (We show that it is possible to test muscle reconstructions and associated lines of action with FESA by targeting a homogeneous compressive stress distribution in the humerus and femur. The muscle reconstructions of uropsida . Muscle 10.7717/peerj.13342/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.13342/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Escherichia coli (E. coli) drug resistance in large-scale pig farms. In this study, 296 strains of E. coli isolated and identified from large-scale pig farms in Beijing were used as the research objects. In vitro drug sensitivity tests were used to determine the sensitivity to 10 antibiotics of pig-derived E. coli. SPSS logistic regression was employed to analyze the effects of the season, pig type, sampling point (medication type) and sampling location on resistance and multi-drug resistance of E. coli from pigs. The degrees of drug resistance to 10 antibiotics of the 296 strains of pig-derived E. coli were varied, their resistance rates were between 4.05 and 97.64%, and their multi-drug resistance was appalling, with the highest resistance to six antibiotics being 26.35%. The isolated strains were proven more resistant to tetracyclines, penicillin and chloramphenicol, which are commonly used for disease prevention in pig farms, and less resistant to quinolones and aminoglycosides, which are not used in pig farms. The resistance of the isolated strains in spring and summer was generally higher than that in winter. E. coli resistance in piglets, fattening pigs and sows was more serious than that in nursery and sick pigs. The results showed that the season, type of medication and type of pig had an influence on the pig-derived E. coli resistance, among which the type of medication was the most influencing factor.With widespread use of antibiotics in the aquaculture industry, bacterial resistance has recently attracted increasing attention. Continuous emergence of multi-resistant bacteria has greatly threatened human and animal health, as well as the quality and safety of livestock products. To control bacterial resistance, the effect of bacterial resistance needs to be well understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing  Antibiotic resistance (AR) affects treatment of bacterial diseases in humans and animals and will become one of the major threats facing the world in the future . The maiEscherichia coli (E. coli) is an intestinal symbiotic bacterium that exists in animals and humans and is susceptible to high selection pressure from antimicrobial agents in contact with the host. Therefore, E. coli is often used as a carrier for monitoring antimicrobial resistance in human or livestock groups  is increasing worldwide, which has attracted extensive attention  of pig-derived E. coli, including the season, pig type, sampling position (medication type) and sampling location. This study explored the main factors affecting AR of E. coli in pigs and provided a scientific basis for rational use of drugs in large-scale pig farms to control growing bacterial drug resistance.To understand the factors important for antimicrobial resistance of E. coli derived from sick pigs, piglets, sows, nursery pigs, and fattening pigs.Large-scale pig farms in Shunyi District of Beijing were selected for a visit. The herds were farrow-to-finish herds with at least 800 sows, generating 12,000 heads every year. Herds were visited three times to collect samples for antimicrobial resistance profiling of  swabs from E. coli by BLAST . All isolates confirmed as E. coli were tested for antibiotic resistance.After collection, the swab samples were transported to the laboratory where they were processed within a few hours after arrival  standards were followed for inoculum standardization, incubation conditions and internal quality control organisms  and OR \u2260 1.Microsoft Excel was used to include all data, and all the data were classified and a library was constructed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions  software. Single-factor binary logistic regression was utilized to analyze the effects of four factors, including the season, type of pig, sampling position and sampling location, on resistance of E. coli was analyzed, and specific assignment instructions were listed in P-value of the OR value helped screen out possible associations with MDR of E. coli. Significant factors that affect MDR of E. coli were analyzed by adding the selected influencing factors to multi-factor multiple logistic regression analysis based on the magnitude of the OR value with P < 0.05 as the significant difference and OR \u2260 1, and then the main way that could affect MDR of E. coli was analyzed.By single-factor multiple logistic regression, the influence of four factors on MDR of E. coli were tested for their resistance to 10 antibiotics by drug susceptibility. From A total of 296 strains identified as E. coli resistance in different seasons was evaluated, and the results were shown in Herein, pig-derived E. coli resistance, binary logistic regression analysis was employed. AR of E. coli isolated from the samples collected in winter was used as a reference and the results were given in E. coli sampled in spring and summer to all the 10 antibiotics except tetracycline. Compared with E. coli sampled in winter, what was sampled in spring and summer showed a significant difference in resistance to florfenicol, and the OR value of florfenicol (2.963) was higher than other antibiotics in spring. Moreover, E. coli resistance to gentamicin and erythromycin in summer was significantly different from what was in winter, and the OR values were 3.411 and 1.894, respectively.In order to better understand the influence of seasons on E. coli isolated from different types of pigs  was evaluated, and the results were shown in Resistance of E. coli, binary logistic regression analysis was exploited in this study. AR to 10 antibiotics of E. coli isolated from piglets was used as a reference, and all the results were shown in E. coli in nursery pigs and sick pigs was relatively serious. Compared with piglets, significant differences existed in resistance to florfenicol of E. coli from nursery pigs, fattening pigs and sick pigs, and the resistance to florfenicol was very serious in nursery pigs (OR = 12.294). Compared with piglets, resistance to chloramphenicol of E. coli from nursery pigs, fattening pigs and sick pigs was also significantly different, and resistance of E. coli in nursery pigs was more serious than that in fattening pigs and sick pigs (OR = 6). Similarly, compared with piglets, resistance to erythromycin of E. coli from nursery pigs was significantly different (OR = 7). Compared with piglets, there were considerable differences in gentamicin resistance among fattening pigs, sows and sick pigs. By comparing the OR values, it could be found that resistance of piglets to gentamicin was more serious. The results of resistance to florfenicol, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and gentamicin of E. coli isolated from different pig types obtained by binary logistic regression analysis were consistent with those obtained by drug resistance analysis. In short, a significant correlation was presented between pig types and E. coli resistance.To understand the influence of pig types on resistance of E. coli on antibiotic sensitivity was analyzed according to different sampling sites, and the results were shown in The influence of E. coli, binary logistic regression analysis was utilized. Resistance to 10 antibiotics of E. coli isolated from nasal swabs was used as a reference and the results were listed in E. coli from anal and nasal swabs, and the OR values were 0.589, showing that E. coli from nasal swabs was more resistant to florfenicol.To understand the influence of sampling positions on resistance of E. coli from pigs was statistically analyzed according to different sampling locations, and the results were shown in The antibiotic sensitivity of E. coli resistance. Chloramphenicol, banned for veterinary use, possessed a high drug resistance rate for E. coli from pigs, similar to florfenicol. The possible reason is that both drugs belong to the class of chloramphenicol and have been affected by the spread of resistance genes.The tested bacteria isolated from the southern area had higher resistance to florfenicol and chloramphenicol, reaching the resistance rates of 80.21 and 62.5%, respectively, compared with those from the northern area, with their respective resistance rates of 49.04 and 39.42%. The differences in drug use in the northern and southern areas may be the reason for disparate E. coli, binary logistic regression analysis was utilized. The resistance to 10 antibiotics of E. coli isolated from the northern area was used as a reference and the results were listed in E. coli sampled from the southern area to all the 10 antibiotics except tetracycline. Moreover, resistance to florfenicol, chloramphenicol and erythromycin of E. coli from the southern area was significantly different from what was from the northern area, and the OR values were 4.035, 2.561, and 1.82, respectively.To understand the influence of sampling locations on resistance of E. coli resistance. There was a significant correlation between AR of E. coli and the sampling season, pig type and sampling location. The three factors were introduced into the logistic regression equation for multivariate logistic regression analysis. It could be seen from E. coli resistance to all antibiotics except tetracycline in the southern area was higher than that in the northern area.Single-factor binary logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the relationship between the four factors and pig-derived From E. coli from pigs. The rates of resistance to all antibiotics except gentamicin in nursery pigs were higher than that in piglets , revealing that E. coli in winter tended to be more multi-drug resistant than that in spring. Meanwhile, MDR of E. coli in summer was 0.629 times higher than that in winter. Although there was no significant difference, E. coli tended to be more extremely resistant in summer than in winter. In spring and summer, the prevalence of E. coli resistance was more serious.According to E. coli MDR results were statistically analyzed according to different pig types, as shown in The E. coli from nursery pigs were 0.229 times that of piglets , indicating that E. coli from nursery pigs was more likely to obtain extreme drug resistance than piglets. It also showed that the distribution of E. coli resistance in piglets and sows was similar. The comparison of the OR values showed that there was little difference in MDR between piglets and sows (OR = 1.013). From the analysis of different pig types, the extreme drug resistance of E. coli in nursery pigs was more serious, and there was a possibility of vertical transmission from sows to piglets.According to E. coli MDR was statistically analyzed according to different sampling sites of E. coli from pigs, and the results were displayed in E. coli from nasal swabs and anal swabs was mainly concentrated in 5\u20136 antibiotics and the results were listed in E. coli from nasal swabs was mostly concentrated in the MDR category, and extreme resistance of E. coli from anal swabs was more serious. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference between the two. Therefore, the sampling position was not used as a dependent variable for multi-factor multinomial logistic analysis.E. coli from pigs was analyzed according to different sampling locations, and the results were shown in E. coli was more serious in the southern area.MDR of E. coli in the northern area were 4.851 times higher  than those in the southern area. Resistance of E. coli in the southern area was more prone to extreme drug resistance than that in the northern area. Analysis from different sampling locations demonstrated that the prevalence of MDR and resistance to 10 antibiotics of E. coli in the southern area was higher than those in the northern area, indicating that the sampling location was an important factor affecting E. coli drug resistance.According to E. coli from pigs. Among them, the sampling season, pig type and sampling location were significantly associated with MDR of pig-derived E. coli. The three factors were introduced into logistic regression equation to carry out multi-factor multiple logistic regression analysis. According to E. coli in the northern area was 4.113 times that in the southern area , which indicated that E. coli in the southern area was more likely to produce extreme drug resistance than that in the northern area. After logistic regression analysis of the three factors at the same time, only the sampling location was significant, revealing that it was the main factor affecting MDR of E. coli from pigs. The biggest difference between the two sampling locations was caused by the type of drug used. The use of antibiotics was an important factor affecting extreme AR of E. coli from pigs.Single-element multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the four factors and MDR of E. coli isolated from pig farms in spring was detected by paper agar amplification. There was only one strain (1.18%) of E. coli that can produce ESBLs, and the results were given in The expression of extended spectrum \u03b2-lactamases (ESBLs) in 85 strains of E. coli based on types of drugs, pig types, seasons and sampling locations, it is possible to find out the risk factors that trigger bacterial resistance in the pig breeding process and to analyze the factors affecting bacterial resistance, which provides a theoretical basis for mitigating the transmission of drug resistance of E. coli.By exploring the differences in resistance of pig-derived E. coli revealed that E. coli is especially sensitive to quinolones and aminoglycoside drugs, highly resistant to tetracyclines and penicillin, and relatively resistant to sulfonamides and chloramphenicol. The rate of E. coli resistance to erythromycin is low, mainly concentrated between susceptibility and resistance, indicating that E. coli is potentially resistant to erythromycin. This warns farmers that use of macrolide drugs should be controlled to reduce the risk of E. coli resistance to macrolide drugs. Pig-derived E. coli is mainly resistant to 5\u20136 kinds of antibiotics, and the ratio of resistance to more than 3 kinds of drugs is 85.47%, indicating that resistance of E. coli in farms is relatively serious. Similar E. coli resistance results have been found in the study that tested pig farms in France, Italy, Denmark and Sweden , suggesting that pig-derived E. coli in global pig farms is highly resistant to tetracyclines, penicillin, and sulfonamides, which may be related to long-term, widespread use of these three types of drugs in the pig-feeding industry.Comprehensive analysis of AR and MDR distribution of pig-derived d Sweden . A studyThailand , which iE. coli clinical isolates in Oceania, Africa, America, Europe, and Asia, which were 0.32, 2.27, 5.19, 25.49, and 66.72, respectively. Their research included 79% of the works published between 2014 and 2020 (E. coli (MCRPEC) isolates from 774 stool samples collected from 5,159 healthy individuals in 30 provinces and municipalities in 2016, with MCRPEC prevalence ranging from 3.7 to 32.7% (average: 15.0%)\u2014substantially higher than previously reported  genes, emerged as a major threat to the control of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. and 2020 . Shen etreported .As human aplastic anemia and certain reproductive/hepatotoxic issues in animals could be induced by chloramphenicol, its use in food, feed, medicine and aquaculture production has been banned for at least 20 years in different parts of the world . Since 2E. coli resistance than piglets, fattening pigs and sows, and the epidemic situation of extreme drug resistance of E. coli was more serious in nursery pigs. SPSS logistic regression equation was used to analyze the effects of pig types on AR and MDR of pig-derived E. coli. It was found that E. coli resistance for piglets and nursery pigs in pig farms was more serious, which was similar to the situation in pig farms in Liaoning and other provinces, indicating that most pig farms were facing high E. coli AR in piglets and nursery pigs across the country. This may be ascribed to younger ages of piglets and nursery pigs, underdevelopment of their bodies, low immunity and susceptibility to diseases. In the treatment process, resistance of E. coli is further enhanced due to the influence of selective pressure. The spread of infectious diseases in pig farms is affected by many factors such as the feeding mode and disease control, herd size, biosecurity and sanitation level  and for therapeutic purposes  in the Netherlands revealed a relationship between antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance  of E. coli resistant to all tested antibiotics, defining its relatively high resistance.A total of 85 isolated pig-derived E. coli isolated from pigs were analyzed and it was found that there were significant differences in AR and MDR of E. coli from pigs. Among these factors, drug types significantly affected AR and MDR of E. coli isolated from pigs. In conclusion, the seasonal change, selective drug use and type of pig have impacts on AR of E. coli from pigs according to SPSS logistic regression analysis. The experimental comparison results implied that the medication type was the main factor affecting AR of E. coli.In this paper, the effects of seasons, pig types, sampling positions (medication type) and sampling locations on drug resistance and MDR of The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/SY conceived and designed the experiments. QL and YC provided the detection samples, statistical and data analysis in this research. RZ and JW contributed to the reagents and materials. XL prepared the draft of this manuscript. RL and YW collected the samples. AC revised the article and checked the figures. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Nowadays, with numerous sensors placed everywhere around us, we can obtain signals collected from a variety of environment-based sensors, including the ones placed on the ground, cased in the air or water, etc. These sensors can produce various signals, such as audio, image, video, infrared data, and so on. The obtained signals are usually processed using dedicated software, utilizing the output of these sensors. The construction of optimized sensors, the development of the theory that can he applied for signal representation and analysis, as well as the design of software for the processing of the obtained data represent broadly explored research topics. Therefore, recent advances in these areas are of interest for many researchers, and for the users of sensing techniques.The Special Issue entitled \u201cAnalytics and Applications of Audio and Image Sensing Techniques\u201d is focused on original research involving the use of various audio and image sensing devices, both simultaneously and separately. It collected a diverse set of papers that span a wide range of analyses and possible applications.Digital signal processing;Audio signal analysis;Image analysis;Pattern recognition.Topics for the Special Issue included the following:Altogether, 17 papers have been included in this Special Issue.The papers presented in this Special Issue cover a broad range of topics, from the theory of signal analysis, to practical applications of audio and image sensing techniques. Audio signals discussed in these papers cover both speech and music, including measurements of airflow in organ pipes. Image and video data analyzed in the presented papers include microscope images and infrared images, as well as face images. All papers are briefly presented below.The paper  by A. StSix contributions in this Special Issue are dedicated to audio signal, including both music and speech.The paper  by M. BlP. Wrzeciono in his paper  presentsThe sound of organ pipes is also addressed in the paper  by D. W\u0119P. Odya, J. Kotus, A. Kurowski, and B. Kostek in  analyzedIn the next paper , A. KuroK. Szklanny and J. Lachowicz in  describeFive papers in this Special Issue deal with image processing, including face images, microscopic images, and infrared images.A. E. Mahdaoui, A. Ouahabi, and M. S. Moulay in  propose M. Geremek and K. Szklanny in  investigIn , E. KubeThe next paper , writtenL. C. M. Dafico, E. Barreira, R. M. S. F. Almeida, and H. Carasek in  use infrFive papers in this Special Issue present techniques related to the processing and usage of video signal and audiovisual data.G. Canet Tarr\u00e9s and M. Pard\u00e0s in  propose In paper , F. VossK. Hirayama, S. Chen, S. Saiki, and M. Nakamura in  describeThe study presented in  by J. QuK. Szklanny, M. Wichrowski, and A. Wieczorkowska in  present Sensors will find many of them interesting and inspiring.The papers collected in this Special Issue present a wide range of topics in audio, image, and video domains. I do hope the readership of Sensors, for their hard work in successful preparation of this Special Issue.I would like to thank all the authors who submitted papers to this Special Issue, the reviewers for their efforts in improving the papers, and the editors of"}
+{"text": "Chlamydia psittaci, is widespread throughout the world. In humans, C. psittaci infection may lead to severe conditions and complications, including sepsis and multiple organ failure. We report a cluster of cases caused by C. psittaci in Zhejiang Province, 2021, which led to one death and three cases of hospitalization.Psittacosis, caused by The cases were confirmed by nest-PCR, RT-PCR, and mNGS.The four cases were related and the sequences obtained from the samples were closely correlated with those from Taiwan.C. psittaci.This study is the first to report on the case of death from psittacosis in Zhejiang Province, and our results help to assess the disease and recommend effective measures to prevent further spread of  Chlamydia psittaci infection. C. psittaci is a Gram-negative pathogen that infects humans throughout the world   .C. psittaci, drawing attention to psittacosis and strengthening disease surveillance.In this study, we report a cluster of psittacosis cases in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China, in 2021, which caused one death and three cases of hospitalization. Among the four patients with confirmed psittacosis, three patients belonged to the same family and all four cases were connected. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the case of death from psittacosis in Zhejiang Province in recent years, and can help in further research on transmission of C. psittaci pneumonia was confirmed by the presence of C. psittaci sequence reads in his bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and blood samples by mNGS. The other three patients , all from Longquan and with C. psittaci infection, were related to Patient 1 and belong to the same family. Patient 2 (65 years old) once bought ducks from Patient 1 and was hospitalized on August 28, 2021, due to severe fever and chills. The condition of Patient 2 deteriorated quickly, and the patient died on September 13, 2021. His wife, Patient 3, developed chills, fatigue, and nausea on August 28, 2021, and was hospitalized for treatment on August 30, 2021. Their son, Patient 4, who attended and stayed with Patients 2 and 3 in the hospital, was hospitalized on September 5, 2021, due to severe fever and chills. The time of disease onset is shown in Patient 1 was from Qingyun County and was hospitalized on August 21, 2021, with fever and chills. Five specimens, including one bronchoalveolar lavage and four serum samples from the four hospitalized patients, were collected from the Central Hospital of Lishui, Zhejiang Province. A total of 74 environmental samples (30 from Patient 1 and 44 from the village of the other three patients), including throat swabs, anal swabs, dung, and drinking water of ducks, chicks, or geese were collected from the patients\u2019 homes.C. psittaci locus tag 16S rRNA and nested PCR ). The results of nested PCR were confirmed by sequencing at Sangon Biotech Company  and BLAST (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/).The total DNA of the samples was extracted using a commercial kit , according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. The DNA was analyzed by real-time PCR targeting the . psittaci-positive samples by sequencing the nested PCR products. The primers and probes used are displayed in A total of 11 sequences (ZJLS001-011) were successfully obtained from 15\u00a0CPatient 1 was from Qingyun County, while the other three patients were from Longquan, the neighboring county of Patient 1. As shown in C. psittaci accounted for 96.39% and 77.32% of microbial reads at the genus and species levels, respectively  for mNGS. The mNGS results revealed that 8905 and 7144 sequence reads corresponding to C. psittaci in RT-PCR. In addition, two environmental samples (dung and drinking water of goose) from Patient 1 and six environmental samples  from the other three patients (belonging to the same family) were positive for C. psittaci  for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.Methodology: ZW. Formal analysis: GS. Writing\u2014original draft preparation: LW. Writing\u2014review and editing: WY, XC. Supervision: ZY. Project administration: YZ, BW. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version."}
+{"text": "The need for information on plant conservation techniques is increasing rapidly in the face of increased extinction risks to plants including habitat loss, unsustainable harvesting, and climate change . A fresh infusion of resources, including expertise and funding, is necessary to build global capacity in the conservation of exceptional species, and increased awareness and education can be one means of achieving this. As more researchers study and develop conservation protocols for these vulnerable species and publish their results, collaboration, resources, and efficiency within the exceptional plant conservation community should increase. We hope that this special issue can contribute to that goal.This special issue grew out of a number of collaborative exceptional plant conservation initiatives, including the collaborative grant approach detailed in Philpott et al.  and the M.P. prepared the first draft of the manuscript. M.P. and V.C.P. provided select article summaries. V.C.P. and E.E.D.C. provided reviewing and editing assistance. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Leishmania parasites can cause zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) by circulating between humans, rodents, and sandflies in Iran. In this study, published data were collected from scientific sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Springer, ResearchGate, Wiley Online, Ovid, Ebsco, Cochrane Library, Google scholar, and SID. Keywords searched in the articles, theses, and abstracts from 1983 to 2021 were cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, reservoir, vector, climatic factors, identification, and Iran. This review revealed that CL was prevalent in the west of Iran, while the center and south of Iran were also involved in recent years. The lack of facilities in suburban regions was an aggravating factor in the human community. Some parts of southern Iran were prominent foci of CL due the presence of potential rodent hosts in these regions. Rhombomys opimus, Meriones lybicus, and Tatera indica were well-documented species for hosting the Leishmania species in Iran. Moreover, R. opimus has been found with a coinfection of Leishmania major and L. turanica from the northeast and center of Iran. Mashhad, Kerman, Yazd, and sometimes Shiraz and Tehran foci were distinct areas for L. tropica. Molecular identifications using genomic diagnosis of kDNA and ITS1 fragments of the parasite indicated that there is heterogeneity in leishmaniasis in different parts of the country. Although cutaneous leishmaniasis has been a predicament for the health system, it is relatively under control in Iran. Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia sandflies have been shown to transmit Leishmania promastigotes through skin bites in vertebrate hosts in the Old and New World, respectively. Leishmania major, L. infantum, L. tropica, L. aethiopica, and L. donovani have been demonstrated to be mainly responsible for transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Old World [ld World , 129.Around 12 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America such as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil were reported as engaged states against CL . From MaPhlebotomus papatasi is the main vector reported there [Rhombomys opimus was illustrated as the principal host of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in the center and northeast of the country, Meriones libycus as the main vector in the south, Meriones hurrianae as the major host in the southeast, and Tatera indica as the most prevalent host in the west and south of Iran [Leishmania spp. among human populations as well as to determine methods used for identifying Leishmania parasites, reservoirs, and vector hosts and the impact of environmental factors in Iran over four decades (1983\u20132021) to help promote interventions against CL and to decrease the disease transmission rate.The annual incidence of the CL from 1983 to 2013 was 30.9 per 100,000, with spread in areas with dry and desert climates in particular in the central zone of Iran . These aed there . Rhombom of Iran , 83. StrLeishmania parasites in Iran. The authors used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) standard guideline to carry out the review process and report findings.This systematic review has 5 sections including epidemiology of CL, reservoirs, vectors, climatic factors, and identification methods of Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica, Iran, rodent, P. papatasi, sandfly, detection, PCR, the kinetoplast, ITS, parasite, reservoir, vector, Gerbillinae, Giemsa stain, and temperature. The authors used these keywords alone or in combination through the Boolean method.In this study, all related published articles were studied from 1980 up to the end of 2021. The authors searched the databases including Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Springer, ResearchGate, Wiley Online, Ovid, Ebsco, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and SID for medical subject headings (MeSH) and relevant keywords such as cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL), Leishmania parasite in Iran were included in the study. The authors excluded articles of low quality, studies conducted in other countries of the world, review studies, meta-analyses, case reports, or series of cases.All high-quality English and Persian language articles published in the world on the epidemiology of CL, reservoirs, vectors, climatic factors, and identification methods of We assessed the quality of the articles using the Strobe checklist . This checklist has 22 parts that are scored based on the importance of each section, the minimum score is 15 and the maximum is 33. In this study, the score 20 is considered acceptable .The search results were imported into Endnote software v.x8-1 and duplicate titles were deleted. The authors entered selected studies into an abstract reading phase and checked them against the inclusion criteria. Then, the most relevant studies were selected for independent full-text reading by two researchers. The authors used a checklist to extract data from the selected studies in terms of the study location, study years, reservoir species, parasite species, DNA, and recognized method.Searching databases, the authors extracted 786 studies. First, the articles were entered into Endnote software and after an initial review, 181 articles were removed from the study due to duplication. Then, by reviewing the titles and abstracts of articles, 459 irrelevant articles were removed and after reviewing the full text of articles, 40 articles were excluded since they investigated other pathogens. Finally, 106 articles met the inclusion criteria and entered the process of systematic review .Cutaneous leishmaniasis infection has been found in all 31 provinces of Iran.L. major and L. tropica in Iran. Fars is known as an endemic focus of CL and Nesokia indica or M. libycuserythrourus are confirmed as reservoir of ZCL [The prevalence of ZCL is high in Khorasan, Fars, and Isfahan and the highest frequency of cases has been reported from Ilam, Bushehr, and Yazd, recently. Ahvaz city in Khuzestan province and Kerman and Bam cities in Kerman province are the high endemic foci of ACL in Iran. Overall, the highest and the lowest incidence rates of leishmaniasis are reported from the western and northwest parts of the country, respectively. Two forms of ZCL and ACL occurred due to r of ZCL .Isfahan province has been a focus of CL in recent decades. Moreover, some new foci have been added to the endemic areas listed in this province. In this province, from 2011 to 2016, Isfahan, Ardestan, and Kashan cities had a high burden of CL. Kashan has been reported as the primary focus for CL in Isfahan province, while children were affected a long time ago , 143. InYazd province is another infected region adjacent to Isfahan province in central Iran. In this province, Khatam, Yazd, and Bafgh were reported as the most problematic counties of CL . Qom proIn Semnan province, Damghan is an important city in central Iran concerning CL, while villages in Damghan were reported as a vulnerable area for emergence of CL disease. Most of the cases in this region did not have a previous history of traveling to endemic areas . In TehrMany new CL cases are imported to different provinces of Iran from endemic areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan that are believed to be the primary source of outbreaks in some parts of the country, such as Yazd, Tehran, and Fars provinces . FurtherKhuzestan province is also recognized as a hub for CL in the southwest of Iran and as a newly discovered focus. In 2014, emergence of CL was reported in Ahvaz city . MoreoveIn Kerman province, a comprehensive study conducted by Sharifi et al. showed that Bam, Kerman, and Jiroft cities were the high-risk areas in the southeast of Iran . OrzoiehIn Khorasan Razavi province in northeast Iran, CL is prevalent in Torghabeh\u2013Shandiz, Sarakhs, Daregaz, and Neyshabur cities and children in these areas are affected with the disease , 130. InIn the western part of Iran, different patterns of CL have been observed. Ilam province is adjacent to Khuzestan province and is a major endemic area . Ilam, DIn Kermanshah province, in the west of Iran, a review by Hamzavi and Khademi from 1991 to 2012 showed that the incidence rate had dramatically increased from 1.5 per 100,000 in the 1990s to 7.4 per 100,000 in 2011\u20132012. Also, half of the cases reported traveling to endemic areas. Qasr-e-Shirin, Eslam Abad, and Sarpol-e-zahab cities in the province are prominent foci of CL . HousewiLeishmania parasites. In the central and northeastern regions of Iran, Rhombomys opimus (the Great gerbil) is more predominant [Rhombomys opimus has two predominant subspecies. In Golestan province, in the northwest of Iran, R. opimus sodalist subspecies has been reported; but in Isfahan, Semnan, Esfarayen, and Shirvan (northeast) cities, R. opimus sargadensis was illustrated as the prevalent subspecies [R. opimus was present with co-infection of L. major and L. turanica [R. opimus [In Iran, several studies were carried out on host species of dominant , 118. Rhturanica . Also, i. opimus .L. major zymodeme MON-26 was detected in Meriones libycus. It is considered an alternative host in this district [L. major in Qomrood city as an endemic area [M. libycus is the main reservoir of ZCL [Meriones lybicus is an absolute host for Leishmania amastigote in the south of Iran and M. persicus is a reservoir in some parts of this region as well. Notably, Leishmania amastigotes were detected in M. persicus for the first time in Iranian Azerbaijan in the northwest of the country [M. libycus, T. indica and Gerbillus spp. were shown to be infected with L. major in Marvdash, Estahban, and Larestan cities [L. major has been isolated and detected by PCR assay in Mus musculus [Rattus norvegicus has been reported as a potential host for L. major using isoenzyme electrophoresis and nested PCR [R. rattus has been shown as a reservoir for L. major [In Isfahan city in central Iran, district , 149. Admic area . Perhapsr of ZCL . Merione country , 115\u2013117n cities , 84. In musculus . Also insted PCR . In JahrL. major .Gerbillus nanus (Muridae) and M. hurrianae have been possible reservoirs of ZCL [M. hurrianae and T. indica were found to be important hosts for L. major [R. opimus was reported as a major reservoir for ZCL [T. indica was documented as a predominant reservoir for ZCL in rural areas [L. major transmission [Nesokia indica was recognized as a probable reservoir of ZCL [R. opimus, M. lybicus, and T. indica are generally well-documented species for the Leishmania parasite [In Hormozgan province, in the south of Iran, s of ZCL . In SistL. major . In Bahr for ZCL . In Mehral areas , 95; butsmission . In Isfar of ZCL , 108. Inparasite , 138  papatasi in all ZCL spots of Iran and was reported as the principal vector [Like studies about reservoirs, there are many published articles on  in 1930 . Phlebotebotomus . Naturall vector .Phlebotomus species are considered probable vectors: P. (Phl.) salehi has been reported in Jask, in Sistan and Baluchestan province in the south of Iran, P. (Syn.) ansarii in Isfahan, and Yazd provinces, P. caucasicus in Isfahan, Damghan, Sarbisheh, Zirkouh, Yazd, and Fasa cities, P. mongoliensis in Isfahan, Ilam, and Fasa cities, P. andrejevi in Isfahan, P. alexandri in Khuzestan province, Zirkouh, and Fasa cities, and P. (Phl.) bergeroti in Fars province. P. (Par.) sergenti was demonstrated to be responsible for ACL in Khorasan-e Razavi, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Fars, and Tehran provinces and in Zirkouh as well [Other  as well , 150  can establish a different pattern of CL occurrence in two nearby cities such as Gilan-e-Gharb and Kermanshah in the west of Iran . TemperaOn the contrary, in the west of Iran, some peaks of CL incidence have been shown in winter, reported in January and February after an incubation period of the disease , 64. TheT. indica and P. papatasi due to agricultural activities [Rhombomys opimus (great gerbil) as a diurnal rodent spends 2/3 of its time outside of the burrow for feeding and this behavior can cause intensive close contact with vectors. Another factor is vegetation, which leads CL to be more prevalent in landscapes with low vegetation cover in the northeast of Iran [Some disasters such as an earthquake can change sleeping patterns and increase CL incidence because people have to stay outside in an open space. This model was presented in Dehloran city, in the west of Iran, after the occurrence of an earthquake in 2015 . Jagin Dtivities . Notably of Iran .Leishmania species are responsible for the spectrum of clinical manifestations or different epidemiologic features; thereby, specific detection of parasites is necessary to understand their complexity. Staining smears by Giemsa under microscope and cultivation were the common diagnostic tests for early detection for a long time. The sensitivity of parasitological diagnostic tests is less than 70%, which makes it necessary to have access to a large number of parasites in biopsy and experienced personnel. In contrast, the culture of promastigotes is a prolonged protocol and contamination is a concerning issue, but both are weak in the identification of Leishmania species [ species .Leishmania [Leishmania and this is a well-founded source for identifying Leishmania species. DNA fragments such as the small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) gene, repetitive sequences, microsatellite DNA, splice leader mini-exon (SLME), the beta-tubulin gene region, the gp63 gene locus, mini-exon-derived RNA genes, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the rRNA genes, and kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), SLME, kDNA, and ITS1 are used in PCR assays for the diagnosis of Leishmania parasites isolated from microscopic and culture samples. As a result, the kDNA PCR is the best diagnostic method in terms of sensitivity for L. major and L. tropica [Leishmania identification methods in human cases carried out in Iran are summarized in Serological tests are not used extensively in CL diagnosis as their specificity and sensitivity fluctuate and have cross-reaction with trypanosomatid parasites . The isoishmania . Molecul tropica , 81, 124Leishmania in Hamedan and Ilam (in the west) and South Khorasan provinces of Iran. In Iran, R. opimus, M. lybicus, and T. indica were well-documented species for hosting the Leishmania parasites. In Khorasan Razavi province, Kerman, Yazd, and sometimes in Shiraz and Tehran cities, L. major is present, but L. tropica is the predominant parasite.Our findings showed that cutaneous leishmaniasis has various patterns in Iran. There is heterogeneity in leishmaniasis in different parts of the country based on molecular identifications. KDNA and ITS1 fragments have mostly been used in genomic diagnostic procedures, while KDNA is a favorite targeted region for amplifying by PCR. Travel has been a hallmark of the distribution of R. opimus extends from Turkmen Sahra in the northeast to Isfahan in center of Iran with co-infection of L. major and L. turanica. More studies are required to clarify the potential role of L. turanica in CL. Furthermore, L. gerbilli has been identified in some vectors, such as P. papatasi, P. sergenti, P. caucasicus, P. mongoliensis, P. andrejevi, and P. ansarii. The relationship schema between vectors and reservoirs is complicated. Some sandflies play the role of common vectors concerning different parasite species. Although cutaneous leishmaniasis has been a predicament for the health system, it is generally controlled in Iran. Spraying, insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), and improvement in social services in the suburban community can reduce the problems associated with CL.The prevalence of"}
+{"text": "Salmonella enterica (S.) is one of the most common agents of foodborne infections and a risk for children, elder people and immunocompromised patients. S. is the first cause of foodborne outbreaks in the EU, the majority being caused by S. Enteritidis. We report S. serovars prevalence and trends in clinical isolates in central Italy from 2015 to 2021.S. strains of patients from Lazio and Tuscany regions isolated by hospitals and private laboratories were sent to the Regional Reference Centre for Pathogenic Enterobacteria (CREP) at IZSLT (Rome) for serotyping. All metadata and a selection of isolates were shared with ISS according to the National Surveillance Enter-Net Italia program.A total of 2395 strains were collected from 2015 to 2021, with a mean value of 342 strains per year. Notably, reported cases did not decrease during the pandemic in 2020. A total of 116 different serovars were identified. The most common ones were S. Typhimurium var. monophasic, which increased from 2015 to 2021, S. Enteritidis, which peaked in 2018 doubling its average, and S. Typhimurium with a reverse trend compared to the monophasic variant, followed by S. Infantis, S. Napoli and S. Derby. Afterwards, S. Brandenburg showed a constant increase (from 2 cases in 2015 to 18 cases in 2021). S. Strathcona showed a significant peak during 2019 with 23 cases, correlated to a European reported outbreak. The average age of patients was stable , except for an increase in 2021 .The results show a substantial agreement between data collected in central Italy and national trends. The occurrence of cases per year is stable. The serovars prevalence does not agree with the prevalence found in EU, in particular concerning S. Typhimurium var. monophasic frequency. Further investigations are needed to explain the significant increment of patients\u2019 mean age in 2021.This kind of studies provide a detailed picture of the S. serotypes actually relevant to human health and could be used to improve and update food safety regulations and monitoring programs.Surveillance and digital reporting, even retrospective, are pivotal tool for long-term monitoring, outbreaks investigation and research."}
+{"text": "Dirofilaria immitis is a vector-borne disease that affects canids and felids, both domestic and wild, throughout the world. It is a chronic disease which causes vascular damage in pulmonary arteries, and in advanced stages, the presence of pulmonary hypertension and right-sided congestive heart failure can be evidenced. Moreover, pulmonary thromboembolism is caused by the death of the worms, which can be lethal for the infected animal. Furthermore, it is the causative agent of human pulmonary dirofilariosis, being a zoonotic disease. The aim of this review was to update the current epidemiological situation of heartworm in Europe in dogs, cats, wild animals, and vectors insects, and to analyse the factors that may have contributed to the continuous spread of the disease in the last decade (2012\u20132021). In Europe, the disease has extended to eastern countries, being currently endemic in countries where previously only isolated or imported cases were reported. Furthermore, its prevalence has continued to increase in southern countries, traditionally endemic. This distribution trends and changes are influenced by several factors which are discussed in this review, such as the climate changes, presence of vectors in new areas, the appearance of new competent vector species in the continent, increased movement of pets that travelled to or originated from endemic countries, the urbanisation of rural areas leading to the formation of so-called \u201cheat islands\u201d, or the creation of extensive areas of irrigated crops. The continuous expansion of D. immitis must be monitored, and measures adapted to the situation of each country must be carried out for adequate control.Heartworm disease caused by  Dirofilaria immitis is the causal agent of heartworm disease in domestic and wild carnivores, mainly dogs and cats. In addition, it is the causative agent of human pulmonary dirofilariosis, being a zoonotic disease. Its distribution is cosmopolitan, and currently, D. immitis can be found almost anywhere in the world, from tropical to cold climates. It is a vector-borne disease, in which the mosquitoes of genera Culex spp.; Aedes spp.; Anopheles spp.; Coquillettidia spp. act as vectors. When mosquitoes ingest blood with microfilariae, these moult to infective third stage larvae (L3) in approximately 14 days, depending on external temperature conditions: the higher the outside temperature, the shorter the moulting period. When the mosquitoes feed again, L3 are inoculated into the definitive host to continue their biological cycle [al cycle .D. immitis, and it is characterised by the development of pulmonary endarteritis that chronically can lead to the development of pulmonary hypertension and right congestive heart failure, being a severe and potentially mortal condition . In many cases, it is possible to find adult worms in the heart of infected dogs, and cases with >50 adult worms and microfilaremia in the blood in hyperendemic areas are a common finding [Heartworm infection is a vascular and pulmonary disease. The dog is considered the main host of  finding . However finding . For thi finding . Infecte finding . For theD. immitis can cause benign pulmonary nodules that can be mistaken for malignant lung tumours [As heartworm is a zoonotic disease, the presence of this parasite in canid and felid reservoirs poses a health risk to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.  tumours ,7,8.In Europe, the epidemiological situation in the two main hosts is markedly different. The number of studies addressing the epidemiological situation in dogs is significantly higher than in cats due to, among other factors, the difficulty in diagnosis and the number of cats compared to the number of dogs that can be accessed . From 20Currently, the epidemiological status has continued to change, as has the number of epidemiological reports. Europe is facing new climatic conditions caused by climate change, or the presence of new competent vectors that increase the time of exposure to the parasite  and that widen the risk zones . This, along with other factors, has contributed to the establishment of vectors in regions where they were not previously found. Therefore, the objective of this manuscript is to review and analyse the current epidemiological situation in Europe during the last decade in dogs, cats, wild animals, and vectors to assess changes in the distribution of animal heartworm through a retrospective analysis of published epidemiological studiesIn the last 10 years, canine heartworm disease has continued to spread to eastern and north-eastern European countries, some of which are considered as new endemic countries. In other non-endemic countries, isolated cases or cases imported from endemic areas have continued to appear .Moreover, in the traditionally endemic countries of southern Europe, prevalence in dogs has continued to increase, except for some territories where the control measures adopted have achieved a decrease in prevalence.Spain and Portugal have traditionally been considered endemic countries, although not all regions of those countries have been studied . In PortD. immitis, respectively [In Spain, the studies have not been carried out uniformly throughout all territories, with several studies conducted in different regions in the past . Recentlectively ,20. Ad hectively . The canectively  and in tectively ,24. FinaD. immitis was detected at 58.9% [In Italy, epidemiological studies throughout the country on dogs have continued to be published. Previously, epidemiological reports indicated that prevalence in the north of the country was decreasing while in the centre and south of the country, it was increasing, and even regions with autochthonous cases were appearing in previously non-endemic areas ,26,27,28at 58.9% . Finallyat 58.9%  between In France, while until 2011 no indication of expansion from the south, traditionally endemic, was published, there are recent data showing presence of canine heartworm in the centre of the country, with prevalence rates between 29.41\u201335.2% ,43. In aD. immitis in the country [D. immitis and three with co-infections with D. repens [D. immitis from 1998 to 2018, which reported that the number of infections and co-infections with D. repens had increased significantly, especially from 2015 onwards [D. immitis in Austria [In Austria, where previously only isolated cases were reported, there are already several studies reporting the solid presence of  country . On the . repens . On the  onwards , althoug Austria .D. immitis antigens detection by ELISA. Another study reported a prevalence of 0.2% in the federal state of Brandenburg, in the centre of the country [D. immitis which had travelled to endemic countries . Finally, Maerz [Germany faces a similar scenario, since it has been observed an increase in the number of infections in dogs that have travelled or came from endemic countries, but also in dogs that presumably have not travelled outside the country. Vrhovec et al. , after t country . In addi country  reportedy, Maerz  reportedy, Maerz , so the D. immitis as isolated cases. In Ireland, for the first time, a clinical case has been published in a dog imported from the Canary Islands (Spain) [In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, Genchi et al. , based o (Spain) .D. immitis has been published recently, demonstrating prevalence of 0.8% of microfilaremic dogs in Cahul and Chi\u015fin\u0103u [In Russia, there is a study reporting a new endemic area, the Voronezh Natural Reserve, with prevalence ranging from 8.2 to 12.2% , which aChi\u015fin\u0103u .D. immitis infections were seen by veterinarians in the Baltic countries, whereas most cases seen by veterinarians in the Nordic countries appeared to be imported [Based on the answers to a questionnaire, autochthonous cases of imported . Moreoveimported .D. immitis were detected in 14.8% of the dogs tested [D. immitis in dogs in these countries before 2011 [D. immitis is reported for the first time, showing an overall prevalence of 1.89% in the region of the Bosnia-Podriuje canton (southern country), the prevalence being 0.93% for owned dogs and 2.86% for stray dogs [Serbia and Croatia are considered endemic countries. In the latter, there are not reported increases in the prevalence, ranging from 0.46\u20130.6% in the published studies ,67. Howes tested , being tray dogs .D. immitis and D. repens co-infections. In the western and south-western regions, Giubega et al. [D. immitis circulating antigens were found in 8.2% of the dogs; later, samples were heated and prevalence increased to 26.8% [Romania and Bulgaria are endemic countries as well, showing increased prevalence in the last decade. In Romania, reported prevalence has been increasing in correlation with increased interest and publications on canine heartworm. Mircean et al.  and Ionia et al.  reporteda et al. . The higa et al. . In anotto 26.8% .In Bulgaria, recent studies reported prevalence between 4.8\u201334.7%, being higher in the central, eastern, and southern regions and lower in the western and south-western regions ,81,82. ID. immitis was present as isolated or imported in cases in the past [In Albania, the past , but recthe past , while rthe past . In Greethe past . The repthe past ,93. Athathe past  carried the past .D. immitis of 6.7 and 2.7%, respectively [D. immitis infections in dogs in the country, reporting prevalence of 0.5 and 4.3% [Turkey showed a similar trend, studies with prevalence of 1.5% being reported in Erzurum, north-eastern Turkey , 0.6% inectively . Finallyectively . In Cyprand 4.3% ,102, resD. repens in P\u0159\u00edbram, in the Central Bohemian region, being an imported case of Hungary [D. immitis were based on isolated or imported cases [D. immitis in the country [D. repens [D. repens was reported in the western region, higher than in the eastern region, with no positive cases detected in the centre of the country [D. immitis infection were diagnosed in the Ko\u0161ice region of the southeast [D. repens (3.2%) [The Czech Republic was considered endemic 10 years ago, with reports of autochthonous cases and infected dogs coming from neighbouring endemic countries ,9. Howev Hungary . Until 1ed cases ,4,9. How country . Two stu. repens ,105. In . repens  reported. repens . In anot. repens . Finally country . In addioutheast . In Hungoutheast , the numoutheast ,112,113 s (3.2%) , while as (3.2%) . Sz\u00e9ll es (3.2%)  detecteds (3.2%) .D. immitis in cats in traditionally endemic countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, while the first reports of feline heartworm have been published in some new endemic countries as well (Germany and Austria).The number of publications in feline heartworm is still substantially lower than in dogs. Some studies have reported D. immitis antibodies) and a prevalence of 0.5% (antigens) [D. immitis had already been evidenced. It is the case of Zaragoza, where the seroprevalence reported was 24.4% and the prevalence was 3.6% [D. immitis antigens [In Spain, a recent nationwide study reported an overall seroprevalence of 9.4% (anti-ntigens) . This stntigens) . This stwas 3.6% . In Madrwas 3.6% . In Barcantigens . Moreoveantigens , so the antigens  and 22.9antigens  demonstrantigens . FurtherIn Portugal, feline prevalence studies are relatively recent, but demonstrate the important presence of this parasite in the cats living in the country. The seroprevalence of samples collected in the centre of Portugal in 2009 and 2010 was 15% , the higD. repens were reported in southern Italy [In Italy, studies are still scarce. If previously, prevalence in cats was heterogeneous being 6.06\u201327% in the north and centre of the country, in addition to reports of isolated cases ,123,124,rn Italy  and isolrn Italy ,127,128.rn Italy .D. immitis infection is published in 2012 [Ae. abstrusus [In Germany, a retrospective study from 2012 to 2020 identified heartworm in three cats in 2012 . In Aust in 2012 . In Bulgbstrusus ; in Romabstrusus .D. immitis in otters in areas near the Danube River in eastern regions of the country. References [D. immitis infection in a grey wolf and in a red fox. Penezi\u0107 et al. [Although the studies focused on wild animals have increased substantially, they are still scarce. Between 2001 and 2011, a few studies were carried out in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Bulgaria in foxes, otters, exotic felids, wolves, and jackals [ferences ,135,136 \u0107 et al.  and Potk\u0107 et al.  showed p\u0107 et al.  showed pD. immitis infection was also published in a ferret [D. immitis was identified in two of ninety-three examined red foxes [D. immitis was found in foxes, jackals, and raccoon dogs with a global prevalence of 23.4% in Krasnodar Krai, being the highest prevalence on the European continent in the last 20 years [D. immitis antigens between 3\u201344.4% in red foxes, and 4.4\u201358.7% in golden jackals; furthermore, isolated cases of infected red foxes and golden jackals were detected by necropsy [In Hungary, a prevalence of 3.7% in red foxes and 7.4% in golden jackals was reported . Moreovea ferret . In souted foxes . In Ported foxes . In Romaed foxes ,141. In 20 years . In Ital20 years . In Bulg20 years  reportednecropsy ,89,144.Cx. theileri in Portugal, Cx. pipiens in peninsular Spain, and Cx. theileri in the Canary Islands (Spain), Cx. pipiens, Ae. albopictus, Ae. caspius, An. maculipennis, and Cq. richiardii in Italy, and Cx. pipiens and Ae. vexans in Turkey [D. immitis have been identified. Moreover, the number of countries that have detected competent mosquitoes has also increased notably , Santar\u00e9m, and Set\u00fabal (centre-southern) [Cx. pipiens quinquefasciatus was identified as a competent vector in Algarve [Cx. pipiens and Cx. theileri as potential vectors was reported in two endemic regions of the Iberian Peninsula [Dirofilaria in different regions of the country, such as Cx. pipiens in north-eastern Italy [Ae. albopictus, Cq. richiardii, Cs. annulate, Cx. pipiens, and Och. caspius in southern Italy [Ae. albopictus in Pelagie Archipelago [Ae. koreicus, which was identified in the Province of Belluno, north-eastern Italy, and in Chiasso, in the Swiss\u2013Italian border region [In Portugal, the presence of outhern) ,146. Sim Algarve . In Spaieninsula ,149. In rn Italy , Ae. albrn Italy ,151, andhipelago . Moreover region ,153.Cx. pipiens and Och. caspius were identified as vectors for D. immitis [D. immitis larvae were detected in Cx. pipiens/torrentium, [Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens, and Och. caspius were identified as heartworm vectors; furthermore, Cq. richiardii was also identified in the country [Mosquito species able to transmit the disease were reported for the first time in France, Belarus, Hungary, Germany, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Russia: in Corsica (France),  immitis . In Germrentium, . In the  country ,157.D. immitis in three species of mosquitoes; the highest prevalence was detected in An. maculipennis, followed by Cq. richiardii and An. hyrcanus. Other authors have reported the presence of heartworm larvae in the thorax/head of Cx. pipiens as well [An. maculipennis, Cx. pipiens/torrentium, Aedes behningi, and Anopheles pseudopictus were identified as vectors for the transmission of D. immitis [D. immitis in animals, Cx. pipiens/torrentium was identified as a vector of heartworm disease [D. immitis larvae in Ae. vexans mosquitoes in eastern Slovakia [Cq. richiardii, Cx. pipiens pipiens, and Och. sticus in western Slovakia [Cx. pipens, Cq. richiardii, and Och. caspius [In Romania, in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Tomazatos et al.  reported as well . In Mold immitis . In Bela disease . In SlovSlovakia  and Cq. Slovakia . In Serb caspius .D. immitis larvae were evident in the thorax were: Ae. cantans, Ae. cataphylla, Ae. communis, Ae. intrudens, Ae. geniculatus, Ae. albopictus Cq. richiardii, Cx. modestus, and Cx. pipiens; larvae were found in the abdomen of Ae. cexans, Ae. cinereus, Ae. excrucians, and An. messeae. In addition, in the Tula region near Moscow, Belarus, and Ukraine, the prevalence of D. immitis in infected mosquitoes was 1.5%, and larvae were found in Ae. geniculatus, Ae. vexans, Cx. pipiens, and Och. Cantans [In Russia, Shaikevich et al.  estimate Cantans .The presence and activity of vectors in a given region is directly related to climatic conditions. This is evident in the time needed for the larvae to develop to L3, which is temperature-dependent , while below 14 \u00b0C, larvae development stops . In thisThe increase in temperatures favours the transmission of the disease to animals and humans by allowing the annual periods of activity of the mosquitoes to be lengthened and the stages of development of the larvae to be shortened.D. immitis from the south to the north of the country [This has led to the creation of more optimal conditions that allow the spread of mosquitoes to other areas where previously the climatic conditions prevented their presence ,166,167. country . In addi country ,162,163.In relation to some species of culicid mosquitoes that have been reported as vectors of the disease in some countries in the last 10 years or the replacement by other species and/or the absence of other species, this may be due to the absence of studies in some countries in the last decade and the small number of studies that have been carried out on the subject, among other factors. More studies are needed to know whether environmental conditions have influenced or are influencing this change.D. immitis have increased in countries where the presence of this parasite was already known, while heartworm cases have been confirmed in regions and countries that to date remained free of its presence. Therefore, during the last decade, it has been shown that the disease continues to spread to countries in the centre and northeast of Europe.After analysing the epidemiological and sero-epidemiological data of dogs, cats, and wildlife, as well as the presence of culicid vectors, studies show that the number of infected animals and vectors continues to increase. Thus, reports of D. immitis. Several epidemiological reviews carried out in this regard [D. immitis. Moreover, as previously indicated, the introduction of new competent vectors that quickly adapt to the environmental conditions of the European countries  is of great concern. There are other factors of a more markedly anthropogenic nature, such as the urbanisation of rural areas, especially in areas close to irrigated crops or near rivers, marshes, or lakes. Buildings and asphalt retain the heat of the day, leading to the formation of so-called \u201cheat islands\u201d, which favour the creation of microclimates that support the development of D. immitis larvae in mosquitoes even during the colder months [In addition to climate change, mentioned above, there are other factors that could also be directly influencing changes in the distribution and expansion of s regard ,4,9,168 r months . The lacGeospatial analysis, geographical information systems, remote sensing, global positioning systems, and virtual globes have been a breakthrough in the study of vector-borne diseases, since they have made it possible to create maps that show the risk of infection. Currently, the use of these tools has grown in importance in the knowledge of zoonotic diseases because it allows for the evaluation of the risk of transmission to the human host ,171,172.D. immitis generations in mosquitoes and determined that transmission was limited to the summer months, mainly July and August.In Europe, until 2011, some studies on heartworm disease have been carried out by using geospatial analysis and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Italy; specifically in Naples, in Campania , and in regions located in the centre of the country ,173,174.D. immitis infection will spread to areas previously considered as free of infection [Moreover, considering that larval development does not occur below the threshold temperature of around 14 \u00b0C, the number of heartworm generations was determined and a high risk of infection was estimated in southern Spain and Portugal, some areas of southern France, Corsica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Cyprus, the coast of Albania, several regions of northern and southern Italy, Naples, Sardinia and Sicily, Greece, some areas of Bulgaria, south-eastern Ukraine, and the region of Rostov-na-Donu in Russia. Furthermore, a very high risk of infection was determined in localised areas of southern Spain, two coastal areas of Sicily, southern Calabria, southern Turkey, Cyprus, and in islands of southern Greece. The region with the longest risk of infection was in Murcia (southern Spain), which ranged from March 21 to November 11. It was also suggested that if the current trend of climate change continues, nfection ,175,176.D. immitis transmission in the country, based on data of temperature, rainfall, and the location of irrigated crops, concluding that the highest risk of transmission was located in several areas from the centre, east, and south of the Iberian Peninsula, where moderate/high temperatures concurred with the presence of extensive irrigated crops; similarly, high risk of transmission was also found in some places of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. On the other hand, the lowest risk of infection was predicted in the north of the country and in dry non-irrigated regions of the southeast [In the last decade, several randomised studies were carried out in Spain, Romania, and Hungary that helped to understand the risk of infection in these countries. In Spain, a GIS model was developed to predict the risk of outheast . Anotheroutheast .A study of similar characteristics was carried out in Romania , where aD. immitis was evidenced, confirming the suitability of the climate in certain German regions for the establishment of natural cycles of heartworm transmission [In Germany, a study was carried out using data on average daily temperatures recorded by weather stations close to the locations where the presence of vectors infected with smission , which eD. immitis, where the highest prevalence of infected animals was also found [In Hungary, a study carried out between 1995 and 2018 reported a rapid spread of the disease, based on the geo-referencing of infected animals  and the detection of anomalous annual temperature data compared to the four previous years. The authors concluded that two main factors were favouring this spread: the increase in temperatures as well as the increase and expansion in the population of golden jackals, the most important reservoir of heartworm in the fauna of the Mediterranean Balkans. In addition, results showed that the climate of the Great Hungarian Plain was the most suitable for the establishment of so found .D. immitis. Similarly, necessary control measures are necessary to prevent further expansion and/or contribute to the decrease in prevalence in endemic areas, which is especially important given the zoonotic nature of the infection. To this aim, specific guidelines adapted to each country would be necessary, as recommended by the European Society of Dirofilariosis and Angyostrongilosis.In the last 10 years, considering the epidemiological data, the possible factors influencing transmission, and forecasting studies using GIS models in different European territories, it can be stated that animal heartworm has continued to spread to eastern and north-eastern European countries, some of which are currently considered new endemic countries. In other countries, isolated cases or cases imported from endemic areas have continued to appear and have even increased. Moreover, in the traditionally endemic countries of southern Europe, prevalence and seroprevalence in animals have continued to increase, except for some territories where the control measures adopted have achieved a decrease in prevalence. So, at present, most of the European continent could be considered endemic. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to conduct epidemiological and sero-epidemiological studies in animals and vectors, both in endemic and non-endemic countries, in order to monitor distribution trends of"}
+{"text": "Renanthera (Orchidaceae), comprising about 19 species, has significant ornamental value as a houseplant, in floral design and in landscape gardens. Two species of Renanthera are categorized as endangered and critically endangered in China\u2019s Red List and international trade in these orchids is currently strictly monitored by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This paper reports on the de novo assembled and annotated plastome of four species of Renanthera; R. citrina, R. coccinea, R. imschootiana, and R. philippinensis. The length of the plastome sequences ranged from 144,673 bp (R. imschootiana) to 149,007 bp (R. coccinea) with GC content of 36.6\u201336.7%. The plastomes showed a typical quadripartite structure, including a large single-copy , a small single-copy , and a pair of inverted repeats  regions. Of the 120 genes detected, 74 were protein coding, 38 were tRNA, and eight were rRNA genes. The plastome of Renanthera is rather conserved, but nucleotide variations that could distinguish them apart are noticeable\u2014the total number of tandem repeats ranged from 62 (in R. imschootiana) to 74 (in R. citrina); while the number of long repeats ranged from 21 (in R. imschootiana and R. philippinensis) to 43 (in R. citrina). Three hypervariable regions  were identified. Phylogenetic analyses based on the CDS using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) revealed that Renanthera is closely related to Holcoglossum, Neofinetia, Pendulorchis, and Vanda. The relationship between the four species of Renanthera was fully resolved; a monophyletic clade was formed and R. coccinea was recorded as the first to diverge from the rest. The genetic data obtained from this study could serve as a useful resource for species identification in Renanthera as well as contribute to future research on the phylogenomics of Orchidaceae.Owing to its attractive flower shape and color,  Renanthera Lour.  comprises about 19 species of epiphytic and/or lithophytic perennial herbs, mainly distributed in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines Vietnam, and the Solomon Islands  since 1975  and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region reportedly resolved the phylogenetic relationship within Renanthera  technology, sequencing of the complete organellar genome has become simpler and affordable. The use of genome-scale data to resolve relationships in complicated plant groups appears promising. Coupled with advanced bioinformatic analytic tools, the phylogenetic relationships of many members of Orchidaceae, which has been uncertain for many years, were resolved . The comR. citrina, R. coccinea, and R. imschootiana, as well as a domesticated species, R. philippinensis, were included in this study. To provide genetic data at genome level, we sequenced and characterized the complete plastomes of four species of Renanthera. At the same time, we analyzed the sequence repeats, the contraction and expansion of the inverted repeat (IR) region, identified the variable sites, and revealed the phylogenetic relationships between the four species of Renanthera to further elucidate evolutionary patterns in Renanthera at the plastome level. The findings obtained through this study yielded useful genomic information on these threatened species that may aid in conservation strategies.As an understudied yet threatened species in China, three species that are native to China, including Renanthera species, including R. citrina, R. coccinea, R. imschootiana, and R. philippinensis, were collected from natural populations, except for R. philippinensis which is a cultivated species from an orchid nursery in Guangdong. The orchids are transferred and planted in the greenhouse of Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China . Voucher specimens are deposited in the Herbarium of Yunnan Normal University (YNUB) (de novo assembly. Gene annotation was carried out using GeSeq (Four y (YNUB) . Total gy (YNUB)  to removy (YNUB)  pipelineng GeSeq  based onng GeSeq . The cirng GeSeq .Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were calculated using MISA-web , in whicThe nucleotide sequence of each protein-coding gene in the plastome was extracted using Geneious Prime v2020.0.3 . The relRenanthera were compared on the mVISTA tool (Renanthera coccinea as a reference. To detect the expansion and contraction of the inverted repeat (IR) region, the boundaries between the IR and single-copy regions (IR/SC) of the plastomes were visualized using IRscope , Cattleya crispata , and Cymbidium ensifolium  were included as outgroups. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using two methods: maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI). For ML, the concatenated dataset was fed into the RAxML v8.2.11 pipeline  to 149,007 bp (R. coccinea) (R. imschootiana) to 25,715 bp (R. coccinea); while the SSC and the LSC regions were 11,468 bp (R. imschootiana) to 12,167 bp (R. philippinensis) and 84,241 bp (R. imschootiana) to 86,404 bp (R. philippinensis), respectively. The overall GC contents for all the plastomes were 36.7%, except for R. citrina, which was 36.6%. All four plastomes were predicted with the same number of genes, which was 120. The genes include 74 CDS, 38 rRNA, and eight tRNA genes. Among these genes, 17 were duplicates in the IR regions, including five CDS , eight tRNA , and four rRNA  genes (The plastomes of the four species of occinea) . The plaoccinea) . For the3) genes .R. citrina, R. coccinea, R. imschootiana and R. philippinensis, respectively , 53 (71.62%), 48 (70.59%), and 47 (75.81%) were recorded in R. citrina, R. coccinea, R. imschootiana and R. philippinensis, respectively.SSRs analysis detected 74, 68, 62, and 68 SSRs in ectively . Among tR. imschootiana and R. philippinensis) to 43 (R. citrina). All the plastomes contained three types of long repeats that were forward, reverse, and palindromic, except for R. citrina. For R. citrina, aside from the three long repeat types, it also contained a complement type. All species, except for R. citrina, had long repeats mostly in the 30\u201340 bp range; the long repeat of R. citrina was 41\u201350 bp. For long repeats above 50 bp, R. citrina and R. imschootiana had eight and one, respectively; none was in R. coccinea and R. philippinensis.The number of long repeats detected in the four plastomes ranged from 21 , genes rps19 and psbA were adjacent to the junction. The rpl32 and trnN genes were adjacent to the junction between SSC and IRb (JSB); while the trnN and ycf1 genes were adjacent to the junction between SSC and IRa (JSA). The ycf1 gene of R. citrina crossed over JSA, into the IRa region; while the ycf1 genes for the other three species were still intact within the SSC region.The positions of the IR junctions were well-conserved across the four species of nanthera . At the Renanthera exhibit a high degree of similarity. Three genes, ndhJ, ndhK, and ndhC, were obviously lost in R. citrina and R. imschootiana. Additionally, a distinct large gap was observed from the rps7 gene to trnL-CAA in the IRa and IRb of R. citrina, R. imschootiana and R. philippinensis. The nucleotide diversity (Pi) value for the four plastomes ranged from 0 to 0.04533, with an average of 0.0086. At a cut-off point set at Pi \u2265 0.035, three hypervariable regions, including psbI-trnS-GCU, trnG-GCC, rpl32, were identified , followed by 360 and 203 of them in the SSC and IR regions, respectively.Plastome alignment of the four species of Renanthera was well-resolved ; R. coccinea clustered with R. philippinensis and R. citrina clustered with R. imschootiana. Renanthera is closely-related to the Holcoglossum + Neofinetia + Pendulorchis + Vanda clade. In general, all the branch nodes in the phylogenetic tree were strongly supported in the BI analysis; while seven branch nodes were indicated with moderate bootstrap support values in the ML analysis.Phylogenetic analyses using both ML and BI methods based on the CDS sequences of 30 species of Orchidaceae revealed similar topological structure in the phylogenetic trees; hence, only the ML tree is presented, with the values of the bootstrap support (BS) as well as the posterior probability (PP) of the ML and BI trees indicated on each branch node . In geneRenanthera using next-generation sequencing techniques. Although there is a published report on the plastome sequence of R. imschootiana  and Uncifera acuminata . The species of Renanthera with the smallest plastome size, R. imschootiana, had a relatively smaller plastome size when compared to most of the members of Aeridinae; the three other species of Renanthera had a plastome size similar to most of the members of Aeridinae. The highly conserved number of genes present in the plastome of Renanthera suggested that the difference in plastome size could be due to the presence of indels in the intergenic spacer regions. However, similar to the rest of the members of Aeridinae, the overall GC content of Renanthera was not more than 37%.In this study, we obtained novel plastome sequences of four species of hootiana , informa species . Based ondh genes experienced independent loss in species of Renanthera  region, follow by SSC (19.4%) and IR (7.4%) region. Therefore, the distribution of SSRs in the chloroplast genome of Renanthera is uneven. The SSRs numbers in the LSC region of plastome of R. coccinea and R. philippinensis are 53 and 47, respectively. The distribution of SSR in the four species of Renanthera was consistent with that of most angiosperms  is the most frequently used, cysteine  is the least universal amino acid in the cp genomes of these species. Alternatively, the high leucine frequency in the four plastomes can be attributed to the fact that leucine is largely needed in the chloroplasts due to its important function in photosynthesis-related metabolism (Thuniopsis and Polystachya. (The codon usage among the four plastomes of ancestor . Among ttabolism . Cysteintabolism . This isstachya. .Renanthera. This was true when the 3\u2019 end of the rpl22 gene of all four species of Renanthera that should be intact in the LSC region extended into the IRb region for 31\u201332 bp. The ycf1 gene in the SSC region of R. citrina was observed crossing over JSA, extending into the IRa region; while ycf1 of the remaining three species of Renanthera were intact in the SSC region. Generally, angiosperms retain the structure and size of the cp genome (Renanthera, although with the limited sampling size reported in this study, the finding suggested that the IR boundary shifts in Renanthera can be considered to be relatively minor, as this can be related to the small difference observed in the genome size across different species.Contraction and expansion of the IR region is usually observed in most angiosperms , includip genome . Howeverp genome  allowingp genome . Yet, inRenanthera. We speculated that this is either due to difficulty in species sampling, or the genus has not received attention. As molecular genetic tools could aid in the identification of the species of orchids and forensic detection at border controls (Renanthera will definitely contribute to safeguarding these orchids by security agencies. Molecular genetic tools such as DNA barcoding are among the promising techniques in the identification of species of land plants (Renanthera. It is noteworthy that an increased sampling size is needed to obtain reliable results (Renanthera.Sequence divergence analysis conducted on the four plastomes revealed that the IR region was highly conserved when compared to the single-copy regions. To our knowledge, there are no published reports on the molecular identification of the species of controls , the ided plants . The gend plants . Three h results . The finRenanthera. According to the phylogenetic analysis using short gene sequences, Renanthera is monophyletic (Aerides clade, where Renanthera is placed, was sister to Vanda clade when using the complete plastome sequence dataset. This finding was incongruent with the results by Aerides clade was represented by only one genus, Renanthera. Despite the fact that the phylogenetic analysis was well-resolved based on the plastome dataset, the finding by Aerides clade in Aeridinae could be more reliable due to greater taxon sampling size. Thus, to ascertain the molecular placement of the Aerides clade in Aeridinae at the plastome level, it is suggested to include plastome data for several taxa of the Aerides clade such as species of Aerides, Arachnis, and Rhynchostylis.Despite being a valuable and threatened orchid, there are no reports on the phylogenetic relationships in phyletic . HoweverRenanthera is well-conserved across four species, R. citrina, R. coccinea, R. imschootiana, and R. philippinensis. Phylogenetic analysis based on the CDS sequences revealed that Renanthera is closely related to Holcoglossum, Neofinetia, Pendulorchis, and Vanda and the relationship of the four species of Renanthera was monophyletic. The genomic data obtained from this study will provide a useful resource for conservation, as well as to contributing in studies on the phylogeny and evolution of Renanthera and Orchidaceae.Our study revealed that the plastome of"}
+{"text": "Author Contribution section. The correct spelling is AG. A correction has therefore been made to the Author Contribution statement. It previously stated:In the published article, there was an error in the author list, and author Tomasz Fr\u0105czyk was erroneously excluded. Furthermore, an author\u2019s initials were incorrectly written as AD in the \u201cThis project was conceived and designed by EIP, DG-O, MG and WB. GO supervised the work. All of the experimental work was performed by EIP, DG-O, MK, AB, and DP. Computational analyses were performed by SM, AD, and JP. The manuscript was written and prepared by EIP, DG-O and WB\u201d.The corrected statement appears below:\u201cThis project was conceived and designed by EIP, DG-O, MG, and WB. GO supervised the work. All of the experimental work was performed by EIP, DG-O, MK, AB, and DP. Selection of some FLG model peptides  at the initial stage of the project was performed by TF. Computational analyses were performed by SM, AG, and JP. The manuscript was written and prepared by EIP, DG-O, and WB\u201d.The authors apologize for these errors and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Epimedium muhuangense S. Z. He & Y. Y. Wang 2017, one of the rare unifoliolate species in the Epimedium genus of Berberidaceae, is distributed in the Guizhou province of China. In present research, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of E. muhuangense with Illumina sequencing technology. The whole genome was 157,264\u2009bp in length, which consisted of a large single-copy region , a small single-copy region , and a pair of inverted repeat regions . A total of 112 unique genes were successfully annotated, consisting of 78 protein-encoding genes, 30 rRNA, and four tRNA. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that E. muhuangense is closely related to E. elachyphyllum. Epimedium L. is the largest herbaceous genus of Berberidaceae and contains about 62 species. China is the distribution and diversity center of Epimedium, in which there are about 52 species with continued evolution . A specimen was deposited at the Herbarium of the Institute of Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Medical Science  under the voucher number Yanjun Zhang 568. The genomic DNA was extracted from fresh leaves using the modified CTAB method (Doyle and Doyle E. acuminatum chloroplast genome (GenBank accession number: NC_029941) as a reference. The gene annotation was performed by online programs Geseq .In this study, E. muhuangense was 157,264\u2009bp in length, consisting of a small single copy region , a large single copy region , and two inverted repeat regions . The total GC content of chloroplast genomes was 38.77%, while the content of GC in LSC, IR, and SSC regions was 37.37%, 43.17%, and 32.77%, respectively. The chloroplast genome of E. muhuangense contains 112 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. Among these genes, 15 genes (six tRNA genes and nine protein-coding genes) contained an intron, and three genes contained a pair of introns. In addition, five protein-coding genes , eight tRNA genes  and four rRNA genes  were duplicated to have double copies in the chloroplast genome.The chloroplast genome of E. muhuangense, the complete chloroplast genome sequences of 15 plant species were downloaded from the NCBI GenBank database. Sequences were aligned using MAFFT v.7  C. Morren & Decne as outgroup (E. muhuangense is closely related to E. elachyphyllum, both of which are distributed in northeastern Guizhou. Furthermore, E. muhuangense and E. elachyphyllum are the only two species only having unifoliolate leaves in Epimedium (Zhang YJ et\u00a0al. E. muhuangense will contribute to the research of phylogeny and evolution of Berberidaceae.To explore the phylogenetic position of outgroup . The resJing Wang and Ruoqi Huang designed and performed the experiments; Jing Wang also analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript; Qiong Liang and Yanjun Zhang revised critically for intellectual content and approved the final version of the paper; and all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.The plant materials used in this study were transplanted into Wuhan Botanical Garden for cultivation through legal collection way. And the study was approved by the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."}
+{"text": "To the editor,Large variation in response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) has been reported in both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which may partly be explained by genetic factors. The transcriptome of the airways changes following ICS treatment,A strong and consistent response of the airways to ICS in both asthma and COPD patientsp value: 4.21\u00a0\u00d7\u00a010\u221206). Of these 76 CpG sites, 24 were associated with 24 gene transcripts  study Table\u00a0.1 Longts Table\u00a0. The mosn\u00a0=\u00a01515) or non\u2010European descent (n\u00a0=\u00a01702)  with lung function measurements over 3\u00a0years,Subsequently, we investigated whether the identified meQTL were associated with asthma or COPD exacerbations despite ICS use in children with asthma and adult COPD patients, respectively. The asthma analysis was conducted performing a meta\u2010analysis in eight cohort studies from the Pharmacogenomics in Childhood Asthma (PiCA) consortiumIn conclusion, corticosteroid inducible meQTL analysis enabled us to identify a set of functional SNPs that may be useful for future  studies. Although our results indicate that overlap in genetic response to steroids may exist, comparing the epigenetic responses in adult COPD patients to clinical effects in children with asthma, we do acknowledge that additional, disease and age\u2010specific effects may be present. However, these SNPs were not significantly associated with exacerbations and OCS courses in children nor with the slope of FEV1 in adults with COPD.Elise M. A. Slob contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data, design of tables and figures, writing of the original draft and review and editing. Alen Faiz contributed to the conception and design, statistical analysis and interpretation of data, design of tables and figures, writing of the original draft and review and editing. Jos van Nijnatten contributed to the statistical analysis and design of the tables and figures and review and editing. Susanne J. H. Vijverberg contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Maria Pino\u2010Yanes contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Esteban G. Burchard contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Uro\u0161 Poto\u010dnik contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Colin Palmer contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Steve Turner contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Katia Verhamme contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Somnath Mukhopadhyay contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Leila Karimi contributed to the subject recruitment, statistical analysis and interpretation of the data, data collection and review and editing. Fook Tim Chew contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Wim Timens contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. PH contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Mari\u00eblle W. Pijnenburg contributed to the interpretation of the data and review and editing. Maarten van den Berge contributed to the subject recruitment, conception and design, data collection and review and editing. Hananeh Aliee contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Vojko Berce contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Corry A. Brandsma contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Margaret Neighbors contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Michele A. Grimbaldeston contributed to the subject recruitment, statistical analysis and data interpretation, data collection and review and editing. Gaik W. Tew contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Antonio Espuela\u2010Ortiz contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and review and editing. Yang Yie Sio contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and review and editing. Javier Perez\u2010Garcia contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and review and editing. Merve Kutlu contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and review and editing. Don D. Sin contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Xuan Li contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Anke H. Maitland contributed to the subject recruitment, data collection and review and editing. Cyrielle Maroteau contributed to the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and review and editing. Gerard H. Koppelman contributed to the conception and design, statistical analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the original draft, review and editing and is the principle investigator. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.E.M.A. Slob, A. Faiz, S.J.H. Vijverberg, H. Aliee, J. van Nijnatten, P. Hiemstra, C. Maroteau, C. Palmer, M. Kutlu, S. Turner, S. Mukhopadhyay, M. Gorenjak, C.A. Brandsma, L. Karimi, Y.Y. Sio, C. Longo and M.W. Pijnenburg have nothing to disclose. F.T. Chew reports grants from Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund, Singapore Immunology Network, National Medical Research Council (NMRC) (Singapore), Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) (Singapore), and the Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) (Singapore), during the conduct of the study; and consulting fees from Sime Darby Technology Centre; First Resources Ltd; Genting Plantation, and Olam International, outside the submitted work. M. Pino\u2010Yanes reports grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, the State Research Agency, and the European Regional Development Fund from the European Union . E. Herrera\u2010Luis and J. Perez\u2010Garcia report a fellowships from MICIU. A. Espuela\u2010Ortiz declares a fellowship granted by MICIU/ULL. E.G. Burchard reports grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Tobacco\u2010Related Disease Research Program, the Sandler Family Foundation, the American Asthma Foundation, the Amos Medical Faculty Development Program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and from the Harry Wm. and Diana V. Hind Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Sciences II. W. Timens reports fees to the UMCG from Roche Diagnostics/Ventana, personal fees from Merck Sharp Dohme, Bristol\u2010Myers\u2010Squibb and AbbVie, outside the submitted work. G.H. Koppelman reports grants from Lung Foundation of the Netherlands, UBBO EMMIUS Foundation, TETRI Foundation, TEVA the Netherlands, Vertex, GSK, European Union (H2020 Prominent Grant), outside the submitted work; and he has acted on advisory board meetings of GSK and Pure IMS, outside the submitted work. A.H. Maitland\u2010van der Zee has received research grants outside the submitted work from GSK, Boehringer \u00cdngelheim and Vertex, she is the PI of a P4O2 (Precision Medicine for more Oxygen) public private partnership sponsored by Health Holland involving many private partners that contribute in cash and/or in kind , and she has served in advisory boards for AstraZeneca, GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim with money paid to her institution. Dr. van den Berge reports grants to University from GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Genentech, outside the submitted work. Dr. Poto\u010dnik reports grants from Slovenian Research Agency, grants from Ministry of Education, Science and Sport Slovenia (MIZS), during the conduct of the study. M. Grimbaldeston, G.W. Tew and M. Neighbors are employees of Genentech Inc., a Member of the Roche Group. K. Verhamme works for a research department which receives/received unconditional research grants from Yamanouchi, Pfizer\u2010Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, GSK, Chieisi, Amgen, UCB, none of which are related to the content of this work. F.J. Theis acknowledges support by the BMBF  and by the Helmholtz Association's Initiative and Networking Fund through Helmholtz AI [grant number: ZT\u2010I\u2010PF\u20105\u201001] and sparse2big [grant number ZT\u2010I\u2010007]. V. Berce reports grants from Slovenian Research Agency, grants from Ministry of Education, Science and Sport Slovenia (MIZS), during the conduct of the study.The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research; the Dutch Asthma Foundation; GlaxoSmithKline, the University Medical Center Groningen; Leiden University Medical Center. Genentech Inc.; Lung Foundation Netherlands, Grant/Award Number: number 5.1.16.094; GlaxoSmithKline and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences; Slovenian Research Agency, Grant/Award Number: P3\u20100067; SysPharmPedia grant; the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport Slovenia (MIZS), Grant/Award Number: C3330\u201016\u2010500106; Sandler Family Foundation; The American Asthma Foundation, the RWJF Amos Medical Faculty Development Program; The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Grant/Award Number: R01HL117004, R01HL128439, R01HL135156, X01HL134589, R01HL141992, R01HL141845; National Institute of Health and Environmental Health Sciences, Grant/Award Number: R01ES015794, R21ES24844; The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Grant/Award Number: P60MD006902, RL5GM118984, R01MD010443, and R56MD013312; the Tobacco\u2010Related Disease Research Program, Grant/Award Number: 24RT\u20100025, 27IR\u20100030; National Human Genome Research Institute, Grant/Award Number: U01HG009080; ISCIII and ERDF; Ram\u00f3n y Cajal Program by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, Grant/Award Number: RYC\u20102015\u201017205; MICIU, FPU19/02175; The State Research Agency; The European Union, Grant/Award Number: MICIU/AEI/FEDER, UE, SAF2017\u201083417R; MICIU fellowship, Grant/Award Number: PRE2018\u2010083837; MICIU/ULL (M\u2010ULL); Slovenian Research Agency, Grant/Award Number: P3\u20100067; SysPharmPedia, The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport Slovenia, Award Number: C3330\u201016\u2010500106; Roche Diagnostics GmbH and Cellarity Inc.Supporting Information S1Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "H. sapiens, M. musculus, and A. thaliana. First, the powerful SHAP method was used to select the optimal feature subset from seven different kinds of sequence-based features. Second, different machine learning algorithms were used to train the models. The results of five-fold cross-validation indicate that the model based on XGBoost achieved the highest prediction accuracy. Finally, our model was compared with other state-of-the-art models, which indicates that m5Cpred-XS is superior to other methods. Moreover, we deployed the model on a web server that can be accessed through http://m5cpred-xs.zhulab.org.cn/, and m5Cpred-XS is expected to be a useful tool for studying m5C sites.As one of the most important post-transcriptional modifications of RNA, 5-cytosine-methylation (m5C) is reported to closely relate to many chemical reactions and biological functions in cells. Recently, several computational methods have been proposed for identifying m5C sites. However, the accuracy and efficiency are still not satisfactory. In this study, we proposed a new method, m5Cpred-XS, for predicting m5C sites of  RNA modification plays pivotal roles in many biological processes . Until nSeveral experimental methods have been developed to identify m5C sites, including miCLIP-seq , Aza-IP-The computational methods are mainly classified into two categories: random forest (RF)-based models and support vector machine (SVM)-based models. Based on RF, As mentioned above, different kinds of features have been generated for predicting m5C sites, and the dimension of these features can be very high; however, not all the features are relevant for building machine learning models. Moreover, the features with ultrahigh dimensions also pose a great challenge to computer performance . SelectiRecently, different feature selection methods have been used in developing models for predicting the RNA modification sites. http://m5cpred-xs.zhulab.org.cn/) was deployed for the users.In this study, we established a new method to predict m5C sites by using XGBoost based on features selected by SHAP. We named this method m5Cpred_XS, which can be used to predict m5C sites in multiple species. Extensive experiments demonstrated that the proposed predictor, m5Cpred_XS, outperformed other existing prediction methods. Finally, a web server  A benchmark data set was collected. The benchmark data set was divided into the training set and the independent test set. II) The features were extracted from RNA sequences. III) The SHAP-based feature selection was carried out to select the optimal feature subset. IV) The XGBoost was used to train the model. V) The comparison and analysis of different models was conducted. VI) A web server for predicting m5C sites was developed for the community. The overall flow chart of our study is shown in H. sapiens, M. musculus, and A. thaliana. As shown in H. sapiens, M. musculus, and A. thaliana were collected from the work of For fair comparison, we used the same data sets as in A. thaliana, 1000 positive and 1000 negative samples were randomly selected from the data set as the independent test data set, and the remaining 5298 positive and 5298 negative samples were selected as the training data set. Similarly, 1000 positive and 1000 negative samples from M. musculus\u2019 benchmark data set were selected as the independent test set, and the remaining 4563 positive and 4563 negative samples were selected as the training data set. For H. sapiens, 69 positive and 69 negative samples were randomly selected as the independent test set, and the remaining 200 positive and 200 negative samples were selected as the training data set. The specific partitioning of the data sets is shown in To build and evaluate the models, the benchmark data sets were divided into two parts: the training data sets and the independent test sets. The training data sets were used for the model construction, cross-validation, and the determination of the hyperparameters of machine learning algorithms, whereas the independent test sets were used for testing the prediction performance and generalization ability of the models. For For each RNA segment, it can be expressed in the following form:In this formula,  studies  show thaENAC encoding  is used In this formula, The CKSNAP feature encoding scheme  is basedANF, also known as nucleotide density (ND), fully considers the distribution and nucleotide frequency information of each nucleotide in the RNA sequence . The denAdenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and uracil (U) are the four types of nucleotides in RNA, each of which has unique chemical properties and physical structure. According to different chemical properties, these four nucleotides can be divided into three categories . The detBased on the three types of chemical properties, A, C, U, and G can be expressed as , , , and , respectively. The feature dimension generated by NCP is 123.The method of using a four-dimensional binary vector to encode the nucleotide is called the binary encoding scheme  by whichThe expression of SCPseDNC  coding iHere, FastText is a natural language model released by Facebook . By consFeature selection is an important step in building effective machine learning models when high-dimensional features were generated. In this study, three different feature selection methods were employed to select the optimal feature subsets. As one of the frameworks for explaining the prediction model, the SHAP algorithm was proposed to characterize feature importance and assess feature behavior . The conThe F-score  is anothThe third feature selection method used in this study is maximum relevance minimum redundancy (mRMR), which was developed by Peng et al. . In thisThe XGBoost was a distributed gradient enhancement library that was widely used in classification scenarios . It has Cross-validation is often used to evaluate the performance and generalization ability of machine learning models. In this paper, five-fold cross-validation was used to evaluate the models, and the random sampling method was used to divide the training data set into five subsets with very close data volume . In eachDifferent evaluation metrics are used in bioinformatics classification. In this study, we selected the accuracy (Acc), sensitivity (Sen), specificity (Spe), precision (Pre), Matthews correlation coefficient (Mcc), and F1-score as the main evaluation metrics . Counts In addition to the above evaluation indicators, the precision recall curve (PRC curve)  and recen features. The highest AUROCs were obtained when the top 48, 228, and 208 features were used for H. sapiens, M. musculus, and A. thaliana, respectively. The corresponding AUROC values are 0.935, 0.834, and 0.787, for the three species, respectively.Seven kinds of features were generated from the RNA segments of the three species of which the dimension is 808 in total. Considering the redundancy between the features, SHAP was used to select the optimal feature subsets by which the scores of importance of the 808-dimensional features were calculated based on XGBoost ensemble algorithm. In addition, n features selected by these two methods are also plotted in Besides this, another two kinds of feature-selection methods, F-score  and mRMRTo verify the effectiveness of the XGBoost algorithm in m5C site prediction, two other learning algorithms, random forests  and suppA. thaliana, the AUROC value of the model based on XGBoost is 0.787, which is higher than the models based on RF (0.780) and SVM (0.768). For M. musculus, the AUROC value of the model based on XGBoost is 0.834, which is also higher than the models based on RF (0.795) and SVM (0.824). For H. sapiens, the AUROC value of the model based on XGBoost is 0.935, which is also higher than the models based on RF (0.911) and SVM (0.903). The ROC and PRC curves for three species are shown in H. sapiens, the AUPRC of the model based on XGBoost is 0.942, which is higher than the models based on RF (0.910) and SVM (0.897). Similarly, for A. thaliana, the AUPRC of the model based on XGBoost is 0.794, which is higher than that based on RF (0.784) and SVM (0.771). In addition, for M. musculus, the AUPRC of the model based on XGBoost is 0.827, which is higher than the models based on SVM (0.812) and RF (0.791). Thus, the models built by using XGBoost were selected as our final models.H. sapiens and M. musculus but not for A. thaliana. iRNAm5C-PseDNC . For A. thaliana, our model achieved the highest values for all seven evaluation metrics. Thus, we prove the superiority of our m5Cpred_XS model for predicting the m5C sites for three species. By using other decision thresholds as shown in To further evaluate the generalization of our models, the predictive results of our models on the independent test sets were compared with other existing methods, iRNA-m5C , m5CPredC-PseDNC  and RNAmC-PseDNC  can only PEA-m5C  can onlyIt is noted that the predictive accuracies of iRNA-5mC and PEA-m5C on the independent test sets are even less than 0.50. The possible reason is that the corresponding training data sets for building these models are small. For example, the model of iRNA-m5C for homo sapiens is based on a data set that only contains 120 positive samples, and PEA-m5C is based on a data set that contains 1196 positive samples. Both data sets were smaller than the data sets used in this study. The small size of the data set limits the generalization of the model on the independent test set. In addition, the model was not evaluated on an independent test set in the original paper of iRNA-m5C and the redundancy of the data set used for PEA-m5C was not removed.http://m5cpred-xs.zhulab.org.cn/. The server was implemented using flask, docker, and nginx. The users can easily carry out the prediction by the following procedures: First, users can type the query RNA sequences into the input box or upload a FASTA format file.  After that, one of the three species, H. sapiens, M. musculus, and A. thaliana, should be chosen. Users can provide their email address as a way to obtain the query results. Then, by clicking the \u201csubmit\u201d button, the server generates a unique task ID and do the calculation until the final result is reached. During this process, you can query the task status by task ID. When the task was done, the results would be sent back to the users as an email attachment.To facilitate the use of our model, we built a web server that is freely available at To further analyze the features selected by SHAP, the most important top 20 features for the three species are shown in H. sapiens, features belonging to ENAC account for the largest proportion of the top 20 most important features, including a total of seven features. The three types of features, binary, ANF, and word2vec, are not included in the top 20 most important features, which indicates that these features contribute little to the prediction m5C sites of H. sapiens. For M. musculus, five features from NCP and SCPseDNC appeared in the top 20 features, and ANF and CKSNAP did not appear. For A. thaliana, five features of SCPseDNC and FastText appeared in top 20 features, and NCP was not included. These results indicate that the relevant features are related to the data sets, and feature selection is helpful for building high-performance models.Moreover, the principal component analysis was used to visualize the effectiveness of the selected features. H. sapiens. However, the model of H. sapiens does not performs well on the independent test sets of the other two species. M. musculus performs on the independent set of H. sapiens even better than that of M. musculus. In addition, the model of A. thaliana performs worse on the independent test set of M. musculus. We thought the small size of the benchmark data set of H. sapiens was one of the possible reasons for the results. The other reason is that both M. musculus and H. sapiens are mammals.To further evaluate the generalization of our models, we conducted the cross-species validation to analyze the species-specificity and transferability of the models that were tested on the three independent test sets of the three species. In this study, we proposed a new computational model, m5Cpred_XS, for predicting m5C sites. Three different feature-selection methods were used to select the optimal subset from 808 dimensional data of seven kinds of features. It turns out that the features selected by SHAP are more relevant compared with the features selected by the other two methods. The selected feature subsets were used to build our models. Our results show that the models based on XGBoost are superior to the models trained with RF and SVM. The m5Cpred_XS was further compared with other existing methods on the independent test sets, which demonstrates that our model outperforms the other methods according to AUROC values."}
+{"text": "Pinus tabulaeformis and Populus euramericana reclamation were explored using high-throughput sequencing and molecular ecological network methods. The results showed that: (1) With the increase in reclamation years, the reclaimed soil properties were close to the control group, and the soil properties of Pinus tabulaeformis were closer to the control group than those of P. euramericana. (2) The dominant bacteria under the canopies of P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana was the same. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria were the dominant bacteria in the restored soil, accounting for more than 95% of the total abundance. The average values of the Shannon diversity index, Simpson diversity index, Chao 1 richness estimator, and abundance-based coverage estimator of the bacterial community in the P. euramericana reclaimed soil were higher than those in the P. tabulaeformis reclaimed soil. The influence of reclamation years on the bacterial community of samples is greater than that of species types. (3) The results of ecological network construction showed that the total number of nodes, total number of connections, and average connectivity of the soil bacterial network under P. euramericana reclamation were greater than those under P. tabulaeformis reclamation. The bacterial molecular ecological network under P. euramericana was more abundant. (4) Among the dominant bacteria, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was negatively correlated with soil pH, soil total nitrogen content, and the activities of urease, invertase, and alkaline phosphatase, while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with these environmental factors. The relationship between the soil bacterial community of P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana and the environmental factors is not completely the same, and even the interaction between some environmental factors and bacteria is opposite.To compare the effects of different remediation tree species on soil bacterial communities and provide a theoretical basis for the selection of ecosystem function promotion strategies after vegetation restoration, the characteristic changes in soil bacterial communities after  In 2019, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People\u2019s Republic of China successively issued the Opinions on Establishing an Incentive Mechanism to Accelerate the Promotion of Ecological Restoration of Mines and the Opinions of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Exploring and Utilizing Marketization to Promote Ecological Restoration of Mines, to accelerate the promotion of ecological restoration of mines and solve outstanding problems, such as many historical arrears, many practical contradictions, and insufficient investment in ecological restoration of mines. It can be seen that promoting land reclamation and ecological restoration is an important way to repair damaged mine ecological functions and realize the sustainable development of the mining ecosystem . Soil miMedicago sativa L.  and Bromus inermis Leyss. (Smooth brome) are widely used as a community-building species for ecological restoration in northern China [Alfalfa, a high-quality perennial legume, could improve the soil\u2019s texture and nutrients with a low degree of degradation [Currently, research on the soil bacterial community after reclamation mainly focuses on the following points: first, research on the change in soil microbial characteristics after restoration. Sun et al. studied the response of soil microorganisms to vegetation restoration in coal mining subsidence areas and microbial changes . Li Yuanrn China ,23,24. Aradation ,26. A shradation .Pinus tabulaeformis and Populus euramericana as the reclamation tree species in the different waste dumps of the Heidaigou open-pit coal mine as the study area and used high-throughput technology to obtain soil microbial information. Furthermore, we used the molecular ecological network to reveal and compare the changes and characteristics of the bacterial communities in the soil reclaimed using P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana and compared the effects of different vegetation reclamation models on soil bacterial communities, providing a theoretical basis for the selection of vegetation reclamation.However, there are few studies on the changes in soil microorganisms in different vegetation configuration modes and different reclamation years. In the study of soil microorganisms, traditional research methods, such as various diversity indices, can only excavate the composition and abundance information of microbial communities in the surface layer; the amount of microbial information data obtained using high-throughput sequencing is rich and huge. For this reason, in this study, we selected soil with P. tabulaeformis, P. euramericana, and Platycladus orientalis (L.) Francoptmxjjkmsc. The farmland is mainly dry and dispersed. The surface is directly damaged due to open-pit mining. The method of landform reconstruction and vegetation reconstruction is adopted for restoration. The soil cover is sourced from topsoil stripped from open-cut mining, with a thickness of approximately 1.0 m. The soil is mainly loess, characterized by a relatively infertile, paucity of humus, and has not undergone any processes of maturation. The vegetation species to be restored are mainly P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana.The study area is located in the Heidaigou open-pit coal mine in the Zhungeer Coalfield, east of Zhungeer County, Ordos City, Nei Monggol Autonomous Region, with coordinates 111\u00b012\u203253\u2033\u2013111\u00b020\u203202\u2033 E and 39\u00b043\u203211\u2033\u201339\u00b047\u203241\u2033 N . The minThis sampling object was used to select the reclaimed land under different restoration years and different tree species. The north waste dump (15 years of reclamation), the east and west waste dump (12 years of reclamation), the inner waste dump (9 years of reclamation), and the Yinwan waste dump (6 years of reclamation) after the restoration of the Heidaigou open-pit coal mine were selected as the sampling sites, and the sites not affected by coal mining subsidence were selected as the control sites. The locations of the sampling sites are shown in P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana were set up in five waste dump sites; the control site, which was not affected by mining, was set up with P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana  was used to measure the soil pH; a Topsizer laser particle size analyzer  was used to measure soil clay, silt, and sand contents; and an Automatic Kjeldahl nitrogen meter  was used to measure soil total nitrogen. Furthermore, an ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometer  was used to measure the soil total phosphorus content, soil organic matter content, soil alkali hydrolyzable nitrogen, soil urease, soil alkaline phosphatase, and soil sucrase activity. Soil total potassium was measured using a flame spectrophotometer .\u00ae Soil DNA Kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocols. The V4\u2013V5 area of the 16S rRNA of soil bacteria was amplified via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The applied degenerate primers were 515F 5\u2032-barcode-GTGCCAGCMGCCGCGG-3\u2032 and 907R 5\u2032-CCGTCAATTCMTTT RAGTTT-3\u2032.The 16S rRNA genes of soil bacteria were sequenced within three days of sampling. The DNA of soil samples was extracted using the E.Z.N.AThe PCR amplification products were detected using electrophoresis, the target fragments were cut and recycled, and the fluorescence quantification was performed based on the electrophoresis detection results. The TruSeq Nano DNA LT Library Prep Kit of Illumina Company was used to prepare the sequencing library and to perform purification, quality inspection, and quantification. The qualified library was diluted by gradient and mixed according to the required sequencing amount in the corresponding proportion, and finally, the MiSeq Agent Kit V3 (600 cycles) was used as the reagent for computer sequencing. The optimal sequencing length of the target fragment was 200\u2013450 bp.P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana, and the OTU with the highest abundance of 75% was selected for each group to construct and analyze the molecular ecological network. The construction process of the ecological network is found in MENA . The specific analysis process is as follows: High-throughput sequencing data were obtained to determine the number of different OTUs for each sample; the relevant abundance of OTU numbers was standardized. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to calculate the pairwise similarity of each OTU and to generate the similarity matrix. Based on the random matrix theory (RMT), the derived threshold was determined, and the adjacency matrix was constructed.Based on the reclaimed vegetation, the samples were divided into two groups: After the construction of the molecular ecological network, the topological structure and modular analysis of the network were performed. Topological analysis was used to verify whether the results of network construction meet the scale-free, small-world, and modular characteristics of molecular ecological networks, and to test the reliability of the construction results . ModularPython\u2019s matplotlib package was used to draw a bar graph of bacterial abundance at the phylum level and a heat map of bacterial abundance at the class level in the soil samples. The Pearson correlation between soil physical and chemical properties and enzyme activity was analyzed using SPSS 25.0. Common indices for calculating alpha diversity include the Simpson diversity index, Shannon diversity index, Chao 1 richness index, and abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) richness index. Principal component analysis (PCA) and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were used to reflect the beta diversity of the bacterial communities.P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana. There is no significant difference in the physical properties of the soil under the two types of plants. The average soil water content under P. tabulaeformis is 1.12% higher than that under P. Euramericana, while the average values of bulk density and sand content under P. tabulaeformis are 0.05 g/cm2 and 2.63% lower than that under P. euramericana. The average pH value and average cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil under P. tabulaeformis are higher than those of P. euramericana by 0.01 and 1.25 coml/kg, respectively, while the average total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and soil organic matter contents are relatively low by 0.01%, 0.06 g/kg, 0.33 g/kg, and 1.89 g/kg, respectively. The activities of soil urease, sucrase, and alkaline phosphatase under P. tabulaeformis are 0.18 mg/g, 3.72 mg/g, and 0.22 mg/g lower than those under P. euramericana, respectively. After 15 years of reclamation, the soil organic matter content and urease activity were significantly different from the control group, and bulk density, soil water content, pH, cation exchange capacity, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and invertase activity were basically close to the control group. In short, with the increase in reclamation years, the reclaimed soil properties were close to those of the control group, and the soil properties of P. tabulaeformis were closer to those of the control group than those of P. euramericana.The soil physical and chemical properties of different reclamation tree species are shown in 2 to 2.17 g/cm2, and the proportion of soil sand particles gradually increased from 64.32% to 75.29%, while the soil water content had no obvious change. The soil pH gradually decreased from 8.29 to 8.2 with the increase in reclamation years. The cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and total potassium content increased significantly with the increase in reclamation years, from 11.5 coml/kg, 7.09 g/kg, 0.03%, and 12 g/kg to 14.45 coml/kg, 11.73 g/kg, 0.05%, and 12.35 g/kg, respectively. The total phosphorus of the soil did not change significantly with the increase in reclamation years. The activities of urease, sucrase, and alkaline phosphatase increased significantly with the increase in reclamation years, from 0.13 mg/g, 8.44 mg/g, and 0.52 mg/g to 0.47 mg/g, 45.26 mg/g, and 0.81 mg/g, respectively.With the increase in reclamation years, the soil bulk density gradually decreased from 2.45 g/cmProteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria, accounting for more than 95% of the total abundance.The bacterial community composition of each sample at the phylum level was statistically analyzed . At the Proteobacteria was the largest, ranging from 27.34% to 39.34%. In 12 a and 15 a of reclamation, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in P. euramericana was higher than that of P. tabulaeformis. However, the relative abundance of P. tabulaeformis was lower than that of P. euramericana in 6 a and 9 a of reclamation. Proteobacteria participate in the soil nitrogen cycle process and help to restore the improvement of soil quality. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria was 16.55\u201336.82%, which was increasing with the increase in reclamation years. Actinobacteria was a saprophytic aerobic bacterium that preferred neutral or slightly alkaline, promoting the growth of rhizosphere bacteria, symbiotic bacteria, and endophytic bacteria. The relative abundance of Acidobacterium was 7.32\u201317.12%. In the samples of P. tabulaeformis, the abundance was increasing with the increase in reclamation years. This bacterium plays an important role in the degradation of plant residues. The abundance of Chloroflexi in P. tabulaeformis samples decreased with the increase in reclamation years. The nutrition mode of Chloroflexi was extremely diverse. From the perspective of vegetation type, at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria in the reclaimed soil of P. tabulaeformis is 0.04% higher than that in the reclaimed soil of P. euramericana. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria in the reclaimed soil of P. tabulaeformis is 0.02% lower than that in the reclaimed soil of P. euramericana.The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Cyanobacteria have a high response to the change in reclamation years. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Cyanobacteria decreased by 2.43%, 3.73%, and 7.61% on average each year, while the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria increased by 8.31% and 3.08% on average each year.From the perspective of the changing trend of bacterial community structure, p < 0.1), while the differences in other indices are not significant (p > 0.1), but the average values of the four indices of the bacterial community in the reclaimed soil of P. tabulaeformis are higher than those in that of P. tabulaeformis.The alpha diversity index can measure the community diversity of samples. At the same time, the Simpson diversity index, Shannon diversity index, Chao 1 richness estimator index, and ACE were selected for comparative analysis of soil bacterial community diversity in different vegetation reclamation models and different reclamation years. As shown in P. tabulaeformis as the reclamation vegetation is relatively larger than that with P. euramericana as the reclamation vegetation.Beta diversity analysis can measure the similarity between different community composition samples. The PCA method based on the Euclidean distance was used to analyze the OTU of each sample, and the results are shown in P. tabulaeformis and P. euramericana are scattered, and the distance between samples with the same reclamation years is closer. This may be because the influence of reclamation years on the bacterial community of samples is greater than that of vegetation types, and this result is consistent with the result of the PCA method.Based on the phylogenetic tree, we comprehensively considered the changes in species and species abundance, calculated the weighted unifrac distance between samples, and performed an NMDS analysis. The results are shown in P. tabulaeformis group and the P. euramericana group, and the number of OTUs in each group was 725 and 818, respectively. Based on the RMT theory, the two groups of data were used to derive an adjacency matrix and to generate a network at the threshold level of 0.960. Under this threshold, the chi-square value of the P. tabulaeformis group is 60.779, and that of the P. euramericana poplar group is 69.672, which belongs to the appropriate threshold level. The analysis of the network topology  According to the analysis of the structure and diversity of the soil bacterial community, P. euramericana are greater than those under P. tabulaeformis. Based on the connectivity between nodes, it can be concluded that the relationship between bacterial communities under P. euramericana is more complex, and the relationship between different modules is also closer. Therefore, P. euramericana is more conducive to the restoration of soil bacterial diversity than P. tabulaeformis.(2) The total number of nodes, total number of connections, and average connectivity of the soil bacterial network under Actinobacteria is negatively correlated with soil pH, soil total nitrogen content, urease activities, invertase activities, and alkaline phosphatase activities, while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Armatimonadetes is positively correlated with these environmental factors. Soil total nitrogen content, soil organic matter content, and the activities of urease, invertase, and alkaline phosphatase have a greater impact on the bacterial community.(3) Among the major bacteria, the relative abundance of P. euramericana and P. tabulaeformis on soil bacterial community structure is related to the mechanisms of plant growth, which we will continue to study in our follow-up work.(4) The influence of Different restoration tree species have different effects on the soil bacterial community and the ecological function of restoration of reclaimed land. Therefore, through the experimental study of the change rule of soil microorganisms, we can timely understand the reasons for soil quality changes and select the appropriate repair tree species, which is more conducive to accelerating the selection of vegetation configuration on the reclaimed land and the speed of ecosystem restoration. However, the differences between the tree species that they derive from have not been studied in depth, and the mechanism will continue to be studied in the future."}
+{"text": "Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus and E. brandti are boring weevils of Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven) and coexist on the same host A. altissima. In previous studies, through behavioral observation, we learned that, during the oviposition process, these weevils need to use their rostra to excavate an oviposition hole. However, the specific morphology of the rostra of the two weevils and the egg-laying mechanism during the oviposition process currently remain unknown. The morphological analysis attempts to link biological structure and function to specific environmental or behavioral characteristics, and this method has become an indispensable tool in the process of elucidating and interpreting patterns. Therefore, the morphologic characteristics of the rostra in E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti were examined and compared by scanning electron microscopy and micro-CT. This study not only plays an important role in exploring the excavating mechanism during oviposition of E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti, but also provides new insight for explaining the coexistence of two weevil species in the same host.Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus and E. brandti (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cryptorrhychinae) are both pests of Ailanthus altissima, found in China. During ovipositing, gravid females of the two weevils need to excavate a cavity in the oviposition substrate with their rostrum, while their oviposition sites are different. (2) In this study, to explore the boring mechanism of E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti during ovipositing, the morphologic characters of the rostra of two weevils were studied in detail by scanning electron microscopy and micro-CT. (3) Their rostra appear similar, but the rostrum surface of E. scrobiculatus is rougher than that of E. brandti; their fine structures of rostrum and sensilla distribution are similar, but the sensilla twig basiconica 3 is distributed at the apex of labial palpus in E. brandti females, while not at the apex of labial palpus in E. scrobiculatus females; their rostra are hollow and their cuticle thickness is constantly changing, but the proportion of the whole rostrum tube cuticle in E. scrobiculatus is significantly larger than that of E. brandti. The above structural differences make E. scrobiculatus more conducive to oviposition in the soil and E. brandti more conducive to oviposition in the trunk of A.\u00a0altissima. (4) Overall, this study not only plays an important role in exploring the excavating mechanism during the oviposition of the two weevils, but also provides new insights into the coexistence of two weevil species on the same host A. altissima.(1)  Weevils are a type of beetle belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea. They are one of the most diverse groups in the existing biological family, with about 60,000 described species ,2.Oxyporus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) to fungal feeding involve modifications of the mandibles of adults and larvae; labial palpi and labrum of adults; and maxillae of larvae [Ips acuminatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) demonstrated its possible implication to act as an external carrier of pathogenic microorganism [Doubledaya bucculenta Lewis  shows an asymmetry in the mandibles of females compared to males, which helps females to dig holes between hard bamboo nodes when laying eggs [In insects, the structure and function of mouthparts and their relationship with feeding strategies have attracted increasing research attention. The morphology of insect mouthparts, as well as the adaptation characteristics of host localization, feeding, and oviposition related to mouthparts morphology, have been extensively studied. For example, the principal morphological adaptations of species of f larvae . Studiesorganism . Doubleding eggs . In weeving eggs ,7,8. Mosing eggs . Using ring eggs . The apping eggs ,9,10,11.Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus Motschulsky and E. brandti Harold (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cryptorrhychinae) are widely distributed in China [Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (tree-of-heaven) (Simaroubaceae) and its variety A. altissima var, cause serious damage to forestry in China at the larval stage [E. scrobiculatus larvae damage the root of A. altissima, E. brandti larvae damage the trunk of A. altissima [E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti are different. E. scrobiculatus females lay eggs in the soil near A. altissima, while E. brandti females lay eggs in the trunk of A. altissima [A. altissima [E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti, provide a detailed morphology comparison of the rostra to understand the functional role of these structures in the oviposition process, and explore the reasons for differences in the oviposition sites of the two weevils.in China ,13,14,15al stage ,17,18,19ltissima . Previoultissima . The oviltissima ,21. The ltissima . Studiesltissima ,21. HoweE. scrobiculatus and E. brandti were collected from the A. altissima forest in Xiaoxingdun village , Ningxia Hui Autonomous, China. They were reared in plastic boxes with fresh branches of A. altissima.Adults of E. scrobiculatus females and twenty specimens of E. brandti females were put into a plastic bottle filled with 70% ethanol. Each weevil was taken out of the bottle one by one, and its head (with rostrum) and body were separated with tweezers and dissecting scissors. The dissected head was put into ultrapure water for ultrasonic cleaning, and the water was changed every 5 min for a total of 15 min. The cleaned heads were dehydrated with 30%, 50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, and 100% alcohol gradients for 15 min, which was repeated once in 100% ethanol. The mandibles, maxillae, and labium of the two weevils were dissected under a microscope , and at the same time, the samples were pasted on the sample stage according to the required shooting angle with conductive glue. The stage with the samples attached was placed in a plastic box filled with silica gel desiccant and dried at room temperature. All samples were coated with a film of gold-palladium in an E-1010 sputter ion instrument . Then, the observation and photographs were taken under an S-3400N (Hitachi) scanning electron microscope at an accelerating voltage of 0.5\u201330 KV.Twenty specimens of E. scrobiculatus females and five rostra of E. brandti females were put into a plastic bottle filled with 70% ethanol. The dissected rostra were fixed in Bouin solution, washed with 70% ethanol, and then dehydrated by alcohol gradient. The alcohol concentrations were 50%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100% (3 times), with an interval of 10\u201315 min. Finally, the sample was dehydrated with acetone 3 times, each for 30 min. The prepared sample was placed under a 3D X-ray microscope  for shooting and scanning. The scanning parameters were as follows: voltage 60.0 kV, current 80.0 \u03bcmA, time 0.60 s.The rostrum was separated from the body using the same method as above. Five rostra of E. scrobiculatus and 604 micro-CT slices of E. brandti were used to reconstruct rostrum tubes, respectively. These structures were trimmed, smoothed, and rendered with multiple viewers.The target structure was reconstructed using the imported data analyzed by Avizo 9.0.1. The 916 micro-CT slices of p < 0.05) were used to compare the proportion of the rostrum tube cuticle. Graphs were drawn with GraphPad Prism 9, scales and arrows on the images were marked using Photoshop 2021.The references for the classification of the sensilla were as follows ,23,24,25E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti looked similar, there were some differences. The downward curvature of the entire rostrum of E. scrobiculatus female is inconsistent. The downward curvature of the rostrum from the antennal fossa to the tip is larger than that from the antennal fossa to the head. The rostrum surface of E. scrobiculatus female is rough and has convex edges and grooves, covering a large number of setae and pores , a pair of mandibles (Md), a pair of maxillae (Mx) and a labium (Lb)  and labium (Lb) of E. brandti are not completely enclosed by mandibles; some parts are longer than the mandibles and are exposed to the outside of them. Therefore, the fine structures of the maxillae and labium of the two weevils were compared in the following study.Scanning electron microscope observation showed that although in terms of overall structure the rostra morphology of nd pores A,C,E. Thnd pores B,D,F. Thium (Lb) . From FiE. scrobiculatus and E. brandti are located in the longitudinal cleft on both sides of the labium. There are a pair of segmented movable appendages. The maxillae can be divided into five parts: cardo, stipe, galea, laciniae, and maxillary palpi. The galea and laciniae covered with a large number of setae are attached to one side of the stipe. There are some differences in the number and distribution of sensors in the stipe for the two weevils. The stipe is a large sclerite with a smoother surface connected to the end of the cardo  distributed at this position, but in E. brandti, there are three sensors  distributed, and the sensor S.tb.3 is found only at the apex of labial palpus of E. brandti females  > EBR afa (47.77 \u00b1 0.13) > ESC bfa (45.04 \u00b1 0.14) > EBR bfa (42.64 \u00b1 0.07), p < 0.05  were only ventrally observed in the last segment of the maxillary palp. The sensor structure is similar to the neuronal structure of hygro-/thermo-receptors [E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti females likely play roles in monitoring the environmental conditions in the process of ovipositing.The feeding and oviposition of adult weevils are not restricted to the drilling of holes. Irregular excavations are also made, and some surface browsing is carried out, and these behaviors are inseparable from the role of the sensor. A comparison of the fine structures of maxillae and labium in two weevils revealed many sensilla distributed at the apex of the maxillae and labium, which can be divided into three types: sensilla basiconica (S.b.1\u20134), sensilla twig basiconica (S.tb.1\u20133), and digitiform sensilla (D.s). There was no difference in the number and distribution of sensilla basiconica between the two weevils at the apex of the maxillae and labium. These sensilla basiconica can be divided into two types: uniporous peg sensilla (S.b.2 and S.b.4) and porous peg sensilla (S.b.1 and S.b.3). The former may be a contact chemosensory organ, while the latter may function as an olfactory organ ,37,38. Tand GABA . In addiand GABA . The senlongatus ,43. In alongatus ,45. Yanglongatus . Therefog laying . E. scroeceptors ,47. TherE. scrobiculatus and E. brandti females were reconstructed by micro-CT. It was difficult to distinguish the inner and outer epidermis of the rostrum in micro-CT sections; therefore, we studied the general name of the inner and outer epidermis in the cuticle structure. Through the study of the rostral cuticle, it was found that the thickness of the exoskeleton from the head cavity junction to the appearance of the chewable mouthpart was constantly changing. Taking the antennal fossa as the dividing line, the proportion of cuticles after the antennal fossa was significantly greater than that before the antennal fossa. The proportion of cuticle thickness in E. scrobiculatus females in the same position was always higher than that of E. brandti females, regardless of whether it was before and after the antennal fossa or the overall rostral cuticle  was a hierarchical fiber complex characterized by various arrangements embedded in heterogeneous protein matrices \u03b1-chitin (N-acetylglucosamine) nanofibers [E. brandti by scanning electron microscopy (E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti are adaptations to the oviposition position, which can avoid the failure of the rostrum during excavation.The rostral cuticle structure of  cuticle A. Therefnofibers ,49,50,51nofibers ,53,54. Icroscopy . This stE. scrobiculatus and E. brandti may be derived from the same ancestor [E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti were formed. E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti females must dig an oviposition hole with their rostra before laying eggs [A. altissima [A. altissima.Previous studies showed that ancestor . Becauseancestor . In otheing eggs ,21; the ltissima . The difltissima . On thisE. scrobiculatus and E. brandti were compared. The rostrum surface of E. scrobiculatus is rougher, the proportion of the whole rostrum tube cuticle is larger, the maxillae and labium are encased by the mandibles. These structures make E. scrobiculatus more suitable for excavating cavities in the soil. The rostrum surface of E. brandti is smoother, the proportion of the whole rostrum tube cuticle is smaller, the maxillae and labium are not completely enclosed by mandibles. These structures make E. brandti more suitable for excavating cavities on the trunk of host. In addition, the thickness change and the unique laminate structure in the rostral cuticle structure of both E. scrobiculatus and E. brandti give their rostra tubes a good rigidity and toughness, which avoids the phenomenon of rostrum fracture in the process of excavating. In summary, these features play an important role in exploring the oviposition mechanism of the weevil from the perspective of structure and function, but also provide new insights into the coexistence of two weevil species in the same host A. altissima.In this study, the differences in the fine structures of the rostra between"}
+{"text": "Camellia oleifera is an important woody grain and oil plant worldwide. However, owing to a significant decline in the number of wild pollinators globally and the associated reduction in pollination services and seed production, camellia oil is in short supply. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the pollination mechanisms and efficiency of wild pollinators in C. oleifera seed production. We explored the pollination system of C. oleifera, focusing on the flower-visiting characteristics of its candidate pollinators. We found that Apis mellifera is the best candidate pollinator, but flies and hoverflies also play important roles in the pollination system.Camellia oleifera Abel. is an important woody oil plant, and its pollination success is essential for oil production. We conducted this study to select the best pollinator candidates for C. oleifera using principal component analysis and multi-attribute decision-making. Field observations of the flower-visiting characteristics of candidate pollinators were conducted at three sites. The insect species that visited flowers did not considerably differ between regions or time periods. However, the proportion of each species recorded did vary. We recorded eleven main candidates from two orders and six families at the three sites. The pollen amount carried by Apis mellifera was significantly higher than that of other insects. However, the visit frequency and body length of Apis mellifera were smaller than those of Vespa velutina. Statistical analysis showed that A. mellifera is the best candidate pollinator; Eristaliscerealis is a good candidate pollinator; Phytomia zonata, A. cerana, and V. velutina were ordinary candidate pollinators; and four fly species, Episyrphus balteatus, and Eristalinus arvorum were classified as inefficient candidate pollinators. Our study shows that flies and hoverflies play an important role in the pollination system. Given the global decline in bee populations, the role of flies should also be considered in C. oleifera seed production. Many plants have mutualistic relationships with pollinators that ensure their reproductive success . PollinaCamellia oleifera Abel. is a woody, oil-producing plant native to China [C. oleifera is a self-incompatible plant that relies heavily on active insect pollination [C. oleifera attracts more than 50 species of pollinating insects, including bees, wasps, hoverflies, and flies [C. oleifera forests have a high mortality rate because C. oleifera nectar contains strong alkaloids and other indigestible compounds that cause posterior intestinal obstruction in bee larvae [C. oleifera pollination. However, the number of wild pollinators has been declining considerably worldwide, and the consequent reduction in pollination and seed production has caused a shortage in the camellia oil supply [C. oleifera.Insects have been identified as the world\u2019s most important pollinators, contributing to 87% of pollination globally, making their services critical for the sustainability of natural ecosystems ,11. Cameto China . Its seeto China . C. oleilination . When itnd flies . Howevere larvae ,17. TherC. oleifera by observing the insect species that visited the flowers at different times across a range of different sites. The proportion of each insect species, flower visit duration and frequency, and other indices were quantified, and the body and flower-visiting characteristics of the insects were analysed and compared. The pollination potential of flower visitors was compared using principal component analysis and a multi-attribute decision-making model. Functional groups were determined on the basis of the scores obtained using cluster analysis.In this study, we explored the pollination system of Our research was conducted in December 2021 in Yuelu District, Tianxin District, and Wangcheng District of Changsha, Hunan Province, China .C. oleifera flowers and used a sweep net for capture. The insects captured were stored in 10 mL vials containing 75% alcohol and were then transported to the laboratory for identification by the relevant experts [To identify the visiting insects, we photographed those that sat on the  experts .C. oleifera was recorded and classified from 8:00 to 18:00 on three sunny days when the shrubs were in full bloom. The statistical method for examining the flower-visiting density was as follows. Three rows of plants were randomly selected for each sampling session at the site, and then banded sampling was carried out. The number of insects landing on 200 flowers in the row was recorded back and forth for one hour, and the data from the three rows were added together to represent the overall flower-visiting density for the site. This experiment was carried out at three sites at the same time. After obtaining the data of each site, the average flower-visiting density in different periods at the three sites was recorded as data.To select the best observation period for the flower-visiting insects, the flower-visiting density of C. oleifera during the flowering period from November to January, we conducted the following experiments in December. The temperature in the first half of the month was 6\u201316 \u00b0C, and it was 3\u201311 \u00b0C for the remainder of the month. We observed a total of 2679 insects during the study. (a) We chose five sunny days during the first half of December at the three sites. Flower-visiting insects were observed from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., which is when they are the most active [To quantify visits by pollinators to t active . (b) We For comparative analysis of the body characteristics of the flower visitors, we used vernier callipers to measure the body length, the head width and length, and the back plate width and length of the visitor specimens collected, with the measurements repeated ten times for each species. We also photographed the main flower visitors using a stereo microscope .To explore behavioural differences among the pollinator candidates, we recorded the visiting time, namely the duration from the insect landing on the flower to the insect leaving. A total of 205 insects were recorded during this process. We also recorded the visiting frequency, namely the number of insect visits to the flowers in one minute. A total of 168 insects were recorded. Data on any foraging behaviours observed were collected [To quantify the pollen load capacity of the pollinator candidates, we added a small amount of detergent to the visitor samples stored in the 10 mL vials to remove any pollen particles carried by them . We tranp < 0.05.To explore the differences between the body and visit characteristics of the insects, the visiting time, frequency, pollen load, posture characteristics, and the canopies visited were analysed. All the analyses were carried out using SPSS, version 26 , with the statistical significance set at To screen the factors for follow-up analysis, we analysed the correlation of the insect pollen load, the body surface characteristics, the body length, proportion, flower-visiting frequency, and the flower-visiting time using SPSS, version 26, with irrelevant factors excluded .To determine the best pollinator candidate, the score for each insect was obtained using principal component analysis (PCA). The data were standardised to a mean of zero and a variance of one before conducting the PCA, examining the contribution of each feature to different principal components. According to Gutten\u2019s lower bound principle, eigenvalues of <1 were excluded .To rank the insects as pollinator candidates, we established a score matrix according to the observations. The score for each feature was then determined using MATLAB 2019, and the score for each insect species was then obtained .To determine the pollination function group, the insects were clustered after the score for each species had been obtained. The pollination function groups were classified using SPSS, version 26, with the intergroup connection method, and the distance between the pollinator candidates was set as the Euclidean distance .C. oleifera, and the main insect species were found to be the same during this period  of the insects. V. velutina visited flowers with the highest frequency of 4.5 times per minute, whereas A. mellifera and Lucilia sericata had slightly lower frequencies. There was no difference in the mean frequencies of A. cerana and some of the visiting hoverflies, and the mean frequency was the lowest for the flies (The duration of visits varied considerably during the pollinator observations. For example, the longest visiting time for he flies .Episyrphus balteatus, which often hovered over but did not visit the flowers. Most of the bees visited to collect the nectar, but A. mellifera showed a higher enthusiasm and actively collected pollen on their pollen-carrying legs. The wasps were highly active, usually buried their heads in the anthers to forage, and made contact with the stigmas almost every time (There were significant differences in the behaviours of different insects. Flies spent more than half of their time visiting the anthers and inhabited the anther instead of the stigma. Among the hoverflies, most showed foraging behaviours and frequently made contact with the stigmas. More than half of the hoverflies came into contact with the stigma during the observation process, except ery time .p < 0.05, A. mellifera carried the largest amount, with more than 50,000 grains per individual, followed by E. cerealis, with more than 48,800 grains per individual. There were no significant differences for Phytomia zonata, A. cerana, and V. velutina. There were also significant differences in the proportion of normal pollen and pseudopollen carried by the different insects. The ratio of pseudopollen to the normal pollen carried by most insects was approximately 0.1, and the ratio of flies was generally large, among which L. sericata had the highest ratio of up to 0.43.There were significant differences in the powder-carrying capacity of the pollinator candidates (V. velutina was the largest species, with its body length reaching 20.42 mm. Bees and hoverflies were similar in appearance, but the bees were larger in size (p < 0.05, Among the 11 main pollinator candidates, E. cerealis, A. mellifera, and V. velutina for further analysis. E. cerealis is densely tomentose, especially on the back. A. mellifera has dense yellow villi on the body and dense hairs on the feet. V. velutina has dense villi on the body surface, especially on the chest. The flies are mainly covered with relatively hard and smooth bristles and short black hair. Among the hoverflies, P. zonata has dense villi on the body and feet, and the pollen grains could be seen on the specimens. E. arvorum is fluffy on the back, while E. balteatus is fluffy on both sides of the body (There were also many differences in the body surface characteristics among these insects. Considering the proportion of the species, the visiting time, frequency, and the pollen load, we selected the body .p < 0.01, A. mellifera was much higher than that of the other insects, reaching 0.91 (Using correlation analysis, we selected five factors with high correlation from the six previously recorded factors for follow-up analysis (ing 0.91 .A. mellifera is the best pollinator candidate; E. cerealis is a \u2018good\u2019 pollinator candidate; P. zonata, A. cerana, and V. velutina are \u2018ordinary\u2019 pollinator candidates; four fly species, E. balteatus, and E. arvorum were classified as \u2018inefficient\u2019 pollinator candidates (Two kinds of clustering results were obtained according to different methods. The two results showed that ndidates .C. oleifera pollination [C. oleifera nectar results in a reduction in the bee numbers, other pollinators, such as flies and hoverflies, become the dominant pollinators and compensate for the absence of the bees [Considering the body and flower-visiting characteristics of the candidate pollinators, bees might be the best candidate pollinators. However, flies and hoverflies also play an important role in lination ,27. Whenlination ,29. For the bees . This dythe bees . This shthe bees .In line with a previous study , we founA. mellifera as the best C. oleifera candidate pollinator and found that flies and hoverflies also play crucial roles in the pollination system. PCA and the MADM model showed similar results for the pollinator potential of flower visitors. However, the results of both analyses differed from those based on taxonomic affinities. This suggests that the classification of flower visitors into different functional groups should consider the contribution of different flower visitors to pollination while disregarding the taxonomic affinities [C. oleifera has multiple visitor functional groups, including flies, hoverflies, bees, and wasps. However, only a subset of these visitors serves as effective pollinators [We used statistical methods to select finities ,38. Likelinators . Most stlinators .E. cerealis is a \u2018good\u2019 candidate pollinator; P. zonata, A. cerana, and V. velutina are \u2018ordinary\u2019 candidate pollinators; and the remaining flower visitors are \u2018inefficient\u2019 candidate pollinators for C. oleifera. This division highlights the relative importance of diverse pollinators [C. oleifera has pseudopollen, which is ineffective for pollination [C. oleifera anthers [Additionally, we determined that linators . In thislination . Therefo anthers . This in"}
+{"text": "The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an overload of health services and healthcare professionals. The result is a setback in health promotion and prevention, delays in diagnosis, and deaths from other diseases that are currently receiving inadequate attention. This article illustrates the risk of this negligence. This study aimed to report a case of coinfection of disseminated cryptococcosis and BK virus in a patient without a previous diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus infection and COVID-19 negative in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite receiving antifungal therapy, the patient died. This fatal case is a warning regarding delay of diagnosis and neglect of other serious illnesses owing to the current pandemic, including fungal diseases and neglected diagnoses.  Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020, has already killed more than 4 million people globally  , 4.Wright et al. in 2020   referreCryptococcus, especially by the species C. neoformans [ Its main manifestation is neurocryptococcosis, meningitis caused by fungi of the genus formans  . This sA male patient, 37 years old, homosexual, English teacher, was referred to the Specialized Care Service of Infectious Diseases at Dr. Miguel Riet Correa University Hospital, Rio Grande, Brazil on September 8, 2020. He reported fever, enlarged cervical nodes, asthenia, adynamia, and anorexia for 30 days, and moderate-intensity headache that had worsened in the last 10 days. He had several medical visits to external professionals in the preceding 30 days with the same complaints. He had received only symptomatic treatment (dipyrone 500 mg q 6 h) and only investigated for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and serological tests. It should be mentioned that the results of both tests had been negative.On physical examination at Dr. Miguel Riet Correa University Hospital, an ulcerated lesion (2\u00d71 cm) was noted on the face, specifically on the foreheadand close to the scalp with irregular borders and fibrinous background that had evolved over 10 days . Other fAntibodies to HIV were present and other serologic tests were negative. The computed tomography of the brain and the chest radiograph showed no abnormalities. The values of hematocrit, hemoglobin,leukocyte count, segmented neutrophils, and platelets were 36%, 12.7 g/dL, 10,340, 82%, and 367,000, respectively,with preserved renal and liver function. Since the patient had a history of a scratch by a domestic cat with sporotrichosis hyperendemic in the region [ Cryptococcus species  revealed yeastswith morphology characteristic of  species . MoreoveCryptococcus species, confirmed by the growth ofC. neoformans on culture, proving the diagnosis of disseminated cryptococcosis. The isolate showed no resistance in vitro to Amb or Flu by microdilution technique . Microscopy examination of blood culture and CSF  showed eOver the next 24 h, his course evolved with disorientation, left deviation of the mouth and palpebral ptosis with heart rate, respiratory rate, and systemic blood pressure of 117, 22, and 90/ 60 mm Hg,respectively. Finally, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. On September 12, the patient was vomiting and consequently aspirated gastric contents. He had anisocoria with left mydriasis and sensorium lowering that progressed to a comatose staterated 3 on the Glasgow scale. A new CT scan of the brain was requested, revealing generalized edema, diffuse ablation of cerebral sulci and fissures, and slightly hyperdense duralsinuses, possibly related to cerebral venous thrombosis. Nodular thickening of the skin and subcutaneous tissue in the right frontal region was seen, corresponding to the area of theskin lesion. The patient required orotracheal intubation and treatment was started with cefepime 1 g/8h IV and clindamycin 600 mg/8h IV for aspiration pneumonia. It should be mentioned that aspiration material was not collected for analysis.The patient died within 48 h after admission to the Intensive Care Unit, on September 13. The HIV viral load tests and CD4+ count were requested but their results wereinconclusive. No other test was performed due to his rapid deterioration  . Figure This study presents a case of disseminated cryptococcosis in a patient with HIV infection, which had evolved for more than 30 days before the diagnosis of this viral-fungal co-infection. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, his full diagnostic investigation was neglected, resulting in severe disease progressing to death. The patient lacked a severe headache (headache is common in neurocryptococcosis) and did not have a prior diagnosis of HIV infection. A skin lesion with a high load of fungal propagules was the first important evidence of a disseminated presentation of cryptococcosis. These cutaneous manifestations occur in only ~5% of cases and are generally associated with low T CD4+ cell counts  , 10. WDespite the absence of data on viral load and CD4+ counts, the evolution of the condition suggests a high degree of immunosuppression, a hypothesis supported by the skin lesion with high fungal burden, and by the detection of BK virus DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of the patient  , 14.The BK virus (BKV) is a pathogen of the family of polyomaviruses, and its infection is quite common with a prevalence of up to 90% antibodies in adults. It is also found in the whole blood sample of about 30% of HIV patients  , 14. TCryptococcus species and BKV affecting the central nervous system. We found only three reports of co-infection ofC. neoformans and BKV, all in transplanted patients with BKV causing kidney injury  victims of COVID-19, due to errors or diagnostic failures  .Tili et al. in 2020 affirmed that the pandemic culminates due to some medical negligence and inequalities that delay or even paralyze the health services and care for other acute and chronic conditions  . The toCryptococcosis is on the list of neglected diseases of WHO, even though it is among the five most lethal diseases  . Late dThe reported case is another victim of this severe opportunistic mycosis, probably due to its late diagnosis, with a limited prior investigation restricted to COVID-19. Even with treatment, the lethality rate in cryptococcosis is within the range of 20 and 50%  . TherefThe authors are grateful to the Health Science Post-graduation program, College of Medicine from the Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil, and the Capes PrInT\u2013FURG Program .This project does not have specific funding for its conduction.J. L. B., V. R. P., L. S. M., M. O. X., and V. R. A. performed the sampling and conducted the diagnosis and identification tests. J. L. B. and R. P. B. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. J. L. B., V. R. P., L. S. M., M. L. R., and R. P. B. contributed to the conduction of the study and data preparation. R. P. B. and M. L. R. contributed to care and monitoring of the patient and researching the clinical information. D. A. S. and M. O. X. managed the project, analyzed the data, and finalized the manuscript. All authors had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.The authors declare that there was no conflict of interest in this study.No financial interests have been declared related to the material of this manuscript. This project was approved by the Health Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (number: 234/2018)."}
+{"text": "Miracinonyx trumani is an extinct species that roamed the Pleistocene prairies 13 000 years ago. Although M. trumani is more closely related to the cougar (Puma concolor) than to the living cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), it is believed that both A. jubatus and M. trumani possess a highly specialized skeleton for fast-running, including limbs adapted for speed at the expense of restricting the ability of prey grappling. However, forelimb dexterity of M. trumani has not been yet investigated. Here, we quantify the 3D-shape of the humerus distal epiphysis as a proxy for elbow-joint morphology in a sample of living cats to determine whether the extinct M. trumani was specialized to kill open-country prey using predatory behaviour based on fast running across the prairies and steppe terrains of the North American Pleistocene. We show that M. trumani had an elbow morphology intermediate to that of P. concolor and A. jubatus, suggesting that M. trumani had a less specialized pursuit predatory behaviour than A. jubatus. We propose that M. trumani probably deployed a unique predatory behaviour without modern analogues. Our results bring into question the degree of ecomorphological convergence between M. trumani and its Old World vicar A. jubatus.The North American cheetah-like cat  These meshes were repaired with the software Geomagic Essentials . The CT-scanned specimens were processed using 3D Slicer .a), and the second row (no. 2) runs through the groove that separates these structures (a). The digitization was carried out using the software Avizo v.9 (Fisher Scientific). The raw 3D coordinates were uploaded into R environment [gpagen from Geomorph package [One of us (AM-S) digitized two semilandmark rows to characterize the main morphological features of the distal articular surface. The first row (no. 1) follows the boundary of the articular surface surrounding the trochlea and capitulum a, and thructures a. The diironment  and procironment  sliding ironment  with fun package . Next, w package .Figure A. jubatus, P. concolor and M. trumani to focus on the morphological differences between these two living species and to assess for similarities between the elbow topology of M. trumani and either A. jubatus or P. concolor. Then, we repeated the Procrustes superimposition and PCA described above with this subsample, and we computed a K-means [K = 2) to classify M. trumani within one of these two living species because other classification methods, such as linear discriminant analyses, should be avoided when the number of variables is very high [Subsequently, we selected only the specimens of  K-means  analysisery high .M. trumani. Topological deviations between these meshes were measured using Geomagic essentials software . We performed a morphing procedure using the surface model of the elbow joint of the specimen P. concolor (no. 409) as a starting shape to the average shape of P. concolor, A. jubatus and to the elbow of M. trumani. As the three models start from the same standard model (i.e. same number of mesh triangles and surface areas), the differences obtained in the topological deviation analysis will only be attributable to those shape changes applied to the three models.We also generated the average shape of the two resulting groups and we compared them with the shape of the distal articular surface of . 3b shows the bivariate plot depicted from the first two eigenvectors (PCs) obtained from a PCA of elbow shape. The first PC mainly separates out the Puma\u2013Acinonyx lineage (b) according to their more squared and shorter  articular surface, as well as their shallow trochlear groove (c). By contrast, the second PC mainly separates A. jubatus from P. concolor (c), as the former has a more proximally expanded capitulum and a more vertical trochlear crest (c). The elbow of M. trumani clustered between the range of elbow shape variation of P. concolor and A. jubatus (b) but it was classified with P. concolor by K-means analysis .Figure 1 lineage b accordir groove c. By conconcolor c, as thear crest c. The el jubatus b but it P. concolor, A. jubatus and M. trumani (a) shows that the trochlea crest of P. concolor is projected distally to a greater extent than A. jubatus. The capitulum of A. jubatus is highly curved, while P. concolor has the least curvature in this region. Both the trochlea crest and the capitulum curvature of M. trumani are somewhat intermediate of those of P. concolor and A. jubatus, but they are more similar to that of the former.Our topological analysis among the elbows of  trumani a shows tM. trumani and both living taxa are shown separately in figure 2b. The capitulum and trochlea groove are more expanded in A. jubatus than in M. trumani, but the trochlea crest is less expanded in A. jubatus. The most distal part of the capitulum of A. jubatus is similar to that of M. trumani. The trochlea groove of the two models is almost identical. The elbow of P. concolor is much more similar to that of M. trumani, but with negative values close to zero in their topological deviations. Both the trochlea crest and the most lateral part of the capitulum at the proximal edge are similar in both taxa. The most distal part of the capitulum of P. concolor exhibits negative values relative to the topology of M. trumani, suggesting that P. concolor possesses a capitulum crest much flatter than M. trumani.The quantifications of the topological deviations between . 4A. jubatus possess limbs adapted for speed at the expense of restricting the joint motion to the parasagittal plane. This restriction entails the loss of the ability to supinate the forearm, which is essential for prey grappling [figure 1a, M. trumani plots between the range of elbow shape variation of its closest living relative (P. concolor) and its Old World counterpart (A. jubatus), suggesting that there is no modern analogue for the elbow morphology of M. trumani.Extreme pursuit predators such as rappling \u201316. As sK-means analysis indicates that the elbow of M. trumani clusters with that of P. concolor and not with that of A. jubatus. This positioning of the M. trumani elbow from Natural Trap Cave does not necessarily reflect a specialized Puma-like predatory behaviour. Rather, it shows the retention of the ability to supinate the forelimb to grapple prey, unlike the condition seen in A. jubatus [M. trumani to supinate the forelimb compared to that of A. jubatus also explains the retention of fully retractable claws, unlike A. jubatus, which are essential to immobilize relatively large prey prior to delivering a killing bite [M. trumani exhibited a brachial index  that is closer to that of A. jubatus than to P. concolor , the jaguar (Panthera onca) or the tiger (Panthera tigris), suggests that M. trumani was a more cursorial form, but it retained fully retractable claws and some degree of supination at the elbow, which reinforces the idea that there is no modern analogue for the predatory behaviour exhibited by M. trumani. However, it is worth noting that the brachial index for the living lion (Panthera leo), which is an ambush predator that inhabits open habitats [M. trumani .M. trumani, they cast doubts on the \u2018anachronist\u2019 hypothesis proposed to explain the excessive speeds of modern pronghorns as a result of a coevolutionary relationship with the extinct M. trumani. On the other hand, the excessive speeds of the modern pronghorn could be explained as an evolutionary by-product of its adaptation for decreasing transport costs in response to the spread of grassy habitats [Therefore, although our results are focused on a single specimen of habitats .The data are provided in the electronic supplementary material , which c"}
+{"text": "In Pakistan, public sector investment has significantly increased in higher education over the last two decades. This study, therefore, aims to estimate the private economic returns of Ph.D. faculty members over their non-PhD counterparts in Pakistani universities. We use questionnaire-based survey data of 784 respondents comprising Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. faculty members. In the first step, earning function is estimated for the entire group. In the next step, the lifetime private economic returns are calculated with the help of the simulation process, which yields the net present values (NPV) of the lifetime earnings for the two subgroups. Our findings show that the lifetime private economic returns of a Ph.D. degree are higher than a non-Ph.D. degree. In the case of a domestic Ph.D. degree, the average lifetime economic returns of the Ph.D. are 46.5% higher than those of non-Ph.D. faculty members. In contrast, foreign-country Ph.D. degree holders earn 29.8% extra than non-Ph.D. faculty members. Therefore, the net lifetime returns of foreign Ph.D. holders are 16.7% points less than the domestic degree holders because the cost of doing a Ph.D. degree from a foreign university is higher. Our sensitivity analysis reveals that changing the retirement age from 60 to 55 and 65 does not affect these results. However, the difference between the net returns decreases if the retirement age is 55 and increases in the case of 65. Similarly, increasing the completion time of a Ph.D. also affects the net lifetime private economic return negatively. The research on education as a form of investment and investigation of the role of human capital started in the 1960s. The interest in this area was enhanced by the observation that investment in human capital positively affects output, especially the rise in earnings per worker Schultz . The theThe literature on returns to higher education indicates that schooling positively impacts an individual\u2019s lifetime earnings  the impact of one extra year of completing the Ph.D. degree, (b) the impact of changes in retirement age and (c) the effects of varying interest rates.The prior studies have examined the private rate of returns at different levels of education, including primary, secondary, matric, intermediate, etc. Moreover, previous studies focused on the impact of one extra year of schooling on private returns. This research calculates the lifetime private economic returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty members working in the higher education sector in Pakistan.To estimate the returns to educational investment at the higher education level in Pakistan to find the lifetime economic returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty members in the education sector of Pakistan.Compare the lifetime economic returns of Ph.D. faculty members who have Ph.D. degrees from domestic and foreign universities.The study focuses on these objectives:The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the results of the studies that have already been conducted. Section 3 explains the data set, sample size, and the estimation technique used in our analysis. The preliminary results are analyzed in the first part of section 4. The second part has an empirical analysis that presents the difference in the rate of returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty members in Pakistan. Finally, the summary and discussion of the estimated results are exhibited in section 5.This section covers a brief review of the prior literature on the private economic returns of educational investment in different levels of education. Becker  considerMeanwhile, there is a tradeoff between schooling years and the working life span, so the lifetime earnings will decrease with one extra year of schooling. Yu et al.  examine Psacharopoulos  analyzesBlundell et al.  examine Ganyaupfu  estimateIqbal and Bashir (2010) investigate the private return rate at different education levels, which shows that returns of Ph.D. degrees would be increased by increasing the retirement age. The rate of return at the higher education level is estimated using the internal rate of return (IRR). The study results were based on the four levels of education, including Professional Bachelor, Master, M.Phil, and Ph.D., which shows that the rate of return for Master and M.Phil is higher than for the Bachelor and Ph.D. level. The direct and opportunity costs are the critical reasons for the low rate of return of a Professional Bachelor\u2019s degree. Afzal et al.  examine Education level determines the difference in private economic returns of individuals. Numerous factors impact the private economic returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty, including the study area, experience, level of education, degree country, gender, and the nature of work or job. As per the literature, the level of education and experience are the major factors contributing to the growth of private economic returns See Fig. . But thej amount at time T*\u2009=\u2009tj where j is the number of years of schooling.As per the literature, education costs are forgone earnings and direct costs, but investment in education pays higher returns. If these private economic returns are higher than foregone earnings and direct costs, investment in higher education is worthwhile. Suppose that education starts paying Yj) and the annual wage increment (\u0394Yj).For simplicity, it is assumed that education costs constantly increase at a certain level. Moreover, the cost of education will be different by the level of education with the J years of schooling. The study\u2019s objective is to estimate the private economic returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty of Pakistan using the augmented human capital earning function. Initially, the earning function was based on years of schooling and professional experience, but the current study focuses on the level of education instead of the years of schooling that positively correlated with earnings. An individual\u2019s lifetime earnings are based on the starting wages (Y1) & 21 (J2) years of education. The starting wages of an individual with a Ph.D. (J2) and non-Ph.D. (J1) degrees are Y2 and Y1, and the constant annual increments are (\u2206Y2) & (\u2206Y1) till the retirement age (T), respectively. The initial point of Yj and (\u2206Yj) depends on the level of education. The lifetime earnings of an individual are given by the present value of expected lifetime earnings associated with education (PVE), given starting wage (Yj), and constant increment (\u2206Yj).The study estimates the rate of return of Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. faculty with 18 , Area of Study (AOS), Marital Status (MS), Funded vs. non-Funded (FON), Country of Degree (COD), Job Switch (JS), Employment Sector like a public or private, and Level of Study (S). The dependent variable of Eq. . Our objective is to estimate the private rate of return of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty with the help of earning function. Moreover, the rate of return will be calculated by the NPV method, where the coefficient values of regression analysis help calculate the private return. In this study, \u201cT\u201d denotes retirement age (60 Years), while the starting working age for non-Ph.D. and Ph.D. faculty members are assumed to be 25 and 29 years, respectively. Therefore, the values of the coefficients are first estimated from Eq. . Then, tThe study data were collected through a questionnaire survey, and the survey respondents were Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. faculty members of Pakistani universities. The survey respondents belonged to different cities in four provinces of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Karachi, Jamshoro, Larkana, Quetta, Mardan, and Peshawar. The data were collected using a stratified random sampling technique where the total population is divided into subgroups known as strata, such as Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. faculty members, male and female, and public & private sector universities. The survey respondents were those faculty members who completed their terminal degrees from 2001 to 2020.^2 is the critical value of the normal distribution at \u03b1/2 , e^2 is the margin of error of 5%, P is the Sample proportion 0.5, and N is Population Size. The total population of the Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. faculty members in different Pakistani universities are 47,346, containing 14,614 Ph.D. and 32,782 non-Ph.D. faculty members  is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and cash outflows over time discounted by some rate. Therefore, the method incorporates the cost of acquiring education and lifetime earnings. As discussed earlier, the study calculates the NPV of a Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. lifetime earnings for faculty members in Pakistan. If NPV is positive (NPV\u2009>\u20090), the return on educational investment is positive. If NPV\u2009<\u20090, the return on education investment is negative. Finally, there will be no loss or profit if NPV\u2009=\u20090. The NPV is calculated using Eq. .7\\documeAs discussed earlier, the objective is to calculate the net present value of lifetime earnings of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty members. So, Eq.  defines The undiscounted expected lifetime earnings of a Ph.D. faculty member are 67.8 and 70.4 million Pakistani rupees (PKR) that hold degrees from Pakistani and foreign universities, respectively. The Ph.D. degree cost is divided into two parts such as explicit (Direct Costs) and implicit costs. The explicit cost is PKR 6,73,327, and the implicit cost is PKR. 2.72 million. The total degree cost in Pakistan is almost PKR. 3.4 million, and most Ph.D. scholars earn, on average, PKR. 5,09,410 during the degree (Interim earnings). Therefore, after deducting interim earnings from the total cost, the total net cost of the degree in Pakistan is PKR. 2.89 million.The total cost of a foreign Ph.D. degree is PKR. 7.51 million comprises explicit and implicit costs of PKR. 4.8 and 2.72 million, respectively. On the other hand, a foreign Ph.D. degree holder earns PKR. 1.12 million during the degree. Therefore, the total net cost is PKR. 6.38 million after deducting interim earnings from the total cost.The human capital earning function is applied to calculate an individual\u2019s lifetime private economic returns. Therefore, regression analysis (using earning function) and Net Present Value (NPV) methods are used. In step one, the earning function method is used for different education levels, experience, sectors of employment, and other control variables. In the second step, lifetime private economic returns of Ph.D. over non-Ph.D. faculty are calculated through the NPV method. In the first step, the forgone earnings were not in consideration, so in the second step, total cost (forgone earnings and direct expenditures) was subtracted from Present lifetime earnings.Most studies have used the Internal rate of return (IRR) method, but the IRR method will not achieve the required results (As per study objectives) of this study, such as  has been used to detect the multiclonality problem. The value of VIF is 2.79, which is less than 10, so the multicollinearity problem is not established. Furthermore, the Wu-Hausman test is used to detect the problem of endogeneity, which showed the For calculating NPV, an average 7% interest rate on Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) is used. The data on interest rates is accessible on the Census and Economic Information Center (CEIC) and Economic Survey of Pakistan 2021 , the NPV of a Ph.D. degree is Rs 6.85 million, which is 46.5% higher than the earnings of the non-PhD faculty.Compared to this, the foreign Ph.D. degree holder earns 29.8% higher returns than a non-Ph.D. faculty. This means that the NPV of a Ph.D. degree is higher for those who have completed Ph.D. degrees from domestic universities. This is due to the significantly higher cost of financing a Ph.D. degree from abroad. The results of Bashir and Iqbal  study alTable The earnings of male Ph.D. faculty are 3% higher than the combined results Table  of both Table Figure The cumulative net present value of lifetime earnings of non-Ph.D. faculty is higher than Ph.D. till the age of 32 and 38 years depending upon the source of the Ph.D. degree  sectors."}
+{"text": "With discoveries of brain and spinal cord mechanisms that control gait, and disrupt gait coordination after disease or injury, and that respond to motor training for those with neurological disease or injury, there is greater ability to construct more efficacious gait coordination training paradigms. Therefore, it is critical in these contemporary times, to use the most precise, sensitive, homogeneous , and comprehensive measures available to assess gait coordination, dyscoordination, and changes in response to treatment. Gait coordination is defined as the simultaneous performance of the spatial and temporal components of gait. While kinematic gait measures are considered the gold standard, the equipment and analysis cost and time preclude their use in most clinics. At the same time, observational gait coordination scales can be considered. Two independent groups identified the Gait Assessment and Intervention Tool (G.A.I.T.) as the most suitable scale for both research and clinical practice, compared to other observational gait scales, since it has been proven to be valid, reliable, sensitive to change, homogeneous, and comprehensive. The G.A.I.T. has shown strong reliability, validity, and sensitive precision for those with stroke or multiple sclerosis (MS). The G.A.I.T. has been translated into four languages ), and is in use in at least 10 countries. As a contribution to the field, and in view of the evidence for continued usefulness and international use for the G.A.I.T. measure, we have provided this update, as well as an open access copy of the measure for use in clinical practice and research, as well as directions for administering the G.A.I.T. There have been important discoveries of brain and spinal cord mechanisms controlling gait coordination e.g., ,4,5,6,7),5,6,74,5Based on the available discoveries, there is a greater ability to construct more efficacious gait coordination training paradigms for those with neurological injury or disease. With new interventions targeted at improving the neural drive of gait coordination, it is critical in these contemporary times to use the most precise, sensitive, homogeneous , and coGait coordination is defined well by Krasovsky and Levin , page 21\u201cLocomotor coordination is a context-dependent property of the motor system, having both spatial and temporal components. Spatial coordination is the relationship between the position of different body segments or joints, whereas temporal coordination is the relative timing between segment or joint positions throughout the task. These components are never mutually exclusive\u2026\u2026\u201dTherefore, an example of a gait coordination measure is \u2018knee flexion angle at toe-off\u2019. In this example, the spatial component is knee flexion angle and the temporal component is the gait event time of toe-off. Without both the spatial and temporal components simultaneously being performed, there is no measure of coordination. The technology-based gold standard of gait coordination measurement and force production includes gait kinematics and gait kinetics, customarily measured using motion capture and force plate systems in well-equipped gait research laboratories . StudiesIn clinical practice and in some gait research settings, there is no access to such technology. Furthermore, the time constraints of clinical practice make it impractical to utilize this instrumented technology in its current form due to the labor-intensive process of collecting and analyzing the data. However, observational gait coordination measures can be used in that case. The ideal observational gait coordination measure would be constructed according to the following characteristics:Homogenous, that is, all items measuring gait coordination/dyscoordination, according to the above definition of coordination, and no items assessing compensatory strategies.As comprehensive as possible, that is, measuring as many coordination joint movements and other gait components as possible.Numerical scoring scheme overall, and per item, with score numbers within an item assigned across levels of dyscoordination.Good psychometrics .Good sensitivity in measuring the recovery of gait coordination, both endogenous and in response to treatment.Practical, with a reasonable scoring time and the use of equipment available in most clinical settings.Two separate research groups conducted a review of observational gait measures ,17. Theyp = 0.0001; 95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.95\u20130.99), and inter-rater reliability , including between an experienced and an inexperienced clinician  [p = 0.045, 95% CI= 0.023\u20132.18)) [The G.A.I.T. psychometrics were originally tested in stroke survivors. The G.A.I.T. was constructed with items measuring the spatial coordinated movement components of gait (movement excursion), that occur at specified temporal events of stance and swing phases of the gait cycle. Within each item of the measure, deviation from normal coordination is scored at multiple levels of dyscoordination. Psychometrics were studied and found to be good, according to intra-rater reliability (intraclass correlation (ICC) = 0.98; 6\u20130.999) . The G.A3\u20132.18)) .Very recently, two independent groups have estimated the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the G.A.I.T. in stroke survivors ,30. In aRecently, the G.A.I.T. psychometrics were studied for those with multiple sclerosis (MS). Construct validity was tested . The resIn view of the evidence for the continued usefulness and international use for the G.A.I.T. measure, we have provided this update, as well as an open access copy of the measure for use in clinical practice and research . We are"}
+{"text": "Apis cerana, is an important pollinator of crops and natural phytocoenosis in Asia. Natural barriers in the form of forests, mountains, rivers and seas have created the prerequisites for the formation of subspecies and ecotypes of the A. cerana. We analyzed the genetic structure of A. cerana samples from the Russian Far East, Vietnam and South Korea. High haplotype diversity was found in all samples of A. cerana based on analysis of the tRNAIeu-COII locus sequences. The found polymorphisms can be used as genetic markers to differentiate subspecies of A. cerana.The oriental honey bee, Apis cerana samples from the Russian Far East, South Korea and Vietnam. An analysis of the polymorphism of seven microsatellite loci and an assessment of the haplotype diversity of the mtDNA tRNAleu-COII locus were performed. A fragment of about 431 bp in tRNAleu-COII was sequenced. The analysis showed the presence of 14 haplotypes, while the predominant haplotype was Japan1. Microsatellite data revealed two differentiated clusters. The first cluster contained tropical climate A. cerana samples from Vietnam, and the second cluster combined temperate climate A. cerana samples from the Russian Far East and South Korea.In this article, we present the results of the genetic analysis of  Apis cerana F.) plays an important role in local ecosystems and agriculture in Asia. The natural range of A. cerana has embraced almost all Asian countries, from Indonesia to 47\u00b054\u2032 N latitude in Khabarovsky Krai of Russia , hatRNAleu-COII haplotypes were detected in our study . The majority (21 sequences) of our 46 A. cerana sequences of the tRNAleu-COII locus belonged to the Japan1 haplotype  and the Korea14 haplotype (four samples from FE). Previously, Tan et al. (2007) [A. cerana samples on Hainan island belonged to the haplotype Japan1. These 69 haplotypes differed from the Japan1 haplotype by 1 to 12 substitutions. The greatest differences (12 substitutions) were found with haplotype H3 (DQ381965.1). The H3 haplotype also included two samples from our study, which formed a separate branch on the phylogenetic tree  and determine the genetic structure of the study samples. Analysis of the structure output data in Structure Harvester showed that the total sample consists of two main clusters . The first cluster was represented by SK and FE, and the second cluster included sample Vn (excluding one colony). A. c. indica selected in Vietnam from A. cerana colonies selected in South Korea and the Far East. Thus, microsatellite data analysis showed that samples from Vietnam may indeed belong to the A. c. indica.Despite the small sample size, there was a division into two clusters. We observed differentiation of the A. cerana populations from the Far East, South Korea and Vietnam. In total, 14 tRNAleu-COII haplotypes were identified during the analysis of 46 sequences with a fragment size of 431 bp. As in previous studies [tRNAleu-COII locus, the following problem was identified: the authors of the studies used different fragments of this locus, which is due to the sample preparation and capabilities of the sequencer used. Accordingly, the longer the fragment, the more likely it is to identify new haplotypes.The aim of this work was to establish whether there are genetic differences between geographically distant of  studies ,11,17, JA. c. indica based on morphometric methods [tRNAleu-COII haplotype diversity) confirmed that it may belong to this subspecies. Thus, this set of microsatellite loci can potentially be used to differentiate A. c. indica. However, this requires further research with an increase in the number of samples and expansion of the geography of sampling. The genetic structure of samples from the Far East and South Korea was uniform. Using a selected set of microsatellite loci, we were unable to identify differences between them. Analysis of the polymorphism of microsatellite loci showed that the studied samples form two clusters. One of the clusters was formed by samples from South Korea and the Far East, and the other was formed by a sample from Vietnam. Most of the samples from Vietnam (11 out of 14) were previously identified as  methods . Our datA. cerana phenotypically divided into four subspecies/morphoclusters: A. c. cerana , A. c. indica (in southeast Asia and southern India) and A. c. himalaya  and A. c. japonica (Japan). Radloff et al. (2010) [A. cerana populations across its full geographical range and showed that they are subdivided into six morphoclusters. Similar to studies of A. mellifera subspecies [A. cerana subspecies are few and are mainly based on the analysis of polymorphisms of mtDNA genes [A. cerana populations from Vietnam belong to morphocluster IV (previously named A. c. indica and A. c. javana). Whereas populations from South Korea and the Far East belong to morphocluster I . Thus, we see that there is still no single approach to the classification of A. cerana subspecies and further studies at the genetic level are required. The accurate identification of the A. cerana subspecies will allow for the preservation of the unique gene pool of the local subspecies.According to Ruttner 1988), 88, A. cef et al. 10 [A. ceNA genes ,21. Acco"}
+{"text": "Trichoderma spp. on various groups of plants, mostly crops. However, there is little information on the influence of these fungi on ornamental plants. Therefore, the authors of this study analyzed the influence of Trichoderma spp. on the growth, flowering, quality, and nutritional status of ornamental plants. The research showed that Trichoderma spp. in this group of plants stimulate the elongation and thickening of shoots and the formation of leaves. These fungi also stimulate or inhibit leaf elongation. They also accelerate the flowering of plants, stimulate the elongation of inflorescence shoots and inflorescences, and the development of flowers. Apart from that, Trichoderma spp. positively influence the content of chlorophyll and carotenoids in leaves, and they stimulate the uptake of micro- and macroelements.Scientists all over the world conduct research to determine the influence of  Rhizobium), and Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). Thus, microorganisms applied to plants can have a dual function of biocontrol agent and biostimulant [A plant biostimulant is any substance or microorganism applied to plants with the aim to enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or crop quality traits, regardless of their nutrient content. Many biostimulants improve nutrition and they do so regardless of their nutrient contents. Biofertilizers increase nutrient use efficiency and open new routes of nutrients acquisition by plants. In this sense, microbial biostimulants include mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal fungi, bacterial endosymbionts  in monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants as a result of biotic and abiotic stress. Owing to these properties, they are classified as Biological Control Agents (BCA) that are used commercially as biopesticides or biostimulants in the production of plant protection products. Trichdoderma spp. produce many biologically active compounds, such as enzymes  [Trichoderma spp. are included in microbiological formulations used to optimize the composting of materials of various origins [Fungi of the tibiosis . These fum genus ,5. Recenum genus . Howevermylases) , antibiomylases) ,8,9,10, mylases) ,11. Owin origins .Trichoderma spp. are widely described as plant growth stimulators. This trait tends to be isolate-specific rather than species-specific, whereas individual isolates show different degrees of plant specificity. Increased root and/or shoot biomass is the most common manifestation of growth stimulation; however, changes in plant morphology and development have been described too. Growth stimulation can be highly variable due to several limiting factors, such as crop type, conditions, inoculum dose, and type of formulation [Trichoderma spp. involves the recognition of molecules derived from the fungi, such as auxins and micro-organic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs); however, this communication is highly dependent on the environment. Contreras-Cornejo et al. [Trichoderma spp. induce growth by an auxin-dependent mechanism. They used in vitro biological tests to demonstrate that T. virens Gv29.8 and T. atroviride IMI206040 can synthesize indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and some of its derivatives, which results in vigorous development of the root system. These authors claim that many strains of Trichoderma spp. are capable of synthesizing IAA, but only some of them can stimulate plant growth. Some researchers point out that Trichoderma spp. stimulate plant growth because they enable plants to absorb more nutrients and support the production of vitamins and growth regulators [Trichoderma bioinoculants are currently available on the market. Mixtures of strains are gaining popularity, as they ensure more consistent performance [mulation . Accordimulation , communio et al.  suggest gulators ,15,16. Aformance . The production of ornamental plants is one of the fastest growing areas in the horticultural sector. Of particular importance is the cultivation of potted ornamental plants, which has an upward trend in the international market worldwide . After tTrichoderma spp. on various groups of plants has been conducted around the world. It has been dominated by research on commercial, edible plants [Trichoderma spp. on the growth, flowering, quality, and nutritional status of ornamental plants.Research intended to determine the impact of e plants ,23,24. HTrichoderma was introduced into the literature by Persoon in 1794 [Hypocrea rufa was a teleomorph of T. viride Pers. [Trichoderma\u2014T. viride [T. harzianum Rifai, T. viride, T. hamatum (Bonord.) Bainier, T. koningii (Oudem.) Duch\u00e9 & R. Heim, T. polysporum (Link) Rifai, T. piluliferum J. Webster & Rifai, T. aureoviride Rifai, T. longibrachiatum Rifai, and T. pseudokoningii Rifai. In the early 1990s, Bissett [Trichoderma. The introduction of such tools as restriction fragment length polymorphism markers (RFLP), random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD), and phylogenetic markers of coding sequence variation for the molecular identification of species had a significant impact on the development of taxonomy at that time. From the late 1990s to 2002, the number of Trichoderma species increased to 47 [Hypocrea and Trichoderma species\u2014TrichO Key version 1.0 [Trichoderma listed in Index Fungorum [The name of the genus  in 1794 . The gen in 1794 . In 1865de Pers. . Until 1. viride . Then, i. viride  distingu Bissett ,31,32 ided to 47 . Verificed to 47 , who anasion 1.0 , has conFungorum . HoweverFungorum .Trichoderma spp. exist in conidial (imperfect) stages, which makes them unable to reproduce sexually, as well as in perfect stages, such as Hypocrea; in which case, sexual reproduction is possible. The germinating spores, or chlamydospores, develop by forming simple or branched conidiophores, the conidial spores of which are spherical or ellipsoidal in shape. Sporulation depends on the availability of nutrients and light, temperature, and competition from other microorganisms [Trichoderma spp. form circular conidial zones, formed by fungal colonies made up of bundles of conidiophores, clumped or loose. The surface of the colony resembles cotton wool. The color of the conidia varies from white-green to dark green, depending on the species  and methylamine (CH3NH2). The most frequently used source of N is ammonia (NH3); however, Trichoderma spp. also use amino acids, urea (CO(NH2)2), nitrites, and nitrates. When the concentration of N in the substrate increases, many isolates respond by forming a mass of conidial spores and chlamydospores [Trichoderma spp. is found in soils rich in C and phosphorus (P) [Trichoderma spp. is also determined by abiotic factors  and biotic factors (interactions between microorganisms). In unfavorable environmental conditions, e.g., too high temperature, the conidia of Trichoderma spp. may die, as their walls are too thin. However, the fungi can survive thanks to the formation of thick-walled chlamydospores. Such a phenomenon is observed in T. hamatum, T. harzianum, T. virens, and T. viride. Trichoderma spp. are classified as mesophilic organisms, as the optimum temperature for the growth and development of those fungi is approximately 25 \u00b0C [T. viride and T. polysporum can grow at low temperatures. Additionally, cold-tolerant strains of T. viride, T. harzianum, and T. aureoviride can become parasites of phytopathogens such as Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi at low temperatures (5\u201310 \u00b0C) by producing enzymes characteristic of the mycoparasitism: \u03b2-glucosidase; \u03b2-1,4,-N-acetylglucosaminidase; or trypsin and chemotrypsin proteases [The carbon(C)-to-nitrogen(N) ratio (C:N) has a great impact on the development of athogens . This isdospores . The favorus (P) . The devly 25 \u00b0C . Howeverroteases .Trichoderma spp. grow very fast when the pH of the substrate is 5\u20135.5, but they are easily decomposed in the light, as they are sensitive to UV radiation [Trichoderma spp. also takes place in alkaline substrate, with a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). Das et al. [adiation . Accordiadiation , the devs et al.  indicateTrichoderma spp. [Copper (Cu) ions can also affect the growth rate, sporulation, and enzymatic activity of rma spp. .Trichoderma spp. show high resistance to many toxic compounds produced by other microorganisms, including antibiotics, as well as to terpenoid phytoalexins and peroxidases secreted by plants, and to fungicides and heavy metals. Based on molecular studies, the resistance that makes those fungi active colonizers and strong competitors may be related to the ability of Trichoderma spp. to produce ABC protein transporters [Trichoderma spp. is limited [sporters . Those psporters . As a re limited . Trichoderma spp. are currently sold in the form of biopesticdes, biofertilisers, and stimulants for growth and natural resistance. The effectiveness of these fungi can be attributed to their ability to protect plants, stimulate vegetative growth, and restrict the population of pathogens, as well as to act as substrate additives (inoculants) that improve nutrient uptake capacity. Live fungal spores (active substance) are incorporated into a variety of preparations  that are used as solutions for spraying on the leaves, on seeds, and on young plants, in post-pruning treatments in the substrate for sowing or transplanting, as well as for watering or soaking of, e.g., spore organs such as tubers, bulbs, and rhizomes. Formulations based on Trichoderma spp. are sold across the world and used to protect crops against various plant pathogens and to stimulate the growth and productivity of plants in various growing environments, such as fields, greenhouses, nurseries, and in the production of various horticultural crops, fruit crops, trees, and ornamental plants  is placed in each dish  and by Andrzejak et al. [Begonia \u00d7 tuberhybrida \u2018Picotee Sunburst\u2019 . Prisa et al. [Trichoderma genus can be very high, as they proved in Limonium sinuatum (100.0%). According to B\u0142aszczyk et al. [Trichoderma spp. colonize the external layers of the roots of herbaceous plants and trees. They also have the ability to penetrate and colonize within roots, or occur as endophytes. These authors used Triticum aestivum as an example to demonstrate that a preliminary analysis of morphological, physiological, and metabolic changes indicates that there is no clear-cut plant response to fungi of the Trichoderma genus. This may mean that changes taking place in plants depend both on the genus/strain of Trichoderma spp. and on the cultivar of the species studied. According to Souza et al. [Trichoderma stimulates root growth by producing auxins [Trichoderma spp., genes such as ASA1 and MYB77 are induced. In the root, ethylene and auxin can regulate their biosynthetic pathways [Trichoderma contributes to exogenous auxin-stimulated ethylene biosynthesis through 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylicacid synthase (ACC). In this model, the activity of Trichoderma ACC desaturase (ACCD) reduces the availability of ACC necessary for ethylene biosynthesis, and the reduction of ethylene stimulates plant growth through gibberellin (GA) signaling, increasing the degradation of DELLA proteins, which are repressors of GA signaling. Moreover, GAs can control the onset of jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA)-dependent plant defense responses by regulating the degradation of DELLA proteins [Trichoderma.pidermis . ResearcJanowska  report ta et al.  in Freesk et al.  in Begona et al.  pointed k et al. , in the a et al. , interaca et al. . Plant ra et al. ,64. As mg auxins . During pathways . Accordipathways , IAA of proteins . Therefoproteins ,68. Accoproteins , when MYTrichoderma fungi stimulate the growth of roots, as well as growth in the length and thickness of shoots and leaf surface. However, Lorito et al. [Trichoderma genus do not affect the height and number of shoots in Begonia \u00d7 tuberhybrida \u2018Picotee Sunburst\u2019, but they do stimulate leaf development in it . Moreover, plants treated with T. viride show an increased vitamin C content in leaves with greater dry mass , and they ended in longer inflorescences (by 10.0%) with more flowers developing in them (by 12.6%). However, the diameter of flowers in both years of research was not affected by Trichoderma spp. treatment. Partially similar results were obtained earlier by Sisodia et al. [Trichoderma spp. in eight cultivars of Gladiolus sp. had a positive impact on the length of the inflorescence and the duration of flowering, but had no influence on the number of flowers. Furthermore, da Cruz et al. [Trichoderma spp. applied in the cultivation of Gladiolus \u2018Peter\u2019s Pear\u2019 had no influence on the quality of inflorescences, expressed in terms of the length of inflorescence shoot, length of the inflorescence, and the number of flowers. According to the research conducted by Andrzejak et al. [Trichoderma spp. stimulate the development of buds and flowers, and influence their size in Begonia \u00d7 tuberhybrida \u2018Picotee Sunburst\u2019. The results they obtained have been confirmed by research conducted by Janowska et al. [Trichoderma spp. stimulate the development of lateral inflorescence shoots and the development of flowers in Freesia reflacta \u2018Argentea\u2019, especially in the plants provided with assimilation lighting during cultivation. According to Prisa [Trichoderma genus stimulate flowering in Pachyphytum oviferum and Crassula falcata.In some ornamental plant species,  flowers . Andrzeja et al. . The autz et al.  report tk et al. , Trichoda et al. . The autto Prisa , fungi oTrichoderma spp., occurs as a result of an increase in the number of photosynthetic pigments or the expression of genes regulating the biosynthesis of chlorophyll, proteins in the light-harvesting complex, or components of the Calvin cycle. The colonization of crop roots by Trichoderma spp. fungi causes greater regulation in genes and pigments that improve photosynthesis in plants. Plants under physiological or environmental stress lose the ability to photosynthesize, as photosystems get damaged, and many cellular processes get disrupted by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Yet, some strains of Trichoderma spp. activate biochemical pathways that reduce ROS to less harmful molecules. This and other mechanisms make plants more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. Moreover, when the indicators of photosynthesis are increased, more carbon dioxide (CO2) gets absorbed from the atmosphere. Carotenoids, on the other hand, are responsible for the stability of lipid membranes, are involved in the accumulation of light during photosynthesis, and in the protection against photooxidation caused by the ROS formed during chlorophyll excitation during photosynthesis [Chlorophylls are a widespread group of photosynthetic pigments found in higher plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Chlorophyll is a pigment that plays a key role in the normal course of photosynthesis, in which energy from light is converted into chemical bond energy as a result of the absorption of quanta of light in redox reactions . Therefoynthesis ,80. The ynthesis . Carotenynthesis .Trichoderma spp. on the content of chloroplast pigments in leaves refer to commercial, edible species [Trichoderma spp. applies to ornamental plants too. Andrzejak and Janowska [Gladiolus hybridus \u2018Advances Red\u2019 increased significantly following the application of Trichoderma spp. (by 66.7% for chlorophyll a+b and by 33.3% for carotenoids). The results obtained indicate that the photosynthetic capability improved in the \u2018Advances Red\u2019 cultivar. Andrzejak et al. [Trichoderma spp. stimulate the production of chlorophyll, whose content is reflected by the greenness index, in Begonia \u00d7 tuberhybrida \u2018Picotee Sunburst\u2019  and calcium (Ca) by these plants. In both years of the study, the levels of P, K, and Ca found in the leaves of plants treated with Trichoderma spp. were significantly higher than in the leaves of control plants. Similar outcomes were obtained by Janowska et al. [Freesia reflacta \u2018Argentea\u2019. The authors report that Trichoderma spp. stimulate the absorption of P and Ca in non-illuminated and illuminated plants of this species. They also stimulate the absorption of K in illuminated plants . The benefits of using microorganisms to improve the uptake of nutrients present an opportunity for the latest horticultural practices, as they allow for reducing fertilizer use. The use of biological fertilizers based on microorganisms is an alternative for maintaining high productivity levels and keeping the environmental impact low ,86,87. BTrichoderma spp. impact the uptake of zinc (Zn), Fe, and boron (B) by Gladiolus hybridus \u2018Advances Red\u2019 plants [Begonia \u00d7 tuberhybrida \u2018Picotee Sunburst\u2019, Trichoderma spp. also stimulated the uptake of Zn, Fe, and B , and Zn in illuminated and non-illuminated plants, whereas illumination and Trichoderma spp. stimulated the uptake of copper (Cu) .Micro-nutrients play a key role in the metabolic and physiological processes in plants. It is worth noting that they influence quality  more tha\u2019 plants . Accordi\u2019 plants , in the e, and B . Moreoveper (Cu) . Accordie et al. , using TTrichoderma spp. are widely described as plant growth stimulators. This trait tends to be isolate-specific rather than species-specific, and individual isolates show different degrees of plant specificity. Increased root and/or shoot biomass is the most common manifestation of growth stimulation; however, changes in plant morphology and development have been described too. Scientists all over the world conduct research to determine the influence of Trichoderma spp. on various groups of plants, mostly crops. However, there is little information on the influence of these fungi on ornamental plants. Trichoderma spp. in this group of plants is also an effective biostimulant. Trichoderma spp. are important tools in promoting the growth and flowering of ornamental plants. With them, the use of fertilizers can be reduced, thus protecting the environment. The use of Trichoderma spp. should be widespread, not only in the cultivation of edible plants, but also in ornamentals."}
+{"text": "Vibrio pose a threat to both humans and animals, creating medical burdens and economic losses to the mariculture industry. Improvements in surveillance and diagnosis are needed to successfully manage vibriosis outbreaks. Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) can provide rapid diagnosis and has been widely used in the identification of Vibrio spp. The main weakness of this technology is the limited number of strains and species of Vibrio in the existing commercial database. Here, we develop a new in-house database named PVBase containing 790 main spectra projections (MSP) of ten Vibrio species that come from various regions of China and include abundant clinical and environmental strains. PVBase was validated through a blind test of 65 Vibrio strains. The identification accuracy and scoring of Vibrio strains was greatly improved through the addition of PVBase. Identification accuracy increased from 73.4 to 100%. The number of strains with identification scores above 2.2 increased from 53.1% to 96.9% and 53.1% of strains had an identification score above 2.59. Moreover, perfect discrimination was obtained when using all of the MSPs created for the Vibrio species, even for very closely related species such as V. cholerae, V. albensis, and V. mimicus or V. alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. harveyi. In addition, we used phyloproteomic analysis to study whether there are differences in protein fingerprints of different regions or pathogenic strains. We found that MSP characteristics of Vibrio species were not related to their region or source. With the construction of PVBase, the identification efficiency of potentially pathogenic Vibrio species has been greatly improved, which is an important advance for epidemic prevention and control, and aquaculture disease detection.The potentially pathogenic species of the genus  Vibrio is a Gram-negative bacterium that can have short rod, curve, S or spiral shapes and is widely distributed in sea water and in marine animals in estuaries, bays, and coastal waters. As of 10 December 2021, a total of 133 Vibrio species had been identified1. While not all Vibrio species are pathogenic, about 20 pathogenic Vibrio species are recognized worldwide and about 12 of these can cause disease in humans  have more than five strains in the database: V. vulnificus (11), V. parahaemolyticus (9), V. harveyi (7), and V. diazotrophicus (6). All other Vibrio species in the database are represented by fewer than five strains, and most have only one strain. This limited number of strains can greatly affect the identification accuracy of potentially pathogenic Vibrio species. In this study, we used 790 strains of Vibrio spp., collected from various regions of China and purchased from the standard bacterial library, to construct an in-house database of potential pathogenic Vibrio spp. that we call PVBase. PVBase increased the diversity of known strains in China and improved accuracy of the identification of potential pathogenic Vibrio spp. in different application scenarios by MALDI-TOF MS. To explore the genetic relationship and the characteristics of strains of Vibrio species from different regions, as well as clinical vs. environmental strains, we performed dendrogram analysis of different Vibrio species from the Bruker MBT Library and PVBase. In addition, we validated the newly created database through a blind test using 65 strains (absorbed into the database after the blind test was completed.). The establishment of PVBase enables accurate, rapid identification of a large number of Vibrio spp. and contributes to enhancing clinical diagnosis and treatment, restriction of pathogen transmission, and control of large-scale spread of diseases.At present, the latest database of MALDI BioTyper Library ver. 11.0.0.0  contains 54 species of Vibrio strains were analyzed. Briefly, most the strains were obtained from Zhejiang, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Liaoning, Taiwan, Shandong, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing, and a small number of strains were shared from the Marine Culture Collection of China (MCCC) and the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). The geographic information of the strains was shown in A total of 790 potentially pathogenic V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, V. fluvialis, V. fischeri, V. navarrensis, V. metschnikovii, and V. vulnificus was 30\u00b0C and for V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. mimicus growth temperature was 37\u00b0C. Type strains were incubated at the recommended temperature.Before all experiments, strains were grown on marine agar 2216 medium , and incubated for 24\u201348 h, at their appropriate growth temperature. After this, a single colony forming unit (CFU) was plated and incubated for 24 h, at growth temperature, to ensure purity of the isolates. The growth temperature of g for 2 min. The supernatant was discarded and the pellet was centrifuged a second time to remove ethanol residues and then dried at room temperature. Pellets were dissolved into 30 \u03bcL each of 70% formic acid (Thermo Fisher) and acetonitrile (Thermo Fisher). The solution was carefully mixed by pipetting up and down and then centrifuged at 13,000 \u00d7 g for 2 min. Subsequently, 1 \u03bcL of supernatant was spotted onto an MSP 96 target polished steel BC plates in eight replicates and overlaid with 1 \u03bcL HCCA  matrix solution  after air-drying. All V. cholerae from Zhejiang were processed in the Zhejiang Centers for Disease Control laboratory according to the above-mentioned treatment methods and carried to our laboratory for the collection of the spectra.For database entry, strains were prepared with the formic acid extraction method to ensure a high quality of spectra. Fresh colonies were picked with a 1 \u03bcL inoculation loop and placed in 300 \u03bcL of LC\u2013MS water . A volume of 900 \u03bcL pure ethanol (Thermo Fisher) was added to sterilize the bacteria and denature proteins. The tube was vortexed for 1 min and centrifuged at 13,000 \u00d7 Following the manufacturer\u2019s directions, a bacterial test standard (BTS) was used on each acquisition plate. A BTS can calibrate the instrument before each acquisition session to ensure quality of the acquisition.Spectra were acquired using the Microflex LT system (Bruker). Each spot was measured three times, resulting in 24 single spectra for each strain. The software flexControl v. 3.4 automatically acquired the spectrum of each spot through AutoXecute. Signal intensity of the highest peak in the spectra was maintained between 1,000 and 5,000 by fine-tuning the laser intensity. The linear positive ion mode was used as the acquisition mode of the instrument and parameters were set as follows: lens, 8.5 kV; ionsource1, 20 kV; ionsource2, 18.1 kV; mass range: 2,000\u201320,000 Da; laser frequency: 60 Hz; Shots/Spectrum: 240. The instrument was calibrated using calibrators  with molecular weights of 3,637.8 Da, 5,096.8 Da, 5,381.4 Da, 6,255.4 Da, 7,274.5 Da, 10,300.1 Da, 13,683.2 Da, and 16,952.3 Da. The masses of the measured spectrum were within the tolerance range of \u00b1 300 ppm from nominal value.V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, and V. vulnificus to observe the changes in the highest matching scores identified by different sizes of MSP present.Baseline subtraction and smoothing were performed after importing the spectra into flexAnalysis v. 3.4 (Bruker). Next, we searched the spectra set for flatline spectra, sweet spot outliers and anomalies, removing such spectra by closing out of the set. A minimum of 18 spectra were required for main spectra projections (MSP) creation; where necessary the measurement was repeated using a new sample preparation to achieve this. In the peak shift of individual masses, we selected peaks from 3,000 to 10,000 Da in steps of 1,000. The allowed peak shift between the spectra with the smallest and the largest mass was 500 ppm. Finally, we selected the remaining spectra in flexAnalysis v. 3.4 and used these data to create the MSP through MALDI BioTyper Compass Explorer v. 4.1 software. All MSPs were registered in our in-house database, PVBase. In addition, we established separate databases of different sizes for Vibrio spp. were involved in this study, 65 strains used in the blind test and 725 strains used in the PVBase database. The 65 strains for blind test were first identified using Bruker MBT Library, and then identified using a database merged Bruker MBT Library with the PVBase. Then we compared the identification results of the two databases, and analyzed the changes in the identification accuracy and accuracy scores of related strains. We also used the Moussa database  and composite correlation index (CCI) were used to analyze the differences between and within the species of Vibrio species that are potentially pathogenic in the Bruker MBT Library and our PVBase are shown in V. vulnificus, V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus had a wide range of sources and relatively large numbers, while the remaining Vibrio species had relatively small number of strains.In this study, a total of 790 strains were collected and included in the database. In order to select the most representative spectra and merge them into strain-specific MSP, we searched 790 spectra set for sweet spot and removed anomalies by closing out of the set by flexAnalysis ver.3.4 . All 790 MSPs were registered in an in-house database called PVBase. The numbers of MSP for the V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, and V. vulnificus to observe changes in the highest matching scores with number of MSP present. Except for V. cholerae, which is not contained in Bruker MBT Library (V. parahaemolyticus, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, and V. vulnificus were all obtained by matching the Bruker MBT Library. In V. harveyi, the highest matching score had been on an upward trend, and had not yet reached saturation as the MSP increases. It further illustrated the necessity of increasing the number of strains in the database. For V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus, and V. cholerae the highest matching score also increased initially, but then plateaued, suggesting saturation was reached (We looked for an effect of database size on identification by establishing separate databases of different sizes of  Library , the ini reached , 3. The V. alginolyticus. The initial matching score of V. alginolyticus obtained by matching the Bruker MBT Library was 1.65\u20131.85, and the best matches for strains were V. mytili, V. parahaemolyticus or V. harveyi, followed by V. alginolyticus. In addition, some strains also had not been accurately identified. With the continuous increased in the number of MSPs in PVBase, the identification accuracy of V. alginolyticus had been significantly improved. When the number of MSPs was 30, all V. alginolyticus were accurately identified, and the identification score increased to approximately 2.4 (The importance of increasing database size is further clarified through in-depth consideration of results with tely 2.4 .V. cholerae were not identified, and the remaining 11 strains were all identified as V. albensis. In addition, one strain of V. harveyi was erroneously identified as V. parahaemolyticus. The remaining Vibrio species were correctly identified, and the initial identification scores of V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. navarrensis were highest. The test strain identifications were then obtained through PVBase and the Bruker MBT Library together (Vibrio species were correctly identified, and the identification score was generally greater than 2.2; identification scores of some strains of V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. cholerae, V. navarrensis and V. metschnikovii exceeded 2.59. Thus, the addition of the PVBase database greatly improved the accuracy and matching scores when identifying Vibrio species.Of the 790 strains collected in this study, 65 strains were used for the blind test, and the remaining strains were used as databases for verification The test spectra were first identified using the Bruker MBT Library . Four sttogether . After tVibrio spp., we randomly selected 77 strains of all Vibrio species, which included those in PVBase and 48 strains of all Vibrio species included in the Bruker MBT Library as representatives. We then performed a dendrogram analysis using MALDI BioTyper Compass Explorer ver.4.1 software (Vibrio including V. mimicus, V. cholerae and V. albensis, which were previously reported indistinguishable species (Vibrio species could not be clearly distinguished. The MSP of one strain of V. furnissii clustered in the group of V. fluvialis. In addition, the similarity between V. ordalii and V. gazogenes or V. mytili and V. harveyi was also high, and these species pairs cannot be distinguished easily by MSPs. However, we had few strains of these indistinguishable Vibrio species, so the relevant conclusions need to be further verified.To observe the genetic relationship between software . Accurat species . Only a Vibrio species randomly selected from PVBase (V. fluvialis and V. furnissii were relatively difficult to distinguish because of their high similarity. In addition, similarity between the Vibrio species obtained by the color depth of the CCI matrix was consistent with the dendrogram analysis.We performed a CCI analysis on the 77 strains of m PVBase . ConsistVibrio species have regional characteristics, we ran separate cluster analyses on strains of V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus. V. vulnificus was collected from Taiwan, Beijing, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. Dendrogram analysis showed that using a distance level of 900, the species could be divided into three groups, but there was no obvious correlation between MSP characteristics of the strain and region (V. parahaemolyticus reached a similar conclusion. Dendrogram analysis on V. parahaemolyticus collected from Zhejiang, Liaoning and Guangzhou indicated that V. parahaemolyticus could be divided into two groups using a distance level of 950, but that group characteristics were not directly related to region (V. parahaemolyticus according to the division of north and south regions, but no statistical difference was obtained (To explore whether d region . The anao region . In addiobtained . The sumV. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus to explore whether either species had characteristic differences between clinical and environmental strains. Dendrogram analysis for V. vulnificus with a distance level of 900, divided the species into three groups, but there is no obvious correlation with clinical vs. environmental strain type (V. parahaemolyticus could be divided into two groups using a distance level of 950, but the groupings were not related to strain type (We clustered ain type . Likewisain type .Vibrio spp., providing high sensitivity and high throughput. MALDI-TOF MS can detect the activity of bacteria, and also has obvious advantages in large-scale detection in clinical and farm handling. Database size is a key factor affecting the accuracy of MALDI-TOF MS identification. We constructed an in-house database of 790 strains of Vibrio spp. that greatly supplemented the Bruker MBT Library with potentially pathogenic Vibrio species. Increasing the number of strains in the database improved the accuracy of identification, and increasing the number of Vibrio species expanded the scope of identification (V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, and V. vulnificus, each of which have a large number of strains, as examples with which to explore the impact of increasing the number of strains in the database. With the large number of V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, and V. vulnificus, the matching score gradually rose with increased number of MSPs until it tended to saturate. These values where matching score saturates represent the minimum number of main spectra required to account for intraspecific variation. Although the total number of added strains of V. alginolyticus was only 30, the identification score also appeared to become saturated. This may be due to low intra-species variability in V. alginolyticus, so that relatively few strains were required to saturate the identification score. After the establishment of PVBase, the blind test experiment showed strong improvement of identification accuracy and score for Vibrio species with the database expansion. Identification accuracy of the 65 strains in the blind test increased from 73.4 to 100%. The percentage of strains with identification scores above 2.2 increased from 53.1% to 96.9%. In addition, 53.1% of strains had identification scores above 2.59.Although isolated strains are necessary for MALDI-TOF MS identification, which is time consuming, it plays a pivotal role in the identification of fication . We tookVibrio species in the Bruker MBT Library and PVBase combined revealed good differentiation at the species level for Vibrio. V. cholerae, V. mimicus and V. albensis are closely related, as previously observed (V. cholerae and only one strain of V. albensis in the Bruker MBT Library, all V. cholerae were initially erroneously identified as V. albensis. In this study, we found that due to the small number of strains of V. furnissii and V. fluvialis, the MSP of one strain of V. furnissii we generated was clustered into the group of V. fluvialis. Similarly, the pairs V. ordalii and V. gazogenes plus V. mytili and V. harveyi also were clustered into each other\u2019s species group. However, this does not necessarily mean that they are difficult to distinguish and require a large number of strain MSPs to support further inferences. The number of strains in the Bruker MBT Library is small, and most of them come from countries outside of China. There may be some differences in Chinese strains such that they do not adequately reflect the diversity of the Vibrio species spectra. Certainly, our findings suggest that including only one MSP in the database is not sufficient for species identification, perhaps partly due to high heterogeneity among different regions.The dendrogram analysis of observed , but theVibrio species in the latest database of the Bruker MBT Library is small. This also explains why V. alginolyticus was misidentified as V. mytili, V. parahaemolyticus or V. harveyi when identified using the Bruker MBT Library. These species are nearly indistinguishable from each other by 16S rRNA gene analysis, requiring the analysis of multiple housekeeping genes for accurate species identification (V. alginolyticus strains exhibited 56\u201380% similarity with V. parahaemolyticus strains. The MSPs of V. parahaemolyticus exhibited 40\u201345% similarity to those of V. mimicus (Vibrio species in the Bruker MBT Library and PVBase similarly indicated a close genetic relationship among V. alginolyticus, V. mytili, V. parahaemolyticus and V. harveyi that further explains why some strains of V. alginolyticus were misidentified initially. However, V. alginolyticus could be accurately identified after expanding the database. Furthermore, after adding MSPs of V. cholerae to the database, all V. cholerae were accurately identified. It is clear that augmenting the database makes it possible to discern otherwise indistinguishable species.Expanding the database could improve the identification accuracy of indistinguishable species. Although the Bruker MBT Library is the most widely used database, it lacks coverage of environmental bacterial isolates, particularly marine bacteria . Therefofication , 2007. T mimicus . It is wVibrio strains in this study came from different regions in China and included environmental and clinical strains. We analyzed the characteristics of Vibrio strains from different regions or environmental and clinical strains in order to explore the influence of the above factors on the MSP characteristics of Vibrio species. However, we did not find statistically significant patterns. Although clinical strains are mainly derived from hospital patients, patients may be infected from various regions, so this may have confounded the analysis. Previous studies showed that the characteristics of Vibrio species from different regions may differ (V. parahaemolyticus isolated from Japan, exhibit more similarities than spectra of the strains isolated from the United States (V. parahaemolyticus strains may reflect strain adaptation to a particular geographic location. However, a V. parahaemolyticus environmental strain isolated from Florida exhibited similarities to the environmental strains isolated from North Carolina (Vibrio species. Although our strains come from a wide range of regions in China, they all belong to the coastal areas connecting Oceania, and the extensive exchanges between regions may eliminate differences to a certain extent. Moreover, it may be that all strains are from China, and that domestic differences are not enough to distinguish them (Vibrio species.The y differ  and thaty differ , 2018. Fd States . DiffereCarolina . This maish them . In the The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. All main spectra of PVBase are available as btmsp file as a supplement.JLW, BZ, and WX: conceptualization and writing\u2014review and editing. BZ, TL, and WX: methodology. LK and JL: software. TL, LK, and JX: validation. TL, JX, and WX: formal analysis. JW, SG, and JX: investigation. YL and BY: resources and data curation. TL, JX, and LK: writing\u2014original draft preparation and visualization. YY and YL: supervision. BZ, JLW, and WX: project administration. BZ, JLW, and WX: funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Globally, 80% of the burdenof major depressive disorder (MDD) pertains to low- and middle-income countries. Research into genetic and environmental risk factors has the potential to uncover disease mechanisms that may contribute to better diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, yet has so far been largely limited to participants with European ancestry from high-income countries. The DIVERGE study was established to help overcome this gap and investigate genetic and environmental risk factors for MDD in Pakistan.DIVERGE aims to enrol 9000 cases and 4000 controls in hospitals across the country. Here, we provide the rationale for DIVERGE, describe the study protocol and characterise the sample using data from the first 500 cases. Exploratory data analysis is performed to describe demographics, socioeconomic status, environmental risk factors, family history of mental illness and psychopathology.Many participants had severe depression with 74% of patients who experienced multiple depressive episodes. It was a common practice to seek help for mental health struggles from faith healers and religious leaders. Socioeconomic variables reflected the local context with a large proportion of women not having access to any education and the majority of participants reporting no savings.DIVERGE is a carefully designed case\u2013control study of MDD in Pakistan that captures diverse risk factors. As the largest genetic study in Pakistan, DIVERGE helps address the severe underrepresentation of people from South Asian countries in genetic as well as psychiatric research. Large sample size of South Asian participantsGenome-wide genotyping for all participantsComprehensive assessment of diverse risk factors, incl. population-specific onesDetailed psychopathology assessmentFocus on women\u2019s mental health and hormonal factorsInterview by trained mental health professionalsRecontactable participantsRecruitment at multiple sites across Pakistan for better representativenessLarge proportion with severe Major Depressive DisorderQuasi matched controls to enable observational assessment of risk factorsCo-led by local researchersCommunity engagementData will be available via data access committeeDepression is a major contributor to the burden of disease affecting about 300 million people worldwide . DepressIn low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), only an estimated 4% of affected individuals receive minimally adequate treatment  is the first large comprehensive case\u2013control study of MDD in Pakistan, and more widely in South Asia. Its aims are to investigate (a) the genetic influences of MDD, (b) nongenetic risk factors in the Pakistani population, and (c) their interactions.https://www.genes-and-mental-illness.com) that also includes the GEN-SCRIP study about the GENetics of SChizophRenia in Pakistan and the GEN-BLIP study about the GENetics of BipoLar Disorder In Pakistan.DIVERGE is a part of the Pakistan Alliance on genetic RisK factors for Health . Cases are enrolled from Psychiatry Clinics or Outpatient Psychiatry Departments of Hospitals. This ensures the recruitment of moderate-to-severe MDD cases, which is likely to be advantageous for genetic discoveries. Referral is made by treating clinicians.DIVERGE aims to enrol 9000 cases and 4000 controls for a clinical interview and a blood sample for DNA extraction. Recruitment occurs in multiple cities across Pakistan in both private and public clinics to capture ethnic diversity and ensure a wide representation of different socioeconomic strata  , 2013 anControls are recruited from nonpsychiatry outpatient departments of the same hospitals or clinics. This strategy is implemented to recruit controls from the same population to enable comparisons of risk factors .The interview aims to capture potential risk factors for depression, including well-established as well as population-specific ones, and to provide an in-depth characterisation of the disease in the cohort. Questionnaires are administered through a structured interview to enable inclusion of participants with low levels of literacy and digital technology usage . The intThe interview questions were put together in English and translated into Urdu using a back-and-forth method in case there was no previous translation . Urdu is the official language in Pakistan and is widely spoken by the majority of the population  . All individuals provided informed consent, were confirmed eligible, and their data were included in the study for exploratory data analysis. The mean age of participants was 38 years old  . Age was reported by all the participants.During the first month, the study recruited 500 participants  diagnosed with MDD in 10 data collection sites across Pakistan , which is considered early depression onset . Over a third of participants (37%) reported exposure to at least one traumatic event. This aligns well with reported prevalence of exposure to traumatic events in other LMICs (http://links.lww.com/PG/A294).Apart from depression, participants mentioned anxiety symptoms more often than other mental health problems  reported a history of taking medications for their depression, whereas the rest received their first prescription at the time of referral to the interview.Almost half  reported that they had received other forms of help for their depression, most frequently through a religious leader or a faith healer. Both terms are often used interchangeably and refer to traditional spiritual practice. This practice is widespread in Pakistan, and religious leaders and faith healers are usually the first points of contact for people who believe in the supernatural origin of mental illness and those who look for a religious cure, irrespective of their perception of the disease origin .In line with other studies in LMICs .Our study has some limitations. Patients are recruited in psychiatric hospital settings. This strategy restricts enrolment to those who have access to the healthcare system. Moreover, an observational case\u2013control design is unable to establish temporal precedence of environmental factors with certainty and may be subject to biases, such as recall bias. Matching of controls in terms of hospital recruitment, demographic characteristics and ethnicity aims to reduce confounding when assessing risk factors. Another limitation of the study is that it restricted participation to those over 18 years old. This decision was made due to multiple reasons. First, because of the study\u2019s cross-sectional design and inability to estimate the proportion of those whose MDD diagnosis would precede bipolar disorder onset  under the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 948561).Conceptualisation: K. Kuchenbaecker and M. Ayub. Methodology: K. Kuchenbaecker, M. Ayub, A. Hassan, G. Lewis and J. Knowles. Data collection: A. Hassan, M.I. Hussain, K. Mufti, A.A. Mufti, M. Tariq, S. Shafiq, A.R. Choudhary, M.N. Ali, A. Hussain, G. Ali, M. Rehman, S.U. Din, A.B. Mustafa, I.A. Dogar, S.A. Gill, M.K. Khan, S.T. Chaudhry, S.Q. hyder, M. Ali, N. Ilyas, P. Channar, N. Mughal, S. Channa, M. Ansari, F. Hussain, I. Khattak, M. Umar, B. Khizar, T. Nasr, S. Farooq, F. Naeem and N. Ahmad. Data analysis: M. Valkovskaya and E. Zartaloudi. Writing - original draft preparation: M. Valkovskaya, E. Zartaloudi, A. Hassan, K. Kuchenbaecker and M. Ayub. Writing - review and editing: all authors. Funding acquisition: K. Kuchenbaecker. Supervision: K. Kuchenbaecker and M. Ayub.Ethics approval: the study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation. All procedures involving human subjects/patients, questionnaire and methodology were approved by the National Bioethics Committee of Pakistan (NBC-692). Ethical approvals have also been obtained from ethics boards of University College London (14125/002) and all collaborating institutes and hospitals where recruitment takes place.Availability of data: the dataset analysed during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Upon completion of recruitment and genotyping, the DIVERGE data will be made available to bona fide researchers and access will be governed by a Data Access Co-ordinating Committee."}
+{"text": "Escherichia coli from the milk of Ettawa crossbreed dairy goat at Blitar Regency, East Java, Indonesia, with the antibiotics streptomycin, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim.Antimicrobial resistance, especially antibiotic resistance, is one of the most severe public health challenges. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria avoid and fight the mechanism of action of antibiotic drugs. This study aimed to determine the resistance of E. coli. Then, the E. coli isolates were tested for antibiotic resistance using the Kirby\u2013Bauer method.A total of 34 milk samples of Ettawa crossbreed dairy goats were used in this study. The initial stages of this research included tests of the physical properties, isolation, and identification of E. coli. The physical properties of milk, namely, color, odor, flavor, and consistency, were normal. The results of the alcohol test showed normal acidity, and the specific gravity of goat milk met the criteria, with an average specific gravity of 1.0295 g/mL. The results of the antibiotic resistance test showed that 4 (12%) samples were resistant to streptomycin, 5 (15%) to sulfonamide, and 3% to trimethoprim.The results showed that all samples were positive for E. coli from Ettawa crossbreed dairy goats in Blitar Regency, East Java, Indonesia, was 100%. Furthermore, this E. coli isolate exhibited resistance to antibiotics streptomycin, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim. The use of antibiotics in the dairy goat industry in Indonesia should be controlled to prevent the spread of resistant E. coli from animals to humans through the food chain and prevent the emergence of multidrug-resistant E. coli.The prevalence of  The bacteria were allowed to stand for 10\u201315 min. The antibiotic  on the disk was placed on the surface, and then the plate was incubated at 37\u00b0C for 24 h. The diameter of the resulting inhibition zone was measured with a caliper and then compared with the standard from CLSI.The data were presented descriptively in percentages displayed in tables.The results of the color, odor, flavor, consistency tests, alcohol test, and specific gravity test for goat milk were normal  15, 18], 1815, 1E. coli found in the milk of the Ettawa crossbreed dairy goat at Blitar Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Thirty-four milk samples (100%) were positive for E. coli. The results of the identification test E. coli are summarized in These results indicate the percentage of E. coli resistance to antibiotics are summarized in Of the 34 milk samples, antibiotic resistance to streptomycin was 12%, sulfonamide was 15%, and trimethoprim 3%. The results of The quality of raw goat milk fit for consumption should normal, clean, white or cream color, natural flavor without any foreign matter and adulteration; furthermore, in the alcohol test, the sediment should be fine or small and specific gravity should be between 1.028 and 1.034 at 20\u00b0C . The resIn atmosphere dominated by silage or animal odors, volatile compounds may be transferred directly from the surrounding environment to the milk before, during, and after milking. Moreover, the odor of the male goat in rut is often a source of the goaty flavor in fresh goat milk. The flavor of milk from each animal is different based on genetic and physiological characteristics, feeding systems and diets, and environmental conditions . PreviouMilk viscosity is one of the important benchmarks of milk quality. Normal milk that is good for consumption is runny or liquid and does not clot. These tests are performed in accordance with the Indonesian National Standard . The visSpecific gravity, the mass of a certain quantity of material divided by its volume, is dependent on the temperature at the time of measurement, the temperature history of the material, composition of the material , and air (a complication with more viscous products). With all of this in mind, the specific gravity of milk varies from 1.027 to 1.033 g/mL at 20\u00b0C . The higFood-borne diseases in public health programs prioritize the surveillance of milk food-borne diseases by monitoring food-borne pathogens and microbial contamination in milk products. Hence, dairy farms are compromised to reduce the milk contamination source from the udder and the dairy cattle\u2019s health status and the production environment through improved hygiene practices in cattle management and milk handling .Escherichia coli is widely found in the digestive tract and is often found in environments with poor sanitation [E. coli contamination was found in 34 samples (100%) of Ettawa crossbreed dairy goat milk (E. coli contamination was reported in 9.3% (7/75) raw goat milk samples in Luxor Governorate, Egypt [E. coli.nitation . In thisoat milk . In othee, Egypt  and 40% e, Egypt . This bae, Egypt . The watEscherichia coli is a Gram-negative commensal bacterium, commonly used as an indicator during surveillance and monitoring for antibiotic resistance [Escherichia coli was tested in this study because it is commonly found in dairy products and is often found in conjugated plasmids that are commonly transferred between enteric bacteria [E. coli ST131, quickly spread in the community and among healthcare settings. These strains often cause more severe infections and spread more easily [Escherichia coli of animal origin often show resistance to mostly older antimicrobial agents, including tetracyclines, phenicols, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, and fosfomycin [E. coli isolates from ducks in Penang, Malaysia, were resistant (100%) to vancomycin, 92.7% to tetracycline, 72.7% to ampicillin, 67.3% to streptomycin, and 67.3% to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim [et al. [E. coli.sistance . Escheribacteria . They ofe easily  and havee easily . Escherisfomycin . In a stethoprim . This is [et al. , who repE. coli. The study revealed that E. coli is resistant to three antibiotics. In the 34 samples studied, several samples were resistant to these antibiotics  sul3 is a more recent version of the gene associated with sulfonamide resistance.Streptomycin is widely used in the treatment of microbial infections, with the primary mechanism of action being inhibition of translation by binding to the ribosome. Moreover, streptomycin interacts with MscL and activates it, thus leading to an outward flux of Kthe drug . Sulfonathe drug  and protthe drug . Sulfonathe drug . In line [et al.  found thE. coli infections; however, its efficacy is limited given the rapidity with which trimethoprim resistance develops [Trimethoprim is widely used to treat develops  through develops .E. coli resistance to several antibiotics in Ettawa crossbreed goat milk that is consumed by the community must be accompanied by vigilance so that resistance does not spread more widely. Some resistance mechanisms emerge but do not develop after the first explosion, but others can spread around the world very quickly [The discovery of  quickly . This is quickly .E. coli (100%) in milk from Ettawa crossbreed dairy goat in Blitar Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Antibiotic resistance to streptomycin, sulfonamide, and trimethoprim was 12%, 15%, and 3%, respectively. The presence of E. coli in goat milk for human consumption can cause milk-borne diseases, and the discovery of microbial resistance can seriously impact public health. The incidence of microbial resistance leads to prolongation of treatment and recovery.In this study, we found AMR to TMA, PAW, and ML: Conceptualization and design of the study. TMA, BA, RAP, and RII: Collected samples. TMA, PAW, RII, and DKW: Performed the laboratory procedures. BA, RAP, AA, and WPL: Analyzed and interpreted the data. PAW and ML: Writing-original draft. DKW and AA: Writing-review and editing. WPL: Edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "In the published article, there was an error in the author list, and author Maddalena Cerrone was erroneously excluded. The corrected author list appears above.The author has also been included in the Author Contributions section shown below.CR, EB, DB, KM-B, MN, BM and RW designed the study. PH, MC, AJ and EB recruited the study participants. SR, EB, MC, and CR performed the whole blood and PCF assay. EB and CR performed the flow experiments. CR analysed and interpreted the data. ASe and CLA provided critical reagents. RW, ASh and CR obtained funding to support the project. CR and EB wrote the manuscript with all authors contributing to providing critical feedback.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "Phylloscopus ibericus), presumably the most ancient lineage, was the most central in the variation space, while the Siberian Chiffchaff (P. collybita tristis) was the most peripheric and also very uniform, in contrast with the Canarian Chiffchaff (P. canariensis) highly variable, as expected by the \u201ccharacter release hypothesis\u201d on islands. Calls proved to be an excellent tool, especially amenable for non-biased mathematical analyses which, combined with the wide availability of records in Xeno-canto, greatly facilitates the widespread use of this methodology in a wide range of species and geographical areas.The chiffchaff complex is a group of common forest bird species, notorious for the number of cryptic taxa recently discovered, being a great example of speciation in action. Vocalizations have been crucial to unveil its hidden diversity. In this study we quantitatively analyze the acoustic characteristics of their calls with permutational analysis of variance, canonical variate analysis and a self-organizing map, to determine their variability and differences. We related these differences with the geographical and genetic distances between taxonomic groups, by means of Pearson correlations. We used recordings from Xeno-canto, an open database of bird vocalizations. Inter-taxa distances based on call traits were broadly consistent with geographic distances but not correlated with genetic distances. The Iberian Chiffchaff ( Phylloscopus warblers are a large genus of insectivorous passerines, comprising more than 70 species (sensu\u00a0Phylloscopus species\u00a0(Phylloscopus collybita complex) is a group of Old World Leaf Warblers with a vast breeding range that extends across nearly the entire Palaearctic. They are especially abundant in forest ecosystems, where they can comprise up to forty per cent of all birds in some sites\u00a0 but, in the last decades, several cryptic species and a number of subspecies have been discovered in this group\u00a0 have contributed to the revelation or confirmation of the existence of cryptic taxa in this group\u00a0\u00a0. There ae.g.,\u00a0structure of vegetation), minimizing signal degradation and maximizing conspicuousness against background noise and interference, resulting in signal divergence across ecological gradients\u00a0, Iberian Chiffchaff , Canary Islands Chiffchaff  and Mountain Chiffchaff \u00a0, breeding in Western, Central and Southern Europe, wintering in Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East , breeding in Northern and Eastern Europe), it winters in South Europe, North Africa, Middle East, North Arabia, Persian Gulf and Southwest Iran  (Siberian Chiffchaff), breeding in easternmost Russia, Siberia, North Kazakhstan, North Mongolia, coming into contact with P. c. abietinus in West Russia , breeding in western and northern Anatolia (Turkey); P. c. caucasicus , breeding in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, East of P. c. brevirostris range at lower elevations south to Armenia; and P. c. menzbieri , believed to be restricted to the mountains of northeastern Iran and Turkmenistan. The Iberian Chiffchaff (P. ibericus) breeds in the Iberian Peninsula and winters in subsaharian Africa (P. canariensis) , which is believed to be extinct, and P. canariensis canariensis , from other islands of the Canary archipelago: La Palma, Hierro, Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria (see P. sindianus) is restricted to mountains and includes two subspecies , from the extreme west of China (SW Xinjiang) to North Pakistan and North India and P. sindianus lorenzii , from Southwest Asia, in East Turkey to Caucasus, Transcaucasia and Northeast Iran \u00a0. In addis, 1880)\u00a0: P.\u00a0c.\u00a0cEast see ; P. c. aIran see ; P. c. tt Russia , and wint Russia ; P. c. bn Africa   , P. canaaria see . The Moubspecies , P. sindIran see .Call recordings were obtained from Xeno-canto , an openPhylloscopus collybita collybita, P. collybita abietinus, P. collybita tristis, P. ibericus, P. sindianus lorenzii, and P. canariensis. For the latter, we sampled individuals from four of the Canary Islands . We did not include subspecies P. c. brevirostris, P. c. caucasicus and P. c. menzbieri in this study due to the scarce number of call recordings on Xeno-canto . We also did not include P. sindianus sindianus due to the lack of recordings on Xeno-canto. With the criteria above, each recording in We compiled a total of 82 recordings with 735 calls of individuals belonging to the following taxa : PhyllosP. s. lorenzii to 23 for P. canariensis  and within the groups  in regard to the bioacoustic characteristics of the calls. We also estimated their variance components, i.e., the contribution of the variation between and within groups to the overall variability of the data. Pairwise differences among groups (species and subspecies) were calculated using a multivariate analogue to the univariate t statistic, calculating pseudo- t as the square root of pseudo- F between each pair of groups. The P-values of both the pseudo- F  and the pseudo- t in the pairwise tests, were obtained using permutations. PERMANOVA analyses were performed with PRIMER 6.1.12  was used to determine differences between the R 6.1.12  with thex) the minimum value (min) and dividing by the range (max \u2013min):(x-min)/(max\u2013min). The canonical discriminant analysis was performed with the standardized values. In order to better understand the similarity/distance relationships between taxonomic groups, we graphed them in a canonical variates biplot that shows the spatial arrangement of the calls of the different Phylloscopus taxa studied in the canonical variates space, according to their acoustic features. We analyzed the relationship of inter-taxa CDA distances  with (i) genetic distances and (ii) geographic distances using Pearson correlations. Inter-taxa genetic distances were obtained from We used canonical discriminant analysis   with 15\u00a0 the map , thus prF\u00a0=\u00a011.34, P\u00a0=\u00a00.001 between groups and Pseudo- F\u00a0=\u00a022.37, P\u00a0=\u00a00.001 within groups) when the populations in different islands within P. canariensis were combined. The variance in the characteristics of the calls accounted for by the differentiation between groups  was similar to that within groups (39.2%) The residual variance, corresponding to variation between observations not accounted for by the factor considered, in this case corresponding to calls within the sampled individuals, contributed another 18.4%. The relative contributions of the differentiation between groups and within groups varied when the islands within P. canariensis were combined, with differences between groups amounting to 36.9% of the total variance, and within groups to 44.6%. Note that the individuals sampled for each group do not coexist but were sampled from distant areas, so that the variance within groups encompasses regional, habitat and individual variance.The PERMANOVA analysis  showed tt\u00a0\u2265\u00a02.4, P\u00a0\u2264\u00a00.002) except for subspecies P. c. collybita and P. c. abietinus, whose calls were not statistically different  Despite the small sample size obtained for P. canariensis for some of the islands, some of the differences between islands were significant, specifically Gomera showed significant differences with Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and La Palma with Tenerife . See Phylloscopus group studied.Pairwise differences among species and subspecies were all significant . This percentage reached 91.7% when the loadings  in the floadings , the firPhylloscopus complex shown in the Canonical Discriminant Analysis biplot  appear in the other half of the graph . In contrast, the Siberian Chiffchaff (P. c. tristis) forms a rather compact and distinct group in the top of the biplot, with the largest average inter-group distance with all the rest and maximum variance. The greatest distances were found between P. c. tristis and the P. canariensis from the different islands sampled  and La Palma , and of La Palma  and Gran Canaria (GrC), followed by those of Gran Canaria (GrC) and Tenerife (Tnf) . Tenerife was the closest to P. c. collybita and P. c. abietinus  and examine its variance components.Phylloscopus groups analyzed in regard to the acoustic features of the calls. Their arrangement in the acoustic variation space has some resemblance to their geographical distribution, with inter-group distances broadly consistent with geographic distances between groups (r\u00a0=\u00a00.59). However, their relationship with genetic distances , as compared to the changes needed to go from any of the species or subspecies analyzed to any of the rest. This central position, however, does not match its present geographic location, which is rather peripheral in relation to the whole chiffchaff complex: In particular, P. s. lorenzi and P. c. tristis have more similar calls to P. ibericus than to P. c. abietinus and P. c. collybita, which are geographically closer. Genetic analyses also show a counter intuitive result regarding P. ibericus, as it formed the sister group of subspecies sindianus and lorenzii of P. sindianus, being closer to them than to collybita or canariensis  was occupied by  complex . This ceariensis . Again, P. ibericus, the calls of P. c. tristis were the most peripheral, and this was the subspecies showing the most differentiated calls within P. collybita, being more similar to P. s. lorenzi, a different species. The subspecies tristis is also the most distant geographically to most of the other species or subspecies, particularly to P. canariensis, with which it showed the greatest differences in call traits. The higher similarity of P. c. tristis with P. s. lorenzi than with other P. collybita subspecies is consistent with the divergence patterns shown by song and morphological (brownish plumage) characters  by the IOC World Bird List  in two islands of the Canaries, in habitats with contrasting vegetation structure, from scarcely vegetated agricultural habitats to dense forests. They found call structures differing between the two islands but also between individuals as well as microgeographic variation, but no differences between habitats, in contrast to the acoustic adaptation hypothesis  and southern(collybita) populations and, despite song similarity, playback experiments revealed that males react more strongly to males of their own subspecies than to the song of the other subspecies, which means that they distinguish the songs and react differently (collybita breeding mainly in deciduous forests while abietinus prefers coniferous forests (Phylloscopus taxa analyzed are typically forests birds, a strong effect of habitat is not to be expected, according to these previous studies.The calls of ollybita . Signififerently . There a forests . Thus, b forests . This isPhylloscopus complex. We found striking variability in the calls of P. canariensis, by far the most variable in regard to its geographical range, which agrees with the character release hypothesis associated to the reduced interspecific competition in islands. Our results are consistent with previous genetic studies in showing the distinctiveness of P. c. tristis, supporting its full species status or being in a stage of incipient speciation. Calls proved to be especially amenable for the application of non-biased mathematical analysis. This combined with the wide availability of records in an open-access repository such as Xeno-canto, greatly facilitates the widespread use of this methodology in a wide range of species and geographical areas, providing another example of the usefulness of citizen science. In conclusion, calls are a valuable tool to promote our knowledge in avian diversification processes in the near future.Our study provides the first quantitative assessment of call differentiation and patterns of variation in relation to geographic and genetic distances in the"}
+{"text": "Pseudemys peninsularis in Korea was sequenced and characterized. The mitochondrial genome is constituted of 37 genes  and a noncoding region. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 13 protein-coding gene sequences showed that P. peninsularis has closer relationship with Chrysemys picta than Trachemys scripta elegans. This is the first case for a complete mitochondrial genome from P. peninsularis, which will provide information for biogeographical studies and management plans for invasive species.The complete mitochondrial genome of  Pseudemys peninsularis Carr, 1938) is spread throughout the Florida peninsula. It ranges from north along the Atlantic coast to the mouth of the St. John\u2019s River , Korea, and the total genomic DNA was extracted from the tail using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocol. The extracted DNA sample was deposited at the Museum of Wildlife, located in Research Center of Ecomimetics, Chonnam National University, Korea . The mitochondrial genome was analyzed using Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform , which was performed by Macrogen . Raw sequence data were checked by FastQC, and adaptor trimming and quality filtering were performed by Trimmomatic , and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a putative long non-coding control region. 12 protein-coding genes, 14 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes are encoded in heavy strand, whereas one protein-coding gene (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6) and eight tRNA genes in light strand. The nucleotide composition of the P. peninsularis mitochondrial genome  is similar to that of T. scripta elegans from Korea , Mauremys sinensis from China , M. reevesii from Korea , and Chrysemys picta from USA . The sequence of P. peninsularis has higher similarity with that of C. picta (93%) than other turtles including T. scripta elegans (90%), M. sinensis (81%), and M. reevesii (81%).The complete mitochondrial genome of P. peninsularis, the 13 protein-coding gene sequences of 14 species in Testudines were extracted from GenBank and the phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA X software (P. peninsularis is closer with C. picta than T. scripta elegans. But P. peninsularis is completely separated from C. picta. These data provide the information on the complete mitochondrial genome of P. peninsularis for the first time, and can contribute to further studies on biodiversity and management of P. peninsularis which is an invasive species in many countries including Korea.To investigate the phylogenetic position of software . Specifisoftware . GTR\u2009+\u2009G"}
+{"text": "Hippobosca equina. Studies have confirmed the presence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis equi, Bartonella spp., and Anaplasma spp. in the organism of these insects. The frequency of anaphylactic reactions caused by H. equina attacks has been increasing. The aim of the present paper was to summarize the up-to-date knowledge of Hippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758 due to its significance in medical and veterinary sciences as a potential vector of pathogens. Given the increasing expansion of ectoparasites, mainly related to climate change, ensuring animal welfare and human health is a priority.Arthropods of the Hippoboscoidea superfamily are parasites of animals from various systematic groups. Mass appearances of these insects and their attacks on people are increasingly being recorded. Their parasitism has a negative effect on host well-being, as it causes feelings of agitation and irritation as well as skin itching and damage. It may result in weight loss and development of diseases in the long-term perspective. Parasites can be a potential epidemiological threat for their hosts as well. One of such parasites is a cosmopolitan species of the Hippoboscinae subfamily\u2014 Arthropods of the Hippoboscoidea superfamily are ectoparasites of animals from various systematic groups. During zootechnical care or veterinary service, farmers or breeders can be attacked by these nuisance dipteran insects. People that constantly or frequently stay in the natural environment for recreational or professional reasons  are exposed to the risk of dangerous zoonotic diseases. Our observations from natural and semi-natural habitats and recent reports include the occurrence of these species in cities, which suggests their expansion towards ecosystems undergoing strong anthropogenic transformations ,2. AwareHippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758 due to its significance in medical and veterinary sciences, and its potential role in pathogen transmission to hosts. Given the increasing expansion of ectoparasites, mainly associated with climate change, ensuring animal welfare and protection of human health is a priority.The aim of the present paper was to summarize available knowledge of Hippobosca equina is in general not a common object of research, which is evidenced by the inconsiderable number of papers focused on this species. The motivation to compile the present review was the authors\u2019 experience of constant exposure to attacks by this ectoparasite in spring and summer 2021 and 2022 in eastern Poland. Moreover, it seems that Hippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758 (Hippoboscidae: Hippobosca) is the earliest described species of the genus  , in which the neck, groin, back, and head were the most common sites of infestation by Hippobosca spp. [A common site of attachment of tallions . The installions ,20. Romatallions  reportedsca spp. . H. equina specimens parasitizing occasional hosts has not been fully explored to date. Apart from the study on guinea pigs mentioned previously, no information on other species is available. It has been suggested that, due to the low host specificity [Lipoptena spp. Mistakenly, as the insects cannot reproduce on this host [Capreolus capreolus L., 1758 has proved to be successful only in the western range of Fennoscandia, whereas in the eastern range, successful offspring production has been observed only once [H. equina. The final confirmation of the above-mentioned information requires a detailed analysis of the reproductive behavior of H. equina. It seems that the reproductive potential of cificity , the inshis host . For thihis host ,81 as thnly once . There aH. equina infestations in the world are rather limited. The only studies were conducted in Poland, e.g., [H. equina in horses in Poland reported the highest prevalence from mid-June to the end of July at an average air temperature of 21 \u00b0C. In turn, the highest prevalence of H. equina in Egypt was recorded from mid-June to the end of August [H. equina infestation in feral horses was 80.6%. The mean number of H. equina specimens per infested animal was 3.2 (range 1\u201310) [Data on the prevalence and intensity of d, e.g., ,16, and d, e.g., . Researcd, e.g.,  studyingf August . The prege 1\u201310) , whereasge 1\u201310) . Research on primitive Polish horses demonstrated that the extensiveness and intensity of infestation fluctuated between 23 and 38.5% and 0.6 and 2.2 in mares, 10 and 30% and 1.0 in sucking colts. These values were 40\u201380% and 2.1\u20139 in 1.5\u20132-year-old mares and 53.3\u201386.7% and 3.8\u20136.5 in stallions, respectively. This indicates that the intensity of invasion infestation in 2005 was not significant, as it did not exceed nine insects on one horse in July . In 2012H. equina was found on all examined hosts [H. equina was the only ectoparasite species found [H. equina.According to data obtained from research carried out on horses, ed hosts ,68. In ses found , which mH. equina, as well as the range expansion, probably depends on an increase in host density. Such a relationship was observed in the case of L. cervi in Finland [H. equina, climate change may affect the growth of wild host populations. In Europe, Artiodactyla and, above all, Cervus elaphus L. are the primary hosts of this species [C. elaphus and H. equina largely overlap. We frequently observed the mass occurrence of H. equina, in eastern Poland, where a large red deer population has been recorded in recent years. As shown by the data provided by the Central Statistical Office, in 2013\u20132019, the red deer population in Lubelskie Province alone increased by 30.26%. The constant rise in the number of red deer and their higher density increases the probability of reproductive success for H. equina [The predicted increase in the abundance of  Finland ,84. In t species . Indeed,. equina ,86.Lipoptena cervi long into late autumn. Changes in temperature and precipitation also affect many life traits of hematophagous ectoparasites, including host seeking behavior [Warm weather increases the probability of host acquisition by winged behavior . In the behavior ,89,90. Pbehavior . H. equina, we cite studies conducted by specialists from Scandinavia, on other representatives of the Hippoboscidae, and arthropod vectors with similar biology and ecology. Therefore, we presume that, factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Hippoboscidae representatives may be alike to a large extent.Due to the lack of this type of research on Variable conditions in habitats influence not only the vectors and hosts , but also transmission of vector-borne pathogens .Hippobosca equina parasitism has a negative effect on host well-being, as it causes feelings of agitation and irritation as well as skin itching and damage. The evident consequences of the species parasitism in animal hosts include anxiety manifested in intensive tail lashing and frequent scraping against posts or tree trunks, as well as skin inflammation, loss of body weight, and decreasing of the quality of host skin, hair, and fleece [d fleece ,15. In gd fleece . In the In humans, the bite of the forest fly is barely noticeable, or painless, but an increasing burning sensation with erythema may start to develop after a few hours . To dateH. equina is considered a vector of pathogens. This role is particularly important, as the insect attacks different hosts (within the same species and between different species). Unlike other hippoboscid flies, H. equina is a permanently full-winged species. Soliman et al. [H. equina and the danger of disease agents transmission between different host species. As shown by this researcher, H. equina plays such a role in both biological and mechanical transmission between different animal species. Similar conclusions were formulated by Arafa et al. [H. equina as a mechanical and biological vector of Oedematous Skin Disease (OSD) in buffaloes. This endemic disease in Egypt is characterized by diffused skin swellings in the limbs, abdominal region, and dewlap. Another symptom of the disease is the inflammation and enlargement of regional drainage lymph nodes [Hippobosca equina is involved in the horizontal transmission of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis equi bacteria. These pathogens were detected in 76.9% of H. equina adults feeding on animals examined and 68.5% of skin lesion samples taken from these animals [C. pseudotuberculosis equi in H. equina  [H. equina. As a result of this phenomenon, the vector can also serve as a pathogen reservoir. Hence, the forest fly was recognized as the main transmitter of the causative agent to buffaloes [H. equina activity.As demonstrated by the latest research, n et al.  highligha et al. , who indph nodes ,96. Hipp animals . In addimission) . The occuffaloes . On a gluffaloes  tested tH. equina specimens studied were positive for Bartonella spp. [H. equina collected from horses were Bartonella-positive. It was found in the same research that 13.79% of the collected H. equina specimens were infected by pathogenic bacteria from the genus Wolbachia. In turn, Halos and co-authors [Bartonella chomelii and/or Bartonella schoenbuchensis in all twelve H. equina specimens collected from cattle in different parts of France, but none of the six H. equina collected from horses was positive. Abdullah et al. [Borrelia sp. and Anaplasma sp. in H. equina specimens collected from horses in Egypt. Research conducted in Saxony showed that 82% of the lla spp. . Similarlla spp. , who fou-authors  detectedh et al.  confirmeH. equina is a vector of other pathogens, e.g., Rickettsia spp. Abdullah and co-authors [Rickettsia sp., Coxiella burnetii, and Bartonella sp. pathogens in this insect species. All 105 studied H. equina specimens were found to be free from these pathogens. Interestingly, Selmi et al. [H. equina in Tunisia exhibited a higher Anaplasma spp. infection rate than other, non-infested animals. All these bacteria cause animal and human diseases. Notably, the mere detection of a given pathogen in H. equina does not mean the arthropod is its competent vector; only that the assumption that it can serve as its reservoir is probable.To date, there is no evidence that -authors  attemptei et al.  reportedHippobosca equina feeds on the blood of a wide range of hosts, and adults of these insects take multiple blood meals during their lifespan, protection against its attacks seems to be relevant. However, the most commonly used repellents, e.g., DEET , have recently raised concerns related not only to their safety but also to the increasing insect resistance [Hippobosca equina attacks. Khater et al. demonstrated the repellent activity of camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), onion (Allium cepa), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), and peppermint (Mentha piperita) EOs toward dipteran ectoparasites infesting water buffaloes in Egypt [\u22121 b.w., respectively (discriminating dose 2.5 l). According to the study, all tested EOs repelled Hippobosca equina significantly for six days post-treatment. These results are promising because the researchers did not observe any side effects in humans or treated animals. The adverse effects usually related to the application of EOs are mild. However, severe toxic reactions have been noted, including neurotoxicity, bronchial hyperactivity, and hepatotoxicity [The potential role of the forest fly as a vector of various pathogens is also important, given the possibility of unintentional introduction of the species with the host. Since sistance ,100. Thesistance ,102,103.sistance ,100,101;in Egypt . The dostoxicity . TherefoThe analysis of the current distribution of the species worldwide carried out in this review indicates that it was also found outside the originally assumed range of two biogeographic zones , i.e., in the Afrotropical and Australasian zones. Although these were only single records , they may indicate a potential or actual spread of this species and, consequently, a threat to animals and humans in other parts of the world. The observations from the Philippines and New Caledonia date back to the 20th century (the latter was presented by Borowiec ), whereaAs shown by Boucheikhchoukh and co-authors , forest"}
+{"text": "Malus species under salt stress in the seedling stages will be useful in breeding salt-tolerant dwarfing apple rootstocks. Seedlings of Malus Zumi (Mats.) Rehd. (M. zumi), Malus sieversii (Led.) Roem. (M. sieversii), and Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. (M. baccata) were treated with solution of 0, 0.20%, 0.40%, and 0.60% salinity. Physiological parameters of their leaves and roots were measured at 0 d, 4 d, 8 d and 12 d after salinity treatments. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), solution protein (SP), and proline (PRO) initially increased and then decreased. The activities and contents of these parameters were higher in the 0.40% and 0.60% NaCl treatments than in the 0.20% treatment and in the 0% control. M. zumi was the most resistant to salt stress, showing the lowest content of MDA in the leaves and roots, which increased slightly under salt stress. M. baccata had the highest increase in both the content and proportion of MDA. High enzyme activity was shown to play an important role in the salt resistance of M. zumi. Moreover, it can be speculated that there are other substances that also play a major role. We found that osmotic regulation played a key role in response to salt stress for M. baccata even though it was sensitive to salt stress. For M. sieversii, both the osmotic regulation and enzymatic antioxidants were observed to play a major role in mitigating salt stress.Understanding the different physiological responses of  Moreool amine ,10. SP aol amine . MDA conol amine ,14,15,16ol amine . Increasol amine . MDA conol amine . The enhol amine ,21.Malus species.Apple, one of the most popular fruits globally, plays a major role in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in north and northwest China. At present, the apple dwarfing rootstocks widely used in China and abroad\u2014M26, MM106, M9, etc.\u2014are not tolerant to salt . The soiMalus around the world [Malus xiaojinensis Cheng et Jiang., Malus toringoides (Rehd.) Hughes., and Malus kansuensis  Schneid. are tolerant to drought; Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehd. and Malus toringoides (Rehd.) Hughes. are tolerant to waterlogging; M. baccata and M. sieversii are tolerant to cold; Malus robusta (Carr.) Rehd., M. sieversii, and Malus sikkimensis (Wenzig.) Koehne. are tolerant to salt; and even M. zumi is tolerant to a 0.60% salt content in soil [Malus plants, the main mechanisms of salt stress resistance are salt rejection and ion regionalization. However, they have a long history of heredity and evolution, with different species exhibiting different tolerances to salt stress, and thus the adaptation mechanisms to salt stress are not all the same. Whether different Malus species take advantage of the same substance to scavenge ROS or regulate osmotic stress remains unknown. Therefore, understanding the physiological basis of salt resistance in different Malus species is very important for breeding salt-tolerant rootstocks.There are approximately 55 species of he world . Differe in soil ,28. Ther in soil ,30. For M. zumi, M. sieversii, and M. baccata are high-resistance, medium-resistance, and salt-sensitive, respectively. The latter two are widely used as rootstocks in northwest and northeast China, but how they physiologically differ in terms of salt stress resistance remains unclear.Plants may be more tolerant to salt in the seedling stage than in the other growth stages . M. zumiMalus species to salinity stress. Our findings can be used as the basis for the breeding of salt-tolerant dwarfing rootstocks.In the present study, the activities of POD, SOD, and CAT and the contents of MDA, SP, PRO, CHLa, and CHLb were compared in the three species under different NaCl treatments during the seedling period. We aimed to evaluate the effects on the physiological parameters of salt stress to elucidate the adaptive mechanisms of different M. zumi, M. sieversii, and M. baccata trees were planted in the National Repository of Apple Germplasm Resources  in 2007. M. zumi, M. sieversii, and M. baccata are genotypes that are characterized as high-resistance, medium-resistance and salt-sensitive, respectively. The seeds of M. zumi, M. sieversii, and M. baccata were collected in the autumn of 2019 and were laminated for 60 days at 4 \u00b0C starting in late January of 2020. After germination, seeds were sown in a seedling tray in April and transplanted into plastic pots in June. One seedling was planted per pot.All experiments took place in a greenhouse. During the experiments, the average temperature was approximately 28 \u00b0C. The lowest temperature was approximately 16 \u00b0C and the highest temperature was 33 \u00b0C. The relative air humidity was 50\u201360%. A total of 200 seedlings that exhibited uniform growth, were 1 year old, and were approximately 30 cm tall were selected from each species, with 50 seedlings per group. Four groups were irrigated with either 0, 0.20%, 0.40%, or 0.60% NaCl solution, respectively, three times from 10 to 17 July 2020. Samples of roots and leaves were collected at 0, 4, 8, and 12 days after the last round of irrigation for each group. Leaves or roots of three plants were mixed for each group as one replicate with three replicates per group. The samples were rinsed with tap water to remove the soil and other surface debris and then washed with distilled water. All the samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at \u221280 \u00b0C.2\u2212) is produced by the xanthine and xanthine oxidase reaction system. O2\u2212 reduces nitroblue tetrazole to generate blue formazan, for which the maximum absorption peak is 560 nm. SOD scavenges O2\u2212, which results in formazan being inhibited. The more blue the reaction liquid, the lower the SOD activity. The experimental steps used were those described in the kit instructions . A total of 1 mL of blank tube solution and measuring tube solution was absorbed into a glass colorimetric dish, and the absorbance value at 560 nm was recorded as Ab560 for the blank tube and Am560 for the measuring tube.The nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) method was used to determine the SOD activity . The sup2O2 and has a characteristic light absorption at 470 nm. The experimental steps used were those described in the kit instructions . A total of 1 mL of supernatant was added into a glass colorimetric dish; the absorbance value at 470 nm was recorded as Ab470, and the value 1 min later was recorded as Al470.The guaiacol method was used to determine the POD activity . POD cat2O2 has a characteristic absorption peak at 240 nm, and CAT can decompose H2O2, so the absorbance of the reaction solution at 240 nm decreased with the reaction time. CAT activity could then be calculated according to the change rate of the absorbance. The experimental steps used were those described in the kit instructions . The absorbance value at 240 nm was recorded as Ab240, and the value 1min later was recorded as Al240.The ultraviolet absorption method was utilized to determine the CAT activity . H2O2 hawww.cominbio.com, accessed on 15 May 2020). A total of 1 mL of upper solution was absorbed into a glass colorimetric dish; the absorbance values at 532 and 600 nm were recorded as A532 and A600, respectively.The thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method was applied to measure the MDA content. MDA combined with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) to produce a red product with a maximum absorption peak at 532 nm. The content of lipid peroxide in the sample could be estimated after colorimetry; the MDA content was calculated as the difference between the absorbance values at 532 and 600 nm. The experimental steps used were those described in the kit instructions . The absorbance values of a blank tube, standard tube, and measuring tube at 562 nm was recorded as Ab562 for the blank tube, As562 for the standard tube, and Am562 for measuring tube.The bicinchoninc acid (BCA) method was performed to determine the SP content. Under alkaline conditions, cysteine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and peptide bonds in proteins can reduce Cuwww.cominbio.com, accessed on 15 May 2020). The absorbance value was recorded as A520 at 520 nm.The sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) method was used to determine the PRO content. PRO was extracted with sulfosalicylic acid and reacted with an acidic ninhydrin solution to produce a red color after heating. The absorbance value was measured at 520 nm after extraction with methylbenzene. The experimental steps were those described in the kit instructions . The absorbance values at 663 and 645 nm were determined and were denoted as A663 and A645, respectively.Determination of the CHLa and CHLb content was performed according to the experimental steps described in the kit instructions  using SPSS 19. The significant difference level, which was calculated using Tukey\u2019s test, was used to compare the differences among treatments and the control. The PCA was conducted using Origin 2019b software.Malus species increased at first and then decreased in the leaves in the 0.20%, 0.40% and 0.60% NaCl treatment groups (M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi, respectively, in the 0.60% NaCl treatment group compared with the control treatment; moreover, the POD activity increased by 66.63%, 208.01%, and 164.22%, respectively; and the CAT activity increased by 250.68%, 86.67%, and 128.73%, respectively. POD increased the most for M. baccata, while SOD and CAT increased the most for M. sieversii. The increase in the SOD, POD, and CAT activities fell in the midrange for M. zumi. After 12 days of treatment, there was little difference between treatments and the control in terms of SOD, POD, and CAT activities in M. zumi and POD activity in M. sieversii, but the SOD, POD, and CAT activities remained obviously higher in M. baccata than in the control.The SOD, POD, and CAT activities of the three t groups . The actMalus species (M. zumi. The times of peak occurrence were different, reaching a peak on the fourth day after NaCl treatment for M. zumi and M. sieversii and on the eighth day after NaCl treatment for M. baccata. At the time of peak MDA content for the 0.60% NaCl treatment group, the MDA content in M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi increased by 27.66%, 28.64%, and 18.17%, respectively, compared with the control treatment. After 12 days of treatment, there was little difference between treatments and the control for the three species, but M. zumi had an overall lower MDA content than the other two species both in the treatments and in the control.For all the NaCl treatments, the MDA content increased at first and then decreased in the three  species . The MDAMalus species (M. sieversii. The peak time was different for SP and PRO, with the former peaking on the fourth day after NaCl treatments and the latter on the eighth day after NaCl treatments. With the increasing NaCl concentration, the SP and PRO contents in the 0.20% NaCl treatment group and the control for the three Malus species was lower than in the 0.40% and 0.60% groups. Compared with the control treatment, in M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi subjected to 0.60% NaCl treatments, the content of SP increased by 76.58%, 38.26%, and 71.68%, respectively; and the content of PRO increased by 22.95%, 47.45%, and 61.07%, respectively, when considering their values at peak. After 12 days of treatment, there was little difference between treatments and the control for SP and PRO in the three species except for the SP content in M. baccata, which was slightly higher in the treatments than in the control.The contents of SP and PRO increased at first and then decreased in all NaCl treatments for the three  species . The SP Malus species decreased with prolongation of the NaCl treatment (M. baccata, and there was no significant difference between treatments and control for M. zumi except on the twelfth day after NaCl treatment. Moreover, the CHLa and CHLb contents were lower in the 0.60% NaCl treatment groups than in the control for M. sieversii. In addition, after 12 days of NaCl treatment, the CHLa and CHLb contents were obviously higher in the control than in the treatments used for the three species.Increasing the salinity concentration reduced the measured values of traits related to photosynthesis. The CHLa and CHLb content in the three reatment . The valMalus species (M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi, respectively, compared with the control treatment; the POD activity increased by 243.32%, 1206.89%, and 285.30%, respectively; and the CAT activity increased by 409.05%, 49.98%, and 13.17%, respectively. After 12 days of treatment, there was little difference between treatments and the control for SOD in M. zumi or CAT in M. baccata, but the activity of POD remained higher than the control in the three species.During the treatment periods, the SOD, POD, and CAT activities exhibited a similar trend in the roots as in leaves for the three  species . With thMalus species (M. sieversii and M. baccata, but there was no significant difference among treatments for M. zumi. At the time of peak in the 0.60% NaCl treatment group, the MDA content in M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi increased by 20.59%, 48.54%, and 34.77%, respectively, compared with the control. After 12 days of NaCl treatments, the MDA content tended to normal levels in M. zumi but were still higher in the treatments than in the control in M. sieversii and M. baccata.The MDA content exhibited a similar trend in the leaves as in the roots for the three  species . With thMalus species (M. zumi but on the eighth day after NaCl treatment for M. sieversii and M. baccata. With the increasing NaCl concentration, the SP and PRO contents were lower in the 0.20% NaCl treatment group and the control than in the 0.40% and 0.60% groups for the three Malus species. Considering the peak SP and PRO contents in the 0.60% NaCl treatment group, the SP content increased by 40.22%, 46.32%, and 40.17% for M. sieversii, M. baccata, and M. zumi, respectively; and the PRO content increased by 34.03%, 52.26%, and 29.75%, respectively, compared with the control treatment. After 12 days of treatment, there was little difference between the treatments and control for SP and PRO in M. zumi and M. sieversii, while they remained higher in treatments than in the control in M. baccata.The SP and PRO contents increased at first and then decreased in the three  species . The SP The mean values of the physiological parameters were compared between the treatments and control , and sigThe PCA, which included all physiological parameters from both the leaves and roots, showed that there was a significant difference between these tissues . PrincipM. baccata could be distinguished from other Malus species by PC2, which mainly presented CHLa and CHLb and had lower CHLa and CHLb contents. The other two species could not be distinguished by the PCA of the leaves. A PCA using the physiological parameters of the roots was applied (M. zumi and M. sieversii could be distinguished by PC2, which mainly presented POD, PRO, and CAT; M. sieversii had higher values for these parameters, while M. baccata could not be distinguished from the other two Malus species based on the comparison of roots.A PCA using the physiological parameters of the leaves was performed . PC1 and applied . PC1 andM. zumi and M. sieversii had a lower MDA content than M. baccata in the NaCl treatment groups. This was possibly due to the higher SOD and CAT activities of M. zumi and M. sieversii. Moreover, the SOD, POD, and CAT activities were the highest in both the leaves and roots of M. sieversii in the control. In addition, M. baccata had the lowest SOD and CAT activities in the roots and the lowest POD activity in the leaves. The formation and elimination of ROS were in dynamic equilibrium under normal conditions in the plants. The SOD, POD, and CAT activities exhibited the ability to resist adversity without stress [M. zumi is highly resistant to salt stress, but the enzyme activity in this species was not the highest. Aside from enzymatic antioxidants, non-enzymatic antioxidants also helped to scavenge these indigenously generated ROS [M. zumi and M. sieversii had a higher PRO content in leaves of the control and that there was no significant difference in the root PRO content of the three species. It was interesting that M. baccata had the higher SP content in roots. The high content of osmotic substances in roots helped the plants to cope with water absorption disorders caused by salt stress. We therefore concluded that both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants played a major role in determining the medium resistance of M. sieversii due to its high activity of CAT in the leaves and roots and the content of SP in the leaves. We speculated that there were other endogenous substances that could bear primary responsibility for the high salt resistance of M. zumi due to its low contents of SP and PRO. Hannachi et al. [Salt ions cause little damage to the cell membranes of highly resistant varieties, and the MDA production is reduced. For the medium-resistance varieties, MDA causes damage to membranes via lipid peroxidation, which leads to the formation of ROS; however, they are able to protect cells from further oxidative damage via their own enzymatic defense systems . The rest stress ,37,38. Mated ROS . The prei et al.  confirmei et al. ,42.M. zumi, M. sieversii, and M. baccata increased after NaCl treatments, reaching a peak on the fourth day in most cases. The SOD, POD, and CAT activities increased in order to rapidly scavenge ROS under salt stress [M. baccata increased the most in the both leaves and roots after 4 days of NaCl treatments compared with the control; moreover, the SOD and CAT in M. sieversii increased the most in the leaves, and the SOD in M. zumi increased the most in the roots. Regarding osmotic regulation, M. baccata exhibited a significant increase in the proportions of SP and PRO in the roots. This indicated that M. baccata was sensitive to salt stress, and thus higher levels of SOD, POD, and CAT activities were needed to overcome the salt injury. The MDA content in M. baccata remained high after 12 days of treatment, by which point the enzyme activities and MDA content in M. zumi had returned to a normal level. ROS were continuously produced under salt stress, but the damage could be mitigated if they were eliminated in time [M. zumi had a stronger recovery capability than M. baccata.Salt damage was mitigated if a plant developed a series of responses to alleviate the associated stress ,44,45. It stress . The inc in time . It was M. baccata in the different NaCl treatment groups over the same period. When comparing the different NaCl treatments, there was an obvious increase in the leaves of SOD and CAT for M. sieversii and in POD and PRO for M. zumi and M. baccata. In addition, SOD for M. zumi, POD and CAT for M. sieversii and M. baccata, and SP and PRO for M. baccata exhibited a significant increase in the roots. In a previous study on Chinese cabbage, the MDA content was shown to continually increase with the increase in the NaCl concentration [Malus plants, whereas the content in salt-sensitive species continued to increase significantly under a high salt concentration [M. baccata suffered a more serious injury than the other species under the same NaCl treatments. This was mainly due to the lower CAT and SOD activities in both the roots and leaves under these treatments and to the lower SP content in the roots, although the activities of the aforementioned enzymes were high in the control. In addition, PRO accumulation occurred in both the leaves and roots of all three species when subjected to NaCl treatments, which supported the hypothesis that PRO accumulation was a symptom of salt damage and could be an indicator of resistance to salt in the Malus species.The SOD, POD, and CAT activities and the MDA, SP, and PRO contents increased with the increase in the NaCl concentration. Moreover, there was a greater accumulation of MDA for ntration . In addintration , and redntration . Variousntration ,50,51,52ntration ,54,55. IM. zumi and M. sieversii, while a significant difference between all NaCl treatments and the control was observed in M. baccata. Chlorophyll was suppressed with an increase in salinity [M. baccata.Chlorophyll content is one of the most important indexes of photosynthesis. In this study, the CHLa and CHLb contents were slightly lower in the NaCl treatments than in the control for salinity ,57. Othesalinity . The resMalus species. The SP and PRO contents were higher in the leaves than in the roots, but no significant differences in CAT were observed. Salt damage was directly harmful to plant roots, but the increasing proportion of MDA in the leaves was higher than in the roots in the three species for almost all periods of treatment. Both the leaves and roots responded to salt stress in plants. In a previous study, it was noted that root growth was positively correlated with aboveground growth and that the changes in physiological parameters of the leaves and roots varied for different Malus species [Malus plants, and the degree of damage under salt treatment was more serious to the leaves than the roots. Based on the PCA, we concluded that SOD and POD activities and CHLa and CHLb contents were the main factors that differentiated between the roots and leaves of Malus species under salt stress. Moreover, M. zumi and M. baccata were distinguished by POD, PRO, and CAT in the roots or MDA, SOD, and SP in the roots. M. baccata could be distinguished from M. zumi and M. sieversii by the CHLa, CHLb, and PRO contents in leaves.The main substances for scavenging ROS are different under salt stress in different plants. Responses to salt stress even differed in different tissues within the same plant. The SOD and POD activities were higher in the roots than in the leaves of the three  species . We obtaM. zumi was mainly due to the high SOD and POD activities under salt stress, while there were other substances that also may have played a major role in the salt stress response. Osmotic regulation was shown to play a greater role in the response to salt stress than enzymatic antioxidants in M. baccata, and both enzymatic antioxidants and osmotic regulation made a significant contribution to salt resistance in M. sieversii.The activity and content of the measured physiological parameters were higher in the 0.40% and 0.60% NaCl treatment groups than in the 0.20% group and the control. The SOD and POD activities were higher in the roots than in the leaves; while the MDA, SP, and PRO contents were higher in the leaves than in the roots. The resistance to salt stress of"}
+{"text": "This article is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin (1902\u20131988), an outstanding Soviet psychologist, the author of an original psychological concept and scientific school, and an organizer of psychological science.To reconstruct the main stages of the scientific biography of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin.The paper demonstrates the internal logic of P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s developing scientific views in creating the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts, which analyzes the process of formation of the main components of mental activity and develops a system of conditions for transforming an objective action into a psychological phenomenon.This biography is based on Galperin\u2019s publications and speeches, memoirs of associates and family members, and numerous archival materials.All the periods of Galperin\u2019s life are presented, reflecting his participation, starting from the mid-1920s, in scientific and scientific-practical events. Particular attention is paid to Galperin\u2019s work at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU): 55 years of Galperin\u2019s professional and personal life (from 1943 until his death in 1988) were associated with the Philosophy Faculty, and then with the Psychology Faculty.The importance of preserving P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s scientific legacy is shown and steps taken in this direction are indicated. The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.W. JamesThis year, 2022, marks the 120-year jubilee of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin  and the 70th anniversary of the first official mention of a new psychological approach, the orienting function of the psyche as a subject of psychological research. These anniversaries are a worthy occasion to look at Galperin\u2019s scientific legacy, to recognize his philosophical and psychological ideas and their subsequent influence on science and practice, as well as the facts of his scientific biography, which reflects milestones in the development of Soviet psychological thought.Voprosy psikhologii [Questions of Psychology] titled \u201cA word about a Teacher\u201d: he acknowledged with regret that a scientific biography of P.Ya. Galperin had not yet been written. Zinchenko noted: \u201cI cannot claim to describe it, since I was not his direct student, although I consider him my teacher\u201d , which has gone through two editions. Information about the stages of Galperin\u2019s creative work can be found in articles by L.I. A brief essay about Galperin, titled \u201cA teacher from the galaxy of sages,\u201d was written by L.F. Obukhova for the book Stages of the road traveled, wrote that \u201cin this book there is no hero with exceptional abilities; there is neither specific talent nor tragedy. But there is an atmosphere of real life\u2026\u201d   , p. 8. TIt is this approach that seems the most productive, and it formed the basis of P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s scientific biography.P.Ya. Galperin was born on October 2 (new style), 1902 in Tambov. His father, Iakov Abramovich Galperin, was a district doctor at that time, and later became a well-known neurosurgeon and otolaryngologist. In 1911, the family moved to Kharkov, where his father taught at the Medical Institute and in 1930 became a professor in the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department; he died in 1937 . P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s daughter Sof \u2019ia Petrovna wrote in her memoirs that Piotr Yakovlevich tried all his life to imitate his father, and for years developed the habit of restraining himself and making compromises.His mother, Sof \u2019ia Moiseevna Galperina (n\u00e9e Margulis), was a housewife; she died in 1917. After their mother\u2019s death, there were three children left in the family: two sons  and a daughter . Anna Ivanovna, an employee of Ia.A. Galperin, became their stepmother; she treated the children as if they were her own, but herself bore no children. Anna Ivanovna outlived her husband and died in 1961; she was buried in Kharkov next to Iakov Abramovich Galperin.Introduction to psychology: \u201cTo my dear friend, my wife, Tamara Izrailevna Meerzon.\u201d In the gymnasium there were various groups for the study of socio-political and social sciences. Galperin attended a philosophical group led by Professor Stolpner, a translator of Hegel\u2019s works into Russian. We can assume that this had an impact on the formation of the professional views and attitudes of the future psychologist.P.Ya. Galperin attended the classical gymnasium of the Society of Working Women in Kharkov, at which boys and girls were taught together. One of Galperin\u2019s classmates was Tamara Izrailevna Meerzon, who later became his wife. He dedicated to her his only book published during his lifetime, Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Psychologie . These studies were not continued, but they contributed to the development of his interest in experimental research.On the emphatic recommendation of his father, who advised him not to choose philosophy or psychology for his profession, P.Ya. Galperin followed his father\u2019s example and from 1921 to 1926 studied at the Kharkov Medical Institute, specializing in psychoneurology. In 1924, while a student, he began scientific work at the Department of Nervous Diseases. Under the influence of Professor K.I. Platonov, who used hypnosis to treat neuroses and instead of anesthesia during operations, Gal-perin began to study the effect of hypnosis on digestive leukocytes. The results of the study formed the basis of Galperin\u2019s first scientific publication (with P.P. Istomin) in 1926 in the Ukrainian Treatment of drug addictions and wrote a preface to it, \u201cOutpatient treatment of alcoholics,\u201d which described the organic aspect of drug addiction , and then joined the Leontiev group. The Kharkov psychologists and graduate students of the Pedagogical Institute and the Research Institute of Pedagogy began to group around Leontiev, and thus the famous Kharkov School of Psychology emerged, with Leontiev as its leader. According to V.P. Zinchenko, there were no ordinary students in this school, and each of the psychologists had their own role to play: A.N. Leontiev \u2014 the leader, A.V. Zaporozhets \u2014 the conscience, A.R. Luria \u2014 the genius, D.B. El\u2019konin \u2014 a scientific temperament, P.Ya. Galperin \u2014 the teacher. V.P. Zinchenko recalls that people went to Galperin to ask for advice in difficult situations: \u201cPiotr Yakovlevich was \u2026 recognized as a teacher. L.I. Bozhovich, A.V. Zaporozhets, P.I. Zinchenko, D.B. El\u2019konin, and many others \u2026 said that it was necessary to go consult with the teacher\u2026. The next generations also went to him. \u2026 It is hardly necessary to say that Piotr Yakovlevich did not always approve of what he heard. But he was an excellent listener. When, after his sometimes harsh, but kindly and ironically expressed criticism, I went to my immediate teacher A.V. Zaporozhets, discouraged; he consoled me with a smile, saying that he also rarely got to hear compliments from Piotr Yakovlevich\u201d , p. 90.In Galperin\u2019s personal papers there is a document indicating that, at least until February 1936, he remained an associate professor of psychology at the Kharkov Pedagogical Institute. After 1936, Galperin recalls, the Psychology Department was significantly cut back, and he had to transfer to the psychiatric clinic at the Department of Chronic Diseases. From the middle of 1936 until the war began, Galperin was mainly engaged in psychiatry, that is, he worked in his acquired specialty.Galperin was also actively engaged in teaching in those years. In his autobiography, he writes that his teaching career is officially counted from January 1933, when he began teaching dialectical and historical materialism at the Personnel Institute of the Psychoneurological Academy. He recalls that throughout his life, he paid great attention to teaching, since communication with students contributed to the formation of his own scientific worldview.In the mid-\u201930s. Galperin began writing his candidate dissertation on the difference between tools used by humans and animals, and defended it on December 9, 1936 before the Medical Scientific Council of the Psychoneurological Institute. This research was performed under the instruction of the Psychology Department of the Ukrainian Psychoneurological Academy to study \u201cthe development of thinking, speech, and practical activity in their interconnection and relationship to other psychological functions at different developmental levels\u2026\u201d , p. 34.2 and Professor M.S. Lebedinskii.3Preserved in Galperin\u2019s personal archive is a version of the dissertation entitled \u201cThe difference between human tools and auxiliary aids of animals \u201d; the work is 87 printed pages with illustrations. The title page says: Ukrainian Psychoneurological Academy \u2014 President Prof. L.L. Rokhlin, Institute of Experimental Psychoneurology \u2014 Directorate: Dr. Z.Yu. Svetnik and Dr. M.O. Kleiman, Section of the General Theory of Psychology \u2014 head associate professor P.Ya. Galperin. Later Galperin included the dissertation on the list of his scientific works under a different title, \u201cOn the psychological difference between human tools and auxiliary aids of animals.\u201d The official opponents were Professor T.I. IudinThe degree of Candidate of Medical Sciences was awarded by the Higher Attestation Commission only in 1938, since the subject of research chosen by the author was far from medical science. Nevertheless, in 1940 Galperin was confirmed in the academic rank of associate professor in the Department of Pedagogy.Galperin performed an experimental study of the use of tools by humans and auxiliary aids by animals with the objective, first, to determine the difference between manual operations and tool use, and, second, to clarify the sequence and reasons for the development and change of operations. The use of certain objects by animals, Galperin notes, does credit to their mental abilities and shows that their behavior demonstrates reason. \u201cBut this is reason about manual operations; it does not encompass the social usage of objects; it subordinates things to the logic of manual action. It is an instinctive reason \u2026 which is limited to discerning the possibility of a mere extension of the arm\u201d , p. 56. Unfortunately, it must be recognized that this work has not yet received its due appreciation, although an abridged form was included in collections of P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s posthumously published works. According to V.P. Zinchenko, \u201cthis is the first, without exaggeration, cornerstone of activity theory\u201d , p. 122,V.P. Zinchenko asserts that Galperin\u2019s aforementioned studies of children\u2019s tool-mediated activity played an important role in the practical activities of psychologists to restore the movement of those wounded during the Great Patriotic War.During the war, the Kharkov (Ukrainian) Psychoneurological Institute was turned into a psychoneurological hospital and was evacuated to Tiumen, where Galperin worked as an intern in the neurosurgical department of the hospital from September 1941 through February 1943. Then Galperin moved to the town of Kaurovka, in Sverdlovsk Oblast, where A.N. Leontiev had created a rehabilitation center for restoring movement after injuries. According to Leontiev\u2019s biographers, those working with him also included A.V. Zaporozhets, S.Ia. Rubinstein, T.O. Ginevskaia, Ia.Z. Neverovich, A.G. Komm, V.S. Merlin, among others. Galperin became the head of the medical unit of the rehabilitation hospital. Leontiev\u2019s biography says that he returned from evacuation in the summer of 1943, and Galperin a little later, in October of the same year.From then on, from the end of February 1943 until the end of his life, Galperin was on the staff of Moscow University. His first scientific research at the university was devoted to psychological problems of restoring motor functions after injury.On February 14\u201316, 1943, the joint 11th Session of the Ukrainian Psychoneurological Institute and the Second Conference of Neurosurgeons, Neuropathologists, and Psychiatrists of the Ural Military District was held in Tiumen, on the 25th anniversary of the Red Army and the Navy. Galperin gave a report on \u201cThe experience of constructing a system of meaningful movements in remedial physical therapy.\u201d He noted that the movement of an affected limb toward an objective target is much more effective than movements performed without any purpose.the psychological structure of the task\u201d . This volume included an article by A.N. Leontiev, \u201cPsychological study of movement after hand injury,\u201d which describes the results of work in evacuation hospitals. Leontiev stated that \u201cthe phenomenon of changing the amount of mobility of the affected parts of the hand, depending on the task being performed, was first published by us, by P.Ya. Galperin\u201d (emphasis added \u2014 M.S.)  , p. 92. Restoration of movement. A psychophysiological study of the restoration of hand functions after injury , of human activity, as psychological content, that psychological research should begin (emphasis added \u2013M.S.)   , p. 33.  \u2014 M.S.) , p. 33. Galperin presented his theory for the first time in July 1952 at the All-Union Conference on Psychology convened by the Presidium of the RSFSR Academy of Psychological Sciences . Galperin was not scheduled to give a report, but he spoke during the debate and set forth a fundamentally different understanding of certain issues of psychology. In his view, there are two lines in psychology: one was that proposed by the author of those remarks with a small number of supporters, and the other was that of the Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Psychological Sciences, with a huge number of supporters. \u201cBut \u2026 questions of truth are not decided by voting. Truth reflects objective reality, and reality will show itself and be able to stand up for itself \u201d , p. 99.A year later, in July 1953, Galperin delivered a report on \u201cThe experience of studying the formation of mental actions in schoolchildren\u201d at a Conference on Questions of Psychology. This was the first detailed and comprehensive presentation by Galperin of his approach to psychology; the report was republished not long ago . In 1955Psikhologicheskaia nauka v SSSR, of his foundational article \u201cDevelopment of research on the formation of mental actions\u201d  on programmed learning, and at MGU, by order of the Ministry of Higher Education of the RSFSR, an interdepartmental group was created to work on issues of programmed learning.During those years, Galperin took an active part in meetings of Soviet and foreign psychologists: in 1963 at the Second Congress of the USSR Society of Psychologists held in Leningrad , in 1964 at the 15th International Congress on Applied Psychology , etc.V.P. Zinchenko drew attention to the fact that Galperin, the last of the brilliant galaxy of L.S. Vygotsky\u2019s school, became a doctor of science and a full professor.5 by Associate Professor Galperin Piotr Yakovlevich. Permission was granted.The Academic Council of the Philosophy Faculty of M.V. Lomonosov MGU appealed to the Higher Attestation Commission to allow a defense for the degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences in Psychology based on the set of published works united by the theme \u201cFormation of mental actions and concepts,\u201dThe defense took place on May 28, 1965 at the MGU Philosophy Faculty, and according to the recollections of psychologists and philosophers who were present, it became an \u201cevent\u201d in the scientific life of the university.Galperin treated the defense with a certain irony, and called the \u201creport \u2026 a bureaucratic work, unsuitable for reading, not covering the actual state of affairs and ideas\u201d (from a letter to F.I. Fradkina), and asked \u201cnot to place greater demands on it than it deserves\u201d (from a letter to R.G. Natadze) .The transcript of the meeting of the Academic Council on May 28, 1965 (Protokoly \u2026) is preserved in the MGU archive, which makes it possible to reconstruct the procedure of his defense.In his brief speech, Galperin took up three questions: the psychological structure of human action, psychological mechanisms and laws themselves, and the main method of psychological research.External comments on Galperin\u2019s published work were prepared by the Psychology Department of Zhdanov Leningrad State University (LGU) and signed by the head of the department, B.G. Anan\u2019ev. Then came the remarks of the first official opponent, B.M. Teplov, and the second official opponent, A.A. Smirnov. The last comments were by G.S. Kostyuk, who, like the two previous speakers, had no fundamental criticisms. The main \u201ccriticism\u201d was a complaint that the defense was so late. As V.P. Zinchenko wrote later: \u201cHe was coaxed, shamed, and scolded for a long time by friends and students\u201d , p. 91. In conclusion, it should be said that the results of the secret voting were that out of 16 members of the Academic Council present at the meeting, 12 voted \u201cfor,\u201d three \u201cagainst,\u201d and one ballot was invalid.Galperin\u2019s defense occurred on a memorable day, as Chairman of the Academic Council V.S. Molodtsov said in his speech. It was the same day that the Board of the Ministry of Higher Education decided to create a special Psychology Faculty to replace the Moscow University Psychology Department. Galperin reacted to this event philosophically: on the one hand, he assessed it as very positive, but on the other, with some sadness, since he had assigned a special role to philosophy in the emergence of psychology. Galperin emphasized that he always guided himself by general philosophical methodological problems in psychology, which oriented his work. It should be noted that this idea runs through all of Galperin\u2019s works.6 Sciences (MPD Diploma No. 000076) was awarded to P.Ya. Galperin by Decision of the Higher Attestation Commission of January 22, 1966.The academic degree of Doctor of Pedagogical7 In February 1967, he was transferred from the position of associate professor to that of professor in the same department. By the Decision of the Higher Attestation Commission of July 12, 1967, P.Ya. Galperin was approved as a professor in the Department of General and Applied Psychology.After the formation of the Psychology Faculty in 1966, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Galperin was appointed associate professor in the Department of General and Applied Psychology.In 1966, the 18th International Psychological Congress was held in Moscow, at which Galperin not only delivered a report, \u201cMethod, facts and theories in the psychology of the formation of mental actions and concepts,\u201d but was also a co-organizer from the Soviet side, together with J. Piaget and B. Inelder, of the 24th Symposium on \u201cThe psychology of concept formation and mental actions\u201d (the symposium\u2019s chairman was J. Bruner). The only discussion between J. Piaget and P.Ya. Galperin took place at this symposium. The difference between the scientific approaches of Piaget and Galperin was not only the basis for the discussion, but also a source that contributed to the development of psychological science. It was Piaget who said at the 18th International Psychological Congress, \u201cWe should not be afraid of differences, which encourage us to take the only way to broaden our positions\u201d cit. by , p. 311.In 1968, Galperin participated in the Third Congress of the Society of Psychologists of the USSR, which was held in Kiev (\u201cOn the characteristics of Type III learning\u201d).Galperin attended the 19th International Psychological Congress in London in 1969, giving a report on \u201cLearning and mental development (from age 5 to 8).\u201d He gave a report on the same topic to the Fourth All-Union Congress of Soviet Psychologists in Tbilisi.In November 1970 in Kharkov, on the initiative of the Society of Psychologists of the USSR, the first All-Union Symposium on the Psychology of Memory was held, on \u201cPsychological mechanisms of memory and its patterns in the learning process.\u201d Galperin\u2019s report, \u201cBrief remarks on voluntary and involuntary memory\u201d \u2014 following P.I. Zinchenko (1903-1969), to whom he dedicated his speech \u2014 drew attention to the role of involuntary memorization in life and learning.Starting in September 1970, Galperin was the head of the Child Psychology Department; in March 1971 he was elected officially to the post of head of the department.Voprosy psikhologii. Galperin did not directly participate in the discussion, but archival records have been preserved that shed light on its content.In 1971\u201372, there was a discussion about the subject matter of psychology in the pages of the journal Introduction to psychology, was published in 1976 . A little over ten years before, Galperin\u2019s hypothesis of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions had been criticized, and now his main work suffered the same fate; one has to wonder at and admire the author\u2019s professional courage: neither then, nor years later, did he abandon his ideas.The Introduction was published, since that version had received a great deal of criticism from A.N. Leontiev. \u201cNotes\u201d were written especially for this conversation, page-by-page comments that were included in the volume of A.N. Leontiev\u2019s scientific legacy, Filosofia psikhologii [The philosophy of psychology]. In comments to this volume, A.A. Leontiev and D.A. Leontiev sum it up: \u201cP.Ya. Galperin\u2019s theory of stage-by-stage formation, relying in a number of essential provisions on A.N. Leontiev\u2019s activity approach, in fact was a reduced version of it, which has proven its practical effectiveness in a number of applied fields, but is hardly suitable for the role of a general psychological theory\u201d (emphasis added \u2014 M.S.)  .the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts may and should play in the development of the activity approach\u201d .In June 1975, the All-Union Conference on \u201cTheoretical problems of managing human cognitive activity\u201d took place in Moscow. The discussion was based on reports in a collection published specially for the beginning of the conference. Galperin prepared an article titled \u201cManagement of cognitive activity in terms of perception.\u201dVestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Psikhologiia. Seriia 14 [Bulletin of Moscow University. Psychology. Series 14 (now Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 14. Psikhologia) began appearing. A.N. Leontiev was the editor-in-chief of the journal and P.Ya. Galperin was a member of the editorial board. During Galperin\u2019s lifetime, only one of his articles, \u201cThe current state of the theory of the stage-by-stage formation of mental actions\u201d , was published in the journal  until September 1983.V.P. Zinchenko wrote in his memoirs, \u201cPiotr Yakovlevich ... by nature kept away from leadership, avoided leading positions, ... never tried to qualify for membership in the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences\u201d , p. 91. Voprosy psikhologii in 1987 on the occasion of his 85th birthday.For many years, Galperin had been preparing for publication a work on the relationship between learning and mental development. It was published only in 1985 . A succiP.Ya. Galperin died on March 25, 1988, at the age of 86; his wife, Tamara Izrailevna Meerzon, died six months later. They were buried in Vostriakovskii Cemetery.Galperin lectured throughout all his years at Moscow University, He gave a course on general psychology to future philosophers from the beginning of the 1950s to the beginning of the \u201980s \u2014 more than one generation of psychologists attended these lectures with pleasure and obvious benefit to themselves. True, once \u2014 in the 1970/71 academic year \u2014 he gave a course in general psychology to psychology students.Galperin also held seminars on general psychology for psychologists when the lectures were given by A.N. Leontiev, and as V.P. Zinchenko recalled, \u201cwe were ensured pluralism and dialogue\u201d , p. 91.For many years, Galperin also taught a year-long course in the history of psychology, which was presented as \u201ca drama of ideas and a drama of people.\u201d In the 1968/69 academic year, Galperin handed over this course to A.N. Zhdan.Galperin prepared a special course on \u201cThe formation of cognitive processes\u201d for students and graduate students of the Psychology Faculty, but did not give it every year.It is commonly known that a person is alive as long as memory of him is alive. The words of V.P. Zinchenko ring true: \u201cIt has even become a certainty that psychologists have a memory that is not the weakest of their mental powers. They understand that as long as we remember our teachers, not only they, but also we ourselves, are alive\u201d , p. 61.Among the events of recent years associated with the name of P.Ya. Galperin, the following are particularly worthy of note.8 for the creation of the psychological and pedagogical complex known as \u201cTheory and practice of the formation of mental activity,\u201d given to P.Ya. Galperin (posthumously), N.F. Tal\u2019zina, L.I. Aidarova, I.A. Volodarskaia, I.I. Iliasov, L.F. Obukhova, A.I. Podolskii, Z.A. Reshetova, N.G. Salmina, and N.N. Nechaev.First there was the award of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of education for 1997,Second, an International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of P.Ya. Galperin was held in 2002 at the Psychology Faculty of MGU. The conference, a notable event in scientific life, was attended not only by Galperin\u2019s students and followers from different corners of Russia, but also by foreign colleagues. Similar conferences were timed to coincide with subsequent anniversaries: on the 110th and 115th anniversaries of Galperin\u2019s birth, and a conference is scheduled this year to mark his 120-year jubilee.Third, the P.Ya. Galperin Lecture Hall was opened at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MGPPU) in 2008, on the initiative of L.F. Obukhova, a devoted student and successor in the work of her Teacher. On the 110th anniversary of Galperin\u2019s birth, a lecture hall named after him was also opened at the Psychology Faculty. On the board was written: \u201cLecture hall named after Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin (1902-1988), an outstanding Soviet psychologist, professor at Moscow University.\u201dAnd, finally, Galperin\u2019s works are being republished, and research is continuing on the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts.It is now an urgent task to comprehend P.Ya. Galperin\u2019s legacy, which, without any doubt, is not an achievement of the bygone 20th century, but will be one of the present 21st century."}
+{"text": "Lernanthropus kroyeri (L. kroyeri), to uptake and accumulate heavy metals. We primarily assess the prevalence of the parasite in various seasons and its clinical signs, as well as post-mortem changes in sea bass (Moron labrax). The morphological features of the parasite using a light microscope, the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the tissues of both L. kroyeri and M. labrax  using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, and the histopathological alterations were monitored. Fish (n = 200) were obtained from Ezbet Elborg and examined for the parasite, L. kroyeri. The results revealed that the total infection was recorded at 86%. The infested fish exhibited excessive mucous and ulceration at the site of attachment. The post-mortem lesion in the gills revealed a marbling appearance with destructed filaments. Various heavy metals  were detected in the tissues of L. kroyeri and M. labrax and, surprisingly, L. kroyeri had the ability to uptake and accumulate a high amount of Zn in its tissues. Infested fish accumulated a lower concentration of Zn in their tissue compared with the non-infested ones. Within the host tissue, the accumulation of Zn was higher in the gills compared with the muscles. The histopathological findings demonstrated scattered parasitic elements with the destruction of the gill lamellae. Taken together, we highlight the potential role of L. kroyeri to eliminate Zn and it can be utilized as a bio-indicator for metal monitoring studies for sustaining aquaculture.The present context is a pioneer attempt to verify the ability of copepod,  Recently, parasitic infestations have induced serious hazards, including higher mortalities and diseases, to the freshwater fish in Egypt ,2. ParasPollution with heavy metals or toxic pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem is a global problem, with potential concern as it can negatively affect fish with health-inducing physiological, biochemical, molecular, and histopathological alterations ,9,10. FiHence, parasites, as well as heavy metals, induce serious damage to the biochemical and physiological processes that in turn induce severe impairments to the health and physiology status of fish . Recent L. kroyeri infestation. We addressed the prevalence of the parasite in the different seasons, the clinical signs, and the post-mortem changes. The body surface of L. kroyeri using a light microscope was illustrated, besides the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the tissues of both L. kroyeri and M. labrax. Furthermore, histopathological alterations on the gills and muscles of infected M. labrax were detected.Therefore, the current investigation was carried out to assess the impacts of The protocol of the current study complies with the guidelines and was carried out according to the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986, and the associated guidelines of the EU Directive for Animal Experiments. The experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional Aquatic Animal Care and Use Committee (IAACUC), Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt. Approval Code: IAACUC-KSU-038-2022Moron labrax) fish samples were collected alive or freshly dead from the market of the Ezbet-El Borg area, Damietta Province, Egypt, during the period between March 2019 until February 2020. The collected fish were transported on thick ice polyethylene bags to the laboratory of the Animal Health Research Institute, El-Mansoura Branch, where they were examined immediately.A total number of 200 sea bass . All of the equipment used was calibrated and uncertainties were calculated. Internal and external quality assurance systems were applied in the Central Laboratory of Environmental Studies at Kafr-Elsheikh University according to ISO/IEC 17025 (2005). All of the measurements, blanks, triplicate measurements of elements in the extracts, and analysis of certified reference materials for each metal (Merck) were routinely included for quality control.Tissue specimens were collected from the gills and immediately fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution for at least 24 h, then processed using the conventional paraffin embedding technique. Five-micron sections were prepared and then routinely stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) according to Suvarna et al. , and theL. kroyeri was seen macroscopically as black filaments . The highest infection was recorded during spring (94%), followed by summer (90%) and then autumn (78%), and the lowest infections were recorded in winter (31%), as depicted in One hundred sixty-two out of two hundred examined Mean \u00b1 SEM of heavy metal concentrations in the gills and muscle of both infected and non-infected fish, as well as in parasitic tissue, are illustrated in Various sections from crustacean parasitic elements randomly distributed in the gills were noticed A,B. The Other gill filaments showed compensatory hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the secondary lamellar epithelium, which resulted in their fusion A. The blLernanthropus is the most common genus of parasitic copepods. There are more than 100 species described from the gills of different marine fish [M. labrax with L. kroyeri. These lesions could be attributed to the attachment of the parasites by their rigid claws, feeding activity, severe irritation caused by parasitic movement, and mucous increase as a defense mechanism from the host to overcome the infection, as reported by Abdel-Mawla et al. [ine fish . The cura et al. .L. kroyeri from the gills of M. labrax. Likewise, Toksen et al. [L. kroyeri from the gills of other fish species such as Mugil cephalus and Moolgarda seheli.The present study recorded the isolation of n et al. , Henry en et al. , and Eisn et al.  isolatedn et al.  and Hassn et al.  isolatedL. kroyeri was 81%, concurrent with a previous study by Aneesh et al. [Strongylura strongylura by L. kroyeri. Additionally, Toksen [L. kroyeri in Dicentrarchus labrax. Nevertheless, Manera and Dezfuli [L. kroyeri in D. labrax. Our paper reports that L. kroyeri infection was the highest during spring (94%), followed by summer (90%), then autumn (78%), and finally winter (31%). This sequence is nearly in agreement with Eissa [L. kroyeri reached its maximum rate during spring and summer, while the lowest infection was recorded during autumn. These results were inconsistent with Samak and Said [In the current prospective study, the prevalence of h et al.  that rec, Toksen  reported Dezfuli  obtainedth Eissa , who alsand Said , who repL. kroyeri can absorb Zn from the fish tissue through its alimentary canal and that it accumulates in the parasite tissue, and this finding was verified by analysis of Zn in the parasite tissue. In the same manner, a recent study by Hassanine and Al-Hasawi [Zn is an essential heavy metal with a permissible limit in the fish muscle of 40 mg/kg  or 100 ml-Hasawi  reportedl-Hasawi  suggestel-Hasawi , Sures al-Hasawi , and Mall-Hasawi  considerL. kroyeri were distributed in the gills. Similarly, a recent study by Eissa et al. [L. kroyeri fragments in the gills of D. labrax. The destruction of the secondary lamellar epithelium, goblet cell metaplasia with hemorrhage, and excess mucous secretion could be induced as a tissue reaction to decrease the irritation against the infestation. Concurrent with previous studies, Abdel-Mawla et al. [Considering the histopathological findings, we illustrated sections of a et al.  reporteda et al. , Lester a et al. , Manera a et al. , and Raga et al.  reporteda et al. ,6,51,52.a et al.  reportedL. kroyeri has a negative effect on the infected M. labrax, it also plays an important role in the elimination of heavy metals from the tissue of the infected fish through its ability to accumulate heavy metals in its body, which can be advantageous for the infected hosts, allowing them to tolerate much higher concentrations of certain metals. The present results also confirm that L. kroyeri seems to be a good indicator of environmental pollution. Our investigation concluded that, although L. kroyeri to uptake and accumulate heavy metals (zinc). However, L. kroyeri infests M. labrax with a high prevalence in spring and summer and demonstrates excessive mucous secretion, ulceration, marbling appearance of gills, and various histopathological changes in the gills of the infested fish. By detecting various heavy metals  in the tissues of L. kroyeri and M. labrax, surprisingly, L. kroyeri was found to uptake the highest concentration of Zn in its tissues. Conclusively, the parasitic infestation is an eco-friendly method to uptake heavy metals, and L. kroyeri can be utilized as a natural antitoxic agent, as well as be considered a bio-indicator of toxicity with heavy metals and to lessen the hazardous impact on the aquatic environment for sustaining aquaculture. Future studies are needed to test the activity of other parasites to chelate heavy metals, as well as studies on various fish species.To date, our perspective study represents a premier work to report on the efficacy of"}
+{"text": "Pyrops watanabei is a lanternfly species native to Taiwan, and the adults are frequently on Triadica sebifera in summer. Compared to adult longevity, the developmental duration of immature stages from eggs to adult emergence is much longer. Although few records exist, the plants preferred by the immature stages had not been determined prior to this study. Thus, a one-year investigation was conducted to verify the oviposition site preference, determine the plants preferred by nymphs, and examine the change of host ranges with time and development. We establish that Heptapleurum heptaphyllum is not only the preferred egg-laying site, but the main host plant for nymphs from September to the next April, according to our investigations in northern Taiwan. Moreover, the preferred host plant for the nymphs shifts to Triadica sebifera from May onwards to adult emergence. Pyrops watanabei is a species native to Taiwan, many fundamental aspects of the species are still poorly documented. Populations of the lanternfly in locations of northern Taiwan were found in abundance and were suitable for the conduction of an investigation from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. We established the shift in the main host plants with different developmental stages. The occurrence of immature individuals on Heptapleurum heptaphyllum increased with age from eggs to nymphs in the third instar; however, it declined from the fourth instar onwards due to a shift in preference to Triadica sebifera. In 2021, the earliest detection of an egg mass was on 1 July. More eggs were recorded in August, and some could be found in September and October of the same year. In 2022, we found an egg mass on 28 June. In August 2021, nymphs in the first and second instars were detected. Then, nymphs in the third and fourth instars appeared after September and October 2021, respectively. Furthermore, nymphs in the fifth instar were sighted as late as March 2022. Finally, this study will provide a basis for further evaluation of the impact of invasion of Pyrops candelaria on the ecology of Pyrops watanabei. Although  Pyrops watanabei was listed as a protected species in 1989 and was removed from the list in 2009 [Triadica sebifera and sometimes on Triadica cochinchinensis in summer [P. watanabei have mainly been on the taxonomy [P. watanabei without a description of their host plants [T. sebifera and the other on an undetermined host. Only some records on the plants used for laying eggs have been reported [In Taiwan,  in 2009 . The adun summer ,4. Only n summer ,4, so thtaxonomy ,5 or ecotaxonomy ,4 of itst plants  reportedP. candelaria, whereas T. sebifera is most preferred by its nymphs [T. sebifera and T. cochinchinensis probably serve as the main developing hosts for the immature stages of P. watanabei. Furthermore, knowledge of host plants for immature stages may be conducive to explaining why some locations, e.g., green areas in cities or wetlands, are rich in T. sebifera, but with only scarce P. watanabei.Our recent results revealed that the longan is the key host for adults of another lanternfly, s nymphs . TherefoP. candelaria, since 2018 [T. sebifera may complicate the decision of a control strategy for the latter species. In this article, we attempt to verify the differences in occurrences and habitats between these two lanternfly species for the application of possible control measures on the same target tree species. The populations of this native species, mainly distributed in northern Taiwan ,4, have nce 2018 ,7. MoreoPyrops watanabei were observed on Triadica sebifera or Triadica cochinchinensis, and we could find eggs and nymphs in the nearby areas. Detailed profiles of these study sites are listed in Investigations were conducted in the cities Taoyuan, New Taipei, and Taipei in northern Taiwan from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. Study sites were chosen because abundant adults of http://taibnet.sinica.edu.tw/ (accessed on 11 August 2022) maintained by the Center for Digital Cultures and Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan [Pyrops candelaria, usually covered by a film of white wax, the unhatched egg mass of Pyrops watanabei is always completely covered by thick layers of white wax . A telescope  was used while the targets were high on the trees.Investigations were conducted at least twice every week, and the first egg mass was detected on 1 July 2021. The plant species and inanimate objects were recorded on which immature individuals were detected. For the scientific names of the species and family of plants used in this study, we referred to the Catalogue of Life in Taiwan, a website , Taiwan . Moreovehite wax . Furtherhite wax . In Junehite wax . TherefoHeptapleurum heptaphyllum, Acacia confusa, and Machilus thunbergii, respectively. Only 6.5% and 2.2% of the egg masses were recorded on Triadica sebifera and Triadica cochinchinensis. Two egg masses were detected on longan trees, Dimocarpus longan. An egg mass was found on Juniperus chinensis, belonging to Gymnosperm. Only 7.5% of the egg masses were recorded on shrubs, belonging to seven species: Psychotria rubra, Murraya exotica, Ilex asprella, Clerodendrum cyrtophyllum, Magnolia coco, Duranta erecta, and Lantana camara. No egg masses were recorded on any herbaceous plants  and the litchi stink bugs, Tessaratoma papillosa [P. watanabei and P. candelaria, the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, has growing preferences for one of its host plants, Ailanthus altissima, with developmental stages [L. delicatula survives the winter as eggs from September to the next May in countries with a colder climate [This is the first report indicating that t Taiwan ,10, is tsebifera , H. heptvergreen  and coul markets . Compareapillosa . It is sl stages . However climate .T. sebifera rather than H. heptaphyllum, especially from May onwards. Although we frequently detected adults\u2014especially the newly emerged, pink ones yet incapable of flight\u2014on T. sebifera and T. cochinchinensis, no adult was observed on any H. heptaphyllum . Therefore, we assume that in March, nymphs begin to gradually leave H. heptaphyllum for T. sebifera; in spring, the occurrence of nymphs is increasingly higher monthly, while more new branches and leaves grow on the latter, deciduous host plant. Finally, adult emergence is more likely to take place on T. sebifera in summer from late May to early July. Therefore, according to Constant and Pham (2017) [T. sebifera was in June, and observations of many adults were made in August on the same plant species. In this study, we found that the host plant preference of the final nymphal stage is different from those of younger ones. Most of the nymphs in the fifth instar were recorded on m (2017) , the recPyrops watanabei lays eggs approximately one month after feeding on T. sebifera [T. sebifera already in bloom, and the plant is probably rich in nutrients to later grow fruits with seeds enclosed in a wax-like substance, utilized in the past for the production of traditional vegetable tallow [Pyrops watanabei, the species-specific criteria of plants for oviposition may not be more important than the general site criteria. Therefore, it is similar to the result of the previous study [Pyrops candelaria, wherein egg masses were usually detected on smooth surfaces of tree trunks or non-living objects, such as dead trees, cement pots, cement pillars, and rocks . Another lanternfly, L. delicatula, also has potential to lay eggs on a wide range of non-plant materials with smooth surfaces [In summer, sebifera . During e tallow . In Pyrous study  on Pyropsurfaces .H. heptaphyllum, all plants with egg masses or nymphs of P. watanabei were close to T. sebifera or T. cochinchinensis. These two Triadica species are the key host plants for adults. According to the investigation by Lin et al. (1958) [T. sebifera originated from China [T. cochinchinensis is native to Taiwan and distributed in mountains at low to medium altitudes (up to 1000 m) [P. watanabei have expanded their host plant preference from T. cochinchinensis to the later introduced T. sebifera still needs more research to address. However, the younger instars may stick to the native plant, H. heptaphyllum, as a main developing host plant and a shelter for overwintering. Recent investigations [H. heptaphyllum and T. sebifera is as frequent there as it is in northern Taiwan. We found that although >65% of nymphs were recorded on . 1958) , T. sebiom China ,18 a hun 1000 m) ,18,19. W58 , T. sigations ,4 indicaP. watanabei were detected, and from 14 August to the end of September, less than 2.5% of nymphs were recorded on T. sebifera. This may be a window of opportunity in which to remove as many nymphs of P. candelaria as possible before they emerge as adults with a minimal risk of disturbance to the native P. watanabei. Although T. sebifera is the key host plant, the habitats of these two lanternfly species differ. The native lanternfly has a tendency of distribution on hills with relatively few human dwellings, while the invasive one prefers lowlands, the foot of hills, and parks or graveyards on hillsides with much openness and human disturbance . Therefore, to protect P. watanabei and for efficiency, we suggest avoiding control measures for P. candelaria on hills.Based on this study, from 4 July to 13 August 2021, no nymphs of Pyrops watanabei thrives in the hills with abundant populations of both Heptapleurum heptaphyllum and Tricadica sebifera or Tricadica cochinchinensis. Some areas, for example, lowlands and wetlands, that were rich in T. sebifera, but with no or scarce adults of P. watanabei, were probably because these habitats have scarce H. heptaphyllum and are not suitable for the nymphs. Thus, the results of this study shed light on the mystery of the insect\u2019s life cycle. In July, the numbers of adult lanternflies began to decline on T. sebifera or T. cochinchinensis, because in August, we could find egg masses on many different plants near the above-mentioned two Tricadica species. After hatching, the host preferences towards H. heptaphyllum were increasingly stronger with time and also in later developmental stages. From September to November, most of the nymphs in the younger three instars could be found on H. heptaphyllum. Then, during the winter months from December to the next January, evergreen H. heptaphyllum around florescence may have served as a shelter for the nymphs in the second, third, and fourth instars. Later, in spring from March to May, increasingly more new branches and leaves of deciduous T. sebifera grew, and the older, fourth and fifth instars tended to leave H. heptaphyllum to congregate on T. sebifera. In June, several adults appeared on the same tree of T. sebifera with nymphs waiting for emergence. Finally, in terms of application, to avoid removing nymphs of P. watanabei by mistake, we suggest that possible measures to control nymphs of invasive P. candelaria can be taken from the middle of July to the end of September on trunks of T. sebifera in lowlands and parks or graveyards on hillsides. We established that"}
+{"text": "Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli were investigated. Bacteriostatic circle, antibacterial rate, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of LSL on different pathogenic bacteria were measured. Then, the antibacterial mechanisms of LSL on S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were explored using ultrastructural observation, cell membrane permeability analysis, intracellular ATP content determination, and extracellular UV absorption detection. With the minimum MIC and MBC values of 0.05 and 0.20 mg/ml, LSL exhibited the best inhibitory effect against S. aureus, followed by P. aeruginosa. LSL showed no significant inhibitory effect on E. coli and Lactobacillus sp. For both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, LSL achieved bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects by destroying the cell wall, increasing the permeability of the cell membrane and leading to the flow out of intracellular contents. However, the action mode and action intensity of LSL on the cell wall and membrane of these two bacteria were significantly different. LSL had a greater influence on the cell membrane of S. aureus by \u201cleaking,\u201d while it exhibited a stronger effect on the cell wall of P. aeruginosa by \u201cblasting.\u201d These results contributed to a better understanding of the relationship between LSL and different bacterial cell structures, further suggesting the conclusion that LSL might be used for the targeted treatment of special pathogenic bacteria.Crude sophorolipids (SLs) have been proven to perform varying degrees of inhibitory effects on different pathogenic bacteria. However, systematic comparative studies of pure lactonic sophorolipid (LSL) among different types of bacteria are few. In this study, the antibacterial effects and mechanisms of LSL on pathogenic bacteria of  Candida, are considered the most promising type of biosurfactant. Nowadays, SLs have attracted global attention due to their good surface activity, excellent bactericidal and antifungal properties, biocompatibility, and low toxicity (Sophorolipids (SLs), mainly produced by different species of toxicity . Generaltoxicity . Structutoxicity . Functiotoxicity .Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas putida. With a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.56 mg/ml, SLs exhibited the most remarkable inhibitory effect on S. aureus. It was also reported that SLs obtained from soybean oil refinery residue and glutamic acid could inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli. When the concentration of SLs was 0.012 mg/ml, the growth inhibition rates of SLs against S. aureus and E. coli were 15 and 5%, respectively  and preserved at -70\u00b0C in our laboratory. Before use, these strains were activated in LB liquid medium to exponential phase at 37\u00b0C and 220 rpm.Starmerella bombicola CGMCC 1576 with glucose and oleic acid as carbon sources. LSL, with a purity of 95%, was obtained by further separation and purification according to the method reported earlier , four pathogenic bacteria were inoculated into LB liquid media, respectively. Inhibition zone diameter was measured using the Oxford-cup method with minor modifications . Briefly7 CFU/ml was incubated in the above flask at an inoculum dose of 2% (v/v) and cultivated for 24 h at 37\u00b0C. The medium without LSL addition was used as a blank control. Samples were taken at different times, and the OD values were determined at 600 nm  for observation.The fluorescent probes of carboxyfluorescein diacetate [5(6)-Cfda] and propidium iodide (PI)  were used to distinguish live cells from dead cells . First, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were prepared in the same method as described above for the SEM observation. During the cultivation period, two samples were taken at each time point. One was centrifuged to collect bacterial pellet for intracellular ATP content measurement according to the instructions of the ATP assay kit , and the other was centrifuged and the supernatant was retained for the following determination of extracellular ultraviolet absorption substances.Bacterial suspensions of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa prepared above were used for drawing the variation curve of extracellular ultraviolet absorbing substances  to determine differences among strains and LSL treatment or not. The statistical program GraphPad Prism 8.0 was employed for statistical analysis and graph drawing.S. aureus and Lactobacillus sp., and gram-negative bacteria of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The size of the inhibition zone produced by LSL against different pathogenic bacteria was significantly different . The reason lies in the fact that the destructive and leaking effects of LSL were weaker than the growth ability of S. aureus. Hence, the total intracellular ATP content was still rising. With the prolongation of LSL treatment time (1\u20134 h), the destructive and leaking effect of LSL on S. aureus gradually exceeded the growth rate of the bacteria, so the intracellular ATP content exhibited a downward trend. The changing trend of the intracellular ATP content of LSL-treated P. aeruginosa was similar to that of S. aureus, except that P. aeruginosa took a much longer time of 12 h (The integrity of the bacterial membrane can be inferred by measuring the changes in ATP content in bacterial cells . As show of 12 h .S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, leading to leakage of intracellular ATP. However, the loss of ATP in S. aureus was faster, and the time required for all the ATP outflow was shorter when compared with P. aeruginosa. These results suggest that LSL had a stronger damaging effect on the cell membrane of S. aureus than P. aeruginosa. Again, these results helped us further explain why the morphological changes in S. aureus and P. aeruginosa cells were so distinct (These results indicated that LSL could disrupt the integrity of cell membranes of both distinct , 4.260 once the cell membrane was damaged (S. aureus and P. aeruginosa are shown in Extracellular ultraviolet-absorbing substances mainly include protein, nucleic acid, and other macromolecular substances. In general, these substances cannot escape unless the cell membrane is damaged. The macromolecules would flow out and increase OD damaged . Effects260 values of both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa treated with LSL were significantly higher than those of untreated groups. That was, LSL caused the outflow of intracellular nucleic acid, protein, and other substances by destroying the cell membranes of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, we also found that OD260 values of LSL-treated S. aureus were markedly higher than that of LSL-treated P. aeruginosa at any given time point, suggesting LSL performed more destructively on the cell membrane of S. aureus than P. aeruginos. Again, these results were mutually verified with the results mentioned in intracellular ATP content detection.It was found that the extracellular ODNowadays, biosurfactants of SLs have attracted increasing attention worldwide. More theoretical and applied research related to SLs had been carried out for their excellent surface activity as well as effective antibacterial and antitumor activities . Many reS. aureus and E. coli, as well as gram-negative bacteria of P. aeruginosa and Lactobacillus sp., we found that LSL showed the best inhibitory effect on S. aureus, then on P. aeruginosa, and basically no inhibitory effect on E. coli and Lactobacillus sp. These results were consistent with the results of E. coli at a low concentration of 0.03 mg/ml. Besides, When comparing the inhibitory effects of LSL on gram-positive bacteria of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were quite different. By SEM observations, we found S. aureus mainly appeared in \u201cleaking and shrinkage,\u201d while P. aeruginosa mainly appeared in \u201cblasting.\u201d LSL played the antibacterial role by increasing the permeability of the cell wall of S. aureus, causing the flow out of cell contents, resulting in the \u201cshrinkage\u201d of cells and eventually the inhibition of growth. For P. aeruginosa, LSL acted by hindering the synthesis of the cell wall, causing the failure to synthesize new and complete cell walls, resulting in the \u201cexploding\u201d of cells and eventually death (P. aeruginosa than that of S. aureus.When further exploring the antibacterial mechanism of LSL on different bacteria, we found that the action mode and action intensity of LSL on the cell wall and membrane of ly death . In otheS. aureus and P. aeruginosa. The cell wall of S. aureus is thick and mainly composed of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid. As a biosurfactant with a macrolide structure, it was difficult for LSL to interact with the cell wall of S. aureus. In addition, LSL might mainly promote the formation of biosurfactant-enriched domains within the phospholipid bilayer and inhibit the protein synthesis function of the cell membrane (P. aeruginosa, the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall is thin, the cross-linking is loose, and the lipid content is high (P. aeruginosa made LSL easier to fuse with, thus preventing the formation of a new cell wall and destroying the cell membrane structure (These different behaviors were the consequence of the different structures of the cell wall between membrane . But for is high . Higher tructure .S. aureus and P. aeruginosa increased, resulting in a decrease in the intracellular ATP content, an increase in extracellular macromolecular substances, and final death of the cells. After LSL treatment for 4 h, the intracellular ATP loss rate of S. aureus was 92.92%, which was 6.58 times higher than that of untreated cells. For P. aeruginosa, the intracellular ATP loss rate was 52.60%, only 2.52 times higher than that of untreated cells. These results further suggest that the damaging effect of LSL on the cell membrane of S. aureus was much higher than that of P. aeruginosa.Similar to the results reported by S. aureus, followed by P. aeruginosa, and had no inhibitory effect against E. coli and Lactobacillus sp. To better understand the inhibition effect among LSL and different bacterial cell structures, the mechanism of LSL against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa was investigated. The results suggest that LSL had a greater influence on the cell membrane of S. aureus, while exhibited a stronger impact on the cell wall of P. aeruginosa. The obtained results endorsed the conclusion that LSL might be used for targeted treatment of special pathogenic bacteria and opportunistic pathogens.The LSL showed different inhibitory effects on different pathogenic bacteria. The best inhibitory effect performed by LSL was on The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.XM and DZ conceptualized the study. XM, TW, JS, and HZhu designed the experiments. DZ, XM, and HW supervised the study. HZ, TW, JS, and MJ performed the experiments. TW and HZ collected the data. TW carried out data analysis and statistics. JS, TW, HZ, and MJ contributed to materials and analysis tools. XM, TW, and HZ wrote the original draft. XM and TW wrote, revised, and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium abscessus (M. a.), which is considered to be the most resistant to antibiotics and most difficult to treat, has been on the rise. Correct identification to the level of the subspecies  and determination of its sensitivity to macrolides, which are the basis of combination therapy, are of principal importance for the management of the disease. We describe five cases of mycobacterioses caused by M. a., where the sequencing of select genes was performed to identify the individual subspecies and antibiotic resistance. The analysis of the rpoB gene showed two isolates each of M. a. abscessus and M. a. massiliense and one isolate of M. a. bolletii. The complete (full length) erm(41) gene responsible for the development of inducible resistance to macrolides was demonstrated in both M. a. abscessus and M. a. bolletii isolates. A partially deleted and non-functional erm(41) gene was demonstrated in M. a. massiliense isolates. The subsequent sequencing of the full length erm(41) gene products showed, however, the mutation (T28\u2192C) in both isolates of M. a. abscessus, causing a loss of the function and preserved sensitivity to macrolides. The antibiotic sensitivity testing confirmed that both the isolates of M. a. abscessus and M. a. massiliense were sensitive to clarithromycin even after prolonged 14-day incubation. The inducible resistance to clarithromycin was maintained only in M. a. bolletii. Thus, the sequence analysis of the erm(41) gene can reliably identify the preservation of sensitivity to macrolides and serve as an important tool in the establishment of therapeutic regimens in cases of infections with M. abscessus.Mycobacterioses are less frequently occurring but serious diseases. In recent years, at a global level, the incidence of mycobacterioses induced by the rapidly growing species  Mycobacterium abscessus (M. a.) is a rapidly growing nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) belonging to a species of serious clinical importance. Since the beginning of the new millennium, an increase in the occurrence of mycobacterioses has been observed globally [M. avium [globally ,2, whichglobally . The incM. avium ,5. FinalM. avium .M. avium complex (MAC) has remained the most common causative agent of mycobacterioses, while the frequency of other NTM species has shown geographic variability [M. kansasii, M. xenopi, and M. malmoense. This is in contrast to the epidemiological data from North America, Asia, and Australia, where M. a. is the second most frequent causative agent of mycobacterioses [A higher prevalence of mycobacterioses has been recorded mainly in North America, Asia, and Australia, ranging from 7.9 to 14.1/100,000 inhabitants . Around terioses .M. kansasii and M. xenopi. Infections caused by M. a. are, however, recorded only scarcely. Thus, during the years 2012\u20132018, M. a. was diagnosed according to American Thoracic Society (ATS) Criteria in only four (1.32%) patients with mycobacterioses [M. a. [In the Czech Republic, according to the Information System of Bacillary Tuberculosis (ISBT), the situation is similar to other European countries, where MAC members are the most common causative agents of mycobacterioses, followed by terioses . Neverths [M. a. , especiaM. a. has been shown to be even more difficult, as this species is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. M. a. is intrinsically resistant not only to the classical anti-tuberculous drugs, but also to most of the currently available antibiotics. This resistance is attributed predominantly to the impermeable cell envelope, enzymatic deactivation of drugs, and drug efflux. Susceptibility testing should be performed against a number of antibiotics, including clarithromycin, amikacin, tigecycline, imipenem, cefoxitin, clofazimine, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin. The final antibiotic selection should be then guided by drug susceptibility testing. Macrolides represent the critical antibiotic in the combinatory therapy of M. abscessus infections, and the resistance against them may lead to therapy failure [M. a., an introductory combination of at least three effective antibiotics is recommended in the strains sensitive to macrolides, and a combination of at least four antibiotics in resistant strains for a period of at least 1\u20133 months. This intensive phase usually includes oral macrolide, intravenous amikacin, and one or more of the following: intravenous tigecycline, imipenem, or cefoxitin. This should be followed by a long-term therapeutic regimen with 2\u20133 effective substances for a period of at least 12 months [Treatment of mycobacterioses is generally complicated as it requires the administration of a combination of antibiotics for a period of at least 12 months owing to the conversion of the sputum to cultivation negativity, according to the recommendation of the ATS ,11. Howe2 months . The con2 months .M. a. ssp. abscessus (M. a. abscessus), M. a. ssp. bolletii (M. a. bolletii), and M. a. ssp. massiliense (M. a. massiliense). Infections caused by M. a. abscessus and M. a. bolletii are generally associated with a clinically worse course and a frequent failure of therapy mainly due to their common resistance to macrolides. This resistance can be constitutive or inducible [M. a. occurs rarely and develops on the basis of spontaneous point mutation in the region of the rrl gene with subsequent selection of the strain during therapy with macrolides. Inducible resistance is connected with the presence of the functional erm(41) gene, which codes for the methylase that alters the target point for the macrolides on the ribosome [M. a. abscessus and M. a. bolletii isolates. M. a. massiliense, however, carry a deletion in the erm(41), and their sensitivity to macrolides is preserved, leading to better treatment outcomes [M. a. abscessus isolates carry mutations in the erm(41) gene, leading to its loss of function and preserved sensitivity to macrolides [At present three subspecies of M. a. are known: nducible . Constitribosome ,17. The ribosome ,19. The outcomes . At the crolides .M. a. and further determine its sensitivity to macrolides.Thus, to apply an effective therapeutic regimen in such infections, it is essential to identify the causative agent to the level of the subspecies of M. a. in patients treated at the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic), their disease and treatment history, and shows the importance of molecular analysis for the subspecies identification and determination of antibiotic sensitivity.This study describes five cases of otherwise rare clinically important detections of M. a. in the sputum was recorded during a periodical monitoring of the principal disease in August 2013. The clinical condition of the patient was evaluated as stable, without progression, and without a need for additional therapy. Nevertheless, subsequent control examinations of the sputum repeatedly demonstrated M. a. The isolate was further determined as M. a. bolletii (Str 1). In May 2014, the clinical function of the lungs deteriorated with a corresponding finding on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT). After excluding other causes of infection and the demonstration of M. a. bolletii in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL), an introductory 6-week intravenous therapy was initiated using a combination of amikacin, imipenem, and clarithromycin, which was followed by an oral continuing therapy with doxycycline, clarithromycin, and ciprofloxacin  examination revealed that the Str 1, which was originally sensitive to macrolides, was now resistant. Intravenous therapy was initiated again with the combination of imipenem, tigecycline, amikacin, and azithromycin (for immunomodulatory effect) for a period of 3 months. After that, the patient was treated with oral azithromycin and doxycycline, complemented with inhaled amikacin. Partial regression of the largest infiltrates was observed, and the clinical condition of the patient improved. However, the culture positivity for M. a. bolletii persisted during the entire year of 2015. According to the recommendation of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society (ECFS), clofazimine was added in December 2015. Conversion of the sputum to M. a. bolletii cultivation negativity occurred in May 2017, which was partially due to an improvement of the patient\u2019s compliance. Therapy was terminated in the year 2018.A 19-year-old man with CF; the first detection of Aspergillus niger, demonstrated by cultivation, which was treated with amphotericin (Abelcet) and voriconazole (Vfend). In November 2016, the patient was moved from another facility to the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic) for further therapy. Because signs of respiratory infection were present on admission, samples from the lower respiratory tract  were obtained, and empirical therapy with ceftazidim, levofloxacin and voriconazole was initiated. The samples from the respiratory tract microscopically demonstrated the presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB), and the presence of M. a. was identified using the direct PCR method. Subsequently, M. a. was also confirmed in the sample by cultivation, and the isolate was further typed as M. a. abscessus (Str 2). The empirical therapy at the beginning was thus changed for a combination of amikacin, tigecycline, and clarithromycin for 3 months. Cefoxitin, which is not commonly available in the Czech Republic, was added later , nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia, and continuing Aspergillus niger infection. After release in 2017, oral therapy with clarithromycin and clofazimine was continued. Sputum, initially cultivation positive for M. a., turned negative 2 weeks after the commencement of targeted therapy, and remained such for the subsequent controls. The patient died 3 months after their release from the hospital due to the worsening GvHD.A 33-year-old patient was diagnosed with myelomonocytic leukaemia in October 2013. After allogeneic transplantation in April 2014, serious Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD) of the lungs developed and was treated with corticoids, methotrexate, and rituximab. In August 2016, pulmonary aspergillosis developed in the terrain of the damaged lungs with M. a. was identified by cultivation in his sputum. The isolate was further typed as M. a. massiliense (Str 3). The patient was clinically stable, without signs of infectious complications. X-ray of the lungs did not show any signs of a new pulmonary affection. The criteria of ATS [M. a. has been repeatedly (twice a year) isolated in the samples of sputum. The patient is still clinically stabilized without a need for targeted therapy.A 68-year-old man was regularly monitored on an out-patient basis due to interstitial pulmonary fibrosis since the year 2015. In January 2018, during a screening examination, a of ATS  were notM. a. was isolated from sputum. The isolate was further determined as M. a. massiliense (Str 4). His clinical condition had been long-term stabilized and satisfactory. After a finding of M. a., CT of the lungs was performed, which showed lesions supporting the diagnosis of lung mycobacteriosis (bronchiolitis and bronchiectasis). Intravenous therapy was commenced with a combination of amikacin, tigecycline, imipenem, and azithromycin for a period of 4 weeks, followed by oral therapy with azithromycin and doxycycline, and with inhalatory amikacin . ConverM. a. was isolated from the sputum. The isolate was further identified to be M. a. abscessus (Str 5). This coincided with a worsening of dyspnea during the exertion reported by the patient. The HRCT examination of the lungs revealed a stationary finding of bronchiectases. On repeated detection of the M. a. abscessus, eradication therapy was initiated with a combination of azithromycin, imipenem, amikacin, and tigecycline for a period of 4 weeks, continuing with azithromycin, moxifloxacin, and inhaled amikacin . ConverrpoB gene of the five isolates demonstrated two isolated strains of M. a. abscessus, two isolated strains of M. a. massiliense, and one isolated strain of M. a. bolletii.Sequencing examination of the rrl gene yielded PCR products of the size of 420 bp in all isolates tested .erm(41) gene was demonstrated in three strains  as a resultant PCR product of the size of 673 bp (erm(41) gene is typical for M. a. abscessus and M. a. bolletii [erm(41) gene is typical for M. a. massiliense.The full length f 673 bp . The prebolletii . In two erm(41) gene was subsequently performed in all strains to verify the identification to the subspecies level. Sequencing analysis of the strains Str 1, Str 2, and Str 5 was additionally used to identify known mutations, which are responsible for the loss of the functional erm(41) gene, leading to the maintenance of the sensitivity to macrolides. Such specific mutation has been described for position 28, where a substitution of T for C (T28\u2192C) [erm(41) gene and development of inducible resistance, are designated as T28 sequevar. Isolates with this mutation, i.e., with the non-functional erm(41) gene and preserved sensitivity to macrolides, are described as C28 sequevar. Another such nucleotide change has been described in position 19 (C19\u2192T) [Sequencing of the  (T28\u2192C)  can occu (C19\u2192T) , which iThe C19\u2192T mutation was observed in none of the isolates. These data suggest that only strain Str 1 should exhibit an inducible resistance to macrolides. The alignment of the sequences of all isolates is available in the To confirm the sequence data and generate the overall antibiotic profile of the studied isolates, the examination of susceptibility to selected antibiotics was performed. The in vitro data showed 100% sensitivity of strains to amikacin, cefoxitin, and tigecycline. Strains also exhibited good sensitivity to imipenem, except for the Str 3. On the other hand, all the isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, as well as linezolid and moxifloxacin, with the exception of Str 4 and Str 5, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to clarithromycin after 3 days. However, inducible resistance developed in Str 1 during incubation for 14 days .M. a, which are otherwise relatively rare in the Czech Republic and in Europe in general.Infections with atypical mycobacteria represent an increasing problem worldwide. This study described five clinical cases of infections with M. a. was isolated from the samples from the respiratory tract. The presence of NTM in the respiratory tract does not always indicate pathology, as they can colonize the respiratory tract temporarily or permanently without inducing infection [In all five described cases, nfection ,23. Estanfection ,25. In gnfection . The detnfection . Thus, tM. a. is a recognized causative agent of pulmonary mycobacteriosis, and its isolation from samples obtained from the respiratory tract is certainly a reason to increase attention and to monitor the clinical condition of the patient further [M. a. were identified as a colonization without a clinical relevance only in one patient\u2014Case 3 (Str 3). In the other four cases, the criteria for the diagnosis of mycobacteriosis were fulfilled , and one isolate of M. a. bolletii. Although the number of patients in this study is small, the prevalence of the individual subspecies corresponds with published data, where M. a.abscessus is most frequently demonstrated (45\u201365%), followed by M. a.massiliense (20\u201355%), and with M. a. bolletii demonstrated only rarely, in 1\u201318% [The isolates in each case were further identified by DNA sequencing as in 1\u201318% .M. a. strains obtained in this study were examined in vitro for their susceptibility to the panel of antibiotics suitable for the treatment of mycobacterioses .terioses . The resrrl gene, which is associated with the constitutive resistance genotypic changes. As expected, none of our isolates showed mutation in this gene. These mutations are relatively rare, e.g., in the paper by Mase et al., it was detected in only one isolate out of 14 [rrl mutants between 87 strains of M. a. These were more often isolated from cystic fibrosis patients; however, this finding was, surprisingly, not significantly associated with a previous treatment. In fact, the acquisition of rrl gene mutations during therapy with macrolides has been reported for several NTM species, in particular for M. a. [Although these results indicated the resistance to be inducible, we have nevertheless performed an analysis of the ut of 14 . Moreoveut of 14  describeor M. a. .erm(41) gene is coding for the methylase that is capable of rendering the carrying bacteria inducible resistant to macrolides [M. a.massiliense isolates corresponded to the fact that this subspecies carried only a truncated and thus non-functional erm(41) gene. While, in general, M. a.abscessus carries a functional erm(41) gene, some isolates remain sensitive to macrolides as a result of a loss of the functional erm(41) gene due to point mutations, the frequency of which is described at about 15\u201320%. Two kinds of such loss-of-function mutations have been described so far. Thus, T28C mutation leads to the substitution of tryptophan for arginine in codon 10, and such strains are called C28 sequevars. Another mutation C19T introduces a premature stop codon (T19 sequevar) [M. a. abscessus isolates were of the C28 sequevar and, thus, are sensitive to macrolides. Only the M. a. bolletii (Str 1) in our study contained the functional erm(41) gene (sequevar T28), which resulted in its resistance to clarithromycin in vitro after 14 days. Accordingly, the antibiotic therapy of this patient was the most complicated and lasted for 4 years.The crolides ,17. Thusequevar) . Our anaM. a. mycobacterioses. Treatment recommendations are based on case series, in vitro susceptibility testing, and the clinical experience of experts [M. a. infections. These can, however, frequently fail due to the development of resistance to macrolides by the mechanisms described above [M. a. massiliense, carrying the non-functional erm(41) gene [M. a. The patients were initially treated for a period of one month with intravenous amikacin and cefoxitin and oral clarithromycin. In the continuation stage, the combination of clarithromycin and doxycycline was used with the median duration of therapy being 24 months. As a result, the clinical recovery occurred in 83% patients, and conversion of the sputum to cultivation negativity occurred in 58%. However, among these, the conversion was significantly lower in patients infected with strains with demonstrated resistance to macrolides (17% versus 64%). On the other hand, when a group of patients was treated for subsp. massiliense infection, conversion of the sputum to cultivation negativity already occurred in the course of the first month of therapy, indicating the importance of the non-functional erm(41) gene in this subspecies [M. a. abscessus in those patients, who were infected by the sequevar C28 carrying the non-functional erm(41) gene [M. a.abscessus, where all 14 isolates possessed a non-functional erm(41) gene, and the conversion of sputum to cultivation negativity was achieved in 93% of patients.In general, mycobacterioses represent serious diseases, which are inherently difficult to treat . Current experts . Combinaed above . The usu41) gene ,31,32. T41) gene  describebspecies . This wa41) gene . Similar41) gene , in theiM. a. bolletii infection (Case 1), which was the only strain resistant to macrolides in our cohort. Case 1 was successfully managed by an extended therapy lasting 4 years, which was partly also due to a poor compliance of the patient. Patient compliance during the long-term antibiotic therapy is essential, as any misuse of antibiotics  can lead to the therapy failure. In this case, conversion of the sputum to cultivation negativity occurred after an improvement of patient\u2019s compliance and the addition of clofazimine to the therapeutic regime.In three of our four treated patients, cultivation negativity was observed after the first 4 weeks of therapy. The repeated cultivation positivity was observed only in a patient with In the Case 2 patient, the result of therapy could not be evaluated, as she died after several months due to the GvHD refractory to therapy. The infections in the remaining two patients (Cases 4 and 5) were caused by strains susceptible to macrolides, and the introductory therapy led to both the clinical improvement and the conversion of the sputum to cultivation negativity after 4 weeks. These cases are, however, recent, and the continuation therapy is still ongoing .M. a. infections represent emerging infections in patients with CF or other chronic respiratory diseases [M. a. is usually identified only at the species level in routine laboratory practice [erm(41) gene and its sequencing was described as a powerful tool for the prediction of macrolide susceptibility and the quick determination of the initial therapeutic strategy [erm(41) gene correlate well with MIC values [M. a. strains were isolated from patients living in the East Bohemian region between years 2013 and 2021. In this study, the erm(41) gene analysis revealed a unique representation of M. a. strains, since, in two of them, an incomplete gene associated with macrolide susceptibility was found. Other two strains with complete but non-functional erm(41) genes were assigned as C28 sequevars. In only one strain, the inducible resistance was also proved (T28 sequevar). The correlation between erm(41) analysis and susceptibility determination to clarithromycin was excellent. Moreover, the erm(41) analysis significantly shortens the decision time for macrolide therapy, because inducible resistance is not detected until after 14 days. Although our group of patients is small, it represents all cases of M. a. infections identified in the Czech Republict to this date. Thus, it provides first record of this infection in the country and describes an obvious association between results of erm(41) gene analysis and clinical outcome.diseases . At prespractice ,34. In opractice ,36. Recestrategy . ResultsC values , which wClinical samples  were cultivated on solid media for 6 weeks at 37 \u00b0C under aerobic condition  and for 6 weeks at 37 \u00b0C in MGIT test tubes with modified Middlebrook broth in a semiautomatic system Bactec MGIT 960 .Mycobacterium species was performed by molecular typing. Nucleic acids were isolated directly from the suspension of suspect isolates or respiratory tract samples using a QIAamp DNA Mini Kit  according to the modified protocol for mycobacteria provided by the manufacturer.Identification of Mycobacterium using the PCR method . In case of positivity, further identification of Mycobacterium involved PCR amplification and sequencing by capillary electrophoresis of rpoB gene  as previously described [M. a. The M. a. subspecies were further typed by erm(41) gene amplification and sequencing according to Mase et al., 2011 [erm(41) gene with an incomplete product (product size 397 bp) identified M. a. massiliense. The full length erm(41) gene products (size 673 bp) indicated M. a. abscessus or M. a. bolletii, and further typing was based on the variability of nucleotides in select positions, as previously reported and shown in DNA of suspected isolates was identified as the species escribed . Final sl., 2011 . The ampM. a. was further confirmed by PCR method based on variable-number, tandem-repeat analysis, as previously described by Choi et al., 2011 [erm(41) and rrl genes  were userm(41) and rrl genes were performed in a volume of 25 \u00b5L containing buffer TaKaRa, 200 nM of dNTPs, 500 nM primers, and 1.0 U HS Taq polymerase TaKaRa. The amplification parameters were as follows: for erm(41) gene: 95 \u00b0C/10 min; followed by 95 \u00b0C/30 s, 60 \u00b0C/30 s, and 72 \u00b0C/30 s (35 cycles) finished by 72 \u00b0C/7 min and for rrl gene: 95 \u00b0C/10 min; followed by 94 \u00b0C/60 s, 55 \u00b0C/60 s, and 72 \u00b0C/60 s (35 cycles) finished by 72 \u00b0C/7 min. PCR products of both genes were visualized in agarose gel using an ethidium bromide. As positive control, the reference EQA sample of M. a. was used. Method was also validated on External Quality Assessment (EQA)\u2014Quality Control for Molecular Diagnostics (QCMD) samples, where M. a. was correctly identified. Amplified DNA fragments of erm(41) and rrl genes were directly sequenced by capillary electrophoresis using primers identical to those used for PCR . The obtained nucleotide sequences were compared to reference sequences from GenBank  in an online tool, available at www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/psa/emboss_needle. Sequence alignments were performed using DNAstar Lasergene software v. 17.3 , utilizing the Clustal W algorithm.PCR assays for Susceptibility of the isolates to antibiotics was examined by means of the E-test and the broth microdilution method. The results were interpreted according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Selection of antibiotics included amikacin, cefoxitin, imipenem, clarithromycin, linezolid, doxycycline, tigecycline, ciprofloxacin, and moxifloxacin.MIC values of amikacin, cefoxitin, linezolid, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and moxifloxacin were established using the broth microdilution method with 96-well microtiter plates. Cation-adjusted Mueller\u2013Hinton media  was used. Fresh colonies were harvested from the surface of solid media to saline. The bacterial suspension was homogenized on a vortex and diluted to a 0.5 McFarland standard density. The inoculum was prepared by a 1:100 dilution of 0.5 McFarland suspension in cation-adjusted Mueller\u2013Hinton broth and added to plates.MIC values of imipenem, clarithromycin, and tigecycline were performed by E-test  on Mueller\u2013Hinton agar plates . The bacterial suspension was prepared as above, and inocula were applied by swabbing according to Biehle et al. . The plaM. a. rank among the most difficult mycobacterioses to treat. The recommended treatment consists of a combination of antibiotics; however, the therapy can often fail due to the development of resistance to the key antibiotic, macrolide. The correct indication to the level of subspecies, testing of suitable antibiotics, and evaluation of sensitivity to clarithromycin after a prolonged incubation period are of principal importance for their management. Molecular detection of the erm(41) gene products and its sequencing can reliably and rapidly demonstrate the possibility of development of inducible resistance and thus influence the extent of introductory therapy and its duration. Our results show that the identification of the M. a. isolate to the level of subspecies is not necessarily sufficient. Only further analysis of the erm(41) gene in both isolates of M. a. abscessus allowed for the detection of the mutation, which resulted in the preserved sensitivity to macrolides. While this study shows only a limited number of cases, two out of five isolates (40%) carry a non-functional gene for the development of inducible macrolide resistance. This indicates that the share of such isolates with the preserved sensitivity to macrolides may be larger in such patients in our population than has been published so far. This should be considered when designing treatment strategies for the M. a. infections.Diseases caused by"}
+{"text": "Solidago canadensis L. and Solidago altissima L. are native to North America and have naturalized many other continents including Europa and Asia. Their species is an aggressive colonizer and forms thick monospecific stands. The evidence of the allelopathy for S. canadensis and S. altissima has accumulated in the literature since the late 20th century. The root exudates, extracts, essential oil and rhizosphere soil of S. canadensis suppressed the germination, growth and the arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of several plants, including native plant species. Allelochemicals such as fatty acids, terpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols and their related compounds were identified in the extracts and essential oil of S. canadensis. The concentrations of total phenolics, total flavonoids and total saponins in the rhizosphere soil of S. canadensis obtained from the invasive ranges were greater than those from the native ranges. Allelochemicals such as terpenes, flavonoids, polyacetylene and phenols were also identified in the extracts, essential oil and the rhizosphere soil in S. altissima. Among the identified allelochemicals of S. altissima, the cis-dehydromatricaria ester may be involved in the allelopathy considering its growth inhibitory activity and its concentration in the rhizosphere soil. Therefore, the allelopathy of S. canadensis and S. altissima may support their invasiveness, naturalization and formation of thick monospecific stands. This is the first review article focusing on the allelopathy of both of S. canadensis and S. altissima. Solidago canadensis sensu lato (s.l.), belonging Asteraceae, is an erect rhizomatous perennial plant, native to North America. S. canadensis s.l. was introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant in the 17th to 18th centuries. The species spread from the gardens to the natural environments, and has extended its habitats in Central and Eastern Europe. It expanded its habitat at a rate of 741 km2 per year in Europe . A . A S. cativum L. . A flavo species ,77. Somenadensis .S. canadensis in allelopathy was also investigated. The production of the essential oil was greater in S. canadensis obtained from the heavily invaded stands than that from mildly invaded stands --2,8-decadiene-4,6-diynoate) and -10-angeloyloxy matricaria lactone were isolated from the stems, roots and/or rhizomes of S. altissima [Several polyacetylenes, such as ltissima ,104,111.ltissima ,112.S. altissima, cis-DME, dehydromatricaria lactone and the -10-angeloyloxy matricaria ester were reported to inhibit the coleoptile growth of Panicum crus-galli L. var. frumentaceum Trin. up to 77.4\u201393.5%, 81.7% and 80.0% that of the control, respectively, at the concentration of 1 ppm [Z,8Z)-10-Tigloyloxy matricaria ester also inhibited the growth of Lolium multiflorum Lam. [cis-DME among those polyacetylenes was the most studied.Among the polyacetylenes found in of 1 ppm ,111. Therum Lam. . Howevercis-DME caused the growth inhibition, which was of 1\u201320 ppm in laboratory conditions [cis-DME suppressed the germination of Asclepias syriaca L., Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anderson; the germination and growth of Poa pratensis L. and Oryza sativa L.; and the growth of Lactuca sativa L. and Panicum crus-galli L. var. frumentaceum Trin. Their germination was inhibited up to 20\u201395% that of the control by 32\u201360 ppm cis-DME, and their growth was inhibited up to 10\u201356% that of the control by 48\u2013100 ppm cis-DME  described above and the soil concentration (0\u201317.3 ppm) of cis-DME, which is the same in laboratory conditions, the cis-DME in the soil may have some ecological function.The concentration of ltissima  and of 0ltissima . The conltissima ,118,119.trans-DME was also in the soil under S. altissima, and its inhibitory activity was comparable of that of cis-DME [cis-DME was kept at 29 \u00b0C under 2000 lux for 2 days, 50% of cis-DME was isomerized into trans-DME, since the cis-form of the unsaturated ester is easily isomerized by light, pH or other conditions into the more stable trans-form [trans-DME was not found in the roots and rhizomes of S. altissima [cis-DME may be isomerized by light and other environmental factors into trans-DME after the exudation from the plants into the soil. When we consider the involvement of DME in the allelopathy of S. altissima, the concentration of both cis-DME and trans-DME in the rhizosphere soil should be counted. cis-DME . When thans-form . In addiltissima . TherefoS. altissima killed a pine wilt nematode (Bursaphelenchus lignicolous Mamiya and Kiyohara), and an active compound involved in it was determined as cis-DME. cis-DME at 10\u201311 ppm increased 50% of the molarity of the pine wilt nematode and a root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita Kofild and White) [S. altissima rhizomes suppressed the hatching of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster Meigen), and an active compound was also determined as cis-DME [cis-DME may contribute to the establishment and naturalization of S. altissima in the introduced ranges.It was also reported that the aqueous extracts of the below-ground parts of d White) . The met cis-DME . The def cis-DME ,122,123.S. canadensis, the information on the allelopathic activity of S. altissima extracts, root exudates and residues is limited. However, polyacetylenes, monoterpene and sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes and flavonoid glycosides were identified in its extracts and essential oil as allelopathic agents. Most potential compounds among them involved in the allelopathy may be cis-DME. cis-DME inhibited the germination and growth of several plant species at the concentration of 1\u201320 ppm [S. altissima and in its rhizosphere soil was of 250\u2013400 ppm and 0\u201317.3 ppm, respectively [cis-DME may be released into the rhizosphere soil by root exudation, rainfall leachates and/or decomposition processes of plant residues. trans-DME was also formed by the isomerization of cis-DME in the soil, and its inhibitory activity was the same as cis-DME. Although there has been no information of the concentration of trans-DME in the rhizosphere soil of S. altissima, the concentration of only cis-DME in several soils was over the concentration which was able to cause the growth inhibition [cis-DME possesses nematicidal and insecticidal activities [S. canadensis [E-kolavenic acid also showed antifungal activity and insect antifeedant activity [trans-DME may be involved in allelopathy and/or defense function against natural enemies, such as fungal pathogens, parasites and herbivores, and may contribute to their establishment and naturalization into the introduced ranges. However, it is necessary to determine the concentration of trans-DME in the rhizosphere soil of S. altissima, as well as to investigate the allelopathy of S. altissima in greenhouse and field conditions. It is also worth investigating the effect of S. altissima on the arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of the native plant species due to the fact that S. altissima and S. canadensis are very close species.Unlike 1\u201320 ppm ,111,113.ectively ,116. Thehibition ,116. In tivities ,124 Somenadensis . 13E-kolactivity ,110. TheS. canadensis and S. altissima are harmful invasive species naturalized in many countries, and form thick monospecific stands. Based on the literature, both species are allelopathic. The root exudate, residues, extracts, essential oil and rhizosphere soil of S. canadensis showed allelopathic activity on several plant species, including native plants, and suppressed the arbuscular mycorrhizal mutualism of the native plant species. Several allelochemicals were also identified in its extracts and essential oil. The concentrations of total phenolics, total flavones and total saponins in the rhizosphere soil of S. canadensis obtained from the invasive ranges were greater than those obtained from the native ranges. Therefore, the allelopathy of S. canadensis may contribute the interruption of the regeneration process of native plant species directly through the suppression of their germination and growth, and indirectly through the suppression of the mycorrhizal fungal mutualism of the native plant species. Several allelochemicals of S. altissima were also identified in its extracts and essential oil. Among them, cis-DME inhibited the germination and growth of several plant species at a concentration of 1\u201320 ppm, and its extractable concentration in the rhizosphere soil of S. altissima was of 0\u201317.3 ppm. cis-DME also exhibited nematicidal and insecticidal activities. trans-DME was formed by the isomerization of cis-DME in the soil, and its inhibitory activity was similar to that of cis-DME. Therefore, cis-DME, including trans-DME, may also cause the suppression of the regeneration process of the native plant species through the inhibition of their germination and growth. The allelopathy of S. canadensis and S. altissima may provide the species with competitive advantage against native plant species, and contribute to their invasiveness and naturalization."}
+{"text": "Homoeusaovata . Paratypes. See, Type depository. The holotype is deposited at the Kyushu University Museum, Fukuoka, Japan.Etymology. The specific epithet ovata refers to the oval body shape of this new species."}
+{"text": "Bivalve molluscs stand out for their ecological success and their key role in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, while also constituting a very valuable commercial resource. Both ecological success and production of bivalves depend on their effective immune defence function, in which haemocytes play a central role acting as both the undertaker of the cellular immunity and supplier of the humoral immunity. Bivalves have different types of haemocytes, which perform different functions. Hence, identification of cell subpopulations and their functional characterisation in immune responses is essential to fully understand the immune system in bivalves. Nowadays, there is not a unified nomenclature that applies to all bivalves. Characterisation of bivalve haemocyte subpopulations is often combined with 1) other multiple parameter assays to determine differences between cell types in immune-related physiological activities, such as phagocytosis, oxidative stress and apoptosis; and 2) immune response to different stressors such as pathogens, temperature, acidification and pollution. This review summarises the major and most recent findings in classification and functional characterisation of the main haemocyte types of bivalve molluscs. Marine invertebrates constitute the largest group of macroscopic species in the sea . The phyHence, immune responses in bivalves and the processes that govern them, are important areas of active research. These immunological processes are centrally coordinated by a group of cells known as haemocytes which may act directly or in concert with humoral factors in the haemolymph to defend the animal against infection. Haemocytes constitute the cellular component of the haemolymph; they move through the circulatory system and migrate to other locations, such as the connective tissue and epithelia , 20. AmoRuditapes philippinarum granulocytes , enzymatic cytochemistry, physicochemical features and cell population separation, and biological activities and functions. Numerous authors have focused their efforts on developing a classification of the different blood cell types present in bivalves. The researchers Cheng (1981) and Hine (1999) published two of the most important reviews on morphofunctional aspects of haemocytes of the Phylum Mollusca . In the ulocytes  and up tseq data . One of seq data , 184; hoPerna perna  was not deemed totally correct, considering a haemocyte subpopulation as semi-granular cells  and granulocytes, there are some exceptions and not all haemocyte types occur in each bivalve species. In the clam rameters . Some aurameters , 39, 193rameters , thus a ar cells . Most ofar cells , 195. Alliformis . A partitype III , 78, andnulocyte .Another haemocyte type frequently found in bivalves is the blast-like cell Table\u00a01,There is not a unified classification system for haemocytes in bivalve molluscs, thus far. On the contrary, the haemocyte types have been reported differentially between species. Even for the same species, different haemocyte classification has been proposed, as shown in M. galloprovincialis haemolymph, the occurrence of only one haemocyte type represented by two different ageing-related stages has been proposed; specifically, hyalinocytes in a proliferative stage which mature to become granulocytes . Various theories have been proposed to elucidate the lineage of haemocytes in bivalves. Cheng (1981) and Auffret (1988) propose two types of initial cell precursors capable of differentiating into granulocytes and hyalinocytes 8. Variou. Alternaulocytes , consistulocytes . In the an cells , 201, than cells . Unlike an cells , 74 leavecursors , 203. Th  and granulocytes, while acknowledging that these may be different life stages of the same cell type in some species. In spite that Cheng  suggesteIn the last two decades, the application of flow cytometry analysis and molecular characterisation of different immune-related molecules have greatly improved our knowledge of the functional characterisation of haemocytes, underlying both common and distinct features of the immune system in different bivalve species , 221. AlC. gigas  and to form pseudopods. Finally, granulocytes contained more mitochondria, which could provide energy in the phagocytosis process to result in higher phagocytosis ability . Howevercussatus . The graulocytes . In the ulocytes . Differeulocytes . Such obulocytes .A. farreri  seemed more diverse in protein content than the granulocytes in the oyster . edulis . In the inocytes . The difinocytes .C. ariakensis  and nitric oxide   and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), is induced after phagocytosis and it may be used to evaluate the immunocompetence in different haemocyte subsets . Oxidatiiakensis , C. gigaC. gigas , 251, C.ongensis , C. nipp nippona , C. virgirginica , 252, O.hilensis , Hyotiss kegaki , and S.lomerata ; in clamcussatus  and R. pppinarum ; in the  globosa ; in ark  granosa ; in mariincialis , M. unguiculatus , P. canaaliculus , P. viri viridis , and X.  securis ; and in rginalis . In L. m, a RNS) . The hig, a RNS) . Moreove, a RNS) , clams  , 256 and, a RNS) . These e, a RNS) , 259. Di, a RNS) ; in high, a RNS) .D. polymorpha, hyalinocytes showed the highest intracellular ROS production  than granulocytes -dependent and involve caspase-independent pathways  of the granulocytes and the erythrocytes type II increased linearly during the post-spawning period , thus these haemocyte types are potential players in biomineralisation processes  successfully identified numerous calcium-rich vesicles and crystals in granulocytes and assigned to this cell type the strongest ability of migration  and susceptible hosts . Oystersulocytes . In the  marinus . Similarcapacity . Oystersble ones , displayble ones . Remarkaulocytes ; similarexitiosa . In oystyte type  and highyte type . A positevalence .C. virginica haemocyte phagocytosis ability and granulocyte subpopulation  exposure . Exposurpulation . In the te count . Variatifew days . In the few days . Other rfew days , increasfew days , and chaC. gigas ; doublinppinarum ; decreasP. perna ; and anoP. perna  and variincialis . In vitrhilensis , while osponsive . Exposurlymorpha .C. virginica   and MPs increased granulocytes proportion  . In the increase . Nanoplalus spp. , 359, wis by NPs . Exposuroportion , while, oportion . In mussulocytes . Exposurinocytes . Ark clae to NPs \u2013366 and e to NPs . SimilarHs alone . In the Hs alone . Long-tillutants .Considering the important effects of biotic and abiotic stressors on the bivalve haemolymph cells, extensive monitoring studies of the morphofunctional properties of the haemocytes of bivalves in the natural environment would be useful to state reliable criteria for diagnosing the physiological status of bivalves .Due to bivalve mollusc diversity and functional heterogeneity, haemocyte types vary from species to species and, nowadays, there is not a unified nomenclature that applies to all bivalves. Moreover, functions of each haemocyte type cannot be reliably extrapolated among all species. Haemocyte subpopulations own distinct properties that should be considered when characterising the overall immune related functions of bivalves. Granulocytes and hyalinocytes display differences in their metabolism and immune abilities, which implies that they play different physiological and immunological roles that should be deeply explored. Infections induce changes in the proportions of haemocyte types, which points out differential involvement of the haemocyte types in immune response. Abiotic stressors also alter the relative abundance of haemocyte types, which highlights functional differences. The ratio of cell types in the haemocyte community could be noted as indicator of immune function, being an important immune parameter to assess the bivalve health-status.NB: conceptualisation, methodology, literature review, and writing \u2013 original draft. FM: conceptualisation, literature review, writing \u2013 review and editing. AC: writing - review and editing. AV: conceptualisation, literature review, writing \u2013 review and editing, and supervision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Geophagus altifrons  in Rio Jari, in the state of Amap\u00e1, in the eastern Amazon region. From the total of 31 fish examined, 90.3% were parasitized by one or more species, collecting a total number of 806 parasites. The parasites species identified were: Sciadicleithrum geophagi, Posthodiplostomum sp., Procamallanus  inopinatus, Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp., Genarchella genarchella, Gorytocephalus spectabilis and Ergasilus xinguensis. Most of the parasites showed an aggregate dispersion pattern. Brillouin diversity index, uniformity and species richness of parasites were low. The component community of parasites was constituted by ectoparasites and endoparasites, but with a predominance of ectoparasites. The body size of hosts had a low effect on the parasites infracommunities. This first eco-epidemiological study for G. altifrons reports these parasites in a host, for the first time, with the exception of S. geophagi and E. xinguensis.The aim of this study was to investigate the ecology and diversity of community and infracommunities of metazoan parasites  Geophagus altifrons , an ornamental cichlid from the Amazon River basin in Brazil with sedentary habits, is a benthopelagic and omnivorous fish that feeds on large-bodied benthonic organisms, terrestrial and aquatic insects, crustaceans and fish, algae, detritus, macrophytes, fruits and seeds, depending on the seasonal period. This fish that inhabits lakes and rivers have a maximum length of 27 cm, and its first maturation occurs with 15-17 cm   , are theIn wild fish populations, communities and infracommunities of parasites are the result of repeated additions and losses of parasite species during evolutionary history. Developing over time, the ecological and biological characteristics of hosts and parasites determine host colonization, consequently influencing parasite community richness and diversity , b. The G. altifrons. The aim of this study was to investigate the ecology and diversity of community and infracommunities of metazoan parasites in G. altifrons of a tributary from the Amazon River system in northern Brazil.Host age, size, diet, habitat, behavior, distribution and geographical range have been recognized as some of the factors influencing richness and diversity of parasite communities in wild fish populations . TherefoG. altifrons (16.9 \u00b1 2.7 cm and 108.6 \u00b1 49.9 g) were collected in the Jari River basin, Jaril\u00e2ndia community, in the municipality of Vit\u00f3ria do Jari, Amap\u00e1 state, Brazil  and with authorization from the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals of Embrapa Amap\u00e1 (Protocol No 014 - CEUA/CPAFAP).Fish were weighed (g) and measured in total length (cm) and then necropsied for parasitological analysis. The mouth, operculum, gills, viscera and gastrointestinal tract were examined in each fish to collection of ectoparasites and endoparasites, using a stereomicroscope. The collection, fixation, conservation, counting and preparation of the parasites for identification followed the recommendations of HB), evenness (E) and species richness  (rs) was used to investigate possible correlations of body length and weight of host with the richness of parasite species, Brillouin diversity index and parasite abundance  . Spearmabundance .G. altifrons, a total of 806 parasites were collected such as S. geophagi, Posthodiplostomum sp., Procamallanus  inopinatus , Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp., Genarchella genarchella , Gorytocephalus spectabilis  and E. xinguensis  and species richness  with the length of hosts.There was no significant correlation of the Brillouin diversity index , abundance of Posthodiplostomum sp. , abundance of Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp. , abundance of G. spectabilis  and abundance of G. genarchella  showed no correlation with host length. The abundance of E. xinguensis  presented a week positive correlation with the length of hosts, as well as the abundance of P. (S.) inopinatus . The abundance of G. spectabilis , abundance of S. geophagi , abundance of Posthodiplostomum sp.  and abundance of Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp.  showed no correlation with the host weight. The abundance of E. xinguensis  and P. (S.) inopinatus  presented a week positive correlation with the host weight.The abundance of G. altifrons from Jari River, the community of metazoan parasites was composed by seven species, those being: Monogenea, two Digenea, two Nematoda, one Acanthocephala and one Crustacea; parasites with aggregate or random dispersion pattern. The community of metazoan parasites in Satanoperca jurupari  from Igarap\u00e9 Fortaleza River was composed of eight species, those being: Monogenea, three Digenea, one Nematoda, one Acanthocephala and two Crustacea; all parasites with an aggregate dispersion  from the Igarap\u00e9 Fortaleza River, the parasite community was composed of only three species, those being: one Monogenea, one Digenea and one Nematoda; parasites with aggregated dispersion   . In the nd world . The lifing bird . TherefoGenarchella genarchella occurred at low levels of infection in the intestine of G. altifrons from Jari River as reported for Hemibrycon surinamensis  from Igarap\u00e9 Fortaleza River  inopinatus occurred at low levels of infection in G. altifrons. This nematode species, usually frequent in wild fish populations in Brazil, has fish as definitive hosts and in general has low levels of prevalence, intensity and abundance due to its complex life cycle (P. (S.) inopinatus increased with the weight and length of the hosts. It can be assumed that larger host fish are ingesting more infective stages of this nematode than smaller hosts. In addition, in G. altifrons of the Jari River, larvae of Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) sp. are at infection levels lower than those reported for Geophagus proximus  found in the Tapaj\u00f3s River (PA) (Raphidascaris (Sprentacaris) have cladocerans as first intermediate hosts, smaller fish as secondary hosts and predatory fish as definitive hosts  . Speciesve hosts , 1998. GErgasilus xinguensis occurred at high levels of infestation in the gills of G. altifrons from the Jari River when compared to those reported for Geophagus argyrostictus  and G. altifrons from Rio Xingu, in the state of Par\u00e1 (E. xinguensis for G. altifrons. Furthermore, abundance of E. xinguensis increased with the weight and length of hosts.Ergasilidae is one of the largest families of order Cyclopoida, and most species are found in freshwater fish. Just adult females have parasites in the gills, fins and nasal cavities of fish species . Ergasil of Par\u00e1 . This isG. altifrons was composed by ecto- and endoparasite species with aggregate dispersion, but with a predominance of ectoparasites. This omnivorous fish occupies a lower position in the food web and is consumed by other larger fish species and fish-eating birds in the environment. The body size of hosts had a low influence on the parasites infracommunities. This first eco-epidemiological study of G. altifrons records, for the first time, these parasites for this host, except for S. geophagi and E. xinguensis.In conclusion, the component community of parasites in"}
+{"text": "M., female, born 1947, height 175\u00a0cm, weight 78\u00a0kg, BMI 25.4 was primarily admitted to the regional internal medicine department to rule out an acute coronary event. The patient suffered from attacks of acute shortness of breath, chest pain with repeated vomiting. She had a history of hypertension and hypoparathyroidism, treated pharmacologically; she had never undergone surgery. Cardiological examination ruled out a cardiological etiology. CT AG performed ruled out pulmonary embolism, but a bulky hiatal hernia with extensive gastrectasia was described , 2. Labo3In patients with hiatal hernias, patients with bulky paraesophageal, mixed hernias, and upside-down stomach are most often at risk for an acute course of the disease. Acute complications include gastric obstruction, acute bleeding, ischemia and gastric perforation. With gastric strangulation and ischaemia, patients are at risk of developing partial or complete gangrene of the stomach with subsequent perforation with the possibility of developing severe acute mediastinitis or peritonitis. In case of gastric obstruction with gastric contents, there is a risk of aspiration and development of pneumonia. The prevalence of acute conditions is reported in the literature to be 30.4\u00a0% 4In case of acute herniated hiatal hernia, it is always a serious condition with the possibility of developing complications. In case of acute symptomatology of the disease, surgical therapy is the only curative option. The procedure can be performed using a minimally invasive or conventional approach, with the nature and extent of the procedure modified according to the actual perioperative findings. This complication is not often described in recent literature and the results of treatment are not yet encouraging. Therefore, our solution can be considered as a recommended procedure and can successfully treat or even save the patient's life.Not commissioned, externally peer reviewed.There are no sources of funding for our research.Not required in our institution to publish Anonymous case reports.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal on request.No registry.Ass. prof. Radek Vrba, MD, Ph.D. \u2013 design of the study, collection on the data, final approval of the version to be submitted.Ass. prof. JUDr. Du\u0161an Klos, MD, Ph.D., MHA, LLM \u2013 design of the study, final approval of the version to be submitted.Daniela Kurf\u00fcrstov\u00e1, MD, Ph.D. \u2013 collection on the histopathological data, approval of the version to be submitted.Petr \u0160pi\u010dka, MD, Ph.D. \u2013 corresponding author, guarantor, revising the manuscript, final approval of the version to be submitted.Petr \u0160pi\u010dka, MD, Ph.D.Ass. prof. Radek Vrba, MD, Ph.D.The author declared no conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "This is a correction of: Mladini\u0107 A, Puljak L, Koporc Z. Post-GDPR survey of data protection officers in research and non-research institutions in Croatia: a cross-sectional study. Biochem Med (Zagreb). 2021;31:030703. 10.11613/BM.2021.030703.Since the publication of the article, the authors have noticed that one sentence was not correct, as the legislation has changed before the manuscript was published. Thus, in order to provide accurate information to the readers, the sentence: \u201cAccording to the Personal Data Protection Act of Croatia, The Personal Data Protection Agency shall keep a Register of Personal Data Protection Officials.\u201d should be disregarded. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused to the readers."}
+{"text": "Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common pathogen that causes diarrhea in humans and animals. In particular, E. coli can easily form biofilm on the surface of living or non-living carriers, which can lead to the cross-contamination of food. This review mainly summarizes the formation process of E. coli biofilm, the prevalence of biofilm in the food industry, and inhibition methods of E. coli biofilm, including chemical and physical methods, and inhibition by bioactive extracts from plants and animals. This review aims to provide a basis for the prevention and control of E. coli biofilm in the food industry. Escherichia coli (E. coli), a member of Enterobacteriaceae, was discovered by Escherich in 1885. It is 0.5 \u00d7 1-3 \u03bcm in size with peritrichous flagellae [E. coli can also ferment a variety of sugars to produce acid and gas. Certain special serotypes of E. coli were recognized as pathogenic and capable of causing human- and animal-infections by the mid of 20th century. In 1982, E. coli was first defined as an intestinal pathogen and an important source of food-borne diseases. These bacteria can cause serious diseases, such as hemorrhagic proctitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and acute renal failure. Additionally, E. coli can easily form biofilms, which also affects human health [E. coli\u2019s pollution, the incidents of food poisoning by the contamination of E. coli are still common, and have caused serious damage to human health, as well as huge losses to the food industry and economy [E. coli outbreak in 13 states in North America, which caused multiple infections [E. coli (EHEC) disease. Consumers ate contaminated bean sprouts, which caused diarrhea, hemolytic uremic syndrome and even death [E. coli O157 food poisoning occurred in dozens of middle schools and kindergartens in Okayama, Hiroshima, and other areas of Japan, and the number of infections reached nearly 10,000 [At present, despite plenty of research for strengthening the prevention and control of  economy . In 2018fections . In 2011en death ,7. In 19E. coli can greatly increase its resistance to environmental stress and often results in sterilization failures. Biofilm is composed of microbial colonies and self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), where the microorganisms of the same or different species are spontaneously wrapped in their self-secreted EPS matrix, which provides resistance to the external environment, and attachment to the surface of living or non-living carriers [E. coli biofilm, which could provide novel insights into the control of E. coli biofilm in the food industry.Notably, the biofilm-formation capability of carriers ,10,11. TThe formation of microbial biofilm is a universal phenomenon. As long as the conditions permit, microorganisms often form biofilm in the environment . The forE. coli biofilm is generally divided into five stages, including reversible adhesion, irreversible adhesion, colony formation, biofilm maturation, and dispersion, as shown in Since the observation of microbes and biofilms by Antony van Leeuwenhoek in dental plaques using a microscope in 1676, studies about the mechanisms of biofilm formation have evolved rapidly . To dateThe free microorganisms receive environmental signals (such as nutrients), and use their extracellular organelles  and outer membrane proteins in order to adhere to the carrier surface.Microorganisms secrete EPS, which enhances the adhesion of microorganisms with the carrier surface. EPS is composed of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, lipopolysaccharides, and other substances, and forms a protective barrier for microorganisms by restricting and preventing the antibacterial agents from reaching the biological membrane of target organisms ,15. NotaE. coli into the biofilm lifestyle by regulating the synthesis of biofilm matrix compounds [The microorganisms, adhering to the carrier surface, grow and multiply to form colonies. Then, the continuous proliferation of microorganisms makes their biological growth space crowded with a lack of nutrients and accumulation of toxic substances. At this stage, the quorum-sensing (QS) signals, a cell-to-cell communication mechanism in bacteria, could induce the ompounds . During ompounds .E. coli microcolonies continue to accumulate, which further increases the thickness of the film and results in the formation of mushroom-like or columnar subunits. Then, the biofilm grows in a three-dimensional manner and eventually forms a viable three-dimensional structure [tructure .The dispersion of biofilm can be divided into active dispersion and passive dispersion. The active dispersion refers to a decrease in the level of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) in cells, which results in the production of enzymes that degrade the matrix of biofilm and promote its dispersion. The passive dispersion depends on the external factors, such as physical triggers  and enzymatic degradation (extracellular hydrolase) . The disE. coli biofilm is a strong survival support for E. coli in unfavorable living environmental conditions, protects the growth and reproduction of E. coli to the greatest extent, and provides favorable conditions for E. coli to wreak havoc on and pollute food, eventually causing infection and affecting human health.In conclusion, the formation of E. coli is an indicator of fecal pollution, and a serious threat to the life and health of consumers. Once the content of E. coli in a food item exceeds the standard, it is withdrawn from the shelves, resulting in huge economic losses.Hygienically, E. coli may pose a greater threat to the processing and production of food. Studies show that once the microbial biofilm is formed, the resistance of bacteria to disinfectants is increased by 500 times, suggesting that, in the presence of biofilms, the germicidal time and concentration of disinfectants must be increased to 10\u2013100 times to kill bacteria [Moreover, the biofilm-making ability of bacteria ,22. Anotbacteria .E. coli biofilm exists in nearly all aspects of the processing and production of all kinds of food , and may cause pipeline biological pollution and equipment damage , thereby contaminating food items [At present, a couple of studies have shown that the od items ,25,26,27E. coli, as it grows in a natural environment. This may introduce E. coli into the food industry. Studies have reported the isolation of E. coli from peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and other crops in Nuevo Leon and Coavira, Mexico. A total of 341 strains of E. coli have been isolated, of which 76% of strains have the ability to form biofilms. Among them, 34% of E. coli strains form strong biofilms [E. coli to cause human and animal diseases, a great importance has been given to the detection of E. coli in poultry products. At present, Brazil is the largest exporter of chicken. Among the 88 strains of E. coli isolated from the chicken meat of four retail chicken companies in Brazil, 31 strains could form a strong biofilm, while only four strains could not form biofilm [E. coli can easily form biofilms in processing equipment, such as stainless-steel metal products [E. coli from fresh-cut processing equipment. The co-culturing of E. coli with the isolated Burkholderia caryophylli and Ralstonia insidiosa increases biofilm biomass by 180% and 63%, respectively, posing a great challenge to eliminating the foodborne pathogens in fresh-cut processing equipment [Food ingredients can also be easily contaminated by biofilms , which p biofilm . In addiproducts ,30, polyproducts , due to quipment .E. coli can form biofilm on the surface of food items, pipes, and processing equipment, which greatly increases its resistance to environmental conditions and reduces the effectiveness of disinfectants [E. coli in food items and harms the health of consumers. Therefore, it is urgent to take effective measures to reduce or control the formation of E. coli  biofilm during processing, as shown in fectants . The bioE. coli biofilm to a certain extent, but cannot completely inactivate it [E. coli biofilm, the inhibitory effects of NEOW and CD on E. coli biofilm biomass were significantly higher than that of SH and exhibited a certain degradation effect on E coli biofilm. Among them, NEOW was the most stable at a low temperature (5 \u00b0C) with the lowest chlorine loss rate and a wider bacteriostatic temperature range [E. coli biofilm suggested that the HPQM exhibited comparatively better inhibitory properties and bacteriostatic effects on LLDPE with low roughness than ZEOMIC [2 and SH were found to show the highest anti-biofilm activity against E. coli on stainless steel, followed by glass, plastic, and wood [E. coli on the surface of Hami melon, but a 2000-\u03bcg/mL concentration of SH and arginine LAE had no obvious effects on the inhibition of E. coli biofilm, and the biofilm showed high resistance to disinfectants [E. coli biofilm and the mixed biofilm of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Its inhibitory effect is mainly through the rise of reactive oxygen species, leading to bacterial oxidative stress and damaging the respiratory system [At present, the disinfectants, commonly used in food processing and slaughterhouses, include chlorine disinfectants, quaternary ammonium chloride (QAC), and lactic acid, which inhibit the formation of ivate it . When stre range . The comn ZEOMIC . At the and wood . This infectants . Therefoy system .E. coli biofilm in food processing and production, physical methods  are often used in addition to chemical methods to reduce the occurrence of food\u2019s cross-contamination. High-temperature sterilization is the most common physical method to control microorganisms. Saturated steam (SS) and superheated steam (SHS) can inactivate polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in food processing facilities and inhibit the formation of E. coli biofilm on the surface of stainless steel. SHS showed higher lethality and better inactivation of the cells in E. coli biofilm [E. coli biofilm. When the amplitude of vibration on the surface is greater than 21nm, the greater the amplitude, the less the number of viable bacteria. It can provide a reference for some precise and difficult methods to clean mechanical surfaces in food or medicine [E. coli biofilm and a reduction in E. coli\u2019s abundance under the biofilm to 5log10. At the same time, the low-temperature plasma sterilization, in combination with water spray, can not only inhibit bacteria, but also improve the efficiency of antifouling [E. coli biofilm and Listeria biofilm, while this inhibitory effect slightly decreased as biofilm growth age increased. Afterwards, a mixed culture of the two bacteria showed that the production of EPS in E. coli biofilm may contribute to the increases in the resistance of cold atmospheric plasma, which provides a new target to inactivate bacteria on the complex solid surface [the Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) in the biofilm on stainless steel would not transfer to lettuce. However, when the temperature is 25 \u00b0C, STEC will transfer from the biofilm to stainless steel. It is suggested that keeping a low temperature in a food processing environment is helpful to control the transfer of E. coli in biofilm, resulting in microbial cross-contamination [For the inhibition of  biofilm . To prevmedicine . In addimedicine . The lowifouling . Similar surface . In addimination .E. coli biofilm. The combination of lactic acid (LA) with water vapors can effectively reduce the abundance of E. coli on the surface of PVC and stainless steel, and exhibits lethal effects on the microorganisms in biofilm [E. coli biofilm [In the actual food processing and production, food industries often use the combination of chemical and physical sterilization methods to control microorganisms, and the synergistic effect between them maximizes the removal or inhibition of  biofilm . The com biofilm .E. coli biofilm have been widely reported.In recent years, due to the decrease in the sensitivity of microorganisms in biofilm to conventional disinfectants, the germicidal efficacy of conventional disinfectants cannot reach an ideal state, which increases the risk of food microbial safety. Therefore, there is an urgent need to seek new active germicidal substances and improve their efficiency. Biological extracts are natural compounds, which avoid the problem of chemical disinfectant residues and have attracted wide attention because of their higher level of safety. Therefore, the inhibitory effects of biological extracts on E. coli biofilm have attracted the attention of researchers. The main component of scallop shell is calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which is easily decomposed into calcium oxide (CaO) by heating, which then exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial properties [E. coli biofilm on the surface of stainless steel in whey powder solution and meat processing plant washing water by 4 and 6 log CFU/cm2 and 3 and 5 log CFU/cm2, respectively. This inhibitory effect was positively correlated with the concentration of scallop shell powder, suggesting that it can be a good candidate for application in the food industry [With the attitude of safety, environmental protection, economy, and turning waste into treasure, animal extracts such as the scavenging effects of scallop shells on operties ,62. Studindustry .10 CFU, thereby reducing the risk of food cross infection [E. coli biofilm, such as bacteriophage FP43, Daica, and135 [In addition, the concept of using bacteriophages, the natural predators of bacteria, as a novel strategy to prevent and eliminate biofilms has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. The treatment with phage AZO145A significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of STEC on the surface of stainless-steel plate, and significantly inhibited their migration at 24 \u00b0C in the biofilm formed in beef, which was reduced to 3.1 log, and135 ,46. In t, and135 .E. coli have been a hot topic. The plant extracts can be directly used in food processing equipment or food items to inhibit the E. coli biofilm and prolong the shelf-life of food items. Phenols are widely studied for their inhibitory effects on E. coli biofilm. Four components were obtained after extracting the active components from burdock leaves with ethanol and diluted with water to form different concentrations of ethanol . It was found that the active components obtained by different ethanol elution could significantly inhibit the E. coli biofilm, where the inhibitory effects were correlated with the phenol contents in the burdock leaves. The 70% ethanol elution could seriously damage the structure of E. coli biofilm, which no longer showed the state of a multi-layer growth [E. coli biofilm [E. coli biofilm, which were proportional to the time, and could completely remove the biofilm after 15 min of exposure [E. coli biofilm without affecting the growth of bacteria [E. coli biofilm. The combination of clove oil and liposome, making solid liposomes (SLPs), can avoid the disadvantage of volatilization under light and at a high temperature, and improve stability and the utilization rate. The SLPs treatment dispersed the E. coli biofilm from the whole to a loose state, which seriously damaged its structure, decreased the biomass under membrane, and saw some cells collapse. In addition, the application of SLPs to the surface of cucumber and lettuce also showed a good inhibitory effect on biofilm and prolonged the shelf life of vegetables [E. coli biofilms, with an inhibition rate of 50% at 6.25 g/mL or more [The inhibitory effects of plant extracts on the biofilm of r growth . The com biofilm . The lowexposure . The chabacteria . In addigetables . The ant or more .E. coli biofilm mainly depend on the inhibition of cell metabolic activities; gene expression; reduction in extracellular polysaccharides, bacterial motility, and cell hydrophobicity; and directly preventing the initial adhesion stage of biofilm formation. The treatment of E. coli with SLPs suggested a negative correlation of the SLPs concentration of clove oil with the bacterial metabolic activities, extracellular polysaccharides, and protein contents, thereby weakening the protective barrier and adhesion of bacteria [Coptis chinensis could also inhibit the metabolic activities of E. coli biofilm [E. coli to the surface; and inhibited the formation of biofilm [E. coli biofilm with triterpenoids (oleanolic acid and ursolic acid) suggested that oleanolic acid analogues could change the expression of genes involved in the regulation of type IV pili [E. coli by inhibiting the formation of biofilm, and ETH, MEC, TEB, and PYR could significantly reduce the surface hydrophobicity of E. coli cells and hinder the adhesion stage during the formation of E. coli biofilm [E. coli, vitamin C can down-regulate the signal transduction genes and regulatory genes of biofilm by more than 27 times [E. coli and Listeria on the surface of polypropylene, it was also found that the inhibitory effect of cinnamon, marjoram, and thyme could be achieved by penetrating the biofilm and cell membrane, further changing the fluidity and permeability of the membrane, condensing the protons of the cytoplasm to form the weak mitochondria [The inhibitory effects of plant extracts on bacteria . The ext biofilm . Coumari biofilm . Studyin IV pili . CAT, TE biofilm . In the 27 times . In the chondria .E. coli biofilm has become a hidden danger of microbial contamination in the food industry. The formation of E. coli biofilm is a complex process, which is affected by a variety of regulatory networks. At present, there is an urgent need for studies on the regulatory mechanism of biofilm maturation, as well as the prevention methods of biofilm formation. Meanwhile, studying the mechanisms of the inhibition of E. coli biofilm is of great significance for the development of efficient and safe germicide to reduce E. coli biofilm in the food industry.The formation of microbial biofilm is a kind of self-protection behavior of microorganisms in unfavorable environmental conditions, which helps them in avoiding environmental stresses. Therefore, the"}
+{"text": "Dermestes (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis\u2014a species considered relatively rare in Poland, whose presence on human corpses was first observed in 2020 in Wroclaw.Dermestidae are beetles of economic importance but also of significance for forensic entomology. In the latter case, Dermestidae are classified as colonisers of cadavers in late stages of decomposition when the remains are in a dry phase (mummified human corpses) or are partially skeletonised. Therefore, they are classified as secondary necrophages. This article describes three cases of mummified human corpses in indoor conditions that were colonised by representatives of the Dermestidae. All three cases are linked by the presence of Dermestes Linnaeus, 1758, are often identified on corpses in late stages of decomposition. They usually feed on remains devoid of organs and soft tissues or when the corpses undergo mummification. In Europe, eight species from two subgenera Dermestes and Dermestinus Zhantiev, 1967, have so far been identified on human corpses. Despite the relatively frequent presence of Dermestes sp. in experimental studies conducted in Poland, no reports concerning Dermestes directly collected from human corpses have been published to date. This article again describes observations of Dermestidae collected from human corpses found in indoor conditions in Wroc\u0142aw, the capital of the Dolno\u015bl\u0105skie Voivodeship. For the second time, there is evidence of the presence of Dermestes (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis on human corpses\u2014a species considered to be relatively rare, as evidenced by faunistic data published from Poland, as well as the results of ongoing experiments of forensic interest.Beetles of the family Dermestidae, especially of the genus  Dermestes Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are necrophagous insects found on corpses, including human corpses [Dermestes includes approximately 90 species, including fossils ones [Dermestes (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis K\u00fcster, 1852. This species, described from southern France, mainly inhabits southern Europe while data on its distribution are fragmentary, especially in central Europe. Moreover, this species has been reported in Africa , South America , and Asia  [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was first found in Warsaw, where it was brought in the 1960s and where it probably acclimatised [Beetles of the genus  corpses ,3,4. The corpses . Informa corpses  and Kadeils ones . An examVietnam) ,11,12. IVietnam) . StudiesVietnam)  and JakoVietnam) . In Polaimatised . The disimatised  and dataDermestes (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was reported.This article describes below three cases of mummified human corpses from south-western Poland from the city of Wroc\u0142aw, in which the presence of Dermestes sp. found in Poland on animal or human corpses both under experimental conditions and in available case studies.In this article, the species of associated insects are only briefly described. This article includes comparisons of published data on Insects were stored in plastic vials for morphological examination. The studied material was collected directly from the corpse in an autopsy room (cases #1\u20133) or at the place where the corpse was found . Species identification was conducted using a Nikon SMZ800  binocular microscope. All materials are stored at the Centre for Forensic Biology and Entomology, University of Wroc\u0142aw.Both dead and live larvae/adults were preserved in 75% ethanol. Larval moults, after drying, were stored in plastic boxes. For final species identification, male genitalia were separated and dissected and then preserved in warm 10% KOH and washed in distilled water.Species identification was conducted using a Nikon SMZ800  binocular microscope. The identification of Dermestidae was made by the analysis of specific species characteristics of both adults and larvae, including the comparison of male genitalia ,6,17. Ot\u00ae 4500  digital camera. Image stacks were processed using Combine ZP\u00ae software .Images were taken under a Nikon SMZ800  binocular microscope with a Nikon CoolpixOn 10 August 2020, the corpse of an 83-year-old single man was discovered in a flat on the first floor of a multifamily two-story house in an old (before World War II) building in the centre of a large city . The corD. (Dermestinus) frischii Kugelann, 1792 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) (D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Adults of three Dermestidae species of the genus Dermestes (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) were collected from the flat of the deceased and preserved. They included D. (D.) frischii , D. (s.str.) lardarius Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) , and D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis . Attagenus smirnovi Zhantiev, 1973 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) (multiple live larvae) and Anthrenus verbasci  (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) (one live larva) were also collected from the flat and preserved. Puparia and dead adults of flies Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 , Lucilia sericata  , and dead adults of Sarcophaga Meigen, 1826 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) were present in large numbers on windowsills, furniture, and the floor .In an autopsy room, mostly dead adults, larvae, and larval moults of two Dermestidae species were collected from the corpse and preserved, i.e., estidae)  and D.  haemorrhoidalis  were collected and preserved. In this case, the forensic entomologist was not present at the site where the body was found.In terms of insects found on the corpse, adults and larvae of On 26 February 2021, the corpse of a 75-year-old single woman was discovered in a flat on the fifth floor of a block of flats dated around 2000. The deceased lay on her back on the kitchen floor; the flat was in disarray. The woman did not maintain contact with her family and neighbours. In March 2019, there was an emergency room intervention for her due to cardiac problems. A neighbour living opposite to the flat where the body was found last saw the deceased about two years earlier; he used to see her very rarely. Autopsy findings included advanced late post-mortem changes in the form of natural mummification with soft tissue loss involving the head, neck, shoulders, and upper thoracic region. The residual preservation of internal organs included a transformed brain with completely blurred structure and a homogeneous conglomerate of highly transformed trunk organs that were impossible to identify. Insects and evidence of their development and feeding (Coleoptera and Diptera) were found on the corpse . The weiNecrobia rufipes  (Coleoptera: Cleridae) (eighty-five adults and twenty larvae) and D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis  were collected from the corpse in an autopsy room and preserved. In addition to beetles, developmental forms of the following Diptera were collected: Piophila casei  (Diptera: Piophilidae) , puparia of Phoridae , and Chrysomya albiceps   (numerous puparia and three dead adults). In this case, the forensic entomologist was not present at the site where the body was found.Dermestes were identified on human corpses: D. (Dermestinus) frischii; D. (D.) maculatus DeGeer, 1774; D. (D.) undulatus Brahm, 1790; D. (s.str.) ater DeGeer, 1774; D. (s.str.) bicolor bicolor Fabricius, 1781; D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis; D. (s.str.) lardarius; and D. (s.str.) peruvianus Laporte de Castelnau, 1840 [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was mainly found on dry or skeletonised corpses decomposing in indoor conditions [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was the only representative of the genus Dermestes, represented by larval moults, live larvae, dead and live adults, and frass. Similarly, in the three cases presented in this paper, D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was the species found on the corpses and was even the dominant species . All of the above-mentioned cases of corpse mummification took place in the urban agglomeration and inside living quarters.In Europe, eight species of the genus au, 1840 . The aboA. smirnovi, A. verbasci, and C. vicina, the following species were also collected from the flat and corpse and preserved: D. (D.) frischii, D. (s.str.) lardarius, L. sericata, and Sarcophaga sp. As the study by Lutz et al. proved [L. sericata and C. vicina and beetles such as D. (s.str.) lardarius were the most abundant species on human corpses analysed in Germany. In case #2, the species composition was dominated by D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis. This situation can be explained by specific circumstances, e.g., the hot and dry environment, rapid mummification of the body, and the absence of other necrophagous insects. In such conditions, Dermestes sp. can colonize a body in huge numbers [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis still included species such as N. rufipes, P. casei, Phoridae , and Ch. albiceps. In the light of published data from Europe, the above-mentioned assemblage is fairly typical of indoor decomposition, excluding Piophilidae, which are considered rather typical of outdoor decomposition [Chrysomya albiceps, although usually found in environments such as meadows and forests [Necrobia rufipes can also be found on both animal [N. rufipes in relation to Dermestidae are also consistent with the results of a study by Charabidze et al. [Necrobia spp., although it was observed especially for outdoor varieties.Case #1, which was described in this paper, had a composition of insect species found on corpses that was strongly similar to the assemblage reported from Wroc\u0142aw by Kadej et al. . The dif. proved , Diptera numbers ,22. In cposition , as confposition ,25,26,27 forests ,24,28,29 forests ,28,30. S forests ,31,32. Nh animal ,26,27 anh animal ,33. ObseDermestes (three species) on the corpse. In the other two cases (cases #2\u20133), only D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis was found on the corpses. These observations are consistent with the results from northwestern Europe, where the highest percentage of findings was for only one species of Dermestes sp. on corpses, regardless of whether decomposition occurred in indoor or outdoor conditions [In the described cases, only in case #1 there was more than one representative of Sus scrofa domestica Linnaeus, 1758) carcasses in outdoor conditions detected the following representatives of the genus Dermestes: D. (D.) frischii [D. (D.) murinus murinus Linnaeus, 1758 [D. (D.) laniarius laniarius Illiger, 1802 [D. (s.str.) lardarius, D. (D.) frischii, and D. (D.) undulatus were also found on a male corpse in outdoor conditions [D. (s.str.) lardarius on a corpse pulled from a chimney [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis prefers corpses in indoor conditions, such as rooms in residential buildings. This is also confirmed by previously published faunistic data from Poland [D. (s.str.) bicolor bicolor. In one of the three cases described in this study (case #1), this species was in turn accompanied by D. (D.) frischii and D. (s.str.) lardarius. The latter observation partly coincides with the result obtained by Voigt [D. (s.str.) lardarius was present on a corpse together with D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis.Data from Poland  from expfrischii ,26,27,34us, 1758 ,36, and nditions   peruvianus was the dominant species on corpses in indoor conditions [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis [In contrast to results from northwestern Europe where nditions , observahoidalis . ConfirmD. (s.str.) maculatus [In all three cases described in this study (cases #1\u20133), there was only the damage to the dehydrated skin typical of Dermestidae (cf. ). Only iaculatus ), no sucaculatus . The lacD. (D.) frischii, in the empty shells of pupae of flies of the family Calliphoridae (D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis, also collected from a mummified corpse found in one of the flats in Wroc\u0142aw [D. (D.) frischii exhibits predatory behaviour in relation to larvae of Diptera, as experimentally proven for D. (s.str.) ater in relation to larvae of Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) [Dermestes sp. found on human corpses.An interesting observation was made in case #1, namely, the confirmation of pupation, this time by phoridae . A simil Wroc\u0142aw . The eviuscidae) . These oD. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis in all so far published descriptions of mummified human corpses in indoor conditions in Wroc\u0142aw ([D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis on corpses prove that this species, contrary to what Mroczkowski wrote in 1975 [Columba livia f. urbana Gmelin, 1789 (Aves: Columbiformes: Columbidae), whose nests are very frequently built in residential buildings in Wroc\u0142aw , may be one of such sources. The possibility of the colonisation of bird nests by this species was mentioned by Hockin [D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis might breed in pigeon nests in London. From bird nesting sites, D. haemorrhoidalis may be attracted to corpses not only by the smell of decaying remains, but also by a male-produced aggregation pheromone [A separate commentary is required regarding the interpretation of the result of the presence of Wroc\u0142aw  haemorrhoidalis has so far been found sporadically in Poland, and knowledge of its distribution requires further in-depth faunistic studies. The results of autopsies of mummified human corpses, when confronted with data from field experiments, support the thesis that this is a species which mainly prefers decomposing corpses in indoor conditions. The cases presented by us indicate that D. (s.str.) haemorrhoidalis in this part of Poland may be a common or even the only larder beetle on corpses in the late stage of decomposition. This indicates the potential of this species in a forensic context. For this reason, further studies regarding the biology of this species found on human corpses would also be advisable, including studies in terms of its interactions with other species. According to recent scientific reports, it is also worth investigating the potential use of bones as material for the creation of pupal chambers by this species. The results described above also reveal the need to collect and preserve entomological material not only from human corpses in an autopsy room, but also directly at the site where the corpse was found. A visit by an entomologist to the site where a corpse was found not only allows more entomological evidence to be preserved, but also gives the opportunity to gather more information on species of forensic importance, their behaviour, and their use of the space around the corpse. For this reason, it should be good practice to allow a forensic entomologist or other competent person to participate in the examination of the body.In the future, based on cooperation between institutions such as the police and the prosecutor\u2019s office, the intention is to focus on Dermestidae that colonise human corpses in order to carefully analyse their communities in both outdoor and indoor conditions in Poland. This is particularly necessary because despite the relatively frequent occurrence of Dermestidae on human corpses, few studies analyse the communities of Dermestidae in detail."}
+{"text": "A 57 year-old man was referred for renal transplantation due to diabetic nephropathy. He was transferred from the city of Macap\u00e1, in the Brazilian Amazonian region. He reported a history of multiple chronic keloid-like lesions since he was three years-old. Along his life these lesions progressed to involve his face, trunk, and members. Lesions varied in size, some were confluent, nodular and ulcerated. At the age of 16 he was diagnosed with lobomycosis , after a skin biopsy was performed. He received courses of dapsone, itraconazole and clofazimine with no success. His social life was very much impacted by the disease. At arrival in our medical center, we had extensive and itchy, disseminated keloids . He was"}
+{"text": "Anoplophora glabripennis  and Demonax pseudonotabilis Gressitt & Rondon, 1970 are two commonly found longicorn beetles from China. However, the lack of sufficient molecular data hinders the understanding of their evolution and phylogenetic relationships with other species of Cerambycidae. This study sequenced and assembled the complete mitochondrial genomes of the two species using the next-generation sequencing method. The mitogenomes of A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis are 15,622 bp and 15,527 bp in length, respectively. The mitochondrial gene content and gene order of A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis are highly conserved with other sequenced longicorn beetles. The calculation of nonsynonymous (Ka) and synonymous (Ks) substitution rates in PCGs indicated the existence of purifying selection in the two longicorn beetles. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted using the protein-coding gene sequences from available mitogenomes of Cerambycidae. The two species sequenced in this study are, respectively, grouped with their relatives from the same subfamily. The monophyly of Cerambycinae, Dorcasominae, Lamiinae, and Necydalinae was well-supported, whereas Lepturinae, Prioninae, and Spondylidinae were recovered as paraphyletic. Cersperidae . Larvae speridae ,8,9,10. speridae ,12.s.s. and s.l., as well as the subfamily and tribe-level relationship, remains debatable due to the high species richness and highly variable morphological characters [s.s. in most analyses and a polyphyletic Cerambycidae s.l. as well as the monophyletic subfamilies of Cerambycidae s.s. except for the paraphyletic Cerambycinae [s.s. to explore the higher-level phylogeny of Chrysomeloidea, especially Cerambycidae and allied families. However, their study could not support the monophyly of Cerambycidae s.s. and all its subfamilies. The two subfamilies, Necydalinae and Parandrinae, were considered as tribes Necydalini and Parandrini, respectively [The phylogeny and early evolution of Cerambycidae have been comprehensively reviewed by Haddad & Mckenna (2016) . The phyaracters ,14,15. Hs.l. in the NCBI database is out of proportion to the remarkable species richness of longicorn beetles, which is a major impediment to better understanding the classification and evolution of this ecologically and economically significant group of insects.The mitogenome is an informative molecular marker for taxonomic and evolutionary research and has become one of the most popular molecules used in current insect phylogenetic studies . The devA. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis [A. glabripennis (NC_008221) has been sequenced in a previous study [s.l. is constructed based on the newly sequenced as well as the known mitogenomic data to investigate the phylogenetic positions of the two newly sequenced species and provide more information for resolving the relationships within Cerambycidae s.l.To provide more genetic data for the longicorn beetles and investigate their phylogenetic relationships, this study sequenced and analyzed the mitogenomes of two commonly found longicorn beetles from China, otabilis ,22. Althus study , it is sus study . PhylogeA. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis were collected by Malaise traps set in the tea garden of Hongyan Town , Mingshan County, Ya\u2019an City, Sichuan Province of China, in 2016. The specimens were identified based on the morphological characteristics under a light microscope and were deposited in Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (specimen voucher: SAASCO1 (A. glabripennis) and SAASCO2 (D. pseudonotabilis)). All experiments and procedures for this study complied with the current animal ethics guidelines and did not involve any protected animals. Adult specimens of A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis, respectively. Over 97.8% of bases in the raw reads were regarded as correctly identified with an accuracy rate above 99%. The unpaired, short, and low-quality raw reads were filtered by fastp [A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis, respectively.The total genomic DNA was extracted by E.Z.N.A. Tissue DNA Kit . At least 1 \u00b5g of purified DNA was used to construct the TruSeq DNA library with an insert size of 400 bp according to standard protocols. The library was sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform  with paired-end reads of 2 \u00d7 150 bp. A total of 21,616,708 and 22,096,010 raw reads were obtained for by fastp  to obtaiA. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis were, respectively, mapped to the reference mitogenome of the previously sequenced A. glabripennis (NC_008221) [A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers OP096420 and OP096419, respectively. Before the assembly, the high-quality reads were trimmed again using BBDuk with default settings implemented in Geneious Prime . The hig_008221)  and ampl_008221) , with thhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/orffinder/, accessed on 9 August 2022). The location and secondary structures of the transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes were predicted and visualized by MITOS. The mitogenome structure and GC skews were visualized by the CGView Server [Aoria nigripes  (Chrysomelidae) as the outgroup [The two mitogenomes were annotated in the MITOS web server . The resw Server . The nucw Server . The synoutgroup ,31. The outgroup . FEL (fioutgroup . Tandem outgroup . The steoutgroup .s.l. (A. nigripes (Chrysomelidae) was used as the outgroup [ND1, ND4, ND4L, and ND5; the other subset included the remaining 9 PCGs. IQ-Tree was used to perform the ML analysis under the edge-unlinked partition model for 5000 ultrafast bootstraps as well as the Shimodaira\u2013Hasegawa-like approximate likelihood-ratio test [The phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed based on the nucleotide sequences of 13 PCGs derived from 186 mitogenomes of Cerambycidae s.l. . Overalloutgroup . The 13 outgroup , followeoutgroup . The besoutgroup . Phylogetio test ,40,41. Ttio test  with foutio test .A. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis are circular DNA molecules of 15,622 bp and 15,527 bp in length  based on samples from Hebei Province [Drosophila yakuba Burla, 1954 [The assembled complete mitogenomes of n length , respectn length . Due to Province . Both nela, 1954 ,44,45. AA. glabripennis mitogenome with a total of 29 bp in length, and the longest overlapping sequence (8 bp) was located between trnCys and trnTyr. In the D. pseudonotabilis mitogenome, there are 12 overlapping regions with a total of 21 bp in length, and the longest overlapping sequences were only 4 bp in length. The universally found 7 bp overlapping regions between ATP8 and ATP6, as well as NAD4 and NAD4L in Cerambycidae and many other insects [NAD4 and NAD4L in the A. glabripennis mitogenome, which might be resulted from the different annotation methods. In addition to the overlapping regions, multiple intergenic spacers are scattered throughout both mitogenomes  of A. glabripennis and four PCGs  of D. pseudonotabilis end with an incomplete stop codon T. These incomplete stop codons are considered to be caused by the post-transcriptional polyadenylation [The PCGs have identical arrangement and similar size between the two mitogenomes and also other cerambycids. Most PCGs of the two species start with the standard ATN start codons , whereas odon TTG , which wnylation  and can ATP8 of both mitogenomes has the highest A + T content among the 13 PCGs  values indicate the most frequently used codon is TTA (Leu) for both mitogenomes , which a 13 PCGs . The Ka/ 13 PCGs A. The ev species A. The re p \u2264 0.1 B. Nearlyon sites . trnGlu of both mitogenomes  gene and small ribosomal RNA (rrnS) gene are found in the conserved location between trnLeu1 and the control region  and another 7 more complicated stem-loop structures are predicted in the CR of A. glabripennis (D. pseudonotabilis (D. pseudonotabilis. Functions of these secondary structures are unclear.The control region (CR) is the longest non-coding area in the two mitogenomes  and is fof 82.1% . In the ripennis . There aotabilis . HoweverA. glabripennis and D. pseudonotabilis are reconstructed based on the combined mitochondrial gene set of 13 PCGs. The ML and BI analyses generated similar tree topology (s.s. is not well-supported in both ML and BI trees due to the inclusion of other families of Chrysomeloidea (s.l. based on either molecular or morphological datasets [s.s. is still one of the most debatable subjects in the phylogeny and evolution of Chrysomeloidea [The phylogenetic positions of topology . The phymeloidea , which imeloidea . The phydatasets ,55,56,57The monophyly of Cerambycinae, Dorcasominae, Lamiinae, and Necydalinae is well-supported in both ML and BI analyses . The subs.l. and s.s.; the relative relationship between Cerambycidae s.s., Disteniidae, Oxypeltidae, and Vesperidae; and the monophyly and relationship of subfamilies in Cerambycidae s.l., especially within Cerambycidae s.s. The incongruence between different molecular phylogenetic studies could be attributed to the usage of different molecular types, sample sizes, and analytical methods. The taxonomic misidentification of sequenced samples in online databases such as GenBank could also lead to bizarre tree topology, especially for those clades with few taxa. Most main clades of Cerambycidae s.l. still lack sufficient molecular data to clarify their phylogenetic positions. The sequencing of more mitogenomes, optimization of datasets and substitution models, and the supplement of nuclear genes are expected to improve the resolution of mitochondrial phylogenetic reconstruction of Cerambycidae s.l. in future works.Although numerous contributions have been made to explore the higher-level phylogeny of longhorn beetles, there are still some debatable points to be solved: the monophyly of Cerambycidae In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the mitogenomes of two longicorn beetles, which are important pests of cultivated ecosystems in China. The structure and content of the two mitogenomes are conserved in comparison to other sequenced mitogenomes of Cerambycidae, but the intraspecific mitogenomic variation is also detected. The monophyly of four subfamilies was supported by the phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequence of PCGs. The results provided basic genetic information for understanding the phylogeny and evolution of longicorn beetles."}
+{"text": "Pseudemys concinna in Korea was sequenced and characterized. The mitochondrial genome is constituted of 37 genes  genes, and two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes) and a noncoding region. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete mitochondrial genome showed that P. concinna has closer relationship with Chrysemys picta than Trachemys scripta elegans. This is the first case for complete mitochondrial genome from P. concinna in Korea, which will provide information for biogeographical studies and management plan for invasive species.The complete mitochondrial genome of  Pseudemys concinna, Le Conte 1830) is native to the central and eastern United States , Korea, and the total genomic DNA was extracted from the tail using the DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocol. The extracted DNA sample was deposited at the Museum of Wildlife, located in Research Center of Ecomimetics, Chonnam National University, South Korea . The mitochondrial genome was analyzed using Illumina HiSeqXten platform , which was performed by Macrogen . Raw sequence data were checked by FastQC, and adaptor trimming and quality filtering were performed by Trimmomatic , and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a putative long non-coding control region. Twelve protein-coding genes, 14 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes are encoded in heavy strand, whereas one protein-coding gene (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6) and eight tRNA genes in light strand. The nucleotide composition of the P. concinna mitochondrial genome  is similar to that of T. scripta elegans Korea , Mauremys sinensis China , Mauremys reevesii Korea , and Chrysemys picta USA . The sequence of P. concinna has higher similarity with that of C. picta (93%) than other turtles including T. scripta elegans (90%), M. sinensis (81%), and M. reevesii (80%).The complete mitochondrial genome of P. concinna, the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of 14 species in the order Testudines were extracted from GenBank. To check the possibility of genetic disturbance by invasive species in Korean native species, we chose M. reevesii and P. sinensis as a native species and M. sinensis, M. temminckii, C. picta, and T. scripta as an invasive species (Song et\u00a0al. P. concinna is closer with C. picta than T. scripta elegans. But P. concinna is separated from C. picta in the phylogenetic tree. These data provide information on the complete mitochondrial genome of P. concinna for the first time and can contribute to further studies on biodiversity and management of P. concinna which is an invasive species in many countries including Korea.To investigate the phylogenetic position of"}
+{"text": "Key featuresThe Green Blue Spaces (GBS) e-cohort includes 2.8 million UK adults (2008-19) and was established to quantify the impact of natural environments on mental health and wellbeing in Wales, UK.This is the first e-cohort with national household-level longitudinal environment metrics  for 1.4 million residences linked to longitudinal electronic health records (updated quarterly), with a subgroup of 5312 linked survey responses on visits to outdoor spaces and wellbeing.Baseline and follow-up information was extracted quarterly through electronic record linkage, including mental health service use and sociodemographic and economic characteristics.After almost 12 years\u2019 follow-up, 0.7% were lost to follow-up due to migration out of Wales and were replaced with in-migration and those reaching the age of 16 years (25%), 9.9% died and 28% had at least one common mental health episode recorded with their general practitioner (GP).https://saildatabank.com/application-process/].The GBS e-cohort uses a controlled data-access model  for opportunities to collaborate with the original investigator team.This cohort is stored and maintained in the SAIL Databank at Swansea University, Swansea, UK. This is a controlled access cohort; all proposals to use SAIL data are subject to review by an independent Information Governance Review Panel. Where access is granted, it is gained through a privacy protecting safe haven and remote access system (SAIL Gateway). The cohort data will be available to external researchers for collaborative research projects after 2022. For further details about accessing the cohort, contact [saildatabank.com] and Sarah Rodgers [This cohort is based on routinely collected administrative, environment and survey data. All data will be anonymised into a secure databank, and therefore there will be no mechanism for informing potential cohort participants of possible benefits and known risks. The cohort received approval from an independent Information Governance Review Panel, an independent body consisting of membership from a range of government, regulatory and professional agencies. We obtained informed consent to use the linked and anonymised NSW data within the SAIL databank. All routinely collected anonymised data held in SAIL are exempt from consent due to the anonymised nature of the databank .See \u2018Can I get hold of the data?\u2019, above.IJE online.S.E.R. designed and led the development of the cohort. D.T. produced the analysis and cohort linkage and drafted the paper with R.G. R.F. and A.M. produced the exposure metrics and reviewed the paper. A.W. provided input on analytical strategy. F.R. and B.W. produced the analysis and linkage for individuals linked to NSW survey and reviewed the paper. R.L., G.S. and A.A. reviewed the paper. All authors contributed to cohort design through input to regular meetings. All authors reviewed the final submitted paper.The GBS and Mental Health in Wales cohort was developed as part of independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), project number 16/07/07, and the UK Prevention Research Partnership, GroundsWell (MR/V049704/1). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.dyac080_Supplementary_DataClick here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Physical fatigue caused by study and work hinders female Ph.D. candidates from participating in sports (p < 0.05). Some female Chinese Ph.D. candidates in a negative emotional state are unwilling to participate in sports (p < 0.01). Future research should formulate different types of sports intervention programs suitable for alleviating the anxiety of female Ph.D. candidates.Given that stress leads to more anxiety among female Ph.D. candidates, more attention should be paid to their healthy lifestyle options. Several studies have shown that there is a negative correlation between sports and anxiety. This study took female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety and sports participation as the research objects. A questionnaire entitled \u201cInvestigation on anxiety and sports of Ph.D. candidates\u201d was used to explore the characteristics of anxiety in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates and to investigate the association between anxiety and sports in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates. A total of 588 Ph.D. candidates participated in the questionnaire survey. Some 21 invalid questionnaires were eliminated through the standard deviation of the items of the scale, and 567 valid questionnaires were finally obtained. The questionnaire survey was conducted online from 26 February to 15 March 2022, using the convenience sampling method. The results show that the anxiety level of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates is higher than that of male Ph.D. candidates and that the anxiety level of female Ph.D. candidates in a non-sports discipline is the highest. Weekly sports participation significantly lowers female Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety level ( In recent years, the stress faced by Ph.D. candidates has attracted widespread attention in academia. A number of studies have shown that long-term investment in academic research makes graduate students, especially Ph.D. candidates, six times more likely to experience anxiety or depression than the general public, ref.  Ph.D. caIn recent years, several studies have shown that the effect of sports is not limited to physical health but can also eliminate negative emotions and improve psychological adaptability . There iStudies show that Ph.D. candidates lack time and energy for leisure activities, including sports, due to their heavy learning schedules ,20. The In summary, sports play a role in alleviating anxiety. However, there has been little research and analysis of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 sports participation. In particular, there is a lack of in-depth studies on the relationship between sports and female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety. Based on this, this study took anxiety and sports participation among Chinese Ph.D. candidates as the research object. A questionnaire was used to explore the characteristics of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety and to reveal the association between female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety and sports. Consequently, this study proposes a hypothesis that there is a correlation between female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety and sports. Therefore, there are four aspects of this hypothesis to be addressed. The first question involves the investigation of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety. The second question relates to the comparison of different groups of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety characteristics. The third aspect deals with the analysis of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 sports participation characteristics. Finally, the assessment of the association between sports and female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety will be completed.The questionnaire survey was conducted online from 26 February to 15 March 2022. To make the research easier to implement, a convenience sampling method was used. To improve the accuracy of the convenience sampling method, 13 universities with relatively complete Ph.D. programs were selected for sampling. We selected the 13 universities according to the type of university, reputation for academic rigor, and the scale of Ph.D. programs. From the perspective of university types, all these universities have Ph.D. programs, and the disciplines include humanities and social sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and technical sciences. Each of the universities has a large number of Ph.D. candidates. In terms of academic rigor, they include first-class universities and ordinary universities, which helps to reflect the anxiety and sports characteristics of Ph.D. candidates at differently ranked universities. The inclusion criteria of Ph.D. candidates are the registered Ph.D. candidates from the 13 universities. This study obtained the informed consent of all Ph.D. candidates participating in the survey. The way to obtain informed consent is to point out in the directions for the questionnaire that \u201cIf you are willing to accept the survey, please complete the questionnaire\u201d. Our research was approved by the Biological and medical ethics committee of Northeastern University. The approval number is No.: 2022-04-117. Finally, a total of 588 Ph.D. candidates participated in the questionnaire survey. To improve the quality of the questionnaire, we used the descriptive analysis method to analyze each item in the scale. We set the value of data greater than \u00b13 standard deviation as an abnormal value and deleted it. Finally, 21 invalid questionnaires were found and deleted, and 567 valid questionnaires were finally obtained.The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between anxiety and sports participation in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates. A questionnaire entitled \u201cInvestigation on anxiety and sports of Ph.D. candidates\u201d was used to explore the characteristics of anxiety in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates and to assess the association between sports participation and anxiety. The instruments included a sociodemographic questionnaire, a sports participation questionnaire, and the Spielberger State\u2013Trait Anxiety Inventory. The sociodemographic questionnaire and sports participation questionnaire were investigated by us. We compiled the questionnaire items by reading the literature and consulting experts. The sociodemographic questionnaire provided information on gender, age, marital status, motherhood, grade, and discipline. The sports participation questionnaire provided information on sports behavior, sports motivation, and influencing factors of sports. The items of the two questionnaires were verified by consulting experts. The Spielberger State\u2013Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to investigate the anxiety of female Ph.D. candidates. The STAI is a self-report questionnaire that assesses anxiety as a state and as a trait. The State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) consists of 20 items rated on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1  to 4 (\u201cvery much\u201d). The Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI) consists of 20 items rated on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1  to 4 . Participants were asked to rate the statements according to how they currently feel (state) or how they feel in general (trait). Scores for both subscales have a range of 20\u201380. The SAI measures an individual\u2019s transitory emotional response to a stressful situation. It evaluates the emotional response of worry, nervousness, tension, and feelings of apprehension related to how people feel \u201cright now\u201d in a stressful situation. The TAI measures an individual\u2019s predisposition to anxiety determined by his/her personality and estimates how a person feels generally. The SAI and the TAI have well-established criterion, construct validity, and internal consistency reliability coefficients ,24. Li WThe main variables and their operationalization are summarized in SPSS 21.0 statistical software was used to analyze the data. The frequency analysis was used to analyze the individual characteristics and sports characteristics of Ph.D. candidates. A correlation test was used to analyze the individual characteristics and sports characteristics related to the anxiety of Ph.D. candidates. A regression test was used to analyze the independent variables related to Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety. Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety was measured by a comparison test to analyze the independent variables with linear correlation with candidates\u2019 anxiety and the effects of marital status and motherhood on that anxiety.A total of 567 Ph.D. candidates were included in this study, including 247 male Ph.D. candidates and 320 female Ph.D. candidates. Some 56.44% of the Ph.D. candidates were between 26 and 30 years old, and 22.93% of them were between 31 and 35 years old. The proportion of unmarried Ph.D. candidates was higher than that of married Ph.D. candidates, which was 68.78%. The proportion of childless Ph.D. candidates was higher than that of Ph.D. candidates with children, and its proportion was 80.07%. The grade distribution of Ph.D. candidates was relatively uniform. In terms of disciplines, 35.63% of them came from physical education, and other disciplines were evenly distributed. The basic information of samples is shown in The Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety scores in different groups are shown in p values. To further analyze the impacts of marital status and motherhood on Ph.D. candidates, we took the individual characteristics and sports characteristics related to their anxiety as covariates to investigate the impacts of marital status and motherhood on their anxiety . The resThe proportion of overall female Ph.D. candidates who often participate in sports is 29%. The proportion of their participation in sports 1\u20132 times a week is 47%, and 24% of them never participate in sports a. The duThe anxiety of female Ph.D. candidates is related to their sports participation . Figure p value of the negative emotion of state anxiety is less than 0.05, which indicates that there are significant differences in the motivation of regulating emotions among the negative emotions of different state anxiety. The p value of the positive emotion of female Ph.D. candidates\u2019 state anxiety in a non-sports discipline is less than 0.05, which means that there is a significant difference in the motivation of strengthening body among different positive emotions of state anxiety. The p value of positive and negative emotions of trait anxiety is less than 0.01, which means that there are extremely significant differences in strengthening body motivation among different trait anxiety emotions.Through correlation analysis, we found that the anxiety level of female Ph.D. candidates was related to their motivation to regulate emotions. Female Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety level correlated with emotional regulation motivation is high, but it is not significant. p value of the two influencing factors are both less than 0.05, which means that there are significant differences in the two influencing factors among different anxieties.Through correlation analysis, we found that learning leads to physical fatigue in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 and makes them unwilling to participate in sports. Some of the female Chinese Ph.D. candidates in a negative emotional state are not interested in anything, significantly affecting their anxiety level. Specifically, candidates who are physically tired and in negative emotions due to learning are unwilling to participate in sports. At the same time, their negative emotion level is high. This study found that female Chinese Ph.D. candidates\u2019 trait anxiety level is higher than that of male Ph.D. candidates, which is consistent with the previous research results. According to the anxiety theory, anxiety is related to a disorder in individual emotion regulation and cognitive control. Studies have shown that women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression  and all The results also indicated that grade has a significant effect on the anxiety of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates. Performing experiments, writing a doctoral thesis, and publishing doctoral qualification papers require considerable time, energy, and financial resources . With thThe anxiety level of married and female Chinese Ph.D. candidates with children is significantly higher than that of unmarried and childless ones. However, this result is not seen in male Ph.D. candidates. Previous studies have shown that the stress of female Ph.D. candidates is related to the role conflict caused by women\u2019s multiple identities . While wMost importantly, this study found that weekly sports participation frequency and the duration of the participation lower anxiety levels. Those who participate in sports 5\u20136 times a week have the highest positive emotion and the lowest negative emotion. It is consistent with the results of many previous studies ,12,32,33Regulating emotions is the main sports motivations of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates. Emotions of Ph.D. candidates may be accompanied by caution, complaints, meditation, nervousness, and worry . It may Finally, it has been shown that physical fatigue caused by learning and working is the main factor hindering female Chinese Ph.D. candidates from participating in sports. Some of the female Chinese Ph.D. candidates in negative emotional states are unwilling to participate in sports, and their anxiety level is high. Research has shown that participating in projects and publishing papers occupy most of a Ph.D. candidates\u2019 daily life and are the main pressure during their learning career ,37,38,39The strengths of this study are that statistical analysis is appropriate to access a wide sample of Chinese Ph.D. candidates. The results clearly show that the anxiety level of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates is higher than that of male Ph.D. candidates, and the anxiety level of female Chinese Ph.D. candidates in a non-sports discipline is the highest. In particular, the study provides quantified evidence of how sports participation lowers anxiety in female Chinese Ph.D. candidates, weekly sports participation significantly lowers anxiety level and physical fatigue caused by learning and working. It is this fatigue that is the main factor hindering female Chinese Ph.D. candidates from participating in sports.Limitations of this study include the sampling and the use of only a self-report measure to evaluate anxiety. First, all participants were recruited from 13 universities in China, and the convenient sampling method was adopted to conduct the questionnaire survey, which may inevitably lead to the concentration of Ph.D. candidates in certain areas. Thus, lack of diverse backgrounds means these findings cannot be representative of all Ph.D. candidates in China. Second, the self-report scale has its own defects in that everyone may have their own response style. For example, some Ph.D. candidates like to use the extreme option \u201cVery much\u201d to describe their currently feelings, while some like to boast of rationality and objectivity, and always only choose the middle option \u201cModerately\u201d. Fortunately, the STAI has designed reverse scoring items to control statistics, so future research suggests adding a rating scale or measuring at different time points.This study agrees with the previous studies that sports can decrease anxiety. Future research should formulate different types of sports intervention schemes suitable for alleviating female Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety. In addition, it is also important to research the mitigation mechanism of different sports intervention schemes on female Ph.D. candidates\u2019 anxiety."}
+{"text": "Central venous pressure (CVP) falls below supine levels upon entering weightlessness, but the reason for this has been debated. A commonly presented explanation for this reduction is that intrathoracic pressure falls dramatically in weightlessness , 2. In tThis explanation has problems. Although upright esophageal balloon measurements may reflect intrathoracic pressure accurately, supine measurements do not \u20135. In thIn the seminal study on weightlessness and intrathoracic pressure by Videbaek and colleagues , esophagThe problem with this conclusion, however, is that no allowance was made for the weight of the tissues that cause supine esophageal pressure to differ from intrathoracic pressure. Some authors suggest reducing measured supine balloon pressure by 3.7 mmHg to compensate . When thAn alternative explanation for the reduced CVP in weightlessness is that the removal of gravitational forces removes both hydrostatic forces within vessels and the pressures produced by the weight of tissues on the outside of blood vessels . Tissue Obesity leads to increased tissue pressures and so may also provide a way to understand the spaceflight results. De Divitiss et al.  performeNumerical modeling also offers a way to estimate the effects of removing tissue compressive forces. Removing those forces is not possible on Earth but can be simulated. We developed a multicompartment, lumped-parameter, numerical circulatory model that incorporates tissue-weight generated compressive forces exerted on vessels, as well as venous and arterial hydrostatic gradients . The modIn sum, available evidence does not support changes in intrathoracic pressure as the primary mechanism for decreased CVP in space below supine values, although it may contribute. The more likely cause is that the removal of hydrostatic gradients and tissue compressive forces throughout the body leads to a reduction in mean circulatory filling pressure, which is reflected in reductions of both central and peripheral venous pressures. The increased stroke volume and cardiac output that occur despite the lower venous pressures are likely due to changes in cardiac compliance also produced by the removal of gravity . It is, Nevertheless, this hypothesis has implications for understanding some of the unique effects of weightlessness. The spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome, for example, is sometimes thought to result from increased venous pressures in the head. If weightlessness is leading to a generalized reduction in venous pressures throughout the body, it is hard to postulate how head veins could sustain locally increased venous pressures. Instead, theories to explain SANS that take the likely reduction in venous pressures into account are needed .The development of the numerical models was supported by Grant CA03401 from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NCC 9\u201358 and by NASA EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement NNX13AD35A.No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.J.C.B. conceived and designed research; J.C.B. and M.L. analyzed data; J.C.B. and M.L. interpreted results of experiments; J.C.B. and M.L. prepared figures; J.C.B. drafted manuscript; J.C.B. and M.L. edited and revised manuscript; J.C.B. and M.L. approved final version of manuscript."}
+{"text": "Contracaecum rudolphii (s.l.) complex are habitual endoparasites of cormorants of the Phalacrocoracidae family, worldwide. In Europe, the two species, C. rudolphii sp. A and C. rudolphii sp. B, have been identified. However, information regarding the occurrence and distribution of these anisakids in cormorants from Spain is scarce. In the present study, 20 specimens of the European Shag, Ph. aristotelis desmarestii, from the western Mediterranean Spanish marine coast were parasitologically analyzed for the presence of nematodes. All hosts were found parasitized with Contracaecum specimens . A representative subsample was genetically identified as C. rudolphii sp. A by sequence analysis of the mtDNA cox2 gene and the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the rDNA. This represents the first report of C. rudolphii sp. A from the Spanish Mediterranean waters. Population genetic analysis was performed including other C. rudolphii sp. A specimens from the west Sardinian and the Tyrrhenian Sea. At the intraspecific level, a significant genetic differentiation  between the metapopulation from the Spanish Mediterranean coast and that from the Sardinian waters was observed; whereas, no differentiation was found between metapopulations of the parasite from the Spanish and the Tyrrhenian Italian coast. The findings highly support the hypothesis of the adaptation of the life cycle of C. rudolphii sp. A in brackish and marine ecosystems. Furthermore, the results on the population genetics of C. rudolphii sp. A suggest the possible role of the migration routes of wintering populations of cormorants in the Mediterranean Sea in influencing the parasite genetic structure.Sibling species of the  Contracaecum Raillet and Henry, 1912 includes species maturing in pinnipeds and waterbirds worldwide, representing the most diverse group of the family Anisakidae  species complex has its most habitual definitive hosts in cormorants belonging to the genus Phalacrocorax  (C. rudolphii sp. A and C. rudolphii sp. B (Ph. carbo sinensis. Regarding other sibling species so far included in the C. rudolphii (s.l.) complex, C. rudolphii sp. C has been detected in Ph. auritus from Florida  , 14, 15.ii sp. B , 15\u201317.  Florida . In Aust. varius . Moreoveectively , 9; C. crgentina ; and C. rgentina .Phalacrocorax aristotelis, is a cormorant species commonly found along European marine coasts, mainly observed on rocky seasides and islands. Its nesting habitat in Spain includes a wide range of inaccessible sites on the coast, such as cavities, fissures, and cliff ledges. It is generally sedentary, being the individuals faithful to their first breeding area . In the Mediterranean Sea, C. rudolphii sp. A has been identified in Ph. aristotelis from the east coast of Sardinia ; and (2) investigate the population genetic structure of the parasite species in the western Mediterranean Sea areas.The aim of the present study was to (1) identify genetically nematodes of the genus Ph. aristotelis desmarestii collected during the years 2019\u20132021 from the Catalan-Spanish waters, in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. The collecting sites of the cormorants are grouped in three different areas, corresponding to the northern (Costa Brava), the central (Maresme coast), and the southern (Costa Daurada) regions of the Catalan coast, as shown in A parasitological survey was performed on 20 individuals of Contracaecum, 28 from the Costa Brava, 26 from the Costa Daurada, and 21 from the Maresme coast. A minimum of at least two specimens from each cormorant individual was selected for DNA extraction, which was performed using the Quick-DNA Midiprep Plus Kit . Direct sequence analysis of the two genes, i.e., the mtDNA cox2 and the ITS region of the rDNA, was carried out on each nematode specimen. The mitochondrial cox2 gene was amplified using 211F and 210R primers, with a hybridization temperature of 46\u00b0C  using MrBayes software  of several marine localities of the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. In particular, they were from the Orbetello lagoon, the estuary of the Fiora and Marta rivers, and the Tarquinia salterns. In addition, sequences of the mtDNA cox2 of the same parasite species, available in GenBank, reported from Ph. c. sinensis of the western Sardinian coast [see Amor et al. (Nh), number of private haplotypes (Nuh) nucleotide diversity (\u03c0), haplotype diversity (Hd), average number of differences (K), and number of polymorphic sites (S). Spatial analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and analysis of the estimation of Fst values were conducted on the genetic datasets inferred from the populations of C. rudolphii sp. A from the distinct sampling areas with ARLEQUIN version 3.5 with 1,000 permutations, establishing the level of significance to a P < 0.05 , preadults, and adults of C. rudolphii (s.l.). All cormorants were found to be parasitized with nematode specimens , being the parasites found in the stomach and along the esophagus of the hosts.The parasitological analysis of the cox2 and ITS rDNA regions, respectively. The mtDNA cox2 and the ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA sequences analysis of the C. rudolphii (s.l.) specimens allowed us to identify all the nematode specimens as C. rudolphii sp. A, including 33 adults, 21 preadults, and 21 larvae. DNA sequences from mtDNA cox2 and ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA regions were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers OP690535-40 (mtDNA cox2), OP677791-96 (ITS1 region of rDNA), and OP677785-90 (ITS2 region of rDNA). Indeed, the Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic tree, based on mtDNA cox2 sequences . This clade was clearly distinct from the other two clades obtained for the other sibling species, C. rudolphii sp. B and C. rudolphii sp. F, reported in Ph. carbo and P. occidentalis, respectively. Similarly, sequences of the other Contracaecum species included in the tree, parasitizing fish-eating bird hosts of the genera Phalacrocorax and Pelicanus, were grouped into distinct and well-supported clades  (accession number EU678869). This clade was phylogenetically distinct in comparison with the other six clades obtained for each sibling species, i.e., C. rudolphii sp. B, C. rudolphii sp. C, C. rudolphii sp. D, C. rudolphii sp. E, and C. rudolphii sp. F, as well as for the other Contracaecum species, from hosts of the Phalacrocorax and the Pelicanus genera  and TVM+G (G = 0.3353) for mtDNA equences , indicatd clades . In the d clades  indicates genera .C. rudolphii sp. A from the western Mediterranean localities here considered was expressed among populations while 96.31% was observed within populations. Because no significant intraspecific genetic variation was found among specimens from the Catalan-Spanish coast analyzed in the present work, they were considered as a single population. Estimates of genetic differentiation among C. rudolphii sp. A population of the three analyzed areas from the west Mediterranean, i.e., the Spanish Catalan, the Tyrrhenian, and the Sardinian coasts, inferred from the Fst value and their P-values, are shown in C. rudolphii sp. A metapopulations from the Sardinian coast compared to those from the Spanish region examined here . Similarly, significant Fst values were found between C. rudolphii sp. A populations from the Sardinian and Tyrrhenian coasts . In contrast, no significant genetic differentiation was observed between the populations from the Mediterranean Spanish coast  and the Tyrrhenian one . The haplotype parsimony network (TCS) analysis, inferred from cox2 mtDNA of C. rudolphii sp. A, revealed a star-like tree as shown in K = 5.807). The haplotype diversity (Hd) was high in all three populations, with values ranging between 0.969 and 0.986.The hierarchical gene diversity analysis by AMOVA indicated that 3.69% of the genetic variation of Contracaecum species included in the C. rudolphii (s.l.) complex have been identified as parasitizing cormorants, worldwide. In the present study, we report the first genetic identification of C. rudolphii sp. A in the European Shag, Ph. aristotelis desmarestii, from the western Mediterranean Spanish coasts.Several cox2 gene and the ITS rDNA region allowed the specific identification of all the nematode samples studied. The genetic identification of the sibling species of the C. rudolphii (s.l.) complex is important in order to understand their ecology and geographical distribution, but also the phylogenetic relationship among them. Both BI phylogenetic trees, based on the mtDNA cox2 gene locus and the ITS1 and ITS2 of the rDNA region, respectively, have shown that the C. rudolphii sp. A specimens were genetically distinct from the other species of the C. rudolphii (s.l.) complex, including sequences of C. rudolphii sp. B, C. rudolphii sp. C, C. rudolphii sp. D, C. rudolphii sp. E, and C. rudolphii sp. F  complex  shown by the parasite species in this area  should be considered, the existence of a population of Ph. carbo living during the winter season in Sardinia, which could have a different breeding area in comparison with those populations of Ph. carbo wintering in the Spanish and Tyrrhenian areas, might explain the parasite genetic differentiation observed in the present study. In support of this hypothesis, a higher presence through Sardinia has been observed in some Ph. carbo populations during its migration routes , not shared with the other populations, despite the lower number of specimens analyzed, which is in accordance with the estimation of Fst values herein obtained. In addition, the most frequent haplotypes observed in Anisakis spp.  observed in the present study from the analyzed cormorant specimens is in accordance with that previously reported by Abollo et al.  can be found in the article/ supplementary material.Ethical review and approval was not required for the animal study because the cormorants used in the present study were found dead and no permit and/or ethical consideration were needed.MC, CT, and JB performed a cormorant necropsy and the collection and morphological identification of parasites. XR-G, MP, and SM contributed to the design of the study, performed molecular and phylogenetic analyses of selected parasites, and wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the manuscript revision, and read and approved the submitted version."}
+{"text": "The spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) occurs in some long-duration astronauts and includes ocular changes such as globe flattening and optic disk edema \u20133. This This hypothesis had problems. Elevated head venous pressures should increase not only ICP but also intraocular pressure (IOP). Consistently increased IOP in space compared with supine measurements has not been seen . Also, sThe reduced venous pressures could be explained by the removal of tissue compressive forces , 10. TheEliminating tissue compressive forces is not possible on Earth but can be simulated using numerical modeling. We developed a multicompartment, lumped-parameter, numerical model of the cranial circulation to develop hypotheses for SANS . The modTo determine whether the relationship between IOP and body weight had experimental support, we reviewed published studies for the relationship between IOP and body weight . This reback of eye) and the ICP at the back of the eye (ICPback of eye). The difference between these two pressures is the transmural pressure across the back of the eye (IOPback of eye\u2013ICPback of eye). A reduced transmural pressure promotes eye shortening, whereas an increase would promote lengthening. The shaded arrows represent the hydrostatic gradients within the eye and the head, respectively. An important observation is that supine ICPback of eye is less than the mean ICP in the head because of hydrostatic gradients.To reconcile these seemingly disparate findings we did a theoretical analysis of the hydrostatic pressure changes likely to occur in the head with weightlessness. back of eye is slightly reduced from what it was supine. ICPback of eye, however, increases. The combined outcome is that transmural pressure could be decreased (which shortens the eye) due to the removal of hydrostatic gradients alone. Even if the mean ICP and IOP in the center of the eye and the head are both decreased in weightlessness compared with the supine value, the transmural pressure could still be decreased. This could explain the paradox of increased SANS risk despite reduced venous pressures compared with supine.A remaining question is why SANS would develop in those with higher preflight body weights. A potential answer comes from lower body negative pressure (LBNP) simulations with the numerical model . LBNP reThis leads to the following potential hypothesis. In weightlessness, the removal of hydrostatic gradients reduces transmural pressure at the back of the eye. This effect is more pronounced in those who weigh more because they experience a larger reduction in venous pressure, and therefore greater reductions in transmural pressure, compared with those who weigh less. Also, since the usual postural and diurnal changes in CVP do not occur in space, these changes are persistent and unchanging. Over time, the persistently reduced transmural pressure across the back of the eye causes ocular remodeling and leads to the signs and symptoms of SANS.This theory fits the available data and has practical implications. It incorporates the reduction in venous pressures in space as well as the observation that preflight body weight is associated with SANS. The modeling results also suggest that LBNP may not be a good countermeasure for SANS. It could reduce IOP more than ICP and lead to a worsening of the transmural pressure gradient across the back of the eye. Gx centrifugation, which recreates hydrostatic gradients, might be a countermeasure to study instead.The theory has limitations. Nevertheless, this analysis strongly suggests that body weight and IOP are important to measure consistently in astronauts.The development of the numerical models was supported by grant CA03401 from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NCC 9\u201358 and by NASA EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement NNX13AD35A.No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.J.C.B. conceived and designed research; J.C.B., M.L., S.D.P., V.A.-L., and A.M.F. analyzed data; J.C.B., M.L., S.D.P., V.A.-L., and A.M.F. interpreted results of experiments; J.C.B. and M.L. prepared figures; J.C.B. drafted manuscript; J.C.B., M.L., S.D.P., V.A.-L., and A.M.F. edited and revised manuscript; J.C.B., M.L., S.D.P., V.A.-L., and A.M.F. approved final version of manuscript."}
+{"text": "Correction: Environ Health 20, 90 (2021)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00771-6Following publication of their original article , the autERRATUM:The BMC Competing Interests Policy states: \u201c\u2026A competing interest exists when the authors\u2019 interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by, or may be perceived to be influenced by, their personal or financial relationship with other people or organizations.\u201d At the time of publication in 2021, our team of nine co-authors interpreted the BMC Policy as not requiring declaration of any real or perceived competing interest. Since then, however, the authors decided that any past role for which professional activities or payments were involved ought to have been stated, for the sake of greater transparency. We submit the following as an ERRATUM under the topic of Competing Interests:S. A., L. A. B., and D.M., three of the team of nine authors, declare that they had, and continue to have, no competing financial or non-financial interests.The remaining six co-authors declare as follows:C. L. S. is retired and unfunded since 2013. In the recent past, he served, for about three years prior to 2013, as an expert witness in asbestos tort actions and a diacetyl case on behalf of plaintiffs, the monies from which went into a University of Alberta-managed research account. As a professional legacy, he bankrolled the International Network for Epidemiology in Policy (INEP) (2011\u20132016) as a voluntary professional society in the hope that it might become self-sustaining in the pursuit of science in the public interest. He has endorsed amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs in asbestos litigation. His doctoral thesis, in the early 1980s, was funded by the Exxon Corporation.S. K. has no financial competing interests. She was the Founder and CEO of Epidemiology International. She has served, until 2016, as an expert witness in toxic tort and pharmaceutical tort litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. Payment for such work was made to her company, Epidemiology International. Epidemiology International has also performed work under contract for industry, pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. federal and state governments, and patient advocacy groups.J.P.R.-B. was invited, between 2015 and 2019, ad honorem, to provide his expert opinion in the Colombian Senate in support of a national asbestos ban that had been proposed, a ban that was finally approved in 2019.J. B. S. is employed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S.-based environmental non-profit group that engages in public advocacy, lobbying, and litigation to expand protections for the environment and public health and to enforce existing environmental laws regulating toxic chemicals, including some of the chemicals identified in this manuscript. This work receives partial funding from Deer Creek Foundation, and Passport Foundation.M. G. retired in 2014 and has not done paid consulting work on any environmentally related issue since that time. His last paid consulting work was prior to about 2010. He wrote scientific papers and served as an expert on hexavalent chromium clean-up and was deposed by the principal responsible parties fighting a state-ordered cleanup of major hexavalent chromium contamination. The research and deposition were part of his academic job description, and no fees were paid directly to him.C.F.C. has, from time to time, been sought after to serve on science advisory panels and governmental agencies to emphasize issues concerning science in the law. He has participated in various amicus briefs with no compensation. From about 2009, he wrote reports and consulted on scientific reasoning for a few law firms for pay, but he did not testify except in one Daubert hearing before a judge.Our collective goal is transparency in the pursuit of truth through the advancement of science in the public interest."}
+{"text": "Play activity has been studied from a scientific point of view relatively recently. Until the middle of the twentieth century, any games were considered only as a way of leisure and/or a tool for transmitting cultural experiences.The research is aimed at studying play activity as a factor of mental development of a child.The method of work is a bibliographic analysis.In psychology, the interest in the role of games in the psychological development of a child is primarily associated with the works of Z. Freud, J. Piaget, L.S. Vygotsky, D.B. Elkonin, who showed the importance of children\u2019s imitation games: role-playing, directing, event-based (classification of E.O. Smirnova).Since the 90s of the XX century, this hobby is becoming ever more common. At first, modern board games were created by adults for adults, and then there appeared board games specially designed for adults to play with children (family games) and for playing children\u2019s groups.Most of the board games popular with parents belong to the German school. Such games are characterized by relatively simple rules, a short or medium duration of the game, no direct confrontation between players and a low randomness in the course of the game .German-style board games develop children\u2019s communication skills, voluntary activity, abstract and formal-logical thinking, symbolic function, attention, the ability to cooperate (in cooperative games), imagination, and many games develop the child\u2019s outlook and enrich the ideas about the world around and options for social interaction.No significant relationships."}
+{"text": "Luffa cylindrica\u2013Semen cassiae in soil contaminated with medium amounts of arsenic (As) was studied using field (91.60 mg kg\u22121) and pot (83.34 mg kg\u22121) experiments. The field experiments showed that intercropping significantly increased the yield per plant of L. cylindrica by 27.36%, while the yield per plant of S. cassiae decreased by 21.66%; however, this difference was not significant. Intercropping reduced the concentration of As in all organs of L. cylindrica but increased the concentration of As in all parts of S. cassiae. The accumulation of As per plant of L. cylindrica was reduced by 20.72%, while that in a single plant of S. cassiae was increased by 201.93%. In addition, the concentration of As in the fruit of these two crops in these two planting modes was low enough to meet the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB2762-2017). In addition, the land equivalent ratio and As metal removal equivalent ratio of the intercropping mode was 1.03 and 2.34, indicating that the intercropping mode had advantages in land use and As removal. In the pot experiment, the biomass and As concentration of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae were roughly consistent with those in the field experiment. During the sampling period, intercropping reduced the concentration of As in the rhizosphere soil solution of L. cylindrica by 3.1\u201323.77%, while it increased the concentration of As in the rhizosphere soil solution of S. cassiae by 13.30\u201359.40%. The changes in pH and redox potential were also closely related to the content of water-soluble As in the rhizosphere environment, which affects the absorption of As by plants. In general, the L. cylindrica\u2013S. cassiae intercropping system is a planting mode that can effectively treat soil that is moderately contaminated with As and remove it from the soil to an extent.In recent years, research on the safe utilization and green remediation of contaminated soil by intercropping has become common. In this study, the growth of an intercropping system of  Pteris vittata [Pteris cretica [Adiantum capillus-Veneris [In recent years, the use of many herbicides, preservatives, and smelting and mining operations have led to arsenic (As) pollution in a large amount of soil in China ,2. Accor vittata , Pteris  cretica  and Adia-Veneris  have bee-Veneris ,9. HowevPisum sativum-Hordeum vulgare intercropping system [Solanum tuberosum-Phaseolus lunatus intercropping system [Oryza sativa L.) grains can be reduced to below the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB2762-2017) when the rice was intercropped with aquatic vegetables. Wan et al. [Morus alba L.) with Chinese brake (Pteris vittata L.) resulted in white mulberry leaves that can meet the national feed standards. Ma et al. [P. vittata and maize (Zea mays L.) is an ideal planting mode for remediating As in the soil. In addition, intercropping Eleocharis acutangula with Typha domingensis can remove barium from soil [Paspalum plicatulum\u2013Axonopus affinis [Lolium perenne\u2013vine plants [Intercropping is a common planting method that can fully utilize water, heat, light, and other natural resources ,11,12. Sg system , Solanumg system , and corg system . In termg system  found thn et al.  showed ta et al.  also fouGB2762-20 when the affinis  and Lolie plants  are alsoLuffa cylindrica) is a common cash crop and practical vegetable in southern China. It is the primary economic source of some farmers in the region, who rely on farming for their livelihood. Wang et al. [L. cylindrica with Sedum plumbizincicola affected the absorption of cadmium by Luffa. However, few people have studied the absorption of As by L. cylindrica when it is planted on land contaminated with As. S. cassiae is a common medicinal crop in southern China. Currently, research on S. cassiae primarily focuses on the determination and analysis of aflatoxins [S. cassiae exceeds the standard.Luffa  intercropping with S. cassiae would reduce the content of As in L. cylindrica; (2) intercropping with L. cylindrica would promote the absorption of As by S. cassiae to an extent; and (3) this intercropping system would primarily affect the absorption of As by L. cylindrica and S. cassiae by changing the concentration of water soluble As in the rhizosphere environment of plants.At present, the research on whether lindrica , thus prL. cylindrica, compared with monoculture system, the intercropping mode significantly increased the biomass of L. cylindrica stems and leaves by 88.10% and 32.64%, respectively, (p < 0.05) compared with the monoculture system (L. cylindrica per plant in the intercropping mode was 27.36% higher than that in the monocropping mode (p < 0.05).For e system . The yieS. cassiae by 31.50% (p < 0.05), while the biomass of other parts of S. cassiae in the two planting systems had no significant differences. Compared with the monoculture mode, the per ha yield of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the intercropping mode significantly decreased (p < 0.05), which was caused by the significant decrease in the number of plants planted in the intercropping mode.Intercropping significantly reduced the stem biomass of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae has advantages in yield and land use.In addition, the LER of this intercropping mode was 1.03. This also proved that the intercropping of L. cylindrica by 22.78%, 31.38%, and 50.0%, respectively (p < 0.05). In the intercropping system, the BCA per plant and per ha of L. cylindrica significantly decreased compared with the monocropping system by 20.72% and 60.42%, respectively (p < 0.05).As shown in S. cassiae compared with those in the monoculture system, which increased by 166.50%, 344.44%, 645.45% and 416.67%, respectively (p < 0.05). The BCA per plant of S. cassiae in the intercropping system was 201.93% higher than that in the monoculture system (p < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the BCA per ha of S. cassiae in the two planting systems.Intercropping significantly increased the concentrations of As in the roots, leaves, pods, and fruit of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae has apparent advantages in the removal of heavy metals.In addition, the value of the MRER of the intercropping system reached 2.34. This also proved that the intercropping of L. cylindrica increased in the intercropping system compared with the monoculture system, but only the increase in the fruit biomass was significantly different, which increased by 59.04% compared with the monoculture mode (p < 0.05)  a.S. cassiae significantly reduced the biomass of roots, stems, and leaves by 20.70%, 45.73%, and 42.19%, respectively (p < 0.05), compared with the monoculture mode   c. The dint level b,d.L. cylindrica, the pH of the rhizosphere soil solution in the monoculture system decreased from 5.78 to 4.16, while that in the intercropping system decreased from 5.19 to 3.97 during the entire sampling period , the farmland soil in this area is moderately polluted with As.The field experiment was located in Xinjiang Town, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China , which is close to the Dabaoshan Mine. For a long time, wastewater from Dabaoshan Mine has been used for irrigation in this area, resulting in soil contaminated with As in this area. According to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources , the soi\u22121 of total As, 2.27 g kg\u22121 of total N, 0.92 g kg\u22121 of total P, 21.56 g kg\u22121 of total K, 16.52 mg kg\u22121 of total C, and 21.99 g kg\u22121 of organic matter.We collected soil contaminated with As using hoes and soil samplers  and used a soil layer of 0\u201320 cm from contaminated farmland near the field experiment for the pot experiments . The soil in this area had also been irrigated by wastewater from the Dabaoshan mine for a long time. We used rectangular pots for the pot experiments (48 cm long \u00d7 24.2 cm wide \u00d7 17.5 cm high). The soil samples collected in the field were naturally dried and were then screened to ensure that the soil particle size was approximately 2 mm. They were then placed inside the pots (6.5 kg per pot). The basic physical and chemical properties of the soil for pot experiments were as follows: pH 5.45, 83.34 mg kgL. cylindrica were provided by the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences , and the seeds of S. cassiae were of conventional varieties.In both experiments, the seeds of L. cylindrica monoculture, S. cassiae monoculture, and L. cylindrica intercropped with S. cassiae. Each plot in the monoculture treatments contained four rows of plants with a total of 20 plants, and the spacing between rows and between plants were 40 cm. In the intercropping treatments, two lines of L. cylindrica and two lines of S. cassiae were planted in each plot, and the spacing between rows and between plants were 40 cm. The specific planting method is shown in In the field experiment, the experimental area was divided into 2 \u00d7 2 m plots with an interval of 1.5 m between the plots to avoid the interaction between different treatments. The plot division and planting selection were completely random, and each treatment was repeated three times. The treatments included L. cylindrica monoculture. Two Luffa plants were planted in each pot, and the plants were spaced 25 cm apart; (2) S. cassiae monoculture. Two S. cassiae plants were planted in each pot, and the plants were spaced 25 cm apart; and (3) intercropping of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae. Two L. cylindrica plants and two S. cassiae plants were planted in each pot. The specific planting method is shown in The pot experiments were conducted in the greenhouse of an ecological farm at South China Agricultural University . There were three treatments in the pot experiments: (1) L. cylindrica was divided into four parts, including the roots, stems, leaves, and fruit. For the collection of plant roots, the complete roots and soil around them should be taken out as much as possible when sampling, and then the roots should be carefully separated from the soil around them by using tools such as a fine brush. Place the separated roots in water for careful cleaning to remove the residual soil on the root surface. During the cleaning process, try to keep the roots floating, and pick out all roots after washing to avoid the loss of roots. After washing and drying with tap water, the fresh weight of each part was weighed. The plant sample was then placed in an electric blast dryer  and was dried at 105 \u00b0C for 30 min; it was further dried to achieve a constant weight at 70 \u00b0C. S. cassiae was divided into five parts, including the roots, stems, leaves, pods, and fruit, and the samples were treated in the same manner as those of L. cylindrica. In this study, the biomass of the fruit of both plants was expressed in fresh weight, and the biomass of the other parts was expressed in dry weight. The biomass and yield of plants per ha was then calculated.After samples of these two plants in the field and pot experiments were harvested, 3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) [The dried plant samples were ground into powder using a stainless steel mill and were then digested by microwave digestion  using a mixed solution of nitric acid (HNOe (H2O2) ,27,28. TAfter the rhizosphere soil solution was removed, its pH and Eh values were measured using a pH meter  and Eh meter , respectively. The soil solution was then passed through a 2 mm filter membrane, and the pH was adjusted to <2 with 5% HCl. Atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ZAF-3100) was used to measure the As concentration in the soil solution. This method was that same as that used for the plants.P (mg kg\u22121) and BP (g) in this formula represent the As content and relevant biomass of each organ of L. cylindrica  and S. cassiae .The BCA value can be used to evaluate the ability of plants to absorb heavy metals in contaminated soil ,27 In ouThe LER is an index that can be used to evaluate whether the intercropping system has a particle yield advantage . The speL. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the intercropping mode, respectively, and L. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the monocrop mode, respectively, in kg. If the LER > 1, it means that this intercropping mode has a good land use effect. Furthermore, the intercropping mode has little value in land use when its LER less than 1 [The s than 1 ,29,30.The MRER is an index that can be used to evaluate whether the intercropping system can remove heavy metals from contaminated soil. In this study, the MRER was used to evaluate whether this intercropping system can remove As in soil contaminated with the element ,30. It iL. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the intercropping mode, respectively, and L. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the monoculture mode, respectively.p < 0.05. All figures were generated using Origin 2022b software .All analyses of data were conducted using SPSS 20.0 software . Differences in the means among treatments were analyzed using the least significant difference method at L. cylindrica in the intercropping system increased, particularly in yield. This could be because S. cassiae is a legume and can promote the transfer of nitrogen to non-leguminous plants [L. cylindrica in the intercropping system had a richer source of nutrients. Similar conclusions have been drawn in the research by Tang et al. [S. cassiae showed the opposite trend, and the biomass from intercropping was smaller than that of the monoculture. This could be because L. cylindrica has a larger biomass and resource competitive advantage, which is similar to the research of Kang et al. [L. cylindrica is much larger than that of S. cassiae, so L. cylindrica has a greater root competitive advantage and has a wider growth space when intercropping with S. cassiae, which also leads to the increase of L. cylindrica biomass and the significant decrease of S. cassiae biomass in the intercropping system. It should be noted that although the yield of S. cassiae in the intercropping mode decreased compared with that of the monocropping mode, the difference was not significant. Therefore, the LER of this intercropping system is slightly greater than 1.0, which is a planting mode that can efficiently utilize land contaminated with As to a certain extent, which is similar to the conclusions drawn by Wan et al. [The results of the field and pot experiments showed that compared with the monoculture system, the biomass of each part of s plants . Thus, Lg et al. . Howeverg et al. . In the n et al.  and Kangn et al. .L. cylindrica\u2013S. cassiae intercropping system can significantly reduce the concentration of As in all parts of L. cylindrica as intercropping with S. cassiae restricts the transfer of As from the belowground to the aboveground of L. cylindrica, which can also reduce the risk of As exposure to an extent; a similar phenomenon has been noted in a study by Mensah et al. [L. cylindrica fruit in these two planting systems  met the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB2762-2017) (0.5 mg kg\u22121). This is because melon crops generally have a relatively weak ability to absorb heavy metals. Ma et al. [Pteris vittata L.\u2013maize intercropping conditions satisfied foods standard for As concentration. Although the biomass of S. cassiae had decreased in the intercropping system, the concentration of As in each part of S. cassiae had increased. This indicated that S. cassiae is better able to become enriched with As than L. cylindrica. In addition, the As concentration of S. cassiae fruits in the two planting systems  also met the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB2762-2017) (2 mg kg\u22121). After referring to the As content threshold of polished rice (0.2 mg kg\u22121) stipulated by the FAO [L. cylindrica can be safely eaten; however, the As concentration of S. cassiae fruits exceeds this particular threshold. Therefore, for the application of this type of intercropping in the world, we advise that the fruit of L. cylindrica is safely usable for food, and the fruit of S. cassiae should be used as raw materials for making pillows or other products, so as to ensure that this intercropping system can produce certain economic benefits while removing As in the soil, and has better popularization.Our results show that the h et al. . In addia et al.  also fou the FAO , we founManihot esculenta L. Crantz)\u2013peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) (MRER = 1.25) [Sesbania (MRER = 1.11) [It is worth noting that the MRER of this intercropping system reached 2.34, which has a very clear advantage for removing heavy metals. Therefore, the fruits of the two plants produced by this intercropping system have economic benefits, and this intercropping model can remove As from contaminated land to some extent. This is economically beneficial and has popular appeal; it is superior to some intercropping systems, such as rice\u2013aquatic vegetables , cassava = 1.25) , or rice = 1.11) .L. cylindrica under intercropping was lower than that under monocropping, which indicated that intercropping reduces the bioavailability of As in the rhizosphere environment of L. cylindrica [L. cylindrica showed a downward and upward trend, respectively, indicating that the pH and Eh were closely related to the content of As in the rhizosphere soil solution [L. cylindrica of this variety has a large biomass and the decline of pH in this study is not significant, this change will not have a significant negative impact on the growth of L. cylindrica.By extracting the rhizosphere soil solution and measuring the content of As in the soil solution, the influence of intercropping on the availability of As in the soil can be explored to further explain the potential risk of As in the soil environment ,36. In tlindrica . Under isolution . With thsolution . On the solution  or cadmisolution  and may solution . HoweverS. cassiae in different planting systems was opposite to that shown in the L. cylindrica rhizosphere soil solution because the increase in pH value and decrease in Eh value affected the mobilization of As in the soil [S. cassiae absorbs more As from the soil. This result can also provide a theoretical basis for improving the phytoremediation of soil pollution [The trend of As concentration, pH, and Eh in the rhizosphere soil solution of the soil  and promthe soil ,45. Therollution .L. cylindrica and S. cassiae as an agronomic measure to achieve safe production and soil remediation to some extent in soil that is contaminated with medium concentrations of As. The results showed that the fruit of L. cylindrica and S. cassiae in the monoculture system and intercropping system could meet the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB2762-2017), but whether it can be popularized worldwide still needs further research. In general, this intercropping mode can realize the effective utilization of As-contaminated soil and produce certain economic value, and it has obvious advantages in removing As from the soil. The pot experiment showed that the intercropping system primarily regulated the absorption of As by L. cylindrica and S. cassiae by changing the pH, Eh, and water-soluble As content of the rhizosphere environment. Future research should explore the specific mechanism of As absorption by this intercropping system to L. cylindrica and S. cassiae through the determination of different forms of As in the rhizosphere environment and other relevant indicators. Such research is underway.This study explored the feasibility of intercropping"}
+{"text": "The diversity of thrips from olive trees in Algeria is unknown. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, thrip species have caused economic damage to the olive yield in the region of Biskra throughout the history of this crop, although the thrips pest species was unknown. To solve this question, we studied the thrips composition of one olive orchard over three years and the seasonal abundance of the species responsible of the damage of the olives in relation to the phenologic development of the olive treeNeohydatothripsamygdali in relation to environmental variations in Biskra province between 2018 and 2020. The olive orchard chosen for this study is located at the Experimental Station of the Technical Institute for the Development of Saharan Agriculture (ITDAS) in El Outaya . Five trees were sampled each week, and thrips were collected by shaking 20 twigs (4 twigs per tree). Identification of thrips species was based on morphological characters of adults. Microscopic observation of the collected thrips specimens made it possible to report nine thrips species. Among them, four are reported for the first time in Algeria. Three taxa, namely Haplothrips tritici, Neohydatothrips amygdali, and Frankliniella occidentalis constituted the eudominant groups, representing 28.65%, 27.98%, and 23.39% of total specimens collected during the study, respectively. Thrips injury appeared as scaring and silvering of the fruit. The most abundant species was H. tritici, but N. amygdali was most common in the last two years of the survey. The influence of phenological stages of olive trees on the total number of H. tritici and F. occidentalis was significant. The highest numbers were recorded in flowering stage. The highest number of N. amygdali had two peaks: April (2020) and May , as well as September (2020) and October , when temperatures fluctuated between 20 \u00b0C and 30 \u00b0C. N. amygdali was totally absent during the other months (in winter and summer). During the three years of investigation, N. amygdali reproduced by thelytoky, with only females present.This study was conducted to determine Thysanoptera species composition associated with olive trees, fruit injury, fluctuations in the abundance of the most phytophagous species relative to the phenological stages of the olive tree, and the temporal variations in the species  In Algeria, the olive tree is a major element of the agricultural economy. Its geographical position in the Mediterranean basin offers it an ideal climate for better quantitative and qualitative production. With more than 35 million olive trees, Algeria produces an average of one million tons of olives per year . In the Liothrips oleae (Costa) has been cited among olive pests in Spain . However, Rassool et al. [N. amygdali in Saudi Arabia on Acacia seyal [Fabales: Fabaceae] and A. ehrenbergiana [Fabales: Fabaceae]. The sex-ratio index is very important in the study of the biotic potential of a population. It is also important for understanding the causes and consequences in the differences in population structures and mating systems [Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis, H. errans, Scirtothrips longipennis, and Leucothrips nigripennis. Males of these species are very rare, if ever recorded [Wolbachia is responsible for this reversible thelytoky, and they reported that the elimination of this bacterium by antibiotics or by high temperature induces the production of males. This was recently been proven by Kumm and Moritz [H. haemorrhoidalis [During the three years of study, the populations of y Minaei  in Iran l et al.  collecte systems . Predomi systems . Thysano systems ,42,43,44 systems ,46. Mostrecorded . Stoutharecorded  and Arakrecorded  confirmed Moritz . In othehoidalis .A. collaris, F. megalops, and H. andresi as predator, as well as N. amygdali as phytophagous. Relative abundance allows us to classify these species in five groups. The most abundant species, constituting the eudominant group, wer: H. tritici, N. amygdali, and F. occidentalis. Phenological stages of the olive tree are likely to be an important factor affecting the population dynamics of H. tritici, N. amygdali, and F. occidentalis. Higher abundances of H. tritici and F. occidentalis were observed in the flowering stage of olive trees. Although this stage did not attract N. amygdali, the fruit growth stage caused its appearance and abundance. A reappearance of N. amygdali was recorded when the fruit reached full development. Monitoring of the seasonal abundance of N. amygdali on olive trees revealed significant variations. Two population peaks were observed, with infestation of the olive trees beginning in April, with important activity in May (spring) and October (autumn). Thrips were present in the field when temperatures were close to 25 \u00b0C, but no presence of thrips was recorded when temperatures rose above 30 \u00b0C. The presence of frequent and numerous N. amygdali immature stages confirmed olive trees as important host plants for this species. Finally, all populations of N. amygdali collected were represented only by females. Further studies should focus on the reason for the absence of males of N.amygdali on olive trees. According to the data and field observations obtained during this study, the presence of phytophagous thrips caused injury to olive fruits, but additional tests and statistical analysis are required to determine the species responsible for the injury and to establish a correlation between the abundance of thrips and their level of damage.Thrips species were represented by nine species in an olive grove in Biskra region during 2018, 2019, and 2020. Among them, four species were recorded for the first time in Algeria:"}
+{"text": "Mangifera laurina, Mangifera casturi, Mangifera indica, Mangifera odorata, Mangifera caesia, and Mangifera foetida were prepared. This study aimed to determine the biological efficacy of several Mangifera leaf extracts on the mortality of Aedes aegypti mosquito and the inhibition of egg hatching.To develop an environmentally friendly alternative to mosquito larvicides for vegetables, leaf extracts of Mangifera essential oil was evaluated against the third instar larvae of A. aegypti at concentrations of 1500, 2000, 3000, and 5000 ppm using the World Health Organization protocol. After Probit analysis, the 48 h LC50 and LC90 values of the essential oils were determined. The inhibitory effect on egg hatching was also tested at 160, 320, 480, and 640 ppm.Extraction was performed in an organic solvent (methanol) using a Soxhlet extractor. The larvicidal potential of six leaves of Mangifera species had excellent larvicidal activity and inhibitory activity against A. aegypti egg hatching. The LC50/LC90 values were: M. casturi, 241/1964 ppm; M. laurina, 2739/4035 ppm; and M. caesia, 1831/2618 ppm. The inhibitory effect on hatching was 78% for M. foetida, 70% for M. caesia, and 59% for M. casturi.The extraction of essential oils from several Mangifera species for use as larvicides and inhibitors of egg hatching; thus, they have the potential to control A. aegypti in the early stages of development.The test results indicate the potential of some  Aedes aegypti Linn. is known as the main vector of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya fever worldwide. This mosquito can be found in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide and is generally found in urban and semi-urban areas [The mosquito an areas . The numan areas . Anotheran areas , and thean areas .One of the larval controls that have been applied in the community is the use of chemical insecticides, namely, synthetic larvicides. Although synthetic larvicides have been used since 1976, any insecticides are harmful to humans because the ingredients contain synthetic compounds and are dangerous when the appropriate dose is exceeded . The useMangifera is the name of a genus in the Mango tribe (or Anacardiaceae). It comprises approximately 35\u201340 types of mangoes that are spread throughout tropical Asia, especially in the biogeographical area of Malaysia [Mangifera indica, has been grown in production gardens in various tropical regions. The island of Borneo has the highest number of species, approximately 31, so it is estimated to be a center of species diversity [Malaysia . One speiversity .Mangifera casturi) and Binjai plant (Mangifera caesia) are typical plants of Kalimantan that are easy to find [M. indica L. (Anacardiaceae) with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and found that they were effective against larvae of R. microplus, Hyalomma anatolicum, Haemaphysalis bispinosa, Anopheles subpictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus; the LC50 values were 28.56, 33.17, 23.81, 5.84, and 4.34 mg/L, respectively [M. indica leaves were antimicrobial  and biolarvicidal in raw fruit [Kalimantan Mango , Kasturi Folium (M. casturi), Mangga Folium (M. indica), Kuwini Folium (Mangifera odorata), Binjai Folium (M. caesia), and Hambawang Folium (Mangifera foetida).Hampalam Folium , at an altitude of 75\u2013100 m above sea level. Clean mature leaves were collected and taken to the College of Health, Darul Azhar, for processing and identification, and voucher specimens were kept at the Palangka Raya University: Herbarium CIMTROP.A. aegypti used in this study came from the colony laboratory, cultured at room temperature (25\u201328\u00b0C) under a 12 h light: 12 h dark in the insectarium of the Entomology Laboratory, Health Research and Development Agency, Tanah Bumbu Unit, Ministry of Health, Republic of Indonesia. The population used is the third and fourth instar larvae collected using a pipette. The eggs used were from hatching on the same day and in good condition and were examined with a dissecting microscope at a magnification of 10\u00d7.The larvae and eggs of M. laurina, M. casturi, M. indica, M. odorata, M. caesia, and M. foetida) was performed using a maceration method, in which the material is soaked in methanol for 3 \u00d7 24 h and occasionally stirred until liquid extract is obtained. Furthermore, the liquid extract is evaporated until the crude extract is obtained.The extraction of each plant , with four replicate measurements were taken. The larval testing experiment used a plastic container with a total volume 150 mL and introduced extract and water. Observations were made at 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 180, 300, 360, 720, 1440, and 2880 min.In total, 4375 After exposure for 48 h, larval mortality was recorded. The controls used were one part acetone in water, 1% ethanol in water, and water only. For the positive control, the mosquito larvicide Abate 1SG  was used.A. aegypti eggs used in the test came from laboratory colonies, bred at room temperature (25\u201328\u00b0C) in an insectarium at the Insectarium of the Entomology Laboratory of the Indonesian Institute for Soil Research and Development. Freshly laid eggs on paper strips were observed under a stereomicroscope for survival. Then, 20\u201330 viable eggs were placed for each stock solution concentration. The viable eggs were exposed to different soluble crude ethanol extract doses and the soluble ethyl acetate, hexane, and water fractions. The test was performed four times with concentrations of 160, 320, 480, and 640 ppm. Negative control cups containing 1% acetone in water, 1% ethanol in water, and water alone were stored separately. Egg hatchability at 72 h post-treatment was observed, and the data were recorded.The ovicidal activity was determined by measuring egg hatchability. 50 and LC90 with a 95% confidence level were presented. The percentage of egg hatchability at each dose was calculated by dividing the number of eggs hatched by the total number of eggs inserted, multiplied by 100. The average hatchability at each dose was calculated, including the standard deviation. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine whether there was a significant difference in the mean hatchability between the different doses.The percentage of larval mortality was calculated by dividing the number of dead and inactive larvae by the total number of larvae that were tested multiplied by 100. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows software were used for data analysis. The Pearson fit test was used to determine whether Probit\u2019s model adequately fit the data provided by the experiment. LCMangifera leaf extracts on the killing and hatchability of A. aegypti after 48 h of exposure in larvae and 72 h in eggs is presented in M. casturi has better efficacy at a concentration of 2000 ppm, compared with M. caesia and M. laurina at 5000 ppm. Likewise, for the hatching rate of eggs, the ability to inhibit hatching was accompanied by an increase in concentration. M. odorata, M. laurina, and M. indica showed stronger inhibition, that is, only 36% and 47% of eggs hatched, respectively, whereas M. foetida was only able to inhibit approximately 89%  and primary and secondary forests [M. casturi is a species endemic to Borneo [M. casturi contains essential oils containing terpenoids, steroids, and saponins [ forests . M. casto Borneo , and itssaponins . Kasturisaponins . Severalsaponins .50 and LC90 concentrations were found for M. casturi at 241 and 1964 ppm, M. caesia at 1831 and 2618 ppm, and M. laurina at 2739 and 4035 ppm (50 value of a substance, the higher the activity in killing experimental animals. Because of these substances, lower concentrations are needed to kill experimental animals over the same time period [M. caesia and M. laurina could kill up to 100% larvae at a concentration of 5000 ppm. Both species are known to contain saponins, tannins, phenolics, and flavonoids. Tannins are toxic to insects and these compounds bind to proteins in the salivary glands and reduce the activity of digestive enzymes, reducing the rate of growth and nutritional disturbances [et al. [Eclipta prostrate, Hemidesmus indices, and Gymnema sylvestre caused the death of C. quinquefasciatus larvae. Saponins are detergent-like substances that can damage the membrane, which will disrupt the lipid layer of the epicuticle and disrupt the endocuticular protein layer so that toxic compounds can easily enter into the larvae body [Sapindus mukorossi stem, fruit extract of Cestrum nocturne, and leaf extract of Cestrum diurnum at 60 ppm resulted in 100% mortality of A. aegypti.The lowest LC4035 ppm . The lowe period . This sturbances . This di [et al.  in 2008;vae body  reportedM. odorata, M. laurina, and M. indica resulted in strong egg hatching inhibitory activity and enhanced the larvicidal activity of the essential oils of M. odorata, M. laurina, and M. indica. Another similar study on Cassia fistula with methanol as a solvent can also be used as an egg hatching inhibitor [et al. [Concerning the effect on egg hatchability, leaf extracts of nhibitor . In our  [et al.  have sho [et al.  or by pe [et al. . The mec [et al. .M. casturi, M. caesia, and M. laurina had the ability to act as a larvacide and M. odorata, M. laurina, and M. indica inhibited the hatching of A. aegypti eggs. Various compounds are responsible for the biological activity of this essential oil. These compounds can jointly or individually contribute to producing larvicidal activity and inhibiting egg hatching [Cinnamomum impressicostatum exhibits antibacterial [This study found that the essential oils of the leaves of hatching . One plaacterial , antifunacterial , insectiacterial , and laracterial  activityM. casturi, M. caesia, M. laurina, M. odorata, and M. laurina was shown to be capable of controlling dengue vectors, especially at the egg and pre-adult stages. It should be noted that the availability of plants that are easy to find and the availability of leaves every year add value to this plant extract. Therefore, this plant extract can be applied for integrated vector control. Further studies on side effects and the effects of the plant on non-target organisms, alongside field evaluations, should be performed.The activity of extracts of NM: Conception of the study, extraction of simplicia, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. MRR: Conception of the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. DS: Extraction of simplicia, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. MRSP, NR, and BPA: Drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "When beetles are not in flight, their hind wings are folded and hidden under the elytra to reduce their size. This provided inspiration for the design of flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs). In this paper, microstructures and nanomechanical properties of three beetle species with different wing folding ratios living in different environments were investigated. Factors affecting their flight performance, that is, wind speed, folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency, were examined using a wind tunnel. It was found that the wing folding ratio correlated with the lift force of the beetles. Wind speed, folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency had a combined effect on the flight performance of the beetles. The results will be helpful to design new deployable FWMAVs. Regarding the benefits of scientific research, rescue, surveying, mapping, and many other aspects in the development of micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), miniaturization of aircraft has become a popular research topic . Owing tAnax goliathus, Trypoxylus dichotomus, and Oncotympane maculaticollis, it was found that their flapping lifts were different because of the different sizes and shapes of the wings [Insects can hover, fly in any direction, turn quickly in the air, and resist interference caused by the external environment, showing strong agility, maneuverability, and stability. This has raised great interest to study the mechanism of the high lift generated by insects in flight and to imitate the flight of insects \u201315. Insehe wings . Additiohe wings . In rhinhe wings .Allomyrina dichotoma have opened up new prospects for foldable structures in MAVs [To avoid damage or hinder the movement on the ground, the hind wings of beetles are folded to reduce their size and to hide under the elytra \u201324. The  in MAVs . The folProtaetia brevitarsis) were captured during wind tunnel tests and, based on the results, bioinspired wings and a linkage-mechanism flapping system were designed [Wind tunnels are an effective tool to investigate flapping-wing flight and aerodynamic characteristics . The windesigned . The flodesigned . Combinidesigned  and fruidesigned  were exadesigned \u201336.Various beetle species have different hind wing folding methods, and their folding ratios  are different. In this paper, three beetle species from different living environments were selected to explore the influence of different folding ratios on their flight performance through wind tunnel tests. The aspect ratios and flapping frequencies and the influence of the flow velocity on their lift-to-drag ratio are discussed in the following, which will provide some reference for the design of biomimetic deployable FWMAVs.Protaetia brevitarsis, Anoplophora chinensis, and Trypoxylus dichotomus, were selected for the experiments. The three adult P. brevitarsis used in the experiment were captured in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, and the three adult A. chinensis and the three adult T. dichotomus were captured in Nanyang, Henan Province, China. The parameters of hind wings of the three beetle species are shown in P. brevitarsis was 21.41 \u00b1 1.58 mm, the body width was 13.09 \u00b1 0.55 mm, and the body weight was 0.72 \u00b1 0.13 g. The body length of A. chinensis was 27.65 \u00b1 2.54 mm, the body width was 10.28 \u00b1 1.07 mm, and the body weight was 1.01 \u00b1 0.35 g. The body length of T. dichotomus was 43.96 \u00b1 2.42 mm, the body width was 23.74 \u00b1 1.53 mm, and the body weight was 5.27 \u00b1 0.16 g. All insects were acclimated under standard laboratory conditions  and had free access to standard water and food. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the \u201cGuiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals\u201d (China) and were approved by the ethics committee of experimental animal welfare of Jilin University.Three beetle species with different folding ratios, A high-speed camera  was used to obtain the postures and flapping frequencies of the three beetles during flight. A camera speed of 2000 frames/s  was used to measure the flapping period of the beetle in flight and to determine its flapping frequency.A super depth-of-field microscope  was used to obtain images of the fully unfolded and folded hind wings of the three beetles. To obtain the macroscopic structures of the hind wings of the three beetles, the hind wings were first removed with a scalpel and rinsed with distilled water and then dried and pasted flat on a slide for observation.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)  was used to obtain morphological images of cross sections of the hind wings of three beetles at the same locations of different wing veins.Er, is calculated asThe nanomechanical characteristics were tested using a nanoindenter . The reduced Young\u2019s modulus, Ac is contact the area and a polynomial function of contact depth. S is the contact stiffness. A Berkovich tip with a tip radius of approximately 100 nm was used for the tests. In order to study the effect of nanomechanical properties of different veins on the lift of the beetle hind wings, the same location of the same vein of three beetles was selected for testing. Six test positions were selected, namely the anterior of the costal (I), the end of the costal (II), media posterior (III), cubitus anterior (IV), anal posterior (V), and wing membrane (VI) . The wind tunnel test was performed in a low-speed straight-flow wind tunnel at the Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Jilin University, China. The main parameters of the wind tunnel are shown in Three species of beetles were divided into groups of three. After each beetle was attached to the bracket with AB glue at an angle of attack of 0\u00b0, the wind speed was adjusted to 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 m/s. Thrust and lift of each beetle at the moment of hover flight at different wind speeds were measured through the force balance. Also, the drag at rest at different wind speeds was measured. After obtaining the lift-to-drag ratio of each beetle at different wind speeds, the average lift-to-drag ratio of each group of beetles was taken as the lift-to-drag ratio of this species of beetles.P. brevitarsis was 11 ms, and the flapping frequency was 90 Hz. For A. chinensis, the values were 22 ms and 45 Hz, respectively, and for T. dichotomus, the values were 23 ms and 43 Hz, respectively.P. brevitarsis during flight was smaller than that of A. chinensis and T. dichotomus, which means that the higher flapping frequency was needed [Heliocopris hamadryas), whose elytra contributed to produce lift [The wingtip path of the upstroke almost overlapped with the wingtip path at the beginning of the downstroke in one flapping cycle. The reason for this is that the beetles needed to rapidly increase the vertical lift at the beginning of the upstroke . The flas needed . Also, iuce lift . In addiuce lift .P. brevitarsis, A. chinensis, and T. dichotomus, body weight, body and extented hind wing lengths are increasing and are positively correlated , and those of P. brevitarsis and T. dichotomus were similar . Aspect ratio and wing loading show an opposite trend.The hind wings of the three beetles were folded in a V-shape when they were not in flight . For P. rrelated . In contP. brevitarsis is close to 120\u00b0 (2), and the folding angle of the hind wings of T. dichotomus is close to 90\u00b0 (2). The hind wings of A. chinensis overlapped when folded (2), and the folded length of the hind wings was smaller than the folded length of the other two species. Comparing the folding sites of the hind wings of the three beetles, the costal (C) and the media posterior (MP) of the hind wings of P. brevitarsis and T. dichotomus both were found to be folded, while the C of the hind wings of A. chinensis was found to be less folded, and the MP was not folded at the folding sites at all. This could be the reason for the folding ratio of the hind wings of A. chinensis being smaller.Folding angle and folded states of the hind wings of three beetles are shown in  to 120\u00b0 2, and the to 90\u00b0 2. The hin folded 2, and th3\u2013A7, Figure 3B3\u2013B7, and Figure 3C3\u2013C7 show cross-sectional morphologies of different wing veins of the hind wings of three beetles at the same position obtained using SEM. The images show that the cross-sectional shapes are all nearly elliptical, while all were basically hollow, similar to blood vessels. This structure provides support for the beetles in spreading their hind wings or during flight [Figure 3A3) was found to be larger than that of the MP  and the cubitus anterior (CuA) . Also, the diameter of the posterior end of the C  was smaller than that of the anterior end . Additionally, the wall thickness of the hind wing veins on the dorsal side was thicker than that on the ventral side. This was also found in the Asian ladybeetle (Harmonia Axyridis) [Figure 3Ag flight . Comparixyridis) . Thickerxyridis) .Er, were all measured at test point II  and were 6.530, 7.652, and 6.645 GPa for P. brevitarsis, A. chinensis, and T. dichotomus, respectively. The higher Er helps the beetle to resist external forces and prevents wing damage [Er and hardness H of cubitus anterior, anal posterior, and wing membrane were smaller than those of the costal and media posterior. It was also found that the Er of costal of P. brevitarsis was smaller than those of A. chinensis and T. dichotomus, which possibly affected the deformation ability of the hind wing. Thus, the lift-to-drag ratio of P. brevitarsis was relatively large.Nanomechanical test results are shown in g damage . The valP. brevitarsis is obviously different from that of A. chinensis and T. dichotomus. It is significantly higher at low wind speeds and becomes gradually similar to the lift-to-drag ratio of the other two beetles at high wind speeds. For all three beetles, fluctuations of the lift-to-drag ratio were obvious at low wind speeds. At 1 m/s wind speed, the range of fluctuation of the lift-to-drag ratio was 10.5\u201316.0 for P. brevitarsis, 2.2\u20136.0 for A. chinensis, and 3.0\u20134.8 for T. dichotomus. At high wind speeds, the range of the lift-to-drag ratios gradually decreased and stabilized. For P. brevitarsis, although the downward trend of lift was not obvious (at low wind speed)  , the lifA. chinensis). The lift of T. dichotomus was the biggest because its wing area was much larger than that of the other beetles. When the wind speed increased, the lift of three beetles wing in flapping motion first showed an increasing trend; but when the wind speed reached a certain value, the lift decreased. The drag increased with the wind speed. The order of the lift force peak values with increasing wind speeds was P. brevitarsis, T. dichotomus, and then A. chinensis. It was consistent with their folding ratio. A possible reason is that when the wind speed reaches a certain threshold, the hind wings would undergo passive deformation reducing the wing area, which results in decreased lift. A higher folding ratio of hind wings leads to easier deformation with increasing wind speed  and body frontal area (Sb), which is helpful to reduce the profile drag and parasite drag . Thus, the drag reduction mainly comes from Dpro = 0.5\u03c1v2SwCDpro and Dpar = 0.5\u03c1v2SbCDpar, in which CDpro and CDpar are the dimensionless drag coefficient and the body drag coefficient, respectively. It might also be the reason for the high lift-to-drag ratio of P. brevitarsis at wind speeds lower than 2.0 m/s. The largest reduction of Sw and Sb led to the largest reduction in total drag compared to the other two beetles.The total drag on a beetle is equal to the sum of three aerodynamic components, as ody form . It was A multifactor analysis of variance was performed regarding the influence of folding ratio and wind speed on the lift-to-drag ratio. The results are shown in P. brevitarsis had a larger range of variation. This might be because the large aspect ratio of the wing yields a greater wing flexibility [There is a correlation between aerodynamic forces and aspect ratio. Increasing the aspect ratio increases the average aerodynamic loads, and a smaller aspect ratio prevents the airflow from separating at the top and bottom . Using bxibility .P. brevitarsis, A. chinensis, and T. dichotomus were 90, 45, and 43 Hz, respectively. It was found that P. brevitarsis had a higher flapping frequency and lift-to-drag ratio than the other beetles. The flapping frequencies of A. chinensis and T. dichotomus were similar. Especially, at low wind speeds, a higher flapping frequency yields a better lift-to-drag ratio. A bionic flexible FWMAV was tested in a wind tunnel to explore the effects of different flapping frequencies and aspect ratios on the aerodynamic performance. The flapping frequency played a crucial role in lift generation. Higher flapping frequencies yielded more lift. Also, a wing with a higher aspect ratio could significantly increase the lift [The flapping frequency of the lift . For lowthe lift . The flathe lift . For a fthe lift . Also, tthe lift .P. brevitarsis mostly live in farmland and loose soil, and the environmental conditions are relatively humid. Adults come out at night and have a strong flying ability. P. brevitarsis also has a strong migratory ability, moves quickly, and generally flies approximately 50 m [A. chinensis lives mostly inside trunks of trees or in small closed forests, feeding on young leaves and bark [T. dichotomus often lives in areas with well-developed forestry and thick trees und conditions native to a forest, feeding on the sap that flows from the surface of the bark. During the day, they mostly rest in shady and humid environments such as soil and move more in the evening hours [P. brevitarsis is more open and offers a better flying environment. Long-term living habits improved its flying ability with better aerodynamic characteristics. Due to the narrow living environment, the flight performance of A. chinensis and T. dichotomus is not as good as that of P. brevitarsis. A study of the wing loading of the three beetles revealed that P. brevitarsis had the smallest wing loading of 19.85 g/dm2 matching its fast-moving nature. The wing loading of A. chinensis was 21.22 g/dm2, and the wing loading of T. dichotomus was 32.87 g/dm2. A lower wing loading leads to a better maneuverability [P. brevitarsis and A. chinensis had smaller wing loadings, but P. brevitarsis had a higher lift-to-drag ratio, which might be due to higher folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency. Although lift and drag of P. brevitarsis were more obviously affected by the wind speed, its excellent flight performance provides input for improving the maneuverability of MAVs.Research on the living environments and living habits of the three beetles found that ely 50 m \u201356. A. cand bark . T. dichng hours \u201359. Comprability . Additiorability . Both P.P. brevitarsis is relatively open, and its wing loading is also the smallest, reaching 19.85 g/dm2. This basic study will help to understand the effect of different beetle hind wing parameters on the flapping, which will be helpful for the design of biomimetic deployable FWMAVs.In this work, the effects of different hind wing parameters on the flight performance of beetles were studied through wind tunnel tests. Three beetle species with different living environments and different folding ratios were selected as the test objects in this study. The unfolded and folded morphology and the nanomechanical properties of the hind wings of the three beetles and the cross-sectional morphology of different wing veins were observed and tested with super depth-of-field microscopy, nanoindentation, and scanning electron microscopy. Thus, the folding ratios, reduced Young\u2019s modulus, and hardness were determined. The flapping frequency was calculated by observing one flapping cycle with a high-speed camera. The effects of wind speed, folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency on the lift-to-drag ratio of the beetles were examined in a low-speed straight-flow wind tunnel. The results showed that wind speed, folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency had a combined effect on the flight performance of the beetles. Beetles with a more open living environment have a larger folding ratio, aspect ratio, flapping frequency, and wing loading, as well as better flight performance. The living environment of"}
+{"text": "The presentation considers the peculiarities of late adulthood, different views on the periodization of older ages .The research is aimed at studying the peculiarities of late adulthood.The method of work is a bibliographic analysis.Reveals the structure of psychological age (concept by L.S.Vygotsky), the specificity of the development in late adulthood and features of the social situation of development. Reveals modern ideas of ageing as a process not only of involution and loss, but also a process of continued development. The greatest attention is paid to the peculiarities of development tasks at older ages and the difficulties faced by older people trying to cope with them. There are the brief overview of the positions of C.G.Jung, A.Adler, E.Erikson, R.Peck, G.M.Bryugman, A.G.Liders, N.S.Pryazhnikov, E.E.Sapogova, I.V.Shapovalenko, V.I.Slobodchikov, G.A.Zuckerman, etc. regarding the development tasks in late adulthood. The comparison of the development tasks of early and late age periods by G.M. Bryugman, which shows that the tasks of aging worse defined, at least sequentially ordered, and the results of solution of development tasks is less predictable than in earlier ages.We can say that in old age is important not only the task of adjusting to different changes of pace of life, quality of life, social circle, etc., and overcome the negative aspects of aging but also issues of self-development. As the primary development task in late adulthood is considered an achievement of his own integrity and finding the meaning of life.No significant relationships."}
+{"text": "Euonymus microcarpus (Oliv.) Sprague, is a species of evergreen shrub of the genus Euonymus, family Celastraceae. Here, we extracted the genomic DNA from the leaves of E. microcarpus and constructed a paired-end library. The chloroplast genome of E. microcarpus was generated with the high-throughput sequencing by the illumina Hiseq X Ten platform and de novo assembly. The chloroplast genome had a quadripartite structure, containing a long single copy region with a size of 85,386 bp and a short single copy region with a size of 18,456 bp, separated by two inverted repeat regions of 26,850 bp. The chloroplast genome contained 133 genes identified in total, including 87 potential protein-coding genes, 38 transfer RNA genes, and eight ribosomal RNA genes. A total of 282 simple sequence repeats and 63 long repeats were found. Furthermore, the phylogenetic relationships inferred that E. microcarpus is sister to E. japonicus and E. schensianus. A comparison of the structure of the chloroplast genomes of eight Euonymus species suggests a nucleotide variability of the junction sites and a higher divergence of non-coding regions, compared to the coding regions. The original findings of the study serves as a good reference for chloroplast genome assembly and a valuable foundation for the genetic diversity and evolution of E. microcarpus. Euonymus, half of which are distributed in China [Euonymus have three fundamental characteristics. The first one is that most of the species in genus Euonymus have been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treating tumors, thrombosis, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and inflammation because the herbal extracts contain numerous chemical components, including terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, cardenolides and alkaloids [Euonymus is composed of 3-acetyl-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols, which has a reduced viscosity and a lower crystallization temperature than that of the common vegetable oils and is extremely attractive for industrial purposes [There are about 220 species in the genus in China . The spelkaloids . The laspurposes .E. microcarpus (Oliv.) Sprague, an endemic species in China, distributed in Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, is a species of evergreen shrub of the genus Euonymus, family Celastraceae [E. microcarpus have been used for relieving the rigidity of muscles, activating the collaterals and relieving rheumatism [E. microcarpus exhibits a tolerance to hard pruning [straceae ,6. It grstraceae . As an eeumatism . As an iChloroplasts, the plastids in plants and green algae originated by the cyanobacteria endosymbiosis, are photosynthetic organelles producing energy for plant growth and development by photosynthesis and the oxygen-release processes ,9. More Euonymus, such as E. phellomanus, E. fortunei and E. maackii, were sequenced by high-throughput sequencing and were assembled, annotated and published at present [E. microcarpus samples for the high-throughput cpDNA sequencing. The genomic features of the E. microcarpus cpDNA were determined, then the simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and the long repeats were obtained. The comparisons were made of the cpDNA sequences of E. microcarpus and 35 other species within the order Sapindales, then revealed their phylogenetic relationships. The cpDNAs of several species of the genus  present . We collE. microcarpus to guide the exploration of the use of the new genetic resources and the phylogenetic relationships within the order Sapindales. The findings of this paper provide a foundation for future genomic research on phylogenetic relationships and evolution within the genus Euonymus.In the present work, we report the first plastome sequence of E. microcarpus (Oliv.) Sprague were directly collected by Dr. Hongying Li from an individual at Qiuba, Luanchuan, Luoyang, Henan, China  and were identified by the most outstanding feature of the colored fall berries that begin shrouded in pink to red capsules and open to orange arils. The voucher specimen (LY_2020_HAUST263) was chilled in a dry ice-ethanol bath, then deposited in a freezer in the Biological Breeding Institute (BBI), Taishan Academy of Forestry Sciences (TAFS), Taian, China . We extracted the genomic DNA with the CTAB method [Fresh and healthy leaves of B method . The sheE. microcarpus cpDNA was assembled using the SPAdes pipeline (http://bioinf.spbau.ru/SPAdes/) (accessed on 3 February 2020) with E. japonicus cpDNA as the reference (GenBank accession NC_028067).Following the removal of the adapters and the low-quality reads with fastp (version 0.20.0), the read quality was improved and high-quality clean reads were obtained . The E. E. microcarpus was deposited to GenBank data libraries under the following accession number ON611716 [E. microcarpus cpDNA was created with OGDRAW (version v1.2) [http://codonw.sourceforge.net) (accessed on 3 February 2020) was applied for the analyses of the relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU).Once the annotation was completed with the CpGAVAS pipeline, the cpDNA of on v1.2) . The proREPuter was applied to quantify and locate the forward and reverse complement repeats ,20. The The alignment of the 36 cpDNAs was conducted with MAFFT (version 7.427) . The phyEuonymus species [E. japonicus [IRscope was used to visually display and compare the borders of the SSC, IRs and LSC among the eight  species . The mVIaponicus . Once thE. microcarpus, 157,542 bp in length, has a GC content of 37.22% and an average read coverage of 2321.42\u00d7. Compared with the cpDNA of E. szechuanensis, that of E. microcarpus shared conserved sequences and the synteny was identified , and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes . In totaand ndhB . Seventeand ndhB . Among t the IRs .E. microcarpus cpDNA was calculated using 26,883 codons. It suggests that the four most frequently used codons are AAA-K (1114), AUU-I (1093), GAA-E (1058) and UUU-F (982), accounting for 4.14%, 4.07%, 3.94% and 3.65% among all codons, respectively  were detected in the cpDNA, among which 199, 10, 82, 8 and 4 were mono-, di-, tri-, tetra- and pentanucleotide repeats, respectively . In all E. microcarpus and another 35 species within the family Sapindaceae, Aceraceae, Hippocastanaceae, Sapindaceae, Anacardiaceae, Staphyleaceae, Balsaminaceae and Celastraceae, to explore the genetic relationship between E. microcarpus and its relatives. Multiple alignments of all of the 36 cpDNAs was computed using MAFFT, then a maximum likelihood (ML) tree was determined using RAxML implementing the GTR-\u03b3 model. As shown in the We selected cpDNAs of Sapindaceae, Aceraceae, Hippocastanaceae, Sapindaceae and Anacardiaceae, whereas the other is formed by Staphyleaceae, Balsaminaceae and Celastraceae. The phylogenetic analyses have established that three Euonymus species, Turpinia montana, Turpinia arguta, Impatiens pritzelii and Dipentodon sinicus, fell into the second clade. Dipentodon sinicus is located at the base of the clade. Subsequently, two Turpinia species and Impatiens pritzelii are separated. In addition, E. japonicus is sister to E. schensianus, and they are successively sister to E. microcarpus  values of the selected eight cpDNAs, calculated within the slide window, ranged from 0 to 0.02976, with an average of 0.00471 . AccordiE. microcarpus and each of E. microcarpus, E. fortunei, E. maackii, E. phellomanus, E. japonicus, E. schensianus, E. hamiltonianus and E. szechuanensis, the substitution rates of synonymous (Ks) and nonsynonymous (Ka) were determined to test for the adaptive selection (E. microcarpus, rpl16, ycf2-2, ycf1-2 and atpF with Ka/ks ratios as >1, underwent a positive selection in the comparisons of the E. microcarpus, versus the chosen species (Between election . These r species . On the E. microcarpus, a circular molecule of 157,542 bp displaying a characteristic quadripartite structure as with other angiosperm cpDNAs (The plant cpDNA carries an average of 120 genes, including genes involved in the gene expression and genes related to photosynthesis . The prem cpDNAs , 87 potem cpDNAs . E. fortunei, E. maackii, E. phellomanus, E. japonicus, E. schensianus, E. hamiltonianus and E. szechuanensis, respectively [The GC content of the overall cpDNA is 37.22%, whereas that of the IR regions is higher than the LSC and SSC regions . The samectively ,29. The ectively .Euonymus, including E. Japonicus, E. maackii, E. phellomanus, E. schensianus, E. hamiltonianus and E. Fortunei [E. microcarpus. Among the SSRs and the long repeats of the seven species of genus Euonymus, the mononucleotide SSRs were the majority, while the complement repeats were the minority. The SSR motifs could serve as potential molecular markers for the species identification, analysis of the population genetic and the genetic differentiation between individuals [The repeat sequences may raise the genetic diversity of the species and advance the cpDNA rearrangements. Generally, the cpSSRs, more easily obtained than the nuclear SSRs, are valuable genetic tools for addressing basic and applied plant biology questions, because of their codominant nature, high polymorphism and low substitution rate. Previous research detected 79 to 135 SSRs and 43 to 56 long repeats in the cpDNAs of six species of genus Fortunei , while tividuals ,32.Anacardiaceae, including two species of the genus Pistacia and one species of the genus Rhus, diverged first, forming a sister relationship with a 100% bootstrap support. Then, Xanthoceras sorbifolium, belonging to the family Sapindaceae, diverged and formed a sister relationship to the family Sapindaceae, Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae with a 100% bootstrap support. Having been cluster formed by the genus Acer and Dipteronia, the Aceraceae form a monophyletic cluster and is most closely related to the cluster of two Aesculus species. The results are consistent with current taxonomic classifications, showing the family Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae, not distinct from the Sapindaceae, are in fact nested in the family Sapindaceae [E. microcarpus is most closely associated to the cluster of E. japonicus and E. schensianus with a 100% bootstrap value. The genus Euonymus is monophyletic and is closely associated to Impatiens pritzelii and the cluster of two Turpinia species, successively, with high support scores. Dipentodon sinicus within Celastraceae, diverged first, forming a sister relationship to the family Staphyleaceae, Balsaminaceae and Celastraceae. This study showed that Dipentodon sinicus is not most closely related to three species of the genus Euonymus within Celastraceae. The systematic position of Dipentodon sinicus has been highly controversial since it was placed in the family Celastraceae [Celastraceae. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted, based on the cpDNAs of 36 species within the order Sapindales. In the first clade, the cluster formed by three species within the family indaceae . In the straceae . TherefoPothoideae in the family Araceae [Euonymus species. In the cpDNAs of angiosperm, the borders between the LSC/SSC and IR regions are highly and relatively conserved [rps19 of E. microcarpus, E. maackii, E. phellomanus, E. hamiltonianus and E. szechuanensis, were completely positioned in the LSC region at the junction of JLB, while, that of E. japonicus, E. schensianus and E. fortune, were located in the IRb region. It is obvious that the cpDNAs of E. japonicus, E. schensianus and E. fortunei showed expansions and contractions of the IRs and LSC, respectively, which is consistent with the findings of earlier reports [Euonymus species. The results increase the current knowledge of the evolutionary patterns in the angiosperms.The modification of the cpDNA size could be driven by the important evolutionary events, expansion and shrinkage of the IR region, which occur frequently, lead to fluxes in the LSC/IR junctions and the initiation of pseudogenes, gene duplication or a reversion of the duplicated genes to a single copy . Previou Araceae . In thisonserved . It is c reports . The truE. microcarpus, sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq X Ten system, displayed a typical quadripartite structure of most angiosperms. A large number of SSRs were detected, which could provide valuable information for designing exceedingly variable molecular markers for the population genetics and ecological and evolutional studies of E. microcarpus. Based on the cpDNAs of 36 species within the order Sapindales, the phylogenetic analysis showed a close relationship among E. microcarpus, E. japonicus and E. schensianus, suggesting that they are sister species. A comparison of the structure of the cpDNAs of eight Euonymus species was performed and it is obvious that there is a nucleotide variability of the junction sites and a higher divergence of non-coding regions, compared to coding regions. The obtained genetic resources and the results of the above analyses will facilitate future studies in the implementation of the effective conservation and management strategies, to help develop affordable and efficient genetic assays for the species identification of the genus Euonymus.In conclusion, the cpDNA of"}
+{"text": "Vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin, is an essential nutrient for the human body whose major role is to assist in the production of several coagulation factors. Unlike many other vitamins, vitamin K is not usually used as a dietary supplement . HoweverVitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) can be divided into three types: early, classic and late. Early vitamin K deficiency bleeding occurs within the first 24 hours after birth. In most cases, the vitamin K deficiency bleeding is secondary, implying that the newborn has an underlying bleeding disorder which is exacerbated by vitamin K deficiency, or the baby was born to a mother who was taking drugs that inhibit vitamin K, such as antiepileptic drugs, blood thinners like warfarin, and some antibiotics. Classic vitamin K deficiency bleeding occurs within the first week after birth. Late vitamin K deficiency bleeding occurs in babies 2\u201324 weeks of age. It is a severe condition with high mortality i.e., 1 out of 5 babies with late vitamin k deficiency bleeding die, and out of every 5 survivors, 2 suffer from long-term neurological damage. All three forms of vitamin K deficiency bleeding can lead to bleeding in the gut or the brain .To prevent this disastrous disease, a single Vitamin K shot is given which can almost entirely reduce the risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding. A 0.5 mg or 1 mg (varies with birth weight) vitamin K shot is given intramuscularly to all babies at birth. All the other ingredients in the shot are safe and are added either to increase the absorption of vitamin K or to maintain the pH and moisture in the shot . Some paA qualitative study conducted in 2019 outlined the reasons for refusal of the vitamin K shot by the parents for their newborns . AccordiThere is non-uniformity when it comes to the practice of vitamin K administration . This caAccording to a systematic review, the low-income areas showed higher rates of vitamin K deficiency bleeding. This difference remained even after the introduction of vitamin K administration and could be attributed to the differences in ethnicity, seasonality, and geolocation (higher incidence in summer and in the tropics) . A case The developing and low-income countries have been facing an alarming number of avoidable neonatal deaths due to vitamin K deficiency bleeding. The policymakers and Health Sector need to focus on this issue and improve the access and availability of the prophylactic vitamin K shot following the recommendations of WHO, while ensuring the strict implementation of all the policies made in this regard. The parents of newborns should be counseled properly and the importance of the shot emphasized with evidence in order to decrease the number of cases of vitamin K deficiency bleeding.No ethical requirements were reported for this study.None.M.A, A.Z, and M.E conceived the idea; M.A, A.Z, M.E, and Q.M collected the data; I.U and M.S.A analyzed and interpreted the data; M.A, A.Z, M.E, Q.M, and I.U did write up of the manuscript; and finally M.S.A, I.U, and Q.M reviewed the manuscript for intellectual content critically. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.Externally peer reviewed, not commissioned.The authors declare that there is no conflict of Interest."}
+{"text": "In the published article, there was an error in affiliation 2. Instead of \u201cUniversity of Hildesheim, Institute for Psychology, Hildesheim, Germany\u201d, it should be \u201cUniversity of Hildesheim, Institute for Psychology, Neurodidactics & NeuroLab, Hildesheim, Germany.\u201dAdditionally, in the original article, there was an error in the Acknowledgments section. In the original version, it read \u201cWe thank Tom Fritzsche for helpful comments on the pupillometry experiment setup and Prof. Kristian Folta-Schoofs for allowing the usage of his lab.\u201dAcknowledgments. The corrected paragraph is shown below.A correction has been made to We acknowledge financial support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and TU Dortmund University within the funding programme Open Access Publishing. We acknowledge financial support by the University of Hildesheim for a student assistant. We thank Tom Fritzsche for helpful comments on the pupillometry experiment setup and Prof. Dr. Kristian Folta-Schoofs for allowing the usage of his lab and equipment. For their help with data collection, we thank Klara Tittelbach-Helmrich and David Mietzner. We further thank Hannes Elfers and the Elisabethschule in Hildesheim for their invaluable help with data collection and Julia Diedrich for illustrating the visual stimuli. Above all, we thank our participants.Unfortunately, in the original article, a number of references also contained errors as listed below.Patholinguistische Diagnostik bei Sprachentwicklungsst\u00f6rungen (PDSS) [Patholinguistic Assessment of Developmental Language Disorders in German], 2nd Edn. Amsterdam: Elsevier. The corrected reference is shown below.For Kauschke and Siegm\u00fcller , the citFront. Neurosci. 5:115. 10.3389/fnins.2011.00115. The corrected reference is shown below.The reference for Preuschoff et al.  containein Studies in Language Companion Series: v. 75. Datives and Other Cases: Between Argument Structure and Event Structure, eds D. P. Hole, W. Abraham, and A. Meinunger (Ahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam msterdam: J. Benjamins), 239\u2013268. The corrected reference is shown below.The reference for Schmitz  incorrecThe authors apologize for these errors and state that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "N/A Chromisenchrysurus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 as KU 27029, and mislabeled the species as Chromisenchrysura. We regret this mistake, as there are three syntypes of C.enchryurus, none of which is the specimen listed. The corrected version of the table is provided here.Following the publication of our paper , it was"}
+{"text": "Rattus rattus, there has been relatively little work on the phylogeography of the species within India, from where this spread originated. Taking a genomic approach, we typed 27 R. rattus samples from Peninsular India using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method. Filtering and alignment of the FASTQ files yielded 1499 genome-wide SNPs. Phylogenomic tree reconstruction revealed a distinct subdivision in the R. rattus population, manifested as two clusters corresponding to the east and west coasts of India. We also identified signals of admixture between these two subpopulations, separated by an Fst of 0.20. This striking genomic difference between the east and west coast populations mirrors what has previously been described with mitochondrial DNA sequencing. It is notable that the west coast population of R. rattus has been spread globally, reflecting the origins of commensalism of the species in Western India and the subsequent transport by humans worldwide.In contrast to the detailed and globally extensive studies on the spread of the commensal black rat,  R. rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus) are the world\u2019s most widespread and destructive invasive species [R. rattus serves as the carrier of zoonotic diseases, such as plague, typhoid and leptospirosis [R. rattus have revealed a long history of commensalism and maritime transport by humans [R. rattus and its dispersal outside of the subcontinent by maritime activities operating from its coasts [R. rattus originated in India [R. rattus first became commensal with the rise of that civilization [R. rattus population living in the northwest of the subcontinent. Clearly, India is very important in understanding commensalism in R. rattus, with a need for further studies.The demographic history and origin of commensalism in rodents inevitably reflects the history of human settlements, sedentism, and ancient trades. Commensal rodents have been subject to detailed zooarchaeological studies, given this association with human history, and the profound influence of commensal rodents on human economics and health. Among rodents, black rats  of the R. rattus complex (RrC) have been reported in mainland Asia [R. rattus outside India demonstrate low diversity [R. rattus in Eurasia and elsewhere, understanding the genetic diversity of R. rattus within Peninsular India is of the utmost importance. Taking a genome-wide approach, we genotyped R. rattus samples from a wide range of localities in India, with emphasis on the west and east coasts, which are regions that allowed the spread of commensal R. rattus from Peninsular India  as a reference genome for SNP calling. After SNP calling, the metadata were exported in a VCF file format for downstream analyses using TASSEL 5 Standalone version [R. rattus and 3 M. m. castaneus samples was processed for further analysis.A genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach was used to prepare the libraries and genotype genome-wide SNPs for the 34 ribed by ,22,23. Aersion 5 . A minim version . Seven sInitially, we used a distance matrix to build a simple neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree within the TASSEL program. To further revisit the phylogenetic relationship, we constructed a maximum likelihood (ML) tree using RAxML v8.2.X  and furtR. rattus in India was explored by Bayesian clustering using the program STRUCTURE 2.3.2 [STF.The genetic subdivision of RE 2.3.2 ,28. The RE 2.3.2  in the pRE 2.3.2 . The whoRE 2.3.2  was usedR. rattus samples, originating from 16 locations from the west coast, east coast, and central India, were genotyped to yield 1499 genome-wide SNPs. The average minor allele frequencies were calculated as 0.1750, and the heterozygous proportion was found to be 0.2944.The R. rattus samples into two distinct clusters, corresponding to the east and west coasts of India  calculated for these two clusters was 0.204, indicating strong disparity between the spatially separated R. rattus populations. Of note, genetic signals of admixture were also detected in five R. rattus samples obtained from central India and the east coast  approach to study samples obtained from the west and east coasts and central India to understand their genetic relationship. Both our phylogenomic tree and clustering analysis show distinct subdivisions in the R. rattus population, corresponding to the west and east coasts. This genomic differentiation in the R. rattus population within Peninsular India corroborates the substantial mitochondrial diversity and differentiation that we have previously reported in the R. rattus population in India [R. rattus previously described in [R. rattus differently.In recent years, rodents, including house mice, in India . Both inin India ), which ribed in . In Peniribed in  that migR. rattus and humans, the advent of agriculture followed by a village/urban way of life in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent is the most plausible explanation for the origin of commensalism in the wild-living R. rattus population, and, once commensal, humans unintentionally moved them around [R. rattus and further spread to other parts of the sub-continent. Many sites, ranging from early (~7\u20136.5 kya) to late (~5\u20132.8 kya) Indus, have been excavated in India [R. rattus bones have been found and recorded [Considering the first association between m around ,33. Mehrm around ,34. Mostin India . Importarecorded ,37. In trecorded ,38. In arecorded .R. rattus found on the east and west coasts, the basal positions of east coast R. rattus populations in both mtDNA [R. rattus became commensal [R. rattus samples of central India and the east coast could be the outcome of ancient hybridization between the lineages, or it might have resulted from the intermixing of two lineages in this region, as a result of human transport. Considering the intermediate position of central India between the east and west coasts, admixture in this region is to be expected, although the R. rattus from central India predominantly have a west coast genetic signature. The contribution of the east coast rat genome to the genome in these central India individuals is very small. Given this characteristic of the central India R. rattus, and the relatively close proximity of the central India and some east coast populations, it is not surprising that there is admixture in both.Of the two lineages of th mtDNA  and genoommensal . The sigR. rattus population on the west coast of India already suggested by mtDNA analysis [R. rattus became commensal with humans, and from here that R. rattus spread globally [R. rattus is low, as would be expected when largely derived from this one source area (the west coast of India) [R. rattus throughout the west coast from a site of initial commensalism in the Indus valley. This could be the reason for the low mtDNA diversity on the west coast, rather than ancient derivation from the east coast populations. The present study indicates that the globally distributed R. rattus is not only derived from one particular geographically localised mtDNA lineage [R. rattus on the east coast of India are also commensal, but, as we have said, they are genomically different from those on the west coast, and more genetically diverse in mtDNA  ,8. Inter disease . Taking  disease ,42,43.R. rattus. Here we conduct the first population genomic study of Indian R. rattus, and demonstrate a similar genetic subdivision into east and west coast populations as found with mt DNA. Thus, the R. rattus worldwide range expansion originated from a west coast Indian population with defined nuclear genome characteristics as well as its well-known mt DNA characteristics. This understanding is valuable not only for future genome-based phylogeographic studies but also with respect genetic approaches to managing R. rattus as a devastating pest worldwide.India is crucial as the source area of the global spread of the black rat,"}
+{"text": "Triatoma, Panstrongylus, and Rhodnius. Rhodnius includes 21 species that can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi  and Trypanosoma rangeli. The Rhodnius prolixus complex comprises seven species, including Rhodnius marabaensis, Rhodnius prolixus, and Rhodnius robustus, which occur in the northern region of Brazil. Since both adults and immatures can carry T. cruzi, in this study the five nymphal instars of the three species mentioned were dorsally characterized.Among the 18 genera of the Triatominae subfamily, three stand out for their diversity and epidemiological importance: R. marabaensis, R. prolixus, and R. robustus.Using microscopy, morphometrics, and geometric morphometrics, the present work measures and describes the morphological characters of the five nymphal instars of The study enabled the characterization of all five nymphal instars, as well as the distinction between the three species in each of their instars.The morphological, morphometrics of the head, thorax, and abdomen and geometric morphometrics studies of the head enabled the specific distinction of these three species in all five instars.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05200-2. Trypanosoma cruzi   [T. cruzi, such as the juices of a\u00e7a\u00ed (Euterpe oleracea), bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba), jaci , orange (Citrus sinensis), guava (Psidium guajava), sugarcane, and palm wine [Chagas disease is an endemic infection in the Americas caused by the protozoan  Chagas, 909 (Kinematidae) . In Soutmatidae) . In addialm wine \u20135.T. cruzi [Rhodnius St\u00e5l, 1859, which in addition to T. cruzi can transmit Trypanosoma rangeli Tejera, 1920 [T. rangeli is pathogenic to vertebrates, when examining or isolating Trypanosomatidae strains from triatomines, it is necessary to identify whether it is T. cruzi or T. rangeli [Rhodnius has 21 species [Rhodnius amazonicus Almeida, Santos & Sposina, 1973; Rhodnius barretti Abad-Franch et al., 2013; Rhodnius brethesi Matta, 1919; Rhodnius milesi Carcavallo et al., 2001; Rhodnius montenegrensis Rosa et al., 2012; Rhodnius paraensis Sherlock et al., 1977; Rhodnius pictipes St\u00e5l, 1872; Rhodnius prolixus St\u00e5l, 1859; Rhodnius robustus Larrousse, 1927, and Rhodnius marabaensis Souza et al., 2016 [All species of Triatominae are potential or proven vectors of T. cruzi \u20138. These rangeli . Rhodniu species , of whicRhodnius present well-defined morphological characters that facilitate their identification in the Triatominae subfamily, but distinguishing them from one another is a complex task [Rhodnius is characterized by the position of the antennal tubercle on the apex of the head and the absence of phallosome support in the genitalia of some species [Rhodnius is widely studied, yet its phylogeny has not been clarified and requires new studies [Species belonging to lex task , 14. The species , 12, 14. species , 14\u201316.  studies , 17.Rhodnius\u2009+\u2009Psammolestes Bergroth, 1911) consists of a monophyletic group of two genera naturally occurring in the Neotropical region [R. robustus is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as northern Brazil [Rhodnius robustus is very close to R. montenegrensis, but molecular studies have confirmed the specific status of each species [The tribe Rhodniini  were used. Rhodnius marabaensis specimens  at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the S\u00e3o Paulo State University (Unesp-Araraquara) , head length (HL), thorax length (XL), and abdomen length (AL) were measured for nymphs of all instars. Following Dujardin et al. , interoct-tests for mean and standard deviation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey\u2019s pairwise comparison were performed to evaluate the degree of differentiation of the three species using PAST software\u00a0. Then the file with the raw coordinates was used for a generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA). GPA is a method that allows all the information related to size, position, and orientation of previously digitized anatomical frames to be eliminated [p\u2009<\u20090.0001) [Geometric morphometrics was used to evaluate variations in head shape and size using Cartesian reference coordinates. Variations among the heads of all nymphal instars of the studied species were evaluated. Fifteen heads of each instar were selected, and the images were obtained using a stereoscopic magnifying glass coupled to the Motic Advanced 3.2 plus scanning system. The coordinates of the reference points were selected according to Bookstein . Four laiminated . The matiminated . All the\u20090.0001)  is used \u20090.0001) . Mahalan\u20090.0001) . In addi\u20090.0001) . To dete\u20090.0001) . The CVA\u20090.0001)   observed in the third and fourth instars are still present. There is also an increase in the number of tubercles with setae  23.12, P\u2009=\u20091.693) was significant  13.64, P\u2009=\u20092.718)  36.32, P\u2009=\u20096.965) . Rhodnius robustus and R. prolixus have larger means than R. marabaensis . Dendrograms were built based on the values recovered for Mahalanobis distances and neighbor joining (NJ). The topology is identical for all instars .By ontogenetic geometric morphometry of the heads of nymphs, it was possible to describe the differences in shape and size of the five instars of een Fig.\u00a0. Analysisis Fig.\u00a0. Differears Fig.\u00a0. It was sis Fig.\u00a0. ProcrusR. prolixus, R. robustus, and R. marabaensis in the first and fourth instar; however, the separation of populations in the second, third, and fifth instars is clear. R. marabaensis is the species that was best separated in the CVA analysis.The projection of the three species in the space defined by canonical axes 1 (CVA1) and 2 (CVA2) provides a description of the specified groups in the set of multivariate data. The analyses of the canonical variables resulted in 10 variables and explain 100% of the discrimination among the species Fig.\u00a0. The firT. cruzi if infected [Rhodnius, the following works can be mentioned: Mascarenhas [R. brethesi; Ponsoni et al. [R. neglectus Lent, 1954 and R. prolixus; and Santos [Rhodnius colombiensis Meija, Galv\u00e3o & Jurberg, 1999, Rhodnius ecuadoriensis Lent & Le\u00f3n, 1958, R. milesi, and Rhodnius stali Lent, Jurberg & Galv\u00e3o, 1993.A striking feature of Triatominae is that males, females, and nymphs of all instars can transmit infected , 37. In carenhas , which si et al.  and Marci et al. , which cd Santos , which dR. marabaensis. In their chapter about nymphal instars, Lent and Wygodzinsky [R. prolixus and R. robustus do not have sub median tubercles or aggregations of granules along the midline, but such characters were observed in all five nymphal instars of those species, as well as in R. marabaensis. Rosa et al. [Triatoma wygodzinskyi Lent, 1951, distinguished the two instars by morphological characters of the thorax. Thus, by scanning electronic microscopy, they observed the absence of collar, glabrous areas, and tubercles in the first instar of T. wygodzinskyi, which were present in the second instar. Nevertheless, the differentiation among third, fourth, and fifth instars of R. marabaensis, R. prolixus, and R. robustus was made using the same characters observed by Rosa et al. [T. wygodzinskyi, i.e., the formation and conformation of the two pairs of wing pads located on the thorax. Although the ventral surface was not described, it is very likely that in future studies, new differential characters between the three species will be added to those already described in this work.Morphological characters are useful tools for taxonomic and systematic studies in Triatominae, in addition to being useful for epidemiological surveillance. The morphological analyses showed the separation of the three species by characters observed on the head, thorax, and abdomen shape. This made it possible to separate them in all five nymphal instars and to characterize for the first time the development instars of odzinsky  mentionea et al. , studyina et al.  in nymphR. marabaensis had its nymphs characterized morphometrically and morphologically for the first time.In this study, the results of the morphometry of characters from the abdomen, antenna, head, labium, and thorax showed little discrimination between the three species. In general, the compared averages are small or not significant, and the morphometric study is not suitable for identification. However, R. marabaensis showed the same pattern for the first three instars, another for the fourth instar, and a third pattern for the fifth instar, whereas R. prolixus and R. robustus showed the same pattern for the first and second instars, another for the third and fourth instars, and a third one for the fifth instar. Santos [R. colombiensis, R. ecuadoriensis, and R. stali, found two patterns of relative length for antennal segments of the five nymphal instars. For R. milesi, the author found three patterns, one for the first and second instars, another for the fourth and fifth instars, and a third one for the third instar, hence different patterns from the ones observed in R. marabaensis, R. prolixus, and R. robustus.The relative length of the four antennal segments in . Santos , measuriPanstrongylus megistus , R. neglectus, R. prolixus, and Triatoma vitticeps . The patterns identified in R. neglectus and R. prolixus were the same as those found for R. prolixus and R. robustus in this work. Rosa et al. [Triatoma rubrovaria  and found patterns different from R. marabaensis, R. prolixus, and R. robustus, but similar to those observed in P. megistus by Rosa et al. [R. colombiensis, R. ecuadoriensis, R. milesi, R. stali [R. neglectus [T. rubrovaria [P. megistus, and T. vitticeps [R. prolixus and R. robustus are like R. neglectus [R. colombiensis, R. ecuadoriensis, R. milesi, and R. stali [T. rubrovaria [P. megistus, and T. vitticeps [Rosa et al.  carried a et al.  measureda et al. . HoweverR. stali , and R. eglectus , T. rubrbrovaria , P. megiitticeps . Furthereglectus  and can R. stali  as well brovaria , P. megiitticeps  for thisGeometric morphometry enables the evaluation of the variation in shape in relation to causal effects . The tecTriatoma Laporte, 1832 were studied using geometric morphometrics, which indicated the potential of the technique to study specimens that are phylogenetically close [R. robustus was easily characterized by the geometric profile of the heads of nymphs. The second and fourth instar showed less discrimination potential, i.e., only approximated size means were recovered.Recently two subcomplexes of the genus ly close , 46. GeoR. robustus is distant, whilst R. prolixus and R. marabaensis form a single clade. However, CVA ellipses showed that in the first and second instars, R. marabaensis and R. robustus remain close, while groups are clearly separated in the third, fourth, and fifth instars. Regarding the shape, the values of the Procrustes ANOVA test revealed differences among the cephalic capsules, enabling discrimination. It was shown that the multivariate morphometric technique is more efficient for discriminating against the studied species when confronted with linear morphometric data.The metric estimator of Mahalanobis distance was used to recover NJ dendrograms, where it is possible to visualize that in all evaluated instars Rhodnius species were evaluated. New data were also provided for R. marabaensis. Furthermore, it was shown that the morphology of the head , thorax (second and fifth instar), and abdomen  are useful in discriminating the studied species. Through morphometric analysis of the head, it was verified that the postocular distance of the fourth instar and the lengths of the antennal segments of the third and fifth instars distinguish the three species. Lastly, geometric morphometry proved to be useful for these species. The size and shape variables clearly show the differences between R. marabaensis, R. prolixus, and R. robustus.In this study, the morphological and morphometric differences in three Additional file 1. Morphometry tests.Additional file 2. Landmarks of heads.Additional file 3. Geometric morphometrics."}
+{"text": "Background: Pseudouridine (\u03a8) is a common ribonucleotide modification that plays a significant role in many biological processes. The identification of \u03a8 modification sites is of great significance for disease mechanism and biological processes research in which machine learning algorithms are desirable as the lab exploratory techniques are expensive and time-consuming.Results: In this work, we propose a deep learning framework, called PseUdeep, to identify \u03a8 sites of three species: H. sapiens, S. cerevisiae, and M. musculus. In this method, three encoding methods are used to extract the features of RNA sequences, that is, one-hot encoding, K-tuple nucleotide frequency pattern, and position-specific nucleotide composition. The three feature matrices are convoluted twice and fed into the capsule neural network and bidirectional gated recurrent unit network with a self-attention mechanism for classification.Conclusion: Compared with other state-of-the-art methods, our model gets the highest accuracy of the prediction on the independent testing data set S-200; the accuracy improves 12.38%, and on the independent testing data set H-200, the accuracy improves 0.68%. Moreover, the dimensions of the features we derive from the RNA sequences are only 109,109, and 119 in H. sapiens, M. musculus, and S. cerevisiae, which is much smaller than those used in the traditional algorithms. On evaluation via tenfold cross-validation and two independent testing data sets, PseUdeep outperforms the best traditional machine learning model available. PseUdeep source code and data sets are available at https://github.com/dan111262/PseUdeep. Pseudouridine (\u03a8) is one of the most prevalent RNA modifications that occurs at the uridinebase through an isomerization reaction catalyzed by pseudouridine synthases see  Bousque. It is cAlthough accurate \u03a8 sites can be identified by some lab exploratory techniques, they are expensive and time-consuming . As an iMus musculus, S. cerevisiae, and H. sapiens  Y. H. . Similar sapiens . He et apiens J. . In 2019piens J. . In 2020piens J. . In shordictions . The abodictions .H. sapiens, S. cerevisiae, and M. musculus. Compared with previous machine learning methods, our model applies three encoding methods, one-hot encoding, K-tuple nucleotide frequency pattern (KNFP)  Y. , and PSNKNFP) Y.  to extraKNFP) Y. . FinallyH. sapiens, M. musculus, and S. cerevisiae based on RMBase (H. sapiens), NM_944 (M. musculus), and NS_627 (S. cerevisiae), and the data sets built by H. sapiens and S. cerevisiae, we also use the independent data sets H_200 and S_200, which are built by n RMBase . With thn RMBase , which iIn the NH_990 and NM_944 data sets, the length of the sequence is 21\u00a0nt. However, in the NS_627 data set, the length is31\u00a0nt. In the H_200 and S_200 data sets, the RNA sequence length is 21 and 31\u00a0nt, respectively. Feature extraction is the basis of the algorithm. In our work, we consider three kinds of features: one-hot encoding, KNFP Y. , and PSNGiven an RNA sequence R,The KNFP Y.  pattern PSNP  is an efjth position. In this way, we obtain two First, we calculate the frequency of occurrence for four nucleotides, respectively, from bath positive and negative samples at the For each input sequence, we use three feature extraction  methods to form three feature matrices. For each feature matrix, a pair of 1-D CNNs are used. The first layer of each feature matrix has a filter size of 11 and a kernel size of 7. Similarly, the second 1[D CNN layer for each feature matrix has a filter size of 11 and a kernel size of 3. Two convolution layers are used to capture features from three feature matrices; all layers had a \u201cRelu\u201d activation function. The three convolution results are spliced together and fed into the capsule network with 14 capsules for vector convolution, and the output of the capsule network is put into the BiGRU neural network with an attention mechanism; the final feature is concatenated and fed into two dense layers to obtain the prediction results. Bayesian optimization is used to select the best performance of the hyperparameters. The adjusted parameters are the number of filters, the filter size, and epoch. To prevent the model from overfitting, the dropout algorithm with a probability of 0.5 is also used. A binary cross-entropy is used as a loss function with an early stop patience of 20. The batch size is 32, and the number of epochs is set to 200. For the stochastic gradient descent method, the Adam optimization algorithm is selected here. The total number of trainable parameters in the network is 165,365. The entire program is done in Python 3.6.CNNs are widely used in the fields of artificial intelligence, such as machine learning, speech recognition, document analysis, language detection, and image recognition.Capsule neural networks, first proposed by Hinton et al., provide a unique and powerful deep learning component to better simulate the various relationships represented inside the neural network. Because capsule neural networks can collect location information, they can learn a small amount of data to get good predicted results. In the data sets we collected, the amount of RNA data is small, and the length of RNA sequences is small, so to study the hierarchical relationship of local features, capsule neural networks are used in this paper.BiGRU networks are used to extract the deep features of the sequences because BiGRU networks can be regarded as two unidirectional GRUs. An attention mechanism in a deep neural network is also an important part. The attention mechanism is remarkable in serialized data, such as speech recognition, machine translation, and part of speech taming, which has also been widely used in much bioinformatics research and achieved excellent performance.Because the lidation  is widelTo measure the performance of our model, we use four statistical parameters, sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp), accuracy (Acc), and Matthew\u2019s correlation coefficient (MCC), which are used in a series of studies to evaluate the effectiveness of predictors. These parameters are defined as follows: the ROC  is also 1) CNN: The network consists of two layers of 1-D convolution, a BIGRU network, and a two fully connected layers network as described above. The input matrices are the one-hot encoding and KNFP features extracted from the RNA sequences.2) CNN + Capsule: The model adds a capsule layer after the BiGRU layer on the basis of the CNN model.3) CNN + Attention: The model adds a self-attention mechanism layer before the BiGRU layer based on the CNN model.4) CNN + Capsule + Attention: The model adds a capsule layer based on the CNN + Attention model; on the basis of the above four models, we add PSNP features and compare the performance of the four new models see , 3. In sTo select a more effective model, in each data set, we first compare four models\u2019 performances based on two feature extraction methods, one-hot encoding and KNFP  with only one kind of feature. We compare our model PseUdeep with other state-of-the-art machine learning predictors published recently to evaluate the identification ability of \u03a8 sites. In benchmark data sets with tenfold cross-validation and independent testing, the results obtained by PseUdeep and other predictors are listed in H. sapiens, M. musculus, and S. cerevisiae, respectively, and our model gets the highest accuracy of the prediction.We summarize and compare our model with other state-of-the-art models in terms of feature extraction, number of features, and classifiers as shown in In this study, we propose a model, PseUdeep, which can effectively identify \u03a8 sites in RNA sequences. To get better prediction performance, we also train a combination of three features in a simple model and then gradually add different types of layers to obtain better performance. In addition, we compare our model with other models through tenfold cross-validation and independent testing, and the results show that PseUdeep is more accurate and stable. Finally, we evaluate and compare the performance of the three features used in this study and find that PSNP shows the best effect."}
+{"text": "Surveys were conducted on three continents, Europe, America and Asia. Contaminated foods reportedly included seafood and edible oils, according to studies. TBT was investigated more than other tin components in food. The overall average estimate for TBT in seafood was estimated at 182.33\u00a0ng/g that This amount was more than maximum limit. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to treat the wastewater so that these harmful compounds do not reach the water of sea.Organotin compounds in low doses have toxic effects. These components may contaminate food. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the type and level of organotin in food that are mainly contaminated with these compounds, as well as common detection methods. The research studies with keywords Organotin, Tributyltin, TBT, Food, Detection, Contamination, and Pollution were searched in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases, regardless of publication time. Two author independently investigated the publications. A number of 123 studies were obtained and only 9 articles were finally selected according to exclusion and inclusion criteria. Studies were selected which organotin components were detected in the food matrix. The important data were extracted. Meta-analysis was calculated for the amount of TBT in seafood. The most important of these compounds are TBT, TPhT, Dibutyltin (DBT) and di- The oriin (DOT) . TBT andin (DOT) . EU and in (DOT) . TPhT isin (DOT) . Dibutylin (DOT) . Tributyin (DOT) . Tributyin (DOT) . This kiin (DOT) . They lein (DOT) . TBT oxiin (DOT) . TBT hasin (DOT) . The tolin (DOT) . These cin (DOT) . These cin (DOT) . This duin (DOT) . Furtherin (DOT) . This tyin (DOT) .The organotin in food are absorbed by cells in the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream. In ordeThis systematic review was written on PRISMA checklist. Two authors performed all stage including inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data extraction to prevent bias.The articles in English language were searched on 16 June 2021. There was no time limitation. The chosen databases were PubMed, Science direct, Google scholar, and Scopus. The keywords for searching were set: (Organotin OR Tributyltin OR TBT) AND (Food) AND (Detection) AND (Contamination OR Pollution). A total number of 123 articles were identified from databases. At first, the title and abstract of the manuscript were reviewed. Manuscript that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from the study. The full text were assessed with two author (P.S and Z.N).Then, the full text of the selected Manuscript was carefully studied and the data was extracted according to the protocol.The two reviewers (P.S and M.J) searched the keywords in databases independently. Invitro and animal study, environmental sample, review and chapter of book, non-English article, biomonitoring, and application of organotin were excluded. Inclusion criteria for this systematic review included original articles that measured organotin levels by valid methods of measuring. All publication that was according to inclusion criteria was assessed. The sample size of a significant number of studies was only one, so it was excluded from this systematic review.The name of the first author, time of study, country, type of food and organotin, amount and sample size, method of measuring in samples were extracted in the meta-analysis. The levels of tributyltins in seafood were converted to ng/g units. For this estimation, studies were selected that had mean, standard deviation and number of samples. The total mean was estimated with comprehensive meta-analysis software.Among the organotin, tributyltins was reported more than others, so this compound was selected for 123 articles were achieved by searching in PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, and Google Scholar database. 31 articles were excluded from the study due to duplicating. The title and abstracts of the remaining articles were carefully studied and 45 articles were excluded because of using review and chapter of book, animal studies, other sample including environmental sample, application and non-English article. Then, the full texts of 47 papers were taken. The quality of the studies was also assessed by two persons. At end step, 9 articles were chosen. The PRISMA checklist was conducted for this systematic review. Of all screened manuscript, 9 were selected for the systematic review. The type of food and type of organotin identified and the method used to identify organotin are shown in meta-analysis. The overall mean was estimated with the random model. This was estimated at 182.33\u00a0\u00b1\u00a084.62\u00a0ng/g.Four of the studies in the table had the mean, standard division and sample of size for TBT in seafood. Therefore, 4 publications were selected in the present study for In this study, tin compounds were observed in seafood and liquid oils. The extracted data shows that most of the samples examined are foods of marine origin. According to previous studies, tin compounds are a global threat to marine ecosystems. TBT, DBmeta-analysis of TBT data in this systematic review, was estimated to be 182.33\u00a0ng/g.These compounds are more common in municipal waste, including MBT, DBT and TBT. The amoIn a study conducted in Japan, small amounts of TBT were found in food samples of marine origin, which indicates the prohibition of its use.In the Amodio-Cocchieri study, 33% of the samples were contaminated with DBT and 85% of farmed fish were infected with TBT. In Mattn-octyltin (DOT) in various edible oils were investigated. DPhT and TPhT was non detectable (ND) in all oil samples. TBT and DBT were separated in the most of the samples(One of the products that can be contaminated with organotin compounds is edible oils. In an accident in China due to the consumption of contaminated oil led to hospitalization and death of some consumers. Tin compounds in packaged plastics migrate to oil. Followie samples. These te samples. Howevere samples. ConsideIn Chung 's study, which measured the amount of organotin compounds in fish, the amount of TPhT was higher than other tin compounds. This usThe data table shows that about 30% of the studies were conducted in China. Previous studies have also indicated that there is a high level of contamination of organotin in this country.Two of tThe analysis methods included 8 gas chromatographs and one liquid chromatography . AccordiIn this systematic review, the amount of organotin in food was investigated. Exposure to tin compounds is not limited to food. Occupational exposure also occurs. TherefoIn this systematic review, the type of organotin compounds in food was identified. Most research has been found in countries bordering the seas. Seafood showed higher levels of these compounds. so, we need more assess of seafood. According to the polished manuscript, TBT was reported more frequently than other organotin but the amount of phenyltins were higher than other compounds. The analytical methods were GC-PFPD. According to the estimate of the overall mean TBT, the amount of this type of organotin was higher than the allowable level announced by the European authorities. Due to the fact that water can be contaminated with these compounds through municipal waste, it is necessary to treat them well. Most of the reported samples in food are seafood, so sea pollution should be given more importance. One of the limitations of this systematic review study was limited to Europe, south of America and Asia and did not cover other continents. Due to the fact that these compounds are also used in pesticide, so extensive studies such as seafood have not been performed in plant products.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."}
+{"text": "Avicennia marina) as animal feed in the coastal areas of West Sumatra, Indonesia.The availability of minerals in the soil affect the mineral content of mangrove leaves. This study aimed to determine the macro- and micromineral contents in the environment and mangrove leaves . The total phenol and tannin contents were determined using the Folin\u2013Ciocalteu and hide-powder methods, respectively.A. marina in the Pariaman area were richer in terms of macro- and microminerals. The soil had pH value, organic carbon content, leaf nitrogen content, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium of 5.65, 4.21%, 3.39%, 0.17%, 1.99%, and 0.54%, respectively. A. marina leaves had a total phenol and tannin contents of 24.51 mg GAE/g check the unit and 4.09%, respectively.The mineral content of the soil affected the mineral content of the plants. The soil and leaves of A. marina, which have a complete mineral content. Therefore, A. marina leaves could be recommended as a mineral source for ruminants.This research showed that the mineral content in the soil in several mangrove areas in West Sumatra has a positive correlation with the mineral content in the leaves of  The coastal area of West Sumatra, such as that in South Pesisir, is a productive location for the growth of ruminants. However, the lack of quality natural forage has led breeders to import feed ingredients from outside the region. This does not only reduce the efficiency of feed costs but also farmers in these locations are forced not to raise livestock owing to the challenge in finding forage and the limited quantity. Apart from the coastal area in Pesisir Selatan, the surrounding communities in the Padang Pariaman coast contain buffalo herds. Furthermore, the limited number of grasses acting as forages makes livestock development least attractive. The mangrove plants around the coastal area are considered to possess the potential to become forages. Furthermore, in Pakistan\u2019s Indus delta, approximately 16,000 camels and 11,000 cows eat mangrove leaves .Avicennia marina) have the potential to be a substitute for forage in ruminants. A. marina has this potential due to its high micro- and macromineral contents, which is required by livestock. However, the growth of a mangrove plant is largely determined by environmental conditions, such as water, soil, and climate, which support its growth [Based on this study, mangroves  as animal feed in the coastal areas of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The results will serve as a reference to map the potential of A. marina and determine the best place for A. marina leaves that contain macro- and microminerals needed to feed ruminants. Furthermore, it contributes to the fulfillment of the forages requirement of farmers around mangrove locations.This study aimed to determine the macro- and micromineral contents in the environment and mangrove leaves  leaf samples were obtained from several places in the coastal areas of West Sumatra, with three locations, including Regency of Padang, Pariaman, and Pesisir Selatan. These samples were collected at ten points in each area  and composited. Soil samples were obtained using a stainless steel sampling auger, with a depth of 15 cm. In addition, a forage subsample was collected from each region by taking a few plots from each A. marina tree (such as taking on tea leaves). Soil and leaf samples were then dried in an oven at 60\u00b0C for 48 h, milled using a mill, and filtered using a 1-mm stainless steel sieve for forage or a 2-mm sieve for soil. The water sample that had been obtained was filtered using Whatman No 1  and subsequently stored in a bottle and labeled.Soil, water, and mangrove .Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and chlorine (Cl) were measured using the Kjeldahl method, ultra violet (UV)-visible (Shimadzu) spectrophotometer with a wavelength of 889 nm, and titration method, respectively; other minerals were measured using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer with a wavelength of potassium , calcium , magnesium , sulfur , iron , copper , manganese , zinc , molybdenum , mercury , and lead .A total of 0.5 g powder sample was mixed with a 1-mL 0.5% hexamethylenetetramine, 20-mL acetone, and 2-mL 25% hydrochloric acid (HCl). The mixture was kept in a reflow refrigerator for 30 min and shaken with distilled water and ethyl acetate. The extract was separately used in the two solutions. In the first part, the extract was mixed with 1-mL aluminum chloride and 5% (volume/volume) methanol-acetic acid for further measurement. Meanwhile, the second part was mixed with 5% (volume/volume) methanol-acetic acid to produce a standard solution. After 30 min of incubation, the absorbance of both samples was measured at 425 nm (A). The total phenolic concentration was calculated using the formula: (1.25\u00d7A) m, where m = mass of sample in grams.A. marina) leaves, which had been mashed to 0.5 g, were mixed with 150 mL of distilled water and heated in a water bath for 30 min at 70\u00b0C. The cooled extract was then quantitatively transferred into a 250-mL volumetric flask, filtered, and used for the reaction. The results of the extraction were measured using the UV-visible (Shimadzu) spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 278.5 nm using pure tannins as standard.The mangrove .Soil pH values and organic carbon (C-org) content in the coastal areas of West Sumatra are shown in A. marina leaves  is shown in Tables-The macromineral content of soil, sea water, and A. marina leaves  is shown in Tables-A. marina leaves  is shown in A. marina leaves were not significantly different.The micromineral composition of soil, sea water, and A. marina grows is shown in The pH and C-org content of the soil where According to Gordon , the manet al. [In the Pariaman area, the soil N content ranged from 2.7% to 3%, which is significantly different from the Padang and South Pesisir mangrove areas. The increase in the total soil N content corresponds with the C-org content in the soil. It occurs due to the decomposition of organic matter, where N is the main element derived. The decomposition process is largely dependent on the quality and amount of organic material. According to Hugues et al. , one of The factors of soil and plants that affect forage mineral content have been widely reported . In planA. marina leaves as a forage. When the data content of N (3%) is converted into crude protein, the crude protein content in A. marina leaves in the coastal area of West Sumatra is approximately 20%. This content is high enough to meet the protein requirement of ruminants. According to Ghosh et al. [A. marina leaves is estimated to be 15%, and this also encourages the absorption and utilization of other nutrients, including P and Ca, for overall plant growth.N is the main food for plants as it is a constituent of protein and chlorophyll, which activates the photosynthesis process. N has the most significant role in various physiological processes, such as giving dark green color to plants, increasing the number of leaves, stems, and others. In addition, it influences rapid growth and increases the protein content of plants. This function greatly determines the quality of the h et al. , the cruThe dissolved P content is an indicator that determines the fertility level of the water. In this research location, the sea water was classified in the normal category due to the P level of 0.7-1.1%. This was also influenced by the condition of mangrove stands in the location. P typically appears in low concentrations in natural sea water due to a large amount of mobility, although the total phosphate concentration often ranges between 0.01 mg/L and >200 mg/L .A. marina leaves. P is essential for plant growth and is found in every living plant cell. It is involved in photosynthesis, respiration, energy storage and transfer, cell division, and enlargement. The results showed that P is an important component of the photosynthetic process, systematically involved in the formation of sugars, oils, and starches that further aids in the conversion of solar to chemical energy, proper maturation of plants, and the ability to withstand stress. Moreover, ruminants require a large amount of P elements. The adequacy of P in ruminants is obtained from forage containing it. In addition, P plays a significant role in the development and metabolism of microorganisms in the rumen [P in soil, sea water, and mangrove plants vary in amounts, although not statistically significant. The P content in the soil is approximately 0.3%, 0.7-1.1% in sea water, and 0.1% in he rumen . Its defhe rumen .The Ca content in mangrove leaves ranged between 1% and 2%. The forage originating from South Pesisir regency contains the highest Ca content of 2.04%. This content is able to meet the Ca requirement of ruminants. Approximately 99% of the total Ca in the body functions as a structural component of bones and teeth. The remaining 1% is involved in vital functions, such as blood clotting, membrane permeability, neuromuscular stimulation, secretion of certain hormones, and activation of enzymes. The lack of Ca results in soft and weak bones and decreases growth and milk production . Ca and A. marina) ranged between 0.1% and 0.9%. This content is high and adequately meets the requirement of ruminants. The function of Mg, in general, includes cofactors of >300 enzymes that function in carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism [The Mg content in mangrove leaves  as forage. The Zn content in forage was observed to range from 2.00 to 2.52 mg/g, whereas the Zn requirement for ruminants is 10-50 mg/kg. When there is a Zn deficiency status, the rumen microbial activity is not optimal. Therefore, the level of feed utilization will be lower, which in turn, will reduce livestock productivity [In general, the micromineral requirements of livestock are relatively varied. These levels will affect the quality of mangrove leaves (uctivity .Zn is an essential micromineral for growth, reproduction, immune system, gene expression, enzyme processes, performance, and health of livestock. FurtherA. marina mangrove leaves were not significantly different in each region, as it ranged between 0.4 and 0.8 ppm, whereas the Cu requirements for ruminant is 15-20 mg/kg. Cu is an essential micronutrient in all living organisms, from plants to mammals, and is needed in very small amounts. This element plays a significant role in various physiological functions of the hematological, nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive, and immune systems [The Cu levels in  systems . Further systems .A. marina leaves. The Mn requirement for ruminants is 0.20-0.60 mg/kg. Mn from leaves originating from the South Coast is relatively high at 1.6 ppm. This content is sufficient to meet the Mn requirement of ruminants. According to Mousavi et al. [et al. [The Mn content ranged between 1.2 and 1.6 ppm in i et al.  stated t [et al. , its defA. marina leaves in each region was not significantly different at 0.4 ppm, since the normative Mo requirement in ruminants is <100 mg/kgThe Mo content of The Cl content in plants is sufficient to meet the requirements of ruminants, since it ranged between 0.5 and 0.7 ppm in leaves. Furthermore, the content in each region is not significantly different. Chloride is the main anion in the extracellular fluid, 80-85% are inorganic and 15-20% are organic. ChloridA. marina grows in extreme environments, where water and land experience ebbs and flows carrying various types of minerals. It is undeniable that plants will absorb non-essential minerals or even become toxic. From the analysis that has been performed, A. marina leaves in the coastal area of West Sumatra contain Hg at 0.04-0.08 ppm and Pb at 0.2 ppm. Meanwhile, heavy metal content in the leaves of each region was not significantly different. The content of Hg and Pb is relatively high in the soil, although it does not correlate with their solubility in water and absorption by A. marina plants. According to Kennady et al. [y et al. , the heay et al. .Pb and Hg are toxic metals that have negative effects on livestock, even when consumed in small amounts. These metals inhibit the growth, productivity, and reproducibility of livestock and even cause death. Cows and sheep, which consume grass containing Pb at 5 mg/kg dry weight of grass/day, did not show any symptoms. However, pregnant ewes, which consumed grass containing Pb 30 mg/kg dry weight of grass/day for a long period of time, showed symptoms of poisoning, especially in conditions of starvation .A. marina leaves in the three sampling locations had shown a significant difference (Avicennia in the Pariaman area was the highest compared with plants in other locations, reaching 24.51 mg GAE. Meanwhile, in the Padang and South Pesisir areas, plants share the same tendency and potential. Polyphenols are secondary metabolite compounds produced by plants to protect them from external disturbances. The high amounts of polyphenols observed in the Pariaman area were due to the growth of A. marina in the area, which often occurs due to storms and human touch.The total phenol and tannin contents of fference . The numThe content of secondary metabolites in plants is influenced by the environment, such as altitude, rainfall, and temperature. The influence of environmental factors interacts with genetic factors in the expression of secondary metabolites. Therefore, the production and excretion of secondary metabolites are influenced by temperature, light, soil, microorganisms, and nutritional status. Furthermore, secondary metabolite contents vary, depending on time and location. It is also related to variations in climatic and soil conditions, such as air, soil temperature, and soil moisture.A. marina leaf samples extracted in the Padang and Pariaman areas was not significantly different at 4.24% and 4.092%, respectively; meanwhile, in the South Pesisir area, the tannin content was lower at 1.40%. The tannin content of A. marina leaves was still within tolerance limits for ruminants. Furthermore, tannins present in certain amounts will provide a positive value in increasing the digestibility of feed. Tannins are secondary metabolites synthesized and found in plants. They are classified as polyphenolic compounds with the ability to form complex compounds with other macromolecules. They also interact with proteins derived from feed, thereby reducing their availability for rumen microorganisms [The tannin content of rganisms . TherefoA. marina leaves. Based on this study A. marina leaves contain complete minerals as forages for ruminant feed.This study showed that the minerals content of the soil in several mangrove areas of West Sumatra have a positive correlation with the minerals composition of GY, NJ, SS, BS, and RWWS: Formulated experimental design and experimental work at laboratory. GY: Drafted the manuscript and did data analysis under the guidance of NJ, SS, and BS. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "The highest number of cases are found in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Paracoccidioides conidia and mycelia are found in soil and transmitted by inhalation.c fungus . It grow"}
+{"text": "Solenopsis saevissima and S.invicta are the most common fire ants. Nests are founded in areasunder anthropic interference like urban or rural areas, but S.invicta is found preferentially in those with the greatestanthropic interference. However, we do not know the rates at which they exist inanthropized areas next to high density of native vegetation. Areas with 60 to90% of native Atlantic Forest were selected to verify the occurrence of bothspecies in rural and urban areas. We investigated the molecular diversity andapplied the reconstruction of the ancestral state analysis for each species. Atotal of 186 nests were analyzed and we found that the two species had the sameproportion in the urban area. However, S. saevissima had ahigher rate of prevalence in the rural area, in addition to having a greaternumber of haplotypes and ancestry associated with this type of habitat for theregion. S. invicta had the same number of haplotypes in bothrural and urban regions, and less haplotypic diversity. We conclude thatS. saevissima is a species typically associated with ruralareas and S. invicta, although present, is not dominant inurban areas.In South America,  Solenopsis (Myrmicinae: Solenopsidini) has 196 species, in additionto 22 subspecies   , crops (ostilis) and urbaostilis) . Fire anostilis) , crops(ostilis)  and alsoostilis) . Farmers invicta. In addi sectors . In Braz sectors .S. saevissima and S. invicta arethe most common fire ants  for eachspecies.The use of land for different purposes alters the landscape structure, as e.g., byloss of biotic and abiotic resources. That can affect ant communities , benefithabitats , we expec Forest . This ca2), where nests were collected every 20 meters. Classificationof rural and urban areas is in accordance with the Brazilian Institute ofGeography and Statistics  as anoutgroup. The Ape and Phytools packages  to each tip of our topologies. The\u2018equal rates\u2019 (ER) model and the \u2018all different rates\u2019 (ARD) model were comparedwith the likelihood ratio test (LRT)  to deterst (LRT) .Throughst (LRT) we generS.saevissima have the head subquadrate to weakly ovate, lack of medianfrontal streak, complete mandibular costulae, mesonotum is weakly convex in lateralview, and post-petiole in posterior view is higher than wide, with transverselyrugose sculpture only in the lower portion and surface in the upper portion issmooth shiny . The remaining haplotypes were found to beexclusive to a particular habitat, as can be seen in S. invicta and was found as in urban and ruralhabitat, it still presented quite distinct of the other S. invictahaplotypes recovered in the present study. This H_12 haplotype has already beenidentified in previous studies in S. invicta in Mississippi, USA(access code EU352608), as well as in Argentina (access code JN808817). More studiestargeting different genes may contribute more to understanding the evolutionaryhistory of Solenopsis, in particular about this H_12 haplotype. The network analysis facilitates the visualization of the two distinct species andtheir haplotypes explored in this study at different habitats . Solenop andH_8 . For S. S. invicta and S.saevissima occur at different frequencies in urban and rural habitats.In the rural area S. invicta was registered less occurrence ofnests  = 3.29; p = 0.0005; S. saevissima. In the urban area,these species have the same occurrence of nests  = 1.3458; p =0.1784; We then analyzed whether In order to proceed with the ancestral state reconstruction analyses, we first testedthe best evolutionary model for our data. Therefore, likelihood ratio testing (LRT)showed that the best model that fits our data was the ARD .This ARD model considers that the rate transitions in each state are different, compared to the ER model  see .S. saevissimafor the studied region has a 90% probability of having a rural origin , while S. invicta 53% rural and 47% urban. The redarrows in S. saevissima and S. invicta there weremultiple transitions from rural to urban environment with a special emphasis on alineage of S. saevissima that once acquired the status of urban,remained urban practically throughout the clade, with only a few exceptions. Thisshows that there may be a specialization of this lineage of S.saevissima for urban habitat, despite the great majority of therecovered diversity being associated with the rural environment analysis. Our ASR results shows that the ancestor of ironment . The anaironment .S.saevissima and S. invicta) in urban and rural habitatsnext to fragments of the Atlantic Forest   see . The preion) see  and DNA  workers , andpre workers . Our resS. saevissima and S. invictaare present in both areas, however, we show that the frequency of occurrence is notthe same. The non-dominance of S. invicta is likely related to thecharacteristics of urbanization [e.g., the presence of more native vegetation andgrass on the soil surface  and Cuiab\u00e1   , with exBrazil) . In addiBrazil) , 2017,uribution. Our sturibution and, at ribution.Solenophabitats .S. invicta to expand its territory. Analyses ofgenetic diversity of populations of S. invicta ,S. invicta recovered in this study showed lower geneticdiversity, which is consistent with previous studies (S.invicta is expanding to the region, but with a pattern consistent witha bottleneck introduction and its subsequent spread. A similar pattern was observedfor S. invicta populations in Taiwan, and USA where studies alsofound evidence of recent introduction associated with molecular signatures ofgenetic bottlenecks (In contrast,  studies . Additiotlenecks ,. S.saevissima is very likely to have a rural ancestor, which is expectedsince it is native to the region. And even with all the associated diversity,S. saevissima in general continues to present a greaterprobability of being associated with rural habitat (S. invicta presented a probability of 53% rural and 47% urbanof its habitat ancestral state. However, although one lineage specialized in ruralfirst, another lineage specialized in urban, and this seems to be the most common.These data explain in light of the evolutionary process of ancestry why S.saevissima seems to be more propitiate to rural habitat and S.invicta seems to be more successful in an urban environment, thuscorroborating several other studies prior to this one (In addition, our reconstruction of the ancestral state results shows that  habitat , except this one . AlthougS.saevissima is more characteristic of rural environments with greaterhaplotypic diversity. In the urban environment, S. invicta is notcharacterized as the dominant species, dividing the foraging territory withS. saevissima. Our work is the first to investigate theancestral state of urban and rural habitats of both S. saevissimaand S. invicta species in the Atlantic Forest Dominion region inthe evolutionary context. Thus, the present work adds important information thatserves as a subsidy for the protection of S. saevissima, which isthe species native to the region, according to our results. The maintenance ofvegetation in urban areas can be a good mechanism to prevent the advancement ofS. invicta in the region. As the study areas belong to theBrazilian Atlantic Domain, our results, in a more comprehensive way, can help publicpolicy programs aimed at the conservation of this biome. Our results show that the most common species of fire ants in Brazil are not found inequal amounts in urban and rural habitats. We show that"}
+{"text": "Episiotomy or cutting the perineum is the most common operation in obstetrics. Perineal pain is the main complication of episiotomy that affects the quality of life and mental health of the mother. Reducing the pain and side effects of the chemical drugs prescribed for pain relief has attracted the attention of both physicians and scientists. This study was conducted to determine the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), as an alternative method, on post-episiotomy pain severity.  This randomized clinical trial was performed on 120 primiparous women who had referred to Sanandaj Besat Hospital in 2018. The patients were divided randomly into three groups, including the intervention group (TENS-On), the placebo group (TENS-Off), and the control group. TENS electrodes were placed near the episiotomy site in genitofemoral and pudendal nerves. The pain was measured after episiotomy in lying, sitting, and activity positions. The pain severity was measured using a pain measurement instrument  at four-time points, i.e., before the intervention as well as 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the TENS intervention. For data analysis, Pearson correlation, student\u2019s t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, ANOVA test, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used.  Intragroup evaluation results for placebo and control groups demonstrated no significant difference in the pain score (P>0.05). A significant difference was observed between the mean pain severity of the intervention group and that of the group with walking activities (P=0.04). In terms of the intergroup evaluation, there was a significant difference observed between the mean pain severity of the lying position and that of the control group (P=0.008). Regarding the sitting position, no significant difference was observed between its mean pain severity and that of the other two groups (P=0.04).  TENS is an effective and safe method for post-episiotomy pain relief and a routine method used in the obstetrics and gynecology ward. The results showed that high and low TENS frequencies were effective in relieving the post-episiotomy pain [Episiotomy during childbirth is the most common surgical operation in midwifery , which iildbirth . Ten perildbirth . This coildbirth , 16. Theildbirth . Severalildbirth , epiduraildbirth , turmeriildbirth , and nonildbirth , heat anildbirth , and perildbirth  are effeildbirth . TENS isildbirth , 23. Theildbirth -28. In oildbirth . The effildbirth . In a stomy pain . In a coomy pain . The comomy pain . In the omy pain . Althougomy pain -40, no pThis study was a randomized, controlled, placebo clinical trial conducted from April 2018 to June 2018 in the maternity ward of Sanandaj Besat Hospital, a training hospital and a referral center for the obstetric and nursing care in the Kurdistan province, Iran.The studied samples consisted of 120 primiparous puerperal women who had experienced spontaneous vaginal delivery with mediolateral episiotomy.For each group, the population sample size was measured at 37 based on the Cochran formula, with the power value of 0.80, alpha value of 0.05, and the standard deviation value of 0.78. To improve the power of the study, the sample size of 40 was considered for each group. The patients were divided into three groups by block randomization, including the intervention group (TENS-ON), the placebo group (TENS-OFF), and the control group (routine care without using TENS).The inclusion criteria of the study were primiparous women, aged over 18, the experience of low-risk pregnancy and singleton pregnancy, with a live newborn, the gestational age of between 38-42 weeks, cephalic and anterior occiput positions, the newborns weight ranged 2500-4000 g, the spontaneous vaginal delivery with mediolateral episiotomy, the experience of pain in the episiotomy site, no genitourinary pathology, having no drug addiction, no use of the sedative 4-6 hours before the intervention, and no use of medications during the data collection period. The exclusion criteria included the use of pacemakers, arrhythmia, epilepsy, and mental health problems, epidural anesthesia, puerperal complications, previous exposures to TENS, and the complication occurrence due to TENS .The data were collected using a demographic data form with the variables of age, education level, job, residency, ethnicity, marital satisfaction, satisfaction with the newborn\u2019s gender, mother\u2019s exercise status, and mother\u2019s body mas index (BMI), maternal clinical features , delivery features , infant features , a registration form for the pain , together with the TENS\u2019 complications and satisfaction rate. A numerical rating scale was used to measure the pain severity, i.e., a 10cm line using that people marked their pain intensity or indicate their pain by a number. In this approach, 0 corresponded to no pain and 10 represented the maximum pain ever experienced. The pain scale was divided into three groups, where 1-3, 4-7, and 8-10 were defined as mild, moderate, and severe pains, respectively. All eligible primiparous women were divided randomly into three groups by closed envelopes . The stuThis study was registered at the Iranian Center for Clinical Trials under code \u201cIRCT20171224038034N1\u201d after the approval of the research project in the Ethics Committee of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (ethics code: IR.MUK.REC.1396/365). Informed consent was obtained from the participants for cooperation in this study and publishing their data. The participants were informed that they could discontinue the interviews at any time.The data analysis was conducted using SPSS Statistics version 20 . For data description, the mean, standard deviation, and relative frequency were used. For data analysis, Pearson correlation, student\u2019s t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, analysis of variance test, and Mann-Whitney U test were utilized. A P<0.05 was considered as significant difference.The participants\u2019 features were not different among the groups (P>0.05). The baseline features of the participants are presented in et al. (1999), the effects of TENS were evaluated on pain severity after hemorrhoidectomy. The results showed that pain severity decreased significantly in the intervention group, 8, 12, 16, and 24 hours after the surgery [et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of TENS on post-episiotomy pain severity in primiparous women with mediolateral episiotomy. Our results showed that TENS reduced the clinical pain in the intervention group immediately and one hour after the intervention. Other studies have also demonstrated TENS\u2019 effectiveness in relieving postoperative pains in the cases of endometrial biopsy, uterine tubal ligation, inguinal herniorrhaphy, abortion, hysteroscopy, and primary dysmenorrhea -39. In a surgery . In the  surgery . In the  [et al. . They sh [et al. . There w [et al.  in the m [et al. . In anot [et al. . A signi [et al. . In the  [et al.  findings [et al. , 42. The [et al. , 43. In  [et al. . In some [et al. , 42. In  [et al. . In some [et al. -33. In t [et al. , the eff [et al. . In the  [et al. , 42, 46. [et al. . At the  [et al. , the eff [et al. . ParticiThe results of the present study indicate that TENS is a safe, uncomplicated, comfortable, and effective pain reliever with a high rate of acceptability. To improve maternal care, this method could be used as a routine approach in the maternity ward to reduce the frequency of the postoperative pain after episiotomy.The present work has been extracted from the MSc thesis of Seyedeh Soma Zakariaee (thesis number: 1397.056), at the Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The authors would like to thank the Research Affairs Department of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, the medical staff of Sanandaj Besat Hospital, as well as the participants.The authors declare no conflict of interest and approve the final article."}
+{"text": "Nanaloricus, namely Nanaloricus valdemari sp. nov. and Nanaloricus mathildeae sp. nov., as well as a new genus and species, Scutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. Adults of N. valdemari sp. nov. are distinguished by a pair of unique cuticular ridges, here referred to as longitudinal stripes, spanning laterally along the anterior two thirds of the dorsal lorical plate. N. mathildeae sp. nov. is characterized by strong sexual dimorphism. Specifically, the branches composing the multiform male clavoscalids are much broader as compared to other Nanaloricus species. The two new Nanaloricus species are both characterized by unique sensory organs associated with the double trichoscalids. The size and exact position of these organs differ between the two species. Adults of Scutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. are characterized by, among other features, a square lorica composed of six cuticular plates with a total of 14 anterior spikes, of which 12 have transverse cuticular ridges and thus appear fenestrated; laterodorsal flosculi arranged linearly; a posterior lorical region characterized by an anal field with a small anal cone flanked by a pair of spurs. Notably, mature females are characterized by a pair of seminal receptacles, a character not previously reported in Loricifera. We discuss the new findings and compare N. valdemari sp. nov. and N. mathildeae sp.nov. with other species assigned to genus Nanaloricus. The distinguishing features of Scutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. are discussed from a comparative perspective with the other genera of family Nanaloricidae.Loricifera is a phylum of microscopic animals that inhabit marine environments worldwide. Named after their conspicuous and protective lorica, the phylum was first described from Roscoff (France) in 1983 and, hitherto, it contains only 40 species. Based on data collected from Roscoff during the past four decades, we here describe two new species of  Symsagittifera roscoffensis   are renowned for their biodiversity and exceptional animal life. This is exemplified by the description of and current research on the Roscoff worm, s Graff, 891 (see see e.g. ) and by see e.g. \u20137. Notaben, 2009 .Loriciferans are meiobenthic animals of microscopic size (80\u2013800 \u03bcm in length) found in sediments from shallow-water coarse sands to deep-sea muddy bottoms at a wide range of depths , 15, 16.The loriciferan life cycle is complex and involves larval and postlarval stages, which succeed through development into adult forms , 22. MemFafnirloricus polymetallicus exhibits the highest number of lorica plates ever found in a nanaloricid, i.e. 20 . The phylum is represented by a single order, Nanaloricida, and currently comprises three families, Nanaloricidae, Pliciloricidae and Urnaloricidae, harboring 42 described species  \u201314. In aNanaloricus mysticus, were found in this area at 25\u201330 m water depths in a sediment type known as \u201cDentalium sand\u201d . Besides these nanaloricids, a single larval specimen belonging to another family, Urnaloricidae, was also found in the vicinity of Roscoff, more specifically in the Bay of Morlaix . This larva was found in maerl (Lithothamnion) sand collected in 2004. With the three new species and new genus described in the present study, the number of loriciferan species present in the coastal area off Roscoff increases to seven. To our knowledge this subtidal area is thus among the most biodiverse localities in the world regarding loriciferan fauna. Interestringly, this observation also holds for other meiofauna groups, as the Roscoff area also represents a biodiversity hotspot for e.g. tardigrades [The marine sediments off the coast of Roscoff (France) are well known for the presence of Loricifera. Importantly, specimens of the first described loriciferan species, 6\u201945\u2019\u2019W; ), locate6\u201945\u2019\u2019W; . The spedigrades . Other ldigrades  as well digrades . Fascinadigrades , 39 as wdigrades .N. valdemari sp. nov. and N. mathildeae sp. nov. used in previous molecular and morphological studies [Scutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. found thus far. Only four specimens belonging to this new species and genus have been found until now: two females (paratypes) in July 1985, a male  in December 2013 and a female (holotype) in May 2013. The reasons behind this apparently low population density are yet to be unraveled, though more sampling efforts not only in Trezen ar Skoden, but also in the surrounding area, could provide new insights into the distribution of the new species and genus in the large coastal area off Roscoff.The description of the three new loriciferan species reported here stems from several decades of sampling in the coastal area off Roscoff. Specifically, the collection of specimens used in the description of these new species spanned 35 years, i.e. the period of 1985\u20132020. Although the exact number of specimens of  studies , 27 is nArmorloricus sp. I and Armorloricus sp. II [Armorloricus elegans and Armorloricus davidi, respectively, based on the consistent and recurrent finding of larval morphotypes together with adult forms of only one species [Nanaloricus and are, to some extent, similar to the Higgins larva of Nanaloricus mysticus. These larval morphotypes are always found in samples holding N. valdemari sp. nov. and N. mathildeae sp. nov., though an assignment to either species has not yet been possible.In addition to adult forms and postlarval stages, Higgins larva specimens clearly belonging to four different species were found in sediment collected from Trezen ar Skoden between 1985 and 2020. Unfortunately, the larval specimens were often found in samples containing adults of more than one nanaloricid species. Two of the four larval morphotypes were initially described as s sp. II . These s species . The othScutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. is relevant for the diversity of Loricifera. As compared with Pliciloricidae (with three genera) and Urnaloricidae (with one genus), Nanaloricidae is now the most diverse of the three loriciferan families, accommodating a total number of seven genera. Recently described, the new species and genus Fafnirloricus polymetallicus provided new insights into how diverse the nanaloricid anatomy can be [F. polymetallicus. In this regard, Scutiloricus hugoi gen. et sp. nov. possesses a more traditional nanaloricid-like anatomy. However, its unique anal field and female seminal receptacles add important novelties to our knowledge of the nanaloricid body plan.Finally, the description of y can be . For insS1 VideoSame specimen as shown in (MP4)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Hynobius utsunomiyaorum from Chugoku District, Japan. Our detailed morphological and molecular comparisons showed that H. utsunomiyaorum is clearly divided into two species: the true H. utsunomiyaorum and the Izumo Lineage of H. utsunomiyaorum, i.e., Hynobius kunibiki sp. nov. This new species does not satisfy the diagnosis of H. utsunomiyaorum, while these two species do not form a monophyletic group based on molecular data. Hynobius setoi is morphologically more similar to the new species than is H. utsunomiyaorum. Previous studies have suggested that H. setoi is distributed across the San\u2019in region, i.e., the northern part of Chugoku District, Japan. However, our research revealed that H. setoi is not distributed in the northern part of Shimane Prefecture, located in the western part of the San\u2019in region in Chugoku District. Rather than H. setoi, we found that the new species was distributed in the northern part of Shimane Prefecture. Additionally, results of phylogenetic analyses using all valid Japanese Hynobius species are provided in our study. Based on these results, we show that Japanese Hynobius species included in the subgenus Hynobius may be divided into four genetic clades. The information in our study will be vital for developing conservation management strategies and policies for these species.In the study, we investigated the true taxonomic composition of Hynobius from Chugoku, Japan. In populations from central to eastern Shimane Prefecture, the Izumo Lineage of Hynobius utsunomiyaorum was clearly distinguished from the true Hynobius utsunomiyaorum based on morphological and molecular evidence. Thus, we describe the former lineage as a new species, Hynobius kunibiki sp. nov. Morphological comparisons revealed that H. utsunomiyaorum lacks a distinct yellow line on the ventral side of its tail, whereas the new species possesses this yellow line; most H. utsunomiyaorum individuals have distinct white spots on the lateral sides of their body and lack a fifth toe, whereas the new species largely lacks these spots, and all examined individuals had a fifth toe. The two species also differed significantly by several other morphological characteristics. The lentic species Hynobius setoi is morphologically similar to H. kunibiki sp. nov., but they differ significantly by various morphological characteristics. Despite their partial morphological similarity, these two species differed substantially in terms of their genetics. Finally, we show, in a phylogenetic tree including all Japanese Hynobius species, that the subgenus Hynobius can be divided into four genetic clades. Overall, this information will help develop conservation management strategies and policies for these species.Here, we describe a new species of the genus  Hynobius includes 55 species, 37 (67.3%) of which are endemic to Japan . AddH. setoi is found at the lowland areas along the Japan Sea from northwestern Hyogo Prefecture to the northeastern part of Shimane Prefecture. Based on our analyses, haplotypes of H. setoi were found from the westernmost part of Hyogo, Tottori, from west to east, and the easternmost part of Shimane Prefectures; however, these haplotypes were not detected from around the northeastern part of Shimane Prefecture ; however, supraspecies hidamontanus and naevius cannot be distinguished genetically , Hynobius lichenatus supraspecies , Hynobius shinichisatoi supraspecies , and Hynobius naevius supraspecies . Dubois and Raffa\u00eblli [We conducted phylogenetic analyses using all Japanese  species . Accordietically . If subgaffa\u00eblli  used theHynobius spp. is 38, but some taxonomic problems have been left unsolved. Matsui et al. [H. akiensis and H. nebulosus are not monophyletic species, and they may be divided into two species. Further, the study only described male morphology; thus, female morphology of many Hynobius species remains unidentified. The task of clarifying the distribution ranges of lentic Hynobius also needs to be undertaken as detailed distribution ranges of H. setouchi, H. akiensis, and H. vandenburghi are still unknown. Future studies involving taxonomic reexamination and field surveys to clarify the distribution ranges of both sexes of the Japanese Hynobius species are required.Following this description, the number of Japanese H. kunibiki sp. nov. and H. setoi are morphologically similar, so definitive identification of these species will be difficult where DNA data is unavailable. The information in this study is expected to be useful for confirming the distribution ranges of these two species. However, it is possible that overcollection could decimate the Hynobius species following the release of detailed locality information. Indeed, overfishing of H. utsunomiyaorum has already been recognized [H. kunibiki sp. nov. must be reassessed, and management plans for its conservation and regulation by national or regional administrations are immediately required to prevent overcollection and possible extinction.The localities of the four species used in this study have been provided in detail, which will support conservation activities. In particular, cognized . TherefoHynobius utsunomiyaorum and H. utsunomiyaorum was rejected by the molecular evidence. Besides the genetic evidence, the Izumo Lineage of H. utsunomiyaorum did not satisfy the diagnosis from the original description of H. utsunomiyaorum in morphology. Furthermore, significant morphological differences between them were detected in both sexes, so we described the Izumo Lineage of H. utsunomiyaorum as H. kunibiki based on morphological, phylogenetic, and evolutionary species concepts. This new species is limited to the northern part of Shimane Prefecture, and the conservation status should be reassessed for appropriate conservation activities.The monophyly of the Izumo Lineage of"}
+{"text": "We continue the inventory of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with emphasis on the time and pathways of introduction of the species and their current status in the territory. Each taxon is discussed in the context of plant invasions in Central Asia. This work is a further development of the preliminary checklist of alien plants of Kyrgyzstan, which was compiled for the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species in 2018.Solanaceae and Asphodelaceae and one species of Asteraceae. Physalisphiladelphicus (syn. P.ixocarpa) is reported for the first time from Central Asia, as new to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, thus marking a recent invasion with a variety of imported grain and seed material. The old records of P.ixocarpa from Uzbekistan are based on misidentified specimens of P.angulata. Physalisangulata is an old cotton immigrant in Central Asia, whose invasion started in the 1920s; it is excluded from the alien flora of Kyrgyzstan as registered in error on the basis of cultivated plants. Alkekengiofficinarum is an archaeophyte of the Neolithic period in Central Asia, formerly used for food, now strongly declining and largely casual in Kyrgyzstan. The only historical record of Physalisviscosa from Uzbekistan was based on a technical error and belongs to A.officinarum. Daturastramonium and Hyoscyamusniger were introduced as medicinal plants during the period of the Arabic invasion of Central Asia, by the 11th century. Daturainnoxia is a newly recorded casual alien, recently escaped from ornamental cultivation. Nicandraphysalodes is a casual alien, which was cultivated by Russian colonists in the early 20th century for culinary use and is currently used in ornamental cultivation. Hemerocallisfulva was a remnant of historical cultivation in the former Khanate of Buxoro, and its formerly established colonies are presumably extinct in the wild. Bidensfrondosa was seemingly introduced with contaminated forage and seed of American origin during the late Soviet period and started to spread in the period of independence; its invasion in the former USSR is analysed.This contribution includes all alien species of Kyrgyzstan belonging to  In their review of the data used in the analyses of alien plants, The current list of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan  includesAs in the first part of these contributions , all occSolanaceae, whose members have been completely inventoried for this purpose. This family is rich in alien plants; it concludes the top-10 of the families most represented in the global naturalised alien flora , due to the extreme obscurity of its background data in Central Asian treatments. The recent expansion of a globally invasive weed, Bidensfrondosa (Asteraceae), has been largely neglected in Central Asia and is treated in detail here.Besides the The checklist is alphabetically organised (according to genera and species) and structured according to The study is largely based on herbarium specimens from Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, which are kept at FRU, H, LE, MW and TASH. Personal herbarium collections of the authors have been deposited at H (A. Sennikov), FRU and LE (G. Lazkov). Besides, documented field observations published on citizen-science online resources  have beeThe set of all the records collected for the present work was included in the dataset of occurrences of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, which was published through GBIF . DistribSpecies distributions in Kyrgyzstan are characterised according to our scheme of botanical regions Fig. . SpeciesThe pathways of introduction are formalised according to Moench, 1802C7D89800-811F-5A91-857F-380BDD0F15BFurn:lsid:ipni.org:names:814247-1AlkekengiofficinarumPhysalisalkekengi L., Sp. Pl. 1: 183 (1753). Moench, Suppl. Meth.: 177 (1802) \u2014 AlkekengiofficinarumPhysalisfranchetiiAlkekengiofficinarumvar.franchetiiAlkekengiofficinarumPhysalispraetermissaAlkekengiofficinarumPhysalisglabripesMany popular sources and even scientific data aggregators, including Plants of the World Online , stated The species was a common vegetable in pre-historic times . For thiThe species is a neophyte outside Eurasia, in North America and northern Africa.The species is widely distributed in Central Asia and has been recorded from every country of the region . It was P.viscosa L. was reported as historically occurring in Uzbekistan (A.officinarum from Tashkent (cultivated or weedy), dated 1919.Due to a technical error, bekistan . This reWestern Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan, Alay-Turkestan.The species has been commonly observed in and around populated places, along irrigation ditches and field margins. It was commonly cultivated in the whole country  but wentRiversides in moist forests in the native distribution area; cultivated lands, sides of watercourses, humid forests in the secondary distribution area.Perennial, rhizomatous, spreading by rhizome growth, persisting for a long time without seed reproduction.P.praetermissa, a subglabrous variant of P.alkekengi with its centre of distribution in China, thus indicating their human-dispersed origin from that country. Latest taxonomic treatments  or locally established. All recent observations are from the places of former cultivation , which should be treated as casual. Not invasive.Agriculture - no impact .BidensfrondosaBidensmelanocarpaBidenstripartita L., which is common in Central Asia , Australia and New Zealand; sporadically also elsewhere.In Europe, this species belongs to the most widely distributed alien vascular plants . It alsoKazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.In Central Asia, the species was first recorded in a single locality on the south-eastern margin of Tashkent City, Uzbekistan, in 1990 . The speIn Kazakhstan, the species was first recorded in 2001 near J\u00e4n\u0131bek in West Kazakhstan Region. This locality is situated immediately next to the Russian border, and the species was known from the southern Volga Region of Russia by that time . Its curThe species was first recorded in Kyrgyzstan by In Tajikistan, the species was first recorded from Dushanbe City and its vicinities in 2009, along roadside ditches . It was At present the species is naturalised in all these four countries. It is widely naturalised and invasive in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but sparsely occurring and not yet invasive in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.Western Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan, Alay-Turkestan Fig. .Bidensfrondosa was recorded in Bishkek in 2008, for the first time in Kyrgyzstan. Since then, small groups of the species have been observed in the city centre , we conclude that contamination of seed material was not a major pathway of the species' introduction into Eastern Europe, and it was contamination of imported forage  and, to some extent, food (grain) that was responsible for the mass invasion of B.frondosa in the European part of the USSR  from the USA; further on, a vast amount of American feed grain had been imported since 1973 as a response to the decision to increase national food consumption and to maintain extensive livestock . This evthe USSR , indicat Belarus . Corn wa Belarus , and seehat crop .Besides Eastern Europe, the second major area of the species' invasion in Russia is the Far East . The speBidensfrondosa seed in urban habitats may occur with the aid of Fringillidae birds, domesticated animals or humans.The primary further dispersal of Bidensfrondosa along water streams suggests its further dispersal with water flows and transport. This type of dispersal was inferred for the first species' expansion in Central Europe . Native ecosystems - no impact . Urban areas - minor impact .Increasing (observed).Mill. 1768A99C5A17-0E52-50A0-B6CB-76B3AC586405urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316945-2DaturainnoxiaDatura no. 5 (1768). Mill., Gard. Dict., ed. 8: DaturainnoxiaDaturameteloidesDaturainnoxiainoxiaBarkworth and Rabei 2020Central America.North and South America, Europe, Africa, Southern Asia, Australia.Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.The species was recorded as a rare alien in Uzbekistan, observed as ruderal or escaped from cultivation .Reported from Kyrgyzstan for the first time here.Northern Tian-Shan Fig. .So far, the species has been recently recorded from the only locality on the southern margin of Bishkek City, in 2017, by G. Lazkov. A single individual was noticed on a dumping area of the cemetery. This occurrence is apparently casual.Dry open forests and shrublands in the native distribution area; cultivated lands, roadsides, ruderal places in the secondary distribution area. It occurs at altitudes of 1200-1800 m a.s.l. in Mexico .Short-lived perennial with a thick root.The species is a popular ornamental and medicinal plant, also in the native distribution area .Neophyte.The species was cultivated in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan for at least 60 years . It was Escape from confinement: Ornamental purpose other than horticulture.The species is cultivated for ornamental purposes in private gardens and public areas, and is sometimes found in waste sites. As in Europe e.g. , its subCasual.Agriculture - no impact (not recorded in crop production areas). Native ecosystems - no impact (restricted to urbanised areas). Urban areas - minor impact .Increasing (inferred).L. 17537422F315-B221-59CD-8772-5BA1F48F4A94urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:314738-2Daturastramonium L., Sp. Pl. 1: 179 (1753).DaturastramoniumDaturatatulaCentral America.Archaeophyte in North and South America, Central and Southern Europe, Africa, Southern and Central Asia, Malesia and Australia. Neophyte in Northern Europe. This species is one of the most widely distributed naturalised alien plants in the world, reaching top-10 in the temperate biome .Datura sp. were introduced to the Old World possibly by the 4th century; the exact mechanism of such transportations is still uncertain  by Avicenna in the first part of the 11th century, although probably as an imported plant . NowadayWestern Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan, Alay-Turkestan Fig. .The species was found in major agricultural areas  and consDry open forests and shrublands in the native distribution area; cultivated lands, roadsides, ruderal places and riversides in the secondary distribution area. It occurs at altitudes of 500-1200 m a.s.l. in Mexico .In Kyrgyzstan, the species does not occur in high mountains , althougAnnual, with a taproot.D.stramonium with white flowers and D.tatula with lilac flowers . Native ecosystems - minor impact . Urban areas - moderate impact .Stable (inferred).(L.) L. 1762F29598F0-705D-5C6E-BB57-C79E65738642urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:536335-1HemerocallisfulvaHemerocallislilioasphodelusvar.fulva L., Sp. Pl. 1: 324 (1753). (L.) L., Sp. Pl., ed. 2, 1: 462 (1762) \u2014 Central and Southern China, Korea, Japan.North America, New Zealand (neophyte); Europe, Western and Southern Asia (archaeophyte).In Europe, the ornamental cultivation of the species has a long history, recorded as common in Britain by Hemerocallisfulva was common in the North American ornamental cultivation since the late 19th century; now it became invasive in several states of the USA, occurring along roadsides and river banks  of Buxoro from the 16th century until 1924. It included two major cities, Buxoro and Samarqand. The Khanate of Buxoro was characterised by extensive cultivation of numerous fruits, vegetables, ornamental and medicinal plants, which were recorded by early European travellers and native writers of Buxoro and Samarqand  or Mavarannahr (in Arabic). This territory, subordinated to various major contemporary states but being and e.g. .Hemerocallisfulva in Samarqand was recorded by Olga Fedtschenko in 1869 , the species was cultivated also in Qulja [Yining], Xinjiang, China. This means that its historical cultivation apparently included also the agricultural areas of northern Kyrgyzstan.Hemerocallisfulva was originally imported from that country; its broad distribution suggests the early period of introduction. It is also possible that the species was first imported as a vegetable, for its edible flowers and fleshy rhizomes  near populated places surrounding the Fergana Depression.Riversides in forests and grasslands in the native distribution area; stream sides, road sides and grasslands in the secondary distribution area.Hemerocallisfulva in Central Asia were situated at 700-1100 m above sea level.In China, the species was recorded at altitudes of 300-2500 m . In the Rhizomatous perennial. Flowers opening diurnal half-day, due to specialisation to diurnal moths . Easily According to the specimens examined, the traditional cultivation in Central Asia was represented by at least two forms; one was slender with narrow leaves and the other was more robust. The fruits were not developed, thus indicating triploidy. Double-flowered forms were not observed.Archaeophyte.The species was common in ornamental cultivation in the Khanate of Buxoro, and found in the territories around the Fergana Depression that belonged to this state. This introduction is at least some centuries old.Escape from confinement: Ornamental purpose other than horticulture.Although the plant is edible, its latest historical use was ornamental cultivation in private gardens .Locally naturalised, maintained by vegetative reproduction (colonophyte).In Kyrgyzstan, feral populations of the species were known along rivers and irrigation ditches near populated places, from the area of semi-wild apple and walnut forests at the lower belt in the north-western part of the Fergana Range . These pAgriculture - no impact (not weedy). Native ecosystems - minor impact (colonising riversides near populated places). Urban areas - minor impact (colonising irrigation ditches in populated places).Declining (inferred).L. 17538A8F7537-B0AD-5DC5-9DD6-23D1F7DEF7A2urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:815932-1Hyoscyamusniger L., Sp. Pl. 1: 179 (1753).Mediterranean, Western Asia .Archaeophyte in Temperate and Northern Europe and Temperate Asia, neophyte in Australia and North America.The species occurs in all the countries of Central Asia .Western Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan, Eastern Tian-Shan, Alay-Turkestan Fig. .The species is distributed in agricultural areas and populated places across the whole territory of Kyrgyzstan .Stony or rocky places in the native distribution area, roadsides, fields, yards, waste places in the secondary distribution area.Hyoscyamusniger may reach the upper mountain belt  and on fields  and pastures , but mayAgriculture - major impact . Native ecosystems - major impact . Urban areas - major impact .Stable (inferred).(L.) Gaertn. 1791FD5646C1-F347-5162-BBD0-843302B6AEE6urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:816832-1NicandraphysalodesAtropaphysalodes L., Sp. Pl. 1: 181 (1753). (L.) Gaertn., Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 237 (1791) \u2014 South America.North and Central America, Southern Europe and Asia, Africa, Australia.In Europe, this species belongs to the most widely distributed alien vascular plants .The species has been naturalised in several provinces of China , probablSporadically found in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan .In Central Asia, the species was historically found in gardens and on melon fields . In the The first record of the species from Central Asia comes from Vannovskoe Village of Turkestan Region . This village was founded by Russian and Ukrainian colonists in 1887, which may be close to the earliest possible date of the species' introduction to Central Asia (following the conquest in 1868).Its recent occurrence seems to be in ornamental cultivation and ruderal.Western Tian-Shan, Northern Tian-Shan Fig. .The species was found as a weed in agricultural areas of the Ch\u00fc and Talas Depressions . RecentlFertile places in the native distribution area; ruderal places, gardens, fields and field margins, roadsides and pastures in the secondary distribution area.Annual, with a taproot.Nicandraphysalodes was rather commonly used as a surrogate for Humuluslupulus in bakery in southern Russian and Ukrainian villages , transported by Russian colonists from their native villages in southern Russia. Its latest record from the Botanical Garden in Bishkek is dated 1955 and may constitute the last remnant of the old cultivation.Its latest subspontaneous record is dated 2020 and may be linked with recent ornamental cultivation.Escape from confinement: Agriculture. Escape from confinement: Ornamental purpose other than horticulture.The plant seems to have been historically introduced for its cultivation and subsequent use in home bakery, and then it has become a weed in and around the places of introduction. This pathway is indicated by the contemporary evidence  and by tModern pathways of introduction of this plant in Europe include grain import , wool coNicandraphysalodes has been widely cultivated for ornamental purposes in private gardens and city yards and along streets, and occasionally noted as running wild and occurring in ruderal and dumping places . The recent ruderal occurrence was represented by a single plant and was apparently casual as well.Agriculture - no impact (no longer occurring as a weed in gardens or on fields). Native ecosystems - no impact (not found outside populated places). Urban areas - minor impact .Increasing (inferred).L. 17535C6EBC2E-B91E-5B10-A86B-B5F787980E76urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:195334-2Physalisangulata L., Sp. Pl. 1: 183 (1753).PhysalisangulataPhysalisminimaPhysalisangulataPhysalishermanniiPhysalis occurring as aliens in Central Asia, P.angulata was sometimes confused with P.philadelphica. It differs from the latter by ovate-elliptic leaves on longer petioles, pale yellow or whitish-yellow corollae with small pale brown spots at the base . According to herbarium records, the species persisted on and around cotton fields until the 1960s. No recent records are available, and the current status of the species is unknown .It seems that No spontaneous occurrence has been recorded.Probably open riversides in the native distribution area; riversides, roadsides, fields and fields margins, ruderal places in the secondary distribution area.Annual, with a taproot.Physalisangulata were reported from Central Asia as P.minima : 101 (1786).PhysalisphiladelphicaPhysalisixocarpaPhysalisphiladelphicasubsp.ixocarpaP.philadelphica has been commonly confused with P.angulata. It differs from the latter by ovate-lanceolate leaves on shorter petioles  time in 2019, in a damp place at Jaba\u011fyly Village, Turkestan Region .In Kyrgyzstan, it was found for the first time in Bishkek, in 2015.P.angulata (see discussion under that species). Since 2008, the species was repeatedly collected as a ruderal plant in Tashkent  on the southern margin of the city. The scattered individuals withered quickly, whereas the fate of the large population was not studied. Further on, one individual was observed in flower in Sokuluk Village in 2021. The plants usually occurred in places with regular water supply, along irrigation ditches.Open or partly shaded places on humid, fertile soils in the native distribution area; roadsides, fields, field margins, ditches and riversides, dumps and ruderal places in the secondary distribution area.In arid areas, the species depends on the availability of water supply .Annual or short-lived perennial , with a Physalisphiladelphica are self-incompatible , with corresponding differences in the size of calyx and fruit. These dimensional characters match the infraspecific variability observed in Mexico , but its direct escape from cultivation is considered highly unlikely. Its occurrences on roadsides and waste ground in populated places suggest the arrival with contaminated grain or fodder. No further dispersal was noticed.In Uzbekistan, the species with certainly arrived with contaminated seed material, as indicated by its occurrence on fields. A wide variety of contaminated seed material  indicates its North American origin and multiple sources of introduction.In Russia, the species was introduced in the European part with garden seeds, as a weed of flower beds and vegetable gardens, recorded in the Middle Volga Region in the 1990s . Its earIn the USA, the species is cultivated for fruits and frequently escapes from cultivation, becoming established along roadsides and field margins . In KenyFurther dispersal in other countries was registered as occurring with animals  and watePresumably North America.Casual; ephemeral or locally persisting. The species may become established in places with regular water supply; so far, no long-term survival has been observed.Agriculture - no impact . Native ecosystems - no impact (not found outside populated places). Urban areas - minor impact .Increasing (observed).The species has been noticed in Kyrgyzstan only recently, as a newcomer. Its regular recent occurrence as a weed or ruderal plant in Uzbekistan may suggest further spreading also in Kyrgyzstan. Its recent introduction and subsequent expansion in Turkey  indicateL. 17538488BF57-4338-5B34-84F4-202C9744AE36urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30048260-2Solanumnigrum L., Sp. Pl. 1: 186 (1753).Calyx lobes more or less appressed ; fruits Southern Europe, Mediterranean, Southern Asia from Asia Minor to China. The species is most genetically diverse in Asia and may have an Asian origin . In CentArchaeophyte in Boreal and Central Europe, Northern and Central Asia; neophyte in North America, South Africa, Malesia and Australia. One of the most common and widely distributed weeds in the world .Native in Turkmenistan, alien in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.Solanumnigrum was a common weed of irrigated fields  in Central Asia  by S.nigrum by Solanumscabrum Mill. and S.villosum Mill. , we assume that the dispersal of S.nigrum was also partly human-mediated and this species was an unwanted component of the cultivation of S.villosum.um Mill. ; the disum Mill. . Based oArchaeophyte.This species was known from the whole of Central Asia from the beginning of its botanical exploration . The timTransport - Contaminant: Seed contaminant.Solanumnigrum arrived to the territory as a weed of historical crops (possibly of S.villosum).The species is a noxious weed of gardens and fields , also ocFurther dispersal occurs with water, contaminated seed and soil.Naturalised, invasive. The species has been a noxious weed of all crops in Kyrgyzstan  and remaAgriculture - major impact . Native ecosystems - minor impact . Urban areas - major impact .Stable (observed).Mill. 17685FCA71F3-E92B-5F0F-B7D1-E89D55D7BBEBurn:lsid:ipni.org:names:285344-2SolanumvillosumSolanum no. 2 (1768). Mill., Gard. Dict., ed. 8: SolanumvillosumSolanumluteumSolanumSolanumvillosumSolanumolgaeSolanumvillosumSolanumpseudoflavumCalyx lobes strongly reflected ; fruits Solanumnigrum s.l.: Southern Europe, Mediterranean, Southern Asia from Asia Minor to China, Africa. In Central Asia, the species is considered native in Turkmenistan, where it was recorded abundantly from riversides in the mountains  and S.olgae . The latter two have already been synonymised by The densely glandular variant occurs in scattered localities in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan .Solanumvillosum seems to be an evolutionary derivative of S.americanum Mill.  Daturametel L. . Native ecosystems - minor impact . Urban areas - moderate impact .Stable (inferred).The variety of plants recorded for the present Contribution, ranging from the oldest archaeophytes to the most recent neophytes, reflect the long and complicated history of the human civilisation in Central Asia.Alkekengiofficinarum, Solanumvillosum) and their weeds (Solanumnigrum). The period of Islamic states of Transoxiana (Mavarannahr), probably from the beginning of the 11th century, was noted for introductions of early medicinal (Daturastramonium and Hyoscyamusniger) and ornamental  plants. The period of the Russian conquest of Central Asia (late 19th century) brought other cultivated plants that quickly became ruderal, i.e. Nicandraphysalodes which was used in home bakery as a substitute for yeast.Some archaeophytes in Central Asia are notably old, dating back to the Neolithic period. This is true for old cultivated plants  and may become a common weed in the future.The recent period is characterised by the intensive import of foreign grain and seed for cultivation and consumption. Due to this recent import, Daturainnoxia and the renewed record of Nicandraphysalodes outside their places of cultivation. As the ornamental cultivation is still actively developing in Kyrgyzstan, we expect more records of such plants in the future.The latest increase (expansion and diversification) of ornamental cultivation brings the risk of further introductions of unwanted plants cf. ; this prAlkekengiofficinarum due to the decrease of its cultivation. A similar level of decline was also observed in Tajikistan  became weeds and ruderals; their position in the flora is stable. The old ornamental plant, Hemerocallisfulva, is seemingly extinct in the wild, as well as the introduction of the period of the Russian colonisation, Nicandraphysalodes, is no longer present in the places of its former cultivation. However, the old introduced plants, once having gone out of fashion and therefore extinct, may be reintroduced into cultivation and found in the wild again; both of the aforementioned plants, H.fulva and N.physalodes, have experienced the reintroduction from Europe, and the latter species has been lately seen in the wild again.Among the plants introduced during the period of Islamic states in Central Asia, the former medicinal plants (Daturastramonium is best studied (Solanumvillosum also belongs to the group of American origin (There are special cases when certain plant species, native to the Americas, were found introduced to the Old World, probably originally to India or other territories nearby, in the pre-Columbian era. Among such introductions, the history of  studied . Solanumn origin , whose dRegarding the difficulties encountered during this compilation, most notable was the lack of dedicated scientific studies and the paucity of herbarium collections, which reflect the current situation in plant invasions completely inadequately. Thanks to the recent development of online observational facilities and citizen-science tools e.g. , this deNicandraphysalodes dated back to 1928 (the undated mention in Another issue is the incompleteness of older publications and the poor availability of their background data. Quite exemplarily, the historical record of"}
+{"text": "Analyzing the biological and ecological characteristics of arthropods constitutes the basis for the entomological surveillance of vector-borne diseases. This is accomplished in order to implement vector surveillance and control programs. Thus, with the objective to update the distribution of sandflies in the main transmission region of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, we carried out a study of fauna in a modified environment, considering its environmental characteristics and climatic variables. Ecological indices such as richness, abundance, diversity, and equitability of the sandfly fauna in the region are presented.Nyssomyia intermedia next to Ny. neivai, which are sympatric species. The results presented reinforce the importance of these species in anthropized areas in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) agents and the need for entomological monitoring. Psathyromyia pascalei was encountered for the first time in the municipality, expanding the known area of distribution of this species in a modified environment.Some ecological parameters and the distribution of vectors in the municipality of Eldorado, Vale do Ribeira Region, S\u00e3o Paulo, were studied. Entomological surveys were carried out from September 2019 to March 2021. It was observed that a few ecological parameters, including richness, abundance, diversity, and equitability, were typical of a modified environment, where artificial ecotopes maintain the presence of sandflies throughout the year. A total of 11,668 sandflies were captured. The presence of five taxa were observed in Eldorado, with low diversity and high dominance of  Leishmania . In Brazil, the most epidemiologically important species responsible for its dermotropic forms are Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (Vianna), Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis (Floch), and Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis (Laison and Shaw). The clinical forms have different characteristics according to the infecting species, such as: cutaneous leishmaniasis (L. guyanensis), mucosal cutaneous leishmaniasis (L. braziliensis), diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (L. amazonensis), and disseminated leishmaniasis (L. braziliensis) ). Ny. intermedia and 25.0% as Ny. neivai  and temperatures around 22.4 \u00b0C . Althougth years .Ny. intermedia s.s. is the predominant species, which represented 73.3% of the total specimens captured. The high density of Ny. intermedia reinforces the importance of this sandfly species as transmission agent of CL in the area, which has been described by several studies since the mid-1950s [Some ecological parameters and the distribution of vectors in the municipality of Eldorado, Vale do Ribeira Region, S\u00e3o Paulo, were studied. In the study area id-1950s .Ny. intermedia s.l. was appointed as the main vector of L. braziliensis [Ny. intermedia s.l. in artificial ecotopes within the Vale do Ribeira region. However, Marcondes (1996) [Ny. intermedia s.s. and Ny. neivai, so far considered as the same species. Therefore, data presented in this study contributes to the updating of information on these species in CL transmission foci in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo.In a modified environment, iliensis ,19, mainiliensis  and by Giliensis , in studs (1996) , based oNy. intermedia s.s. and closely followed by Ny. neivai, which are sympatric species in the coastal region of S\u00e3o Paulo, suggest that the adaptation of these species to the anthropic environment is unchanged. This has been previously observed in other municipalities of the Vale do Ribeira [In the studied area, the modified environment and the presence of artificial ecotopes dominated by  Ribeira ,21,23,24 Ribeira ,27,28,29According to Andrade-Filho et al. (2006) , both spNy. neivai, given that the collections were conducted using a Shannon trap with humans as bait. In addition, its importance as a vector has been recorded through natural infection by Leishmania (Viannia) sp or Leishmania braziliensis [Ny. intermedia, is adapted to the modified environment and can bridge the gap between the natural environment and the altered environment. Casanova et al. (2005) [Ny. neivai females using Shannon traps exposed in wild and forest edge environments, demonstrating the tendency of this species to remain at the forest\u2019s edge. However, infection is likely to occur when dispersing to the forest environment, as Shannon traps located in peri-domestic habitat support the hypothesis that household transmission results from infected females in an enzootic cycle which probably remain close to the human population [The anthropophilic characteristic can also be attributed to iliensis ,38,39,40. (2005) , in a mapulation ,43,44.Migonemyia migonei and Pintomyia fischeri species are known to be present in a modified environment and anthropophilic, as previously described in this region of the Vale do Ribeira in foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis [L. braziliensis, and its infection with this parasite has been registered in several endemic regions of Brazil [Mi. migonei next to Ny. intermedia and Pi. fischeri have endophilic behavior, and can be infected outside the home and transmit the parasite to humans at home, contributing to the continuing transmission as observed in the municipality of Eldorado.Two other species of major epidemiological importance were captured. The maniasis ,8,21,44.f Brazil ,46,47,48Pi. fischeri, even in low abundance, as observed in the studied area, is relevant due to its strong relationship with human habitat\u2014its high anthropophily\u2014which leads to this species being identified as a secondary vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In Eldorado, the high density observed of the more prevalent species, such as Ny. intermedia and Ny neivai, may be more favorable to CL transmission, to the detriment of Pi. fischeri, a fact corroborated by Galati et al., (2009) [Leishmania (Vianna) flagellated forms in Rio Grande do Sul [Pi. fischeri was the only one that was not naturally infected in SSP [The finding of , 2009) . Neverthe do Sul  and its e do Sul . Among td in SSP  but has 009 . Nevd in SSP .Mi. migonei is a putative vector of Leishmania infantum [Pi. fischeri, whose natural infection was recorded by Pita-Ferreira (2005) [L. (L). infantum in the absence of Lutzomyia longipalpis. Therefore, the risk of visceral leishmaniasis transmission in the studied area should not be ruled out because the main vector is absent. The introduction of the infection is mainly through domestic dog, which is the main reservoir in the domestic environment and because of the cinophilic characteristic of these species.Furthermore, infantum  along wia (2005)  and expea (2005) . In addia (2005)  point toPsathyromyia pascalei (Coutinho and Barreto) in the municipality of Eldorado is noteworthy even though this species has been observed in other municipalities in the Vale do Ribeira region [L. braziliensis [The detection for the first time of a region ,58. So filiensis . This enNy. intermedia, Ny neivai, Pi. fischeri, and Mi. migonei [Ny. intermedia s.l. thrives in a modified environment at the expense of other species. Still considering its role as the main vector of CL in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, a correlation was observed between the presence of CL cases and the presence of Ny. intermedia s.l., in 88% in the investigated municipalities [For the ecological indices, the low species diversity (H = 0.63) could be related to the degree of anthropization, and the existence of food sources  enhances the development of species close to the household, as described in the literature ,27. Defo migonei ,43. In tThe male:female ratio observed was 1:1.25, which was also an expected result for the environment modified by the capture method employed. Gomes et al. (1982)  observedNy. intermedia showed peaks of exceptional abundance after the rains, during the prior season. However, its occurrence throughout the year can be favored by the ecotopes present in the peridomicile of the area. The same author [Ny. intermedia.The great plasticity of the phlebotomine population was observed throughout the year. The two most abundant species showed greater preference for the periods of the year, with an average relative humidity of 81,1% and average temperatures of 22.4 \u00b0C . This bee author  highlighNy intermedia and Ny neivai. The sandflies are commonly found in high densities during the hot and humid months and sometime in drier months [Ny intermedia sl in the Vale do Ribeira region [Ny. neivai has been described in hot and humid periods in other regions of SSP [Climatic factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity have been related with the occurrence of sandflies ,62,63,64r months ,63,64. Ta region ,44. Mores of SSP .Long periods of drought or the rainy season are enough to change the dynamics of sandfly populations, even in these micro-habitats. Although seasonality studies should be conducted for at least two consecutive years to produce reliable and consistent data, reducing the margin of error provided by atypical years, it was only possible to carry out 17 months of capture fortnightly; however, we verified a plateau by the curve of species accumulation after the 9th week of capture  and the Ny. intermedia and Ny. neivai were the predominant species. The results reinforce the importance of these species in anthropophilic areas in the transmission of CL agents and emphasize the need for entomological surveillance with a goal to detect natural infection of sandflies, especially for the early detection of Leishmania infantum. The encounter of Ps. pascalei stands out, as this was the first time that it was found in the municipality, expanding the distribution area of this species in a modified environment. Future studies could focus on evaluating the circulation of the Leishmania species in those sandflies and evaluating blood feeding patterns.Five taxa were collected in the studied area in the Vale do Ribeira, and"}
+{"text": "A questionnaire survey of animal and human health authorities in Europe revealed that leishmaniases are not notifiable in all countries with autochthonous cases. Few countries implement surveillance and control targeting both animal and human infections. Leishmaniases are considered emergent diseases in most countries, and lack of resources is a challenge for control. Leishmania species in this region are L. major, L. tropica, and the L. donovani complex species (including L. infantum and L. donovani sensu stricto). All cause cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL); visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused mainly by L. donovani complex species. There is evidence that the risk for leishmaniases is increasing in some EU and neighboring countries  and its neighboring countries. L. infantum infections in domestic or wildlife hosts and a human leishmaniases (HumL) questionnaire referring to infections by L. infantum, L. major, L. tropica and L. donovani s.s.  questionnaire referring to ani s.s. . The tarani s.s. . The queani s.s. .Leishmania spp. infections in animals and humans and clinical forms in humans. The mapping of the countries with autochthonous transmission matches previous published information with few discrepancies. For instance, according to the questionnaire, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary do not have autochthonous canine leishmaniasis cases, although such cases have been described (L. tropica were reported in Cyprus and Serbia and due to L. major in Georgia; however, none of the literature presents concurring evidence (We reviewed the countries\u2019 epidemiologic status with regards to autochthonous evidence .Animal leishmaniases are notifiable in 17 countries and human leishmaniases in 20 countries . In PaleL. infantum in a HumL outbreak in Madrid in Spain (Seven countries conduct AniL surveillance , indicatin Spain .Leishmania spp. infection prevalence in healthy hosts, but their diagnostic validity depends on the sample used, the DNA sequence target, and the PCR protocol. Standardization of PCR tests in leishmaniasis diagnosis is needed (Antibody tests, including the immunofluorescence antibody test, ELISA, and the rapid immunochromatography test, are the main surveillance diagnostic methods used, followed by PCR. Antibody tests play a fundamental role in disease surveillance because they are relatively cheap and easy to use (L. infantum, actions focused on the use of insecticides on dogs, and for L. major, L. tropica, and L. donovani, the common activity was the use of peridomiciliary and intradomiciliary insecticides. Lack of funds and capacity constraints are considered the main challenges for HumL. Of the 7 countries that have ongoing AniL prevention and control programs , 5 use tL. infantum strategies are centered on preventing and eliminating infections in dogs, the main parasite reservoir host, we found that insecticides and treatments are not fully effective and are expensive, and so provided to a relatively small proportion of dogs. Leishmaniasis control needs the One Health approach to account for the complexity of its transmission cycle involving humans, domestic animals, wildlife, and sand fly vectors (Although zoonotic L. infantum, and movement of infected persons between countries for L. major, L. tropica, and L. donovani.Animal leishmaniases are considered emergent diseases in Cyprus and Jordan and in parts of Algeria, Armenia, France, Georgia, Jordan, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The most important AniL emergence risk factor is the lack of control. Human leishmaniases are considered emerging diseases in Cyprus, Libya and Malta and in parts of Albania, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Montenegro, and Spain. The main risk factors for HumL emergence are vector expansion for In general, the perceived increasing risk for AniL and HumL was in line with the literature. In the EU and its neighborhood, the risks include movement of humans and dogs, increased number of immunosuppressed patients, climate warming, and other environmental changes affecting vector and reservoir host distribution (Leishmaniases are considered widespread, endemic, or emerging infections in the EU and its neighborhood, yet are neglected and underreported because they are low priority at the country and EU level. Our study revealed a clear need to strengthen leishmaniasis prevention and control programs in the EU and its neighborhood. We recommend analysis of leishmaniasis incidence in the region for an objective assessment of disease emergence, and also improvement of prevention and control programs based on a robust surveillance and following a One Health approach.Questionnaires used in a study of animal leishmaniases in 2010\u20132020 in the European Union and neighboring countries."}
+{"text": "Leptoglossus zonatus, is widely distributed in the Western Hemisphere. In California, two lineages (strains) occur. One lineage is known from California, and the second is found in California and Brazil. Although this species has been in California since 1900, it has become a pest in almonds in the last decade. It is possible that a cryptic species or strain has been introduced. This study investigated the distribution of the two lineages (strains) of L. zonatus in the Western Hemisphere. Specimens from the Leptoglossus collection in the national insect collection in Mexico were used to extract DNA and sequence the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene. These sequences were combined with others in Genbank from California and South America to determine the strain distributions. The first strain occurred in California and Mexico, while the second was widespread from California into South America. When all samples were combined, there was overall low genetic diversity. The small number of genetic types (haplotypes), the range expansion, and the economic pest status of L. zonatus in California, suggest this insect is a potentially invasive insect pest.The leaffooted plant bug, Leptoglossus zonatus  (Hemiptera: Coreidae) is polyphagous and widely distributed in the Western Hemisphere. Although it has been recorded in California since around 1900, it has become a more common pest in almonds in the last decade. Other studies have shown that an established insect can become a pest when a new genotype is introduced. This study investigated the distribution of two lineages (strains) of L. zonatus in the Western Hemisphere. Specimens from the Leptoglossus collection in the national insect collection in Mexico were used to extract DNA and sequence the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (mtDNA COI) gene, for use in population genetic and phylogenetic analyses. New sequences from Mexico, Central and South America were combined with those available in GenBank, from California and Brazil. Two lineages (strains) of L. zonatus were uncovered. One lineage occurs in California, Mexico and Ecuador. The second lineage is more widespread and found in California, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Brazil. The haplotype number and diversity, and nucleotide diversity, were found for samples from California, Mexico, and Brazil, for the two lineages, and for all 118 sequences combined. All sequences combined produced five haplotypes, and a haplotype diversity of 0.54. California and Brazil had 3 haplotypes each, with one haplotype shared . Haplotype diversity in California and in Brazil were 0.526 and 0.505, respectively. A haplotype network found that one haplotype was most abundant and widespread. The small number of haplotypes, a range expansion, and economic pest status of L. zonatus in California, all contribute to this insect being a potentially invasive insect pest.The leaffooted plant bug,  Leptoglossus species (Gu\u00e9rin-M\u00e9neville) (Hemiptera: Coreidae), also known as leaffooted plant bugs, are endemic to the Western Hemisphere with at least 61 species recorded , in Mexico there were 15 collection sites from 12 sampling years with the widespread lineage predominant. It is possible that if larger sample numbers were available from these collection sites, higher haplotype diversity could have been detected. Another possibility is that the widespread lineage is replacing the more restricted lineage. This would need to be investigated with older museum specimens.One interesting finding is that the two L. neovexillatus was included due to its morphologically similar to L. zonatus; this species formed another lineage 13% divergent. This group consisted of two L. neovexillatus specimens from Bolivia and several GenBank sequences from insects identified as L. zonatus from Brazil. L. neovexillatus is recorded from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay [L. zonatus. The L. neovexillatus from Brazil appeared sufficiently morphologically similar enough to be mistakenly grouped with other L. zonatus from Brazil, yet genetically those specimens were quite genetically divergent. The L. zonatus group could benefit from a study of genetic distance among members to examine evolutionary relationship and to compare with existing taxonomic studies [ Uruguay . This sp studies ,21.L. zonatus in this study. While the precise region of origin and genetic diversity is not known for L. zonatus, the number of haplotypes found can be compared to those obtained for other Leptoglossus species. Leptoglossus clypealis Heidemann in California was genotyped from three sites within 100 km in the Central Valley of California. Among the 20 L. clypealis genotyped using mtDNA COI, there were 17 haplotypes with a haplotype diversity of 0.979, suggesting that California is a native region for this species [L. occidentalis Heidemann, has been introduced from North America into Europe. Prior to arriving in Italy, L. occidentalis slowly spread from the Western United States through the Midwest and into the Eastern United States [Genetic diversity can help determine where a species may be native, introduced, or invasive. For example, the number of haplotypes for a species can be compared between regions where it is native or suspected to be introduced. There was a low haplotype (5) and moderate genetic diversity for  species . Anotherd States ,41. Usind States .Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). The BMSB is native in China and Japan where more than 25 haplotypes were observed, while only five were observed in introduced areas including in the US [Lygus hesperus (Knight) from its endemic region of the Western US [When an insect is introduced on another continent, a range expansion can more easily be observed, such as with n the US ; in Chinn the US , as werestern US .Leptoglossus species occur in South America [L. zonatus genetic diversity from that region could uncover more haplotypes than found in this study, and potentially find a region where there is higher genetic and haplotype diversity for this species.Sample sizes genotyped from California, Mexico and Brazil, were sufficient to detect genetic variability yet low genetic and haplotype diversity was found . Some sa America ,2,21. AnL. zonatus may have been moved from its center of diversity inadvertently by humans, as is the case with other insects [L. zonatus has a wide distribution through much of this species\u2019 known range, and the full distribution of the other lineage is unknown. To date, the five haplotypes uncovered are a relatively small number, and a higher number is expected in the insect\u2019s center of origin. The introductions into Louisiana and Florida in the last few decades and the expansion into the northern Central Valley of California demonstrates the insect is expanding its range. Invasive species can be defined as those which are introduced, may transmit disease, cause economic damage, or outcompete native organisms [L. zonatus has become more abundant, expanded its range, and it can transmit plant pathogens, it is not known to kill trees directly. It does however cause economic damage in almonds, and is one of the most potentially damaging insect pests in almonds after navel orangeworm [L. zonatus as a plant pest may outweigh the benefits of this insect in California, but would need to be determined [ insects . One haprganisms . While Langeworm . Recent termined . There a"}
+{"text": "Water quality status in terms of one crucial parameter such as dissolved oxygen (D.O.) has been an important concern in the Fei-Tsui reservoir for decades since it\u2019s the primary water source for Taipei City. Therefore, this study aims to develop a reliable prediction model to predict D.O. in the Fei-Tsui reservoir for better water quality monitoring. The proposed model is an artificial neural network (ANN) with one hidden layer. Twenty-nine years of water quality data have been used to validate the accuracy of the proposed model. A different number of neurons have been investigated to optimize the model's accuracy. Statistical indices have been used to examine the reliability of the model. In addition to that, sensitivity analysis has been carried out to investigate the model's sensitivity to the input parameters. The results revealed the proposed model capable of capturing the dissolved oxygen's nonlinearity with an acceptable level of accuracy where the R-squared value was equal to 0.98. The optimum number of neurons was found to be equal to 15-neuron. Sensitivity analysis shows that the model can predict D.O. where four input parameters have been included as input where the d-factor value was equal to 0.010. This main achievement and finding will significantly impact the water quality status in reservoirs. Having such a simple and accurate model embedded in IoT devices to monitor and predict water quality parameters in real-time would ease the decision-makers and managers to control the pollution risk and support their decisions to improve water quality in reservoirs. However, reservoir's water quality is susceptible to deterioration2. The reservoir's water quality status is measured based on three different properties such as physical, chemical, and biological4. Various water quality parameters are measured for each mentioned property to evaluate water quality. Therefore, there is a need to accurately model these parameters due to their importance for better management and mitigating any risk associated with sustaining the quality within the acceptable level5. Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) is among the most critical parameters in measuring water quality status6. Among all the water quality parameters, the Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) is considered the most representative parameter that showed the class's water quality status, especially in surface water. This is due to the fact that D.O. is vital for the aquatic organisms and fish in the water bodies. The level of dissolved oxygen is a reflection of wind and aerating action. The D.O. level must be within amount to assure the stability of organisms and fish life in the water bodies; the higher the D.O., the better the condition aquatic and fish survival. To indicate the state of any aquatic system, D.O. is used as an indicator, and it is essential for microorganisms when its present in water column7.Reservoirs water considers one of the most crucial sources for household needs, irrigation, and other purposes such as industrial needs8. Other models, such as the statistical model introduced to overcome the conventional models. Since many factors impact the concentration of D.O. in the reservoir, which can cause to nonlinearity pattern, the statistical model fails to capture it since it assumes that the relationship between D.O. and other parameters is linear9. Alternatively, Machine Learning (ML) techniques have been proposed as an other technique to capture the nonlinearity in any complex system11.Deterministic and stochastic models are used to model the D.O. concentration changes and capture any pattern from the measured data; However, these models require massive data to model the D.O. pattern and consider very complex12. Recently, ML techniques have been used intensively in modeling complex parameters related to water resources, such as predicting sea-level rise15, rainfall prediction17, reservoir water level prediction19, and streamflow forecasting21. Inspired by the robust performance of ML in capturing the nonlinearity patterns in most of the engineering systems, different algorithms of ML have been adopted to predict the water quality parameters. Predicting the class Water Quality Index (W.Q.I.) has been carried out using different ML algorithms by many researchers24. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been used to predict total nitrogen and phosphorus in the United States (U.S.) lakes25. At the same time, a support vector machine (SVM) was developed to predict the concentration of biological oxygen demand (B.O.D.) at the Johor river, Malaysia26.Artificial Neural Network (ANN) methods were used in conjunction with numerical simulation models to boost the simulation results8. However, the limitations of the A.N.F.I.S. model were reported by Ahmadlou et al.27. These drawbacks are that it is not very accurate and cannot find the best parameters; it is also prone to get stuck in a local minimum, contributing to its lack of prediction abilities.Regarding dissolved oxygen concentrations, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (A.N.F.I.S.) was proposed to predict D.O. at the Johor river, Malaysia28 to predict dissolved oxygen concentration using an optimally pruned extreme learning machine (O.P.E.L.M.). The study found that O.P.E.L.M. provided a reasonable estimate of D.O. However, S\u00e1nchez-Monedero et al.29 found that O.P.E.L.M. tends to degrade too many neurons, which results in noticeable performance degradation in some data sets.A model was developed by Heddam30 to predict the amount of dissolved oxygen in intensive anaerobic ponds. However, It has been found that L.S.S.V.R. performance depends heavily on selecting the kernel coefficient and regularization coefficient, which are necessary for the optimization process and the final L.S.S.V.R. model. Regrettably, there is no unique, perfect method to specify the given parameters in the L.S.S.V.R. model. Extreme machine learning was developed by31 and used to predict dissolved oxygen in urban rivers. In addition to that, recently, the concentration of dissolved oxygen in fishery pond was predicted using a gated recurrent unit32.The least-squares support vector (L.S.S.V.R.) has been proposed by Liu et al.35. Teaching\u2013learning-based optimization algorithm (T.L.B.O.) is used to predict dissolved oxygen36. Various regression equations were optimized, including quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, and linear using T.L.B.O. Then the findings from T.L.B.O. compared with an artificial bee colony (A.B.C.) optimizer. Better results were obtained by hybridizing the quadratic regression equation with T.L.B.O. Besides the hybridized model's complexity, the authors used many parameters (twenty parameters) as inputs to develop the model. One of the drawbacks of such a model is to have access to a significant amount of available and reliable water quality parameters data, which is challenging.To overcome the inherent limitations established by standalone models, hybrid models have been proposed to optimize these algorithms' hyper-parameters by augmenting them with different optimization algorithms. For instance, different hybrid models have been developed and used to predict dissolved oxygen concentration37. Kumar et al.38 found that the artificial neural network's prediction performance can be enhanced by improving the training approach without hybridizing it with optimization algorithms. In addition to that, a recent study highlighted the importance of the input combinations of ML algorithms' output accuracy, where the optimal input combinations can lead to a high level of accuracy without the need to augment ML with optimizers40.Despite the acceptable performances these models achieved, however, there are few limitations associated with the hybridization of ML. One of these limitations is the complexity and complicated architecture and the difficulties in initializing the input parameters for these hybrid models41. For example, Moghadam et al. used four input parameters and DO concentration to predict DO concentration in three different lead times42. Therefore, in this study few input parameters will be investigated.Therefore, this study's chief aim is to propose an artificial intelligence model with simple architecture and a high-performance level to predict dissolved oxygen concentrations. This study will use historical data recorded for 29\u00a0years from the Fei-Tsui Reservoir to train the model to accomplish this goal. The number of neurons will be optimized in order to obtain the desired results. Different input combinations will be investigated and examined to enhance the model's performance. Recently many researchers have been developing AI models with a few inputsSensitivity analysis and uncertainty analysis will be carried out to validate the proposed model. Different statistical indices will be introduced to inspect the proposed model performance. For better visualization, Taylor's diagram, violin plot, and percentage of relative error between the projected data and the observed one have been implemented in this study.2 catchment area approximately, as shown in Fig.\u00a0143. Since the 1980\u2019s, for Taipei city, the Fei-Tsui reservoir is considered the primary source of drinking water. One hundred fifty days is the approximate duration when the water resides in the reservoir. Since 1987, monthly measurements have been conducted to examine the reservoir's water status based on different water quality parameters. The water quality samples have been collected at the outlet of the five inflow tributaries of the reservoir and another seven sampling locations at the reservoir's main lake44. The data was obtained from the administration office of the Taipei Fei-Tsui Reservoir. Table Located in Taiwan's north region, the Fei-Tsui reservoir serves a 300 km45. The proposed model consists of an input layer, which presents the input parameters that will be used to develop the model. In contrast, the output layer presents the model's output, which is the dissolved oxygen concentrations. Weights and biases connect the input and output layers to the hidden layer.An Artificial Neural Network with a single hidden layer was proposed to predict the dissolved oxygen concentration in the Fei-Tsui reservoir. The architecture of the proposed model can be seen in Fig.\u00a02The hidden layer consists of several neurons. In this study, a different number of neurons will be investigated. In the beginning, the number of neurons will be set to equal five, then ten, fifteen, and finally, twenty. The predicted dissolved oxygen concentration will be compared with the observed concentration to choose the best model with the best-optimized number of neurons that give the lowest error. 29\u00a0years of monthly water quality data (348) will be used in developing the proposed model. 80% of the data will be used to train the model, while 20% will be used to test the model's accuracy. The pre-processing step was carried out by scaling the dataset between 0 to 1. Different types of activation functions and transfer functions will be explored and optimized.Similarly, different training algorithms will be investigated to develop a model with a high level of precision. Finally, cross-validation with different k-fold  will be carried out to minimize the risk of overfitting. This validation procedure has been implemented using the trails-and-errors procedure, each trail with different value of the k-fold until achieving the one with minimal possibility of experienced overfitting. MATLAB Programming language was used to develop the proposed model.One of the primary reasons for developing a model to predict the D.O. from other surface water parameters is that the D.O. is relatively costly and time-consuming to acquire and monitor. On the other hand, the main reason for selecting the Water Temperature, Biological Oxygen Demand, Iron, and Total Organic Carbon as a predictor for the D.O. is first because of the availability of these parameters. Secondly, there is a direct relationship between all these parameters and the D.O.; for example, the greater the amount of Biological Oxygen Demand in the water stream, the more rapidly is the depletion of the D.O. in water. Similarly, for the temperature (T), the more the T, the less the D.O. in the water stream will have occurred. Iron could critically consume the D.O. because of D.O. will be consumed as an oxidant for the Iron concentration. Hence, the D.O. concentration could dramatically reduce its amount in water stream. Finally, the Total Organic Carbon is the measuring indicator for how pure is the water stream considering the organisms\u2019 life, which is indirectly affected by the level of D.O. in the water stream. Therefore, these parameters have been considered as predictors for D.O. in the current research. Table 46. In addition to that, Taylor's diagram and violin plots will be performed to assess the correlation between observed and predicted data. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis will be carried to validate the proposed model's reliability. Figure\u00a0Three different statistical indices will be applied to measure how the proposed model predicts dissolved oxygen concentration. These indices are Root Mean Square Error (R.M.S.E.), Coefficient of Correlation (Correlation), and Coefficient of Determination (R-squared). The formulas for these indices with comprehensive explanation can be found in study carried out by Najah et al.47. However, if more neurons are introduced, that might increase the model's time and lead to overfitting. Therefore, to overcome such issues, in this study, different models were developed to find the optimum number of neurons where the number of neurons set to be 5, 10,15, and 20. In addition to that, identifying the right input combination is one of the vital factors that need to be considered in optimizing the performance of the artificial neural network model48. In this study, five different models with different input combinations have been introduced. The first model (M.1) was developed using one input parameter (water temperature), while the second model (M.2) was developed by introducing another input parameter . A third model (M.3) used three input parameters . The fourth model (M.4) was developed using a different combination of three parameters . And finally, model five (M.5) was developed using all four parameters as input . Twenty models have been developed with different inputs and numbers on neurons to find the best model for predicting dissolved oxygen concentrations changes. Table One of the main characteristics of defining artificial neural network models is choosing the number of neurons for the hidden layer. An insufficient number of neurons can cause the model not to capture the data's nonlinearity model M. used thr model M. used thrIt can be seen from Table 49. It can be seen from Fig.\u00a0To test the proposed model's reliability and to determine the model's validity, Taylor\u2019s diagram is recommended by many researchers and is commonly usedThe average percentage of relative error for each model has been computed to examine the error percentage between the predicted and the actual observed data, as shown in Fig.\u00a0A Violin plot is used to demonstrate the difference between the actual and predicted data from each model, as shown in Fig.\u00a050. This study uses the following equations to calculate d-factor values:To measure the proposed models' performance when new data are introduced, the d-factor value is used for this purpose. When the d-factor values close to zero mean that the model can still perform well if a new data set is introducedFigure\u00a0To sum up, the lowest accuracy reported when M.5 used to predict D.O. It should be noted that M5. model exhibits acceptable accuracy in capturing the maximum and average values of D.O. concentrations. However, for the minimum values of D.O. concentrations, the M.5 model is unable to capture it where the absolutes relative error percentage ranged between 42 to 59%. Model M.3 ranked four among the five developed models with an average relative error percentage of 5%. M.1 ranked three among the five other models. It performs better than M.3 and M5 where the average absolute relative error percentage equals 1.7%. And finally, M.2 ranked second, outperforming M.1, M.3, and M.5. However, M.2 was unable to capture the extreme concentration values of D.O. as M.4.51 proposed a Bayesian model averaging (B.M.A.) model to predict the concentration of dissolved oxygen. And the findings were compared with different data-driven methods, including an extreme learning machine (E.L.M.), classification and regression tree (CART), and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (A.N.F.I.S.). The r-squared for testing ranged from 0.718 to 0.836 (B.M.A. (0.836), E.L.M. (0.822), A.N.F.I.S. (0.831) and CART(0.718)) for one of the stations used in the study. Four input parameters were used as inputs to develop the four models. In the current study, only three parameters were used as input to the model. As mentioned earlier, choosing the right combinations has a crucial impact on the performance of the model. In the current study, when water temperature, biological oxygen demand, and iron were used as input, the artificial neural network achieved a high accuracy level where r-squared equals 0.98. Multi-layer perceptron neural network developed to predict dissolved oxygen concentration in Malaysia's Johor River52. In this study, five different input combinations were used to develop the model. The performance of the model was acceptable were r-squared was equal to 0.95. Compared with the proposed model in the current study, a high accuracy level has been achieved where r-squared equals 0.98 with a smaller number of input combinations. It can be concluded that the current proposed model is more accurate and can be adopted as a tool to predict the changes in the concentration of dissolved oxygen. A point that can be raised from the earlier comparison is that the studies were conducted using different datasets in different countries. Therefore, for future works, a more valid comparison should be performed to consider these algorithms in predicting dissolved oxygen concentrations at the Fei-Tsui reservoir.A comparison was conducted between the proposed model and other literature models to compare the current study findings to other studies. Kisi et al.For comparison purposes, the performance of the developed model (M.4) was compared with two other models, namely Random Forest (R.F) and Boosted Tree (B.T) regressions. The comparison was carried out using maximum and average relative percentage error. It has been observed that the maximum relative percentage error for M.4 is equal to 4.7%, while the maximum relative percentage error for B.T and R.F is 46% and 49%, respectively. At the same time, the average relative percentage error for M.4 is 1.3% which is the lowest than both B.T (4.1) and R.F (4.6).The study focuses on predicting dissolved oxygen concentration as crucial water quality parameters in the Fei-Tsui reservoir in Taiwan using an artificial neural network model with simple architecture. Twenty-nine years of historical data provided the basis for development of the model. To test the model's reliability and optimize the algorithm, different numbers of neurons were used. Various numbers of input combinations were used to enhance the model's accuracy. Statistical indices were used to validate the accuracy of the model. The results reveal that the best number of neurons equals fifteen, while the best input combinations are three input parameters. These parameters are water temperature, biological oxygen demand and iron. The proposed model exhibits a high level of accuracy in predicting dissolved oxygen concentration changes where the r-squared is equal to 0.98. Taylor's diagram shows that the proposed model (M-4) displays a high consistency and accuracy level. Further investigation in implementing the proposed model in this research can predict other water quality parameters and be applied at locations with different climatic conditions for generalization purposes. There is a need to investigate machine learning models' integration with sensing technologies to efficiently monitor and predict water quality parameters for a smart early warning system. In addition, although the proposed optimization of the hyper parameters of the ANN modeling approach could provide proper prediction accuracy for DO, the accuracy could be improved by implementing the optimization of the hyper parameters of other AI model such as Random Forest and Boosted Tree algorithm."}
+{"text": "Background: Malaria is endemic in Sierra Leone, with stable and perennial transmission in all parts of the country. At present, the main prevention and control measures for mosquito vectors here involve insecticide treated nets (ITN) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). The most recent entomological surveillance was conducted prior to the civil war, between 1990 and 1994. Therefore, a new entomological surveillance required to support targeted malaria control strategies.Methods:Anopheles mosquitoes were collected between June and December 2019 using the light trap method. On these, we conducted species identification, analyzed seasonal fluctuation and Plasmodium infection rate, and monitored insecticide resistance.Results: Surveillance of seasonal fluctuation showed that there were two peak of Anopheles density in July (mean 13.67 mosquitoes/trap/night) and October (mean 13.00 mosquitoes/trap/night). Meanwhile, the lowest Anopheles density was seen in early September. Ninety-one representatives of Anopheles gambiae s.l. were selected and identified as An. coluzzii (n = 35) and An. gambiae s.s. (n = 56) using PCR. An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s. were found to be heterozygous resistant to the knockdown resistance (kdr) L1014F mutation (100%). Meanwhile, the East African mutation (kdr L1014S) was absent in the tested mosquitoes. Three mosquitoes that tested positive for the parasite, had an individual Plasmodium falciparum infection rate of 12.50, 16.67, and 14.29%. The sampling dates of positive mosquitoes were distributed in the two periods of peak Anopheles mosquito density.Conclusion: This study identified the dominant Anopheles species in Freetown as An. gambiae while the predominant species within the An. gambiae complex was An. gambiae sensu stricto. Surveillance of seasonal fluctuations and high P. falciparum infection rates in Anopheles indicate that the alternation of drought and rainy seasons from June to July, and from October to November, are the key periods for malaria control and prevention in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The high frequency of kdr allele mutations in An. gambiae calls for close monitoring of vector susceptibility to insecticides and tracing of resistance mechanisms in order to develop more effective vector control measures and strategies. Malaria remains a global public health crisis . AccordiPlasmodium, transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes , An. gambiae s.s. (formerly S-form An. gambiae), and An. melas were recorded in Sierra Leone (kdr)  \u201319. In At Africa . The tracticides . Plasmodra Leone . There hra Leone \u201324 on thAnopheles mosquitoes were conducted in 2019 from June to December in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Molecular identification and insecticide resistance monitoring were performed, while the seasonal fluctuation and malaria infection rate of Anopheles mosquitoes were determined.In this study, the entomological and molecular surveillance of The current study was carried out in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone, located on the west coast of Africa, has a typical tropical climate with a temperature range of 21\u201332\u00b0C and an average temperature of 25\u00b0C. There are two main seasons in a year: the rainy season (May to October) and the dry season (November to April). Notably, there is a large amount of rainfall from July to August. The average annual rainfall is 320 cm and the relative humidity ranges from 60 to 90%. Sierra Leone has a wide range of landforms, from coastal swamps, inland swamps, and tropical rainforests, to one of the highest mountains in West Africa (Bintumani Mountain). Secondary palms are the main forms of vegetation, and they are interspersed with many marshes for rice planting. Sierra Leone has a population of about 7.8 million. The capital city, Freetown, with a population of about 1 million, is located on the Atlantic coast of the Freetown peninsula ; of thesMosquitoes were collected using the light-trap method once a week. Approximately 2\u20134 mosquito traps  were set at each surveillance site. These traps were set up 1 h before sunset and the collection nets were collected 1 h after sunrise the following day. Subsequently, the mosquitoes were brought back to the laboratory for morphological identification . The mosAn. gambiae complex.Genomic DNA was extracted from individual mosquitoes using a DNA extraction kit  and used for PCR analysis to identify sub-species of the An. coustani and An. gambiae mosquitoes, involved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) region  were selected for further analysis.The molecular identification of ) region . An. gamsing PCR . In perfsing PCR ; Premix An. gambiae sensu stricto were identified further using PCR  was used to detect nalysis. . The prir L1014S . The PCRkdr mutation in some samples ..PlasmodiAnopheles mosquito surveillance sites in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, the Microsoft Excel 2019 software was used to analyze the monitoring data of Anopheles mosquitoes from the surveillance sites. This included a sum of the total number of Anopheles mosquitoes, and calculation of the distribution ratio and the seasonal variation of mosquito density, as well as a count of the malaria infection rate of Anopheles mosquitoes. SPSS v21.0 software was used for statistical analysis.ArcGIS 10.7 was used to map the Culex mosquitoes accounted for 84.86%, 410 Anopheles mosquitoes of malaria vectors accounted for 13.61%, 43 Aedes mosquitoes accounted for 1.43%, and 3 other mosquito species accounted for 0.10% of the total number of mosquitoes captured. The average mosquito density in Freetown was 4.35 mosquitoes/trap/night.During the period from June 26 to December 31, 2019, mosquito vector density monitoring was carried out a total of 26 times at 9 surveillance sites, and 3 012 mosquitoes were collected. Among these, 2 556 Anopheles mosquitoes in Freetown was 0.61 mosquitoes/trap/night. The number of Anopheles collected at Lakka surveillance site was 330, accounting for 80.49% of the total number, and the average density of Anopheles was 4.78 mosquitoes/trap/night. In addition, 30 Anopheles were captured at the Waterloo and Locust, accounting for 7.32% of the total number, and the average density of Anopheles were 0.25 and 0.63 mosquitoes/trap/night. In other surveillance sites, the number of Anopheles trapped was lower . The density of Anopheles in residential areas was 0.60 mosquitoes/trap/night, while that in organization and hospitals was 0.11 and 0.03 mosquitoes/trap/night, respectively. The density of Anopheles trapped in different livestock sheds was further compared. The densities of Anopheles in the livestock sheds of Lakka, Waterloo, Lumley, and Sorie Lane were 8.55, 0.69, 0.12, and 0.07 mosquitoes/trap/night, respectively.The results showed that the density of Anopheles mosquitoes (80.49%) were from Lakka; therefore, this study focused on the Lakka surveillance site as a representative region to conduct further research and analysis. Lakka is in the western area rural of Freetown, Sierra Leone and its environs are rice fields.Most of field-collected Anopheles density in the Lakka community is shown in Anopheles density, the first from July 3 to August 7, and the second from October 9 to November 20. The mosquito density was 13.67 mosquitoes/trap/night on July 31, while in August, the density of Anopheles gradually decreased reaching its lowest level in early September. The density of Anopheles mosquitoes then began to rise, reaching a second peak at the end of October, at 13.00 mosquitoes/trap/night. Subsequently, the Anopheles density again began to decrease in December.The seasonal fluctuation trend of COI sequence. From July 17, 2019 to November 6, 2019, 180 An. gambiae complex (85.31%) and 31 An. coustani (14.69%) mosquitoes were collected. The principal malaria vectors in An. gambiae complex are An. gambiae sensu stricto, An. arabiensis, An. quadriannulatus species A and An. quadriannulatus species B, as well as An. melas, An. merus, and An. bwambae  and 56 An. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes, accounting for 61.54% (56/91) of the An. gambiae complex identified by molecular method.The mosquitoes were identified morphologically and their identities were then confirmed using the mplex 85.% and 31 entified . There wkdr alleles  were detected in both An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s. In each kdr 1014F mutant assay, an intermediate increase in both VIC fluorescence and FAM fluorescence indicated a heterozygote. In each kdr 1014S mutant assay, a substantial increase in VIC fluorescence, with no increase in FAM fluorescence indicated that there was no kdr 1014S mutant. According to the above results, 35 An. coluzzii and 56 An. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes were all heterozygous resistant to the kdr L1014F mutation (100%) (kdr L1014S) was absent in the tested mosquitoes.All three n (100%) . Some saAn. gambiae complex and 31 An. coustani were further tested for the presence of malarial parasites. While P. falciparum parasites were detected in three mosquitoes, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale parasites were not found. Overall, the An. gambiae complex had an individual P. falciparum infection rate of 3.30%, while no P. falciparum infection was detected in the An. coustani individuals . Meanwhile, the three P. falciparum parasite-positive mosquitoes had an individual P. falciparum infection rate of 12.50% , 16.67% , and 14.29% , respectively. The sampling dates of positive mosquitoes were distributed in the two periods of peak Anopheles density (from July 3 to August 7 and from October 9 to November 20).A total of 91 ividuals . IndividCulex accounted for the highest proportion of the total number of mosquitoes, which was the dominant species in Freetown, followed by Anopheles, and Aedes, which had the lowest density. However, Aedes was mainly active in the daytime, and the mosquito traps were used at night, so the data of Aedes could not represent the real situation of the region. In this study, 6 surveillance sites were in the western area urban, while only 3 surveillance sites were in the western area rural. However, the number of Anopheles trapped in western areas rural accounted for 88.29%, and the average density of Anopheles trapped was much higher than that in western urban areas. It may be that there are many paddy fields and swamps in the western area rural, which are breeding areas of Anopheles. These results suggest that the risk of malaria transmitting in western areas rural is higher than that in western areas urban in Freetown.The monitoring results showed that Anopheles density appeared during our study, one in July and the other in October. In Sierra Leone, rainfall typically increases after May, which is the main reason for the increase in mosquito density. Consequently, the Anopheles density was high at the end of June and the beginning of July in the alternate period of the drought and rainy seasons. Heavy rains occurred in July and August, and the mosquito density gradually decreased from the end of July, reaching its lowest point in late August. Previous studies have shown that it takes at least seven days for mosquitoes to develop from eggs to adults in stable water and suitable temperature conditions  were detected in the An. gambiae populations in Freetown and the majority mosquitoes were RR homozygotes for kdr 1014F mutation, with very few heterozygotes . This phenomenon cannot be well-explained at present. It may be related to the pressure of Lakka environmental selection, or because of the limited sample size. It is worth further study in the future. This rapid decrease in susceptibility across sentinel sites may be due to the scale-up of LLINs in the country (kdr allele mutation in An. gambiae calls for close monitoring of vector susceptibility to insecticides and tracing of resistance mechanisms in order to develop more effective vector control strategies and measures.Historically, pyrethrum spraying began in Western Freetown to control adult mosquitoes in 1940. In 1946, the IRS was introduced in Freetown and Port Loko. The use of ITN began in 2002, mainly for pregnant women and children under 5 years old. In 2006, the nationwide free large-scale distribution of LLIN for children under 1-year-old and a measles vaccine campaign were carried out. In 2010, 2014, and 2017, the large-scale distribution of LLIN continued ( country . Althoug country . Therefo country , 44. TheThe raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.All procedures were performed in accordance with established International Guiding Principles. The study was approved by the National Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Sanitation. Permission to collect mosquito from the fields was obtained from the field owners. Our study did not pose any danger to the communities involved or the staff that participated.NZ, IS, HT, and FY made substantial contribution to the design of the research. NZ, IS, and HT conducted field work for mosquito collection. NZ, FY, LL, and YG had analyzed the data of mosquito surveillance. NZ, LL, XS, JW, XL, YY, and HW tested mosquitoes collected from surveillance sites. NZ, IS, LL, and FY contributed to the drafting of the manuscript and the important intellectual content herewith. QL supervised the work as the project administrator. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Streptococcus suis. Therefore, we deployed a questionnaire survey of clinical swine veterinarians to obtain the input data needed for a stochastic model to calculate the costs caused by S. suis, which was implemented in three of the main swine producing countries in Europe: Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. S. suis-associated disease is endemic in those countries in all production phases, though nursery was the phase most severely impacted. In affected nursery units, between 3.3 and 4.0% of pigs had S. suis-associated disease and the mortalities ranged from 0.5 to 0.9%. In Germany, the average cost of S. suis per pig  was 1.30 euros (90% CI: 0.53\u20132.28), in the Netherlands 0.96 euros (90% CI: 0.27\u20131.54), and in Spain 0.60 euros (90% CI: 0.29\u20130.96). In Germany, that cost was essentially influenced by the expenditure in early metaphylaxis in nursery and in autogenous vaccines in sows and nursery pigs; in the Netherlands, by expenditure on autogenous vaccines in sows and nursery pigs; and in Spain, by the expenditures in early metaphylaxis and to a lesser extent by the mortality in nursery pigs. Therefore, the differences in costs between countries can be explained to a great extent by the measures to control S. suis implemented in each country. In Spain and in Germany, use of antimicrobials, predominantly beta-lactams, is still crucial for the control of the disease.The economic assessment of animal diseases is essential for decision-making, including the allocation of resources for disease control. However, that assessment is usually hampered by the lack of reliable data on disease incidence, or treatment and control measures, and that is particularly true for swine production diseases, such as infections caused by  Streptococcus suis is an encapsulated Gram-positive bacterium naturally present in the upper respiratory tract of healthy pigs, mainly in saliva, tonsils and nasal cavities , and which include for example Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv)  . As for  (PRRSv)  or the i (PRRSv) .S. suis infections is that presumptive diagnosis is often based on clinical signs without laboratory confirmation, although other diseases  may give a similar clinical picture  of S. suis-associated disease, to make sensible decisions on whether to allocate resources for their control, or to evaluate the efficacy of possible interventions. In order to fulfill those objectives, questionnaire-based surveys of clinical swine veterinarians were carried out to obtain input data, that were later fed to mathematical models for the calculation of the costs of disease. To allow the incorporation of variability and/or uncertainty associated with many of its inputs, a stochastic model was developed. Models for the calculation of the cost of animal diseases are commonly stochastic .The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/CN-I, JC, and SN conceived the study. CN-I, JC, IH-P, NS-Z, LP-G, and SN contributed to the acquisition of data or its analysis. CN-I and SN drafted the first version of the article. CN-I, JC, IH-P, NS-Z, MG, LM-G, and SN revised critically the article. All authors approved of the version submitted.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "In Hokkaido, northern island of Japan, at least seven cases of falciparum malaria were reported by 1951. A survey conducted at that time was unsuccessful in implicating any mosquito species as the possible vector. Although active anopheline mosquito surveillance continued until the middle of the 1980s, there is very limited information on their current status and distribution in Japan. Therefore, this study is an update on the current status and distribution of anopheline mosquitoes in Hokkaido based on a 15-year entomological surveillance between 2001 and 2015.A survey of mosquitoes was conducted at 22 sites in Hokkaido, Japan, from 2001 to 2015. Adult mosquitoes were collected from cowsheds, lakesides, shrubs, and habitats ranging from open grassland to coniferous forest using a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) miniature light trap enhanced with dry ice, aspirators, and sweeping nets. Larvae were collected from lakes, ponds, swamps, stagnant and flowing rivers, and paddy fields. All specimens were morphologically identified and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 2 ( ITS2) region of rDNA. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using the neighbor-joining method with the Kimura 2-parameter model on MEGA X version 10.2.2.Anopheles hyrcanus group, An. belenrae, was discovered in eastern Hokkaido in 2004. Anopheles belenrae has since then been consistently found and confirmed to inhabit only this area of Japan. Four members of the An. hyrcanus group, namely An. belenrae, An. engarensis, An. lesteri, and An. sineroides, have been found in Hokkaido. The results also suggest that An. sinensis, formerly a dominant species throughout Japan, has become a rarely found species, at least currently in Hokkaido.A total of 46 anopheline specimens were used for the phylogenetic analysis. During the survey, a new member of the An. sinensis was previously distributed may have been greatly reduced in Hokkaido. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a novel An. hyrcanus group member identified as An. belenrae, described in South Korea in 2005. It is interesting that An. belenrae was confirmed to inhabit only eastern Hokkaido, Japan.The updated distribution of anopheline mosquitoes in Hokkaido, Japan, showed considerable differences from that observed in previous surveys conducted from 1969 to 1984. In particular, areas where  Malaria cases reported in Japan reached 28,000 annually in 1945 and 1946, with over 7000 cases of vivax malaria up to the end of the 1950s. Surprisingly, at least seven cases of falciparum malaria were reported between 1947 and 1951 in Rubeshibe, Hokkaido , located in the north of Japan. Although a survey was conducted to determine the vector mosquitoes involved at that time, no suspected species were found [Anopheles sinensis is the most widespread and common anopheline species. This species is considered the major vector of vivax malaria in Korea and China. Previous surveys conducted in Japan from 1970 to 1986 revealed that An. sinensis was the dominant anopheline species in Japan, including Hokkaido; An. lesteri was commonly found in Hokkaido, with only a few An. sineroides [An. engarensis [An. sinensis, An. engarensis, and An. lesteri, continue to inhabit Japan. Despite the need for a nationwide survey to systematically assess these species, very little information is available, mostly gathered in the 1980s. Recently, several DNA barcoding projects have been conducted on mosquitoes in Japan, and a small number of genomic data on anopheline mosquitoes were included [Anopheline species contain the most important malaria vector species. Among those recorded in Japan, neroides \u20136. Thesegarensis \u20135. Thus,An. hyrcanus group, namely An. sinensis, An. sineroides, An. lesteri, An. engarensis, and An. yatsushiroensis, had been confirmed in Japan. Moreover, of these five species, only An. yatsushiroensis has never been reported in Hokkaido [An. engarensis and An. sinensis, make it difficult to distinguish between species morphologically. Therefore, the frequency of clasper movements in males, hybridization studies, and chromosomal studies were used to distinguish An. engarensis from the Japanese population of An. sinensis [COI) sequences of the DNA barcoding region [An. maculipennis complex, An. quadrimaculatus complex, An. culicifacies complex, and An. gambiae complex [An. hyrcanus group [At the onset of this survey, the presence of five species of the Hokkaido \u201313, the sinensis . They hag region \u201316 and t complex \u201320. ITS2us group \u201326.An. (Anopheles) belenrae described in South Korea in 2005 [For about 20\u00a0years after the last survey in 1984 , very fe in 2005  in Japan in 2005 \u20136 on theHokkaido, the study site of the present survey, is generally divided into four areas: Donan (southern Hokkaido), Doo , Doto (eastern Hokkaido), and Dohoku (northern Hokkaido). Table Adult mosquitoes were collected in cowsheds and around their habitats such as lakesides, shrubs, and open grassland to coniferous forest throughout the day using a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) miniature light trap enhanced with dry ice , aspiratAn. sinensis reference specimen. Details of the collection sites are provided in Table In this study, eight specimens collected in domestic areas outside Hokkaido were used as a reference specimen in phylogenetic analysis. Seven of the eight specimens were from Japan, and the last was from Vietnam. The areas in Japan and year surveyed were Kanagawa Prefecture in 2001, Akita Prefecture in 2005, Aomori and Toyama Prefectures in 2007, and Gifu, Fukui, and Tokushima Prefectures in 2009. The specimen collected in Gia Lai Province in Vietnam in 2007 served as an outside-Japan Total genomic DNA was extracted from individual samples using the REDExtract-N-Amp Tissue PCR Kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocol. Extracted mosquito DNA was subjected to PCR-based sequence analysis and phylogenetic analysis using primers of the ribosomal DNA ITS2 region  . AmplifiAll visible PCR-amplified DNA fragments were purified using the QIAquick PCR Purification Kit  or extracted using MonoFas  from a 2% low-melting-point agarose gel  after preparative gel electrophoresis and visualization with ethidium bromide. Each purified double-stranded PCR product was directly cycle-sequenced from both ends using the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing FS Ready Reaction Kit v3.1 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and the PCR primers . The thehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/) for species identification.Sequence analysis was performed using GENETYX software version 14 . Sequences of the PCR-amplified DNA fragments were then used to perform BLAST searches on the GenBank nucleic acid database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information website  [An. belenrae specimen \u201cisolate 3\u201d from South Korea (AY375466) [An. kleini from South Korea , An. lesteri specimen \u201cspecimen 1\u201d (type B), and specimen \u201cspecimen 2\u201d (type C) from South Korea  [An. sinensis specimen \u201cisolate 1\u201d from South Korea (AY375464) [An. sineroides specimen \u201cSINEK02\u201d from South Korea (GU384724) [Anopheles yatsushiroensis from China (AY186792) [An. pullus [Thirty-eight specimens (37 from Japan and one from Vietnam), comprising five species, out of the total collected mosquitoes were used for phylogenetic analyses. The corresponding sequence data for eight specimens of six species, namely Y803792) , An. belY375466) , a specictively) , An. sinY375464) , and An.U384724) , served Y186792) , which w. pullus , 37, wasA map of Hokkaido in the geodatabase  was used to map the collection sites. The geographical positions of the collection sites were obtained from both previous studies \u20136 and thAn. hyrcanus group: An. belenrae, An. engarensis, An. lesteri, and An. sineroides  ITS2 sequence of 38 specimens, collected from different sites  in different years, and eight reference sequences from the GenBank database  were collected in Hokkaido between 2001 and 2015. The collected specimens were classified into four anopheline species of the An. sinensis  and one specimen from South Korea (isolate 1).The NJ phylogenetic trees revealed five robust clades, consisting of the four species listed above and is Figs. , 2. Unfoes Figs. , 2. NoneAn. sinensis were confirmed to be An. belenrae using the ITS2 sequence, marking the first record of An. belenrae in Japan (specimen Akan44). Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that An. belenrae was the closest related species to An. sinensis, followed by An. engarensis  and the Korean strain (isolate 3), with 0% pairwise divergence. This suggests that the Japanese An. belenrae and the Korean An. belenrae are the same, at least based on the ITS2 sequences. Among the An. sinensis strains, the Vietnamese strain (GLVN59) showed slight differences from the other strains, with 0.26% pairwise divergence. Regarding the clusters of An. engarensis, one specimen (Daisen55) collected in Akita Prefecture, an area outside Hokkaido, was slightly different from the nine specimens collected in Hokkaido   and the one from South Korea (SINEK02), with 0% pairwise divergence  were quite distant from the other An. lesteri strains   in 1977 [An. engarensis was recognized as a new species in the An. hyrcanus group only after its chromosomal structure was determined to be different from that of An. sinensis [An. engarensis males during artificial mating, a common method for laboratory maintenance of anopheline mosquitoes [ in 1977 , was als in 1977 , suggest in 1977 \u20136  and type C (specimen 2) from South Korea are included in this species. Since the ITS2 distance of this species varies even within Hokkaido, there is a possibility that An. lesteri includes crypto-species. In defining this species, it is necessary to analyze both the COI barcoding region and the ITS2 region. Moreover, a large number of specimens collected outside Hokkaido will be necessary. In a previous study, a short interspecific divergence of 7.2% was observed between An. kleini and An. engarensis [An. kleini and our An. engarensis specimens from Hokkaido and An. kleini and An. engarensis specimen Daisen55, respectively. Although these results may provide validation that An. kleini is a synonym of An. engarensis, further analysis is required. We also presented evidence that An. anthropophagus and An. lesteri were conspecific, based on the ITS2 divergence between them. Our results based on interspecific comparisons of ITS2 divergence may also support previous reports that An. belenrae and An. sinensis are genetically distinct [An. anthropophagus is a conspecific species of An. lesteri [In our study, the ITS2 intraspecific divergence in garensis . We obtadistinct , 25, and lesteri , 48.An. sinensis, An. lesteri, and An. yatsushiroensis in Japan were reported to preferentially invade livestock barns and houses [An. hyrcanus group. Therefore, in order to collect as many mosquitoes as possible in this study, we attempted to collect both adults and larvae of mosquitoes from all areas using several methods regardless of mosquito behavior. In addition, the surveys were conducted in late July and August, when the mosquitoes are the most active in Hokkaido. In the previous studies [An. sinensis may not have been distributed in Hokkaido or may no longer have been present in sufficient numbers to be collected. In fact, the An. sinensis specimens used in this study were collected easily in areas south of Hokkaido, such as Kanagawa, Aomori, Fukui, and Tokushima Prefectures, using the same method as that followed in Hokkaido. Therefore, it is unlikely that the sampling methodology or the timing of the survey influenced our results. Similarly, our results indicate a significant change in the distribution range of other members of the An. hyrcanus group in Hokkaido from that reported until the 1980s [An. sinensis was reconfirmed after 2003 cannot be ruled out. To address these questions, continued mosquito surveys are needed in the future.In previous studies, d houses . These s studies \u20136, most he 1980s \u20136. HowevAn. hyrcanus group mosquitoes in Hokkaido, demonstrating great differences from surveys conducted between 1969 and 1984. In particular, the area inhabited by An. sinensis has greatly diminished, and the newly discovered An. belenrae was confirmed to inhabit only eastern Hokkaido. In summary, this study showed that Hokkaido harbored four members of the An. hyrcanus group, namely An. engarensis, An. belenrae, An. sineroides, and An. lesteri.ITS2 sequence divergence revealed the current distribution of the An. lesteri and An. belenrae, are present in Hokkaido today. Although the malaria vector capacity of the Japanese strain of An. belenrae has not yet been evaluated, the Korean strain is considered to be a vector or potential vector of Plasmodium vivax [Our research has revealed that two anopheline species reported as malaria vectors, um vivax , 49. For"}
+{"text": "The use of lipid-based nanosystems, including lipid nanoparticles , nanoemulsions, and liposomes, among others, is widespread. Several researchers have described advantages of the different applications of these nanosystems. For instance, they can increase the targeting and bioavailability of drugs, improving the therapeutic effect. Their use in the cosmetic field is also promising, owing to their moisturizing properties and ability to protect labile cosmetic actives. Thus, it is surprising that only few lipid-based nanosystems have reached the market. This can be explained by the strict regulatory requirements of medicines and the occurrence of unexpected in vivo failure, which highlights the need to conduct more preclinical studies.Current research is focused on testing the in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo efficacy of lipid-based nanosystems to predict their clinical performance. However, there is a lack of method validation, which compromises the comparison between different studies.This Special Issue brings together the latest research and reviews that report preclinical studies in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo using lipid-based nanosystems. Readers will find up-to-date information on the most common experiments performed to predict the clinical behavior of lipid-based nanosystems. A series of 15 research articles and a review are presented, with authors from 15 different countries, which demonstrates the universality of the investigations that have been carried out in this area.F. Fern\u00e1ndez-Campos et al.  developeA.B. Nair et al.  evaluateO. Holas et al.  investigA. Melero et al.  developeS.A.G. Langeveld et al.  studied M.L. Fanarraga et al.  developeW.Y. Rizg et al.  developeM. Igartua an R.M. Hernandez et al.  preparedR.B. Walker et al.  developeM. Puchkov et al.  investigT. Lajunen et al.  developeC.A. Prestidge et al.  studied M.P. Scavo et al.  evaluateK.L. Vine et al.  tested tA.C. Silva et al.  applied K. Hart et al.  reviewedWe would like to thank all the authors of this Special Issue for contributing with high quality works. We also acknowledge all the reviewers who critically evaluated the articles. In addition, we would like to thank the Assistant Editor, Ms. Claudia Li, for her kind help."}
+{"text": "In the field theories in physics, any particular region of the presumed space-time continuum and all interactions between elementary objects therein can be objectively measured and/or accounted for mathematically. Since this does not apply to any of the field theories, or any other neural theory, of consciousness, their explanatory power is limited. As discussed in detail herein, the matter is complicated further by the facts than any scientifically operational definition of consciousness is inevitably partial, and that the phenomenon has no spatial dimensionality. Under the light of insights from research on meditation and expanded consciousness, chronic pain syndrome, healthy aging, and eudaimonic well-being, we may conceive consciousness as a source of potential energy that has no clearly defined spatial dimensionality, but can produce significant changes in others and in the world, observable in terms of changes in time. It is argued that consciousness may have evolved to enable the human species to generate such changes in order to cope with unprecedented and/or unpredictable adversity. Such coping could, ultimately, include the conscious planning of our own extinction when survival on the planet is no longer an acceptable option. Mind Time (2004), may be discussed outside rather than within the realm of the other field theories are clarified herein. Neural field theories of consciousness, whether they relate to representational fields, where Gestalten or qualia are seen as reflecting the very nature of consciousness, occupying a presumed spatio-temporal brain field generating electrical brain states . If a representational or neural field of consciousness occupying a presumed space-time continuum inside the brain, or outside the brain, as suggested by explanation of consciousness, we are still found wanting, consistently faced with the same old problem, over and over again. It has up to now not been possible to confirm that specific brain activity patterns, or synchronization thereof, recorded during a specific conscious experience, explains consciousness, or even leads to an understanding of the phenomenon. This is so, because we do not know beyond reasonable doubt whether the brain activity patterns demonstrated in any of the relevant studies in the field are neural signatures of consciousness, or nothing more (or less) than the traces of different levels of integrated brain activity  and Zeit (Time), where consciousness is hardly more than a succession of psychological moments where we realize that we exist in, and are part of, moments in time. This places all other perceptual or sensorial processes which may characterize any particular phenomenal experience at a different level of analysis. The idea of a fundamental identity link between awareness of Self (das Ich) and awareness of what Heidegger termed Urspr\u00fcngliche Zeit  implies that human consciousness may have progressively evolved from the primitive ability to be aware of, to remember, and to predict temporal order and change in nature found in other species such as rodents (e.g., Consciousness has no observable spatial dimensionality e.g., . It corrronments . The temronments . Human alifespan . The idets e.g., . The limts e.g.,  confirmsts e.g.,  for a bits e.g., . The clots e.g., . Spike tts e.g., . The temts e.g., . Such stts e.g., . The temts e.g., . Consciots e.g., . In humats e.g., , but alsts e.g.,  are likets e.g.,  is what Self and in others, and/or future physical states in the outside world. To clarify how we may link this form of energy to the brain on the one hand, and to human society and the physical world on the other, we may consider the following general definition:The capability of consciously shaping our lives within the world and of projecting them into a distant future, imagined but not yet real, is a critical aspect of fully evolved human consciousness , and dri\u201cEnergy is the capacity for doing work. It may exist in potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, or other forms\u201d .Self, in other people, and in the world. Consciousness is thereby defined as the energy source of all change and creativity. The latter can be as diverse as the things we may observe, in ourselves, in others, and in the world. Consciousness enabled human creativity breaks currently known mental and physical barriers every day in art and science, finding new solutions to problems that previously appeared insurmountable. Phenomena such as consciously guided brain-to-brain communication (Self, as suggested by current insights from studies on deep meditation. Meditative practice detunes the brain processes of self-awareness and blocks the instantiation of self-referential conscious states (eudaimonia needs to be unraveled in well-targeted research across the human lifespan. This novel, largely uncharted terrain of scientific investigation into human consciousness may provide deeper insights into its function far more important to our species than biophysical explanations in terms of neural correlates, or biophysical fields. As pointed out by The origin of conscious energy is definitely the brain, its form potential, and the work it does when operational is the work of producing change, in the nication  are now nication . Yet, ounication  has evolnication  or, in onication , if we ws states . This les states . Insteads states  is charas states . The ints states . Transces states  points ts states . Deep mes states  in indivs states . In shorEudaimonia is a central concept in the Aristotelian philosophy of ethics. It is related to other concepts such as virtue, human excellence, and phronesis, which is an ethically grounded form of wisdom (cf. Self, of others, or in physical states as a neglected possibility for scientific investigation. The newly emerging field of research on eudamonic development (e.g., sdom cf. . The vient e.g.,  can be lnt e.g.,  to genernt e.g., ,b. Eudaint e.g., . While hnt e.g., . Consciont e.g., . In aginnt e.g., . Investint e.g., . Such mant e.g., , these cnt e.g., . Yet, bont e.g., , and clent e.g., . Resilient e.g.,  reflectsnt e.g., . These bnt e.g., . Similarnt e.g., . Howevernt e.g., , ontologField theories of consciousness where the latter is seen as having duration and extension in space are limited by the fact that, unlike in the field theories in physics, particular regions of the presumed space-time continuum and interactions between elementary objects herein cannot be objectively measured, or accounted for mathematically. The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Psychiatry P.R.N. is edited by four psychiatrists who are involved in direct clinical care, and it shows in the way the book is configured to focus on practical, pragmatic learning. The use of multicoloured formatting, illustrations, text boxes and bullet points makes for easy reading and quick assimilation. Its small format also allows for easy portability in a handbag or backpack, to serve as a quick reference.Though positioned as an undergraduate textbook for medical students, it will prove to be equally valuable to trainee psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and occupational therapists. Multiple choice question (MCQ) and objective and structured clinical examination (OSCE) skills are covered, case studies are aplenty and each chapter has salient points highlighted. At the end of each chapter, there is information available in the form of films, plays, novels, papers and useful resources. This second edition builds on the well-regarded first edition (2009), which was highly recommended in the BMA book awards (2010). The 2020 edition adds a chapter on forensic psychiatry. Chapters have been updated to incorporate new research and facts. Accessibility seems to have been a focus, with emphasis on diagrams, pictures and artwork.The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 offers an overview of psychiatry, including psychiatric assessment, interview skills and psychiatry as a career choice. Part 2 focuses on \u2018theory\u2019, with an emphasis on imparting key information on major psychiatric conditions in a lucid, concise manner. Chapters are well laid out, with a uniform template that proffers developmental, neurobiological and sociological perspectives. Cross-cultural aspects of psychiatric illness are included in all the chapters.I would have liked to see author credits for each chapter individually, but that is a minor quibble.The Elements of Style, first published a century ago, emphasised the rules of writing and language composition. Psychiatry P.R.N. reflects advancements in modern publishing, wherein the written word is intertwined with audio-visual and interactive media to enhance learning. I would suggest Psychiatry P.R.N. as recommended reading for all psychiatry training grades, as well as consultants who are interested in teaching and training.Strunk's"}
+{"text": "S. stercoralis and T. cruzi infections in villages with diverse prevalence levels for these parasites. Further understanding in the relationship between these Neglected Tropical Diseases of South America is relevant for the design of integrated control measures as well as exploring potential biologic interactions.Strongyloidiasis and Chagas disease are endemic in northern Argentina. In this study we evaluate the association between S. stercoralis and T. cruzi. The association between S. stercoralis and T. cruzi, and between anemia and the two parasites was evaluated using two approaches: marginal (Ma) and multilevel regression (Mu).Community based cross-sectional studies were carried in different villages of the Chaco and Yungas regions in Argentina. Individuals were diagnosed by serology for S. stercoralis, 14% were positive for T. cruzi and 5% were positive for both. No association was found between infection with S. stercoralis and T. cruzi in any of the models, but we found a negative correlation between the prevalence of these species in the different villages (r = -0.91). Adults (> 15 years) presented association with S. stercoralis  and T. cruzi . Also, 12% and 2% of the variance of infection with S. stercoralis and T. cruzi, respectively, could be explained by differences among villages. On the other hand, anemia was associated with infection with S. stercoralis  and was more prevalent in adults .A total of 706 individuals from six villages of northern Argentina were included. A total of 37% were positive for S. stercoralis and T. cruzi is not more frequent than chance in endemic areas. However, the high prevalence for both parasites, raises the need for an integrated strategy for the control of STH and Chagas disease.We found that coinfection between  S. stercoralis and T. cruzi belong to the group of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are influenced by climate and the presence of their vectors and host reservoirs in areas with structural poverty. S. stercoralis and T. cruzi have high prevalence in northern Argentina. Due to the high prevalence and chronicity of infections by these parasites, coinfection with both is possible. We conducted a cross sectional study in six villages in the north of Argentina. These villages have different prevalence for the two parasites and are located in different ecoregions . We found that coinfection between S. stercoralis and T. cruzi occurs only by chance; and the most affected groups for S. stercoralis and T. cruzi infection are adults. We also found that adults or individual with infection with S. stercoralis were more likely to have anemia. In addition, each village represents a different setting for infection with S. stercoralis and T. cruzi, and individuals in different villages presented differences in the probability of infection.Infections with  Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) include a group of infectious diseases that have a significant impact on individuals, families, and communities in developing countries in terms of disease burden, quality of life, productivity loss and poverty aggravation as well as the high cost of long-term care . NeglectStrongyloides stercoralis is a STH with a complex life cycle and the ability to reproduce in soil and within the human host. The infection occurs by larvae that penetrate the skin; these larvae are found in soil contaminated with feces. However, unlike other STH, S. stercoralis has the capacity for autoinfection, and generates a chronic infection that can last for decades.[S. stercoralis worldwide [ decades.,3. While decades.. It is eorldwide .Trypanosoma cruzi. The infection can occur in three major ways. A vector pathway (feces of infected triatomines come into contact with the mucous membranes or skin lesions), a congenital pathway (parasites infect the fetus during pregnancy) and by organ or blood transfusion. After acute infection, chronic infection continues for life. Although most remain in the chronic phase without symptoms, between 30% and 40% of them will develop clinical cardiac and/or digestive manifestations [T. cruzi worldwide [Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan stations ,7. It isorldwide .S. stercoralis and T. cruzi are endemic in northern Argentina [Leishmania [Triatoma infestans, with a prevalence of T. cruzi that can exceed 50% in localized communities [S. stercoralis ranging from 7% to over 40% [S. stercoralis and T. cruzi has been found among migrants from Latin America in non-endemic areas [S. stercoralis and T. cruzi in endemic areas for both, or if coinfections occur only by chance.rgentina ,10, alonishmania ,12. In tmunities ,14. In aover 40% . Due to over 40% . In addiic areas . TherefoEthical approval was obtained from the Bioethics Committee of College of Physicians of Salta Province, Argentina (N\u00b014.200), and the Faculty of Health Sciences from the Universidad Nacional de Salta. The study was conducted in accordance with principles of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. Sera samples collected in each survey were treated according to the study protocols approved of each particular study. Participation was voluntary, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients involved in the study. For child participants, written informed consent was obtained from the parent or guardian.S. stercoralis and T. cruzi infections in different endemic areas located in northern Argentina. As a secondary objective, the association between anemia and S. stercoralis and T. cruzi infections was evaluated.The main aim of this study was to evaluate the association between S. stercoralis or T. cruzi) were not included in this study. This study included 706 individuals from six villages in the province of Salta, in northwestern Argentina, who had a complete serological data for the two parasites obtained from epidemiological surveys [Community based cross-sectional studies were carried out from 2010 until 2016 in different villages of the Chaco and Yungas regions in Argentina, towards evaluating the prevalence and distribution of different NTDs ,17,18. S surveys ,17,18. OThe dry Chaco ecoregion in Argentina is a vast plain, which has large daily temperature amplitude associated with seasonal variation. In winter, the entry of cold fronts causes frosts throughout the ecoregion. In turn, the Yungas ecoregion  has a suS. stercoralis and T. cruzi.All participants in the study had 5 mL of blood drawn by venipuncture. A complete blood count was performed with a SYSMEX KX 21N automated hematology analyzer. Hemoglobin (Hgb) value results were recorded and individuals were classified as anemic or non-anemic using the Hgb thresholds for defining anemia according to sex and age established by WHO/UNICEF . In addiS. stercoralis was performed by in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (NIE-ELISA) method. NIE-ELISA detects IgG antibodies against the recombinant protein NIE of S. stercoralis as described previously [Ascaris lumbricoides or hookworms [S. stercoralis infection had IgG titers against NIE antigen above the selected cutoff value. These subjects were entered in a database as cases.The diagnosis of eviously . This meeviously , and it ookworms ,26. PatiT. cruzi was performed by ELISA and indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA) with commercial kits . Specimens were tested in duplicate by both tests. In case of disagreement between the two techniques, indirect immunofluorescence was performed .The diagnosis of All statistical analyses were performed with R software . For theS. stercoralis and T. cruzi, was analyzed by Pearson\u00b4s correlation and linear regression, weighted by the sample-size in each village.Categorical variables were described by counts and percentages, and chi-square Pearson test was used to compare the distribution. In addition, the relationship between the prevalence of S. stercoralis and T. cruzi, and between anemia and the two parasites was analyzed by regression analysis. The data was considered correlated because individuals in a village share a similar state of health between each other than from outer populations, therefore they share a series of environmental, economic, social and other characteristics [Association between infection by eristics . Two diferistics ,32. The eristics . In thisS. stercoralis with age, sex and infection with T. cruzi was analyzed, as well as the association of anemia with age, sex, infection with T. cruzi and infection with S. stercoralis. Age was considered as a dichotomous variable as children\u2264 15 years and adults > 15 years.The association of the infection of S. stercoralis, T. cruzi and co-infection was 37%, 14% and 5%, respectively. There were no differences in prevalence seen in the T. cruzi infected population and presence or absence of S. stercoralis infection  and in males (34%), while the highest prevalence of T. cruzi was observed in adults (70%) regardless of sex.The total prevalence of nfection . The higS. stercoralis was Tartagal (46%), coinciding with the lowest prevalence of T. cruzi (9%). The village with the highest prevalence of T. cruzi was Pichanal (40%), coinciding with the lowest prevalence of S. stercoralis (11%). In reference to this, we found a strong negative correlation between the prevalence of S. stercoralis and the prevalence of T. cruzi in the different villages .The age range of children (0 to 14 years-old) and adults (\u226515 years-old) was similar in all villages . The vilS. stercoralis and T. cruzi in any of the models  of infection with S. stercoralis can be explained by the differences among villages. In addition, if two individuals with the same characteristics in different villages are compared, there would be a median increase in the odds of infection of 1.89 (MOR = 1.89).No association was found between infection with s Tables  and 3. Ih models . AccordiT. cruzi showed an association with age in both models .Infection with h models , on averS. stercoralis in both models  and T. cruzi  coincide in places of extreme poverty where high prevalence are registered for these parasites [S. stercoralis might affect the response to T. cruzi and affect the evolution of Chagas disease [Recent studies in non-endemic areas have shown a prevalence of more than 20% for coinfection with  America ,37; and  America ,39. In a America . Howeverarasites ,41. Ther disease .S. stercoralis, where a slight correlation was found between individuals from the same village, and 12% of the variability of prevalence of infection could be explained by differences between the villages. This implies that each village represents a different setting for infection with S. stercoralis, and individuals in different villages presented differences in the probability of infection. In addition, the variability of the infection between the different villages may be due to differences in annual temperatures and precipitations, which are the main environmental factors linked to STH [T. cruzi could be explained by differences among villages. This low prevalence may be due to the fact that altitude has been proposed as the main environmental variable associated with T. cruzi infection [It should be noted that the place of origin, as reported by other authors ,37, playd to STH . On the nfection , and theS. stercoralis showed an association with age. This is in agreement with other reports, where adults have a higher risk of infection than children [S. stercoralis infection can occur at a young age and remain for decades in the host if untreated, leading to an accumulation of infection over time [S. stercoralis is due to the fact that age acts as a confounding variable. Although studies conducted in Laos and Cambodia reported that men had a higher risk of infection [S. stercoralis in males may be due to cultural differences associated with the practice of agriculture. In Laos, there is a higher prevalence of S. stercoralis in males because farmers work without shoes, while females restrict their work activities to the home and wear shoes [Regression models for infection with children . This asver time . On the nfection . This diar shoes .T. cruzi showed an association with age. Adults have > 5 odds to be infected than children. Regarding this, it has been previously reported in areas of Argentina, a higher prevalence in those over 30 years of age and lower prevalence in children under five years of age [Regression models for infection with s of age . This his of age , but an s of age .S. stercoralis and T. cruzi, we found a negative correlation between the prevalence of S. stercoralis and T. cruzi in the different villages located in the Chaco and Yungas ecoregions which needs to be confirmed in larger studies and occurs in a context of high prevalence of both infections. This could imply the existence of variables that produce different effects on these parasites. However, this could not be analyzed in this study.Although no association was found between infection with S. stercoralis. This is in accordance with what was reported in Tartagal, where not only an association between anemia and S. stercoralis was found, but also the hematological parameters improved after deworming [T. cruzi. This is to be expected since cases of anemia have only been reported in individuals with reactivation of infection with T. cruzi, and not in chronic cases [T. cruzi among cases of anemia is due to the fact that infection with T. cruzi is associated with age, and age is associated with anemia.The prevalence of anemia in the different villages make them of severe public health significance as defined by WHO . The preeworming . Anemia ic cases . In addiS. stercoralis and Anemia showed a slight correlation of the data, the models for T. cruzi showed a very low correlation. However, ignoring the correlation present in the data, as occurs in ordinary logistic regression, results in an overestimation of the coefficients. In addition, although the value of the coefficients is similar in the multilevel and marginal models, the meaning is different and the use of one model instead of the other depends fundamentally on the objectives to be achieved. If the objective is to measure the effect of the covariates for a given village, the multilevel model is recommended; on the other hand, if the objective is to measure the global response of the covariates adjusted for the heterogeneity of the villages, the marginal model is recommended [As could be observed in this study, the coefficients of the different marginal and multilevel regression models were almost the same. This is due to the low intra-village association, translated into correlation coefficients close to zero in the marginal models and a low variance of the random effect in the multilevel model. While the models for ommended .S. stercoralis fails to differentiate between active or past infection [S. stercoralis in the different villages at baseline, so it can be assumed that infections were active. In addition, serological techniques have demonstrated their validity and feasibility in epidemiological surveys, allowing the possibility of processing a large number of samples for different pathogens [S. stercoralis [S. stercoralis and anemia is due in part to hookworms. Further studies are needed in the different villages to measure the prevalence of hookworm, levels of malnutrition, and prevalence of anemia-causing diseases in order to have a better understanding of the high prevalence of anemia. Five, although biases in the sampling cannot be ruled out, the prevalence of infected reported in this work are within the confidence interval of the prevalence reported in the area [S. stercoralis and T. cruzi coinfection in endemic areas in order to explore the possibility for integration of control activities as well as identifying high risk areas.Some limitations must be taken into account to interpret this study. First, estimating OR from cross-sectional data is of somewhat limited value, because while ORs can discover associations, they generally impede to elucidate causality. Second, the serological diagnosis of nfection ,48. Howeathogens . Third, rcoralis ; Therefothe area . FinallyS. stercoralis and T. cruzi is not more frequent than chance in endemic areas. However, the high prevalence for both parasites raises the need for an integrated strategy for the control of STH and Chagas disease.In summary, we found that coinfection between"}
+{"text": "With the growing demand for animal-sourced foods and a serious concern over climate impacts associated with livestock farming, the sheep industry worldwide faces the formidable challenge of increasing the overall product supply while improving its resource use efficiency. As an evidence base for research to identify key drivers behind animal growth and carcass quality, longitudinal matched data of 741 ewes and 2978 lambs were collected at the North Wyke Farm Platform, a farm-scale grazing trial in Devon, UK, between 2011 and 2019. A subset of these data was subsequently analysed in a study to assess the feasibility of using a lamb's early-life liveweight as a predictor of carcass quality  For four-week and eight-week weights that are particularly time-sensitive, a linear adjustment was made to estimate the corresponding weight (when measurements were not taken on the exact day) to ensure inter-animal comparability. Cold carcass weight, conformation score, fat class and carcass price for each lamb were obtained from the abattoir following the slaughter. For ewes, the liveweight and condition score All animal data used in this study were collected as part of standard farming practices. As such, no part of this research was subject to approval of an ethics committee.T. Takahashi, M.R.F. Lee and P. Harris: designed the study; P. Harris: oversaw the data collection; A.G. Jones, H. Fleming and B.A. Griffith: collected the data; A.G. Jones and T. Takahashi: collated the data; A.G. Jones and T. Takahashi: prepared the draft. All authors critically reviewed the draft and contributed to the final version of the manuscript.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article."}
+{"text": "In recent years, with greater population access to imaging tests, the profile of renal neoplasia has changed, with increased diagnosis being made in the early stages .In this new scenario, it became necessary to popularize alternative treatment modalities to radical nephrectomy to avoid overtreatment and its possible consequences. Radical nephrectomy is associated with a higher global mortality, mainly from cardiovascular causes, due to the long-term increased loss of renal function . In thisWith technical advances, partial nephrectomy, which had initially been applied only to small kidney lesions, commenced in increasingly larger and more complex kidney tumors .Thus, there was a growing interest in partial nephrectomy based on studies proving the oncological efficacy of this technique and the gain in overall survival with nephron-sparing surgery .In this new era, nephrometry systems were developed to predict the feasibility of partial nephrectomy in the face of complex renal lesions. Among these, the most frequently used are the R.E.N.A.L.  and P.A.D.U.A. (preoperative aspects and dimensions used for anatomic) scores .The most widely used nephrometric system is the R.E.N.A.L. score, and despite being defined based on objective parameters, a frequent discrepancy in scores between different examiners, radiologists, and urologists exists, especially when considering different quality image examinations .The R.E.N.A.L. score, conceived in principle to be evaluated using simple tomographic images, is now also evaluated in three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction models.There is a perception that the R.E.N.A.L. score assessed in 3D reconstructions is more favorable to the performance of partial nephrectomy than the assessments made from simple tomography or resonance images .The present study proposed to assess whether there were different interpretations of the R.E.N.A.L. score by radiologists and urologists, when evaluated from simple computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, and from 3D reconstructions. Finally, we also aimed to assess whether this possible different interpretation may imply decision-making regarding the performance of partial or radical nephrectomy.The study was carried out based on the analysis of simple CT or MRI images, and after 3D reconstruction of patients with renal nodules who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy.The study was conducted on eight tomography/resonance examinations and the respective 3D reconstructions of different patients undergoing nephrectomy. Each examination was evaluated separately by five radiologists and five urologists, with a total of 160 evaluations.\u00ae.The 3D reconstructions were obtained using the DocDo application of the Brazilian company InfiniBrainsInitially, the radiologist/urologist was asked to rate the R.E.N.A.L. score from simple CT or MRI images. Following this, the score was assessed based on the 3D reconstructed images of the renal nodule of the same patient.The radiologist/urologist evaluated the simple CT or MRI images without identifying the patients and in a different and random order from the 3D reconstructions.At the end of the evaluations, statistical analyses of the incidence of different interpretations of the R.E.N.A.L. score among the radiologists and urologists using different technologies were conducted.For this purpose, the statistical analysis program \u201cGraphPad Prism\u201d was used, using the \u201cD\u2019Agostino and Pearson\u201d normality test, followed by the t-test or the Mann-Whitney test to analyze the correlations between the variables.Finally, the potential effects of the different interpretations of the R.E.N.A.L. score on surgical decision-making in patients with complex renal nodules was discussed.The study was conducted in accordance with national and international laws and was approved by the institutional ethics committee (protocol no. 4.264.545).The study was conducted on eight patients who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy of renal nodules. Each patient was evaluated by five radiologists and five urologists participating in the study.3D reconstructions of the images obtained during the examinations of all patients were performed. Six patients underwent simple CT, and two patients underwent MRI. All examinations were performed using contrast.The evaluator, radiologist, or urologist, scored the R.E.N.A.L. score for each patient, primarily from the simple CT or MRI images, and then from 3D reconstructions.For data analysis, the statistical analysis program \u201cGraphPad Prism\u201d was used, using the D\u2019 Agostino-Pearson normality test, followed by t-test or Mann-Whitney test to analyze the correlations between variables. The results of this analysis.After analyzing the results, it was clearly observed that in most evaluations, there was a different interpretation of the R.E.N.A.L. score, by the same evaluator, when simple CT or MRI images, and 3D reconstructions were compared. In 81% (65 out of 80) evaluations, the R.E.N.A.L. score differed between simple CT or MRI images, and 3D reconstructions of the same patient .Out of the 65 evaluations in which the score was different between 3D reconstruction and simple images of the same patient, five (8%) evaluations differed only in the anterior or posterior parameter, with no difference in the numerical result of the score. In 16 (25%) evaluations, simple CT or MRI images had a lower score compared to reconstruction. Finally, in 44 assessments, which corresponded to 67%, the score was lower after assessment of the 3D reconstruction.After statistical analysis of each patient separately, including the 10 evaluations by radiologists and urologists, a statistical difference in the R.E.N.A.L. score was observed in three patients when comparing simple images and reconstructions.Patients with statistical differences in scores were considered to have tumors of intermediate complexity, with an average score between 7 and 9, corresponding to 37.5% of the total.For patients with tumors of lesser and greater complexity, there were no statistically significant differences between the simple images and the reconstructions, although in all patients, the average 3D reconstruction score was lower than the average score of the simple CT and MRI scans (Table-1).Partial nephrectomy has gained a prominent role in the treatment of kidney cancer due to the diagnosis of increasingly smaller tumors and studies proving the oncological efficacy of this procedure combined with better overall survival .Nephron-sparing surgery is associated with less long-term loss of kidney function compared to radical nephrectomies. As a result, partial nephrectomy determines a lower cardiovascular risk, and is therefore the standard treatment when feasible .Three-dimensional reconstructions have emerged as a technological tool with great potential to facilitate the performance of partial nephrectomy. Reconstruction helps in surgical planning, predicting and anticipating difficulties, decreasing the rate of complications, and increasing the success rate .Several studies have evaluated the role of 3D reconstruction as an auxiliary tool for partial nephrectomy. The performance of partial nephrectomy in complex tumors is challenging because of the need for satisfactory preservation of the parenchyma, reduced ischemia time, and oncological safety of surgical margins.Some studies have shown that 3D reconstruction allows more precise surgical planning with selective vascular clamping, resulting in smaller areas of ischemia, and greater preservation of nephrons, contributing to better preservation of renal function.In a study by Wang et al., it was concluded that for complex tumors with a R.E.N.A.L. score greater than 8, the use of 3D reconstruction was associated with a shorter ischemia time and greater preservation of renal parenchyma, resulting in better preservation of renal function .According to Ukimura et al., in complex renal masses, 3D images accurately identified arterial branches and facilitated partial nephrectomy with zero ischemia .Mercader et al. reported an experience using a patient-specific 3D-printed renal tumor model for surgical planning of a complex heminephrectomy in a horseshoe kidney and found that it was useful for easier surgical planning .Minervini et al. analyzed the use of intraoperative ultrasonography and 3D-virtual models and found that it improved the perception of tumor anatomy and vascularization, maximizing outcomes .In addition, 3D reconstruction has been used as an adjuvant in percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. Bianchi et al. observed that it may be helpful to reduce operative time and improve the learning curve .The R.E.N.A.L. score, used to assess complexity of renal nodules and to predict complications of partial nephrectomy, is often used as an auxiliary tool to indicate or contraindicate nephron-sparing surgery .In this sense, 3D reconstruction with the potential to assess the R.E.N.A.L. score appears to be an important tool to increase the rate of partial nephrectomy.The present study showed that in 37.5% of the patients, there was a statistically significant difference in the R.E.N.A.L. score between the simple images and the reconstructions, which could interfere in the conduct of these patients regarding the performance of partial nephrectomy.It was observed that the patients who had a statistical difference were those who had tumors of intermediate complexity, suggesting that for these tumors, 3D reconstruction has a more important role in the possibility of interfering in the conduct.For extreme tumors, that is, of high and low complexity, it seems that 3D reconstruction should not interfere with the performance of partial nephrectomy. However, as mentioned above, some studies have already shown the important role of 3D reconstruction in the planning and success of partial nephrectomies in more complex tumors.Finally, even for patients in whom the 3D reconstruction showed no statistical difference in the R.E.N.A.L. score, it is still of fundamental importance in surgical planning , as it improves the anatomical understanding of the relationship between the tumor in the kidney, and the vascular structures and excretory pathway.Thus, we can suggest that 3D reconstruction is of great importance in renal nodules for which the possibility of partial nephrectomy is being considered, as it tends to be used progressively.Partial nephrectomy has a prominent role in the current treatment of renal cancer. The importance of technologies facilitating this procedure is clear. The 3D reconstructions of imaging examinations are of great value for better planning of partial nephrectomy.In this study, we observed that the three-dimensional reconstruction changed the perception of the R.E.N.A.L. score by the evaluators, with a statistical difference in tumors of intermediate complexity in this sample.Three-dimensional reconstruction has emerged as a new tool that tends to be increasingly used with the potential to interfere in conduct, increasing the rate of partial nephrectomy or, at least, facilitate surgical planning, decrease the rate of complications, and increase the rate of success."}
+{"text": "Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, in many countries; (ii) the migration of human populations spreading cases of the disease throughout the world, from endemic to non-endemic areas, transforming Chagas disease into a global threat; and (iii) new acute cases and deaths caused by oral transmission, especially in the north of Brazil. Despite the reduction in the number of cases, new challenges need to be responded to, including monitoring and control activities aiming to prevent house infestation by the secondary vectors from occurring. In 1979, Lent & Wygodzinsky(1) published the most complete review of the subfamily Triatominae, encompassing 111 recognised species in the taxon. Forty-two years later, 46 new species and one subspecies have been described or revalidated. Here we summarise the new species and contextualise them regarding their ecology, epidemiologic importance, and the obstacles they pose to the control of Chagas disease around the world.Chagas disease persists as one of the most important, and yet most neglected, diseases in the world, and several changes in its epidemiological aspects have been recorded since its discovery. Currently, some of the most relevant changes are related to: (i) the reduction in the incidence of the endemic due to the control of the most important vectors,  The most remarkable achievement resulting from these initiatives was the elimination of the T. infestans domiciliated populations in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, various provinces in Argentina, and several regions in Paraguay.R. prolixus from Central America.,The most effective action in terms of Chagas disease control is the elimination of its vectors from the human dwellingsT. infestans, the species most well adapted to human dwellings in many countries in Latin America. Later, several other possibilities of transmission were attested, such as those observed as the result of the donation of infected blood or organs, or the ingestion of contaminated food, mother-child transmission and because of laboratory work accidents.,,Carlos ChagasT. infestans in some countries, the illness remains as one of the most important neglected diseases and is now spreading into some non-endemic areas because of human migrations.,T. cruzi.,,,,,,,,T. infestans has been eliminated in large geographic areas but remains infesting natural and artificial ecotopes in the Chaco region, especially in Argentina,R. prolixus.T. tibiamaculata  in Salvador  also stresses the importance of continuously monitoring the vectors.,,,More than 10 years after the certification of the elimination of the vectorial transmission by The objective of this review is to summarise the new species described after 1979, when Lent & WygodzinskyTriatominae until 1979T. rubrofasciata , first called \u201cCimex rubrofasciatus\u201d , was described in Indonesia. At that time, this tropicopolitan species was not recognised as a potential vector. Several other Triatominae species had been described before the discovery of the disease, such as T. infestans and Panstrongylus megistus ; the latter being the first species to be shown as a vector in the endemic areas of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. However, 136 years passed after the description of T. rubrofasciata until the disease was described by Carlos Chagas. Despite the difficulties in proving the existence of the new disease in a region plagued by a great number of other illnesses, the Brazilian physicist Carlos Chagas described not only its symptoms and the clinical aspects, but also the sensitive agents, the hosts, the etiologic agent, and the vectors.,,Triatomines have been known since the 18th century, when the first species, Cavernicola lenti Barrett & Arias, 1985, C. pilosa Barber, 1937, Psammolestes coreodes Bergroth, 1911, P. tertius Lent & Jurberg, 1965, Parabelminus carioca Lent, 1943, and P. yurupucu Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979, among many others, can only be found in their natural sylvatic environments.T. brasiliensis brasiliensis Neiva, 1911, T. infestans, T. pseudomaculata Corr\u00eaa & Esp\u00ednola, 1964, T. sordida , P. megistus, R. prolixus, R. ecuadoriensis Lent & Leon, 1958, and T. dimidiata.The great majority of the bugs belonging to this subfamily, such as After the discovery of the disease, NeivaTarget speciesT. brasiliensis, P. geniculatus , R. brethesi Matta, 1919, R. prolixus, R. nasutus St\u00e5l, 1859, R. neglectus Lent, 1954, T. dimidiata, T. maculata , T. rubrovaria , T. sanguisuga , and T. vitticeps  according to Costa & Lorenzo.As previously mentioned, despite the achievements in controlling populations of the most important anthropophilic vector, several native species must be monitored, reaffirming the need for constant technical activities to check for invasions or domiciliation. This group of species includes: Triatoma rubrofasciata represents a particular case. This species exhibits domestic habits and is found predominantly in the New World, mainly in Latin America. Although it has only been reported in very limited regions of Brazil in the past 30 years, there have been occurrences of the species feeding on humans in Southeast Asia, where severe bite reactions, sometimes leading to anaphylactic shock, have been recorded. Reports of this species in Asia have increased significantly in the last five years.,,Native vectorsT. sanguisuga and T. gerstaeckeri . These native vectors are occasionally found in households, but usually without robust signs of colonisation.More than ten different species of triatomines have been found in the United States of America, with the highest diversity and density in the states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.Rhodnius prolixus is the main Chagas disease vector in Venezuela, Colombia, and certain areas of Central America, where it can build up large colonies inside human domiciles.T. dimidiata and R. pallescens Barber, 1932.T. phyllosoma complex  are also found invading and colonising human domiciles in Mexico.,,,,,,The current scenario is quite challenging in Brazil, where there are 66 triatomine species recorded, of which 37 are native. Therefore, the country presents the highest diversity in this group of insects.,,,,,It is also important to highlight that more than 20 triatomine species have already been recorded in the Brazilian Amazon Forest,Triatominae after 1979,,,,,,,Since the publication of the remarkable Lent & WygodzinskyTriatoma Laporte, 1832, nine to Rhodnius St\u00e5l, 1859, and four to Panstrongylus Berg, 1879  belong to the genus rg, 1879 . The facT. cruzi transmission profiles to human populations .Rhodnius by means of molecular data and experimental crossings proved to be extremely important in the face of the events of cryptic speciation and phenotypic plasticity of the species.,Rhodnius taquarussuensis Rosa et al., 2017, for example, was recently synonymised with R. neglectus after applying molecular analyses.T. rosai is closely related to T. sordida and was characterised based on integrative taxonomy which is crucial for describing and characterising new taxa. Unfortunately, at times, the integrative taxonomy cannot be carried out as is the case of the recently described species R. micki Zhao, Galv\u00e3o & Cai, 2021. Its characterisation was based on morphological and geometric morphometrics analysis using specimens from a collection.,,,T. b. brasiliensis and T. juazeirensis) were revealed for T. brasiliensis complex, based on molecular analysis.Mepraia Mazza, Gajardo & J\u00f6rg, 1940;R. pallescens Barber, 1932;T. patagonica Del Ponte, 1929;T. costalimai Verano & Galv\u00e3o, 1958;R. ecuadoriensis,,,,In regard to the Triatominae, phenotypic variability has been observed in several taxa, so the multidisciplinary approach is mandatory to avoid misinterpretation of the intra specific variations. Natural hybridisation, which generates phenotypic variation, has been recently explored in the triatomine group and could be more common than already recorded.T. brasiliensis, T. sordida, T. dimidiata, and Mepraia complexes, as well as in some Rhodnius species, were due to integrative analysis using morphological, isoenzymatic, chromosomal and molecular studies that detected population variations compatible with the existence of species and cryptic species. A detailed comprehensive review of these cases was presented by Monteiro et al.It is crucial to highlight that in the triatomine group the descriptions of new species in the Variety of ecotopes and the challenges of the control programsTriatoma genus were recorded occupying rocky outcrops ecotopes, except for T. rosai related to distinct natural ecotopes. While Rhodnius species have as the primary habitat different species of palm trees, species of Panstrongylus genus are predominantly associated with burrows and tree cavities in their primary habitats.,,A notorious variety of ecotopes of the triatomines described or revalidated pos-1979 was recorded. The ecotopes are in accordance with the previous knowledge of the triatomine group as mentioned in Lent & Wygodzinsky.T. cruzi transmission by native vectors.In addition to the domiciliary infestation, it is important to mention the vector control programs are not strongly supported by governmental institutions or are almost inexistent in some of the endemic countries.T. infestans.T. brasiliensis were also studied by Lillioso et al.,Furthermore, there are difficulties in monitoring and controlling the vectors in hyperendemic areas like the Gran Chaco (Argentina) because of the high infestation indices. In these areas, the use of insecticides is extremely frequent, and resistance has already been detected in T. cruzi transmission.Besides the new vectorial problems, it is important to mention the threats imposed by (i) the lack of maintenance of national programs using new technologies to monitor and prevent Chagas disease;In conclusionT. juazeirensis,,,T. sherlocki, showing an incipient capacity for colonising domiciles.,T. b. macromelasoma, from Pernambuco State, where this vector is frequently found in the peridomicile however, eventually it can be found infesting the domiciles.,T. rosai which occupies a great variety of ecotopes in several areas of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay,T. huehuetenanguensis, found naturally infected by T. cruzi in domestic ecotopes, being considered a potential important vector in Guatemala.In conclusion, the 47 post-1979 triatomines described or revalidated do not seem to change the current epidemiological status of the Chagas disease, because most of them are strictly sylvatic (Table). In that list, there are only five exceptions, the first one is T. cruzi transmission, a great effort must be devoted aiming to improve the knowledge of the recently described species. For instance, most of them lack a characterisation of their molecular profiles and even the phylogenetic relationships and detailed ecological studies. These gaps in the knowledge of a variety of species impair a more complete understanding of their evolutionary history as well as the possibility of a comparative analysis of the ecology of the Triatominae.Despite the evidence that the great majority of the post-1979 revalidated or new species of triatomines are not able to change the classical epidemiologic scenario of the T. infestans, R. prolixus, and T. dimidiata are going to continue to be the great threats of the T. cruzi transmission to human populations. Several other species presenting a more reduced geographical distribution are going to persist infesting dwellings in several countries such as T. brasiliensis in northeastern BrazilP. geniculatus in Col\u00f4mbia.T. cruzi discrete typing units (DTUs) characterisation, modeling triatomines distribution throughout algorithm processes, the monitoring of vectors, and the educational programs are still the main actions to keep human populations free of Chagas disease.According to the literature, the reports of WHO"}
+{"text": "Serapiasneglectasubsp.neglecta was found and the size of this population was estimated. This species is localised at a global scale and has a protection status. This is the largest population known, with more than 155,000 individuals on the 550 ha of the airbase. Nineteen plant species have national protection status and 15 are classified as invasive alien species. The Solenzara airbase has a role in conserving many species; a management plan would be appropriate.One of the central issues in conservation today is identifying areas rich in biodiversity for priority conservation. On a global scale, the Mediterranean area is a biodiversity hotspot and, locally, Corsica contains high biodiversity with interesting sites for conservation. An inventory of flora was undertaken on the Solenzara military airbase. Five hundred and fifty-two plant species were inventoried, which represent an important species richness. Amongst these species, certain are rare or endemic. A large population of  In situ conservation can take different forms: at the species level, it is possible to select the most vulnerable species and develop conservation programmes to improve the conservation status of these target species  to elaborate a checklist of vascular flora in the airbase of Solenzara to better assess the floristic richness and the conservation priorities of this area; and 2) to quantify the considerable population of Rich plant biodiversity is expected due to the geographical location and use of the area. The list of species in the Solenzara military zone contributes to the knowledge of the flora in this sector, to which access is restricted and regulated, making it possible to understand better and locate the challenges of this zone and best conserve the remarkable species.Our study area is localised in the Mediterranean Basin, one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots , where tOur study site is the airbase called n\u00b0126 Solenzara, a French Air Force base, located at Ventiseri Fig. . NATO chThis airbase is about 2 km wide (east-west axis) and about 3.3 km long (north-south axis) and it is located approximately 40 km north of Porto-Vecchio, on the east coast of Corsica. The Palo Pond (Ramsar site) surrounds the airbase in the north, the Travo River in the south, a dune site and the Mediterranean Sea in the east and a national road and an urbanised area to the west. The inventory takes place in the entire airbase, including the wetland area east of the beach . The total area surveyed is about 550 ha. This study area is a military site, which implies that it is closed to the public. It is also an airport area. Airports are interesting for biodiversity; lawns around strips are particularly favourable to orchids . Indeed,There are three main parts to the airbase. The westernmost part consists of buildings and low grasslands, with some woodland. In the central area, the landing strips are surrounded by low vegetation, regularly maintained by mowing. Finally, the easternmost part consists of wetlands and scrub. A de-sodding exercise was carried out in 2019 in this third part. The airbase is located in the coastal and thermomediterranean belts. These belts are rich in plant species, particularly the thermomediterranean belt .Several floristic inventories have been carried out and are compiled here to give an almost exhaustive list of the flora present on the airbase. Since 2017, the Ecotonia Consultancy has regularly intervened on the airbase to carry out floristic inventories. From 2017 to 2019, the inventories focused on the central area, around the runways and the northeast wetland . In 2020, a complete inventory of the wetland was conducted (March to June). In 2021, an inventory took place in the northwest and another in the southwest of the airbase (March to June). This completed the data acquired since 2017.Then, we added floristic data acquired by the Corsican National Botanical Conservatory (CBNC), following inventories conducted in 2018 and 2019 (May to July) . These dOrchidaceae .More targeted inventories have been previously conducted: in 2010 (April) by the Association of Friends of the Corsican Regional Natural Park on areas around Palo Pond, focused on remarkable flora  and, in The objective of the inventories was to conduct a systematic sampling to determine all species present in the study area. This allowed us to determine a precise list of taxa present. We then compared this list to the protected and threatened species list  . We noteSerapiasneglecta, a nationally protected species of orchid , Poaceae (69 species) and Asteraceae (52 species) , Carex (13 species), Juncus (13 species) and Vicia (13 species).The 552 taxa found in the study area belong to 279 genera and 74 plant families  Fig. . The genOnly 2.5% of species are sub-endemic and none is strictly endemic. Many protected species are present on the base and 19 species benefit from national protection, representing 3.4% of the plant taxa on the airbase. There are also 15 invasive alien species, representing 2.7% of the taxa present.More than 70% of the species in the database are common (C) or very common (CC) Fig. . Only 8.S.neglecta: the population extends on both sides of the runways and the lawns near the buildings and wetlands. There are also several other orchid species: S.cordigera L., S.parviflora Parl., S.lingua L., Anacamptismorio (L.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase, A.laxiflora (Lam.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase and A.papilionacea (L.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase. However, the case of S.neglecta is particularly remarkable because this species benefits from a national protection status and it is a sub-endemic species with a very localised distribution worldwide. This species is classified as near threatened on the World and European Red Lists of the IUCN  H.Baumann & K\u00fcnkele , which was not favourable to orchids; during this year, we only observed hundreds of Serapias. Almost no individuals were visible in the spring on the airbase. Between 2020 and 2021, we compared the density of an area particularly rich in Serapias of about 900 m\u00b2. The number of individuals was 2.5 times higher in 2021 than in 2020 (0.28 S.neglecta/m\u00b2 in 2020 versus 0.81 in 2021).This estimate is probably underestimated due to the nature of the species. Indeed, the individuals do not flower every year. We, therefore, see only a fraction of the population present. Depending on the year, densities of Gratiolaofficinalis L. is classified as vulnerable (VU). There are 13 species classified as near threatened (NT). Ranunculusrevelierei Boreau have national protection and is NT on theCorsican IUCN Red List. This species is also sub-endemic and rare in Corsica. Four nationally-protected species and very rare in Corsica are found: Trifoliumcernuum Brot., Gratiolaofficinalis L., Ranunculuslingua L. and Anemonecoronaria L. Finally, Salixapennina A.K.Skvortsov is very rare and Serapiasolbia Verg., Saginasubulatavar.gracilis Foucaud & Simon and Ranunculusrevelierei are rare. These three species are also sub-endemic.Some species are remarkable for their status: for example, Bromushordeaceussubsp.thominei (Hardouin) Braun-Blanq. This subspecies is present in Corsica, but challenging to determine. We consider it as potential, but it has not been taken into account during the analyses.One subspecies is to be considered as potential on the airbase; Saginasubulata (Sw.) C.Presl belongs to the huge family of Caryophyllaceae. Two subspecies exists: S.subulatasubsp.revelierei (Jord. & Fourr.) Rouy & Foucaud, an endemic Corso-Sardinian orophyte and S.subulatasubsp.subulata (Sw.) C.Presl, a southern and western European species. The latter is currently divided into two varieties, one of which is present throughout its range (var. subulata (Sw.) C.Presl), but the other is not known: var. gracilis Foucaud & Simon. It is only reported in France (Provence and Corsica), although it is potentially present elsewhere . It is found in a singular environment: shallow temporary ponds with siliceous substrates in the Mediterranean climate. This environment, which is highly stressful for a plant, has led this taxon to adopt a therophyte biological type \u2013 its life is limited to a few weeks or months, whereas var. subulata is hemicryptophytic. This adaptation is typical of Mediterranean environments and seems to be an important evolutionary event that may justify this variety being treated at a higher taxonomic rank soon. If specific research is carried out, it could one day lead to the description of a new high-ranking taxon (species or subspecies), whose worldwide distribution area would at best be restricted, or even endemic, to the French Mediterranean region. In Solenzara, this tiny plant has found unusual secondary habitats: the ruts made by vehicles driving on the base. Other annual species accompany it with similar ecologies, some of which are rare: Ranunculusrevelierei, Lotusconimbricensis Brot., Solenopsislaurentia (L.) C.Presl, Lysimachiaminima (L.) U.Manns & Anderb. and Lythrumportula (L.) D.A.Webb.The Solenzara airbase is rich in plant species. Its location explains this richness since Mediterranean islands have high biodiversity . It is aThere are 302 sub-endemic taxa, 688 rare and very rare taxa, 191 taxa with a protection status and 64 invasive species in Corsica . This reTo a large extent, this sector represents a control zone for the flora of the eastern coast of Corsica before urbanisation, which is locally very close. However, this base was created on the former delta area of the Travo River, which explains the shallow soil on a pebble bed. This particular situation probably limits the presence of several other species and makes the diversity of this site even more exceptional.Serapiasneglecta, which is the largest known to date. More generally, orchids are present in all areas maintained by mowing in the airbase (12 different species of orchids). Other species as Ranunculusrevelierei are also remarkable and deserve better consideration.Proportions of endemic and rare species are not negligible; moreover, we have noted the presence of species to be conserved as a priority. We presented the exceptionally abundant population of Military activities  are often considered as threats to biodiversity . HoweverThe Solenzara airbase can be considered as a biodiversity reserve; there is little human activity, some areas being very infrequently visited . This isF0D04EB5-D3EF-5CF5-8400-A722C045EBE510.3897/BDJ.10.e76375.suppl1Supplementary material 1Complete list of the flora of SolenzaraData typetableFile: oo_640208.xlsxhttps://binary.pensoft.net/file/640208Julien, M; Schatz, B; Contant, S; Filippi, G66F1E68B-0F1E-5A3E-B740-14947F9E89BA10.3897/BDJ.10.e76375.suppl2Supplementary material 2Serapias speciesDepth of root system of several Data typefigure and commentsFile: oo_596040.docxhttps://binary.pensoft.net/file/596040Julien, M; Schatz, B; Contant, S; Filippi, G"}
+{"text": "Lactuca serriola L. (wild lettuce) is a highly invasive C3 weed in many countries, including Australia, Canada, and the USA. This weed is a severe threat to agricultural systems, especially in crops grown with reduced or no-tillage approaches, which commonly include wheat, cereals and pulses. Owing to the vertical orientation of its leaves in the north-south plane and its root architecture, L. serriola can maintain high water use efficiency under drought conditions, giving it the ability to expand its range under a drying climate. Each plant can produce up to 100,000 seeds which have no primary dormancy and form a short-term seedbank lasting up to three years. Most seedlings emerge in autumn and overwinter as a rosette, with a small flush of emergence in spring depicting staggered germination. Research into control methods for this weed has been performed, and these methods include chemical herbicides applied alone and in combination, the establishment of plant competition, tillage, mowing and bioherbicide. Herbicides can provide effective control when applied in the seedling or rosette stage; however, spring germination is difficult to control, as it skips the rosette stage. Some biotypes are now resistant to ALS inhibitor and synthetic auxins, causing concern regarding using herbicides. A dedicated integrated management plan for 3\u20134 years is recommended for the control of this troublesome species. This review will explore the biology, ecology, distribution, current control techniques and previous research on this weed, allowing us to make recommendations for its future research and management. Lactuca originated in the Mediterranean Basin, with Lactuca serriola L. being the most common and widely distributed species of this genus [Lactuca, incorporates the Latin word \u201clac\u201d for milk, referring to the milky sap produced by the plant. L. serriola is commonly known as prickly lettuce, wild lettuce or compass plant, and belongs to the family Asteraceae. It featured in an assessment of the top 20 national residual weeds in Australian agriculture, affecting the yield and revenue return of canola, pulses and winter cereals crops [The genus is genus ,2. The gls crops . It is sls crops . In addils crops ,4.Lactuca serriola, a C3 species, is also a significant agricultural and environmental weed in many countries other than Australia. It is mostly distributed on roadsides, grassy ditches, dust-heaps and ruderal areas, and is also found as weed communities in agricultural crops and native pastures [L. serriola can reach a height of 2 m and, owing to its deep tap root system, is a tough competitor for growing crops or pastures [L. serriola causes yield losses of up to 10% at low densities of 0.2\u20131.2 plants m\u22122 and up to 80% at concentrations greater than 50 plants m\u22122 [pastures . L. serrpastures . By compants m\u22122 .L. serriola flowers during the grain harvesting season in Australia, and as the flower buds are of the same size as the wheat grain, it is difficult to remove them from the harvested grain, thus heavily reducing the value of the yield due to the presence of these foreign materials [In addition to yield loss, this weed species is also known to reduce grain quality and harvesting efficiency. During harvesting, the milky sap produced by the plant, which contains latex and rubber, mixes with the grains, increasing the grain moisture content and contaminating the yield. It also causes significant problems with harvesting machinery ,9. L. seaterials ,10.Lactuca serriola has the ability to withstand environmental stress, especially that of limited water acquisition, due to its root architecture [L. serriola to maintain high water use efficiency under drought conditions makes it an effective coloniser, allowing it to complete its life cycle and to produce a high number of viable seeds even under drought conditions [L. serriola makes it a probable source of agriculturally important genes to optimise resource acquisition by cultivated lettuce, which would lead to a reduction in the currently necessary commercial water and fertiliser inputs.itecture . The abinditions . Its abiL. serriola, (ii) the biology of the species (in order to understand its strengths and weaknesses), (iii) its life cycle, as this can identify when the most effective time is to undertake control activities in order to limit its reproduction and further spread, (iv) its seed ecology, this aspect being vital to its management (because the species spreads only via seeds), and (v) current control strategies and their associated problems.This global literature review focuses on (i) the geographical distribution of Lactuca serriola is a Western Eurasian meridional-temperate species, having a synanthropic worldwide distribution whose exact boundary of original distribution area has not been determined [L. serriola is summarised in termined . This spL. serriola is limited by cold extreme temperatures. This species is found from lowland to mountain regions, extending up to 1560 m in Switzerland, 1750 m in Turkey, 3100 m in Afghanistan, 3600 m in the Northern Himalayas and 2358 m in the United States of America [From a climatic viewpoint, the northern boundary in the Northern hemisphere of  America , whilst  America .L. serriola has rapidly become invasive since 1960 in the western parts of the country, and by 2006 was seen to occupy at least 60% of the area [L. serriola populations were found growing in wet habitats, such as wet ground, ditches, and drains, during a study of the eco geographical distribution in Slovenia [L. serriola populations in Sweden, where they were usually found on gravel or amid stones in dry, sunny areas [L. serriola.In the Netherlands, the area . ApproxiSlovenia . This isny areas , demonstLactuca serriola was first brought to Ontario in the late 1890s, and it has since spread over most of Southern Canada via seeds along roadsides, railways, and watercourses. Until the development of reduced tillage practices, which allowed L. serriola to thrive in crops, it remained a weed of roadsides and waste ground. Except for Newfoundland, L. serriola is now found in most of Canada\u2019s provinces; however, it is rare in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick [runswick . It is prunswick .L. serriola was found in all of the states visited (16 states) in a research study undertaken in the United States of America [L. serriola was more commonly found in disturbed habitats, such as the edges of roads and pavements, parking lots and near gas stations, road ditches, and ruderal locations with fertile soil, which is consistent with its position as a weed in North America [L. serriola widely [Except for New York,  visited 6 states  America . This sha widely ,13,21.Lactuca serriola was first recorded in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, in 1899 [ in 1899 , and is  in 1899 . It is cL. serriola is commonly a weed in agricultural areas and habitat areas, it is also regarded as an environmental weed in Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory.In Southern New South Wales, this weed has increasingly become a problem in cereal and lucerne pastures, but is also of concern in fallows, gardens, orchards, roadsides and waste lands . While LLactuca serriola is found growing along with wheat, cereals and pulses in Victoria and South Australia [L. serriola in dryland crops, such as wheat and chickpeas, was reported in the Wimmera region in Victoria [\u22122 shortly after emergence, but then reduced to seven plants m2 in fallow and two plants m2 in a wheat crop. L. serriola plants are more susceptible to dying before stem elongation and had higher mortality when they had competition from a crop compared with no competition. L. serriola has spread throughout the Wimmera region, as the production of seeds is mainly after crop harvest, when the only control is by using grazing sheep [ustralia . An incrVictoria . The emeVictoria . The weeng sheep .Weeds are highly adaptable to new environments due to their variable traits and considerable genetic diversity, which are the key factors in their widespread success and distribution. Invasive species have an advantage over the native flora, as weeds can adapt to a new environment in as little as 20 generations, whilst it may have taken the native flora hundreds or even thousands of years to adapt ,24. In tL. serriola achenes from four different countries\u2014the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. They found that the largest achenes with the longest beaks were found on sandy substrata, whereas the achenes from sandy loam habitats were thinner and had a higher number of ribs. They found that the achene morphology was significantly correlated with the three eco-geographic features of longitude, latitude and the soil texture of the habitats [L. serriola [L. serriola grows in a wide range across several continents, they are expected to have spatial variations due to different types of soil, moisture level and the prevailing weather conditions. However, there is little research to suggest that there are any notable phenotypic variations between overseas populations of L. serriola. Furthermore, there has been no genetic analysis to identify the differences in a population\u2019s gene pool, which is unfortunate, because identifying any phenotypic or genotypic differences in regional and international populations could assist with more effective weed management.Novotn\u00e1 et al.  examinedhabitats . Signifiserriola . As L. sL. serriola, highlighted in The global distribution of Lactuca serriola is distinguished by its leaves, which have spiny toothed margins and a row of spines on the underside of the leaf and along the midrib, as shown in Lactuca serriola is an annual plant which reproduces exclusively by seeds and dies after flowering [lowering . It is alowering ,19. The lowering ,9. The rlowering . Flowerilowering . The lealowering .L. serriola is sometimes known as a \u201ccompass plant.\u201d This pattern of non-random leaf orientation may be seen in both the lobed and unlobed varieties of L. serriola [L. serriola discovered that fresh leaves twisted at the base due to asymmetric growth and epinastic movement [Since its stem leaves are held vertically on a north-south plane, serriola . Studiesmovement . They prmovement . Furthermovement . The caumovement .L. serriola occur: forma serriola with deeply lobed cauline leaves and forma integrifolia with unlobed leaves [Based on the lobes of the leaves, two forms of d leaves ,31, and d leaves . Some phd leaves . Both thd leaves , and it d leaves ,33.L. serriola is largely controlled by temperature and the quality of light [L. serriola make different contributions to the population as a whole [The germination of of light , and it of light ,27,34. A a whole . It is sRegardless of the germination date, the highest levels of mortality occurred soon after germination, which reduced drastically after the beginning of stem extension . This peL. serriola exists over the winter as a seed or rosette and the stem elongation starts in spring, which is the period of the most vegetative growth [L. serriola in Australia.e growth . The seee growth . Table 1L. Serriola [The time of seedling emergence had a marked effect on the reproductive output of Serriola . It is iSerriola . SeedlinSerriola ,35.L. serriola which had been grown with no competition had 15 lateral branches arising from lower parts of the stem, while most of the plants, when grown in competition with the wheat crop in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, only had a single stem [L. serriola reached a height of about 712 mm and had a density of 1.1 plants m\u22122 when growing with wheat crops, whilst the density of L. serriola was 7.6 plants m\u22122 on unsown fallow, with the density staying constant throughout the year [It was observed that gle stem . Branchigle stem . It was the year .L. serriola can withstand drought [L. serriola also produces a deeper root system compared to Lactuca sativa (cultivated lettuce) with more laterals near the root tip and 50% of its total root length at the 20 to 80 cm depth. This was confirmed in a greenhouse experiment conducted on L. serriola and cultivated lettuce [L. serriola. This was in sharp contrast to the biomass production, leaf water status and photosynthesis of L. sativa, all of which were significantly reduced.Owing to the leaf orientation and root architecture,  drought . The ver drought . L. serr lettuce ,37. GallLactuca serriola is self-compatible and predominantly self-pollinated [Lactuca seldom occurs, and the species are highly autogamous [llinated . Intersptogamous . Each fltogamous . Each fltogamous . Mej\u00edas togamous  studied togamous ,39.Vernalisation of the rosette or the imbibed seeds reduced the time taken from emergence to flowering, and the effect of vernalisation differed with the growth stage . BecauseLactuca serriola is spread by achenes (cypselae) and the number of seeds produced is proportional to the plant height [t height . On avert height ,42. The t height . Over tht height  and Israt height .L. serriola produced 2200 to 67,000 seeds in a soybean crop, whereas the seed production increased to 87,000 seeds per plant in the non-crop areas adjacent to the fields [L. serriola plants without competition in Australia produced an average of 48,000 seeds per plant, whereas the number of seeds decreased as the competition increased [In a study carried out by Prince and Carter  in five e fields . L. serrncreased  reportedL. serriola are distinguished from each other and from achenes of other Lactuca spp. by their morphology [L. serriola f. integrifolia, L. serriola f. serriola achenes are shorter, thinner, shorter beaked and have a lower length/width index ratio [The average seed weight is approximately 0.6 mg, with a range from 0.45 to 0.8 mg ,42,45. Trphology . In compex ratio .Lactuca serriola achenes have a pappus  a relatively high frequency of initial resistance in untreated populations, (ii) the effective control of L. serriola at low rates of sulfonylurea herbicides, and (iii) the persistence of sulfonylureas in the soil due to the alkaline soils in the area [In South Australia, resistance to sulfonylurea was first reported in 1994 in sulfuron . The resthe area .L. serriola has a long tap root system [L. serriola during non-crop periods [L. serriola rosettes are easier to control [L. serriola for large infestations, since sheep and goats can effectively reduce its population. However, young plants appear to be toxic and can cause pulmonary emphysema in cattle feeding on them [L. serriola is not an option for long-term control. Given the mobility of L. serriola seeds, it has been suggested that controlling plants near the boundary of a seeded crop field could help limit the generation and spread of a significant number of seeds into the region [As t system , it is e periods . Because control . Grazing on them . Rosette on them , and thee region ,39.L. serriola and have been found to have potential [Members of the Brassicaceae family contain glucosinolates, a class of secondary plant metabolites which have been tested as a bioherbicide for otential . This suL. serriola are easily managed by competition. In a study conducted by Weaver et al. [L. serriola, with only 25% to 30% of the plants surviving the harvest, and later when flowering, producing less than 4000 seeds in untreated stubble. The administration of non-selective herbicides is possible when winter wheat is rotated with spring crops or summer fallow. Control during planting resulted in the lowest in-crop populations of L. serriola and the lowest crop yield losses [Seedlings and rosettes of r et al.  in a wind losses .L. serriola. According to the literature, the suggested method of management and control is to firstly manually remove small and/or isolated infestations, ensuring the entire plant is removed, especially the taproot. Next, a combination of herbicides should be used during the seedling or rosette stage of L. serriola, as it is a most effective practice. However, research has shown that L. serriola can increase in abundance after effective control the previous year, indicating that a one-off management strategy is insufficient in controlling this weed [L. serriola.It has been widely suggested that to reduce the dependence on the use of herbicides, integrated weed management, which is a holistic weed control approach developed by integrating different weed control methods , should be introduced worldwide for the effective control of his weed . AttentiL. serriola to establish itself in a wide range of environmental conditions in numerous countries is key to its effective establishment and propagation [L. serriola is capable of expanding rapidly into new locations and becoming dense in the existing locations due to its invasive and aggressive traits. This species has the capacity to invade many areas in Australia, as it can germinate in a range of temperatures when sufficient moisture is available. As L. serriola seeds are wind-borne, herbicide resistance can spread rapidly to become more pronounced in the near future, especially as the area of herbicide resistance has increased in South Australia. It is agreed that future research is required to use integrated weed management to control L. serriola and not rely solely on alternative herbicides to control the spread of current herbicide resistance.The ability of pagation ,62. L. sL. serriola\u2019s staggered germination which enables some plants to avoid the effects of herbicides commonly applied to cereal and grain legume crops [L. serriola on crops.Many examples of spread have apparently been assisted by me crops . Future L. serriola recommends that it is highly possible to control this species with a dedicated management program for 3\u20134 years where no new seed should be added into the soil seedbank. Since more than 90% of surface-placed seeds emerge in the first year after burial, early management is especially important in the first year of infestation. However, weeds along fence lines and along roadsides should be managed carefully, as the light-weight seeds generated by L. serriola plants in nearby non-cropping areas can quickly reinfest clean paddocks.Finally, the short seed bank persistence of"}
+{"text": "Background and Objectives: Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (L. reuteri) is a probiotic that can colonize different human body sites, including primarily the gastrointestinal tract, but also the urinary tract, the skin, and breast milk. Literature data showed that the administration of L. reuteri can be beneficial to human health. The aim of this review was to summarize current knowledge on the role of L. reuteri in the management of gastrointestinal symptoms, abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation, both in adults and children, which are frequent reasons for admission to the emergency department (ED), in order to promote the best selection of probiotic type in the treatment of these uncomfortable and common symptoms. Materials and Methods: We searched articles on PubMed\u00ae from January 2011 to January 2021. Results: Numerous clinical studies suggested that L. reuteri may be helpful in modulating gut microbiota, eliminating infections, and attenuating the gastrointestinal symptoms of enteric colitis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea  infection), irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic constipation. In both children and in adults, L. reuteri shortens the duration of acute infectious diarrhea and improves abdominal pain in patients with colitis or inflammatory bowel disease. It can ameliorate dyspepsia and symptoms of gastritis in patients with HP infection. Moreover, it improves gut motility and chronic constipation. Conclusion: Currently, probiotics are widely used to prevent and treat numerous gastrointestinal disorders. In our opinion, L. reuteri meets all the requirements to be considered a safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious probiotic that is able to contribute to the beneficial effects on gut-human health, preventing and treating many gastrointestinal symptoms, and speeding up the recovery and discharge of patients accessing the emergency department. Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938, recently renamed Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), is a probiotic well-identified for its beneficial effects on some gastrointestinal diseases [L. reuteri DSM 17938, obtained through the removal of antibiotic resistance gene-carrying plasmids from Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 [Lactobacillus, which includes many other gram-positive oxygen tolerant fermentative bacteria such as L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. casei and L. rhamnosus [diseases ,3. The mdiseases . This sthamnosus .L. reuteri can colonize different human body sites, including primarily the gastrointestinal tract, but also the vagina [L. reuteri adheres to the intestinal epithelium, producing proteins able to bind with the mucus, making it tough for pathogen microorganisms [L. Reuteri produces antimicrobial molecules and promotes the development and the functionality of regulatory T cells, strengthening the gut barrier, and decreasing the microbial translocation from the intestinal lumen to the tissue, as reported by studies conducted on animal models [L. reuteri has multiple beneficial effects on gastrointestinal symptoms, on gut infections, HP eradication, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and colorectal cancer [L. reuteri in the management of gastrointestinal disorders, namely diarrhea and constipation, which are frequent reasons for admission to the ED, in order to promote the best selection of probiotic type, directly in the emergency setting, for the treatment of these uncomfortable and common symptoms.e vagina . Recentlrganisms  to enterrganisms . Moreovel models , on humal models  and in vl models . Literatl models , using gl cancer ,12,13. Il cancer . It can l cancer , with beL. reuteri in the intestines of healthy individuals, its role in regulating gut microbiota and mucosal homeostasis, in shaping the intestinal host immune system, and in ameliorating intestinal inflammation in pathological conditions, such as acute watery diarrhea [L. reuteri restores the balanced composition of human microbiota communities, and is useful both in the treatment of acute watery diarrhea and in the prevention of new episodes of diarrhea, including after prolonged antibiotic treatments [L. reuteri in acute watery diarrhea in children and in rotavirus gastroenteritis. These authors conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial, enrolling 86 children, between 6 and 36 months of age, who tested positive for rotavirus. They randomized children to receive either 1010 or 107 colony-forming units (CFU) of L. reuteri or a placebo once a day for 5 days. They showed that the use of L. reuteri shortened the duration of the acute watery diarrhea with a dose-related effect. Indeed, the mean duration of acute watery diarrhea was 1.5 days in the group taking a large dosage of L. reuteri, 1.9 days in the group taking a small dosage, and 2.5 days in the group taking the placebo. By the second day of treatment with L. reuteri, the acute watery diarrhea persisted among 48% of those who took the large dosage, 70% of those who took the small dosage, and 80% of those treated with the placebo. Francavilla et al. [L. reuteri group and 34 in the placebo group, reported that supplementation with L. reuteri, at a dosage of 4 \u00d7 108 CFU/day for 7 days, reduced the duration of acute watery diarrhea, with the maximum effect on the second and third day, in children aged between 3 months and 3 years, without reported side effects. Dinleyici et al. [L. reuteri was able to decrease the duration of acute watery diarrhea up to 15 h in children aged between 3 months and 5 years. Moreover, it was able to reduce the length of hospital stay. After two days of treatment with L. reuteri, ~55% of children were diarrhea-free vs. only 15% of children in the control group, with a greater effectiveness of the intervention between 48 and 72 h after using five drops containing 108 CFU L. reuteri, and with a safe, well-tolerated and effective profile in the pediatric outpatient setting [L. reuteri at a dosage ranging from 1 \u00d7 108 to 4 \u00d7 108 CFU daily for 5\u20137 days, was surprisingly low. L. reuteri was able to reduce the duration of diarrhea by one day with the maximum beneficial effect at day two. Even if the studies they analyzed were heterogeneous for the duration and the dosage of L. reuteri, the authors confirmed the beneficial effects of this probiotic for the treatment and prevention of acute watery diarrhea. Szyma\u0144ski et al. [L. reuteri, at a dosage of 2 \u00d7 108 CFU for 5 days, could help in the management of acute watery diarrhea in children, shortening the duration of hospitalization. They collected data on about 99 children aged <5 years with acute gastroenteritis (liquid stool) lasting no longer than five days, and an increase in the frequency of evacuations (\u22653 evacuations/day), demonstrating that the administration of L. reuteri vs. a placebo, in addition to standard rehydration therapy, reduced the duration of hospitalization, but not the duration of diarrhea, which was similar in both groups. Margiotta et al. [Lactobacillus reuteri LRE02-DSM 23878, at a dose of 2 \u00d7 108 CFU/daily, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LR04-DSM 16605, at a dose of 1 \u00d7 109 CFU/daily for 15 days, improved stool consistency and the number of evacuations. Patro-Golab et al. [L. reuteri, at different dosages with a placebo or without treatment. Their primary endpoints were the diarrhea duration and the stool volume. Their secondary endpoint was the evaluation of the effects of L. reuteri on the course of diarrhea, on the duration of diarrhea no longer than seven days, and on the duration of hospitalization. They observed that L. reuteri was useful in reducing diarrhea duration by approximately 21 h and hospitalization in children by approximately 13 h, but no significant effects were reported on the number of watery stools. The authors concluded that probiotics and L. reuteri could be a useful and safe, supportive measure for the treatment and prevention of diarrhea, reducing both the diarrhea duration and the intensity of symptoms, with beneficial health effects [Numerous clinical studies have been conducted to explore the function of diarrhea ,17,18,19diarrhea . L. reuteatments ,22. Shoreatments ,24 examii et al.  carried  setting , in theii et al.  concludea et al.  showed tb et al.  performe effects . L. reuteri has many anti-inflammatory proprieties [L. reuteri forms a biofilm rich in probiotic functions, inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines, and prevents intestinal overgrowth by other commensals, thereby maintaining a balanced gut-environment [L. reuteri can improve gastrointestinal symptoms and reduce antibiotic side effects, restoring the balance of gut microflora and allowing patients to be more compliant with their antibiotic therapy. Ojetti et al. [L. reuteri was effective in HP eradication and, in particular, in the prevention of gastrointestinal symptoms  associated with the use of antibiotics for the treatment of HP infection. Dore et al. [L. reuteri could improve gastrointestinal symptoms related to HP infection. It prevented the HP colonization of the human gut mucosa by inhibiting HP-binding to the glycolipid receptors [Lactobacillus species to treat HP infection and gastrointestinal symptoms  related to antibiotics administration, as recommended for the treatment of HP infection by current guidelines [L. reuteri promoted the biofilm formation and the colonization of gut mucosa by commensal lactobacilli, establishing a protective niche and preventing both the invasion of opportunistic bacteria and the gastrointestinal side effects related to the use of antibiotics in the treatment of some gastrointestinal diseases. Emara et al. [L. reuteri, through different mechanisms, including the production of reuterin, showed an effective action against HP and improved its eradication rate, the clinical and pathological features, and symptoms related to this infection. Buckley et al. [L. reuteri suppressed HP infection, improving gastrointestinal symptoms in patients affected by this infection, and ameliorating antibiotic-gastrointestinal side effects that are common after HP eradication-treatment with antibiotics. prieties . It prodprieties . Moreoveironment . Furtheri et al.  determine et al.  proved teceptors . Moreoveeceptors ,32 with eceptors  recommenidelines . Jones eidelines  assesseda et al. ,35 concly et al.  demonstrL. reuteri (L. reuteri improved bowel movements in patients (both children and adults) with chronic constipation [L. reuteri administered to children with chronic constipation, twice a day for four weeks, induced changes in the composition of the gut microbiota , enhancing intestinal motility and reducing the transit time of stool, with significant results in the fourth week. L. reuteri improved the stool frequency, but not the stool consistency [L. reuteri had a positive effect on functional constipation in infants, ameliorating the bowel frequency at week 2, week 4, and week 8 of administration. Constipation in infants is often related to the changes in diet  with important changes in gut microbiota composition (reduction of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli) that L. reuteri helps to restore. Indrio et al. [L. reuteri reduced constipation during the first 3 months of life. Early life events could alter the balance of gut microbiota, increasing visceral sensitivity and mucosal permeability, which can be restored via the administration of Lactobacilli. Jadresin et al. [L. reuteri in children with constipation. Gomes et al. [L. reuteri modulates gut motility with effects on constipation in children [Chronic constipation is a common gastrointestinal disorder that can affect patients of all ages and severely impact their quality of life . Literat reuteri . The lattipation ,3, but dtipation . Kubota tipation  reportedsistency . Coccorusistency  proved to et al.  underlinn et al.  added ths et al.  studied children ,41.2 and CO2, which can influence the gut smooth muscle motility and microbiota composition [L. reuteri twice a day for four weeks was effective in reducing methane (CH4) production by gut microflora (Methanobrevibacter smithii), with an increase in bowel movements and an improvement in chronic constipation. Riezzo et al. [L. reuteri for defecation and for symptoms of abdominal discomfort, pain, and bloating due to the modulation of the serum levels of serotonin (5-HT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by this probiotic strain. The 5-HT pathways play a pivotal role in the interaction between gut microbiota and the enteric nervous systems, with health benefits (which are not completely fully understood) on gut motility and constipation. The authors included 56 patients with constipation, randomized to receive L. reuteri for 105 days. Dimidi et al. [L. reuteri interacts with the gut-brain axis and modulates the afferent sensory nerves that influence gut motility. Moreover, it involves the enteric nervous system, increasing the excitability of myenteric neurons in rats through action on the 5-HT pathways. The latter is produced by the enteric nervous system and it is a key neurotransmitter with an essential role for the stimulation of the local enteric nervous reflexes and the promotion of gut secretion and propulsive motility, improving constipation and gastrointestinal related disorders. West et al. [L. reuteri to adult mice promoted the reduction of jejunal motility, but increased that in the colon, with beneficial effects on constipation. On the contrary, Wegh et al. [L. Reuteri on intestinal motility, abdominal discomfort, pain, and bloating, and, consequently, on functional constipation, and to recommend it as a \u201cstandardized\u201d treatment. The use of probiotics in organic and functional adult gastrointestinal disorders has gained a growing interest. It is known that the gut microbiota influences the intestinal motility through the fermentation of both carbohydrates and protein, and through the production of SCFA, such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate, and gases, such as Hposition . Ojetti position  highligho et al.  showed ti et al. ,44, in tt et al.  showed th et al.  argued t\u00ae from January 2011 to January 2021. No ethical approval was necessary to perform this review. The principal words we included were Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (L. reuteri), L. reuteri ATCC 55730, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, diarrhea, antibiotics related-diarrhea, gastroenteritis, probiotics, colitis, gut microbiota, gastrointestinal symptoms, constipation, gut motility, and Helicobacter pylori (HP). We combined these issues in our research, excluding other strains of probiotics, or other strains of Lactobacillus reuteri. We ruled out the use of this probiotic in other human disorders as well. We focused on the reliable and specific use of L. reuteri in the main gastrointestinal disorders we meet in the ED, namely diarrhea and constipation. We searched articles on PubMedL. reuteri which revealed it to be a helpful probiotic in modulating gut microbiota; it promotes the development and the functionality of regulatory T cells, produces reuterin that inhibits the growth of some harmful gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, along with yeasts, fungi, and protozoa [L. reuteri supplementation of more than 107 CFU was able to shorten the duration of acute watery diarrhea with a dose-related effect, with the maximum effect on the second and third day, thus reducing the length of hospital stay. No side effects were reported in any studies. It is well known that antibiotics can lead to dysbiosis, alteration of the gut microbiota composition, reduction of the richness and wealth of microflora strains, with subsequent diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort. Many studies suggested that supplementation with L. reuteri during antibiotic therapy, for example against HP, was useful in reducing gastrointestinal side effects with an increase in the eradication rate. This specific probiotic prevents the HP colonization of the human gut mucosa and inhibits HP-binding to the glycolipid receptors [L. reuteri in chronic constipation, both in adult and children. Literature supported the evidence that L. reuteri supplementation, even if for a few weeks, improved bowel movements and stool consistency. The possible explanation could be that L. reuteri increased both frequency of colonic myoelectric motility complex and velocity. Another possible explanation could be an enhanced water and electrolyte secretion due to probiotic activity. Some authors [L. reuteri may exert a beneficial effect by reducing the gut methanogenic flora and increasing bowel movements. A high level of gut microflora with a CH4 production is associated with a delayed orocecal transit time and, consequently, constipation. The ability of L. reuteri to inhibit gut microflora with an overexpression of H2 consumption, and a consequent reduction of CH4 methane production, could represent the base for new and more effective therapies.This review suggests that not all types of probiotics have an equal effect on the management of gastrointestinal diseases. In particular, we collected data on protozoa . Moreoveprotozoa . We focueceptors . Moreove authors  hypothesL. reuteri has been identified as part of the normal human gut population and its administration as a \u201cprobiotic\u201d has been recommended in gut disorders related to infections with effective results [L reuteri is the most widely studied probiotic in children, with concentrations ranging from 106\u2009CFU/daily up to 108 to 109 CFU/daily [L. reuteri has various mechanisms of action that are not fully understood. It stimulates the mucosal gut barrier function well, produces antimicrobial substances (such as reuterin and lactic acid), and influences the local acquired and innate immune response [E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile, and Campylobacter jejuni in vitro and in vivo studies [L. reuteri survives gastric and bile juice and restores intestinal epithelial cell morphology after damages caused by pathogens [The use of probiotics in human health and diseases has increased in recent years . Literat results ,16,55. LFU/daily ,56. L. rresponse ,47,57,58 studies ,58,59,60athogens ,16. It aathogens ,32. It iathogens . L. reuteri plays a key role in maintaining a balanced microbiota gut composition. Many clinical trials have proved the safety, efficacy and tolerance of this probiotic in preventing and treating numerous gastrointestinal disorders, ranging from diarrhea to constipation. In our opinion, L. reuteri meets all the requirements to contribute to beneficial effects on human-gut health in the emergency setting. In fact, gastrointestinal disorders, as stated previously, are one of the most common causes of admission to the ED. The use of L. reuteri, directly in the emergency room can speed up the remission of symptoms, reduce the recovery period, and promote the safe discharge of patients.In conclusion,"}
+{"text": "Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton has been expanded to nine and the species in each genus were modified. Dermatophytes are among the most prevalent causes of human and animal mycoses. Their epidemiology is influenced by various factors. These factors may be evolutive such as the predilected environment of the fungus, namely, humans (anthropophilic), animals (zoophilic), or environment (geophilic), is evolutionary and thus may require centuries to develop. Many other factors, however, result from a variety of causes, affecting the epidemiology of dermatophytoses within a shorter time frame.Dermatophytes are a group of molds characterized by the ability to produce keratinases, thereby carving out for themselves specific ecological niches. Their traditional division into three genera, This review aims at summarizing the factors that have modified the epidemiology of dermatophytoses during the last decades.Trichophyton tonsurans, which spread from Latin America to the United States and subsequently becoming a frequent etiological agent of tinea capitis in Africa, Middle East, and other areas.Geographic and climatic conditions, demography such as age and gender, migration, socio-economic conditions, lifestyle, and the environment have had an impact on changes in the epidemiology of dermatophytoses, as have changes in the pattern of human interaction with animals, including pets, farm, and wild animals. A typical example of such changes is the increased prevalence of The comprehension of the epidemiology of dermatophytoses has a major bearing on their prevention and treatment. Since it is undergoing continuous changes, periodic assessments of the most recent developments of this topic are required. This article aims at providing such an overview. Onycogenales, family Arthrodermataceae and were until recently divided into three genera, namely, Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton. Recently, the taxonomy and nomenclature of the dermatophytes was extensively revised  a fungus that causes dermatophytoses more frequently than other geophilic dermatophytes. The clinical manifestations of dermatophyte infections are generally termed \u201ctinea\u201d with the indication of the anatomical area involved. Thus, infections of hair on the scalp or beard are termed \u201ctinea capitis\u201d and \u201ctinea barbae\u201d, respectively, those of nails \u201ctinea unguium\u201d and those of glabrous skin \u201ctinea corporis\u201d or \u201ctinea pedis\u201d and \u201ctinea manuum,\u201d in case of foot or hand involvement, respectively  are among the most frequent human infections . The curThe following review article, will focus on the epidemiology of human and zoonotic dermatophyte infections. The article will include exploration of the aspects of variation in incidence of dermatophytoses in different geographic or climatic areas, dermatophyte species distribution and relationships between gender and age to prevalence. Correlation between incidences of the various clinical entities: the skin, nail, and hair tineas and other factors, such as professional occupation, will be reviewed. In addition, aspects of the effect of migration, climate change and socio-economic conditions on epidemiology of dermatophytoses, will be explored as well. Moreover, the epidemiology of human infection with zoophilic and selected geophilic dermatophytes will be addressed.In the last decade, a number of publications from different geographic areas focusing on dermatophytes\u2019 species epidemiology reported data from Eastern Europe  and the The data reported in the different publications shows variability and are difficult to compare, since distribution of species may also depend on the human site screened, e.g., tinea capitis or tinea corporis that may reveal different species distribution.Thus, the reader has to keep in mind all these limiting considerations regarding the presented comparisons.Trichophyton rubrum complex was the most common species (66.9%) followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes  and Trichophyton tonsurans in skin infections, while in Africa , a study of the author\u2019s group  in a speThese data from three geographical/climatic different regions: Middle East, South East Asia, and Africa, which show similar trends in dermatophyte species distribution, may indicate no specific correlation between geographic/climatic conditions and dermatophyte species distribution. Another study in Israel of the author\u2019s group  on onychT. rubrum complex (74.4%), followed by T. mentagrophytes  (21.4%). Contrary to these findings, a study from Serbia  can be caused by various molds and by ed nails . This waed nails . Here toIn this context, an interesting observation was made by Candida spp. was higher than in men. Differences according to gender regarding dermatophytoses were also noted by a number of other investigators , there was an increase in cases caused by T. tonsurans, vs. those caused by T. soudanense or M. audouinii, particularly among African immigrants vs. immigrants from the Caribbean Islands.In this context, it is of interest to mention the study by T. tonsurans is a major cause of pediatric tinea capitis (95% of cases). In addition, this report also indicates that two other dermatophytes: T. violaceum and T. soudanense are also significant causes of tinea capitis in children in association with migration, specifically in African immigrants.A recent report from the US  also conT. violaceum and M. audouinii were the major causative agents.A tinea capitis outbreak was also reported in children of African immigrants in Israel in 2016 . During T. rubrum complex  indication as to their reclassified taxonomy may be the animal with which they were associated: T. benhamiae from rodents and lagomorphs and T. vanbreuseghemii from other animals. Thus, for example, when owners of guinea pigs were infected by \u201cT. mentagrophytes\u201d  from three cats, and N. gypsea from one cat. Somewhat different, but comparable, prevalence ratios were found in other surveys such as those conducted in Barcelona, Spain  in the surveyed areas. The fungus was, however, more prevalent (21.5%) in cats in animal raising establishments. Owners were infected by the fungus in 18.7% of the affected households. The authors note that prevalence rates vary significantly in time, possibly indicating the spread of M. canis from some reservoir, subsequently declining.In a survey of a few hundred cats and dogs from households, shelters, pet shops, or stray, conducted by M. canis in dogs and cats in Iran was high  is the most prevalent fungus involved, with adult animals usually asymptomatic carriers, posing a significant contagion risk for the personnel , respectively (T. mentagrophytes was isolated from free ranging red foxes in the United States (Several surveys of keratinophilic fungi in wild animals and their environment resulted in the isolation of a large variety of such microorganisms . Mantovain Italy . T. mentpanthers , a non-sn Brazil  and N. gin Kenya . In two ectively , b. T. md States  and fromd States . ConversT. erinacei infection in humans (M. canis, T. mentagrophytes, P. cookei, N. gypsea, T. ajelloi, and T. terrestre.In some cases, wild animals are raised as pets: keeping hedgehogs as pets is popular in Japan and a source of n humans . AnotherN. persicolor has been reported most frequently from European countries (N. persicolor infects skin and not hair, a fact that possibly limits its environmental dispersal (N. persicolor is a zoophilic dermatophyte carried primarily by sylvatic rodents (ountries  but was ountries  as well.ispersal . N. pers rodents  such as  rodents . The fun rodents , includi rodents . Several rodents . In one  rodents .T. benhamiae, including dogs (In addition to rodents and lagomorphs, other animal species may be carriers or infected with ing dogs , porcupiing dogs , or hedging dogs  and infeing dogs .Trichophyton vanbreuseghemii has a very wide gamut of hosts, including pets, farm, laboratory, and wild animals (T. vanbreuseghemii is contracted from rodents or soil ( animals . Dogs, c animals , and hor animals  have bee or soil .Trichophyton erinacei is the most common causative agent of ringworm in wild hedgehogs (T. erinacei, T. mentagrophytes, and N. gypsea were isolated from European hedgehogs. More than one-third of the animals were asymptomatic T. erinacei carriers, posing a latent risk of human infection (edgehogs . In a Frnfection . Molina-M. canis was isolated (T. mentagrophytes that caused several human infections (Several cases of animals in captivity infected with dermatophytes have been reported. Among these were siamang monkeys with cutaneous lesions from which isolated  and a Snfections .Trichophyton simii was once considered endemic in Indian subcontinent, where it was isolated from human cases (T. simii was isolated from two hens and a pup owned by one of the families. The fungus\u2019 endemicity is, however, in doubt since it has been reported from several countries worldwide, including Brazil, the United States, France, Belgium, Iran, and Saudi Arabia (an cases , from doan cases , ruminanan cases , poultryan cases , and soian cases . Kamalami Arabia . Outsidei Arabia  and Japai Arabia .This review article elaborates the complex relationships of dermatophyte infections with several epidemiological parameters. The latter include prevalence of the different dermatophyte species in different geographic regions and different climatic conditions, associations of age and gender with specific dermatophytes and specific clinical entities, or the frequency of exposure to contaminated environment and interaction with animals. Associations with lifestyle and effects of migration or socio-economic status are discussed, as well.Taken all together, the review increases the relevance of dermatophyte infections in human health and well-being and suggests the need of continuing follow-up of the changes in epidemiological aspects of this group of fungi.Both authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Atractylodes lancea is significantly restricted by low survival rates and reduced yields. Intercropping can reasonably coordinate interspecific interactions, effectively utilize environmental resources, and increase survival and yield. We conducted a field experiment from 2014 to 2016 to analyze the advantages and effects of intercropping on A. lancea survival, growth traits, individual volatile oil content, and total volatile oil content. In addition to A. lancea monoculture (AL), five intercropping combinations were planted: Zea mays L. (ZM) + A. lancea, Tagetes erecta L. (TE) + A. lancea, Calendula officinalis L. (CO) + A. lancea, Glycine max (Linn.) Merr. (GM) + A. lancea, and Polygonum hydropiper L. (PH) + A. lancea. The survival and average rhizome weight of A. lancea was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture treatment, and the average plant height was higher in all intercropping treatments than in the monoculture. The volatile oil content of A. lancea from the ZM and CO treatments was significantly improved relative to that of monoculture plants. The volatile oil harvest was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture. We conclude that intercropping is an effective way to increase the survival and yield of A. lancea. Furthermore, intercropping with ZM, CO, and TE increases the harvest of four volatile oils from A. lancea.Commercial cultivation of the medicinal plant  Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Chinese: Cangzhu) are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for rheumatic diseases, digestive disorders, night blindness, and influenza  to compare important growth indicators in different intercropping systems; (ii) to compare plant yield and the accumulation of secondary metabolites in different intercropping systems; and (iii) to investigate the different accumulation patterns of major active components under five intercropping systems.In this study, we carried out two years of field experimentation to determine the effects of intercropping on Field experiments were conducted on newly developed terraces in Huadun village, Laibang Town, Yuexi County, Anhui Province  in 2015 and 2016. This site is located in the north subtropical humid monsoon climate area, and its frost-free period is 220 days. The mean annual temperature is 17\u00b0C, the mean annual ground temperature is 17\u00b0C, the average annual precipitation is 2434.6 mm, and the average sunshine duration is 2070.5 h. Meteorological data from 2015 and 2016 were collected by automatic weather stations near the test site.Zea mays L. (ZM) can activate soil microbial flora  can be used for pest control, and the calendula oil contained therein can be used as a repellent to prevent egg laying by flies (Tagetes erecta L. (TE), leaves, and roots are toxic to the nematode that is closely associated with root rot (Glycine max (Linn.) Merr. (GM) root system harbors nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and has the effect of enhancing soil fertility. Finally, Polygonum hydropiper L. (PH) is the natural companion species of A. lancea.In this study, intercropping partners were selected on the basis of their functions. Selected species are all common native and agricultural species. The gramineous roots of al flora , and itsdiseases . It has by flies . Extractroot rot . The GlyA. lancea were derived from A. lancea rhizomes growing in Huoshan, Anhui Province, and seedlings of similar size were used for the experiment. Seeds of maize, soybean, marigold, calendula, and P. hydropiper were those of commercial cultivars.Seedlings of A. lancea monoculture treatment were used in the experiment: A. lancea alone, A. lancea + Zea mays L. (ZM), A. lancea + Glycine max (Linn.) Merr. (GM), A. lancea + Tagetes erecta L. (TE), A. lancea + Calendula officinalis L. (CO), and A. lancea + Polygonum hydropiper L. (PH). The row spacing between A. lancea and A. lancea is 20 \u00d7 30 cm, and the row spacing between A. lancea and partner plants is 20 \u00d7 30 cm, and the spacing between partner plants and partner plants is also 20 \u00d7 30 cm. The experiment used a randomized complete block design with four replications, and each experimental plot was 10 m2 (2 m \u00d7 5 m). Therefore, there are 187 A. lancea in AL treatment and 99 A. lancea in intercropping treatment.Five intercropping treatments and an A. lancea was only planted in December 2014 and has been grown in the field for two years. And the partner plants were planted for the first time in April 2015 and the second planted in April 2016. A. lancea was planted by rhizome propagation after sterilization (soaking for 30 min at room temperature in 50% carbendazim diluted 800\u20131000 times), and rhizomes were buried 1\u20132 cm underground. Intercropping plants were grown from seed sown 1\u20132 cm deep. The plantings were weeded in March, June, and November of each year, and no pesticides or fertilizers were used throughout the experimental period.All plants were planted by hand. A. lancea were selected from each experimental plot for biomass and yield analysis, including both their above- and belowground parts. Measurements included plant height, number of branches, number of apical and lateral buds on the rhizome, and rhizome fresh weight.At the end of November 2015 and 2016, ten Atractylodes lancea rhizomes were collected and dried in a 40\u00b0C oven for one week to constant weight, then crushed to <0.3 mm. A 500-mg sample of the resulting powder was placed into a 50-ml centrifuge tube, 25 ml of n-hexane was added, and the mixture was first shaken  and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min. The supernatant was removed for subsequent use, 20 ml of n-hexane was added, and the above process was repeated. Both supernatants were combined in a volumetric flask, 1.0 ml of the internal standard solution was added, the sample was diluted to 50 ml, and a 1-ml sample was injected into the gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) (Trace 1310 gas chromatograph and TSQ 8000 mass spectrometer).The contents of four volatile active ingredients, atractylon, hinesol, \u03b2-camphor (\u03b2-eudesmol), and atractylodin, were measured using the method of A. lancea growth and biochemical indices under different intercropping treatments. Statistics and correlation analysis were performed using SPSS v16.0  and Microsoft Excel 2003.Tukey\u2019s HSD test was used to test for differences among intercropping treatments. Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlations among A. lancea from different treatments was investigated two years after planting  than in the monoculture (26 \u00b1 1.6 cm) . LikewisA. lancea were analyzed in 2015 and 2016 (A. lancea rhizome. In 2015, the atractylon concentration of A. lancea was lowest in the GM treatment, the hinesol concentration of A. lancea was lowest in the TE treatment, and the atractylodin concentration of A. lancea was lowest in the CO treatment and the monoculture. In 2016, the hinesol and \u03b2-eudesmol concentrations of A. lancea were significantly lower in the TE treatment than in any other treatment. There were no other significant differences in concentrations of the four volatile oils among the treatments in 2015 and 2016.The concentrations of the four main volatile oils in and 2016 . The conA. lancea in the monoculture, the \u03b2-eudesmol concentration of A. lancea in the CO and PH treatments, and the atractylodin concentration of A. lancea in the CO treatment all increased significantly from 2015 to 2016. However, the hinesol concentration of A. lancea decreased from 2015 to 2016 in the GM treatment.The concentrations of the four volatile oils increased significantly from 2015 to 2016 in a few treatments. The hinesol concentration of A. lancea. Based on the analysis of the average rhizome weight and the concentrations of the four main volatile oils in A. lancea, the content of the four volatile oils was calculated for individual plants. In 2015, the atractylon content of A. lancea was significantly higher in the CO treatment than in the GM, TE, and PH treatments. The hinesol content of A. lancea was significantly higher in the ZM and GM treatments than in other treatments. The \u03b2-eudesmol content was significantly higher in the ZM treatment than in the TE and PH treatments, and the atractylodin content was significantly higher in the ZM treatment than in the other treatments. In 2016, the atractylon content was significantly higher in the TE, ZM, and CO treatments than in the other treatments. The hinesol content was significantly higher in the CO treatment than in the monoculture, and the hinesol content was significantly lower in the GM and TE treatments than in the monoculture. The \u03b2-eudesmol content was significantly higher in the ZM and CO treatments than in the monoculture, and the \u03b2-eudesmol content was significantly lower in the GM and PH treatments than in the monoculture. The atractylodin content was significantly higher in the CO, ZM, and TE treatments than in the monoculture.The content indicates the quality of volatile oil from The contents of individual volatile oils increased significantly from 2015 to 2016 in most of the intercropping systems . The atrThe proportion of different volatile oils is an important characteristic of Daodi herbs . The proAs biomass increased through time, the total volatile oil content increased in all treatments  and incrBased on plant survival, rhizome weight, and the number of plants per hectare, we calculated the total harvest of the four volatile oils in 2016 . The totA. lancea. In the ZM treatment, A. lancea has a shallow root system, whereas ZM has a deep root system. In addition, the phenological phases of ZM, TE, and CO differ from those of A. lancea, thereby potentially providing suitable environmental conditions compared with the monoculture.Complementary patterns of root distribution and plant phenology are important mechanisms by which intercropping improves yield . IntercrTagetes erecta L. has a similar inhibitory effect on root-knot nematodes (Root exudates play an important role in plant health . In the ematodes  and can ematodes .A. lancea in the short term (A. lancea. Maize was the tallest plant in this study, and the first year\u2019s results showed that the atractylodin content was significantly higher in the ZM treatment than in the monoculture. Likewise, in 2016, the total volatile oil harvest of A. lancea was significantly higher in the ZM treatment than in the monoculture and was the second highest among all the treatments.The accumulation of secondary metabolites is an important index for the evaluation of medicinal materials . Secondaort term . We specA. lancea, and the growth traits, survival, and volatile oil production of A. lancea were analyzed to evaluate each intercropping combination. Compared with the monoculture, intercropping with ZM, CO, and TE significantly increased the survival and rhizome weight of A. lancea. Two years after planting, A. lancea intercropped with ZM, TE, and CO showed a great advantage in total volatile oil harvest. The underlying mechanisms of plant interaction in these systems remain to be explored in the future.Five plant species were chosen as intercropping partners for The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.ZP: writing \u2013 original draft and data curation. YZ: investigation, methodology, project administration, and funding acquisition. BY, YX, XG, ZZ, XlC, XpC, and XW: data curation. TW, SW, and CK: data curation and methodology. LH: conceptualization and supervision. LG: investigation, conceptualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. KS: sample collection, conceptualization, methodology, data curation, and writing \u2013 review and editing. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Coxiella burnetii. Besides the main transmission route via inhalation of contaminated aerosols, ticks are discussed as vectors since the first isolation of the pathogen from a Dermacentor andersonii tick. The rare detection of C. burnetii in ticks and the difficult differentiation of C. burnetii from Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLEs) are questioning the relevance of ticks in the epidemiology of Q fever. In this review, literature databases were systematically searched for recent prevalence studies concerning C. burnetii in ticks in Europe and experimental studies evaluating the vector competence of tick species. A total of 72 prevalence studies were included and evaluated regarding DNA detection methods and collection methods, country, and tested tick species. Specimens of more than 25 different tick species were collected in 23 European countries. Overall, an average prevalence of 4.8% was determined. However, in half of the studies, no Coxiella-DNA was detected. In Southern European countries, a significantly higher prevalence was observed, possibly related to the abundance of different tick species here, namely Hyalomma spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. In comparison, a similar proportion of studies used ticks sampled by flagging and dragging or tick collection from animals, under 30% of the total tick samples derived from the latter. There was no significant difference in the various target genes used for the molecular test. In most of the studies, no distinction was made between C. burnetii and CLEs. The application of specific detection methods and the confirmation of positive results are crucial to determine the role of ticks in Q fever transmission. Only two studies were available, which assessed the vector competence of ticks for C. burnetii in the last 20 years, demonstrating the need for further research.The zoonosis Q fever is caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium  Coxiella burnetii as the causative agent of the zoonosis Q fever is distributed worldwide, except New Zealand. This infectious disease may have a significant impact on animal welfare, human health, and economies   , 33. Thiburnetii . Geneticft ticks .Coxiella-like endosymbionts were detected in many different tick species, and for some species, an obligatory mutualism was proven , whereas icd was not amplified in the samples  are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites with a global distribution. A total of 67 tick species are reported in Europe and Northern Africa . Out of i or CLE , 61. When Europe . Such ve species . Howeverew areas , 65.C. burnetii among other diverse tick-borne pathogens. This allows surveillance of C. burnetii in ticks and benefits the identification of a potential risk of acquiring a Q fever infection by a tick-bite for humans or domestic animals.Recent prevalence studies using molecular methods aim at determining the percentage of ticks carrying Hyalomma spp., which are less likely to be collected by flagging . Only studies using DNA detection methods for Coxiella spp. on hard ticks obtained in Europe were included as prevalence studies. The definition of Europe used in this study refers to a geographical demarcation as von Strahlenberg's, including all countries of which the major part is situated between the Urals and the Bosphorus. Regions were defined according to the United Nations geoscheme for Europe in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, and Western Europe  using the formulap < 0.05.Studies were evaluated, and confidence interval was calculated using Excel 2016 . For statistical analysis, the Kruskal\u2013Wallis test and Mann\u2013Whitney U test for data lacking normal distribution were performed using SPSS V.22 , and results were considered significant in the case of n = 272), no hard ticks tested (n = 120), or reviews (n = 44); 66 studies were excluded for other reasons , ticks were collected between the years 2011 and 2013. Studies were performed in 23 of 45 different European countries.Prevalence studies were analyzed by country, the number of tested ticks, tick species, the method used for tick collection, and the method used for detection of burnetii . The ticMost collection areas were rural, single studies collected ticks in recreational areas in urban settings , 73. FurC. burnetii-DNA over all evaluated studies was 4.8%. In half of the studies (n = 38), no C. burnetii-positive tick was identified. The highest prevalence was determined to be 54.2% in a Spanish study , whereas the number of prevalence studies per country was highest for Slovakia (n = 12). A high prevalence was found in studies in Southern Europe, especially in Spain (10.1%) and Portugal (10.6%), but also in Poland, a high proportion of ticks was positive (8.5%). In ticks tested in Northern Europe, no C. burnetii was detected , especially in Western Europe (2.1%) .The highest prevalence within single studies was determined in Spain and Italy. Gonz\u00e1lez et al. detected ed ticks . In studetii-DNA \u201389. The Amblyomma spp., Haemaphysalis inermis, Hyalomma scupense, Hyalomma truncatum, Ixodes festai, and Ixodes hexagonus, no molecular detection of C. burnetii-specific DNA was reported. Furthermore, in Haemaphysalis hispanica, Hyalomma aegyptium, Hyalomma lusitanicum, Ixodes ventalloi, Rhipicephalus pusillus, and Rhipicephalus thuranicus, Coxiella-DNA was detected, but the results were not sequenced for confirmation or discriminated from CLE.More than 25 tick species were examined in all studies . In AmblC. burnetii-positive ticks were noticed for the tick genera tested . Of the six species tested, Hyalomma rufipes, Hyalomma marginatum, H. lusitanicum, and H. aegyptium were positive for C. burnetii. The most abundant and most often infected species was H. lusitanicum, in which 17.7% of ticks were PCR positive for C. burnetii. Furthermore, 6.0% of all tested Rhipicephalus spp. were positive for C. burnetii-DNA, whereas Dermacentor spp. harbored Coxiella-DNA in 1.4% of samples. By far, the most tested ticks belonged to the genus of Ixodes spp. (81.4%). Of these ticks, only 0.4% carried C. burnetii-DNA. The second least Coxiella-infested tick species was Haemaphysalis spp. with 1.2% positive samples. Of Amblyomma spp., only 11 negative ticks were flagged or removed from birds, which is not surprising, as this genus is not endemic in Europe  or from the vegetation by dragging or flagging a piece of cotton . Overall, in the evaluated studies, 72.4% of all tested ticks were derived from vegetation. In 19.4%  of the examined studies, a combination of sampling from animals or humans and flagging was performed. Data in this review were not divided into the different collection methods used. Two studies examined the occurrence of pathogens in ticks exclusively collected from humans  or the genes com1 , icd , sodB , and htpAB . Single studies used more than one target gene for identification (sodB as the target gene for C. burnetii, an average prevalence of 7.3% was reported (com1 fragment, the mean prevalence was 0.8%. The most frequently used target IS1111 resulted in an average prevalence of 5.7%. Of all ticks tested with IS1111, 3.0% were positive, which is the highest percentage (I. ricinus, was collected in a study in Switzerland. No C. burnetii-positive tick was detected by using ompA as the target gene in this study (Coxiella spp. in eight studies; one of them detected C. burnetii-positive ticks (Conventional PCR and real-time PCR were applied as a detection method in most of the studies. The predominant target genes for PCR detection were fragments of the insertion sequence IS1111 (fication , 127. Ofreported . Of the rcentage . The laris study . Also, 1ve ticks .Coxiella spp. and morphologically similar agents in the hemolymph (C. burnetii was detected by PCR in four hemocyte-positive ticks, but also in two hemocyte-negative ticks.Before PCR detection, some studies used the hemocyte test for visual detection of emolymph , 104. InSpiroplasma spp. but not C. burnetii (Furthermore, studies used non-molecular methods in addition to PCR, such as cultivation in cells or embryonated eggs, resulting in the isolation of burnetii .Coxiella was only identified on genus level (Some authors considered CLE and searched specifically for these endosymbionts or detected CLE by sequencing positive PCR products. Furthermore, sequencing of 16S rRNA was used to evaluate the tick microbiome , 103. Inus level , 122. NiC. burnetii from a tick, experimental transmission studies were conducted on various tick species. However, only two recent investigations on the vector competence of ticks under laboratory conditions were found in the literature.In the decades after the first isolation of H. aegyptium was proven, including the transstadial transmission over all life stages (In one study, the vector competence of the tick e stages . Larvae I. ricinus, a transstadial transmission from nymphs to adults was shown using an in vitro feeding system, enabling better differentiation between the transmission via saliva or feces (For or feces . The traC. burnetii in ticks after evaluation of 60 studies conducted worldwide (C. burnetii in various tick species, demonstrating that there is a huge variation between the results of different studies depending on the country, tested species, method of collection, and C. burnetii detection method applied.Duron et al. found an average prevalence of 5% of orldwide . The datHyalomma, Rhipicephalus, and Haemaphysalis are the most abundant vector ticks. Due to climate change associated with global warming, the spread of arthropods is expected (H. marginatum was detected in the last years more often in Central Europe and hibernation of this species was recently observed in Germany (C. burnetii was performed, an inadvertent detection of CLE cannot be excluded. However, this differentiation is extremely important because CLEs seem to have less if at all pathogenic potential than C. burnetii.Evaluating the studies, a gradient from North to South was noticed, resulting in a higher prevalence in the Mediterranean region, followed by Eastern Europe. Most positive samples were obtained in Southern Europe, especially Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Here, species of the genera expected , which c Germany . Since iCoxiella burnetii is rarely found in ticks in most of the regions in Europe. It is presumed that ticks play a minor role in Q fever transmission, also considering that no validated human cases of C. burnetii infection via ticks have been reported. Foci in which ticks may play a role as the natural reservoir for Q fever seem to exist, but these hot spots are hard to detect. Similar patterns of regional foci were described for tick-borne encephalitis virus (C. burnetii-infected ticks in endemic areas is often explained by narrow hot spots (Anaplasma phagocytophilum or B. burgdorferi s.l. Under these circumstances, there is a lack of data in certain countries and regions. The evaluation of European studies shows that occurrence of C. burnetii is highly dependent on the tick species. The most abundant tick species in Europe, I. ricinus, seems to be infected with C. burnetii very rarely. Occasional reports of successful isolation of C. burnetii from field-collected I. ricinus support the theory of less relevance in Q fever transmission (Dermacentor marginatus (C. burnetii with ticks of the genus Hyalomma spp. and Rhipicephalus spp., naturally present in regions with ambient temperatures, e.g., the Mediterranean region. This is also supported by the in vivo experimental study performed with H. aegyptium (Rhipicephalus spp. is highly infected with CLE, positive results should be confirmed by sequencing (is virus , 130. Thot spots . That casmission . In the rginatus . Consideegyptium . As Rhipquencing , 119.C. burnetii in ticks are conducted worldwide, and positive ticks were found on all continents except Antarctica (Coxiella-positive ticks were determined (C. burnetii is reported rarely from ticks in North America (Prevalence studies targeting tarctica \u2013138. Comtarctica . High prtarctica \u2013142. Apatermined , 144. De America , 146.C. burnetii in ticks collected from animals compared with ticks from vegetation argues in favor of such an uptake. The procedure of flagging of questing ticks, therefore, seems to be more appropriate for information regarding the prevalence and to discriminate between the role of ticks as a reservoir or as an accidental host (C. burnetii in animal host species could be included. A combination of both origins, vegetation, and animals, might also be of interest, especially in the context of outbreak surveillance. Moreover, only exophilic and questing ticks can be obtained using the dragging method. That excludes, for example, premature life stages of Dermacentor spp. or preferably hunting ticks, e.g., Hyalomma spp. As it is known that C. burnetii genomes found in ticks genetically cluster with samples isolated from wildlife, the inclusion of hunted animals can increase the knowledge of potentially sylvatic cycles (D. marginatus, two carried C. burnetii, whereas Rickettsia slovaca was the most prevalent pathogen (C. burnetii and other tick-borne pathogens were described, but it cannot be excluded that the temporal connection between the infections is random, as Q fever is endemic worldwide, and infection might have been caused by inhalation (Coxiella-positive herds. This is important to prove any association between infected animals or humans and the local arthropods. Furthermore, identification of tick life stage is important to analyze the possibility of transovarial transmission. Coxiella burnetii is considered one of the most relevant pathogens and should be prioritized in the examination of wildlife (Different collection methods were used in the studies, but the most common is removing from animals or flagging. Simple detection of the DNA of a pathogen does not prove the vector competence of a certain tick species , 147. Tital host . Additioc cycles . The samc cycles . The intc cycles . Examinapathogen . Simultahalation . To detewildlife .C. burnetii within the tick population. The majority of studies detecting commonly used target genes for the detection of C. burnetii did not confirm the results with sequencing. Particularly, the IS1111 fragment is a common target for C. burnetii detection in ticks, which is known to be less specific but highly sensitive for the pathogen (C. burnetii in tick samples is limited in all commonly used target genes; thus, the use of single targets is not recommended (C. burnetii and CLE, which might also be applicable for higher sample sizes and poor DNA yield.There was no significant difference noticed between the various target genes used in the evaluated studies. The determined prevalence depends, among other things, on the sensitivity of the used target gene. Some assays, especially when using IS1111, detect lower amounts of DNA and thus are more sensitive than others. This relation can be described more precisely by the use of standardized controls such as plasmids. Because of the close genetic relationship to CLE, the high specificity of molecular methods is required. Because frequently used PCR target gene sequences, e.g., IS1111, were also detected in endosymbionts, there is a need for specific methods to distinguish between these species. This would rule out an overestimation of the dissemination of pathogen . The speommended , 58. Posommended , 153. DuC. burnetii and endosymbionts. Several Amblyomma spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. were shown to be CLE carriers in up to 100% of analyzed tick samples (Coxiella-like endosymbionts seem to be associated with some genera, for example, Rhipicephalus spp. or Ornithodoros spp., in which CLEs were detected with a high prevalence, whereas only a few positive samples originated from Ixodes spp. Binetruy et al. found CLE to be present in 11 of 24 species of the genus Amblyomma (Rhipicephalus spp. and their CLE (via the egg, but also horizontal transfer, possibly via co-feeding, was proven (C. burnetii was reported to have its phylogenetic origin in CLE (In seven studies, CLEs were detected in tick samples, mainly using sequencing of 16s rRNA. These endosymbionts are distributed in several hard and soft tick species and represent a large proportion of the microbiome of some species , 154. Th samples . In anot samples . Coxiellmblyomma . Recent heir CLE . The mais proven , 157. Res proven . Hence, n in CLE .C. burnetii is closely linked to endosymbionts, the possibility of other Coxiella spp. being pathogenic should not be neglected, considering that bird infections or human skin infections were reported (C. burnetii.Novel tick-borne pathogens are emerging, and as the evolution of reported , 158. InR. haemaphysaloides with CLE correlated with a lower rate of transstadial transmission of Babesia microti. Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii, another tick endosymbiont, is known to influence the occurrence and ability to detect tick-borne pathogens in I. ricinus (Little is known about the impact CLE might have on pathogen transmission. A reduced infection rate of  ricinus , 160.C. burnetii (H. aegyptium ticks (I. ricinus (H. lusitanicum (C. burnetii-infected hosts, which are necessary to estimate the actual vector capacity under laboratory conditions. As a mainly airborne pathogen, the potential infection routes may be via inhalation of feces besides the injection of saliva during the tick bite (Trypanosoma cruzi by bed bugs or Rickettsia prowazekii and lice (In the past, seven tick species were shown to be competent vectors for burnetii . There ium ticks  and tran ricinus . Recentlitanicum . There iitanicum . Furtherick bite , 108. Inand lice , 164.C. burnetii in ticks, the risk of acquiring Q fever by a tick bite cannot finally be determined. In different studies, the correlation between coxiellosis and the abundance of ticks as a risk factor was examined. Predominantly, no significant correlation was found (Besides the need for information regarding the prevalence of as found \u2013167, wheas found , 169.Most tick species in Europe are spreading, and the increased risk of tick-borne diseases accompanies this. For this reason, extensive and focused monitoring of ticks and their microbial burden is crucial, as well as further research on possibly tick-borne diseases and the pathogenic potential of already known bacteria.Coxiella spp. in ticks in Mediterranean countries. This is likely to be driven by the abundance of different tick species in these countries, i.e., Hyalomma spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. In the context of global warming, the geographical distribution of these tick species changes and thus the epidemiology of Q fever in currently temperate Europe. Based on the large number of studies, which failed to detect C. burnetii DNA in tick samples, ticks carrying C. burnetii seem to be restricted to certain regions. Positive results have to be interpreted carefully because no distinction between C. burnetii and CLE was made in most of these studies. Planning of a prevalence study on ticks should, therefore, in particular, focus on the choice of detection methods for specific results. Methods should aim to differentiate C. burnetii and CLE using sequencing or at least to use different target genes in positive samples.The evaluation of European studies shows a significantly higher prevalence of To address the questions on the role ticks play as a reservoir in Q fever transmission, vector competence studies using different and relevant tick species should be performed.The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/SK and KM-S designed the study, SK conducted the literature search, SK, GM, SU, MP, and KM-S performed the data extraction, and SK analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "The use of metal nanoparticles is considered a good alternative to control phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture. To date, numerous metal nanoparticles  have been synthesized and used as potential antifungal agents. Therefore, this proposal presents a critical and detailed review of the use of these nanoparticles to control phytopathogenic fungi. Ag nanoparticles have been the most investigated nanoparticles due to their good antifungal activities, followed by Cu nanoparticles. It was also found that other metal nanoparticles have been investigated as antifungal agents, such as Se, Ni, Mg, Pd, and Fe, showing prominent results. Different synthesis methods have been used to produce these nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes, which have shown outstanding antifungal activities. This review shows the success of the use of metal nanoparticles to control phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture. Since the beginning of agriculture, the biggest challenge has been pests and diseases produced by insects, bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens present in the environment ,2,3. ThiToday, phytopathogenic fungi have mostly been controlled with chemical products, which are cheap and easy to obtain on the market ,10. HoweCurrently, friendly and efficient alternatives for the environment are being used to control phytopathogen fungi, such as biological control ,16, planOtherwise, another recently explored and applied route in agriculture is the use of nanomaterials, which have been successfully applied in other fields such as energy, medicine, and electronics ,25,26,27Different nanomaterials have shown excellent antifungal activities; therefore, they are considered a good alternative to control phytopathogenic fungi ,36,37,38Therefore, this review presents a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the current progress on the application of metal nanoparticles for controlling phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture. In the first instance, the possible mechanisms of action of nanoparticles on phytopathogenic fungi are reviewed. Afterwards, the progress on the use of metal nanoparticles as potential antifungal agents is reviewed in detail. Finally, conclusions and future directions are presented.The use of nanoparticles is a novel route to control phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture because they have shown high antifungal activity across a wide diversity of phytopathogenic fungi ,51. SeveAs mentioned before, several factors influence the antifungal activity of the nanoparticles. Therefore, it is necessary to know the interaction and action mechanism between the metal nanoparticles and the phytopathogenic fungi. At present, various possible antifungal action mechanisms of these nanoparticles have been proposed see .Metal nanoparticles have been successfully applied to control different pathogens ,64,65. IAg nanoparticles have been extensively investigated in different scientific fields due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties as well as their characteristics of biocompatibility, easy production, relatively low cost, and non-toxicity, among others ,70,71,72For biological systems, many extracts of plants and fungi have been used in the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles ,120,121.As aforementioned, the characteristics of Ag nanoparticles such as shape, structure, and size play an important role in antifungal activity. According to M. charantia and P. guajava extracts showed good antifungal capacity in concentrations of 20 ppm, inhibiting the growth of mycelium in fungi such as A. niger, A. flavus, and F. oxysporum [T. viride extracts, which completely inhibited the growth of A. solani at low concentrations of 25 ppm [A. flavus and A. parasiticus. The best results were obtained with doses of 100 ppm. Ag nanoparticles entered into the cell membrane, seriously affecting the respiratory chain, resulting in cell death [On the other hand, it has been reported that the concentration of nanoparticles can play an important role in antifungal activity . Therefoxysporum . A similf 25 ppm . In addill death . A peculll death ,99,107. ll death ,144. Ag ll death ,144. TheThe first study of Cu nanoparticles against fungi was reported by Giannousi et al. . Since tThe studies carried out on Cu nanoparticles produced by the different synthesis methods have shown excellent antifungal activity in different species of phytopathogenic fungi. However, as in the case of Ag nanoparticles, there is a great diversity of sizes, which makes it difficult to analyze the size effect of Cu nanoparticles on antifungal activity see . In geneF. solani, Neofusicoccum sp., and F. oxysporum  promoted hard oxidative stress in the mycelium, the highest concentration (0.5 ppm) showed an antifungal capacity against F. oxysporum [Another determining factor in inhibiting the growth of phytopathogenic fungi is the concentration of the Cu nanoparticles. To date, different concentrations  have been evaluated on phytopathogenic fungi. For example, low concentrations of Cu nanoparticles were evaluated against xysporum .F. oxysporum and P. capsici, which were inhibited by increasing the incubation time of the different concentrations. On the third day after their application, the inhibition increased slightly from 49% for 5 ppm to 63% for 20 ppm [In addition, they have antifungal activities at medium concentrations . Cu nanoparticles demonstrated significant antifungal activity against r 20 ppm .R. solani, F. oxysporum, F. redolens, P. cactorum, F. hep\u00e1tica, G. frondosa, M. giganteus, and S. crispa, demonstrating the antifungal capacity of Cu nanoparticles at a concentration of 35 ppm. In such a case, there was neither the growth of mycelium, nor the development of the pathogens studied [Fusarium sp., demonstrating excellent antifungal capacity at the highest dose of 450 ppm [B. cinerea, A. alternata, M. fructicola, C. gloeosporioides, F. solani, F. oxysporum, and V. dahlia. In this study, Cu nanoparticles showed toxic activity at all concentrations and at the highest concentration of 1000 ppm they inhibited all phytopathogens [To cite another example, doses of 5, 15, 25, and 35 ppm were used against  studied . Finally 450 ppm . Anotherathogens . In geneS. graminicola in doses of 0 to 1000 ppm. To synthesize these nanoparticles, six strains of Trichoderma spp.  in the form of culture filtrate, cell lysate, and crude cell wall were used. The best result was found with T. asperellum in culture filtrate, demonstrating the antifungal capacity of Se nanoparticles [T. viride and they were evaluated at different concentrations  against A. solani using the in vitro method. It was demonstrated that Se nanoparticles suppressed the growth of the fungus at 800 ppm [M. phaseolina, S. sclerotiorum, and D. longicolla at different concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 ppm. The nanoparticles of Se inhibited D. longicolla from 10 ppm and up, and from 50 and 100 ppm for M. phaseolina. However, for S. sclerotiorum, the different concentrations of Se nanoparticles did not show any inhibition, allowing the growth and development of the pathogen [As previously discussed, Ag and Cu nanoparticles are the most studied for the control of the growth of phytopathogenic fungi. However, other metal nanoparticles have been investigated as antifungal agents, such as Se ,129,166, 800 ppm . Lastly,F. oxysporum at concentrations of 50 and 100 ppm. At a concentration of 100 ppm, the Ni nanoparticles significantly inhibited mycelial reproduction and the sporulation activities of the fungal pathogens under in vitro conditions. Meanwhile, under in vivo conditions, Ni nanoparticles at a concentration of 50 ppm reduced the severity of the disease by 58.4% and 57.0% in the cases of lettuce and tomato crops [Another metal that has been investigated for the control of phytopathogenic fungi is Ni. However, as in the case of Se nanoparticles, there are few studies available on the use of Ni nanoparticles aganist phytopathogenic fungi. In the first instance, commercial Ni nanoparticles were evaluated using in vitro and in vivo methods against two species of to crops .A. flavus and A. parasiticus in vitro. The results demonstrated a 43.5% inhibition with green tea extract and a 51.6% inhibition with black tea with doses of 100 ppm [Finally, other nanoparticles investigated for the control of phytopathogenic fungi are Fe nanoparticles, highlighting the application of Fe nanoparticles synthesized by an ecological method using extracts of green and black tea leaves. Various concentrations  were evaluated against the fungi  100 ppm .In this review, a critical and detailed analysis of the current progress on the application of metal-based nanoparticles for controlling phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture was presented. Based on this review, the following conclusions and future directions are proposed.The progress achieved in the use of metal nanoparticles for the control of phytopathogenic fungi is outstanding since the studies developed so far clearly show that these nanoparticles can be an excellent alternative to chemical fungicides for the control of phytopathogenic fungi in agriculture.Among the metallic nanoparticles, Ag nanoparticles have been the most studied as antifungal agents, followed by Cu nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have shown promising activity aganist different species of phytopathogenic fungi. Different synthesis methods have made it possible to produce nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes. However, the nanoparticles have been mainly spherical and polydisperse in size. Therefore, we consider it necessary to synthesize and evaluate nanoparticles of different shapes and size  and homogeneous in, since it is well known that these factors influence on antifungal activity.For the rest of the metallic nanoparticles, such as Ni, Se, Mg, Pd, and Fe, there is little research. Therefore, it can be inferred that their antifungal properties are not well known, although the synthesis methods that have been tested for them have given good results. Hence, it is important to continue researching these metallic nanoparticles since there is a vast number of opportunities for researchers in this field.Nowadays, the nanoparticles evaluated as antifungal agents have been mainly monometallic. Therefore, we consider it important to synthesize and evaluate bimetallic or trimetallic nanoparticles for the control of phytopathogenic fungi, since it has been documented that these nanoparticles have very different properties than monometallic nanoparticles.According to this review, most of the studies were evaluated in vitro. However, it is important to apply the in vivo method to know the behavior of phytopathogens in the field. Applying the nanoparticles directly to the pathogens is preferable since the environments within the laboratory are different from those in the field. The lack of in vivo studies create a significant opportunity for the application of metal nanoparticles in the field of agriculture."}
+{"text": "Article no. 1230, 2021; DOI: 10.3892/etm.2021.10664Exp Ther Med 22:Subsequently to the publication of the above article, the authors have realized that, in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine for allowing them the opportunity to publish this corrigendum, and apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused.The authors have recaptured the x200- and x400-magnified pathological images through panoramic scanning of the original data. The revised version of"}
+{"text": "Ixodes species ticks transmit the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato bacteria species responsible for causing the infection. The diversity of Borrelia species that cause human infection is greater in Europe; the 2 B. burgdorferi s.l. species collectively responsible for most infections in Europe, B. afzelii and B. garinii, are not found in the United States, where most infections are caused by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. Strain differences seem to explain some of the variation in the clinical manifestations of Lyme disease, which are both minor and substantive, between the United States and Europe. Future studies should attempt to delineate the specific virulence factors of the different species of B. burgdorferi s.l. responsible for these variations in clinical features.Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is the most common tickborne disease in the United States and Europe. In both locations,  Ixodes scapularis, followed by I. pacificus; in Europe, most cases are transmitted by I. ricinus, followed by I. persulcatus ticks  has been revised into 2 main genera, Borrelia and Borreliella . However, these changes have been challenged  is an infrequent cause of human illness in the Upper Midwest region of the United States .Ixodes tick, an infection is typically established at that site, which causes the characteristic skin lesion, erythema migrans (>80% of patients in both geographic areas (B. burgdorferi s.s. are less likely than patients in Europe with erythema migrans caused by B. afzelii or B. garinii to remember a tick bite at the site of the lesion (25% vs. 60% for B. afzelii or 64% for B. garinii) but more likely to have concomitant systemic symptoms (69% vs. 38% or 37%), multiple erythema migrans skin lesions (13% vs. 5% for both B. afzelii and B. garinii), and regional lymphadenopathy (29% vs. 8% or 3%)  . ErythemAmblyomma americanum, and is not caused by Lyme borrelia. The etiology of STARI has not been determined. A. americanum ticks are most frequently found in the southeastern and south-central United States, but their range is spreading to geographic areas where I. scapularis tick bites are common  is associated with a skin lesion very similar to erythema migrans . STARI, B. afzelii  . Borreli afzelii .B. garinii and B. bavariensis; in adult patients, painful meningoradiculitis is most common   as the initial step. A negative result requires no further testing. A positive or equivocal result is followed by supplemental testing using separate IgM and IgG immunoblots as the second-tier assay. The interpretation of immunoblot results uses standardized criteria (at least 2 of 3 signature bands for a positive IgM immunoblot and 5 of 10 signature bands for a positive IgG immunoblot). Results from the IgM immunoblot are only relevant when the duration of the illness is n Europe . This neI. scapularis tick bite and is recommended for consideration for tick bite prophylaxis in the United States  is recommended for treatment of erythema migrans and borrelial lymphocytoma by some of the guidelines in Europe but is not part of the treatment recommendations in the United States (Ixodes ticks can carry multiple pathogens, and a single tick bite may result in transmission of >2 infectious agents. Pathogens potentially transmitted by I. scapularis ticks to humans include B. burgdorferi s.s., B. mayonii, B. miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis, and the deer tick virus subtype of Powassan virus (A. phagocytophilum and B. microti are the most frequent co-infections in patients with Lyme disease (B. miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete, are co-infected with B. burgdorferi s.s.; of note, B. miyamotoi infections per se can cause positive results on first-tier tests for Lyme disease, potentially leading to diagnostic confusion. Encephalitis caused by deer tick virus is relatively rare, but cases may be increasing. In Europe, in addition to Lyme borrelia, I. ricinus ticks can transmit tick-borne encephalitis virus, A. phagocytophilum, species of the bacterial genus Rickettsia, B. miyamotoi, and Babesia protozoans. Tick-borne encephalitis virus is well recognized as a cause of co-infection in patients with Lyme disease in Europe (B. burgdorferi s.s. and Lyme neuroborreliosis with B. garinii. Certain cutaneous manifestations of Lyme disease in Europe do not occur at all in the United States. It will be valuable to delineate the specific virulence factors of the different species of Lyme borrelia that contribute to these clinical differences.Lyme disease is common in many areas of the United States and Europe and may have a variety of clinical manifestations. The duration of infection and the species of Lyme borrelia causing the infection can affect the clinical features of Lyme disease. In the United States, patients with erythema migrans more often have concomitant systemic symptoms than do patients in Europe. In Europe, Lyme arthritis is associated with"}
+{"text": "Following publication of the original article , the autThe original article has been corrected as well.Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers used in this study. Fig. S1. HapE splice site mutation. The intron site is located between the 297th T and the 343rd G of the HapE gene. Originally, the GC-AG site is removed as an intron, but in this case, the terminal G of the intron was mutated to A. If the intron is not removed, the stop codon TAG is generated, and normal protein synthesis is not expected."}
+{"text": "Coccinella septempunctata and Hippodamia variegata\u2014with the different aphid species, which are considered one of the alfalfa pests. The numerical relationships were separately studied in each of the alfalfa growing periods between cuttings (intercuts). Whereas the abundance of C. septempunctata was correlated with that of A. pisum in the second alfalfa intercut, H. variegata was mainly correlated with the abundance of T. trifolii in the fourth intercut as well as with the overall aphid abundance in the fifth intercut. This study helps to increase the knowledge on the predator\u2013prey relationships, which is crucial for the proper pest management of alfalfa and the agricultural ecosystems in which it is included.Alfalfa is the main fodder crop of the irrigated crop systems of northern Spain, as well as many Mediterranean countries. Alfalfa crops are damaged by some pest species but are also considered to be vast reservoirs of natural enemies of these pests. However, in Europe, the relationships between these pests and their natural enemies have been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to fill this gap in the knowledge. Therefore, we characterized the coccinellid species complex, identifying sixteen species, and the numerical relationships of the two that were most prevalent\u2014Coccinella septempunctata and Hippodamia variegata were, by far, the most prevalent species, with the former dominating during the first and second intercuts, whereas the latter dominated from the third to the fifth intercut. Acyrthosiphon pisum and Therioaphis trifolii were the most abundant aphid species, peaking in the second and fourth intercuts, respectively. Positive correlations were found between the abundance of C. septempunctata and A. pisum at the second intercut, between H. variegata and T. trifolii at the fourth intercut, and between H. variegata and the total number of aphids in the fifth intercut. This study helps to increase the knowledge on the predator\u2013prey relationships of this crop and allows for designing strategies of conservation biological control against aphids.Alfalfa is known to be an important reservoir harboring natural enemies. The reduction in insecticide sprayings in recent years has allowed us to study the coccinellid species complex in this crop and the relationship between these predators and aphids. Alfalfa was sampled by sweep-netting throughout its productive period in several commercial stands each year between 2010 and 2021. The numbers and species of aphids and coccinellids were recorded. Sixteen coccinellid species were found.  Medicago sativa L., is the world\u2019s most valuable cultivated forage crop [Alfalfa, age crop . In Spaiage crop , which rage crop . Spain iage crop . Stands Hypera postica  (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Colaspidema barbarum (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Holotrichapion pisi (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), lepidopteran leaf feeders , and aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae).Several pests can economically damage this crop\u2014Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch, and Therioaphis trifolii (Monell). Their seasonal occurrence, phenology, and population dynamics have been previously reported [The aphid species that occur in Spanish alfalfa stands are reported ,6,7. Besreported ,9,10. Alreported .Studies on the occurrence and abundance of natural enemies of the alfalfa aphids in northern Catalonia have been conducted, where the relationships between aphids and parasitoids ,11, and The aims of the present work were to (1) characterize the coccinellid species complex in Spanish alfalfa stands, (2) determine their relative occurrence throughout the crop productive period, (3) define the aphid\u2013coccinellid species associations, and (4) determine numerical and temporal relationships between the most abundant coccinellid and aphid species throughout the crop growing season.The study was conducted along the Ebro Valley region, in the northeast of Spain, corresponding to 60% of the land surface used for alfalfa cultivation in Spain (and 20% considering Europe) .H. postica occurred [A total of 112 alfalfa fields were sampled in the period from 2010 to 2021. All the sampled fields were sown with the Aragon variety, by far the most common one cultivated in the region ,11, fromoccurred . Each fioccurred ). Sampleoccurred ,15, and The total number of coccinellids of each species (adults and larvae) and aphids  recorded in each sampling point of one field were averaged, and one field was considered as one replicate. Alfalfa cuttings involve a temporary but drastic change to the system, therefore the five intercuts were considered as separate units. As unequal numbers of fields were sampled in each intercut, the overall relative abundances of the different coccinellid species for the total study period were calculated based on standardized values .H. postica larval instar abundances in the first intercut for some years and it has been reported as alternative prey for Coccinella septempunctata L. [Statistical analyses were performed with R version 4.0.3 . The numerical relationships between coccinellid and aphid species in each intercut were determined by correlation analysis (cor function). Additionally, because we had data on the different ctata L. ,17, the C. septempunctata, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), Propylea quatuordecempunctata L., Scymnus spp., Coccinella quinquepunctata L., Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata L., Exochomus nigromaculatus (Goeze), Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata L., Hyperaspis sp., Adalia bipunctata L., Oenopia lyncea lyncea Olivier, Coccinella undecimpunctata L., Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata L., Chilochorus bipustulatus L., Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata L., and Stethorus punctillum (Weise). Whereas C. septempunctata, H. variegata, P. quatuordecempunctata, C. quatuordecimpustulata, Scymnus sp., E. nigromaculatus, C. quinquepunctata, A. bipunctata, O. lyncea lyncea, and C. undecimpunctata are aphidophagous predators, Hyperaspis sp. and C. bipustulatus are mainly coccidophagous, but consume aphids as secondary prey. Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata and P. vigintiduopunctata feed on fungus, especially powdery mildew. Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata is herbivorous and Stethorus punctillum is a mite predator.A total of 9124 coccinellids were collected throughout the study. Sixteen species/genus were recorded: C. septempunctata and H. variegata , but proportions of both development stages were equal in the second intercut  when we evaluated the numerical relationships between C. septempunctata and its potential alternative prey H. postica. However, after adding the values of the A. pisum and H. postica larvae abundances, the correlations improved, but statistically significant results were only obtained for C. septempunctata adults and H. postica L4 plus A. pisum , predator\u2013prey species associations, and intraguild predation events. Assuming that both species overwinter as adults outside of alfalfa stands, it seems clear that C. septempunctata colonizes alfalfa earlier than H. variegata. However, reproduction may occur during the first intercut, and larvae were recorded for both coccinellid species. The non-significant correlation between C. septempunctata and A. pisum, practically the only aphid species present in the first intercut, suggests that aphids are probably not the only reason for the predominance of C. septempunctata. Aggregative and numerical coccinellid responses to aphids can be influenced by several factors [C. septempunctata adults and that obtained after the addition of A. pisum and H. postica fourth instar larvae abundances, suggesting that the weevil can contribute to the reproduction of this species and, thus, to the development of C. septempunctata populations, as reported by Richards and Evans [Regarding the seasonal occurrence of  studies , there w factors ,24, such factors . We founnd Evans .C. septempunctata was correlated with that of A. pisum, whereas H. variegata was not. Although this aphid species was relatively abundant in the first and second intercuts, the competence for prey resources and the intraguild predation events between these two coccinellid species could have contributed to this. The dominance of C. septempunctata over other coccinellid species has been reported in several studies [C. septempunctata and H. variegata has been already reported [H. variegata in alfalfa until the departure of C. septempunctata.In the second intercut, the abundance of  studies ,27. In areported ,29, and A. pisum in the second intercut, its occurrence decreased drastically in the third intercut, as did the occurrence of C. septempunctata. This was likely due to the lack of prey leading to the adults leaving the alfalfa stands. Ricci et al. [C. septempunctata populations, which do not return after leaving. Summer diapause has also been described as a common trait of Mediterranean C. septempunctata populations [C. barbarum, a significant pest that affects the second intercut, larvae of C. septempunctata may not be able to reach adulthood and migrate from alfalfa, becoming seriously affected. More studies are needed to elucidate the phenology of this species in the Ebro Valley area.After the peak of i et al.  reportedi et al.  and di Li et al. , who obsulations , so it sulations  seem to H. variegata adults were shown during the third and fourth intercuts. These results suggest that significant immigration to the alfalfa stands from the surrounding crops may occur during this period of the year. This massive entry could be related to the growing populations of T. trifolii, which were reported to act as an attracting and arrestant stimulus for H. variegata [H. variegata individuals between alfalfa and maize crops in this period. The better adaptation for the reproduction of this coccinellid species during the summer [The highest abundances of ariegata . Di Lascariegata  already e summer ,36 is prH. variegata in the fourth and fifth intercuts partially differ from the results of Pons et al. [A. craccivora in the fifth intercut. As mentioned above, the abundant presence of T. trifolii during the fourth intercut may have acted as an attracting and arrestant stimulus for H. variegata individuals and, thus, may have led to their positive correlation. During the fifth intercut, the dominance of A. craccivora, which was already described as very suitable prey for H. variegata [T. trifolli abundance recorded in this intercut could be due to its own phenology, but the predation of H. variegata and, possibly, other specific natural enemies as parasitoids may also have contributed. Trioxys complanatus Quilis and Praon exsoletum (Nees) have been reported as the parasitoid species associated with T. trifolii in the northern area of the study region [The positive correlations recorded for s et al. , who onlariegata , may expy region . The raty region . An exteP. quatuordecimpunctata, even as the third most frequently occurring species, was very low when compared to C. septempunctata and H. variegata. The numbers of larvae collected were especially low, and this suggests that adults of this species did not significantly reproduce in alfalfa stands. On the other hand, no correlation with aphids was found (data not shown).The abundance of H. variegata and T. trifolii, as well as new information about the coccinellid complex of alfalfa in the Ebro Valley region. More studies are needed in order to increase the knowledge on the predator\u2013prey interactions of this crop in Europe.Our study presents previously unreported, positive coccinellid\u2013aphid correlations, such as between Coccinella septempunctata and H. variegata were the prevalent species, but a clear succession between them was observed; the former dominated during the first and second intercuts, whereas the latter dominated from the third to the fifth intercut. Several positive correlations were found, but the most significant were those between the abundance of C. septempunctata and A. pisum in the second intercut, between H. variegata and T. trifolii in the fourth intercut, and between H. variegata and the total number of aphids in the fifth intercut. This study contributes to increase the knowledge on the predator\u2013prey relationships of this crop, knowledge that remains scarce in Europe.Based on this eleven-year-long study, we present the first report on the coccinellid species complex in Spanish alfalfa stands and the relationships with aphids. Sixteen coccinellid species were recorded, among which eight were aphidophagous."}
+{"text": "Pomacea canaliculata is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world, causing significant effects and harm to native species, ecological environment, human health, and social economy. In this study, we used species distribution modeling (SDM) methods to predict the potential distribution of P. canaliculata in China and found that with climate change, there would be a trend of expanding and moving northward in the future.Pomacea canaliculata is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world, which has significant effects and harm to native species, ecological environment, human health, and social economy. Climate change is one of the major causes of species range shifts. With recent climate change, the distribution of P. canaliculata has shifted northward. Understanding the potential distribution under current and future climate conditions will aid in the management of the risk of its invasion and spread. Here, we used species distribution modeling (SDM) methods to predict the potential distribution of P. canaliculata in China, and the jackknife test was used to assess the importance of environmental variables for modeling. Our study found that precipitation of the warmest quarter and maximum temperature in the coldest months played important roles in the distribution of P. canaliculata. With global warming, there will be a trend of expansion and northward movement in the future. This study could provide recommendations for the management and prevention of snail invasion and expansion. Heightened connectivity between countries brought about by globalization\u2019s facilitation has contributed to tremendous economic and social development through global trade, international travel/tourism, etc. and also resulted in the introduction of numerous invasive alien species, posing significant threats to native species, the ecological environment, human health, and the social economy .Pomacea canaliculata (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae), commonly called the apple snail, a freshwater snail native to tropical and temperate South America, was listed by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the \u201c100 of the world\u2019s worst invasive alien species\u201d [P. canaliculata severely harmed the biodiversity in China, altered the spatial distribution of native species, caused direct harm to the production of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, and resulted in massive economic losses [species\u201d , as wellc losses . The spec losses .Pomacea have characteristics that have been linked to invasiveness. After invading the United States, Japan, the Philippines, and other countries, it caused serious damage to the local nature and agriculture, but the control effect of various countries was not ideal, and the population and spread area continued to increase [P. canaliculata, which is widely distributed in China\u2019s south of the Yangtze River, is the most common Pomacea spp. Found in the area [P. canaliculata is selective, endangering the species diversity of the aquatic plant community [P. canaliculata more easily becomes the local dominant population, causing varying degrees of damage to the fish and shellfish resources in the water and endangering the local biodiversity. Meanwhile, as an intermediate host, it carries several main parasites that are harmful to human health and include Echinostomarevolutum, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and Gonathostomaspinigerum, which cause a variety of serious diseases such as echinostomiasis, eosinophilic meningitis, gnathostomiasis, etc. [A. cantonensis primarily uses Achatina fulica and P. canaliculata as intermediate hosts [P. canaliculata is more common due to its large market sales volume, widespread distribution, and strong adaptability. In an outbreak of A. cantonensis in Beijing during 2006, as many as 160 patients became ill after eating undercooked P. canaliculata or related eatables, showing varying degrees of fever, headache, neck stiffness, and skin paresthesia [Some species of increase ,6. P. cathe area ,8. Due tthe area , which iommunity . Its excommunity . With chommunity ,13,14,15is, etc. ,17. Althte hosts , eosinopesthesia .P. canaliculata, which will limit the future development of the species to some extent, with corresponding policies for prevention and control.Quantitative risk assessment of alien invasive species is the general trend of development. Currently, risk assessment is based on the analysis of the adaptability of alien invasive species in the target area. Species distribution modeling (SDM) has been widely used in assessing the risk of invasive alien species , as wellP. canaliculata, we used environmental variables to estimate the suitable habitats for P. canaliculata, and the key environmental variables impacting the distribution were obtained. In this study, we generated a model of P. canaliculata distribution using MaxEnt optimized by kuenm, the global occurrence records of P. canaliculata and environmental variables were used to predict the potential distribution changes in the present and under four climate change scenarios in the future to aid in the prevention and control of its invasion and spread in China.Since temperature is one of the most important factors that influence species diffusion and distribution, global warming threatens to accelerate the spread of invasive alien species ,25,26. Iwww.worldclim.org/data/worldclim21.html, released in January 2020) [P. canaliculata under four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs): 126, 245, 370, and 585. Here, the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model (BCC\u2013CSM2\u2013MR) was used for the global climate model (GCM) [The environmental variables were downloaded from WorldClim version 2.1 (ry 2020) , with 2.el (GCM) , which iel (GCM) ,30.www.esri.com, accessed on 3 January 2021) was used to sample the data of distribution points in all environmental variable layers, where autocorrelation and multilinearity were inevitable and nonnegligible. To reduce the impact of collinearity, Pearson\u2019s correlation analysis was performed on environmental variables. For model development, only variables with correlation coefficients less than 0.8 and eco-physiological significance were chosen. A jackknife test was used to determine variable importance, and variables with less than a 1% contribution were also eliminated. The results were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 8 software .ArcGIS version 10.7 , and those occurrence records were deleted for which the values of the predictor variables were absent. To reduce spatial autocorrelation, the ENMTools package was used to delete duplicate occurrences in the same grid cell [P. canaliculata , low suitable habitat (MTSS\u20130.4), moderately suitable habitat (0.4\u20130.6), and highly suitable habitat (0.6\u20131.0).Maximum training sensitivity plus specificity logistic threshold (MTSS) was used to convert the continuous MaxEnt predictions to presence/absence map, which was generally accepted as a promising method when only presence data were available ,33. The The tool \u201cdistribution changes between binary SDMs\u201d of SDM toolbox version 2.4  for ArcGP. canaliculata since it has a better modeling effect even when there are fewer occurrence records [MaxEnt software (version 3.4.1) was used in this study to generate a model for the potential distribution of  records . We usedTo reduce the overfitting and complexity of the model, the kuenm R package was used to optimize feature combination (FC) and regularization multiplier (RM) , which aThe model\u2019s prediction effect was also assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of the area under the curve (AUC), which would have a higher value when the species distribution deviates more from random distribution . The evaAmong 248 candidates, only one statistically significant model met the omission rate and AICc criteria. In this candidate model (RM = 0.5 FC = LQP), the mean AUC ratio was 1.782, the partial ROC was 0, the omission rate was 0.05, and the AICc was 10991.12, which represents the lowest delta AICc after adjusting .Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients among 11 main contribution variables are shown in P. canaliculata and can effectively reflect its distribution in China (The potential distribution was predicted based on the above models and current environmental variables, which occurred in the south of the Yangtze River, as well as in the most southeastern part of China . The higin China .P. canaliculata, followed by tamx11. The cumulative contribution of the two variables was more than 70%, which were major factors that contributed to the MaxEnt model.According to the results of the jackknife test of variable importance , bio18 hP. canaliculata. As a result, the suitable range for the precipitation of the warmest quarter was 230.89~2044.43 mm, the suitable range for a maximum temperature of November was 7.86~33.17 \u00b0C, the suitable range for elevation was less than 607.44 m, the suitable range for a mean temperature of the wettest quarter was more than 13.96 \u00b0C, the suitable range for annual precipitation was 574.41~3803.38 mm, the suitable range for precipitation of March was 5.94~359.50 mm, and the suitable range for precipitation of the coldest quarter were less than 1076.88 mm.The response curves showed how the predicted probability of presence changes as each environmental variable was varied . A probaP. canaliculata potential distribution from 2021 to 2100 in four SSPs of CMIP6 is shown in P. canaliculata, with the total suitable habitats increasing (The change of creasing . Furthercreasing .P. canaliculata under current and future climatic conditions in China by using the worldwide distribution data. Despite the fact that P. canaliculata has invaded and colonized in China, the suitable habitat may be better predicted using global distribution data, especially given its strong invasiveness. The prediction was found to be reliable when compared with the current distribution of P. canaliculata in China [In this study, the MaxEnt model was used to predict the potential distribution of in China  and the P. canaliculata is one of numerous Pomacea spp. that are morphologically similar, and several of them have been brought to non-native regions and misidentified as P. canaliculata [P. canaliculata and P. maculata [Pomacea spp. distributed in Asia such as P. maculate, P. diffusa, etc., none of which was as widely distributed in China as P. canaliculata. Therefore, it was considered that, while many species may be included, our result can still be illustrated.liculata ,38. Accomaculata . Indeed,When considering the transferability and prediction accuracy of the model, over\u2013fitting and parameters selection were particularly important . In thisP. canaliculata [P. canaliculata could boost the energy supply, tolerance ability, and supercooling to improve the cold resistance [P. canaliculata has been found numerous times in Beijing, Shandong Province, and other northern Chinese cities in recent years. Therefore, it is critical to predict and prevent the northward movement of P. canaliculata. Consistent with the results of Byers et al. [P. canaliculata would continue to expand and move northward in the future, and temperature in the coldest months is critical climate variable. Given the high correlation among Tmax11, Tmin1, and Bio4, we chose Tmax11 for its high percent contribution and highest gain in the jackknife test. Tmax11 may also alter its overwintering ability due to the maximum temperature in the coldest months. Furthermore, we used the elevation variable in the model generation, and based on the jackknife test results, it decreased the gain the most when it was omitted, which therefore appeared to have the most information that is not present in the other variables. In addition, the results of the jackknife test showed that the environmental variable with highest gain when used in isolation is Bio18, which appeared to have the most useful information by itself. In general, our predicted results indicated that P. canaliculata grew in warm, humid and low\u2013altitude environments, which was consistent with its growth habits.A previous study has found that low temperatures in winter play significant roles in limiting the growth of liculata . While nliculata . Meanwhisistance . This cos et al. , the tems et al.  and Lei s et al. , that isP. canaliculata would shift to the high latitudes in the northwest, while suitable areas in the lower latitudes of the southeast would shrink, as high temperatures and global warming change the spread of this species [P. canaliculata. The difference among different SSPs was mainly due to the changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, especially the effect of CO2 concentration on temperature [P. canaliculata. On the other hand, the development of the use of high fossil fuel consumption will result in the obvious expansion and northward migration of suitable areas of P. canaliculata. Therefore, sustainable development will protect our environment, but it will also limit the colonization and spread of invasive organisms.Under the background of climate change, suitable habitats for  species . The res species , which mperature . Taking P. canaliculata in China.Physical, chemical, biological, and other methods are currently used to prevent and control invasive snails. Among them, chemical control is the most commonly used, and while side effects are obvious, it has the greatest impact on the original ecosystem, and there are issues such as drug resistance that limit its effectiveness . PhysicaP. canaliculata in China. It was found that humidity in the warmest quarter and temperature in the coldest month play key roles in its growth, which was primarily related to its overwinter ability. With global warming, the invasive habitat of P. canaliculata could further expand and move northward in China. This study served as a resource for the management and prevention of P. canaliculata invasion. In addition, strict quarantine measures should be implemented in areas where P. canaliculata has not been reported according to the current research results, and appropriate biological, chemical and physical control measures should be combined to reduce the loss caused by P. canaliculata invasion.In this study, we used the optimized MaxEnt model to establish the current and future niche model of"}
+{"text": "R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi trapped in urban areas of southern China. A total of 461 R. norvegicus and 64 R. tanezumi were trapped. Using a pan-hantavirus PCR method, hantaviruses were detected in liver, lung, and serum samples from these animals. About 7.43% of liver samples were positive for Seoul virus (SEOV). The detection rate of SEOV in liver samples from R. norvegicus (8.24%) was higher than that from R. tanezumi (1.56%), suggesting the predominant role of R. norvegicus in the transmission of SEOV in urban areas of China. Three R. norvegicus had SEOV RNA in their liver samples but not in their lung samples, suggesting that the liver might be one of the targeted organs of SEOV. The first full SEOV protein-coding sequences (CDS) of the S and M segments, and partial CDS of the L segment from R. tanezumi were amplified. Several full and partial CDS of the S, M, and L segments from R. norvegicus were also obtained. The SEOV sequences obtained from different animals were highly similar, suggesting the cross-species transmission potential of SEOV between R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi.Rodents are important hosts of hantaviruses, and lungs and kidneys are known to be the preferred organs of these viruses. Recently, hantaviruses were detected in liver samples from wild rodents in Hungary and the United States, and feeder rats in the Netherlands. However, few studies have detected hantaviruses in the liver of rats from China. In this study, hantaviruses were investigated in liver samples from  Mammantavirinae within the family hantaviridae  and Hantaan virus (HTNV) (Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat) is the predominant reservoir of SEOV in urban residential areas in China , are also prevalent in urban areas of southern China, and are also hosts of SEOV  . The pops (HTNV) , 13. In s (HTNV) . Rattus in China . Other R of SEOV .Apodemus, Myodes, and Microtus rodent species in Hungary  gene  between 2014 and 2018 . All anitB) gene .Total RNA and DNA were extracted from ~20 mg of liver tissue samples or 200 \u03bcL aliquot of serum samples using the MiniBEST Viral RNA/DNA Extraction Kit . Given the previous report that lung was the most preferred organ for the detection of SEOV , total ROrthohantavirus (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide) by using BLASTN.A nested PCR assay designed based on a conserved region within the L segment of hantaviruses was used to detect currently known and possible novel members within the genus ntavirus . The amphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide) by using BLASTN. Fragments that did not represent SEOV were excluded. Then the Lasergene SeqMan software  was used to assemble the sequences with reference-based approach (assemble method: pro assemble). Unassembled singletons were verified by amplification using different primers that designed based on the SEOV sequences to ensure they represent SEOV.Based on the reference sequences , primers were designed to amplify the near full-length genome of SEOV . After shttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) using the ClustalW multiple sequence alignment program in MEGA . Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on the PCR screening sequences, and full and partial CDS of the S, M, and L fragments via MrBayes . Using the GTR + G + I nucleotide substitution matrix, two million Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) iterations were sampled every 100 steps to obtain 20,000 trees, with the burn-in generally being 25% of the tree replicates (https://file.org/free-download/bioedit). Recombination events were investigated using SimPlot .All of the screening sequences, and the full and partial protein-coding sequences (CDS) obtained in this study were aligned with hantavirus genomic sequences from GenBank (plicates . The idehttps://github.com/BioEasy/EasyCodeML) was used to calculate the dN (nonsynonymous substitution), dS (synonymous substitution), and \u03c9-values (dN/dS) for each branch  in MEGA  was used to construct phylogenetic trees. The free-ratio model in CODEML in EasyCodeML . Descriptive statistics (Crosstabs) were used to assess detection rates. Chi-square tests were performed to test differences in detection rates across different animals and different sampling locations. The study protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee of the School of Public Health, Southern Medical University and adhered to the guidelines for the Rules for the Implementation of Laboratory Animal Medicine (1998) from the Ministry of Health, China. All surgical procedures were performed under anesthesia in efforts to minimize the suffering of the animals. Endangered or protected animal species were not included in this study.Rattus species rodents were trapped, including 461 Rattus norvegicus and 64 Rattus tanezumi . A total of 7.43% (39/525) of the liver tissue samples were positive for SEOV, with the detection rates of 8.24% (38/461) and 1.56% (1/64) in R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi, respectively , followed by R. norvegicus trapped in Xiamen City (8.57%) and Maoming City (4.65%). All of the SEOV-positive serum samples were from R. norvegicus , eight partial CDS of the M segment (GenBank accession numbers: MZ031948-MZ031955), and eight partial CDS of the L segment were obtained from R. norvegicus . In addition, the first full CDS of the S (GenBank accession number: MZ031956) and M (GenBank accession number: MZ031947) segments, and partial CDS of the L (GenBank accession number: MZ031945) segment were also amplified from R. tanezumi. High level of similarity was found between the full and partial CDS obtained from R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi, indicating the cross-species transmission potential of SEOV between these species  varied and all of them were <1 , suggesting the negative selective pressure on all of the SEOV genes. The M gene had the largest \u03c9-value (0.01846), indicating a greater selective pressure on this gene. Site model analysis found no amino acid sites with signals of positive selection.Rattus species rodents in China . Among these animals, three R. norvegicus with SEOV-positive lung tissue samples had SEOV-negative liver tissue samples, suggesting that the positivity within one tissue sample doesn't always correspond to the positivity in other tissue samples. When investigating SEOV in animals, different organs should be tested to fully understand the prevalence of viral infection and the risk of disease transmission. More studies are needed to investigate the tropism and pathogenesis of SEOV in its naturally infected reservoir hosts.Detection of SEOV RNA in liver tissue, lung tissue, and serum samples from rvegicus , 20. Int studies , 20. In  studies . It seemR. norvegicus and R. tanezumi were highly similar, suggesting the cross-species transmission potential of SEOV between R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi. The partial CDS of the L segment from R. tanezumi obtained in this study was most similar to an L segment detected in R. norvegicus from the United Kingdom .The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the article and its additional files. All PCR screening sequences and full and partial CDS of SEOV are available in the NCBI database  from the Ministry of Health, China. All surgical procedures were performed under anesthesia in efforts to minimize the suffering of the animals. Endangered or protected species were not included in this study.WH and QC conceived of the project and QC obtained the funding. WH and QC contributed to the writing of the paper. WH and JF performed the experiment. WH, YW, and MC analyzed the data. WH, JF, YW, MC, and YM collected the samples. All of the authors have read and approved the manuscript for publication.This work was supported by the Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (no. 2018B020241002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81373051). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Babesia and Theileria are apicomplexan parasites that cause established and emerging diseases in humans, domestic and wild animals. These protozoans are transmitted by Ixodid ticks causing babesiosis or theileriosis, both characterized by fever, hemolytic anemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly. In North America (NA), the most common species affecting humans is B. microti, which is distributed in the Northeastern and Upper Midwestern United States (US), where the tick vector Ixodes scapularis is established. In livestock, B. bovis and B. bigemina are the most important pathogens causing bovine babesiosis in tropical regions of Mexico. Despite efforts toward eradication of their tick vector, Rhipicephalus microplus, B. bovis and B. bigemina present a constant threat of being reintroduced into the southern US and represent a continuous concern for the US cattle industry. Occasional outbreaks of T. equi, and T. orientalis have occurred in horses and cattle, respectively, in the US, with significant economic implications for livestock including quarantine, production loss, and euthanasia of infected animals. In addition, a new species, T. haneyi, has been recently discovered in horses from the Mexico-US border. Domestic dogs are hosts to at least four species of Babesia in NA that may result in clinical disease that ranges from subclinical to acute, severe anemia. Herein we review the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and epidemiology of the most important diseases caused by Babesia and Theileria to humans, domestic and wild animals in Canada, the US, and Mexico.  Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that negatively impact humans, domestic and wild animals directly through tick bites and blood feeding, and indirectly by transmission of viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens . Some ofAmblyomma spp., Dermacentor spp., Haemaphysalis spp., Ixodes spp., and Rhipicephalus spp., which infest humans and animals and vector various species of Babesia and Theileria  to humans is widely distributed from the Nearctic regions of Canada and United States (US) southward to the Neotropical regions of Mexico . Me. MeBabes species ,37. Smalcaribou) . Clinicacaribou) ,35.Babesia spp. involves hard ticks as definitive hosts and vertebrates as intermediate hosts . In. InB. bonnulatus . Bovine nnulatus . In the annually . B. bovis  and animals are sub clinically infected. For chronic Babesia spp. infections, DNA extraction followed by PCR amplification with parasite-specific primers will detect one piroplasm in 109 erythrocytes and differentiate Babesia species or isolates . Ot. OtB. caB. caballi and T. equi reported in 1972 ,100Theilemerging . Other Tule deer ,94,95,96f the US ,33,97 anTheileria spp. Initiates when a tick ingests a blood meal from the vertebrate host containing piroplasms. These undergo syngamy in the tick gut and spread through the hemolymph to the tick salivary glands, where sporogony and formation of infective sporozoites occur. After the tick bite, the sporozoites contained in the tick saliva invade host leukocytes, where schizonts form. After schizogony, merozoites are released into the bloodstream, and in turn invade erythrocytes, producing more merozoites and trophozoites [T. orientalis, the intraerythrocytic form is the major pathogenic stage, for T. parva it is the intralymphocytic form, and for T. annulata and T. equi, both forms are considered pathogenic [Theileria spp. are transmitted transstadially within tick vectors, requiring a 2- or 3-host tick species [The life cycle of hozoites ,102. Durthogenic ,103. The species  (Figure T. orientalis is usually subclinical or results in mild disease [T. orientalis usually lead to anemia and hypoxia due to erythrocyte destruction, while severe disease can cause pyrexia, weakness, increased heart and respiratory rates, and sometimes abortion [T. orientalis is grouped into 11 genotypes: types 1\u20138 and N1\u2013N3. Types 1, 2 and 3 are also referred to as chitose, ikeda and buffeli respectively. Among these genotypes, only chitose and ikeda are pathogenic [T. orientalis are associated with stress and immunosuppression in hosts [Infection with  disease . Neverth disease ,107. Milabortion ,109,110.thogenic . Most clin hosts .T. orientalis infections. In the US, clinical signs of T. orientalis in cows from Virginia were weakness, icterus and anemia [T. orientalis parasitemia is usually low, and detection in the blood is rare and unspecific [A combination of clinical signs along with serological and molecular methods help the diagnosis of d anemia . T. oriespecific . Serologspecific . DNA-basspecific  T. mutans and the second as T.orientalis, genotype buffeli. Reports of T. orientalis in the US include individual cases caused by the genotype buffeli in 1999 and 2000 in cows from Missouri and North Carolina [T. orientalis from Virginia included cows from three separate herds. Infection of T. orientalis genotype ikeda was detected in 10 animals at two different times. Ages of infected cows ranged from 3 months to 13 years (T. orientalis, genotype ikeda on these three Virginia farms were associated with infestations by H. longicornis, the longhorned tick, on cattle. H. longicornis is native to Asia, but has been introduced to the US and is now present in several eastern and central states [T. orientalis, genotype ikeda in Virginia is not clear. The first cases of bovine theileriosis in the US were reported in 1950 in Kansas and Texas , with thCarolina ,91, genoCarolina , and genCarolina . The rep13 years . Three ol states . The oriB. microti is a problem in the Northeastern and Midwestern US, where the number of annual cases show an increasing trend due to the geographical expansion of the tick vector, I. scapularis. As result of this expansion, new cases have been detected in Canada and the Southern US. In Mexico, although a few cases of human babesiosis have been reported, tick vectors and wild animal reservoirs have yet to be identified. The small amount of information on human babesiosis and other tick-borne pathogens in Mexico is due to the lack of serological and molecular diagnostic methods, which are not yet widely available to researchers in the country. The current manuscript aimed to review the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and epidemiology of babesiosis and theileriosis disease in humans, domestic and wild animals in NA. Based on the reviewed literature, human babesiosis caused by Babesia continue to threaten the health of domestic dogs. Bovine babesiosis limits the movement of animals from infested areas, affecting exportation of cattle from Mexico to the US, where restrictions on importation of animals have been implemented to prevent re-establishment of the tick vector, R. microplus. The recent detection of cattle theileriosis, linked to the presence of the longhorned tick H. longicornis, outbreaks of equine piroplamsosis in the US, and the newly discovered species, T. haneyi are just a few examples of the complexity, challenges and research opportunities surrounding ticks and tick-borne pathogens in US, Canada, and Mexico.In NA, domestic animals are impacted by several species of tick-borne Apicomplexa. Several species of large and small"}
+{"text": "In the acknowledgment part of the original publication, one of titles was inappropriate. Here is a correct acknowledgment:We would like to thank Drs. Hiroyuki Takeda, Toru Kawanishi, and Atsuko Shimada  for allowing us to use the light sheet microscope, Mr. Harunobu Kametani and Ms. Yue Tong  for assistance in light sheet microscopy, and Dr. Ichiro Terashima  for helpful suggestions."}
+{"text": "Howeverf cancer  that CRCf cancer . Howeverf cancer . The colf cancer . In addif cancer , 20, 21.+pksE. coli and tumorigenesis (+pksE. coli, and therefore reduce the risk of CRC (We again fully agree with Dubbert and von B\u00fcnau  that CRCigenesis , 23. It k of CRC , 25.E. coli for therapeutic use in humans.In conclusion, the impact of colibactin in cancer can still be discussed and needs to be further studied. However, in light of our results  and of t"}
+{"text": "D., & Gai, X. (2021). Peer feedback and teacher feedback: a comparative study of revision effectiveness in writing instruction for EFL learners. Higher Education Research & Development. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2021.1969541.\u201dIn the original article, the reference for \u201cCui, Y., Schunn, C. D., and Gai, X. (2021)\u201d was incorrectly written as \u201cCui, Y., Schunn, C. D., and Gai, X. (2021). Peer Feedback and Teacher Feedback: A Comparative Study of Revision Effectiveness in Writing Instruction for EFL learners. UK: Routledge. doi: Additionally, in the original article, there was an error in the text. A full stop was missing, which altered the meaning of the text.Introduction, Internalization of Motivation, Paragraph 2. The corrected paragraph is shown below.A correction has been made to According to Ryan and Deci , in pursMaterials and Methods section. The average score on the Test for English Majors-Band 4 (TEM-4) was stated incorrectly.There was also an error in the Materials and Methods, Participants, Paragraph 1. The corrected paragraph is shown below.A correction has been made to The 122 participants were a convenience sample of all enrollees in a writing course (described below). They were English majors  who were third year undergraduate students (mean age of 21) at a private university in northeastern China. All spoke Mandarin as their first language and had received formal English training for more than 8 years at the time of the study. However, their average score on the Test for English Majors-Band 4 (TEM-4) was only 50 out of 100, which is a relatively low score. They had not previously received training on peer feedback before the study. Twenty-eight participants were excluded because they failed to submit papers or questionnaires, leaving 94 in the study.The authors apologize for these errors and state that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Schistosoma\u00a0haematobium in endemic rural and semi-urban areas of Gabon. Snails were collected, morphologically identified, and tested for infection by cercarial shedding. Released cercariae were morphologically identified using low-power light microscopy. A total of six species of snails were collected throughout the study area, with Bulinus\u00a0truncatus, B. forskalii, and Potadoma spp. being the most predominant species collected. Only the Bulinus species were tested for infection by cercarial shedding, of which only B. truncatus shed cercariae. Some B. truncatus shed mammalian schistosome cercariae, while others shed Gymnocephalus cercariae. Our results indicate that B. truncatus appears to be a potential intermediate host of schistosomiasis in Gabon, where cases of S. haematobium, S. guineensis, and S. intercalatum infection are reported. However, it will be important to further understand the species diversity and transmission dynamics of schistosomes.The objective of this pilot malacological survey was to identify the snail intermediate hosts for  Schistosoma haematobium causing urogenital schistosomiasis, and S. japonicum and S. mansoni, which both cause intestinal schistosomiasis. There are other species that cause intestinal schistosomiasis, although their distribution is restricted to specific foci, including S. guineensis and its variant S. intercalatum in Central Africa, and S. mekongi in South East Asia [Schistosoma species depends on the presence and distribution of their freshwater snail intermediate hosts; the snail genus is specific to the species of the parasite, with some variations across countries. In Africa, for instance, predominantly snails of the genus Biomphalaria serve as intermediate hosts of S. mansoni, while snails of the genus Bulinus serve as intermediate hosts of S. haematobium, as well as of S. intercalatum and S. guineensis [Bulinus spp. are also known as the intermediate hosts of S. bovis [Schistosomiasis, a water-borne helminthic disease, is the second most important parasitic infection after malaria in terms of public health and economic impact . Human iast Asia . The worineensis . BulinusS. bovis , a schisB. globosus and B. forskalii in two different sites in the Estuaire province; Libreville and Ekouk [Freshwater snail control is part of the WHO\u2019s recommendation for the control of schistosomiasis . Malacolnd Ekouk . We condS. haematobium being the predominant species [The surveys were carried out at CERMEL  and were species ,8,9. Ind species ,8.For each of the three study areas, human-water contact sites, known as potential schistosomiasis foci, were identified. All sites had on average up to 50% vegetation cover, with the watercourse bed being either muddy, sandy, or both. At the selected sites, snails were collected systematically by three collectors for about ten minutes between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. from aquatic plants and other objects in the habitats. Specifically, vegetation and any materials such as discarded pieces of clothing and tires were thoroughly searched for possibly attached mollusks. During the snail collections, the geographic coordinates of the site were taken using a hand-held GPS, and human-water contact behaviors were observed. All collected snails were placed in a perforated container with wet cotton wool or wet vegetation before being transported back to the CERMEL laboratory.At the laboratory, snails were separated and identified mostly to the genus level based on the shell morphological characteristics using the standardized taxonomic keys proposed by the WHO identification center . On the A number of snail collection points were selected over the study area . In the Potadoma species (most likely P. freethi), Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus forskalii, Melanoides species (most likely M. tuberculata), Lanistes (most likely L. nsedweensis), and Gabiella species. Bulinus species, a total of 44 snails were collected over the study area, including four B. forskalii and 40 B. truncatus.In total, six snail species were collected from a number of collection points. The overall freshwater snails that were found were: B. forskalii snails examined were infected, while 12 (30%) of the 40 B. truncatus .When testing for cercarial shedding, none of the four runcatus a examineercariae b, whilstB. truncatus appears to be an intermediate host of schistosomiasis in the region. It is known that some Bulinus snails may act as intermediate hosts of Schistosoma bovis [S. haematobium by cercariae morphology. However, no domestic animals were observed at the study sites, nor any evidence of bovine game. Moreover, no data are available on the potential presence of S. bovis in Gabon, and particularly in the study area. Since the study area is known to be endemic for S. haematobium [S. haematobium cercariae, shed by B. truncatus. However, the use of molecular tools to accurately identify B. truncatus as a snail host for S. haematobium cercariae in the area remains. As some cases of Schistosome eggs in stool have been reported in the region [S. guineensis have been reported in the country, the role of B. truncatus in the transmission of S. intercalatum and S. guineensis [The present survey adds malacological information to the scarce data available from the schistosomiasis-endemic region. Our results establish the first evidence of cercarial shedding in the Moyen-Ogoou\u00e9 province. Indeed, we found that ma bovis ,12 whichmatobium ,8,9, we ineensis  in the cBulinus was present in all three study areas, while B. truncatus was found in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9 and in the Zil\u00e9-PK areas, known as areas with a moderate or high prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis [B. truncatus could sustain the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the region, and probably in the country. The study was conducted in November, corresponding with the beginning of the rainy season. During the surveys, we observed a low density of snails in the study areas, particularly in the Bindo-Makouk\u00e9 villages. Since seasonal rainfall affects snail density , we hyposomiasis ,8,9, comsomiasis ,8. This B. truncatus shed cercariae. Similar to what was reported earlier by Mintsa et al. [B. forskalii we collected shed cercariae. However, we found that a high proportion of B. truncatus shed cercariae (around 30%), particularly those from the Zil\u00e9-PK rural area. This is in contrast to what was reported from southern Mauritania and western Kenya where no to few (1.8%) snails sampled shed cercariae [B. truncatus intermediate hosts we identified are a very efficient vector of schistosomiasis in our study area, which contrasts with the observation of a similar snail species in Kenya, which is refractive to the local S. haematobium [When exposed to daylight illumination, only a et al. , no B. fercariae ,16, respmatobium .Bulinus snails involved in schistosomiasis transmission, we found other snail intermediate hosts that are capable of transmitting other parasitic diseases. Potadoma spp. was one of the snail genera found, particularly in the Zil\u00e9-PK area. It has been suspected that Potadoma snails may be the intermediate hosts of the lung flukes of the human Paragonimus species , which are reported to occur in parts of Central (Zaire and Cameroon) and West (Nigeria) Africa, respectively [In addition to the ectively . It woulectively ,20.Bulinus spp., a potential intermediate host of schistosomiasis, appears to be present in Gabon, particularly B. globosus, B forskalii, and, as we reported, B. truncatus, which appears to be an efficient intermediate host of schistosomiasis. However, it remains necessary to properly identify the species in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9 and the surrounding areas using molecular analyses to understand the seasonality of snail transmission and population dynamics to guide an appropriate strategy for schistosomiasis control."}
+{"text": "Staphylococcus aureus causes a diverse range of infections including septicaemia and endocarditis. However, in food, it mainly causes food poisoning by the production of enterotoxins. With the discovery of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains that have a separate reservoir in livestock animals, which were termed as livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) in 2005, it became clear that animals may pose another health risk. Though LA-MRSA is mainly transferred by direct contact, food transmission cannot be excluded. While the current strains are not very pathogenic, mitigation is advisable, as they may acquire new virulence genes, becoming more pathogenic, and may transfer their resistance genes. Control of LA-MRSA poses significant problems, and only Norway has an active mitigation strategy. There is limited information about LA-MRSA, MRSA in general, and other S. aureus infections from African countries. In this review, we discuss the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial susceptible and resistant S. aureus (with a focus on MRSA) from meat and meat products in African countries and compare it to the situation in the rest of the world.Antimicrobial resistance has been increasing globally, which negatively affects food safety, veterinary, and human medicine. Ineffective antibiotics may cause treatment failure, which results in prolonged hospitalisation, increased mortality, and consequently, increased health care costs.  The increase in antimicrobial-resistant zoonotic bacterial pathogens has become a significant public health challenge. There are diverse drivers of antimicrobial resistance, with the use of antimicrobial agents in food-producing animals as a major driver of resistance in animal bacteria . IneffecStaphylococcus aureus causes a diverse range of infections in humans. These include severe diseases such as septicaemia and endocarditis, which are frequently associated with high mortality if not treated properly [S. aureus (MRSA) [properly . This baproperly ,4. Howevs (MRSA) .S. aureus has been documented as one of the most significant causes of hospital-acquired infections in the past decades. It belongs to the ESKAPE group of bacteria , all of which have multi-drug resistant profiles [S. aureus has been associated with a high rate of antimicrobial resistance in both hospitals and other environments such as community settings [profiles . S. auresettings . While tsettings . This inS. aureus acquired resistance to methicillin and most other beta-lactamase resistant beta-lactam antibiotics through the acquisition of the mec gene located on the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element [mecA gene is the most prevalent, mecC has been mainly associated with animals, and it has also been detected in human and environmental staphylococci [S. aureus [mecA genes can have several mutations, which may contribute to the variation of oxacillin MICs [S. aureus strains may even be susceptible to oxacillin in vitro while simultaneously harbouring mecA, and they are referred to as OS-MRSAs [S. aureus (LA-MRSA) was only detected in 2005 and was found mainly amongst pigs and veal calves [ element . While tylococci . The MRS. aureus . Since t. aureus . The prolin MICs . Some S.OS-MRSAs . OS-MRSAOS-MRSAs . Livestol calves .S. aureus results from poor hygiene practices during food processing and storage. Both human- and animal-associated strains can be involved [sea gene, cause food poisoning outbreaks [seb, sec, sed and see enterotoxin genes [Contamination of food by involved . Howeverutbreaks . The othin genes .Food poisoning by the staphylococcal toxin is characterised by diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal cramping, and vomiting within 24 h of ingestion . HoweverS. aureus infections from African countries. In this review, we discuss the prevalence and characteristics of S. aureus, including MRSA recovered from meat and meat products in African countries, and evaluate the extent of antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus recovered from humans and animals in African countries, compared to other regions.There is limited information about MRSA, LA-MRSA, and other S. aureus on their skin and in their nares [S. aureus in meat and meat products. Moreover, few isolates have been characterized in detail. Different types of meat may have a different prevalence and, in this section, we handle the different meat types separately.Animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens, turkey, horses, sheep, and man can be colonised by ir nares . Typicalir nares . Few stuIn S. aureus. Positive samples included raw unprocessed beef, pork, goat meat, camel meat, lamb/sheep, and unspecified red meat products. The total prevalence of S. aureus in meat products was 24.5%, and of all red meats, beef samples showed the highest prevalence with 33.08% of the samples being positive. These findings indicate a higher potential risk of beef for human infections. Compared to data from other countries, the results are similar [S. aureus was 16.4% [S. aureus. These findings are similar to what was found in the US [We could find data on a total of 2853 samples from all over Africa. Overall, 699 were contaminated with  similar ,37,38,39 similar , as well similar , while ias 16.4% . This laas 16.4% . A totaln the US ,44,45. In the US .There was quite some variation in the prevalence between the African countries, even between studies from the same country as exemplified by the Nigerian studies. In Nigeria, there was an apparent increase in prevalence ,46, and S. aureus from goat meat [S. aureus in sheep meat. Both were conducted in South Africa, and the results showed major differences [S. aureus from camel meat [S. aureus in those meats; however, it indicates that also those meat products can substantially be contaminated. Surprisingly, on unspecified raw red meat in Nigeria, nearly all products were contaminated [Only one study reported the prevalence of oat meat . The preferences ,26. Onlymel meat . Those saminated , while aaminated .Staphylococcus aureus in red meat differs, thus widely based on different studies, and it seems to be dependent on both the country and the meat product, though other factors cannot be excluded. No firm conclusion on differences between countries, in time or red meat type, can be made, as the studies are too limited and too different. It is, however, clear that S. aureus contamination of red meat products is, and remains, a problem that needs mitigation.The distribution of S. aureus  were positive for S. aureus. One would expect higher levels of contamination, compared to unprocessed meat, as processed meat is more prone to microbial contamination. However, we could not confirm this with the published data. It should be noted also that some processes such as smoking and drying may reduce contamination, and from the above studies, the meat used was dried and smoked. As no ample data are present, no real conclusions can be drawn for this type of food.S. aureus from ready-to-eat meat, and only one study was found and few samples were included. This study showed a low prevalence of S. aureus.S. aureus across the food chain is a complicated process. The contamination may originate from animals, as well as from humans. It has been shown before that in humans, the main source of contamination is food handlers that carry S. aureus in their noses or hands [The contamination of meat by or hands . ImpropeS. aureus on their skin, nose, as well as in their intestine. The main factors that influence the level of contamination are the length at which animals are transported and the methods which are used to move animals from one place to another, holding conditions, geographic location, as well as climate changes [S. aureus and the production of enterotoxins in food is caused by improper handling of foods and the improper storage conditions that support the growth of this pathogen [The other source of contamination is the animals themselves. Food-producing animals carry  changes . Next topathogen . In devepathogen . Only tyS. aureus, compared to other types of meat. S. aureus has been reported to be one of the pathogens causing foodborne infections from different regions worldwide. Findings indicate a specific problem on the African continent in beef production that needs further investigation.In Africa, red meat has the highest prevalence of S. aureus was found on all equipment that was used in the abattoirs [Few studies in Africa have assessed contamination sites across the food chain. However, in Ethiopia, battoirs .S. aureus via the food chain. It is also important that African countries should improve the hygiene conditions, especially in abattoirs, butcheries, and retail shops to improve public health. S. aureus has been associated with foodborne diseases in different parts of the world, and infections caused by this pathogen are difficult to treat because some strains are resistant to antibiotics.From the results obtained in our review, more research needs to be conducted in Africa to fully understand the prevalence and way of spread of The data for antimicrobial resistance in different types of meat from various African countries comprised 20 antibiotics that were tested, representing 10 different classes of antibiotics . Not allHigh resistance was observed from ampicillin (50%), clindamycin (33.8%), doxycycline (27%), and ofloxacin (57%), though ofloxacin represented a small sample size.S. aureus, as determined by the disk diffusion test, is not very reliable [S. aureus may thus be questionable. Resistance against the tetracyclines is somewhat varying between studies, as was the case with the difference in the prevalence of resistance against the different antibiotics in this class. A similar observation can be made for fluoroquinolones. Resistance against other antibiotics was medium to low. Apart from the presence of MRSA, there does not seem to be a very large problem with resistance in this bacterium on meat and meat products in Africa.Upon examination of the data in more detail, we observe that the resistance against beta-lactam antibiotics is in general quite high. It is surprising to see such high resistance against the penicillinase-resistant \u03b2-lactam antibiotics, as the isolation methods that were used were not specifically targeting MRSA. It should be noted, however, that in the concerned studies, the resistance was not confirmed by PCR and may thus be lower ,34,54,59reliable , and theS. aureus from turkey meat [Compared to other parts in the world where antimicrobial resistance has been assessed on strains from food, similar resistance percentages were noted such as in China, ,64, the key meat .S. aureus (MSSA) from meat products in Africa  or they can originate from humans. The LA-MRSA are specific types of MRSA that can be distinguished by molecular typing. Therefore, the prevalence of LA-MRSA is mainly related to carcass contamination from animal origin, rather than other origins. Therefore, the prevalence of LA-MRSA is in direct relation with the prevalence in the animal itself, although not excluding cross-contamination during slaughter and processing.We separated the studies dealing with the detection of MRSA from the other studies, as they applied a very different methodology. Using selective isolation, the studies were focusing only on the presence of a specific subtype of We found data on the selective isolation of MRSA from a total of 3746 meat samples which included beef, pork, and poultry . The numPrevalence in beef was 6.12%, which was higher than 4%, 0.8%, and 1.7% found in beef meat from the USA ,38,49 anFrom Unfortunately, there are little data from Africa on the prevalence of LA-MRSA , though vanA and vanB in Egyptian camel and beef isolates [vanA or vanB gene in staphylococci has rarely been described in staphylococci and is mainly associated with vancomycin resistance in enterococci [van gene-mediated resistance could be detected [In few studies, a selection of resistance genes in MRSA have been determined, which makes the data rather incomplete . The genisolates ,32. Vancerococci . The reaerococci . Anotherdetected . Unfortudetected , whereasdetected . Hospitadetected . The preIn South Africa, ST612 (a CC8 strain) has been associated with human infections and has been identified as a dominant clone in hospitals in Cape Town and other provinces ,104. HowThe presence of ST398 (CC398) indicates that the situation in North Africa might be more similar to Europe, as this is the most detected LA-MRSA clone in animals. Probably this is due to its closer geographical location. The ST398 clonal complex is associated with multi-resistance, including heavy metal resistance, which highlights the need for more studies in Africa on its prevalence. There is thus a need for more research on the prevalence and characteristics of LA-MRSA in African countries .The current data are not representative of what types of MRSA can be found in meat from Africa, nor even of the two countries on which we have information regarding typed strains. The typed MRSA isolates are derived from a single study in Tunisia and two studies from South Africa  47,71,1,171,110.S. aureus from meat products in Africa, and there is even less on the types and their antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, the observation is that meats can be heavily contaminated with S. aureus, including MRSA, and this represents a potential public health threat. There is thus an urgent need for more studies on the subject to be able to estimate the public health burden. The current studies are fragmentary using different methodologies, which makes it difficult to compare studies. While the MRSA clones on meat detected in few studies seem to be mainly of human origin, the presence of LA-MRSA CC398 warrants further investigation, as does the presence of VISA.Unfortunately, there is little information on"}
+{"text": "Dirofilaria spp. have spread rapidly within dog populations of several European countries. Increasing scientific interest in filariasis, and the availability of new diagnostic tools, has led to improved knowledge of the biology, morphology, and epidemiology of different species of filarial worms. However, data are still scarce for a number of countries, including the Republic of Moldova. Thus, we assessed the epidemiological status of canine filariasis in the Republic of Moldova to address part of this knowledge gap.During the last decades, filarial infections caused by A total of 120 blood samples were collected between June 2018 and July 2019 from dogs originating from the cities of Cahul and Chi\u015fin\u0103u. The samples were examined microscopically, and multiplex polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate filarioid species diversity.Acanthocheilonema reconditum (0.8%), one for Dirofilariaimmitis (0.8%), six for Dirofilariarepens (5.0%), and four (3.3%) harboured a co-infection with D. immitis and D. repens. Prevalence was significantly higher in dogs aged \u2265 2 years.Microscopic examination revealed that 12 dogs (10.0%) were positive for circulating microfilariae. The molecular test showed that one dog was positive for D. immitis, D. repens and A. reconditum in dogs that had not received any heartworm preventive.The epidemiological survey presented here for the Republic of Moldova confirmed the presence  Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilariarepens), other filarial species have been rather neglected (e.g. Cercopithifilaria bainae and Cercopithifilariagrassii) or are less well known   were performed using species-specific forward primers and the reverse primer NTR, as described in the literature [Genomic DNA was extracted from 200\u00a0\u03bcl of whole blood using a commercial kit  according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. Multiplex PCRs amplifying partial regions of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene of three filarioid species [terature . The PCRP < 0.05.Data analysis was performed using Epi Info 7 software . The frequency and prevalence of infection are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and the risk factors  were assessed using a Chi-square test. Differences were considered statistically significant at 2\u2009=\u20092.91, df\u2009=\u20091, P\u2009=\u20090.038). There were no significant differences regarding location, sex, breed or origin of the animals  were positive for circulating microfilariae. Age had a significant effect on filarioid infection, as all of these dogs were \u2265 2 years old , one for D. immitis , six for D. repens , and four  harboured a co-infection with D. immitis and D. repens. Infection with Acanthocheilonema spp. was identified only in Cahul, while Dirofilaria spp. were detected at both locations. Although prevalence tended to be higher for both Dirofilaria spp. in Cahul than in Chi\u015fin\u0103u, the difference was not statistically significant. No other significant risk factors were identified . For D. immitis, all five sequences were identical, and had 100% nucleotide similarity to other isolates from Europe and Asia . Two different sequences were obtained from the D. repens isolates. The first one, identified from nine dogs, was 100% identical to three other European isolates from human cases  and mosquitoes (GenBank: MF695085). The second sequence, identified from a dog originating in Cahul, was 100% similar to an isolate from a human case (GenBank: AB973225), a Japanese woman after she had travelled to Europe.The molecular analysis confirmed the microscopy outcomes. In the case of Dirofilaria spp. and A. reconditum. A lack of diagnostic tools, misdiagnosis, and the low awareness of doctors and veterinarians of dirofilariasis are considered to be the main factors responsible for this gap in knowledge [D. repens and D. immitis, respectively. From their analysis of the geographic distribution and temperatures of the sites where the positive sample were collected, the authors concluded that the entire country has favourable climatic conditions for the transmission of Dirofilaria spp. [D. immitis in canine populations in the Republic of Moldova. A total of 13 shepherd dogs originating from two counties, Ialoveni and Criuleni, located in the central part of Moldova, were evaluated for the presence of various parasite species by necropsy, and three of the examined dogs were found to be infected with D. immitis [D. immitis and D. repens have been found in the human population of the Republic of Moldova, most of the available information comprises individual case reports, where the nematodes were identified based on microscopic examination only. Five cases of human dirofilariasis were reported up until 2016 [Dirofilaria spp. One sample was positive for D. repens antigens, 36 were positive for anti-D. immitis immunoglobulin G, and three samples were reactive for antigens of both D. immitis and D. repens [The Republic of Moldova is one of the countries for which few epidemiological data are available on nowledge . In a moria spp. . The res immitis . The mettil 2016 . Howevertil 2016 . An exte. repens .Dirofilaria spp. infection in dogs, our study found no significant differences regarding location, sex, breed or origin of the animals. This might be due to the low numbers of samples used. However, prevalence of infection was significantly higher for dogs aged \u2265 2 years. Age was previously highlighted as one of the most important risk factors for infection [Although previous studies found that sex  or breednfection , 21. OurD. repens and A. reconditum have not been previously reported for the Republic of Moldova. However, in Ukraine, which borders the Republic of Moldova to the east, north and south, and Romania, the western neighbour state, many infections with these pathogens have been reported in human and animal populations. In Ukraine, dirofilariasis caused by D. repens was first reported in dogs in 1904 and in humans in 1927 [D. repens were confirmed in humans. The incidence of Dirofilaria infection ranged between 0.07\u20133.71 per 100,000 people in the geographical areas neighbouring the Republic of Moldova. Due to the presence of the pathogen in all the oblasts of Ukraine, as well as the high incidence registered in many regions, the authors concluded that dirofilariasis due to D. repens is an emergent zoonosis in the country [D. immitis and D. repens in ocular and subcutaneous pathologies in humans in Ukraine. In Romania, sporadic infections with D. immitis in dogs had been reported from the beginning of the twentieth century, but more recent studies, which used various diagnostic methods, revealed prevalences ranging from 23.1% to 38.0% [D. immitis and D. repens were categorized as endemic in areas of southern and southeastern Romania, and the same study provided the first extensive overview of the prevalence and distribution of A. reconditum in the country [Dirofilaria spp. in the former, it is highly probable that the limited number of reports of these pathogens in the Republic of Moldova is the result of a lack of targeted epidemiological studies.Infections with  in 1927 . Between country . Rossi e country  demonstrto 38.0% , 25. In  country . Taking Dirofilaria spp. in dogs have spread from the traditionally endemic regions of Italy, Spain, France, [D. repens for the first time in 2012 [D. immitis and D. repens had tripled by 2018 [During the last decades, infections with  France,  into cen France, , Germany France, , Austria France, , Czech R France, , Poland  France,  and Roma France, . Interes France, . In cont France, . Austria in 2012 , announc by 2018 . Similar by 2018 , 35.Angiostrongylus vasorum of some commercially available antigen tests for D. immitis, and false negative results found with the same type of test where the parasitic burden is low, are the main limitations of these diagnostic tools [Many methods have been proposed for the diagnosis of filarioid infections in dogs. However, a lack of sensitivity of microscopic methods for the detection of larvae, cross-reactivity with ic tools , 23. PCRic tools . Our stuDirofilaria spp., and thus serve as a source of infection for mosquito vectors and possible subsequent transmission to humans and other susceptible mammalian hosts [Dirofilaria spp. The need for more detailed information and the development of monitoring programmes and epidemiological studies on dirofilariasis and other zoonotic vector-borne pathogens in dogs from the Republic of Moldova has been previously highlighted [Dirofilaria spp. in dogs, humans and vectors would allow a better understanding of the circulation of these pathogens in the Republic of Moldova. Although we recognize that the sample size used here is not high, the results of our study should raise awareness amongst veterinarians and physicians. The circulation of dogs between different countries, with their owners or for commercial reasons, is becoming increasingly common. In light of the current study, dogs originating from the Republic of Moldova should be screened for Dirofilaria spp. and Acanthocheilonema spp. Moreover, preventive measures are advisable for dogs (and their owners) entering the Republic of Moldova.Dogs are the main reservoirs of an hosts . Monitorhlighted , 15. MorA. reconditum and D. repens represent the first report of these pathogens in the canine population of the Republic of Moldova.The role of stray dogs in the circulation of these filarial worms, and thus the high risk that they pose for human health, has been previously demonstrated . AlthougD. immitis, D. repens and A. reconditum in dogs that did not receive any heartworm preventive. The data reported here extend our knowledge of the geographical distribution of these nematodes and highlight the need for the development of programmes to prevent their spread because of the deleterious effects that they can have on animal and human health.The present epidemiological survey confirms the presence in the Republic of Moldova of"}
+{"text": "Echinococcus tapeworms in wolves from south-eastern Poland. An investigation was carried out on the intestines of 13 wolves from south-eastern Poland. The small intestines were divided into three equal segments. Each segment was separately examined using the sedimentation and counting technique (SCT). The detected Echinococcus tapeworms were isolated and identified by PCRs and sequencing (nad1 and cox1 genes). Additionally, DNA isolated from the feces of wolves positive for Echinococcus tapeworms was examined with two diagnostic PCRs. The intestines of one wolf were positive for E. granulosus s.l. when assessed by SCT; the intestine was from a six-year-old male wolf killed in a communication accident. We detected 61 adult tapeworms: 42 in the anterior, 14 in the middle, and 5 in the posterior parts of the small intestine. The PCRs conducted for cox1 and nad1 produced specific products. A sequence comparison with the GenBank database showed similarity to the deposited E. ortleppi (G5) sequences. An analysis of the available phylogenetic sequences showed very little variation within the species of E. ortleppi (G5), and identity ranged from 99.10% to 100.00% in the case of cox1 and from 99.04% to 100.00% in the case of nad1. One of the two diagnostic PCRs used and performed on the feces of Echinococcus-positive animals showed product specific for E. granulosus. This study showed the presence of adult E. ortleppi tapeworms in wolves for the first time. The aim of this study is to confirm the presence and molecular identification of  Echinococcus consists of several species of tapeworms of zoonotic importance. The differences between the species concern the morphology of the parasites and their characteristic life cycles, mainly with a predilection to specific host species   (11.5%) . MoreoveE. granulosus s.l. in which this parameter was taken into account, we obtained a relatively low intensity. For example, in a study in the USA [E. granulosus, which, unlike E. multilocularis, is more predisposed to the anterior and middle part of the intestine [The intensity of infection of the wolf in our study was 61 tapeworms. Compared to most studies on wolves with  the USA , only ab the USA , the ave the USA . Howeverntestine ,41,42.E. ortleppi , and the larval forms are most often located in the lungs. Therefore, in the typical development cycle of this parasite, cattle act as an intermediate host, and dogs are the final host [E. ortleppi in a wolf, presented in our research, may also suggest the presence of E. ortleppi cysts in wild cervids in this area. Cervids are the main food for wolves in Poland, and in the south-eastern region of the country, wolves preferentially prey on red deer (Cervus elaphus) [E. ortleppi in cervid species  in a British zoo [Echinococcus cysts should also be taken into account. However, it must be stressed that in Poland domestic ungulates are only secondary food components of the wolf diet  [Cattle are considered the most common intermediate host of nal host ,2. Howevelaphus) . This astish zoo . Howeveredators) . E. ortleppi is also a zoonotic threat; some cases of cystic echinococcosis (CE) have been reported in humans in Europe, the Americas (South and North), Africa, and Asia [E. ortleppi in humans was also reported [and Asia ,47,48,49reported , and it Echinococcus spp. in the south of the country  [E. granulosus s.l. DNA has not been confirmed. However, it should be noted that the authors performed their own PCR method without presenting sufficient basic validation parameters (sensitivity and specificity) concerning E. granulosus s.l. species. Therefore, the presence of E. ortleppi or other E. granulosus s.l. species in that population cannot be excluded.In Poland, wolves have already been tested for al Park) , but theEchinococcus tapeworms have not shown the presence of E. granulosus s.l., in general [E. multilocularis was found in 1.5% of the animals tested. Probably, the problem in detecting E. granulosus s.l. is due to the relatively low sensitivity of the method by Abbasi et al. (2003) [E. ortleppi (SCT positive) was detected using the Multiplex PCR method [E. granulosus s.l. in feces, but it is hard to conclude based on one sample. Therefore, recently, there is an interest in developing a universal method for detecting E. granulosus s.l. infections, e.g., a recently published study presenting a set of qPCR methods covering all species of the E. granulosus complex [More extensive investigation is needed in the dog population, which is the typical definitive host for this species. Thus far, studies in dogs in Poland for  general ,21. The . (2003) . In the R method . HoweverR method , gave a  complex .E. ortleppi cysts [E. ortleppi species. Moreover, the similarity between both phylogenetic trees (nad1 and cox1) is probably related to the common inheritance of mitochondrial genes. The relatively high similarity between all E. ortleppi analyzed isolates with exemplary haplotypes of E. canadensis is noteworthy; the two species are considered sister species [The Polish haplotype isolated from wolves had the greatest similarity to isolates obtained from European pi cysts ,34,36,37pi cysts ,52. Full species ,54. Canis lupus) from south-eastern Poland (NUTS PL821) (An investigation was carried in the intestines of 13 wolves (S PL821) ; they weEchinococcus eggs). First, each small intestine was divided into three equal segments . Each segment was prepared separately and examined using the sedimentation and counting technique (SCT) [Echinococcus tapeworms. The detected Echinococcus spp. tapeworms were isolated during the SCT procedure and preserved in 70% ethanol. Additionally, the feces from a distal part of the large intestine of a wolf positive for Echinococcus in SCT were collected and frozen for further molecular examination. The study material consisted of the intestines sent to a laboratory. The samples were stored for two weeks at <\u221270 \u00b0C before examination for safety reasons  ,56 to fiEchinococcus tapeworms (isolated previously from the intestine) were washed in physiological saline in a petri dish. In this manner, three tapeworms were prepared and used for analysis. DNA was extracted from isolated Echinococcus tapeworms using a QIAamp DNA Mini Kit , according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocol. The fragments of two mitochondrial genes were amplified for analysis: NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) and cytochrom c oxidase (cox1) subunit 1. PCR was performed according to the procedure by Bowles and McManus (1993) [nad1 amplification. Cox1 was amplified with PCR according to Casuli et al. (2008) [Before DNA extraction, s (1993)  using th. (2008)  with theE. granulosus-positive wolf) was extracted using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit , according to the manufacturer\u2019s protocol for larger volumes of stool. The DNA samples were examined using multiplex PCR for the detection of E. multilocularis, E. granulosus, and other cestodes, including Taenia spp. [E. granulosus s.l. [Additionally, DNA from samples of feces . The selected PCR products were sequenced by standard Sanger sequencing at a commercial company . The sequences obtained were compared to the GenBank collection using BLAST searches.cox1 and nad1), sequenced fragments of cox1 and nad1 were edited and analyzed in Geneious R11 [For phylogenetic analyses . Moreover, this is the first confirmed case in almost sixty years of E. granulosus s.l. in a definitive host in Poland and the first case of E. ortleppi in an animal host in this country. This indicates the need to continue research in this area with the use of sensitive methods in both wolf and dog populations, bearing in mind the particular zoonotic risk that CE caused by E. ortleppi in humans was confirmed in Poland a few years earlier [This study showed for the first time the presence of adult  earlier ."}
+{"text": "Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-021-27842-z, published online 11 January 2022.Correction to: th author Clemens Burda, who is from the Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA. The text \u2018C.K. and C.B. provided the femtosecond transient-absorption spectroscopy experiments and analysis\u2019 was already present in the Author Contributions. The author list has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article, and the HTML has been updated to include a corrected version of the\u00a0The original version of this Article, and the original version of the\u00a0Updated Supplementary Information"}
+{"text": "Pandion haliaetus) was found weak and unable to fly in Auburn, Alabama in August 2019. The bird was captured and submitted to the Southeastern Raptor Center of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation. On presentation, the bird was thin with a body condition score of approximately 1.5 out of 5. The bird died during the examination and was submitted for necropsy. At the necropsy, there was a severe loss of muscle mass over the body, and the keel was prominent. The liver and spleen were moderately enlarged with pale tan to red foci randomly scattered throughout the parenchyma. A histopathologic observation revealed multifocal to coalescing areas of necrosis and hemorrhage with intralesional protozoans in the liver, spleen, lungs, kidney, sciatic nerve, esophagus, cerebrum, heart, and proventriculus. Immunohistochemistry using anti-Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibodies showed a strong positive labeling of the parasite. Semi-nested PCR, specific for the B1 gene of T. gondii, successfully identified T. gondii. This is the first confirmed case of T. gondii infection in an osprey.An adult female osprey ( Toxoplasma gondii (genus Apicomplexa: family Sarcocystidae) is a protozoan parasite infective to a wide range of wild and domestic, warm-blooded animals including birds and human beings [n beings . The onln beings . In felin beings . All othn beings ,3,4. Witn beings . Followin beings . Young an beings . Older, n beings . In thesn beings .An adult female osprey was found weak and unable to fly in Chewacla State Park of Auburn, Alabama, USA. The bird was captured and presented to the Southeastern Raptor Center of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation. A physical examination was initiated upon presentation, but the osprey died during the procedure. The body was submitted for necropsy and a postmortem examination was conducted a few hours after death.Edwardsiella tarda was obtained from both organs. Fungal cultures were negative. An oral swab was negative for avian influenza virus and no West Nile virus was detected in the submitted cerebrum. Tissue samples from the cerebrum, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, heart, sciatic nerve, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, jejunum, ileum, colon, cecum, esophagus, and trachea were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin and paraffin processed for routine histopathologic evaluation. Four micron sections were cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for microscopic examination. Sections of the liver and spleen were additionally processed for anti-T. gondii immunohistochemistry.At necropsy, the osprey was in a poor body condition (body condition score of 1.5/5) with mild postmortem changes. There was a severe loss of muscle mass over the body and the keel was prominent. The liver was moderately enlarged with multifocal to coalescing areas of hemorrhage scattered over the capsular surface. Multifocal to coalescing, 1 mm \u00d7 1-mm, pale-brown-to-yellow, well-demarcated, smooth foci extending from Glisson\u2019s capsule into the parenchyma were observed throughout the liver a. The spT. gondii, were also found in the surrounding extracellular spaces. Immunohistochemical staining, using a rabbit polyclonal antibody against T. gondii as a primary antibody and a horse anti-rabbit horseradish peroxidase as a secondary antibody, were positive for the parasite, with membranous immunoreactivity to the intracytoplasmic tachyzoites. Replacing most of the splenic parenchyma were multifocal-to-coalescing areas of necrosis characterized by pale, granular, eosinophilic material, with cellular debris, extravasated erythrocytes, fibroblasts, degenerative heterophils, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Macrophages and adjacent clear spaces contained bradyzoites and tachyzoites of T. gondii  as previously described [T. gondii: TOXO1 (5\u2032-GGAACTGC ATCCGTTCATGAG-3\u2032) and TOXO2 (5\u2032-TCTTTAAAGCGTTCGTGGTC-3\u2032). The repetitive region of T. gondii was amplified with the oligonucleotide primers: TOX4 (5\u2032-CGCTGCAGGGAGGAAGACGAAAGTTG-3\u2032) and TOX5 (5\u2032-CGCTGCAGACAGAGTGCATCTGGATT-3\u2032). The BLASTn demonstrated the identified T. gondii from this work had an 100% identity with the T. gondii isolate EIReal109a , and the T. gondii VEG strain (GenBank Accession #: LN714499.1).The presence of escribed ,11. DNA escribed . OligonuT. gondii was isolated from other raptors in the US [Based on the gross and histopathological findings and molecular analyses, the bird was diagnosed with disseminated toxoplasmosis. Although n the US ,13, to oPandion haliaetus carolinensis, P. haliaetus haliaetus, P. haliaetus rudgayi and P. haliaetus leucocephalus [P. haliaetus carolinensis, the subspecies found in the southeastern United States, breeds across North America and the Caribbean, and winters in Central and South America. In North America, their range extends from much of Alaska and Canada downward throughout all regions of the continental United States and Mexico. There are resident populations in the southeastern United States and Southern California that do not migrate but spend their entire year in those locations [Ospreys are diurnal, migratory birds of prey with a worldwide distribution, wintering or breeding on every continent except Antarctica . The bircephalus . P. haliocations ,15.T. gondii in wild birds is common, and viable T. gondii bradyzoites were isolated from the tissues of a variety of raptor species [T. gondii organisms was reported in a bald eagle in New Hampshire [T. gondii organisms was observed in an adult barred owl in Canada [T. gondii in raptors in the southeastern US, the researchers isolated viable T. gondii from 27 (26.7%) of the 101 raptors surveyed [T. gondii in 281 birds, in a raptor rehabilitation facility between 2012 and 2014, was examined. This survey found a variety of hawks, owls, and eagles to be seropositive for T. gondii, but American kestrels, Mississippi kites and an osprey were serologically negative [T. gondii infection in wild birds found 29% of surveyed ospreys to be seropositive [T. gondii seropositivity in all wild birds tested were bird age and feeding behavior, with the highest exposure observed in older animals and in species with a carnivorous diet. Fish-eating birds were much less likely to have serum antibodies against T. gondii than the carnivorous species. In experimental infections of raptors with the parasite, clinical disease was not observed [Serologic surveys indicate that an exposure to  species ,16,17. H species . Myocardn Canada . In a stsurveyed . Four ospositive . The datobserved .T. gondii infection in the present case is unknown. The bird was likely infected with the protozoan through the ingestion of oocysts from the soil or water or by the ingestion of intermediate hosts harboring encysted bradyzoites in their tissues. Additionally, the infection of the bird could have occurred secondary to the ingestion of oocysts present in the gastrointestinal tract of fish. Oocyst ingestion is a common source of infection in a variety of species, including humans [T. gondii can remain viable for over a year in soil [T. gondii [T. gondii as a cause of toxoplasmosis in this bird is unknown but fish were implicated as a source of T. gondii infection for human beings and marine mammals [T. gondii but can be contaminated with T. gondii oocysts from water run-off following rains and flooding, and act as mechanical carriers for the parasite [T. gondii in fish and invertebrates focused on the possibility of these aquatic animals being a source of T. gondii infection for marine mammals and examined the concentration and survival of protozoal stages in fish and invertebrates [T. gondii was shown to persist in many invertebrates [Carassius auratus), maintained at 37 \u00b0C with T. gondii, failed to contract T. gondii infections [T. gondii tachyzoites were demonstrated in zebrafish (Danio rerio) infected experimentally with bradyzoites derived from mouse brain, suggesting that the development of T. gondii is possible in fish [T. gondii in fish in the southeastern United States is unknown and the importance of fish in the transmission of the parasite to this osprey remains in question.The source of g humans . The ext in soil , freshwa in soil , and sal in soil , and the in soil . Ospreys in soil , which a. gondii . This su mammals . Fish arparasite . Previoutebrates ,28. T. gtebrates ,30,31,32fections . However in fish . The preT. gondii infection with severe, widespread tissue necrosis in an osprey.In the present study, we report the first case of disseminated"}
+{"text": "In this paper, a new method in forecasting the horizontal displacement of diaphragm wall (D.W.) for high-rise buildings is introduced. A new stochastic optimizer, called Planet Optimization Algorithm (P.O.A.), is employed to assess how proper finite element (F.E.) simulation is against field data. The process is adopted for a real phased excavation measured at the field. To automatically run the iterative optimization tasks, a source code is constructed directly in the Geotechnical Engineering Software (PLAXIS) by using Python to ensure that the operation between optimization algorithm and F.E. simulations are smooth\u00a0to guarantee the accuracy of the complex calculation for the soil problem. The proposed process consists of two steps. (1) The parameters will be optimized at the early phases of the excavation. (2) The responses of D.W. displacements are forecasted at the subsequent phases. The aim of the process is to predict the displacements of D.W. of the building from the result of the nearby excavation or to provide early warning about the risks of excavation that may happen under vital phases. The proposed procedure also provides an effective method for optimization-based soil parameters updating in real engineering practice. With growing challenges that require A.I. algorithms to be constantly improved4, many swarm-inspired algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (P.S.O.)5, Genetic Algorithm (G.A.)6, or physics-inspired algorithm , even behavior-inspired of human (e.g. Human Behavior-Based Optimization8) have been proposed. Optimization algorithms are employed in most fields in daily life. In difficult and obscure fields such as soil and foundation mechanics, it is even more necessary to apply the strengths of both to maximize efficiency.With the drastic development in the field of Computer Science in the past several decades, dealing with complex problems becomes easier by using a combination of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and finite element modelsSkyscrapers have emerged as a solution to meet workplace or residence needs. While the used space expands upwards, the space inside the ground is also exploited for entertainment, storage, museums, or simply parking at the same time. Excavated construction for projects with two to four basements has become quite popular, in which the traditional method of digging with the anti-system has existed for a long time. This solution is simple and easy to run; it requires, nevertheless, a large area for construction.9. A semi-Top-Down construction solution is more suitable for excavation in urban space. This method has two advantages; short construction time and smaller displacement of the diaphragm wall than the braced excavation method.Additionally, displacement of the soil and the diaphragm wall is usually large10 studied the effects of subway station construction on surrounding buildings. Huang et al.11 presented a method combining S.T.D. excavation technique with steel bracing for the Shanghai's subway station. Peck12 proposed the inverse analysis or observational method. This technique is typically adopted to evaluate the dominant or representative characteristics or parameters of soil via observed data at the site.Many previous studies show the influence of displacement of the diaphragm wall on adjacent buildings with the Semi-Top-Down (S.T.D.) constructed technique. Tan et al.Applying the nature-inspired optimization algorithm for the inverse analysis of the problem brings several benefits. This gives us a practical view of the suitable parameters for soil behavior.13, Qi and Zhou14, Zhang and Mahadevan15, Hsiao et al.16 or Juang et al.17 employing Bayesian updating of soil parameters for prediction settlement or displacement of D.W., and \u0160pa\u010dkov\u00e1 and Straub18 using Bayesian for the tunnel excavation problem, etc.). Nevertheless, in the application of a model to update Bayesian, more than 10,000 calculations for the Markov chain of Monte Carlo sampling may be required, which makes the method impractical to use. In the last two decades, a new, more suitable method that has been widely used is the optimization algorithm. Specifically, it is particularly an intelligent algorithm to solving optimization problems. Yin and Jin19 demonstrated that an efficient multi-objective optimization-based updating framework could be constructed. Tang and Kung20 presented a study called a Nonlinear Optimization Method (NOM) to inversely analyze geotechnical engineering problems.One of the inverse analyses is a Bayesian updating procedure  simulation F.E. using PLAXIS, (2) novel optimization algorithm (P.O.A.), and (3) the link between (1) and (2) based on the environment of the Python language.In deep excavation problems, settlement and displacement of the D.W. are the two important information on the construction of the structure of a high-rise building. In practice, the deformation ratio, which is defined as the maximum surface settlement over the maximum lateral displacement of D.W. introduced by Kung et al.The geotechnical engineering software PLAXIS version 2020 is employed to calculate the behavior of the soil under the excavation. In more detail, the Hardening Soil Model (H.S.M.) is the soil model employed to characterize the soil in the PLAXIS simulation of the excavation. The stiffness of soil commonly is indicated by a set three modulus, namely the secant modulus in standard drained triaxial test , see Fig.\u00a07 kN/m, 2/m and Poisson\u2019s ratio is 0.15. The excavation of Lancaster was performed employing the Semi -Top-Down technique. The excavation process underwent 5 main steps, in which the D.W. is supported by concrete slabs of 250\u00a0mm thick with material properties: 6 kN/m and Poisson\u2019s ratio is 0.15. The steps of excavation are summarized in Table 2. Figure\u00a02.The excavation width at the L.L.T. is 70\u00a0m, and the length of the 0.8\u00a0m thick diaphragm wall is 32\u00a0m with material properties: mentclass2pt{minimmentclass2pt{minimmentclass2pt{minimWhile the three first excavation stages are employed to search soil parameters by using PLAXIS and Python, the lateral displacement of D.W. and settlement under two final-stages excavation are predicted based on these optimized parameters at early-phases.28 tried to determine the stiffness and strength parameters for H.S.M. Some scholars made a concentrated effort to back calculate the ratio of the stiffness modulus of the undrained shear strength . The P.O.A. theory will be fully developed in the other paper, and consequently is not reproduced here. In the paper, a brief description of the algorithm is, however, also presented including flowchart.The basic concept of gravitation laws (or Newton's law) will be presented. Next, inspired by the motion of planet in the universe by this law, a mathematical model for an optimal algorithm will be constructed.In this study, the parameter The optimized model is illustrated simply by a system consists of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon as shown in the Fig.\u00a0Stages 1: The best start. The algorithm's first step is to search for an effective solution to operate as the best solution. The aim of this step is to improve the convergence and accuracy in the first iterations.Stages 2: Calculation  factor.ith or jth planet, the worst planet and the sun, respectively. This means that the objective function value of a planet is smaller, the mass of this planet is larger. The distance i and j at Stages 3: Global search. Mi/Mmax\u00a0is a coefficient, which depends on Mi is the sun's gravity on a planet ith at t iteration, and entclass1pt{minimaStages 4: Local search. When the distance between the Sun and a planet is small, the local search process is operated. The planet with the biggest mass will operate like the sun. It means that the planet moves a small distance between it and the hypothetical Sun at iteration t instead of going straight towards the hypothetical Sun. This is illustrated and Eq.\u00a0 summarized in the Fig.\u00a0ith.ith.ith of the adjacent building.ith of the adjacent building.The meta-heuristic optimization algorithm (P.O.A.), which is integrated into geotechnical engineering software, is adopted to solve this problem. Each set of parameter values is sent to the simulation model using PLAXIS, which has been calibrated for the particular soil system. Then, the simulation model is solved to obtain the resulting response in the form of displacements of diaphragm wall at phases. This displacements values and observed data at field are utilized by P.O.A. to solve the objective functions n in Eq.\u00a0. With thUp to sum, this methodology that combine of F.E. method using PLAXIS and the optimization algorithm (P.O.A.), in which Python language is operated as a strong connection both together.In this subsection, the comparison between P.O.A. and two well-known algorithms (P.S.O. and G.A.) for forecasting real excavation problems is presented. A thorough investigation is conducted for comparison between computed displacements and field data via observations from inclinometers of the excavation. The results of the P.O.A. are presented for comparison with the results of the G.A. and P.S.O. in this problem. It means that the proposed methodology replaces P.O.A. with G.A. or P.S.O. Furthermore, by doing that, we can evaluate the effect of optimization algorithm on the\u00a0proposed method, check the performance of P.O.A. at the same time. Figure\u00a0Figure\u00a0The inverse analysis D.W. displacements of each excavation phase in the L.L.T. are indicated in Fig.\u00a0Up to the sum, the P.O.A. provides the prediction of horizontal displacements of retaining wall is more suitable than G.A. and P.S.O. Although the difference of value of displacement D.W. is not large between algorithms, it also verifies that P.O.A. explores effectively and strongly in optimization.33. The back-figured values of modulus for both layer 3 and 4 in  are essentially suitable for\u00a0recommendation of researchers33. The identification iteration paths illustrated in Fig.\u00a0In practice, the inverse analysis combination with excavation is to make a forecast the final soil behavior of excavation on what happened in early-phase observations. First, the target parameters have to\u00a0be optimized at the early phases of the excavation. Next, the responses of D.W. displacement at the subsequent phases, especially the final phase of excavation, are predicted under target parameters optimized at early phases. Consequently, the results of inverse analysis of the L.L.T. is adopted to further experiment the capacity of the developed method. The In this case, the inverse analysis is employed for\u00a0only one target parameter for each soil layer, however, this back computing provides the essential accuracy and satisfaction for inverse analysis D.W. displacements. It is clear that for back-figured parameters for D.W. displacement in early-stage excavation are approximately identical with field observation despite the\u00a0differences.\u00a0This is acceptable in real geotechnical engineering problems because these errors are quite small. Additionally, the shape of the displacement line of D.W. is very proper with field monitoring data. Furthermore, these errors at the maximum displacement points do not exceed 3\u00a0mm, which are highly desirable results in the design field of real geotechnical engineering problems. Generally, the soil parameters inverse analysis at early phases can be employed to predict the maximum D.W. displacements at stage 5 satisfactorily. It means that the similar soil parameters inverse analysis at different phases may be representative and is\u00a0approaching the real soil parameters.Based on the analyses and comparisons presented herein, the following conclusions can be drawn:(1) The inverse analysis procedure, which is a fully automated process integrated the optimization algorithm (P.O.A.) with the Python code into geotechnical software (PLAXIS) platform, is effectively employed for the model calibration of lateral movements at the excavation. Simultaneously, it is also employed in conjunction with field observations to increase practicality. (2) From early observations about lateral movements of D.W. and surface settlement in the first excavation, stages are employed to recalibrate the model, which can \"adequately\" estimate the responses of the soil for the subsequent excavation stages. This method is significant in that a successfully updated model at the first excavation stages, which affects all processes, is the automatic forecast of the soil behaviour whole excavation. (3) The growing accuracy of the computed results of the objective function and relative fit enhancement are statistics that proof this technique's efficiency.With the inverse analysis method based on monitored data in the field at the early phases of excavation or from nearby excavation buildings, model parameters may be obtained easily and reliably instead of the traditional approaches, which depend mainly on the pure experience of engineers. Forecasting accidents due to extraordinary displacement D.W. and the surface settlement in time provides a good risk forecasting guarantee for the proper prevention. This research provides a comprehensive methodology for predicting risk, enhancing safety, saving time and budget, and effectively designing and constructing high-rise buildings. Furthermore, with the drastic development of the Computer Science field and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in recent decades, we firmly believe that the technique will be trending in the future inevitably."}
+{"text": "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience of updating the authorship. The previous authorship was Jianjia Wang, Xichen Wu, Mingrui Li, and the updated authorship is Jianjia Wang, Xichen Wu, Mingrui Li, Hui Wu, Edwin R. Hancock. Ms. Hui Wu and Professor Edwin R. Hancock should be added to the list of contributing authors. Ms. Hui Wu contributed to the formal analysis, methodology, and investigation in the original manuscript. Professor Edwin R. Hancock contributed to the supervision, methodology, and the review and editing of the manuscript. We have added them to the authorship of our paper  and upda"}
+{"text": "Lycium barbarum L. (goji berry) is used as traditional Chinese medicine, and has the functions of immune regulation, anti-tumor, neuroprotection, anti-diabetes, and anti-fatigue. One of the main bioactive components is L. barbarum polysaccharide (LBP). Nowadays, LBP is widely used in the health market, and it is extracted from the fruit of L. barbarum. The planting of L. barbarum needs large amounts of fields, and it takes one year to harvest the goji berry. The efficiency of natural LBP production is low, and the LBP quality is not the same at different places. Goji berry-derived LBP cannot satisfy the growing market demands. Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used for the biosynthesis of some plant natural products. Recovery of LBP biosynthetic pathway in L. barbarum and expression of them in engineered S. cerevisiae might lead to the yeast LBP production. However, information on LBP biosynthetic pathways and the related key enzymes of L. barbarum is still limited. In this review, we summarized current studies about LBP biosynthetic pathway and proposed the strategies to recover key enzymes for LBP biosynthesis. Moreover, the potential application of synthetic biology strategies to produce LBP using engineered S. cerevisiae was discussed.The fruit of  Lycium species in the world, and they are widely distributed in Asia, Europe, North America, and other regions .,67.S. ceynthesis . Though S. cerevisiae strain can synthesize LBP, selecting suitable substrates, enhancing the supply of cofactors and precursors, and the heterologous expression of key genes will direct the metabolic flux to LBP synthesis and improve the production of LBP. For industrial-scale production, optimization of yeast cultivation medium and conditions might further increase LBP production in S. cerevisiae. Some plant natural products produced with engineered yeasts, such as artemisinin, have been approved for medicinal use [S. cerevisiae is GRAS, the S. cerevisiae biomass might be directly used as prebiotics for poultry or other animals without further bioprocess. In the future, the synthetic biology will help introduce the redesigned LBP biosynthetic pathway in yeast and lead to the high-level production of LBP in the future [When the engineered inal use ,44, but e future .S. cerevisiae provides a possible green strategy for LBP supply. The completed synthetic pathways and key enzymes are unclear now, which limits yeast production of LBP. Finding the key enzymes and designing the intact pathways using omics data are possible now. In the near future, construction of an optimized redesigned LBP synthetic pathway in S. cerevisiae will lead to large-scale production of LBP, which would provide a sustainable way for LBP supply.As the main bioactive component, LBP has a variety of pharmacological effects, but its supply depends on the extraction from goji berry. Production of LBP by engineered"}
+{"text": "Rheumatology Advances in Practice, Samnaliev et al. [Although new therapies have been licensed for the treatment of SLE, we do not yet know to what extent these will improve mortality, quality of life and health-care costs. To date, these therapies have mostly been trialled and prescribed to patients with an SLE diagnosis of several years, and after other immunosuppressants. But is this the best time to use our most effective therapies? In this issue of v et al.  conductePrevious work has already suggested this. The standardized mortality ratio is highest in the first year of SLE diagnosis, at 5.4 . This iset al. [The CPRD used in the study by Samnaliev et al.  captureset al. .et al. [vs 3.8 per year respectively) in the 5 years preceding diagnosis, which was attributable, in part, to clinical features of SLE [et al. [S.d.) unadjusted direct health-care cost peaked in the first year after diagnosis at \u00a37532 (\u00a39634) per patient and remained high for the next 9 years. In the first year after diagnosis alone, the adjusted total mean annual increase in costs per patient was \u00a34476  greater compared with the year before the diagnosis. Second, the authors used models of individual trajectories of mean all-cause health-care costs and reported that the increase in costs per year was 4.7- and 1.6-fold higher among patients with severe SLE compared with those who had mild or moderate disease [Rheumatology Advances in Practice, Langham et al. [S.d.) time to initiation of any medication being 177 (385.3) days. Consequently, almost all patients  experienced at least one flare episode during the follow-up. In year 1 of diagnosis, the mean (S.d.) overall flare rate was 3.5 (2.5), and the median time to first flare was 63  days. Patients with moderate or severe disease had the shortest median time to first flare compared with those who had mild SLE [Samnaliev et al.  reportedet al. . This cos of SLE . In the  [et al. , the risCollectively, these findings present a concerning picture. Not only do highly severe manifestations present early in the disease and impact on quality of life and mortality, but also these diagnoses are made late. This suggests that a radically different approach to referral, diagnosis and intensity of early treatment is warranted to improve outcomes, including the prevention of irreversible damage; the availability of a new therapy might not be sufficient unless the entire early treatment pathway is revised. In other diseases, such as RA, the 2016 EULAR guidelines advocate for patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis to be referred to, and seen by, a rheumatologist, within 6 weeks of the onset of symptoms . SpecifiHowever, we must consider some limitations in both studies. The use of electronic health records depended on whether a diagnosis was coded accurately in both the primary and secondary care. Hence, a misclassification of SLE is still possible and is more likely for the mild patients, which might exaggerate differences between severe and mild patient groups. Furthermore, the severity of SLE could have been underestimated for the severe category and overestimated for the mild to moderate categories. For example, a criterion for severe disease was oral prednisolone \u226560 mg/day, whereas the intention to treat of >20 mg/day in other established indices, such as the BILAG-2004, would be considered as severe. The study also lacks age- and gender-matched healthy controls for comparison. Lastly, the study also did not examine the impact of ancestry and ethnicity, which are factors that are known to impact on lupus severity and health-care utilization patterns.Future treatment innovations in SLE should focus on early diagnosis and treatment. A broad range of research questions must be answered. Better diagnostics during the pre-clinical and early phase  are needM.Y.M.Y. is a Senior Research Fellow and is funded/supported by the the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund Fellowship (204825/Z/16/Z) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Doctoral Research Fellowship (DRF-2014-07-155). E.M.V. is an NIHR Clinician Scientist (CS-2013-13-032). This article/paper/report also presents independent research funded/supported by the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.Funding: No specific funding was received from any bodies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors to carry out the work described in this article.Disclosure statement: M.Y.M.Y. has received consultancy fees from Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. E.M.V. has received honoraria, consultancy fees and research grant support from Aurinia, Roche, GSK, Lilly, Novartis and AstraZeneca.All data underlying this article are available in the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Trifolium is one of the largest genera of the legume family Fabaceae with ca. 255 species. The genus is divided into eight sections; the section Trifolium is a major section of the genus, comprising 73 species mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region. We used nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and morphological variation to reconsider the delimitation and phylogenetic relationships of species in the section Trifolium with reference to chromosomal variations. Bayesian analysis of ITS data delimited the species as three clades based on the analysis of ITS sequence and informative indels in combination with morphological variation. The phylogeny of the species by different analyses methods does not support their current delimitation in 17 subsections. The basic chromosome number x = 8 is the number for the genus Trifolium, from which x = 7, 6 and 5 were derived through successive aneuploidy events. With reference to the distribution of these numbers in the species of the section Trifolium, species in clade III and clade II are more evolved than species in clade I.The genus  Trifolium L. is one of the most important genera of the family Fabaceae. It comprises approximately 255 herbaceous, perennial and annual species distributed in different geographic regions, particularly in the Mediterranean region, East Europe, Eurasia, the highlands of eastern Africa and western North America [Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. Trifolii [Trifolium [T. pallescens) mated with a diploid coastal species  to produce tetraploid T. repens. This has spurred interest in the evaluation of the agronomic potential of locally utilized and currently uncultivated species as a potential genetic resource for crops [The clover genus  America ,2,3. TheTrifolii . Fertilerifolium ,7,8,9. Wrifolium  supporteor crops .Trifolium sensu lato as one large genus of eight sections [Chronosemium, Mistyllus, Paramesus, Trichocephalum, Trifolium, Vesicaria), one to the New World (Involucrarium) and one occurs in both hemispheres (Lotoidea). The later section comprises over 95 species and has traditionally been considered ancestral to all other sections due to its worldwide distribution and morphological heterogeneity [Most contemporary classifications treat sections ,13,14, oTrifolium section has a native distribution throughout continental Europe, extending to Eurasia and south to North Africa. Species of this section show diverse specializations in seed dispersal mechanisms [The chanisms . The secchanisms ,16, highchanisms  and hetechanisms .Trifolium is contradictory. Zohary and Heller [The available literature about the subsectional delimation of the section d Heller  proposedd Heller ,7,8.Trifolium species showed the Trifolium section to be polyphyletic, and the placement of the Mediterranean section Chronosemium (21 species) remained unresolved with conflicting hypotheses such as being derived from within the section Trifolium in a nrDNA phylogeny vs. sister to the entire genus in a cpDNA phylogeny [Trifolium using parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer and chloroplast trnL intron sequences. The authors proposed dividing the genus into two subgenera, subg. Chronosemium and subg. Trifolium; the latter was divided into eight sections which are not in agreement with the sub-sectional delimitations of Zohary and Heller [Chronosemium and indefinite in subg. Trifolium. However, transitions between the annual and perennial habit are common [Molecular phylogeny of Old World hylogeny . Ellisonosemium 2 species d Heller . The ance common .Trifolium species [Trifolium sections, which contradict the sub-sectional delimitation based on molecular phylogeny. Moreover, the sub-sectional delimitation of species in the section Trifolium is not congruent with the number of clades resolved by Watson et al. [Trifolium and an inferred 19 instances of aneuploidy and 22 of polyploidy in the genus [x = 8, 7, 6 and 5 [Trifolium.Comparative seed characteristics of  species  and comp species  indicaten et al.  and by En et al. . The usen et al. . Characthe genus ,22. All  6 and 5 ,24,25,26Trifolium at the sectional level [The internal transcribed spacer sequence (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA has been demonstrated to be an accurate source of information for examining molecular phylogeny in many plant families including the Fabaceae ,28. Indeal level ,16 and aal level . Jreisatal level  recommenTrifolium sect. Trifolium aims to reconsider the sub-sectional delimitation of species in this section, based on a comprehensive sampling of species, ITS analysis and variation in selected morphological traits in the light of variations in chromosome numbers of the examined species.Therefore, the objective of the present study is to construct a phylogenetic relationship of species in the Trifolium based on the ITS sequence and informative indels, using MrBayes 3.2 [Trifolium are clearly isolated from the two outgroups of Trigonella, i.e., Trigonella gladiata and Trigonella spinosum. The Trifolium species are divided into two major clades: clade I comprises 26 species and clade II 28 species, in addition to two minor clades, clade III of 4 species and clade IV of 2 species. Clade I with a strongly supported bootstrap value of 100 is differentiated into two subclades, one of 7 species and the other of 19 species. The seven species of the first subclade are T. alexandrinum, T. echinatum, T. scutatum, T. vavilovii, T. clypeatum, T. pallidum and T.pannonicum. In the second subclade, T. berytheum is grouped with the two samples of T. carmeli 1, 2, and T. meironense, while T. squarrosum is clustered with T. miegeanum and T. obscurum. The other 12 species in this subclade are differentiated as single branches , one of three species  and two small subclades of two species each, i.e., T. molinerii grouped with T. phleoides and T. striatum with T. wettsteinii . On the other hand, chromosome numbers based on x = 5, x = 6, and x = 7 have been reported in fourteen species in clade II and all the six species in clades III and IV.ayes 3.2  applyingayes 3.2 . This Fibranches . In cladtsteinii . On the Trifolium constructed using TreeGraph 2 [T. dichroanthum, T. vavilovii and T. scutatum, while T. pallidum and T. pannonicum form a small subclade. Of the remaining species, T. alexandrinum, T. echinatum and T. clypeatum are clustered from the other eighteen species, which are differentiated as one large subclade of seven species  and a subclade of the four species T. berytheum, T. carmeli 1 and 2, and T. meironense). The remaining seven species are differentiated as T. caucasicum, one subclade of T. plebeium, T. dasyrum and T. constantinopolitanum and another of T. miegeanum, T. obscurum and T. squarrosum. The clustering of these species is congruent with their clustering in eGraph 2  and geneT. latinum and T. ligusticum are delimited as a small subclade from the other species in both T. affine, T. arvense, T. bocconei, and T. dalmaticum form a separate subclade in T. incarnatum, T. leucanthum, T. stellatum, T. striatum, T. wettsteinii, in addition to T. molinerii and T. phleoides. The same species are recognized as three small clades in T.ochroleucum and T. pratense is recognized in both T. lappaceum 1 and 2 and a second of the five species T. alpestre, T. medium, T. caudatum, T. diffusum and T. rubins, and the third of six species . The clustering of these species, except T. pallidum and T. pannonicum, is congruent with views by a number of authors that represent the genetic resources of the cultivated species T. alexandrinum, known as Egyptian clover (Berseem). Aaronsohn [T. echinatum M. B. from Palestine. Bobrov [T. apertum is the progenitor of T. alexandrinum based on morphological similarities. Putiyevsky et al. [T. alexandrinum such as T. vavilovii, T. apertum, T. salmoneum, T. meironense and T. berytheum. On the other hand, Trabut [T. berytheum from the coastal plains of Lebanon as the ancestor of T. alexandrinum. More recently, AFLP data analysis supported a close relationship of T. alexandrinum accessions from Syria and Egypt to T. apertum, T. berytheum and T. salmoneum as well as T. clypeatum, T. plebeium, T. echinatum, T. constantinopolitanum and T. meironense [In the current study, the analysis of ITS data alone and in combination with variation in morphological traits produced different delimitation of species in the section d Heller  who divisections . The anaaronsohn  suggeste. Bobrov  claimed y et al.  consider, Trabut  and Eig , Trabut  proposedironense .T. alexandrinum, T. apertum and T. berytheum as well as T. scutatum, T. plebeium, T. vavilovii, T. echinatum and T. salmonium in addition to T. constantinopolitanum. The grouping of T. plebeium, T. berytheum and T. apertum with T. alexandrinum is not well supported in the current results of the section Trifolium phylogeny. In the work of Zohary and Heller [T. alexandrinum, is placed in subsection Alexandrina with other four species, i.e., T. apertum, T. berytheum, T. meironense and T. vavilovii, whereas T. plebeium is placed in subsect. Clypeata with T. clypeatum and T. scutatum. In the meantime, T. pallidum is placed in the subsection Trifolium with T. diffusum and T. pratense, whereas T. pannonicum is placed with other six species in subsection Ochroleuca; these species are T. canescens, T. caucasicum, T. caudatum, T. longidentatum, T.ochroleucum and T. trichocephalum. However, in the current study, only T. canescens, T. caucasicum are in clade I while the others are in clade II. The delimitation of these species is generally congruent with their classification in Ellison et al. [Ellison et al.  also repd Heller , T. alexn et al. .T. berytheum, T. carmeli 1 and 2 and T. meironense, and the other of T. miegeanum, T. obscurum and T. squarrosum. The 12 species in this subclade are differentiated as single branches . The same subclade is also differentiated in the other trees based on the analysis of informative indels of ITS sequence alone or in combination with the morphological data. The delimitation of T. affine, T. arvense, T. bocconei agrees with the results of Ellison et al. [T. affine, T. arvense are placed in subsect, Arvensia by Zohary and Heller [T. bocconei was placed in subsection Trichoptera with T. trichopterum and T. dalmaticum was placed in subsection Scabroidea with T. lucanicum and T. scabrum. In the study of Ellison et al. [T. dalmaticum was clustered with T. scabrum and T. lucanicum.The clade II of 28 species is differentiated in small subclades based on the ITS data analysis including one clade of four species  generally corresponds to clade I of the present study, whereas clade B generally corresponds to clade II and clade III of this study. Ellison et al. [T. haussknechtii, T. sylvaticum and T. trichopterum, associated with T.cherleri and T. hirtum, representing five of the six species differentiated as clade III in the tree constructed using ITS sequence and informative indels in combination with morphological data  are grouped together in clade II. The remaining species are distributed in the three clades. In the genus Trifolium, the basic number of x = 8 is the number from which x = 7, 6 and 5 were derived through successive aneuploidy events. With reference to the distribution of these numbers in the section Trifolium, species in clade III and clade II appear to be more evolved than species in clade I.In conclusion, the grouping of species as reported here and by Ellison et al.  does notd Heller . The speTrifolium was obtained from a variety of sources . The sequence boundaries of the spacers were determined by comparison to published Trifolium sequences [The ITS region was amplified using primers of White et al. . The spaequences ,16 and cequences , with maequences  using thequences .Two approaches were used to express the phylogenetic relationships of the examined species based on the molecular ITS sequencing alone and in combination with the morphological characters coded as multistate matrix . The Bay"}
+{"text": "Taxodium distichum and Taxodium ascendens) in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) region, China. The stoichiometrical contents of C, N, and P in fine roots, leaves, and branches, and the growth conditions of T. distichum and T. ascendens were measured in July 2019. The results showed that periodic submergence affected the stoichiometric characteristics and growth conditions of these two woody species, and the impact was restrained, but both grew well. The effects of inundation on the C, N, and P ecological stoichiometric characteristics differed in different parts of trees. In general, the C contents showed the following pattern: leaves > branches > fine roots. The N and P content showed the following pattern: leaves > fine roots > branches, while the C/N and C/P ratios showed an opposite trend to that of N and P. The N and P content in all parts of T. distichum  and T. ascendens  were higher than the national average level . Except for N and P contents in the leaves of T. distichum, there was a significant correlation between N and P elements in other parts (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, the N/P ratio  was lower than the critical ratio of 14. The growth conditions of T. distichum and T. ascendens were significantly negatively correlated with their leaf C contents and significantly positively correlated with their fine root N and P contents. This study showed that T. distichum and T. ascendens could maintain their normal growth needs by properly allocating nutrients between different organs to adapt to the long periodic submergence in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the TGR region.Ecological stoichiometric studies can be useful for managing the deteriorated riparian zones of mega-reservoirs in which nutrients significantly impact the balanced vegetation cover. The present study aims to explore the effects of periodic submergence on the stoichiometric ecological characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P), as well as the growth conditions of two leading conifer species ( As a levation . Due to levation . Prolonglevation , land-uslevation . As a relevation , vegetattability ,10,11.T. distichum and T. ascendens under flooding stress have been evaluated using in situ and controlled garden experiments [T. distichum and T. ascendens. However, under flooding stress conditions, many physiological processes related to plant C, N, and P can be constrained, such as C-sequestration, N-fixation, and nutrient mineralization. The balance of nutrient elements in interactions and processes is known as ecological stoichiometry. Ecological stoichiometry is an important tool for studying ecological processes and functions, which is used to explore the dynamic balance of various elements and their interactions, as well as the limitations on plant growth [T. distichum and T. ascendens deserve more attention, as they are the leading tree species in the area. C, N, and P are essential elements of plant bodies, and C, N, and P ecological stoichiometry represents an organism\u2019s demand for natural resources and connects different levels of biogeochemical cycling; furthermore, their changes affect the growth and development of plants [The growth, photosynthetic response, physiological metabolism, and nutrient levels of eriments ,10,12, wt growth ,14. Thusf plants  and the f plants . Studiesf plants . This wiPlant ecological stoichiometry has been widely used in the study of plant adaptation mechanisms and nutrition strategies under stressed environments, mainly including the characteristics of biological nutrient allocation, cycle, supply, and demand in the forest , desert T. distichum and T. ascendens. The current study also determines their responses to periodic submergence in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the TGR region. Thus, we hypothesized that (1) both species have strong flooding tolerance, but high-intensity flooding would inhibit plant growth to some degree, (2) the growth was significantly correlated with the C, N, and P content of the two species, and (3) the two species may have different adaptation strategies to the periodic submergence environment in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the TGR region. This study could improve the theory of ecological stoichiometry and provide the basis for vegetation protection and restoration in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the TGR.The present study focuses on the patterns of C, N, and P stoichiometry among plant organs and the growth conditions of T. distichum were significantly restricted .After experiencing seven annual cycles of periodic submergence, the growth of plants in the three submergence treatment groups showed certain differences , and theT. distichum were not affected by different submergence treatments (p > 0.05). The C, N, and P contents and stoichiometric ratio of T. distichum were significantly affected by different submergence treatments, different organs, and their interaction (p < 0.01) , and the C contents, which were unaffected by the interaction of different submergence treatments and different organs (p > 0.05), the C, N, and P contents, as well as the stoichiometric ratio of T. ascendens, were significantly affected by different submergence treatments, different organs, and their interaction (p < 0.01)  . Except  < 0.01) .T. distichum , whereas it had no significant effects on the N contents in the fine roots of T. distichum. The P content in the fine roots of T. ascendens in the DS group was significantly lower than that in the MS and SS groups. In all submergence treatment groups, the N and P contents in the fine roots of T. ascendens were significantly higher than those of T. distichum (p < 0.05). In the MS group, the C content in the fine roots of T. distichum was significantly higher than that of T. ascendens (p < 0.05), but the C content in the fine roots of both was not affected by flooding. Therefore, the effects of flooding on the C/N ratio and C/P ratio in fine roots were opposite to the N and P content trend. There was a significant difference in the N/P ratio in the fine roots of T. distichum among different submergence treatment groups (p < 0.05). With the increase in submergence depth, it showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. There was no significant difference in the N/P ratio in the fine roots of T. ascendens between the MS and SS groups. Nevertheless, they were significantly lower than that of the DS group (p < 0.05) and substantially lower than that of T. distichum (p < 0.05) (Flooding significantly reduced the P contents in the fine roots of  < 0.05) .T. distichum and T. ascendens. In the DS group, the C content in the leaves of T. ascendens was significantly higher than that of T. distichum (p < 0.05). With the increase in submergence depth, the N content in the leaves of T. distichum significantly decreased. There was no significant difference in the N content in the leaves of T. ascendens between the DS and SS groups, but they were substantially higher than those in the MS group (p < 0.05). The N content in the leaves of T. distichum in all treatment groups was significantly (p < 0.05) or extremely significantly (p < 0.01) higher than that of T. ascendens. The P content in leaves of T. distichum in the DS and SS groups was significantly higher than that of the MS group (p < 0.05). The P content in T. ascendens in the DS group was considerably higher than that of the MS and SS groups. In the DS group, the P content in the leaves of T. ascendens was significantly higher than that of T. distichum (p < 0.001); however, in the SS group, it was substantially lower than that of T. distichum (p < 0.01). The C/N and C/P ratios in the leaves of T. distichum and T. ascendens showed opposite trends to the N and P contents, respectively. The N/P ratio in the leaves of T. distichum in the MS group was significantly higher than that in the DS group (p < 0.05), and the N/P ratio in the leaves of T. ascendens in the SS group was considerably higher than that in the DS and MS groups (p < 0.05). In the DS and MS groups, the N/P ratio in the leaves of T. distichum was significantly higher than that of T. ascendens (p < 0.001).As shown in T. distichum and T. ascendens (T. distichum among different treatment groups. The C content in the branches of T. ascendens in the MS group was significantly lower than in the DS group (p < 0.05). In the DS and SS groups, the C content in the branches of T. ascendens was significantly higher than that of T. distichum (p < 0.01). The N and P content in the branches of T. distichum and T. ascendens showed significant differences in different submergence treatment groups. With the increase in submergence depth, the N and P contents in the branches of T. distichum and the P content in the branches of T. ascendens showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The N content in the branches of T. ascendens showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. The C/N and C/P ratios in the branches of T. distichum and T. ascendens showed opposite trends to the N and P contents, respectively. With the increase in submergence depth, the N/P ratio in the branches of T. distichum and T. ascendens showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, and they were significantly different. In the DS group, the N/P ratio in the branches of T. distichum was significantly lower than that of T. ascendens. At the same time, it was significantly higher than that of T. ascendens in the MS and SS groups.Different submergence treatments have different effects on the C, N, and P stoichiometric characteristics in the branches of scendens . There wT. distichum are significantly positively correlated with fine root N and P contents and leaf N content, and significantly negatively correlated with leaf C content  with fine root N content with coefficient values of 0.588 *, 0.516 *, and 0.524 *, respectively. The correlation between plant height, crown area, and DBH and leaf N content was more significant (p < 0.01) with peak coefficient values of 0.712 **, 0.685 **, and 0.669 **, respectively. Plant height, crown area, and basal diameter were extremely significantly positively correlated (p < 0.01) with fine root P with peak coefficient values of 0.904 **, 0.642 **, and 0.649 **, respectively. Leaf C content was extremely significantly negatively correlated (p < 0.01) with plant height (\u22120.785 **) and crown area (\u22120.678 **), and significantly negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with basal diameter (\u22120.578 *) and DBH (\u22120.598 *). DBH was significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05) with fine root C content (0.537 *) and branch N content (0.533 *). However, there was some difference in T. ascendens (p < 0.01) with plant height (\u22120.662 **), crown area (\u22120.687 **), and basal diameter (\u22120.699 **). The correlation between growth conditions and fine root N content was more significant (p < 0.01) in T. ascendens, and the highest coefficient values were those of plant height (0.785 **) and crown area (0.697 **).Pearson\u2019s correlation coefficients determined the correlations between growth conditions and C, N, and P content. Results showed there were significant correlations between growth conditions and C, N, and P contents. All growth indices of  content . Specifiscendens . Leaf P Flooding is an environmental stress in many natural and manufactured ecosystems worldwide , especiaT. distichum was better than that of T. ascendens  are closely related to organ functions . Differet groups , reflecto leaves , enablino leaves , and allT. distichum and T. ascendens in each submergence treatment group showed the following pattern: branches > fine roots > leaves, indicating that T. distichum and T. ascendens have higher N and P utilization efficiency in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the TGR region. N and P are the main limiting elements for plant growth, and the N/P ratio can characterize the nutrient limitation of plants. When plant N/P < 14, it means that the N element mainly restricts plant growth; when N/P > 16, it means that the P element mainly determines plant growth; when 14 < N/P < 16, it means that plant growth is subjected to the common limitation of N and P elements [T. distichum and T. ascendens were all less than 14 in all treatments, indicating that the N element may restrict the growth of the two species. However, the concentrations of N and P were higher, except for the N content in the leaves of T. ascendens, in the MS group. The N and P contents in branches, leaves, and fine roots in all treatment groups were higher than the national average level [T. distichum and T. ascendens have good adaptability to environmental changes [The ratio of C, N, and P in plants can reflect the adaptation of plants to the environment in which they live . In geneelements . In the ge level , which ige level . From th changes . The cor changes .T. distichum and T. ascendens showed a negative correlation with leaf C content  than in non-photosynthetic organs (branches and fine roots). Within an appropriate range, higher N and P content in the leaves leads to a greater net photosynthetic rate, faster growth rate, and stronger resource competition [T. distichum. Therefore, N (the main element that constitutes protein) and P (the main element that constitutes nucleic acid) acquisition is essential for growth [T. ascendens. The growth indices were negatively correlated with the leaf N and P content. The possible reason is that the concentration of N and P in T. ascendens leaves was diluted [T. ascendens can carry out sufficient photosynthesis and rapid metabolism under sufficient light and rainfall conditions, promoting the plant\u2019s vegetative organ construction. The carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis in the leaves of T. ascendens were not transported to other parts in time, thus diluting the N and P concentration, but T. ascendens still proliferated. This also confirmed part of our third hypothesis. Compared with thick roots, fine roots are more complex in structure, have higher physiological activity, and are in a state of constant renewal. The enzyme system in the cell and respiration and metabolism were active [T. distichum and T. ascendens was positively correlated with the N and P content in fine roots, and more N and P elements in fine roots can promote rapid growth of fine roots, absorb more nutrients from the soil, and provide raw materials for the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids, and other substances needed for the rapid growth of plants [Our results showed that petition . Higher petition  and ensur growth . However diluted . Since Je active . The grof plants .2. The annual precipitation is 1200 mm, and the relative humidity is 80% [T. distichum and T. ascendens saplings were planted at this site at an altitude of 165\u2013175 m in March 2012, and both species were planted in an alternating pattern with a spacing of 1 m \u00d7 1 m.The study site  was located in the Ruxi River basin in Gonghe village of Shibao Township, Zhong County, Chongqing municipality of China . The RuxT. distichum and T. ascendens were randomly selected at each elevation to sample the leaves, branches, and fine roots. We used high branch shears to collect mature leaves and branches of T. distichum and T. ascendens in four directions in the upper\u2013middle layers of the canopy. The leaves and branches were mixed evenly and sealed in a ziplock bag. Fine roots (d \u2264 2 mm) were collected using a flat shovel, excavating the fine roots of T. distichum and T. ascendens in a radius of 0.25 m in the sample square, carefully cleaning the soil and impurities on the surface of the root system, and finally mixing the collected root system and placing the quartered part into a ziplock bag. At the same time as sampling, a height measuring rod was used to measure the plant\u2019s height, a tape measure was used to measure the crown width of the plant, and a vernier caliper was used to measure the plant\u2019s basal diameter and diameter at breast height (DBH).According to the difference in winter flooding intensity, the study site was divided into three transects; 165 m (DS), 170 m (MS), and 175 m (SS) . In situAll samples were refrigerated and transported to the laboratory, cleaned with tap water and deionized water, and placed in an oven. After 30 min of drying at 105 \u00b0C, the samples were dried to a constant weight at 65 \u00b0C. Plant samples were crushed by a Lech MM400 Ball Mill  to measure the C, N, and P contents. All samples\u2019 C and N contents were measured using an element analyzer . The P contents were digested by a microwave digestion apparatus  and then measured using an inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer .p < 0.05 level was used to analyze the effects of submergence treatment on plant growth and C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in various parts of plants. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of submergence treatment, different organs, and their interactions on C, N, and P contents, as well as the stoichiometry of T. distichum and T. ascendens. The independent sample t-test was used to analyze the differences in C, N, and P content and stoichiometry between different species under the same submergence treatment. The Pearson correlation was used to analyze the connection between the growth conditions and the C, N, and P contents of T. distichum and T. ascendens, as well as the correlation between the content of N and P in various plant organs. All images were drawn with Origin 9.0 software. Plant C, N, and P element concentrations were calculated by dry weight (g/kg), and all C/N/P ratios were calculated by mass ratio.All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0 and Microsoft 2019 software. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey\u2019s test to determine significant differences at the Taxodium distichum and Taxodium ascendens differed under the three submergence treatments after years of periodic flooding. Flooding significantly affected their growth but did not endanger their health. Our findings also showed that the nutrient allocation strategies of the two species were similar. The submergence treatments, different organs, and their interactions significantly affected both species in terms of improving their stress resistance by increasing their leaves\u2019 carbon content and coordinating the nitrogen and phosphorus contents in their organs to maintain normal functions under submergence conditions. When the submergence depth increased, the T. ascendens transferred more N and P elements from the fine roots to the leaves for adaptation to the periodic flooding. However, the N/P ratio in all organs of T. distichum and T. ascendens was lower than the critical ratio of 14 in all treatments, indicating that the N element may restrict the growth of the two species. In contrast, the N and P content in all organs of the two species were higher than the national average level, making up for the limitation of the N element. In summary, Taxodium distichum and Taxodium ascendens can respond positively to submergence and coordinate the allocation of nutrient elements among various organs to better adapt to the complex hydrological conditions in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir.The results showed that the C, N, and P ecological stoichiometric characteristics and growth of"}
+{"text": "Lactobacillus and an increase in anaerobic bacteria. While Gardnerella spp. are considered a major cause of BV, they are also detected in the vaginal microbiome of healthy women. G. vaginalis was the only recognized species of Gardnerella until a recent study characterized three new species, G. leopoldii, G. piotii, and G. swidsinskii. This review describes the different types and genetic diversity of Gardnerella, as well as new findings on the correlation between different Gardnerella spp. and BV.Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common infectious disease of the reproductive tract in women of childbearing age. It often manifests as an imbalance in the vaginal microbiome, including a decrease in  Gardnerella vaginalis , Megasphaera spp., Fannyhessea vaginae , Dialisella spp . Althougella spp . In addiella spp . Seriousella spp , adverseella spp , pelvic ella spp  and sexuella spp , gonorrhella spp , human pella spp  and humaella spp .Haemophilus vaginalis , and the name was changed to H. vaginalis vaginitis  in recognition of the absence of recognized agents of vaginitis . In 1955aginitis . Howevervaginale . This navaginale . In 1980vaginale . This re with BV . It wasn with BV .Gardnerella spp. is highly detected in BV, it appears to have a special role in vaginal microbiota dysbiosis  or in a candleflame extinction jar , NanH2, and NanH3. NanH2 and NanH3 appear to be the main sources of sialidase activity in Gardnerella spp  specific for Gardnerella spp. and were the first to show that these species form biofilms on vaginal epithelium in women with BV. This finding revealed the nature of clue cells, epithelial cells covered by a Gardnerella spp. biofilm, and their etiological role in Gardnerella spp. infection  using different restriction enzymes  typing can be used on uncultured clinical specimens, allowing for quantitative assessment of bacterial load and qualitative identification of subtypes . Since t species . Balashopecimens .Gardnerella spp. comprises four subgroups A, B, C, and D, based on cpn60 barcode sequences and whole-genome sequences , and MALDI-MS protein signatures  among groups based on clinical Nugent scores  and self-reported symptoms in the 2 weeks prior to the swab collection  were compared  and the \u201cintermediate state\u201d microbiome was observed by cpn60 sequencing and qPCR , sialidase and biofilm formation   .Gardnerella  and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971342).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Surveillance of human leishmaniasis in Europe is mostly limited to country-specific information from autochthonous infections in the southern part. As at the end of 2021, no integrated analysis has been performed for cases seen across centres in different European countries.To provide a broad perspective on autochthonous and imported leishmaniasis cases in endemic and non-endemic countries in Europe.We retrospectively collected records from cutaneous, mucosal and visceral leishmaniasis cases diagnosed in 15 centres between 2014 and 2019. Centres were located in 11 countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Data on country of infection, reason for travelling, infecting species, age and sex were analysed.We obtained diagnostic files from 1,142 cases, of which 76%, 21% and 3% had cutaneous, visceral, and mucosal disease, respectively. Of these, 68% were men, and 32% women, with the median age of 37 years (range: 0\u201390) at diagnosis. Visceral leishmaniasis was mainly acquired in Europe , while cutaneous leishmaniasis was primarily imported from outside Europe . Sixty-two percent of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases from outside Europe were from the Old World, and 38% from the New World. Geographic species distribution largely confirmed known epidemiology, with notable exceptions.Our study confirms previous reports regarding geographic origin, species, and traveller subgroups importing leishmaniasis into Europe. We demonstrate the importance of pooling species typing data from many centres, even from areas where the aetiology is presumably known, to monitor changing epidemiology. Leishmania cause a variety of diseases in humans, collectively known as the leishmaniases [Kinetoplastid parasites of the genus maniases . VisceraL. infantum and L. tropica are the only species known to be transmitted in Mediterranean Europe, but globally between 15 and 20 Leishmania species are pathogenic to humans [Transmission of the parasite occurs through blood-feeding female sandflies. In Europe, the vector mainly occurs in the southern countries, primarily those of the Mediterranean basin. Several papers have described the epidemiology of endemic leishmaniasis in Europe ,3. Howevo humans .The European LeishMan network was established in 2010, with the aim of sharing leishmaniasis case management data, and harmonising diagnosis and treatment . To reveFifteen centres within the European LeishMan network from 11 countries in west and north Europe  shared tBecause the exact infection date is unknown, the date of sampling for disease confirmation was used. Age and sex were recorded; the age of the patient on this date was recorded as the age at time of diagnosis, which was analysed in periods of 10 years. As the study uses retrospective data, the travel and disease history was not uniformly recorded across centres, but we aimed to collect the first disease episode for every case. We took utmost care to avoid inclusion of relapses from infections dating before 2014, even though this cannot be guaranteed if the patient visited other clinics before consulting one of the centres participating to the study. For ML, however, some cases are likely a relapse from an earlier CL manifestation, especially those imported from the New World.Leishmania infection were discriminated: VL, CL, and ML. A case was interpreted as ML if mucosal tissue was affected, irrespective of concomitant or earlier cutaneous lesions elsewhere on the body. The same case definitions are used throughout the LeishMan network. The definitions of these main leishmaniasis manifestations are straight-forward, and this study did not stratify according particular sub-categories of CL and ML where classification would be more ambiguous.The three main clinical manifestations of a An autochthonous case was considered as an infection that took place in the country where it was diagnosed. All other cases were considered as imported or travel related, e.g. an infection diagnosed in France but acquired in Spain was considered an imported infection, even though it was acquired in Europe. For imported cases, we further subdivided this category into migrants, tourists, military personnel, and people visiting friends or relatives (VFR). If there was another reason for travelling, or the reason for travelling was not known, the case was categorised as \u2018Traveller unspecified\u2019, to make the distinction with an autochthonous case. The classification \u2018Unknown\u2019 was reserved for those cases without information distinguishing an imported or autochthonous infection.The \u2018country of infection\u2019 was defined as the country where the case was most likely infected. Some cases, especially migrants and tourists, often travelled through various endemic regions, so the exact country of infection was impossible to establish. For migrants, we assumed they were infected in their home country unless other countries were mentioned in the diagnostic records. Whenever the exact country of infection was unclear from the medical record, we pragmatically grouped them into the following regions from the Old World: (i) Mediterranean, (ii) Sub-Saharan Africa and (iii) the Middle East including Pakistan, and from the New World: (iv) South America and (v) Middle America . If no information on the source country was available, or patients visited several of the aforementioned regions, the case was categorised as (vi) \u2018Unknown\u2019.Leishmania genus as used in this paper is listed in L. (Leishmania) and L. (Viannia).The taxonomy of the Several methods and genome loci were used for genomic typing purposes. These include sequencing, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, and/or subgenus-specific PCR of the following: heat-shock protein 70 gene (HSP70) -17, the Supplementary Material: Ethics statements). All data were shared and analysed anonymously in accordance with respective national guidelines. If needed, specific ethical clearance was obtained from the ethical committees or institutional review boards from the respective centres , France (n\u2009=\u2009166), Sweden (n\u2009=\u2009133), and Belgium (n\u2009=\u2009124) . BecauseL. donovani complex , followed by VL ; only 3% (n\u2009=\u200933) showed mucosal involvement . Two cas complex . In 997  complex , and 75%https://microreact.org/project/leishman-2014-2019) [The full dataset including GenBank accession can be downloaded and explored interactively in the MicroReact platform (14-2019) .The probable country of infection was determined for 946 of 1,142 (83%) cases. These countries were pragmatically grouped into the endemic regions . Of the L. donovani complex were found both in the New and Old World. Most of these were L. infantum , while L. donovani was identified only from the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. L. tropica was imported from northern Africa and the Middle East, with one case from Eritrea, while L. aethiopica was identified only from Ethiopia. L. major had a broad distribution in the Middle East and in Africa north of the equator. The L. braziliensis species complex was imported to Europe from Central and South America, with L. peruviana identified in one case from Peru. The L. guyanensis complex showed the same distribution, with L. panamensis originating only from the pacific coastline. L. naiffi was found in Belize and French Guiana. The L. lainsoni cases originated from Brazil and Peru. The L. mexicana complex was identified from several Latin American countries, with a marked dichotomy between L. mexicana in Middle America and L. amazonensis in South America. The L. (enriettii) species complex was identified in one case that visited several leishmaniasis endemic zones and could have been infected in either Guyana, Ghana, or Grenada in the Caribbean area.Species from the We examined relevant trends for different sub-categories of the variables . VL was L. donovani complex  and elderly people (>\u202f60 years) were most often affected, which could be explained by the fact that VL is primarily an autochthonous disease caused by immunity .We observed that twice as many cases were male as opposed to female, both in VL and CL, which can be explained by two factors. First, in many parts of the world, males are more often engaged in outdoor activities and behaviour that could render them more prone to vector contact and thus infection and, second, females are less susceptible to severe disease .L. infantum as the only causative species, confirming other reports [We confirmed the findings of a literature review by Mansueto et al.  showing  reports . The vas reports . This re reports . Boggild reports  analysed reports . This isMost CL cases were imported from outside the European territory. Boggild et al. found that Old World CL is imported primarily by migrants and VFR . They idIn the Boggild et al. study , the thrL. donovani or L. braziliensis complex. Where the species were identified, the latter were all L. braziliensis except for a single case of L. peruviana. The L. donovani complex species can cause both ML and VL, while L. braziliensis can lead to ML [L. guyanensis complex, occasionally causing ML as well [L. tropica, again indicating the limited risk. In contrast, of the 122 tourists infected with species from the L. donovani complex, 49 (40%) developed VL, underscoring a high risk.Our analysis shows that among travellers, tourists may be at greatest risk for developing ML or VL, as 65% (166/254) were infected with species from the L. infantum were reported from Cameroon, Guinea, Kenya, India, the Dominican Republic, and the United States (US). In Cameroon and Guinea, L. major is the known aetiological agent of CL [L. donovani complex was previously isolated from a sandfly vector in Cameroon [L. donovani and L. major [L. infantum in West Africa, as was previously evidenced from human VL and CL in various countries, the presence of and parasite isolation from the vector, and identification of leishmaniasis in dogs, typically considered the species\u2019 reservoir [L. major, L. tropica, and L. aethiopica, while VL is caused by L. donovani [L. infantum, which is unique for East Africa. Even though L. infantum had been described based on multilocus microsatellite data, further analysis revealed they were all L. donovani [L. infantum infection acquired in India, while L. donovani is the causative agent in the country [L. donovani species complex, consisting of strains from Kenya and a subset of India and Ethiopia [L. infantum. Finally, autochthonous CL from L. infantum has never been documented in the Dominican Republic or the US, where two tourists were presumably infected. In both countries, autochthonous CL is sporadically caused by the L. mexicana complex [L. infantum is common [Some of our typing records presented unexpected results in the context of the known epidemiology of species and disease distribution ,30. Casent of CL . The L. Cameroon , but thiL. major . The feweservoir . In Kenydonovani . We detedonovani ,35. Equa country . EvidentEthiopia ,36. At p complex ,37,38. Is common , but no s common , the onlL. major and L. tropica infections is common [L. donovani complex have been documented in travellers and soldiers [L. donovani complex were identified, one of which was typed to the species level as L. donovani. Further, we counted three noteworthy CL cases caused by L. major, i.e. from Spain, Kazakhstan, and Ethiopia. Foci of L. major CL have been described in Kazakhstan, but the caseload is probably under-reported [L. major infection has been described, and L. infantum is known as the only aetiological agent of leishmaniasis. The case in our database concerns a tourist who returned with many sandfly bites from the Balearic island of Ibiza, and did not travel to any other known place endemic for leishmaniasis. The species typing was confirmed twice using HSP70 sequencing. In addition, a migrant from Eritrea was diagnosed with the L. tropica complex, probably the L. tropica species rather than L. aethiopica. Little information on the species in this country is known, even though both VL and CL are present [L. aethiopica infection [L. siamensis / L. martiniquensis VL case in our dataset was described as originating from Guyana [In Afghanistan, CL from s common , but CL soldiers ,41. In oreported . In Ethireported . In Spaireported , not a s present  and one nfection . Finallym Guyana , but coum Guyana . Even thThe main limitation of our study is that the 15 participating centres are from 11 countries in western Europe and Scandinavia, which generally do not capture all medically attended leishmaniasis cases in their respective countries. We estimate that in each of the 11 countries we overall reported between 10 and 100% of all imported infections, which is a representative sample in terms of species distribution, geographic origin, and type of travel. As is the case for all travel-related diseases, when and where a patient was infected often cannot be determined with absolute certainty, which highlights the need to pool data from many institutes to confirm individual extraordinary observations. As many CL manifestations are self-healing or can be efficiently treated in a peripheral dermatology practice, our data collection probably missed relatively more CL compared with VL cases, as happens even in countries where the diseases are notifiable [When comparing our data to those of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Observatory  (consultThis study highlights the value of permanent monitoring of autochthonous and travel-related leishmaniasis cases in Europe. On one hand, such monitoring can confirm previous observations, on the other, surveillance can also draw attention to changes in the epidemiology of the diseases over time, or to endemic regions that have been under-studied and where awareness campaigns are needed. Cases imported into high-income countries, where effective species typing tools are available, are a rich source of information, provided that data from many medical centres are pooled to increase the number of observations. Resources like the WHO Global Health Observatory are excellent tools to implement such continuous surveillance. Since 2017, the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases of the WHO headquarters and the WHO Regional Office for Europe have provided financial and technical support to the European LeishMan network. With that support, databases have been aligned, allowing LeishMan centres to share their data of diagnosed leishmaniasis cases with WHO. This will improve surveillance of the epidemiology of the leishmaniases not only in Europe, but also in other parts of the world frequented by European citizens."}
+{"text": "Clematis taxa from South Korea. The petiole surface features were observed with the help of stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the anatomical features are studied via microtomy and light microscopy. The results of this study showed that the presence/absence and abundance of trichomes, petiole cross-section outlines, upper surface wings and grooves, and the number of vascular bundles were useful for species discrimination in Clematis. Among the studied taxa, C. hexapetala was the only species with a glabrous petiole surface. Two types of trichomes were observed in the other 18 taxa: long, non-glandular and flagelliform trichomes and short, glandular capitate trichomes. We found four to six major vascular bundles and a maximum of eight interfascicular vascular bundles (C. heracleifolia and C. urticifolia) in the 19 taxa. A cluster analysis based on UPGMA identified six clusters with 18 nodes. Although the number of taxa investigated was limited, taxa from the sections Tubulosae, Viorna, and Astragene clustered with each other in the UPGMA phenogram due to the overall similarity of petiole features. Based on this observation, we can conclude that most of the petiole features are limited to the species level, and thus, the data obtained could be used as descriptive and/or diagnostic features for particular taxa, which may be useful for the investigation of problematic taxa in the genus.We assessed the micro-morphological and anatomical structures of the petioles of 19  Ranunculaceae is one of the larger families of eudicots, comprising nearly 2,500 species within 50\u201360 genera . The famClematis L. is classified under the tribe Anemoneae DC. in the subfamily Ranunculoideae Hutch. The petiole morphology, including the indumentum, trichome type and abundance, and upper surface groove was observed under a stereomicroscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A Leica MZ16 FA microscope  was used for the observations and digital images of the best-represented part of the petiole were taken with a Leica DFC420 C multifocal camera attached to the microscope. Before SEM imaging, petiole pieces were immersed in 100% ethanol and sputter-coated with gold in a KIC-IA COXEM Ion-Coater . SEM imaging was carried out with a COXEM EM-30 PLUS+ table scanning electron microscope (COXEM) at 20 kV at the seed testing laboratory of the Korea National Arboretum.At least three petioles of each taxon were subjected to microtome sectioning according to the following procedure used in Thirteen quantitative characters were categorized and coded binary and/or multistate. The character states and their codes are provided in Supplementary File S1. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis using the unweighted pair group (UPGMA) clustering method using the Gower general similarity coefficient were carried out with MultiVariate Statistical Package 3.1 software (MVSP Version 3.1) .Clematis petioles observed in this study include the petiole indumentum, trichome type and abundance, petiole outline in cross-section (CS), upper surface wings and groove of the petiole, sclerenchyma region, and vascular bundles. All the characters are summarized in The morphological and anatomical characters of Clematis hexapetala, which has an almost glabrous surface (a few trichomes occur in the region from which leaflets arise) , or \u2018pilose\u2019, which are covered with soft, weak, thin, and separated hairs, as found in the rest of the species . The non-glandular trichomes are either unicate  or flabelliform . Based on the trichome density per unit area, the trichome abundance was categorized as high, medium, or low.The petiole surface of the studied species is pubescent except in s arise) \u20131S. Clemrichomes \u20132J. GlanC. terniflora) , sub-flattened (11 species), U-shaped (three species), or V-shaped (three species). The formation of the upper surface groove is due primarily to the dorsal surface wings, although some species with inconspicuous wings have a slight groove in the petiole .The studied species show considerable variation in their CS petiole outline . The speshown in \u20136. ClemaThe epidermis is single-layered and cutinized in all species \u20136. The cClematis species. The 19 taxa have four to six major vascular bundles and a maximum of eight interfascicular vascular bundles (C. heracleifolia and C. urticifolia). Twelve species have five major vascular bundles, six species have six, and only C. patens has four  among has four . The majThe petiole of each species has a large region of the ground tissue, i.e., the pith. The cells in the pith are thin-walled, rounded, ovoid, or angular and parenchymatous and are comparatively larger than those in the cortex \u20136.Clematis fusca var. fusca and C. fusca var. violacea, representing the first node in the sixth cluster of the phenogram, showed 93.6% similarity in petiole features, whereas C. hexapetala and C. serratifolia, representing the 18th node in the first cluster in the phenogram, shared only 52.7% similarity in petiole features with the rest of the species.The similarities among the species based on the 13 petiole features were revealed using PCA and cluster analysis. The first three components of the PCA explained 74.01% of the total variation in the analysed data. The first axis of the first complete set explained 42.66% of the total variation and showed strong positive loadings for the trichome abundance and the number of vascular bundles  . The secClematis is morphologically diverse in terms of leaf phyllotaxy, types of compound leaves, and leaflet number. The anatomy of the petiole, therefore, is expected to be equally diverse. Previously, Clematis species. Thus, reasonable diversity in petiole anatomical features, including variation in the number of vascular bundles, is certainly useful for the taxonomic treatment of the genus. The overall anatomical organization of the petioles in the investigated species was comparable to that described in Clematis species and a discussion of their taxonomic relevance within the genus, which have not been included in previous studies.The genus Clematis species can be differentiated based on the petiole indumentum. The presence/absence and/or type of trichomes in the petiole have also been used for species differentiation in other taxa , whereas C. taeguensis and C. serratifolia have subglabrous or sparsely pubescent indumentum. The remaining species have sparsely or thickly pubescent petioles. In sparsely pubescent taxa such as C. terniflora, C. terniflora var. mandshurica, C. fusca var. fusca, and C. fusca var. violacea, the trichomes are restricted to mainly the upper groove region. Additionally, the stem of these taxa is either subglabrous or puberulous only at nodes . Glandular pubescence on the stem, petiole and leaf of C. gattingeri Small has been reported in a few older studies . Petiole features that are considered to be useful for taxonomic discrimination in various taxa  confirmed the presence of glandular pubescence on the stem, petiole, and leaf, which had never been observed in other species of subsection Viornae. The recognition of C. gattingeri as a species has been based primarily on the glandular pubescence and small flower size of Gattinger\u2019s specimens. The results from this study also revealed that the petiole indumentum and types of trichomes appear to have taxonomic value for species delimitation in Clematis.Most of the species have both types of trichomes, although glandular trichomes are very scarce and restricted to the upper surface groove of the petiole. We observed both glandular capitate and simple non-glandular trichomes on the leaf surface of most of the investigated ous taxa  are geneis genus . In a taClematis include the petiole outline in CS, the upper surface groove and wings, and the phloem fibre cap. Of these features, the petiole outline and upper surface groove and wings have already been proven to be useful in the taxonomic discrimination of species in some eudicot genera , Atragene , and Pterocarpa (C. brachyura). In a recent phylogenetic classification of the genus, C. fusca var. fusca, C. fusca var. violacea, and C. fusca var. flabellata were classified under clade L; C. ochotensis, C. calcicola, and C. koreana were classified under clade H: and C. brachyura was classified under clade K . However, in this study, it remained connected to the Viorna and Atragene sections. In fact, this uncertainty is a common and typical interpretation for this large genus, as previous morphological and molecular studies also found a similar tendency  and C. brachurya (section Pterocarpa), whereas C. fusca var. fusca and C. fusca var. violacea remained together in a separate sub-cluster. The PCA biplot also inferred similar relationships among these three subspecific taxa, with C. fusca var. flabellata was positioned on the positive side of axis 1, while C. fusca var. fusca and C. fusca var. violacea remained closer on the negative side of axis 1. The petioles of C. fusca var. flabellata differ from those of C. fusca var. fusca and C. fusca var. violacea in terms of the trichome abundance, phloem fibre cap height, and number of vascular bundles. In terms of morphology, C. fusca var. flabellata is an erect herb with ternate leaves, whereas C. fusca and C. fusca var. violacea are woody vines with pinnately foliate leaves. In addition, of the three species in section Clematis, C. trichotoma and C. brevicaudata formed a sub-cluster with C. patens (section Viticella), while C. apiifolia allied with C. terniflora (section Flammula) in another sub-cluster. The PCA showed a slightly different pattern, as C. apiifolia remained closer to C. serraatifolia and C. patens on the negative side of both axes, whereas C. brevicaudata allied with C. taeguensis and C. terniflora var. mandshurica on the positive side of axis 1 and the negative side of axis 2. Morphologically, the petiole of C. apiifolia differs from those of the other two species in its trichome abundance, outline in CS, phloem fibre cap, intrafascicular sclerenchyma, and number of vascular bundles. Notably,petiole features alone can be more useful for species delimitation than for distinguishing infrageneric relationships and thus are not indicative of infrageneric classifications. Similar explanations were provided by Clematis, respectively.According to PCA, the close affinity of the taxa from section n axis 1 . PreviouClematis. The results of this study also indicated that taxa from the sections Tubulosae, Viorna, and Atragene could be grouped based on the overall similarity of their petiole features. Moreover, we found that many of the petiole characters such as the abundance of trichomes, upper surface wings and grooves, and number of vascular bundles, that were neglected in taxonomic and systematic considerations within and among Clematis taxa can be useful for species delimitation. We do not consider these petiole morphological data to be strong enough to provide useful information on infrageneric relationships with the Clematis genus; however, our results provide new and interesting insights into these data, which can be used as a source of descriptive and/or diagnostic features for particular taxa in the genus.In conclusion, the presence/absence and abundance of trichomes, petiole outline in CS, upper surface wings and groove, and number of vascular bundles were determined to be useful for species discrimination in Korean 10.7717/peerj.11669/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) from Ixodes spp. ticks to a diverse group of vertebrate hosts. Small mammal reservoir hosts are primarily responsible for maintenance of B. burgdorferi s.l. across the United States. Nevertheless, birds can also be parasitized by ticks and are capable of infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. but their role in B. burgdorferi s.l. transmission dynamics is understudied. Birds could be important in both the maintenance and spread of B. burgdorferi s.l. and ticks because of their high mobility and shared habitat with important mammalian reservoir hosts. This study aims to better understand the role of avian hosts in tick-borne zoonotic disease transmission cycles in the western United States. We surveyed birds, mammals, and ticks at nine sites in northern California for B. burgdorferi s.l. infection and collected data on other metrics of host community composition such as abundance and diversity of birds, small mammals, lizards, predators, and ticks. We found 22.8% of birds infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. and that the likelihood of avian B. burgdorferi s.l. infection was significantly associated with local host community composition and pathogen prevalence in California. Additionally, we found an average tick burden of 0.22 ticks per bird across all species. Predator and lizard abundances were significant predictors of avian tick infestation. These results indicate that birds are relevant hosts in the local B. burgdorferi s.l. transmission cycle in the western United States and quantifying their role in the spread and maintenance of Lyme disease requires further research.Globally, zoonotic vector-borne diseases are on the rise and understanding their complex transmission cycles is pertinent to mitigating disease risk. In North America, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease and is caused by transmission of  Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) between Ixodes spp. ticks and their vertebrate hosts . AdB. burgdorferi s.l. during their journey and underscore the importance of studying both resident and migratory birds [B. burgdorferi s.l. infection prevalence of 15.8% in attached nymphs. While it is unclear if ticks are able to establish after relocation via avian hosts, there is clear potential for birds to increase existing tick populations and introduce novel genetic variants of B. burgdorferi s.l. [B. burgdorferi s.l. detected in bird species in our study could lead to an increased likelihood of pathogen spread to migratory birds through shared habitat and spread of pathogen infected attached ticks to new regions [While our study focused mostly on resident songbird communities that are not likely to move more than 15\u201395 km, one species included in our analyses, the pacific slope flycatchers, are part of the over 65 million land birds that migrate through California each year and could transport ticks and ry birds ,88,89,90ry birds  found theri s.l. . The hig regions ,31.B. burgdorferi s.l. infection prevalence and tick parasitism among resident bird populations in the western United States. Many of the bird species that were examined in this study are resident species with limited dispersal behavior and our analyses indicate that these birds are likely acquiring infection locally. Our findings that rodent richness is driving avian B. burgdorferi s.l. infection status and that predator and lizard abundances are driving avian tick burden highlight the importance of considering full community dynamics when evaluating birds, or any other host, as a potential B. burgdorferi s.l. reservoir. Future studies should focus on the reservoir competency and ability of key bird species to infect ticks in order to further resolve the role of birds in local B. burgdorferi s.l. transmission dynamics and their potential for maintaining and spreading B. burgdorferi s.l. to new environments.Our study examines how complex community interactions drive avian"}
+{"text": "Primula veris (Primulaceae) is a valuable medicinal plant. The main characteristics for assessing the reproductive potential  and the genetic diversity of populations of the species from Bulgaria were studied. The anthers are tetrasporangiate. Their wall development follows the Dicotyledonous-type and consists of: epidermis, a fibrous endothecium, an ephemeral middle layer and a secretory (glandular) tapetum. After meiosis in pollen mother cells and simultaneous microsporogenesis tetrahedral tetrads are formed predominantly in the anthers. Many ovules (approximately 20) develop in the unilocular ovary and are anatropous, tenuinucellate and bitegmic. The embryo sac (ES) develops after Polygonum (monosporic)-type from the chalazal cell of linear megaspore tetrad in the ovule. After double fertilization, a Caryophyllad-type embryo and initially nuclear endosperm form. In the studied populations, high pollen viability of more than 95% was established. Extremely low viability (about 4%) of the seeds obtained from natural populations was established. The results reveal P. veris to be a predominantly amphimictic  species, although rare vegetative propagation is also observed. As a result of this study, essential data were obtained about the reproductive structures and processes and for assessing the reproductive potential of P. veris. Primula L. includes six subgenera with 37 sections [Primula is represented by only 34 species, included in four sections [The genus sections , and is sections ,2. In Eusections . The gensections , and in sections , includiPrimula veris L.   belongs to the section Primula. The latter is phylogenetically quite isolated from the other sections in the genus and includes a total of seven species [Primula is represented by eight species [Primula is represented by three species: P. veris, P. elatior and P. vulgaris. species . This se species ,9. In Bu species ,11. SpecPrimula is used as a model for a broad area of studies: evolutionary [The section utionary , ecologiutionary , moleculutionary ,15, phytutionary ,17, as wutionary , reproduutionary , reproduutionary , geneticutionary ,14,20, eP. veris is a Euro-Siberian Temperate element [Primula, it is entomophilous with a great affinity between its flowers. Insect pollinators belong to Hymenoptera (mainly bumblebees and bees), Lepidoptera and Diptera [ element  distribu element . As with Diptera ,23.P. veris has a long history of medicinal use. It is a species with an economic significance that is also used as a decorative and melliferous plant. In the European Red List of Medicinal Plants, P. veris is included under the category (LC) \u201cLeast Concern\u201d [P. elatior, this species is listed in the European Pharmacopoeia as a source of Primula roots [P. veris is included in the Biodiversity Act, Annex 4 [P. veris, P. elatior and P. vulgaris are cited in the \u201cList of Medicinal Plants Falling under the Provisions of this Act\u201d. P. veris is a species collected as a herb with a commercial designation from its natural habitats, outside the territories of the Bulgarian national parks, determined by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water (MEW). The above-ground parts (exclusively flowers) and roots of P. veris are permitted to be harvested but only in accordance with the annual quotas of MEW.Concern\u201d . Togethela roots . In Bulg Annex 4 , in part Annex 4  in whichPrimula flowers and roots [Phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, phenolic glycosides and triterpen saponins, are the main active compounds in nd roots ,29.P. veris and closely related species, specifically P. elatior, are used for the production of herbal teas and as dietary supplements. They exhibit various pharmacological activities, particularly secretolytic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial, antifungal, and sedative [P. veris is used for treating bronchial catarrhs of the respiratory tract, pertussis, asthma, colds and influenza [Many authors ,30 have sedative ,29. In onfluenza ,31.Primula in all aspects mentioned above, the embryological studies involve a small number of species. The data in them are usually scarce or incomplete.Contrary to the intensive studies undertaken on the members of the genus P. veris.The present study aimed to reveal the manner of reproduction, peculiarities of male and female generative spheres. The main parameters of reproductive biology (pollen and seed viability) support the reproductive success of Bulgarian populations of the valuable medicinal plant P. veris reproductive potential can be used for its future successful introduction in culture. This is especially important, as its stocks as a valuable medicinal plant in Bulgaria are declining because the populations of P. veris are usually fragmented, small in size, and often subjected to anthropological or other adverse influences.In the present work, Bulgarian populations of this species were studied for the first time with respect to embryological features, pollen and seed viability and genetic diversity. On the basis of the results, the possibilities of realization of Primula has become a textbook example of floral heteromorphy [P. veris has a typical \u201cdistylous syndrome\u201d [The distyly in genus romorphy . The stuyndrome\u201d ,33\u2014a repyndrome\u201d .P. veris show clear distyly, expressed in the presence of long-styled (pin morph) and short-styled (thrum morph) flowers illustrated in P. vulgaris facilitates reciprocal pollination by insects [P. veris, both belonging to the section Primula.Our observation on the flower morphology of individuals of the two studied Bulgarian populations of  insects  as in P.P. allionii [P. mistassinica [It is important to note that in distyly, the long-styled floral morphs produce smaller in size but larger in amount pollen grains than the short-styled morphs. This was observed in allionii , P. mistassinica  and alsoassinica ,39.P. officinalis (syn. P. veris), were reported by [P. veris are almost lacking. Data for Bulgarian populations of the species were obtained for the first time in the present work.Some embryological features on species of the family Primulaceae, including orted by . Since tP. veris are tetrasporangiate, a typical feature in all representatives of the family Primulaceae [Primula species. Thus, initially, the four-layered wall of the anthers in P. veris becomes five-layered. After forming microspore tetrads in the anthers, both endothecium layers develop fibrous thickenings  morphs are more variable in size than those of \u201cpin\u201d (long-styled) morphs [P. veris, a distylous species, the differences in the floral morphology do not influence the success of the insect pollination [Observations on the morphology of pollen from natural and cultivated Polish populations of ) morphs . In the lination .P. veris is superior, unilocular, in which approximately 20 ovules with free central placentation being formed and developed (P. vulgaris [P. nutans [P. veris a solitary style and papilous capitate stigma (with) were observed  inner integument  in it, the cells of the innermost layer of the inner integument lengthen radially becoming tabular in form, forming so-called endothelium (integumentary tapetum) [Anagallis pumila [P. veris.The cells of the epidermal layer of the outer integument in tapetum) , which as pumila . Anderbes pumila  that theContrary to Anderberg\u2019s assertion, in important treatises on Angiosperm embryology, for the family Primulaceae, the formation of only one archaesporium cell in the ovule is indicated ,42.P. veris, as in other Primula species, namely P. bayernii [P. algida and P. amoena [Polygonum (monosporic)-type ES , with the typical shape and location of the nuclei in them , the lower end of the central cell enlarges considerably, forming an outgrowth with dense cytoplasm haustorizing to the chalaza . Similar. amoena . In Primal cells . The forg plants ,42,46.P. veris is a diploid, sexually reproducing (amphimictic) species that reproduces mainly by seeds. However, rarely it may reproduce vegetatively during the growing season by the formation of lateral rosettes. This has already been announced for the species [P. veris [P. veris is represented by such populations.This study shows that  species , and is P. veris  show thaP. veris  also poiP. veris, neither apomixis nor formation of additional embryos  was observed. As a result, the species is considered sexually reproducing, which correlates with its diploid status. However, polyembryony is found in other Primula species. Therefore, in P. auricula the additional 2\u20133 globular embryos are formed by the zygote [P. amoena, besides the zygotic embryo from the fertilized egg cell, an apomictic embryo also forms [It is important to note that in our study of the generative sphere of e zygote  and thise zygote . In P. aso forms  from thePollen viability (fertility) is an important factor in whether a population will undergo effective pollination and subsequent sexual reproduction to ensure the survival of each plant species. Different terms in pollen testing criteria based on the stages of pollen development in which it is tested are suggested . In our P. veris was estimated after acetocarmine testing: red-colored pollen grains were determined as viable, and colorless ones as nonviable  mature pollen is that which, when falling on the stigma under normal conditions, would start growing a pollen tube and finally discharge its male gametes in the embryo sac in an ovule to perform fertilization. A comparative study on \u201cpin\u201d and \u201cthrum\u201d floral morphs in humidity . In the humidity  found thas found , the datA viable seed is a seed that is capable of germinating and producing a \u201cnormal\u201d seedling . A relatP. veris  viability was made after testing with tetrazolium solution in the two studied populations (both in situ and ex situ collected seeds) of P. veris . The evaP. veris . The colP. veris, only cross-pollination between the two genetically determined individuals (\u201cpin\u201d and \u201cthrum\u201d morphs) produces a successful seed set [P. veris have also shown an exclusively low (0.01%) seed viability [P. veris. It is a prerequisite for the successful growth of the species in culture.In distylous species such as seed set . The estiability ,63. The P. veris, and one of the probable reasons for this may be seed dormancy [P. veris continues during the last several months of its development [The exclusively low seed viability assumes a slow rate of germination. It decreases the successful growth of the seedling progeny in dormancy . It has dormancy . The seeelopment ,66. The elopment .Primula veris were polymorphic. The mean number of bands per primer was 10.7. These data are similar to those obtained by Crema et al. [Primula apennina, but there the authors used many more primers (twenty-five primers).In total, 63% of the primers scored for the initial pilot study of a et al.  for the The percentage of polymorphic bands was the highest in the population of Western Rhodopes (74), which is due probably to the larger number of the studied individuals. The same percentage in the population of Petrohan was 72, in the population of Slavyanka 69, and in the population of Gorno Harsovo (Rila) 67. The number of polymorphic bands is only approximately characteristic of the genetic diversity, and is analogous to the mean number of alleles in other markers . Much more informative are the characteristics of genetic diversity [The Shannon\u2019s polymorphic index showed similar trends and again the highest values had the population from the Western Rhodopes, followed by Petrohan, Gorno Harsovo, and the lowest value was recorded in the population of Slavyanka.The dendrogram constructed based on the genetic distances among populations revealed that there is no relationship between the geographic and genetic distances . The popP. apennina [P. heterochroma [Primula veris was high both at species and at population levels , Sofia. In Bulgaria, this species is widespread in the plains, foothills, and mountains, from sea level to above 2500 m altitude [P. veris is a diploid species with chromosome number 2n = 22. This chromosome number is also shown for populations from the Znepole Region [The study of embryological characteristics, pollen and seed viability was carried out on two natural populations of altitude . It is oe Region  and Pirie Region .The material used for the embryological study is collected from the two native populations (above mentioned), as well as from plants transferred and grown in greenhouse conditions at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia . The vouP. veris was made after using the acetocarmine test [The estimation of pollen viability of the two studied populations of ine test . For thiAssessment of the pollen viability was performed by direct counting, using the light microscope \u201cOlympus\u201d CX21 .To assess seed viability (fertility), the tetrazolium test  was applThe genetic study was performed in four natural populations distributed throughout the whole range of the species\u2019 distribution in Bulgaria : PetrohaDNA was extracted by Invisorb Spin Plant Mini Kit , following the protocol of the producer. DNA quantity and quality before the analysis were measured by the spectrophotometer Nanodrop Lite (Thermo Fisher Scientific).Primula species [Six primers for obtaining Internal simple sequence repeats (ISSR) genetic markers were applied in the study . The mar species . The amp species .Binary matrix was constructed using presence (1) and absence (0) of particular band. Based on the matrix, the following parameters were calculated: expected heterozygosity and the percent of polymorphic bands. Nei\u2019s genetic distances among the population pairs were calculated for revealing the inter-population variation. Cluster analysis was applied by using UPGMA method and by means of the software ClustVis .Primula veris are established, in order to reveal the reproductive potential of this valuable medicinal plant. It should be noted that some new important reproductive characteristics have been identified in this species, as follows: development of two fibrous layers in the anther wall instead of one and formation of hypostase as an additional structure in the chalasal part of the ovules. Considering that the embryological features are very conservative, the established new features enrich the data on embryology and reproductive biology of this species and the genus Primula. The study revealed P. veris is exclusively sexually reproducing in the Bulgarian populations. No apomixis or at least some of its elements is found which correlates with the diploid status of the species.In this study, for the first time, the peculiarities of the generative processes and structures of the Bulgarian populations of P. veris is exclusively determined by the fact that it is a distylous, and therefore a self-incompatible, species. Therefore, it is sensitive to pollen limitation [P. veris, widespread in Bulgaria.The normal (without deviations) course of the processes of formation of the male and female gametophyte, with relatively few observed degenerations of ovules and embryo sacs, combined with the formation of large quantity of fertile pollen (over 95%), provide high reproductive potential and successful reproduction of the species, especially under appropriate conditions. The specificity of mitation , and lowmitation . Consequmitation , and in P. veris exhibits similar patterns of variation to those of closely related species with similar life-history characteristics. The revealed high genetic variability in the studied populations corresponds to that established in other Primula species and allows the conclusion that the high genetic diversity is a common feature of Primula species, due to their outcrossing mode of reproduction. However, a more complete picture can be obtained by studying more populations from the whole species range.The study on genetic diversity revealed that The results on the reproductive potential show that the species can be successfully cultivated in ex situ conditions to obtain medicinal drugs. This option is especially valuable, bearing in mind that the species, although widespread throughout the whole country, is represented by populations that are small in size and fragmented.Primula veris must be carried out in a context of preservation of the size and character of its natural populations.Therefore, we consider that further thorough investigations on morph-specific reproductive processes in"}
+{"text": "Mycoplasma agalactiae, Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum and Mycoplasma putrefaciens which were previously thought to produce clinically similar diseases. Today, with major advances in diagnosis enabling the rapid identification by molecular methods of causative mycoplasmas from infected flocks, it is time to revisit this issue. In this paper, we discuss and argue the reasons to support Mycoplasma agalactiae infection as the sole cause of contagious agalactia.For over thirty years, contagious agalactia has been recognized as a mycoplasma disease affecting small ruminants caused by four different pathogens: Mycoplasma agalactiae which was first isolated from sheep in 1923. Over the last thirty years, three other mycoplasmas  have been added to the etiology of CA because they can occasionally cause clinically similar outcomes though nearly always in goats. However, only M. agalactiae is subject to animal disease regulations nationally and internationally. Consequently, it makes little sense to list mycoplasmas other than M. agalactiae as causes of the OIE-listed CA when they are not officially reported by the veterinary authorities and unlikely to be so in the future. Indeed, encouraging countries just to report M. agalactiae may bring about a better understanding of the importance of CA. In conclusion, we recommend that CA should only be diagnosed and confirmed when M. agalactiae is detected either by isolation or molecular methods, and that the other three mycoplasmas be removed from the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines in Terrestrial Animals and associated sources.Contagious agalactia (CA) is suspected when small ruminants show all or several of the following clinical signs: mastitis, arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis and occasionally abortion. It is confirmed following mycoplasma isolation or detection. The historical and major cause is  Mycoplasma agalactiae, M. mycoides subsp. capri (previously named M. m. mycoides large colony), M. capricolum subsp. capricolum and M. putrefaciens\u2014should be recognized as causal agents of CA because the clinical disease they cause can be similar and includes mastitis, arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis and, occasionally, abortion [M. agalactiae, the main and historical cause, were sufficiently similar to those of M. m. capri and M. c. capricolum to be considered CA. As a result, these were listed in the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines in Terrestrial Animals in 1988 [M. putrefaciens, mainly based on a few reports including one from Da Massa et al. in 1987 describing a severe outbreak of mastitis and arthritis in goats requiring the slaughter of nearly 700 goats [M. putrefaciens and, indeed, M. c. capricolum, the four mycoplasmas have continued to be listed in their manual by the OIE ever since as etiological agents of CA. The inclusion of all four mycoplasmas has not been without argument with the OIE Collaborating Centre for International Cooperation in Animal Biologics at Iowa State University commenting in 2004: \u201cSome authorities consider infections with all of these agents to be CA; others prefer to reserve the term for infections with (only) M. agalactiae. Until this issue has been resolved, reports of CA outbreaks should specify the species involved\u201d [In 1999, the consensus of the working group on contagious agalactia (CA) of the EC COST Action 826 on ruminant mycoplasmoses, which met in Toulouse, France, agreed that four mycoplasmas\u2014 in 1988 . Further00 goats . Despitenvolved\u201d . UnfortuM. agalactiae is recognized nationally and internationally and subject to animal disease regulations covering CA. While M. m. capri is a widespread and probably underestimated respiratory pathogen, the disease it causes is, in most cases, clinically distinct from that caused by M. agalactiae. M. c. capricolum also favors the respiratory system and is rarely reported, while M. putrefaciens can cause reduction in milk production but affected animals are often without clinical signs. Moreover, M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens are pathogens of goats rarely affecting sheep, which are by far the most economically important small ruminant species worldwide, particularly in the EU, where sheep numbers are seven times higher than those of goats [M. agalactiae should be considered the sole cause of classical CA.Today, with major advances in diagnosis enabling the rapid identification by molecular methods of causative mycoplasmas from infected small ruminants, which is required to confirm diagnosis of CA, it is belatedly time to revisit this issue. This is important because only of goats . For theM. agalactiae are mastitis which can involve 60\u201380% of lactating females, followed by arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis and abortion in less than 10% of affected animals. Clinical signs can be seen at various stages during the evolution of the disease, not necessarily in the same animal but in individuals in the affected flock or herd [M. agalactiae accounts for 90% of outbreaks of CA in goats [M. agalactiae and, where it has been reported, may have been the result of a mixed infection with other pathogens, in particular M. m. capri [The main clinical signs of CA caused by  or herd . M. agalin goats ; it is cm. capri .M. mycoides group, M. m. capri and M. c. capricolum, are more often isolated from pneumonic goats [The three other mycoplasmas which have been added to the etiology of CA can occasionally cause clinically similar outcomes, though exclusively in goats. However, the two pathogens belonging to the ic goats  or from ic goats  and onlyic goats .M. m. capri and other pulmonary mycoplasmas in goats from CA, Thiaucourt and Bolske used the rather awkward term MAKePs syndrome standing for mastitis, arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis and pneumonia [In an effort to separate diseases caused by neumonia . Outbreaneumonia .M. putrefaciens is a very infrequent isolate from goats with questionable pathogenicity as it is often isolated from healthy goats but has been found occasionally in goat herds presenting agalactia. It is often found with M. agalactiae where it may play little role in disease progression [The fourth listed mycoplasma gression ,17. Howegression , reporteM. agalactiae as the unique or major pathogen in CA. Some European countries also report to national authorities some or all of the three mycoplasmas, which may not always be linked to outbreaks of mastitis and/or falls in milk production. An investigation carried out between 2004 and 2012 in Sardinia, which has the highest sheep population in Italy, found a high number of outbreaks of M. m. capri. This was shown to be the result of introductions of goat breeds from Spain and other European countries. The disease was confirmed in 34 goat farms and a single sheep flock [M. m. capri was isolated from the lungs and brains of over 74% of the herds, sites rarely associated with M. agalactiae (7).Overall, most countries involved in small ruminant dairy production identify ep flock . While tClinical signs of the four mycoplasmas are summarized in M. agalactiae vary according to the route of infection. Hasso and colleagues [M. agalactiae testing four different routes of inoculation and observed: acute to chronic mastitis in the intramammary and subcutaneously inoculated groups; acute synovitis in the intravenously inoculated group and, to a lesser extent, in the intramammary inoculated group; and subacute enteritis in the orally inoculated group. No changes were detected in the eyes.It can be difficult to make comparisons between infections caused by these various mycoplasmas because experimental infections do not always mimic natural infection as the pathogen may invade less aggressively either following contamination from the environment or the infected hands of the milkers. However, reports have shown quite distinct pathological changes following infection with different mycoplasmas. Moreover, lesions resulting from experimental infections of lleagues  reportedM. m. capri infection as a disease which involves mainly the thoracic cavity in adults and the joints of young animals. There was no mention of lesions in the mammary glands. Studies carried out in Italy some years ago [M. m. capri infection was a respiratory and poly-arthritic syndrome and only one of ten experimentally infected goats had udder lesions detected by immunohistochemistry. Agnello et al. [M. m. capri where few adult animals showed clinical signs or lesions, whereas a severe poly-arthritic syndrome was found in the 90% of kids with an 80% mortality rate.Other authors ,21 have ears ago  confirmeo et al.  investigM. agalactiae and M. m. capri in goats following natural infection and showed that M. m. capri possessed a greater respiratory tropism than M. agalactiae. In addition, a large number of M. m. capri isolates were found in the ear canal, demonstrating a close connection between the respiratory system and the middle ear.Bergonier et al.  investigM. c. capricolum, M. m. capri and M. m. mycoides (large colony type) showed fatal septicemia within 5 days; histopathological findings consisted of acute diffuse interstitial pneumonia, arthritis and multifocal necrotic purulent splenitis [Pathological and immunohistochemical findings observed in 12 kids experimentally infected with plenitis .M. putrefaciens pathology have shown that only intramammary inoculation can lead to an acute mastitis while other routes failed to produce lesions [M. putrefaciens strains in lactating goats via intramammary inoculation caused an increase of leukocytes in milk within 8 days but no sign of mastitis in spite of a complete halt in lactation after some days [The few studies on  lesions ; this maome days . PatholoM. c. capricolum, a fibrinopurulent polyarthritis and an acute, diffuse interstitial pneumonia. However, lactating goats exposed to low numbers of the organism via the teat canal experienced similar lesions as well as acute mastitis, agalactia and hardened udders.Da Massa  reportedM. agalactiae is isolated. Indeed, few, if any, countries report CA officially when M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens are detected. M. agalactiae and very few reports of the other causative mycoplasmas over the last 20 years [M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens in both sheep and goats have been reported [M. agalactiae appears to be dominant in both sheep and goats. In North and Central Spain, M. agalactiae is widely present in sheep but M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens remain unreported [M. agalactiae (75%) compared to M. m. capri (4%) [M. m. capri in goats is similar to that of M. agalactiae [Of potential significance to our argument is the geographical distribution of the mycoplasmas and identification of regions where CA is reported. Unfortunately, this is difficult to be certain of as reports of CA by the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) issued by the OIE do not specify the pathogen involved. Furthermore, many reporting countries do not have the ability or inclination to identify mycoplasmas, so diagnosis is mainly based on clinical disease. In countries where mycoplasma laboratories exist, CA is only declared when 20 years . Many ot20 years . In Bosnreported . In Nortreported  and in Treported , M. agalreported . In Murcpri (4%) . In contalactiae .M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens respectively but rarely detected M. agalactiae in clinically affected goats [M. agalactiae is considered as a dominant pathogen in major sheep-breeding regions [M. m. capri strains were also isolated in goats in Sardinia and Sicily [M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens were isolated from a few milk samples in Sardinia in 2018 . In Greece and Cyprus, all reports in both sheep and goats have focused exclusively on M. agalactiae [In France, a national surveillance network estimated a prevalence of 42%, 26% and 15% for ed goats . In Ital regions , whereasalactiae .M. m. capri has been reported in Australia and New Zealand, CA has never been diagnosed despite the large numbers of sheep probably because most are maintained for meat production. In general, M. agalactiae appears to have a more restricted distribution: Southern Europe, West Asia, including Turkey and Iran, and North Africa with occasional reports from parts of South America like Brazil [M. m. capri has been reported on most continents of the world where small ruminants are kept. Reports of M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens are much more sporadic and infrequent.More recently, CA has been reported in countries in Western Asia like Iran and Mongolia where automation of the dairy industry is still rare. While isolation of e Brazil . On the M. agalactiae is very closely related to the bovine pathogen, M. bovis, and grouped in the hyorhinis group along with other animal pathogens. The other three mycoplasmas, M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens, belong or are very closely related to the genetically distant mycoides cluster surprisingly located in the spiroplasma group, mollicutes more commonly found in plants and insects. Indeed, M. agalactiae shares only 18% of its genome with the M. mycoides cluster [Mycoplasma spp. showed a marked difference in behavior in vitro. Erythromycin is effective against infection by M. m. capri, M. c. capricolum and M. putrefaciens, but inefficient against M. agalactiae strains [bovis or mycoides groups.It is worth noting that  cluster . Interes strains ,14,27. TM. agalactiae is suspected as was a recent case involving imported goats from France [M. agalactiae is detected. Israel regularly isolates M. agalactiae and M. m. mycoides but only reports this nationally while informing the OIE that CA is present based on clinical findings. In many countries including Turkey and Portugal, cases of CA are not reported possibly because of the complexities of reporting several pathogens as causes of CA. In France, Greece, Iran and Italy as well, action is only taken in the event of the detection of M. agalactiae. Indeed, we do not know of any country that reports or takes action if any of the other causative mycoplasmas are found.In the United Kingdom, like many other disease-free countries, CA is a notifiable disease and is covered by two pieces of legislation: the Specific Diseases (Notification and Slaughter) Order 1992 and the Specific Diseases (Notification) Order 1996 which describe procedures to be taken, including movement restriction, slaughter and disinfection, in the event of an outbreak. However, action is only taken if m France . Poland M. agalactiae represents the most important and prevalent pathogen associated with CA, the disease shows the same clinical course both in sheep and goats. Moreover, in those countries like Italy where often both animal species are kept together in the same group, owners do not report any clinical differences between them. It seems to confirm that the clinical behavior of CA is quite different according to the pathogen involved, target species, breed, farm/husbandry type or degree of domestication. However, from a veterinary point of view, two different diseases are seen. First, the \u201ctypical or classical disease\u201d which is very contagious affecting flock milk production and for this reason is called \u201ccontagious agalactia\u201d. This disease occurs exclusively in milking/dairy small ruminants. In the ancestral species, the Spanish ibex (Capra pirenaica), the clinical signs are represented by blindness, malnutrition and polyarthritis [In countries where rthritis , but theM. agalactiae as a single cause of CA may help focus attention on this important pathogen and remove the confusion and uncertainty that exists about reporting of this OIE-listed disease. This will also fit better into the OIE ethos of \u201cone disease, one cause\u201d. It is hoped that this paper may cause the EU to reconsider altering the status of CA in future amendments to the regulation as we believe it is an under-reported disease with international significance.The introduction of European Union (EU) regulation 2016/429, which provided a new regulatory framework covering control and surveillance of infectious diseases, animal welfare and animal movements amongst Member States, complements local legislation but also reduces the amount of intervention possible . WorryinM. m. capri and M. c. capricolum: caprine respiratory and articular syndrome (CRAS). This reflects more accurately the main disease signs and separates it from the OIE-listed contagious caprine pleuropneumonia caused by the closely related M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae which is confined to the thoracic cavity.Finally, in a further effort to bring about clarity to this complex area we propose a new term for the disease caused by the largely respiratory pathogens M. agalactiae is detected either by isolation or molecular methods such as PCR and the other three mycoplasmas removed from the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines in Terrestrial Animals and associated sources.In conclusion, we recommend that CA should only be diagnosed and confirmed when"}
+{"text": "Mastigimas anjosi is an important pest of Cedrela fissilis in the southeastern and southern regions of Brazil. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and natural enemies on the flight activity of adults and the movement of M. anjosi nymphs, with two sampling methods, yellow sticky traps and direct collections on the leaves of C. fissilis trees. The sex ratio of this pest was also assessed. The number of M. anjosi individuals was negatively correlated with the minimum and maximum temperatures, with a population peak in late May and early June 2017. The numbers of individuals of this psyllid was positively correlated with the relative humidity and rainfall. Larvae and adults of Cycloneda sanguinea, Hippodamia convergens adults and Atopozelus opsimus nymphs and adults preyed upon M. anjosi adults and nymphs on C. fissilis leaves in the field. Mastigimas anjosi sex ratio was 0.46. Information about sampling methods of M. anjosi and its natural enemies is presented and can contribute to the integrated management of this pest in the field. Key message \u2014Mastigimas anjosi on Cedrela fissilis have to be understood for effective control of this pest.The factors favouring infestation of  \u2014Mastigimas anjosi in C. fissilis forests were provided.Important data to promote monitoring and biological control programmes of  \u2014Atopozelus opsimus, Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens individuals in the yellow sticky traps and the predation on C. fissilis show the importance of these natural enemies in the integrated management of M. anjosi.The high numbers of  \u2014M. anjosi adults and its natural enemies and can be used to monitor populations of these insects in the C. fissilis plantations.Yellow sticky traps were efficient in sampling of  \u2014Cedrela fissilis leaves was inefficient to survey insect predators of M. anjosi.Sampling of . 1Cedrela fissilis Vell. , of arboreal size and native to Brazil  = 0.6478 > \u03b1 = 0.05. This shows that it is possible to affirm, with a 5% significance level, that the distribution of the data in this sample is normal. However, this was rejected for M. anjosi adults, Wcalculated = 0.8404 < W = 0.905, with p-value calculated by p[W < Wcalculated] = 0.0014 < \u03b1 = 0.05 . The hypothesis that data on population variances are similar (homogeneity) was rejected, that is, the means and medians of the M. anjosi nymph and adult populations differ according to ANOVA (p = 1.362 \u00d7 10\u221236) and the Kruskal\u2013Wallis test (p = 2.2 \u00d7 10\u221216), respectively.The normality test showed that the H\u03b1 = 0.05 a,b. The M. anjosi adults, respectively, from the variation of the dataset . The PCA retained all factors with eigenvalues higher than one  for nymphs and PC4 (5.2%) for adults of this pest  and maximum (r = \u22120.93) temperatures for nymphs (r = \u22120.93) and adults (r = \u22120.97) of M. anjosi, respectively, moderate and direct for relative humidity  and weak and inversely proportional for rainfall  and natural enemies , respectively  and the explanatory minimum (TMIN) and maximum (TMAX) temperatures with the population fluctuation of this psyllid. The number of nymphs (r = 0.88 and r = 0.75) and adults (r = 0.90 and r = 0.72) of M. anjosi correlated with the variables rainfall and relative humidity and the axis of PC2, high and direct correlation, respectively, in addition to low and inversely proportional correlation with natural enemies   with the M. anjosi adult numbers  and adults  of M. anjosi showed the fit of the regression analysis line with the dataset .The variable natural enemies, in the PC3, showed a moderate and direct correlation  for nymphs and adults (F = 2.8786) of M. anjosi was significant, but reduced , sea pumpkin, Arctotheca nivea (L. fil.) Lewin , parrot bush, Banksia sessilis Knight  and garden pea, Pisum sativum L.  in Australia [Austroasca viridigrisea Paoli, 1936 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) adults in Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia [Ctenarytaina thysanura Ferris & Klyver, 1932  in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia [Aphis fabae Scopoli, 1763, the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L., 1758 and the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer, 1776 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in a laboratory in England [M. anjosi nymphs and adults in the autumn confirm the effect of climatic conditions on the capture of hemipterans, as reported for the highest number of individuals of sharpshooters, Acrogonia citrina Marucci & Cavichioli, 2002, Bucephalogonia xanthophis Berg, 1879 and Dilobopterus costalimai Young, 1977 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) during periods of high rainfall (207.8 mm) in November 2003 in Vi\u00e7osa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil [The attractiveness of ustralia , as prefustralia . Green, ustralia . In addi England . The gre England . The gre, Brazil .M. anjosi nymphs population in the 20th evaluation and that of adults in the following is due to the nymphs of this insect completing the development cycle in approximately 20 days [M. anjosi individuals, collected in Sorocaba, in May and June, a period with rainfall above 100 mm after the dry period [C. fissilis plants and, consequently, in the reproduction and development of this insect [The peak of  20 days  and the y period , confirms insect .M. anjosi number due to the population dynamics of natural enemies being directly related to that of their prey or hosts. Larger pest populations support a greater number of natural enemies due to the increased supply of food/host, as observed for onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, 1889 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and their predators from five families, including Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera) on common onion plants, Allium cepa L. , with population peaks, respectively, in late July and early August in the central and western regions of New York, USA in 2011 and 2012 [The highest number of individuals of natural enemies, collected in October, follows the same trend as the and 2012 .M. anjosi nymphs and adults numbers with a population peak in late May and early June was similar to that reported for G. brimblecombei nymphs per Eucalyptus L'H\u00e9r.  leaf in Botucatu and S\u00e3o Sim\u00e3o, state of S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil [G. brimblecombei adult numbers and temperature was also inverse in collections with yellow sticky traps on river redgum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh, 1832 trees in January to June 2005 in Luiz Ant\u00f4nio, state of S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil [M. anjosi individuals collected on C. fissilis trees in August 2015 during a period with low rainfall and high temperatures with yellow sticky traps in Sorocaba [M. anjosi individuals, captured in the summer, and higher in the winter months, characterize the impact of temperature on the population dynamics of this insect.The inverse linear correlation between the explanatory variables minimum (TMIN) and maximum (TMAX) temperatures with the , Brazil . The cor, Brazil  and for M. anjosi nymphs, indicate their greater preference to feed on nymphs than on adults of this pest, because they are smaller, apterous and low mobile [A. opsimus, C. sanguinea and H. convergens preying upon M. anjosi on C. fissilis leaves in Sorocaba shows the importance of these natural enemies as reported for those preying the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, 1980 (Hemiptera: Liviidae) on Citrus  in China [Triozoida limbata Enderlein, 1918 (Hemiptera: Triozidae) on common guava, Psidium guajava L.  in Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, Brazil [Atopozelus opsimus, Chrysopidae and Syrphidae species are generalist natural enemies, and they were reported preying M. anjosi on T. ciliata trees in 2013 and 2015 in Conselheiro Lafaiete and Ouro Branco, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil [Atopozelus opsimus preyed upon M. anjosi nymphs and adults on C. fissilis trees in Montes Claros, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and their nymphs feed on honeydew produced by this pest. This predator did not prevent damage to C. fissilis, which may be related to the high temperatures in this region, reducing its reproduction and increasing its development period [The numbers of natural enemies, negatively correlated with that of w mobile ,16. The in China  and the , Brazil . Atopoze, Brazil . Atopoze0 hypothesis acceptance shows normal distribution of data on the M. anjosi nymph numbers and that their base can be accepted and compatible with approximately 65% of the residue data and that the W value should be rejected for the adult numbers of this insect. On the other hand, the lack of normality in the frequency distribution of this dataset may be related to the behaviour of the M. anjosi adults with reduced body size and wings that facilitate their rapid locomotion within C. fissilis plants [W value, as some individuals, randomly, may not have been captured by the sticky traps, while the low mobility of nymphs of M. anjosi facilitates to sample this stage by direct collection of the leaves in the field.The Hs plants . In addiM. anjosi nymphs, related to maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall, and their relationship with the PC1 and PC2 of the PCA axes confirm an increase in their numbers in the drier months and a reduction with the temperature increases. The lower number of M. anjosi individuals in periods with rainfall above 100 mm is due to the relationship between accumulated rainfall and the total nymph numbers of this species as reported for G. brimblecombei nymphs at temperatures between 22 and 26\u00b0C and rainfall above 80 mm in Brazil [Glycaspis baileyi Moore, 1961 (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and other psyllids species on forest red gum, Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. plants in Mauritius [The number of n Brazil ,20,22,53auritius .T. limbata increased with minimum, average and maximum temperatures and accumulated rainfall. However, the latter parameter increased the rate of vegetative growth of the plants and, consequently, the development and vigour of this psyllid due to the greater nutrient availability and leaf turgidity [Psyllids can have several generations per year, with all stages present, although with varying numbers between them . The numurgidity . Torrenturgidity .M. anjosi adult numbers can be explained by the greater difficulty of these predators to capturing adults of this psyllid with reduced body size and rapid locomotion within the leaves of the C. fissilis plants [The moderate and direct correlation between natural enemies and s plants .F value for M. anjosi nymphs and adults from the analysis of main components, may be related to the restrictions on the values of the observations, strictly positive [The low relationship between the variables analysed, normality of the data and the positive . This hapositive , for exaM. anjosi adults in Sorocaba was similar to that of other psyllids, with amphitoky parthenogenesis, but it differs from that of the jumping plant lices, Cacopsylla myrtilli Wagner, 1947 [Cacopsylla rare Tuthill, 1944, Glycaspis atkinsoni Moore, 1984, and Glycaspis operta Moore, 1984 (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) [The sex ratio of er, 1947 , Cacopsyyllidae) , with th. 5M. anjosi nymphs and adults was negatively correlated with maximum and minimum temperatures and positively with relative humidity and rainfall with population peaks between the end of May and the beginning of June 2017. The high numbers of A. opsimus, C. sanguinea and H. convergens individuals in the yellow sticky traps and the predation of M. anjosi adults and nymphs on C. fissilis trees show the importance of these natural enemies in the integrated management of this psyllid. Yellow sticky traps were efficient in sampling of M. anjosi adults and its natural enemies and can be used to monitor these populations in the field. Sampling of C. fissilis leaves was inefficient to survey C. sanguinea, H. convergens and A. opsimus. The sex ratio of M. anjosi adults was 0.46.The number of"}
+{"text": "Correction to: BMC Neurol 21, 231 (2021)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-021-02233-5Following publication of the original article , the autThe original article  has beenAdditional file 2. This is the statistical analysis, provided in .pdf format. This contains the R code used in the analysis and so parts of this are likely to be hard to understand for the reader not familiar with this language. The file provides the results given in the main article. It includes some additional analyses and images which, for reasons of space, do not form part of the main article. In particular, it provides details of all of the MTs assessed. For each gene assessed, we also provide hyperlinks (where possible), to the relevant entry at the NCBI Gene database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene)."}
+{"text": "Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. , the brown dog tick, is the most widely distributed tick species in the world. The two dominant lineages, a temperate group and a tropical group, are recognized as important disease vectors for both dogs and humans. The temperate and tropical lineages overlap in range in some regions of the world, including the southwestern United States, where recent outbreaks of Rocky Mountain spotted fever are linked to R. sanguineus s.l. While it is unclear to what extent they may differ in their capacity to transmit pathogens, finer-scale resolution of temperate and tropical lineage distribution may provide insight into the ecology of these two tick groups and the epidemiology of R. sanguineus s.l.-vectored diseases. Using diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assays, we examined the geospatial trends in R. sanguineus s.l. lineages throughout Arizona. We found the temperate and tropical lineages were well delineated, with some overlap in the eastern part of the state. In one county, tropical and temperate ticks were collected on the same dog host, demonstrating that the two lineages are living in sympatry in some instances and may co-feed on the same host. Rickettsia rickettsii, which kills more people within North America than any other tickborne disease [Dermacentor variabilis, and Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, where the principal vector is D. andersoni.Ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) are important vectors of many human and animal diseases, especially within North America. Among the most significant of these diseases is Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a bacterial infection caused by  disease . In 2018 disease . Most ofRhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato-vectored RMSF has been recognized in Mexico since the 1930s, though data on estimated incidence is limited [ limited . Since t limited ,6,7. WhiR. sanguineus s.l., but the ticks will feed on humans as incidental hosts and can transmit R. rickettsii at all life stages. The close relationship between domestic dogs and humans enables infestations of R. sanguineus s.l. in and around human homes and allows the tick to complete its entire life cycle indoors [R. sanguineus s.l. with RMSF may have important implications for the epidemiology and expansion of this disease to other parts of the world and should be explored in greater detail.Dogs are the preferred hosts of  indoors . Through indoors . Affecte indoors ,6,8. TheR. sanguineus s.l. refers to a complex of 11\u201317 related species or subspecies with a worldwide distribution [R. sanguineus s.l. lineages  and other Rhipicephalus species  are minute, further complicating the taxonomic status [R. sanguineus sensu stricto. The aforementioned tropical lineage within the Americas is currently under revision, with specimens from Australia and southern Asia declared a separate species, R. linnaei, by \u0160lapeta et al. (2021) [R. sanguineus species complex, ticks will be referred to in terms of temperate and tropical lineage throughout this text.ribution ,10,11. Tribution . Historiribution ,14. Morpc status . In 2018c status  designat. (2021) . To dateR. sanguineus s.l. lineages occupy distinct ecological niches [Rickettsia spp. bacteria, but to date, only the tropical lineage has been associated with the distribution of RMSF in Mexico [R. sanguineus s.l. lineages differ in their capacity to transmit R. rickettsii. However, various experimental transmission studies suggest that the temperate and tropical lineages do differ in their ability to transmit a variety of other pathogens, including Ehrlichia canis, Hepatozooan canis, and Anaplasma platys [R. sanguineus s.l. species complex ticks within Arizona may, therefore, provide insight into the epidemiological distribution of R. sanguineus s.l.-vectored diseases across the state in the future.While it has been suggested that the two main l niches ,20,21,22l niches ,22,23. An Mexico ,19,24. Ia platys ,28,29,30R. sanguineus species complex. Given the higher rate of base substitution relative to most nuclear genes, mitochondrial DNA sequences are useful phylogenetic markers for clades with relatively recent divergence [R. sanguineus s.l. taxa [R. sanguineus s.l. ticks with those of Hyalomma dromedarii [R. sanguineus complex after finding that nuclear markers, specifically ITS2, were insufficiently variable and therefore not informative or robust enough to provide resolution on the necessary scale [Much work has been done to investigate the molecular dissimilarities between divergent populations within the vergence . A systevergence . The mit.l. taxa ,17,23,33.l. taxa ,36,37,38omedarii . The autry scale ,16.R. sanguineus s.l. lineages within Arizona. A diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol was developed using lineage-specific primers to differentiate between the temperate and tropical lineages of R. sanguineus s.l. based on the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene with Sanger sequencing confirmation on a subset of samples. Given the current understanding of the global distribution of R. sanguineus s.l. ticks, it was hypothesized that the temperate lineage will be more abundant, particularly in northern latitudes and higher elevations across Arizona. However, the presence of the tropical lineage in the six regions of the state where historic and ongoing transmission of RMSF is occurring was predicted.The aim of this work was to determine the spatial distribution of R. sanguineus s.l. ticks of all life stages and engorgement levels were solicited throughout the year as a convenience sample from animal shelters, tribal vector control agencies, and University of Arizona Cooperative Extension offices across Arizona. Most ticks included in this study were collected from dogs at animal shelters  or in collaboration with local stakeholders during vector control activities, such as RMSF prevention campaigns and mobile rabies clinics. The majority of ticks were collected during peak tick activity, during the months of March through August. Ticks were identified to species complex using standard taxonomic keys [In 2018 and 2019, mic keys , and theTicks were placed in a 1.5 mL tube, submerged in liquid nitrogen, homogenized with a sterile pestle, and treated with 20 mg/mL lysozyme solution . DNA was isolated using the Qiagen QiaAmp DNA Mini Kit, with an AE buffer elution volume of 50 \u03bcL.R. sanguineus s.l. were based on differences of two bp at the binding sites for both the forward and reverse primers, and amplified a sequence of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA approximately 350\u2013360 base pairs in length . Presence/absence data were recorded for the two lineages at each sampling site, and elevation and latitude data were inferred based on nearest city/town utilizing the ArcGIS Data and Maps global databases.R. sanguineus s.l. ticks were included in this study from eleven counties in Arizona  of the samples amplified using the temperate primers, whereas 72% (n = 220) amplified using the tropical primers. Occasionally, there was low amplification with the second lineage-specific primer set, resulting in a faint band in the second lane for a sample . This may have been due to non-specific binding, contamination, or an indication of hybridization and paternal leakage of mitochondrial DNA [As expected, positive controls for the temperate and tropical lineages amplify with the appropriate lineage-specific primer but not the other . Twenty-rial DNA . HoweverSanger sequencing was performed on the 12S PCR amplicon of 117 (38.2%) samples from eleven counties in Arizona and compared against lineage-specific diagnostic PCR results. Four samples (two larvae and two nymphs) were removed from the analysis due to low DNA concentrations and subsequent low-quality Sanger sequencing reads. These samples amplified using the lineage-specific primers but could not be verified with sequencing. For the remaining samples, there was 100% consensus between amplification with lineage-specific primers and sequencing-based identification.R. sanguineus s.l. lineages were surprisingly well-delineated across the state. However, both lineages were found in two counties\u2014Gila and Cochise\u2014indicating some overlap in their ranges. The distributions of the two R. sanguineus s.l. ticks were collected between 31.5\u00b0 and 34\u00b0 latitude  a. On theR. sanguineus s.l. lineage demonstrates that the two lineages overlap in range in Arizona. While this study utilized a convenience sampling method and therefore the lack of a lineage in a county may not be representative of an actual absence, the results support the published literature on the distribution of the temperate lineage [The spatial analysis of  lineage ,34. We f lineage , where t lineage  that the lineage  further R. sanguineus s.l. lineages is necessary to assess future risks of tickborne diseases vectored by this tick species complex in a warming world.It is well established that vector-borne diseases, including those transmitted by ticks, increase in incidence as the global climate warms . The resR. sanguineus s.l. ticks without the need for additional sequencing. While not sufficient for phylogenetic analyses, it may prove useful for researchers seeking to identify R. sanguineus s.l. ticks to lineage without additional investments in time and resources. This protocol may be especially useful in regions where both lineages have been found to screen large numbers of ticks and define the distribution of R. sanguineus s.l. with high resolution.The diagnostic PCR protocol described here quickly and reliably distinguishes between temperate and tropical lineages of R. sanguineus s.l. populations [R. sanguineus s.l. populations showed reproductive success, and also indicated the occurrence of paternal inheritance of mitochondria and mitochondrial heteroplasmy [R. sanguineus s.l. lineages has also been observed experimentally, although most of the hybrid progeny did not produce viable offspring [R. sanguineus s.l. lineages, and whether an R. sanguineus s.l. tick may behaviorally present as one lineage while mitochondrial DNA determines it to be the other. Identification of a nuclear genetic marker with sufficient resolution at this taxonomic level would aid in this line of research.Due to lingering taxonomic questions, several hybridization experiments have been conducted using geographically isolated, allopatric ulations ,45. A crffspring ,45. HoweR. sanguineus s.l. is the primary vector of RMSF in Arizona, much remains to be investigated. The temperate and tropical R. sanguineus s.l. lineages are present in Arizona and living in sympatry in some areas. A systematic assessment of the presence/absence of each lineage across the state using non-convenience sampling strategies may highlight additional areas of sympatry. Future research on this topic should focus on whether the two lineages differ in their vectorial capacity for RMSF. Additionally, a more thorough assessment of climatic variables relevant to range limitation and overlap may be helpful to better understand the distribution of the temperate and tropical R. sanguineus s.l. ticks in this region of the United States. Finally, researchers should seek evidence of hybridization among sympatric temperate and tropical R. sanguineus s.l. lineages to further understand the implications of this on the epidemiology of RMSF and other tickborne diseases.While R. sanguineus s.l., temperate and tropical, at a fine scale in Arizona. We were able to sample ticks from eleven of fifteen counties in the state, including regions of the state affected by R. sanguineus s.l.-transmitted RMSF. The data presented here demonstrates a clear pattern of R. sanguineus s.l. lineage distribution across both latitude and elevation within Arizona. We also verify the presence of both lineages in two counties in the eastern part of the state. Our findings are somewhat limited by convenience sampling and limited access to dog hosts in some counties, as it is possible that our dog sample sizes in some areas were insufficient to obtain a representative sample of lineage.This research explores the distribution of the two recognized lineages of"}
+{"text": "Meccus' taxonomy has been quite complex since the first species of this genus was described by Burmeister in 1835 as Conorhinus phyllosoma. In 1859 the species was transferred to the genus Meccus and in 1930 to Triatoma. However, in the twentieth century, the Meccus genus was revalidated  and, in the twenty-first century, through a comprehensive study including more sophisticated phylogenetic reconstruction methods, Meccus was again synonymous with Triatoma. Events of natural hybridization with production of fertile offspring have already been reported among sympatric species of the T. phyllosoma subcomplex, and experimental crosses demonstrated reproductive viability among practically all species of the T. phyllosoma subcomplex that were considered as belonging to the genus Meccus, as well as between these species and species of Triatoma. Based on the above, we carried out experimental crosses between T. longipennis (considered M. longipennis in some literature) and T. mopan  to evaluate the reproductive compatibility between species of the T. phyllosoma complex. In addition, we have grouped our results with information from the literature regarding crosses between species that were grouped in the genus Meccus with Triatoma, in order to discuss the importance of experimental crosses to confirm the generic reorganization of species.T. mopan female and T. longipennis male resulted in viable offspring. The hatching of hybrids, even if only in one direction and/or at low frequency, demonstrates reproductive compatibility and homeology between the genomes of the parents.The crosses between T. phyllosoma subcomplex species considered in the Meccus genus with species of the Triatoma genus shows that there is \u201cintergeneric\u201d genomic compatibility, which corroborates the generic reorganization of Meccus in Triatoma.Considering that intergeneric crosses usually do not result in viable offspring in Triatominae, the reproductive compatibility observed between the  Trypanosoma cruzi  , the etiological agent of Chagas disease , together with T. bolivari Carcavallo, Mart\u00ednez & Pelaez, 1987, T. mexicana  and T. ryckmani Zeled\u00f3n & Ponce, 1972, form the T. phyllosoma subcomplex , form the T. phyllosoma complex  also resulted in the production of hybrids [Events of natural hybridization with production of fertile offspring have already been reported among sympatric species of the bcomplex . Experimterature , 18. In  hybrids , 20.Triatoma species of the T. phyllosoma (T. longipennis) and T. dimidiata (T. mopan) subcomplexes, to evaluate the reproductive compatibility between species of the T. phyllosoma complex. In addition, we have grouped our results with information from the literature regarding crosses between species that were initially grouped in the genus Meccus with Triatoma, in order to discuss the importance of experimental crosses to confirm the generic reorganization of species.The study of reproductive barriers by experimental crossings was used in taxonomy T. longipennis and T. mopan. These two species were chosen because both belong to the T. phyllosoma complex [T. mopan has never been considered as belonging to Meccus, unlike T. longipennis. The insects used in the experiment came from colonies kept in the Triatominae insectary of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil. The experimental crosses were conducted in the Triatominae insectary, according to the experiments of Correia et al. [Reciprocal experimental crosses were conducted between  complex , 14, 15,a et al.  and Menda et al. : the insT. recurva and T. phyllosoma (as M. phyllosomus) [T. mexicana and T. longipennis [T. mopan female and T. longipennis male resulted in viable offspring (Table As observed for the crosses between losomus)  and betwgipennis , only thng Table . The hatng Table , demonstPanstrongylus and Triatoma, Panstrongylus and Nesotriatoma, Rhodnius St\u00e5l, 1859 and Psammolestes Bergroth, 1911  and Rhodnius and Triatoma [T. phyllosoma subcomplex species considered in the Meccus genus with species of the Triatoma genus , as noted for the crossings between Triatoma . The repTriatoma is a paraphyletic group comprising 82 species [Triatoma related phylogenetically to the genera Panstrongylus, Paratriatoma, Linshcosteus and Hermanlentia [Meccus in Triatoma rescues a discussion about the application of the morphological characteristics used for a long time as diagnoses for the genera of the subfamily Triatominae .Meccus has been changed to Triatoma, several authors continued publishing articles using the Meccus nomenclature as valid [Triatoma (Meccus) pallidipennis [Meccus after the genus Triatoma (between parentheses) represents a subgenus and, so far, there are no valid subgenera in the subfamily Triatominae.Taxonomy is a fundamental science for the entomo-epidemiology of Chagas disease, because correctly classifying triatomines can assist in the activity of vector control programs . Even thas valid , 29\u201346 adipennis \u201349\u2014sinceMeccus in Triatoma proposed by Justi et al. [T. phyllosoma subcomplex into this genus to avoid future misunderstandings by the scientific community and vector control programs.Thus, through reproductive compatibility, we confirm the generic reorganization of i et al. . In addi"}
+{"text": "Culicoides imicola (C. imicola), which was the main vector of African horse sickness virus.African horse sickness, a transboundary and non-contagious arboviral infectious disease of equids, has spread without any warning from sub-Saharan Africa towards the Southeast Asian countries in 2020. It is imperative to predict the global distribution of C. imicola were mainly obtained from the published literature and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database. The maximum entropy algorithm was used to model the current distribution suitability and future dynamics of C. imicola under climate change scenarios.The occurrence records of C. imicola were distributed in most of the southern part areas of America, southwestern Europe, most of Africa, the coastal areas of the Middle East, almost all regions of South Asia, southern China, a few countries in Southeast Asia, and the whole Australia. Our model also revealed the important environmental variables on the distribution of C. imicola were temperature seasonality, precipitation of coldest quarter, and mean temperature of wettest quarter. Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) is an assumption of possible greenhouse gases emissions in the future. Under future climate change scenarios, the area of habitat suitability increased and decreased with time, and RCP 8.5 in the 2070s gave the worst prediction. Moreover, the habitat suitability of C. imicola will likely expand to higher latitudes. The prediction of this study is of strategic significance for vector surveillance and the prevention of vector-borne diseases.The modeling results showed that the currently suitable habitats for  Culicoides biting midges play an important role in the spread of vector-borne infectious diseases worldwide, transmitting disease agents to humans, domestic and wild animals. Among them, African horse sickness is a transboundary and non-contagious infectious disease of equids and is one of the most lethal equine virus infections known. The pathogenic virus is African horse sickness virus (AHSV), which belongs to the genus Orbivirus, the family Reoviridae (oviridae . The Woroviridae .Culicoides bolitinos is a proven vector of AHSV in South Africa. Culicoides imicola (C. imicola) is another important vector for field transmission of AHSV  from the literature (https://www.gbif.org/). All the occurrence data were spatially filtered at 10 km2 grid cells , 2050s (average for 2041\u20132060), and 2070s (average for 2061\u20132080).To determine the influence of the environmental variables on the he model . The curhe model , which oVariance inflation factors were calculated to avoid the multi-collinearity of environmental variables, it is considered that variables with variance inflation factors greater than 10 were highly collinear , and eachttp://biodiversityinformatics.amnh.org/open_source/maxent/). MaxEnt model is a machine learning method, which is used to analyze with the presence-only point data (The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model was used for modelling (int data . In the int data . To accoint data .The AUC (the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) assesses the predictive performance of the model. The range of AUC value is 0\u20131, and a higher value corresponds to a better predictive model . To evalC. imicola distribution was reclassified: unsuitable (less than 0.05), low suitability (0.05\u20130.33), medium suitability (0.33\u22120.67), and high suitability (greater than 0.67).The result maps were visualized using ArcGIS 10.2 . According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report , the conC. imicola distribution  in the current model for ribution , indicatC. imicola  was greater than 0.5, the variation range represented by the horizontal axis was the optimal range , the predicted habitat suitability for C. imicola was better for values of optimal range from 403 to 631 . It is worth noting that the suitable areas under the RCP 8.5 scenario hardly increased in the 2070s, but decreased sharply.The areas of different habitat suitability under current and future climate scenarios were shown in Culicoides  belongs to the same genus as AHSV and mainly infects ruminants. Recently, cases of BTV infection have been confirmed in C. imicola in Yunnan Province of China (The predicted map showed that the neighboring countries, India, Myanmar, Southern China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were all in the suitable areas for of China , suggestC. imicola will likely expand to higher latitudes, and the predicted map even showed that there were low suitability areas in high latitudes in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula. C. imicola to expand northward. Moreover, it is worth noting that the Americas and Australasia have large areas of low suitability and medium suitability, and if C. imicola were translocated to these areas, there are increasing risks for C. imicola to expand the activity range. This will lead to a wider geographical distribution of the AHSV, thereby increasing the risk of exposure to diseases.In the future scenario, the habitat suitability of C. imicola is of great significance for the prevention and control of African horse sickness because AHSV was transmitted to domestic and wild populations through C. imicola biting. In domestic populations, the horses of AHSV infection have obvious clinical signs, a short period of viremia, and high mortality (C. imicola and Culicoides bolitinos were less reluctant to enter enclosed space (The surveillance of ortality . In wildortality . Zebra rortality . In 2020ed space . Stablined space . Therefoed space .C. imicola occurrence data were obtained from the published literature, which might suffer from underreporting. However, the results could be related to differences in reporting rather than the true ecological habits of Culicoides. In the future, it will be interesting to model the impact of the geographical expansion of Culicoides on disease distribution. Simultaneously, it is of great significance if the prediction model includes Culicoides survivability under high temperatures.This study still has a limitation, for most of C. imicola occurrence records and bioclimatic variables, the current and future suitable habitat of C. imicola all over the world was modeled using MaxEnt model. Three bioclimatic variables were revealed to have important effects on C. imicola distribution. In the 21st century, the habitat suitability of C. imicola may be different with climate change. The prediction of this study is of strategic significance for vector surveillance and the prevention of vector-borne diseases.Based on 10.7717/peerj.12308/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "There is a growing quantity of evidence on how skin and gut microbiome composition impacts the course of various dermatological diseases. The strategies involving the modulation of bacterial composition are increasingly in the focus of research attention. The aim of the present review was to analyze the literature available in PubMed (MEDLINE) and EMBASE databases on the topic of microbiome modulation in skin diseases. The effects and possible mechanisms of action of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in dermatological conditions including atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis, chronic ulcers, seborrheic dermatitis, burns and acne were analyzed. Due to the very limited number of studies available regarding the topic of microbiome modulation in all skin diseases except for AD, the authors decided to also include case reports and original studies concerning oral administration and topical application of the pro-, pre- and synbiotics in the final analysis. The evaluated studies mostly reported significant health benefits to the patients or show promising results in animal or ex vivo studies. However, due to a limited amount of research and unambiguous results, the topic of microbiome modulation as a therapeutic approach in skin diseases still warrants further investigation. In 1683, Antoni van Leuwenhoek made the first microscopic observation of bacteria colonizing the surface of the human skin .spp.) present in the vaginal tract  in contrast to children delivered by Cesarean section, that acquire microbiome associated with the skin   vs. 31/68 [46%]) ) . Wickenstization . Anothertization . In 2006 placebo . Six yeaobiotics . Schmidtobiotics  Kim et aobiotics . Lau et L. reuteri) in the group of pregnant women and infants was evaluated by Abrahamsson et al. Despite the cumulative incidence of AD was similar in the L. reuteri and the placebo groups (36% vs. 34%), IgE-associated eczema was less common in the L. reuteri group, although the difference was only statistically significant during the second year of life (8% vs. 20%) [B. longi and L. rhamnosus). The incidence of eczema in the probiotic group was similar to that in the placebo group (22% vs. 25%). The median SCORAD at 12 months was 17.10 in the probiotic group and 11.60 in the placebo group [L. acidophilus in their study, Taylor et al. showed no difference in the probiotic  and placebo  groups [However, 13 out of 21 trials showed that the administration of probiotics had no impact on prevalence of AD. Studies by Allen et al., Dotterud et al., Huurre et al. and Plummer et al. showed that a mix of bacterial strains was given and revealed a similar frequency of diagnosed AD both in the study and control groups. They also showed no effect of the use of probiotics in pregnant mother and infants to avoid the development of AD ,36,41,44vs. 20%) . Conclusvs. 20%) ,37,39,42 36% vs. %, IgE-as) groups .Prebiotics in the prevention of atopic dermatitis. The number of studies on prebiotics in the prevention of AD is limited and they present inconsistent results. Studies investigated only a few prebiotic compounds: combination of galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) and fructo-oligosahccaride (FOS), acidic oligosaccharides, polydextrose (PDX), different content of lactose, oligofructose plus inulin. Among the nine studies included in this review, five have shown the positive effect of prebiotics in the prevention of the development of eczema. The rest of the studies showed no significant differences in group of infants fed with or without prebiotics.Positive effects of the administration of prebiotics has been shown by Ziegler et al., who investigated the administration of a GOS and PDX mix and found a statistical difference in the occurrence of eczema (prebiotics vs. control: 18 vs. 7%) . The samRole of probiotics and prebioticsin AD treatment. 20 of 27 studies on probiotics revealed improving SCORAD in AD patients compared to placebo. One of the first studies on probiotic treatment in AD, that found using probiotics may have positive impact on the course of AD, was the study by Isolauri et al. The aim of their study was to evaluate the effects of probiotics use with Bb-12 or LGG on infants with AD. The results showed that by using probiotics, the skin condition improves. SCORAD decreased in the Bb-12 group to 0, and in the LGG group to 1 versus the SCORAD of 13.4 in the placebo group [S. thermophilus ST10 and tara gum on the SCORAD score. The score decreased significantly in the probiotic group after one month and the index was significantly lower in the probiotic group than in the placebo group [Streptococcus thermophilus for 4 weeks. The results showed significant improvement of SCORAD in the probiotic group compared to blacebo [L. salivarus LS01, were also those conducted by Drago et al. [L. acidofilus DDS-1\u2014by Gerasimov et al. [L. plantarum\u2014by Han et al. [L. fermentum\u2014by Weston et al. [L. sakei\u2014by Woo et al. [L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. plantarum, and B. lactis) or placebo groups for six weeks. The result of their trial was a significant clinical improvement in the skin condition among the probiotic groups [B. breve. Taniuchi et al. and Yoshida et al. showed a significant improvement in skin conditions during the study in the probiotic group [bo group . Drago ebo group . Ivakhne blacebo . Wu et a blacebo . Brouwer blacebo ,63,64. So et al.  and Iemoo et al.  L. acidov et al. , L. plann et al. , L. fermn et al.  and L. so et al.  Yang et c groups . Two of ic group ,88. Threic group ,86,87.B. bifidum group versus controls [L. rhamnosus and B. lactic. Their findings stated that there is no significant difference between probiotic and placebo groups [Lactobacillus strains (lyophilized L. rhamnosus 19070-2 and L. reuteri DSM 122460) in combination for six weeks in 1- to 13-year-old children with AD. The total SCORAD index in this trial did not change significantly [L. acidophilus and B. lactis Bi-07 (Bi-07) were that there was no benefit for the probiotics on the severity of AD. However, a post hoc analysis showed a significant reduction in severity of AD in the Bi-07 group and possible positive effects of this probiotic strain could be of further interest [B. lactis and L. paracasei. No significant differences were observed between the groups after 12-week treatment-period [Seven out of 27 studies in children showed no significant differences in SCORAD scores between the probiotic and placebo groups after treatment. Lin et al. proved that the SCORAD index was not significantly reduced in the controls . Gr\u00fcber controls . Similarcontrols . Sistek o groups . Rosenfeficantly . The resinterest . Gore ett-period .Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis LKM512 may reduce pruritus by increasing expression of metabolite kynurenic acid [Five out of 36 studies did not estimate the SCORAD score, but evaluated other factors, such as puritus. Matsumo et al. in their study found that nic acid . The resnic acid . Studiesnic acid , as wellnic acid . Nermes nic acid .Synbiotics. Five publications on the use of synbiotics were found; however, only one of them by Farid et al. reported a significant reduction of the SCORAD score [L. rhamnosus Lcr35) and synbiotics in children over two years old. The study showed no statistical differences regarding SCORAD scores between the two groups [L. salivarius and FOS resulted in lower SCORAD in a comparison with the control [AD score . Passeroo groups . Shafieio groups . A signio groups  Wu et al control .S.aureus plays an important role in AD, a promising new perspective of displacing it with more desirable species is also considered [The role of microbiome composition in allergic diseases is well-known, with lower biodiversity found as a factor inducing their development. Modulating the microbiome with probiotics balances the gut microflora, protects the function of intestinal barrier and lowers the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines produced. Probiotics also influence Toll-like receptors, which play an important role in T-cell differentiation and the development of allergic reactions. As skin colonization with nsidered .Streptococcus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Cutibacterium spp., Staphylococcus spp., Finegoldia spp. and Neisseria spp. can be found. The biodiversity of microbiota is generally decreased in moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients in contrary to mild psoriatic patients [Psoriasis is a common inflammatory disease that affects around 2\u20133% of the population . It manipatients .L. sporogenes for 15 days allieviated the symptoms accompanying the sudden onset of generalised pustular psoriasis in a 47-year-old female [B. infantis 35264 for 8 weeks [B. longum CECT 7347,  B. lactis CECT 8145 and L. rhamnosus CECT 8361 for 12 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in PASI scores [L. pentosus GMNL-77, both for five or seven days, causes a reduction in erythaematous scaling lesions, decreases TNF-\u03b1, IL-6, IL-23, IL-17A/F and IL-22 levels in the skin, decreases spleen weight and reduces the number of IL-17- and IL-22-producing CD4+ T cells in the spleen [B. adolescentis CCFM667, B. breve CCFM1078, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei CCFM1074, and Limosilactobacillus reuteri CCFM1132 ameliorated psoriasis-like pathological characteristics and suppressed the release of IL-23/T helper cell 17 (Th17) axis-related inflammatory cytokines. On the contrary, B. animalis CCFM1148, L. paracasei CCFM1147 and L. reuteri CCFM1040 neither alleviated the pathological characteristics nor reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines [Leuconostoc mesenteroides NTM048 to imiquimod-induced mice suppressed erythema, scaling, upregulated IL-17 production, increased the levels of plasma deoxycholic acid and altered the faecal microbiota composition. Changes in the gut microbiome were indicated by the increased abundance of Akkermansia and a decreased abundance of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus [L. sakei proBio-65 resulted in an inhibition of the imiquimod-induced changes in the skin, as well as decreased IL-19, IL-17A and IL-23 levels [Bacteroidetes and decreased levels of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, probably altering the intestinal barrier integrity, T-cell response and population-type balance, chemotaxis along with carbohydrate, cobalamin, and iron metabolism [Based on the reported alterations in gut microbiome, attempts were made to use probiotics and prebiotics in the treatment of psoriasis. Two original studies, one case report and four mice studies were published. In the case report described by Vijayashankar and Raghunath, a supplementation with d female . Groeger 8 weeks . In the I scores . In three spleen . In the ytokines . Ogawa etococcus . The onl3 levels . It was tabolism .L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. fermentum, B. bifidum), it had beneficial effects on the DFU size. It also decreased the serum total cholesterol and CRP and increased plasma nitric oxide (NO) and total plazma antioxidant capacity [The use of probiotics as a novel treatment for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) was first published in 2014. It was suggested that the application of probiotic agents would enable the healing of diabetic ulcers and would prevent diabetic foot infections by activating Toll-like receptors and producing \u03b2-defensins, which stimulate skin immune functions . Mohsenicapacity .L. rhamnosus and L. paracasei strains in a 1:1 ratio against microorganisms previously isolated from chronic ulcerative lesions. Following the administration of probiotics, the growth of bacteria, compared to the control, was lower in the case of such bacteria as P. aeruginosa, C. striatum, A. baumanii, S. aureus, P. mirabilis in 75%, in the case of Candida parapsilosis in 93.75%, while in the case of E. faecalis 18.75%, and 50% for the mixed flora of the mentioned pathogens. The ability to co-aggregate all pathogens that could prevent adhesion and invasion was also shown [L. casei shirota topically and systemically during the onset of the healing of traumatic ulcers in Wistar rats. The number of fibroblasts and new blood vessels were significantly higher in the two intervention groups in a comparison with the control group [S. aureus and treated with L. fermentum, which secrets gaseous NO. The day after the procedure, treatment with the patch with a probiotic agent started and lasted for 21 or 20 days. Morphometric analysis of the ulcer healing revealed that it was significantly accelerated with this treatment method in both infected and uninfected ischemic wounds [Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (SPA and SPAH) for immune cell activity and wound healing in mice. They found that the presence of these strains in the gut exhibited significantly higher patterns of reepithelialization compared to controls by inhibiting NF-k\u03b2 activation. It resulted in decreased wound proinflammatory cytokine expression and induced myofibroblast and collagen transitions [L. reuteri was transformed with a plasmid containing the genetic material of the C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 12 chemokine involved in accelerated wound healing. Additionally, the lactic acid produced by the probiotic bacterium lowered the pH and increased the bioavailability of the chemokine. This strain was applied to wounds in mice, accelerating ulcer healing, epithelialization, and wound closure [Most research was carried out using in vitro models, e.g., the effectiveness of a probiotic based on so shown . Kusumanol group . A furthc wounds . Stefia nsitions . In anot closure .L. plantarum was used in the treatment of chronic leg ulcers. The probiotic was applied to ulcers in 14 patients with diabetes and 20 non-diabetic patients. After 30 days of follow-up, 90% of the extent of ulceration had resolved in 43% of diabetic patients and 50% of non-diabetic patients. A decrease in CFU of S. aureus, S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa was also noted. It was found that probiotics disrupt biofilm, regulate IL-8 levels and modulate the immune system [K. pneumoniae, E. faecalis and P. mirabilis) chronic wound. The patient received a mixture of probiotics  three times/week [The most relevant original work was published in 2010. e system . In addimes/week .Malassezia spp. [Malassezia strains in the seborrheic area and a satisfactory therapeutic effect of antifungal formulas [M. furfur, which elicit an inflammatory response from keratinocytes [M. furfur also possesses the ability to produce metabolites, which stimulate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and thus may modulate the function of antigen-presenting cells [Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) characterized by erythematous, scaling plaques on the the face, chest and scalp ,147. It zia spp. . Researcinocytes ,149. M. ng cells .Vitreoscilla filiformis preparation in a double-blind study involving 60 patients with SD resulted in a reduction of itching, erythema and scaling. At the cellular and subcellular level, the lysate of these bacteria resulted in an increase in the activity of IL-10 produced by dendritic cells of the skin and an increase in the activity of regulatory T lymphocytes [There are limited data on the effects of probiotics and the modulation of the cutaneous microbiome on the course of SD. The use of superficial phocytes . Anotherphocytes . These eThe analysis of studies conducted both in animal models and in clinical trials, mostly showed at aleast partial positive effect of the use of probiotics on the healing of infected wounds by inhibiting microbiome growth, microfilm formation and interbacterial communication .L. plantarum. Peral et al. established the effectiveness of L. plantarum probiotic treatment with a topical application in human patients. L. plantarum would compete with bacterial pathogens and would be able to promote tissue repair [L. fermentum and L. delbruekii treatment in pediatric post-burn patients. They conclude that probiotic administration is safe to use and improves wound healing [L. casei resulted in the appearance of multi-drug sensitive P. aeruginosa instead of an extremely drug-resistant strain [B. infantis 35624 single-strain probiotics were more effective compared to Lactobacillus reuteri protectis in altering intestinal immunity [Among the various used bacterial strains, the most evidence exists for e repair . El-Ghaz healing . In a cat strain . Perdanaimmunity .L. plantarum and/or its by-products could be a potential therapeutic agent for P. aeruginosa burn infections [L. plantarum reduced P. aeruginosa in a rat model of burns [L. plantarum) suppressed the induction of TNF-\u03b1, IL-6 and IL-10 in liver and inhibited the accumulation of the pathogen in remote organs [L. plantarum as a therapeutic agent alleivates burn wound infection and scaring after burn injury in rabbits [L. plantarum has a protective role in non-infected burn wounds against meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Additionally, the therapeutic effect of L. plantarum was not shown in MRSA infection [Saccharomyces boulardii could effectively decrease the incidence of antibiotic-induced bacterial translocation in burned rats [Valdez et al. has been shown in adult inbred BALB/c mice that fections . Brachkoof burns . Argentae organs . Satish  rabbits . S\u00fcrmelinfection . Herek ened rats .Khan et al. demonstrated the importance of the method of probiotic application in a thermal burn mouse model. The use of the bioskeleton compared to traditional forms of probiotic application resulted in acceleration of epithelialization, collagen production and formation of hair follicles, as well as an inhibiton on the growth of pathogenic bacteria, reducing infection and accelerating wound healing . As a reC. difficile colitis by giving probiotics to burned patients in a critical condition. Otherwise, they found no significant difference in C. difficile infection between the control group and the intervention group [Fleming et al. performed a retrospective study in connection with preventing potential antibiotic-associated on group . Olguin on group .Due to the damaged intestinal barrier and the impaired immune system function caused by burns, there is a potential risk that probiotic bacteria may translocate and ultimately result in infection. Mayes et al. demonstrated the efficacy and safety of probiotics in the pediatric population hospitalized due to skin burns . HoweverCutibacterium acnes has been implicated as an important pathogenic factor. Fitz-Gibbon et al. compared the Cutibacterium strains in patients suffering from acne and healthy individuals, finding remarkable differences [Firmicutes, Clostridium, Clostridiales, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae increased Bacteroides levels) [Acne is a chronic skin disease, affecting the pilosebaceous units, with multifactorial pathogenesis including hormonal influence, the immunological state of the host, diet, deregulation of insulin-like growth factor, excessive sebum production and FoxO1 deficiency ,153. Conferences . More anferences . The rol levels) .L. rhamnosus SP1 (LSP1) had been reported to bring health benefits to the patients such as LSP1 normalized skin expression of genes involved in insulin signalling and an improvement in the appearance of adult acne [B.lactis W51, B. lactis W52, L. acidophilus W55, L. casei W56, L. salivarius W57, and L. lactis W58 was reported to be a trigger for elevated IL-10 serum levels [E. faecalis SL-5 [Nitrosomonas eutropha [L. acidophilus showed improvement in the skin condition. L. acidophilus was also reported to decrease the population of C. acnes [C. acnes growth [L. reuteri on the proliferation of C. acnes and S. epidermidis [Bifidobacterium spp. [S. salivarius strains and one L. plantarum strain, were also reported to show antimicrobal activity in in vitro studies against C. acnes and other pathogens [A limited number of studies concerning probiotics and prebiotics use in acne is available. Yet, it is known that the beneficial components of the microflora may ameliorate skin lesions via the suppression of the Treg cell population. In addition, the suppression of B and Th cells due to the modulation of inflammatory cytokine production along with increasing IgA and butyrate secretion may also have an important effect . A cliniult acne . Howeverm levels . The resm levels ,128. Toplis SL-5 , Nitrosoeutropha  or L. acC. acnes . These fs growth . Similardermidis . Bifidobium spp. . as wellathogens .The present review focuses on a subject that is relatively new and is still not investigated in full detail. One of the major limitations is the small number of publications reporting clinical studies, especially multi-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials. The number of patients in the presented studies were usually low and many studies involved animal models, which cannot be extrapolated to humans. Since the exact pattern composition of a \u201chealthy microbiome\u201d is impossible to establish, there are no objective measures to investigate a universal model. The bacteria used in different studies presented various genera and properties; moreover, they were derived from different sources, often with no exact information on the method of production, storage and other properties. Moreover, the skin diseases presented in the paper were chosen based on their duration and the number of studies available; however, single studies show that the microbiome modulation, e.g., via a fecal microbiota transplant, may be also effective in the treatment of other dermatological conditions, for example in alopecia areata .It can be stated that the microbiome plays an important role in dermatological diseases, at the same time as being an attractive target of therapeutic interaction. This may contribute to the promotion of beneficial (from the point of view of inflammation) activation of the immune system, a reduction of the inflammatory state and, above all, could constitute a physical barrier to the colonization of the skin by pathogenic bacteria. The perspective of treating skin diseases with microbiome modulation via oral and topical probiotics, prebiotics or synbiotics are becoming a part of reality.L. plantarum and has showed at least a partial positive effect of the use of probiotics on the healing of infected wounds by inhibiting pathogen growth, microfilm formation and interbacterial communication. Concerning SD and acne, the very limited available data on probiotic administration have showed inconsistent results.There is a growing number of studies into the beneficial effects of probiotics in patients with atopic diseases. It is estimated that the oral application of probiotics or prebiotics during delivery or in the first months of life could delay or alleviate the appearance of AD in infants. From another point of view, probiotics could have the potential to reduce the SCORAD index as a treatment method. On the basis of the available evidence, a recommendation on probiotic intake in order to avoid AD cannot be currently made. Administering probiotics may influence the composition of the gut microbiome, which is more and more often considered to be a factor in the development of psoriasis. The suspected efficacy of probiotics in alleviating the course of psoriasis may be connected to lowering the levels of plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines. Since the data and the amount of research on this topic are limited, it still requires new, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, which would gain an insight into the pathogenesis and novel strategies of psoriasis treatment. There are very limited data available at the moment in the context of chronic ulcers. The positive effects of probiotics were shown mainly in studies focusing on ulcers resulting from diabetes complications. Probiotics may prevent or reduce the infection of burned wounds. Most research has focused on the The studies have shown that probiotics and prebiotics both administered orally or applied topically may have a positive influence on the course of skin diseases. Despite the continuous increase in promising data on the effectiveness of the use of probiotics and prebiotics, further clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy and long-term safety profile of probiotics and prebiotics in the treatment of patients with dermatological diseases."}
+{"text": "Scotogramma trifolii Rottemberg, and the spotted clover moth, Protoschinia scutosa (Denis & Schiffermuller), are worldwide polyphagous pests, and the larvae feed mainly on the leaf backs of many agricultural crops. However, the food sources and feeding habits of the adults are still poorly known. We investigated the ultramorphology of the proboscis and associated sensilla of S. trifolii and P. scutosa using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the proboscises of S. trifolii and P. scutosa are structurally similar, both including three sensillum types and three zones (Zone 1\u20133). The sensillum chaeticum is non-porous hair-like, the sensillum basiconicum is a short smooth cone with a sensory pore on the blunt tip, and each sensillum styloconicum is composed of a uniporous sensory cone inserted into a ribbed stylus. In addition, the movement and fluid uptake mechanisms of the proboscis and the possible function of sensilla are briefly discussed.The clover cutworm, Scotogramma trifolii Rottemberg, and the spotted clover moth, Protoschinia scutosa (Denis & Schiffermuller), are serious polyphagous pests, attacking numerous vegetables and crops, resulting in huge economic losses. However, the feeding behavior and mechanisms of the adult stage remain unsatisfactorily explored. In this study, the proboscis morphology of S. trifolii and P. scutosa are described in detail using scanning electron microscopy, with the aim of investigating the morphological differences and feeding behavior of these two species. The proboscises of S. trifolii and P. scutosa are similar in morphology and structure and are divided into three zones (Zone 1\u20133) based on the morphological changes of the dorsal legulae. Three sensillum types are located on the proboscises of both species, sensilla chaetica, sensilla basiconica, and sensilla styloconica. Significant differences were observed in the length of the proboscis and each zone between these two species, as well as in sensilla size and number. Based on the morphology of the proboscis and associated sensilla, S. trifolii and P. scutosa are potential flower visitors, which was also reinforced by the pollen observed at the proboscis tip. These results will strengthen our understanding of the structure of the proboscis related to the feeding behavior of Noctuidae.The proboscis is an important feeding organ for the glossatan moths, mainly adapted to the flower and non-flower visiting habits. The clover cutworm,  Insect mouthparts are modified appendages of head segments, bearing various types of sensory organs and adapted to exploit different food resources . Due to In adult Glossata, the proboscis has a relatively simple morphology, but it is unique in its coiled resting position. The proboscis consists of two extended concave maxillary galeae and a hollow food tube, which are joined by dorsal and ventral cuticular projections, i.e., legulae ,14. The sensu stricto) is the second largest family in Lepidoptera, including numerous agricultural pests of great economic significance [Scotogramma trifolii Rottemberg, and the spotted clover moth, Protoschinia scutosa (Denis & Schiffermuller), are worldwide polyphagous pests in the subfamily Noctuinae and Heliothinae, respectively [S. trifolii and P. scutosa have characteristics of intermittent local outbreaks and migration [S. trifolii and P. scutosa feed mainly on many agricultural crops, such as Gossypium herbaceum Linnaeus [Chenopodium quinoa Willd [S. trifolii and P. scutosa, but it has never been satisfactorily explored.Noctuidae . The proboscis was cut from the head with dissecting scissors under a stereomicroscope . The samples were fixed in Carnoy\u2019s fixative solution  for 24 h, and then immersed in 75% ethanol solution.Adults of The proboscis was washed using an ultrasonic cleaner  for a few seconds. All samples were dehydrated through a graded ethanol series of 80%, 85%, 90%, and 95% for 10\u201315 min each, and 100% for 30 min, twice. The proboscis was naturally dried on filter paper. The dried samples were mounted at various angles using double-sided graphite adhesive tape, and sputter coated with gold. All samples were examined under a Hitachi S-3400N scanning electron microscope  at 5.00 kV and full vacuum.t-test was used to evaluate differences of proboscis and associate sensilla between species and sexes (p < 0.05) in SPSS Statistics v 22.0.0.0. The software Photoshop CS  was used to adjust contrast and levels of SEM images.The proboscis dimensions and sensilla size were measured using Imaris 7.4.2 software with seven males and seven females of each species. An independent sample Morphological descriptions of the proboscis follow the terminology of Lehnert et al.  and FaucS. trifolii and P. scutosa are nearly same in shape and structure, both consisting of two elongated and coiled maxillary galeae (P. scutosa (S. trifolii and P. scutosa (p > 0.05)  .S. trifolii and P. scutosa , which are present on both  scutosa . Zone 1  scutosa A\u2013C. Zone scutosa D,E. The  scutosa C. S. trisensilla . No signsensilla . P. scuttrifolii .S. trifolii and P. scutosa . The proboscis structure is relatively conservative in Noctuidae, and sensilla morphology may not be useful for comparative studies of nearby species. In Noctuinae, Mythimna separata [Athetis lepigone [S. trifolii possesses Zone 3 , and possesses three types of sensilla, sensilla chaetica, basiconica, and styloconica. However, S. trifolii and P. scutosa exhibit significant differences in the length of the proboscis and each zone, as well as in the dimension of each sensillum type. The presence of floral pollen, in combination with the characteristics of the distal proboscis indicates that S. trifolii and P. scutosa are very likely flower visitors. These findings provide a morphological basis to better understand the feeding mechanisms of both species.This study shows that the proboscises of"}
+{"text": "Ixodes ricinus ticks in Wester Ross, Northwest Scotland, a region of high tourism and tick exposure, yet data-poor in terms of tick-borne pathogens.Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases emerge from increased interactions between humans, other animals, and infected ticks. The risk of acquiring a tick-borne infection varies across space and time, so knowledge of the occurrence and prevalence of pathogens in ticks can facilitate disease diagnosis in a specific area and the implementation of mitigation measures and awareness campaigns. Here we identify the occurrence and prevalence of several pathogens in I. ricinus nymphs (n\u2009=\u20092828) were collected from 26 sites in 2018 and 2019 and tested for the presence of tick-borne pathogens using PCR-based methods. Prevalence was compared with other regions of Scotland, England, Wales, and the Netherlands.Questing Anaplasma phagocytophilum , Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) (2.2%), Babesia from clade X (0.2%), Rickettsia helvetica (0.04%), and Spiroplasma ixodetis (0.4%) were detected, but no Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia miyamotoi, or Babesia microti. Typing of A. phagocytophilum using a fragment of the GroEL gene identified the presence of both ecotype I and ecotype II. Genospecies identification of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. revealed B. afzelii (53% of infected nymphs), B. garinii (9%), B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (7%), and B. valaisiana (31%). We found similar prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in Wester Ross as in the Netherlands, but higher than in other parts of Great Britain. We found lower B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence than in England or the Netherlands, and similar to some other Scottish studies. We found higher prevalence of B. valaisiana and lower prevalence of B. garinii than in other Scottish studies. We found S. ixodetis at much lower prevalence than in the Netherlands, and R. helvetica at much lower prevalence than in England and the Netherlands.S. ixodetis in Great Britain. The results are relevant for disease surveillance and management for public and veterinary health. The findings can also aid in designing targeted public health campaigns and in raising awareness among outdoor recreationists and professionals.As far as we know, this is the first description of The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-04946-5. Ixodes ricinus is the most abundant and widespread tick species in Europe [Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infection, and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), both of which have increased in incidence in several European countries in recent decades [n Europe  and, as n Europe . The pri decades \u20137. TBE v decades .Ixodes ricinus also transmits other pathogens, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia miyamotoi, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia helvetica, Spiroplasma ixodetis, and several Babesia species. These are currently the key known pathogens that can cause disease in livestock, wild animals, and/or humans [r humans , 10. Altr humans .B. miyamotoi and TBE virus in questing ticks in the Netherlands, local health professionals identified the first cases of hard tick-borne relapsing fever and TBE in human patients and could thus administer appropriate treatment [Information on the geographical distribution and prevalence of pathogens in ticks helps to evaluate the risk of exposure through tick bites and, consequently, the risk of disease. This raises awareness of the appropriate tick-borne pathogens in areas of risk and can contribute to prevention, identification, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases in humans and animals. This is particularly relevant to regions where the pathogens, and hence the accompanying diseases, are currently considered absent due to the lack of data on the presence and prevalence of these pathogens in ticks. For example, soon after becoming aware of the presence of reatment , 13. AwaOne region in Europe that is data-deficient in terms of these emerging pathogens is Northwest Scotland. It is an area of potential high relevance to tick-borne pathogens, as it has high tick host populations, both wild, such as deer and small mammals, and livestock, especially sheep . NorthweI. ricinus ticks from Wester Ross, including a preliminary estimate of their prevalence. Specifically, we aim to test I. ricinus for the presence of A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi s.l., B. miyamotoi, N. mikurensis, R. helvetica, S. ixodetis, Ba. microti, and Babesia species from clade X, formerly known as Babesia sensu stricto (s.s.) [A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi s.l., and Babesia species\u00a0from clade X are further specified to the ecotype, genospecies, and species level, respectively. Importantly, we place these new presence and prevalence data in context by comparing them with previously published and other unpublished data from other regions of Scotland, England and Wales, and the Netherlands, as an example from continental Europe.The aim of this study is to provide a first assessment of the presence of a range of pathogens in questing o (s.s.) \u201319. SampPinus sylvestris) woodlands (15\u201320\u00a0years old), mature Scots pine woodlands (minimum 50\u00a0years old), mature birch (Betula spp.) woodlands, and open moorland sites dominated by heather . A total of 2828 questing I. ricinus ticks  were collected using the blanket drag/cloth lure method and kept for analysis in Eppendorf vials containing 70% ethanol. Previous studies have confirmed that 100% of the ticks identified from blanket drags in Scotland, including the Northwest region, are I. ricinus: in woodland sites across Scotland including Northwest Scotland, 2000 questing nymphs identified to species level were I. ricinus [I. ricinus [I. ricinus [I. ricinus. All the 2828 questing ticks were used for molecular analysis. For detailed information on the geographical location, land cover type, and times of data collection on the sites, see Fig.\u00a0Ticks were collected from 26 sites in Wester Ross in Northwest Scotland, United Kingdom , in 2018 and 2019  were then washed in distilled water, briefly dried, separated individually into polymerase chain reaction (PCR) plates, and kept at \u201320\u00a0\u00b0C until DNA extraction. All ticks were extracted with ammonium hydroxide as described previously [B. burgdorferi s.l. [B. miyamotoi [N. mikurensis [A. phagocytophilum [Babesia microti [S. ixodetis [R. helvetica [Babesia spp. from clade X, which has been designed to detect Ba. divergens, Ba. venatorum , Ba. capreoli\u00a0and Ba. odocoilei [B. burgdorferi s.l. were subjected to conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing of the intergenic spacer region for genospecies identification [A. phagocytophilum were subjected to conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing of a fragment of the GroEL region for ecotyping [Ticks were kept in Eppendorf vials filled with 70% ethanol until return from the field. All ticks . For additional B. burgdorferi prevalence in Scotland and for the prevalence of all the pathogens in England and Wales, data from published studies were used [Anaplasma phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi s.l. nucleic acids were subjected to specific TaqMan RT-PCR [A. phagocytophilum [B. burgdorferi s.l. in our Wester Ross ticks [Babesia spp. DNA was amplified according to Hilpershauser et al. (2020) [https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) to obtain parasite speciation. Prevalence estimates of nymphs assumed that a positive pool resulted from one positive nymph, i.e. the number of positive pools divided by the number of nymphs tested for each site. The overall prevalence for each pathogen cited in the results from the Gilbert and Rocchi data was the mean of all the site-level prevalence values.We sourced data from different studies to compare the presence and prevalence of the tested pathogens in questing herlands  as an exere used , 34\u201343. ere used , 40\u201343 an RT-PCR , which itophilum  but diffss ticks . Babesia. (2020) . PositivI. ricinus ticks from Wester Ross, from highest to lowest prevalence: A. phagocytophilum , B. burgdorferi s.l. , S. ixodetis , Babesia spp. from clade X , and R. helvetica . See Additional file Anaplasma-positive ticks, 86% (80/93) were identified as the zoonotic ecotype I and 14% (13/93) as the non-zoonotic ecotype II. Four genospecies of B. burgdorferi s.l. were detected in the following proportions of positive nymphs: B. afzelii , B. valaisiana , B. garinii , and B. burgdorferi s.s. . Two genospecies of Babesia from clade X were detected, in the following proportions of positive nymphs: Ba. venatorum  and Ba. divergens .We detected the following pathogens tested in the 2828 questing The presence and prevalence of the tick-borne pathogens from other regions of Scotland, England and Wales, and the Netherlands are summarised in Table Anaplasma phagocytophilum was present at a higher prevalence than in studies from England, and at a similar prevalence as the Netherlands. We found B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence to be lower than in England or the Netherlands, and similar to some other Scottish studies. We found a higher prevalence of B. valaisiana and lower prevalence of B. garinii than in other studies from Scotland (not shown in table). We found S. ixodetis at much lower prevalence than in the Netherlands, and R. helvetica at much lower prevalence than in England and the Netherlands.A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi s.l., Babesia species from clade X (Ba. venatorum and Ba. divergens), R. helvetica, and S. ixodetis, the last being the first record described for Great Britain. This study assessed only the presence of the DNA from the chosen pathogens, and not their viability or infectivity. However, numerous studies already implicate I. ricinus as their vector. We cannot assume infectiousness from PCR results, and therefore we cannot translate prevalence estimates of the pathogens to infection risk in humans.We revealed the presence of the following tick-borne pathogens in ticks in Wester Ross, Northwest Scotland: A. phagocytophilum, with a prevalence higher than in England and Wales, but comparable to locations in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe [I. ricinus [Capreolus capreolus), which are present at our survey sites in Wester Ross [Anaplasma phagocytophilum ecotype I is probably zoonotic and can also cause disease in livestock. It is probably maintained in enzootic cycles by deer species other than roe deer [Cervus elaphus) are the most common deer species, and likely to be the main natural reservoir host.The most frequently detected pathogen group was n Europe . The two ricinus , and we ter Ross . Anaplasroe deer . In NortB. burgdorferi s.l., with a prevalence of 2.2%. This prevalence is comparable to that reported in two of the four other large cross-sectional surveys from further south and east in Scotland, in the Grampian region (2.2%) [The second most abundant group of tick-borne pathogens was n (2.2%) , and acrn (2.2%) . The othn (2.2%) , and 5.9n (2.2%) . This hin (2.2%) .B. afzelii was the genospecies that constituted most (53%) of the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex of spirochetes in Wester Ross.Similarly to other studies in Scotland , 34, 43,B. burgdorferi s.l. complex was comprised of B. burgdorferi s.s., which is a similar proportion as that reported in all the large Scottish surveys [B. burgdorferi s.s. zoonotic genospecies in Europe has not been firmly established, but recent studies, including from Scotland, suggest a dominant role for squirrels [We found that in Wester Ross, 7% of the  surveys , 34, 43.quirrels \u201350.B. garinii and B. valaisiana, comprised markedly different proportions in Wester Ross from those in previous Scottish surveys, which showed far greater proportions of B. garinii  are similar to those in the other Scottish surveys, and are expected to comprise similar bird species, so we do not know why B. valaisiana dominates in Wester Ross as compared to the apparent dominance of B. garinii in the rest of Scotland. One possible explanation is competition between the pathogens within the host or the vector, and/or that there is a certain amount of host specificity of each of the bird genospecies between bird species. There is some evidence that B. garinii can associate with squirrels [Interestingly, the two bird-associated genospecies, i  and smana . We fouquirrels , so perhquirrels .Borrelia afzelii is associated with a skin condition, acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA), B. garinii with neuroborreliosis, and B. burgdorferi s.s. with Lyme arthritis [B. valaisiana may not be pathogenic [B. afzelii, general practitioners need to be aware of ACA and its manifestations.The genospecies composition is relevant from a public health perspective, as different genospecies lead to different clinical symptoms in human Lyme disease patients. rthritis , 52, 53,thogenic . As we fB. burgdorferi s.l.-positive ticks in this study were from mature birch and mature Scots pine woodlands, and both these habitat types are likely to support diverse vertebrate communities, but may differ in their species composition. The low bird-associated B. garinii prevalence suggests that rodents play a more important role in Lyme disease hazard than do birds in the study area. Further research on bird and rodent densities at the sites could elucidate the mechanisms driving the relative composition of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. genospecies in Wester Ross.The genospecies composition is also interesting from an ecological perspective. Habitat is an important determinant of vertebrate community composition. All the Babesia species from clade X were detected in Wester Ross at a prevalence of 0.2%, compared to 0.6% in other regions of Scotland . Two of the four common Babesia species from I. ricinus were detected. The first, Ba. venatorum, has been associated with some disease cases in humans in Europe [, although the main natural vertebrate host for Ba. venatorum is probably roe deer in Europe [Babesia divergens, the second detected genospecies, is of zoonotic importance: it has several zoonotic reservoirs, including deer and cattle, both of which have high cultural and economic value in Wester Ross. It has been found all across Europe affecting cattle [Ba. divergens in the UK was reported in Southwest England [Babesia capreoli and Ba. odocoilei were not detected, but they are present in the Netherlands. No human cases have been associated with either of the two latter pathogens in Europe [n Europe , 56 and n Europe  and dogsn Europe  in the Un Europe , 60. Babg cattle , 62 as wg cattle , 63\u201365,  England . Babesian Europe .R. helvetica in Wester Ross, Northwest Scotland. This pathogen has previously been detected in ticks in England at a 3% prevalence [R. helvetica is efficiently transmitted vertically in ticks , ticks themselves can be considered as reservoirs hosts [R. helvetica has not be fully investigated yet, but the pathogen has been detected in bank vole, wood mouse, shrew, wild boar, and roe deer [R. helvetica is very low, and one may wonder whether or how a tick-borne pathogen can be maintained in an enzootic cycle with such a low prevalence. One possible explanation is that ticks with R. helvetica are not maintained in a regional enzootic cycle but (continuously) introduced by migratory birds [We found very low prevalence (0.04%) of evalence  and in sevalence , Germanyevalence , Austriaevalence , Slovenievalence , and Spaevalence , and hasevalence \u201376. It ievalence . As R. hrs hosts . Which vroe deer , 78, 79.ry birds .S. ixodetis , and this is the first record for Great Britain. The bacterial parasite Spiroplasma ixodetis was first isolated from Ixodes pacificus ticks in the USA in 1995 [I. ricinus including larvae [, which suggests that transmission can be transovarial. The role of hosts in the S. ixodetis transmission cycle is unknown [S. ixodetis [We detected the relatively unknown tick-borne pathogen  in 1995 , and it g larvae \u201384, whic unknown . Severalixodetis , 86.N. mikurensis, B. miyamotoi, or Ba. microti in questing nymphs from Wester Ross, this cannot necessarily be interpreted as a complete absence of enzootic circulation of these pathogens, because the prevalence of some of these pathogens can be low, for example, 0.1% for N. mikurensis in regions of Denmark [Ba. microti in Poland [B. miyamotoi in regions of Germany [Ba. microti in one engorged tick pulled from a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) . Neoehrlichia mikurensis has so far not been found in any study that tested for it in Great Britain [Although we did not observe  Denmark , 0.6% fon Poland  and 1.5%n Poland , and 0.8 Germany  and 0.5% Britain , 37, so ricinus, although this is highly unlikely, as previous studies from Scotland identified 100% of questing ticks  to be I. ricinus [.We tested 8282 questing nymph and adult ticks, and it is possible that a tiny proportion of the ticks analysed may have been non- ricinus \u201322.A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi s.l., Babesia species from clade X (Ba. venatorum and Ba. divergens), R. helvetica, and S. ixodetis, the latter being the first record described for Great Britain. Anaplasma phagocytophilum occurred at higher prevalence than elsewhere in Great Britain, while B. burgdorferi s.l. was less prevalent than in England or the Netherlands, though similar to other Scottish studies. This new knowledge has implications for public and veterinary health in terms of improving diagnoses and treatment and better targeting of awareness and mitigation strategies.In the first surveys of tick-borne pathogens in Northwest Scotland, in a region much frequented by tourists, we identified and quantified the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ba. divergens, both of zoonotic importance, are transmitted by deer, an important cultural and economic asset in the Wester Ross area as well as other parts of Europe. Rickettsia helvetica has been found in several vertebrates, but its life cycle is unclear and needs further investigation. More studies in different habitats are needed to shed light on the ecological determinants of genospecies composition of B. burgdorferi s.l.Further research is needed to investigate the life cycles and mechanisms of transmission of these pathogens. Additional file 1:Text S1. Field methods explained. Table S1. Sum of ticks collected at each visit on each plot is summarised, as well as the sum of ticks positive for each of the eight pathogens tested for in the study, namely Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Babesia spp. from clade X, Spiroplasma ixodetis, Babesia microti, and Rickettsia helvetica. Table S2. Molecular analysis results of the 2828 adult and nymph ticks."}
+{"text": "Tetratrichomonas gallinarum is parasitic protozoa with a wide host range. However, its lethal infection is rare reported.T. gallinarum infection in black swans in China. Five black swans died within a week in succession without obvious symptoms except mild diarrhea. At necropsy, severe lesions were observed in caeca with thickened caecal walls and hemorrhages in the mucosa. A large number of moving trophozoites were found in the contents of the cecum by microscopic examination. The livers were enlarged with multiple bleeding spots on the surface. Histopathology of the livers showed mononuclear cell infiltration and moderate hyperplasia of fibrous tissue. The histopathology of the cecum showed that the villi of the cecum were edematous. Finally, the presence of T. gallinarum was determined by specific PCR andin-situ hybridization assay. Additionally, common pathogens that can cause similar symptoms were excluded.Here, we described the first lethal cases of T. gallinarum, suggesting that the parasite might be a new threat to the Cygnus birds.The death of the black swan was caused by  Tetratrichomonas gallinarum is parasitic protozoa with a wide host range [T. gallinarum is controversial [T. gallinarum in birds were sporadically reported in some countries, such as in chukar partridges, mockingbird, Waldrapp ibis and white pelican from America [Cygnus atratus) associated with T. gallinarum infection in China, and the threat of the protozoa to Cygnus birds must be considered.st range . Owing toversial \u20134. Moreo America \u20138, in du America , in red- America , and in  America . Here, wIn August 2019, five adult black swans from a wetland park of Beijing died within a week in succession. Before they died, no obvious symptoms were observed except mild diarrhea.The fresh carcasses were sent to the National Research Center for Wildlife Borne Diseases for postmortem and histopathological examination. At routinely pathological investigation, the ceca were swollen and the mucosa were hemorrhages and anabrosis Fig.\u00a0a. A largT. gallinarum and H. meleagridis [T. gallinarum probe were found in the caeca  using the described probe specific for eagridis , 13. Theeca Fig. c but noteca Fig. d. The reT. gallinarum download from GenBank database under phylogenetic analyses  [T. gallinarum recovered from the black swans may be spillover from the ducks.Studies conducted by Dimasuay and Rivera shown that hynchos) , which sT. gallinarum infection in China, suggesting that the protozoan might be a new threat to the Cygnus birds. A comprehensive epidemiological investigation of T. gallinarum in Cygnus birds is urgently needed in the future.In conclusion, we described the first fatal case of black swans associated with"}
+{"text": "Deliaplanipalpis (Meigen) and D.platura (Stein). They are a threat to the production of these vegetables since the damage they cause directly and indirectly affects yield, quality, and commercialization of these crops. Nevertheless, the existence of natural enemies of these dipterans is still unknown. It is fundamental to determine which parasitoids or predators can be considered possible biological control agents in an integrated pest management program.Among the insect pests that affect crucifer crops in Mexico are BrassicaoleraceaL.var.italica Plenk and capitata L., B.napus L., and Raphanussativus L. infested with Delia spp. were selected. The symptoms observed were wilting, yellowish, flaccid leaves and individuals less developed than the rest of the crop. These plants were extracted with their root and the surrounding soil. Also, wild crucifers were collected, such as Raphanusraphanistrum L., Brassicacampestris L., and Sisymbriumirio L. The first records of Aphaeretapallipes Say , Trybliographarapae (Westwood) , and Aleocharabimaculata Gravenhorst  are reported parasitizing the puparia of these anthomyiid flies on cultivated and wild crucifers. This represents only a starting point for the continuous study of these parasitoids, which is needed to consider them useful for the biological control of D.planipalpis and D.platura.The sampling sites were located in Guanajuato, Puebla, and the State of Mexico, where plants of  Delia (Robineau-Desvoidy) , commonly called root maggots, attack economically important crops of the family Brassicaceae , North America (Canada and the United States), Asia , and Africa (Algeria and Morocco) , sister species of D.radicum and D.floralis  (Raphanussativus L.) , cabbage (B.oleraceavar.capitata L.), cauliflower (B.oleraceavar.botrytis L.), radish, turnip (B.napus L.), and wild crucifers such as field mustard (B.campestris L.), wild radish (R.raphanistrum L.), and London rocket (Sisymbriumirio L.) ) (D.florilega (Zetterdest) and D.platura (Stein), which have a wider range of hosts and can feed on decomposing tissue. However, under certain circumstances, they also feed on healthy tissues of plants of the family Brassicaceae and species of the genus Allium L., as well as legumes, Cucurbitaceae, and cereals (Some species of the genus sicaceae . These isicaceae . One exaMorocco) . It is oMorocco) . Another , whose mivus L.) . Howeveririo L.) . NeverthMeigen)) . There a cereals .D.planipalpis and D.platura associated with crucifers in Mexico. Larvae of these dipterans cause damage mainly to the root crown of some cultivars of B.oleracea, and consequently, they affect the root system. Occasionally, the larvae develop near the broccoli head causing rot and malformation, or no formation of the inflorescence. In addition, in crops such as radish and turnip, direct damage caused by larvae to their edible part makes their commercialization difficult ) is grown in Canada , cabbage (B.oleraceavar.capitata L.), turnip (B.napus L.), radish (Raphanussativus L.), and other wild crucifers such as field mustard (B.campestris L.), London rocket (Sisymbriumirio L.), and wild radish (R.raphanistrum L.).The study was conducted between February 2018 and February 2019 in Guanajuato, Puebla, and the State of Mexico, where some sites infested by Delia spp. Wild crucifer plants were selected at random within and on the outer edges of commercial crops and the sample size varied from 5 to 10 plants depending on their abundance. Each plant was extracted with its root and adhered soil and placed in a polyethylene bag; additionally, with a post hole digger of 15.0 cm in diameter by 20.0 cm long, the soil of the first 10.0 cm of depth was collected taking as a reference point the exact site where the plant was extracted and because in this place the puparia are distributed due to the limited movement of third instar larvae around the plant and from the soil surface , Dr Fabiana Gallardo , and Dr Jos\u00e9 Luis Navarrete Heredia . The material is kept as reference specimens in the entomological collection of the Colegio de Postgraduados Campus Montecillo.The keys of Deliaplanipalpis and 49 D.platura puparia were collected in cultivated and wild crucifers in the states of Guanajuato, Puebla, and the State of Mexico , Trybliographarapae (Westwood) , and Aleocharabimaculata Gravenhorst    , and theA.verna  are nameA.pallipes has not been mentioned as an important parasitoid of Delia spp. in Europe and Canada, A.pallipes and A.bilineata caused mortalities of up to 17 and 20%, respectively, in D.antiqua in commercial onion crops in southwestern Ontario. This braconid has a wide range of hosts and prefers members of at least three families, Coelophidae, Calliphoridae and Anthomyiidae . In addition, it has been reported that this staphylinid also attacks Adiacinerella Fallen  and Scatophagastercolaria L.    , as welluscidae) . Even thuscidae) . A.bimaribution  and thatribution , it is e develop .B.campestris and S.irio, alternate hosts are important reservoirs of considerable populations of Delia spp. and consequently of their natural enemies, especially because they provide habitat during the season when there are no crops. In this way, wild crucifers assure that there is no scarcity of hosts for either the insect pest or their parasitoids and predators (Finally, although in this work no parasitoids were found in the wild crucifers D.planipalpis and D.platura collected in cultivated and wild crucifers were identified: one gregarious parasitoid, Aphaeretapallipes and two solitary parasitoids, Trybliographarapae and Aleocharabimaculata. Only Aphaeretapallipes and T.rapae were specific to D.planipalpis and D.platura, respectively. Finally, A.bimaculata was associated with both pest species.Three species that emerged from puparia of D.planipalpis and D.platura that occur naturally in Mexico. Aphaeretapallipes was the most abundant species, found in Guanajuato and Puebla, followed by Aleocharabimaculata, and finally T.rapae, which was found only in the State of Mexico. Knowledge of natural enemies of Delia spp. in crucifer-producing regions is only the starting point from which to broaden the search and begin to study their biological attributes with the aim of incorporating them into a biological control program against D.planipalpis and D.platura.This is the first record of parasitoids of"}
+{"text": "Introduction:Rhabdophis snakes, which include 27 species, are rear-fanged venomous snakes that are widely distributed from India to East Asia and Russia. Severe envenomation by R. tigrinus (Yamakagashi snake) in Japan and R. subminiatus in Southeast Asia has been reported. The epidemiology of R. tigrinus bites, such as geographical features, the incidence, and changes in the number of bites over time have not been comprehensively examined. Hence, we intended to clarify the epidemiological features of R. tigrinus bites through a careful review of scientific data over the last 50 years in Japan.Methods: Patient records of R. tigrinus bites between 1971 and 2020 at the Japan Snake Institute were examined retrospectively. The following were ascertained: patient characteristics, clinical symptoms, laboratory data, treatment-related factors, and hospital mortality. These variables were compared in the antivenom and the without-antivenom groups.Results: Over the 50-year study period, 43 R. tigrinus bites, including five fatal cases, were encountered. Severe cases of R. tigrinus bites have been treated with antivenom since 1985; however, fatalities occurred in 2006 and 2020. R. tigrinus bite cases have been well-distributed in the western part of Japan since 2000. The mortality rate in the antivenom group was significantly lower in the patient group that was not administered the antivenom .Conclusion: This study clarified the epidemiology of R. tigrinus bites in Japan over a 50-year period. Almost all severe cases of R. tigrinus bites have been treated with the antivenom in the current situation, and fatalities occurred in cases not treated with the antivenom. It is important to diagnose R. tigrinus bites in the early phase of the clinical course. The antivenom, the definitive treatment for R. tigrinus bites, is an unapproved drug. Hence, approval needs to be obtained for the drug. Rhabdophis include 27 species of rear-fanged venomous snakes that are widely distributed from India to East Asia and Russia. Severe envenomation by R. tigrinus (Yamakagashi snake) in Japan and R. subminiatus in Southeast Asia have been reported  has also been evaluated from 1973 to 2013  was founded in the Gunma Prefecture to conduct research and provide enlightenment on snakes . This inR. tigrinus bites was based on the patients' description of the snakes and the presence of VICC in patients with hypofibrinogenaemia.The diagnosis of Data on age, sex, date of injury (year), place of injury, clinical symptoms, laboratory analyses, treatment-related factors, and hospital mortality were recorded.U-test or the Chi square (\u03c72) test was used. Furthermore, the Fisher exact test for 2 \u00d7 2 categorical variables was used when appropriate. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. All analyses were completed using the JMP version 11  software.To compare the data pertaining to patient characteristics, treatment-related factors and outcomes between the antivenom patient group and the without-antivenom group, the Mann\u2013Whitney R. tigrinus bite patients were recognized. The median age was 37 years, and 97.7% were men.R. tigrinus bite cases were found in almost all parts of Japan, except Hokkaido and Okinawa areas, and have been distributed in the western part of Japan since 2000. Fatalities have been limited to the western part, and specifically, there have been two fatalities in the Okayama Prefecture .R. tigrinus antivenom. Cerebral hemorrhage was observed in least three out of five cases.Details of fatalities are provided in R. tigrinus bites, including five fatalities, were identified. Patients with R. tigrinus bites have been treated with the antivenom since 1985, and fatalities occurred in 2006 and 2020 in patients who were not treated with the antivenom.Over the 50-year study period, 43 cases of R. tigrinus bite cases have been well-distributed in the western part of Japan since 2000. Fatalities have also been limited to the western part. This finding is similar to the cases of pit viper bites reported previously  20fk0108101.KM was employed by company KM Biologics Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Neurosurgical Review,Dear highly esteemed readership and editorial team of Neurosurgical Review in 2016, the journal went through a number of difficult, but necessary, changes. After the journal\u2019s remarkable success story under the editorship of Helmut Bertalanffy, who had worked to achieve this success, Springer Nature, and more precisely Springer-Verlag GmbH, changed the format of the journal from print to exclusively online. By also changing the managing editorial software, the editorial team introduced a number of new and important features, such as a plagiarism check for any manuscript submitted since 2017. In the beginning, my personal aim was to further promote the already high quality of the journal and guide it to becoming the journal with the highest impact factor among all the European neurosurgical journals.When I took over responsibility as Editor-in-Chief of Neurosurgical Review: Editorial Office, Sandra Braun; and Editorial Assistants , PD Dr. Y. Ahmadipour, Dr. L. Barthel, Dr. B Chen, PD Dr. M. Darkwah Oppong, Dr. O. Gembruch, Dr. S. Hetze, PD Dr. R. Jabbarli, PD. Dr. D. Pierscianek, and Dr. L. Rauschenbach. I am most grateful to all these people for their commitment and excellent work. In addition, Springer Verlag GmbH has supported my efforts to improve the quality of Neurosurgical Review by providing a highly qualified and motivated managing team at the publisher end; I would particularly like to highlight the merits of Dr. M. F. Bartels.To do so, I needed considerable support from local collaborators, and I therefore built up a highly motivated editorial team in Essen. In the past 5 years, this editorial team consisted of numerous important \u201chelping hands and minds.\u201d Most recently, the following colleagues have contributed to the success of Neurosurgical Review succeeded in dramatically increasing the number of submitted manuscripts (nearly 4-fold), the number of published Online First articles (2-fold), and the article downloads (2-fold)  to 3,042: an all-time high in the history of My mission is accomplished!So, in summary, after a demanding and strenuous 5 years as editor, I would like to declare:Neurosurgical Review, has an even greater potential for further development. I hope that our readership, as well as all our contributors, agrees with me when I say:Yes, the mission is accomplished, but not yet finished!However, I believe that our originally European, and increasingly international journal, Thank you all once again for your constant, and hopefully continued, support!Ulrich Sure,Essen, Germany"}
+{"text": "Mycotoxin-Workshop 2021 was held on 31st May\u20132nd June, as an online conference. Unfortunately, last year\u2019s mycotoxin workshop, which was planned in Brno (Czech Republic) had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, an online forum for the presentation of new developments in mycotoxin research, as well as for the discussion of future perspectives in this field of research, was provided by the team of Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Humpf, who is affiliated with the Institute of Food Chemistry, University of M\u00fcnster. As always, the meeting was organised in cooperation with the Society for Mycotoxin Research. The scientific programme was scheduled for 3\u00a0days and contained nine main half-day sessions and six parallel short-talk poster sessions, covering contemporary mycotoxin research topics. This year, the Mycotoxin Workshop attracted the attention of almost 300 virtual participants from 31 countries worldwide, which resulted in 40 lectures and 69 short poster-style presentations. The online format of the Mycotoxin Workshop enlarged the geography of the members giving the opportunity to share the research with colleagues not only from EU, but also from Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the\u00a0USA\u00a0.The award committee honoured the doctoral thesis of Ms. Jagels \u201cIsolation and structure elucidation of new secondary metabolites from Society for Mycotoxin Research. The award is open to scientists worldwide, but the application of the candidate must be supported by a member of the Society for Mycotoxin Research. All details for the next call will be provided on the home page of the Society for Mycotoxin Research (www.mycotoxin.de).This highly prestigious prize in the field of mycotoxin research is endowed with 10,000\u00a0Euro and given biennially by the Society was held during the 42nd Mycotoxin Workshop. The board of directors reported about the number of members and the financial situation of the Society. Currently, the Society has about 180 members from 26 countries with increasing tendency especially from young scientists. The Society for Mycotoxin Research is a non-profit organisation focusing on scientific excellence and exchange in the field of mycotoxin research and supporting particularly young scientist. Members benefit from a free print and online subscription of the official journal of the Society, Mycotoxin Research, as well as a highly reduced registration fee for the Mycotoxin Workshop. Prof.\u00a0Dr. Ewald Usleber, the Editor in Chief of Mycotoxin Research, gave a short report about the current situation with the official journal of the Society. Mycotoxin Research and its impact for the scientific community continue to develop very well. For example, the impact factor  increased from 3.1 in 2019 to 3.8 in 2020.The annual meeting of the Mycotoxin Research, Prof. Dr. Ewald Usleber was elected as honorary member of the Society.For his excellent job as Editor in Chief of Society, the Board of Directors was newly elected. The current President of the Society, Prof. Dr. Dr. habil.\u00a0Manfred Gareis, who served the Society for 20\u00a0years since its foundation in 1997, wished to step back from his position. Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Humpf expressed his willingness to follow Manfred Gareis as President. In a unanimous vote, the following Board of Directors was (re)-elected for the period 2021\u20132023:According to the bylaws of the President: Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Humpf, M\u00fcnster, Germany.Vice President: Prof. Dr. Madeleine Pl\u00f6tz, Hannover, Germany.Secretary: Dr. Karsten Meyer, Freising, Germany.Treasurer: Dr. Benedikt Cramer, M\u00fcnster, Germany.Society for Mycotoxin Research.Prof. Humpf thanked Prof. Gareis for his outstanding and long-lasting support of the Mycotoxin Workshop will take place on May 30\u2013June 1, 2022, in Toulouse, France. The conference will be organized by the groups of Dr. Isabelle Oswald, Prof. Florence Mathieu and Dr. Mohamed Haddad in cooperation with the Society for Mycotoxin Research. For further information concerning registration, abstract submission, deadlines, and fees, please check the website of the Society for Mycotoxin Research (www.mycotoxin.de).The 43rd"}
+{"text": "Neospora caninum is one of the most common infectious organisms worldwide that causes abortion in cattle. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have focused on N. caninum infection in the local Atlas brown cattle from Northeast Algeria. This study aimed to assess the importance of bovine neosporosis for causing abortion in Atlas brown cattle and to identify selected risk factors.N. caninum using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.A case-control study was performed on 60 control farms and 30 case farms. We collected 650 blood samples from 650 pregnant cows from 90 farms in five Algerian provinces; Jijel, Skikda, Annaba, El-Tarf, and Souk-Ahras. Sera samples were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against N. caninum infection in the cows was 36.2%  and in the farms was 81.1% (95% CI: 73.0-89.2). Risk factors found by multivariable logistic regression included: Presence of dogs ; age \u226584 months ; Jijel region ; white  and gray  coat; moderate  and bad  hygiene; and second ; and last  stage of pregnancy. Our case-control study showed no significant association between seropositivity of N. caninum and abortion at the farms level . Similarly, there was no significant association between seropositivity of N. caninum and abortion at the individual level .The seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in pregnant local cows from Northeast Algeria. The prevalence rate of antibodies against N. caninum was high. Almost all risk factors studied for infection were significantly associated with seroprevalence. Our analysis showed no relation between N. caninum infection and abortion. Consequently, these local cows are resistant to abortion caused by N. caninum.This is the first study of  Seropositivity to N. caninum was high in these cows. Risk factors for the occurrence of antibodies to N. caninum included dog, age, location, color, and hygiene. Horizontal transmission of N. caninum is probably the most important mode of infection in this region. Our analysis showed no relation between N. caninum infection and abortion; thus, neosporosis should not be used as a differential diagnosis for abortion in these cattle. We recommend increasing the geographical area of study to confirm the conclusions obtained in this study. Research on the mechanism of resistance of Atlas brown cows to abortions will have to be done by genetic study. The future study should be based on identifying the gene(s) involved and the underlying mechanisms.This is the first study of FG, ST: Planned the study. BA: Collected samples, provided serological analyses, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. SYD, AT, and HB contributed to serological analyses. FG: Supervised the study and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Rhombomys opimus Lichtenstein, 1823) is distributed in Central Asia and some parts of the Middle East. It is widely found in central and northeast parts of Iran with two distinct genetic lineages: R. o. sodalis in the northern slopes of the Elburz Mountains and R. o. sargadensis in the southern slopes. This large rodent acts as the main host of natural focal diseases. No study has surveyed the ecological niche of the lineages and how their distribution might be influenced by different climatic variables. To examine the distribution patterns of this murid rodent, we aimed to determine the habitat preferences and effects of environmental variables on the ecological niche. Using a species distribution approach for modeling of regional niche specialization, suitable habitats predicted for R. o. sodalis were mainly located in Golestan province in northern Iran, along the northern slope of Elburz, while R. o. sargadensis, showed great potential distribution along the southern slope of Elburz and around the Kavir Desert and the Lut Desert. Despite the widest potential distribution of R. o. sargadensis from northeast to northwest and through Central Iran, the geographic range of R. o. sodalis was smaller and mostly confined to Golestan province. The results support the presence of the two genetic lineages of Rhombomys in Iran and confirm that there is no significant niche overlap between the two subspecies. Furthermore, it provided several perspectives for future taxonomic studies and prevention hygiene programs for public health.Great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus Lichtenstein, 1823), which is generally considered to be a monotypic species based on coloration and size [Rhombomys opimus has a social structure, and individuals often burrow close to one another; the family group  lives in one complex burrow system [Great gerbil , succulent plants such as Salsola spp., Climacoptera spp., and Suaeda spp. (Amaranthaceae) [R. o. opimus  , R. o. giganteus  , R. o. nigrescens  , R. o. fumicolor Heptner, 1933 , R. o. sodalis Goodwin, 1939 , and R. o. sargadensis Heptner, 1939  [This large gerbil has a wide distribution range in central and northeastern Iran and occupies sandy or clay deserts, usually in foothills and mountainous areas with scattered shrubby vegetation, especially thaceae) , 7. The thaceae) , 8. Ellethaceae)  listed sthaceae) . An accuRhombomys opimus sodalis is only found at elevations of approximately 600\u20131000 m in Golestan province on the northern slope of the Elburz Mountains in addition to small patches in North Khorasan (Bojnourd) and Razavi Khorasan (Sarakhs and Dargaz) provinces in northeast of Iran, whereas R. o. sargadensis, which is considered the more widely distributed subspecies, could be found at higher elevations than R. o. sodalis on the southern slope of the Elburz Mountains and around the Kavir Desert in Central Iran [In Iran, ral Iran , 10, 11 R. o. sodalis in a population of R. o. sargadensis in the Shahrood district (Semnan province), near Kavir Desert [R. o. sodalis from Golestan province to the territories of R. o. sargadensis in Semnan province is possible. However, Oshaghi et al. [R. o. sodalis males and R. o. sargadensis females. However, the reciprocal cross of R. o. sodalis females with R. o. sargadensis males resulted in the death of the paired individuals, suggesting the possibility of some prezygotic isolation mechanism. Bakhshi et al. [R. o. sodalis and R. o. sargadensis [These two subspecies are also morphologically distinct from each other with known differences in coloration and size . Due to r Desert , it has i et al.  and Bakhi et al.  attributi et al.  show thai et al.  obtainedgadensis , and congadensis .Great gerbils can damage crops and irrigation canals, destroy the vegetation and cause the die-off of plants over their colonies by biting the main roots. Hence, they are in direct competition with livestock and have been recognized as carriers of several zoonotic diseases  \u201314. The R. opimus have different habitat suitability and niche specialization throughout the Iranian Plateau and/or in the contact zone, where they are found in sympatry, and also (ii) to understand the role of environmental variables on their regional spatial distributions.With respect to the lack of information on current habitat delimitation and the potential distribution pattern of great gerbil genetic lineages (or subspecies) in Iran, we seek to elucidate their environmental niches through species distribution models. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine (i) whether the genetic lineages of www.worldclim.org) at a spatial resolution of 1 km2 and then processed to model the target genetic lineage distribution. Since multicollinearity among bioclimatic variables may result in misunderstanding the contribution ratio of the most important variables to the model [r\u2265 0.75) were ignored for final analysis. The final set contained 13 climatic variables, as shown in To use a machine learning model, 19 bioclimatic variables were selected from the WorldClim database  , VertNet as a publicly accessible database of vertebrate biodiversity data from natural history collections around the world, and published papers and books e.g., , 22, 23. n = 46) . The poiwww.cs.princeton.edu) was used [To model the current geographic distribution range of great gerbil subspecies, the maximum entropy modeling algorithm . To determine the model performance, the calculated value of the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve on the training and testing data was considered. The AUC evaluator indicates the power of the model in distinguishing presence from absence records. A calculated value close to 1 indicates the high predictive ability of the model, while a value of 0.5 suggests that the model lacks sufficient power to predict the species distribution range , 31\u201334. D  and HellD [I  indices.R. o. sargadensis; AUC = 0.92 for R. o. sodalis), so the MAXENT approach seems to perform well for modeling ecological niche segregation. Based on our models, the most current suitable habitats of R. o. sodalis were mainly projected in Golestan province, along the northern slope of the Elburz Mountains, and penetrated further into North Khorasan provinces as well as small patches in the western parts of Iran  and precipitation of the wettest month (Bio13)  . The resR. o. sargadensis were situated in northeastern, northwestern and Central Iran, while the geographic range of R. o. sodalis was rather smaller and confined mostly to Golestan province, northern Iran. Moreover, the results of ecological niche modeling revealed that there is no significant niche overlap between the two subspecies .In addition, most suitable habitats of great gerbils of the genetic lineage R. o. sargadensis and R. o. sodalis, followed by the annual precipitation amount. However, Gholamrezaei et al. [R. opimus. Furthermore, Gao et al. [R. opimus is distributed in the area of elevation between 200 and 600 m with a slope of 0\u20133 degrees, an average annual temperature from 6 to 10 \u00b0C and an annual precipitation of 120\u2013200 mm in Xinjiang, northwest China.As a desert-adapted rodent, the distribution of great gerbil is significantly associated with temperature, precipitation, terrain, vegetation and other ecological environmental factors . The resi et al.  indicateo et al.  showed tR. o. sargadensis was strongly constrained in an isolated habitat patch in the marginal part of the species distribution range; a patch of habitat in the extreme northwest of Iran might contain genetically isolated populations  . These iHabitat suitability for hosts and/or vectors can have effects on the spreading of pathogens and may influence both their abundance and movements , 43. SuiHarsh climatic conditions (arid or semi-arid climates) in some parts of the Kavir Desert act as another structural barrier for great gerbil to expand its distribution throughout Iran. For the great gerbil, the Elburz Mountains in the north and the Zagros Mountains in the west of the country play major barriers against dispersal.Yersinia pestis, and hence, the transmission rates of plague infection may increase.Lizhi et al.  showed tLeishmania major in Iran, which is transmitted by sand flies of the genus Phlebotomus [L. major is known as one of the zoonoses increasing in Iran [Leishmania in population of great gerbils in Badrood district, Esfahan province, central Iran were surveyed. The lowest and highest infection rates were observed in summer and fall, respectively. Gerbils were found to be infected with three species of L. major, L. turanica and L. gerbilli, which transmit in the population of R. opimus in central part of Iran. Leishmania major infection is generally accompanied by L. turanica in infected great gerbils, showing the highest rate in fall.Great gerbil is considered as the most important reservoir host of ebotomus , 17, 19. in Iran  stated t in Iran , seasonaL. turanica in rodents showed coincidence with the distribution patterns of sandflies [Xenopsylla and Nosopsyllus genera [Hyaloma [Ornithonyssus bacoti [Dentostomella translucida is a nematode parasitizing the digestive system of great gerbils [Hymenolepis nana, which is a cyclophyllidean zoonotic enteric parasite, known to be occurred in different rodents, including gerbils, of Golestan and Razavi Khorasan provinces in north of Iran [The distribution of andflies . Deep buandflies , will haandflies . This ros genera , 55, tic[Hyaloma , 56, ands bacoti \u201359. More gerbils , 61. Kam gerbils  reported of Iran .Contact zones create candidate habitats where future researches could examine the extent of ecological divergence between the known lineages , 65. TheR. o. sargadensis distributed across most areas of Iran, southern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, the sampling area represents more than half of the geographic range of the subspecies, and the resulting model can potentially be of relatively good quality. However, this is not the case for R. o. sodalis. This subspecies is distributed across northeastern Iran, Turkmenistan and northern Afghanistan. Cumulatively, future studies should consider covering the whole geographical distribution range, especially identifying contact zones, population structure, and comprehensive distribution samplings for genetic studies are required to clarify the taxonomic status of this species. Using a more comprehensive dataset for ecological niche modeling and habitat evaluation will increase the precision of the models and estimate the probable future distribution of the species considering the role of climate changes affecting the environmental variables.The present study provided projections of the potential geographic distribution of the two subspecies of great gerbil, with a fundamental role in the epidemiology of zoonoses. For S1 Appendix(XLSX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Leishmania tropica is a neglected tropical disease characterized by a wide geographical distribution in the Mediterranean basin and is endemic in several of its countries. In addition, the vector Phlebotomus sergenti is abundantly present all around the basin. Its transmission cycle is still subject to debate. In some countries, the presence of an animal reservoir has been confirmed. In Morocco, CL due to L. tropica has risen since the 1980s and has spread widely to become the most abundant form of leishmaniasis in the territory. However, the anthroponotic transmission is so far the only recognized mode, despite recordings of L. tropica infection in animal hosts. In this review article, we assess the situation of CL due to L. tropica in the Mediterranean basin with a focus on Morocco and gather knowledge about any potential zoonotic transmission in the country. A concomitant zoonotic transmission could explain the persistence of the disease in areas where human protective measures combined with vector management did not help reduce the disease burden.Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) due to  Leishmania tropica is a neglected tropical disease still considered to be anthroponotic in Morocco despite evidence of zoonotic transmission in other endemic countries of the Mediterranean basin. Its high incidence in the country makes it necessary to investigate whether or not a potential concomitant zoonotic transmission exists alongside the anthroponotic one. Moreover, several reports of natural animal infection have been noted in the country. In this paper, we review how CL due to L. tropica is present around the Mediterranean basin, with a particular focus on the Moroccan foci, and try to unveil the existence of a zoonotic transmission in the area. A deep understanding of the transmission patterns of L. tropica in the region is necessary for the implementation of effective control measures and a better assessment of the disease burden. In addition, the complexity of this neglected disease requires more fundamental and applied research to unveil potential factors involved in its spread.Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) due to  Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of female sand flies. The disease is distributed worldwide and characterized by 3 main clinical forms: cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL) [Leishmania major, Leishmania aethiopica, and Leishmania infantum are responsible for zoonotic CL . Leishmania tropica is mainly considered responsible for anthroponotic CL. Healed CL due to L. tropica can sometimes be followed by Leishmaniasis recidivans (LR), usually appearing as new lesions around the primary healed ones and characterized by a progressive expansion [The development and spread of infectious diseases are influenced by humans, animals, and the environment, and around 61% of human infections are zoonotic. Zoonotic diseases are constantly emerging and expanding, and new transmission patterns are being uncovered [is (MCL) . In the xpansion .L. tropica has a wide geographical distribution in Greece, Turkey, and North African countries. CL due to L. tropica is characterized by its highest incidence in Morocco where it has been expanding since the 1990s [L. tropica cases [L. tropica could rise without the involvement of an anthropogenic spread [L. tropica is still debated. Several potential host species are now considered reservoirs in Algeria, Tunisia, Palestine, and Israel [L. tropica around the Mediterranean basin and Morocco and identify research gaps that need to be addressed.Around the Mediterranean basin, he 1990s . These lca cases . The emeca cases . As climc spread . The antd Israel \u201310. HoweLeishmania tropica\u201d were combined to the following keywords: \u201cZoonotic,\u201d \u201cReservoir,\u201d \u201cAnimal host,\u201d \u201cMediterranean,\u201d \u201cMorocco,\u201d \u201cVector,\u201d \u201cEpidemiology,\u201d and \u201cDistribution.\u201d Articles in English and French were browsed. No year limitation was assigned. Several combinations of these keywords were entered, and articles were selected from titles and abstract matching the reviews\u2019 aim. Relevant articles on the epidemiology of CL due to L. tropica in the Mediterranean basin, the distribution of L. tropica\u2019s vector, and the animal hosts of L. tropica in the same area were included in the manuscript.A review of the literature was conducted through articles obtained via PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Several sets of keywords were used for this search. The terms \u201cCutaneous leishmaniasis\u201d and \u201cL. tropica has widely been reported across the Mediterranean basin. Syria is historically endemic to CL due to L. tropica for centuries and had previously the highest burden for this form of leishmaniasis in the region [L. tropica [L. tropica in the region. The largest portion of cases originates from the Mediterranean southern coast of Turkey [L. tropica is endemic, although its cycle of transmission is not fully elucidated in the region, and in Egypt, the first L. tropica CL cases were reported in 2009 from a classical L. major focus in North Sinai [CL due to e region . These le region ,11. Two  tropica ,13. A sith Sinai .L. tropica is characterized by the widest geographic distribution in the country, as 43% of CL cases  were due to L. tropica between 2008 and 2017 [L. tropica cases have increasingly been reported from different regions of the country. In 1991, an ecoepidemiological study unveiled a vast L. tropica focus in central and southern areas of the country such as Guelmim, Agadir, and Essaouira [L. tropica even spread to Settat Province that was nonendemic to CL. From 2007 to 2012, 553 cases were reported from this province, most of which originated from the same locality (Lbrouj) [L. tropica\u2019s presence was confirmed in semirural localities of Toundout and Agdz, which are separated by the Atlas Mountains, north and south of Ouarzazate. This was the first report of L. tropica in the south of the Atlas Mountains, since the species is endemic to central arid and semiarid regions and northwest to the Atlas Mountains [L. tropica foci have spread to several regions of Morocco including those that previously reported CL caused by L. major or L. infantum. Recently, a survey carried out in Casablanca highlighted the possible introduction of L. tropica to urban areas [In North Africa, Morocco has the highest burden of this form of CL. Currently, CL due to and 2017 . It is pand 2017 . During ssaouira . In 1996ssaouira . In 2006(Lbrouj) . More reountains . Over thL. tropica infection were notified [Leishmania killicki (syn. L. tropica) are continuously reported in Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia [In Algeria and Libya, only sporadic cases of notified . Neverth Tunisia . It has  Tunisia .L. tropica has only been reported in Greece, where it was recorded for the first time in 1984 and occurs sporadically. Nevertheless, the proximity of certain European countries to endemic neighbors alongside the anthroponotic character generally recognized for L. tropica, as well as the presence of the vector Phlebotomus sergenti poses a major risk of introduction of CL due to L. tropica in south Europe [Finally, in southern Europe, CL due to h Europe .Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti is the proven main vector of L. tropica. It is characterized by a wide geographical distribution in the Mediterranean basin [L. tropica in Algeria, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia. Moreover, it is suspected to be a vector in each of Greece, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey [an basin ,28. It id Turkey .P. sergenti is still the main proven vector of L. tropica, Phlebotomus arabicus and Phlebotomus similis have also been studied for their vectorial capacities for L. tropica. Indeed, P. arabicus has been proven as a potential vector in northern Israel, and the widespread presence of P. similis (classified in the same subgenus as P. sergenti) in the island of Crete makes it a likely vector of L. tropica in the region [L. tropica was detected in other species of Phlebotomus sand flies, mainly Phlebotomus tobbi and Phlebotomus perfiliewi that could be potential vectors of L. tropica [Leishmania species may be isolated from P. sergenti [L. tropica in experimental conditions [Leishmania parasite originating from the same area must be proven [Even though e region . Moreove tropica . Althougsergenti , it is snditions . Howevere proven .P. sergenti is wider than the parasite it harbors. This species is distributed in CL endemic and nonendemic Mediterranean countries, where it is widely spread across semiarid regions. In Morocco, the first detection of L. tropica in P. sergenti was reported in 1991 from the first documented focus of Tanant [P. sergenti infection with L. tropica was reported in central and the northern parts of the country [P. sergenti and Phlebotomus papatasi are the most prevalent sand fly species, and they equally share the territory, although their abundance and density are under the influence of ecological factors. For instance, P. sergenti\u2019s density is significant in arid and Saharan zones, whereas P. papatasi is capable of well adapting to different arid zones [P. papatasi, P. sergenti was found up to 1,400-m altitude in Al-Haouz region of the High Atlas mountains [P. sergenti was distinguished by an anthropophilic character and was mainly collected in domestic and peridomestic habitats [Interestingly, the geographic distribution of f Tanant . Since t country \u201338. In M country . P. sergid zones . In contountains . In thishabitats .P. sergenti was previously commonly found in mild to high altitudes and was described as a \u201cmountainous\u201d species, in Morocco, it was found in areas up to 2,000 m [Although  2,000 m . In turn 2,000 m .L. tropica have been recorded in Europe, P. sergenti is present, and even high infection rates of L. tropica were detected in 21 sand fly species in Greek refugee camps [P. sergenti in the Iberian Peninsula and the identification of one common mitochondrial lineage in both Morocco and southwestern Europe, in addition to the presence of L. tropica in northern parts of Morocco [L. tropica [P. sergenti poses a risk of introduction of L. tropica to the region. Even though sand flies are known to travel short distances, the anthroponotic character of L. tropica poses a threat for the emergence of cases, since a heavy traffic of potentially infected tourists or migrants exists between this region and the endemic North African foci.Interestingly, while no autochthonous cases of CL due to ee camps . This spee camps , identifee camps , as wellee camps . Its preee camps . Moreove Morocco , as well tropica . SoutherL. tropica is disputed. Some potential mammalian hosts have been investigated and could contribute to the transmission of the disease  and Massoutiera mzabi were suggested as possible reservoir hosts of the L. killicki (syn. tropica) [L. tropica genotype was detected in Gundis, humans, and P. sergenti within the same southeastern Tunisian L. tropica foci [Gerbillus pyramidum floweri was found to be infected by L. tropica [In other North African countries, CL cases due to smission . In Tunitropica) ,9. Inter tropica .L. tropica hosts. No apparent lesion was detected in black rats (Rattus rattus) experimentally infected with L. tropica, making them a potential asymptomatic host for the parasite. Moreover, these black rats originate from an endemic L. tropica focus in Turkey and were found to be infective for the sand fly vector [L. tropica was reported from small wild rodents of Turkey [Procavia capensis) are now considered as a reservoir [L. tropica. Wild canids such as golden jackals and red foxes were infected by L. tropica and thus may transmit this species from infected hyraxes to naive hyrax populations or even humans [L. tropica was detected in cats in Turkey and in wild rodents and bats in Ethiopia [L. tropica was notified from Jerusalem [Throughout the Mediterranean basin, several rodent species were investigated for their capacity to be y vector . This imf Turkey . In Israeservoir . Higher eservoir . The reseservoir . These rn humans . In addiEthiopia \u201361, and erusalem . TherefoL. tropica in the Mediterranean basin. Rock hyraxes are now considered as reservoirs in Palestine and Israel where both anthroponotic and zoonotic transmission cycles coexist. In Morocco, the relative variety of animal hosts that were shown to be infected by L. tropica suggests that its transmission cycle may also be zoonotic  as well as artificial rocky habitats (rock piles). This affinity could be explained by the fact that rock hyraxes live in these rocky habitats. P. arabicus, incriminated in L. tropica transmission, also shares the same habitat preferences as P. sergenti. Anthropogenic landscape changes, particularly the increase of rock piles, resulted in an increase of L. tropica CL cases in the region [Environmental changes to habitats of hosts and vectors affect the potential manifestation of zoonotic diseases. In Israel, e region .L. tropica in urbanized settings [L. tropica foci is linked to human travel, since the country\u2019s road and railway infrastructure system has evolved in the recent years, increasing population movements [L. tropica in Morocco  can offer an accurate and user-friendly alternative for remote areas, as they can instantly give results while the patient is still in consultation. A recent study conducted in Morocco compared the efficacy of an RDT to standard tests to diagnose patients from various endemic areas. Even though the test had a relatively low sensitivity, it still could be used in isolated localities and would be an important addition to clinical CL management in Morocco. However, further improvements need to be done in terms of cost .L. tropica\u2019s transmission patterns in the Mediterranean context highlights the need of a multidisciplinary approach to control the disease. The current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic spotlights the threat for humans posed by potential outbreaks of zoonotic infectious diseases, making it necessary to watch closely emerging infectious diseases and fully understand the risk factors involved in their spread. In Morocco, a zoonotic spillover from one of the potential animal hosts of L. tropica is very likely, and it may enhance the disease\u2019s spread or may even impact the clinical manifestations, leading to more severe ones. Some gaps are still hampering the fight against CL due to L. tropica in our country. For instance, the reporting system still needs improvements, especially in remote endemic areas. Moreover, not enough investigations were done regarding a potential animal reservoir, reducing the efficiency of the preventive measures taken by health instances. This added to a gap in applying protective measures in endemic localities by local populations seriously affects the disease burden. Finally, the general public is still not entirely aware of the disease, making it urgent to instigate awareness campaigns throughout the country.The complexity of L. tropica in Morocco, to collect as much data as possible from endemic areas to understand its transmission pattern. It is also important to consider the training of professionals in endemic remote areas in order to improve the health reporting system. Moreover, a diverse group of experts should be involved in decision-making as part of One Health collaboration such as epidemiologists, physicians, entomologists, veterinarians, and researchers. The complexity of Leishmaniases and infectious diseases in general recalls for integrating a multidisciplinary approach to control their spread. In the case of CL due to L. tropica, this global approach could lead to not only better apprehend the disease dynamics, but also initiate the establishment of more efficient preventive techniques that take into consideration every aspect of the disease. To promote a coordinated response to zoonotic public health challenges, efficient One Health actions should take into consideration 3 types of factors: (i) individual factors such as education and training; (ii) organizational factors including communication and organizational structures; and (iii) network factors including network structures, leadership, and management. The implementation of these factors is crucial to fostering effective collaborations and multisectorial response to health concerns [Therefore, the existence of concomitant anthroponotic and zoonotic transmission cycles should not be overlooked. If a zoonotic transmission cycle is proven, a targeted control strategy of the animal reservoirs should be set up. It is therefore important to closely monitor the evolution of CL due to concerns . The firL. tropica, but also to design new diagnostic and prevention tools. When implementing control programs, local sand fly epidemiology and behavior and multiple local transmission pathways must be taken into consideration. Finally, local populations should play an active role in the control process, and the control methods used must be sustainable.Nonendemic Mediterranean countries must be prepared for the next potential CL outbreak. Thus, it is urgent to prioritize research in basic and applied science not only to complete the knowledge of the transmission cycles due to Leishmania tropica is endemic to many countries of the Mediterranean basin where it is widely distributed.Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) due to L. tropica in the Mediterranean basin, and some were incriminated as reservoirs.Several mammalian hosts were found to be naturally infected by Phlebotomus sergenti is present in nonendemic north Mediterranean regions, suggesting the possible introduction of L. tropica in these areas.A potential concomitant zoonotic transmission in Morocco should not be overlooked.One Health initiatives are key to implementing efficient control programs.10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31204-2Burza S, Croft SL, Boelaert M. Leishmaniasis. Lancet. 2018;392:951\u2013970. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2013.12.018Chaara D, Haouas N, Dedet JP, Babba H, Pratlong F. Leishmaniases in Maghreb: An endemic neglected disease. Acta Trop. 2014;132:80\u201393. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2014014Aoun K, Bouratbine A. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in North Africa: a review. Parasite. 2014;21:14. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.04.007Han BA, Kramer AM, Drake JM. Global Patterns of Zoonotic Disease in Mammals. Trends Parasitol. 2016;32:565\u2013577. doi: 10.2807/ese.15.10.19505-enReady PD. Leishmaniasis emergence in Europe. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(10):29\u201339. doi:"}
+{"text": "Brugia malayi is known to be zoonotically important because it can be transmitted from animals  to humans or from humans to humans through mosquito vectors. This study was conducted to explore the fauna associated with Malayan filariasis transmission in Sedang village, Suak Tapeh District, Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia.Mansonia spp. was observed. The presence of microfilaria was confirmed under a microscope in night blood samples of inhabitants and cats. The presence of infective larvae (L3) of B. malayi was identified microscopically and based on the polymerase chain reaction method in female Mansonia mosquitoes.A cross-sectional research design with an observational and analytical approach was applied in this study, and it was conducted in May 2018. Mosquitoes were collected twice using human bait both inside and outside the house from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The presence of competitors, predators, and reservoir hosts in the areas of five breeding habitats of Mansonia uniformis was the dominant mosquito, and the predominant competitor was Mansonia annulifera. Dragonflies, as predators were found in two breeding habitats and fish were found in one breeding habitat. The L3 of B. malayi were not identified in the mosquitoes, and the microfilariae of B. malayi were not found in the blood samples of inhabitants and cats.A total of 12 mosquito species were found, among which Mansonia mosquito population was abundant in Banyuasin Regency, the mosquito was not confirmed as an intermediate host of B. malayi, and the cat was not confirmed as a reservoir of B. malayi in the location.Although  Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori and is a major health problem in several tropical and subtropical countries. In 2004, an estimated 120 million people suffered from filariasis in 73 filariasis-endemic countries with an estimated 1.3 billion people in the filariasis transmission area ) of mosquitoes collected using the landing method . Cats were found in every breeding habitat area and can act as reservoir hosts of the nocturnal subperiodic type of B. malayi  for insect growth and development, and in breeding habitat 2, the maximum number of B. malayi in female Mansonia mosquitoes. This finding indicates that filarial larvae were not detected in all the captured mosquito species.We found negative results in the microscopic examination and the molecular PCR method conducted to identify the L3 of Mansonia spp. growth, the presence of other mosquitoes as competitors, the presence of other insects or animals as predators, and the presence of animals as reservoir hosts.Epidemiologically, the transmission of lymphatic filariasis involves several complex factors, such as the presence of lymphatic filarial worms as agents of disease, humans as hosts, adult mosquitoes as vectors, and physical, biological, and social environmental factors. The environment is highly influential on the distribution and transmission chain of filariasis cases. The biological environment involved in the transmission chain of filariasis includes the presence of aquatic plants as a place of Mansonia mosquitoes was found to be abundant in this study, no B. malayi L3 were identified. Therefore, Mansonia mosquitoes were not confirmed as an intermediate host of B. malayi in this study. The microfilariae of B. malayi were also not found in cat blood samples in this study; therefore, cats were not confirmed as the reservoir of B. malayi in this location. Similarly, a study conducted in 2006 in Sungai Rengit village, Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra [B. malayi L3 was not identified in the mosquitoes. Conversely, a study conducted in Narathiwat Province, South Thailand [B. malayi microfilariae in cat blood samples.Although the population of  Sumatra , and a s Sumatra , reporteThailand , and anoThailand  reportedThe development of insects, including mosquitoes, is influenced by two factors, that is, the internal factors from the insects themselves and the external factors that are present in the surrounding environment where the insects live. High or low insect populations at any given time are influenced by these two factors . All vecMansonia spp. in the breeding habitats with optimum temperature. Biological environment includes all the living things that are found around humans, that is, flora and fauna, which can act as a chain of filariasis transmission. Mansonia spp. are associated with swamps and large rivers on the edge of the forest or in the forest. Larvae and pupae with their siphon are attached to the roots or branches of aquatic plants such as E. crassipes, Nymphaea (water lily), and I. aquatica [Mansonia spp. In Pistiastratiotes and E. crassipes, the aerenchyma  is larger in size than that in Mimosa pudica and Azolla pinnata and can store more oxygen. The root tissues of M. pudica and A. pi\u00f1ata are more rigid and can inhibit perforation by the siphon larvae of Mansonia spp. The root structure of P. stratiotes and E. crassipes can reduce the effectiveness of natural predators from mosquito larvae in ponds. A. pinnata is believed to have secondary metabolites that are dangerous to Mansonia spp. larvae [Geographically, the mosquito is a cosmopolitan insect with a widespread distribution in the tropical and subtropical regions, and the changes in the environment influence the activity of the insect, which has an impact on its diversity and distribution . Mosquitaquatica . The veg. larvae .B. malayi are generally found around rivers, forests, swamps, along rivers, or other water bodies overgrown with aquatic plants. Areas with different flora have different disease patterns. Swampy or muddy environment and bushes around houses are suitable breeding habitats for the Malayan filariasis vector (Mansonia spp.), and there exists a relationship between the presence of aquatic plants and the incidence of filariasis. Therefore, people living in endemic areas in houses with aquatic plants could have a risk of transmission of filariasis [Endemic areas of lariasis .M. uniformis was the dominant mosquito, and the predominant competitor was Mansonia annulifera. The study results also indicated the presence of dragonflies as predators in two breeding sites and the presence of fish in one breeding habitat. Furthermore, despite the abundant population of Mansonia mosquitoes in Banyuasin Regency, the mosquito was not confirmed as an intermediate host of B. malayi, and the cat was also not confirmed as a reservoir of B. malayi in the location.This study found 12 mosquito species, among which BM: Designed the study. SRU and SH: Conducted the field survey. EE: Collected mosquito sample. All authors drafted, revised, read, and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Rhipicephalus sanguineus group encompasses at least 12 validated species of Palearctic and Afrotropical hard ticks, which are relevant in veterinary medicine and public health. The taxonomy of R. sanguineus s.s., has been particularly intensely debated, due to its wide geographic distribution, morphological variants, parasite-host associations, and its capacity and vectorial competence for the transmission of several pathogens. By sequencing mitochondrial markers, it was possible to identify the existence of multiple lineages, among which the Tropical and the Temperate lineages stand out, particularly in America. However, the northern limit between these lineages is not clear due to the lack of extensive sampling across Mexico. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to determine the genetic diversity and structure of the R. sanguineus group in Mexico and to compare it with the populations reported in the Americas, in order to propose the northern limit of the R. sanguineus Tropical lineage and the potential regions of sympatry with R. sanguineus s.s. The findings of this study now confirm the presence of R. sanguineus s.s. in Mexico, showing a subtle genetic structure and high genetic diversity throughout its distribution in the Americas. In contrast, the Tropical lineage seems to be genetically less diverse in its overall distribution in the Americas. The genetic diversity of these two independent lineages could have important epidemiological implications in the transmission of tick pathogens.The  Rhipicephalus sanguineus group encompasses at least 12 validated species  of Palearctic and/or Afrotropical hard ticks widely distributed worldwide by several historical colonization processes, which exhibit a high relevance in veterinary medicine and public health due to direct damage caused by infestation in the hosts and by the transmission of pathogens  and CMT-30 [MZ618826]), four sequences from the US , and two from France (MH630343 and MH630344). The second group was formed by two sequences from Brazil (MF477856 and KX533942), Argentina (KU498302 and MT152825), and Chile (MW509950 and KX632155), as well as the single sequence from Uruguay (GU553084) [Finally, with the Nei\u2019s distances, the group of U553084) .R. sanguineus group from the Americas. A total of 156 (77.3%) corresponded to the Tropical lineage and the remaining 46 records (22.7%) were from R. sanguineus s.s. The Tropical lineage is widely distributed across the Neotropical Region; meanwhile, R. sanguineus s.s. is restricted to North America, including the US and the US-Mexico border, and is also present in the South American Cone, where it is restricted to Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay , the cytochrome b (cytB), or the second internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal gene cluster (ITS2) to further characterise the subpopulations [Specifically, this gene fragment revealed subtle genetic differentiation across the distribution of both lineages. Regarding ulations ,33,34.R. sanguineus s.s. were lower than those from the Tropical Lineage, when these two lineages were compared with the haplotype network, R. sanguineus s.s. seems to be more diverse than the Tropical lineage, with six haplotypes of the total 10. This was also supported by the genetic distances, where a subtle genetic structure could be shown within this species in North and South America. This obvious genetic diversity could be due to an isolation-by-distance effect or by two independent colonization events, that may have been influenced by multiple factors related to radiation across several new hosts and climate niche partitioning, as was recently proposed by Bakkes et al. [Although the numbers of available sequences from s et al. . HoweverR. sanguineus s.s., the use of the 16S rDNA gene fragment seems to be less informative for the Tropical lineage, containing only four haplotypes and without an obvious genetic structuring. However, it is important to note that in this case, a single haplotype (H2) concentrates most of the diversity and could be inferred as the differentiation centre, since all mentioned countries are included in this haplotype. This has been proposed for other biological systems, with some unique haplotypes from South America (Colombia and Brazil) as tip haplotypes [Amblyomma maculatum within the US [Contrary to the information obtained with plotypes ,36,37. Tn the US .R. sanguineus group to transmit, for example, E. canis in Brazil [This differentiation might be epidemiologically relevant due to variability in the vectorial capacity and the competence of some of the populations of the n Brazil .R. sanguineus s.s. and that of the Tropical lineage. In the Northern limit, the two sympatric locations for both lineages are highly crowded border crossings that allow a constant exchange between the populations of R. sanguineus of the US and Mexico through the movement of domestic animals.Based on the biogeographic regionalisation, no correlation could be evidenced between the presence of R. sanguineus s.s. and Tropical linage only share the Chacoan province in Argentina. In this context, the use of the distribution proposed in this study must be applied with caution until future efforts allow us to complete the distribution analysis in this area.On the other hand, in South America, where a more complex biogeographic regionalisation is found, due to the complexity of the biota and fauna, R. sanguineus s.s. corresponds to the previously known \u201cTemperate Lineage\u201d, containing a subtle genetic structure and high genetic diversity throughout its distribution in the Americas. In contrast, the 16S rDNA region seems to be less informative for inferring the genetic diversity of the Tropical lineage in its overall distribution in the Americas. Yet caution is warranted, since the analysis of the 16S rDNA gene fragment does not permit us to untangle the phylogenetic taxonomy of this complex group formed by other Palearctic and/or Afrotropical species, such as R. turanicus, R. sanguineus Southeast Lineage, R. guilhoni, R. leporis, and R. camicasi. To conclude, the findings of this study confirm that R. sanguineus group in the Americas, showing different biogeographical distributions. Finally, the genetic diversity shown by these two independent lineages could have important epidemiological implications in the transmission of tick pathogens.We also now propose the first fine scale map with the boundaries of these two lineages of the Rickettsia Surveillance\u2019, we received brown dog ticks (R. sanguineus group) from the National Network of Public Health Laboratories of the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Sonora, Veracruz, and Yucatan. Additionally, we analysed several ticks from previous tick-borne surveillance studies carried out in Chihuahua, Sonora, and Veracruz [As a part of the \u2018National Program for Veracruz ,39,40. WVeracruz : the Nea\u00ae tube and cut into small pieces using a sterile scalpel blade for each specimen to avoid cross contamination between tick samples. The samples were then macerated with a 1.5-pellet pestle.All ticks were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol and morphologically identified with an Olympus SZX7 stereoscopic microscope, using the specialised taxonomic keys of Keirans and Litwak , Direcci\u00ae, implementing the \u201cPurification of Total DNA from Animal Tissues (Spin-Column Protocol)\u201d. For molecular identification of the tick species, a segment of approximately 400 bp of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene was amplified in all samples, using the primers 16S + 1/16S \u2212 1 and the cycling conditions reported by Norris et al. [\u00ae Green Master Mix, 2X Promega Corporation , the pair of primers (100 ng each), 6.5 \u03bcL nuclease-free water, and 30 ng DNA in a final volume of 25 \u03bcL. Negative (reaction mix without the DNA template) and positive  controls were included. The PCR products were resolved in 2% agarose gels using SmartGlow\u2122 Pre-Stain of Accuris Instruments\u00ae  and visualised by UV-transillumination. Purified amplification products were submitted for sequencing at Macrogen Inc., Seoul, Korea.The DNA extraction was carried out using the Qiagen \u201cDNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit\u201ds et al. . The reahttps://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi?PROGRAM=blastn&PAGE_TYPE=BlastSearch&LINK_LOC=blasthome). Recovered sequences were edited using FinchTV 1.5 , conducting a visual inspection. The final sequences were compared to each other to identify inter/intra species variation, using the BLASTn tool from NCBI (16S rDNA structure, using the Q-INS-i algorithm in the MAFFT version. The set of sequences included all available sequences of R. sanguineus s.l. from the Americas in GenBank, with the sequences of the neotype of R. sanguineus from France. Following the recommendations of Guglielmone et al. [Rhipicephalus sanguineus group, R. turanicus, R. guilhoni, R. leporis, R. camicasi, and R. sanguineus tropical lineage from the Australasian, Oriental, and Afrotropical regions according to Chitimia\u2013Dobler et al. [R. sanguineus s.l. clade III [according to Nava et al. [Rhipicephalus microplus, as an outgroup. The complete list of these sequences and their geographical distribution are presented in We then performed multiple alignments according to the secondary structure of the r et al. , Hornok r et al. , and Slar et al. . AdditioTwo phylogenetic analyses were performed, and the best substitution model was evaluated differentially, following the recommendations by Colunga-Salas and Hern\u00e1ndez\u2013Canchola . The firmrbayes models and the greedy scheme search [The second approach was performed using MrBayes 3.2 . To calce search ,53 were e search .R. sanguineus Tropical Lineage and R. sanguineus s.s. from the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, without the outgroup. To provide a more detailed account of the genetic diversity and to detect possible populations and subpopulations in the R. sanguineus Tropical Lineage and R. sanguineus s.s., an ordination PCoA of the eigenvalue scores was performed in PAST 4.04 [For all following analyses, we only used the multiple alignment of the AST 4.04 , based oAST 4.04 .adegenet R package [Haplotype networks with mutational step estimations were constructed using the median-joining network in POPART 1.7 . Additio package , conside"}
+{"text": "The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of the injury awareness and prevention programme P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth) in Germany. On a designated P.A R.T.Y. day, school classes spend a day in a trauma hospital experiencing the various wards through which a seriously injured person goes. A further goal of the study was to reveal indications of the programme\u2019s mechanism of action by testing theory-based impact models of fear appeals and cognitive beliefs.n\u00a0=\u2009330), as well as pupils who did not attend the programme (n\u00a0=\u2009244), were interviewed with a standardised questionnaire. They reported risk behaviour, feelings of threat and cognitive beliefs about road traffic. The data were analysed using a meta-analytical approach to estimate an average effect size across the different P.A.R.T.Y. days. Path models were used to identify possible mechanisms of action.In a quasi-experimental longitudinal study with three measurement times the participants of 19 P.A.R.T.Y. days  could be identified. But for these predictors no or only short-term effects were observed in the meta-analysis.Fear appeals as used primarily in the P.A.R.T.Y. programme appear to cause behavioural changes only to a limited extent and only in the short-term, especially if the strengthening of psychosocial resources is not given sufficient consideration. The participants must also cognitively process the experiences in the hospital. Accordingly, consideration should be given to how the P.A.R.T.Y. program could be adapted to complement the fear appeal with cognitive components.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12918-2. Injuries are the most common cause of death among teenagers and young adults worldwide. Road traffic accidents are a significant factor for the high incidence of injuries , 2. PrevThe prevention programme P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth) is another example of such an intervention. It is a one-day injury awareness and prevention program for youth. A school class spends a day in a trauma centre and experiences the various wards of a seriously injured patient. The P.A.R.T.Y. programme was developed in Canada and has been carried out there for more than 30\u2009years. The programme development and implementation was motivated by the fact that injuries are the leading cause of death in young people and that most of these injuries are predictable as well as preventable .Hence, it was also introduced in many other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The German Society for Traumatology and the Academy of Traumatology GmbH have adapted the concept to German standards. Since 2012, it has been implemented in over 40 trauma centres in Germany. The objective of the programme is to change the behaviour of young people by illustrating the negative consequences of traffic accidents. It is intended to increase awareness for serious consequences of risk behaviour and aims to reduce accidental injuries and deaths in this age group. It is based on learning by means of real people\u2019s experiences through vividness and emotions .Initially, the participants receive two half-hour lectures, each on the topics of trauma and prevention, usually held by a trauma surgeon (trauma) and a police officer (prevention). Afterwards, the pupils pass through the individual wards that a severely injured patient is likely to go through. These are the ambulance, the emergency ambulance/trauma room, the intensive care unit and the normal ward. A so-called P.A.R.T.Y. guide \u2013 a hospital staff from the medical or nursing service \u2013 accompanies the pupils. The participants get an idea of how a seriously injured patient is cared for in each ward. If possible, they can talk to the patients there. Afterwards, the participants visit physiotherapy and see how tedious and difficult rehabilitation can be after a serious injury. Finally, there is a 20-min talk with a former seriously injured patient. The P.A.R.T.Y. day ends with a joint reflection on the day.Previous evaluation studies find short-term programme effects (1\u20132\u2009weeks after implementation) on knowledge and attitudes \u201321 as weThe contents of P.A.R.T.Y. indicate that the programme attempts to change the behaviour of young people, particularly through fear appeals. Whereas most practitioners seem to judge fear appeals as very effective for changing behaviour, researchers are more sceptical. This scepticism seems appropriate, because after all, some meta-analyses support this attitude , 26. HowThe debate presented thus shows that the effectiveness of fear appeals may depend on certain framework conditions and circumstances . FinallyTherefore, the first objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the fear appeals-based P.A.R.T.Y. programme in Germany for changing risk behaviour in traffic. The second objective was to investigate the impact mechanism by which the behaviour change is supposed to be achieved. Neither the original programme description nor the previous evaluation studies provide a theory-based impact model that describes the process of behaviour change. Especially the effect of fear appeal is of interest, as participants of the programme are supposed to be convinced by negative consequences of traffic accidents.So far, there is no programme theory that explains the intended process of behaviour change underlying the P.A.R.T.Y. programme. However, a well-formulated theory is necessary to understand the effectiveness of a prevention programme and to further improve it . From thFear appeals aim at motivating people to omit disapproved behaviour or to show other approved behaviour by conveying negative or painful consequences of this disapproved behaviour . In roadDespite intensive research on the effectiveness of fear appeals over the last few decades, the presented debate shows that messages intended to generate emotions such as feelings of fear and threat are not easy to handle. Findings suggest that fear appeals can activate opposing mechanisms, resulting in an inconsistent picture of the effectiveness of fear appeals \u201341. WittWithin the P.A.R.T.Y. programme information about types of injury, their consequences or care processes are conveyed to the participants. This information may also change the participant\u2019s behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TBP) developed by Ajzen describes how cognitive beliefs and the change thereof can influence behaviour . This thP.A.R.T.Y. is a setting-based prevention approach to reach young people in a part of their living environment, namely the school. The program itself is implemented in clinics. Thus, the evaluation study had to be conducted in collaboration with schools and clinics. Furthermore, this is a group-based intervention, since the pupils participate in P.A.R.T.Y. together with their classmates. Therefore, they are considered as members of a cluster (the class) rather than individuals. In the school year 2016/17, a total of 19 P.A.R.T.Y. days were included in cooperation with seven trauma centres and twelve schools in five German federal states .A quasi-experimental study was conducted with three measurement times. Nineteen P.A.R.T.Y. days were examined in seven different trauma centres. Twelve schools took part with 19 intervention classes. Eleven parallel classes served as a control group. A random allocation of classes to an intervention and a control group was intended, but only possible in one school. Likewise, not every school was able to provide a control class. Therefore, there was a simple one-group pre-post-test design without control group for eight of the 19 P.A.R.T.Y. days. These differences in the design were accounted for in the analysis.The surveys were carried out consistently in the classrooms of the participating classes. The questionnaires were usually handed out personally by project staff and then collected again after completing. In this way a high response rate was ensured and the loss of completed questionnaires (e.g. by post) was prevented. In some cases, the survey was carried out by teachers if requested by the school for organizational reasons. The baseline survey (T0) took place immediately before the P.A.R.T.Y. intervention, usually the day before the intervention. The post survey (T1) was usually conducted 1 day after each P.A.R.T.Y. intervention. For the follow-up (T2), participants completed the questionnaire four to 5 months after the P.A.R.T.Y intervention. All methods were approved by an Ethics Committee and performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. An informed consent was obtained from a parent and/or legal guardian.The questionnaire contained scales measuring the effects of the P.A.R.T.Y. programme, namely self-reported behaviour in traffic. Following the Generic Error Model System \u201353, itemThe questionnaire was extensively pretested and revised. Table\u00a0In total 799 pupils took part, 574 of them at all three measurement points. The sample characteristics are shown in Table To determine the effectiveness of the intervention the data analysis was supposed to calculate the average effect size for the intervention groups compared to the control groups. By doing this, two characteristics of the study needed to be taken into account.First, the data obtained from the participants are not independent because they participated as school classes (clusters). The same applies to the participants of the control group. Consequently, the statistical dependency caused by analysing clustered data has to be taken into account. Otherwise, the standard error of the calculated effect sizes is biased. Second, the P.A.R.T.Y. days took place in different clinics and were therefore not a standardized intervention. The implementation of the intervention in the daily hospital procedures, different persons involved in the programme as well as the characteristics of the participating classes are components, which produce an unavoidable heterogeneity of the P.A.R.T.Y. days between the clinics, but also partly within the same clinics. Therefore, based on the data, there is in fact a 19-fold study replication of the P.A.R.T.Y. intervention, which is always similar in structure, although locally differing. Thus, an average effect size includes different implementation contexts, which in turn generate further variance.Therefore, a meta-analytical approach was chosen, where each P.A.R.T.Y. day was regarded as an intervention in its own right. That is, we estimated for each included P.A.R.T.Y. day its own effect size and calculated the average effect size across all 19 individual P.A.R.T.Y. days by means of a meta-analysis. This overall mean effect size represents the average of the true effects within the sample. This approach allows for handling the expected variability of effect sizes and the uncertainty of estimates  appropriately. It also allows for taking the different sample sizes and study designs of each P.A.R.T.Y. day into account.In a first step, we began by carrying out descriptive analyses: For each of the 19 P.A.R.T.Y. days, mean value differences and their standard deviations for intervention and control group were calculated between the baseline and post-intervention survey as well as between baseline and the follow-up survey. From the descriptive data, the effect size Hedges\u2019 g was calculated for each measuring instrument and each P.A.R.T.Y. day according to Borenstein et al. . StatistIn further analyses, the Mplus computer programme was used for estimating path models. These models describe possible relations between the scales explaining the impact of P.A.R.T.Y. on pupils\u2019 self-reported behaviour. It follows the potential impact mechanisms introduced in chapter 2. Therefore, four models were estimated and compared. To reduce the complexity of the models we reduced the four dependent behavioural measurements to two constructs: approved behaviour  and disapproved behaviour (violations and dangerous play). Independent path models for both study waves were estimated instead of conducting cross-legged panel analysis to reduce complexity. The models include dependent mean differences of many variables at once, including the influence of participation in P.A.R.T.Y. as a dummy variable.By transferring the effect sizes into forest plots the variation of the single effect sizes became apparent, confirming the choice of our analysis strategy. For example, in Fig.\u00a0mean\u00a0=\u2009\u2212.61). Thus, the P.A.R.T.Y. intervention most strongly affects pupils\u2019 perception of the severity of accident injuries. It is noticeable that P.A.R.T.Y. obviously has no effect on cognitive processes like behavioural attitude and self-efficacy respective behaviour control. Likewise, P.A.R.T.Y. seemed to affect the perception of which behaviours one\u2019s peers are typically performing (descriptive norm), but not of which behaviours are approved or disapproved by these peers (injunctive norm).Table\u00a0mean\u00a0=\u2009\u2212.37).However, comparing the T0 baseline data with the T2 follow-up data \u2013 collected four to 5 months after the P.A.R.T.Y. days \u2013 there is only one statistical mean difference remaining. Only the perceived severity of accident injuries still shows a small positive effect in the long term  and behavioural intentions. In the medium term, however, only one of the effects remains significant. Hence, the aim of the following path models was to identify possible explanations for the effects that occurred in the short term but did not last.The correlation matrices of the mean scale values at all three survey points are presented in the Supplementary Tables\u00a0Based on the mean differences between the T0 and T1, respective T2 path models were estimated. Figure\u00a0As Fig. It is noticeable that not in all cases the statistical intervention effects of P.A.R.T.Y. in the path models correspond to the meta-analytical results presented above. For example, the path model Fig.  shows anThe model for the T0-T2 period showed a similar picture Fig.\u00a0, even wiIn summary, the results show that the intervention does not directly increase feelings of threat. However, P.A.R.T.Y. obviously affected a theoretical determinant of the threat, namely the perceived severity whose change is directly related to a change in approved behaviour. Nevertheless, in turn it does not increase a person\u2019s confidence in his or her ability to counter this threat actively (self-efficacy). This already provides one possible explanation for why the P.A.R.T.Y. does not have the intended effects on behaviour.p\u00a0<\u2009.001). The intention in turn affected approved behaviour, but not disapproved behaviour. Conversely, the direct effect of self-efficacy on behaviour assumed in theory can only be proven for disapproved behaviour. The theoretically assumed model does not fit the data well. In order to achieve a better model fit, the direct relation between subjective norm and disapproved behaviour was added to the model even though it is not included in the theory.Figure\u00a0The data of the second survey period T0-T2 reflect the Theory of Planned Behaviour somewhat better Fig.\u00a0. This moIn both models, the measured changes in the predictors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour can explain more than 20% of the variance of the change in intention.Immediately after the intervention, small positive effects could be shown for most of the parameters. These effects could not be observed in the medium term and especially not for self-reported behaviour.Both in the short and medium term, the results showed a significant effect only on the threat-related characteristic perceived severity of accidental injuries.In the path analyses, the predictive influence of cognitive beliefs in particularly on a change in behavioural intention could be confirmed, such as self-efficacy or social norms. However, the P.A.R.T.Y. programme had no or only short-term effects on these factors.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the P.A.R.T.Y. programme in Germany. The main results can be summarized as follows:Despite the worldwide dissemination of the P.A.R.T.Y. programme, there are only few methodologically sound studies about its effectiveness and no study investigating the impact mechanism by which the behaviour change is supposed to be achieved. Even though the findings of the international evaluation studies are difficult to compare due to different methodology, this P.A.R.T.Y. evaluation study showed similar results with regard to behaviour-related outcomes. We found small effects for self-reported behaviour immediate after the P.A.R.T.Y. intervention. This is in line with studies whose study period was rather short and lasted at most up to 1 month after the intervention , 21, 22.In contrast to the lack of efficacy with regard to attitude in the present study, some studies report at least short-term effects , 18, 57.Whether international P.A.R.T.Y. program versions achieve a change in other behavioural determinants like social norms or self-efficacy remains unclear, as these factors has not been included in previous effectiveness studies.Our results show that it seems unlikely that the P.A.R.T.Y. intervention programme in its current form will achieve its goal of reducing the risk behaviour of young people in traffic. An important reason for this seems to be that the assumptions on which the programme is based are insufficient, namely that young people can be motivated to change risky behaviour by strong emotions such as fear. Fear appeals may arouse the interest and attention of young people as a kind of \u201cdoor opener\u201d but without strengthening psychosocial beliefs namely self-efficacy, they seem to be more a \u201cflash in the pan\u201d. Thus, the PARTY program seems to be classified in a series of educational measures to change behaviour, which produce short-term effects, but for which no behaviour-related effects can be proven in the long term , 12, 13.Following the debate on fear appeals mentioned at the beginning of this paper, the models of the threat components nevertheless showed that perceived severity is able to influence self-efficacy, behavioural intention and even behaviour. Thus small, short-term effects can be achieved by communicating fear appeals. But the conditions for this should be further researched. Furthermore, according to Witte , in combThe results indicate that there needs to be elements in the programme to strengthen the cognitive beliefs in young people of avoiding risk behaviour in traffic. According to Bandura , a lastiThe social norms approach e.g. 59) could be used to influence descriptive norms regarding risk behaviour in the peer group. The approach is based on scientific evidence that suggests that students often overestimate the substance consumption of their peers. This overestimation can lead to an increase in their own consumption  could be. This deWe used a meta-analysis based on a random effects model to control the sources of variance within and between the classes or clinics that participated in the study. However, this method does not control bias at the beginning of data collection, namely in the selection of study units. The data are only based on a quasi-experiment, which means the school classes have been chosen by the schools for both intervention and control group. Preferably, the classes in all schools would have been assigned randomly to either the control or the intervention group . As this was only possible in one school, the equivalence of control and treatment conditions before the intervention could not be fully ensured as indicated by statistically significant age differences between school classes before the intervention.The reliability of some of the measurement scales is rather low, especially the reliability of the self-efficacy scale. Since the reliability of measuring instruments depends not least on the number of items used to measure a construct, there is often a conflict between reliability (i.e. number of item) and feasibility  of the questionnaire in intervention studies. The questionnaire could not exceed a certain length to be acceptable for students and schools. Therefore, we had to limit the number of items used to measure each construct. Because of the lack of an explicit programme theory, we needed to include a broad set of constructs from different theoretical models. That left only few items per construct. For self-efficacy, for example, there are various dimensions discussed in the literature . The lowSummarising the results from this study the following main conclusions can be drawn. Apparently, communicating threat alone is not sufficient to achieve a lasting change in self-reported traffic-related risk behaviour. In addition, it needs elements to change cognitive beliefs as well. In the short term, such elements should be developed in a theory-based manner. Most promising for behaviour change are elements enhancing self-efficacy or eliciting descriptive social norm. Cognitive processing could be facilitated with elements carried before and after the actual P.A.R.T.Y. day at schools, e.g. preparation material, refresher courses. An explicit programme theory should be developed and tested that could guide the revision of the programme. Meta-analytical procedures have proven to be appropriate for programme evaluations where differences across implementations are typical for the programme rather than an indication of inadequate implementation. There are randomized study designs and statistical procedures available not only on an individual level but for clusters (e.g. school classes). They allow for less biased effects, which gives a better picture of the effects and underlying impact mechanism of programme interventions.Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1.\u00a0Correlation matrix of the mean scale values to the baseline survey (T0).Additional file 2: Supplementary Table 2.\u00a0Correlation matrix of the mean scale values to the post survey (T1).Additional file 3: Supplementary Table 3.\u00a0Correlation matrix of the mean scale values to the follow-up (T2)."}
+{"text": "Pareuchiloglanis sichuanensis is an endemic fish species in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of P. sichuanensis was analyzed. The mitochondrial genome, consisting of 16,774 base pairs (bp), included 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a non-coding control region. The phylogenetic tree showed that P. sichuanensis was closely related to P. anteanalis. These results provid the useful information for further studies on taxonomic status, molecular systematics, and stock evaluation. Pareuchiloglanis sichuanensis Ding, Fu, Ye P. sichuanensis. In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the complete mitochondrial genome of P. sichuanensis, which could provide the useful genomic resources for the future studies.P. sichuanensis specimens were collected from the upstream of Tianquan River, a tributary of the Qingyi River  and chosen for mitochondrial genome analysis in 2020. The voucher samples were deposited at Aquaculture Department of Sichuan Agricultural University . Then, the total genomic DNA was extracted from the muscle by a traditional phenol-chloroform method. Whole genome sequencing was conducted with Illumina Novaseq platform. The mitochondrial genome was assembled de novo using A5-miseq(v20150522)  were encoded on the light-strand. On the contrary, all the other genes were encoded on the heavy-strand. This was a typical gene arrangement conforming to the other Pareuchiloglanis species and vertebrate consensus  under the accession no. MW697900.The complete mitogenome of Pareuchiloglanis, we selected seven Pareuchiloglanis species (Pareuchiloglanis species have the close relationship, and P. sichuanensis and P. anteanalis are monophyletic in the tree. Thus, the mitochondrial genome data and phylogenetic analysis of the P. sichuanensis enrich the evolution research of Pareuchiloglanis.To better understand the phylogenetic relationships of mitochondrial sequences in  species . Based o species  (Figure  species . The res"}
+{"text": "Seed shape in species of the Cactaceae is described by comparison with geometric models. Three new groups of models are presented, two for symmetric seeds, and a third group for asymmetric seeds. The first two groups correspond, respectively, to superellipses and the combined equations of two semi-ellipses. The third group contains models derived from the representation of polar equations of Archimedean spirals that define the shape of asymmetric seeds in genera of different subfamilies. Some of the new models are geometric curves, while others are composed with a part resulting from the average silhouettes of seeds. The application of models to seed shape quantification permits the analysis of variation in seed populations, as well as the comparison of shape between species. The embryos of the Cactaceae are of the peripheral type, strongly curved and in contact with the inner surface of the seed coat. A relationship is found between seed elongation and the models, in which the genera with elongated seeds are represented by models with longer trajectories of the spiral. The analysis of seed shape opens new opportunities for taxonomy and allows quantification of seed shape in species of the Cactaceae. The Cactaceae Juss., with about 2000 species distributed in ca. 120 genera, are characterized by succulent photosynthetic stems. The family has been included in the order Caryophyllales Juss. ex Bercht. & J.Presl ,4,5. Rhipsalis baccifera (J.S. Muell.) Stearn, found also in local populations in tropical Africa and Sri Lanka.Cacti are common in the arid ecosystems of America, in the southern States of USA and Mexico, north-eastern Brazil, and along the slopes of the Andes from Ecuador to Argentina and Chile. Many species also live in humid forests as epiphytes. All known species are originally American with the only exception of Maihuenia (Phil.) Britton & Rose, with two cushion-forming, mucilaginous species, is the only genus in the Maihuenioideae. Pereskia Mill, together with Leuenbergeria Lod\u00e9 in the Pereskioideae, are woody with large, glossy leaves and long thorns on the stem, and not all are succulents. The Cactoideae, with ten tribes, is the most diverse subfamily of globular and columnar cacti including all the iconic species in American dessert biomes [Pterocactus, which possess flattened winged seeds [The Cactaceae have been divided into four subfamilies: Cactoideae Eaton, Maihuenioideae P. Fearn, Opuntioideae Burnett, and Pereskioideae Engelm. The Cactoideae and Opuntioideae contain, respectively, 100 and 9 genera ,5. Maihued seeds .The flowers of the Cactaceae have interesting peculiarities, such as the presence of the perianth and the pericarpel, the stem-tissue enclosing the inferior ovary ,7.Cereus [Blossfeldia and the Opuntioideae [Difficulties for taxonomy in this family are partly due to three reasons: (1) A large amount of homoplasy in their characters ; (2) TheCereus ,11,12, atioideae ,14.Ferocactus Britton & Rose [Pachycereus (A. Berger) Britton & Rose [Neobuxbaumia Backeb. [Stenocereus (A. Berger) Riccob. [Melocactus Link & Otto [The analysis of seed surface structure by electron microscopy has given useful information in the taxonomy of n & Rose , Pachycen & Rose , Neobuxb Backeb. , Stenoce Riccob. , and mork & Otto . NeverthBlossfeldia liliputana); 2: lenticular (Pereskia bleo); 3: pyriform (Escobaria cubensis); 4: mussel-shaped (Selenicereus grandiflorus); 5: reniform (Neobuxbaumia multiareolata); 6: hat-shaped (Frailea phaeodisca). This classification is similar to others, see for example [According to seed shape, Barrios et al.  classifi example ,21, shar example ,23. Morp example ,35,36,37Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., the model legumes Lotus japonicus L. and Medicago truncatula Gaertn., as well as Capparis spinosa L., in the Capparaceae and Rhus tripartita (Ucria) Grande in the Anacardiaceae [Triticum sp. in the Poaceae and Ricinus communis L. and Jatropha curcas L. in the Euphorbiaceae were described by the similarity of their images to ellipses of varied x/y ratio [Models based on the cardioid or modified cardioids were first applied to the description of seeds of the model plant rdiaceae ,26,27,28/y ratio ,30,31. A/y ratio . The Cuc/y ratio .A series of geometric models have been described also for the Arecaceae and the Vitaceae ,35. In tOur objective was to obtain geometric models for the description of seed shape in the Cactaceae. With this basis, seed shape description and quantification could be applied in taxonomy.Rebutia heliosa Rausch, R. pseudodeminuta Backeb., and R. fiebrigii (G\u00fcrke) Britton & Rose are shown in p = 2.3, a = 1.5, b = 2 for R. heliosa, p = 2.6, a = 1, b = 2.1 for R. pseudodeminuta, and p = 2.2, a = 1.5, b = 3 for R. fiebrigii.Seeds of Rebutia are symmetric. The seed images of many other species are also symmetric, but in many cases, they present a certain degree of differentiation with a section straight corresponding to the hilum cup, and a rounded part in the opposite pole. This type of seeds is associated with a short funicle and were observed in species of Echinopsis, Melocactus, and Thelocactus.The models for the seeds of three species of Echinopsis, three models were identified for E. calochlora, E. leucantha, and E. klingeriana, obtained, respectively, from curves described by the following equations:For the seeds of The three models are represented in Figures resulting from the representations of the Archimedean (in wide sense) spiral \u22080.1,\u00a020 A, t\u22080.1,t\u22080.1,\u00a05 B, t\u22080.3,t\u22080.3,\u00a05 C, t\u22080.5,t\u22080.5,\u00a05 D, and t\u2208 , perimeter (P), length (L), width (W), aspect ratio (L/W), circularity, and roundness in the seeds are shown in F. herrerae, E. platyacanthus, and P. pringley formed a group with smaller area values. The seeds of Pereskia bleo stand out as having higher area values, according to their reduced number of seeds per fruit (see later). The seeds of H. undatus and P. bleo had lower circularity. In respect to roundness, there were no statistical differences between O. ficus-indica and E. platyacanthus nor between P. pringley and F. herrerae. The differences between the values of circularity and roundness were due to irregularities in the seed surface, which increased the perimeter values, decreasing roundness. From the obtained data, it can be concluded that different models should be applied to each species. There were differences in size and shape between seeds of different species. The seeds of F. herrerae and 12.84 for the same magnitude in P. bleo  was 91.2 . The seeds of P. pringlei adjusted well to the model. The coefficient of variation for the J index was 2.19.F. herrerae. Mean value of J index in an observed group of 20 seeds (with the corresponding model) was 91.2 . The seeds of F. herrerae adjusted well to the model. The coefficient of variation for the J index was 3.73.E. platyacanthus than in the other species analyzed so far . This is due to the disposition of seeds in the fruit, being densely packaged with different orientations .Visual inspection of the seeds revealed more heterogeneity for shape in the seeds of ntations A. FigureO. ficus-indica. Mean value of J index in 20 seeds  was 91.2 . The seeds of O. ficus-indica adjusted well to the model. The coefficient of variation for the J index was 2.52.Geometric models derived from the Archimedean spiral defined well the silhouette of the seeds of Maihuenia and Pereskia  shares a similarity with the general model described for Opuntia species in the Opuntioideae, based on fragments of an Archimedean spiral. Seed shape may share features between these three subfamilies with many plesiomorphic characters, such as the presence of leaves and shrub habit [To explore seed shape in the Cactaceae, we have considered plant material belonging to the main subfamilies, with emphasis on the Cactoideae because it comprises about 80% of the total diversity . A preliub habit . This geRebutia (Trichocereae), Hylocereus undatus (Hylocereae), Pachycereus pringlei (Pachycereae), Ferocactus herrerae, and Echinocactus platyacanthus (Cacteae). The observation of seeds belonging to other species in these tribes suggests that there may be some correlation between seed shape of different species from the same tribe. For example, the seeds of Disocactus nelsonii (Britton & Rose) Linding, Selenicereus grandiflorus (L.) Britton & Rose, and S. inermis Britton & Rose (Hylocereae) have an overall shape similar to Hylocerus undatus. In addition, the species of the two genera belonging to the same tribe (Ferocactus herrerae and Echinocactus platyacanthus) had the same geometric figure as the basis for the respective models, and other and genera such as Mammillaria Haw. in the Cacteae share a similar form. The equations presented may be the basis for the design of models specific for tribes or genera, but this task requires the analysis of a number of seeds.The Cactoideae is the subfamily with the highest number of life forms, morphological types, and species richness ,39, and Rebutia (Aylostera). A second group is represented by seeds whose shapes are also symmetric, but non-convex. These types of seeds are characteristic of some species in the Cactaceae and present a straight part in the hilum cup, and a rounded dorsal part, such as in species of Echinopsis, Melocactus, and Thelocactus, corresponding to the space occupied by the peripheral embryo [The seeds of the Cactaceae present an interesting diversity in shape. Forms that are frequent in other plant families, such as ovals and ellipses ,40, are l embryo ,42.Coriaria L., such as C. arborea Linds. and C. japonica A. Gray , as well as in Sagittaria longiloba Engelm. ex J.G. Sm. and Echinodorus tenellus (Mart. ex Schult.f.) Buchenau  [Opuntia species, a turn is visible in O. ficus-indica seeds, where the funicle surrounds the ovule completely being like a thick third integument [Seeds in other species of the Cactaceae present characteristic shapes resembling the generalized Archimedean spirals with equation =t\u03b1, see . Seeds wmatales) . We are tegument . It is itegument . Chaptertegument  is dedicThe reniform shape, better defined as the cardioid curve, is also discussed by D\u2019Arcy Thompson in chapter 9 of his book . This chArabidopsis. The formation of phyllotactic spirals in Arabidopsis, similar to the development of the inflorescences in the cauliflower, have revealed a complex set of gene interactions [Pterocactus [The molecular basis of the formation of developmental patterns acquired a great impulse with the application of genomics and the analysis of mutants in ractions . The sharocactus  are key Echinocactus platyacanthus Link & Otto and Ferocactus herrerae J.G.Ortega were obtained from plants grown in the campus of University of Alicante ; the seeds of Pachycereus pringlei (S.Watson) Britton & Rose were from a fruit grown in El Huerto del Cura ; and the seeds of Hylocereus undatus (Haworth) D.R. Hunt were obtained from a commercial pitahaya bought on a local market in Albir . All the fruits mentioned above were collected between 6 August and 12 August 2021, and their seeds photographed in September, 2021. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill seeds are from plants grown in Ambato, Tungurahua (Ecuador) and Villar de Peralonso, Salamanca (Spain) collected in 2020. Pereskia bleo (Kunth) DC seeds were collected in a public garden close to the Malec\u00f3n Boayaku at Puyo  on 12 October 2021 and photographed in the next days. After being photographed, the seeds were returned to their origin. A sample of this plant will be deposited in the Amazon State University Herbarium (ECUAMZ).To explore seed shape, plant species belonging to the main subfamilies, with emphasis on the most diverse Cactoideae, have been considered. The seeds of Rebutia K. Schum., Echinopsis Zucc., Maihuenia (Phil. ex F.A.C.Weber) K. Schum., and Thelocactus Britton & Rose were obtained from https://cactus-aventures.com/TaxonomySeedGallery/Seeds%20album/ (accessed on 27 September 2021). On this webpage, Rebutia species are shown with the name Aylostera, which is a synonym. The images of seeds of O. ficus indica and P. bleo, which were collected in Ecuador, the photographs were taken with a camera Cannon PowerShot SX520 HS.Photographs were taken with a camera Z6 with an objective AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60 mm f/2.8G ED. Composed images containing 10\u201330 seeds per accession were prepared with Corel Photo Paint. For Values of the area (A), perimeter (P), length (L), width (W), aspect ratio , circularity (C), and roundness (R) of the seed images were obtained in Image J .https://zenodo.org/record/4478344#.YBPOguhKiM8, accessed on 9 November 2021). The layers containing the seeds were superimposed and the opacity is given a value of 30 in all layers. All the layers were combined, and the brightness is adjusted to a minimum value. From this image, we are interested in the inner region representing the area where most of the seeds coincide, which is the darkest area. To select it, we use the magic wand tool, and with a tolerance equal to 10, this selection is copied and pasted as a new layer. Twenty seeds were used to obtain the average silhouettes for Echinocactus platyacanthus, Ferocactus herrerae, Hylocereus undatus, Opuntia ficus-indica, and Pachycereus pringley. For Echinocactus platyacanthus, the average silhouettes were obtained separately from 20 seeds of long and short seeds. For Pereskia, average silhouettes were obtained from 9 seeds.The average silhouette is a representative image of seed shape for each group of seeds. It was obtained in Corel Photo Paint, by the protocol described in   and R. software v. 4.0.5 , perimeter (P), length (L), width (W), aspect ratio , circularity (C), and roundness (R) as well as the eam 2020 . Accordiit \u00d7 100 .Echinocactus, Ferocactus, Hylocereus, Pachycereus, and Pereskia. The seeds of Opuntia ficus-indica adjust well to a model derived from equation Rebutia species were based on the equations for superellipses, while for Echinopsis, the models derived from the representation of two semi-ellipses. The comparison with geometric models is proposed as a basis for seed description and quantification in the Cactaceae.New models based on geometric figures are proposed for seed shape description and quantification in species of the Cactaceae. Models derived from equation"}
+{"text": "Anopheles species: An. atroparvus, An. hyrcanus sensu lato (s.l.), An. labranchiae, An. maculipennis sensu stricto (s.s.), An. messeae/daciae, An. sacharovi, An. superpictus and An. plumbeus. The distribution of these potential vector species across Europe is critically reviewed in relation to areas of major presence and principal bionomic features, including vector competence to Plasmodium. Additional information, such as geographical details, sampling approaches and species identification methods, are also reported. We compare the information on each species extracted from the most recent studies to comparable information reported from studies published in the early 2000s, with particular reference to the role of each species in malaria transmission before eradication. The picture that emerges from this review is that potential vector species are still widespread in Europe, with the largest diversity in the Mediterranean area, Italy in particular. Despite information on their vectorial capacity being fragmentary, the information retrieved suggests a re-definition of the relative importance of potential vector species, indicating An. hyrcanus s.l., An. labranchiae, An. plumbeus and An. sacharovi as potential vectors of higher importance, while An. messeae/daciae and An. maculipennis s.s. can be considered to be moderately important species. In contrast, An. atroparvus and An. superpictus should be considered as vectors of lower importance, particularly in relation to their low anthropophily. The presence of gaps in current knowledge of vectorial systems in Europe becomes evident in this review, not only in terms of vector competence but also in the definition of sampling approaches, highlighting the need for further research to adopt the appropriate surveillance system for each species.Despite the eradication of malaria across most European countries in the 1960s and 1970s, the anopheline vectors are still present. Most of the malaria cases that have been reported in Europe up to the present time have been infections acquired in endemic areas by travelers. However, the possibility of acquiring malaria by locally infected mosquitoes has been poorly investigated in Europe, despite autochthonous malaria cases having been occasionally reported in several European countries. Here we present an update on the occurrence of potential malaria vector species in Europe. Adopting a systematic review approach, we selected 288 papers published between 2000 and 2021 for inclusion in the review based on retrieval of accurate information on the following The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05204-y. Plasmodium parasites, remains a major healthcare challenge in tropical regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are responsible for most of the morbidity.Despite major efforts of researchers and funding institutions to tackle malaria, the most deadly of known parasitic diseases, the global burden of this life-threatening disease remains dramatic. However, great strides in combatting malaria were made in the last century, with the disease eradicated from several regions of the world, in particular in temperate areas, thanks to joint efforts at scientific, social and political levels. This disease, caused by five different species of Despite the eradication of malaria across most European countries in the 1960s and 1970s, the anopheline vectors of this disease are still present in Europe .Anopheles species competent for malaria transmission, most contain detailed information on countries where malaria is endemic ) in this review based on the findings of recent studies indicating their potential role as malaria vectors in some geographic areas. Lastly, Anopheles maculipennis sensu stricto (s.s.) is also taken into consideration; although this species is considered to be a secondary malaria vector, its wide distribution and local abundance make it a potential malaria vector in some areas. The criteria of selection of species are based on their occurrence, abundance, biology, evidence or suspicion of involvement in malaria transmission  and vectorial competence. To retrieve a more complete set of data, the taxonomic definition An. maculipennis s.l. was also searched. Some authors formally state that An. daciae is a new species  this result is of great importance in explaining the presence of this species in the area even when rice paddies are dry (end of summer and autumn)\u201d. In agreement with this evidence, An. hyrcanus s.l. larvae reported in countries of central and southeastern Europe were found mainly in large water collections, such as pools, fishponds and swamps [High densities of  species , 77, 78.d swamps , 79\u201382.Anopheles hyrcanus s.l. adults are exophilic, with outdoor resting sites during the day. Gadzhieva [An. hyrcanus s.l. was influenced by environmental humidity; consequently, it is a species for which the proximity of the breeding sites is linked to the hygrophilous vegetation.adzhieva  made detDiapausing females were observed to mainly exploit natural shelters, including clefts in the ground, grasses and reed bushes, while indoor-resting specimens were rarely observed .Anopheles hyrcanus s.l. has historically been described as strictly mammalophilic, with a high degree of anthropophily. This behavior is confirmed by several recent studies that performed human landing catches and used animal baited traps [Anopheles hyrcanus presented a huge anthropophily with spectacular aggressiveness on humans: during this study, scientists underwent massive attacks from females of this species\u201d. Moreover, Aldemir et al. [ed traps , 70, 71.ed traps  reportedr et al. , 70  [P. vivax seems possible. In fact, An. labranchiae has been implicated in autochthonous cases of malaria by P. vivax that have occurred both in Corsica and Italy [In the past, in NF54) , 89. On nd Italy \u201397, indiAnopheles maculipennis s.s. is probably the most widespread Anopheles species in Europe .Anopheles maculipennis s.s. is known to be endophilic, resting in stables and dwellings. In recent literature, this species was reported to have been collected in large numbers in animal shelters, in particular those with pigs or sheep present [ present , 110. DiAnopheles maculipennis s.s. is considered to be strongly zoophilic and, therefore, to play a secondary role in malaria transmission. However, in specific contexts , the species has been found to show a certain degree of anthropophily [An. maculipennis s.s., although considered mainly zoophilic, also results as being very aggressive on humans during the night catches, both in presence or absence of animals\u201d [opophily . Recent opophily , 111  assessed its occurrence in a number of countries, resulting in an increased number of studies focusing on An. messeae or An. daciae. However, the resulting literature was mainly based on the description of the molecular identification of An. daciae, with little additional information, and usually limited to reporting the location where the specimens were collected. Few articles reported ecological and biological differentiation between An. messeae and An. daciae, such as reproductive isolation, feeding behavior, vector competence, morphology, etc.Following the definition of Anopheles messeae/daciae is one of the most widespread species of the Anopheles maculipennis complex in Europe  waters, while An. daciae was found in atypical breeding sites, in waters with low oxygen content (0.8\u00a0mg/l).Few articles have reported distinct data for ng sites , 121. Bopastures , 121. Napastures  describeAnopheles messeae/daciae have been found resting outdoors and to be particularly abundant in animal stocks, which is in agreement with the strong relationship between the high abundance of this species in rural/natural habitats and the presence of animal shelters in these areas [Adults of se areas , 125. Fese areas , indicatAn. messeae/daciae diapause was not retrieved. Based on previous descriptions, during the winter this species enters into full hibernation at the adult stage without any feeding activity, resting in enclosed shelters or buildings [New information on uildings .An. messeae/daciae does not feed on humans and, therefore, considered it to be a malaria vector of negligible importance [Anopheles messeae/daciae was captured in animal housing that sheltered different animal hosts, such as cows, horses, sheep and goats, but the results of this study did not unequivocally demonstrate whether this was a consequence of sampling bias or host choice [An. messeae/daciae blood meals indicated cattle and dog as major hosts [This species was described in the past as a strongly zoophilic feeder. The authors of one article stated that portance . Severalt choice . Similart choice , 125. Inor hosts , 127. Itor hosts , and thior hosts .An. messeae and An. daciae to be separate species, limited and inconclusive evidence can be obtained in the retrieved literature on their respective feeding pattern. According to Danabalan et al. [, An. daciae may feed on animals and humans, whereas An. messeae s.s. appears to be strictly zoophilic. However, these observations were based on a single study that collected only a few samples and performed in a small area. Other authors speculated that An. daciae is more anthropophilic than An. messeae because it was found more frequently in larval habitats located close to human dwellings [An. daciae blood-fed only on wild mammals, with no human blood detected, while An. messeae blood-fed on both birds and mammals, humans included [Considering n et al. , An. dacwellings . On the included .An. messeae/daciae as a malaria vector remains controversial. It seems refractory to tropical P. falciparum strains , but itn Europe , 64. In n Europe  attempte messeae , 121. Coe Tables .Anopheles species recorded in Europe, An. sacharovi has the most southern distribution , with only one female having had a blood meal on a human. Similarly, Tav\u015fano\u011flu and \u00c7a\u011flar [An. sacharovi fed preferably on animals rather than humans even if mosquitoes were collected in houses. However, the results of these studies were affected by the proximity of the houses and animal sheds, both usually being open during the summer, thereby allowing free movement of blood-fed females searching for a suitable resting place  in those areas [Plasmodium never being detected in field mosquitoes. However, this species was demonstrated to be experimentally competent not only for P. vivax [P. falciparum [The role of acharovi . In suppse areas , 136, deP. vivax  but alsolciparum , indicatAn. superpictus be considered a species complex [An. superpictus described in older publications refers to studies conducted outside of Europe [An. superpictus findings in the recent literature came from southeastern Europe, except for one study in Italy [There are suggestions in the extracted literature that  complex . Its widf Europe . All An.in Italy  where a An. superpictus are temporary pools formed by fluctuations in the water level of rivers or streams caused by rain activity. Such sites are typically described as pools of clean water with gravelly riverbeds exposed to sunlight [An. superpictus in man-made habitats, such as irrigation channels, rice fields, ditches and artificial pools [An. superpictus in breeding sites with low salinity and a chloride concentration ranging between 30 and 96\u00a0mg/l [Typically, the breeding sites of sunlight . Severalal pools . Other lal pools , 140, weal pools  collecte 96\u00a0mg/l   where there was an important malaria focus\u201d [The role of P. vivax  and the P. vivax . Only ona focus\u201d ; howeverAnopheles plumbeus is one of the most diffused species among those targeted in this review. It is widespread throughout Europe up to the Caucasus and Asia, from colder to warmer climates  and are still present in European countries. In some areas of Europe they are also abundant in terms of species diversity, particularly in southern Europe .An. sacharovi). This reduction is mostly due to human interventions that modified the original larval habitats , and to the increasing usage of insecticides. Several Anopheles species  now exploit alternative larval habitats linked to some agricultural practices (e.g. rice cultivation and the use of extensive irrigation networks) that have increased in recent years, thereby allowing for the presence of mosquito populations also in anthropized areas. In particular, anthropic habitats are now exploited by new potential malaria vectors, as shown by the presence of An. plumbeus, which is now able to exploit urban environments using small water containers rich in organic matter as habitats. This indicates that some potential malaria vectors possess a non-negligible ecological plasticity.Despite this abundance, at the ecological level a reduction in their original habitats has been observed, as compared to the past , sampling technique(s) and geographical details of sampling sites. When the presence of Anopheles species was not assigned to a specific site, all the sites monitored during that study were considered to be negative and marked as NA. Abbreviation: DD, Decimal degree; NA, not available."}
+{"text": "Pteris vittata in the As\u2013Pb\u2013Hg-polluted Bone River area, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. The density distribution of P. vittata decreases from around the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) site to the lower reaches of the Bone River, and it is rarely found near Gorontalo City. The maximum concentrations of As, Hg, and Pb recorded in the soil samples were 401, 36, and 159 mg kg\u22121, respectively, with their maximum concentrations in P. vittata recorded as 17,700, 5.2, and 39 mg kg\u22121, respectively. Around the ASGM sites, the concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in P. vittata were highest in the study area. These data suggest that P. vittata, a hyperaccumulator of As, may be useful as a bioindicator for assessing environmental pollution by Pb and Hg.In this paper, we report ecological and environmental investigations on  Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is one of the largest emitters of mercury (Hg) into the environment in the world. In ASGM, miners use elemental Hg to extract gold (Au) from finely crushed rocks or Holocene sediments, forming an Hg\u2013Au amalgam. This amalgam is then burned, releasing Hg as vapor and leaving impure Au residue. The adverse effects on the health of miners are severe, with exposure to Hg causing neurological damage and other health issues. The people residing near the ASGM sites are also affected by the Hg contamination of water, air, and soil and by the effects of Hg on ecosystems, such as fishes and plants. Approximately 15 million people in ASGM sites in over 70 countries use Hg to refine Au, causing Hg pollution [In Indonesia, over 300,000 ASGM miners work at approximately 1000 informal sites. These miners are either displaced farmers or fishermen who have very few options in terms of alternative livelihoods. These rural communities depend on the ASGM for income. The practice of using Hg to extract Au was banned by the Indonesian government in 2014 [According to the data of the Ministry of Forestry and Mining of Gorontalo Province in 2012, Gorontalo Province has a large number of ASGM sites, especially in the Bone Bolango Regency, where the largest number of ASGM workers work . AccordiIn recent years, although many researchers have focused on Hg in environmental assessment studies at ASGM sites, little attention has been given to the other toxic metals associated with Au deposit formation. In particular, Neogene epithermal gold deposits in the Circum-Pacific Rim  are knowPteris vittata is a fern species with a hyperaccumulation ability for As, and it can accumulate up to approximately 28 g/kg As in its fronds [P. vittata has been recently developed as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective technology to remediate heavy metal-contaminated environments [Generally, higher plants find it extremely difficult to survive in environments that are highly contaminated with As. However, s fronds ,12. It cronments .Pteris. vittata is known to be an accumulator of metals in laboratory experiments. For example, Fayiga et al. demonstrated the capability of P. vittata to hyperaccumulate arsenic from soils in the presence of Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn in a greenhouse study [P. vittata acts as an \u201cindicator plant\u201d in severely contaminated soils in ASGM and examines the potential to remove Pb, As, and Hg.se study . The novP. vittata to remediate contaminated soils in China has also been empirically examined [P. vittata in As-contaminated soils through a 2-year field experiment [P. vittata as an accumulator of metals, limited studies have examined the role of P. vittata as an accumulator of metals in the case of ASGM locations. Soils of ASGM locations are usually polluted by historical mining operations, and the potential of bioaccumulators of P. vittata are influenced by the level of pollutants and climatic and geographical conditions. Further empirical studies are necessary in ASGM locations to examine the potential of accumulating metals from contaminated soils. Therefore, the present study yields important policy implications for achieving sustainable livelihoods through adopting environmentally friendly technologies.The potential of examined ,16,17. Fperiment . Since pP. vittata and analyzed the metal concentrations of the samples of soils and P. vittata in ASGM areas polluted by multiple metals, such as Hg, As, Zn, and Pb, around the Bone River, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. We discussed the correlations between the distributions of P. vittata and the metal concentrations between the soils and plants.In this study, we conducted a field survey of the distribution of the population density of Over the past decade, mine tailings and wastewater from the two ASGM sites located upstream of the Bone River and smelted slag from the sites along the valley have been dumped along the river, and they are mixed into the river water.2, and altitudes can reach up to 1500 m. The two ASGM sites in this region are Motomboto and Mohutango. P. vittata and soil samples were collected along the Bone River from downstream to upstream close to the ASGM areas . The regency has an area of 1985 kmGM areas .P. vittata along the Bone River from the ASGM area to Gorontalo City. Plant population density was determined using the quadrat counts method [We mapped the distribution of the population density of s method  by countn = 20) were collected from depths of 10\u201320 cm from the P. vittata collection points. The soil samples were dried (120 \u00b0C for 48 h) with a ventilated oven ISUZU drying oven Model 2-2045 and stored in sterilized plastic bags prior to analysis. The dried soil samples were sieved using a 2 mm sieve for the removal of larger organic components, and the smaller components were removed using tweezers. The samples were ground to a powder in a planetary ball mill  and homogenized before analysis by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) at the Cyclotron Research Center, Iwate Medical University, Japan. All the samples were imported into Japan under a permit issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Japan, in accordance with the Plant Protection Law.In all, 37 plant samples were collected from the field from upstream to downstream along the Bone River at appropriate intervals, and one whole plant was taken at each point. The plant tissue we used for analysis was the fronds. Soil samples  performed using a Varian 820-MS instrument  at the Integrated Center for Sciences, Ehime University, Japan. The flowchart of the methodology is illustrated in The plant samples were washed with deionized water and dried in a ventilated oven at 80 \u00b0C for 48 h. The dried leaves were ground to a powder in a ball mill and prepared for analysis as follows: the sample powder (20 mg) was digested with 1 mL HNOThe US National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) CRM 1643f  and multThe significant differences among the sampling sites were determined using Stata 16.1  and OriginLab v. 9.60 program for Windows.P. vittata in the study area  (1993)  are listEPA 1993 . The oveP. vittata and soil samples are summarized in \u22121, which was relatively low but tended to increase toward the ASGM sites.The concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in the samples of P. vittata were in the ranges of ND\u201317,700, ND\u201339 mg kg\u22121, and ND\u20135.2, respectively. The ND data correspond to a situation in which the concentration is lower than the detection limit of the analytical instrument.The concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in P. vittata and the As concentration in soil. This correlation is also consistent with P. vittata being found in As-contaminated areas [P. vittata grows actively in a neutral or slightly alkaline environment [There is generally a positive correlation between the density distribution of ed areas . P. vittironment ,25. AlthP. vittata absorbed large amounts of As, reaching a maximum concentration of 17,700 mg kg\u22121 (We found that  mg kg\u22121 . The rocP. vittata and As concentration in the rhizosphere soil (P. vittata indicate that the removal efficiency of P. vittata depends on the ratio of soluble As and the pH range of the soil [The results of this study show dispersion and no significant correlation between ere soil . The resthe soil ,13,25. TP. vittata in the mining areas was higher than that in the downstream area. The source of the high concentration of Hg in the ASGM area was mainly Au extraction activities. Hg could be transferred in forms such as methylmercury in the ecosystem [P. vittata. Based on the ability to absorb Hg, P. vittata is considered to have the potential for use as a bioindicator for Hg [Generally, Hg accumulation in the soil is related to deposition caused by anthropogenic activities through the biosphere or atmosphere . The ASGcosystem  and was r for Hg ,32.P. vittata had a maximum Pb concentration of 39 mg kg\u22121 that tended to be considerably higher around the ASGM sites. These results indicate the possibility of using this plant as a bioindicator for Pb in contaminated areas.The maximum soil concentrations of Pb in this study area are higher than the limit prescribed by the US EPA for agricultural soil . P. vittP. vittata are shown in The correlations among As, Hg, and Pb concentrations in P. vittata and soil samples is shown in The correlation between As, Hg, and Pb in P. vittata can adopt and survive in metal-contaminated soils, there is a concern that it could be an invasive species, which thereby influences local biodiversity. Rathinasabapathi discusses the competitive ability and invasiveness of several ferns [P. vittata in the surveyed areas, further studies are required to understand the influences of expanding P. vittata for other local species.The findings raise concern for biodiversity in the local environment. Since al ferns . As therP. vittata. Examining the composition of mobile fractions extracted from environmental solid samples may provide a clearer explanation of the uptake. There are two reasons why the study did not examine the composition of mobile/bioavailable fractions. First, the current study provides a relationship between uptake and total metal contamination, even though mobile/bioavailable composition is not fully investigated. More total metal contamination is identified, and more plant uptake is empirically identified. Second, even mobile/bioavailable and solid fractions are mixed in the field, providing evidence for total metal contamination and plant uptake yields important implications for policy-makers, especially in developing countries, regarding whether contamination is prevalent. At this point, the research is considered a preliminary investigation, and further research is necessary. Examining the composition of mobile fractions from environmental solid samples to show clear characteristics between metal compositions and plant uptake is beneficial to elaborate on the findings of the research.The study did not examine the mobile/bioavailable fraction of metals that could potentially correlate with uptake by P. vittata in the As\u2013Pb\u2013Hg-polluted Bone River area, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. The density distribution of P. vittata decreases from around the ASGM sites to the lower reaches of the Bone River, and the plant is rarely found near Gorontalo City. The maximum concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in P. vittata were 17,700, 5.2, and 39 mg kg\u22121, respectively. Around the ASGM sites, the metal concentrations in P. vittata were the highest in the study area. These data suggest that P. vittata, which is a hyperaccumulator of As, may also be useful as a bioindicator for assessing the environmental pollution caused by Pb and Hg.We conducted ecological and environmental investigations on P. vittata acts as an indicator plant in other areas. Identifying the potential and limitations of P. vittata as an indicator plant by extensive investigations will be helpful for policy-makers to assess the environmental pollution of respective ASGM areas.Since this research was limited to case studies in the ASGM regions of Gorontalo Province, Indonesia, further research is pivotal for generalizing the results. For example, a high level of mercury contamination has been reported in ASGM communities in various provinces, such as in West Java , West Nu"}
+{"text": "Superficial mycoses are the fourth most common cause of disease worldwide. It is not surprising that zoonotic transmission occurs to humans due to close contact with different animals,be it companion or farm animals. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the presence of asymptomatic dermatophyte carriers in the owner-pet pairs, identify the most commonetiologic agents, and find the likely connection between the carrier status of an owner and the presence of dermatophytes in their pets.Trichophyton tonsurans and Trichophyton verrucosum, while in pets, a strain of Trichophyton sp was found. From May 2019 to January 2020, 21 cats and 115 dogs with their respective owners were selected for dermatophyte culture. All the dogs and cats included in the study were from thecommunities of southeastern Mexico. The samples were taken with a cotton swab, which was vigorously rubbed and twisted on the scalp or body of the pet four times and grown on Mycosel Agar.The isolates were identified based on macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. The prevalence of the binomial ranged from 0.73% in pet skin and human hands to 2.2% in human scalp.In humans, the agents were  Different species of dermatophytes were found in the owner/pet pairs, which denotes that coexistence is not related in asymptomatic cases. Dermatophytes are the most common cause of superficial fungal infections. They are a specialized group of filamentous fungi capable of infecting and degrading keratinized tissues,including skin, hair, and nail  . Every Microsporum canis from dogs and cats to their owners [ It is not surprising that zoonotic transmission occurs to humans due to close contact with either companion or farm animals. In this regard, Cafarchia et al.have described the transmission of  owners   and the owners  ; howeveTherefore, this study aimed to determine the presence of asymptomatic dermatophyte carriers in the owner-pet pairs, identify the most common etiologic agents, and find thelikely connection between the carrier status of an owner and the presence of dermatophytes in their pets, whether feline or canine.From May 2019 to January 2020, 21 cats and 115 dogs with their respective owners were selected for dermatophyte culture. All the dogs and cats included in the study were from thecommunities of Chilpancingo, Acalmani, and Chilapa  and were examined at their respective homes. The pairs lived in urban (Chilpancingo), suburban (Chilapa),and rural  areas. It should be mentioned that only pairs, meaning one animal one human per house, were included in this study. Furthermore, the inclusion criteria were lack of skinlesions and no history of dermatophytosis during the months before sampling.After the informed consent was obtained from the pet owners, the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the pairs were collected via a questionnaire.Regarding ethical considerations, the information of patients was handled according to the Helsinki declaration. The informed consent and the research were approved by theEthics Committee of the Universidad Autonoma de Guerrero (FCQB200619). Each pair was examined for detached hair and/or alopecia, peeling, and crusting. However, samples of the scalp or body of the pets were taken of all pairs, regardless of whether they had clinical symptoms or not. The samples were taken with a cotton swab, which was vigorously rubbed and twisted on the scalpor body of the pets four times. After the procedure was completed, the cotton swab was placed in 0.1% Tween. Since all the patients in the study were asymptomatic, we considered using this method as it is theleast invasive and has the same reliability as the toothbrush method  . FungalP<0.05 were considered statistically significant.A database was created with the information collected from the questionnaires and the laboratory results. The frequency analysis was carried out using the Xi-square statisticaltest and the values of In total, 136 pet-owner pairs were sampled, and dermatophytes were found in 3.67% of them which reflected a total of five strains, three of which were isolated in Chilpancingo,one in Chilapa, and one in Acalmani, without statistically significant differences. Moreover, four out of the five culture-positive cases were isolated from owners and one from a pet.Trichophyton tonsurans andone as T. verrucosum. In the micro-morphology of the two remained isolates from the skin of one owner and one pet, thin hyphae and microconidia along withhyphae were identified microscopically. However, other fungal characteristic structures were not identified and thereby two isolates were reported as Trichophyton sp. In this sense,several dermatophytes are known which do not or poorly sporulate in culture and thereby show very limited phenotypic characteristics [ According to the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the isolates as well as the growth on Mycosel Agar, two of the scalp isolates were identified as ristics  . P=0.010). Regarding their behaviors as pairs, in Chilpancingo, 18.31% of owners and pets always slept together, while in Chilapa, 92.5% of the pairs never did (P=0.001).Moreover, 38.03%, 12.5%, and 12% of the pet owners in Chilpancingo, Chilapa, and Acalmani always fed their pets, respectively (P=0.001).It was also observed that 78.8%, 95%, and 32% of the pets in Chilpancingo, Chilapa, Acalmani were not taken to public parks, respectively (P=0.001), compared to the other locations (P=0.001).The prevEven though the same dermatophytes were not found on the skin of pets and the scalp and hands of pet owners, it is important to describe the collected data.In a study performed by Cafarchia et al., the prevalence rates of dermatophytes in cats and dogs were found to be 28.2% and 20.5% respectively, while in our investigation thisprevalence rate was lower. The likely explanation for such a significant difference could be the low number of sampled cats (n=21) in the present study.It could also be due to the inclusion of two groups in the study conducted by Cafarchia et al.  , in oneIn addition, the prevalence is commonly high in owner-pet pairs that include symptomatic cases  . A highIn another study, Debnath et al. found that 20.93% of healthy dogs were positive for dermatophytes; however, they described that the age of the dogs and the seasonof the year can influence the frequency of dermatophytes  . RegardRegarding hand samples, there is little information available about the patients without apparent symptoms. However, such asymptomatic lesions could probably berelated to the low virulence of the strains existing in these lesions, for which enzymatic profiles of dermatophytes strains recovered from these infections could even be testedas previously described   . Likewise, the development of infection in the owner can be attributed to the characteristics of the pet-owner interaction and the duration of their contact  . Nevertwhich plays an important role in zoonotic transmission, is well known  , 15. TP= 0.001). Therefore, it could not be the factor favoring the appearance of asymptomatic dermatophyte carriers. In this study, it was found that the three studied populations had different hygiene habits and lifestyles based on their residence location, namely locality urban (Chilpancingo),peri-urban (Chilapa), and rural  areas. One example of this would be the sharing of pillows; while the pet always slept with the owner in 18.3% of cases in Chilpancingo,this activity was not common in other communities . Although the presence of dermatophytes on the scalp of apparently healthy individuals may, in some cases, be a temporary event, it is reasonable to assume thatasymptomatic carriers play a role in the spread and persistence of scalp ringworm in the community  . These T. tonsurans was determined in asymptomatic carriers. In this sense, the etiological agent has been found as specific to the asymptomatic carriers [ T. tonsurans has been reported to have displaced almost all the species of dermatophytes that cause tinea capitis in North America [ T. tonsurans plays a central role in symptomatic disease and can be recovered from hosts without symptoms (asymptomatic carriers) at high rates,comparable to the rates observed in patients with clinical infection [ Regarding etiology, the presence of arriers  , 14. IAmerica  . This mAmerica  - 24. Ffection  , 27 whT. verrucosum has also been found in asymptomatic carriers of Tinea capitis and is considered an important etiologic agent [ M. audouinii [ M. canis or T. mentagrophytes, are usually present with a symptomatic inflammatory response and are less frequently associated with a carrier status [ It should be noted that c agent  , 29 indouinii  . In con status  , 30.Trichophyton sp. It is noteworthy that two slow-growing filamentous fungi were isolated from the skin of pets and scalp of a patient on Mycosel agar with short hyphae and the presence of microconidia.However, we were unable to observe other structures, such as spiral or tendril hyphae, cigar-shaped macroconidia, or colony pigmentation; hence, they were only defined as Lifestyle, which is different in various localities (populations), can help the development of carrier state in people who have notable contact with pets.Isolation of different dermatophyte species from the skin of pet/owner pairs in this study denoted an asymptomatic carrier state in humans that cannot be related to thecoexistence of the same isolate in the pets. The authors would like to appreciate Lilia Lizette Garc\u00eda D\u00edaz (biotechnology) and Alberto Patricio Hern\u00e1ndez (chemistry) for their support in the conservation of strains and all owners and their pets. Conceptualization: A.R.P. and R.A.G; methodology: M.G.R.R. and I.H.A; supervision: A.R.P.; statistical analysis: S.A.P.R and E.R.B; investigation: R.A.G and A.R.P;writing and original draft preparation: A.R.P., R.A.G, and J.T.J. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this study.This research was not funded by any program.No financial interests related to the material of this manuscript have been declared."}
+{"text": "MTHFR) is an enzyme that plays a crucial role as a methyl-group donor in demethylation of homocysteine. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to study the relationship between MTHFR gene polymorphism and metabolic syndrome (MS). We used search engines and databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PubMed to identify eligible studies up to 2018. The articles were studied based on keywords including MTHFR, mutation, variant, and polymorphism in combination with MS. Data was analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2.2.064 software. After extracting the data from seven articles, the total number of subjects was 1280 in the patient group and 1374 in the control group. The odds ratio was estimated to be 1.078 for the allele model of T vs. C , 1.157 for the allele model of CC vs. CT (95% CI: 0.829-1.615), 1.020 for the allele model of CT + TT vs. CC (95% CI: 1.611-0.646) and 0.799 for the allele model of TT vs. CC + CT (95% CI: 1.185- 0.539). As well, the results showed no statistically significant correlation between polymorphism genotypes of the MTHFR gene and MS (P<0.05). In general, this study showed that the presence of C677T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene has no effect on the incidence of MS.Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR) is an enzyme that plays an important role as a methyl-group donor in demethylation of homocysteine [MTHFR gene, thymine is replaced by cytosine, followed by the translation of valine instead of alanine in the structure of the produced enzyme, resulting in the formation of a temperature-sensitive enzyme and thus reducing its activity [MTHFR gene) with hypertension [MTHFR and metabolic syndrome (MS) in certain groups of people with type 2 DM [MTHFR and MS, and no comprehensive study has been done to summarize these outcomes in patients with MS. Regarding the high prevalence of MS and the role of genetic factors in the disease [MTHFR polymorphism and MS can be helpful. In this way, people who are genetically predisposed to the disease can be identified more quickly to fulfill preventive interventions. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to study the relationship between MTHFR gene polymorphism and MS.Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase  to estimate odds ratio (OR), original research articles, randomized and controlled articles, and considering gene polymorphism as the main independent variable. Also, when several investigations were conducted on the same population, the latest study was selected to enter into the meta-analysis. The standard information form was used for data collection. Form information included the author name, publication year, study location, genotype type, total number of subjects in case and control groups, genotype distribution in the case and control groups, and the frequency of the dominant allele in both case and control groups. Two of the authors performed the process of extracting information from articles. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, genotyping methods qualification, controls source, sample size, and cases representativeness, were examined with a total score of 10 in this scoring. This checklist had been used in previous studies. Besides, scores zero to four were categorized as a weak study, five to seven as an average study, and eight to 10 as a strong article. The allele frequency for gene polymorphism was determined in each study using the allele counting method. OR with 95% CI was used to evaluate the power of correlation between MTHFR gene and MS, followed by the allele model (C vs. T), multiplicative model (CC vs. TT), the dominant model (CC + CT vs. TT), and recessive model (CC vs. CT + TT). Heterogeneity was calculated using measurement test and the random effects model. The I-square (I2) index of 25, 50, and 75 percent showed lower, moderate, and high levels of heterogeneity, respectively. The bias of published articles was examined using a funnel plot versus standard error (SE). Publication bias was evaluated using both Begg\u2019s funnel plot and Egger\u2019s linear regression test. Because of significant heterogeneity of the results (I2>30%), the random effects model, which takes the diversity of the studies into account, was used. All analyses were performed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2.2.064 (CMA) software. AP-value of less than 0.05 was considered as a significance level.Search engines and databases including PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched to find all English articles up to 2018. The related keywords were extracted using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH), containing \u201cI2 test and Q-test. Heterogeneity was observed in all the models, i.e., allele (T vs. C), homozygous (TT vs. CC), heterozygous (CT vs. CC), dominant (CT + TT vs. CC), and recessive (TT vs. CT + CC) genotype model, which were included for the meta-analysis. Therefore, the random effects model, which takes the diversity of the studies into account was used for data analysis. Meta-analysis of C677T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene and MS in total consisted of six case-control studies and one cohort study. Available studies in the meta-analysis were used to evaluation of the relationship between MTHFR polymorphism and MS. In general, these studies showed that the total number of subjects was 1280 in the MS patient group and 1374 in the healthy control group. According to the findings of this study , in the homozygous model , in the heterozygous model , in the dominant model  and in the recessive model .In total, 95 studies were systematically reviewed. Some studies were excluded because of the similarity of the studied samples (n=69), the inappropriateness of the samples and the failure to consider the MS as the main variable (n=22), and inadequate information on alleles (n=4). Finally, seven papers -23 were is study , there wMTHFR gene and MS. According to the C677T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene and MS, the result of the present study is in the same line with a study carried out by Russo et al. [MTHFR polymorphism and MS in patients with type 2 DM with mild hyperhomocysteinemia [et al. [MTHFR polymorphism and the prevalence of MS. However, Ellingrod et al. observed that the CT mutation in the MTHFR gene predisposes those with schizophrenia taking atypical antipsychotics to MS [MTHFR enzyme acts as a methyl-group donor for the remethylation of homocysteine and its conversion into methionine. Methionine consumes methyl group for DNA methylation, especially in CpG pairs. These pairs, which exist in certain regions, act as a promoter for related genes [MTHFR and MS through these epigenetic mechanisms [MTHFR mutation and subsequently affect DNA methylation and gene expression. We had some limitations in this study. These limitations included lack of access to some of the main articles in English and non-English languages.According to the findings of this study, there was no significant relationship between C677T polymorphism in the o et al. . They inteinemia . Yamada  [et al.  examinedcs to MS . This incs to MS . This geed genes . As a rechanisms . It is nMTHFR gene has no effect on the incidence of MS. It is suggested to evaluate the effect of folic acid fortification and supplementation on the expression of the MTHFR gene, in particular, those associated with chronic diseases such as hypertension, DM, and MS.In general, this study showed that the presence of C677T polymorphism in the We are sincerely thankful to our counsellors in Clinical Research Development Center of Shahid Mohammadi Hospital. The study was approved by the ethics committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (grant number: 970386 and ethics committee registration code: IR.HUMS.REC.1397.327). We would like to thank all the people who helped us with collecting the data and the searching works.None."}
+{"text": "The field of Nanotheranostics, the namesake of this journal, lost two foundational pillars last year. It is difficult to accept that Dr. Sam Gambhir and Dr. Moritz Kircher both passed away much too soon. Two individuals who dedicated their careers to, what at the time they started, was radical new research fusing molecular imaging, therapy and nanoscale design. Both were founding editorial board members of Nanotheranostics. Dr. Kircher was the editor in chief of Nanotheranostics at the time of his passing. These physician scientists were motivated to translate this type of innovative basic research into their clinics in order to benefit humankind.Stanford Radiology, where both spent significant time, represents an intellectual headquarter and origin for much of the theranostics field. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine research on the topic not being strongly influenced by work carried out by scientists who spent time there. It should be sadly noted that in 2018, Stanford radiologist Dr. \u202aJ\u00fcrgen Willmann was lost in a car accident at age 45. The string of untimely departures is a terrible coincidence that, besides personal loss for friends and family, significantly sets back progress to nanotheranostics. These physician scientists were pioneering a brand of human health research that was multidisciplinary, clinically-minded, and highly innovative. It is unclear when their roles can be filled in the future by other researchers as driven and talented as they were.It was therefore with mixed emotions that I assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief of Nanotheranostics last year. I will try to follow in the editorial footsteps of Dr. Kircher. It should also be said that despite the setbacks, there are tremendously exciting developments with respect to the current state of the field, that provide grounds to be optimistic about the future. Nanotheranostics, as a journal, will continue to publish cutting edge research in the field.This special memorial issue aims to honor the legacy of Dr. Gambhir and Dr. Kircher. It features articles contributed posthumously by both Dr. Gambhir, Dr. Kircher, and also the late Dr. Mike Detty, who made contributions to the field of Raman spectroscopy dyes. Enormous thanks go to all authors, and the corresponding contributors to this issue, including Dr. Stefan Harsen, Dr. Ramasamy Paulmurugan, Dr. Jesse V. Jokerst, Dr. Chrysafis Andreou, Dr. Jeesu Kim, Dr. Peng Huang, Dr. Xiaoyuan Chen, Dr. Carina Mari Aparici and Dr. Natesh Parusharama."}
+{"text": "Following publication of the original article , one of The email address of the corresponding author, Abbas Alemzadeh, is alemzadeh@shirazu.ac.ir.The original article  has been"}
+{"text": "Impatiens longiaristata , a new species from western Sichuan Province in China, is described and illustrated here based on morphological and molecular data. It is similar to I. longiloba and I. siculifer, but differs in its lower sepal with a long arista at the apex of the mouth, spur curved downward or circinate, and lower petal that is oblong-elliptic and two times longer than the upper petal. Molecular analysis confirmed its placement in sect. Racemosae. Simultaneously, during the inspection of the protologues and type specimens of allied species, it was found that the types of two names from this section were syntypes based on Article 9.6 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code). According to Articles 8.1, 9.3, and Recommendations 9A.1, 9A.2, and 9A.3, the lectotypes of these two names are here designated. Impatiens L.  is one of the most species-rich genera of angiosperms with more than 1000 species , , and . A critical examination of digital images from all collections reveals that the Ducloux, F. 532 digital image registered Henry, A. as the collector on the mounted herbarium sheets in Kew. In addition, this collection was cited at the Museum d\u2019Histoire Naturelle herbarium but could not be traced among online digital images under Ducloux, F. 532 collections in P but was rather found in the Kew digital herbarium. It is not clear whether at one point herbarium specimens were transferred from P to K or the digital images were obtained by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew during databasing and digitization sessions of 185,937 specimens at P  from Yunnan, Mangtze ,  from Yunnanfu ,  from Yunnan, the divide between the Mekong and Shang valley on Jung-yuch-Talifu road  and  from Yunnan. Upper Burma, N.W. Yunnan Ming Kwang divide . All examined collections of digital images had hand drawings of the plant reproductive illustrations . Furthermore, 1004 and 1006 had accompanying comprehensive handwritten fieldnotes that matched the original description. However, after a critical examination of all these syntypes, we found the specimen displaying the best representative material and locality information (including elevation), numbered 9762, best fitted the original portal description and was preserved in the Kew herbarium. Moreover, this specimen retains the original pigmentation, making the collections more appealing and providing a precise representation of the living plant species. Hence, we designate it here as the lectotype  in I. siculifer and apiculate in I. longiloba. The spur is curved downward or circinate in I. longiaristata, while it is curved upward in I. siculifer and slightly curved at the tip in I. longiloba. The lateral united petals of I. longiaristata are ca. 3 cm long, the upper petal is triangular and semi-circular, and the lower petal is oblong-elliptic, tip rounded, ca. 1.8 cm long, and two times longer than the upper petal, whereas in I. siculifer the lateral united petals are ca. 1.8 cm long, the upper petal is subtriangular, and the lower petal is lorate with an acuminate tip, and in I. longiloba the lateral united petals are ca. 2.5 cm long and the lower petal is lorate, elongate, and four times longer than the upper petal. The lateral veins of leaves are 5\u20137 pairs in I. longiaristata, but they are 10\u201312 pairs in I. longiloba and 5\u201311 pairs in I. siculifer. The lateral sepals are two pairs in I. longiaristata and I. longiloba, but just a pair in I. siculifer. The detailed morphological comparisons between new species and allied species are shown in I. longiaristata and I. longiloba formed a highly supported clade (PP = 1.00 and BP = 100) with I. siculifer forming a sister clade. It was also noted that I. longiaristata was morphologically closer to I. longiloba than to I. siculifer (st China ,10 and Vst China . Morphold petals . The lowiculifer . Impatiens longiaristata is a new taxon in science. Detailed descriptions, color plates, phylogenetic analysis, and comparisons with species of similar taxa are provided. The lectotypes of I. aquatilis and I. clavicuspis are also designated.Based on detailed morphological studies and phylogenetic analysis,"}
+{"text": "In the original article, there were two errors.(1) Our information on Wnt modification and secretion was out of date. Mouse Wnts are not palmitoleated on cysteines\u2014that was an error in mutational analysis by Karl Willert. All the cysteines in Wnt are engaged in disulfide bonds . However, a new reference describes WNT palmitoylation in zebrafish WNT3A .(2) The WLS protein binds to Wnt in the ER, not the Golgi. The Golgi localization of WLS was also an error due to the use of an epitope tag on the c-terminus .the introduction, paragraph number 2A correction has been made to The WNT family now contains 19 WNT genes, falling into 12 WNT subfamilies in mammalian genomes. All WNT genes encode proteins around 40 kDa in size and contain highly conserved cysteines Miller, . MammaliAccordingly, the following reference has been added to the original article:Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 9:671218. 10.3389/fcell.2021.671218Dhasmana, D., Veerapathiran, S., Azbazdar, Y., Nelanuthala, A. V. S., Teh, C., Ozhan, G., et al. (2021). Wnt3 is lipidated at conserved cysteine and serine residues in zebrafish neural tissue. And the following reference has been removed from the original article:Nature 423, 448\u2013452.Willert, K., Brown, J. D., Danenberg, E., Duncan, A. W., Weissman, I. L., Reya, T., et al. (2003). Wnt proteins are lipid-modified and can act as stem cell growth factors. The authors apologize for these errors and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has5 been updated.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Sargus bipunctatus , feeding on a human corpse. The morphology of collected imagines and larvae of S. bipunctatus was documented, and a standard COI barcode sequence was obtained. Morphology- and DNA-based methods were used to distinguish the larvae of S. bipunctatus and its relative, Hermetia illucens . The potential of S. bipunctatus for practical applications in forensic entomology is currently difficult to assess.In the current study, we present the first record of twin-spot centurion fly larvae, Hermetia illucens . Analysis of fauna found on a human corpse, discovered in central Poland, revealed the presence of feeding larvae of another species from this family: the twin-spot centurion fly Sargus bipunctatus . The investigated corpse was in a stage of advanced decomposition. The larvae were mainly observed in the adipocere formed on the back and lower limbs of the corpse, and in the mixture of litter and lumps of adipocere located under the corpse. Adult specimens and larvae were identified based on morphological characters, and final identification was confirmed using DNA barcoding. Implementing a combination of morphological and molecular methods provided a reliable way for distinguishing the larvae of S. bipunctatus and H. illucens. The potential of S. bipunctatus for practical applications in forensic entomology is currently difficult to assess. Wide and reliable use of S. bipunctatus in the practice of forensic entomology requires further studies of the bionomy of this fly.The only European Stratiomyidae species known for feeding on human corpses was the black soldier fly  The family Stratiomyidae (soldier flies), representing the suborder of Brachycera Orthorrhapha, includes more than 2600 described species . Large sHermetia illucens . This species, probably native to Central America, can currently be found in warmer regions around the world. In the northern part of North America, it reaches the province of Ontario , is widespread in Europe and the northwest of North America [Dociostaurus moroccanus , and Oldroyd [Cerioporus squamosus (Huds.) Qu\u00e9let (1886). The variety of substrates from which larvae of S. bipunctatus has been collected indicates a broad feeding spectrum. Despite this, only Chick [S. bipunctatus and decaying animal remains. Numerous females of the species were observed on the carcass of a domestic pig on the 24th day of decomposition. Nineteen days later, larvae were found feeding in a mixture of soil, mulch, and the putrefactive liquid exuding from the carcass. Sukontason et al. [Sargus sp. larvae feeding on human bodies found in the forests of Thailand from 2000\u20132006.The twin-spot centurion fly, Scopoli, 763 [=Chr America ,17. Sing America ,20. Acco America , it is a America ,22,23,24 America , larvae  Oldroyd  recordedly Chick  has repon et al.  recordedS. bipunctatus are very distinctive and easy to distinguish from the specimens of other necrophagous flies by their dorsoventral flattening. The only species possible to misidentify it with is Hermetia illucens, which belongs to the same family Stratiomyidae. The geographic distributions of both species overlap [H. illucens will expand through both natural processes and the unintentional release of mature flies from black soldier fly breeding farms. Larvae of S. bipunctatus and H. illucens can be easily distinguished based on morphological features alone. Sargus bipunctatus has a distinct colouration pattern, with six longitudinal stripes on its abdominal segments, and very short dorsal, dorsolateral, lateral and ventral bristles , included in the red lists of threatened animals in Central European countries [N. littoralis development, conducted under laboratory conditions [S. bipunctatus. Further studies of this species should have a precise forensic profile and cover field studies of environmental preferences, preferred food sources and habitats, role in necrophagous insect community, and activity period during successional changes of carrion, as well as laboratory experiments concerning thermal requirements during the development of immature life stages.Imagines of  October . In the albiceps . More detomology . Based oountries ,39. Analountries ,40. Suchnditions ,42. Finanditions ,44. We h"}
+{"text": "P. biglobosa leaf, had the richest total branched-chain AAs (BCAAs) level, followed by A. cepa bulb. However, A. cepa bulb had the highest total AAs content and an encouraging nutraceutical use for adults based on its amino acid score. Principal component analysis revealed no sharp distinction between the AAs composition of MPs that have found food applications and those only used medicinally. Overall, the presence of medicinally important phytochemicals and AAs levels in the selected MPs\u2019 parts support their use for CVDs treatment as they might not add to the AAs  burden in the human body.For years, the focus on the lipid\u2013atherosclerosis relationship has limited the consideration of the possible contribution of other key dietary components, such as amino acids (AAs), to cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. Notwithstanding, the potential of plant-based diets, some AAs and phytochemicals to reduce CVDs\u2019 risk has been reported. Therefore, in this study, the phytochemical and AA profiles of different medicinal plants\u2019 (MPs) parts used for CVDs\u2019 treatment in sub-Saharan Africa were investigated. Fourier-transform infrared analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, amino and other bioactive compounds\u2019 functional groups in the samples. In most of them, glutamic and aspartic acids were the most abundant AAs, while lysine was the most limiting.  Scientific reports have revealed that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)\u2014a group of heart and blood vessels\u2019 disorders involving pathologic process \u2014are the number one global cause of death ,3,4,5,6.As most of the deaths arising from CVDs are in low- and middle-income countries , traditiMeanwhile, atherosclerosis development has been indicated as the primary cause of CVDs  in whichThe branched-chain AAs (BCAAs) comprising isoleucine (Ile), leucine (Leu) and valine  are a sub-group of EAAs in humans ,20,21. SBroadly, BCAAs are important for normal growth/function at the cellular and organ levels ,24 with On the other hand, phytochemicals, also referred to as phytonutrients , are natAs infrared (IR) spectrometry helps in herbal analysis , and dieBased on the literature, different plants\u2019 parts of eight MPs used for CVDs and related risk factors\u2019 treatment in SSA, some of which have found food applications, were investigated. These MPs\u2019 parts were purchased at Odopetu market, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, with identification and authentication at the Department of Crop, Soil and Pest Technology, The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Details of the selected MPs and additional information regarding their key bioactive compounds are provided in After collection, the selected samples were washed, dried and ground to a powder with the use of a Binatone grinder (BLG 450) or a hammer mill  as appropriate. The powdered samples were then stored at \u221220 \u00b0C prior to FTIR and AAs analyses.\u22121 and 650 cm\u22121 [For the FTIR analysis, dried powdered samples of each of the selected MPs\u2019 parts were loaded directly onto the FTIR spectroscope  and the 650 cm\u22121 . PerkinEThe micro-Kjeldahl method  was usedThe method as described by Adeyeye  with sliFor tryptophan determination, the method provided by Yust et al.  and OrioFrom the results obtained, the total AAs (TAAs), total EAAs (TEAAs), total NEAAs (TNEAAs), total acidic AAs (TAAAs) comprising glutamic and aspartic acids , total bOne of the equations of Alsmeyer and other researchers employed by Adeyeye et al.  and KowaIn contrast, the slightly modified procedure of Tan et al. , involvi\u00ae, version 26, IBM Statistics for Windows, New York, NY, USA) of the results obtained at 95% confidence level with Tukey\u2019s post-hoc test was carried out. A readily available web tool for visualizing clustering of multivariate data, ClustVis (https://biit.cs.ut.ee/clustvis (accessed on 3 March 2021) [\u00ae Statistical DiscoveryTM software, version 14 .The AAs, including EAAs, NEAAs, BCAAs and ArAAs, content of eight SSA MPs\u2019 parts used for CVDs\u2019 and related risk factors\u2019 treatment were assessed with their AAS. One-way Analysis of Variance (SPSSch 2021) ), was us2, NH, as well as -OH, -NO2 and -CHO, among others, in the phytochemicals of these MPs\u2019 parts. Similar to a study by Poojary et al. [Results of the FTIR analysis showing the different functional groups of the metabolites present in the assessed MPs\u2019 parts are illustrated in y et al. , they alThe presence of a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group is a fundamental part of most of the phenolic phytochemicals such as flavonoids and tannins  and woulA. cepa, which has been used as a food, spice and medicinal plant [p < 0.05) crude protein content (10.95 g/100 g), while M. indica bark had the least (3.16 g/100 g)  . In lineA. cepa was found to have the significantly (p < 0.05) highest concentration of histidine, lysine and phenylalanine , also recorded the highest level of isoleucine and leucine. S. aromaticum flower, M. indica bark and P. biglobosa leaf had the highest methionine, threonine and valine contents, respectively, while the greatest amount of tryptophan was in A. ringens root and P. nitida seed.Results of the AA composition of the selected MPs\u2019 parts that aid the assessment of their quality/value  are showlalanine . The bulA. cepa (aspartic acid and tyrosine) as well as P. nitida \u2014singly had the highest concentration of two of the NEAAs. In contrast, the greatest amount of arginine (A. cepa and P. biglobosa), cysteine (M. indica and P. biglobosa) and glutamic acid (A. cepa and S. aromaticum) was found in two of the studied MPs. The significantly highest level of serine (p < 0.05) was recorded in A. cepa, S. aromaticum and P. nitida, while Z. officinale and M. indica had the lowest glycine contents. A relatively high value of arginine, which is reported to be vital for children [A. cepa.Two MPs\u2014children , was notA. cepa, in a way, explains the semi-succulence and soft-textured nature of the bulb [A. cepa will contribute to its antioxidant activities when found in certain peptides chains.The results of the analyses are in agreement with a study by Poggiogalle et al. , where vthe bulb . As repothe bulb , the preA. cepa, and that by Neves et al. [Acmella oleracea) and several vegetables. They were also the most abundant AAs in the two accessions of Amaranthus cruentus seeds flour examined by Esan et al. [A. cepa [Generally, as seen in the heatmap , glutamis et al. , where in et al.  as well n et al. . The twon et al. , act as n et al. . Lopez en et al.  indicate[A. cepa .Z. officinale rhizome, which contributes to the imbalance of its Leu/Ile ratio discussed in As clearly observed in the heatmap , leucineA. cepa bulb had the significantly highest level (p < 0.05) of TAAs, TNEAAs, TNAAs, TAAAs and TBAAs; the greatest amounts of TEAAs (with or without histidine) and P-PER were also recorded in this MP (A. cepa bulb) as well as P. biglobosa leaf , TAAAs (S. aromaticum) and TBAAs  with respect to the TAAs were also observed in some of these MPs\u2019 parts. Surprisingly, M. indica bark had the highest TEAAs/TNEAAs ratio, percentage of cysteine in TSAAs and percentage of sweet AAs.According to Elhardallou et al.  and Sun osa leaf . This laS. aromaticum flower and P. bigblobosa leaf, while the highest level of TArAAs was noted in these MPs  and A. cepa bulb. Meanwhile, Z. officinale rhizome had the highest Leu/Ile ratio of 4.09. This medicinal plant  and P. biglobosa also had the greatest percentage of bitter AAs, whereas S. aromaticum recorded the highest percentage of savory (umami) AAs.The richest TSAAs was found in A. cepa bulb had the richest level of AAs, all the studied MPs\u2019 parts had a TEAAs/TAAs percentage content higher than the 36% considered appropriate for an ideal protein [P. biglobosa leaf, followed by A. cepa bulb, had the highest concentration of total BCAAs , which, according to Jin et al. [The outcome of the experiment revealed that although  protein ,138,142. protein , their Tn et al. , have ann et al.  that vegM. indica bark, with the significantly (p < 0.05) highest percentage of cysteine in TSAA (69.04%), can be likened to plant proteins, whereas five of the studied MPs\u2019  parts with a percentage of cysteine in TSAAs less than 50% is similar to those of animal proteins, as Adeyeye et al. [Meanwhile, Mendoza  noted the et al.  reportede et al.  also poiA. cepa bulb and P. biglobosa leaf were found to have the significantly highest P-PER. In line with Kowalczewski et al. [A. cepa bulb and P. biglobosa leaf) being > 2 suggest that only their protein is of high quality. In contrast, the significantly highest Leu/Ile ratio in Z. officinale rhizome of 4.09 suggests that the excessive intake of this MP, when included as part of a human diet, may contribute to pellagra, as an amino acid imbalance from excess leucine has been connected to the development of this disease because high leucine in the diet impairs tryptophan and niacin metabolism [According to Kowalczewski et al. , PER cani et al. , the P-Ptabolism . The restabolism  that AAsS. aromaticum and P. biglobosa, while these two MPs with A. cepa also had the greatest AAS for phenylalanine and tyrosine, aromatic AAs [Following the FAO recommended  amino acatic AAs .M. indica. Among all the studied MPs\u2019 parts, only A. cepa bulb had no LAA for older children, adolescents and adults. Surprisingly, Z. officinale rhizome, with food application, was found to be limiting in all the AAs considered for all the age categories.According to the FAO/WHO , the limA. cepa bulb, all the other studied MPs with food applications (though not consumed majorly as food) are to be combined with other protein sources to achieve the AA requirements in human nutrition [To a great extent, the AAS results in utrition .A. cepa bulb and P. biglobosa leaf with two AAs (leucine and arginine) contributing principally to the separation of the clusters of these two MPs from those of the others. Meanwhile, the clusters of M. indica bark in quadrant one and Z. officinale rhizome in quadrant three reflect the difference in the AA content of these MPs when compared with the observed levels in the other studied MPs. To a large extent, the PCA revealed that there is no marked difference between the AA composition of MPs that have found food and medicinal applications from those solely used for medicinal purposes.PCA, an unsupervised clustering/display method, was used to check the similarities, hidden patterns and outliers in the data set obtained as well as reduce the dimensionality ,149,150.A. cepa bulb, including the noted quality of its protein, analysis of the TEAAs/TNEAAs ratio revealed that all the studied MPs\u2019 parts are not good sources of EAAs. An investigation on their percentage TAAAs and TBAAs showed that their protein is chiefly acidic in nature, while Z. officinale rhizome, with food application, was found to be limiting in all the AAs considered for all the age categories.The current study provides the required information on the AA distribution as well as the phytochemicals profile of different MPs\u2019 parts used in SSA for the treatment of CVDs and their associated risk factors. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, nitro, amino and other functional groups in the bioactive compounds of the assessed MPs\u2019 parts. Despite the highest crude protein and TAA contents recorded in A. cepa bulb in food for patients (adults) suffering from CVDs and their risk factors is encouraged, while excessive intake of Z. officinale rhizome (Leu/Ile ratio = 4.09) in the human diet or as a traditional home remedy should be avoided to prevent pellagra development.Generally, the study indicated that the use of any of the selected MPs\u2019 parts for CVDs and related risk factors\u2019 treatment in SSA, vis-\u00e0-vis their AA composition, is less likely to contribute to an elevation in the circulation of BCAAs and other AAs in a way that would affect human health negatively. It also affirmed that although plants may be incomplete protein sources lacking one or more EAAs, some are rich sources of medicinally important phytochemicals that can assist in the discovery of new drugs for CVDs\u2019 treatment. The inclusion of"}
+{"text": "Trichinella spiralis is a worldwide food-borne parasitic zoonosis. Several approaches have been performed to control T. spiralis infection, including veterinary vaccines, which contribute to improving animal health and increasing public health by preventing the transmission of trichinellosis from animals to humans. In the past several decades, many vaccine studies have been performed in effort to control T. spiralis infection by reducing the muscle larvae and adult worms burden. Various candidate antigens, selected from excretory-secretory (ES) products and different functional proteins involved in the process of establishing infection have been investigated in rodent or swine models to explore their protective effect against T. spiralis infection. Moreover, different types of vaccines have been developed to improve the protective effect against T. spiralis infection in rodent or swine models, such as live attenuated vaccines, natural antigen vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, DNA vaccines, and synthesized epitope vaccines. However, few studies of T. spiralis vaccines have been performed in pigs, and future research should focus on exploring the protective effect of different types of vaccines in swine models. Here, we present an overview of the strategies for the development of effective T. spiralis vaccines and summarize the factors of influencing the effectiveness of vaccines. We also discuss several propositions in improving the effectiveness of vaccines and may provide a route map for future T. spiralis vaccines development.Trichinellosis caused by  Trichinella genus comprises nine species and three genotypes that can be divided into encapsulated clade  and non-encapsulated clade   . T. spir mammals . Trichinand Asia . Human cspiralis . In humaspiralis . Murrellorldwide . China io humans . It is wT. spiralis infection, and therefore vaccine research should be intensified to prevent T. spiralis infection. The lack of progress in vaccine research against T. spiralis infection reflects both scientific obstacles, such as the complexity of life cycles and diversity of antigens, and policy deficiencies that have resulted in trichinellosis receiving little attention , newborn larvae (NBL), and muscle larvae (ML)  induced Th1-Th2 mixed immune response with Th2 predominant. However, Xu et al. reported that a Th1-Th2 mixed immune response with Th1 predominant was induced by rTs-Adsp after vaccination. Consequently, future studies of the development of T. spiralis vaccines should focus on pigs instead of mice.To date, no effective vaccines are available to control ttention . The devvae (ML) . Variousvaccines . Most stand mice . Feng etT. spiralis infection  products. It is well-known that live attenuated vaccines and inactivated vaccines are first generation vaccines. With the development of genetic engineering methods, the strategy of genome, proteome, transcriptome, and immunoproteomics have been used to screen novel candidate antigens of T. spiralis vaccines , also known as water channel proteins, are components of many parasite membranes  has been identified, and the TsAQP protein is predicted to contain six linear B-cell epitopes, suggesting it is a promising antigen for vaccines , mass spectrometry and immunoproteomics  showed 71.10 and 62.10% reduced worm burdens of AD and ML, and T. spiralis serine protease (rTspSP-1.2) displayed 34.92 and 52.24% reduced worm burdens of AD and ML. A previous study in our laboratory has found that mice vaccinated with recombinant T. spiralis serine protease (rTs-Adsp) exhibited a 46.5% reduction in muscle larvae  exhibited 62.2 and 57.25% reduced worm burdens of AD and ML, in the study by T. spiralis serpin (rTs-Serpin) according to Serine proteases inhibitors (serpins) are a superfamily of proteins that suppress the activity of serine proteases and play an important role in blood coagulation, inflammation, and complement activation . The serT. spiralis has significantly enlarged. Moreover, studies have found that DNase enzymes of T. spiralis may play a key role in parasite-host interactions during infection, suggesting that they can be used as candidate antigens to control and prevent trichinellosis  vaccines are one of most popular strategy due to their ability to induce strong immune responses (T. spiralis vaccines. With the development of genetic engineering approaches, the strategy of gene editing has been used to develop live-attenuated toxoplasmosis vaccines (T. spiralis and Toxoplasma gondii, the strategy can be used as a reference for developing an attenuated Trichinella vaccine.Although substantial efforts and progresses have been made to search for candidate antigens and develop t burden . The cocesponses . The appvaccines . AlthougT. spiralis in the host is complex, including a diversity of antigens, immune evasion, and regulation of host response. These characteristics make it difficult to achieve the ideal protection with a single T. spiralis antigen. The ideal vaccine should promote the process of expelling AD and inhibit the production of NBL and the formation of ML. Moreover, the immune response induced by vaccines should have the ability to disable, degrade, and dislodge the parasites (T. spiralis infection. In-depth research on immunosuppression and immune evasion caused by T. spiralis infection will contribute to the design of more effective vaccines against T. spiralis infection.The life cycle of arasites . With thT. spiralis infection is pork and pork-related products. To date, most research on T. spiralis vaccines has been performed in murine models, and more research in pigs should be conducted. The financial and technical issues associated with T. spiralis vaccines using swine models make research difficult, but this is a key factor in many vaccinology studies. As the risk of livestock infection with T. spiralis is negligible under reasonable management condition, the development of vaccines against T. spiralis infection has received little attention. Regardless, vaccines against T. spiralis infection are a safe tool that could avoid drug resistance. Therefore, it is crucial to educate the public on the importance of vaccination and its benefit.The main source of human T. spiralis infection and the factors that influence the effectiveness of vaccines. Finally, research on the protective effect of T. spiralis vaccines should focus on pig infection models. To conclude, vaccines are a promising strategy to control trichinellosis.A successful vaccine for trichinellosis depends on a thorough consideration of immune response caused by DX, BT, and TL provided the ideas and wrote the draft manuscript. JL, YX, WG, YZ, and SY contributed to the revising of the manuscript. ML and DX approved the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher."}
+{"text": "Aedes albopictus, appeared in southern Switzerland in 2003. The spread of the mosquito has been surveyed constantly since then, and an integrated vector management (IVM) has been implemented to control its numbers. The control measures focus on the aquatic phase of the mosquito with removal of breeding sites and applications of larvicides in public areas whereas private areas are reached through extensive public information campaigns. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the IVM.The exotic invasive tiger mosquito, Ae. albopictus in southern Switzerland are currently implementing the IVM, Italian municipalities just across the Swiss-Italian border, where Ae. albopictus is present but no coordinated intervention programme is in place, served as control. Ovitraps and adult female traps were used to measure mosquito abundance in 2019. Generalised mixed-effects models were used to model the numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females collected. These numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs were compared to the numbers of eggs collected in 2012 and 2013 in a previous assessment of the IVM, using a hurdle model.Since all the municipalities with Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females in 2019 were consistently higher in the municipalities not following an IVM programme. In these municipalities, there were about four times (3.8) more eggs than in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme. Also, the numbers of eggs and adult females increased steadily from the beginning of the Ae. albopictus reproductive season, reaching a peak in August. In contrast, the increase in numbers of Ae. albopictus was much more contained in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme, without reaching an evident peak. Comparison with data from 2012 and 2013 indicates that the gap between intervention and non-intervention areas may have almost doubled in the past 6 years.Mean numbers of Ae. albopictus at a manageable level, reducing the nuisance for the human population and the risk of arbovirus epidemics.The results of the survey strongly support the efficacy of the IVM programme implemented in southern Switzerland compared to municipalities without defined control measures. With the constant implementation of an IVM, it appears possible to contain the numbers of The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-04903-2. Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is native to Southeast Asia and has been spreading globally in the last 40 years. This is probably due to both extrinsic factors, such as increase of global trade and travel, climate change and lack of efficient control, and intrinsic factors, such as strong physiological and ecological plasticity )Ae. albopictus in Ticino. However, the results indicate that with the implementation of an IVM programme, it is possible to contain the numbers of Ae. albopictus at a manageable level, irrespective of possible constant reintroduction of individuals from outside the intervention areas. Although it would certainly be desirable to undertake concerted actions across the Swiss-Italian Insubria region, with the development and implementation of a transnational action plan for the surveillance and control of Ae. albopictus, it is possible to achieve containment of the vector also without cross-border concerted measures.Reintroductions of mosquitoes in Ticino from across the border are probably occurring every year. From our data, it is not possible to tell the effect of these reintroductions on the quantities of Ae. albopictus egg numbers in urban environment were about four times higher in non-intervention sites, on the Italian side of the Swiss-Italian border than in intervention sites in Ticino. The numbers of Ae. albopictus adult females followed the same trend. In addition, the comparison with the previous survey carried out in 2012 and 2013 indicates that this proportion seems to have almost doubled in the past 6 years. We acknowledge that other unknown factors might explain the difference in mosquito densities, and further studies are required to collect additional evidence . Nevertheless, the results here support the effectiveness of the IVM programme implemented in Ticino. Thus, the integration of control measures targeting the aquatic phase of the mosquito  and different public education strategies seem to help in keeping the numbers of Ae. albopictus almost stable during the reproductive season of the mosquito. In addition, the perpetuation of these measures seems to help keeping the numbers of Ae. albopictus almost stable even over the years in the urban environment. These are relatively simple measures that, if constantly maintained over the years, show their effectiveness in keeping the mosquito population in check.In 2019, Additional file 1: Figure S1. Comparison of monthly average (a), minimum (b) maximum (c) temperatures and precipitations (d) between intervention and non-intervention areas.Additional file 2: Table S1. Data from ovitraps with Aedes albopictus egg counts, in csv format. Variables included are WGS84.LAT (latitude of trap); WGS84.LNG (longitude of trap); ALTITUDE ; AREA ; MUNICIPALITY; Date.when.ovitrap.installed; Date.when.ovitrap.collected; No..Days.ovitrap.in.field; Week.when.ovitrap.collected; No..eggs.AEDES; No..Eggs.AEDES.in.14.days; TRAP.ID.fac (trap identity); Day.ovitrap.collected and no.eggs.normalised.14.days.Additional file 3: Table S2. Data from Gravid Aedes Traps (GATs) with Aedes albopictus female counts, in csv format. Variables included are WGS84.LAT (latitude of trap); WGS84.LNG (longitude of trap); ALTITUDE ; AREA ; MUNICIPALITY; Date.when.GAT.installed; Date.when.GAT.collected; No..Days.GAT.in.field; Week.when.GAT.collected; No..Ad..Albo.in.GAT; No..Ad..Albo.in.14.days; TRAP.ID.fac (trap identity) and Day.GAT.collected.Additional file 4: Table S3. Aedes albopictus egg counts from 2012, 2013 [14] and 2019 in csv format. Variables included are AREA ; MUNICIPALITY; TRAP.ID.fac (trap identity); DATE; N.ALBOPICTUS ; ALTITUDE ; Year; Day (day of the year) and study .Additional file 5: Dataset S1. Data from ovitraps with Aedes albopictus egg counts in 2019, in RDS format (https://www.r-project.org/https://www.r-project.org/).Additional file 6: Dataset S2. Data from Gravid Aedes Traps (GATs) with Aedes albopictus female counts in 2019, in RDS format (https://www.r-project.org/).Additional file 7: Dataset S3. Aedes albopictus egg counts from 2012, 2013 [14] and 2019 in RDS format (https://www.r-project.org/).Additional file 8: Text S1. R-script for the analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus eggs collected in 2019. This R-script has been extracted from the corresponding Rmarkdown file (https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/). It allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 9: Text S2. R-script for the analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus adult females collected in 2019. This R-script has been extracted from the corresponding Rmarkdown file (https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/). It allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 10: Text S3. R-script for the analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus eggs collected in 2012, 2013 [14] and 2019. This R-script has been extracted from the corresponding Rmarkdown file (https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/). It allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 11: Text S4. This pdf file documents the full analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus eggs collected in 2019. This pdf was created with Rmarkdown and allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 12: Text S5. This pdf file documents the full analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus adult females collected in 2019. This pdf was created with Rmarkdown and allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 13: Text S6. This pdf file documents the full analysis of the number of Aedes albopictus eggs collected in 2012, 2013 [14] and 2019. This pdf was created with Rmarkdown and allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 14: Text S7. This pdf file documents additional data analyses of the number of Aedes albopictus eggs collected in 2019 performed at a reviewer\u2019s request. This pdf was created with Rmarkdown and allows for the full reproducibility of the analysis.Additional file 15: Figure S2. Study area in the 2012 and 2013 evaluation of the Ticino intervention programme [14]. The map was prepared using the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS version 10.0 ."}
+{"text": "Daboia siamensis, a medically important venomous snake in Taiwan, are rare, and species identification might not be definitive. This article reports the complete course of a definite D. siamensis bite. The patient in this report was one of the authors who was bitten on the right palm near the base of the index finger by D. siamensis. The patient experienced local effects, neurological manifestations, and acute kidney injury. The laboratory analysis revealed elevated D-dimer and coagulopathy. The patient was administered 8 vials of antivenom and did not undergo surgical intervention or endotracheal tube intubation, but serum sickness occurred 8 days after antivenom administration. The horse immunoglobulin produced by the Centers for Disease Control, R. O. C. (Taiwan), against D. siamensis was effective and safe in the treatment of the patient. However, the best antivenom administration strategy remains unclear and requires further study.Reports of envenomation induced by  Daboia siamensis, a medically important venomous snake in Taiwan, are mainly resident in the southern and eastern areas of Taiwan [D. siamensis bites in envenomed patients include local effects, varying degrees of acute kidney injury, incoagulable blood with bleeding tendency, and hemolysis [D. siamensis species induced more serious kidney injury than that of other Russell's vipers in Southeast Asia [D. siamensis remain rare, and species identification might not be definitive. This article reports the complete course of a definite D. siamensis bite in a patient.Patients who experience the bite of f Taiwan  The majoemolysis , 3. Befoast Asia \u20136. HowevD. siamensis  was bitten on the right palm near the base of the index finger by iamensis  in the RD. siamensis at the emergency department within 1\u2009h of being bitten. However, the swelling and redness had progressed to the wrist , against D. siamensis was effective and safe in the treatment of this patient. However, the best antivenom administration strategy remains unclear, and further studies are required to determine an appropriate regimen.This is a complete and definitive report of a case of"}
+{"text": "Sci., 2020, 11, 6907\u20136914, DOI: 10.1039/D0SC02717K.Correction for \u2018Effect of heterocycle content on metal binding isostere coordination\u2019 by Benjamin L. Dick  The authors regret that a complete Conflicts of interest section was not shown in the original article. The correct Conflicts of interest section is shown below.The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): S. M. C. is a co-founder of and has an equity interest in Cleave Therapeutics, Forge Therapeutics, and Blacksmith Medicines, companies that may potentially benefit from the research results. S. M. C. also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Blacksmith Medicines and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board and receives compensation from Forge Therapeutics. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of California, San Diego in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers."}
+{"text": "Throughout history, women have been actively involved in the advancement of science, while struggling to overcome challenges to participate and a lack of recognition. Prior to 1950, most women were not included in the lists of \u201cclassical\u201d descriptions of the iconic scientific figures nor included in the most relevant historical accounts. Since the second half of the twentieth century, great efforts have been made to recognize the contributions of women to the advancement of science, especially since formal scientific careers have been dominated by men, with limited (or no) access to women. Despite these challenging social, political and cultural contexts, many women have succeeded in making significant advancements, and their contributions are now being acknowledged. Such efforts have led to the publication of recent reviews and compilations on outstanding women in biological sciences. The field of medical entomology is inherently interdisciplinary, focusing on insects and other arthropods that affect human health, with input primarily from the biological and medical sciences and a strong public health perspective. Several reviews and book chapters describing the history of medical entomology have been published over the decades, but few women are mentioned in these publications, even though many women have contributed to this field. Much of the information on these women is currently scattered throughout the published literature and historical records on a wide range of topics, including activism, virology, vector control and even acarology. Considering that there is no single available compilation of women contributors in the history of medical entomology, this review aims to provide a list of 22 women and their contributions to this field. The list includes women from diverse backgrounds, born in the late 1800s and before 1950, who directly impacted medical entomology in various ways and in different regions of the world. This compilation is far from exhaustive, but it aims to identify role models and examples of extraordinary women to motivate the evolving future of this field. Women have been contributing to scientific developments since the beginning of science, although this has not always been evident. Even the most iconic female scientists in history, such as Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and Barbara McClintock, have had to struggle to be able to work in their fields and be acknowledged , 2. ActuCulex pipiens fatigans in the transmission of Wuchereria bancrofti [From an academic point of view, modern medical entomology began in 1877\u20131878, with Patrick Manson\u2019s discovery of the vector role of ancrofti . Howeverancrofti . As suchancrofti . This coancrofti \u201324. As wancrofti . While iancrofti .In an effort to inspire current and future medical entomologists and raise awareness of the achievements of women in this discipline, this review highlights the life and main contributions of 22 women, all born before 1950, who have influenced medical entomology in various ways and in different parts of the world. This list is far from exhaustive and was initially constructed through web searches  and by receiving names from an open forum discussion among experts in entomology, medical entomology and other associated disciplines, which was initiated by the authors of this review. Subsequently, each name was investigated  to produce the final list presented here , collected from three different rivers throughout the USA [Aedes albopictus as Stegomyia scutellaris var. samarensis, not knowing that Frederick A. A. Skuse had already published a paper describing it as Culex albopictus [Anopheles perplexens in Pennsylvania [Dr. Ludlow became an expert in mosquito taxonomy and published around 53 scientific papers, 20 of which, all on mosquitoes, were published during the time she was at George Washington University. Some of her most relevant work focuses on the description of mosquito species. In 1905, she described the morphology and the differences between males and females of  the USA . She alsbopictus . Howeverbopictus . She alssylvania  and worksylvania .Dr. Ludlow was honored by her peers by becoming the first non-physician and woman member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in 1908. In 2016, the ASTMH council voted in favor of creating a medal named after an iconic leader in tropical medicine and created the \u201cClara Southmayd Ludlow Medal\u201d in recognition of her work.Dr. Clara Ludlow died of cancer in the USA in 1924 .Pseudospora volvocis, an organism that parasitizes colonies of Volvox algae [Muriel Robertson was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1883, although she lived most of her professional life in London, England . She wasox algae . That saox algae .In 1907, Dr. Robertson moved to Ceylon (currently Sri Lanka) to study hemoparasites of reptiles, with an emphasis on trypanosomes and their life-cycles \u201339. She Trypanosoma gambiense (now T. brucei gambiense) in Glossina palpalis (tsetse fly), as well as in the human blood, making path-breaking discoveries [G. palpalis. She also provided evidence that a specific \u2018type\u2019 of trypanosome was responsible for continuing the life-cycle in the invertebrate host. In addition, she determined factors that interfere with the infection of tsetse flies by the trypanosomes.During her time in Uganda, Dr. Robertson made notable contributions to medical entomology by investigating the development and life-cycle of coveries \u201344. For Bodo caudatus [Trichomonas foetus infections [Dr. Robertson also contributed to many different topics of parasitology and bacteriology. She made significant advances in the study of the free-living ciliate caudatus \u201347, as wfections , 48\u201352. fections , 53\u201357.Dr. Muriel Robertson was a remarkable parasitologist and bacteriologist, which was acknowledged in 1947 when she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, becoming the eighth woman to have received this honor . She wasAlthough she spent most of her life in London, Dr. Muriel Robertson had a deeply rooted affection for Limavady in Northern Ireland, where she died in 1973 , 40.Alwen Myfanwy Evans was born in 1895, in Stockport, England, but lived most of her life in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. Dr. Evans earned a degree in entomology at Manchester University and started her outstanding scientific career in 1918, when she began working at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine . There, Anopheles marshalli varieties and specimens belonging to the Anopheles funestus complex [In terms of her achievements, Dr. Evans is known for specializing in mosquitoes, particularly African anophelines \u201366. Star complex \u201376.The Mosquitoes of the Ethiopian Region\u201d, which includes mosquito larval habits and breeding places, habits of the adults, associations with malaria, and distribution of the anophelines of the region [Anopheles evansae from Argentina, which was dedicated to Dr. Evans [The descriptive drawings made by Dr. Evans distinguishes her academic career, since these exceptional illustrations are often used for educational/teaching purposes and continue to stun current students and researchers. Her drawings can be seen throughout all her work and are depicted in her world-famous monograph \u201ce region . Since ar. Evans .Dr. Alwen M. Evans lived a short life and died of pneumonia in 1937, just a few days after completing the monograph that includes the written records of all her life\u2019s work, which was published a year later , 77.Mabel Josephine Mackerras was born Mabel Josephine Bancroft in 1896, in Queensland, Australia. Her father was Thomas Lane Bancroft, a physician and naturalist known for studying the life-cycle of filariae in their vectors , 80. He Dr. Mackerras authored and co-authored approximately 86 papers on several different topics, mostly within the Diptera and Blattodea, but also on hematozoan parasites of Australian vertebrates, nematodes in animals and diagnosis and prevention of salmonellosis in children . Among sLucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata and Chrysomya rufifacies, and made observations regarding the life cycle of these species along with Calliphora stygia and C. augur, while experimentally breeding them [Cnephia , Simulium and Austrosimulium) and describing two species (Simulium torresianum and Austrosimulium magnum) [Regarding other Diptera, Dr. Mackerras also researched blowfly infestations in sheep, focused on the growth of the larvae of ing them , 84. Als magnum) \u201388.The insects of Australia [Anamesia, Cosmozosteria, Desmozosteria, Drymaplaneta, Euzosteria, Leptozosteria, Megazosteria, Melanozosteria, Platyzosteria, Polyzosteria, Pseudolampra, Scabina, Temnelytra and Zonioploca), contributed taxonomic notes on various genera  and made one of the most complete compilations of the Polyzosteriinae subfamily to date [Dr. Mackerras also worked with the order Blattodea. She participated in writing a chapter about this group in the book ustralia  and, as  to date \u201398. Duri to date , 99.Musca and the pupae and larvae of three species of Tabanidae, and on bovine tick resistance [Culex ermutirostris specimens [The academic activity of Dr. Mackerras also included collaborations with other scientists, such as Professor T. Harvey Johnston, with whom she published several articles describing three new species of sistance , 80, 100pecimens , 102.honoris causa from the University of Queensland in 1967 [Dr. Mabel Josephine Mackerras was awarded the D.Sc.  in 1967 . She pas in 1967 .Gertrud Theiler was born in 1897 in Pretoria, South Africa. She was inspired by her father, Arnold Theiler, a famous veterinarian who worked with ticks and mites . She obtAmblyomma marmorenum group, she studied this genus of ticks in collaboration with Louis Salisbury and characterized different specimens collected as free-living stages or from multiple hosts, such as tortoises and pythons [Rhipicephalus species, such as Rhipicephalus follis, R. sulcatus, and others. Specimens of these species were collected from different African countries, including Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Uganda and South Africa [Hyalomma [Rhipicephalus capensis, also specifying, for the latter, the type of forest, tick habits and how its distribution is affected by temperature and altitude [Argas persicus with domestic fowl, but also included birds that act as intermediate or accidental hosts for some African ticks [Dermacentor rhinocerinos, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Margaropus winthemi, among others [Ms. Theiler\u2019s research focused mainly on ticks and acarology. Due to the lack of clarity in the  pythons . Her worh Africa . In addiHyalomma , as wellaltitude . Her intan ticks . In timeg others .Ms. Theiler joined the staff of the Veterinary Research Institute, which was created by her father Arnold after his death, and helped in its development by sharing her findings on African ticks . UnfortuMs. Gertrud Theiler died in Cape Town, South Africa in 1986, in the company of her close friend Andria van Gass, with whom she spent the last years of her life .Zoology by R\u00e9my Perrier, written by the zoologist Umberto Pierantoni [Maria Tonelli-Rondelli was born Maria Rondelli in 1899, in Turin, Italy. She studied natural sciences (1921) and geography (1923) at the University of Turin . In 1927erantoni .Amblyomma [Amblyomma cajennense was a species complex [Amblyomma, such as Amblyomma latepunctatum and Amblyomma romitii [Amblyomma mixtum, Amblyomma tenellum and Amblyomma sculptum [Amblyomma aureolatum (under the name A. striatum) was a synonym of A. ovale [The main entomological contribution of Ms. Tonelli-Rondelli was the study of ticks (Ixodidae), especially South American species \u2013117. Shemblyomma . She was complex , describsculptum , 119. Hosculptum , 121. CoA. ovale .Amblyomma cajennense group, separating them into six geographically defined groups. Their study validated the work of Ms. Tonelli-Rondelli, and the authors concluded that A. cajennense is a complex of species [A. aureolatum and A. ovale are different and valid species [Amblyomma species and named a new tick species after her: Amblyomma tonelliae [In 2013, Beati and colleagues found molecular differences between the species included at that time in the  species . Today i species . In 2014onelliae .Ms. Maria Tonelli-Rondelli died in 1970 .Maria V. Pospelova-Shtrom was born in imperial Russia in 1902 . Her fat On the system of classification of ticks of the family Argasidae is considered to be one of her most significant contributions [During her career, Dr. Pospelova-Shtrom worked mainly on tick-borne spirochetosis \u2013129. Sheibutions . Among oibutions .Haemaphysalis [Argas beklemischevi, Haemaphysalis erinacei turanica, Haemaphysalis pavlovskyi and Haemaphysalis pentalagi [The taxonomy and systematics of ixodid ticks were also topics researched by Dr. Pospelova-Shtrom, and several of her publications were devoted to the genus physalis , 132. Adphysalis , 134. Reentalagi .In her role as an expert in the field of tick biology, Dr. Pospelova-Shtrom participated in other academic activities. For example, she organized, together with WHO, the First International Meeting on Ticks and Their Diseases, held in Switzerland. Likewise, her knowledge and experience allowed her to play an important role as a mentor and teacher by overseeing graduate students, resulting in around 20 graduate theses, including 10 doctoral dissertations .Haemaphysalis pospelovashtromae [In light of the importance of her contributions to the field of tick biology, she was honored with the dedication of the species shtromae . Dr. Posshtromae , 125.Miriam Louisa Rothschild was born in 1908 in Northampton, England. She was tutored in natural history, but she did not have a traditional academic education. Nevertheless, for her outstanding research endeavours she was awarded honorary degrees by major European institutions, including D.Sc. from Oxford University (1968), G\u00f6teborg University (1983) and Cambridge University (1999) , 138. HeTunga monositus males and that of other species, where the terminal portion of the ventral nerve cord becomes V-shaped and the terminal ganglion lies dorsally due to the development of the aedeagus [Ceratophyllus species) from 36 species of birds, together with information on their distribution and host preferences, along with handmade illustrations of their geographical distribution [Fleas, Flukes & Cuckoos; A Study of Bird Parasites, a text devoted to bird parasites and their relationships, arguably the first of its kind [Xenopsylla cheopis. This work included a series of images that showed the sequence of movements in the flea body leading up to its jump, their position, jump velocity and acceleration and notes about their jumping ability even if their entire back leg was cut [Throughout her productive career, Dr. Rothschild published more than 300 scientific papers . Althougaedeagus . The colribution . Anotherits kind . In addiits kind , 147. Mo was cut .Callimorpha jacobaeae, can sequester a pyrrolizidine alkaloid from their host plant and retain it through all their metamorphosis [Zyganea flupendular and Z. lonicerae (Lepidoptera) can release hydrocyanic acid [Danaus plexippus and D. chrysippus) have cardenolids (i.e. a heart poison) in their bodies, making them indigestible and distasteful for most vertebrates [Dr. Rothschild had other academic interests as well, including insect chemical ecology, and she was a pioneer in the extraction of chemical plant compounds . She disorphosis . She alsnic acid . Furthertebrates .In addition to the honorary degrees mentioned above, Dr. Rothschild received several recognitions and awards, including the Bloomer Award (Linnean Society), Wigglesworth Gold Medal , Victoria Medal of Honour  and Mendel Award (Czech Science Academy). She was also named Fellow of the Royal Society and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire .Dr. Miriam Rothschild died in 2005, in the same city where she was born 96\u00a0years earlier. At the time of her death, she was actively investigating the sequestering of toxic compounds from plants . Theresa Rachael Clay was born in the UK in 1911 . She greNeohaematopinus) and pinnipeds , based on collections from her expeditions [Fleas, Flukes & Cuckoos; A Study of Bird Parasites, together with Miriam Rothschild [While working at the British Museum, overseeing the Phthiraptera and Apterygota sections, Dr. Clay became a world-renowned authority on lice. She collected specimens from several regions, such as India, Pakistan, the western Himalayas, Trinidad, British Guiana and Malaysia . Altogeteditions , 168. Drthschild . Additiothschild .A checklist of the genera & species of Mallophaga, published in 1952, which she co-authored with George Hopkins [To date, Dr. Clay\u2019s most valuable contribution to medical entomology may be  Hopkins . Before  Hopkins ). In her Hopkins .Lice in my life, a work portraying his views on the evolution of lice studies, wherein he mentions the contributions of Dr. Clay, with whom he corresponded, collaborated and exchanged specimens, to the study of Phthiraptera taxonomy. He comments on her every paper as being \u201cexcellent and a real contribution\u201d to the knowledge of chewing lice [New African Mallophaga, in which he describes a new genus and species, namely Clayia theresae, in honor of Dr. Clay and her life\u2019s trajectory on bird lice [Menopon clayae based on material from the British Museum in 1954 [Chinchillophaga clayae, with specimens provided by Dr. Clay herself [Kelerimenopon clayae, with resources provided by Dr. Clay and the British Museum [Pyrgilauda theresae), after her [Records of Dr. Clay\u2019s recognitions by her peers and contemporaries are available. One of these is Dr. K.C. Emerson\u2019s ing lice . Anotherird lice . This is in 1954 ; 10 year herself . Lastly,h Museum . In the fter her .Dr. Theresa Clay Searight died in 1995, at Brecon House Nursing Home in Sherborne, Dorset, at the age of 84. Her life\u2019s work is kept at the National History Museum , 175.Ellinor Catherine Cunningham van Someren was born Ellinor Catherine MacDonald in the city of Kampala, Uganda in 1915 . HoweveAedes (Finlaya) pulchrithorax Edwards in detail, based on specimens collected in Nairobi [ Ethiopian Culicidae,\u201d where she included several new species, subspecies, notes and descriptions of larvae and pupae from Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar and Seychelles [Megharhinus and Eretmapodites species from 1946 and 1949 include identification keys to the species of this genera [Ms. van Someren was a renowned mosquito taxonomist, and her most important contributions focus on Culicidae of East Africa. One of her first publications (still under her maiden name) appeared in 1939, in which she describes the larvae of  Nairobi . In the ychelles \u2013191. It ychelles , 184. Mos genera , 188.In other relevant work, Ms. van Someren and co-authors also provided detailed biological information about many mosquito species. One publication includes a list of all mosquitoes from the Kenya coast at the time, including their information on their occurrence, behavior and habitat . Ms. vanSurprisingly, there seem to be little to no formal descriptions published by Ms. van Someren in the early 1940s. There is, however, at least one publication on mosquitoes from British Somaliland  authored by G. R. Cunningham van Someren, her husband (ornithologist) . Here, tAedes, Anopheles, Culex, Eretmapodites, Mimomyia, Orthopodomyia, Toxorhynchites and Uroanotaenia) described by Ms. van Someren [Vansomereni) have been dedicated to her. In recognition of her extraordinary work and the significance of her contributions, in 1974 Ms. van Someren was granted a Doctor of Technology honoris causa from Brunel University, UK (documents provided by Noel van Someren) and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MOBE) as part of Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s Birthday Honors [Overall, the Systematic Catalogue of Culicidae compiled and maintained by the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit lists at least 33 species and three subspecies in eight genera  in 1916 . AlthougHyalomma savignyi, which was made possible with support from a fellowship of the International Association of University Women [Dr. Feldman-Muhsam was recognized for her work on Acari, mostly ticks. Interestingly, some of her first studies were on the effects of irradiation on mosquito immature stages and the biology of flies \u2013206. Latty Women , 208. Thty Women , 210, stty Women \u2013213, anaty Women  and madety Women , among mHyalomma is good example of her vast knowledge [Stigmacarus and on at least eight species of Acari in the genera Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus, Podapolipus, Tetrapolipus [Adlerocystis (with two species descriptions) [Haemaphysalis muhsami, Rhipicephalus muhsamae, Eutrombidium feldmanmuhsamae and Kurosapolipus feldmanmuhsamae [In addition to studying the physiology and ecology of ticks, Dr. Feldman-Muhsam was also an extraordinary tick and mite taxonomist. In this regard, her series of revisions on the genus nowledge , 217. Shapolipus , as welliptions) . At leasmuhsamae \u2013223.Dr. Feldman-Muhsam died in Jerusalem in 2008, leaving a legacy for future generations .Elizabeth Nesta Marks was born in 1918 in Dublin, Ireland . She didBetween 1942 and 1944 in Australia, there was an active push to study mosquito-borne diseases, mainly because of the exposure of Australian troops to diseases in malarious areas of New Guinea, a dengue fever epidemic in Brisbane and a malaria epidemic in Cairns . This epFinlaya, genus Aedes in which they describe adults  and larva, create a taxonomic key and comment on the distribution and relationships of this subgenus [Aedes scutellaris supgroup, emphasizing the variation in Aedes pseudoscutellaris , mainly distributed in the Australasian and the eastern part of the Oriental region [Pseudoskusea and Neoculex from the Australasian region [Anopheles from Queensland, which she named Anopheles colledgei after W. R. College, an early Queensland student of mosquitoes [Aedes  (Finlaya) from northern Australia, which was named Aedes britteni [Aedes (Ochlerotatus) subalbirostris as a new species from New Zealand [Aedes: Aedes (Macleaya) stoneorum from Queensland [Dr. Marks was a distinguished medical entomologist, who primarily specialized in mosquito taxonomy. In 1952, in collaboration with Kenneth Knight, she updated the taxonomic checklist of the subgenus subgenus . Dr. Marl region . She alsn region , as wellsquitoes . In addibritteni . In 1960 Zealand . In 1977eensland . Includieensland . In addieensland .Dr. Marks received several awards and honors for her remarkable contributions to medical entomology, especially regarding mosquitoes. These included her appointment as Honorary Research Associate of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum (1974) and life memberships in the Queensland Naturalist\u2019s Club, the Royal Society of Queensland and the Australian Entomological Society. Moreover, she was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1981 from the Field Naturalists\u2019 Club of Victoria, and jointly with John Reid in 1986, she was given the Belkin Award of the American Mosquito Control Association for outstanding contributions in systematics . In 1990Dr. Elizabeth Nesta Marks died in 2002 .Ana Esther Hoffmann Mendiz\u00e1bal, also known as \u201cAnita\u201d Hoffmann, was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1919 . Her fatAnimales desconocidos: relatos acarol\u00f3gicos  (1988), El maravilloso mundo de los ar\u00e1cnidos (The wonderful world of mites) (1993) and Biodiversidad de \u00e1caros en M\u00e9xico (Biodiversity of mites in Mexico) (2000) [Chapalania cifuentesi) and a new species of eriophyid mite  [Dr. Hoffmann was a pioneer in the study of mites and arachnids in Mexico, although she worked on a variety of topics in the fields of parasitology and entomology. She wrote over 130 articles and 10 books, including ) (2000) , 235. In) (2000) . Dr. Hofibanezi) \u2013239. Heribanezi) , 241, paibanezi) . Along wibanezi) .Throughout her career of 50\u00a0years, Dr. Hoffmann collected over 100,000 mites, 400 spiders, specimens from 13 families of diplopods and chilopods and various other ectoparasites. She donated this collection to the Institute of Biology of UNAM, which became the largest collection of mites in M\u00e9xico, and incorporated it into the World\u2019s Index of Acarology collections . She alsIn recognition of her distinguished career and contributions to her field, around 40 species have been named in her honor . She wasDr. Hoffmann worked and carried out research for over 60\u00a0years and died in Cuernavaca, Morelos, in 2007 .Ernestine H. B. Thurman was born Ernestine Hogan Basham in Atkins, Arkansas, USA, in 1920. She attended elementary and secondary school in Atkins, and in 1944, she earned a B.S. from the University of the Ozarks  , 247. DrFollowing the death of her husband, Dr. Thurman went back to the USA where she began working at the National Institutes of Health\u2019s Microbiology Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. She subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Maryland, studying mosquitoes of Northern Thailand. After she moved to New Orleans and married Clyde Swartzwelder, she worked as an executive secretary for the Study Section on Tropical Medicine, Division of Research Grants of the USPHS. Once she retired from USPHS as Captain, she joined the faculty of the Louisiana State University Medical Center as a professor in pathology. Her last career steps took place when she resigned from that position and dedicated her later years to be a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Women at Tulane University, where she fought to overcome the barriers blocking the advancement of women in science , 248.Culex (Melanoconion) mulrennani and Aedes bicristatus, both new species found in Florida and California, respectively [Culiseta larvae, which enabled the identification and differentiation of four species from California [Dr. Thurman\u2019s work reflects a lifelong interest in mosquitoes and vector control \u2013255. Of ectively . She alslifornia .Undoubtedly, one of the most important contributions of Dr. Thurman was her participation in the founding of the Thai-American malaria control program. The program carried out operations that included the collection and study of mosquitoes, house-spraying with DDT, surveys, anti-malaria vigilance, training of medical officers and technical assistants and malaria treatment and public information . The resBefore Dr. Thurman died in January of 1987, in Virginia, she had influenced the field of entomology as a woman activist since she constantly expressed the need for women to be educated and more involved in science .Aedes aegypti [Monica Asman was born in Germany in 1920, but moved to Los Angeles, USA, with her family when she was a child . She bec aegypti . Of note aegypti . That sa aegypti \u2013260. Aft aegypti .Culex tarsalis, which plays a major role as a vector of St. Louis encephalitis and equine encephalomyelitis in the western USA. Her investigations focused on using chromosomal modifications as a tool for population control by introducing infertility in mosquito field populations  or by making them less capable of transmitting disease [Cx. tarsalis with cobalt-60 to induce genetic alterations and determined the ideal radiation dose that induced approximately 95% mosquito sterility [Cx. tarsalis males, as well as studies on the mating ability of the latter mosquitoes in outdoor cages [As an expert in mosquito genetics, Dr. Asman produced more than 50 publications in several journals . While w disease \u2013263. Dr.terility , 264. Iror cages \u2013267.Aedes aegypti in different life-stages and studies on the genetics of Aedes sierrensis, as this species was also a candidate for the sterile male control method [Other relevant contributions were the experiments carried out by Dr. Asman to determine the effects of ionizing radiation on the gonadal development of l method .Dr. Monica Asman passed away in California in 2016 .Jane Brotherton Walker was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1925 \u2013271. SheRhipicephalus and other species of Ixodidae found in Africa. Not surprisingly, she has been referred to as \u201cthe doyenne of African tick researchers\u201d [Rhipicephalus pulchellus, R. pravus and R. humeralis [Rhipicephalus, and it is relevant to note that she reared many of them in the laboratory [The Genus Rhipicephalus. A Guide to the Brown Ticks of the World stands out as her most prominent contribution [Rhipicephalus [Dr. Walker was a prominent tick expert, especially regarding the taxonomy of the genus archers\u201d . She pubarchers\u201d , 270. Inumeralis \u2013274. In boratory \u2013282. Herribution . Dr. Walcephalus . In thescephalus .Ixodes walkerae, Argas walkerae, Rhipicephalus walkerae and Haemaphysalis walkerae [Dr. Walker\u2019s contributions to the knowledge of ticks have been acknowledged in many forms by her colleagues. She was awarded several prestigious awards, including the 1988 Elsdon Dew Medal for \u201coutstanding service rendered to Parasitology in Africa\u201d , the Agricultural Science and Technology Woman of the Year Award (1998) and the Theiler Memorial Trust Award in 1998 for \u201cexceptional service rendered to Veterinary Science in Africa\u201d , 271. Alwalkerae \u2013287, as walkerae , 289. MoDr. Jane B. Walker died at home in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2009, while enjoying tea with her colleague and mentee Ivan G. Horak , 271.Jadwiga Z\u0142otorzycka was born in 1926 in Warsaw, Poland, but grew up in Lviv, Ukraine , 291. InToxocara canis and researched several aspects of parasites of dogs, apes, monkeys and mice [Dr. Z\u0142otorzycka was an expert in the taxonomy of chewing lice , and her most important contributions focused on the biology, morphology and taxonomy of chewing lice species of birds \u2013293. Howand mice \u2013299.Lanicanthus aequalis and Menacanthus verecundus, or in collaboration with Dr. W. Eichler (Gypsigogus novoannus) [Overall, Dr. Z\u0142otorzycka published close to 100 scientific papers, most of which were written in Polish, while others were published in German and English , 301. Shvoannus) .To mention some of her many publications, in 1922, Dr. Z\u0142otorzycka collaborated with Ms. Maria Modrzejewska to record the presence and metric characters of lice (superfamily Ischnocera) collected from birds (order Procellariiformes) in islands of the Antarctic region of South Georgia . TogethePseudomenopon zlotorzyckae (=\u2009Pseudomenopon pilosum) and the subspecies Anatoecus icterodes zlotorzyckae [Zlotorzyckiella Eichler, the species Docophorulus zlotorzyckae (=\u2009Philopterus zlotorzyckae) and the subspecies Saemundssonia platygaster jadwigae [In recognition of Dr. Z\u0142otorzycka\u2019s numerous contributions, several species have been named after her, such as orzyckae . Likewisjadwigae .According to biographies that have been written about her, Dr. Jadwiga Z\u0142otorzycka died in 2002 \u2013292, 301Rachel Galun was born in Tel Aviv, Palestine (now Israel) in 1926. According to her curriculum vitae , she studied biology and agronomy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she received her M.Sc. Degree in 1947. In 1955, she completed her Ph.D. in insect physiology and medical entomology in the Department of Entomology of the University of Illinois . Between 1948 and 1952, she worked as a medical entomologist in the Israel Defense Forces, and between 1956 and 1977, she was the head of the Department of Entomology at the Israel Institute for Biological Research. From 1965 to 1975, she taught medical entomology and insect physiology at the University of Tel Aviv, Haifa Medical School and Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa. Dr. Galun was appointed as a professor in Zoology at the Hebrew University in 1977, where she was also the head of the Department of Zoology from 1978 to 1982. From 1985 and until her retirement, she was involved in the Department of Parasitology and served as the head of the Institute of Microbiology (1987\u20131993) at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem.Dr. Galun conducted research on a variety of topics and published approximately 170 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She studied the physiology of respiration and hematophagy in insects and leeches  and the In 1992, Dr. Galun received the McArthur distinguished visiting professor award from the Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona. Among other academic activities, she organized seminars at the WHO , the International Atomic Energy Agency  and the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi (Kenya) (curriculum vitae provided by K. Y. Mumcuoglu). She also participated and organized multiple workshops and conferences in different continents, sat on a number of editorial boards and served as consultant and expert advisor on topics related to vector biology and control.At the time of publication of this review, Dr. Galun is alive and residing in Israel .Ixodes, and the morphology and taxonomy of Ixodidae [Natalia A. Filippova was born in Moscow in 1930. Her university years began in 1947 at the Faculty of Biology and Soil Sciences of Moscow State University, but her interest in entomology led her to specialize in this field under the tutelage of professors Aleksei A. Zachvatkin, Evgenii S. Smirnov and Vladimir N. Beklemishev. Her graduate studies, including M.Sc. (1952) and Ph.D. (1955) degrees, were on the identification of immature stages of ticks of the genus Ixodidae .In the same year of her thesis dissertation (1955), Dr. Eugene N. Pavlovsky, head of the Russian School of Parasitologists and director of the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Russian Sciences at the USSR, invited Dr. Filippova to study and review the taxonomy of argasid ticks of epidemiological and epizootic importance in the south of the USSR. This led to the publication of a monograph on argasids of the Palearctic Region, which constitutes one of the most representative and comprehensive studies on this group of arthropods , 331.Ixodes persulcatus [. This work resulted in the proposal of the \u201cpersulcatus group,\u201d including representative species such as Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes nipponensis, Ixodes kashmiricus, and Ixodes kazakstan [Ixodes ticks of the \u201cpersulcatus group\u201d of the taiga, included in the \"Man and the Biosphere program\u201d. Dr. Filippova was the author of approximately 30% of the topics, which included chapters on systematics, evolution, identification keys, individual and geographical variability of the different stages of ticks, geographical ranges of species and ecological relationships with species of sympatric zones, among others [After her work with argasids, Dr. Filippova dedicated herself to researching the biodiversity of ixodid ticks in the taiga, focusing on the study of sulcatus . This woazakstan . In thesazakstan , 335. Gig others .Haemaphysalis, Dermacentor, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus [Boophilus into the genus Rhipicephalus [. At the end of her career, she published a third monograph titled The fauna of Russia and neighboring countries [Anomalohimalaya lotozkyi, Argas latus, Argas macrostigmatus, Argas tridentatus, Argas vulgaris, Dermacentor montanus, Dermacentor ushakovae, Ixodes ghilarovi, Ixodes sachalinensis, Ixodes stromi and Ixodes subterranus [Dr. Filippova\u2019s comprehensive research of Ixodida included studies on the genera cephalus , 336\u2013338cephalus . At the ountries . Her conterranus .Borrelia burdorferi, the causal agent of Lyme disease, and species of the ticks of the \u201cpersulcatus group\u201d, taking into consideratopm aspects of distribution, ecology and evolution of B. burdoferi [Among other academic contributions, Dr. Filippova also studied the relationship between urdoferi , 331.As recognition of the impact of her contributions in the field of Ixodida, in 1993 she received the highest honor awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the E.N. Pavlovsky Gold Medal .Dr. Filippova died in St. Petersburg in 2018 .Mar\u00eda Dora Feliciangeli was born in 1940, in the town of Borgomanero, in northern Italy . During Dr. Feliciangeli\u2019s research focuses on relevant public health topics, such as the epidemiology of Chagas disease and leishmaniasis, immunological and molecular diagnosis of leishmaniasis, vector\u2013parasite interactions, parasite genetics, sand fly and triatomine biology, chemically active substances and their effects on vectors and species descriptions \u2013353.Lutzomyia migonei as the putative vector, and described the infection of domestic animal hosts by Leishmania guyanensis for the first time [Lutzomyia longipalpis species complex, namely Lutzomyia pseudolongipalpis [Leishmania infantum strain on the fecundity-fertility, survival and life expectancy of both Lu. longipalpis sensu lato and Lu. pseudolongipalpis, observing a detrimental effect in all parameters [Rhodnius robustus as a vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in western Venezuela, when Rhodnius prolixus is absent [Dr. Feliciangeli\u2019s contributions to medical entomology are extensive. To name a few of her relevant academic accomplishments, her team established the co-existence of two transmission cycles of American cutaneous leishmaniasis, with rst time . Moreovegipalpis . Subsequrameters . In addis absent .An extensive list of distinctions have been awarded to Dr. Feliciangeli, including various awards and certifications related to her field of study, as well as the title of International Woman of the Year (1999) awarded by the University of Cambridge for her contributions to medical entomology and parasitology . She is After a lifetime of achievements in medical entomology and vector-borne diseases, Dr. Mar\u00eda Dora Feliciangeli died in 2017, in the city of Maracay, Venezuela, at the age of 77, leaving the field to a new generation of professionals and trainees .Trypanosoma cruzi [ Biom\u00e9dica, where she was involved in the review and evaluation of articles related to entomology [Mar\u00eda Cristina Ferro was born in 1947 in Ipiales, Colombia. She finished her B.S. in Microbiology at Universidad de los Andes, Bogot\u00e1, in 1969, and then joined the Entomology Group of the National Institute of Health of Colombia (INS), where she began to work and conduct research on leishmaniasis vectors . During ma cruzi . Upon hetomology .Lutzomyia  [Leishmania spp. and new viruses from sand flies, and carried out research on vector incrimination, vector capacity and environmental and ecological factors associated with the transmission of leishmaniasis [Lutzomyia was named in her honor: Lutzomyia ferroae [Belminus ferroae, was named in her honor in 2007 [Culicoides, in which some species are considered potential vectors of different microorganisms [Ms. Ferro's main research focused on the study of the vectors of leishmaniasis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis, but she also worked on triatomines, biting midges and the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases \u2013359. Focimensis) \u2013362. Shemaniasis \u2013368. In  ferroae . Regardi ferroae . In addi in 2007 \u2013372. Sherganisms .Ms. Ferro\u2019s scientific career covered multiple aspects. She was not only extremely productive academically, with her name as author of more than 100 published articles and several book chapters, but also served as an advisor of undergraduate and graduate students and actively participated in different national and international scientific events on tropical medicine, parasitology and entomology . LikewisIn a tribute to Ms. Ferro, following her death in Colombia in 2015, many researchers praised not only her academic excellence, but also her collaborative attitude and passion for learning and teaching . She is Clara Louise Maass is included in this review as an honorable mention, despite not being a medical entomologist or working directly in this discipline, due to her historical contribution to the field as a volunteer in experiments related to the transmission of YF.Ms. Clara Maass was born in the US state of New Jersey in 1876, in an immigrant family from Germany . When shIn 1900, Ms. Maass applied for a call for nurses made by Dr. William Gorgas, the Chief Sanitary Officer of Havana, Cuba, and started to work as a nurse at Las Animas Hospital. Dr. Gorgas, and other members of the Sanitary Department decided to establish the Las Animas inoculation station at the hospital, with the aim to study vaccination as a measure to control YF. To this end, they used infected mosquitoes to induce mild disease among non-immune individuals , 380. BeThe Cuban and USA governments recognized Ms. Maass\u2019s volunteer contributions to science and, in her remembrance, a plaque of her hangs on the walls of the Las Animas Hospital in Havana and in the Newark German Hospital, renamed as the Clara Maass Medical Center . The latExperiments on YF with human subjects ended after these three deaths, but these trials provided scientists and non-scientists with the opportunity to reflect upon the use of humans in research and, together with other events that occurred later in history, laid the foundations for good clinical practices and the creation of Institutional Review Boards. These YF experiments were also the first to formulate a typed informed consent form, in English and Spanish, and signed by the volunteers . Some ofThe women portrayed in this review have undoubtedly helped to lay the foundations of modern medical entomology. They exemplify the variety of specializations and arthropod groups in this field, such as taxonomy, physiology, vector control and epidemiology of the diseases caused by the pathogens they transmit. It is evident that a review such as this one is not complete and that there are probably many other women who could have been included. Also, it was not possible to portray representatives from every region of the world. In most countries, including those with a history of significant scientific development, such as India, China, Japan, Spain or Brazil, women have contributed to the advancement of science, but names in the history of medical entomology, in particular, seem less easy to track \u2013391. In"}
+{"text": "There is an error in the Conclusion subsection of the Abstract. The correct sentence is: A low autonomic nervous system activity, i.e. low SDNN or Energy, and a predominance of the parasympathetic system, i.e. high HFnu or ANIm, due to the sympathetic depletion in COVID-19 patients are associated with a worse prognosis, higher mortality, and higher IL-6 levels."}
+{"text": "Anopheles dirus complex includes efficient malaria vectors of the Asian forested zone. Studies suggest ecological and biological differences between the species of the complex but variations within species suggest possible environmental influences. Behavioural variation might determine vector capacity and adaptation to changing environment. It is thus necessary to clarify the species distributions and the influences of environment on behavioural heterogeneity.The A literature review highlights variation between species, influences of environmental drivers, and consequences on vector status and control. The localisation of collection sites from the literature and from a recent project (MALVECASIA) produces detailed species distributions maps. These facilitate species identification and analysis of environmental influences.Plasmodium falciparum and partial control failure of forest malaria in Southeast Asia.The maps give a good overview of species distributions. If species status partly explains behavioural heterogeneity, occurrence and vectorial status, some environmental drivers have at least the same importance. Those include rainfall, temperature, humidity, shade, soil type, water chemistry and moon phase. Most factors are probably constantly favourable in forest. Biological specificities, behaviour and high human-vector contact in the forest can explain the association of this complex with high malaria prevalence, multi-drug resistant Environmental and human factors seem better than species specificities at explaining behavioural heterogeneity. Although forest seems essential for mosquito survival, adaptations to orchards and wells have been recorded. Understanding the relationship between landscape components and mosquito population is a priority in foreseeing the influence of land-cover changes on malaria occurrence and in shaping control strategies for the future. Anopheles dirus complex are associated with high malaria prevalence rates and the occurrence of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum [Throughout most of their geographical distribution, species of the lciparum ,2. The blciparum -5 but suAn.dirus s.l.  is well documented in the literature, no attempt has been made recently to compile this information. A major difficulty resides in the taxonomic changes which have affected the group throughout the last 50 years [If the biology of 50 years ,6,7. FurAnopheles (Cellia) leucosphyrus group in the Neomyzomyia Series [Anopheles dirus or An. dirus sensu stricto (s.s.), Anopheles crascens, Anopheles scanloni, Anopheles baimaii, Anopheles elegans (previously known as species E), Anopheles nemophilous and Anopheles takasagoensis [Anopheles elegans from Sri Lanka [Anopheles mirans and is not part of the complex [Fortunately, the taxonomy of the complex has recently been clarified and the species named ,8. The ca Series  and now agoensis ,8. The sri Lanka  and Soutri Lanka  has now  complex . EvolutiBased on those taxonomic clarifications, existing distribution maps of these species  can now An. dirus complex using literature records and personal data, 2) to provide an overview of intra- and inter- species variation of biology and behaviour and 3) to identify key ecological factors influencing the behaviour distribution, occurrence and vectorial status of An. dirus s.l.This article thus aims to, 1) update the distributions of members of the The basis for the paper is a comprehensive analysis of more than a hundred articles examined for the following items: information on geographical dispersion, species identification methods, behaviour of adults and larvae, and environmental factors influencing occurrence and behaviour. Key papers on taxonomy and population structure were first reviewed to associate historical species records with currently recognized species.More than five hundred collection sites were then spatially located. They include literature records but also recent data from the MALVECASIA network, a research network of eight partners that studied the distribution and insecticide resistance of malaria vectors in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. This information was gathered in a table, and maps were produced to plot the collection sites on a vegetation background adapted from the global dataset Global Land Cover 2000. This baAn. dirus s.s. and An. scanloni remains problematic. Morphological keys based on reared adults with associated larval and pupal exuviae[et al. provided a complete list [For each site number, the sibling species identified in the reviewed publication is recorded, as well as the identification methods. Considerable uncertainty may result from some of these methods  and the l exuviae, polytenl exuviae, enzyme l exuviae, allele-l exuviae,19 and rl exuviae are a feete list . SpeciesThe species spatial distribution is first discussed. Then larval and adult ecology and behaviour are analysed to highlight possible variation between species. The influence of environmental drivers and land-cover is then considered as well as the consequences for vector status and control.An. dirus complex distribution  call for further investigation into the actual distribution of the complex in India. Those areas are presented in Figure Species of the ivastava . A predita. Bhat  and Rajata. Bhat  also citAn. elegans [An. baimaii based on identification in nearby Bangladesh [An. baimaii seems to be the main species in Myanmar, occurring throughout the country, then giving way to An. dirus s.s. eastward from western Thailand. An. dirus s.s. is the only species recorded so far in Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia [An. crascens is confined to southern Thailand and Malaysia[An. takasagoensis to Taiwan [An. scanloni and An. nemophilous seem to have more patchy distributions. An. scanloni is restricted to western and southern Thailand, whereas the distribution of An. nemophilous closely follows monsoon forests. The south of Thailand and the Thai \u2013 Myanmar border present various sites of high sympatry for several species of the complex [Regarding the species distributions within the range of the complex, there are no major geographic or topographic reasons that seem to justify the current species distribution pattern. Therefore, speciation probably does not result from adaptation to a specific environment but the species might have been isolated for some time. Their distribution most probably reflects geo-morphological changes which have occurred in the past and are today not evident . The mou elegans ,23 appar elegans  and the  elegans , and arengladesh . An. baiCambodia -29 and HCambodia . An. cra Malaysia, and An.o Taiwan . An. scaAn. baimaii from Thailand and site 302 in China, and An. scanloni at sites 175 and 195 suggest the possible existence of two new species [Some clarifications are still called for. Variations of ITS2 rDNA usually occur only between sibling species, thus intraspecific variations between populations of  species , with a  species .An. dirus s.s seems to occur in Cambodia, two specimens of An. baimaii were earlier recorded near to the border in Thailand at site 241 [An. nemophilous in nearby Thailand [An. dirus s.s. has been recorded in Lao although An. baimaii occurs nearby in China. Unexpected records such as An. dirus s.s. at site 49 [An. scanloni at site 126 [An. baimaii at site 241, which are based on the collection of only two specimens. Sallum et al. [An. crascens in Sumatra but gave no reference.There is need for some investigations at the Thai-Cambodian border, the border between Lao and China and some areas in Myanmar. Indeed, although only site 241  and specThailand . Only An site 49  and 148  site 49 , and An.site 126 , should An. dirus s.l. have some constant characteristics: temporary, standing or slowly moving water under shade. While primary sites occur year round and tend to be associated with the stream system in deep forest, they vary in nature according to the season with drying pools in stream beds, pools connected with streams or meanders of slow moving streams in the dry season [An. dirus s.s. occurs in gem pits [An. baimaii occurs in wells close to houses in a particular area of Myanmar throughout the year [Primary and secondary larval habitats of y season -40, compy season ,39,41. Sgem pits  and in wgem pits . If wellgem pits , An. baithe year ,45-47 evAn. takasagoensis breeds in large permanent pools used by buffaloes for bathing if freshened by the rain [An. dirus s.l. was also recorded in long marshy areas in the forest of Myanmar [An. dirus s.s. is found reported in clay jars in Hainan[Secondary larval habitats occur in the rainy season and can be found closer to human settlement at the forest fringe. These are commonly small, shallow, temporary, shaded water-holding depressions . Puddlesthe rain . An. dir Myanmar  and in t Myanmar . Artific Myanmar  and natuin Hainan, in a tiin Hainan, empty tin Hainan. Positivin Hainan,36,40 anAn. dirus s.s. and An. baimaii show adaptations to temporary habitats [An. dirus s.l. reappears at the surface thus eliminating other competitors. An. dirus s.l. immature stages can feed on the larvae of other species and less frequently on its own larvae, in particular under crowded conditions [Immature stages of habitats ,43. The habitats ,43. Larvnditions . Increasnditions  and the nditions .An. scanloni and rocky-stony micro-environments for An. dirus s.s., An. crascens and An. baimaii. Sympatric populations of An. dirus s.s. and An. baimaii share identical larval habitat and even the same pools at site 204 [An. baimaii was, however, more often found in pools that dried out in dry spells during the rainy season. This might reflect a seasonal variation in larval habitats or species, with An. dirus s.s. more abundant at the start and An. baimaii during the middle of the rainy season [For a sibling species, larval habitats seem quite diverse according to location but Baimai  recordedsite 204 . An. baiy season .An. baimaii and An. dirus s.s. are extremely anthropophilic [An. baimaii [An. nemophilous feeds primarily on monkey, and An. dirus s.s. and An. scanloni feed more often on humans than An. crascens. These experiments were however based on few observations[pophilic ,52-55, epophilic , but lespophilic ,57. In ppophilic  or every baimaii . Some stervations. Monkeyservations,59 but pervations. Anecdotervations, dogs anervations, as wellervations,61.Females are primarily exophagic but enter open shelters to feed . VariatiAn. dirus s.l. in the canopy than on the ground and when Wilkinson [Resting places are difficult to find and occur mainly outdoors ,59,66 inilkinson  releasedAn. dirus s.l. is a late night feeder or an early night feeder. Scanlon [An. scanloni, and An. crascens, around 22h for An. dirus s.s. and 02h for An. baimaii [An. dirus s.s. and An. baimaii are, however, both often recorded as late night feeders [An. takasagoensis and An. baimaii [An. scanloni [An. baimaii, An. dirus s.s. and An. takasagoensis [Biting can happen in daylight in the jungle,59 but o Scanlon  emphasis Scanlon  or early Scanlon  in the s baimaii . An. dir feeders ,48,69,70 baimaii ,46,57,71 baimaii . A two-y baimaii ,36,46,59 baimaii  or earli baimaii . Late bi baimaii . Compila baimaii . The Rel baimaii . Indoor  baimaii . Outdooragoensis ,43,46,72An. dirus s.l. The influence of moon phase and housing facilities on biting behaviour has already been discussed. Other keys factors of importance are temperature, rainfall, topography, season, soil type, shade, water quality and land-cover. These factors interact with components of the mosquito life cycle on one hand and with different stages of the parasite cycle on the other.The occurrence of different sibling species can explain part of the heterogeneity in behaviour. However, differences between individuals of the same species underlines the major role of environmental factors in determining the occurrence, distribution, seasonality, behaviour and vectorial status for An. dirus s.l. is mainly linked to rainfall, temperature and relative humidity [An. baimaii [An .dirus s.l. in Hainan [An. crascens than An. baimaii at the beginning and less An. crascens than An. scanloni at the end of the wet season at site 175. At site 204, more An. dirus s.s. were found at the start and more An. baimaii towards the middle of the wet season [An. takasagoensis also present high fluctuations in abundance. The species usually is fairly uncommon but is occasionally very abundant [The occurrence of humidity . Attacks baimaii . Lower on Hainan . Heavy rn Hainan ,46,74 ann Hainan . The patn Hainan . Kitthawn Hainan  observedn Hainan ,29,64. Tn Hainan . Variatit season . Populatabundant .An. dirus s.l. seems inactive when temperature falls below 15\u00b0C [An. dirus s.l. can still survive and even transmit malaria. [Temperature is rarely a limiting factor but it influences the longevity of the mosquito, the length of the sporogonic cycle and mosquito activity, thus influencing seasonally the vector status.low 15\u00b0C . Howevermalaria. . The durmalaria. . If sizemalaria. , larger malaria. . Mean damalaria. . Howevermalaria. .An. dirus s.l. after the rain is not systematic at site 12 and requires three concomitant elements: rapidly draining pools, intermittent, heavy rains and embryonated eggs [An. baimaii breeds year-long in wells, the soil outside is not appropriate for larval habitat because it dries out very rapidly by percolation and evaporation. Even puddles in path are negative [Topography, salinity, pH and shade also influence the availability and occurrence of larval habitat. Topography is a major element with sites found commonly in foothills where rain water can accumulate, next to streams or in the beds of ravines. Rosenberg observed that the appearance of waves of ted eggs . If suitted eggs ,66. Suitnegative  and mostnegative . Kitthawnegative  noticed An. bamaii in wells in Myanmar. Nitrate, iron, dissolved oxygen, sulphate, chlorine, ammonia and water hardness seem to have no influence, but larval density is negatively correlated to pH in ground pools and salinity in wells, with a threshold at 200 ppm NaCl [An. dirus s.l. will not be encountered if the water is not freshened frequently by rains [Salinity, pH, shade and temperature have been extensively analysed in the context of ppm NaCl ,45,47,49ppm NaCl ,47. Larvppm NaCl , most lappm NaCl . Numerouby rains .An. dirus s.l. is associated with forested foothills, forests or forest fringes. If availability of larval habitats and the presence of natural hosts, such as monkeys [An. dirus s.l. seems to spill over from the forest into secondary larval habitats.The most important environmental parameter is definitely land-cover. Throughout its distribution  monkeys  are expl monkeys . Favoura monkeys . The treAn. dirus s.s. are present in deep forest settlements or villages than in villages located at the edge of forest or in fragmented forests [An. dirus s.l. populations in the forest are not totally understood but the distance to the potential host and suitability of oviposition site certainly play a major role. The association with the forest is high in any case and almost systematically results in high vector contact and malaria transmission.Much larger densities of  forests . Variati forests ,35,78,79 forests . Terraco forests . Specime forests . These cAn. nemophilous seem to be dependant on monsoon forest[An. dirus s.l. were encountered by Scanlon [Species such as on forest. In Chol Scanlon  in 1964, Scanlon ,48,81 an Scanlon . However Scanlon .An. dirus s.l. in the transmission of malaria has only been assessed during the last 50 years. It is now considered as the most important vector in Southeast Asia. Several factors contribute to making species of the An. dirus s.l. complex an exceptionally efficient vectors: they are so long lived and highly anthropophilic that only small populations are necessary to maintain high malaria endemicity [The role played by demicity . Their eAn. dirus s.l Overnight stays in the open for hunting and collecting fruits in forest increase the human/vector contact, and open temporary shelters and forest huts facilitate early indoor biting when people are not yet protected by bed-nets[An. dirus s.l. moves back to the valley and forest fringe and where secondary larval habitats become available [The forest activities of humans play a major role in the malaria epidemiology of Southeast Asia . The col bed-nets. The inv bed-nets. During  bed-nets where in bed-nets are comm bed-nets. Malariavailable . People An. dirus s.l. vary with season and location, with the highest rates recorded in October (7.8%) at site 17 [P.vivax and P.falciparum have been commonly detected in An. baimaii and An. dirus s.s Baimai [An. scanloni and An. crascens with slight differences between species in relation to the parasite. An. dirus s.s. developed Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum oocysts more readily than An. crascens and An. scanloni. An. elegans, An. nemophilous, and An. takasagoensis probably only transmit simian malaria [The vector density peak occurs generally one month before the malaria incidence peak . However site 17  and rate site 17 . Rosenbe site 17  found his Baimai  reported malaria .An. dirus s.l. [P. falciparum and showed that 66% of An. dirus s.l. and 44% of An. minimus became infected when fed on the same infected patients. When comparing the infected mosquitoes, the number of oocysts was also higher in An. dirus s.l Trung [P.falciparum, P.vivax-210 and P.vivax-247 circumsporozoite protein (CSP) in a single An. dirus s.l. mosquito. The great longevity of An. dirus s.l., its high susceptibility to Plasmodium infections and a tendency to develop high numbers of oocysts increases the risk of recombining parasite strains in the mosquito gut and as consequence the risk for a fast spread of multi-drug resistance.Foci of chloroquine resistance have been commonly associated with rus s.l. ,2,70,84.rus s.l.  carried .l Trung  recordedAn. dirus s.l. indoors in India [Alternative methods to human landing collection should be used where multi-drug resistance is present. CDC light traps have been used successfully on other species in Africa ,87 and oin India  but othein India ,89. AlteAn. dirus s.l. is susceptible to DDT [e to DDT ,41,43,50e to DDT ,63,90 ore to DDT ,91 and he to DDT . Insectie to DDT  if kept e to DDT , howevere to DDT . Treatine to DDT .An. dirus s.s and A. bamaii of the An.dirus complex are certainly the most efficient malaria vectors in Asia. Human activities in the jungle create high human/vector contact exposing people with poor shelter conditions in forested habitat, leading to perennial transmission. The efficiency of these species, as malaria vectors is largely explained by biological particularities. These species are highly susceptible to malaria parasites, there are highly anthropophilic, and have an excellent survival rate required for the sporogonic cycle. These vectors are difficult to control regarding the dispersion of temporary larval habitats in the forest, and their exophilic behaviour by which the mosquitoes entering the house will avoid any contact with indoor insecticide treated surfaces. Their relative early biting behaviour, preferably outdoors, may hamper the efficacy of insecticide treated nets (ITN). However, as these vectors are very sensitive to pyrethroids and almost exclusively anthropophilic, scaling up of ITNs will probably affect locally the An.dirus s.l. populations.An. dirus complex have been thoroughly analysed in Thailand, Malaysia and recently in other areas of Southeast Asia following extended surveys from the Malvecasia project, but the distributions of members of the complex in the western region rely on few records and should be further investigated. Historical records and references from the literature have been used to delimitate the maximum extent of the complex distribution, but they do not reflect the current situation as major changes in land-cover have occurred in the region.The distributions of species of the An. dirus s.l. is strongly associated with deep forest larval habitats and probably also requires deep forest for adult survival. It can survive year round wherever evergreen forest occurs. Drastic deforestation in recent decades has considerably reduced suitable habitats but adaptation of the species to man-made habitats such as orchards and plantations greatly increases the human/vector contact and suggests high plasticity in habitat requirements. However, such adaptations might only occur in areas where some of the environmental conditions, particularly micro-climatic conditions  are still suitable.An. dirus complex. The assumption that the recent discovery of seven cryptic species would explain most of this heterogeneity is challenged by the high behavioural differences recorded for different populations of the same species. An. baimaii specimens are developing in wells or forest habitats. Biting peaks vary from early to late within individual species and seasonality seems more linked to environmental factors than to species distribution. This could be a consequence of incomplete characterization of the group due to imperfect identification methods. Indeed, new molecular tools suggest the existence of two more species within the complex. Population history and phylogenetic relationships between the species are not straightforward and are sometimes even contradictory [An. dirus s.s. and An. crascens are impossible to compare.High heterogeneity in behaviour has been recorded for mosquitoes of the adictory ,93. BehaEnvironmental factors play a major role in intraspecific heterogeneity by interacting with the immature and adult stages. The most important factors are rainfall, which provides larval habitats and keeps growth conditions optimal by refreshing the sites and providing food, and the land-cover with conditions being are optimal year-long in the forest and seasonally in forest fringes. Temperature, topography, soil type, salinity and drainage also have an influence.An. dirus s.l. However, variation in transmission dynamic occurs at very small spatial and temporal scales and can only be understood by studying micro-environmental parameters in details and in relation to human factors such as housing, settlement location in relation to the forest, occupations and migrations. This highlights the importance of micro-environmental variations on mosquito populations in a region that is currently undergoing major land-cover changes. Forest fragmentation and changes in land occupation influence habitat suitability for members of the complex. Although forest seems to be essential for mosquito survival, adaptations to orchards and wells have been recorded. Understanding the relationship between landscape components and mosquito population is thus a priority in foreseeing the impact of the land-cover changes on malaria occurrence and in shaping control strategies for the future.Environmental proxies might be relevant factors in a preliminary approach to establish approximate limits to the possible extension in the flexible distribution range of VO analysed the more than a hundred publications, designed the database of collection sites and the maps, and drafted the manuscript. PD contributed to the interpretation, presentation of the results and critically reviewed the manuscript. MC contributed his expertise in malaria vector control in Southeast Asia as well as the MALVECASIA database of more than a hundred newly investigated sites in Southeast Asia. He critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Map Key. Correspondence between collection sites number and reviewed publications: sibling species and identification methods.Click here for fileCollection sites description. The table lists 537 sites with geographical coordinates used for the display on the maps and true coordinates as well as details on mosquito collections and site descriptionClick here for fileCollection sites listed by reviewed publications. The table lists 130 reviewed publications with associated collection sites, species identified and identification method.Click here for fileAbbreviations and descriptions used in the other additional files. lists information and description for each column and each table as well as abbreviations included in the file.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "World Journal of Emergency Surgery (WJES) has received high numbers of CRs for publication: up until December 2006 they represented 39.2% of all articles submitted. Unfortunately the rejection rate of CRs in WJES, like many medical journals, is quite high, (85.2% of submitted CRs), and is significantly higher than other article types in the journal, where the rejection rate so far is 51.7%.Case series (CS) and case reports (CR) consist either of collections of reports on the diagnosis and treatment of individual patients, or of a report on a single patient. Since its launch in March 2006, Since WJES is an electronic journal, whether or not a CR is published doesn't depend upon the available pages in the journal, but only upon the nature of the competing CRs. Ultimately, the low acceptance rate of CRs happens because, according to the principles of evidence based medicine, they provide a lower strength of evidence among clinical studies, being towards the base of the Evidence Pyramid , just abOn the other hand, observation and description has always been seen as the first step in science, and should be the same in clinical science. For this reason, since ancient times doctors have written CRs in a very \"modern\" manner by giving a clinical picture of the clinical case, followed by anatomic/physiological diagnosis, prognosis, and then discussion . If the With this editorial, having now clarified our point of view not only about the limits of CRs -13, but As a first step we would like to ask authors to identify the reasons for publishing the CR in WJES. In the Appendix 1 we report the criteria for publishing CRs.In Appendix 2 we describe the format with simple guidelines for writing up a CR. The CR should be structured into the following sections: Abstract, Background, Case Report and Discussion. Further details on each of these sections follows below.CRs should start with an abstract of maximum of 350 words. The aim of the abstract is to allow readers to discern their levels of interest in the CR. The abstract should be structured into the same three sections as the main text in a succinct form: Background, Case Report and Discussion.The background should convince the reader in a concise and relevant manner to continue reading and also provide all the necessary information about what the CR is about, providing its subject, purpose and value. This section should clarify why the CR is novel or merits publication with a brief description of the patient case and also a discussion of similar cases or studies in the context of a wider review of the literature on this topic. The literature review should list the strategy and coverage of the search and should include the database searched and the search terms used, providing enough elements for the reader to easily replicate the search.Within this section, the authors should provide the characteristics of the pathology, all significant data and interesting information about the patient and their lifestyle, which could be in some way linked to the condition. To respect patient privacy, it is important to omit all unessential personal information or data in order to anonymize the case. Informed consent is considered mandatory for publication and should be detailed at the end of this section. The CR should describe the patient's demographics and history, their laboratory and diagnostic data and the history of their medications. The case should be described in chronological order and with enough details to give the reader a chance to formulate their own opinion and evaluate the case's validity. It's important that a report stimulates inquiries, commentaries and remarks. Indeed, readers have the ability to, and are encouraged to post a comment on the published article, generating further discussion. Whilst the author should be succinct, and describe the case without leaving the reader doubtful about the correct management, they should not overload the reader with excess information. Fluency and clarity of the CR can be enhanced by the use of tables, graphs, figures and illustrations. Usually, most of the information contained in these additional parts should not be duplicated in the text. In particular colour pictures of histopathology, roentgenograms, electrocardiographs, and other diagnostic tests; skin manifestations; wounds; and other anatomical parts may be provided and add to the interest of the CR. It is imperative that any identifying features of a patient's photograph should be blocked out and patient permission for obtaining and using photographs must have been sought and included in the consent statement.This is arguably the most important part of the article, because in this section the author should indicate the CR's accuracy, validity and uniqueness, comparing it with the published literature in order to derive new knowledge and applicability to practice. To obtain this the author must point out the value of the CR by demonstrating the validity of the diagnostic hypothesis and the therapeutic decisions, and comparing it with similar CRs if they exist. It is necessary to analyze the limits of the CR, describing the importance of each limit, but the main theme of the discussion should be the \"lesson to be learned\": if a CR doesn't teach anything new, it doesn't deserve to be published. Highlighting the practical applicability of the CR is important and should be clearly stated, relating to the eventual \"evidence\" already present in the literature and to the opportunities for future research. The discussion should conclude by briefly summarizing the CR, pointing out the lesson learned and joining it to eventual evidence based medicine recommendations.We hope to have provided readers with a useful overview of the importance and structure of case reports for WJES, and welcome submissions of interesting and important cases to the journal.Publishable CRs should meet one of the categories:\u25a1 The first report of a new entity, for example, the first description of a disease, syndrome, diagnostic test, surgical procedure.\u25a1 Additional examples that establish an entity from an isolated observation, such as the report of an already described, but rare  or uncommon disease ; the description of a rare, perplexing, or novel diagnostic features of a known disease, example of rare  or uncommon , but not necessarily unexpected, behaviour in any disease.\u25a1 Adverse events: the report of life-threatening adverse events, dangerous and predictable adverse effects that are poorly appreciated and rarely recognized in drugs or surgical procedures; the description of new medical errors or medication errors, rare or novel adverse drug reactions; the finding out of a device malfunction that results in patient harm; and the account of a therapeutic failure or a lack of therapeutic efficacy, clinical behaviour contrary to expectations based upon what we think we know.\u25a1 A remarkably well-documented example of educational value .\u25a1 Other.Specify:......................................................................................................................................................................................1. Abstract\u25a1 Structured.\u25a1 Background.\u25a1 Case report.\u25a1 Discussion.\u25a1 Not more than 350 words in length.2. Background\u25a1 Description of the subject matter.\u25a1 Report of the purpose of the CR, its background information and pertinent definitions.\u25a1 Details of the complete analytic literature review with its strategy search, using it to justify the merit of the CR.\u25a1 Introduction of the patient case to the reader.3. Case Report\u25a1 Description of the case in a narrative form, providing patient demographics  and avoiding patient identifiers .\u25a1 Description of the patient's clinical picture, listing his/her present illness, medical, family, social and medication history.\u25a1 List of the patient's admission and throughout the case report pertinent findings on physical examination and laboratory values that support the case.\u25a1 List of the diagnostic procedures that are pertinent and support the case.\u25a1 Photographs of clinical findings, histopathology, roentgenograms, TC or RMN as they relate to the case, avoiding patient identifiers.\u25a1 Patient's events in chronological order.\u25a1 Description of the patient's medical and surgical treatments, with eventual side effects and complications.\u25a1 Presence of enough detail for the reader to establish the case's validity.\u25a1 Statement of achievement of a written consent from the patient for publishing the CR.4. Discussion\u25a1 Comparison of the case report with the literature review, describing similarities and differences between them.\u25a1 List of the limits of the case report and description of its relevance.\u25a1 Summary of the salient features of the case report.\u25a1 Ascertainment of eventual causal and temporal relationship in the patient CR.\u25a1 Justification of the eventual uniqueness of the CR.\u25a1 Describe how the information learned applies to one's own practice.\u25a1 List opportunities for research.\u25a1 Indication of evidence-based recommendations and justified conclusion."}
+{"text": "The only national drug abuse prevention delivery system that supports the rapid diffusion of new prevention strategies and includes uniform training and credentialing of instructors who are monitored for quality implementation of prevention programming is the Drug Abuse Resistance Education network (D.A.R.E.) linking community law enforcement to schools. Analysis of the organizational structure and function of D.A.R.E. provides an understanding of the essential parameters of this successful delivery system that can be used in the development of other types of national infrastructures for community-based prevention services. Information regarding organizational structure and function around funding issues, training, quality control and community relationships was gathered through telephone surveys with 50 state D.A.R.E. coordinators (including two major cities), focus groups with local D.A.R.E. officers and mentors, and interviews with national D.A.R.E. office staff.The surveys helped identify several strengths inherent in the D.A.R.E. program necessary for building a prevention infrastructure, including a well-defined organizational focus (D.A.R.E. America), uniform training and means for rapid dissemination (through its organized training structure), continuing education mechanisms , mechanisms for program monitoring and fidelity of implementation , branding and, for several states, predictable and consistent financing. Weaknesses of the program as currently structured include unstable funding and the failure to incorporate components for the continual upgrading of curricula reflecting research evidence and \"principles of prevention\".The D.A.R.E. organization and service delivery network provides a framework for the rapid dissemination of evidence-based prevention strategies. The major strength of D.A.R.E. is its natural affiliation to local law enforcement agencies through state coordinators. Through these affiliations, it has been possible for D.A.R.E. to become established nationally within a few years and internationally within a decade. Understanding how this structure developed and currently functions provides insights into how other such delivery systems could be developed. Substance abuse brings with it a diverse array of human problems in every sphere of life, including decreased health, increased mortality, familial and social dysfunction, impaired educational and vocational opportunities, and increased involvement with the criminal justice system. It also leads to a cycle of abuse, perpetuating these problems and revisiting them on subsequent generations -7. DespiIn addition to insufficient funding, the field of substance abuse prevention lacks the organizational framework through which prevention services could be efficiently offered, organized, delivered, and paid for. Without such an infrastructure, assuring quality, monitoring performance, and rapidly and accurately diffusing new ideas and technologies, is very difficult. Many society-wide institutions \u2013 such as medicine, education, and the criminal justice system \u2013 have their own well-developed infrastructure that provides an array of services including advocacy, funding, innovation, dissemination, quality assurance, and accreditation and certification. For substance abuse prevention, however, there is no such infrastructure. The current ad hoc system of agencies, programs, curricula and activities is one that is under-funded, fragmented and lacking a central organizing body. This system lacks the ability or authority to accomplish necessarily complex tasks in an organized and professional manner. The current lack of organization of prevention services at any level of society limits the field of substance abuse prevention to efficiently serve the needs of communities, schools, parents and children.Notwithstanding the lack of a formal substance abuse prevention infrastructure, there are numerous national and state-level organizations and entities that service some of the needs of such an infrastructure, including funding prevention activities and research, providing accreditation and certification, providing mechanisms for quality assurance and control, and disseminating information. However, even as some of these services are provided, they are fragmented. Furthermore, the lack of stable funding remains a significant problem as most prevention programming is dependent on government support, most often as a discretionary item and competing with other types of programs ,11.Federal entities such as the Department of Education with its Safe and Drug Free Communities program (SDFS) provides grant support to schools to implement prevention programs, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to support a national research program that evaluates innovative prevention strategies and on the basis of this research has developed its principles of prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) works to disseminate information about effective prevention strategies and policies and to assist local communities to decide what are most relevant to their needs. State departments or divisions of alcohol and drug abuse/addiction services as well as governors' offices also provide support for local prevention programming including credentialing of prevention specialists. Finally, to some degree, private foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) support prevention and treatment service delivery. In addition, since the late 1990s, with recognition of the contributions being made by prevention research, -15 more With all of the promising prevention intervention programs that are currently funded, few pay much attention to the obvious need for developing or expanding an infrastructure to support a prevention service delivery system. What are the characteristics of such an infrastructure? In order to specify infrastructure characteristics it is important to state the aims of a prevention service delivery system. Such a system would prevent the use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs or delay the initiation of use of tobacco and alcohol among those who have not initiated use and reduce or eliminate existing use of these substances among those who initiated use. These aims would be achieved through the delivery of prevention strategies with proven effectiveness by well-trained instructors who implement the prevention strategy with fidelity. Prevention programming would be sustained over time. To achieve these ends, a supportive infrastructure would need to include a national professional organization with ties to local communities that would establish guidelines for the position of prevention specialist and for prevention programming. These guidelines would address ongoing training, monitoring, and technical assistance of credentialed instructors and the types of acceptable prevention approaches. The organization would need to be flexible to revise these guidelines in response to new knowledge about more effective delivery strategies. Public support and recognition of the importance of prevention programming would also need to be addressed as part of the infrastructure organization. Finally, there needs to be assurance that there will be ongoing funding for these services both nationally as well as at the local level from diverse sources including third party payers.th or 6th grade [The only national delivery system for drug abuse prevention in the United States that comes closest to an ideal model is Drug Abuse Resistance Education or D.A.R.E. Essential to understanding how important D.A.R.E. is to the field of prevention is recognizing that this program has two important components, the delivery system itself, made up of thousands of trained local law enforcement officer-instructors, and the curricula that these officer-instructors present to students. This paper will focus on the delivery system and describes the structure, organization and function of D.A.R.E. Prior articles on D.A.R.E. focused on evaluating the short- and long-term impact of the curricula, most often the curriculum offered to elementary students in the 5th grade . Those sth grade . The preIn its twenty years of operations, D.A.R.E. has developed into a national program involving every American state, operating in more than 1,800 school districts with over 15,000 police officers working in 8,300 schools ,20. InteAmerican Journal of Public Health[organizational structure of D.A.R.E. has the potential to serve as a model for informing the development of a substance abuse prevention system.Although there are numerous studies evaluating the effectiveness of D.A.R.E.'s curricula, to date there has been only one comprehensive assessment of the organizational structure and operation of the D.A.R.E. program, by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in 1993 , under aic Health. The datIn the current paper, we report the results of interviews with D.A.R.E. America leadership, with all 50 D.A.R.E. state coordinators and two city coordinators  as well as the results of two focus groups held with D.A.R.E. officers. We use this information to illustrate the role of the state programs , the relationship between the states and local initiatives, and the relationship between the states and the ostensible organizing operation at D.A.R.E. America.The interviews provided an outline of the D.A.R.E. organizational structure which consists of an umbrella group, D.A.R.E. America that is located in Los Angeles and a network of local, grassroots law enforcement agencies  (3) entities structured at the state level. To date, 26 states are chartered with a number of others moving in this direction. The emergence of Charter Organizations represents an effort to tighten the organization and to better define the roles of the various levels. They are intended to assure more uniformity of curriculum, of organizational structure in each state, and of program monitoring. Chartered states are required to file annual reports with D.A.R.E. on their activities and financial condition, permitting D.A.R.E. America to monitor state activity, provide assistance where needed and, in the case of a major breach on the part of the state , rescind the Charter. While such Chartered Organizations do not receive services or benefits over and above those available to non-chartered states, the objective is to formalize such arrangements and strengthen the D.A.R.E. organization as a nationwide entity with the addition of a level of more structured oversight and controlThe features discussed in this section include organization, funding, training and quality control, community efforts, and the issues and concerns elaborated by the state coordinators.Although there is no single organizational model at the state level, 44 state networks are affiliated with government agencies in the law enforcement sector while the remaining six are run by private, not-for-profit organizations. The diversity of affiliations for the state-level organizations is probably the result of their grass-roots, bottom-up evolution that met the specific needs and organizational relationships that already existed. For example, overall, the structure for the state-level groups includes a coordinator, the state D.A.R.E. Officers Association and its board, mentors, and D.A.R.E. officersEach state D.A.R.E. organization has a coordinator who fulfills a number of administrative and programmatic functions, including administering the state network of D.A.R.E. officers; liaising between D.A.R.E. and other state agencies, legislature, media, and local police departments; planning and executing training activities; monitoring program fidelity and quality control; and fund-raising. As befits the location of the majority of state organizations many (forty) coordinators are active or retired members of law enforcement agencies. They have a wide range of experience in the coordinator position, from just a few months to 14 years; the average time served is five years while the mode is four years.The ways in which the coordinators spend their time depends on a number of factors, including percentage of full-time effort dedicated to the coordinator position, the funding level of the state organization, and the size and independence of the local police departments involved with the D.A.R.E. Twenty-two coordinators dedicate 80\u2013100% of their time, while twenty dedicate less than 50% This variation in percentage of time devoted to the state-level D.A.R.E. operation is a function of the available resources, as funding levels vary widely across state organizations, and/or the needs of the program in any given state. Funding levels also impact the availability of support staff, thus constraining the extent of the coordinators' efforts.A number of the coordinators also divide their time between the state and the local levels, giving them greater opportunity to participate in local activities. D.A.R.E., when viewed from the local level, is still fundamentally a grass roots organization that is, to a great degree, autonomous, operating independently not only of the state but also of the national organization. The ways in which D.A.R.E. is implemented and supported in any given community and even the extent to which it is implemented across a particular state, is ultimately predicated upon loose-knit agreements between the local police departments, schools, and parents. Moreover, although some local programs apply for the U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug Free Schools program funding through their state organizations, many cannot rely upon the state D.A.R.E. organization for funding. Therefore, the state organization and by extension, the state coordinator, has limited influence over constituent local programs, including how many officers are trained, whether they are full-time, or even choosing which officers will become D.A.R.E. officer-instructor candidates.The state coordinators have more extensive involvement at the local level with training, monitoring and quality control functions. These functions include evaluation of the delivery of the curricula providing feedback to the officers on their teaching methods. In addition, fifty percent of state coordinators are voting members on the board of their state's D.A.R.E. Officers Association. The state D.A.R.E. Officers Associations (DOA) are private and represent the interests of the local police force membership who are the D.A.R.E. officer-instructors. The position of the state coordinator on the state DOA board confers voting authority on state program issues, facilitates closer working relationships with the D.A.R.E. officers, and results in benefits for the state organization overall, particularly with respect to quality control, curricula implementation fidelity, organization of state trainings (that are often done in partnership with the state's DOA) and communication of updated information from D.A.R.E. America.It is important to note that states do not have any formal financial relationship with D.A.R.E. America, even those with Charter status. To some extent, this fiscal independence informs the nature of the funding models for the state D.A.R.E. organizations which vary widely from state to state in terms of how funding is arranged, the number of funding sources, the amount that is dedicated to program delivery, and how funding is used. Table There are two major and well-established Federal funding mechanisms for state D.A.R.E. organizations, the SDFS and grants awarded under the aegis of the Byrne Amendment . In fiscal year 2000, the SDFS program provided approximately $439 million in grants to various schools and communities , of whicTraining and Quality Control section below. D.A.R.E. America quantified the time and value of police officers (and volunteers) at $217 million for FY 2000 [The main source of funding for the day-to-day operations of the majority of the state organizations is the local law enforcement agencies, that often covers the D.A.R.E. officers' salaries (including overtime costs related to their D.A.R.E. activities), provides D.A.R.E. vehicles, and in many cases, pays the costs for police officers enrolled in the D.A.R.E. training program including associated travel expenses, meals, lodging, and supplies. These law enforcement agencies also cover the salaries of the D.A.R.E. mentors, discussed in more detail in the  FY 2000 , an amou FY 2000 ,27.The variation in funding discussed above is reflected in each state organization's training and quality control activities. Three important components of these activities are formal training programs, mentors, and quality control efforts.th and 6th grade students), the Junior High, Senior High and Parent programs. CORE is an intensive 80-hour program given over two weeks. All officers wanting D.A.R.E. training must receive this more extensive \"basic\" training and have at least one year of experience with the elementary school curriculum before being trained in the other curricula. This basic course is generally offered by each state 1\u20132 times each year, but its annual periodicity ranged from 0 (North Dakota) to 12 .In fiscal year 2000, the Bureau of Justice Assistance provided more than $2 million for D.A.R.E. regional training centers to support the training of new officers . With thAdditional training and continuing education takes place at the national D.A.R.E. officers' conference and most states hold their own in-service training conferences each year, often in collaboration with the state D.A.R.E. Officers Association conferences. D.A.R.E. America directs the states to use these conferences to administer training for those unable to attend the national conference, and assists in the planning and coordination of these activities. In 2000, attendance at the state's annual conferences ranged from a low of 1% in New York City to a high of 100% in four states. The median attendance rate was 50%.Mentors are usually senior D.A.R.E. officers in the program who have extensive experience teaching the D.A.R.E. elementary school program. Across states, mentors vary in number, quality, and training. The number of mentors in each state ranges from 0 (in Delaware and North Dakota) to 30 (in New Jersey), with a median of eight, while the number of D.A.R.E. officers active in each state varies from 7 (in Delaware) to 1,250 (in New Jersey), with a median of 200. Thus, the ratio of mentors to officers varies from a high of 1: 5 in South Carolina, to a low of 1: 98 in Illinois, with a median of 1: 25. Mentors serve as a resource to the officers, are integral to the infrastructure of D.A.R.E. and the quality control process, provide both formal and informal instruction, and liaise between the officers, schools and state D.A.R.E. programs. Given the diversity and importance of these roles, mentors can mean the difference between more successful and less successful program delivery.formal if there was a preset periodicity of visits to the schools by designated personnel to monitor the in-class performance of the D.A.R.E. officers to assess their adherence to the D.A.R.E. curriculum and pedagogical goals, and if such assessment was supported by and facilitated with standardized forms. Other characteristics of formal quality control included the provision of feedback following monitoring and assessment activities and the use of focus groups to discuss and resolve problems and uncertainties. Informal quality control procedures included limited, random, ad hoc or problem-solving approaches to monitoring of officers with no set periodicity. The officers in these states then had little or no supervision, often receiving no feedback about their performance. Twenty states had formal quality control procedures in place while nineteen states (including the two city organizations) instituted varying levels of informal quality control procedures. The remaining thirteen states had no quality control procedures in place.We assigned states to one of three levels of quality control: formal, informal, or none, based on the levels of three indicators: periodicity of formal quality control visits made to the programs/curricula, use of standardized quality control forms to monitor performance and program adherence, and presence of designated persons to carry out quality control activities. A state's quality control system was considered Overall, quality assessments were completed by observation. The composition of observation groups did vary across states. Half of those states with a formal quality control process in place used D.A.R.E. mentors only while 6 of the states had mentors and teachers do the observations; two of these states used teachers only; one, teachers and students; and one, a combination of a mentor, teachers and students. Thirteen of the states with informal quality control procedures included observations as an assessment tool. Ten of these states used a mentor system only while two used teachers only and two, a combination of mentors and teachers.Thirty-two states used forms to rate the officers' in-class performance . Most states developed their own assessment forms. The majority (56%) of these forms focused on appropriate instructional style while the assessment of content coverage was included on the forms for about 25% of the states. Of the states with no apparent quality control procedures in place, three were in the process of developing them. However, six others reported that no such procedures would or could be initiated due to lack of funds, and two states that previously conducted quality control activities halted them when sufficient financial support could not be found.Although there is some room for improvement in the extent and level of quality control, it is important to keep in mind that the D.A.R.E. organization seems to compare favorably to other current school-based substance abuse prevention programs that have been developed and received federal recognition, such as Project Alert and Life Skills Training. For example, through its website, Project Alert makes implementation assessment instruments available to its trained teachers , howeverno relationships with other prevention programs in their communities. Of the coordinators that did report some contacts, nine said that such contacts were either informal or ad hoc, or consisted of attending rallies and manning booths at annual fairs. Thus, only 17 state coordinators reported any formal involvement with other nationally-recognized entities such as MAAD, SAAD, and Red Ribbon, or more local programs. Formal contact often occurred when the state coordinator also acted as the head of the prevention division in their state, or sat on the board of one of the local programs.D.A.R.E. officers link to their communities at the local level in many ways, such as serving in other roles outside of the schools, as community organizers, facilitators, and referral sources to other programs and resources, all of which enrich and expand the officer's role . In contThe D.A.R.E. officers were connected to the community in thirty-eight states through the D.A.R.E. Parent Education program. This program consists of five lessons designed to educate parents about drugs and about parenting. The D.A.R.E. officer guides discussion groups around a variety of topics. About a quarter of the state organizations were severely limited as to how many of these groups could be provided as only one or two D.A.R.E. officers were available for parent groups state-wide. Twelve states (as well as NYC and DC) had no parent program in place. Parental involvement and program support varied widely both within and between states, regardless of whether a fully functioning parent program was in place. Twenty-six (50%) state coordinators characterized parent involvement as low, and five (9%) reported that involvement varied by location but was often poor. Thirteen coordinators (25%) said that parent involvement in their states was good, and eight (15%) said that involvement was excellent. In general, then, parents overall are very enthusiastic about the program, but this warm feeling does not necessarily translate into participation in parent curriculum classes or attendance at other more formal activities.We asked the coordinators to describe any issues or concerns they had about their relationship with the national organization or the D.A.R.E. network in general. Their responses were organized under the headings: funding, communication, training, program implementation fidelity, and the new curriculum in development. Many coordinators expressed concern over their funding. Some states were in the process of losing their traditional lines of funding and coordinators remarked that some form of national or uniform funding would be beneficial. Communication with D.A.R.E. America was sometimes viewed as poor, especially in terms of the changes in the organizational structure of training. Several coordinators expressed concerns with the fidelity of program implementation; as noted above, a number of states had discontinued their quality control procedures for lack of funds, and others reported that no such quality control procedure could be put in place without increased funds for its implementation and support. Lastly, there were concerns about how the impending new curriculum being evaluated by researchers at the University of Akron would be disseminated, fueled by a perceived lack of communication from D.A.R.E. America about the development and testing of the new curriculum.This paper describes the D.A.R.E. national delivery network. The role of D.A.R.E. America has evolved from a local prevention delivery unit to an international diffusion and dissemination organization. It is through D.A.R.E. America that programs are developed, that national mass training protocols are designed, and that relationships are maintained with state and federal governmental agencies and national law enforcement organizations. Analysis of the network indicates that D.A.R.E. is not a monolithic organization, but is rather decentralized, with clearly differentiated roles, functions, funding, and financial management systems. D.A.R.E. America is the glue that holds together the network of local and state support organizations, and that connects grassroots level D.A.R.E. officers who actually go into the schools and deliver prevention programs, to the broader network of officers within the state and nationally. The state-level D.A.R.E. entities function to recruit and screen new D.A.R.E. officers, to administer local training of these officers and continuing education for all D.A.R.E. officers, to monitor the quality of program implementation, to maintain relationships with state and local governmental agencies, and to help solicit federal, state and local funding for training and mentoring.It is important that the D.A.R.E. delivery network be seen as separate from its programming. Until 1999, D.A.R.E. America in conjunction with educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District developed prevention programs to be delivered in elementary, middle and high schools. These programs had undergone regular periodic revisions every few years, reflecting information from the research literature and the requests of local and national agencies. Local law enforcement agencies in conjunction with local school districts are the ones who decide which of the K though 12 programs offered by D.A.R.E. America will be delivered in the schools. Generally, these decisions have been influenced by the availability of manpower and funding.Eighty percent of school districts in the United States offer D.A.R.E. programs, the vast majority of which are directed to elementary school children . In factThere have been both advantages and disadvantages associated with the decentralization of funding for local D.A.R.E. efforts. By state and local organizations having the responsibility for funding on-going operations, there is more community control over these programs. On the other hand, when funding and manpower are scarce as is the current situation, many communities are eliminating the position of the D.A.R.E. officer and moving more officers onto the streets. The state D.A.R.E. organizations are competing with other social and health services agencies for a decreasing pool of available funds. In addition, those communities that depend on federal funds from the Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Communities are struggling to meet the Department's principles of prevention and are either attempting to evaluate their local programs or to seek waivers while waiting for the University of Akron's study to be completed. Clearly, there is a need to address the funding issue to establish continuity of prevention services in our nation's schools. At all levels, D.A.R.E. organizations are meeting with policy makers to maintain D.A.R.E. programming. Success of these meetings varies, depending on the stability of local police efforts. It can be seen by the results in this paper that, although funding is still a concern and many state programs struggle with this issue, some of the D.A.R.E. state programs seem to have found relatively stable and reasonable funding. In our interviews, we were introduced to several funding models, but the more successful ones seem to be those that combine several funding mechanisms, which require time, dedication and knowledge about fund-raising mechanisms on the part of the state-level coordinators.Until recently, all training of new and retraining of existing D.A.R.E. officers had been carried out at regional training centers. The training itself was didactic, a strategy used in the earlier prevention curriculum design for students. At the time that D.A.R.E. America began its collaboration with the RWJF and The University of Akron, a commitment was made to revise its elementary, middle and high school curricula to reflect the latest prevention research findings. This research suggested important content elements and instructional strategies that engaged children in the learning process. These new approaches changed the instructor's role from lecturer to facilitator or coach. Such a dramatic change required major changes in training. D.A.R.E. America has therefore eliminated the regional training centers and designed a training-of-trainers approach that involved all of the state D.A.R.E. organizations' educators to conduct all the training within each state. The training is more 'hands on' than was the case before and includes additional training in classroom management and facilitation techniques. An evaluation of this new approach is in the planning stages.One of the major positive features of the D.A.R.E. delivery network has been quality assurance. Mentors were trained to observe the delivery of programs within the classroom setting, to conduct debriefings with the classroom D.A.R.E. officer and to make recommendations for additional training or for dismissal. This study has found that the decentralization of D.A.R.E. weakens this organizational component. Despite the fact that most states had concerns about implementation quality, and many of them had formal forms of quality assurance in place, shortage of funding has limited the availability of manpower to make visits to all classrooms to monitor implementation. This is not solely a problem associated with D.A.R.E., as other prevention program models also do not incorporate ongoing monitoring of implementation fidelity. However, the frequency of quality assurance already in place and the concerns expressed by state coordinators and D.A.R.E. officers suggest recognition of the importance of ongoing evaluation of program delivery.D.A.R.E., the major national network that supports substance abuse prevention programming delivered in our schools is undergoing reorganization to meet the current needs of its constituents and the local D.A.R.E. officers. This is going on at a time when D.A.R.E. is responding to criticisms of its prevention curricula and when it is being challenged financially. Despite its several faults at the organization level, D.A.R.E. is an attractive program for communities as it possesses several characteristics necessary for building a prevention infrastructure. These include uniform training and through its organized training structure, the means for the rapid dissemination of updated prevention programming; through the state and national conferences and websites, continuing education; mechanisms for program monitoring and quality assurance; and models for predictable and consistent financing. As such D.A.R.E. remains as a model of a prevention service delivery system that has survived over twenty years. Key to its survival has been its decentralized structure, using law enforcement agencies as a platform for programming that allows local communities to function autonomously.At the same time an overarching organizational structure has been developed to address the more global issues of development of evidence-based curricula, \"accreditation\" through the process of selecting and training of officer-instructors, the production of standardized program materials, having representation of all D.A.R.E. units at the national and international level, collecting and disseminating information pertinent to all D.A.R.E. officers and units, and, in some ways most important, control of the D.A.R.E. brand. The retirement of the founder and Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Levant, in 2003 has prompted a reorganization of D.A.R.E. America, a reassessment of its future direction, the building of new collaborations, and the restructuring of old networks. The fragility of funding, the requirement of evidence-based prevention curricula and adherence to \"principles of prevention\" has forced D.A.R.E. to face both its' strengths and weaknesses. If D.A.R.E. survives these new threats it could serve as a model prevention infrastructure that can be emulated by other national groups.Several conclusions can be drawn from this analysis of the D.A.R.E. delivery system that would inform the development of an integrated national prevention service delivery system. Having a national umbrella organization that sets standards for the delivery of quality services allows control over the \"brand\" including\u2022 the selection of the prevention programming strategies/services,\u2022 development of manuals or guidelines for the delivery of the services,\u2022 specifying the criteria and knowledge needed by prevention instructors,\u2022 training in this knowledge base and how those services are to be delivered, and\u2022 monitoring both the delivery and the outcomes of service delivery.This centralized organization would serve as a conduit for the rapid dissemination of new information as improvements in service components and service delivery become available.As essential as an umbrella organization is, there needs to be a supportive structure at the state and local levels. The success of the dissemination of the concept of \"D.A.R.E.\" is most likely due to the interconnectedness of law enforcement agencies. Several national and state organizations of police chiefs and sheriffs exist and through these organizations' newsletters and conferences law enforcement administrators learn about new services and technologies. It was through these networks that the concept of D.A.R.E. disseminated so rapidly.Data for this study came from telephone surveys conducted with the 50 state coordinators and two major city coordinators between January and August 2001. The State Coordinator Survey (SCS) took approximately 40 minutes to complete with a copy of the survey having been mailed beforehand to facilitate preparation for the telephone interview. The New Jersey and Ohio state coordinators were also interviewed in person. Subsequent to the initial telephone and in-person interviews, additional contacts were made by telephone or email to request omitted information or to clarify previous answers. Face-to-face interviews were held with D.A.R.E. America staff.State Coordinator Survey were developed with reference to a number of sources, including a literature review, consultations with key leaders in substance abuse prevention (Drs. Herbert Kleber and Zili Sloboda) and officers and directors from D.A.R.E. America, interviews with two state coordinators (New Jersey and Ohio), and focus groups and interviews with D.A.R.E. officers. Interviews with the D.A.R.E. America personnel were conducted at the national D.A.R.E. offices and at the annual National D.A.R.E. Officers Association Conference in June, 2001. These informal, open-ended interviews provided the background and history of D.A.R.E. and insights into the diversity of the state organizations.Items for the State Coordinator Survey was developed. The final instrument was comprised of five sections, as follows:D.A.R.E. officers and several coordinators were also interviewed at the conference or by telephone and about 8\u201310 officers participated in each of two focus groups. Most of these officers had been active in the program for many years and about half the officers in each group were mentors. These interviews and discussions provided information about how local D.A.R.E. officers functioned within their agencies and in collaboration with schools. They also provided suggested areas to be pursued with state coordinators regarding the interrelationship between the state and local levels. Following from these various consultations, the 1. Organization: Coordinator's roles; time involvement with D.A.R.E.; links to the D.A.R.E. Officer Association (DOA); other communication channels with officers; relationship between state program and D.A.R.E. America; role of emerging Charter organizations.2. Funding: Major sources and purpose of funding ; competition with other prevention programs; Fiscal Year 2000 state budgets .3. Training and Quality Control: Periodicity and kinds of trainings; quality control and monitoring of officers, including the role of both police and schools in maintaining program fidelity and quality; role of D.A.R.E. mentors/field representatives.4. Community Efforts: Relationships with other programs; parent curriculum; parent involvement.5. Feedback/Concerns: Suggestions from coordinators for modifying or improving the D.A.R.E. organization and the relationships between local, state and national organizational levels.Zili Sloboda is engaged in an ongoing study of a new school-based curriculum based in part on the existing D.A.R.E. program and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.JM conceived of the study with ZS. JM participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. IP assisted in the overall conception of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed data collection and helped to draft the manuscript. LAKJ performed the literature review, participated in data analysis, and performed substantial drafting and rewriting of the manuscript. TD participated in the design and coordination of the study, performed data collection, and literature review. ZS helped to draft the manuscript and wrote the discussion. All authors  read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "EPA assessment of vinyl chloride we are disparaging of U.S. EPA scientists; and c) the pharmacokinetic (PK) model used by the U.S. EPA has been \u201cpeer-reviewed, published, and validated.\u201dWe provided documentation and extensive references to support two claims: industry urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to downplay data suggestive of cancer risks in tissues other than the liver, and the U.S. EPA reduced the cancer potency estimate of vinyl chloride in accordance with industry input. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is a trade association representing over 150 companies that produce and use chemicals, including the Dow Chemical Company , Georgia Gulf Corporation , and Occidental Chemical Corporation  . These tIn response to Price\u2019s first point, recent studies confirm earlier findings instead of the opposite. At the time of the U.S. EPA assessment  there wePrice\u2019s letter and the U.S. EPA assessment  both refWe believe that the U.S. EPA\u2019s close relationship with industry compromises credibility. The ACC met with U.S. EPA regulators to discuss a vinyl chloride assessment at least 2 years before public notification of an assessment process. At the urging of the ACC , the U.SThe PK model has not been validated, as stated by Price. The PK model developed by industry consultants and used by the U.S. EPA in its assessment has not been validated because assumptions used in the model have not been tested. Importantly, although the model is limited to liver effects only, the implicit assumption that all metabolism occurs in the liver is incorrect .By using a model limited to liver cancer, the U.S. EPA made a radical departure from its cancer guidelines, recommending that the cumulative risks of all tumor types be included in a cancer assessment , 2005. TIn the analysis of animal bioassay data on the occurrence of multiple tumor types, the cancer potencies should be estimated for each relevant tumor type that is related to exposure, and the individual potencies should be summed for those tumors.This inclusive approach is reconfirmed in the 2005 guidelines . This pr"}
+{"text": "Public health authorities worldwide discourage the use of chest radiography as a screening modality, as the diagnostic performance of chest radiography does not justify its application for screening and may even be harmful, since people with false positive results may experience anxiety and concern. Despite the accumulated evidence, various reports suggest that primary care physicians throughout the world still prescribe chest radiography for screening. We therefore set out to index the use of chest radiography for screening purposes among the healthy adult population and to analyze its relationship with possible trigger factors.The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. Five thousand four hundred and ninety-nine healthy adults, coming from 26 Greek provinces were surveyed for screening practice habits in the nationwide anticancer study. Data were obtained for the use of screening chest radiography. Impact of age, gender, tobacco exposure, family history positive for malignancies and professional-risk for lung diseases was further analyzed.we found that 20% (n = 1099) of the surveyed individuals underwent chest radiography for screening purposes for at least one time during the previous three years. Among those, 24% do so with a frequency equal or higher than once yearly, and 48% with a frequency equal or higher than every three years. Screening for chest radiography was more commonly adopted among males , pensioners  and individuals with a positive family history for lung cancer . Multivariate analysis confirmed these results.Despite formal recommendations, chest radiography for screening purposes was a common practice among the analyzed sample of Greek adults. This practice is of questionable value since the positive predictive value of chest radiography is low. The implementation of even a relatively inexpensive imaging study on a national scale would greatly burden health economics and the workload of radiology departments. Chest radiography has a long tradition in medical care, however its prescription for screening purposes among healthy individuals is discouraged by public health authorities -5. In faThe diagnostic performance of chest radiography does not justify its application for screening neither in the general population nor in \"high risk\" groups like smokers or people with a family history of lung cancer ,7. ScreeDespite the accumulated evidence and the clear guidelines, various reports suggest that primary care physicians throughout the world still prescribe chest radiography for screening both in the general population and in selected \"high risk\" subgroups -16. ConsNevertheless, since the proportion of physicians believing in and recommending a screening test may consistently differ from the proportion of healthy individuals undergoing the test (still dependent on patients' will), the negative impact of screening chest radiography on health and economics may be only speculated. Little is in fact known in peer-reviewed literature about how chest radiography for screening purposes is practiced among the general healthy adult population -18.We therefore tried to evaluate the rate of screening chest radiography practice among a large sample of Greek healthy adults. Furthermore, we analyzed the resulting chest radiography screening practice for the impact of professional risk for lung diseases, family history of cancer and smoking practice.This study is part of a large ongoing survey on cancer screening and preventive practice in Greece, which is organized by PACMeR , and has the purpose to reveal the current rate of cancer screening among the Greek adult population, to evidence possible barriers to early diagnosis of cancer and to analyze over-practice events and possible sources of worthless costs. For the project, PACMeR physicians had dedicatedly prepared two medical questionnaires  for face-to-face interviews that were employed during the research program. The exact phrasing of the chest radiography questions used is provided in the supplementary note for the facilitation of the peer-review process.The project was ethically approved by PACMeR's Scientific Committee (protocol number 08_020720) and conformed to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki. A written informed consent form was obtained from all the participants before completing the study questionnaire and the data retrieved were analyzed in anonymous and codified form.The study population was composed of a nationwide convenience sample: adults bringing or visiting their relatives while getting healthcare in Hospitals and Health Centers of 26 Greek provinces Fig. . Most poNinety-two physicians employed in primary care activities were involved in the study, 87 of them as interviewers, and five as data managers and quality control personnel. Data storing was assured by SESy, a dedicated database ,20 tailoData were extracted for overall chest radiography practice. For each individual we retrieved the chronological period that elapsed from the last chest radiography and the cause for which chest radiography was performed. We further evaluated the proportion of individuals who assessed that they underwent chest radiogram last time for screening purposes. For people who performed it within three years we still analyzed the frequency by which they underwent the test.Since the diagnostic performance of chest radiography does not justify its application in any screening setting, we considered chest radiography being done for screening purposes in any of the following situations: 1) periodic health examination ; 2) check-up visit ; 3) chest radiography in asymptomatic individuals due to patients' will; 4) regulatory reasons .We analyzed the rate of screening chest radiography by the following parameters: age , professional category , cancer family history, smoking activity , number of daily cigarettes smoked , duration of tobacco exposure .In order to evidence population subgroups at higher probability of undergoing screening chest radiography, we performed univariate and multivariate analysis. Only subjects for whom there were data about the time elapsed from last chest radiography and about the reason for which they underwent chest radiograms, were considered (n = 5282).Individuals entering the analysis were therefore divided in:(1) Subjects at higher probability of undergoing screening chest radiography: people who performed chest radiography for screening purposes (regulatory reason excluded) within the last three years (n = 1080);(2) Subjects at lower probability of undergoing screening chest radiography exposure: individuals who underwent chest radiography for any other reason (than screening) at any time and those who underwent chest radiograms for screening purposes but more than 3 years had elapsed (n = 4202).Univariate analysis was used in order to examine the association between over-practice and all subgroups previously defined. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between over-practice and some relevant covariates of interest: sex, age, professional category, smoke and family history of lung cancer. All independent variables were taken as categorical, dichotomized where appropriate. We used SAS statistical package, version 8.2 , for anaThe characteristics of the individuals involved in the study are reported in table 76.6% of the population analyzed (n = 4212) referred that they underwent at least one chest radiogram during their life; 29.5% (n = 1622) assessed that they underwent it last time for screening purposes; 43.4% (n = 2385) performed it in out-patient basis for medical reasons; and 3.7% (n = 205) underwent it in in-patient basis.Among people who underwent chest radiography for screening purposes, Table  we foundUnivariate analyses evidenced that the risk of screening radiogram performance was statistically higher among pensioners . Trends to higher chest X-ray practice were still found among individuals of male gender  and those with a family history positive for lung cancer , although these trends were not statistically significant. Interestingly people with professions at risk for lung diseases showed lower probability to undergo screening chest radiograms . Chest radiography performance for screening purposes was not influenced by age, tobacco consumption, and family history positive for malignancies ; and trends for male gender , and professions at risk for lung diseases  became statistically significant , as previously hypothesized . MoreoveThe retrieved rates of screening chest radiography should not surprise. In a recent Greek survey of 211 physicians, 88% declared to recommend chest radiography for early diagnosis procedures: 78% prescribed it during usual check-up visit, and 77% recommend it for cancer screening .High chest radiography prescription rates may still be explained by the absence of national guidelines and it might be guessed that the European Code Against Cancer recommendations  do not hSome limitations should be discussed. First, despite the fact that screening chest radiography is being studied from the sixties and onwards, this is the first study analyzing its practice among the general population. Since the Greek primary care system based on specialized physicians is \"newborn\", it might be precarious to generalize these findings globally. Second, we analyzed only patients that underwent chest radiography within three years. This may under-estimate the proportion of individuals screened since many of them may have undergone screening chest radiograms in an antecedent date. Furthermore, data were derived from a cross-sectional study on a large convenience sample of the Greek healthy adult population. This design has limited internal validity and is sensitive to a variety of biases. Nevertheless, cross-sectional surveys are most commonly used, and are considered appropriate and easy to perform.Chest radiography practice for screening purposes is an old habit that dies hard. More research should be conducted concerning the causes and possible remedies of this phenomenon.The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.KK was the coordinator of the Greek branch of the study. He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project & study planning, and manuscript writing. GC: statistician, main co-operator from the University of Milan , dept. statistics, he was still actively involved in the discussion of the project, statistics and manuscript writing. DM: main coordinator of the Italian and Greek braches of the study. He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project, realization of the draft & study planning, review of data abstraction and manuscript writing. VL was involved in study planning and he was responsible for data collection in Peloponnesus and Cephalonia island. He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project and manuscript. IC: statistician, second co-operator from the University of Milan , dept. Statistics, he was still actively involved in the discussion of the project, statistics and manuscript discussion. AX: responsible for double-blind controls of data inserted by data-managers . He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project & study planning, and manuscript writing. CP: main data-manager. She was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in the north-western part of Greece. She was responsible of data entering in the peripheral units of SESy database. She was involved in manuscript discussion. VG was actively involved in the discussion of the project, realization of the draft, discussion of the outcomes, reviewing and formatting the manuscript. AM was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in north-eastern Greece. He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project and manuscript. DK was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in north-central Greece. He was still actively involved in the discussion of the project and manuscript. GZ was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in the wide area of Attika. Hhe was still actively involved in the discussion of the project and manuscript. IK was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in Athens area and the province of Kozani. She was still actively involved in the discussion of the project and manuscript. GF: PACMeR internal statistician. He was involved in study planning, definition of outcome, and draft writing. He constitutes a basic internal support (Greek branch of the study) that avoids possible miss-understanding in the international collaboration. He still participated in the discussion of the results. AP was involved in the study planning and was responsible for data collection in Piraeus area. He was still actively involved in the discussion (any study phase) since his area of expertising is respiratory-diseases. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Exact phrasing of the tobacco and chest radiography related questions used for both males and females during the questionnaire-based interviewsTobacco-related questions:Are You a smoker? [No] [yes]How old did you start smoking? How old did you stop smoking? How many cigarettes/tobacco do you daily smoke?......................................................Chest radiography related questions:When did you perform chest radiography last time?\u03d2 never \u03d2 Within 1 year \u03d2 2 years \u03d2 3 years \u03d2 5 years \u03d2 more than 5 yearsFor which reason did you do it?.....................................................................................At what frequency do you undergo chest radiography?.................................................The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:"}
+{"text": "Correction for:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020100Cockburn R, Newton PN, Agyarko EK, Akunyili D, White NJ (2005) The Global Threat of Counterfeit Drugs: Why Industry and Governments Must Communicate the Dangers. PLoS Med 2(4): e100. doi:San Francisco Examiner [12] that states that 192,000 people died in China in 2001 as a consequence of fake drugs. This story was sourced to the Shenzhen Evening News of January 25, 2002. However, the authors are grateful to Professor Jin Shaohong, Executive Director-General of the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products in Beijing, China, for pointing out that the English translation of the Shenzhen Evening News story used by the San Francisco Examiner and other newspapers is incorrect. The article does not mention counterfeit drugs, but claims that 192,000 people died of drug-induced diseases from the irrational use of drugs in 2001. As this statistic is often quoted in the literature on counterfeit pharmaceuticals, the authors wish to correct this error.The authors quoted a news story from the http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=read-response&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020100#r1765.Further discussion by three of the authors of this correction is available at"}
+{"text": "A comprehensive malaria control intervention was initiated in February 2004 on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. This manuscript reports on the continuous entomological monitoring of the indoor residual spray (IRS) programme during the first two years of its implementation.(kdr) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess the efficacy of the vector control initiative from December 2003 to December 2005.Mosquitoes were captured daily using window traps at 16 sentinel sites and analysed for species identification, sporozoite rates and knockdown resistance Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae s.l. respectively were captured throughout the study period. Both M and S molecular forms of An. gambiae s.s. and Anopheles melas were identified. Prior to the first round of IRS, sporozoite rates were 6.0, 8.3 and 4.0 for An. gambiae s.s., An. melas and An. funestus respectively showing An. melas to be an important vector in areas in which it occurred. After the third spray round, no infective mosquitoes were identified. After the first spray round using a pyrethroid spray the number of An. gambiae s.s. were not reduced due to the presence of the kdr gene but An funestus and An. melas populations declined from 23.5 to 3.1 and 5.3 to 0.8 per trap per 100 nights respectively. After the introduction of a carbamate insecticide in the second round, An. gambiae s.s. reduced from 25.5 to 1.9 per trap per 100 nights and An. funestus and An. melas remained at very low levels. Kdr was found only in the M-form of An. gambiae s.s. with the highest frequency at Punta Europa (85%).A total of 2,807 and 10,293 All three vectors that were responsible for malaria transmission before the start of the intervention were successfully controlled once an effective insecticide was used.Continuous entomological surveillance including resistance monitoring is of critical importance in any IRS based malaria vector control programme. This paper demonstrates that sufficient resources for such monitoring should be included in any proposal in order to avoid programme failures. Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.), Anopheles melas and Anopheles funestus are responsible for malaria transmission on the island [An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus respectively [Malaria is a major endemic disease in the Central African tropical island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea. High prevalence of infection with malarial parasites in children has been reported ,2. Anophe island ,4 resultBioko has an all year round humid climate with a short dry season from November to March. The population is estimated at 250,000 most of who live in or around Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.In February 2004, The Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) initiated a comprehensive malaria control intervention consisting of indoor residual spraying (IRS) and effective case management, funded by a consortium led by Marathon Oil Company in partnership with the government of Equatorial Guinea, Medical Care Development International (MCDI), One World Development Group (OWDG), Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC) and Harvard University. The intervention was monitored by entomological, clinical and population indicators [This paper reports on the continuous entomological monitoring of the IRS programme during the first two years of its implementation 2004\u20132005). Monitoring of the impact of the intervention on prevalence of infection in children has previously been reported [004\u20132005.The intervention consists of vector control through (IRS) aimed at covering all domicillary structures, and an extensive programme of case management by provision of definitive diagnosis, treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy, and intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) to pregnant women.Deltamethrin\u2122 and Fendona\u2122 was carried out between March 2004 and August 2004. In 2005, two spray rounds took place, during February-July and August-December respectively, mainly using the carbamate insecticide Ficam\u2122. Approximately 100,000 houses were sprayed each round.The first round of IRS using the synthetic pyrethoids et al. [Spray operations were similar to those developed in the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI) in Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa . Progreset al. .In November 2003, prior to the implementation of the control programme, window traps were installed at six houses at each of sixteen sentinel sites Figure . Collectkdr).Mosquitoes were collected prior to the onset of the programme to allow for comparison between pre- and post intervention periods. The number of mosquitoes caught was compared over time, between sentinel sites and with respect to species composition, infection rates and the pattern of pyrethoid knockdown resistance  method described by Scott et al [An. gambiae s.s were identified using the protocol of Favia et al. [et al. [An. funestus group were identified using PCR as described by Koekemoer et al. [Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites was determined using the PCR protocol by Snounou et al. [kdr mutation was based on the PCR method of Martinez-Torres et al. [DNA was extracted from the head and thorax of a sub-sample of mosquitoes using the Livak method . Memberstt et al . Molecula et al.  and all  [et al. . Membersr et al. . The preu et al. . The dets et al. .Numbers of mosquitoes per trap per night were calculated for each vector species, both pre- and post-IRS, based on day of capture of the specimen in relation to spray status of the site in which the window trap was located. Using the species specific estimated sporozoite prevalence, the number of infective mosquitoes per trap per night, by species was calculated; the ratio of infective numbers per trap per night post spraying, relative to pre-spraying, was defined as the relative transmission index.All culicenes caught were recorded to ensure that in the absence of anopheline catches, the traps were being successfully operated.An. gambiae s.l. and 2,807 An. funestus were collected and morphologically identified. Of these, 2,043 An. gambiae s.l. and 588 An. funestus were subjected to species specific analysis . An. funestus was identified from ten sites . After the third spray round, An. gambiae s.s. was identified from eight sites  and An. melas only from Punta Europa. No An. funestus were caught in window traps after the third spray round.During this study, which comprised 59,307 trapping nights, 10,293 An. gambiae s.s. accounted for more than 80% of the An. gambiae s.l. captured over the duration of the study period and both the M and the S molecular forms were identified. An. melas predominated at one site, Riaba, accounting for 94% of the An. gambiae s.l. identified at this site prior to IRS (n = 108). After the third spray round, no An. melas were identified from this locality.An. gambiae s.s. per window trap per 100 nights, pre spraying was >20 with A. melas markedly lower at <5. An. gambiae s.s. showed an increase in the estimated number per window trap post spray round 1 (from 23.9 to 25.5 per trap per 100 nights) but was markedly reduced to two mosquitoes per trap per 100 nights after the second spray round with carbamate insecticide (Table An. melas and An. funestus showed significant reductions after the first spray round (from 5.3 to 0.8 and from 23.5 to 3.1 respectively) and continued to drop further with the subsequent spray round (to 0.2 and 0.04 respectively).The estimated number of An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus ranging from <1 per trap per 100 nights to 182.9 (Punta Europa) and 140.9 (Sacriba) per trap per 100 nights respectively.Prior to the onset of IRS, large variations in mosquito numbers existed between sentinel sites with densities of An. gambiae s.s., An. melas and An. funestus respectively. After the first spray round with a pyrethoid spray, these reduced to 1.8%, 3.1% and 2.3% and after the second spray round, no infective mosquitoes were identified  was 0.26, 0.07, 0.08 for ed Table .culicene densities were 130.2 per trap per 100 nights. Post spraying, densities were 108.0, 115.6 and 81.4 per trap per 100 nights for each spray round respectively. Large variations in culicene numbers existed between sentinel sites, throughout the study period with densities ranging from 6 to 461 per trap per 100 nights.Prior to the onset of IRS, An. gambiae s.s. were identified as S-forms and 36% as M-forms (n = 362). The proportion of M forms rose steadily with each spray round and by the end of the third spray round, 80% of An. gambiae s.s. were identified as M forms (n = 63). S-forms only were found at Baney, Batete, Bilelipa, Musola and Rebola and M-forms only from Central and Bacake Grande. M and S forms were sympatric at all other localities. No hybrids were identified.Prior to the onset of spraying, 64% of kdr/kdr) or the heterozygous susceptible (kdr/+) kdr genotypes . The present findings corroborate this study and show that in areas where both vectors cohabit (Punta Europa and Riaba), regardless of which one is dominant, infectivity rates were similar.o et al.  found tho et al. , found sAn. gambiae s.s., the molecular M form and S form were both identified throughout the study period. The data indicated a strong selection for the M form over the IRS intervention period, which is linked to the presence of the kdr mutation.The two genetic variants of kdr in the An. gambiae s.s. population despite the use of pyrethoid-impregnated bednets [kdr in 50% of M-forms tested but absent in the S form (Table et al. [kdr gene present in 55% of molecular M-forms of An gambiae s.s. from Malabo but absent from the S-form. The frequency of the kdr allele continued to rise and by the end of 2005, was present in 78% of M-forms, but absent in S-forms and reached a maximum frequency of 85% at Punta Europa sentinel site. Pyrethroids were mainly withdrawn from use in IRS in 2004 after the first spray round and replaced with a carbamate insecticide. However, pyrethroids were still frequently used in the form of vehicle and hand fogging in Malabo [An. gambiae s.s. due to the presence of the kdr gene. Figure An. gambiae s.l. caught exiting houses from March 2004 in spite of the implementation of the IRS programme using a pyrethroid. The failure to control An. gambiae s.s. effectively with a pyrethroid due to kdr is demonstrated by the effective reduction in the seasonal peak in An. gambiae s.s. after the introduction of carbamate IRS (Figure An. gambiae s.s. the relative abundance of house leaving An. funestus and An. melas was dramatically reduced following the first round of IRS using a pyrethroid and remained low with the introduction of a carbamate. The efficacy of a carbamate insecticide for large scale IRS was recently also demonstrated in Mozambique for both An. arabiensis and non kdr pyrethroid resistant An. funestus [A study on Bioko between 1998 and 2001 reported no evidence of  bednets . It was An. funestus and An. melas in the first spray round and An. gambiae s.s. by the second spray round, and the substantial decrease in the transmission index after the first year, a finding supported by the significant decrease in the parasite prevalence in children by one third after the first year of IRS [This study further emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation in any large scale insecticide based vector control programme. The efficacy of the IRS programme in Bioko is demonstrated by the dramatic reduction in r of IRS .These results lead us to emphasise the critical importance of continuous entomological surveillance including insecticide resistance monitoring based on an extensive system of window traps in any IRS based malaria vector control programme. It is recommended that proposals for such interventions include sufficient resources for such monitoring to avoid programme failures that may result from the ineffective control of important malaria vectors.BLS: Co-designed the study, participated in analysis and interpretation of data and contributed to the drafting of the manuscript. FCR carried out the laboratory analyses of mosquitoes, assisted with data analysis and interpretation and was involved in the drafting of the manuscript. DG: Managed the database, assisted with the analysis of results and contributed to the manuscript. JK: Management of IRS and the collection of field samples and contributed to the manuscript. IK: Co-designed and coordinated the study, participated in the analysis and interpretation of results, and was involved it the drafting of the manuscript and critical evaluation thereof.All authors read and approved the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Malaria is by far the greatest cause of morbidity and mortality in Angola, being responsible for 50% of all outpatient attendance and around 22% of all hospital deaths, yet by 2003 only 2% of under-5s used insecticide-treated nets. Entomological studies are an essential foundation for rational malaria control using insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying, but there have been no published studies of malaria vectors in Angola over the 27 years of the civil war, to its end in 2002. This paper describes studies arising from a WHO-sponsored visit in support of the National Malaria Control Programme.Anopheles species present, their sporozoite rates and the frequency of a kdr allele conferring resistance to pyrethroid insecticides.During April 2001, mosquitoes were sampled by indoor pyrethrum spray collection from four sites in the semi-arid coastal provinces of Luanda and Benguela and two sites in Huambo province, in the humid tropical highlands. Collections took place towards the end of the rainy season and were used to determine the Anopheles gambiae complex showed a preponderance of An. gambiae, with indoor resting densities ranging from 0.9 to 23.5 per house. Of 403 An. gambiae identified to molecular form, 93.5% were M-form and 6.5% S-form. M and S were sympatric at 4 sites but no M/S hybrids were detected. The highest proportion of S-form (20%) was in samples from Huambo, in the humid highlands. Anopheles funestus was found at one site near Luanda. The sporozoite rate of mosquitoes, determined by an ELISA test, was 1.9% for An. gambiae (n = 580) and 0.7% for An. funestus (n = 140). Of 218 An. gambiae (195 M-form and 23 S-form) genotyped for the West African kdr-resistance allele, all were homozygous susceptible.A PCR test for the An. gambiae M-form is the most important and widespread malaria vector in the areas studied but more extensive studies of malaria vectors are required to support the malaria control programme in Angola. These should include standard insecticide resistance biossays and molecular assays that can detect both metabolic resistance and target site insensitivity. Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus are the main vectors of malaria, although Anopheles melas, a member of the An. gambiae complex, is known to be a malaria vector in some coastal areas [In West Africa, al areas -3.An. gambiae comprises two molecular forms, M and S, recognisable from rDNA sequence differences, either in the intergenic spacer [kdr), which confers resistance to pyrethroid insecticides and which is assumed to have first developed in the S-form, has subsequently passed from the S-form to the M-form, presumably due to hybrid formation and consequent introgression [It has been shown that c spacer  or in thc spacer ,6. The ggression ,8. Recengression . The S-fMalaria is endemic throughout much of Angola territory, and is by far the highest cause of morbidity and mortality. During the period from 1999 to 2002 (last year for which data are available) there were 1.47 million cases of malaria annually, out of a mid-period population of c.11.4 million. Malaria continues to be responsible for 50% of all outpatient attendance and around 25% of all hospital deaths, yet by 2003 only 2% of under-5s used insecticide-treated nets . Due to An. gambiae and An. funestus complexes, their potential role in malaria transmission and to provide information on the status of kdr-based resistance to pyrethroids in An. gambiae in Angola.During April 2001, the senior author (NC) visited Angola at the request of WHO, to assist in \"strengthening malaria vector control especially the promotion of insecticide-treated bed nets\". As one part of this mission, a rapid mosquito survey was carried in some of the malarious regions of the country with a focus on areas around the capital Luanda, the semi arid coastal cities of Benguela and Lobito and Huambo city in the tropical highlands. The main malaria transmission season in Angola lasts from November to April. This paper is based on data from that rapid survey and subsequent laboratory studies. The primary objective has been to gather information on species composition within the Mosquitoes were collected towards the end of the rainy season during the period 11\u201319 April 2001 from seven localities in Angola, all close to or within urban areas; five in the semi-arid, coastal strip south from Luanda to Benguela and two in the humid tropical highlands of Huambo Province,  band of 195 bp. To eliminate errors in scoring, all kdr allele assays were carried out twice (by NC and KSC) and discrepancies checked.The presence of s et al. . The PCRPlasmodium falciparum were determined by the ELISA method [Sporozoites rates for A method ,16, usinCulex spp are included for comparative purposes but are not discussed further here. The numbers of individuals for the different species and/or molecular forms of the An. gambiae complex are shown in Table An. gambiae s.s. collected, the M-form was predominate, representing 93.5% (n = 403). The S-form was restricted to localities in the municipality of Benguela on the coast, where it comprised 3.8% (n = 184), and Huambo in the humid highlands, where it comprised 20% (n = 94) of An. gambiae s.s. collected. These differences in proportions of S-forms between coastal and highland sites are significant (p < 0.001). No M/S heterozygotes were found.The numbers of mosquitoes found resting indoors at each locality in Angola are shown in Table An. melas was found, together with An. gambiae M-form, resting indoors in the coastal area of Cacuaco. In the larval collection from Samba, one An. arabiensis was found along with 21 specimens of An. gambiae M-form. Forty-six specimens of An. funestus s.l. from indoor collections in Cacuaco were identified to species; all proved to be An. funestus s.s.An. gambiae M and S-forms are shown in Table The results of assays for kdr resistance alleles in An. funestus (n = 140) and 1.9 % in An. gambiae (n = 580).The results of sporozoite ELISA assays are shown in Table Little is known of malaria vectors in Angola and, with one exception (discussed below), all published studies preceded the war of independence and subsequent civil war, which finally ended in 2002. Although Angola is building up a cadre of technical staff to assist in the distribution of ITNs , as yet An. gambiae [An. gambiae M-form. The low proportion of the S-form among An. gambiae in Benguela and its absence in samples from Lobito and Luanda mirrors the findings in Carrara et al. [et al. [A recent analysis of published and unpublished data on the distribution of the molecular forms of  gambiae ,17 has dAn. gambiae s.s. of 1.9% (95% CI 0.8\u20133.0), which is based on samples from localities where the M-form was predominant (97.6%). Despite these samples being collected in the rainy season when nullipars predominate, it is nevertheless higher than the 0.4% for An. gambiae s.s. in the studies of Carrara et al. [In our study we found a sporozoite rate in a et al. .An. arabiensis specimen was found in this study, in a larval collection. The scarcity of this species in samples from a semi-arid region that might have been expected to favour this species may be a reflection of seasonal abundance or exophily, although it is notable that this species was also scarce in the studies of Carrara et al. [Only a single a et al. .An. gambiae complex, hybridisation between species and forms may be more likely at certain seasons as densities are undergoing change.There is evidence (reviewed in ) that thAn. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes for kdr resistance and no resistance alleles were found. We did not expect to find resistance to pyrethroids, since these insecticides have not been available in significant quantities during the periods of civil strife, when agricultural production was severely disrupted. Carrara et al. [kdr-allele (about 18%)\" in the Cabinda enclave, but did not find the resistant alleles in samples (of unstated size) from other sites in Angola. Whilst kdr resistance does not yet appear to have a highly significant effect on the performance of ITNs for malaria control, it would be prudent to increase monitoring for resistance using standard WHO bioassays and molecular tests that can detect both metabolic resistance and target site insensitivity [In this study we tested only 218 a et al.  reportedsitivity ,20.An. funestus complex.NC carried out the field collections of malaria vectors in Angola together with staff of the National Malaria Control Programme. He conducted the laboratory analysis of sporozoite rates and the PCR assays for identification of the An. gambiae complex, and the assays for kdr. All assays of molecular forms and kdr resistance were double-checked and any discrepancies resolved. HT advised on the experimental methods, results and interpretation of these assays.NC and KSC jointly carried out PCR assays for species and molecular forms of the NC and HT took the lead role in data analysis and interpretation. All three authors were closely involved in writing the paper and read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "This year CytoJournal celebrates the second full year of publication with its Best of CytoJournal: 2006. Like last year, it recognizes the work of the authors in thyroid FNAB. And, importantly, this years award, which was handed out at USCAP, was endowed by a gift from the Pathikonda family. In 2005 CytoJournal established a \"Best of...\" award and we were pleased to recognize the work of Nguyen, et al. . For 200Interestingly, both articles are about thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). And, like last year, the article by Deveci et al. is, notably, one of the 'highly accessed' articles during the past year . As I sthttp://www.cytopathology-foundation.org/page12.html.The award presentation was made by Dr. Vinod Shidam, the journal's Executive editor and Co-Editor in Chief, at the just past USCAP meeting in San Diego, and can be viewed at: In closing, we congratulate the authors on their article and hope that at the same time this will interest other authors in submitting their articles to CytoJournal."}
+{"text": "Anopheles gambiae s.s. is a highly anthropophilic mosquito and is the major vector for human malaria in sub-Sahara Africa, while Anopheles quadriannulatus, largely due to its zoophilic behaviour, is considered a non-vector species in the same region. Careful studies of olfaction in these sibling species may lead to insights about the mechanisms that drive host preference behaviour. In the present study, the external anatomy of the antenna, the principle olfactory organ in the female mosquito of both species, was examined as an initial step toward more detailed comparisons.Volatile odors are important sensory inputs that shape the behaviour of insects, including agricultural pests and disease vectors. An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus. Sensory structures, called sensilla, were categorized and counted; their distributions are reported here as well as densities calculated for each species.Scanning electron and light microscopy were used to examine the antennae ultrastructures of adult female An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus bear five classes of sensilla on their antennae: chaetica (bristles), trichodea (hairs), basiconica (pegs), coeloconica (pitted pegs), and ampullacea (pegs in tubes). Female An. quadriannulatus antennae have approximately one-third more sensilla, and a proportionally larger surface area, than female An. gambiae s.s. antennae.Both An. quadriannulatus has greater numbers of each sensilla type, sensilla densities are very similar for each species, suggesting that other factors may be more important to such olfactory-driven behaviours as host preference.The same types of sensilla are found on the antennae of both species. While  An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, display very different patterns of blood meal host preference. An. gambiae s.s. exhibits a high degree of anthropophily, while An. quadriannulatus exhibits strong zoophily [An. gambiae s.s. females is a major contributing factor to human malaria transmission, a disease that afflicts more than 200 million people and causes as many as 3 million deaths annually [An. quadriannulatus, because of its preference for cattle, is not considered a malaria vector [Odors are the principle sensory signals that direct female mosquitoes to their preferred blood meal hosts ,2. Antena vector .An. gambiae s.s. Accordingly, comparisons of the peripheral and central olfactory events between behaviourally divergent sibling species, such as An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, should provide valuable insights into the mechanisms that determine their respective host preferences. Understanding the basic molecular events that underlie blood feeding may ultimately lead to the design of new ways to interfere with the human/mosquito interaction and thereby reduce the associated disease burden.In order to understand the specifics of the attractiveness of humans to the mosquito, a major focus of this laboratory is the study of components in the olfactory signal transduction and coding process of An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, which may suggest areas of future investigation. As such, a comparative examination of the olfactory apparatus of An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus as a prelude to future comparative molecular studies has been undertaken.Antennal sensilla have previously been described for several mosquito species , inclAn. gambiae s.s. (G3) and An. quadriannulatus (SANGQUA) were reared as described previously [An. gambiae s.s. was received from Dr. Mark Benedict at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is described in more detail at: . An. quadriannulatus (SANGQUA) was the kind gift of Dr. Willem Takken .eviously . The G3 An. gambiae s.s. or An. quadriannulatus were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, 0.1% Triton X-100 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Heads were then dehydrated; first in an ethanol series from 50% to 100% in 10% increments, followed by ethanol:hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) at 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100. HMDS was decanted and heads were dried in a fume hood. Heads were then glued onto aluminum pin mounts with colloidal silver paint and sputter coated for 30 seconds with gold-palladium. Samples were viewed using a Hitachi S-4200 scanning electron microscope and digital micrographs of each flagellomere were collected using Quartz PCI version 6.0 image acquisition software .Heads from 4- to 6-day-old adult An. gambiae s.s. (G3 strain) or An. quadriannulatus were hand dissected from cold-anesthetized animals and placed in 25% sucrose, 0.1% Triton X-100 in water. These antennae were mounted on glass slides with a cover slip and sealed with clear enamel nail polish. Slides were stored at 4\u00b0C and observed under an Olympus BX-60  microscope at 400\u00d7 magnification. Photomicrographs were captured using an Olympus DP70 digital camera.Antennae from 4- to 6-day-old adult n [t-tests (two-tailed) were performed as described [Antennae were initially observed by SEM on both the dorsal and ventral aspects to look for any bias in sensilla arrangements. Thereafter, heads were mounted such that the antennae were most often observed from the lateral aspect, with some variation between individuals. Sensilla on each micrograph were classified by type and counted. Mean values for each sensillum type were calculated for 10 individuals per species and then multiplied by a factor of 2, assuming that only half the sensilla could be seen in each micrograph. For brightfield counting, all sensilla of a given type could be observed on each flagellomere by continuous focus adjustment through the specimen. Mean values for each type were calculated for 20 individuals. Standard deviations were calculated for each data set as described previously [t-tests (two-tailed) were performed to determine whether the mean surface areas differed significantly between species. Sensilla densities were calculated by dividing the mean number of sensilla by the total mean surface area where the particular type of sensilla was found.Flagellomeres 1\u201313 were viewed using brightfield optics, as described above, at 400\u00d7 magnification. The length of each flagellomere was measured with an Olympus DP70 digital scale bar, and the width (diameter) was measured at the midpoint of the length Figure . The meaAn. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus adults are equipped with three types of appendages \u2013 the antennae, maxillary palps, and proboscis (labellum) \u2013 each with associated chemosensory functions . Externally, male and female proboscises appear identical. However, males often lack or have highly modified forms of stylets enclosed within the proboscis [The proboscis, or modified labium in mosquitoes, is also longer than the antennae and is the most ventral of the head appendages Figure . At the roboscis .An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, this study focuses on a structural comparison of their antennae. The following are detailed descriptions of the types, numbers, distributions, and densities of female antennal sensilla.Because of the major importance of the antennae on host seeking and other behaviours in female An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus. The large sensilla chaetica are arranged in a whorl on the basal end of each flagellomere 2\u201313 and distributed evenly around the circumference . Similarly, An. quadriannulatus had 6\u20138 on the first seven flagellomeres, 4\u20136 on the next five flagellomeres, and 1 or 2 on the 13th flagellomere. The number of small sensilla chaetica averaged 50.5 in An. gambiae s.s. and 57.5 in An. quadriannulatus.Small sensilla chaetica were generally found on the dorsal surface and nearer the distal edge of flagellomeres 2\u201313 . The sharp sensilla trichodea seemed to be randomly distributed around the circumference of each flagellomere 2\u201313. An. gambiae s.s. females had, on average, about 615 trichoid sensilla per antenna, and An. quadriannulatus females had about 770 per antenna in this study.The most numerous sensilla found along the flagellum of ed Table . Two dised Table , 4A, C. tephensi . While gtephensi . The numAn. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, blunt sensilla trichodea were the least numerous class of sensilla quantified in this study  small sensilla coeloconica , or environmental factors are more likely to contribute to the host preference divergence of An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus. A recent comparison of candidate olfactory receptor genes in An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus showed an extremely high level of conservation between their amino acid sequences . This study provides an essential foundation for these and other future comparative analyses that will focus on the molecular genetics and physiology of olfaction in these two species.There are at least six species in the recently . Furtherentified . While tl organs . ClearlyAn. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus mosquitoes carry the same morphological types of sensilla and the densities of each type are effectively equal between the two species. Therefore, the lack of specialization at the gross morphological level of the antennae implies that other factors are more likely to account for the olfactory-driven host preference difference between An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus. This study establishes a foundation for future neurological, physiological, and molecular comparative studies aimed at elucidating potential differences in olfaction between these sibling species.The antennae of adult female RJP and LJZ conceived and designed the study. RJP carried out all microscopy and analysis (with some assistance from undergraduate researchers as listed in the acknowledgements) and drafted the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "The nucleomorphs associated with secondary plastids of cryptomonads and chlorarachniophytes are the sole examples of organelles with eukaryotic nuclear genomes. Although not as widespread as their prokaryotic equivalents in mitochondria and plastids, nucleomorph genomes share similarities in terms of reduction and compaction. They also differ in several aspects, not least in that they encode proteins that target to the plastid, and so function in a different compartment from that in which they are encoded.Guillardia theta, and the chlorarachniophyte, Bigelowiella natans, have experienced similar evolutionary pressures during their transformation to reduced organelles. We compared the evolutionary rates of genes from nuclear, nucleomorph, and plastid genomes, all of which encode proteins that function in the same cellular compartment, the plastid, and are thus subject to similar selection pressures. Furthermore, we investigated the divergence of nucleomorphs within cryptomonads by comparing G. theta and Rhodomonas salina.Here, we test whether the phylogenetically distinct nucleomorph genomes of the cryptomonad, Chlorarachniophyte nucleomorph genes have accumulated errors at a faster rate than other genomes within the same cell, regardless of the compartment where the gene product functions. In contrast, most nucleomorph genes in cryptomonads have evolved faster than genes in other genomes on average, but genes for plastid-targeted proteins are not overly divergent, and it appears that cryptomonad nucleomorphs are not presently evolving rapidly and have therefore stabilized. Overall, these analyses suggest that the forces at work in the two lineages are different, despite the similarities between the structures of their genomes. While the primary acquisition of the plastid from a free-living cyanobacterium is believed to have occurred only once , plastidThe nucleomorph is often thought of as an anomaly, a rare occurrence, since it is known only in cryptomonads and chlorarachniophytes, but if one considers 'loss or gain' rather than 'presence or absence' then it is perhaps not so anomalous. All lineages that are known to contain secondary plastids  have ancestors that contained a nucleomorph. Depending on the number of secondary endosymbiotic events that took place, which is still contentious ,12-14, tGuillardia theta [Bigelowiella natans [G. theta and B. natans, nucleomorph genomes were completed, all known endosymbiont genomes have been of prokaryotic origin. The best examples of prokaryotic endosymbiont genomes are those of the mitochondrion, once a free-living alpha-proteobacterium, and the chloroplast, once a free-living cyanobacterium [Wolbachia [Buchnera [Wigglesworthia [Blochmania [Buchnera [Cryptomonads and chlorarachniophytes arose from separate endosymbiotic events, and neither host cell nor endosymbiont are very closely related. Yet the nucleomorph genomes of the cryptomonad, ia theta  and the a natans -10 sharea natans ,22. Compolbachia -25, BuchBuchnera , Wigglessworthia  and Blocochmania , the feaochmania -31. Thesochmania ; an effeochmania . The AT Buchnera . A univeBuchnera . The effBuchnera .There is less chromosomal information for eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites, however certain alveolate and microsporidian genomes show some similar characteristics such as genome compaction , AT biasArabidopsis thaliana serving as an outgroup. Here we test whether the phylogenetically distinct nucleomorph genomes of G. theta and B. natans have experienced similar evolutionary pressures that influenced genome-wide variation in predictable ways and with the same severity and whether these effects are in common to those described in other enslaved nuclei. Proteins from both nucleomorph genomes have been observed to reside on long branches of phylogenetic trees indicating that they are poorly conserved [G. theta and B. natans nucleomorphs encode proteins that are directed to the plastid. Proteins that function in the plastid are presumably subject to similar selection pressures in organisms with nucleomorphs as they are in other algae. We have therefore used plastid proteins encoded in the plastid genome, the nucleomorph, or the nucleus, to examine differences in rates of evolution in the different genomes to determine whether the nucleomorph is evolving at a dissimilar rate to the plastid and nuclear genomes. We also investigate the overall variability of evolutionary rates of nucleomorph-encoded proteins and their homologues in other species to determine if the proteins still encoded within these genomes are generally well conserved, and whether this can shed light on their retention in the nucleomorph. By comparing proteins from the nucleomorph of two cryptomonads, G. theta and Rhodomonas salina, we also investigate whether cryptomonad nucleomorph genomes are diverging at the same rate as their nuclear genomes.With the recent availability of red algal  and greeonserved -45, howeG. theta and B. natans use proteins encoded in the nuclear genome, the nucleomorph genome and the plastid itself. Of the 147 proteins encoded in the G. theta plastid genome [C. merolae and the green plant A. thaliana. Of the 57 proteins encoded in the B. natans plastid genome, 53 are also present in the plastid genome of the green alga C. reinhardtii and A. thaliana. One of these proteins, YCF1 proved to be unalignable and was excluded from the analysis. Since the genomes of all plastids are descendents of the cyanobacterial primary plastid ancestor, these proteins are homologues .The plastids of both d genome  45 are aG. theta, C. merolae and A. thaliana are smaller than the average distances between the nuclear-encoded proteins  between the plastid-encoded proteins of s Figure . The diss Figure . HoweverG. theta and B. natans [G. theta transit peptides have the characteristics of red algal transit peptides [B. natans, of green algal transit peptides [A. thaliana and from the nuclear genomes of C. merolae (for G. theta) or C. reinhardtii (for B. natans). Twenty-four nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted proteins were found in EST data from G. theta for which there were identifiable homologues in C. merolae and A. thaliana, and 45 plastid proteins were identified from B. natans for which there were identifiable homologues from C. reinhardtii and A. thaliana. A G. theta gene encoding an isoform of glycogen (starch) synthase was excluded from the analysis since starch is accumulated in the periplastidial space in this species, but its homologue in C. merolae is active in the cytosol and the its homologues in green algae and plants are active in the plastid [tha4 gene also found in the G. theta nucleomorph. The protein encoded by this gene was longer than the nucleomorph protein, which, in comparison to isoforms from other species appears truncated. It is possible that the nuclear tha4 gene is a recent transfer that has assumed the function of the nucleomorph-encoded protein and that the truncated, nucleomorph copy is in the process of being lost.Nuclear-encoded plastid genes have been transferred from the plastid genome during endosymbiosis resulting in reduced organelle genomes. Nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted proteins of . natans ,47 were . natans . In G. tpeptides , and in  plastid . Also exG. theta, A. thaliana and C. merolae are larger than the plastid-encoded proteins, and are almost identical between the three species  the rates of general substitution are higher in nuclear genomes, or 2) the genes retained in the plastid genome are those under the greatest selection. A combination of both factors may occur. These results for plastid-encoded and nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted proteins are an important indication of the relative distances between the species for which the rates of divergence of the nucleomorph genomes can be compared.G. theta and B. natans each only encode a handful of plastid proteins, and even fewer for periplastidial metabolism. The rest of the genes encode proteins to support the nucleomorph; proteins for transcription, translation, protein folding and degradation and RNA metabolism [Previous phylogenetic observations of nucleomorph-encoded proteins, have led to speculation that the nucleomorph genomes are extraordinarily divergent, however these studies have been made of proteins that do not target to the plastid. The nucleomorph genomes of tabolism ,8. TheseG. theta and nuclear-encoded homologues from A. thaliana &C. merolae are larger than the distances between proteins that are plastid-encoded in all species (red), whereas there is less difference between these protein distances and those of proteins that are nucleus-encoded in all species (blue). However, significantly, the relative distances between taxa are not equal. The distance to G. theta from both A. thaliana and C. merolae is greater than the difference between A. thaliana and C. merolae , which contains 14 further genes encoding proteins targeted to the plastid [The nucleomorph of function . Of thes plastid .tha4, which may have led to the demise of the nucleomorph-encoded gene relatively recently showing the ongoing nature of the process. By extension, it is possible that only the few genes whose proteins are more permissive to mutation can tolerate the high mutation rate of nucleomorph genomes. Selection pressure favouring the successful transfer of genes for proteins under tighter selection for sequence conservation would be stronger. This would suggest that the genes for plastid-targeted proteins remaining in the nucleomorphs would be divergent compared with homologues in other eukaryotes, perhaps as divergent as other nucleomorph proteins on average.Why these plastid-targeted proteins remain encoded in the nucleomorph may be the key to the existence of the genome itself, since almost all other nucleomorph-encoded proteins are for self-maintenance and expression of the genome. A variety of biological explanations have been suggested for the retention of certain core proteins in most chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes ,52, howeG. theta had identifiable homologues in the nuclear genomes of C. merolae and A. thaliana and 17 nucleomorph-encoded plastid-targeted proteins of B. natans had identifiable homologues in the nuclear genomes of C. reinhardtii and A. thaliana.To test these hypotheses, we first compared the relative distances of nucleomorph-encoded plastid-targeted proteins to nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted and plastid-encoded proteins Figure . FifteenG. theta and nuclear-encoded homologues from A. thaliana and C. merolae are larger than plastid-encoded proteins, but similar to nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted proteins. The distances between the three species are not equal. As for the plastid-encoded proteins, the distance to A. thaliana from both G. theta and C. merolae is much greater than the difference between G. theta and C. merolae  and plastid-encoded proteins (37%) fail the relative rate test in B. natans in which cases B. natans is typically the most rapidly evolving peptide. In G. theta, nucleomorph-encoded plastid-targeted proteins fail the relative rate test more frequently than those encoded in the plastid or nucleus, but the difference is not nearly as pronounced as in B. natans. In fact, nucleomorph encoded plastid-targeted proteins in G. theta only fail the relative rate test 11% more frequently than nuclear-encoded plastid-targeted proteins in which G. theta is the most rapidly evolving taxon. Interestingly, of the 17% of the plastid-encoded peptides that fail the relative rate test, G. theta is not the most rapidly evolving ingroup. This may indicate that the plastid of C. merolae is evolving at an accelerated rate compared to that of G. theta.Relative rate tests can be used to measure the degree of divergence of two genes from an equally distant outgroup ,54. Relag RRTree  and wereOverall, the rate of evolution of plastid proteins encoded in the nucleomorph of cryptomonads is in line with those encoded in the nucleus, despite the fact that other nucleomorph-encoded proteins are generally evolving at a higher rate. In chlorarachniophytes, however, the nucleomorph-encoded plastid-targeted proteins are evolving much faster than those encoded in the nucleus , which provides one of the first indications that the mode of evolution in these two genomes is fundamentally different.Thalassiosira pseudonana, and the distance of these proteins compared to an extant free-living plastid relative; the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. This analysis showed that plastid proteins that are encoded in the nucleomorph of either G. theta or B. natans  from G. theta and R. salina are actually less than the distances between nucleus-encoded proteins  and Rhodomonas salina (CCMP 1319) and also previously published data from B. natans [B. natans where several lateral gene transfers have been identified [DQ383756-DQ383799. Proteins were also identified from the coding sequences of the ongoing sequencing project of the plastid genomes of Bigelowiella natans and the plastid genomes of G. theta [Arabidopsis thaliana [Cyanidioschyzon merolae [Odontella sinesis [Thalassiosira pseudonana [A. thaliana [C. merolae [Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, and the nucleomorph genomes of G. theta [B. natans (DQ158856 \u2013 DQ158858). When multiple isoforms existed in the algal or plant nucleus and it was not obvious which isoform was the orthologue, the distances for all isoforms were calculated and the isoforms with the closest distance to the cryptomonad or chlorarachniophyte was used, providing that the same isoforms from the algae and plant were also closest to each other. Alternatively, in a few cases, a neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed to determine groups of isoforms. In a minority of cases for nucleomorph-encoded plastid proteins in B. natans where there were multiple paralogues in both A. thaliana and C. reinhardtii, the nearest Arabidopsis paralogue to B. natans was not nearest to the C. reinhardtii paralogue closest to B. natans. In these cases the paralogue closest to B. natans in pair-wise distance (using Dayhoff) was chosen. If it was not possible to determine which isoform was the likely original paralogue then that protein was excluded from the analysis. For analyses with nucleomorph-encoded non-plastid proteins a subset of proteins involved in transcription, translation  and protein folding for which homologues could be identified in A. thaliana and C. reinhardtii or C. merolae, was used.Proteins representing known plastid functions from other eukaryotes and cyanobacteria, were used to search ongoing EST projects from the cryptomonads . natans ,47, resuentified , only nuG. theta , Arabidothaliana , Cyanidi merolae  and Odon sinesis . Homologeudonana , A. thalthaliana , C. mero merolae . ProteinGuillardia theta were used to search a database of Rhodomonas salina (CCMP 1319) ESTs using tBLASTn. The GC content of the transcripts was calculated and compared to the GC content of the G. theta nucleomorph and nuclear genome and also to R. salina proteins identified as being nuclear-encoded, plastid-targeted. R. salina transcripts with homologues in the G. theta nucleomorph with coding regions of 28% GC content or less were determined to be nucleomorph encoded.Proteins encoded in the nucleomorph genome of G. theta distances were also calculated with the Dayhoff substutution matrix and nine rates catagories (eight variable and one invariable), to test for saturation [see Protein alignments were made using Clustal X  and refition see .C. reinhardtii as an ingroup and A. thaliana as an outgroup for B. natans datasets. C. merolae was used as an ingroup and A. thaliana as an outgroup for G. theta datasets. The test was used to compare the evolutionary rate of individual genes from each of the three genomes of B. natans and G. theta to its compartment specific homologue in the genomes of C. reinhardtii and C. merolae. Since a failure of a relative rate test does not indicate which taxon is evolving more rapidly, we compare failures where G. theta or B. natans is the most rapidly evolving ingroup.Relative rate tests were performed using the RRTREE program  using C.EST, Expressed Sequence TagAll authors contributed to the experimental concept and design, the generation of EST data, data acquisition, analysis, statistics, and manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.G. theta (GT), the red algae C. merolae (CM) and the plant A. thaliana (AT) calculated with the Dayhoff substitution matrix and nine catagories of gamma corrections (eight variable +1 invariable).Supplementary Figure 1. Radar graph of average distances of plastid-, nucleus-, and nucleomorph-encoded plastid proteins, and nucleomorph-encoded non-plastid proteins of the cryptophyte Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Anopheles maculipennis complex are effective malaria vectors in Europe and the Caspian Sea region in northern Iran, where malaria has been re-introduced since 1994. The current study has been designed in order to provide further evidence on the status of species composition and to identify more accurately the members of the maculipennis complex in northern Iran.Members of The second internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (rDNA-ITS2) was sequenced in 28 out of 235 specimens that were collected in the five provinces of East Azerbayjan, Ardebil, Guilan, Mazandaran and Khorassan in Iran.maculipennis complex could be easily clustered into three groups: the An. atroparvus \u2013 Anopheles labranchiae group; the paraphyletic group of An. maculipennis, An. messeae, An. persiensis; and An. sacharovi as the third group.The length of the ITS2 ranged from 283 to 302 bp with a GC content of 49.33 \u2013 54.76%. No intra-specific variations were observed. Construction of phylogenetic tree based on the ITS2 sequence revealed that the six Iranian members of the An. maculipennis complex including An. atroparvus, An. messae and An. labranchiae, as shown as new records in northern Iran, is somehow alarming. A better understanding of the epidemiology of malaria on both sides of the Caspian Sea may be provided by applying the molecular techniques to the correct identification of species complexes, to the detection of Plasmodium composition in Anopheles vectors and to the status of insecticide resistance by looking to related genes.Detection of three species of the  Anopheles maculipennis, the historic vector of malaria in Europe and the Middle East was the first sibling species complex to be discovered among mosquitoes , An. messeae [GenBank: AY050639], and An. atroparvus [GenBank: AY050640] in Iran by using RAPD, SSR and ITS2 sequences. Recently, Sedaghat et al. [An. maculipennis complex from Iran, including An. maculipennis, An. sacharovi, and An. persiensis. The sequence of An. persiensis was identified in 2002 by Djadid and Romi from Rasht (Guilan province) and Amol city in Mazandran province, and indeed it was described later by Sedaghat et al. [et al. [An. maculipennis complex from the north-west and central regions of Iran, only found An. maculipennis and An. sacharovi. However, in study, for the first time, the presence of six species of this complex  are reported in northern Iran based on the sequence of rDNA-ITS2. The three species of An. messeae, An. atroparvus and An. labranchiae have not been reported before in Iran.This study has been designed in order to provide molecular evidence and to verify the real composition of the nce 1986  and latence 1986 . Howeverh et al.  and Mano [et al.  claimed . Djadid , working [et al. , workingAn. maculipennis complex varied in length from 283 bp in An. maculipennis up to 302 bp in An. sacharovi. This is in the range of ITS2 length in other examined Anopheles species; 363\u2013369 bp in Anopheles nunestovari [Anopheles quadrimaculatus complex [An. maculipennis complex 305 \u2013 310 bp [An. maculipennis complex about 280\u2013300 bp [The ITS2 sequences of six Palearctic species of estovari , 287\u2013329 complex , in the \u2013 310 bp  and in s0\u2013300 bp . Howeveret al. [An. maculipennis complex inferred by maximum parsimony analysis of the PAUP programme and neighbour joining and maximum likelihood analysis of the PHYLIP program. All the trees obtained were almost identical in topology although the relationships among the three species i.e. An. maculipennis, An. messeae and An. melanoon, remained unresolved. Perhaps due to the differentiation of these species from neighbouring taxa within a brief evolutionary time-frame that dispensed insufficient differences to support these individuals' lineages [An. maculipennis complex have been reported from Romania and Russia, namely An. daciae, An. artemievi and An. beklemishevi [An. beklemishevi specimens from Russia by their ITS2 ribosomal DNA sequences to amend and to specify the phylogenetic tree of the An. maculipennis species complex [An. persinsis, and that An. messeae and An. atroparvus are not as close as demonstrated by Kampen [An. beklemishevi is in a closer relationship to the Nearctic rather than to the Palearctic sibling species, which is in concordance with the demonstration of final phylogenetic tree drawn from this study by including An. beklemishevi sequence (GenBank: AY593958) to other sequences  collected during the suspected hibernation period (October-March) showed that this species will go into hibernation with gonotrophic dissociation. In this case, all dissected mosquitoes have shown no dilatation proving that the female adult mosquitoes over winter as nuliparus and the last blood they took will be used for producing the fat body allowing the female to start the next generation in the beginning of next seasonal activity. However, it remains un-clear how these ecological data fit with the presence of one or more species within An. maculipennis complex in northern Iran, and what is the role of other anophelines in this region  in malaria transmission and since re-introduction of malaria in northern Iran.With regards to the presence of six members of Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles fluviatilis [Beklemishev  listed eviatilis ,55-59. TAn. sacharovi, which is responsible for the majority of Plasmodium vivax transmissions in the Asian part of Turkey [An. labranchiae, formerly was the main vector of malaria in Italy [An. atroparvus is the most efficient vector in Britain [An. maculipennis, An. messeae and An. sacharovi are capable of transmitting malaria; however, they exhibit different vector capacities [An. maculipennis complex including An. atroparvus, An. messae and An. labranchiae, as new records in northern Iran, is a case for concern because of their potential in malaria transmission and more important, the extent of their geographical distribution towards southern territory of the An. maculipennis complex.Nowadays, the most important vectors are considered to be f Turkey , and An.in Italy . An. atr Britain . An. macpacities ,60,61. IAn. maculipennis complex is distributed over an area that covers central Iran to the Caspian Sea region and up to Sweden, an international effort is required to prevent the re-introduction of malaria to those areas where \"anophelism without malaria\" prevails.A better understanding on the epidemiology of malaria on both sides of the Caspian Sea may be provided by applying the molecular techniques to enable the correct identification of species complexes, the detection of plasmodium composition in anopheles vectors and the status of insecticide resistance by looking at related genes. In addition, it is worth remembering that as the"}
+{"text": "Lepilemur and their phylogenetic relationships is disputed and controversial. In order to establish their evolutionary relationships, a comparative cytogenetic and molecular study was performed. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) from 68 individuals representing all eight sportive lemur species and most major populations, and compared the results with those obtained from cytogenetic studies derived from 99 specimens.The number of species within the Malagasy genus Lepilemur ankaranensis, L. dorsalis, L. edwardsi, L. leucopus, L. microdon, L. mustelinus, L. ruficaudatus and L. septentrionalis on species level. Additionally, within L. ruficaudatus large genetic differences were observed among different geographic populations. L. dorsalis from Sahamalaza Peninsula and from the Ambanja/Nosy Be region are paraphyletic, with the latter forming a sister group to L. ankaranensis.Interspecific genetic variation, diagnostic characters and significantly supported phylogenetic relationships were obtained from the mitochondrial sequence data and are in agreement with cytogenetic information. The results confirm the distinctiveness of L. ruficaudatus and L. dorsalis. Based on molecular data we propose to recognize the sportive lemur populations from north of the Tsiribihina River, south of the Betsiboka River, and from the Sahamalaza Peninsula, as distinct species.Our results support the classification of the eight major sportive lemur taxa as independent species. Moreover, our data indicate further cryptic speciation events within  Lepilemur, are small nocturnal primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are amongst the most widely distributed lemurs, occurring in almost all natural evergreen or deciduous forest formations on the island . Intra-specific differences range from 0.00\u20137.63%. Interestingly, the observed differences of 5.88\u20137.63% between the three major populations of L. ruficaudatus, which are separated by wide rivers or large distances, and those found between L. dorsalis from Sahamalaza Peninsula and from Ambanja/Nosy Be (5.18\u20135.88%) exceed those detected between L. ankaranensis and the two L. dorsalis populations, indicating speciation events in L. ruficaudatus and L. dorsalis. Further details about pairwise differences within and between species are reported in Complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences (1140 bp) were generated from 68 individuals representing all currently recognized species. Among the 68 sequences we detected 39 haplotypes. Uncorrected pairwise differences within the genus range from 0.00\u201316.82%, with overlapping intra- and inter-specific differences . Although most inter-specific differences are in the range of 7.37\u201316.82%, there are also two exceptions which show that differences between species can be much lower , or to those detected between the two widely recognized species L. septentrionalis and L. ankaranensis (82 characters).Based on the 1140 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, a population aggregation analysis was performed with 373 positions serving as diagnostic characters see . With 16L. mustelinus was the first species to split off. The remaining species diverged into two subgroups, of which one contained L. ankaranensis, L. dorsalis, L. edwardsi, L. microdon and L. septentrionalis, and the other L. leucopus and L. ruficaudatus. Within L. ruficaudatus three very distinct clades were observed, corresponding to different geographic locations. In the other subgroup a major split occurred between L. microdon/L. edwardsi and the remaining species, which later separated into L. septentrionalis and a group consisting of L. dorsalis and L. ankaranensis. L. dorsalis is further divided into two subclades, with one containing individuals from Ambanja and Nosy Be, and the other those from Sahamalaza. Moreover, L. dorsalis emerges as paraphyletic, with specimens from Nosy Be/Ambanja forming a sister clade to L. ankaranensis.Phylogenetic trees reconstructed on the basis of different algorithms and models of sequence evolution produced identical tree topologies, with mainly significantly supported branching patterns Fig. . Based oLepilemur species.As in many nocturnal mammals, pelage colouration among sportive lemurs is not a suitable characteristic for distinguishing among taxa, since it is not well defined and consistent within taxa. In contrast, cytogenetics or molecular methods such as sequencing of marker genes offer powerful tools that lead to important insights into the diversity and phylogeny of several Malagasy lemur genera ,19,28,29Lepilemur can be divided into the eight traditionally recognized species, L. ankaranensis, L. dorsalis, L. edwardsi, L. leucopus, L. microdon, L. mustelinus, L. ruficaudatus and L. septentrionalis. These differ by several chromosomal rearrangements (3 to 19), with the exception of L. septentrionalis and L. ankaranensis that only one rearrangement separates [L. ruficaudatus populations and the two L. dorsalis populations, no chromosomal differences were detected.Based on cytogenetic data, the genus eparates -9 , as well as from comparable data from other lemur genera, e.g. Microcebus [Geogale aurita, Echinops telfairi, Hypogeomys antimena, Mungotictis decemlineata, Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi, Microcebus berthae; Mahavavy: Eulemur fulvus rufus, Galida elegans occidentalis; Betsiboka: Oryzorictes talpoides, Avahi occidentalis; Sambirano: Phaner furcifer parienti and possibly Avahi unicolor).Besides the high genetic differences observed among the eight jahamena ,17,25,31crocebus ,18. ThusL. dorsalis populations of Ambanja and Nosy Be are closely related and form one clade, indicating both their common origin and a recent isolation of the island of Nosy Be. The Nosy Be/Ambanja L. dorsalis and L. ankaranensis together form a sister group to L. dorsalis from Sahamalaza, indicating a paraphyly of L. dorsalis. These phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns are also confirmed by RAPD analysis [Propithecus (Indriidae) in that P. v. coquereli appears to cluster with P. tattersalli instead with other subspecies of P. verreauxi [L. ankaranensis and Nosy Be/Ambaja L. dorsalis , and heSkull , north-east side of the Mahavavy du Sud River, Fokotany Ambatomahavavy, Firaisana Antongomena-Bevary, Fivondronona Mitsinjo, Province Mahajanga, Madagascar.Pelage coloration is considerably variable in the expression of the colours, possibly as a function of the age of individuals. Depending on light conditions (daylight or flashlight at night) the impression of colours may change subjectively. However, some constant characters are present, though variably expressed. The face is essentially grey and the ears are protruding and rounded. Sometimes there is the impression of a \"facemask\", in that there may be a darker diffuse, patch of hair in the middle of the forehead. Above the eyes darker coloured but diffuse stripes may run upwards to join in the middle of the head. These confluent stripes continue as one darker and distinct stripe along the back. The stripe is especially well expressed until it reaches the middle of the back, and then continues less prominently to the tail. On the back, the animals are essentially grey and reddish grey. The middle part of the back, especially, may show considerable reddish colouration that extends onto both shoulders and the upper and lower arms. The thigh and lower limb in general are less reddish than the upper part of the body. The ventral pelage is light to darker grey. The tail is variably coloured between grey with some red influence to deep rusty red with negligible grey influence.L. randrianasoli and L. ruficaudatus, from all other sportive lemurs in karyotype , which has supported our fieldwork for 12 years.The taxon occurs between the Betsiboka and Mahavavy du Sud rivers. The southern extension of the taxon across the Mahavavy du Sud River is unknown, and needs further research.Tissue and DNA from one individual stored at the Gene Bank of Primates, German Primate Centre, Germany (GBP 941).Andramasay , Province Toliary, Madagascar.Measurements of five males and four females from the type locality Andramasay are listed in L. aeeclis and L. ruficaudatus, from all other sportive lemurs in karyotype .Sahamalaza Peninsula , Province Mahajanga, Madagascar. Hypodigm: 6 animals from Ankarafa , 25 km southeast of the type locality, for which morphometric measurements have been taken.Pelage coloration is variable, possibly also depending on age of individuals. Depending on light conditions (daylight or flashlight at night) the impression of colours may change subjectively. However, some constant characters are present, though variably expressed. The face is essentially grey. The forehead and the hairline around the ears are red-brown with sometimes darker diffuse patches. A dark diffuse line runs from the middle of the upper skull down the spine, ending in the middle or at the lower part of the back, but is never present on the tail. The dorsal pelage, including shoulders and the upper and lower arms, is predominantly red-brown, whereas the thigh and lower limbs in general are less reddish than the upper part of the body. The ventral pelage is generally grey to creamy. The coloration of the tail is red-brown to deep brown. Measurements of 2 males and of 4 females from Ankarafa are listed in L. dorsalis and L. leucopus, from all other sportive lemurs in diploid chromosome number  data, e.g. from nuclear DNA loci, are required to confirm the distinct species status of the populations. Furthermore, behavioural and morphological studies will provide independent data to delimit the species status of the three new forms. The discovery of three new possible primate species however, shows how diverse Madagascar's fauna is and how limited our knowledge currently still is. Ongoing work in the field and in the laboratory is urgently required to describe the complete diversity of sportive lemurs, especially of the different populations representing L. leucopus, L. microdon and L. mustelinus, and of other Malagasy lemurs. Greater knowledge of ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic patterns and processes will provide the necessary basis for protecting Madagascar's unique biodiversity.The combination of cytogenetic and molecular approaches reported here revealed important information about the diversity and evolution of the sportive lemurs. Phylogenetic relationships obtained from the mitochondrial sequence data are completely resolved and significantly supported, so that they most likely display the real evolutionary relationships among the analysed species and populations. Both methods were able to confirm the species status of the eight traditionally recognized species, while mitochondrial sequencing indicated in addition further cryptic speciation events in Lepilemur species were collected during field surveys in Madagascar  or GM2 [L. ruficaudatus in the Kirindy forest. However, morphometric data were collected by different people under various conditions, and hence we expect low inter-observer reliability. We therefore did not use morphometric data for species delimitation, but rather use them as a tool to present a picture of the taxa. Immediately after recovery from anaesthesia, animals were released in their respective capture areas.Samples from 68 individuals representing all currently recognized car Fig. . Skin bi) or GM2 . A part ) or GM2 . From so) or GM2 . For morA total of 99 sportive lemur individuals with at least one specimen per locality was cytogenetically analysed during studies performed from 1975 till 2005 ,37-39. CDNA from the biopsies was extracted using a standard proteinase K digestion, followed by a phenol chloroform extraction  with minThe complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was amplified via PCR using the oligonucleotide primers CYT-LEP-L: 5'-AATGATATGAAAAACCATCGTTGTA-3' and CYT-LEP-H: 5'-GGCTTACAAGGCCGGGGTAA-3'. Standard, wax-mediated hot-start PCRs were carried out for 40 cycles, each with a denaturation step at 94\u00b0C for 60 s, annealing at 60\u00b0C for 60 s, and extension at 72\u00b0C for 90 s, followed by a final extension step at 72\u00b0C for 5 min. Aliquots of the PCR amplifications were checked by agarose gel electrophoresis. Subsequently, PCR products were cleaned using the Qiagen PCR Purification Kit and sequenced on an ABI 3100-Avant sequencer using the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit (Applied Biosystems), primers as indicated above and the internal primers CYT-LEP-L400: 5'-TGAGGACAAATATCATTCTGAGG-3' and CYT-LEP-H545: 5'-TGGAGTGCGAAGAATCGGGT-3'. The respective sequences were deposited in GenBank and are available under the accession numbers DQ108990-DQ109034 and DQ234881-DQ234900.L. ruficaudatus and one L. dorsalis. As outgroup for phylogenetic tree reconstructions, we selected Phaner furcifer because it displays the most similar orthologous sequence of all Malagasy lemurs to Lepilemur [Sequences were easily aligned by eye due to the lack of insertions or deletions, and were checked for their potential to be correctly transcribed in order to eliminate data set contaminations with pseudogenes. For a comprehensive evaluation of the sequence data, we expanded our data set with orthologous sequences, already deposited at GenBank, from two epilemur . FurtherUncorrected pairwise differences within and between species and major populations were calculated with PAUP 4.0b10  and DnaSA population aggregation analysis (PAA) was performed according to the diagnostic character framework described in . AccordiPhylogenetic tree reconstructions were carried out with the maximum-parsimony (MP), neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum-likelihood (ML) algorithms as implemented in PAUP or TREEPUZZLE 5.0 . For MP Lepilemur. She did the field work for L. microdon, L. mustelinus, L. edwardsi and L. aeeclis, took morphometric measurements and did a part of the cytogenetic study in the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (IPM) in Antananarivo.NA participated in the design of the study and the concept of the revision work on Lepilemur specific primers, generated several sequences, performed the statistical analysis of the phylogenetic data and wrote a draft version of the MS in collaboration with YR.JLF designed Lepilemur specific primers, generated several sequences, performed the statistical analysis of the phylogenetic data and wrote the draft and final version of the MS in collaboration with DZ.ChR designed L. ruficaudatus south of the Morondava River. He also sampled L. ruficaudatus in the Kirindy Forest and took morphometric measurements in collaboration with RH. DZ generated sequences from these individuals, did the statistical analysis of the morphometric data and wrote the draft and final version of the MS in collaboration with ChR.DZ organised, lead and conducted the expedition to collect data and samples of L. aeeclis sp. nov. in the field, participated in the design and drafting of the MS, critically revised it several times and approved the final version.UT conceived, planned, organised, lead and conducted the expeditions to collect the samples, data and pictures of Lepilemur, in collaboration with YR and NA. He organized and conceptualized the field work of NA, participated in the collection of samples of L. edwardsi and participated in a revision of a draft version of the MS.ClR participated in the design of the study and the concept of the revision work on Lepilemur. She did the field work for L. septentrionalis, L. ankaranensis, L. dorsalis in Ambanja and part of Nosy Be.IR participated in the design of the study and the concept of the revision work on L. randrianasoli and L. ruficaudatus and provided morphometric data and tissue samples.JG sampled BM organized financed and conceptualized part of the field work on on Nosy Be (with CL), in Sahamalaza Peninsula (with TH and IR), on the ridge of Andrafiamena (with IR) and in Ankarana (with IR). At several of these sites, he collected samples and animal measurements.L. ruficaudatus south of the Tsiribihina River and took morphometric measurements in collaboration with DZ and he took photographs of L. sahamalazensis sp. nov. in the field.RH sampled Lepilemur specific primers and generated several sequences.LW designed L. aeeclis sp. nov., and found the skull of the animal of the type series. He considerably facilitated field work and data collection.AZ participated in the expeditions to collect data on CL did field work on Nosy Be.TH did field work on Sahamalaza Peninsula.EZ organized, financed and conceptualized part of the field work and revised the MS.UR organized, financed and conceptualized part of the field work and revised the MS.MC conducted part of the field work including capturing, measuring and sampling the Sahamalaza population, and revised the MS.Lepilemur.JT participated in the design of the study and the concept of the revision work on IT provided systematic input and checked the MS.Lepilemur, wrote a draft version of the MS, critically revised it several times and approved its final version.YR participated in the design of the study and the concept of the revision work on A table showing details on studied sportive lemur individuals.Click here for fileA table showing diploid number (2N) and chromosomal rearrangements among species and populations .Click here for fileA table showing minimum and maximum uncorrected pairwise genetic differences (in %) within and among analysed species and populations based on complete mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence data.Click here for fileA table showing number of diagnostic characters as obtained from population aggregation analysis (PAA).Click here for fileL. aeeclis syntype skullA table showing morphometric measurements for the Click here for fileL. randrianasoli and L. aeeclis in comparison with L. ruficaudatus.A table showing morphometric measurements of Click here for fileL. sahamalazensis in comparison to L. dorsalis.A table showing morphometric measurements for Click here for fileA table showing classification of sportive lemurs.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Dr. Heather F. Henry joined the Center for Risk Analysis (CRIS) on 10 July as a program administrator for the Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP). She received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Rochester, which included a year of study in plant-derived medicine at universities in Australia and Ecuador. In 2004, she completed a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, where she was an SBRP trainee participating in numerous multidisciplinary research projects. Henry has recently returned from a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship in Australia studying the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on arsenate acquisition by native grasses growing on gold mine tailings.http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/sbrp/products/products4.cfm.Henry\u2019s primary role has been to initiate the SBRP\u2019s new Individual Research Project Program, which is designed to address specific issues that complement the multiproject research programs, meet high-priority research needs of the SBRP, or tackle issues of emerging concern. The first request for information (RFA), released in November, encouraged the development of innovative approaches to remediate contaminated sediments. Henry\u2019s most recent activity has been to organize the upcoming web-based seminar series \u201cNanotechnology\u2014Applications and Implications for Superfund,\u201d which will highlight the potential of nanotechnology to support characterization and remediation of hazardous waste sites as well as explore the potential risks of this new class of compounds. For more information on the series, please see Dr. Daniel Shaughnessy joined the Susceptibility and Population Health Branch (SPHB) on 16 May. He received a BM degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He completed an MPH and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 2000 and 2002 respectively.His research interests are in the molecular mechanisms of antimutagenic compounds, in the role of diet in modulating cancer risk, and in developing short-term markers of effect related to dietary exposures. He has also studied the genotoxic effects of disinfection by-products in drinking water. As a graduate student, Shaughnessy worked with David DeMarini at the U.S. EPA\u2019s Environmental Carcinogenesis Division. He joined Jack Taylor\u2019s lab at NIEHS as a postdoctoral fellow in 2002, where he conducted a human controlled feeding study on the effects of fried meat on DNA damage and the possible inhibition of that damage by other dietary compounds. Results from this work demonstrate that protective dietary components\u2014cruciferous vegetables, yogurt, and chlorophyllin\u2014significantly inhibited DNA damage induced by the fried meat.http://www.gei.nih.gov/exposurebiology/index.asp.Shaughnessy is managing a portfolio of grants related to DNA damage, DNA repair, and mutagenesis. He is also involved in the Exposure Biology Program within the Genes and Environment Initiative, participating in the formulation and implementation of two RFAs aimed at stimulating research to improve measures of early biological responses to common environmental stressors. For more information on the Genes and Environment Initiative, please see ContactsHeather Henry, Ph.D. |henryh@niehs.nih.govDaniel Shaughnessy, Ph.D. |shaughn1@niehs.nih.gov"}
+{"text": "PLoS Medicine, volume 4, issue 3, doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0040101:In http://pubmlst.org/neisseria) developed by Keith Jolley and Man-Suen Chan and sited at the University of Oxford. The development of this site has been funded by the Wellcome Trust and European Union. We are grateful for support and contributions of E. Arnold, F. Binka, S. Droz, I. Ehrhard, B. Genton, and M. Tanner. In the Navrongo Health Research Center, we greatly appreciate the assistance of A. Bugri, S. Abudulai, and A. Wahab in the laboratory; all nurses and health workers in the War Memorial Hospital, Navrongo and the Health Centers of the KND; C. Tindana with all field workers and drivers for excellent work in the field; and T. Tei and M. Bugase for logistic support. We acknowledge the use of the Navrongo Demographic Surveillance System database, and we thank all study participants for their trust and contribution.\u201dThe text of the Acknowledgments section was incomplete. It should have read: \u201cWe acknowledge the use of the Neisseria Multi Locus Sequence Typing Web site ("}
+{"text": "AbstractCalomeraaulicoides  is (re-) established (stat. rest.) as this taxon can be found sympatrically and parapatrically together with Calomeralittoraliswinkleri . Morphological character states are discussed to identify Cicindelajavetii Chaudoir, 1861 and C.herbacea Klug, 1832. Calomeraaphrodisia  is recorded for the first time from Israel. The presence of Calomeraaulica  and Grammognathaeuphratica  is confirmed by new records. At least five taxa are PageBreakthreatened or extinct in Israel. For one of these species, Israel has a national responsibility for the conservation as the main part of the distribution range is within this country.The tiger beetles of the southern Levant  and adjacent regions of the neighboring countries Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are reviewed in terms of species taxonomy, ecological and distributional traits and conservation biology. An illustrated dichotomous identification key from the species of this region is provided. Based on the classical identification key, we developed a digital identification application for smartphones and tablets. The species status of https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.734.21989.suppl1. See also disclaimer of warranties.Availability: The application TIGER BEETLE ID for Android devices can be freely downloaded at  Cicindela\u2019 devoted exclusively to this group, and highlights the public interest in these animals which belong to the best known insects  In the faunistic part of their work erlooked . Therefo(2) An identification key which includes the species of the adjacent countries would be useful. To meet the need of many enthusiasts and laypersons, for example in Facebook groups which discuss entomology, we present a field guide for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets cf. . MoreoveCicindelalittoralis group in the southern Levant, need to be revised.(3) Open systematic questions, for example, the systematic rank of the two parapatric and sympatric \u201csubspecies\u201d of the (4) Finally, as claimed by both taxonomists and conservationists e.g. , we incoWe define the southern Levant as a section of Southwest Asia comprised of the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt), Israel , and Jordan. Species known from surrounding regions in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi-Arabia are also considered. For an overview of the study area see Fig. Geadephaga. In many other systematic compilations of Adephaga, tiger beetles are ranked as a subfamily of Carabidae . However, the taxonomy of these genus group names is not consistently used in the literature, especially experts from the PageBreakPageBreakNew World and many professional biologists still adopt the broad and conservative definition of the genus Cicindela . We studied approximately 2,000 specimens stored in the following collections:CAL Working collection Assmann, L\u00fcneburg, Germany (part of ZSM)CGD Working collection Gebert, Dresden, GermanyCOQ Working collection Orbach, Qiryat Tiv\u2019on, Israel CSW Working collection Starke, Warendorf, Germany CSH Working collection Schnitter, Halle/S., GermanyCWB Working collection Wrase, Berlin, Germany (part of ZSM)SMNHTAU Steinhard Museum of Natural History, National Collections, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelNHMP Mus\u00e9um National d\u2019Histoire Naturelle, Entomology Department, Paris, FranceZISP Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, RussiaZSM Zoological State Collection Munich (Zoologische Staatssammlung M\u00fcnchen), M\u00fcnchen, GermanyWe received information from colleagues about few records from the following collections:SDEI Senckenberg German Entomological Institute (Deutsches Entomologisches Institut), M\u00fcncheberg, GermanyZISPColeoptera Department, Laboratory of Insect Taxonomy, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, RussiaPageBreakFor detailed explanations about measurements, photography, traits and distributional data see other publications about the carabid beetles of the southern Levant ; 2015b.As few biologists and citizen scientists work on tiger beetles in the Middle East, our data do not allow for the estimation of a trend for all species. Thus, we used the approach of If large parts of the distribution range (>67 %) of a taxon are in the study region we derive the national responsibility of the given states for the preservation of the given taxa cf. .We developed two tools for the identification of the tiger beetles in the southern Levant:(a) A \u201cclassical\u201d, dichotomous identification key  containi(b) An Android application for mobile phones and tablets . Text and figures are adopted from the \u201cclassical\u201d identification key.In general, tiger beetles differ from all other ground beetles in the position of antennae which insert on the frons of head, between the bases of mandibles Fig. . In othePageBreakTiger beetles are agile, usually diurnal beetles with a head (including the eyes) wider than the pronotum; long, thin legs and long, sickle-shaped mandibles with long, simple teeth along the inner edge of the mandibles Figs , 3. All The habitus photographs Figs \u201338 proviPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakFor ease of orientation, the numbering schemes of the species found in the identification key and in the species accounts are identical. Species which are known from adjacent countries, but not from the southern Levant itself are given in parentheses.Cephalotadeserticola  for Israel. However, its distribution range stretches from western Iran to Central Asia and China (SMNHTAU (including the recently transferred collection of Ptashkovsky), we treat the published records for C.deserticola as misidentifications .nd China  and therions cf. , and do Cylinderapygmaea , 31. Calomeracaucasica , the Salpingophora species 32. S.bellana , 33. S.hanseatica  and 34. S.rueppelii , and the Hypaetha species 35. H.schmidti  and 36. H.copulata . These species are recorded from the adjacent countries , and thus their occurrence in the southern Levant is unlikely. In many cases, the photographs from The following species are also not incorporated in the key: 30. ies e.g. , but exchttps://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.734.21989.suppl1. On most devices, the app requires less than 150 Mega bytes (MB) of storage.The above presented key for the tiger beetles of the southern Levant and adjacent territories is also available as a stand-alone application (app) for portable Android devices  of 21 or higher is recommended), and can be downloaded from PageBreaklevel. The species list is probably be more helpful for experienced users, while beginners should start with the identification key. Figure After the loading screen, the users will first see a short morphological definition of cicindelids and drawings of the external morphology with key terms indicated (see above). The next screen leads to the dichotomous identification key and to the species list. All photographs and most of the drawings have a zoom function which enables viewing at a higher resolution. Each species name is linked to the species\u2019 accounts with information about habitat, distribution and conservation status (shortened version of the species accounts given below). Here too, a habitus photograph which can be enlarged allows for better orientation and helps to verify identification to species All species are macropterous and flight active. If the species are not recorded from the southern Levant, or if not enough data about the populations during the last decades are available, no conservation information is given.Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae1.Anthrocnemum). Around the Dead Sea and in the Arava Valley in salty wetlands and in date palm plantations (own observations). Nocturnal. Attracted by light.In salty habitats, on the Mediterranean coast in marshlands , adults are active until approximately November (own observations). The number of eggs laid per females in a laboratory experiment ranges from 3 to 25 , which iFrom southern Spain, Morocco and Sardinia to Central Asia , 2017.CGD).Mediterranean Sea coast of the Sinai Peninsula (eastwards to El-Arish) and close to Haifa (Atlit); Red Sea coast of the Sinai Peninsula (incl. near Eilat); in the Dead Sea area  and in the Arava Valley . PutchkoGrammognatha Motschulsky, 1850 is frequently ranked as a subgenus of Megacephala Latreille, 1802, but see armenica  which occurs westwards to Iran. The dark form also occurs on the Mediterranean Sea coast, though it is rare.Endangered in Israel. The species is sensitive to disturbances  . The popPageBreakTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae2.Chaudoir, 1861Open habitats with dwarf shrubs and bare ground, mostly on loamy soils (own observations and Chikatunov pers. comm.), also in quarries. Israeli records from about 1000 m a.s.l. upwards, in Lebanon up to about 2200 m a.s.l. Diurnal.Adults found mainly in May .The species is most likely extinct in Israel, as there have been no new records in the last two decades despite intensive searches on the sites from which the species was previously known. In most cases, the relevant habitats have been destroyed. Populations still exist on the Syrian side of the Hermon, as specimens have been collected there as recently as 2007 (<Syria Occ. Bludan / 40 km west of Damascus / 1700\u20132300m Antilebano(n) / leg. A. Wrzecionko / 5.5.2007> and same locality, but < \u2026 2200m / Skoup\u00fd leg.>; Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae3.Klug, 1832Unknown. Diurnal.CAL, CGS).End of March to July .May Sandy beaches . Larvae PageBreakMain activity period of adults from June to August .Along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea from Aegean Islands to Syria  .PageBreakNo records.rouxi   .This species is sensitive to disturbances caused by touristic activities on beaches. Even relatively extensive tourism can reduce the activity of adult beetles, and can prevent the development of larvae .Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae6.On river banks and next to freshwater ponds with sparse vegetation on sandy, sometimes cohesive soil . In deseIn Turkey, adults from the end of May to the beginning of September .SDEI: <Cyprus, Baudi>  Therefore, the species is listed correctly by from southeastern Europe to central Asia and India, southwards to Turkey and Syria . Austin SMNHTAU, and the species is mentioned neither by Coleoptera  is found on the Arabian Peninsula In riverbeds with gravel banks and stones, or on sandy ground close to water .PageBreakUnknown.Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula . Horn Mainly in salty habitats, such as sea shores and marshlands with salt crusts, or rocky habitats ; 2000. DPageBreakOn the Sinai Peninsula from February until October , in the From Senegal through northern Africa and Greece to the Middle East and Pakistan .SMNHTAU). Now also recent records from Jordan: \u201cJOR-at-Tafila, Hammam Afra, Hot Springs, 08.05.2010\u201d (CGD), \u201cDead Sea, Wadi \u2018Atun, N Wadi Mujib, same date\u201d (CSH).In northern and southern Sinai along the coasts of the Mediterranean and of the Red Sea, and along the Suez Canal. In Israel in the Dead Sea region . RittnerCalomera species, especially C.aulica, C.diania, C.littoralis and C.aulicoides C.aulica, which can occur on both coastal and inland habitats, C.diania is an exclusive inland species End of February to August Rocky habitats in the littoral zone . Larval May to August .PageBreakFrom Sicily and Greece to Turkey and Syria .ZISP. No recent records from Israel, but suitable habitats still exist in northern Israel (e.g. close to Akko and to Hadera).The first verifiable record from Israel was found by the cicindelid expert A. Putchkov (pers. comm.). He saw an old specimen from northern Israel (label information: <Izrael: Khaifa env.>), together with an old record from Syria ; both specimens are preserved in Declining in Turkey due to touristic activities on the beaches . As the Three subspecies are known, with the nominate form occurring in Turkey and in Syria .PageBreakTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae11.Anthrocnemum species and by Tamarixtetragyna. Also found in river mouths and in freshwater habitats  and C.aulicoides, from where they mention also C.littoralis. We do not know of any verifiable record for Jordan.Along the Mediterranean coast from the mouth of Nahal Betzet  to the Gaza strip . It probwinkleri can be differentiated from the other subspecies of littoralis using the form of the copulatory piece of the median lobe of the aedeagus  and winkleri. These populations are most probably transitional, and likely are hybrid populations. Nonetheless, they are described as a separate subspecies, mandli Mandl, 1934 , stat. rest.On sandy and stony banks close to freshwater , especially in wadis. Also found in salty habitats close to the Dead Sea. Diurnal.Throughout the year (records from February to December)  , which occurs in Sicily (In the past most authors ranked this taxon as a subspecies (or even as a form with a rank below the subspecies) of up) e.g. . Howevering e.g. , and theing e.g. . Pesarining e.g. : 10 are,n Sicily , but is littoraliswinkleri and aulicoides occur. They live in sympatry in the north of Israel , while further southwest they are (at least) parapatric with a distance of about 20 km (Tamra \u2013 Eilabun) between populations. Although both taxa are flight-active, no intermediate forms are known . Calomeraaulicoides has a clear and easily accessible character for differentiation from C.littoralis. While the latter one usually has three teeth on the inner side of the left mandible, C.aulicoides has four of them Habroderanilotica.Sandy and stony river banks and on the shore of lakes . See alsIn Africa throughout most of the year .From Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia . ProbablNo record.Described from Ambukol (= Ambukohl) which belongs today to Sudan .Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae14.C.fimbriata  . ChikatuTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae15. [sic]On seashores and in marshland habitats. Diurnal and nocturnal. Attracted by light .PageBreakMay to September .From southern Spain to the Arabian Peninsula and Northeast Africa .SMNHTAU, CAL).Only in southern Sinai . No recoCephalotalittorea and C.tibialis have long been confused  occurs south of the distribution range of C.littorea s.str. , which occurs along the coasts of the western Mediterranean, is currently ranked as a subspecies of C.littorea, it is probably a valid species. Cephalotalittorea s.str. and goudotii do not occur parapatrically as their ranges are separated from each other by a gap which is partially filled by the distribution range of tibialis. Moreover, the differences in the median lobe of the aedeagus  may support the species status of both goudotii and littorea .Although the taxon The correct spelling of the author name is Forsk\u00e5l  and not Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae16.Shorelines of salt lakes and ponds , sandy bFebruary to September .From Tunisia to Egypt .along the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai Peninsula . No recoC.littorea.Only the nominate subspecies in the southern Levant, the other two subspecies in northern Africa and on Cyprus . See alsTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae17.On salty habitats which have very sparse vascular plant vegetation. Often found on salty crusts of lagoons and ponds behind the coastal dunes , but canPageBreakIn Italy from June to October with activity maximum in June and July .A Mediterranean species from Spain and Algeria to Turkey .PageBreak could not examine specimens from there or from anywhere else on the peninsula. C.circumdata from Sinai are preserved in the Frey collection, and only few tiger beetle individuals from Alfieri\u2019s collection are found in Basel . We do not know of any verifiable record from the Sinai. As all other populations are known from areas with a typical Mediterranean climate, we believe that C.circumdata is not found in the Sinai (cf. No verified population. \u2013 The occurrence in El Tor (southern Sinai) has been questioned by inai cf. .Cephalotacircumdata has several subspecies which are mainly characterized by the elytral pale patterns. However, Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae18.Saline habitats with sparse vegetation and salt crusts during summer. Diurnal and nocturnal. Attracted by light .Spring, records from February to June .Israel, Syria to Iran .In the Dead Sea region of Israel . We do nC.zarudniana , Cephalotavartianorum differs from C.zarudniana by slightly slender habitus as well as shape of the median lobe of aedeagus, and in the complete lack of white setae on the genae.While in older publications this taxon is listed as a subspecies of Critically endangered in Israel. Israel has a national responsibility for the worldwide conservation of the taxon.COQ, CAL) and from 2000 in Syria . All other 34 entries in the database Gebert date back to the late 1980s and 1990s. Intensive searches, including use of light traps at night, of several sites in Israel such as the Enot Tsukim Reserve (= Enot Zuqim = Enot Zukim = Einot Zukim = En Fescha) from where populations have been previously recorded, have yielded no new records. The lowering of the water table and changes in land use in the Dead Sea region have strongly impacted many habitats, both freshwater and saltwater. Therefore, at further studies of the Dead Sea region, both on the Israeli and the Jordanian side, are needed to establish wether or not populations still exist.Tiger beetles of coastal habitats are often sensitive to touristic use of beaches . Most ofTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae19.In open forests and in grasslands, mainly on sandy ground in higher elevations .Spring species .Turkey and Syria .No records.PageBreakTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae20.In the southern Levant found exclusively in sandy shore habitats along the Mediterranean Sea. Larval development takes place a few centimeters above the mean sea level, just above where most of the waves break , though Adults from the beginning of May until mid-November . Few aduvaldenbergi subspecies  is patchily located in a small area along the Mediterranean coast from western Egypt to northern Israel (The nominate form is found from south-eastern Europe (Romania and Ukraine) and Asia Minor to Central Asia and China. The n Israel .In Egypt around Abu Qir, Maadia and Ras el Bar . In Isravaldenbergi from Ma\u2019agan Michael as a subspecies. It is characterized by the excessive pale elytral pattern . As the entire world population of this taxon is located in Israel (the majority of the known populations) and in Egypt, these countries bear the responsibility for the worldwide preservation of this subspecies.Critically endangered in Israel. Tiger beetles of coastal habitats tend to be very sensitive to touristic use of beaches . Most ofTaxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae21.Calomeraaulica, C.alboguttata and Myriochilamelancholica Margins of both stagnant and running freshwater bodies, including artificial water reservoirs, and in salty habitats . DiurnalMarch to December .PageBreakFrom southern Europe to southern Africa and from the Cape Verde Islands to China .Widespread in Sinai, Israel and Jordan .Not endangered, it is abundant even in habitats strongly influenced by human activity .Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae23.Unknown.Unknown.From Turkey and Syria to China .No record.Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae24.Semi-desert and savanna habitats .Unknown.Southern Sahel zone from Mauritania and Senegal to Sudan . Listed No record.Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae25.Sandy seashores .SMNHTAU are also specimens collected in September (own observation).Recorded in Egypt from May to August . In SMNHFrom Egypt east of the Nile to the Arabian Desert , also found in tropical Africa .SMNHTAU records also originate Eurytopic species found on sea shores, in saltmarshes, in dune depressions, on river banks, in oases and in palm plantations, not restricted to coastal habitats .Throughout most of the year, from February to December .From Morocco to Israel .Numerous records from the Mediterranean coast in Israel and northern Sinai, southwards to the Negev and central Sinai .Not threatened. A widespread species which also can be found in highly disturbed habitats.Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae27.On sparsely vegetated escarpments along rivers .Poorly known, records from April and May, but may have a longer activity period .From Turkey to Iran .No record.PageBreakL.hilariola from L.flexuosa.A table found in Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraCicindelidae28.C.fischeri , Jordan, Lebanon, Syria (without the easternmost parts) and northern Saudi Arabia. In the investigated study region, the southern Levant, there are ied e.g. . The incCicindelajavetii, C.herbacea; Calomeraaulicoides, C.littoralis, and C.aulica). However, the majority of the species can be identified correctly under field conditions, by examining live individuals using basic magnification tools. In such circumstances the Android application may be more useful rather than the classic key. We hope that both identification tools will be useful in a range of contexts, such as PageBreakeducation at levels, academic research, the activities of citizen scientists and in practical conservation work like surveying.Under laboratory conditions, all species can be reliably identified using the \u201cclassical\u201d identification key, including those requiring the dissection of the male genitalia  must be taken into consideration, and in some cases may need to be developed, as established terms in Hebrew and in Arabic are in many cases lacking.Our application for mobile Android devices, TIGER BEETLES ID, can serve as a starting point for the development of additional tools, with the translation of the app\u2019s text into both Hebrew and Arabic being greatly desired. Moreover, a simple version of the identification application is possible by deleting those alternatives considering the Calomeraaphrodisia for Israel has now been documented in the form of an old specimen in ZISP. The occurrence of two species is confirmed by new records from Jordan . It is likely that additional species which occur in Jordan have not yet been recorded , especially as the oases in the eastern part of the country have, to our knowledge, not yet been sampled.As far as we know, the first record of PageBreakPageBreakPageBreakSMNHTAU which are listed by Calomeraaulicoides for the northern Hula Valley, Calomeralittoralis in eastern Lower Galilee, Calomeraaulica on the Mediterranean Sea coast). The material found in the collection of the Steinhardt Museum at the Tel Aviv University (SMNHTAU) can be used to help bridging the gap between taxonomy and nature conservation biology. Thus the knowledge of the distribution of tiger beetles can be deepened, and the decline of many tiger beetle species can be investigated. This is of particular importance in regions such as the southern Levant, where species diversity has not yet been thoroughly studied in terms of taxonomy and systematics , as we did not find individuals in any of our collecting trips, including nocturnal light trapping methods. Specifically in Enot Zuqim, a decline of the phytodiversity in this nature reserve has been reported ((a) reported .PageBreakCicindelajavetii in the Golan Heights has been destroyed, and no further records since the 1990s are known from Israel. Due to the high power of dispersal of the species, with all individuals being fully winged and flight-active, (re-) colonization of suitable habitats in the southern Levant is possible.(b) The known habitat of Cylinderacontortavaldenbergi, as its entire distribution range is confined to these two countries. However, it is unclear if populations of this taxon still exist, or if C.contortavaldenbergi is extinct. The definition of national responsibility is important in the assessment of national conservation priorities as well as in decision making about inclusion in international conventions on species conservation. The larval development of Cylinderacontortavaldenbergi occurs in close proximity to sea water line on beaches, a habitat which is often extremely disturbed by tourism and recreational activities such as swimming facilities and off-road vehicles which compress the soil and sand and destroy the habitat of the species. For Habroscelimorphadorsalis s.str. Say , an endangered species covered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act  Israel and Egypt are responsible for the world-wide preservation of cies Act  which incies Act . We suggWe hope that our identification tools and the species\u2019 accounts describing the ecology and conservation biology of the tiger beetles of the southern Levant will encourage further work on tiger beetles in the Middle East and enhance the conservation and preservation of these attractive insects."}
+{"text": "The present study attempts to examine the longitudinal impact of a curriculum-based positive youth development program, entitled the Project P.A.T.H.S. , on adolescent problem behavior in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, six waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools  in which students participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools . At each wave, students responded to questions asking about their current problem behaviors, including delinquency and use of different types of drugs, and their intentions of engaging in such behaviors in the future. Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that the participants displayed lower levels of substance abuse and delinquent behavior than did the control students. Participants who regarded the program to be helpful also showed lower levels of problem behavior than did the control students. The present findings suggest that the Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in preventing adolescent problem behavior in the junior secondary school years."}
+{"text": "Anopheles in relation to malaria transmission in Addis Zemen, Ethiopia.Malaria is a public health problem in Ethiopia and its transmission is generally unstable and seasonal. For the selection of the most appropriate vector control measures, knowledge on the ecology of the vector is necessary at a local level. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to document the species composition, breeding habitat characteristics and occurrence of anopheline larva in Sheni stream and the vectorial role of the prevailing Plasmodium and source of blood meals.Immature anophelines were sampled from breeding habitats and characteristics, such as water temperature, turbidity, water current, water pH and other variables, of the habitats were measured from October 2011 to February 2012. Adult anophelines were sampled inside human dwellings using space spray and Center for Disease Control light traps. Artificial pit shelters and clay pots were also used for outdoor adult collections. Anophelines collected were identified using morphological key. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to detect circumsporozoite proteins of Anopheles larvae were collected and identified morphologically. Five anopheline species were found: An. gambiae (s.l.), An. cinereus, An. demeilloni, An. christi and An. pretoriensis. Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) existed in most of the habitats investigated. Only the former three species were captured in the adult collections. Sun-lit Sheni stream, rain pools, hoof prints, drainage and irrigation canals were found to be habitats of larvae. Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) larvae were most abundantly sampled from sand mining and natural sand pools of Sheni stream. Multiple regression analysis showed that clear, permanent and temporary habitats devoid of mats of algae were the best predictors of An. gambiae (s.l.) larval abundance. It is also the responsible malaria vector in the study area and exhibits anthropophilic and endophagic behaviour.A total of 6258 An. gambiae (s.l.) was found in Addis Zemen throughout the study period from both adult and larval collections. Sheni stream is the main larval habitat responsible for the occurrence of anopheline larvae during the dry season of the study area when other breeding sites perish.The malaria vector  Malaria is one of the main public health problems globally and is endemic in 91 countries of the world. Its incidence is estimated to be 212 million cases in 2015; of these, 90% of the cases occur in Africa . After 1\u00a0h, wells were washed three times with PBS-Tween 20. Finally, the absorbance at 414\u00a0nm was determined with microplate reader 30\u00a0min after the addition of 100\u00a0\u03bcl of ABTS peroxidase substrate. Each blood-meal sample was considered positive if the absorbance value exceeded the mean plus three standard deviations of the mean of three negative controls and also by observing color change (green color).Blood meals of r et al.  at the EAnopheles mosquitoes were tested for sporozoite infection using ELISA as described in Wirtzet al.  were caught using CDC light traps and pyrethrum spray sheet collection (Table An. gambiae (s.l.) and An. cinereus were obtained from 44 houses inspected using PSC method. Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) was more predominant in human dwellings than An. cinereus and An. demeilloni. The mean daily density in CDC light traps (number of anopeline species/trap/night) was 0.87 for An. gambiae (s.l.), 0.19 for An. cinereus and 0.21 for An. demeilloni. The density of An. gambiae (s.l.) varied between the months; the highest density was in October whereas the lowest was in December . Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) was collected only in February from pit shelters. Clay pots were not productive, with only one An. cinereus collected throughout the sampling period.Attempts to collect An. gambiae (s.l.) indicated the source as both human and bovine (Table\u00a0An. gambiae (s.l.), 47 An. cinereus and 47 An. demeilloni, were tested to detect circum-sporozoite proteins of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax by ELISA method, however, none were positive.Blood meals of 29 freshly fed anophelines, of which the majority was sampled from indoor locations, were tested to determine their source of blood meals. The small number of blood meals of ne Table\u00a0. The othAn. gambiae (s.l.) (presumably An. arabiensis), the principal vector of malaria in the country [An. cinereus, An. demeilloni, An. christiand and An. pretoriensis) is ascertained from both larval and adult sampling. Larvae of An. gambiae (s.l.) were the second most abundant in almost all habitats, including sun-lit pools formed at the bed and edges of Sheni stream, rain pools, hoof prints and drainage canals. All the types of habitats reported here have been previously documented in Ethiopia as well as elsewhere in Africa [An. gambiae (s.l.) and An. cinereus was higher here than other breeding sites. This is inconsistent with previous study in Eretria [An. gambiae (s.l.) as the water is clear and sunlit. This observation is similar to the findings noted by Keneaet al. [This study provided baseline information for the species composition of anophelines, types of larval breeding habitats and adjoining characteristics as well as some entomological indicators in Addis Zemen in relation to malaria transmission. The presence of  country , and foun Africa , 17\u201319.  Eretria , 19. Saneaet al.  in ZiwayAn. gambiae (s.l.), An. cinereus abundantly breeds in Sheni stream, while the contrary was noted for An. demeilloni, An. christi and An. pretoriensis. All these species are regarded as highland mosquitoes, except for An. gambiae (s.l.) and An. pretoriensis whose distribution extends to the lowlands [Like lowlands , 21.An. gambiae (s.l.). This agrees with recent findings in Ethiopia which indicated that An. arabiensis breeds in clear, temporary and often sun-lit pools of water [An. gambiae (s.l.) larval density with habitats devoid of mats of green algae reported here may be due to the exposure of habitats with muddy substrate to sunlight provide favorable conditions for the survival of bacteria from which larvae get their nutrients [An. gambiae (s.l.) is similar to the findings of Keneaet al. [Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) is positively associated with habitats located between 0 and 100\u00a0m from human dwellings, which is one of the strong predictors for indoor Anopheles abundance [An. cinereus.Multiple regression analysis revealed that clear and sun-lit temporary habitats are positively associated with the abundance of of water , 21. Thiof water \u201324. In cof water . The posutrients , 27. Theeaet al. . This maeaet al. \u201324. Anopbundance . Change Anopheles collections contained more An. gambiae (s.l.) than the other species, the majority of which were captured from CDC light traps indoors indicating possible host-seeking behaviour, although they may have been attracted by light from the trap. This might be consistent with its anthropophilic and endophagic behaviorur noted by other investigators [An. gambiae (s.l.) tested for blood meal analysis was very low, the few positive reactions exhibited both the zoophilic and anthropophilic behaviour of the vector, which is typical of its biting behaviour [Although the number is small, adult tigators , 29. Thetigators , which wehaviour  and is sehaviour , 30, 31.Anopheles cinereus and An. demeilloni were the second greatest in adult sampling, after to An. gambiae (s.l.), and the majority of these tested for blood meal analysis showed a preference towards cattle feeding showing their zoophilic and poor anthropophilic behaviorur. This is in agreement with the study conducted in highlands of western Kenya [rn Kenya . These srn Kenya .An. cinereus was caught resting in clay pots in outdoor collection, showing very little attraction to man-made habitats. However, in western Kenya, more mosquitoes were captured from clay pots (37%) than pit shelters [Only one shelters .An. gambiae (s.l.), An. cinereus and An. demeilloni were present in collections throughout the study period. Moreover, larvae of the former two species continued to survive in Sheni stream during the dry months, showing the importance of this stream in providing suitable condition for the survival of the two species, particularly to An. gambiae (s.l.), during the period when other breeding sites perish. The presence of An. gambiae (s.l.) in both stages during the entire study period indicates that active transmission of malaria might take place throughout the entire year. Therefore, further study on the prevalence of malaria in conjunction with anophelines is required to better describe the disease.Adults of An. gambiae (s.l.) and other Anopheles species. In addition, this study indicates that the presence of the principal malaria vector, An. gambiae (s.l.), in the country in the study area from both larval and adult collections. Since the collection of adult mosquitoes was low, owing to the brief period of study and the dry season, a more detailed and year-round investigation is required to gather appropriate and relevant entomological indices of transmission towards contributing knowledge-based strategy for effective vector control management.The present study demonstrated the preferred anopheline larval habitats and best predictor environmental factors for larval abundance. Sheni stream, present in the study area, plays an important role in maintaining"}
+{"text": "Because of a technical error, an incorrect version of the article \u201cWe Run This City: Impact of a Community\u2013School Fitness Program on Obesity, Health, and Fitness\u201d appeared on our website. The PDF version of the article was correct as published.Major corrections were to add the middle initial for author Meredith A. Goodwin and to correct the degree for Barbara A. Clint to BA. Other differences were several editorial changes to the article.https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2018/16_0471.htm. We regret any confusion or inconvenience this error may have caused.The article was corrected on May 4, 2018, and appears online at"}
+{"text": "Micrargus herbigradus-species group in Poland. The analysis is based on a thorough literature survey, our own materials, and verification of some older collections. We give new diagnostic drawings and review the characters that are useful in identification of species within the group. Three species are present in Poland: M. herbigradus , M. apertus  and M. georgescuae Millidge, 1976. The latter is recorded for the first time in the country, and we add numerous new localities for the two former species. Micrargus herbigradus is common and widespread in Poland, living in various habitats, with only a slight preference to forests. In contrast, M. apertus is widely distributed but rarely found, while its affinity to forests is the highest within the group. The records of this species are most numerous in lowland forests (up to c. 300\u00a0m a.s.l), but it can also be found at higher altitudes. M. georgescuae is found only in montane habitats, both in the Sudetes and the Carpathian Mountains, from above 650\u00a0m a.s.l. The adults of all three species occur the whole year round, but seem to be most abundant in May and June.We review the known information on the distribution and habitat affinities of the The online version of this article (10.2478/s11756-018-0026-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Micrargus herbigradus-group contains four Central European species: M. alpinus R\u00eblys and Weiss, 1997, M. apertus , M. georgescuae Millidge, 1976 and M. herbigradus . Two species from this group, M. apertus and M. herbigradus, have been recorded in Poland. Here we add one more species to the list of the Polish fauna, i.e. M. georgescuae. Micrargus subaequalis , which is also present in Poland, belongs to a separate species group.The Micragus species, their actual distribution in Poland was uncertain. Some authors suggested the presence of more than two herbigradus-group members , but to the typical features of a habitat type, e.g. all lowland alder forests or different mire types were recognized as \u2018very moist\u2019. The data in the literature were obviously of different quality or credibility, thus selected records were excluded from some counts. The exact number of records used in each analysis is given in the results.For the analysis of phenology as a unit we have used a single record of a species in one plot, per year (i.e. records from the same plot and date coming from two different years were counted separately). We have divided the records into those coming from the first half of each month (1st\u201315th) and those from the second half (16th\u2013end). For data from pitfall traps we have assigned the record to the respective period by taking the middle date of the trap exposure time.Micrargus herbigradus-group can be identified by comparing their embolus, size and form of the adjacent lamellae, and the shape of the process  that accompanies the embolus. Micrargus georgescuae has a conspicuously wide basal part of the embolus  were collected in several mountain ranges of the Carpathians \u2013 the Beskid Wyspowy, the Tatra Mountains, the Gorce ; in the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, at high altitudes; and in the Sudetes \u2013 the Sto\u0142owe Mountains and the Giant Mountains  squares previously. The localities are scattered around the country, from the lowlands to the mountains , even though these ranges have been very intensively surveyed recently. It is also absent in the Slovak part of this mountain massif . Similarly, M. georgescuae was not found in the Izera Mountains (the Western Sudetes) that are close to the other mountain ranges where the species occurs. These mountains have also been intensively surveyed during the last decade.Our data update information on the distribution of the s Thaler , but alss Thaler , Czechias Thaler  and Slovs Thaler . It is as Thaler , namely s Thaler  and in Rs Thaler . The spes Thaler , the Hrus Thaler  or the Gs Thaler , but alss Thaler , the Cens Thaler  and the s Thaler . MicrargMicrargus apertus is a species that is rarely found. Considering the arrangement of its localities in other countries, e.g. in Germany , although sometimes the species were observed together . There is a clear affinity of Micrargus herbigradus was sometimes described as a silvicolous species  by Tomek"}
+{"text": "Metarhizium fungus on both terrestrial and aquatic insect larvae and how these interactions have been widely employed will be outlined. The potential uses of Metarhizium anisopliae and Metarhizium acridum biological control agents and molecular approaches to increase their virulence will be discussed. Chemical insecticides have been commonly used to control agricultural pests, termites, and biological vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks. However, the harmful impacts of toxic chemical insecticides on the environment, the development of resistance in pests and vectors towards chemical insecticides, and public concern have driven extensive research for alternatives, especially biological control agents such as fungus and bacteria. In this review, the mode of infection of  Bancroftian filariasis, which are Aedes spp., Anopheles spp., and Culex spp. respectively, have been responsible for hospitalization and death annually [Pests such as locusts, grasshoppers, termites, and cattle ticks have caused huge economic and agricultural losses in many parts of the world such as China, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Mexico ,5,6,7,8.annually ,10. To eannually ,12,13,14Metarhizium spp. has been widely studied because of its narrow host range, safety, environmental friendliness, and ease of mass production [Metarhizum genus is distributed globally from the artic to the tropics. It belongs to the class Hyphomycetes, which reproduce by spores known as conidia [M. anisopliae, M. taii, M. pingshaense, and M. guizhouense. However, in 2009, Bischoff, Rehner, and Humber reclassified the Metarhizium genus into nine species, which are M. anisopliae, M. acridum, M. guizhouense, M. pingshaense, M. lepidiotae and M. majus, M. robertsii, M. brunneum, and M. globosum [Entomopathogenic fungus such as oduction ,16,17,18 conidia . The MetM. anisopliae is a generalist and is known to infect insects from more than seven orders, while M. acridum is a specialist as it only infects insects from the Acrididae family [The Metarhizium genus comprises mostly entomopathogenic fungi: some are generalists, while some are specialists . The ente family . M. anisopliae and M. acridum as an active ingredient in the development of mycosecticides and mycoacaricides, respectively, to target pests in their countries [M. anisopliae as an active ingredient to target pests from the Coleoptera species; another example is Green Guard\u00ae; a mycoacaricide developed by Becker Underwood Inc.  that contains M. acridum as an active ingredient to target pests from the Orthoptera family.Globally, countries have used ountries . An examMetarhizium spp. on terrestrial arthropods. These studies are crucial in contributing to the understanding of the precise mechanism of infection which allows the identification of the genes responsible for its virulence and pathogenicity, as well as the enzymes and toxins produced. However, few studies have compared the genes responsible for the difference in the host specificity between M. acridum and M. anisopliae and the effects on their virulence and pathogenicity [There are extensive studies on the general mode of infection of genicity ,24.Pests such as termites jeopardise buildings and monuments, and locusts and grasshoppers damage crops, while biological vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks, which caused a worldwide epidemic, have forced governments to spend huge sums of money from approximately USD 400 million to USD 2 billion solely to control these pests and biological vectors ,25,26. HMetarhizum genus, which are M. anisopliae and M. acridum, and their insect hosts, will be evaluated. The potential uses of M. anisopliae to control termites, mosquitoes , and cattle ticks, and the potential use of M. acridum to control locusts and grasshoppers, will be discussed.In this review, the interactions between two fungi from the Metarhizium spp. comprises six stages in the following order: adhesion, germination, appressorium formation, penetration, colonization of haemolymph, and extrusion and sporulation, which can also be found in other entomopathogenic fungi. However, Metarhizium spp. has genes that are specific to each species in their mode of infection, such as the Mad1 and Hog1 kinase genes for the germination stage in M. anisopliae and M. acridum, respectively.The general mode of infection of M. anisopliae, the adhesion stage is the most crucial stage for successfully infecting the host [Metarhizium spp., adhere to the waxy epicuticle of their host through a combination of passive hydrophobic forces, electrostatic forces, and protein interactions between the conidia and the epicuticle. The outer layer of cells on the conidia, also known as rodlets, contains hydrophobins, which are proteins that facilitate the adhesion of conidia to the hydrophobic epicuticle [M. acridum, to date, no research has been published on the enzymes responsible for adhering the fungus to its host or whether the enzymes are similar or different to those of M. anisopliae.For the host . Conidiaicuticle ,29,30. Ticuticle ,31,32. AM. anisopliae is initiated by the presence of exogenous carbon and nitrogen sources, whereby the latter is preferentially used [Mad1 and Mad2, specific to M. anispliae and more firmly attach the fungus onto the cuticle, enabling conidial germination and subsequently, appressorium formation [After the adhesion of conidia to the host cuticle, conidia germination in lly used . Trehalally used ,35. Aftelly used . Hydrophormation ,37.M. anisopliae, M. acridum, which is acridid specific, require simple polar compounds such as fatty acids, glucose, amino acids, fatty acid esters, and peptides present on the surface of the wings of acridids to promote fungus germination. Unlike M. anisopliae, whereby non-polar lipids on the surface of the cuticle could stimulate germination immediately, M. acridum has to use up the polar compounds available before it can utilize non-polar lipids on the cuticle [M. anisopliae and M. acridum in stimulating germination is that mixtures comprising different types of hydrocarbons from insects promote better germination in M. anisopliae compared to M. acridum, which could only germinate better in the presence of a single type of hydrocarbon [MaHog1 gene found only in M. acridum encodes for Hog1 kinase which contributes to conidia germination [Similar to  cuticle ,38. The mination .ODC1 gene and Mpl1 gene specific to M. anisopliae were demonstrated to be responsible in appressorium formation. The ODC1 gene, which encodes for ornithine decarboxylase, was upregulated during conidia germination and germ tube differentiation to form appressorium, while the Mpl1 gene which encodes for MPL1, regulates lipid homeostasis and appressorium differentiation [The ntiation ,41. Besintiation . This tuntiation ,36. A thntiation ,29,32,43M. anisopliae, Fus3/Kss1-type mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a family of proteins commonly found in other entomopathogenic fungus, was encoded by the gene MaMk1, specific to M. acridum, and was found to be involved in regulating the expression of Mad1 genes which are responsible for adherence and the Mpl gene which regulates lipid metabolism and appressorium formation [MaMk1 also encodes for an extracellular signal-regulated kinase, which is also involved in appressorium formation. Tetraspanins encoded by the MaPls1 gene were also demonstrated to be involved in pathways affecting the turgor pressure of appressorium, that in turn influences appressorium formation and the delayed germination of M. acridum [Similar to ormation . Besides acridum .M. anisopliae involves the secretion of proteins such as subtilisins, trypsins, chymotrypsins, and carboxypeptidases, which digest the protein rich procuticle of arthropods [M. anisopliae are found to be specific for each host, explaining its ability to infect many different hosts. Trypsins are host specific as they were found to be produced only in certain hosts such as cockroaches and beetles [The penetration stage in thropods . The typ beetles . Subtili beetles ,29. Chit beetles ,47. Coll beetles .M. anisopliae, M. acridum also contains genes that encode for cuticle degrading enzymes such as trypsins and subtilisin proteases were also produced. In addition, aspartyl proteases, glycoside hydrolases, and lipases are also present on the host cuticle [MaHog1 gene, which encodes for Hog1 kinase, regulates the penetration and extrusion of M. acridum on its host. The Chi2 gene, which encodes for an endochitinase, was also crucial for the penetration of the host cuticle by reducing the lethal time that is the time required to kill the host [MaPls1 gene encodes for tetraspanins that regulate the turgor pressure of appressorium and the expression of cuticle-degrading enzymes, particularly enzymes responsible for the degradation of protein and chitin. The disruption of this gene resulted in the inability of the hyphae to reach the haemocoel of the host and differentiate to form appressorium. Tetraspanins were also reported to regulate the expression of ApsA and kinesin, which are responsible for the structure and migration of the cytoskeleton. They also contribute to sensing the host-specific environment and respond by commencing germination using nutrients on the cuticle of the host. Furthermore, tetraspanins encoded by MaPls1 also crosstalk with calmodulin-dependent signalling pathways, which are responsible for regulating the growth of fungus in the host environment, appressorium formation, and the activity of GTPases, which in turn regulate cellular activities. Similar to  cuticle . Pr1, wh cuticle . Jin et  cuticle  also fouthe host . Luo et the host  found thM. anisopliae, destruxins, especially destruxins A and E which are more insecticidal, are synthesised to repress the cellular and humoral immune response in the host. This is done by enabling M. anisopliae spores encapsulated by the host haemocytes to escape. Destruxin biosynthesis was proposed to be regulated by the dtxS1 gene cluster commonly found in Metarhizium generalists\u2019 genome such as M. anisopliae, but not in the M. acridum genome [Mcl1 are also produced to allow the fungus to evade the host immune system [In m genome . Evasione system . Mad1 proteins initiate the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle, enabling the rapid multiplication and differentiation of hyphae in the haemolymph of the host. These proteins orientate the cytoskeleton and regulate cytokinesis in the cell cycle [To protect the conidia against reactive oxygen species formed by ultraviolet radiation and heat in the environment, catalase and peroxidases are also present on the conidia surface . Besidesll cycle ,46.M. anisopliae, toxin production is limited in M. acridum. The virulence of M. acridum relies mainly on its proliferation inside the host haemocoel [M. anisopliae, M. acridum utilizes trehalose, which is the major blood sugar present in the haemolymph of an insect. Trehalase encoded by ATM1 in M. acridum was found to reduce fecundity, and impair homeostasis and insect physiology, besides interfering with its locomotive behaviour, particularly its flight movements [Unlike aemocoel . Similarovements ,53. MaAC was found to regulate the stress tolerance of M. acridum to both the environment and the haemolymph of an insect such as hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet radiation, thermal stress, osmotic stress, and locust fever. MaAC was also involved in cAMP synthesis, which regulates morphogenesis and the cellular processes of the host [MaAC gene, the Hog1 gene encodes for Hog1 kinase, which reduces the sensitivity of the fungus to environmental stress such as high temperature, hyperosmotic stress, and oxidative stress. From the genome of M. acridum, Gao et al. [M. acridum contains cytochrome P504s genes, which also function to degrade phenylacetate, an antimicrobial compound in the host.An adenylate cyclase gene known as the host . Similaro et al.  found thM. anisopliae forms a denser network and green spores on the cadaver of the infected host [During sporulation, the hyphae extrudes the host cuticle to the outer environment. ted host ,56.M. anisopliae, which forms green spores on the cadaver, red sporulation was observed on the cadaver of locusts and grasshoppers for M. acridum [M. acridum, Hog1 kinase was responsible for the extrusion of hyphae from the cuticle of the infected host [M. acridum was observed to be regulated by the catalytic subunit A of calcineurin, a Ca2+ calmodulin-dependent serine-threonine protein phosphatase [M. acridum. The deletion of this subunit was found to lead to thinner cell walls. \u03b2-1,3-glucan synthase encoded by the MaFKS gene was also responsible for mycelium growth and conidia production during the sporulation stage, besides regulating hyperosmotic pressure tolerance which contributes to cell wall integrity [Aba gene, which is crucial for phialides differentiation and functionality [In comparison to  acridum . In M. ated host . The filsphatase . This cantegrity . Calcineionality . Collectively, calcineurine downregulates the protein kinase A, small G protein, cAMP-PKA, and MAPK signalling pathways, which are important in the regulation of growth, conidiation, stress tolerance, and cell wall integrity.M. anisopliae and M. acridum during the six stages of infection is shown in A summary of the proteins produced by M. anisopliae displays a significant efficacy against aquatic hosts such as larvae of Spodoptera litura [Aedes aegypti [M. anisopliae in the aquatic hosts. However, the exact mode of infection of M. anisopliae is still unclear.Studies have discovered that a litura ,61 and A aegypti ,31,62. TPr genes and adhesins by Mad genes is upregulated in the presence of aquatic larvae, signifying the recognition of M. anisopliae by its host [M. anisopliae to penetrate the host cuticle to infect and reproduce. Greenfield et al. [Aedes larvae, are most likely responsible for the failure of the attachment of conidia to aquatic larvae. This indicates that the mode of infection of M. anisopliae is not via the penetration of the host cuticle due to the absence of three long-chain hydrocarbons necessary for the attachment of adhesins produced by Mad genes to infect the host.Similar to a terrestrial host, the expression of proteinases by its host ,32. Howeits host  and Greed et al.  also fouM. anisopliae is through the ingestion of spores by the larvae [M. anisopliae and the presence of conidia in the faecal pellents of mosquito larvae demonstrated that conidia had been ingested. Further researches are needed to determine the precise mode of infection of M. anisopliae in the larvae [The most likely mode of infection of e larvae ,19,29,32e larvae .M. anisopliae did not manage to penetrate the cuticle to infect its host, the larval mortality was still significant. Three hypotheses for the mechanism of infection of M. anisopliae have been proposed. The first hypothesis is that the conidia germinated inside the larvae produce hyphae, the which may block the respiratory siphon, resulting in suffocation and death of larvae [Although f larvae ,62. The f larvae .In response to the first hypothesis, Butt et al.  reportedS. littura treated with M. anisopliae were also found to be different in larvae before and after infection by M. anisopliae [S. littura was indicated via the increased levels of protein carbonyls and free radicals. Damage of the salivary gland and epithelial cells in the midgut of S. littura was also observed.For the second hypothesis, destruxins were reported to trigger oxidative stress in larvae, leading to larval mortality ,61. An iisopliae . OxidatiPr1 and Pr2) were produced when conidia passed through the mid gut. Butt et al. [However, destruxins were not detected by Butt et al. , leadingt et al.  treated t et al.  showed tM. anisopliae conidia as biopesticides for targeting aquatic insect larvae is the ability to increase the encounter between M. anisopliae and target aquatic insect larvae in still waters, as the property of M. anisopliae being an aerial conidia is that it is only effective when it comes into contact with aquatic hosts. A better understanding of the mode of infection of M. anisopliae is crucial for the development of M. anisopliae as an effective biopesticide.Another challenge in utilizing Metarhizium fungus have been done by either overexpressing genes which are responsible for the pathogenicity of the fungus or through genetic manipulation, by inserting genes from scorpions or spiders which produce insect-specific neurotoxins to increase the virulence of the fungus [The efforts to increase the virulence of e fungus .cat1 gene in M. anisopliae which increases the activity of catalase, contributing to a higher tolerance towards exogenous hydrogen peroxide. Transgenic conidia of M. anisopliae were also found to accelerate conidia germination, contributing to an increased virulence of M. anisopliae.Morales Hernandez et al.  overexprAaIT gene, which encodes for an insect-specific neurotoxin from a buthid scorpion Androctonus australis in M. anisopliae. They reported that the amount of genetically engineered conidia required to provide the same level of mortality with the wild type M. anisopliae was nine-fold lower. The median lethal time of M. anisopliae on A. aegypti was also significantly reduced. A. aegypti infected with this neurotoxin was found to have spasmic legs and affected wing movements.Wang and St. Leger  insertedM. anisopliae to express a salivary gland and midgut peptide (SM1) which attach to the surface of the salivary gland of Anopheles spp., effectively blocking the entry of sporozoites of Plasmodium falciparum which is the causal agent of malaria. A synthetic gene that encodes for the production of an antimicrobial scorpine which expresses eight repeats of the SM1 peptide was also inserted into the genome of M. anisopliae. This scorpine not only attached to the salivary gland of the mosquitoes, but also reduced the sporozoite density in the haemolymph, thus reducing the transmission of malaria. Fang et al.  geneticaM. anisopliae by inserting a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis which encodes for an insect midgut-specific toxin Vip3Aal. The expression of this toxin enables M. anisopliae to acquire the ability to infect Spodoptera litura larvae, which is usually resistant to M. anisopliae, through the ingestion of conidia instead of the usual mode of infection that occurs through penetration of the cuticle.Zhang et al.  geneticaATM1 gene on M. acridum was performed to increase the production of acid trehalase. This increased the activity of acid trehalase, enabling the breakdown of more trehalose in the haemolymph of the host into glucose, thus producing more energy for M. acridum and subsequently decreasing the time taken for fungus to grow and colonise, increasing the efficacy and virulence of M. acridum [The overexpression of the  acridum .M. acridum strains, whereby each strain expressed one insect specific neurotoxin. The genes introduced into the M. acridum strains are genes which encode functions as a blocker of voltage gated sodium, calcium, and calcium activated potassium channels. The last gene encodes for a hybrid toxin which interferes with both calcium and potassium channels in the host. All M. acridum strains have a significantly higher virulence than the natural M. acridum strain, with the M. acridum strain expressing the hybrid toxin with the highest virulence measured in terms of effective conidial doses, median lethal time, and the food consumption of the host.Fang et al.  geneticaLqhIT2 gene, which encodes for a neurotoxin from the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus, into the genome of M. acridum was found to increase fungal virulence. M. acridum expressing the LqhIT2 gene grew faster and reduced the median lethal time (LT50) and median lethal dose (LC50) by 30.3% and 22.6-fold, respectively, compared to the wild type. The neurotoxin produced was reported to have no effect on the cuticle penetration and germination stage. Peng et al. [LqhIT2 neurotoxin may have suppressed the host immunity, resulting in the accelerated growth of conidia in the haemolymph of host. The insertion of the g et al.  reportedButhotus judaicus, which encodes for the insect-selective neurotoxin Bj\u03b1IT to determine whether this gene increased the virulence of M. acridum. The neurotoxin was found to speed up the growth of M. acridum, which decreases the mean lethal time and dose time needed to kill the host, thus increasing its virulence. The engineered M. acridum is environmentally safe as it did not affect non-target insects and its safety can be improved by using a tissue-specific promoter such as the Mcl1 promoter. However, the conidial yield of the engineered M. acridum was reduced, indicating that the residual effect of M. acridum will be lower compared to the wild type.Peng and Xia  insertedMetarhizium spp. could be improved by overexpressing several targeted genes such as the cat1 gene and ATM1 gene in M. anisopliae and M. acridum, respectively. Fang et al. [M. acridum; however, further studies could be conducted investigating how to prevent the decline in conidial production. Future studies should also be conducted on the impacts of transgenic fungus on the environment and non-target organisms.The efforts to increase the virulence of g et al.  and Pengg et al.  have sucM. acridum [M. anisopliae with the thickest conidia and the greatest colony growth with local isolate. In a separate study, Jenkins medium yielded the most M. anisopliae with 100% mortality on the fourth day with 1 \u00d7 109 conidia/mL [Studies have demonstrated that a different medium could affect the conidial morphology and conidia germination rate, which could subsequently affect the virulence of  acridum . PikKhen acridum  found thnidia/mL . M. anisopliae is capable of affecting its virulence. A study found that the virulence of the different strains was influenced by different medium cultures [M. anisopliae that are genetically different. In addition, Maldonado-Blanco et al. [Aedes spp. increases with an increasing incubation time with the spores. For the mass production of M. anisopliae, the strain of M. anisopliae used should be taken into consideration as different strains of M. anisopliae have different phenotypic plasticity which may affect the results for the determination of which medium produces the most virulent M. anisopliae [For the conidia production, it was found that the type of culture medium used to produce cultures . This mao et al.  also fouisopliae .M. acridum also affects the characteristics of conidia, such as their virulence [M. acridum produced on potato dextrose agar supplemented with 1 g L\u22121 yeast extract (PDAY) germinated faster and had a higher UV-B tolerance compared to conidia produced on insect cuticles. Rangel et al. [M. acridum germinated on potato dextrose agar may have accumulated more endogenous nutrients, allowing them to germinate faster. This finding is crucial when mass producing M. acridum for a biological pesticide as it is advantageous to use a culture medium to produce a virulent and high amount of conidia of M. acridum [The type of culture medium used to produce irulence . Rangel irulence  also foul et al.  hypothes acridum .M. anisopliae conidia has been tested and compared for different hosts. Oil formulated conidia caused higher mortality in hosts compared to water formulated conidia [M. anisopliae conidia [The effect of oil formulation, oil-in-water emulsion formulation, and water formulation of  conidia ,76,77,78 conidia . Besides conidia ,76. Furt conidia , which oA. aegypti decreased the tendency to oviposit in breeding sites with a high oil concentration. This could potentially reduce the contact between the fungal propagules and the host. Lobo et al. [Although oil formulated conidia were found to be efficacious under a low humidity and high temperature, Lobo et al.  found tho et al.  proposedM. anisopliae conidia suspended in pure mineral oil provided a greater thermoprotection compared to canola oil formulated conidia [The type of oil formulation was demonstrated to affect the viability of conidia whereby  conidia . The comM. anisopliae conidia by changing the fatty acid composition on the host cuticle. Future studies could manipulate the pH of the oil formulated conidia and determine whether pH could retain the virulence of the conidia for longer periods of time.Most studies have studied the effect of a single variable, such as heat, on the efficacy of conidia and the effect of the period of exposure on the efficacy of conidia. Future studies could be conducted to find a way to combine the effects of heat and humidity on oil formulated conidia. Paix\u00e3o et al.  also sugM. acridum, Peng and Xia [M. anisopliae found that oil-formulated conidia could grow on mosquito eggs [M. acridum, dry spore formulation remained virulent for longer periods of time during storage compared to oil formulated conidia [For the formulation of the conidia of  and Xia  reported and Xia  and Sous and Xia . They thito eggs . The oilito eggs . However conidia .Termites are important pests of buildings and historical monuments due to their ability to form colonies in walls and damage wood in the process ,13. The M. anisopliae as an effective biological control of termites has been documented in previous studies. The efficacy of M. anisopliae is affected by three factors: the strain of M. anisopliae used, the dosage of M. anisopliae conidia, and the genera and species of termites which have a different susceptibility to the same strain of M. anisopliae. The mortality of termites is dose dependent, whereby increasing the dosage of conidia of M. anisopliae increases the mortality of termites. Specifically, the highest insecticidal dosage of conidia is approximately 1 \u00d7 106 conidia/mL to 1 \u00d7 1010 conidia/mL [The potential use of nidia/mL ,85,86. TM. anisopliae and different hosts are used, which do not allow for a consistent comparison for improvement. The non-uniformity stems from the strains of M. anisopliae being localised to their respective regions and the termites that caused the most damage are different in different regions and countries. Besides, the same strain of M. anisopliae could have a different virulence towards different genera of termites [In different studies, different strains of termites . One of termites ,4,68,87.M. anisopliae, which are mainly composed ofparaffins such as N-tetradecane [M. anisopliae was a contradictory issue as Chouvenc et al. [The repellency of termites, which leads to the allogrooming behavior, was demonstrated to be due to the ability of termites to detect the odour of conidia . The morradecane . The allc et al.  and Yanac et al.  hypothesc et al.  hypothesc et al.  proposedTo reduce the repellence displayed by termites, studies have focused on two aspects: the reduction of repellency by termites and the nest embedded sensor in the termite nest. Chouvenc et al.  employedM. anisopliae.Another study by Bulmer et al.  demonstrM. anisopliae cause the mortality of termites or repel the termites such as C. formosanus. This has a significant impact because if M. anisopliae were to only repel termites, M. anisopliae would not be effective in completely eliminating termites, especially in buildings such as temples and historic monuments, and the conidia would have to be consistently reapplied [The drawback in the studies is that in field experiments, it is uncertain whether eapplied .M. anisopliae strains with the ability to form appressorium more quickly are more virulent and able to cause higher mortality. To achieve this, genetic manipulation could be implemented by increasing the expression of genes which are responsible for appressorium formation or conidia formation to increase the virulence of M. anisopliae. It was also found that 90% of the conidia that were ingested by groomers could not germinate in the gut of termites, although conidia were found to attach to the lining [Bacillus thuringiensis, which encodes for the insect midgut-specific toxin Vip3Aal, into M. anisopliae. The genetically modified M. anisopliae was found to successfully infect a host that is usually resistant to M. anisopliae by the ingestion of conidia instead of penetration of the cuticle. Hence, the addition of a specific gene which is toxic in the midgut of termites could be the key to a more virulent M. anisopliae. Further studies should be done on the fungistatic compounds present in the gut microbiota of termites to determine which midgut toxin is resistant to the fungistatic compounds in the termites [Chovenc et al.  reportede lining . Zhang ee lining  insertedtermites .M. anisopliae was able to cause a significantly higher mortality in Anopheles spp. and Aedes spp. compared to moquitoes which are not treated. For Anopheles spp., studies found that more than 90% of Anopheles spp. exposed to M. anisopliae were dead 14 days post-inoculation. This means that Anopheles spp. can be prevented from transmitting malaria since the Plasmodium parasite required approximately 12 to 14 days to develop in the mosquito into infectious sporozoites, at which point the mosquito could transmit malaria [At the adult stage, all previous studies agreed that  malaria . M. anisopliae compared to mosquitoes which did not have a blood meal and mosquitoes which were fed with sucrose. Blood fed mosquitoes were suggested to have more nutrient reserves, resulting in fungus requiring more time to deplete the nutrients in the host before causing mortality of the adult mosquitoes. They also suggested that blood-fed mosquitoes may have a stronger immune system to overcome the infection by M. anisopliae. The reduced susceptibility of Aedes spp. was found to persist for approximately 96 hours to 120 h where the susceptibility was no different from the controls after that period [Paula et al.  and MnyoM. anisopliae.Reyes-Villaneuva et al.  found thAedes aegypti and Aedes albopcitus are responsible for dengue epidemics, dengue haemorraghic fever, chikunguya, and yellow fever. Fifty million people are estimated by the World Health Organization to be infected with dengue fever worldwide every year [A. aegypti in both tropical and subtropical regions in the world [Anopheles spp. are vectors responsible for the transmission of malaria, while Culex quinquefasciatus transmits Bancroftian filariasis which is responsible for causing filariasis in 25 million people in India alone [Mosquitoes such as ery year ,96. Denghe world ,72. Anopia alone ,61,79.Aedes spp. and Anopheles spp., studies have been conducted that investigate the effects of M. anisopliae on the three different developmental stages of mosquitoes which are the egg, larvae, and the adult stage. For all three stages, M. anisopliae was found to have insecticidal activity and is a potential entomopathogenic fungus. There are some factors which need to be taken into consideration when targeting all three developmental stages, but there are also other factors which only apply to a particular developmental stage. For the biological control of vectors of human diseases, especially Anopheles spp. and Culex spp., but not Aedes spp. This is because the primary feeding sites of Anopheles spp. and Culex spp. are on the water surface, but the primary mode of feeding of Aedes spp. is through browsing and not on the water surface [M. anisopliae for 18 to 23 days.At the larval stage, Bukhari et al.  found th surface ,80. Gree surface  found th surface . The \u201cwe surface  which wa surface  and Bukh surface  were con surface ,97. For  surface . In addi surface  found thM. anisopliae is the greatest when the mosquito eggs treated with conidia are exposed to 98% relative humidity for at least 10 days [M. anisopliae. Luz et al. [For relative humidity, it was found that the ovicidal activity of  10 days ,72,96. T 10 days ,96. Futuz et al.  also fouM. anisopliae compared to older instar larvae (L4) and adult mosquitoes [Anopheles spp., Culex spp., and Aedes spp. are equally susceptible. The mortality of larvae at different stages was dose-dependent, where increasing the dosage of applied conidia was found to increase the larval mortality. Younger instar larvae (L2) were found to be more vulnerable to squitoes ,19. Howesquitoes  found thM. anisopliae are its slow mode of action, inconsistent results compared to chemical insecticides, and the fact that it only targets the larval population which are present. M. anisopliae has to be reapplied after the site has been reinhabited by larvae [M. anisopliae, which usually takes seven to 14 days to reach >90% mortality, does not fulfil the requirement to be a vector control product by World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) [M. anisopliae on the mosquito eggs and how high humidity reduces larval eclosion should be further studied.However, the challenges of using y larvae ,80,100. (WHOPES) . One of M. anisopliae on non-target organisms and the environment should also be studied in order to determine the safety of the application of M. anisopliae as a biological control agent.Further studies could be conducted on the formulation of conidia which could best protect the conidia from environmental conditions that could inactivate conidia to maintain the virulence and which type of oil could repel mosquitoes. The effects of M. anisopliae in killing the nymphs and adults of many genus and species of ticks has been demonstrated in many studies for Rhipicephalus microplus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis, Hyalomma excavatum, and Ixodes ricinus [M. anisopliae reduced the percentage of egg production and hatchability, the precise mechanism of how M. anisopliae caused a decline in egg production and hatchability is still unknown [R. miroplus is dose dependent, where mortality increases with an increasing concentration of conidia.The efficacy of  ricinus ,104,105. unknown . Camargo unknown  found thM. anisopliae which are the application of the fungus parasitic stage onto cattle ticks and the non-parasitic stage onto tick larvae in vegetation [M. anisopliae to kill the ticks on the cattle was affected. Leemon et al. [M. anisopliae.There are currently two types of application of getation . Furthern et al.  suggesteM. anisopliae, followed by nymphs and adults [M. anisopliae on the mortality of cattle ticks. Quinelato et al.  also foud adults ,104,105.d adults  and Camad adults  cited frM. acridum on locusts and grasshoppers has been conducted by the LUBILOSA program (Lutte Biologiquw contre les Locustes et les Sauteriaux) in Africa and CSIRO  in Australia over the last 10 years [M. acridum is a specialist, having a narrow host range where it infects only locusts and grasshoppers [Locusts and grasshoppers are major agricultural pests which have caused huge agricultural and economic losses. In Africa, locusts and grasshoppers cause damages on crops such as maize, beans, and sweet potatoes. Approximately USD 400 million was spent to control these agricultural pests, besides providing food and assistance to affected communities . Extensishoppers .M. acridum has an insecticidal effect against locusts and grasshoppers, which are the main agricultural pests. M. acridum is currently used as a biological control agent in Mexico, Africa, and Australia for the control of locusts and grasshoppers [M. acridum as an active ingredient have been developed in both Africa and Australia, known as GreenMuscle\u00ae and GreenGuard\u00ae, respectively, to act as control agents against locusts and grasshoppers [\u00ae has been recommended by FAO and has obtained registration for its usage. However, few people have used GreenMuscle\u00ae due to its slow mode of infection, high costs, temperature dependency, and the instability of the formulation developed [Previous studies have found that shoppers ,7,108. CM. acridum are the timing of the application of conidia, the temperature during the infection of M. acridum, the strain of the M. acridum used, the medium that is used to culture M. acridum, and the method of application of the conidia [Factors that affect the efficacy of  conidia ,83,108.10 spores mL\u22121 caused higher mortality for 3rd nymphal instars compared to 5th nymphal instars 15 days post-inoculation in 2005, but not in 2006 [For the timing factor, it was found that younger nymphal instar of locusts are more susceptible than older nymphal instars. It was observed that 10 in 2006 . Klass e in 2006  also sugM. acridum was from 28 to 33 \u00b0C with 28 \u00b0C, which demonstrated the highest germination rate of conidia, longest mycelium, and the highest conidia production. This perhaps signifies that the virulence of M. acridum is the highest at 28 \u00b0C since the virulence of M. acridum increases with higher conidia germination, enabling a higher growth of mycelium [M. acridum. The act of basking under the sun elevates their body temperature to around 35 \u00b0C and the temperature can rise up to 37 to 40 \u00b0C during summer. Temperatures above 35 \u00b0C could inactivate the conidia of M. acridum, inhibiting their development and subsequently reducing the mortality of the host [Studies have found that the suitable temperature range for the germination of the conidia of mycelium . Many stthe host ,110.M. acridum contribute to the difference in their virulence and may be due to the differences in their genetic composition, resulting in the differences in their virulence and pathogenicity [M. acridum as locusts could elevate their body temperature for longer periods, while regions with longer and cooler nights require a lower dosage of conidia to result in a higher mortality of locusts [Different strains of genicity . This ma locusts .M. acridum. The number of M. acridum conidia on the soil was reported to be negatively correlated with relative humidity and positively correlated with wind velocity. Further studies should be done on the best application method and the minimum dosage of conidia needed to be applied to a particular area for highest mortality [Guerrero-Guerra et al.  found thortality .M. acridum. The inactivation of the conidia of M. acridum could reduce the efficacy of M. acridum, leading to a decreased mortality of locusts. Genes that are heat tolerant could be genetically engineered into M. acridum to overcome this challenge. The second challenge is to identify the best formulation and application method of conidia in the field to ensure the viability and persistence of conidia due to environmental conditions such as rain, humidity, and solar radiation. The timing of application is also vital to target early nymphal instars to reduce the number of adult locusts which could reproduce, thus expanding the population of locusts. The third challenge is finding a suitable strain of M. acridum for a particular geographical location due to different environmental conditions in different regions which can influence the thermoregulatory behaviour of locusts, subsequently affecting the efficacy of the conidia of M. acridum. The fourth challenge is maintaining the residual effect of M. acridum. To maintain the residual effect, the exact mode of locusts being infected in the field has to be first understood. Atheimine et al. [M. acridum, secondary pick up of conidia from treated vegetation, and horizontal transmission from cadaver infected with conidia. [One of the main challenges is to overcome the behavioural fever of locusts, which could inactivate the conidia of e et al.  suggesteconidia. Metarhizium fungus can be categorised into adhesion, germination, appressorium formation, penetration, extrusion, and sporulation [The general mode of infection of rulation ,56,111.M. anisopliae, which is a generalist, is a potential biocontrol agent of termites, mosquitoes, and cattle ticks, while M. acridum is a potential biocontrol agent of locusts and grasshoppers. However, many challenges, such as the slow mode of action and unpredictable results of the application of these fungi, have to be overcome to maximise the efficacy of both M. anisopliae and M. acridum. Studies have been conducted to speed up the mode of action by genetically engineering both M. anisopliae and M. acridum. However, the efficacy of these genetically engineered fungi in the field has not been published. The effects of these fungi on the effects of non-target organisms and the environment should also be considered before using them in the field."}
+{"text": "Malaria vectors control interventions are designed to cause immediate killing or shorten mosquito lives, therefore does not allow enough time for the development of the parasites to infective stage. The wall lining is new malaria vectors control intervention in Tanzania where its impact on age structure is not well known. Therefore this study aimed at determining the impact of non-pyrethroid durable wall lining on the age structure of malaria vectors.An. gambiae sensu lato  and An. funestus  were collected in the control clusters. Unexpectedly, significantly higher proportion of parous An. gambiae s. l. were collected in the intervention clusters . The wall lining intervention has demonstrated low impact on age structure of An. gambiae s. l., this call for further studies on the efficacy of the intervention.Higher proportions of  An. gambiae s. s. and An. funestus, which are the malaria vectors, naturally prefer to feed and rests indoors [An. arabiensis [Mosquito biting behaviour changes have been reported to be induced by vector control interventions, particularly when excito-repellent insecticides are used . Sprayin indoors \u20135. This abiensis , 7. Neveabiensis . Such shabiensis , 7, 8. Oabiensis \u201311.Age grading technique is applied for establishing the parous rate of mosquito populations in order to estimate longevity . Normall2, lying between 5\u00b0S latitude and 39\u00b0E longitude. The climate is tropical, with dense rainforest over the Usambara mountain ranges and has an annual rainfall of 1000\u20132000\u00a0mm. Muheza district is mainly inhabited by subsistence farmers. Administratively, Muheza district is divided into six divisions comprised of 35 wards with 175 villages [An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus are the main vectors of these diseases [An. gambiae s. l. in this area has also been documented to be resistant to pyrethroid insecticides [This cross-sectional study was conducted for the duration of 7\u00a0months from November, 2015 to May, 2016 in 18 clusters in Muheza district, North-eastern coast of Tanzania. In recent years, there have been fluctuations in the rainfall patterns with long drought periods in the study area. During implementation of this study, there were long dry seasons which accompanied with dryness of the mosquito breeding sites . The disdiseases , 22. An.cticides , 24.A total of 18 clusters were selected; nine in control clusters and nine in intervention clusters from clusters in a randomized field trial  in orderP value of\u00a0<\u00a00.05 was considered statistically significant.Data were entered in excel database and transferred to Stata version 13 statistical software where a Two-sample test for proportions (z) was performed. The outcomes of interest were the proportions of parous and nulliparous among the malaria vector species and intervention arms. In all analysis a Anopheles, Culicines [Aedes mosquitoes [An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus were dissected to observe ovarian dilations [Adult mosquitoes were identified morphologically using identification keys  for Anopulicines  and Zootsquitoes . All Culilations , 13. Basilations .An. gambiae s. l. was identified to sibling species by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as described by Bass et al. [An. funestus sibling species were identified by PCR based on species-specific primers. Electrophoresis was performed there after and amplicons were then visualized under uv-light for scoring DNA band lengths in relation to positive controls as described by Koekemoer et al. [s et al. . An. funr et al. .An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus was done by using enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique according to Witz et al. [Malaria sporozoites determination in z et al.  whereby Cx. quinquefasciatus followed by An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus. Malaria vectors (An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus) accounted for 28.5% (n\u00a0=\u00a0501). Majority of An. gambiae s. l.  were collected in the control clusters than in the intervention clusters and the different was statistically significant . Similarly to An. gambiae s. l., majority of An. funestus  were collected in the control clusters, and the different was statistically significant  . On the other hand, the proportions of nulliparous An. gambiae s. l. was higher in the control clusters although not statistically significant   and An. funestus group were 40% (n\u00a0=\u00a0121). PCR results has shown that, An. gambiae s. l. consisted of An. gambiae s. s.  and An. arabiensis . Within the An. funestus group, four sibling species were identified; these included; An. funestus s. s. , An. leesoni , An. rivulorum  and An. parensis . The circumsporozoite (CSP) ELISA results revealed that, sporozoite positive among An. gambiae s. s. was 5.6% while that of An. funestus s. s. was 2.0% with two individuals from each of the species. The overall CSP positive among An. gambiae s. s and An. funestus s. s. was 2.9%.A total of 302 An. funestus and An. gambiae s. l. are the main vectors for malaria transmission [An. gambiae s. s and An. funestus s. s. was 2.9 but the number of positive mosquitoes was too low to make any meaningful comparison between intervention and control clusters. This was in contrary to the previous study which was conducted in northern Orissa, India where presence of zerofly plastic sheeting interventions reduced malaria transmission and parous rate when compared to pre-intervention phase [An. gambiae s. l., the main sibling species were An. gambiae s. s. and An. arabiensis, similarly to a previous study [An. funestus, four sibling species identified included; An. funestus s. s., An. leesoni, An. rivulorum and An. parensis with An. funestus s. s. which accounted for 95%, similarly to a study by Derua et al. [Muheza is one of the malaria endemic district in Tanzania where both smission , 31. Deson phase . This stus study . Within a et al. .An. gambiae s. l. and An. funestus in the control clusters implies that, the intervention plays a role in preventing the malaria vectors from entering the houses. Our findings concur with a study conducted in the experimental huts which found that, the presence of both LLINs and non-pyrethroid ITWL have led to a significant increase the proportions of An. gambiae s. l. exiting the huts [High proportions of the huts . This sithe huts .An. gambiae s. l. under field condition as old mosquitoes were collected in the intervention clusters and young ones in the control clusters. Our findings are consistence with a previous study conducted in the same area which showed that, both pyrethroid LLINs and the non-pyrethroid ITWL in experimental huts induced exiting among An. gambiae s. l. [An. gambiae s. l. as demonstrated by the present study. This could be the reason why they were able to live long enough to lay eggs in intervention clusters; a situation has implication in malaria transmission.It was surprising to find that, statistically significantly higher proportions of parous in the intervention clusters. These findings indicate that, the new non-pyrethroid ITWL intervention has low impact on age structure of ae s. l. . ITWL inAn. funestus was higher in the control clusters. The present study findings concur with a previous study conducted in India, whereby the impact of vector control intervention on reduction in parity rate and house entry of An. culicifacies were observed in the village with olyset net compared to untreated net or no nets [An. funestus exited through the exit trap due to the presence of pyrethroid LLINs compared to non-pyrethroid ITWL [The proportion of parous  no nets . Similaroid ITWL . ITWL inoid ITWL . Basing The study was conducted in a period of extremely dry season where the number of mosquito collected was low and this could have impact on interpretations of findings."}
+{"text": "Afterward, Shen and Cen [r-circulant matrices nth hyperharmonic number of order r.In recent years, there have been several studies on the norms, determinants, and inverses of circulant and equences \u201327. For equences  found up and Cen  gave thes. Bah\u015fi  studied r-circulant matrices whose entries are the biperiodic Fibonacci and biperiodic Lucas numbers. This study consists of three sections. The first one is the introduction. In the second section, we give some new theorems, corollaries, and some important results. We give a concise conclusion in the last section.Inspired by these studies, in this paper, we compute spectral norms of r-circulant matrix For any given A is defined by A is given by A. Then, the well-known inequality [It is clear that, for equality  is givenFor any matriceswe havewhereis the Hadamard product ofAandB.For any matricesandwe havewhereis the Kronecker product ofAandB.For any matricesandwe havewhereis the Hadamard product, andFor any positive integern, we haveIn this section, we first give the sum of squares of biperiodic Lucas numbers.For any positive integerm, we haveUsing the Binet formula of the biperiodic Lucas numbers, we have Letbe anr-circulant matrix. Then, forwe have: ifthenifthenQ is of the form Q. Let the matrices B and C be Q. Let the matrices D and E be The matrix sing Eq. , we obtaLetbe anr-circulant matrix. Then, forwe have: ifthenifthenL is of the form L. Let the matrices F and H be L. Let the matrices G and K be The matrix Letandber-circulant matrices, where(i)Ifthen(ii)IfthenSince Letandber-circulant matrices, where(i)Ifthenand(ii)IfthenandSince r-circulant matrices Q and L whose entries are the biperiodic Fibonacci and biperiodic Lucas numbers. This study can be reduced to various studies for the specific values of a and b in the literature. For example, if Q and L, our results reduce to the studies [r-circulant matrices.In this paper, we obtain new upper and lower bounds for the spectral norms of the  studies , 18, and studies , respect"}
+{"text": "Melastoma, which are morphologically similar to a natural hybrid, M. intermedium, by sequencing a chloroplast intergenic spacer, nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and two low-copy nuclear genes (tpi and cam) in these taxa and their putative parental species. Our sequence analysis provides compelling evidence for the hybrid status of the two semi-creeping taxa: one originating from hybridization between M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum, and the other between M. dodecandrum and M. normale. The origins of these hybrids are therefore clearly different from M. intermedium, and morphological similarity for the three hybrids is most likely due to their origins from hybridization between the same creeping species M. dodecandrum and a different erect species in each of the three cases. We also observed low rate of introgression from M. normale to M. dodecandrum, and genetic exchange between them may transfer adaptive traits to M. dodecandrum. Rare occurrence of these two hybrids may be due to small range overlaps between parental species in one case, and different flowering periods between parental species in the other.Inferring the origins of hybrid taxa based on morphology alone is difficult because morphologically similar hybrids can arise from hybridization between different populations of the same parental species or be produced by hybridization of different parental species. In this study, we investigated the origins of two semi-creeping taxa in  Natural hybridization is pervasive in flowering plants and it can generate evolutionary novelty through the formation of hybrid lineages or interspecific introgression . When onMelastoma, a shrub genus distributed in tropical Asia and Oceania, has undergone rapid adaptive radiation, with more than 20 species diversified during the last one million years  as M. intermedium, but there are subtle morphological differences between these three semi-creeping taxa: the taxon found in Ruyuan and M. intermedium have very short appressed scales on the young twigs, while the taxon found in Xinyi has spreading bristles on the young twigs. The taxon found in Xinyi and M. intermedium has oblong leaves and strigose upper surfaces, while the taxon found in Ruyuan possesses lanceolate leaves and subglabrous upper surfaces . We sequenced one chloroplast intergenic spacer, nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and two low-copy nuclear genes (tpi and cam) to investigate the taxonomic status of the two newly found semi-creeping Melastoma taxa. Because introgression is a common consequence of hybridization and can contribute to transfer of adaptation  in Tianjingshan, Ruyuan, Guangdong, China, and one population each of M. dodecandrum, M. normale, and the other unidentified taxon (DN) in Dawuling, Xinyi, Guangdong. All three erect species occur in open habitats, while M. dodecandrum prefers slightly shady habitats. DM occurs along several trailsides near Tianjinshan, Ruyuan, with the elevations of 500\u2013700 m. DN was found along the roadside in the Dawuling Nature Reserve, Xinyi, at an altitude of about 900\u20131000 m. It seems that both locations have experienced human disturbance due to road or trail constructions. Only four to five samples of the unidentified taxa were collected due to their scarcity in both locations. The sampling details are shown in Table 1. To test whether the two unidentified taxa are M. intermedium or not, we also collected samples of M. candidum from Ziyun Park, Longhai, Fujian, China. Morphological comparisons of these taxa are shown in Figure 1 and Supplementary Figures We sampled one population each of trnL-trnF intergenic spacer and nrITS regions using the universal primers trn-c and trn-f (tpi and cam), which encode triose phosphate isomerase and calmodulin, respectively, were PCR-amplified and sequenced using the primer sequences from KY798014\u2013KY798110.We extracted genomic DNA from dried leaf tissue using the CTAB method . We amplnd trn-f , and ITSnd trn-f , respect1 to resolve the relationships among the haplotypes of each locus.We edited the sequences using SeqMan  and aligned them using Clustal X . The haptrnL-trnF in all samples was 825 bp. We detected four nucleotide substitutions and one insertion/deletion (indel) in these samples, which generated five haplotypes . In each of the two populations (Ruyuan and Xinyi) of M. dodecandrum, we observed the same two haplotypes (T1 and T2), with one mutational step between them. For the three other species, M. malabathricum, M. normale, and M. candidum, only one unique haplotype for each species was detected. Melastoma dodecandrum, M. malabathricum, M. normale, and M. candidum can be distinguished from each other because there were no shared haplotypes between them. There were at least two mutational steps between haplotypes of any two of the putative parental species. As for DM and DN, no private haplotypes were found. Three of the five individuals of DM shared the haplotype with M. malabathricum, and the remaining two individuals shared the haplotypes of M. dodecandrum. All four individuals of DN had the same haplotype as M. normale . No intraspecific variation was found for M. malabathricum, M. normale, and M. candidum, and they shared the same haplotype I3. Except one individual of M. dodecandrum from Xinyi population, which had the I3 haplotype , both populations (Ruyuan and Xinyi) of M. dodecandrum had two haplotypes, I1 and I2. Only one mutational step existed between I1 and I2. There were six mutational steps between haplotype I3 and the haplotypes of M. dodecandrum (I1 and I2). All the sampled individuals of DM and DN were heterozygous at this region, with all four individuals of DM possessing I1 and I2, and all five individuals of DN possessing I1 and I3 .The length of nrITS regions in the six taxa of tpi\u2013 The partial tpi gene was 703 bp in length after sequence alignment. A total of 32 variable sites at this gene were detected. There were 11 differentially fixed sites between M. malabathricum and M. dodecandrum from Ruyuan, and on each of these sites, DM showed chromatogram signal additivity . Haplotypes of M. normale formed two highly divergent groups. All the haplotypes detected in DM were shared with M. dodecandrum from Ruyuan and M. malabathricum  between M. normale and M. dodecandrum from Xinyi, and on this site, DN showed chromatogram signal additivity. However, no differentially fixed sites were observed between M. malabathricum and M. dodecandrum from Ruyuan. In the haplotype analysis, M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum showed more haplotypes than M. normale and M. candidum. Although M. malabathricum, M. normale, and M. candidum did not form their own distinct clusters, no shared haplotypes were observed between any two species. Two haplotypes of M. malabathricum (M8 and M9) were more closely related to those of M. normale, and one haplotype of M. normale (N4) was more closely related to those of M. candidum. All the haplotypes identified in DN were shared with M. dodecandrum from Xinyi and M. normale, while three of eight haplotypes detected in DM were shared with M. dodecandrum from Ruyuan and M. malabathricum. Two and three private haplotypes were closely related to those of M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum, respectively.Melastoma (DM and DN) sampled in this study resemble another previously identified hybrid M. intermedium in morphology, but we were not certain if they had the same origin or not. In this study, we obtained sequence data from chloroplast DNA and nuclear DNA to clarify their taxonomic status. At the chloroplast locus, the individuals of DM had the same haplotype as either M. malabathricum or M. dodecandrum, and those of DN had identical haplotype with M. normale only. At all three nuclear loci, each individual of DN had two haplotypes, each matching those of M. dodecandrum and M. normale (Table 2). At two of the three nuclear loci, each individual of DM had two haplotypes, each matching those of M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum. Although DM had several private haplotypes at the cam gene, these private haplotypes were clustered together with those of M. dodecandrum or M. malabathricum. Considering that M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum had relatively high levels of polymorphism at this gene, unsampled polymorphisms in the parental species are likely to have produced this pattern. Of course, we could not exclude the possibility of new mutations occurring in DM. Therefore, molecular data in our study provided compelling evidence for the hybrid status of the two semi-creeping taxa of Melastoma. The two hybrids originated from hybridization between M. dodecandrum and M. malabathricum (DM), and between M. dodecandrum and M. normale (DN), different from the origins of M. intermedium. Morphological similarity for the three hybrids is due likely to their origins from hybridization between the same creeping species, M. dodecandrum, and a different erect species, in each of the three cases. Because all the individuals of the two hybrids had two divergent haplotypes corresponding to their parental species at each of the three nuclear loci, they were all probably F1 hybrids. It is also possible that they are later-generation hybrids but more nuclear loci should be analyzed to be certain.The two semi-creeping taxa of Melastoma species , providing temporal opportunity for hybridization to occur. Human disturbance due to road or trail constructions may also facilitate the occurrence of hybridization between them. From our observations at the sampling sites, the two newly-discovered hybrids from Xinyi and Ruyuan, as well as the more common M. intermedium, were growing alongside their parental species, suggesting no niche shifts in the hybrids.Previous studies have also identified natural hybridization in other combinations of  species . Along welastoma . As for Melastoma dodecandrum can hybridize with the three other congeneric species, however, the number of individuals for each hybrid is very small, suggesting strong reproductive isolation between M. dodecandrum and the three other species. Strong reproductive isolation, however, does not completely hinder interspecific introgression. One individual of M. dodecandrum in Xinyi population had the same nrITS haplotype (I3) as the three other species. Haplotype sharing for this individual is due more likely to introgression from the sympatric M. normale rather than to ancestral polymorphism in M. dodecandrum, as reasoned here. First, the nrITS haplotypes of 39 out of 40 M. dodecandrum individuals (I1 and I2) are highly divergent from that of the three other species (I3), with six mutational steps between them. Second, only two haplotypes (I1 and I2) were observed in all 20 individuals of M. dodecandrum from Ruyuan. If the extra haplotype (I3) present in the M. dodecandrum individual had been due to ancestral polymorphism, we would expect the same haplotype to also be observed in the M. dodecandrum population from Ruyuan. We detected introgression to only one individual of M. dodecandrum from M. normale at only the nrITS locus, suggesting a low rate of introgression to M. dodecandrum from M. normale. Interestingly, this individual was also homozygous at the nrITS locus, which can be attributed to concerted evolution after hybridization, rapidly homogenizing the nrITS copies within a genome. Concerted evolution of the nrITS region can be observed in as early as the F2 generation (M. dodecandrum does not have alleles of M. normale at other loci we studied, it must be a later-generation hybrid. Therefore, it is probable that rapid concerted evolution resulted in the homogenization of the M. normale nrITS copy in the individual. Even at a low level of introgression, adaptive alleles and corresponding adaptive traits may be transferred from one species to another, likely contributing to adaptation to various environments (Melastoma can be further explored with genomic scanning in the future.A common outcome of interspecific hybridization is introgression. Although most introgressed loci are neutral, a few loci related to adaptation can be transferred from one species to another and thus lead to rapid adaptation of the recipient species to new environments . Melastoneration . Becauseronments . The extRZ, QF, and YL designed the study. RZ, QF, YL, SD, PZ and ZN collected materials, and experiments were performed by PZ and SW. RZ, QF, YL, SD and ZN guided the experiments. PZ analyzed and interpreted the data and wrote the manuscript with guidance of RZ, WLN, and WW. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "There was a mistake in one of the papers referenced as published. Originally we cited: Hare, R.D., and Vertommen, H. (2003). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.This citation is inaccurate. The reference should appear as:Hare, R. D. (2003). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, 2nd Edn. Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.Additionally, the paper is cited in the text multiple times on page 2. The in-text citations should appear as Hare .The authors apologize for the mistake. This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Toxins editorial team, we are happy to report that the impact factor for Toxins for 2015 is 3.571, 5-year impact factor: 3.942, which places the journal at a ranking of 16th out of 89 journals covering the field of toxicology. Both the number of submissions and the number of articles published . In 2017, a historical perspective and guidelines for Botulinum Neurotoxin subtype nomenclature by Michael W. Peck et al. (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/9/1/38), as well as an interview with Jay Fox and Jos\u00e9 Maria Guti\u00e9rrez on snake venom metalloproteinases (http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/9/1/33) have been published. We would welcome additional submissions on clarification of toxin nomenclature. In 2016, we implemented double blind peer-review for all papers submitted to the journal. In this procedure, authors\u2019 names are not known to the reviewers and reviewers\u2019 names are not known to the authors until publication of the paper. We feel this procedure reduces bias in the review process without significantly adding time from receipt of a manuscript to posting the accepted paper on the Toxins as a forum for civil discourse on issues impacting toxinology. The two most accessed papers from 2016 are two original research articles: The Snake with the Scorpion\u2019s Sting: Novel Three-Finger Toxin Sodium Channel Activators from the Venom of the Long-Glanded Blue Coral Snake  by Bryan G. Fry, et al., and Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin BMAA and Mercury in Sharks by Deborah C. Mash, et al.In 2016, we published five comments on previously published papers and welcome further comments, recommending Toxins webpage, and printed versions can be ordered at http://www.mdpi.com/books/library or Applebook and Amazon. We are always open to discuss your proposals for new book topics in 2017. We sponsored six conferences in 2016 and we published reports on presentations from two conferences: the 5th International Symposium on Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Moulds: Challenges and Perspectives (MYTOX) and the Hinxton Retreat on Mechanisms to Reverse the Public Health Neglect of Snakebite Victims. We look forward to continuing to support scientific presentations in 2017 and please keep the journal in mind as a resource for communicating meeting presentations to a broader audience. In 2017, we provided travel award support for three post-doctoral fellows/senior graduate students to present their work at international toxinology conferences, and further details of the winners are announced at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins/awards. We congratulate Dr. Marco Pirazzini, Dr. Natalie Saez and Ms. Rachel A. Miller on winning the 2017 Toxins Travel Awards.In 2016, we also published two books: Enterotoxins: Microbial Proteins and Host Cell Dysregulation, edited by Dr. Teresa Krakauer, and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Public Health: Progress and Current Challenges, edited by Drs. Lesley V. D\u2019Anglada, Elizabeth D. Hilborn, and Lorraine C. Backer. The e-book versions may be downloaded free of charge from the Toxins. We are also grateful to Dr. Sarah De Saeger and Dr. Vitor Vasconcelos who will replace Dr. Manderville and Dr. Berry as Section Editors-in-Chief for Mycotoxins, and Marine and Freshwater Toxins, respectively (Toxins are indeed fortunate that such prestigious scientists volunteer their time and effort to serve investigators in the toxinology field.We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding service of two out-going Section Editors, Dr. Richard A. Manderville, Section Editor-in-Chief for Mycotoxins, and Dr. John P. Berry, Section Editor-in-Chief for Marine and Freshwater Toxins. The numbers of excellent papers on mycotoxins and marine and freshwater toxins published during the tenure of Dr. Manderville and Dr. Berry attest to their hard work as Section Editors in maintaining high standards for the readers of ectively . Dr. De Toxins webpage design. The site has been redesigned to provide more information on the homepage, including fast access to the latest articles, access to recent articles of high interest, information on upcoming conferences, and quick links to Special Issues, topical collections, conference reports and books. Go to \u201cJournal Browser\u201d and click on Volume 8, where you will see we have begun designing volume covers for each monthly issue. You may find your favorite venomous critter or toxigenic microorganism on the cover! In 2017, we will also start posting research job adverts on the journal homepage. You are welcome to contact us for posting your vacancies.Finally, take a look at the new Toxins. Your support of the journal has been fantastic. It is through your efforts that the journal continues to be a useful resource for investigators, students and the lay public. We are greatly appreciative of your hard work. By all means, do not hesitate to contact us with ideas, criticisms, words of wisdom, etc., on how to better serve the toxinology research community.In closing, it has been a great year at"}
+{"text": "The affiliation for the last author is incorrect. Liu Wenhua is not affiliated with #2 but with #1 College of Science Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, P.R. China.There are errors in the caption for"}
+{"text": "Diseases caused by mosquito-borne pathogens remain an important source of morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh. To better control the vectors that transmit the agents of disease, and hence the diseases they cause, and to appreciate the diversity of the family Culicidae, it is important to have an up-to-date list of the species present in the country. Original records were collected from a literature review to compile a list of the species recorded in Bangladesh.Anopheles pseudowillmori, Armigeres malayi and Mimomyia luzonensis.Records for 123 species were collected, although some species had only a single record. This is an increase of ten species over the most recent complete list, compiled nearly 30\u00a0years ago. Collection records of three additional species are included here: While this work constitutes the most complete list of mosquito species collected in Bangladesh, further work is needed to refine this list and understand the distributions of those species within the country. Improved morphological and molecular methods of identification will allow the refinement of this list in years to come. Several diseases in Bangladesh are caused by mosquito-borne pathogens. Malaria remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the Chittagong Hill tracts and in the border belt areas . LymphatAnopheles mosquitoes of Bangladesh, but no comprehensive list of all species of mosquitoes present in the country has been published for nearly 30\u00a0years. Over the decades, deforestation and increased agricultural practices may have altered the diversity and abundance of mosquitoes throughout the country [To this end, previous authors have worked to compile lists of the mosquito species present in Bangladesh, by compiling species records from the country. The mosquitoes of Bangladesh have been recorded in several such lists over the past century. James , Covell  country \u201316. TherPubMed and the US Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval Service (before it was terminated), were searched using the terms \u201cmosquito\u201d and \u201cBangladesh.\u201d Articles found were searched for the descriptions of the original collections of mosquitoes identified to species. Articles only citing another article\u2019s collections (second-hand accounts) were not included. The reference list of collected articles was searched for additional articles. National libraries of Bangladesh were also searched for articles. All articles were entered onto a spreadsheet to facilitate calculation of the number of species and the number of records for each species.Additionally, one of us (HMA) provided records from studies that included the use of light traps , resting collections and BG-Sentinel traps  (publications in preparation). The descriptions of the collection sites are provided in the discussion below.Aedes species follow the classification provided by Wilkerson et al. [International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the authorship and date of species names enclosed in parentheses indicate that the species was originally described as a member of a genus other than the one in which it is currently placed, e.g. Aedes aegypti  was originally described as Culex aegypti Linnaeus, 1762. The numbers following species names refer to articles where the records were published.Records were found for 123 species of Culicidae reported from Bangladesh. The records ranged in date from 1908 to 2016. These species are listed below, alphabetically by genus, subgenus, and species. n et al. , whereasn et al. . In accoA need for improved knowledge of the mosquito species present in Bangladesh has led to the updated list presented here. In some cases previously known species have been found to be species complexes, while in other cases the names of species have been changed or subspecies elevated to species status. In several cases, new collections have resulted in species representing new country records being added to the list.Anopheles species complexes that are worthy of note here include the Subpictus, Culicifacies, Sundaicus, Annularis, Barbirostris, Fluviatilis, Maculatus, Minimus, and Dirus Complexes. The Subpictus Complex includes four sibling species , which are distinguishable based on morphological, chromosomal, and molecular differences [Anopheles culicifacies is an important malaria vector in the Indian Sub-continent, but its importance in Bangladesh appears to be limited. The Culicifacies Complex is comprised of species A, B, C, D, and E [An. sundaicus, An. epiroticus, An. sundaicus D, and An. sundaicus E [An. epiroticus is most likely the species present in coastal areas of Bangladesh, due to the limited geographic provenance of the other species, this awaits confirmation using molecular methods [Anopheles annularis is a complex of two species, A and B [Anopheles maculatus is comprised of chromosomal forms B and E [An. barbirostris  (s.l.) has been reported from Bangladesh, but it is clear that more work is needed to know which species of the complex are present in the country. The Minimus Complex includes three species: An. harrisoni, An. minimus and An. yaeyamaensis (known only from Japan). Anopheles minimus (s.l.)\u00a0has been found in Bangladesh [An. harrisoni (previously known as species C) is present in the country [An. baimaii is the species present in Bangladesh [Among the listed mosquitoes, ferences , 130. AsD, and E . Little D, and E , 63, butD, and E . The Sundaicus E . While i methods . Anophel A and B , which c A and B . The Flu A and B , but it  B and E , 137. Ro B and E  stated t B and E , 140. On country . Finallyngladesh , 142.Anopheles gigas var. baileyi was elevated to species status by Harrison et al. [Anopheles baileyi. Similarly, Anopheles maculatus var. willmori (as willmorei) was restored to species status by Rattanarithikul & Green [An. willmori. Anopheles pseudojamesi is the current name (senior synonym) of the formerly accepted An. ramsayi [Culex afridi was synonymized with Cx. infula [Culex quinquefasciatus was listed as \u201cCulex pipiens quinquefasciatus\u201d in the list provided by Ahmed, but Cx. quinquefasciatus is now accepted as a distinct species [Cx. fuscanus and Cx. halifaxii are now included in the genus Lutzia as Lt. fuscana and Lt. halifaxii, respectively [Some of the species included in the most recent previous list published by Ahmed  have undn et al.  and is n & Green  and is n ramsayi . Culex a. infula . Culex q species , 146. Thectively .Ae. gardnerii imitator were collected from a tree hole in a botanical garden in Dhaka during 2004 [Ar. kesseli were taken in resting collections and light traps in Rajshahi Division [Ar. theobaldi were collected in a forested area in Habiganj district (Sylhet Division) [Culex annulus has been collected in Habiganj and Moulavibazar districts in Sylhet Division, as well as on St. Martin\u2019s Island, and in the Sundarbans [Ma. annulata and three of Ur. rampae were collected in light traps in Rajshahi Division [Culex fragilis was collected in resting catches in Patrokhola tea garden, Moulavibazar (Sylhet Division) [Anopheles pseudowillmori were collected in light traps placed in a room with sleeping people (18:00 to 06:00). Nine specimens were collected in Kuhalong and Rajbila unions of Bandarban district between 2009 and 2012. Three Ar. malayi females were collected in BG-Sentinel traps that were placed indoors in Rajshahi and Chapai Nawabganj districts between November 2014 and September 2015. Mimomyia luzonensis was collected using the same method in Dhaka and Chapai Nawabganj districts, and four specimens were collected between September 2014 and September 2015.There are a number of species that have only been reported in Bangladesh since the list of Ahmed . Larvae ing 2004 . Adults Division , and aduivision) . Culex andarbans , 47, 48.Division . Culex fivision) . AdditioAe. pipersalatus with reference to Barraud [Ae. pipersalatus in Bangladesh were found, we have removed this species from the list of species known to occur in the country. We have also removed the separate listing of An. gigas subspecies simlensis [An. gigas in the species list.Two species listed in Ahmed  are excl Barraud . In the  Barraud . There iimlensis , which himlensis , as it iArmigeres obturbans has been listed in several records, but it appears that this species was regularly confused with the common Ar. subalbatus. Furthermore, Thurman [Ar. obturbans is limited to Sulawesi, so it seems likely that the records for Ar. obturbans in Bangladesh refer to Ar. subalbatus. We have therefore removed Ar. obturbans from the species list for Bangladesh. Thurman  noted thAe. thomsoni, Ae. pseudotaeniatus, Ae. reginae, Ae. albolateralis, Ae. imprimens, Ae. vittatus, Ae. iyengari, Ae. desmotes, Ae. gardnerii imitator, An. barbumbrosus, Ar. kesseli, Ar. theobaldi, Ar. annulitarsis, Ar. dentatus, Ar. inchoatus, Ar. omissus, Cx. fragilis, Cx. theileri, Cx. vagans, Cx. pullus, Cx. minutissimus, Hz. covelli, Ml. jacobsoni, Ma. annulata, Tx. bengalensis, Ur. novobscura, and Ur. rampae. While several of these species represent recent records for Bangladesh, others, such as Ae. pseudotaeniatus, Ae. reginae, Ae. albolateralis, Ae. imprimens, Ae. vittatus, Ae. iyengari, Cx. pullus, Hz. covelli, and Ml. jacobsoni, have not been found in Bangladesh in the past 50\u00a0years. Further collections, particularly of culicines, would be helpful in improving our knowledge of the species that are present in the country.The inclusion of certain species in previous lists was the result of single records. This was the case for The list provided here is the most complete list compiled since the work of Ahmed , nearly"}
+{"text": "Phyllodistomum Braun, 1899. The Eurasian ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus L., has been recorded as a definitive host for Phyllodistomum folium , P. angulatum Linstow, 1907\u00a0and P. megalorchis Nybelin, 1926 and as the type-host for P. pseudofolium Nybelin (1926). A wide range of other host fishes have been recorded for these species as well. All present host records have been based on light microscopy and the life-cycles of P. pseudofolium, P. angulatum and P. megalorchis are unknown. The validity of P. pseudofolium and P. megalorchis require verification. In this study, rDNA sequences generated from adult Phyllodistomum spp., as well as from larval stages developing in Pisidium amnicum M\u00fcller, were analysed to establish the real number of Phyllodistomum species utilizing G. cernuus, and to associate larvae with the corresponding adult forms.Host-specificity patterns are not well-defined for trematodes of the genus Phyllodistomum spp. based on ITS2 and partial 28S rDNA data allowed the confirmation of the validity of P. pseudofolium. A\u00a0macrocercous cercaria, known as Phyllodistomum sp. from P. amnicum is genetically identical to adult P. pseudofolium. Phyllodistomum megalorchis obtained from its type-host, Lota lota L., showed no genetic differences from P. angulatum parasitizing Sander lucioperca L. In our analysis, P. pseudofolium, P. angulatum and P. macrocotyle formed a highly supported clade despite the fact that these species appear to be associated with distinct patterns of first intermediate host identity and cercarial morphology. Some morphological differences between gravid specimens of P. pseudofolium and P. angulatum were observed and their SEM tegumental surface topography is described.Phylogenetic analyses of adult and larval\u00a0stages of\u00a0Phyllodistomum is independent of host phylogeny. This study suggests strict host-specificity (oioxeny) for P. pseudofolium using one first intermediate host species (P. amnicum) and one definitive host species (G. cernuus). Phyllodistomum megalorchis is to be regarded as a synonym of P. angulatum. The close phylogenetic relatives, P. pseudofolium and P. angulatum, can be differentiated by morphological traits, the micromorphology and tegumental surface topography of these two species is intended to provide useful data for their identification and support the use of such features as a valuable taxonomic criterion. Molecular data showed that G. cernuus is a definitive host for two species: the oioxenous P. pseudofolium and the euryxenous P. folium.The results lead us to the perception that macroevolutionary host switching in the genus  Host specificity is arguably one of the most important properties of parasitic organisms. Several definitive and intermediate hosts can be involved in helminth life-cycles, thereby complicating the pattern of specificity. Molecular analysis has often shown that species of parasites once thought to be generalists (euryxenic or stenoxenic) were, in reality, complexes of specialist (oioxenic) species generally recognized as cryptic species see , 2). As . As 2]).Phyllodistomum Braun, 1899 (Gorgoderidae) contains around 120 species, which typically inhabit the urinary bladder and/or ureters of both marine and freshwater fishes, more rarely amphibians , but rarely in G. cernuus . Th. ThPhylluus  identified as P. folium, which replaced Olfers\u2019s , which are distinguished by their shape  and partly by their location. In reality, we can assume, based on our SEM observations, that it is possible to identify only two types of papillae, ciliate and aciliate. The shape of \u2018other types\u2019 of papillae may depend on the level of surface invaginations in various Phyllodistomum spp., as sensory endings localized within the tegumental syncytial cytoplasm tend to look like surface outgrowths under SEM. The type of sensory papillae can be identified correctly using transmission electron microscopy, since, by using this technique, it is possible to determine the nature of the sensory endings and, hence, their classification. Nevertheless, as in the present SEM study of P. angulatum and P. pseudofolium, only one type of sensory papillae was reported for P. folium by Bakke & Zdarska [The SEM observations of adult to Bakke , 40, the Zdarska .P. angulatum and P. pseudofolium revealed different patterns in the regular arrangement of papillae. Thus, P. angulatum is characterized by 20 papillae around the oral sucker ; the size of the papillae decreases from outer to inner rings with their smaller size within sucker. Yet, in P. pseudofolium, 16 uniformly-sized papillae are associated with the oral sucker . Additionally, 6 secretory pores surround the oral sucker of P. pseudofolium. The ventral sucker is a dynamic structure. The non-retracted ventral sucker of P. angulatum has six large characteristic papillae and four smaller irregular papillae. On the partly retracted ventral sucker of P. pseudofolium, four uniformly-sized papillae were observed, while all these papillae on the ventral sucker are hidden inside the retracted ventral sucker. How many papillae are hidden inside the partly retracted ventral sucker of P. pseudofolium could only be established from SEM of non-retracted ventral suckers. Unfortunately, there were no specimens of P. pseudofolium examined by SEM where the ventral sucker was not in a retracted position, so additional study is needed here. A few papillae are scattered irregularly on the ventral surface of the forebody of P. angulatum; this region of P. pseudofolium is characterized by the presence of four symmetrically longitudinal rows of papillae, two ventro-lateral rows of five large papillae and two lateral rows of eight smallest papillae. Finally, a notch at the posterior extremity of the body in P. angulatum is equally visible in both dorsal and ventral views, while in P. pseudofolium the notch is visible only in dorsal view.The present SEM of the surface topography of S. lucioperca and G. cernuus. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the arrangement of papillae in other species belonging to the genus Phyllodistomum which have been studied using the SEM, i.e. P. umblae [P. folium [P. funduli [P. inecoli [P. cribbi and P. wallacei [P. spinopapillatum [Judging from the present SEM results, the specific arrangement of the papillae found in each of these two species can be used as a basis for the identification of specimens from the urinary system of . umblae \u201340, P. f. folium , P. fund funduli , P. inec inecoli , P. cribwallacei  and P. spillatum , it is aPhyllodistomum species with complicated taxonomic history and to clarify their life-cycles. However, it is necessary to collect many more samples from different hosts for molecular studies to evaluate host specificity patterns in Phyllodistomum spp. Comparative molecular studies accompanied by morphological analysis of Phyllodistomum spp. enable plausible recognizing and delimitation of species. For now, we can state that European Phyllodistomum spp. differ greatly in their degree of host specificity. Species comprising well-supported clades in molecular phylogeny do not necessarily follow the same life-history patterns. The new data on the validity, host specificity and life-cycles of phyllodistomes, as well as species-specific markers obtained in this study, will be valuable for phylogenetic revision of the genus Phyllodistomum. This study showed that G. cernuus is the definitive host for two Phyllodistomum species: the oioxenous P. pseudofolium and the euryxenous P. folium. All other Phyllodistomum spp. detected in G. cernuus could be the result of incorrect identification by light microscopy and should be revised considering molecular markers.Recent DNA studies provide a new approach to unravel the taxonomic status of nominal"}
+{"text": "Dioscorea is one such tuber, having maximum use among the local of SBR. However, less documentation and no specific reports are available on the food and medicinal values of the species available in this part of the World. Dioscorea species, popularly known as Yam worldwide and as Ban Aalu in Odisha, India, is a prime staple medicinal-food substitute for the majority of rural and local people of the state of India. Of the 13 Dioscorea species available in SBR, 10 species are known to be bitter in taste and unpalatable when taken raw. Since less documentation is available on the Dioscorea species of SBR and their traditional uses, the present study was focused on the ethnobotany, nutritional and pharmacological values of these species along its nutraceutical importance.A number of wild crops remain unexplored in this world and among them some have excellent medicinal and nutritional properties. India is a harbor of biodiversity in general and phytodiversity in particular. The plant diversity is distributed from the Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats, along with the North-Eastern region and from the Greater Himalayas to the plain of Ganga. Among these distributed floral regions of the country, the Eastern Ghats are important due to their rich floral diversity. The forests of Odisha form a major part of Eastern Ghats in general and the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) in particular. The SBR is inhabited by many local communities. The food and medicinal habits of these communities are not fully explored even today. They are dependent on the forests of SBR for their food and medicine. Among their collections from forests, root and tuberous plants play a significant role. The local communities of SBR use about 89 types of tuberous plants for various purposes.  Food and health for all are major challenges for the developing countries this century. These challenges need to be addressed robustly. Scientific researchers can find practical solutions by searching for alternate sources of food and medicines. India is rich in phytodiversity, with about 45,000 plant species from the Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats along with the North-Eastern region and from the Greater Himalayas to the plain of Ganga. The forests of Odisha form a major part of the Eastern Ghats  species play a prime role in providing food and medicinal requirements for the local communities , D. pentaphylla L. (Panja Sanga), D. hispida Dennst. , D. alata L. , D. oppositifolia L. , D. pubera Blume (Kukai Sanga) etc. Ten species are known to be bitter in taste or unpalatable when taken raw. The rural and local people who use them as food supplements make them edible by different traditional practices. While investigating traditional food systems and palatability of Dioscorea species available in SBR, it was observed that tubers are mostly soaked overnight in water or left overnight in stream and subjected to successive boiling to remove the bitterness  and buffer zones  composed of 16 forest ranges surrounded by a transitional zone . The average elevation is 559.31 meters , which rises to about 1166 meters above sea level. Durdurchampa (1009 meters) and Chahala (775 meters) are the other important hills of the area  species is Dioscorea species is D. alata L.  distributed throughout the country, and rich in Odisha. In SBR the species is dominating in peripheral areas such as Jashipur, Karanjia, Hatibadi, Manda, and Bisoi  is distributed mainly in areas like the Himalayas, Sikkim, Assam, Northern Bengal, Western Ghats, Jharkhand, Bihar, Upper Gangetic Plain, Kerela, Wayanad, Udupi, and Andhra Pradesh of the country. In SBR, its population is rich in Kasipani, Kolha, Gurguria, and Ghatkumari. It is very frequent in Bangriposi Ghati and Gurguria forest range . It is distributed mainly in the forest patches of Eastern Ghats to the lower Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent. In SBR, It is widely distributed in Bangriposi Ghati, Gurguria, Sanuski, Nawana, Bakua, Kukurbhuka, Kalika Parsad and surrounding areas  is distributed in Deccan, Western Himalayas, Rajasthan, Nasik, and Odisha states of the country. In SBR, it is rich in the hill slopes of Gurguria, Sanuski, Bangriposi, Ghatkumari, Astakumar, Nawana, and Joranda  is distributed throughout the mountainous areas of the country. It is very common in Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. In SBR, it is distributed in the shady buffer and peripheral areas and along the streams, particularly in Ghatkumari and Padampur  is a characteristic peculiar to the particular sections within the genus Dioscorea. The wings present in some species, such as D. alata L.   Pax and D. hirtiflora Benth. might indeed be potential sources of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in Nigeria as reported by Sonibare and Abegunde  bacteria and three fungal strains. Begum and Anbazhakan (D. esculenta (Lour.) Burkill by in vitro-well diffusion assay against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes. The extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus, while no activity was observed by the extracts against K. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes.The silver nano-particles synthesized from Abegunde . ChandraAbegunde  documentbazhakan  describeDioscorea species. Hou et al. (D. batatas Decne.) tubers. Hou et al. (D. batatas Decne.) tuber mucilage. In the year 2004, Dong et al.  had antioxidative effects in hyperhomocysteinemia rats. Similarly, Liu et al.  Burkill have also been reported .In the year 2002, Gao et al.  Pax, D. alata L., D. oppositifolia L., and D. rotundata Poir. Avula et al.  Voigt ex Haines as saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannin, and phenols. Yoon et al.  from this genus should be performed carefully by advanced analytical techniques to validate its quality and for conforming its biological potentials. Further studies are also required to address various issues regarding the composition of the extracts used, explicability of the preclinical experiments and lack of conversion of the preclinical results to clinical effectiveness. Attempt should also be made to conduct serious human trails and to determine the mechanism of action, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and the physiological pathways for various types of bioactive compounds for their potential applications in drug discovery and for curing various life threatening diseases. Studies should also be carried out to utilize the bioactive compounds present in these tubers for formulation of new drugs to fight against pathogenic multidrug resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance. Research on these crops will open up new vistas in the study of biodiversity management for sustainable development, germplasm conservation, pharmacology and many other maiden fields of research in plant science and pharmaceutics.The most important identified compound from Draft preparation: SK, JP, GD, and HS; Paper writing: SK, GD, JP; Editing: JP, HS. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Latinos are exposed to adverse psychosocial factors that impact their health outcomes. Given the heterogeneity and rapid growth of this population, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms through which psychosocial factors impact substance abuse and anxiety between immigrant and U.S. born Latino adults. The present study employs a multi-group path analysis using Mplus 7.2 to examine generational differences in the paths between affiliation culture, years of formal education, contact with important people, and length of full-time employment to substance abuse and anxiety in immigrant and U.S. born Latino adults who completed substance abuse treatment. A total of 131 participants  in recovery from substance abuse completed self-report measures. Results from the multi-group path analysis suggest that being more affiliated to the U.S. culture is associated with substance abuse, whereas years of formal education and longer full-time employment is associated with reduced anxiety in the immigrant group. Conversely, frequent contact with important people and affiliation to the U.S. culture are associated with fewer years of substance abuse, whereas longer full-time employment is associated with substance abuse in the U.S. born group. Anxiety and substance abuse was correlated only in the U.S. born group. The implications of these findings are discussed. With a population exceeding 51 million, Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States ,3. NatioThe sparse research on access and substance abuse treatment utilization among Latinos shows mixed results \u20139. AlthoThe co-occurrence between substance abuse and anxiety on Latinos who complete SAT deserves consideration. A review of the literature shows that anxiety disorders were present in nearly 75% of individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), partially supporting the self-medication pathway ,25. The Currently, Latino immigrants comprise 36% of the total Latino population and most of them are middle age age 35 and over) ,14. Alth and overSubstance abuse literature has documented existing disparities in substance abuse within Latinos based on level of acculturation, country of origin, years of residence in the U.S., and generational status ,48. StudThe acquisition of U.S. cultural norms related to acculturation has been linked to mental health problems and substance abuse among Latinos ,35,52. HFewer years of formal education and poor employment history have been found to increase the likelihood of relapse ,63. A reThe collectivistic orientation of the Latino culture emphasizes the importance of social networks for their well-being . HoweverThe dearth of research on clinical populations who completed SAT remains significant for Latinos . Researcage = 36.3; SD \u00b1 10.5), 113 were males (86.3%) and 18 females (13.7%). Nearly half of the participants immigrated from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Central American countries (48.1%), with a mean length of stay of 19.2 years (SD \u00b1 13.71) in the U.S. The majority of the participants had alcohol and substance abuse treatment previously (n = 124), while for seven participants it was their first time in treatment. For sociodemographic characteristics see Participants for this study were part of a larger NIH-funded study that examined community-based recovery homes for Latinos in recovery from substance abuse . A totalRecruitment of participants took place from fall 2009 to spring 2012 for a larger NIH-funded study aimed to examine recovery homes for Latinos in recovery from substance abuse ,75. A caAfter completing the interview, participants received $30 as compensation for their participation.A 24-item demographic questionnaire was used to collect participants\u2019 age, gender, place of birth, country of origin, and treatment setting.Participants were asked to report their place of birth and were assigned either to the immigrant or U.S. born groups. Puerto Ricans who were born on the island were placed in the immigrant group. We acknowledge that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth. However, given the fact Puerto Rico endorses traditional cultural norms similar to those of other Latin American countries, we determine to place Puerto Ricans born in the island with other Latino immigrants.th Edition, assesses problems during the individual\u2019s lifetime and during the 30 days prior to the interview in seven areas: alcohol use, drug use, illegal activity, interpersonal and family relations, medical problems, employment, and psychiatric problems [th Edition of the ASI has been used with Latino participants in several large studies and yielded valid data [The Addiction Severity Index (ASI), 5problems . A sampllid data ,22,77. Tlid data . CorrelaThe Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (BAS) is a 24-item, 4-point Likert-type (1 = low or not well to 4 = high or very well) self-report measure of English and Spanish use as a proxy for acculturation . Three sThe Important People and Activities Inventory (IPA) examines the impact of social network by asking participants questions about their relationships with significant people . Particinever to 3 = often) measure that evaluates symptomatology in adults associated with traumatic experiences [The Trauma Symptom Checklist 40 (TSC-40) is a 40-item, 4-point Likert-type , with a mean age of 36.15 years. Means, standard deviations and correlations for all study variables are presented in Independent-samples t-tests were conducted to compare the impact of the aforementioned psychosocial factors on immigrant and U.S. born Latinos. Results from the t-tests revealed that U.S. born Latinos were more affiliated to the U.S. Culture, t (129) = 9.18, p < 0.001; completed more years of formal education, t (129) = 3.26, p < 0.001; and had more contact with important people, t (129) = 2.83, p = < 0.01, than their immigrant counterparts. In contrast, there was a significant difference in age between the immigrant  and U.S. born Latino  groups, t (129) = 3.09, p < 0.01. Conversely, there was no significant difference between the immigrant and U.S. born groups in terms of substance abuse, anxiety, and employment pattern.A multiple-group analysis was conducted to compare immigrant and U.S. born Latinos on the impact of psychosocial factors on substance abuse and anxiety using the Mplus computer software, version 7 . Maximum2 = 6.61, df = 3, p = 0.08, CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.47, RMSEA = 0.13, RMSEA 90% C.I. = 0.00 \u2013 0.27, SRMR = 0.03). Next, recurrent nonsignificant pathways were constrained to zero  to improve model fit indices. The constrained multiple-group model yielded an adequate fit to the data as indicated by the values on the following fit indices . Next, a model with all paths constrained to equal was estimated . The model fit for the fully constrained model was significantly worse than both, the model with freely estimated paths and the trimmed model. To test for group difference, the chi-square from the trimmed model was compared to the chi-square from a model with paths constrained to equal. The two models were significantly different , suggesting group differences . Similarly, years of formal education  and full-time employment pattern  were significantly negatively associated with anxiety. In other words, for each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in affiliation to the U.S. culture, there is a 0.28 SD increase in years of substance use. Conversely, for each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in years of formal education and length of full-time employment, there is a \u22120.38 SD and \u22120.37 SD decrease in anxiety rates. Substance abuse lifetime and anxiety were not related .Conversely, in the U.S. born group, average contact with important people , and affiliation to the U.S. culture  were negatively associated with substance use lifetime. Conversely, full-time employment pattern was significantly positively associated with substance use lifetime . Substance use lifetime and anxiety were significantly positively correlated . In other words, for each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in average contact with important people and affiliation to the U.S. culture, there is a \u22120.24 SD and a \u22120.22 decrease in years of substance use. Conversely, for each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in length of full-time employment, there is a 0.22 SD increase in years of substance abuse  and 3. OThe purpose of the present study was to examine whether generational differences moderate the association between psychosocial factors and anxiety on a sample of Latinos who completed SAT. Results from the multi-group analysis revealed significant differences between the two groups, relative to the outcomes of interest. Specifically, in the immigrant group, after controlling for age, being more affiliated to the U.S. mainstream culture was associated with more years of substance use. Conversely, contact with important people, years of formal education, and length of full-time employment were not related to years of substance use. Results for the U.S. born group indicate that, after controlling for age, longer full-time employment was associated with more years of substance use, whereas contact with important people and affiliation to the U.S. culture were associated with fewer years of substance use. Years of formal education were not related to substance abuse.With regards to anxiety, in the immigrant group and after controlling for age, more years of formal education and longer full-time employment were associated with reduced anxiety. Conversely, affiliation to the U.S. culture and contact with important people were not related to anxiety. In the U.S. born group, none of the pathways was related to anxiety. Lastly, substance abuse was positively correlated with anxiety in the U.S. born group, but not in the immigrant group.These findings illustrate substantial differences between the immigrant and U.S. born group in the direction and strength of the paths from psychosocial factors to substance abuse and from psychosocial factors to anxiety. Although some research have focused on disparities during early stages of treatment and outpatient SAT, the present study advances previous research on substance abuse on Latinos by examining generational differences on a sample of Latinos who completed SAT ,73,85. OOur results showed that affiliation to the U.S. culture was associated with more years of substance use among immigrants, but it was not related to anxiety. Although Latino immigrants, particularly middle-age adults experience greater difficulty to adopt social norms and values of the U.S. culture, those who live in cultural enclaves, or communities with high concentration of immigrants, may be less exposed to discrimination and receive support from community members ,58,88. AThe result indicating that more affiliation with U.S. mainstream culture was associated with fewer years of substance use seems to contradict previous studies conducted on community samples of U.S. born Latinos ,48. is uOur results suggest that more years of formal education and longer full-time employment reduce anxiety in the immigrant group. These findings shed light on the extent to which the above factors may protect Latino immigrants from anxiety. It is plausible that Latino immigrants with more years of formal education are more likely to learn the English language and U.S. cultural norms, facilitating the acculturation process. In addition, for most Latino immigrants who moved to the U.S. looking for better jobs, being gainfully employed may elicit a sense of success. Given the co-occurrence between anxiety and substance abuse, recovery oriented services should be tailored to the needs of the population. Specifically, securing employment and stable housing have been reported as an important recovery goal among Latinos working in their recovery . In a stThe findings for the U.S. born group indicating that frequent contact with important people was associated with fewer years of substance use is consistent with the social control theory . Strong Lastly, the path from longer full-time employment to years of substance abuse seems to be in function of being affiliated to the U.S. culture and having more years of formal education. More important, the results indicating that anxiety was correlated with substance abuse in the U.S. born group, but not in the immigrant group suggest unique sources of anxiety that affect this group. Support for the link between anxiety and substance abuse can be found in studies conducted on community samples ,96. HoweContrary to our hypothesis, the same path was not correlated in the immigrant group. It is plausible that Latinos may underreport anxiety symptoms due to artifactual level explanations . Severaln = 30, 47.6% of the participants assigned to the immigrant group) into this group. Although Puerto Ricans may contend with discrimination, low educational attainment, and have difficulties acculturating to the U.S. mainstream culture, their status as U.S. citizens afford them access to resources that non-U.S. citizens do not have. is may have driven the high affiliation to the U.S. mainstream culture in tandem with the length of residence in the U.S. Further studies are needed to explore the impact of psychosocial factors within Latino immigrants. Another limitation is that the low number of Latino women in the dataset did not allow for an examination of gender differences within each group. Lastly, most participants were from Puerto Rican and Mexican background (in both immigrant and U.S. born groups), which may limit generalization of findings to other Latino subcultures.There were several limitations, including a small sample that did not allow for exploration of other psychosocial factors . The cross-sectional nature of the present study does not allow for causal inferences. Participants on the present study completed SAT in multiple settings, which may reduce generalizability to similar populations. In addition, in an attempt to test the proposed model on Latinos who grew up in Latin American countries, we included Puerto Ricans who were born in the Island . More important, to develop effective substance use prevention programs for individuals who completed SAT, research is needed to understand the underlying processes through which psychosocial factors impact clinical samples of Latinos to inform ways to intervene. Specifically, there is the need for more studies to understand the culture of reception wherein Latinos are immersed, how symptoms manifest and the responses to prevention among this ethnic group in order to culturally informed prevention programs . By the"}
+{"text": "Janelle R. Thompson was not included as an author in the published article. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The original article has been updated.CN wrote the manuscript and TK and TB provided clinical wastewater samples. CN, T-HL, LH, and HC conducted sampling and performed the experiments. CN, MT, and BT analyzed datasets. JT provided computational resources and supervision for data analysis. CN, MT, BT, and KG conceived and designed the experiments.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Studies focusing on a joint evaluation of both Working Memory (WM) and Math Ability (MA) in autism are far from abundant in literature, possibly due to inadequate methodological approaches and reported inconsistencies between results obtained in each separate field of research, resulting in contradictory conclusions. The specific aim of this case report is therefore evaluating and integrating results on these two cognitive abilities in a child with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment. Our data on an autistic 10-year-old child (M.N.) show that the levels of functional (active vs. passive), rather than structural , data manipulation are quite relevant in the way the child scored differently in the various tasks. Furthermore, M.N. generally displayed average to good ability levels in math calculation, except for oral multiplication, and division activities. By way of conclusion, data are discussed in terms of strengths and weaknesses in relation to special learning trajectories in education and the relevant achievements. According to Baddeley's model  in children with autism still accounts for a limited share of studies in the literature, although investigations carried out on typical development clearly show a significant correlation between these two variables  with Typical Development (T.D.). Evaluation was carried out at the end of fourth grade. Parents (both mothers and fathers) were asked to sign an informed consent to (1) authorize their children's participation in the study and (2) authorize the publication of the research report.The following tests were carried out: Digit Span Forwards task  = 3.67, p = 0.002], scoring a 99.92 percentile (95% CI: 99.36\u2013100.00). In the Listening Span test M.N.'s performance was within the average . M.N.'s score was approximately 55.98 percentile (95% CI: 38.71\u201372.42), with respect to the T.D. distribution.M.N.'s memory abilities were evaluated through tasks testing WM-related componential and manipulation levels using Digit Span Forward, Listening Span, Visual Pattern Test, and Counting Span Test. M.N.'s performance can be described as follows: compared to the typical development (T.D.) group, M.N. was better at remembering numbers in the Digit Span Forward test , and a 99.77 percentile (95% CI: 98.44\u2013100%) in the box test , with respect to the T.D. group. M.N. obtained an average score with respect to the control group in the Counting Span Task  as shown in Table The visuo-spatial sketchpad was carried out via the Visual Pattern test, whose indexes yielded significant results: M.N. scored a 99.87 percentile (95%: CI 99.04\u2013100%) in the matrix test [The MA profile of M.N. was outlined using the AC-MT tool , independently of WM components involved. On the other hand, when tested on complex manipulation tasks , M.N. scores do not differ from those achieved by T.D. children, independently from the type of data to be processed. Results thus obtained suggest that the level of data manipulation implicated in the tasks resolution, rather than the type of component, seems to determine the degree of difficulty for M.N. This result seems to corroborate data underlining the importance of elaboration level when evaluating WM in autism, while partially invalidating claims concerning the role of the type  of material proposed .In conclusion, M.N.'s MA seems to be closely related to his WM skills. We are aware of the fact that functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment may largely depend on the age at which the ability is assessed (Titeca et al., SP designed the study, drafted a first version of work and provided a final approval of the manuscript. MP supervised a critical revision of the work and proposed the final approval of the version to be published.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Echinococcus and Echinococcosis, Part A. Volume 95, Advances in Parasitology 95. Academic Press; 2017. 525 pages, ISBN 978-0-12-8114711 (hardcover); 9780128114728 (eBook).Thompson RCA, Deplazes P, Lymbery AJ, Editors.  Echinococcus. The life-cycle is completed through a predator-prey interaction. The parasite matures in the small intestine of domesticated and/or wild carnivores. This book may be described as the second edition of \u201cEchinococcus and Hydatid Disease\u201d edited by RCA Thompson and AJ Lymbery, published in 1995.Echinococcosis is the most lethal chronic hepatic disease caused by accidental ingestion of eggs of the genus Echinococcus were recognized as rigid independent species. Among them, E. granulosus and E. multilocularis are of public health importance, since they cause cystic echinococcosis (CE) (hepatic abscess) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) , respectively.Approximately two decades ago, only four species of E. granulosus (sensulato) (s.l.) consists of five independent species: E. granulosus (sensu stricto) (s.s.), E. equinus, E. ortleppi, E. canadensis and E. felidis. Among these five species in E. granulosus (s.l.), E. granulosus (s.s.) (G1) and E. canadensis (G6/7) are the major pathogens for human CE. Furthermore, a new species, E. shiquicus, a sister species of E. multilocularis, was described from the Tibetan plateau, China in 2005, and E. felidis from African lions, a sister species of E. granulosus (s.s.) (G1), was resurrected as an independent species from E. granulosus felidis in Africa in 2008. Therefore, it is really timely for us to have an updated review book on these topics.Recent molecular studies have revealed that E. felidis should not be rare. In Asia, mainly in the Tibetan plateau, China, E. shiquicus may also be confirmed from humans.People involved in the control of echinococcosis are expected to do any surveillance based on molecular identification of the pathogens. In Africa, it is easy to expect that human cases with The definitive hosts, either domesticated or wild carnivores, have been contaminating our living environment with eggs. Accidental human infection is mainly caused by human invasion into the wild animal territories, but also by wild animals such as red foxes which also often invade our living environment in big cities in developed countries.Echinococcus. The authors are well known experts in each topic. Chapter 1 by Eckert and Thompson is on \u201cHistorical aspects of Echinococcosis\u201d and is highly informative. It mainly focuses on the pioneer researchers and their scientific contribution with their memorial photos. It is interesting to learn what the first senior author, Eckert, has done for the establishment of WHO informal working group on echinococcosis etc. over 60\u00a0years\u2019 lifework. If it had included the two new species, E. shiquicus and E. felidis, or the most recent debate on E. canadensis, it would be perfect.This book with six chapters is an updated overview on the highly pathogenic parasites in the genus Echinococcus\u201d and \u201cPhylogenetic Pattern, Evolutionary Processes and Species Delimitation in the Genus Echinococcus\u201d, respectively. Although they recently stressed that E. canadensis should be divided into three species, i.e. E. intermedius, E. borealis and E. canadensis , ChapteE. granulosus (s.l.) through endogenous budding, and the reverse topology of laminated layer in mother vs daughter cyst is resolved. But the laminated layer might be differentiated from undifferentiated stem cells in the germinal layer in the mother cyst.From Chapters 1\u20134, I still have no clear idea on the mechanism as to how the laminated layer emerges in daughter cysts in Echinococcus Species\u201d is informative with excellent figures showing the life-cycle of each species.Chapter 5 by Romig et al. on \u201cEcology and Life Cycle Patterns of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus (s.l.) and highly informative in general. It clearly indicates the historical evidence for the distribution of different genotypes of E. multilocularis and different species of E. granulosus (s.l.) on a global scale. It is easy to understand that Echinococcus parasites have been traveling the world. It is the time for field and laboratory parasitologists to join together using molecular tools.Chapter 6 by Deplazes et al. on \u201cGlobal Distribution of Alveolar and Cystic Echinococcosis\u201d is focused on the distribution of It is easy to believe that the living environment of humans is becoming more complicated than we expected before reading this book. Is it possible for us to eradicate echinococcosis? Or should we be patient to live together with those pathogens, but challenge for sustainable education and practice for prevention of echinococcosis? If an innovative metacestocidal drug is developed, its benefit would be enormous!I dedicate this book review to the late Professor the Lord EJL Soulsby who passed away on 12 May 2017."}
+{"text": "Passiflora from samples containing glands in the petiole and foliar blade fixed in 50% solution of formaldehyde-ethanol-acetic acid and stored in a 70% ethanol solution. For anatomical analyses, part of the material was embedded in Paraplast, longitudinally sectioned and double stained with safranin and astra blue. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was also carried out. To analyze the presence of sugars in the secretion of foliar glands, a glucose strip test was used. Based on the results of morphological, anatomical and glucose strip tests, the foliar secretory glands in Passiflora can be grouped into two categories: Type I glands, defined as nectaries, can be elevated or flattened, and can have a sugar content high enough to be detected by the glucose strip test analysis. Type II glands are elevated and did not show a positive reaction to the glucose strip test. From an anatomical viewpoint, glands characterized as extrafloral nectaries show a multistratified secretory epidermis, typically followed by two flat layers of nectariferous parenchyma with dense content. Internal to these layers, vascular bundles are immersed in the subsecretory parenchyma and terminate in phloem cells. On the other hand, type II glands show a single layer of elongated secretory epidermal cells. Internal to this single layer, parenchyma and vascular tissue with both phloem and xylem elements can be observed. The analyzed species show a wide diversity of gland shape and distribution, and the combined analysis of morphology, anatomy and preliminary tests for the presence of glucose in the exudate in different Passiflora subgenera suggests the occurrence of two categories of glands: nectaries and resin glands.Extrafloral glands in Passifloraceae species have aroused the interest of many researchers because of their wide morphological diversity. The present work analyzed the foliar glands on 34 species of  Passiflora L. is the most representative genus in the Passifloraceae s.s. family, comprising more than 500 species [Astrophea (DC.) Mast., Deidamioides (Harms) Killip, Decaloba (DC.) Rchb., Passiflora [Tetrapathea (DC) P.S. Green, the latter restricted to Oceania [Admired for the beautiful flowers and their edible fruits, the Passifloraceae Juss. Ex. Rouseel family is the object of study in different areas.  species \u20134. Accorssiflora , and Tet Oceania .Passiflora [The occurrence of extrafloral nectaries (EFN) in Passifloraceae species is very common, and their presence, as well as their shape, has been widely used as a diagnostic characteristic for species or species groups within the genus ssiflora \u201310. EFN ssiflora .Nectaries are specialized structures that secrete a sugary substance known as nectar , 12, whiPassiflora species. They can appear as scars or protrusions, and they can also resemble small barrels, trumpets or spoons [The petiolar EFN are one of the main characteristics used to identify r spoons . Laminarr spoons .Passiflora and Adenia Forssk. species can also have glandular spots at the abaxial surface, which have an external appearance of rounded brown spots. When observed in cross-section, the glandular spots show many layers of elongated epidermal cells at the glandular region, which are followed by tissue with several crystal formations. The author also suggests that the petiolar glands, which are frequently observed in Passiflora, are modifications of these glandular spots.According to Solereder , the leaPassiflora species. In this study, the author points out that petiolar nectaries show a variety of sizes and morphologies, usually distinguishable by the organ in which they are found. Thus, they fit the classification of elevated nectaries proposed by Zimmermann [In an extensive work about the species of Passifloraceae in the American continent, Killip  describemmermann . On the mmermann  classifimmermann .Passiflora, these nectaries could be described as vascularized, according to Elias [Passiflora is quite similar to that of species already reported. Therefore, considering that various authors have used different nomenclature, three different and specialized regions are usually recognized in these types of nectaries: secretory epidermis, where the nectar is liberated to the exterior and where stomata and trichomes may be either present or absent; secretory parenchyma that produces or stores the nectar, and is composed of layers of small cells with a dense content, located immediately under the epidermis; and subsecretory parenchyma, which has large and fewer juxtaposed cells [Based on EFN studies already carried out in to Elias . From aned cells , 18, 19.Dysosmia DC. section [Passiflora, that shows a characteristic absence of petiolar glands, being replaced with \u201cgland-tipped hairs\u201d [Passiflora foetida L., Roth [et al. [Passiflora foetida shows a variability in its gland morphology and physiology that can be regarded as a transition from a true EFN to lipophilic secretory glands, thus naming them as resin glands.Besides the presence of nectaries, the occurrence of a glandular type referred to as \u201cgland-tipped hairs\u201d, \u201csticky glands\u201d and \u201csticky hairs\u201d are also reported , 5, 8. T section , from sud hairs\u201d , 8. StudL., Roth  describe [et al.  were notPassiflora has not been conducted. To better understand the diversity of secretory glands, the current study was aimed at comparative morphological and anatomical analyses associated with the presence of glucose in the exudate, as determined by the glucose strip test. We described two categories of secretory glands and discuss the use of terms regarding the different shapes.Detailed investigation to elucidate the morphological and anatomical structures of foliar glands in Astrophea (DC.) Mast. (1 species), Deidamioides (Harms) Killip (2 species), Decaloba (DC.) Rchb. (5 species) and Passiflora (26 species) , from a greenhouse cultivation at the State University of Santa Cruz , and from the greenhouse of a private collector. One species was obtained from its natural environment (Thirty-four species were selected from the subgenera species) , and speironment . The vouironment .et al. [In order to structurally characterize the glands, samples were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the shape definition was based on the descriptions for solid shapes by Radford et al.  and the et al. . Sampleset al. , dehydraet al. . The anaFor the anatomical analysis, samples of petiolar and laminar glands were fixed in FAA 50 for 24 hours  and embePassiflora sublanceolata (Killip) MacDougal cultivated in a Passiflora active germplasm bank at UESC (BAG-Passifloras).In order to analyze the presence of sugars in the secretion of foliar glands, the glucose strip test was used (Inlab Diagn\u00f3stica\u2013Alamar Tecno Cient\u00edfica Ltda.) for the species cultivated at the Institute of Biosciences, University of S\u00e3o Paulo. The same method was used for the species Passiflora, glands were found in the petioles (petiolar glands) in pairs or dispersed over the petiole at the margin of the leaf blade , on the abaxial face of the leaf blade and/or dispersed on both sides of the foliar blade (laminar glands). In the same species, glands could be seen in more than one region, and the most common combination observed was the presence of petiolar and marginal glands on the same leaf  and P. racemosa.The secretory parenchyma does not show druses or vascular endings in most species. Nevertheless, vascular endings formed only by phloem occur in inner layers of the secretory parenchyma in osa Figs  and 7B. P. watsoniana is particularly short. Extension of the subsecretory parenchyma in petiolar glands is particularly notable in P. ligularis (The innermost region of the glands is formed by non-secreting parenchyma (subsecretory), vascular bundles and idioblasts with druses Figs  and 8. Tigularis . In glanigularis .P. gardneri vascular endings are composed of both phloem and xylem cells  petiolar nectaries, when present, and leaf blades with nectaries in the shape of spots. Passiflora has two to six petiolar nectaries (rarely absent or more than six), and in the foliar blades nectaries may be either absent or present  [Tetrapathea has petiolar nectaries, up to two per petiole when present, in ovoid, sub-sessile or crateriform shapes. When present, it has up to eight laminar nectaries that are ovoid and, in some cases, inserted in pairs between the median and primary veins at the base of the leaf blade, or even dispersed along the major veins [al ones) , 2. Tetror veins .Passiflora, many species displaying both petiolar and laminar glands in the same specimen. As mentioned in the description of the subgenus, the laminar glands observed in the present study were marginal, with the exception of the glands of the abaxial surface of leaf blade of P. coccinea. Still, Silva et al. [Passiflora, P. glandulosa Cav. In the subgenus Decaloba, the analyzed species have only one type of gland, either petiolar or dorso-laminar, except for P. ferruginea, which has petiolar glands and ocellus glands on abaxial surface of leaf blade. Among the species belonging to the subgenus Deidamioides, P. deidamioides show features in common with those described for the group, with two petiolar nectaries, in this case, nectaries are also present in the petiolule. However, for P. contracta, besides the petiolar nectaries, nectaries in the abaxial surface of leaf blade are also present. Unlike the description for the group, P. haematostigma, from the subgenus Astrophea, has nectaries on the foliar blade in addition to petiolar nectaries.Among the analyzed species, we found considerable morphological diversity in the glands of the subgenus a et al.  reportedPassiflora, we can denominate such pattern I glands as elevated nectaries (\"Hochnektarien\") according to the classification of Zimmermann [Passiflora species, other authors, such as Durkee [et al. [Piriqueta and Turnera (genera currently within Passifloraceae) Gonzales & Ocantos [Among species that show glands defined as EFN and verified through chemical tests for the presence of total carbohydrates , 28\u201330, mmermann . In descs Durkee  and Silv Ocantos  classifiPassiflora contracta, P. ferruginea, P. misera and P. organensis, two of which have glands exclusively on the abaxial surface of the leaf blade (P. misera and P. organensis), while the other two have petiolar glands that fall under morphological pattern I. The marginal glands included in this morphological type are present in only two of the analyzed species, P. galbana and P. odontophylla. Since this morphological pattern is also representative among the EFN of Passiflora, we classified these glands as flattened nectaries (\"Flachnektarien\") according to Zimmermann [et al. [Piriquetta Aubl. and Turnera L.  present on abaxial surface of leaf blade and some marginal glands among the flattened nectaries.In pattern II, the glands that occur on abaxial surface and margin of leaf blade have a circular shape forming an ocellus, and the projection in relation to the leaf tissue is not evident to the naked eye. In this group, we mention mmermann . Durkee mmermann  mentionemmermann  to Zimmemmermann  classifi [et al.  classifi [et al.  classifi [et al.  also plaThe nomenclature of the different glandular shapes varies among authors. The description of the glands for some species is often mentioned only as sessile or stipitate, or as concave or convex , 28, 30.et al. [Passiflora species. When analyzing EFN in several species of Piriquetta and Turnera , Gonzales & Ocantos [Passiflora.In this work, we are using nomenclature for gland shape based on the solid form descriptions found in Radford et al.  and Harret al. . This ap Ocantos  divide tPassiflora species [Anatomically, the EFN show small variations of the same pattern among the various studied species. All extrafloral glands framed as nectaries are vascularized nectaries according to the definition of Elias . Anatomi species \u201330, 32,  species  named thPassiflora species, the secretory parenchyma contains isodiametric cells that are larger than those of the epidermis, usually more vacuolated with a dense cytoplasm and abundant calcium oxalate crystals [et al. [In crystals , 18, 28. [et al.  report t [et al.  verifiedPassiflora and Malesherbia (currently Passifloraceae). In the genus Passiflora the author reported that these \"trichomes\" are restricted to some species like Passiflora clathrata Mast., P. foetida, P. lepidota Mast. and P. villosa. Solereder [In addition to the presence of EFN, as described by several authors in Passiforaceae, Solereder  reportedolereder  also repDysosmia (DC.) Killip and Dysosmioides Killip (subgenus Passiflora) have a petiole without a \"true gland\", although they often have gland-tipped hairs. On the other hand, in an extensive work on EFN in Passifloraceae, Cusset [P. foetida as glandular pseudo-hairs (\"pseudo-poils glanduleux\"). When assessing glandular development in this same species, Roth [Killip  highligh, Cusset , named tes, Roth  concludePassiflora foetida cytologically and chemically, Durkee et al. [in situ. The authors conclude that the glands present in P. foetida may represent a transition from true EFN to lipid-secreting glands, subsequently denominating them as resin glands.When analyzing e et al.  treated et al. [The glands described in the present work as type II are small and elongated, with a cylindrical stipe, which can, after only a cursory analysis, be confused with trichomes, having an anatomical structure similar to that of glands described by Roth  and Durket al. . This glet al. , 34, 35.et al.  has showPassiflora foetida already described as having resin glands, P. arida, P. sublanceolata and P. villosa studied in the present work have secretory glands with very similar morphological and anatomical characteristics. Also, they did not show a positive reaction to the glucose strip test, suggesting that they are structurally similar to the resin gland in Passiflora foetida.Apart from Dysosmia DC. is characterized by the presence of gland-tipped hairs, and P. foetida is coated by small sticky glands and sticky hairs [Dysosmia species may be related to the presence of resin glands, a probable evolutionary novelty. However, this hypothesis needs to be verified in a phylogenetic context. A similar situation was reported by Concei\u00e7\u00e3o et al. [Chamaecrista (Leguminosae). In the Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae) tribe, Nogueira et al. [The section ky hairs , 8. The o et al. , who vera et al.  verifiedPassiflora. The combined morphological and anatomical analyses, together with preliminary tests for the presence of glucose in the exudate of different Passiflora subgenera, suggests the occurrence of two categories of glands, resin glands and nectaries, the last one with a wide morphological diversity. The next challenges will involve determining the nectary histochemistry and ultrastructure, as well as the chemical nature of the exudate. Once the hypothesis of resin glands has been corroborated only in species of the Dysosmia section, we can think of a new interpretation of the evolution of the secretory glands in the group.In summary, this work reflects the initial stage of a much more extensive study of extrafloral secretory glands in S1 FigA-C Petiolar glands in P. actinia, P. ambigua and P. coccinea, respectively. D Gland of P. coccinea on abaxial surface of leaf blade. E-F Glands of P. contracta on petiole (E) and on abaxial surface of leaf blade (F). G-H Glands of P. deidamioides on petiole (G) and petiolule (H). I-J Glands of P. edmundoi on petiole (I) and at the margin of leaf blade (J). K-L Glands of P. eichleriana on petiole (K) and at the margin of leaf blade (L).(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S2 FigA-B Glands of P. elegans on petiole (A) and at the margin of leaf blade (B). C-D. Glands of P. ferruginea on petiole (C) and on abaxial surface of leaf blade (D). E-F. Glands of P. galbana on petiole (E) and at the margin of leaf blade (F). G. Gland of P. gardneri at the margin of leaf blade. H-I. Glands of P. haematostigma on petiole (H) and at the margin of leaf blade (I). J-K. Glands of P. incarnata on petiole (J) and at the margin of leaf blade (K). L. Gland of P. kermesina on petiole.(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S3 FigA. Gland of P. kermesina at the margin of leaf blade. B-D. Petiolar gland of P. laurifolia, P. maliformis and P. ligularis, respectively. E-F Glands of P. miersii at the margin of leaf blade (E) and petiole (F). G. Gland of P. misera on the abaxial surface of leaf blade. H. Petiolar gland of P. morifolia. I-J Glands of P. odontophylla on petiole (I) and at the margin of leaf blade (J).(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S4 FigA. Gland of P. organensis on abaxial surface of leaf blade. B. Petiolar gland of P. racemosa. C-D. Glands of P. serratodigitata on petiole (C) and at the margin of leaf blade (D). E. Petiolar gland of P. setacea. F-G. Glands of P. sidifolia on petiole (F) and at the margin of leaf blade (G). H. Petiolar gland of P. suberosa. I-J. Glands of P. subrotunda on petiole (I) and at the margin of leaf blade. K Gland of P. umblicata at the margin of leaf blade. L. Petiolar gland of P. watsoniana.(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(DOCX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "This report reviews the European, National, and Regional catalogues of protected species, focusing specifically on the Orchidaceae family to determine which species seem to be well-protected and where they are protected. Moreover, this examination highlights which species appear to be underprotected and therefore need to be included in some catalogues of protection or be catalogued under some category of protection. The national and regional catalogues that should be implemented are shown, as well as what species should be included within them. This report should be a helpful guideline for environmental policies about orchid's conservation in Spain, at least at the regional and national level. Around 76% of the Spanish orchid flora are listed with any figure of protection or included in any red list, either nationally (about 12\u201317%) or regionally (72%). The family Orchidaceae is widely represented in Europe, with 35 known genera, of which 25 are present in the Iberian Peninsula\u201426 including the Canary Islands\u2014where the representation of this family is one of the most extensive ones, at least on an extratropical, equivalent level or only slightly lower than in other countries of the Mediterranean region. Taxonomic and floristic studies of this family in the Iberian Peninsula have been increasing slowly, though in a fragmented way over time. The first published quotes regarding the Orchidaceae family date back to 1861 , but it  Serapias , wh, wh86],  Corallorhiza trifida Ch\u00e2tel., Epipogium aphyllum Sw., O. robusta, and Orchis spitzelii Saut. ex. W. D. J. Koch , according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora: J. Koch  86].. CoralloC. trifida. In the 2000 Red List of Threatened Vascular Flora of Spain, this species was listed as Endangered (EN), having gone to be classified as Critically Endangered (CR) in the 2008 Red List of Threatened Vascular Flora of Spain . H.. H.H. mence 2004  and it ince 2004 , 82 and nce 2004 ; therefo D. cantabrica, Epipactis phyllanthes G.E. Sm., O. canariensis, Serapias nurrica Corrias and S. occidentalis.The vulnerable orchid species include D. cantabrica, O. canariensis and S. occidentalis. The fourth one is O. robusta (CR), which was discussed above.There are sixteen species included in the Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora  86], an, an86], O. robusta, D. cantabrica, and S. occidentalis\u2014most likely are in the Red List and no other catalogue because they have recently been described as separate species . If. IfD. caIn Tables 2 D. sulphurea. In addition, Gennaria diphylla (Link) Parl. and Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br. in W. T. Aiton, both listed as VU in the Red List of Andalusia, should be included as well in the RC of Andalusia [The Red List of Andalusia . Andalusndalusia . C. trifida and C. calceolus    [86].In the case of Asturias  Table 5Table 5,  S. nurrica is notable, as it is also included in the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora (VU)    86]. Th. Th S. nred (CR)  [86]. D. sulphurea and N. gabasiana are listed as CR, and the other species listed as Rare in the RC of the Basque Country  are catalogued in the Red List of the Basque Country as VU, as well as Orchis italic Por in Lam., which is still listed as VU. The seventh species, Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) Spreng., is catalogued as Special Interest in the RC of the Basque Country whereas in the Red List of the Basque Country it is catalogued as Near Threatened. The Red List of the Basque Country adds to these seven species five more: E. phyllanthes, which is listed as CR in the Basque Country and as VU at the national level according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora ( Barlia robertiana (R. J. Loisel) Greuter and Orchis cazorlensis Lacaita, both listed as CR; Ophrys aveyronensis (J. J. Wood) P. Delforge in P. Delforge & D. Tyteca as VU; and Orchis papilionacea L., which is classified as DD ; Ba; Ba D. sed as DD . It woul H. metlesicsianum (included as B. metlesicsiana. in the category Extinction Danger) .. H. metl Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz; however, it seems clear that E. phyllanthes should be included as well, as it is included in the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora as a vulnerable species (VU) (The RC of Cantabria  Table 1 includes G. odoratissima (DD), D. sulphurea (LC), and N. gabasiana (LC) ( O. spitzelii is not included and perhaps it should be due to the few populations of this species in this region [ana (LC)  86]; ho; ho G. os region ; this sp C. trifida, E. aphyllum, and O. spitzelii) or Endangered  at the national level, all of them catalogued as in Danger of Extinction according to the RC of Catalonia; only G. odoratissima (DD) is not threatened according to the Spanish Red List, classified as Vulnerable according to the RC of Catalonia. Therefore, and considering that it is one of the most recent catalogues, the regional catalogue of Catalonia seems to be very up to date. It should be noted that it is the only regional catalogue to include O. spitzelii, an endangered species according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora  (ora (LC)  86]. Th. Th D. iD. insularis and S. perez-chiscanoi; in the case of the latter, catalogued for Extremadura as Endangered and however listed nationally as Near Threatened (NT) according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora . It should be listed as VU according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora , it should at least include D. cantabrica, catalogued nationally as VU according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora  according to the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora  Rich and Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich. The list of possible species to be included is long, with very specific or apparently extinct species in this autonomous community, as evidenced by recent studies .. Orchis After conducting a joint analysis of the different regional catalogues, the following observations can be made. Orchis, with 28 inclusions of different species in the regional catalogues, which precisely shows the greater number of species at the national level (21 species) (R2 = 0.79) (species)  76]. In. In Orch = 0.79) . Neottia, single grazing (Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich), and Spiranthes, with two species , which are included in six and nine regional catalogues, respectively.At the opposite end, there are the genera Neottia and Spiranthes, as they are only represented by one and two species, respectively.In a complementary manner, in  Orchis, which remains standing with 16 species included in various regional catalogues, the other genera are represented through six to nine species in the different regional catalogues. This drop in the number of species is because several species are repeated in several catalogues, but there are really not so many different species, especially in the case of Orchis and Epipactis, featuring 28 and 15 appointments in different regional catalogues . Likewise, if the number of times that a genus is included in any regional catalogue is correlated with the number of species of that genus included in regional catalogues, the correlation is quite high , as expected.For talogues  correspotalogues . The cor S. aestivalis and N. nidus-avis, found in seven and six regional catalogues, respectively. None of the six most cited species in regional catalogues (four to seven cites) are included in the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora [ S. aestivalis is included in the CNEA [Similarly, ar Flora , which ithe CNEA .R2 = 0.1; figure not shown); nevertheless, it is quite obvious for some regional catalogues that seem obsolete, as in the cases of Madrid [ E. aphyllum in Arag\u00f3n, La Rioja, and Navarre, or multiple species that appear necessary to include in the catalogue of Madrid according to De la Torre & Gamarra [As evident in f Madrid , Asturiaf Madrid , Navarref Madrid , La Riojf Madrid , and Basf Madrid , with an Gamarra , which i Gamarra , the Can Gamarra , Cantabr Gamarra , and Gal Gamarra .R2 = 0.38; figure not shown), amounting to R2 = 0.57 if the curious case of Andalusia mentioned above is not taken into account (figure not shown). Although this regional catalogue dates from 2012, it is suggested to include at least four more species based on the Red List of the Vascular Flora of Andalusia [However, if the correlation is made between the antiquity of the catalogue and the number of species suggested to include, in this case, an acceptable correlation is obtained  and the mountainous regions of the Centre-North  or South , where on average there are more than 16 genera of orchids, as opposed to other regions with a low diversity of orchids  . C. calceolus, which is the species that is best protected at a legal level, and S. aestivalis.There are no orchid species whose distribution area includes Spain that are included in the Berne Convention , and theOut of the 96 species of the Spanish orchid flora considered in this review, up to 73 species are included in any catalogue of protection; 16 are in the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora (five of them not endangered) , and 69  H. metlesicsianum (Endangered) [ C. calceolus (Endangered) [ O. provincialis and S. aestivalis  [ C. calceolus (EN) and H. metlesicsianum (EN), which are already included [The National Catalogue of Threatened Species (CNEA) lists a total of four species:angered) , 82, C. angered) , 82, andincluded  , E. aphyllum (CR), O. spitzelii (CR), C. calceolus (EN), and G. odoratissima (DD).It is remarkable that the RC of Catalonia  is the oThe other fourteen regional catalogues would need to be modified to a greater or lesser extent, highlighting the RC of Madrid , which i E. aphyllum (CR) and perhaps O. spitzelii (CR) (its presence not confirmed); the RC of the Balearic Islands [ O. robusta (CR), a species endemic to this autonomous community; the RC of the Canary Islands [ O. canariensis (VU), a species endemic to this autonomous community; the RC of Extremadura [ S. occidentalis (VU), which is endemic to Extremadura; the RC of Galicia [ D. cantabrica, endemic to this autonomous community.Several regional catalogues should also be highlighted for their remarkable absences: The RC of Arag\u00f3n  should b Islands  should b Islands  should iremadura  should i Galicia  should iOrchis spitzelli (CR): this species should be included in the regional catalogue of Castilla y Le\u00f3n.\u2009Epipogium aphyllum (CR): this species should be incorporated into three regional catalogues: Arag\u00f3n, La Rioja, and Navarre.\u2009Epipactis phyllanthes (VU): this species should be included in two regional catalogues: Cantabria and Basque Country.\u2009The main species that are listed in the 2010 Red List of Spanish Vascular Flora  and that"}
+{"text": "To the Editor: The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) surrounds the center of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Preliminary study shows predominance of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the CEZ; ticks of other species, such as Ixodes ricinus, are surprisingly rare, even in habitats where they should be relatively common  in these ticks is higher in the CEZ than in other regions  by use of PCR with RpCS.409d and RpCS.1258n primers (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/download.shtml). All obtained sequences were submitted to GenBank (accession nos. KX056493 and KX056494).DNA was extracted by use of the ammonium hydroxide method (Rickettsia spp. was detected in 72.64% of ticks (R. raoultii isolated from D. marginatus ticks from China (GenBank accession nos. KU171018.1 and KT261764.1) and D. reticulatus ticks from Poland (KT277489) and Hungary (LC060714.1). In the CEZ, the predominant tick species is D. reticulatus; no D. marginatus ticks have been found in the CEZ (R. raoultii vector is D. reticulatus ticks. Infection with of ticks . A higheR. raoultii infection among D. reticulatus ticks (68.42%\u201374.07%) is significantly higher in the CEZ than in other regions. A previous study found prevalence of A. phagocytophilum infection in the CEZ to be high, mainly associated with Ixodes ticks (D. reticulatus ticks. The prevalence of Babesia canis infection, also vectored by this tick, was within the usual range (D. reticulatus ticks in the CEZ than in other region is not known and needs more study. The prevalence of these pathogens among mammals that inhabit the CEZ is also not known; the influence of radiation on pathogen level has not been studied. The nucleotide sequences of R. raoultii detected in ticks in the CEZ are identical to sequences originating from other regions and deposited in GenBank; the sequences of A. phagocytophilum and B. canis from the CEZ were also similar to those described elsewhere (R. raoultii infection prevalence is radiation, then radiation also influences the ticks\u2014some morphologic abnormalities have been noted on D. reticulatus ticks collected from the CEZ (The prevalence of R. raoultii in D. reticulatus ticks in the CEZ. The structure of zoonotic foci in the CEZ seems to differ from that in other regions. Confirmation of this hypothesis needs follow-up study of tickborne pathogens in wild mammals that might serve as a source of infection for ticks in the CEZ. This study confirms presence of"}
+{"text": "Psittacosaurus sp. from the Chinese Jehol biota [Psittacosaurus was countershaded [Psittacosaurus sp. inhabited a closed habitat such as a forest with a relatively dense canopy.Countershading was one of the first proposed mechanisms of camouflage , 2. A daol biota , 17. Thiershaded  with a l  \u2022Psittacosaurus suggest countershading camouflagePreserved pigments in the dinosaur \u2022We predicted the optimal countershading camouflage for different light environments\u2022The dinosaur\u2019s patterns would have been cryptic in a forest, but not open, habitat\u2022We can also infer that dinosaur predators used shape-from-shading cues to detect prey Psittacosaurus was countershaded and cryptic in a forested environment.Countershading camouflage uses a dark-to-light gradient from back to belly to counter the light-to-dark gradient created by illumination. The body appears flatter and less conspicuous. Vinther et\u00a0al. use 3D reconstruction and radiance modeling to show that the dinosaur  The past years have witnessed an increased interest in the coloration of fossil animals. Studies of fossil melanosomes in particular have allowed reconstruction of the plumage patterns of theropod dinosaurs , 13, 15 Psittacosaurus sp. (SMF R 4970), from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with tail filaments and extremely well preserved skin preservation as a compressed film outlining the body, superimposed on the skeleton [Here we study a ceratopsian ornithischian, skeleton   imaging . The colDistinct scales are present on the specimen  and\u00a0S4. Internal organs, such as the liver, may also contain melanin , 25. We There is a clear difference in pigmentation between the ventral surface on the lower belly and tail relative to the dorsum, which is more heavily pigmented . The traThe distribution of the pigmentation patterns in SMF R 4970 suggests color patterns congruent with camouflage through background matching and countershading, in addition to some putative disruptive coloration on the legs, coupled with strong facial pigmentation suggestive of a\u00a0signaling function and some protective/strengthening melanization.Psittacosaurus SMF R 4970, carefully considering the volume and thickness of the body based on myoanatomical reconstructions and the preserved body outline (see the In order to interpret and further test the function of the observed color patterns, we produced a life-size model of\u00a0 see the . We prod see the  and S2.  see the  and S17.The animal\u2019s reconstructed patterns more closely match the predicted optimal countershading for diffuse illumination, as would be experienced in a \u201cclosed\u201d light environment such as under a forest canopy . The graPsittacosaurus. It is, of course, possible that there was variation in color across the species\u2019 range, and we would predict that this would mirror differences in the light environment.By comparing the observed distribution to that predicted for obliterating shape-from-shading cues under diffuse illumination, we infer that this small ceratopsian lived in a closed light environment such as under a forest canopy. Paleobotanical studies indicate that the lakes of the Jehol biota were surrounded by predominantly coniferous forest, with only a minor contribution from deciduous plants , 34, 35.Bristles on the tail  would haIt has been shown that countershading also correlates with positional behavior, as is observed in many species of caterpillar that live upside down and exhibit reverse countershading , 46. In More speculatively, we suggest that the predators of this species most likely used shape-from-shading cues in detecting prey, given that optimized countershading obliterates this information . The likPsittacosaurus sp. held at the Senckenberg Museum, SMF R 4970, was studied in the public exhibit (see the The well-preserved specimen of  see the . Small s see the .The preserved skeleton was measured and used to produce a 1:1 anatomical model of SMF R 4970. Cranial details were obtained from a 3D printed skull of a different specimen. Volume was added to the skeleton based on knowledge of major muscle groups and the preservation of integument outlines of the specimen. Decay has not lead to distortion of the integument relative to the skeleton, which suggests rapid burial after deposition and little prior rot to the animal before it sank to the bottom of the lake. Exposed scale patterns were projected onto the model and extrapolated between unexposed regions. Exposed color patterns were similarly carefully projected onto the model and extrapolated across unexposed parts based on similar patterns, assuming bilateral symmetry between left and right patterns as confirmed in certain parts (for more information, see the In order to predict the environment in which the observed countershading was optimal, we took a model, painted uniformly gray, and photographed it under different lighting conditions; we chose a sunny and a cloudy day and photographed the specimen in an open and a closed habitat. The model was cropped and the image inverted in order to produce the optimal countershading patterns under each circumstance in order to compare with the observed patterns in the fossil (for more information, see the J.V. conceived the study. J.V., R.N., M.P., T.G.K., and G.M. studied the color patterns and taphonomy. R.N. modeled and painted the dinosaur. S.L. provided additional 3D models and figures. E.R. and S.L. supervised the anatomical modeling. I.C.C. and J.V. did the calibrated photography. S.L. did the 3D photogrammetry. T.G.K. and M.P. performed the LSF imaging. I.C.C. did the visual modeling. J.V. and I.C.C. wrote the paper with comments from all authors."}
+{"text": "G. pentaphyllum (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), a creeping herbaceous perennial with many important medicinal properties, is widely distributed in Asia. Gypenosides (triterpenoid saponins), the main effective components of G. pentaphyllum, are well studied. FPS (farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase), SS , and SE  are the main enzymes involved in the synthesis of triterpenoid saponins. Considering the important medicinal functions of G. pentaphyllum, it is necessary to investigate the transcriptomic information of G. pentaphyllum to facilitate future studies of transcriptional regulation. After sequencing G. pentaphyllum, we obtained 50,654,708 unigenes. Next, we used RPKM (reads per kilobases per million reads) to calculate expression of the unigenes and we performed comparison of our data to that contained in five common databases to annotate different aspects of the unigenes. Finally, we noticed that FPS, SS, and SE showed differential expression of enzymes in DESeq. Leaves showed the highest expression of FPS, SS, and SE relative to the other two tissues. Our research provides transcriptomic information of G. pentaphyllum in its natural environment and we found consistency in unigene expression, enzymes expression , and the distribution of gypenosides content in G. pentaphyllum. Our results will enable future related studies of G. pentaphyllum. Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino is a kind of creeping herbaceous perennial that is distributed in Asia. Gynostemma pentaphyllum (G. pentaphyllum) grows in many places of China, including Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hubei, Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, and Shanxi and in Taiwan. G. pentaphyllum also grows in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Malaysia  .\u201316.14\u201316mations) . G. pentaphyllum have various and vital applications in medicine and health [ G. pentaphyllum [ G. pentaphyllum relative to Panax ginseng (P. ginseng). It was interesting that G. pentaphyllum has such diversity in triterpenoids compared to other plants [ G. pentaphyllum related to the synthesis pathway of triterpenoids. However, this article had two important limitations. First, the samples used for sequencing only included two tissues (leaves and roots) and G. pentaphyllum that was sampled and sequenced was planted in water and not in its natural environment [ G. pentaphyllum exhibits great phenotypic diversity in different environments because of its strong adaptability [ G. pentaphyllum was determined. In 2015, Zhao et al. identified EST-SSR makers by analyzing the sequencing data of two species of Gynostemma (Cucurbitaceae) [ G. pentaphyllum were mixed up together to extract RNA for constructing cDNA to sequence. In other words, the sequencing data and related information in that article were a mixed result and these results could not be classified by tissues. Therefore, to address this deficiency of knowledge, we collected G. pentaphyllum in natural environment and sequenced its transcriptome separately by Illumina's NextSeq 500.Like the ginsenosides, gypenosides (triterpenoids) ind health . Howeveraphyllum \u201328. In or plants . This isr plants \u201337, becar plants \u201339. In 2ironment . This istability , 40\u201344. itaceae) . In thatG. pentaphyllum used for sequencing was planted in the Medicinal Plant Garden of Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning City, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China. In July 2015, we harvested G. pentaphyllum after identification by Mr. Yilin Zhu . Fibrous roots, leaves, and stems were separately collected and cleaned and removed of impurities like soil  . Finally, the samples were saved in cryotubes and submerged in liquid nitrogen immediately. G. pentaphyllum was sent to Personalbio Company  for transcriptome sequencing using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology based on the sequencing platform of Illumina's NextSeq 500. First, the mRNA was cleaved into little segments after treatment with chemical reagents and high temperature. Next, the segments were used to construct a cDNA library that was sequenced by paired end (PE) reads.The plant tissue sample ofTrinity  professional software was used to assemble the RNA sequence . First,  G. pentaphyllum and the calculation method of RPKM is described below [p value < 0.05). The final result was displayed by Venn diagram.RPKM (reads per kilobases per million reads) was used to calculated unigene expression ofed below . Before ed below . The RPKed below . The expAfter categorization, unigenes were annotated for functions using five databases: NCBI nonredundant protein (NR) sequences, Gene Ontology (GO) , 51, Kyo30H52O3) as a standard sample to calculate the actual content of gypenosides in samples by the standard curve method.First, dried powder of the sample (about 15\u2009mg) was mixed with 10\u2009mL of extraction solvent (ethanol containing 5.0% pure water) and was processed by a continued supersonic treatment for 30 minutes. Second, the mixed solvent was evaporated to dryness using a rotary evaporator. The dry gypenosides were redissolved in 5.0\u2009mL hot water (50\u00b0C). Third, this solution was applied to a chromatography column containing D101 macroporous resin and allowed to stand for 20 minutes. Fourth, pure water was used to rinse unbound material from the macroporous resin, while extraction solvent (ethanol containing 50% pure water) was used to remove the gypenosides form column. Fifth, the solvent of gypenosides was brought up to 5.0\u2009mL and processed with a color reaction by vanillin. We then detected the absorbance of the solvent (after color reaction) by UV-Vis Spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 584\u2009nm. Finally, we used Panaxadiol  for all transcriptome sequences in the NR database. The transcriptome sequence with the highest score in BLAST was saved and the transcriptome sequences with same gi number were categorized as coming from the same unigene. Finally, we obtained 50,654,708 unigenes with a mean length of 755\u2009bp. The overview of sequences is presented in The mRNA ofWe used five databases, NR, GO, KEGG, eggNOG, and Swiss-Port, to annotate unigenes for functions . The overview of annotation is listed in \u03b2-AS (beta-amyrin synthase) in \u03b2-AS showed the highest expression in leaves and the lowest expression in fibrous roots. In the unigene expression of \u03b2-AS, the leaves showed almost 125 times higher expression than in the fibrous roots. The unigenes of FPS, SS, SE, and \u03b2-AS showed higher expression in the stems than in the fibrous roots. Based on this sequencing data, we detected the differential expression of unigenes using the software DESeq. We obtained the upregulated and downregulated unigenes in the pairwise comparison among the data from the fibrous roots, stems, and leaves  and unigenes with lower or higher expression were the minority of AUC . In the d leaves . We alsod leaves . Combini G. pentaphyllum. Leaves had the highest content (3.189%) of gypenosides of all samples (R2) of 0.996 in the standard curve indicates that our result was accurate and reliable .A UV-Vis Spectrophotometer was used to detect the content distribution of gypenosides in samples , and theBased on the KEGG Pathway, a more detailed result about the enzymes expression in the triterpenoids synthesis was obtained. We categorized related enzymes into three parts according to the synthesis pathway of the triterpenoids: (1) enzymes involved in the synthesis of IPP or DMAPP, (2) enzymes involved in the synthesis and cyclization of squalene, and (3) enzymes in the squalene functionalization reaction . We focuG. pentaphyllum is a creeping herbaceous perennial with medicinal properties used in traditional Chinese medicine. Triterpenoid saponins, the main effective components of G. pentaphyllum, have been widely studied [ studied , 23, 24. studied . We anal G. pentaphyllum. Since G. pentaphyllum has wide applications for health and medicine, it is essential to identify the secondary metabolites with various and vital medicinal functions.We found that the expressions of unigenes and enzymes were positively associated with the distribution of gypenosides content. Generally speaking, unigenes and enzyme expression  in the samples  determined to the distribution of gypenosides content. Higher expression of unigenes and enzymes (encoded by unigenes) caused the higher content of enzymes' production (gypenosides), and the lower expression of unigenes and enzymes caused less enzyme production. This consistent result could facilitate future studies of other secondary metabolites in G. pentaphyllum determined in our study showed high similarity to the transcriptome sequences related to bitterness in cucumber as reported previously [ G. pentaphyllum. The BLAST result was surprising, as all thirteen available sequences related to bitterness in that article showed a high degree of similarity to the specific unigene sequences of G. pentaphyllum. This high similarity predicted that genes related to the biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber may also be present in G. pentaphyllum. G. pentaphyllum also has two tastes (sweet and bitter) and this difference of taste may be caused as in cucumber. The taste of G. pentaphyllum from bitter to sweet predicts that G. pentaphyllum may change in response to domestication and contain a similar mutation. A further genetic exploration of the domestication of G. pentaphyllum may provide understanding of its changed taste.One interesting finding was the observed differences between general expression and individual expression of unigenes . A groupeviously . We down G. pentaphyllum using sequencing, we corrected the limitations of the previous study and enriched the analysis of triterpenoid synthesis of G. pentaphyllum. G. pentaphyllum used for analysis in our study was planted in a natural environment and three common kinds of plant tissues  were used to provide tissue samples for sequencing. Together with the sequencing, an exploration of the distribution of gypenosides content was performed to confirm the analysis of enzymes and unigenes. We found a positive association of unigene expression, enzyme expression, and the distribution of gypenosides. Our study will facilitate more genetic studies examining the regulation of transcription and the change of bitterness in G. pentaphyllum.Although this study was not the first report of the transcriptome information for G. pentaphyllum, we used RNA sequencing technology to sequence the transcriptome of G. pentaphyllum. We found a positive association of unigene expression, enzyme expression, and the distribution of gypenosides. Our results will enable future related studies of G. pentaphyllum.To provide more complete and high-quality transcriptional information of naturalG. pentaphyllum (Sample) 01. Description: This is the picture of intact G. pentaphyllum in our study.Figure S1. G. pentaphyllum in our study.Figure S2. G. pentaphyllum (Sample) 02. Description: This is the picture of intact G. pentaphyllum in our study.Figure S3. Leaves (Sample). Description: This is the picture of leaves sample of G. pentaphyllum in our study.Figure S4. Stems (Sample). Description: This is the picture of stems sample of G. pentaphyllum in our study.Figure S5. Fibrous Roots (Sample). Description: This is the picture of fibrous roots sample of Figure S6. The general result of annotation. Abbreviations: NR: Nonredundant protein sequences; GO: Gene Ontology; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome; eggNOG: Evolutionary genealogy of genes: Nonsupervised Orthologous Groups.Figure S7. The result of GO Slim. Abbreviation: GO Slim: Cut-down versions of the GO ontologies.Figure S8. The result of eggNOG annotation.Figure S9. The result of KEGG annotation.Figure S10. The standard curve of absorbance."}
+{"text": "To the Editor,th month of maintenance therapy due to new onset of non-flushing catheter. The patient had no other complaints. On posterior anterior chest X-ray, the catheter was found to be disconnected from its reservoir  are widely used in these patients for administration of chemotherapeutic agents, parenteral nutrition, fluids, and blood products ,2. Fracteservoir . Echocareservoir . The embeservoir . Our cas"}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori is the most abundant bacterium in the gastric epithelium, and its presence has been associated with the risk of developing gastric cancer. As of 15 years ago, no other bacteria were associated with gastric epithelial colonization; but thanks to new methodologies, many other non-H. pylori bacteria have been identified. It is possible that non-H. pylori may have a significant role in the development of gastric cancer. Here, we discuss the specific role of H. pylori as a potential trigger for events that may be conducive to gastric cancer, and consider whether or not the rest of the gastric microbiota represent an additional risk in the development of this disease. Helicobacter pylori was the first bacterium whose presence was associated with increased risk of developing any type of cancer, in this case gastric cancer [H. pylori was, and continues to be, responsible for one of the most prevalent infections in humans globally [H. pylori eventually developed gastric cancer [H. pylori infected more than half of the world\u2019s population [H. pylori prevalence that has been occurring in the last 100 years [H. pylori is at its peak [c cancer ,2. This globally . Howeverc cancer . H. pylopulation , but it pulation ,6. Furth00 years ,8. This its peak .H. pylori is responsible for a series of histopathological changes in the gastric mucosa that are recognized as major factors in the development of gastric cancer. This particular series of histopathological changes that lead to gastric cancer are collectively known as Correa\u2019s model [H. pylori, and almost 15 years before the recognition of this organism as a risk factor for gastric cancer [H. pylori findings, with the progression from a normal gastric mucosa prior to infection followed by chronic superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dyspepsia and finally gastric carcinoma [\u2019s model . Correa\u2019c cancer . Surprisarcinoma .H. pylori, many other organisms can be present, colonizing the stomach [H. pylori varies depending of the H. pylori status of the individual [H. pylori in the development of gastric cancer.Recent progress in the identification of bacteria that colonize different body sites of the human host since birth, collectively named microbiota, has provided detailed insights into the numerous organisms present in the gut and a variety of other body sites, including the oral cavity, skin, lungs, etc. . The hum stomach . The reldividual . As a reH. pylori. We also discuss which H. pylori traits contribute to increasing the risk of the development of gastric cancer and whether other members of the gastric microbiota possess similar capabilities.We discuss, in this review, the potential role of the human gastric microbiota in gastric carcinogenesis in the presence or absence of H. pylori infection and gastric cancer was derived from three independent epidemiological studies published in 1991. All three studies reported elevated odds ratios for the development of gastric cancer in subjects who had tested positive for H. pylori more than 2 decades before the diagnosis of gastric cancer, when compared with subjects without H. pylori infection [H. pylori as the most relevant risk factor in the development of gastric cancer [The first solid evidence of the association between nfection ,16,17. Tc cancer .H. pylori as a risk factor in gastric pathology was obtained from animal models, including piglets, dogs and monkeys. Their normal gastric mucosa was challenged with H. pylori, and the development of active and chronic superficial gastritis, and in some cases atrophic gastritis, was confirmed to be associated with H. pylori colonization, but not with gastric cancer [H. pylori inducing a progression from superficial gastritis to intestinal metaplasia  was with the use of the Mongolian gerbil model [H. pylori can lead to the development of gastric cancer [H. pylori challenges were associated with the development of gastric cancer [H. pylori and its role in gastric cancer.The second type of evidence that implicates c cancer . The firil model . Some yec cancer . More rec cancer . This moH. pylori in gastric carcinogenesis is the use of in vitro models. Most of these studies have been dedicated to investigating the role of the major virulence factors of H. pylori, including the cytotoxin-associated gene pathogenicity island (CagPAI). It was discovered that H. pylori strains expressing the CagPAI are more virulent, and are more frequently isolated from patients with severe clinical outcomes of the infection, including peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. The CagPAI is a major chromosomal insertion, encoding around 34 genes, that can be acquired by horizontal transfer [H. pylori [H. pylori CagA, vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), or any of its other components. Assessment of mutagenic activity of these factors using methods such as the Ames test is needed to confirm the role of CagA as a true oncogenic protein. The Ames test is a biological assay to assess mutagenic potential of individual compounds using bacteria to test its mutagenic activity. An in vivo experiment in a transgenic mouse model demonstrated that expression of CagA predominantly in the stomach was associated with epithelial hyperplasia, gastric polyps and adenocarcinoma. Systemic expression of CagA was associated with leukocytosis, leukemia and B cell lymphomas [H. pylori and its components have no direct mutagenic effects in gastric epithelial cells, how does H. pylori affect the gastric epithelium in order for it to be considered a major risk factor in gastric cancer development?Another approach to documenting the role of transfer . The demtransfer . As a re. pylori . It is iymphomas . It is iH. pylori occurs early in life, and is maintained for decades or perhaps for the whole life of the colonized individual. The presence of H. pylori induces a superficial chronic gastritis influencing the balance between the rate of cellular loss and regeneration [H. pylori maintains a constant production of a cascade of cytokines, which attracts neutrophils that generate oxidative radicals that have the potential to damage the host DNA. Infection with H. pylori has been associated with a reduction in cell replication, and increase in apoptosis, autophagy induction, and endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative/nitrosative stress [H. pylori, there is a greater chance of acquiring potentially malignant characteristics, which may explain the relevance of this infection as a major risk factor in the development of gastric cancer [H. pylori infection and the development of gastric cancer.To answer this question, we need to revisit the Correa model. Colonization with neration . The chre stress . These ic cancer . This chc cancer . The proH. pylori and the host. The original study of El-Omar et al. [H. pylori-associated gastric cancer. This study provides strong evidence for the influence of host genetic factors and the possibility that the immune necrotic state is relevant for the development of gastric cancer. In addition, these results indicate that an increased inflammatory response, particularly linked with an over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators in the Th1 pathway, increase the odds ratio of H. pylori-positive individuals developing gastric cancer [H. pylori strains expressing CagA and VacA, and simultaneously carrying cytokine polymorphisms associated with pro-inflammation. Here, the odds ratio for developing gastric cancer increases more than 40-fold [Pro-inflammation is a key player in the chronic interaction between r et al.  reportedc cancer . Several 40-fold .H. pylori, other bacteria also colonize the gastric mucosa [H. pylori microbiota in the process of gastric carcinogenesis? Particularly, what role do these microorganisms play once H. pylori has produced gastric atrophy and intestinal metaplasia, and is no longer capable of colonizing the affected gastric mucosa?With the improvement of sequencing technology, it has been demonstrated that in addition to c mucosa . An impoH. pylori infection [H. pylori sequences in biopsy samples of subjects who had been identified as H. pylori negative by most conventional methods [H. pylori by conventional methods, the sequence data demonstrated the relative abundances of Helicobacter to be <2.0%. The clinical relevance of these low-relative-abundance sequences of H. pylori remains unsolved. To assess the role of the gastric microbiota as a potential player in H. pylori-associated gastric cancer, and to determine the potential interactions between the gastric commensal bacteria and H. pylori, it is important to consider the relative abundance of these players, and what type of effect they could produce. In addition, we need to consider the presence of H. pylori and its impact on the gastric microbiota, as well as the selectivity that H. pylori has in colonizing the gastric epithelium, where any changes affecting the gastric mucosa may affect the ability of H. pylori to colonize the stomach.The recent development of methods for the analysis of 16S rRNA data has provided a clear picture of the bacterial communities present in the human host . Of partnfection . One int methods . These r methods . In the Another relevant point that needs to be considered is the occurrence of dysbiosis in the gastric community. Most currently available studies report changes in the gastric microbiota in patients with gastric cancer compared to those without . BecauseH. pylori in the stomach induces several histopathological changes in the gastric epithelium. In particular, the early pre-malignant changes involving the presence of intestinal metaplasia may precipitate the elimination of H. pylori from the human stomach  ,42, or cH. pylori gastric microbiota in the development of gastric cancer. However, in some regions of the world, despite the decline of H. pylori infections, increased incidence of gastric cancer has been reported [H. pylori, could be implicated in this age-specific increase in gastric cancer [There are no well-designed studies that implicate the participation of non-reported ,45. Intereported ,47,48. Tc cancer . There ac cancer ,47,48,49c cancer ,47,48.A possible explanation for the recent increase in gastric cancer in the USA is perhaps the large immigration of Hispanic populations that has occurred recently . HoweverH. pylori subjects [H. pylori negative and living in high-prevalence areas of gastric cancer and H. pylori infection for potential development of gastric cancer. Two independent studies have recently reported the benefits of antibiotic treatment in reducing the development of gastric cancer particularly in older individuals [A recent Japanese study suggested the assessment of aberrant DNA methylation in gastric tissue as a means to determine risk of gastric cancer . Hypermesubjects . Therefoividuals ,54. BothH. pylori has a major effect on the composition and relative abundance of the gastric microbiota. In the absence of H. pylori the gastric microbiota likely contributes to the perpetuation of the inflammatory stimuli. The role of the microbiota as inflammation stimuli is particularly important in patients previously colonized by H. pylori. The pre-malignant changes in the gastric epithelium may favor the conditions for bacteria other than H. pylori to induce the inflammatory process related to cancer development. The term \u201cpoint of no return\u201d in the cascade of events that lead to gastric cancer has been associated with patients with intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia, independent of H. pylori status, who are at the highest risk of developing gastric cancer [H. pylori continue on the pathway of gastric carcinogenesis.In conclusion, the published studies support the idea that the presence of c cancer . This ph"}
+{"text": "Grant 2014\u201337 (http://www.ec.js.edu.cn/) from Jiangsu Education Department was received by Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The publisher apologizes for the errors.There are errors in the Funding section. The correct funding information is as follows: Grant 81370025 ("}
+{"text": "AbstractCarabidae known for Nevada, USA and carabid beetles found in the Great Basin National Park, NV are reported with notes on ecology and identification resources.Additions to the list of For 79 species of carabids, we present 57 new state records, two state records previously reported in online resources, one confirmation of a previous questionable record for the state, and report 22 records for the Great Basin National Park that includes three new state records. Carabidae is family of beetles that have a cosmopolitan distribution and are often very common in the United States. Surprisingly, the number of published records of carabid species from Nevada is staggeringly low. In the recent catalog of North American carabid beetles , seasonal moisture supports the growth of high elevation conifers species and aspen groves, with sagebrush and mountain-mahogany in the understory. The precipitation at this elevation also provides perennial streams and ponds with water.In the Pleistocene much of central Nevada was under what was one of the largest lakes in North America, Lake Lahontan. All that remains of the lake now are playas and a few remnants lakes. The Central Basin and Range is now high desert plain with the exception of small, often seasonal wetlands, typically alkali flats or saline lakes that are replenished by seasonal rains and runoff. In the west and central part of the region there are characteristic rolling valleys with mountian ranges that have alluvial fan outwashes flowing into the lower basins. Diversity in this region is rather low due to its aridity. With a few exceptions, there are almost no continuous woodlands. The highest elevations in this region, those that extend above treeline, are densely covered with mountain big sagebrush, western serviceberry, snowberry, and low sagebrush, but very few trees.The easternmost part of the Central Basin and Range ecoregion consists of sagebrush valleys, woodlands, mountains, and saline basins. Much of the soil in this region is shallow due to a combination of heavy summer rains and the limestone and dolomite bedrock. As a result, the sagebrush valleys consist of grasses and brush capable of tolerating shallow soils. The woodland zones consist of mainly pi\u00f1on and juniper forests. Historically, these forests only occurred at higher elevations due to annual natural fires, but fire suppression has allowed the forests to move further down towards the sagebrush valleys. In the more mountainous areas, for example Great Basin National Park (GBNP), various conifers  dominate. Although high enough to form an alpine zone, climate conditions do not favour the retention of water as most of it rapidly flows out via springs and streams. The GBNP includes a range of the typical floral zones for the region with sagebrush dominated lower elevations, rising through juniper, pi\u00f1on pine, ponderosa pine, and grassy mountain meadows. Above treeline the habitat is rocky with few plants. Situated on Wheeler Peak, which rises to nearly 4000 m elevation, is a small alpine glacier, the remnant of a more extensive glacier from the last glacial maximum (LGM). Erosional deposition from the glacier's meltwater is evident in much of the of the most-visited parts of the park.The Northern Basin and Range, which is shared with Oregon and Idaho, is a cooler, more mesic, and less mountainous than the Central Basin and Range. This ecoregion consists of high lava plateaus to the northeast, high lava plains to the northwest and semi-arid uplands scattered across northern Nevada. The high lava plateau receives more precipitation and experiences colder winters resulting in cool season grasses such as bluebunch wheatgrass and Idaho fescue. The high lava plains, a large sagebrush steppe, are very similar to the high lava plateau in climate and vegetation, but have many ephemeral pools that are home to a diverse fauna and flora.In the far south of Nevada lies the Mojave Basin and Range, a region extending from California to Arizona and southwestern Utah. The warmer, drier climate and milder winters favours a flora dominated by creosote bush at lower elevations. This desert region is far from uniform and is comprised of three subregions: the Amargosa Desert, creosote-bush dominated basins, and arid footslopes. The Amargosa desert is in the rain shadow of the Spring Mountains and is an internally-drained basin with the greatest temperature extremes. Most of the flora is dry adapted creosote bush and bursage. Further east, creosote bush-dominated basins are scattered between the Mojave Desert mountain ranges, grasslands, blackbrush plains, Joshua trees woodlands, and cactus dominated areas. The Spring Mountains prominently rise above the basin habitats with Mount Charleston reaching over 3600 m elevation. Along the elevational gradient various scrub and bush zones lead to juniper, pi\u00f1on pine, mountain mahogany, culminating in montane conifers.The Sierra Nevada ecoregion is a mountainous region that is mainly in California but a small part of this ecoregion extends into Nevada along its western border, notably including the foothills of the Carson Range. At mid-elevations, the dry forest is composed of a mix of conifers, including California white fir, incense cedar, Jeffrey pine, with an understory of sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, and manzanita. At elevations between 7500-9500 ft, heavy snowfall and summer droughts favours vegetation adapted to season extremes like red fir, white pine and mountain hemlock. Though a relatively small area, this extension of the Sierra Nevada fauna is significant as it is not found elsewhere in the state of Nevada.The Arizona-Mexico Plateau  is the ehttp://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal and Bug Guide at http://bugguide.net/.Specimens examined were from the following institutions: Cornell University Insect Collection (CUIC), Ithaca, NY; Essig Museum of Entomology (EMEC), University of California, Berkeley; Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Arthropod Collection, Brigham Young University (BYUC); California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA (CAS) including the former University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) holdings now at CAS; the teaching collection held at the Great Basin National Park (GBNP); the Oregon State University Arthropod Collection, Corvallis, OR (OSAC); and the collection of Peter W. Messer, Wisconsin (PWMC). Additional records were sought from the Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN) at We collected additional specimens in the GBNP from 10-15 June 2015 and collections were made in other regions of Nevada by K. Will in June of 2009, 2012, 2013, and May 2016. Collecting methods used included ramp traps, pitfall traps, UV light traps, leaf litter sifting, or hand collected during the day or at night using headlamps.Harpalini or F. Heike for Zabrini, were accepted as authoritatively identified. Several authoritative records are in litteris from various sources as noted with specimen records. All other determinations were done by KWW.The primary identification references used were Lindroth\u2019s Ground Beetles of Canada and Alaska, parts 1-6 ; AmericaWe identified nearly 900 specimens from localities across the state of Nevada. This includes 79 species of carabids that represent 57 new state records, two state records previously reported online, one confirmation of a previous questionable record for the state, and report 22 records for the Great Basin National Park (GBNP) that includes three of the new state records. Nearly half, 26 of 57, species newly reported for Nevada are shared with three or more adjacent states.http://doi.org/10.15468/dl.stpda0. Also under each species entry the species are linked to a query of the Essig Museum database that pulls all records for that species used in this study and allows for downloading and mapping of those records.For all new state records and GBNP records see Suppl. material NotiophiliniNotiophilus nitens LeConte, 1857. New state record.N.nitens from the Lamoille Creek Power Plant Picnic area (Elko County) represents the first report of this tribe from Nevada. This is a northwestern species from the bordering states of Oregon and Idaho. Species of notiophilines are day-active predators. Notiophilusnitens is known to be found in open grasslands in hilly country and is tolerant of dry conditions, and possibly xerophilus. The Nevada record represents the known southern limit of the species. The single specimen of LoriceriniLoricera pilicornis pilicornis. Report of online record.http://bugguide.net/node/view/898466 \u201cSouth Fork Lake, Elko County, Nevada, USA, June 17, 2004\u201d Image submitted by M. Romero, identification by P. Messer. Accessed 30 June 2016. Keys to species and ecological information were published by A Holarctic distributed species that can be very common seasonally, near water or on wet, organic-rich mud. It is already reported from all the states surrounding Nevada and so was expected to be found. The single specimen represented as an image posted to BugGuide is all that is known to us. CarabiniCalosoma (Camegonia) prominens LeConte, 1853. New state record.This southwestern species is common in the bordering states of Arizona and California. It is notibly common at lights in Arizona. The single specimen from the Toiyabe Mountains (Nye County) is the northernmost record. These beetles are predaceous, nocturnally active, and powerful fliers. Carabus (Tanaocarabus) taedatus agassii LeConte, 1850. GBNP record.We found beetles of this widespread, fairly common species under rocks during the day and walking at night in open, rocky coniferous forest sites from 2000-3000m. A key to species and ecological information was provided by Lindroth (1961). A discussion and reference regarding the various subspecies is provided by CicindeliniCicindelawillistonipseudosenilis Horn, 1900, which would represent a new record for Nevada. However, it seems most likely that these specimens are an intergrade or variant of Cicindelawillistoniecho Casey, 1897, which is a subspecies found in Nevada. It is likely that a focused effort might turn up new species or new records, but this was beyond the scope of our study.Tiger beetles have been well treated, including taxa from Nevada, by ClivininiClivina (Clivina) punctulata LeConte, 1852. New state record.This species is found throughout California. They are found along ponds and riparian habitats and probably nocturnal and fossorial, as is typical for the genus. The two specimens from the Humboldt River, above Rye Patch Reservoir (Pershing County) are the easternmost records. Schizogenius (Schizogenius) depressus LeConte, 1852. New state record.This species is known from all the states surrounding Nevada and so is an expected part of the fauna. They are found among the gravel at the edge of streams in fairly open habitat. ScaritiniScarites (Scarites) subterraneus Fabricius, 1775. New state record.This is a widespread species known from the neighboring states of California and Arizona. It is a eurytopic species that is tolerant of disturbance and frequently found in agricultural settings. The 11 specimens we studied are all from in or near Las Vegas and probably its occurrence in the state is due to human transport. PatrobiniDiplous (Platidius) aterrimus . New state record.Nebria (Catonebria) baumanni Kavanaugh, 2015. A decidedly northern species known from the neighboring states of Oregon, Idaho, and Utah that is found on the gravel shores of fast running streams and rivers. The four specimens we examined include three from the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and one from the Spring Mountains. The Spring Mts. record is a significant southern range extension, but that range is known for other isolated populations such as the recently described Diplous (Platidius) filicornis . New state record.Known from the adjacent states of Oregon and northern California that is found along fast, cold flowing streams. Records from Washoe Co. are from the east side of the Sierra, which is likely the eastern limit of its distribution. Key to species and ecology provided by Patrobus fossifrons. New state record.Typha sp). A decidedly western beetle, previously known from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. A very hygrophilus species found on lake shores and along slow moving water under debris, e.g. dead catatail (TrechiniTrechus (Trechus) tenuiscapus Lindroth, 1961. New state record and GBNP record. Fig. 1A species found in the northwest with records known for the adjacent states of Oregon and Idaho. Specimens from our sampling in the GBNP were found in open conifer forest above 2300 m. Beetles were found during the day in leaf litter and active at night. This is a significant southern expansion of the known range for this species.BembidiiniBembidion can often be identified using the keys provided by Species of Bembidion (Bembidion) mutatum Gemminger & Harold, 1868. New state record.A species with a transcontinental distribution in the north known from the neighboring states of Idaho and Utah. Recorded from Douglas County.Bembidion (Eupetedromus) incrematum LeConte, 1860. New state record.A Holarctic species, known from the adjacent states of California, Idaho, and Oregon. Specimens collected on the muddy shore of a man-made reservoir in Lander County.Bembidion (Furcacampa) fuchsiiBlaisdell, 1902. New state record.Populus and Salix in the Ruby Mountains, Elko County.A northwestern species found in the adjacent states of California, Oregon, and Idaho. Found in wet meadow with light cover of Bembidion (Furcacampa) versicolor . New state record.A widespread species that can be very abundant in a variety of wetland habitats. Previously known from the adjacent states of Idaho and Oregon.Bembidion (Hirmoplataphus) concolor . GBNP record.A transcontinental North American species found near water. While Bembidion (Hirmoplataphus) quadrulum LeConte, 1861. New state record.A western species, known from all states bordering Nevada and so is an expected species in the fauna. Collected in Elko Co., along Lamoille Creek above 2100 m elevation.Bembidion (Liocosmius) horniHayward, 1897. New state record.Found across southern California, Arizona, and Utah.Bembidion (Notaphus) approximatum . Confirmation of state record.Reported from the adjacent states of California and Oregon. Specimens previously attributed to this species were apparently misidentifications . Here weBembidion (Notaphus) graphicum Casey, 1918. New state record.A fairly widespread species previously known from the adjacent states of Arizona, Oregon, and Utah.Bembidion (Notaphus) intermedium. New state record.A transcontinental, primarily northern species not reported from any states adjacent to Nevada. There are records from Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Found in sandy habitat along the Humboldt River.Bembidion (Notaphus) nubiculosum Chaudoir, 1868. New state record.Found in the southwestern US, known from the adjacent states of Arizona and California.Bembidion (Notaphus) obtusangulum LeConte, 1863. New state record.A midwest to western US species distributed generally in the north and in its southern limited extended along the Rocky and Sierra Mountains. Reported from the adjacent states of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah.Bembidion (Notaphus) umbratum . New state record.B.umbratum may be B. variolosum , which is maintained as a junior synonym by Bembidionumbratum is found in the adjacent states of California, Oregon, and Idaho.In collections, specimens identified as Bembidion (Peryphodes) ephippigerum . New state record.Previously only reported from California. The single specimen from Washoe Co. is a slight expansion eastward of the species as it was known from several eastern California counties in the Sierras.Bembidion (Peryphus) nevadense Ulke, 1875. GBNP record.A western North American montane species. Specimens from GBNP were collected near small and medium size flowing water and, most abundantly, under rocks and debris near the water in a seasonal lake at about 3000 m elevation in rocky, clay soil.Bembidion (Peryphus) striola . New state record.Reported previously from California and Oregon primarily in coastal counties.Bembidion (Plataphus) laxatum Casey, 1918. New state record. GBNP record.Reported previously from California and Washington, with an unconfirmed record in British Columbia. Six specimens collected above 3000 m elevation, on wet, rocky, open soil around the shore of Teresa Lake, Great Basin National Park, White Pine County.Bembidion (Testediolum) nebraskense LeConte, 1863. GBNP record.A fairly common western North American species found in the park at around 2100m elevation along Snake Creek near a few pools of water.Bembidion (Testediolum) obscuripenne Blaisdell, 1902. New state record.A western montane species, previously known from the adjacent states of California and Oregon. Found in Lander County along a small stream in open habitat.Bembidion (Trepanedoris) acutifrons LeConte, 1879. New state record.A western species, known from the adjacent states of Oregon and Utah. The single specimen we examined was collected near the Humboldt River in Eureka Co., but its exact habitat is not known.Bembidion (Trepanedoris) anguliferum . New state record.Previously only reported from California.Elaphropus (Barytachys) anthrax . New state record.The species was previously reported from the adjacent states of California, Oregon, and Idaho. Elaphropus (Barytachys) conjugens . New state record.Tachystrechiformis Hayward, 1900).This species was known only from southern Arizona and the Nye and Clark County records are a significant extension northward. Elaphropus (Barytachys) dolosus . New state record.A widely distributed species previously known from the adjacent states of California and Arizona found on the sandy banks of rivers and lakes. Polyderis rufotestacea . New state record.A western species, known from almost all states adjacent to Nevada; Arizona, California, Oregon, and Idaho. PsydriniPsydrus piceus LeConte, 1846. GBNP record.Pinus and Pseudotsuga. The pygidial gland secretions emitted when they are disturbed are extremely pungent. Distributed transcontinentally in the north but restricted to the west in the southern part of its range. The single specimen collected in the GBNP was found under the bark on a log of an unidentified conifer. These beetles are always found under bark in deadwood and they are regularly collected in the Californian Sierras under the bark of dead BrachininiBrachinus (Neobrachinus) elongatulus Chaudoir, 1876. New state record.Often found to be extremely common along the shores of lakes and streams. Known previously from the adjacent states of Arizona, California, and Oregon. Flight wing is full and they are frequently attracted to lights. Brachinus (Neobrachinus) phaeocerus Chaudoir, 1868. Report of online record.http://bugguide.net/node/view/725859 \u201cLas Vegas in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Clark County, Nevada, USA April 23, 2012\u201d image contributed by D. Lund in November 2012. Identification by T.L. Erwin. Accessed 23 June 2016. A southern species, known from as far west as the adjacent state of Arizona. This record pushes the distribution northward. The single specimen represented as an image posted to BugGuide is all that is known to us. Brachinus (Neobrachinus) quadripennis Dejean, 1825. New state record.A very widespread species known from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. Its occurrence in Nevada is expected. ChlaeniiniChlaenius (Chlaeniellus) obsoletus LeConte, 1851. New state record.A southwestern species previously reported from California and Arizona. Sometimes found along medium sized streams. Chlaenius (Chlaeniellus) pennsylvanicus blanditus Casey, 1920. New state record.C.pennsylvanicusblanditus is from Arizona and Utah. This subspecies is more of a green color and stouter in form but otherwise is little different than the nominate. Like most Chlaenius species, C.pennsylvanicusblanditus is hygrophilus and found near water, probably slow-flowing or standing water. Key to species and subspecies is provided by The nominate subspecies is transcontinental in the north and so is found in the adjacent states of Oregon and Idaho, while GaleritiniGalerita  lecontei lecontei Dejean, 1831. New state record.G.leconteibicoloripes Reichardt is found in central Mexico) known from the adjacent states of Arizona and California. These beetles often come to lights and are nocturnally active in various types of mesic woodlands. The northern subspecies of a southern species,  nitidus . New state record.subgenusLiocellus is in need of revision. Known from all the states surrounding Nevada except for Idaho and so is an expected part of the Nevada fauna. Beetles are found along seasonal streams under rocks and in gravel, but nothing is known about their life history. Bradycellus (Stenocellus) rivalis LeConte, 1858. New state record.Bradycellus they are hygrophilus. This is a fairly common species in southern California and is also reported from Arizona. Sometimes it appears abundantly at lights in California. Its habits are unknown, but probably like other Notiobia (Anisotarsus) terminata . New state record.A very widespread species, but only reported from Arizona among the states adjacent to Nevada. The single specimen we studied was from an urban area in the southern part of the Las Vegas region. As these beetles are known to thrive in disturbed habitats, this record may be due to human transport and it is unknown if an endemic or naturalized population occurs in Nevada. Selenophorus (Selenophorus) famulus Casey, 1914. New state record.Selenophorus and a revision of the group is much needed. If this species is typical for the genus in its ecology, then it is an arid habitat species, found in sandy soils with sparse vegetation.This species is known from southern California and Arizona. A record for a single female specimen from Mesquite, NV, Clark County was sent to us by P. Messer (in litt.). The specimen is deposited in his collection. No published keys cover this or many species of Stenolophus (Agonoderus) comma . New state record.An extraordinarily widespread species, often extremely abundant and attracted to lights. It is known from every state adjacent to Nevada and so it is only surprising that it had not been recorded from Nevada previously. Stenolophus (Stenolophus) fuliginosus Dejean, 1829. New state record.Carex and Typha. The key by A widespread species in the middle latitudes of North America previously reported from California, Oregon, and Idaho. Beetles are found on the shore of slow or still waters among Stenolophus (Stenolophus) ochropezus . New state record.Arguably one of the most common and widespread species of carabid beetle in North America. Reported from the adjacent states of Arizona, California, and Utah. Common on wet mud along the shoreline of still waters and in other wet areas with vegetation cover. Bradycellus (Stenocellus) congener . GBNP record.A common, transcontinentally distributed species. The key by Discoderus amoenusLeConte, 1863. GBNP record.This species is found from Wyoming to southern California, and being xerophilic, is relatively common in Nevada. The genus is in need of revision. Harpalus (Opadius) fraternus LeConte, 1852. GBNP record.A fairly common species found in sites across the park. Collected in pitfall traps, headlamp searching at night and under woody debris during the day. All specimens collected in GBNP and others studied (EMEC) from Nevada are from stands of aspen or aspen mixed with either willow or fir. This differs from Lindroth\u2019s description of the ecology of the species further north, as being \u201c[i]n dry, open country with scarce vegetation, often on sandy soil\u201d .Harpalus  fuscipalpis Sturm, 1818. GBNP record.Harpalellusbasilaris Kirby.A Holarctic species. One specimen was collected near the Baker Creek Campground in rocky, lightly vegetated habitat at night. Key to species and ecology provided by Harpalus  ellipsis LeConte, 1847. New State record.Harpalusobnixus Casey, a species previously reported from Nevada, by examination of the male genitalia.Known previously from adjacent states of Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Key to species by Harpalus opacipennis . GBNP record.A widespread North American species. Found throughout the park at 2000-2400 m elevation by pit fall traping and night searching in grassy open habitat or areas of light, low brush. Key to species provided by PlatyniniAgonum (Agonum) placidum . New state record and GBNP record. Fig. m Say, 183. New stA.placidum are on the east slope of the Sierras. A widespread species known from all the states surrounding Nevada and so an expected part of the fauna. We collected specimens in the GBNP while headlamp searching at night, in sites at around 2000 m elevation, along streams, looking under rocks. A specimen is also known from the park at over 3000 m elevation near Stella Lake. Other records for Agonum (Europhilus) gratiosum . New state record.Typha. This species has a northern Holarctic distribution and has been found in the neighboring states of California, Oregon, and Utah. These beetles are found in fairly open habitats with moist soils, but not necessarily close to water. However, specimens from Ruby Lake (Elko Co.) were found near the lake under dead Agonum (Platynomicrus) nigriceps LeConte, 1846. New state record.A Holarctic, decidedly northern species only reported from Idaho of the adjacent states. This is a very hygrophilous species found among and on the plants growing in the water. Beetles can be readly collected by treading the vegetation into the water. The eight specimens we examined from the Humboldt River area in Pershing County seem a modest southward extension of this northern species. The single specimen from Las Vegas Valley, in Clark County is a remarkable southern record. Rhadine sp. GBNP record.Rhadine was collected in the Baker Creek Campground latrine. Significant effort was made to find additional specimens in the area, but none were found. The taxonomy of the genus is in need of revision. In addition to the single specimen we sampled during the study, numerous specimens were seen in collections, but they cannot be confidently identified. The genus includes both cave and surface dwelling species (A single specimen of  species .PterostichiniPterostichus (Pseudomaseus) luctuosus . New state record.A widespread and relatively commonly collected species in the north and middle latitudes of North America, especially in the east. Of the states surrounding Nevada, it is only reported from Idaho. It is a decidedly hygrophilus and can be found near water and in very wet, marsh areas. The habitat where the Nevada specimens were collected, Ruby Lake (Elko Co.), is very typical for them. Pterostichus (Hypherpes) protractus LeConte, 1860. GBNP record.One of the most widespread species of the subgenus, ranging from northern New Mexico to Alberta, Canada, west to California. Found throughout Nevada in coniferous forests from near treeline to 2000 m (and probably lower) elevation. At lower elevations confined to riparian habitat under woody debris and in thick leaf litter. These nocturnal predatory beetles were the most common species found during our sampling at GBNP. They were significantly abundant in areas with ponderosa pine and fir. Pterostichus (Bothriopterus) lustrans LeConte, 1851. GBNP record.A western North American species found in numerous locations across Nevada. In the GBNP specimens were collected from multiple sites in open vegetation along the riparian corridor, though not in tight association with the stream. SphodriniSynuchus dubius . GBNP record.A central southwest species reported from the bordering states of Arizona and Utah. Specimens examined are from three general localities in the eastern part of the state. We collected specimens from several locations in the Great Basin National Park by searching the forest leaf litter at night in areas above 2000 m. These are flightless beetles and other localities for this species are at similar elevations, suggesting significantly disjunct populations. Laemostenus (Laemostenus) complanatus . New state record.A globally subcosmopolitan species that is an adventive and synanthropic. Known from the adjacent states of California and Oregon, especially in near-coastal regions in urban areas such as watered lawns and parks. The single specimen we studied is only labeled Clark Co., but if there is an established population it would probably be in human maintained habitat in the Las Vegas area. Calathus  advena . GBNP record.Pterostichusprotractus. A widespread forest, leaf litter species that occurs in the northeastern part of Nevada. In the conifer forest habitat of the GBNP we found this to be the most commonly encountered species. Frequently found with ZabriniAmara (Amarocelia) farcta LeConte, 1855. GBNP recordA western North American species found in various open habitats near water. All specimens collected in GBNP were under rocks and debris near the water in a seasonal lake at about 3000 m elevation. Amara (Bradytus) lindrothi Hieke, 1990. GBNP record.Known from localities widely distributed across western North America. GBNP is near its southern limit. Specimens were collected in open conifer forest between 3000 and 3200 m elevation, on wet ground, under rocks and debris. Identification is possible using the description and illustrations provided by Amara (Celia) idahoana . New state record.Found in the west, in states north of Nevada, including the adjacent states of Idaho and Oregon. Records from Nevada extend the range significantly southward. However, while the record from near Weeks (Lyon Co.) is in an irrigated area near the Carson River, the record from Nye County is in a desert habitat and may be a mislabeled specimen. Amara (Celia) sinuosa . New state record.A northern species, known from the adjacent states of Idaho and Utah. The single specimen we examined was collected in 1936 and labeled Governors Canyon, Nevada. We have been unable to find a match for that exact locality. Amara (Curtonotus) carinata . New state record.A widespread species found in all states adjacent to Nevada and so an expected part of the carabid fauna. Beetles are found in grasslands, frequently near alkaline habitats. Amara (Paracelia) quenseli quenseli . GBNP record.A Holarctic species that is frequently common. Specimens were collected across the GBNP, during the day and at night in open, grassy habitat. LebiiniApristus pugetanus Casey, 1920. New state record.A western North American species, already known from all the states surrounding Nevada and so it is an expected member of the fauna. The beetles are found in gravel and sand along rivers, creek and springs, although they are often found some distance from the water. They are frequently day active. Axinopalpus biplagiatus . New state record.A widespread species found in all states adjacent to Nevada and so an expected part of the carabid fauna. Little is known about the ecology and habits of this species but it has been collected in a variety of open habitats and of the ones we studied from Nevada, one was taken from Joshua Trees. Axinopalpus fusciceps LeConte, 1851. New state record.A western species, found in the middle latitudes of North America, south into Guatemala. Know from scattered records in the adjacent states of Arizona, California, and Idaho. Nothing is known of this species habits and there is no key to species for the genus. For identification recourse to original descriptions is needed.Cymindis (Tarulus) arizonensis Schaeffer, 1910. New state record.This species is known from southwestern California and Arizona. The record from Clark Co. is a slight expansion of its range. Lebia (Lebia) perita Casey, 1920. New state record.Chrysothamnusalbidus). This marks the easternmost record for the species. A western species, known previously from the adjacent states of California, Oregon, and Idaho. One specimen from Spencer Hot Spring (Landers County) was taken on whiteflower rabbitbrush  rufulus . New state record.subgenusThalpius was published by A western North American species, known previously from Arizona, California, and Oregon. Little is known about the habits of this species. A key to species of the PseudomorphiniPseudomorpha castanea Casey, 1909. GBNP record.This species was previosuly reported from California, Oregon, and Utah. As far as known, pseudomorphines are myrmecophiles and ovoviviparous . Notman Bembidion (Notaphus) intermedium is a trans-state extralimital for Nevada. There is no strong pattern in the regional similarity of the new records, i.e., about half of the species have relatively northern distributions that include Oregon, Idaho and northern California and remaining species are either more southern or widespread. Qualitatively, the current list of species of carabids found in Nevada appears to reflect the habitats that are available, with many species that are known to be riparian and seasonal wetland associates or obligate open habitat grassland species.We identified nearly 900 specimens from localities across the state of Nevada Fig. . Nearly Laemostenus (Laemostenus) complanatus and it is not clear that this species has established. It is strongly associated with human development in other areas where it has been introduced  and has not shown a tendency to move into undisturbed habitats.The only non-native species found during our study was The 57 species we report here grows the list of carabid species for Nevada to 299, much closer to its ecologically comparable neighbors Idaho (338 species) and Utah (323 species) (numbers from While ongoing monographic research and targeted collecting efforts for surveys, bioblitzes, and ecological monitoring  are critSupplementary material 1Occurence data for new state records and GBNP records for carabids of NevadaData type: occurencesBrief description: All specimen records recorded in the EssigDB for species that are new state records and GBNP records for carabids of NevadaFile: oo_121705.csvWill, Madan, Hsu"}
+{"text": "By this third issue from Minnesota we hopefully have it down right. In the last Editorial I mentioned that John Horton was rotating off the Editorial Board, as he is Chair of JACMP. We have added Mark J. Rivard to the Editorial Board. Mark, based in Boston, is very active in the TG\u201043 rewrite and was just the person we needed. Again I thank our Editorial Board members for their selfless service as well as their suffering under prodding from the Manuscript Manager as well as the Editor\u2010in\u2010Chief. We try to get as many high quality papers published each quarter as possible. Our reject rate is in excess of 30 percent, indicating that real peer reviewing is going on.Once again it is time to announce the awards for the best papers published in JACMP in Volume 3 (2002). This year the awards were selected by the Editorial Board (excluding any who were authors). The awards were presented in Lake George, NY. The authors of each paper collectively receive a $500 check, and each author receives a certificate. The Journal is grateful to LAP of America, Radiological Imaging Technology, Elekta, and PTW New York (new this year) for supporting the recognition of outstanding papers in JACMP.The LAP Award for Excellence for the best radiation oncology paper went to Kent A. Gifford, David S. Followill, H. Helen Liu, and George Starkschall for \u201cVerification of the accuracy of a photon dose\u2010calculation algorithm,\u201d JACMP, Vol. 3, No.1, Winter 2002.The RIT Award for Excellence for the best diagnostic imaging paper went to Thomas R. LaVoy, Walter Huda, and Kent M. Ogden for \u201cRadiographic techniques in screen\u2010film mammography,\u201d JACMP, Vol. 3, No. 3, Summer 2002.The Elekta Award for Excellence for the best professional medical physics paper went to W. S. Bice, Jr., E. S. Walker, S. Gearty, A. V. Walker, J. R. Marbach, and B. R. Prestidge for \u201cA comparative evaluation of loading times and exposures for permanent prostate brachytherapy,\u201d JACMP, Vol. 3, No. 4, Fall 2002.The PTW Award for Excellence for the best basic dosimetry paper to M. A. MacKenzie, M. Lachaine, B. Murray, B. G.Fallone, D. Robinson, and G. C. Field for \u201cDosimetric verification of inverse planned step and shoot multileaf collimator fields from a commercial treatment planning system,\u201d JACMP, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 2002.Over the course of the past year it has become painfully clear that JACMP cannot be sustained by ACMP and that the original business model was never realized and if implemented (paid subscriptions) would fall short. In the last year or so, two major benefactors have kept JACMP afloat. With this, an ad hoc ACMP/AAPM committee was formed to consider how the continuation of publishing clinical material could be done. By the time this issue of JACMP is available online, the AAPM Board will be preparing to or will have considered a proposal. I will not jinx the process by saying too much except to thank the AAPM members  who have worked with ACMP members  to craft what might be a reasonable way to proceed. Enough teasing for the time being\u2026ecmc@mayo.edu) about any issues related to JACMP. And send us your clinically related manuscripts. The following members of the Editorial Board would like nothing better than to review your contributions.I look forward to bringing you the next Editorial in Volume 4. Hopefully at that time I will be able to bring you up to date on some additional exciting issues. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me (Edwin C. McCulloughEditor\u2010in\u2010Chief"}
+{"text": "Pisum sativum ssp. abyssinicum) to other subspecies and species in the genus were investigated to test between different hypotheses regarding its origin and domestication. An extensive sample of the Pisum sativum ssp. sativum germplasm was investigated, including groups a-1, a-2, b, c, and d as identified by P. fulvum but relatively few P. s. ssp. elatius accessions were analyzed. Partial sequences of 18 genes were compared and these results combined with comparisons of additional genes done by others and available in the literature. In total, 54 genes or gene fragment sequences were involved in the study. The observed affinities between alleles in P. ssp. sativum, P. s. ssp. abyssinicum, P. s. ssp. elatius, and P. fulvum clearly demonstrated a close relationship among the three P. sativum subspecies and rejected the hypothesis that the Abyssinian pea was formed by hybridization between one of the P. sativum subspecies and P. fulvum. If hybridization were involved in the generation of the Abyssinian pea, it must have been between P. s. ssp. sativum and P. s. ssp. elatius, although the Abyssinian pea possesses a considerable number of highly unique alleles, implying that the actual P. s. ssp. elatius germplasm involved in such a hybridization has yet to be tested or that the hybridization occurred much longer ago than the postulated 4000 years bp. Analysis of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum alleles in genomic regions thought to contain genes critical for domestication indicated that the indehiscent pod trait was independently developed in the Abyssinian pea, whereas the loss of seed dormancy was either derived from P. s. ssp. sativum or at least partially developed before the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum lineage diverged from that leading to P. s. ssp. sativum.Phylogenetic relationships of the Abyssinian pea ( Pisum sativum ssp. abyssinicum A. Br.)  (Pisum sativum L.) and appears to lack a wild form (see discussion in P. sativum (P. s. ssp. elatius (Bieb.) Schmalh.), or with the other species in the genus (P. fulvum Sibeth. & Sm.). The reduced fertility in these crosses appears to be due to both prezygotic and postzygotic barriers . These two traits do not segregate in populations derived from crosses between P. s. ssp. abyssinicum and P. s. ssp. sativum), all progeny possessing indehiscent pods and producing seeds that usually germinate immediately after planting   is a welbarriers . In flowlimited, , suggestP. sativum and P. fulvum, producing plants that displayed partial sterility with both parental species. All three taxa have the same chromosome number (2n = 14)   but diff2n = 14) . Studies sativum , support sativum , and theP. s. ssp. abyssinicum to P. s. ssp. sativum in flower color, seed size and several other morphological features, as well as the ability to make reasonably fertile crosses between the two, led many students of the genus to designate the Abyssinian pea as a subspecies of the domesticated taxa  are influenced by several loci . Nine accessions of P. fulvum, representing a wide sample of the genetic diversity in this species, were generously provided by Dr. S. Abbo, The Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel. Passport data for these can be obtained in P. fulvum from Israel (VIR 6070 and VIR 6071) were kindly supplied by Dr. F. Gorel, then at the Institute of Cytology & Genetics, Novosibirsk, Russia. All P. fulvum samples were subjected to sequencing of four genes: Pur (PURPLE-PODDED), Rb (ADP-glucose phosphorylase), GlyOH , and Gpic (cytosolic glucose phosphate isomerase). For the remaining genes, only three P. fulvum sequences were obtained, one from those provided by S. Abbo  and the two VIR accessions.Ten accessions of The genes examined, the primers used and the size of the fragment sequenced are presented in Supplementary Table 2, 0.3 \u03bcM of each dNTP, 0.6 units Promega Taq polymerase, and approximately 25 ng pea genomic DNA. In all cases a touchdown procedure was employed, with annealing temperature starting at 63\u00b0C and dropping in 1\u00b0 steps to the final annealing temperature listed on Supplementary Table All PCR reactions (20 \u03bcl) contained the following: 4 \u03bcl Promega 5X PCR buffer, 2.5 mM MgClPCR products were purified using QIAquick PCR Purification Kit (QIAGen), and DNA concentrations determined after purification using a Nanodrop 2000 (Thermo Scientific). Frozen DNA samples were placed in microtitre plates and the appropriate primer added before freezing and shipping to Sequetech . Sequence data has been deposited at NCBI  were discarded or a second sequencing performed. Final sequences were compared using the Neighbor Joining function on MAFFT 7.0 with Bootstrapping set at 500 reiterations. The homologous sequence in Medicago truncatula (Medicago genome 4.0 on the Legume Information System at legumeinfo.org) was used as an outgroup for initial analyses, but as these comparisons rarely changed the branching on the resulting cladograms except to greatly compress the branching within the Pisum accessions, only unrooted cladograms are presented in the Results section. Trees for 34 genes from P. s. ssp. abyssinicum sequence and were not used in the current analysis).Forward and Reverse sequences were aligned using MAFFT 7.0.Medicago truncatula genomic sequence (Medicago 4.0) and determining the corresponding position on the pea map using flanking markers.SNP or indel polymorphisms for the 18 genes listed in Supplementary Table Figures 1\u20133 and Supplementary Figure S1. In order to make the trees as clear as possible, the bulk of the cultivated accessions have been combined into groups  and labeled Domes1, Domes2, etc., in order of the size of the group. The alleles within each group are identical or nearly so, and there are no significant branches within a group. The Plant Introduction (PI) accessions representing the four major divisions of genetic diversity in P. s. ssp. sativum . Trees for each of these genes are shown in Figure 1. In each tree most of the P. fulvum sequences clustered in one region, but in each case there were 2 or 3 sequences that fell outside the cluster. The diverging P. fulvum accessions were different for each gene, although fulvum-84 and -85 were divergent in two cases. For Pur, Rb, and Gpic, the sequence for P. s. ssp. abyssinicum was located in a different part of the tree from any of the P. fulvum sequences, indicating that P. fulvum was not the source of the allele in the Abyssinian pea. For GlyOH, the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele was highly divergent, but branched from the tree between fulvum-84 and a mix of other accessions . In this case the source of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele is ambiguous, with no close affinities among the germplasm tested.Sequences for the bulk of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele . In the cases of Cvc, Gib2ox, and Er1, the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele displayed considerable divergence from all other alleles identified. For convicilin, several additional sequences, including one from P. s. ssp. abyssinicum, were available in the literature. As expected, the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum sequence from NCBI (AM8886032) was very similar to that obtained in the current study, both possessing relatively large unique insertions as well as several SNPs. A P. s. ssp. sativum sequence (X06398) was identical to that found in the Domes4 group . However, several other sequences in the literature, one for P. fulvum (AM886036), two for P. s. ssp. elatius (AM66034 and AM66035) and one for P. s. ssp. sativum (AM66033) all contained a large unique insertion and formed a different branch on the tree with 100% bootstrap support. These sequences were not included on the final tree because they are most likely from an ortholog. The final gene, Skdh , branched off the tree between the P. fulvum cluster and several P. s. ssp. sativum groups. However, the tree is compressed in this region, with only 40% bootstrap support for the placement of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum sequence. Thus, assessment of phylogenetic relationships is difficult. The P. s. ssp. abyssinicum Peam5 allele also was placed between a P. fulvum allele and a P. s. ssp. sativum cluster , but in this case the three P. fulvum accessions were dispersed on the tree, and it would be difficult to assign much significance to the similarity between the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum and P. fulvum alleles.Several other genes gave ambiguous affinities for the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele and those found in P. s. ssp. elatius. If the tree for Ntfy is oriented so that the P. fulvum cluster is basal, the branches lead to two clusters of accessions, both of which contain P. s. ssp. elatius and P. s. ssp. sativum taxa . However, the branch to which the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum sequence belongs contains the \u2018northern humile\u2019 P. s. ssp. elatius (JI 1794), the sequence from a landrace from Afghanistan (PI 220174) and several other primitive landraces, suggesting that it might represent a group more closely aligned to the original ancestor of the cultivated pea. The tree for Alat  shows a similar pattern, although in this case the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele groups with nearly all the P. s. ssp. sativum, as well as with JI 1794 and PI 220174. On the other hand, the Sbm1 allele from P. s. ssp. abyssinicum clearly groups with the sequence from the \u2018wilder\u2019 P. s. ssp. elatius accession, the northern humile accession grouping with P. s. ssp. sativum .The sequences of three genes exhibited a similarity between the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele and alleles in P. s. ssp. sativum . The trees all have the same general pattern, with the P. fulvum sequences forming a cluster, the P. s. ssp. elatius sequences usually intermediate between P. fulvum and P. s. ssp. sativum, the P. s. ssp. sativum in one or more groups, occasionally with one or two associated with a P. s. ssp. elatius allele, and the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele included within or derived from one of the P. s. ssp. sativum clusters. In some cases, e.g., Pgmc and Pao, the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele is highly divergent from the P. s. ssp. sativum cluster, but it is also distant from any P. s. ssp. elatius or P. fulvum allele.The analyses on the remaining six genes all indicate a strong relationship between the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum alleles for the various genes, the most closely related sequence(s) to the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele is given for each gene in Table 1. Included in this table are the results of 36 comparisons performed previously by others  were closest to a P. s. ssp. sativum sequence, 6 (5) were scored as basal to P. s. ssp. sativum (only P. s. ssp. sativum on branches above), 8 (6) as between P. s. ssp. sativum and P. s. ssp. elatius, 20 (16) closest to P. s. ssp. elatius, 5(3) between P. s. ssp. elatius and P. fulvum, 2 (2) between P. s. ssp. sativum and P. fulvum, and 1 (1) P. fulvum (but highly divergent). Numbers in parentheses indicate the total if all those with \u2018poor resolution\u2019 marked in the comments column of Table 1 are eliminated from consideration, thereby avoiding most of the ambiguous data. Either set of results indicate that very little of the nuclear genome of P. s. ssp. abyssinicum is derived from P. fulvum.In order to try to summarize the affinities of the y others , 2015. OTable 1 are listed in the approximate order that they have on the linkage map for P. sativum . By examining the changes in the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele affinities as one moves down the column, we can determine if there are any regions of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum genome that are primarily derived from P. fulvum or from one of the P. sativum subspecies. Such an exercise reveals a very low association with P. fulvum alleles but indicates approximately even distribution of P. s. ssp. sativum and P. s. ssp. elatius affinities. For LG I, the genes investigated cover only the upper half of the linkage group. No clear pattern is evident, all markers being somewhat ambiguous. LG II is reasonably saturated with markers, and most of the alleles indicate a P. s. ssp. elatius pedigree. The one exception, His7, is near the center of the linkage group, a location not known for any genes critical for domestication. The coverage of LG III is very good, and most of the alleles favor a P. s. ssp. elatius heritage or are ambiguous between P. s. ssp. elatius and P. s. ssp. sativum, although a region on the upper portion (around Rb) has a P. s. ssp. sativum preference. The P. s. ssp. abyssinicum alleles from genes on LG IV appear to favor P. s. ssp. sativum sequences except on its lower end. Affinites on LG V and LG VII are about equal, and those on LG VI slightly favor P. s. ssp. elatius. Such results are consistent with a P. s. ssp. sativum \u00d7 P. s. ssp. elatius hybrid origin of the Abyssinian pea. The P. s. ssp. elatius accessions that often appear in Table 1 as having the most similar allele to P. s. ssp. abyssinicum are from Turkey. The region from Turkey north into Georgia was identified as potentially important in the domestication of pea . The three accessions of P. fulvum chosen as a minimum sample of the species represent those found in preliminary studies to be the most genetically divergent. The conclusion that P. fulvum did not make a significant contribution to the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum nuclear genome is based on the observation that the allele found in P. s. ssp. abyssinicum never clusters with the common allele of P. fulvum whether one considers any of the 18 genes examined in this study or any of the 36 genes that had been subjected to similar analyses previously.Sequence analysis of 18 gene fragments confirmed the finding of previous studies that there is considerable genetic diversity present in P. s. ssp. elatius sequences in the current study. Indeed, no conclusion regarding the relationship between P. s. ssp. abyssinicum and P. s. ssp. elatius could have been made had it not been for the availability of the excellent data set of P. s. ssp. elatius accessions in their study, and it is their data that reveal the close relationship between P. s. ssp. abyssinicum alleles and P. s. ssp. elatius alleles in over half the fragments studied. The two studies by P. fulvum and P. s. ssp. elatius sequences, providing a strong basis for concluding that the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum His2-5 allele is close to those of P. s. ssp. elatius and the His7 allele is close to those of P. s. ssp. sativum.A similar criticism of small sample size could be raised regarding having only two representatives of P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele in each cladogram relative to those for PI 220174. This latter accession represents the subgroup a-2 of Pisum germplasm post domestication  the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum allele is also identical or very similar. In most other cladograms the allele in P. s. ssp. abyssinicum is more distant from the alleles in the modern cultivars than is that of PI 220174, as expected if P. s. ssp. abyssinicum diverged from the modern domesticated germplasm earlier (or was derived from a hybridization with a lineage that had diverged earlier than group a-2). However, in one case, Gpic , the allele in PI 220174 is placed between the Abyssinian pea allele and those in P. fulvum, contradicting the general pattern. For both the position of PI 220174 and the phylogenetic relationship of the Abyssinian pea with other members of the genus, the general trend appears to be more reliable than results for any particular gene.It may be useful to compare the positions of the tication . In mostSbm1 and FRO1, for which a complete data set for the PI accessions was not available) where one or more of the pea accessions contained an allele not found in the selected PIs. The unique Pur allele found in Blue Podded Shelling  is understandable, because none of the PIs had purple pods. In Alat , Domes4 clustered with a P. fulvum accession, and the nearest PI was several nodes away. This Domes4 group consisted of one winter pea variety, \u2018Walechia,\u2019 and it must have had some P. fulvum in its pedigree. The other four cases  are less easily explained and indicate how difficult it is to capture all the genetic diversity present in modern cultivars in a small set of PIs. Alternatively, there are many instances on the phylogeny trees where at least one PI accession was present, but none of the modern cultivars possessed a similar allele, reflecting the more limited genetic diversity of modern pea varieties.The current study contained a large number of accessions of known cultivars, and it is of interest to examine if these cultivars added much to the various gene trees or whether the selected PI accessions would have covered the genetic diversity. A total of six cases can be seen in diagrams . Genetic studies on the dehiscent pod character identified a locus, hiscence . A recesPisum, but with less success. The primary mechanism for dormancy is known to be a thick, impervious testa, however, few studies have reported specific genes influencing this trait, and those genes identified do not appear to have been involved in the domestication process. Unpublished results from a study of the JI 1794 \u00d7 Slow RIL in my laboratory have suggested that regions near the upper end of LG III and lower end of LG IV may contain genes influencing this character . As the hard-seeded trait is present in JI 1794 and absent in Slow, these could be the genes modified during the domestication of pea. Examination of these regions in P. s. ssp. abyssinicum (Table 1) reveals the P. s. ssp. sativum allele is present in both the Rb, Rms1 region of LG III and the EST-163, FRO1 region on LG IV. The b/Rms1R region precisely corresponds with the QTL for seed dormancy on LG III, whereas that on LG IV would have centered on the FRO1/EST-191 segment. However, should either or both QTL represent a gene from JI 1794 producing a thick testa, the presence of P. s. ssp. sativum-related alleles at these locations in the Abyssinian pea would be consistent with the thinning of the testa occurring before the P. s. ssp. sativum and P. s. ssp. abyssinicum lineages split.The genetic basis of seed dormancy has also been studied in To address this question, one must first define what is meant by \u201cto domesticate.\u201d Some have defined it as the acquisition of a considerable number of traits that we observed in modern day cultivars , while oP. s. ssp sativum and one leading to P. s. ssp. abyssinicum. Convincing evidence pertaining this question remains lacking, but the knowledge that there are several ways to obtain indehiscent pods in Pisum , and several avenues to loss of seed dormancy  it appears the onus is on those claiming an independent domestication for the Abyssinian pea to demonstrate that the Dpo gene and those genes controlling seed dormancy actually did mutate independently in the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum lineage. The results of the present study provide some evidence for an independent mutation at Dpo, but indicate that the lack of seed dormancy may have preceded the divergence of the two subspecies.Using this last definition, the Abyssinian pea would represent an independent domestication only if seed dormancy and pod dehiscence were independently lost in the two lineages, one leading to P. s. ssp. sativum has become such a widespread crop while P. s. ssp. abyssinicum has a very restricted range. The answer may lie in the considerable difference in genetic diversity present in the two taxa. The former has a genetic diversity that rivals that present in maize, whereas the Abyssinian pea is nearly monomorphic at all loci that have been tested. The much greater genetic diversity present in P. s. spp. sativum undoubtedly facilitates adaptation of the crop to different environments and modification of the actual crop . The difficulty in crossing the two subspecies probably prevented breeder/growers in Ethiopia and Yemen from moving traits available in the more widespread domesticate into the Abyssinian pea. Hence, it is now much more appropriate to consider this latter domesticate as a potential, albeit limited source of novel traits for pea improvement.It is of interest to ask why Pisum taxa, suggesting a very ancient divergence from these other groups, yet the extremely low genetic diversity of P. s. ssp. abyssinicum, particularly relative to the other Pisum taxa, suggests a very recent origin or genetic bottleneck. The unique alleles present in Abyssinian pea are strong evidence against a recent origin (<5000 years bp), whether hybrid or not, because we should still find those alleles in other accessions at the numerous germplasm collections throughout the world. We are left with the genetic bottleneck explanation, with isolation and strong selection being the obvious factors. However, if P. s. ssp. abyssinicum was widespread at one point, what was its distribution and why, based on how alleles seem to be freely exchanged in the rest of the genus, don\u2019t we see some of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum alleles appearing rarely in other accessions?The Abyssinian pea presents an interesting dilemma when trying to explain its genetic characteristics. Many of its alleles are highly diverged from any allele yet identified in the other Pisum has been a moot point since the defining of the genus. Most of the problem exists in trying to further divide the \u2018wild\u2019 material referred to as P. s. ssp. elatius (sensu latu) into species. This germplasm is a diverse assemblage of types, yet the variation appears continuous within this complex (P. s. ssp. sativum. The analysis presented in this paper is consistent with treating \u2018sativum\u2019 and \u2018elatius\u2019 as a panmictic complex and demonstrates that the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum germplasm was derived from this complex. If we are not willing or able to define a P. elatius at the species level, then what justification is there to define a P. abyssinicum?The taxonomic treatment of a related group of organisms can change as new information is obtained and ideas of what constitutes a particular taxonomic level are modified. Whether only two  or up to complex , 2017 anPisum sativum ssp. abyssinicum alleles displayed a much closer relationship to alleles in either P. s. ssp. sativum or P. s. ssp. elatius than to those in P. fulvum. The possibility that the Abyssinian pea was derived from a P. sativum \u00d7 P. fulvum hybridization within the last 10,000 years is thus rejected. The possibility remains that the Abyssinian pea is a product of a P. s. ssp. sativum \u00d7 P. s. ssp. elatius hybridization, with the most likely source of P. s. ssp. elatius germplasm being Asia Minor. The question whether the Abyssinian pea represents an independent domestication event remains debatable. The indehiscent pod trait required for domestication may have arisen independently in this lineage based on the P. s. ssp. elatius-related alleles in the Dpo region of the P. s. ssp. abyssinicum genome. However, little evidence is available to determine if the lack of seed dormancy in the Abyssinian pea evolved after this lineage separated from that leading to P. s. ssp. sativum.The comparison of alleles at 54 genes distributed throughout the pea nuclear genome demonstrated that The author performed the research and wrote the manuscript.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Applied Imaging Technology. 4th ed. J. C. P. Heggie, N. A. Liddell, and K. P. Maher. St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, 2001. http://www.life.rmit.edu.au/mrs/kpm/AIT/PACS number(s): 87.57. Applied Imaging Technology is a textbook written for use by radiology residents in Australasia. The book is approximately 500 pages long, and is divided into the following major sections: Radiation Biology & Safety; Basic Physics of X\u2010ray Imaging; Technology of X\u2010ray Imaging; Magnetic Resonance; Nuclear Medicine; and Ultrasound. This publication is concise, comprehensive, and current. In addition, the technical quality of the text and illustrations is high. Applied Imaging Technology reflects the needs of Australasia in terms of radiation regulations and radiologic practice. Nonetheless, I think this is an excellent book to supplement the standard texts on medical imaging found in many European and North American radiology departments. This book includes a wealth of up\u2010to\u2010date references to the scientific literature as well as more than 500 multiple choice questions. Anyone involved in teaching radiology residents and technologists should be able to benefit from the numerous drawings and illustrations in this book, as well as the medical images which enhance the reader's understanding of the accompanying text."}
+{"text": "Dr. Andre A.F.L. van Puijenbroek was not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the eighth author and affiliated with InteRNA Technologies BV, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The contributions of this author are as follows: Conceived and designed the experiments, analyzed the data."}
+{"text": "Anopheles species. However, the data of Anopheles species and their behavior in Indonesia is still lacking. To optimize the preventive measures of malaria, it is important to synchronize the efforts with the behavior of local Anopheles mosquito was baited by using animal and human (indoor or outdoor) from 18.00 to 06.00 hours. Then, the species were identified and Man Biting Rate (MBR) and Man/Animal Biting per Hour (MBPH) were calculated followed by statistical analysis by using SPSS 17. Explorative research was conducted from April to September 2016 in Southern Minahasa district. The An. barbirostris, An. kochi, and An. vagus. An. vagus was found to be zoophilic and An. barbirostris was showing strict anthropophilic characteristics. Meanwhile, An. kochi feeds on both human and animal. The MBR of An. kochi was found to be the highest (P < 0.005), but its MBPH only significantly exceeded that of An. vagus. All species tend to be more active during the early evening. The data showed that the dominant species in Southern Minahasa were An. barbirostris, An. kochi, and An. vagus were the dominant Anopheles species in Southern Minahasa. Further research is needed to determine the Plasmodium infestation rate of these species. The mosquito is known as a vector for some of the most important human parasites including malaria which is one of important communicable diseases especially in tropical area . Global  Anopheles mosquito poses a real challenge to malaria control programs because different species tend to have different behaviors and feeding locations (indoor versus outdoor) [ Anopheles species within the region tend to feed on human outdoor, then common preventive measures like insecticide-impregnated bed nets and indoor spraying will be useless to prevent malaria. Also, the zoophilic tendency is also important in the case of zoophilic-anthropophilic Anopheles since the presence of domestic animal near housing will only attract mosquito [ Anopheles also increases the risk of zoonosis, such as in the case of P. knowlesi [The diversity ofoutdoor) . For examosquito . Furtherknowlesi . Anopheles species in Indonesia, the exploration and mapping of Anopheles species and its distribution are important. Moreover, Indonesia is an archipelago country with each of its islands or regions having very distinct ecological characteristics from one another; thus it could be hypothesized that the Anopheles diversity will also differ from one area to another. So this type of research is urgently needed in Indonesia, especially in malaria endemic areas such as Southern Minahasa.Since there are only few studies of Anopheles species in the region of South Minahasa district and evaluate whether the species are potential vector for malaria from April to September 2016 in South Minahasa district. Sampling was conducted in the areas suspected as Anopheles breeding ground for two weeks. Mosquitoes were baited using human and animal and then caught using insect net. The mosquitoes were then placed inside a labeled tube film, identified, and counted. The protocol of using human and animal bait is described as follows.A descriptive explorative research was conducted to identifyThe mosquitoes were lured by using four people as human baits who worked in shifts between 18.00 and 06.00 hours. As a preventive measure, malaria prophylaxis (chloroquine) had been given one week before research and continued for up to 1 month after the end of the study. Sample collection was conducted both inside and outside the house from families that had at least one member with malaria. The human bait wore a short and rolled up the cloth sleeve, exposing the whole arm to the mosquito. The human bait was also asked not to smoke during the baiting period.Mosquito catching using animal baits was conducted in the animal pen and its surrounding areas with no special treatment given to the animal. All mosquitoes that landed on the animal were collected using aspirator and stored inside labeled container.All collected specimens were identified using taxonomical book by O'Connor and Soepanto (1999) .(a)The Man Biting Rate (Man Biting Rate) :(1)the\u2009\u2009(b)Man/Animal Biting per Hour (MBPH) :(2)the\u2009\u2009All data were analyzed descriptively to see the diversity of the species, the pattern of mosquito density, and its biting pattern. All data were analyzed by normality test (Shapiro-Wilk) to determine the distribution pattern. Next, we compared the density and biting pattern of each species to evaluate whether the differences were statistically significant. All analyses were conducted with SPSS.17 for Windows.The density of mosquitoes that contact the human and animal bait was calculated by using following equation. Anopheles species that was found in Southern Minahasa as well as their respective frequency from May to September 2016. An. barbirostris and An. parangensis were the most common species inside the house. Meanwhile, An. parangensis and An. maculatus were more common outside the house. It was interested that An. parangensis was found to be quite common both inside and outside the house. No An. vagus or An. kochi was found in human bait experiment, but both of them were commonly found in animal bait experiment.It appeared that An. vagus, An. kochi, and An. barbirostris. The result of MBR of those species is described in detail in Tables  An. vagus feeds on animals, we calculate its MBR and MBPH based on the number of mosquitoes found feeding on domestic animals.  An. vagus took place between 18.00 and 22.00 hours with a momentary pause between 22.00 and 05.00 hours. Then, the feeding activity resumed briefly from 05.00 to 06.00 hours. The MBPH of this species ranged from 0.1 to 0.2 mosquitoes/animal/hour.Next, we calculated the MBR of for An. kochi. It appears that the MBR of An. kochi in animals ranges from 0.31 to 1.64, which was higher than that of An. vagus. Also, its MBPH ranged from 0.02 to 0.35 inside the house and 0.02 to 0.54 outside the house. MBPH data indicate that the feeding activity of An. kochi began as early as 06.00 a.m. and rose sharply in the next 2-hour period. Meanwhile, it decreased steadily for the next 2 hours until there was no detectable activity between 02.00 and 04.00 hours. Then, there was some feeding activity during the last 2-hour period. In contrast, the activity of An. kochi outside the house was much higher during the first 6 hours. Later on, it decreased sharply and stabilized at 0.02 mosquitoes/man/hour. In contrast to An. vagus, An. kochi is known to feed on both humans and animals, so the calculation of MBPH was focused on human bait.We evaluated the same variable An. barbirostris, which is known to feed only on human. Compared to An. vagus and An. kochi, An. barbirostris has higher rate of MBR ranging from 0.71 to 0.89 inside the house and 0.11 to 0.45 outside the house. Meanwhile, its MBPH was not so different than the other two. The MBR rate inside the house was also higher than the outside; meanwhile, the opposite was observed in MBPH rate for the first 5 hours. Then, the MBPH rate began to fall and stabilized at 0.02\u20130.04 mosquitoes/man/hour. Interestingly, no activity was observed between 01.00 and 04.00 hours.We evaluated the corresponding variables for An. vagus, An. kochi, and An. barbirostris. The details of comparisons are presented in Tables  An. vagus and An. kochi exceeded that of An. barbirostris significantly. In addition, the endophytic density of An. barbirostris also exceeded its exophytic density.Lastly, we compared both variables (MBR and MBPH) between An. vagus and exophytic An. kochi was statistically significant  of this species was higher than that of An. vagus but lower than that of An. kochi, though the difference between it and An. vagus was not statistically significant. It was also found both inside and outside the house, but its endophytic MBR was significantly higher, which suggests that this species was more active indoor. Based on the pattern of its MBPH, it was found that An. barbirostris tended to remain active during the first 4-5 hours of the evening. However, the MBPH pattern showed that this species was slightly more active outdoor. An. barbirostris is widely distributed in Southeast Asia and some studies had also confirmed it as a Plasmodium vector [ An. barbirostris was never found to be a common species in other studies conducted in Southeast Asia and its density had always exceeded the density of An. maculatus, An. sondaicus, and An. dirus [On the other hand,m vector , 21. Hown. dirus , 10. Furn. dirus , 23. Anopheles species, the feeding pattern of An. kochi was found to be similar to that of An. barbirostris, but An. barbirostris was found feeding on both humans and animals. By comparing its MBR and MBPH, it was clear that the density of this species exceeded the densities of the other two species. Furthermore, its exophytic feeding activity was also higher than its endophytic activity, although there were no statistically significant differences between its MBPH and that of An. vagus and exophytic An. barbirostris. This species tends to be more widely distributed compared with other Anopheles species, which is confirmed by Pinontoan [ Plasmodium, which highlights the potential role of this species in malaria transmission. However, a study conducted in Maluku region of eastern Indonesia by Soekirno et al. reported that An. kochi was not infectious and did not act as an effective vector for Plasmodium [ Plasmodium infection but could not find any sporozoite [ Plasmodium vector and further researches are needed to confirm the findings reported by Pinontoan [As for the comparison of the last twoinontoan . The samasmodium . Jiram eorozoite . Thus, iinontoan . An. maculatus was found to be lower than that of the other four species; meanwhile, it was found to be predominant in several countries of Indochina peninsula [ An. farauti and An. punctulatus are predominant in Papua New Guinea and An. sondaicus is commonly found in Sunda Island, Indonesia [ Anopheles mosquito tends to be more active during the first hour of the evening, which is in accordance with the findings of this study. Nevertheless, this study provided additional data about Anopheles species in Indonesia which still has high prevalence of malaria.Overall, our findings reveal the local diversity in Southern Minahasa region of Celebes Island, Indonesia. This finding was different compared with the other studies conducted in Southeast Asia. In this study, the density ofeninsula , 10\u201312. ndonesia , 25, 26. An. kochi and An. barbirostris were the main vectors of malaria in Southern Minahasa district, with An. barbirostris feeding specifically on humans and An. kochi feeding on both humans and animals. It also appears that they tend to be more active during the first hour of the evening whereas their activity drops significantly later on. In regard to An. kochi's feeding behavior, it can be concluded that having a domestic animal around the settlement could attract this species and, hence, increase the risk of malaria infection. However, further research is needed to investigate the Plasmodium infestation rate among these Anopheles species in order to complete the map of species distribution and susceptibility areas in Minahasa Region and Indonesia.Based on the results of this study, we found that"}
+{"text": "AbstractDiadumenelineata (Actiniaria: Diadumenidae) is a prolific invader of coastal environments around the world. First described from Asia, this sea anemone has only been reported once from the western Gulf of Mexico at Port Aransas, Texas. No subsequent sampling has located this species at this locality. The first record of the reappearance of D.lineata on the Texas coast from three locations in the Galveston Bay area is provided, and its geographic distribution and taxonomic history reviewed. Diadumenelineata  is perhaps the most widespread actiniarian in the world , he named it Sagartialuciae. D.lineata in New England to Rhode Island, and by 1929 it had been collected in Cape Charles, Virginia (D.lineata (as H.luciae) in a checklist of actiniarians from South Carolina, describing them as \u201ccommon to abundant.\u201d On the Pacific coast, Sagartiadavisi from San Pedro, California, now considered a synonym for D.lineata. The species was included in a faunal checklist of California as early as Sagartialuciae\u2026 has been reported from San Francisco. We have found this similar form to be very common at certain points in San Diego Bay and Mission Bay.\u201d Chrysoelachrysosplenium was originally composed of both itself and D.lineata as suggested by H.lineata in their guide to European marine fauna, and wrote that it occurred on, \u201call British coasts\u2026 widely distributed through Europe and the rest of the world\u201d  from northwestern Florida. The earlier record is from Port Aransas, Texas at the University of Texas Marine Research Station  in the checklist of cnidarians of the Gulf of Mexico, citing D.lineata has not been found PageBreakat Port Aransas since . Additionally, to our knowledge no other reports of D.lineata exist in the Gulf west of northern Florida.There exist only two reports of  Station . HedgpetDiadumenelineata occurs in dense numbers on rock jetties, pilings, oyster reefs, and in salt marshes where it has been reported to associate with Spartinaalterniflora , often inconspicuous sea anemone is dark green or brown with orange, yellow, white, or green vertical stripes  and reserniflora . Diadumeceration  and the ceration . Johnson 27.5 \u00b0C . It can  27.5 \u00b0C . The abiD.lineata has been discovered at three separate locations in the Galveston Bay area  . Another population was discovered on a rock jetty that supports a Crassostreavirginica Gmelin reef on Bolivar Peninsula on March 14, 2017 . Five individuals were gently scraped from the oyster shells and preserved in 70% ethanol. A third population was discovered on a bed of oyster shells near a salt marsh off Sportsman Road on Galveston Island on July 7, 2017   includes various names .Verrill (1871) described ustulata . Later, S.luciae to be synonymous with S.chrysosplenium . Actiniachrysosplenium, in two later works from Falmouth  to be synonymous, S.lineata-luciae from C.chrysosplenium, a separation that exists to this day. D.lineata and C.chrysosplenium could not be determined as an actiniarian matching Cocks\u2019 original description had not been sampled. C.chrysosplenium both as a synonym for D.lineata and as a separate species.While S.lineata and S.luciae were the same species. Calgren (1949) listed D.lineata as Aiptasiomorphaluciae, which would be adopted by D.lineata at Port Aransas. Aiptasiomorpha and Diadumene, arguing that the only distinguishing feature was the presence of catch tentacles in the latter, but not all individuals of the Diadumenidae possessed them. She further erected the family Haliplanellidae with a single genus Haliplanella on the basis of a novel combination of nematocysts in the acontia of basitrichs, microbasic p-mastigophores, and microbasic amastigophores, and removed D.luciae to this new genus. However, the genus Haliplanella had previously been established by Haliplanellaluciae still appears in many modern texts  to preserve the genus Haliplanella by suppression of S.luciae to be a synonym for S.lineata , confusion as to the generic position of D.lineata remains. Several recent publications mention the name Haliplanellalineata  and the Fin and Feather Reef on Redfish Bay , have been examined in the past, but no sea anemones were found . Based on the three separate observations of the Galveston Bay D.lineata populations, which occurred across a range of locations and dates, we are confident that D.lineata is well established in the bay. Salt marshes near the Sportsman Road jetty were examined for any association between D.lineata and S.alterniflora as reported by D.lineata and S.alterniflora is limited to the Bahia Blanca estuary, or simply the difficulty of locating such tiny animals in the dense muddy marsh without the use of cores and laboratory observation.Therefore, based on the assumed disappearance of the Port Aransas population, the current report represents a reappearance of D.lineata became established in Galveston Bay of all locations in the western Gulf. An enormous amount of cargo passes through Galveston Bay every year, as passage through the Bay is required to reach not only the Port of Galveston, but also the much larger ports of Houston and Texas City. In 2015 the American Association of Port Authorities ranked the ports of Houston and Texas City 1st and 15th respectively in terms of the total tons of annual foreign imports  includes a trade route that connects Galveston to Southampton, roughly 150 km from Cornwall where the spePageBreakcies has been located previously. H\u00f6egh Autoliners, another Galveston port regular, ports extensively through Southeast Asia where D.lineata is believed to originate. Past studies have found this species adhering to boat hulls and suggested this as a likely explanation for its worldwide invasion (e.g., It is unsurprising that  imports . The poron e.g., .D.lineata still appears in dispute, as the taxonomic review above indicated, while the specific name D.lineata seems accepted due to precedent (ICZN decision to suppress Diadumene as the proper genus (The generic position of recedent . The 201er genus ."}
+{"text": "Introduction.Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, an opportunistic pathogen of dogs and cats, is rarely reported to cause infection in humans. Here, we describe a case of severe skin infection caused by S. pseudintermedius, in a 47-year-old male, a dog owner; to the best of our knowledge, this is the first such case reported from Scotland.Case presentation. The patient presented with a short history of a severe ecthyma-like lesion on his forehead, with smaller lesions on his abdomen and legs. Bacterial culture revealed Clostridium perfringens, thought to be colonizing the wound, and a Staphylococcus species, identified as S. pseudintermedius by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight MS and confirmed by molecular methods using a PCR-RFLP approach. The patient was treated with flucloxacillin, penicillin V and Fucibet cream, and recovered fully. Zoonotic infection was considered likely; however, screening swabs from his dogs grew S. pseudintermedius of a different clonal type. Both patient and dog strains carried Staphylococcus intermedius exfoliative toxin and leucocidin I, closely related to Panton\u2013Valentine leucocidin, possibly contributing to the severity of the infection. S pseudintermedius, although coagulase positive, is normally negative by rapid slide clumping and latex agglutination tests routinely used to identify Staphylococcus aureus. Hence, S. pseudintermedius may easily be misidentified as a coagulase-negative staphylococcus and considered insignificant.Conclusion. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of a human S. pseudintermedius infection in Scotland. Zoonotic transmission of S. pseudintermedius between pets and owners has been shown. However, in this case zoonosis could not be confirmed. CNS, coagulase-negative staphylococcus; MALDI-TOF, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight; PVL, Panton\u2013Valentine leukocidin; ST, sequence type.Staphylococcus pseudintermedius belongs to a group of three closely related staphylococcal species  known as the S. intermedius group [S. pseudintermedius is a member of the normal flora, colonizing up to 90\u200a%, of dogs, and is also a major opportunistic pathogen responsible for a wide range of infections including pyoderma, otitis, wound and urinary-tract infections in dogs, cats and horses, but has only rarely been isolated from humans [S. pseudintermedius in humans, including infected dog bite wounds, bacteraemia, pneumonia, brain abscesses and septic arthritis, most of which have been related to dog exposure [S. pseudintermedius is a coagulase-positive organism, the characteristics of its coagulase differs from Staphylococcus aureus coagulase [S. aureus. These tests differentiate S. aureus from other staphylococcal species by detecting clumping factor and cell bound protein A. As these two factors are rarely present in S. pseudintermedius, up to 90\u200a% of isolates tested will give a negative result. Therefore, the true incidence of human infection is unknown, but is likely to be higher than that reported. This is due to the pathogen being frequently misidentified, either as a coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) and regarded as a contaminant, or as S. aureus [S. pseudintermedius is now possible, whereas previously it may have been misidentified as S. aureus or discarded based on a negative latex agglutination test [us group . S. pseum humans . Howeverexposure . While Soagulase . The maj. aureus . Since tion test .S. aureus, S. pseudintermedius produces numerous virulence factors including toxins, such as haemolysins, exfoliative toxins, coagulase, thermonuclease, clumping factor and protein A, enterotoxins and a leucotoxin I (Luk-I), which is very similar to Panton\u2013Valentine leucocidin (PVL) from S. aureus. However, as many of these virulence factors have yet to be characterized in detail, knowledge of the pathogenesis of S. pseudintermedius is very limited [S. pseudintermedius isolates from an infected human and his colonized dogs to determine whether zoonotic transmission had occurred.Similar to  limited . This caClostridium perfringens and a CNS identified by MALDI-TOF MS as S. pseudintermedius. No fungi were isolated from the lesion. The patient\u2019s anterior nares were screened for colonization with S. pseudintermedius, which were negative.A 47-year-old sawmill worker presented with a 1 week history of an ecthyma-like, painful, enlarging crusting lesion on his forehead, with several smaller satellite lesions . InitialC. perfringens from the lesion was concerning and its significance uncertain. There were no features of clostridial soft tissue infection, no loss of tissue viability around the lesion and no evidence of skin necrosis, no bullae, blisters, bruising nor numbness, and no systemic toxicity. It was concluded that this organism was colonizing the lesion and not contributing to the infection.The isolation of S. pseudintermedius had not been fully identified and the significance of the C. perfringens was yet to be determined. It was, therefore, felt reasonable to include penicillin V with flucloxacillin. Fucibet cream was included to reduce inflammation, irritation and wound discharge. This was applied topically twice daily for several weeks, in conjunction with warm bathing with water/white vinegar twice daily until the eschar separated. The patient was given oral chlorphenamine, 4\u2009mg, as required, for the itching. Five weeks later, his skin lesion had almost completely resolved  was performed as described elsewhere . The PFGS. intermedius exfoliative toxin (SIET) and leucocidin I (lukF/S-PV), which is closely related to PVL [blaZ gene [blaZ gene, oxacillin and fusidic acid.Genes encoding toxins PVL, toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 and exfoliative toxins a, b were not detected by PCR . Howeverd to PVL . AntibiolaZ gene , and susThe patient completed his treatment and recovered fully.S. pseudintermedius colonization in humans and in those that have been performed low levels of colonization have been reported. In a study of humans and their pet dogs in Ontario, Canada, S. pseudintermedius was isolated from 4.1\u200a% of healthy subjects [S. intermedius group in 8.9\u200a% of subjects [There have been relatively few studies on the rate of subjects , and a ssubjects .S. pseudintermedius is a coagulase-positive organism, which is normally negative by rapid slide clumping test and by commercial latex agglutination tests that detect clumping factor, protein A and/or surface antigens in S. aureus. As a consequence, the risk that S. pseudintermedius is misidentified as a CNS is high in human diagnostic laboratories, as these commercial tests are routinely used to screen for rapid discrimination of S. aureus and CNS [ and CNS .C. perfringens, and the severity of the lesion, the unknown staphylococcus would not have been fully identified. Identification of this isolate as S. pseudintermedius prompted the history of dog contact to be elicited from the patient. The significance of the C. perfringens remains uncertain; polymicrobial cultures from humans and dogs infected with S. pseudintermedius are common [S. pseudintermedius infections in humans may differ to those of companion animals, where the organism is often the primary pathogen, this organism certainly has the potential to be virulent in the human host.Clinical details concerning the nature of an infection are, of course, very significant for determining optimal microbiological laboratory processing of specimens. In this case, clinical information on the request form was lacking, and had it not been for the presence of a potentially significant pathogen, e common . While iS. pseudintermedius as a human zoonotic pathogen is unknown [S. pseudintermedius between dogs and humans have been published [et al. [S. pseudintermedius in infected dogs, their owners and subjects with no daily contact with dogs. In the study, the dog owners were significantly more likely to carry S. pseudintermedius than the control group and they often carried the same strain as their dog. In this case, the strain infecting the patient was different to that of his colonized dogs, indicating that zoonotic transmission, between the patient and his dog, had not occurred. However, it is possible that the dogs may have been colonized by more than one strain, but due to the limitations of our typing methodology, multiple strain colonization could not be determined. Polyclonal S. aureus colonization in humans has been shown, caused by exposure to diverse strains from exogenous sources, such as other individuals or pets [At present, the true incidence of  unknown . Howeverublished . Guardab [et al.  have inv or pets . TherefoS. pseudintermedius [S. aureus. While S. intermedius exfoliative toxin has been shown to cause symptoms similar to canine pyoderma and human scalded skin syndrome, and LukI to be leucotoxic to polymorphonuclear cells, their role in pathogenesis among strains of S. pseudintermedius remains unclear [S. pseudintermedius infection in a human from Scotland.All isolates in this case report were positive for the genes encoding toxins LukI and SIET, which is consistent with other reports on the detection of virulence genes in ermedius . These g unclear . While z"}
+{"text": "Bengt H. Gless was not included as an author in the published article. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The original article has been updated.MB, MSB, PD, CO, and HI planned the experiments. JC, MB, and MSB performed the microbiological work. BG and PG performed chemical synthesis. MS did the bioinformatic analysis. PA supervised the bioinformatic analysis and PD and HI the microbiological work. CO supervised the chemical research. JC, MB, MSB, PA, PD, CO, and HI contributed to the writing of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Themeda triandra, Tristachya leucothrix and Setaria nigrirostris. Currently, the dominant species are Panicum maximum, Setaria sphacelata and Eragrostis curvula, making up 71% of total biomass. As in the Park Grass experiment, we found a significant (additive) interaction effect on ANPP of nitrogen and phosphorus, and a  negative correlation between ANPP and species richness. Unlike the Park Grass experiment, there was no correlation between ANPP and species richness when pH was included as a covariate. There was also a significant negative effect of nitrogen amount and nitrogen form and a positive effect of lime on species richness and species diversity. Soil pH had an important effect on species richness. Liming was insufficient to balance the negative effects on species richness of nitrogen fertilization. There was a significant effect of pH on biomass of three abundant species. There were also significant effects of light on the biomass of four species, with only Panicum maximum having a negative response to light. In all of the abundant species, adding total species richness and ANPP to the model increased the amount of variance explained. The biomass of Eragrostis curvula and P. maximum were negatively correlated with species richness while three other abundant species increased with species richness, suggesting that competition and facilitation were active. Consistent with the results from the Park Grass and other long-term fertilization experiments of grasslands, we found a positive effect of soil pH and a negative effect of nitrogen amount on species richness, a more acutely negative effect on species richness of acidic ammonium sulphate fertilizer than limestone ammonium nitrate, a negative relationship between species richness and biomass, and a positive effect on species richness of lime interacting with nitrogen.We compared the results of a long-term (65 years) experiment in a South African grassland with the world\u2019s longest-running ecological experiment, the Park Grass study at Rothamsted, U.K. The climate is warm and humid in South Africa and cool and temperate in England. The African grassland has been fertilized with two forms of nitrogen applied at four levels, phosphorus and lime in a crossed design in 96 plots. In 1951, about 84% of plant cover consisted of  Priority effects may play a large role in plant communities \u20134. The rOne of the ways to minimize priority effects is to conduct long-term experiments. Long-term experiments of rigorous statistical design that have manipulated many of the major nutrients known to be most limiting to plants are rare \u201311. The -2), phosphorus  and lime application . Unfortunately, relatively few papers have been published from the 65 years that the experiment has been active )2) than the Park Grass plots (ca. 200 m2). We note that Mittelbach et al. [The sample size in our study (n = 96) was similar to that for the Park Grass experiment (n = 97 \u2013). The sih et al.  found th2) are similar in area to ours. Some [In a review of grassland fertilization experiments run at 48 sites on five continents, Adler et al.  considerrs. Some , 82 contCrawley et al.  record tE. curvula and P. maximum) displayed a significant nitrogen X phosphorus interaction. However, when we tested the effect of the current level of total soil nitrogen, there was only a significant effect for T. triandra and T. leucothrix. The biomass of both of these species were negatively correlated with nitrogen, indicating that they were nitrophobic. Contrastingly, despite the fact that P. maximum is renowned for being a nitrophilic species  effect of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization ; however species , 84), thP. maximum, T. triandra, S. sphacelata and E. curvula), there was a significant effect of lime application, which is consistent with an overall response to changes in pH , while P. maximum and E. curvula responded negatively to pH, indicating that they preferred a more acidic soil. P. maximum did not respond as expected to increased total soil nitrogen  responded positively to PAR. Only one species (Panicum maximum) responded negatively to PAR. This means that only three species were unresponsive to PAR . However, there was no overall (significant) response of ANPP or species richness to PAR. Light conditions beneath the grass layer were reduced by nutrient addition to 30% of full sunlight but remained above 60% in non-fertilized plots [The effects of light, induced by shading among plants, appears to be important among many of the abundant species. Three of the four abundant species we studied  was also introduced into the multiple regression models, these were more important than the other variables in five of the six species , total soil nitrogen (S. sphacelata) and PAR (P. maximum), the standardized (\u03b2) coefficients showed that species richness was more important than the other variables. However, the directions of the effects differed among species\u2013T. triandra, T. leucothrix and S. sphacelata responded positively to species richness while E. curvula, E. plana and P. maximum responded negatively. Some researchers have found that differences in plant height affect responses to species richness  responded positively to species richness while the other responded negatively. T. triandra T. leucothrix, E. curvula and E. plana are short species and they responded positively  and negatively  to species richness. Our results show that T. triandra, T. leucothrix and S. sphacelata are facilitated by the presence of other species, while E. curvula, E. plana and P. maximum compete with other species.A very interesting result in this study was that, while there were many variables that the dominant species responded to Tables  and 4a,  species . Even fos e.g., , 72, 85), 85P. maAristida junciformis, which is known to take over grasslands very quickly when they are disturbed in any way [A. junciformis should be a very effective competitor. We found that A. junciformis was a very poor competitor [A. junciformis exploits gaps where other species are absent, a significant negative correlation with species richness and ANPP might be expected. A. junciformis is known to be very unpalatable, largely due to its high fibre content [A. junciformis was more sensitive to defoliation  than the highly palatable dominant species in many natural grasslands, T. triandra. Morris and Tainton [T. triandra than in A. junciformis. The two species differed in their ability to tolerate defoliation under competition. Defoliation reduced the yield of A. junciformis, at all levels of competition, to a greater extent than T. triandra. A. junciformis was particularly sensitive to a combination of severe defoliation and full competition [A. junciformis did not respond to either of these parameters. Morris and Tainton (86) suggested that manipulation of grazing patterns may shift the competitive balance between palatable (e.g. T. triandra) and unpalatable (e.g. A. junciformis) components of the sward. We suggest that simultaneous manipulation of phosphorus, lime, light, competition and defoliation is needed to better understand the dynamics of A. junciformis.An interesting species is  any way , 86. Fro any way , 86 thatmpetitor . However content , 88. MorWe believe that there clearly are generalities that can be derived from such long-term fertilization experiments. The majority of the results from this study are consistent with those of the Park Grass experiment , 15, 18."}
+{"text": "Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum, Dipylidium caninum, and Echinococcus spp. are well-known zoonotic parasites worldwide, resulting in high public health risks. Poor data about canine helminth species and prevalence are available in Russia, mainly due to the absence of official guidelines for the control of dog parasites. Moreover, the consequent low quality of veterinary monitoring and use of preventive measures, the high rate of environmental contamination by dog feces and the increase of stray dog populations, make the control of the environmental contamination by dog helminths very difficult in this country. This paper reviews the knowledge on canine helminth fauna and prevalence in Russia. Practical aspects related to diagnosis, treatment, and control of parasitic diseases of dogs in Russia are discussed.Dogs are the hosts for a wide helminth spectrum including tapeworms, flatworms, and nematodes. These parasites affect the dog health and cause morbidity and mortality, especially in young and old animals. Some species, as  Dipylidium caninum, Echinococcus granulosus, Ancylostoma spp., and Toxocara canis are common parasites of dogs that can affect humans in different countries around the world. Knowledge about parasite species in domestic dogs, prevalence and intensity of helminth infestations in dog populations, transmission of canine parasites and the seasonal dynamics of parasite infestations are essential for control and prevention of helminthosis in domestic animals and humans.Dogs are the most popular pets worldwide and are infested with many parasites, which may represent a health risk for humans, especially children, the elderly and the immune-compromised -3. For iInvestigation of free-roaming dog populations as part of urban ecology is a major key for the solution of many ecological problems in industrial ecosystems ,5.http://laboratorium.narod.ru/gelm.html) and 10,000 in Omsk [In Russia, 40-50% of household owners keep a dog, and the total dog population amounts to 30 million . Therefo in Omsk . Stray d in Omsk ,10. This2 . Russia consists of seven basic climate zones. The humid continental climate predominates in all parts of the country: European Russia, in the south of West Siberia and in the south of the Russian Far East, including the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, except for the tundra and the extreme southeast.The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world, covering 7,125,200 kmThe Russian Federation is divided into eight large Federal Districts: Northwestern, South, Central, Volga, North Caucasian Federal district, Siberian, Urals, and Far East Federal District. There is lack of data about canine helminth communities and prevalence. The North Caucasian District -17 and CToxascaris leonina, T. canis, D. caninum, E. granulosus and A. caninum, are frequently found in dogs from different Russian regions , Metorchis bilis , Metorchis xanthosomus , Dicrocoelium lanceatum , Diphyllobothrium latum, and Strongyloides stercoralis have only been sporadically reported in Russia. Clonorchis sinensis Looss, 1907 is an endemic species from the Asian Region; it was found in dogs from the Russian Far East [Taenia species found in dogs from Russia, the most common parasites are Taenia hydatigena, followed by Taenia multiceps. Two species, Taenia ovis and Taenia pisiformis, have been found in the North Caucasian District only.In Russia, dogs may be infested with a large number of helminths including cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. The canine gastrointestinal helminth fauna includes 21 species . There as Tables-. Other hFar East . Among TStrongyloides larva detection techniques and post-mortem examination. Helminth eggs are usually detected in feces by ordinary coprologycal techniques such as Fulleborn\u2019s method and Darling\u2019s method; these methods are present low sensitivity for some helminth species and result in the underestimation of the real prevalence of some parasites [Opisthorchis eggs is also use in some studies  are worldwide parasites of Cyprinidae fishes, and infest fish-eating mammals. In Russia, M. xanthosomus was found in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, while M. bilis was found in Caucasian Minerals Water , E. canadensis  were found in Russia [However, toxocariasis was recorded in 2.1 per 100,000 people from 2008 to 2012 . InfestaDistrict . The Toxted food  or by dited food . Echinocted food . Higher ted food . The Oreted food . Recentl species . E. grann Russia .D. caninum, which occurs through ingestion feline fleas infected with tapeworms [D. caninum infestation was also registered in Russia. Dipylidiasis was recorded in humans from the Orenburgskii Region [People are infrequently infested with apeworms ,81. D. ci Region , Moscow i Region , and thei Region .Clonorchis Loos, 1907, Metorchis, and Opisthorchis Blanchard 1895, in the family Opisthorchiidae, exploit freshwater snails and fish as the first and second intermediate hosts, respectively. The final hosts, fish-eating birds and mammals, including dogs and humans, are infected by eating fish harboring infective metacercariae [Opisthorchis felineus and Metorchis spp. are major sources of water contamination [O. felineus in people is 70-80% [Liver flukes of the genera ercariae . Feces omination . The lars 70-80% .M. bilis is also found in fish from the Ob-Irtysh basin. The prevalence rate in people from West Siberia is 28.1% [is 28.1% .C. sinensis is endemic to the Far Eastern region and it was also found in dogs and people from China and Korea [C. sinensis is frequently found in people from the Russian Far East [The flatworm nd Korea ,89. C. sFar East .M. lineatus has major veterinary importance, and occasionally, it has been found in people [M. lineatus infestation in humans have not been reported, however dog feces containing proglottids are major sources of environmental contamination.The tapeworm n people . In RussD. latum is a common parasite of fish-eating mammals. Fecal contamination of water is a source of D. latum spread. In the last 10 years, only one report regarding canine infestation from Ivanovo was published. A big center of infestation located in Russia is Baikal Lake. Infestation rates in humans from the Irkutsk Region were 9.6 cases per 100,000 people [0 people .Alaria alata, has specific veterinary importance [A. alata was found in dogs, foxes, wolves and badgers in the Vladimir, Ivanovo and Moscow regions, and in the Volgograd and Astrachan regions, in the North Caucasian District. Prevalence rates were 38.4-48.6% in farm dogs, 46.1-59.3% in stray dogs and 100% in wolves and foxes [Another flatworm, portance , howeverportance ,95. In Rnd foxes .T. canis and E. granulosus, which have a worldwide distribution.Zoonosis is the major veterinary and medical problem. Zoonotic infestations include well-known parasite species such as http://www.capcvet.org/) in the United States and the European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP: http://www.esccap.org/) in Europe.However, there are no official guidelines for the control of endoparasite infestations in dogs, such as that provided by the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC: http://docs.cntd.ru/document/1200050554) with State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of the Russian Federation (http://rospotrebnadzor.ru/documents/details.php?ELEMENT_ID=2890). Veterinarians do not have a native source of information for parasite epidemiology, life cycles or control measures [There is scant information about problems of veterinary epidemiology in Russia. Two guidelines for the sanitary and veterinary rules were published by the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation (measures .C. sinensis and O. felineus infestation in dogs, it is recommend to avoid the feeding of fresh cyprinid fishes [Parasitology monitoring is provided irregularly. Poor living conditions and lack of anti-parasitic medication causes environmental contamination with helminth eggs . Environd fishes .Many dog owners cannot afford preventive measures and will act only when a life-threatening problem is affecting their animals. Furthermore, there are a large number of free-roaming dogs populations in the Russian cities. Government is not able to manage these animals due to the lack of adequate infrastructure and trained personnel to conduct an effective long-term population control program. As a result, pet dogs and cats are usually endangered by a wide range of parasites that may cause disease in them and eventually in their human counterpart.The close contact between pets and humans may involuntarily represent a hazard for humans. Therefore, to avoid the potential risks associated with owning a pet, it is fundamental to maintain pets in good health and protect them from zoonotic pathogens.Therefore, veterinary practitioners and medical physicians should work together toward improving the well-being and general health of both animals and humans.MTV and AVE participated in the draft and revision of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Cladolabes schmeltzii, we have found a rather complex organization of connective tissue. Transcripts of genes encoding a wide range of structural proteins of extracellular matrix, as well as various proteases and their inhibitors, have been discovered. All these molecules may constitute a part of the mechanism of connective tissue mutability. According to our data, the extracellular matrix of echinoderms is substantially distinguished from that of vertebrates by the lack of elastin, fibronectins, and tenascins. In case of fission, a large number of genes of transcription factors and components of different signaling pathways are expressed. Products of these genes are probably involved in regulation of asexual reproduction, connective tissue mutability, and preparation of tissues for subsequent regeneration. It has been shown that holothurian tensilins are a special group of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, which has formed within the class Holothuroidea and is absent from other echinoderms. Our data can serve a basis for the further study of the mechanisms of extracellular matrix mutability, as well as the mechanisms responsible for asexual reproduction in echinoderms.Echinoderms are capable of asexual reproduction by fission. An individual divides into parts due to changes in the strength of connective tissue of the body wall. The structure of connective tissue and the mechanisms of variations in its strength in echinoderms remain poorly studied. An analysis of transcriptomes of individuals during the process of fission provides a new opportunity to understand the mechanisms of connective tissue mutability. In the holothurian  Asexual reproduction is the most ancient type of reproduction of organisms that occurs in members of most phyla of modern Metazoa \u20133. UnlikOne of the animal phyla that are able to reproduce asexually is Echinodermata. These are ancient, exclusively marine animals, which, along with chordates and hemichordates, form the group Deuterostomia. Asexual reproduction is found in some members of Asteroidea, Ophiuroidea, Echinoidea, and Holothuroidea \u201315. Sea Apostichopus japonicus has been sequenced [Strongylocentrotus purpuratus are described more in detail. This species has a set of genes for ECM components similar to that of other animals: collagens, proteoglycans, laminins, etc. [The body wall in echinoderms consists almost exclusively of connective tissue ,23. Therequenced ,30; howens, etc. ,32. Morens, etc. \u201337.A noteworthy feature of echinoderm connective tissue is the capability of changing its mechanical properties under the effect of various factors ,39. For Cucumaria frondosa [Paracentrotus lividus [A few hypotheses have been proposed for explaining the mechanisms of MCT changes ,45,48,49frondosa . It was frondosa . Several lividus . Blockin lividus \u201357. Prot lividus . NeverthCladolabes schmeltzii shows the capability of transverse division [We have recently found that the holothurian division ,59. The division ,21,60. TCladolabes schmeltzii . The animals were collected in Nha Trang Bay, South China Sea near the south part of Hon Tre island . C. schmeltzii are abundant in coastal areas of Vietnam. The species is not endangered or protected. They are invertebrate animals and no specific permissions are required for their collection. In three holothurians that were in the process of division, the area of the body with the constriction formed during fission was taken for the analysis  by the standard method. Treating with DNAase1 (ThermoScientific) was performed with addition of inhibitor of RNAases RiboLock (ThermoScientific). Synthesis and normalization of cDNA, construction of libraries, library quality control and sequencing were carried out by Evrogen JSC. The amplified dsDNA was prepared using the SMART method. To obtain the most complete transcriptome, the was used . SamplesAll reads were filtered and trimmed using the Trimmomatic 0.36 tool with parameters \u201cLEADING:20 TRAILING:20 SLIDINGWINDOW:5:21 AVGQUAL:25 MINLEN:30\u201d . Read paThe assembled sequences have been deposited in the NCBI Transcriptome Shotgun Assembly (TSA) database (GFWR00000000) and NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) . The assembled contigs were used as the input for the BLASTX homology search  against For finding the unique contigs for fission and norm, we used the number of paired-end reads per contig . If thishttp://smart.embl-heidelberg.de/) and NCBI\u2019s conserved domain search tool. The study of potential TIMP sequences was performed with HMMER 3.1 [Crassostrea gigas (outgroup) [S. purpuratus, sea star Patiria miniata, and holothurian Parastichopus parvimensis [C. schmeltzii were used for the analysis. The sequences were filtered by the minimum alignment length of 130 amino acids and verified by the NCBI NR protein database. Alignment was created using COBALT with standard settings [The domain structure of the supposed proteins was determined using the SMART (MMER 3.1  against utgroup) , sea urcvimensis ,75, thresettings . All seqsettings . Then alsettings . Tree cosettings .The results were obtained using the equipment of Shared Resource Center \u201cFar Eastern Computing Resource\u201d of Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS.A total of 37.6 million Illumina paired-end reads and 237 thousand 454 GS FLX+ single reads were obtained as a result of sequencing of the sample from intact (control) holothurians and 53% raw reads remained after filtration. When sequencing the sample of dividing animals, we obtained a total of 61.8 million Illumina paired-end reads and 32% raw reads remained after filtration. The assembly includes 50959 contigs with a mean length of CDS 516 nt . Of all An analysis of gene ontology showed that the physiological condition of holothurians quite markedly changes in case of fission . Such biA. japonicus. In this species, cathepsin D (aspartyl peptidase) takes an active part in degradation of extracellular matrix of the body wall [Among the molecular functions, a significant increase in peptidase activity during fission should be noted. Genes having a similar function are associated with such GO terms as \u201caspartic-type peptidase activity\u201d, \u201czinc ion binding\u201d, and \u201cpeptidase activity\u201d. The intensification of peptidase activity during fission and the involvement of aspartyl peptidases in this agree with the previously obtained data on the holothurian ody wall .Among cellular components, we can emphasize the genes grouped under the term \u201cintegral component of plasma membrane\u201d, which hints at the variations in receptor complexes of cells at the site of fission. The active transformation of organs and extracellular matrix is indicated by such terms as \u201cbasement membrane\u201d, \u201cgap junction\u201d, \u201claminin-10 complex\u201d, and \u201cextracellular vesicle\u201d. In general, GO annotation shows that many physiological and structural changes occur in the process of asexual reproduction. In holothurians, metabolism, immune and nervous systems are activated.C. schmeltzii. For example, in the Biological process group, they account for about 33%. As is known currently, retrotransposons may participate in regulation of various functions of organism [It is an interesting fact that transcripts of genes, associated with the functioning of viruses and retrotransposons, predominate in tissues of dividing individuals of organism ,82. Theiorganism \u201385. Our C. schmeltzii, transcripts of the genes of many ECM components such as collagens, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins, which are characteristic of most multicellular animals [tropoelastin in the transcriptome of C. schmeltzii. An analysis of the NCBI databases has shown an absence of sequences close to tropoelastin in echinoderms. An additional search in the genomes of the sea urchin S. purpuratus [A. japonicus [In  animals , have be animals . To our rpuratus  and the aponicus  has alsoaponicus ,87. Thesaponicus ,89. Our C. schmeltzii , network-forming collagens, and multiplexins. Like other echinoderms [C. schmeltzii has genes of fibrillar collagens of the types I/II/III and V/XI. Though the relatively small fragments were found in the transcriptomes of C. schmeltzii, it can be concluded that collagens of this species have a typical structure. Molecules include triple helical domains (Gly-X-Y) and COLFI domain is located at the C-terminus, as in other animals [The total number of types of collagens found in inoderms ,32, C. s animals .C. schmeltzii is represented by collagen IX. In vertebrates, this type of collagen is a component of cartilage, where it is located on the surface of collagen fibrils [The FACIT group in  fibrils . Collage fibrils . In echicollagen XV/XVIII [collagen XV/XVIII were detected in the transcriptome of C. schmeltzii. Collagens XV and XVIII are characterized by the highly interrupted collagenous domain and a large number of sites of binding with chondroitin sulfate and heparin sulfate glycosaminoglycans [The group of network-forming collagens is represented by collagen IV. This type of collagen is a component of basal membranes ,92,94. CXV/XVIII ,32. Fragoglycans . As a reoglycans . In echiC. schmeltzii  and ECM of body wall (collagen XV/XVIII).There are qualitative differences in the expression of collagen genes between intact and dividing hmeltzii . ProductProteoglycans and glycoproteins are multifunctional components of connective tissue, which mediate adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and migration of various cells \u201398. The C. schmeltzii, were typical for echinoderms [syndecan, glypican, betaglycan, bamacan , and perlecan (basement membrane-specific heparan sulfate proteoglycan core protein-like). Moreover, in holothurians, we detected products of aggrecan, which had not been found in S. purpuratus [C. schmeltzii lack the products of Secreted modular calcium-binding protein 1, which are present in S. purpuratus. These genes are probably not expressed in tissues of holothurians taken for the analysis.The transcripts of genes of a number of proteoglycans found in inoderms ,32. Thesperlecan is worth special mentioning, as it is expressed only in dividing individuals , indicates a reorganization of epithelia during fission.Of the above-listed proteoglycan genes, ividuals . Its actlaminins, nidogens, fibrillins, fibulins, agrin, dystroglycan, and thrombospondins\u2013were detected in C. schmeltzii. In particular, transcripts of laminins, as well as nidogen/entactin were found   . Thrombohyaluronidase, chondroitin sulfate synthase, chondroitinase , and heparanase genes were found in both dividing and intact individuals of C. schmeltzii  in MCT structures of crinoids, echinoids, and holothuroids are located along collagen fibrils \u2013122. In hmeltzii . In thistransglutaminase and one Lox gene. No products of the transglutaminase were found in C. schmeltzii. Lox transcripts were present in the transcriptome of C. schmeltzii and are found in both dividing and intact individuals  and CUB (C-terminus). Transcripts of four genes are found only in dividing individuals  and 72 kDa type IV collagenase (XM_775263.4). Second, the catalytic domain MT-MMPs contains an insertion of approximately eight amino acids, the so-called MT-loop, which plays an important role in functioning of these proteases [C. schmeltzii, irrespective of presence of TD in them, this insertion is absent.The SMART reveals the transmembrane domain (TD) in four MMPs of hmeltzii . It meanroteases ,139. In C. schmeltzii, four MMPs  and ADAMTSs genes were also detected in C. schmeltzii  site, with which the transcription factors of the Fos and Jun families can interact [MMPs genes and their promoters and judge more objectively about regulation of MMPs expression in these animals. It should be mentioned that transcripts of one of the genes that regulate the expression of MMPs in mammals, transcription factor NF-\u03baB, in C. schmeltzii is found only in dividing individuals (see below).The activity of MMPs can be controlled in various ways: for example, through regulation of gene transcription, activation of proenzyme by removing the propeptide domain, and interaction with inhibitors . In vertolecules \u2013143. ProC. schmeltzii, there are products of the furin and plasminogen genes , and TIMPs . Producthmeltzii . Transcr fission .TIMPs genes in echinoderms varies within a broad range and may reach 45 in some of species [TIMP-like genes were identified in C. schmeltzii , TIMPs of Synapta maculata (8.m.2049.240066) and Abyssocucumis abissorum (43.aa.8353.697), tensilin of C. frondosa and tensilin2 of C. schmeltzii (see below about tensilins). Thus, out of the 144 analyzed sequences, as many as 41 TIMPs of echinoderms can be considered as closest to TIMPs of vertebrates in their structure. In C. schmeltzii, only three TIMP-like proteins\u2013Cs-TIMP6, Cs-TIMP7, and Cs-TIMP8 \u2013have three features specific to mammalian TIMPs  and the standard C-X-C motif (121 sequences) . Metzincan TIMPs . The resMMPs underwent substantial duplication and divergence after the separation of Ambulacraria and Vertebrata [Thus, most echinoderm TIMPs quite significantly differs in structure from mammal TIMPs. These differences are supposed to be related to \u201cco-evolution\u201d with MMPs. In echinoderms, rtebrata . Accordirtebrata  believe rtebrata ,16. In trtebrata ,146\u2013148,C. schmeltzii. Contigs of Cs-TIMP10 are recorded only from dividing individuals .It is evident that TIMPs play a certain role in asexual reproduction in ividuals . FurtherTIMP-like genes of C. schmeltzii encode proteins, which are close to tensilins of other holothurians. In this connection, they were named Cs-tensilin1 and Cs-tensilin2.One of the key molecules of the mechanism of changing the MCT properties in echinoderms is tensilin. According to Keene, Trotter , this pC. frondosa\u2014two for A. japonicus (tensilin1 and tensilin2) and one for Holothuria forskali\u2014are found in the NCBI databases. Almost all the tensilins, including the tensilins of C. schmeltzii, are combined into a single group on the TIMPs tree  and two proteins of Psolus sp. (11.m.32702.873 and 11.m.26875.385). Hence, they also should be referred to as tensilins.Currently, three proteins close to tensilin of MPs tree . The onlC. frondosa, and one of proteins of A. abissorum (43.aa.8353.697)  , S2 Fig.ividuals . For thiAll the detected tensilins belong to members of relatively young groups of holothurians  and, conTensilins are found only in the species belonging to the order Dendrochirotida and a group of holothurians that were earlier combined into the order Aspidochirotida . Dendrocwnt genes was performed in transcriptomes of C. schmeltzii. We found products of 10 out of the 12 wnts typical of holothurians [wntA, wnt1-7, wnt10, wnt16  chain. This fragment encodes the C-terminus of collagen I/II/III containing the COLFI domain. Closer to the N-terminus of the contig, there is a sequence coding the Gly-X-Y motif, typical of collagens. The sequence encoding the holokinin PLGFLFR is located between it and the COLFI domain. Like that in A. japonicus [C. schmeltzii is distinguished from that of A. japonicus by two amino acids in the middle part. According to Birenheide et al. [collagen I/II/III occur in both intact and dividing individuals of C. schmeltzii. However, the collagen I/II/III itself is required for renewal of connective tissue, both in intact individuals and in asexual reproduction. Also, it is not clear whether the degradation of collagen with the release of holokinin occurs in this case. Nevertheless, this neuropeptide can be considered as a potential participant in the mechanism of changing the properties of connective tissue in holothurians.Holokinin in aponicus , is appaaponicus , it is ne et al. , holokintropoelastin, fibronectins, and tenascins genes were found. In this connection, the structure and the mechanisms of renewal of ECM should have their own unique features that are yet to be clarified. Nevertheless, the main components of connective tissue, characteristic of vertebrates, are present in echinoderms. They have fibrillar collagens, collagens IX and XV/XVIII, fibrillins, fibulins, and thrombospondins. Molecules of these proteins and glycoproteins have a complex tertiary structure and can form both fibers and a three-dimensional network. Moreover, they have sites of binding with polysaccharides and other types of collagens, which allows them to form cross-links between fibrils. Obviously, the complexity of the ECM structure and the variety of intermolecular interactions predetermines also the complexity of the mechanisms of changing the connective tissue properties in echinoderms. Probably, these mechanisms depend not only on the number of cross-links, but also on the composition of ECM and the properties of constituent molecules.An analysis of the available literature and own data has shown that the composition of connective tissue in echinoderms is generally similar to that in vertebrates, but it has a number of significant differences. In echinoderms, no collagen XV/XVIII more as compared to that in intact individuals. This fact shows the importance of this type of collagen in the processes that take place during fission in holothurians, although the specific role of this protein is yet to be established. It is obvious that various proteases are involved in destruction of the body wall. In further studies of MCT transformation mechanisms, attention should be paid to such enzymes as ADAMTS, serine proteases, and cathepsin D. MMPs are apparently also involved in the modification and destruction of connective tissue in echinoderms; however, no qualitative change in their composition at fission was recorded during our study. To identify MMPs involved in ECM transformation, a more detailed study of their functions and dynamics of expression is necessary. The question of the participation of various neuropeptides in the transformation of connective tissue during asexual reproduction in echinoderms remains open. A small number of transcripts of NGIWYamide precursor in dividing individuals can be explained by the fact that this peptide is synthesized and accumulated at an earlier stage, when animal is still preparing for asexual reproduction.Our study has shown that the fission process in holothurians is accompanied by significant physiological changes. The metabolism is increased, the nervous and immune systems are activated, and the structural changes occur in the fission zone. One of the significant indicators of morphological changes is the activation of the genes of laminins and nidogen, which probably an evidence of reorganization of epithelia. In the fission zone, the number of products of C. schmeltzii, of which nine are expressed during fission. In this case, contigs of one of them, Cs-TIMP10, are detected only in dividing individuals. All the above facts confirm the data that TIMPs can participate in the transformation of ECM in echinoderms. Tensilins, being TIMP, apparently represent a separate group of genes, which have formed within the class Holothuroidea and which probably have a specific function, typical only of holothurians. The presence of tensilins can be associated with development of the thick connective-tissue body wall in these animals.It is obvious that various molecules that activate or inhibit proteases are also involved in the transformation of connective tissue. Holothurians have a wide range of these molecules that can regulate the activity of proteases at various levels. One of the well-known inhibitors is TIMPs. A total of 13 TIMP genes are found in One of the distinguishing features of ECM in echinoderms, which is neglected by the existing hypotheses on MCT functions, is the presence of a large number of factors mediating the cell\u2013cell and cell\u2013matrix interactions. In this regard, it would be probably necessary to pay more attention to the structure and functions of fibrillins in echinoderms. It is possible that the fibrillin microfibril scaffold, like that of vertebrates, forms a niche for regulatory factors and mechanosensation. Conducting a signal from the extracellular microenvironment to competent cells can be a part of the mechanisms of MCT mutability.In addition to the genes responsible for transformation of ECM, a large number of factors, which probably regulate the division of body into parts and the preparation of tissues for subsequent regeneration, are expressed in asexual reproduction. We could not identify the genes responsible for determination of the site of division. The most probable candidates for this role are genes of the Wnt familiy, but more studies are needed to confirm this assumption. The difference in the qualitative composition of the expressing transcription factors between intact and dividing holothurians will make it possible in the future to identify factors that regulate asexual reproduction. Moreover, the presence of transcripts of genes involved in regulation of morphogenesis of various tissues and organs may indicate that the preparation of tissues for the subsequent regeneration in holothurian begins immediately during fission.S1 Fig(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S2 FigTIMP proteins with metzincin-binding interface are denoted by red color, green frame borders group of tensilins.(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S1 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S2 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file.S3 File(ZIP)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Anthurium is the largest genus of Araceae, with 950 species distributed in the neotropics. Despite the great diversity of the genus, the knowledge of its floral vasculature is based on observations in only two species, viz. A. denudatum and A. lhotzkyanum, with remarkable variation in vascular carpellary supply: carpels are either vascularized by ventral bundles alone or by reduced dorsal bundles in addition to the ventral ones. Our main objective is to test this peculiar variation through a detailed anatomical study of the floral vasculature in taxa belonging to some sections of Anthurium designated as monophyletic groups in recent phylogenies.Anthurium, using both light and confocal laser scanning microscopies.We compare the floral vasculature of 20 neotropical species belonging to distinct sections of A. affine (Anthurium sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium), A. obtusum and A. scandens (Anthurium sect. Tetraspermium), described here for the first time for the genus.The number and position of vascular bundles are constant within the tepals and stamens, regardless of the species and sections studied. However, the gynoecium vasculature exhibits variation between species belonging to the same or different sections. Our results reveal two patterns of vasculature: carpels vascularized by synlateral bundles alone (Pattern A) and carpels vascularized by both dorsal and synlateral bundles (Pattern B). Pattern A is shared by the majority of species studied here and corroborates the previous data in the literature. Pattern B occurs in three species: Anthurium is corroborated here. However, our results in addition to those from the available literature suggest the existence of three patterns  of carpellary vasculature. Based on the recent phylogeny of Anthurium it is possible to notice that the three patterns of carpellary vasculature occur in representatives of Clade B and deserve to be investigated in a larger number of species. Pattern A could be a plesiomorphy for the genus and the occurrence of dorsal bundles could be a derived character. Our data contributes to the taxonomy and to the understanding of the floral evolution of the largest neotropical genus of Araceae.The variation in the supply to the carpels in  Pothos L., Pothoidium Schott, Pedicellarum M. Hotta and Anthurium Schott; the latter is the largest genus of the family, with 950 species  Engler emend. Anthurium sect. Pachyneurium Schott encompasses approximately 120 species (A. series Pachyneurium (Schott) Croat and A. series Multinervia Croat, which correspond to Clades 9 and 12 and to Clade 11, respectively, in the phylogeny of Anthurium sect. Tetraspermium Schott is a reduced group, formed by only four species  (A. lhotzkyanum Schott (A. sect. Urospadix)   and A. lospadix) . In A. d& Lauche , Barab\u00e9,& Lauche . These cAnthurium, specifically in traditionally recognized groups such as the four previously described, is expected to point out new anatomical data that may be used in their delimitation. Thus, the present study proposes a comparative analysis of floral vasculature of Anthurium species, with emphasis on gynoecial aspects, seeking to answer the following questions: (1) Are the patterns of carpellary vasculature previously reported for Anthurium found in the taxa analyzed here; (2) Do the floral vascular characteristics aid in the delimitation of Anthurium sect. Dactylophyllium, A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium, A. sect. Tetraspermium and A. sect. Urospadix?The study of floral vasculature in more representatives of Anthurium, mainly distributed in Brazil, were selected for the present study , samples were dehydrated through a n-butyl alcohol series , embeddeFor study using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), samples were embedded in polyethylene glycol (PEG 1500) , and secDiagrams were produced using CorelDRAW X7 (Corel Corporation) software.Anthurium and is divided into two subtopics: \u201cPattern A: Carpels vascularized by only synlateral bundles,\u201d and \u201cPattern B: Carpels vascularized by synlateral and dorsal bundles.\u201dThe results are presented in two main topics: \u201cFloral organography\u201d and \u201cFloral vasculature.\u201d In the first topic a single floral description is presented for all species herein studied because they generally share many anatomical aspects; differences, when present, are emphasized throughout the text. The second topic includes the description of the floral vascular supply in Anthurium are sessile ) ) , parenchA. obtusum and A. scandens (A. sect. Tetraspermium) does the formation of an apical septum occur, situated between the opening of the stylar canal and the ovarian locules. The locules are filled with mucilage (A. obtusum and A. scandens (A. sect. Tetraspermium), in which two ovules form per locule.The ovary is superior and bicarpellary, with a septum separating the locules  and 2C. scandens    divergesNext, each of the two internal complexes (c1\u2019)  and 4B dEach of the two carpellary complexes (cc)  and 6D dThe placental complex (pl) extends through the ovarian septum  and 8B, Dorsal bundles were not observed in the carpels.A. affine (A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium), A. obtusum and A. scandens (A. sect. Tetraspermium). As in pattern A, the vasculature of the axis of the spadix diverges to the flower, branching into two   and 9B dA. obtusum and A. scandens (A. affine (Each complex (c2\u2019) diverges into two carpellary traces (ct)  and 10A.scandens , the dor. affine , it is l. affine .At the base of the flower, each of the other two vascular complexes (c1\u2019)  and 5B oEach of the two carpellary complexes (cc)  and 9D dA. obtusum and A. scandens  extends through the ovarian septum  and 10E scandens  and 5J, . affine  and 11A.Anthurium sect. Dactylophyllium, A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium, A. sect. Tetraspermium and A. sect. Urospadix, broaden the knowledge on floral vasculature of this neotropical genus of Araceae and reveal the homogeneity of this characteristic in the stamens and tepals, irrespective of the species and sections studied.Our results, based on the analysis of 20 species belonging to Anthurium, as reported by previous studies . In this species, two ventral bundles and two dorsal bundles were observed at the base of the ovary. In the transverse section of the median plane of the ovary, only placental bundles were observed, though without knowledge of their origin, whether they were formed from ventral bundles or from dorsal bundles of the carpels. This pattern was not observed in any of the species studied in the present work.The first description of floral vasculature in Anthurium lhotzkyanum (=A. augustinum) (A. sect. Urospadix). In the gynoecium of this species, two ventral complexes and two placental bundles were observed both at the base and in the median plane of the ovary. In tranverse sections at the height of the style, the ventral bundles were observed surrounding the stylar canal. There is no report of dorsal bundles of the carpels. This pattern of gynoecium vasculature was corroborated by the majority of the species we analyzed that belong to A. sect. Dactylophyllium, and in some species of A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium and A. sect. Urospadix, here called as Pattern A. However, in the present study another terminology is proposed to refer to this ventral vascular supply of the carpels which will be further discussed.The second description of the floral vasculature of the genus was presented by A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium (A. affine) and to all of the studied species of A. sect. Tetraspermium (A. obtusum and A. scandens). These three species all have carpels vascularized by both synlateral and dorsal bundles.For the first time for this genus, our data show the existence of a third pattern of carpellary vasculature, called as Pattern B. In our sample, the occurrence of this pattern is restricted to only one of the studied species of In angiosperms, each carpel is generally vascularized by three bundles: one follows along its median plane, called dorsal or median bundle; and the other two continue along its margins, called lateral or ventral bundles e.g., . This paPothos (Anthurium denudatum (Lysichiton camtschatcensis (L.) Schott  Engl.  Schott , Spathipii Regel , and Zam.) Engl. , in whic.) Engl. . Althoug.) Engl. , ventral.) Engl. , synlate.) Engl. , and sep.) Engl. . This va.) Engl. .Anthurium, the characteristics of the bundles to vascularize the margins of the carpels, either branching (Pattern A) or not (Pattern B) in the style, suggest that they resemble (in position and function) those bundles located opposite the ovarian septum described in previous studies. Anthurium also presents a set of vascular bundles located in the ovarian septum that derive the traces that supply the ovules. In previous studies, this vascular supply is referred to as ventral bundle , a genus previously included as early-divergent in Araceae, carpels are supplied by vascular bundles of a central column , A. obtusum and A. scandens (A. sect. Tetraspermium), also studied in the present work.On the other hand, in species of A. obtusum and A. scandens (A. sect. Tetraspermium) are the synlateral bundles located in the ovarian wall. This variation in the location of the synlateral bundles in A. sect. Tetraspermium may be related to the supply to the apical and ovarian septa found in this group, in addition to the existence of two ovules per locule. The apical septum was reported for A. scandens by Also in relation to the floral structure, another highlight regarding the heterogeneity of the carpellary vasculature is the variation in the location of the synlateral bundles. In the majority of the species studied here, the synlateral bundles are located between the margin of the carpel and the ovarian wall. However, only in Anthurium is to emphasize the variation in terms of the origin of the dorsal and synlateral bundles. Our results provide the first evidence that the carpellary bundles in Anthurium possess a mixed nature; they originate from two distinct vascular complexes and present a relationship intrinsic to the branching, or not, of the external complex (referred to here as c1) of the floral base into an additional complex, referred to here as c2.More important than highlighting the existence of these three patterns of carpellary vasculature in Anthurium follow three main patterns: Pattern A, in which the gynoecium is vascularized only by synlateral bundles, as verified in the majority of the species of A. sect. Dactylophyllium, A. sect. Pachyneurium series Pachyneurium and A.sect. Urospadix \u2014observed in all of the studied species of A. sect. Tetraspermium \u2014might represent synapomorphies of this section.While analyzing the patterns of vasculature described here, and the possible use of the vascular characteristics for better delimitation of the sections of Anthurium is divided into Clades A and B that contain the large majority of the species. The three patterns of carpel vasculature occur in Clade B and deserve to be investigated in a larger number of species, particularly from A. sect. Pachyneurium, since this section presents this carpel variation and was already designated as being more than one group of species, both by works of classical taxonomy (Anthurium species, given that it is also found in other species of A. series Pachyneurium, and that the appearance of dorsal bundles is derived within the genus. However, the lack of samples from other sections precludes a clear distinction between these two patterns and reinforces the importance of vasculature data in the genus.In the evolutionary hypothesis presented in the Bayesian analysis by taxonomy  as well"}
+{"text": "Leishmania and is transmitted by sand flies. The state of Esp\u00edrito Santo (ES), an endemic area in southeast Brazil, has shown a considerably high prevalence in recent decades. Environmental niche modelling (ENM) is a useful tool for predicting potential disease risk. In this study, ENM was applied to sand fly species and CL cases in ES to identify the principal vector and risk areas of the disease. Sand flies were collected in 466 rural localities between 1997 and 2013 using active and passive capture. Insects were identified to the species level, and the localities were georeferenced. Twenty-one bioclimatic variables were selected from WorldClim. Maxent was used to construct models projecting the potential distribution for five Lutzomyia species and CL cases. ENMTools was used to overlap the species and the CL case models. The Kruskal\u2013Wallis test was performed, adopting a 5% significance level. Approximately 250,000 specimens were captured, belonging to 43 species. The area under the curve (AUC) was considered acceptable for all models. The slope was considered relevant to the construction of the models for all the species identified. The overlay test identified Lutzomyia intermedia as the main vector of CL in southeast Brazil. ENM tools enable an analysis of the association among environmental variables, vector distributions and CL cases, which can be used to support epidemiologic and entomological vigilance actions to control the expansion of CL in vulnerable areas.Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by a protozoan of the genus  Leishmania Ross, 1903 and is transmitted by insects from the subfamily Phlebotominae ..23].L. intermedia, L. migonei, L. choti, L. lenti, and L. whitmani, excluding L. longipalpis, which is a vector of visceral leishmaniasis .The AUCs were greater than 0.80, indicating excellent discrimination for whitmani . The modL. intermedia, L. whitmani, L. migonei, L. choti, and L. lenti, respectively  presented cutaneous lesions, 49 (3.3%) presented mucocutaneous lesions, and 159 (10.8%) presented mucosal lesions. The model constructed in the current study shows that this disease occurs in the south-central region of the state of ES and is limited to areas below 1,119 metres; however, only 17 (4.76%) of 357 occurrence localities were related in elevation above 850 metres .The model was considered excellent, with an AUC of 0.817 \u00b1 0.020. The variables BIO4, BIO12, slope, BIO14, and BIO5 contributed 70.31% of the model construction .L. intermedia model showed significantly higher overlap, indicating that it is more associated with the disease transmission than secondary vectors such as L. migonei and L. whitmani (p < 0.05), with no difference between the latter two species (p > 0.05), followed by L. lenti and L. choti, most likely without epidemiological importance in the transmission.Values of Schoener's D range from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (perfect overlap). This indicator was compared between species to evaluate which one is most involved in disease transmission . The KruThis is the first study to build and associate environmental niche models using algorithms between vector species and autochthonous CL cases in endemic areas of south-eastern Brazil.Leishmania infantum  spatial distribution have been studied [Lutzomyia longipalpis and cases of visceral leishmaniasis in Mato Grosso do Sul [Environmental modelling research focused on public health is under considerable development in Brazil and worldwide. In Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy, studies have mapped the environmental risk of visceral leishmaniasis, using the potential distribution of canine leishmaniasis and their vectors ,29,30. I studied . Aparici studied . Almeidao do Sul . Nieto ao do Sul . Petersoo do Sul . Almeidao do Sul .L. intermedia was the species most associated with the occurrence of CL in the state of ES, followed by the secondary vectors L. migonei and L. whitmani. However, the species L. lenti and L. choti were not considered important vectors of the disease in that region.The current study revealed that Lutzomyia intermedia has been indicated as the main vector of CL in the state of ES [Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Vianna, 1911 [te of ES ,10. Thisna, 1911 ,11,44\u201346na, 1911 \u20139,10,47.na, 1911 ,47.Lutzomyia migonei has been considered a secondary vector of CL in anthropic environments, with occurrence at altitudes above 750 m in ES [L. migonei is the most common species found inside the domicile [ m in ES . This spdomicile ,47\u201348.Lutzomyia whitmani has also been considered a secondary vector of CL, with high density in the endemic areas of the states of S\u00e3o Paulo, Minas Gerais, and ES [, and ES ,49\u201350. T, and ES ,45,47. TLeishmania braziliensis is observed in areas of remaining forests due to the larger number of reservoirs and vector species, mainly L. intermedia and L. whitmani. However, in peri-urban areas, L. intermedia is the only vector, and domestic dogs are the reservoirs, a situation that reduces the diversity of the protozoa in this area. This reinforces the idea that L. whitmani is a connecting vector between the preserved and anthropic environments.Rocha et al.  suggesteLutzomyia lenti and L. choti have no association with the occurrence of CL. Despite its occurrence in all regions of Brazil, with a wide distribution and abundance, L. lenti has not been reported as an important vector in endemic areas of the state of ES. This species has been found in the mid-western region of the country in areas surrounding houses in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and Goi\u00e1s, mainly in domestic animal shelters [Lutzomyia choti is a species with heterogeneous habitats and is present in both wild environments and areas surrounding houses. However, no records exist of natural infection in this species by L. (V.) braziliensis. In addition, this species has not been observed in the main endemic areas of the state of ES. Brand\u00e3o-Filho et al. [shelters \u201355. A poshelters . Lutzomyo et al.  suggesteRegarding the ecological niches constructed in this study, slope was a relevant variable in the occurrence of all species of phlebotomine sand flies. Areas with steep slopes have dimples, which allow a greater variability of water and organic matter accumulation, as well as a reduction in sunlight and wind exposure, thereby creating a greater diversity of habitats; this diversity in habitats contributes to the maintenance of food and shelter conditions for these insects .Lutzomyia whitmani is limited to the western region of the state, which has lower precipitation rates, higher elevations, steep slopes, and low temperatures. Lutzomyia intermedia is found in warmer areas with lower slope gradients and lower elevations. In addition, this species is less susceptible to temperature and rainfall variations. Lutzomyia migonei presents a distribution between L. intermedia and L. whitmani and is concentrated in the mid-western region of the state of ES.L. intermedia was collected at 1,123 m above sea level but at low density, suggesting the importance of vector density in the occurrence of disease cases in a particular region.Elevation appears to be inversely proportional to the abundance of phlebotomine sand flies ,11,51,57L. whitmani was more abundant in colder and drier months , whereas L. intermedia was more abundant in the warmer months of the year . These data are in agreement with previous studies performed by Souza et al. [The precipitation and maximum temperature of the warmest month were also relevant to the construction of the models. Temperature and humidity have positive effects on the activity and abundance of phlebotomine sand flies, which depends on the species ,58. In ta et al.  and Costa et al. .L. whitmani, with the latter being more tolerant to variations in temperature and precipitation [The variables of precipitation seasonality and temperature seasonality were considered important in the occurrence of pitation ,49.The temporal mismatch between the species distribution data (1997\u20132013), the cases data (1978\u20132013), and climate data (1950\u20132000) did not significantly affect the modelling results because during the last 50 years, there have been no important environmental changes in peridomiciles in endemic areas of CL in ES. Furthermore, the geographic expansion of the disease occurred from the migration of rural populations to the outskirts of the cities in the 1980s, carrying infected dogs from the western area to east of ES, where vector species were already adapted to the peridomicile ,14.A low sandfly frequency in some areas of the state did not influence the species environmental modelling because this method can provide a measure of potential species occurrence in areas not covered by biological surveys and consequently, has become an interesting tool for healthy planning .Maxent presented a strong performance compared with different methods because it performed well and remained stable with respect to the prediction accuracy and the total area predicted, indicating that Maxent can compensate for small species occurrence data sets .The results of the current study indicate that modelling and geoprocessing tools enable a reliable analysis of the association between geo-climatic variables, geographic distribution of vectors, and CL cases in the state of ES. The definition of areas at potential risk for CL transmission allows us to make available relatively accurate information at the regional level that can guide entomological and epidemiological surveillance activities to control the geographic expansion of this endemic disease in vulnerable locations.S1 Table(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S2 Table(DOCX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Plasmodium infections in assumed \u201cminor\u201d, non-vector, and cryptic and novel species is reviewed. Their importance in terms of evading current control and elimination strategies and therefore maintaining malaria transmission is emphasized.Entomological indices and bionomic descriptions of malaria vectors are essential to accurately describe and understand malaria transmission and for the design and evaluation of appropriate control interventions. In order to correctly assign spatio-temporal distributions, behaviors and responses to interventions to particular anopheline species, identification of mosquitoes must be accurately made. This paper reviews the current methods and their limitations in correctly identifying anopheline mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa, and highlights the importance of molecular methods to discriminate cryptic species and identify lesser known anophelines. The increasing number of reports of  Anopheles, remain the most dangerous animals on the continent.Over the past fifteen years concerted efforts to control malaria have led to reduction of incident cases globally by more than a third, with deaths due to malaria dropping by 60% . Even grAnopheles genus of mosquitoes occurs globally and the majority of the 460 or so species are not vectors of malaria; only an estimated 30 to 40 species worldwide are regularly associated with Plasmodium transmission to humans. This mosquito genus, which falls under the subfamily Anophelinae was first classified by Theobald in 1940, but to date much of the taxonomy is not completely resolved [Anopheles or Cellia subgenera, and it is in these two that the Old World vectors of malaria have been grouped.The resolved . Of the An. gambiae complex [An. gambiae sensu stricto widely spread across Africa and Madagascar [An. coluzzi common in west Africa with a distribution extending into central Africa and Angola [An. arabiensis broadly distributed across much of the continent [An. melas and An. merus, found in the coastal regions of west and east Africa, respectively [An. funestus s.s., a member of the An. funestus species complex, is likely the main species driving transmission in southern and some parts of east Africa, but occurs across much of the continent and in some areas be a much more dominant vector than An. gambiae [An. nili s.s., a sibling species in the An. nili group, and An. moucheti are also considered important vectors in some areas of west and central Africa, particularly along rivers and in humid, densely forested areas [Reviews of literature from a wide range of studies conducted on anopheline species composition led to the publication of predictive distribution maps of the dominant vector species of malaria in Africa, with only eight assumed to play a major or important role in transmission, including five species within the  complex . The fivdagascar , An. cold Angola , An. araontinent , and theectively . An. fun gambiae . An. niled areas . These eThe implication of particular species of mosquitoes in malaria transmission requires demonstration that there is spatial and temporal overlap of that anopheline species with human malaria cases, that contact between the mosquito and people and ultimately human blood feeding takes place, and that the mosquito is found to harbor malaria parasites . To demoIn establishing each of the associations for vector incrimination, it is essential to accurately assign the species to anopheline specimens. In the middle of the 20th century, extensive studies across much of Africa were undertaken to describe the morphological features unique to particular anopheline species. Field entomologists such as Gillies, Coetzee, Leeson, Coluzzi, Ramsdale, De Meillon and Giles created morphological keys for the vast majority of anophelines species found on the continent ,19. ThesAnopheles gambiae species complex which falls in the Pyretophorus Series, consists of eight reproductively isolated yet morphologically similar species; An. gambiae Giles 1902, An. coluzzii Coetzee and Wikerson 2013, An. arabiensis Patton 1905, An. amharicus Hunt, Coetzee and Fettene, An. quadriannulatus Theobald, An. bwambae White 1985, An. melas Theobald 1903, and An. merus D\u00f6nitz 1902, and An. comorensis Brunhes, le Goff and Geoffroy [An. gambiae sensu lato is often referred to as the most efficient vector of malaria globally, in fact only five of these sibling species are considered major vectors. An. bwambae, for example, has such a limited geographical distribution, being found only in the geothermal springs of western Uganda [An. quadriannulatus and An. amharicus is assumed to preclude them from transmission. Furthermore, the five species that do transmit malaria demonstrate different behaviors and may occupy different ecological/transmission niches necessitating specific tailoring of interventions. An. arabiensis, for example, demonstrates more exophagic and zoophagic behaviors and is more desiccation tolerant than its sibling An. gambiae s.s.These dichotomous keys exist for adults, larvae and eggs. However, some species of mosquitoes can only be distinguished from one another at certain life stages , thus neGeoffroy ,20,21,22n Uganda , that itThe use of morphological keys requires reasonably well preserved, intact specimens. Lack of key features such as legs, wings, setae or scales may mean that the key cannot be followed to a definitive identification. Collections from field traps are often damaged and missing critical morphological features. There have been efforts to create computerized visual guides that allow for a combination of physical features of a specimen to be entered, with software that will then generate likely candidate identities . UnfortuAn. gambiae, An. arabiensis and An. melas were found to show different constituents of cuticular and internal hydrocarbons by gas chromatography. Such assays require only a single specimen for discrimination of species [An. gambiae and An. funestus species complexes, have demonstrated differences in chromosome inversion frequency and associations of particular karyotypes with environmental conditions and ecological zones for the different sibling species [An. gambiae s.s. in west Africa; the Bamako, Mopti, Savanna, Forest and Bissau forms, with the first three often reported in sympatry [An. funestus have indicated as many as 17 different chromosomal forms [An. funestus group [An. gambiae sibling species has shown differing frequencies of gene expression for esterases and can be performed on males and females of any stage [With the recognition of species that cannot be easily identified by morphological methods, and the disadvantages of relying on accurate identification by microscopy, focus turned to biochemical and molecular methods that do not require fully intact or complete specimens. Sympatric samples of  species ,31,32. T species ,35,36,37sympatry  and simial forms ,39. Howeus group ,40. An iny stage . Again, An. gambiae complex [An. quadriannulatus A and B specimens, which are found in the southern and eastern Africa region and Ethiopia, respectively, and now considered to be reproductively isolated [An. gambiae s.s. from west Africa [An. gambiae is now considered a reproductively isolated species and has been renamed An. coluzzi Coetzee and Wilkerson [An. quadriannulatus forms, A and B. An. quadriannulatus is now assigned to specimens found in southern and eastern Africa formerly species A, and An. amharicus Hunt, Coetzee and Fettene is given to those species found in Ethiopia, previously named An. quadriannulatus B. Further studies from West Africa have also revealed what may be cryptic subpopulations of An. coluzzi with divergent behaviors and vectorial capacity for malaria [These early cytogenetic and allozyme studies set the stage for what is now the basis of the most common methods for species discrimination, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA. These techniques have the advantage of being able to use intact or fragments of mosquito specimens of any life stage or sex. Specimens may be collected and stored under a much wider variety of conditions , as long as the DNA does not become too degraded. DNA is extracted from the mosquito and primers are used to bind to species-specific regions of the target DNA. The resulting DNA region is amplified using PCR and the resulting amplicons visualized by electrophoresis on agarose gels. PCR-based assays for the two dominant African vector species complexes have been developed. The Scott et al. PCR method is the most popular and used by laboratories worldwide to discriminate the most important sibling species of the  complex . It usesisolated . A PCR-Rt Africa ,44. Thist Africa ,46. Othet Africa . Based oilkerson . These s malaria .An. gambiae complex, members of the An. funestus group are morphologically difficult to distinguish at the adult stage. This group falls in the Myzomyia series, and has several subgroups, namely the Funestus Subgroup of Afrotropical species An. aruni, An. funestus s.s., An. parensis and An. vaneedeni, the Rivulorum Subgroup which includes the Afrotropical species An. brucei, An. fuscivenosus, and An. rivulorum, and the Minimus Subgroup of the Asian mosquitoes An. fluviatilis, An. flavirostris, An. minimus A, C, and E, as well as the Afrotropical An. leesoni [An. funestus s.s. and An. rivulorum [An. funestus s.l. and is capable of discriminating between five species of the group; An. funestus s.s., An. rivulorum, An. leesoni, An. parensis, and An. vaneedeni. Since its publication, specific primers have been designed and added to this PCR to identify other cryptic species within this group that appear to be divergent from the previously identified members, such as An. rivulorum-like [An. funestus-like from Malawi [An. funestus s.s. makes it a dominant vector across much of Africa, however despite being endophilic, An. funestus-like is considered to be a non-vector as it has not been found with human blood or malaria parasites [An. rivulorum, An. rivulorum-like [An. vaneedeni [An. leesoni, are largely zoophilic and although they have been shown to carry sporozoites [An. longipalpis, also in the Myzomyia Series but not in the Funestus group, resembles An. funestus in the adult stage and due to its similar endophilic nature is commonly mistakenly identified as the vector in collections [An. longipalpis is a complex with at least two cryptic species, Type A and Type C, and these PCR-based assays are able to distinguish these types as well.As with the  leesoni ,49. Variivulorum  promptedivulorum . This PCrum-like  found inrum-like  and An. m Malawi  and possm Malawi . Discrimarasites . Real-tiarasites ,53. An. rum-like , An. vananeedeni  and An. rozoites ,57, theylections . This prlections  and a PClections . FurtherPrimers targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of ribosomal DNA and the cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) region of mitochondrial DNA are popular targets for additional PCR-based assays developed to discriminate other anopheline species that do not fall in the Gambiae or Funestus complexes. ITS2 is a non-coding nuclear gene with conserved primer binding sites and is more variable than coding genes so can be used for fine resolution phylogenetic analyses and well as construction of diagnostic tools . COI is All PCR-based assays utilize primers that bind to specific known sequences of DNA, thus creating diagnostic assays that positively and accurately identify mosquito sample to species. Unfortunately, this approach is limited to species and complexes for which sequence data is available from specimens that have been reliably identified using morphology and phenotypes first. Therefore, although extensive amounts of sequence data exist for targeted regions of DNA, such as the ITS2 and COI, and even for a few anopheline genomes ,65, the The value of combining both morphological and molecular tools to mosquito studies has long been recognized . Using bAn. gambiae and An. funestus, as these are considered the dominant vectors of malaria, thought to account for 95% of malaria transmission and have generally comprised the bulk of routinely conducted indoor collections across the African continent [An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus s.l. across Africa [The majority of entomological studies for malaria in Africa focus on identifying the members of two major species complexes, ontinent ,69. Howeontinent . Insectis Africa ,72 and ts Africa ,73,74,75s Africa ,77 to avAn. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes were reported to be caught in much higher proportions outdoors, and that greater exposure occurred both indoors and outdoors prior to midnight than observed a decade earlier [An. funestus demonstrated a shift in peak biting times from their typical midnight/early morning foraging times to just before sunrise, as well as demonstrating an increase in exophagic behavior following scale-up to universal coverage of LLINs [An. funestus s.s. were caught by human landing catch indoors and outdoors after sunrise to 11:00 in the morning as vector control coverage increased, although the small sample size limits how generalizable these results may be [An. gambiae s.s. to An. arabiensis and in some areas increasing dominance of An. funestus in others [On Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea,  earlier . This fo earlier . The vec earlier . In Beniof LLINs . In Senes may be . Shifts n others ,83,84,85n others .An. gambiae s.s. was reported to demonstrate more exophagic behaviors on Bioko Island, a recent study set out to compare infection rates in individuals who spent more time outdoors than others [In studying malaria mosquito species composition and determining their role in transmission it is important to sample mosquitoes where and when human-vector contact occurs; simply showing mosquitoes rest and forage either indoors or outdoors does not demonstrate exposure unless the human activity overlaps with that of the mosquito ,88,89,90n others . InfectiThe more recently documented changes in current vector populations are not novel. Following the large scale house-spraying exercises of the Global Malaria Eradication Program (GMEP) between 1955 and 1969, the emergence of insecticide-resistance and persistence of some exophilic vectors were some of the reasons given for the failure of the program to achieve global eradication ,93. It iThe question of whether malaria can be maintained by the presence of these lesser documented anophelines was raised following the GMEP and at the time, in the pre-molecular era, extensive studies were conducted dissecting numerous specimens from twelve or so different species to examine their salivary glands for sporozoites. This laborious process demonstrated a number of species harboring sporozoites but at low frequencies. It was assumed at the time that the role of these species in malaria transmission was \u201cnegligible\u201d . HoweverAn. gambiae, An. arabiensis, An. funestus, An. nili, and An. moucheti represented almost 90% of the collection, malaria parasites were found in nine secondary malaria vectors: An. ovengensis Awono-Ambene et al., An. carnevalei Brunhes et al., An. coustani Laveran, An. hancocki Edwards, An. marshallii Theobald, An. paludis Theobald, An. pharoensis Theobald, An. wellcomei Theobald, and An. ziemanni Gr\u00fcnberg. Infection rates in these secondary vectors were overall lower than the presumed major vectors, but parasites or their proteins were found repeatedly over time and across sites in An. pharoensis and An. ovengensis. In some areas where biting rates were high, EIRs were estimated as high as 70 infected bites per person per year from An. ovengensis making this species the likely major vector locally. An. ovengensis was first established as a new member of the An. nili group in 2004 and has been found in forested areas, often sympatric with An. moucheti and An. gambiae in Cameroon, rarely resting indoors and demonstrating both exo- and endophagic behaviors [An. pharoensis is commonly found in Sudanese and Sahelian regions, but has been implicated in malaria transmission in many parts of Africa such as Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania, and possibly Zambia [A review of archived anophelines collected over a 5 year period in Cameroon showed the presence of 21 different species, and while the known major vectors; ehaviors . It has y Zambia ,111,112.An. coustani Laveran, An. symesi Edwards, An. paludis Theobald, An. tenebrosus D\u00f6nitz, An. caliginosis De Meillon, and An. ziemanni Gr\u00fcnberg. Low parity rates and a long gonotrophic cycles of An. tenebrosus were assumed to prevent this species from being a competent vector and infections have not been detected, however infections were found in other species of the group albeit at low levels. One exception is the Congolese member species, An. paludis, where infection rates by dissections where documented as high as 10% [Plasmodium spp. However, recently in the central highlands of Madagascar where malaria epidemics had been observed, Plasmodium infection rates determined by circumsporozoite protein (CSP) ELISA and confirmed by PCR as high as 9.5% were recorded in An. coustani collected in animals stables attached to houses. A small number of infected specimens of this species were also found indoors [An. coustani, with some degree of anthropophily, were predominant in the early evening at rates 20-fold that of the assumed primary vector. The authors suggested the resurgence associated with the malaria epidemics could be attributed to the lack of efficacy of the IRS program against this outdoor foraging species that rested in non-human shelters, which were not targeted for spraying. Plasmodium infections, albeit in a low number of samples, have been recorded in An. coustani in south-western Ethiopia [An. coustani were found to be harboring parasites.Another species complex common across most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa is the Coustani group. Members of this group are largely exophagic and are caught in large numbers next to animals although some degree of anthropophagy has been documented, likely due to close interaction of communities with animals they tend . This grh as 10% ,114. At  indoors . Biting Ethiopia , althougEthiopia ,116. In An. squamosus has recently been recognized as a vector of P. falciparum [Plasmodium infection rates for this species are very low, suggesting they might have a \u201cnegligible\u201d role, infection levels at the household or collection level can be quite high. In the absence of well-recognized vector species, all data suggest that this under-valued species is critically important in sustaining transmission and perhaps in preventing total elimination. This pattern is becoming more frequently reported across the African continent. Studies published in the last two years have documented low levels of Plasmodium infections in other assumed \u2018non-vector\u2019 species such as An. quadriannulatus, An. theileri, and An. rufipes [An. funestus s.s. a further three \u201cunknown\u201d species of anophelines may contribute to malaria transmission in the highlands of western Kenya [Emerging or newly recognized malaria vectors are appearing in regions where malaria has been dramatically reduced but not eliminated. In an area of southern Zambia targeted as an elimination zone, lciparum . Althoug rufipes ,56, manyrn Kenya ,96. GeneAn. funestus and An. gambiae species complexes. Increasing surveillance to include other anopheline species may identify a larger problem at hand. In any case, whether this proportion be 10% or 50%, without also tackling this \u2018residual\u2019 transmission and the vector species involved, malaria elimination goals will likely not be achieved. In the western lowland of Kenya it was recently determined that despite a long history of deployment of LLINs and IRS and evidence of insecticide resistance in the vectors, the majority of the exposure to malaria vectors still occurs indoors [An. funestus, An. gambiae and An. arabiensis foraging behaviors indicated that only An. arabiensis had demonstrated a shift towards increased exophagy since expansion of vector control, although indoor biting earlier in the evening was documented in both An. funestus and An. arabiensis. The authors argue that indoor control needs to be prioritized as outdoor transmission accounts for less than 10% of exposure. Whilst malaria has reduced substantially following mass distribution of nets, prevalence and incidence rates have plateaued since 2009. Outdoor exposure, albeit of a low level, and early indoor exposure may account for the lack of continuing impact since 2009 in this part of Kenya. It is important to acknowledge that interventions must tackle exposure both indoors and outdoors, and programs need to closely monitor changes in mosquito behaviors to adequately design and re-deploy appropriate interventions [A review of exposure to malaria vectors by Huho et al. (2013) from six sites across west, east and southern Africa reported that the vast majority of human exposure to anopheline mosquitoes still occurs indoors even after indoor directed interventions have been rolled out . The aut indoors . Studiesventions ,120,121.A number of vector control methods exist that can target both indoor and outdoor resting and foraging populations depending where and when they are deployed . Some meSuccessful malaria control is dependent on rapid and accurate identification of the vectors involved. In many regions of malarious Africa, successful control and decline of well-recognized and long-studied malaria vectors has resulted in reduced malaria transmission, but not zero transmission. In some of these regions, residual malaria transmission appears to be maintained by what were secondary, minor, or novel cryptic vectors. Unfortunately, tools for surveillance and positive identification of many of these anophelines is severely lacking. There is a similar absence of knowledge about the basic biology, bionomics and behavior of these vectors which is critical to implementation of appropriate control measures. Although some specific tools are lacking, the programmatic needs are clear. Better surveillance tools targeting anopheline vectors that forage outdoors are needed and attention should be paid to all specimens collected, rather than the \u201cusual suspects\u201d. Improved sampling targeted to epidemiologically relevant sites will provide insight into the behavior and bionomics of these vectors and more accurately determine human-vector contact. Additionally, new molecular tools are necessary for rapid identification of these understudied secondary and cryptic anopheline species. These molecular tools, however, must build on and complement morphological and biological studies that are absolutely necessary to define these species and species complexes. As the cost of sequencing continues to fall, whole genomic sequencing approaches aimed at molecular documentation of these understudied and novel taxa would seem an ideal approach. Although molecular costs are becoming less of a limitation, sustained funding and support is required to establish and maintain personnel for such complementary biological and molecular archiving efforts, both for surveillance and research endeavors. This capacity both in terms of the technology and workforce to employ these tools on the African continent where the need is most dire, needs to be a prime focus."}
+{"text": "Naganishia albida  is a non-neoformans cryptococcal species rarely isolated as a human pathogen.N.albida as the causative agent of infection. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) analysis was carried out for the isolated agent, and the patient was treated using 100 mg daily of oral itraconazole.Herein, we present the case of a 26-year-old Iranian man with a superficial cutaneous lesion in the axilla. The initial treatment for pityriasis versicolor by clotrimazole was unsuccessful. We performed skin sampling based on the standard protocol and conducted further investigations by the conventional laboratory tests and molecular analysis of the skin samples. All the mentioned analyses revealed N. albida can be the causative agent of some superficial infections. This is the first report on the successful detection and treatment of a superficial skin infection due to N. albida by oral itraconazole. Cryptococcus spp. are basidiomycetous yeasts considered as the responsible agents for a wide range of diseases, among which C.neoformans and C. gattii are mentioned as the most common pathogenic species . In addition, N. albida is an opportunistic and encapsulated yeast found on human skin . Although N. albida rarely causes any diseases, there have been some case reports, including cases of meningitis, peritonitis, fungaemia, pulmonary and cutaneous infections, and keratitis (eratitis .N. albida has never been reported as the causative agent of a superficial skin infection (Moreover, cases of encephalitis, disseminated cryptococcosis, and pneumonia have been reported , 20-29. nfection . As can N. albida. In addition, treatment choices are limited for cryptococcal infections. The first choice of treatment for these infections is the combination of amphotericin B and flucytosine [N. albida is not well-defined, and amphotericin B has been mentioned to have limited efficacy in the treatment of N. albida [N. albida shows various responses to different antifungal treatments. Therefore, there is no common treatment protocol for infections caused by this fungus.To the best of our knowledge, the case described here is the first report of a pityriasis versicolor-like superficial infection due to cytosine , 12. Non. albida . N. albiN. albida is only sensitive to amphotericin B and itraconazole [N. albida, which led the therapy to change to itraconazole [N. albida using a mean treatment period of 56 days [Recently, it has been indicated that conazole , 30, 31.conazole . Besides 56 days . In the present case, after MIC approval, we chose 100 mg daily of itraconazole in a 10-day treatment period, which resulted in successful treatment. The three-month follow up of the patient revealed no relapse of the infection and no evidence of any clinical manifestations at the involved site. Furthermore, several factors such as the anatomical location of involvement, the power of immune system in host, and tissue damages can determine the proper medication and the required treatment duration for cryptococcal infections due to non-neoformans species , 17, 33.N. albida was found to have the ability to cause superficial infections. The case presented here is the first report of successful detection and treatment of infection by this yeast. N. albida was detected by sequencing of ITS1-4 rDNA in this report and treated using oral itraconazole.In conclusion,"}
+{"text": "The authors of the original article  would liThe revised author list includes authors Masayoshi Itoh, Hideya Kawaji, Timo Lassmann, Carsten O. Daub, Erik Arner, Piero Carninci, Yoshihide Hayashizaki and Alistair R. R. Forrest, as well as their affiliations.The following updates to Author contributions\u2019, Acknowledgements and Funding have also been included below:PZ, TH, DS and DG generated samples for the time series. MI and PC generated the CAGE libraries. YH, COD, ARRF and PC managed and organized the FANTOM5 project. ED, TL, HK, EA and PZ performed data analysis. PZ performed biological validation experiments. PZ, DG, ED and WH wrote the manuscript. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.We thank J. Yeung, J. Cairns, S. Tremblay, A. Poon, J. Wilking for support and suggestions on experimental design and manuscript preparation. We thank F. Lucero Villegas for animal management. We thank M. Larouche, D. Rains and J. Boyle for technical support. We thank Dora Pak and Anita Sham for management support and Miroslav Hatas for systems support. We would like to thank all members of the FANTOM5 consortium for contributing to generation of samples and analysis of the data-set and thank GeNAS for data production. We thank GenomeBC, National Institutes of Health, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, NeuroDevNet, MEXT Japan and University of British Columbia for funding support.The efforts of PZ, TH, DS and DG were supported by GenomeBC and National Institutes of Health, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. FANTOM5 was made possible by a Research Grant for RIKEN Omics Science Center from MEXT to YH and a grant of the Innovative Cell Biology by Innovative Technology (Cell Innovation Program) from the MEXT, Japan to YH. It was also supported by Research Grants for RIKEN Preventive Medicine and Diagnosis Innovation Program to YH and RIKEN Centre for Life Science Technologies, Division of Genomic Technologies ."}
+{"text": "Leishmania (L.) infantum is the causative agent in an endemic focus of canine leishmaniasis in the Mont-Rolland district . In this area, the transmission cycle is well established and more than 30% of dogs and 20% of humans are seropositive for L. infantum. However, the sand fly species involved in L. infantum transmission cycle are still unknown. Between 2007 and 2010, 3654 sand flies were collected from different environments  to identify the main L. infantum vector(s). Nine sand fly species were identified. The Phlebotomus genus  duboscqi and Phlebotomus (Ph). rodhaini) was markedly under-represented in comparison to the Sergentomyia genus  adleri, Se. clydei, Se. antennata, Se. buxtoni, Se. dubia, Se. schwetzi and Se. magna). Se. dubia and Se. schwetzi were the dominant species indoor and in peridomestic environments, near humans and dogs. Blood-meal analysis indicated their anthropophilic behavior. Some Se. schwetzi specimens fed also on dogs. The dissection of females in the field allowed isolating L. infantum from sand flies of the Sergentomyia genus . It is worth noting that one Se. dubia female not engorged and not gravid revealed highly motile metacyclic of L. infantum in the anterior part of the midgut. PCR-based diagnosis and sequencing targeting Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) highlighted a high rate of L. infantum-positive females . More than 2% of these positive females were unfed, suggesting the parasite survival after blood-meal digestion or egg laying. L. infantum prevalence in Se. schwetzi was associated with its seroprevalence in dogs and humans and L. infantum prevalence in Se. dubia was associated with its seroprevalence in humans. These evidences altogether strongly suggest that species of the Sergentomyia genus are probably the vectors of canine leishmaniasis in the Mont-Rolland area and challenge one more time the dogma that in the Old World, leishmaniasis is exclusively transmitted by species of the Phlebotomus genus. Leishmania transmission belong either to the Phlebotomus genus (Old World) or to the Lutzomyia genus (New World). In the rural community of Mont-Rolland , Leishmania infantum is the causative agent in an endemic focus of canine leishmaniasis. Recent surveys revealed more than 30% of dogs and 20% of humans with a positive serological test for Leishmania in this community. However, the sand fly species involved in L. infantum transmission were still unknown. Between 2007 and 2010, we carried out a study in this community to identify the sand fly species responsible for L. infantum transmission. We collected nine species belonging mainly to Sergentomyia genus and in low proportion to Phlebotomus genus. The abundance around dogs and humans, the detection of live and mature parasites in anterior midgut, the high rate of L. infantum-positive females using molecular analyses and the identification of dog and human blood in the fed females incriminates Se. schwetzi and Se. dubia as possible vectors of L. infantum. This hypothesis is strongly supported by statistical analyses performed to compare the prevalence of infected sand flies with the seroprevalence data in humans and dogs.Leishmaniases, neglected tropical vector-borne diseases, remain today a problem of public health. Classically, the sand flies involved in  Leishmania parasites that live in a wide range of ecosystems and may have different clinical manifestations   , and Ph. (Anaphlebotomus) rodhaini]  .Leishmania in sand flies and in humans and/or dogs. The supporting observations are: iii) demonstration that the incriminated sand fly commonly feeds on the reservoir host(s); iv) presence of the sand fly species in places where the Leishmania and the caused disease are found; v) demonstration that the sand fly species can support the flourishing development of the parasite; and vi) demonstration that the sand fly species can transmit the parasite by bite [Leishmania should be seen in the anterior midgut and on the stomodeal valve of naturally infected female flies. Concerning Criterion 3, the fly species under study must be attracted to and readily bite humans and any reservoir host. Criterion 4 deals with the evidence of a strong ecological association between flies, humans and any reservoir hosts and Criterion 5 concerns the demonstration of the experimental transmission. The two last criteria 6 and 7 are based on mathematical modeling of transmission and of links between disease prevalence and biting.According to Killick-Kendrick , the ess by bite . These c by bite  deals wiL. infantum vectors in the Mont-Rolland community.In the present work, we based our approach on several of these criteria to identify the Sergentomyia genus. Indeed, the two Phlebotomus species were poorly represented . Phebotomus duboscqi sand flies were caugh mainly in farming areas in the sandy ecosystem, where canine leishmaniasis is less frequent [Ph. rhodlaini, a previous study showed that this species is probably underestimated because of unsuitable traps and could play a role in L. donovani transmission between animal reservoir hosts [Ph. rhodaini collected reflect the population of this species in the environments where L. infantum is transmitted.In this study, almost all the sand fly specimens captured around the habitats of dogs and humans belonged to the frequent , Fig 1).ir hosts . Rodent Sergentomyia dubia, Se. schwetzi, and to a lesser extent Se. magna, were the most abundant species captured indoors and in peridomestic environments, around infected dogs and serologically positive humans. As previously reported [Se. dubia, the vector of the gecko leishmaniasis in Senegal, showed the most endophilic behavior. This species was significantly associated with the indoor environment where the majority of blood-fed and gravid females were also caught. Blood-meal analysis confirmed that Se. dubia feeds frequently on humans , although it was also well represented indoors. Blood-fed and gravid females were more numerous in peridomestic and farming areas, suggesting a more exophilic behavior. In accordance with previous studies [Sergentomyia magna was present in the different sites of capture. Although slightly more abundant in farming areas, its presence in peridomestic areas and indoors was not negligible, suggesting a regular contact with dogs and humans. One of the Se. magna females had fed on humans.reported , Se. dubn humans . These r studies , the res studies , 25. SerSergentomyia species were very rare or almost absent indoors and in peridomestic areas, although the blood-meals of one Se. clydei and two Se. buxtoni, caught indoor, were of human origin. Sergentomyia clydei, Se. antennata and Se. adleri were most abundant in farming areas. In agreement with previous studies [Se. buxtoni was mainly collected in the sylvatic area, suggesting a very exophilic behavior and feeding preferences focused on wild animals.The other  studies , 12, 25,Se. dubia and 0.79% of Se. schwetzi were infected with living L. infantum promastigotes of which two nongravid and unfed individuals (one S. schwetzi and one S. dubia) had mature forms in the anterior midgut. Natural infections in unfed specimens strongly suggest that the parasites have overcome the main barriers to metacyclogenesis  in the sand fly midgut [Sergentomyia species by L. infantum. It is consistent with the prevalence of L. infantum infection in many sand fly vectors [L. infantum by dissection in Se. dubia and Se. schwetzi individuals is an important finding.The finding of naturally infected sand flies is essential to incriminate a vector and also to study the infection rates in endemic areas , 19, 21. vectors \u201329. As t vectors . TherefoL. infantum kDNA in Se. dubia , in Se. schwetzi (4.19%) and also in Se. magna (3.64%). These percentages are in agreement with the infection rates reported in proven vectors by Aransay et al. [et al. [Leishmania DNA in a sand fly does not prove the vector competence [Leishmania kDNA was due to Leismania ingested while feeding, or to the presence of well-established or developing parasites [Se schwetzi, 4.44% of Se. dubia and 2.76% of Se. magna) may reflect the survival of parasites (or persistence of DNA) in these sand fly species. Indeed, the presence of Leishmania kDNA in these females strongly suggests that the parasites were ingested several days before the capture and that they had started their developmental cycle. However, we cannot exclude the persistence of DNA without any infective role, especially because the sand flies were caught in the vicinity of infected dogs. Nevertheless, the microscopic observation of mature L. infantum promastigotes in unfed females strongly suggests that they are not only carrying parasite DNA, but that they could be competent vectors. None of the other species was found to be infected with L. infantum both by dissection and PCR testing.The results of the nested PCR diagnostic assay confirmed the dissection data. They revealed the presence of y et al.  and Kish [et al. . Neverthmpetence , 32. Indarasites , 30, 32.Sergentomyia genus is still not considered to be involved in leishmaniasis transmission [Leishmania DNA and in one of them live parasites of L. major in various Sergentomyia and Spelaeomyia species, suggesting that this genus could play a role in Leishmania transmission [Currently, phlebotomine sand flies remain the exclusive proven vectors of leishmaniasis, although other insects, such as midges, are suspected to act as leishmaniasis vectors  and few smission ; howeversmission , 36\u201340Phlebotomus genus, which contains the classical vectors of L. infantum in the Old World. However, in the Mont-Rolland area, the two species belonging to the Phlebotomus genera (Ph. duboscqi and Ph. rodhaini) were not abundant and not infected by L. infantum parasites. These results are in agreement with previous works showing that Ph. duboscqi, the main L. major vector, is refractory to infection by L. infantum [Our working hypothesis was that the vector species should belong to the infantum .Sergentomyia species satisfied several criteria for vector incrimination. First, Se. dubia, Se. schwetzi and, to a lesser extent, Se. magna were the most abundant species captured indoors and in peridomestic environments surrounding infected dogs and serologically positive humans. Sergentomyia dubia showed an endophilic and anthropophilic behavior, feeding frequently on humans and Se. schwetzi a more exophilic and opportunistic behavior. Sergentomyia magna was moderately collected in the different sites, but displayed also a regular contact with dogs and humans. Sergentomyia dubia and Se. schwetzi females were found to be infected with Leishmania parasites both by dissection and by PCR-based diagnostic assay. Se. magna was found to be infected with Leishmania only by PCR. The isolates obtained from the dissections were successfully cultured and characterized as L. infantum, similarl to the parasites isolated from the dogs in this region [L. infantum survived after digestion of the blood-meal or egg laying. These data suggest that L. infantum can develop in Se. dubia and in Se. schwetzi. Nevertheless, a recent experimental study on the susceptibility of Se. schwetzi to L. donovani, L. infantum and L. major reported that this sand fly species is refractory to infection by L. infantum because the parasites were defecated with the blood remnants [Sergentomyia capacity to transmit Leishmania, it is important to work with parasites and sand flies collected from the area in which the transmission is suspected. Indeed, the sand fly-Leishmania interactions could be the results of a specific and recent co-evolution in that area and the ability of Sergentomyia species to transmit L. infantum could be region-specific. On the other hand, in the study by Sadlova et al. [Se. schwetzi colony was established from specimens collected in north-western Ethiopia and the L. infantum strain was isolated in Turkey from a sand fly specimen belonging to the Ph. tobbi species [Se. dubia or Se. magna.Conversely, some s region . Furtherremnants . It is ea et al. , the Se. species . No expeSe. dubia and Se. schwetzi were strongly associated with humans and dogs (indoor and peridomestic environments); the probability of infection was higher indoors and in peridomestic environments for Se. dubia sand flies and in peridomestic areas for Se. schwetzi; the PCR-positive Se. schwetzi and Se. dubia specimens were significantly correlated with the seroprevalence data in dogs and/or humans.Our hypothesis is also supported by the results of the statistical analyses that demonstrate a strong ecological association between flies, humans and hosts , 3 = L. major (5ASKH), 4 = L. tropica (K27), 5 = L. tarentolae. B) 1 = L. infantum (ITMAP 263), 2 = Sergentomyia dubia female infected by L. tarentolae, 3 = Se. schwetzi female infected by L. infantum, 4 = Se. dubia female infected by L. infantum, 5 = negative control (no template).A) Reference strains: 1 = negative control, 2 = (TIF)Click here for additional data file.S1 TableSergentomyia species were studied, the Phlebotomus captures being too rare. The \u201cIsolated\u201d environment was taken as the baseline. The effect of the environment is measured in terms of odds-ratio (OR) for the proportion of captures of the studied species. The P-values correspond to the test of the null hypothesis OR = 1. Post-hoc tests were conducted, where the hypotheses tested are equality of two odds-ratios.Only the (DOCX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "AbstractSternolophus Solier, 1834 was examined in this study using 60 morphological adult characters, eight of them continuous and 52 discrete. The cladistic analysis resulted in a single most parsimonious tree with two major subclades corresponding, respectively, to species previously assigned to the subgenera Sternolophus s. str. Solier and Neosternolophus Zaitzev, although they are not re-instated. The species groups S.angolensis  and S.solieri Castelnau, 1840 are recovered as monophyletic. The biogeography and diversification of the species of Sternolophus are briefly discussed.The phylogeny of the hydrophilid genus  Sternolophus Solier, 1834 is widely distributed in the tropics of the Old World, with only few species occurring in the temperate zones. In a recent taxonomic revision of the genus by The genus PageBreakSternolophus has been poorly studied. Sternolophus s. str. Solier, 1834 and Neosternolophus Zaitzev, 1909. His classification was based on the absence or presence of an emargination on the anterior clypeal margin. Although this subdivision was accepted by Neosternolophus to generic rank based on the emargination of the anterior clypeal margin, but this change was later opposed by Sternolophus species were also studied by Sternolophus in his analysis of the subtribe Hydrophilina which resulted in the monophyly of the subgenusSternolophus s. str. and the lack of resolution for species of Neosternolophus.The phylogeny of S.angolensis  and S.solieri Castelnau, 1840) based on highest morphological similarity and without including a phylogenetic approach. These authors considered S.angolensis, S.inconspicuus , S.mundus  and S.solitarius Nasserzadeh and Komarek, 2017 as members of the angolensis group, and placed S.angustatus , S.elongatus Schaufuss, 1883, S.mandelai Nasserzadeh and Komarek, 2017, S.rufipes , and S.solieri in the solieri group. They left the remaining species , and S.prominolobus Nasserzadeh and Komarek, 2017) ungrouped.Sternolophus is provided, based on a cladistics analysis of adult morphological characters. Considering the phylogenetic results, the biogeography and diversification of the species are briefly discussed.Here the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the genus Taxon sampling. More than 4000 specimens in all the 17 species of Sternolophus were studied as ingroup, and Hydrocharaflavipes, belonging to the tribe Hydrophilini, was included as outgroup. A total of 271 specimens were measured. The specimens were obtained on loan from the following institutions and collections:AEZS coll. A. Short, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USACBSU Collection of Department of Biology, Shiraz University, IranHMIM Hayek Mirzayans Insect Museum, Tehran, IranPageBreakISNB Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles, BelgiqueMNHN Mus\u00e9um National d\u2019Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FranceMNHUB Museum der Alexander Humboldt Universit\u00e4t, Berlin, GermanyNHML Natural History Museum, London, UKNMB Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandNMW Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, AustriaNRM Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, SwedenOUMNH Oxford University Museum of Natural History, UKSAMA South Australian Museum, Adelaide, AustraliaSMTD Staatliches Museum f\u00fcr Tierkunde, Dresden, GermanyZMUC Zoological Museum University of Copenhagen, DenmarkThe examined specimens are listed in Appendix Preparation for morphological studies. To study the male genitalia, the aedeagus was extracted and macerated in lactic acid for at least four days to become hydrated and cleared before examination. Bursa copulatrix, spermatheca, and spermathecal gland were also dissected    with \u2018trThe synapomorphic characters and character states are mapped on the single most parsimonious cladogram . Branch support was calculated by bootstrap , jack-knThe consistency and retention indices  of discrPageBreakPageBreakPageBreakof discrete characters only  resulted in 36 most parsimonious trees of 110 steps. The consensus trees using both strict and majority-rule methods were different from previous trees in the position of the species in clade B  resulted in a single most parsimonious tree of 146.130 steps Fig. . When sue B Fig. . AnalysiSternolophus species are divided into two major monophyletic clades, B and G, with 6 and 11 species respectively. Clade B contains S.decens as sister to clade C that is composed of five species, S.solieri, S.rufipes, S.angustatus, S.mandelai, and S.elongatus. Clade B is supported by five characters , although it is weakly supported statistically. Except for the elongated spine on the metaventrite (37: 1), the characters sustaining this clade were homoplastic. The topology of clade B was slightly different in analysis C .As shown in the single most parsimonious tree obtained with analysis A Fig. , the exas C Fig. , and thes C Fig. , whereass C Fig.  S.decenPageBreakS.australis is sister to clade I, whereas S.immarginatus is sister to the clade formed by S.australis and clade I. In all analyses, clades K, L, M, and N were found to be monophyletic with the same configuration. These clades are supported by one, two, three, and three synapomorphies, respectively  (Nasserzadeh & Komarek 2017). In all analyses, the topology of clade G remained consistent except for slight changes in clade M and variable support for clades G and I  Unreliable topology of clade B in different analyses and absence of support for its monophyly as well as monophyly of the subclades. ii) Questionable position of S.decens within clade B. Sternolophusdecens was included in the subgenusSternolophus s. str. by S.rufipes and S.solieri by PageBreakHowever, it was recovered in a monophyletic clade together with S.marginicollis (and some unidentified Sternolophus species) by subgenusNeosternolophus by S.decens was recovered as sister to clade C. The species of this clade   Fig.  were groHydrophilina based on adult-morphological characters, found evidence for monophyly of the subgenusSternolophus s. str., but the species formerly grouped in the subgenusNeosternolophus were unresolved and formed a basal polytomy within the genus. In our analysis, on the contrary, strong evidence was found for monophyly of Neosternolophus, whereas monophyly of Sternolophus s. str. is more questionable for the reasons mentioned above.S.solitarius, S.mundus, S.inconspicuus and S.angolensis) grouped by angolensis species group based on morphological similarities, are resolved here as clade M confirming their close relationship, although weakly supported (Fig. Finally, the four species (ted Fig. .Biogeography and diversification. In Figure solieri species group distributed in the Afrotropical, Palaearctic and Oriental regions. Distribution of S.decens overlaps with those of clade D. On the other hand, most members of clade G have an Oriental-Australasian distribution. The exceptions are representatives of the angolensis species group, with S.solitarius, S.mundus, and S.angolensis restricted to the Afrotropical Region whereas S.inconspicuus is widely distributed in the Oriental Region to the eastern boarder of the Palaearctic Region. Sternolophusinsulanus and S.jaechi are two sister species with insular distribution in the Malay Archipelago (see Appendix Sternolophus, dispersing toward Australia in the Oligocene/Miocene. There are many New Cenozoic fossil findings of taxa closely related to Sternolophus in Europe and North America (e.g. S.rufipes from the Early Pliocene of the Tsubusagawa Formation in Japan (Sternolophus in the Old World, i.e. without protruding into northern Asia, Europe, Tasmania and New Zealand (ica e.g. , 2010b, in Japan . The cur Zealand , which wPageBreak"}
+{"text": "Cronobacter species was incorrectly described as ten. Actually, Cronobacter pulveris, Cronobacter helveticus and Cronobacter turicensis were removed from the genus in 2014.In the first paragraph in the \u201cIntroduction\u201d of this article, the number of Cronobacter spp. is currently considered to consist of 7 species: Cronobacter sakazakii, C. malonaticus, C. universalis, C. dublinensis, C. muytjensii, C. condiment, and C. zurichensis (Stephan et al., C. sakazaii is one of the two group 1 clinically relevant species that form the majority of the clinical isolates. The authors regret this error.The original sentence should be corrected as follows: The original article has been updated.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori is a causative pathogen of chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. Humans are known to be a natural host for H. pylori and tend to acquire the pathogen before the age of 5\u2009years. The infection may then persist lifelong if eradication therapy is not applied. One of the modes of transmission of H. pylori is between family members, and therefore, the presence of infected family members is an important risk factor in children. However, other environmental factors have not been fully analyzed. The present study was performed to clarify whether and to what extent intestinal microbiota affect H. pylori intrafamilial infection. The fecal specimens from H. pylori-infected infants and H. pylori-infected and non-infected family members were collected in cohort studies conducted by Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture from 2010 to 2013. In total, 18 fecal DNA from 5 families were analyzed. Samples were amplified using 16S rRNA universal primers, and the amplicons were sequenced using the Ion PGM system. Principal-coordinate analysis demonstrated that there was no difference in intestinal microbiota between H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative groups. In intrafamilial comparison tests, the Manhattan distance of intestinal microbiota between the H. pylori-infected infant proband and H. pylori-negative mother was nearest in the family with low intestinal microbial diversity. However, in the family with the highest intestinal microbial diversity, the nearest Manhattan distance was shown between the H. pylori-infected infant proband and H. pylori-infected mother. The results in this study showed that the composition of the intestinal microbiota was very similar between members of the same family, and as such, colonization with organisms highly similar to the infected parent(s) may be a risk factor for H. pylori infection in children. Helicobacter pylori and more than half of the world\u2019s population are infected with this microorganism. Long-term infection with H. pylori significantly increases the risk of developing site-specific diseases, such as peptic ulcer disease  and real-time polymerase chain reaction detection of H. pylori DNA by the 16S rRNA gene of H. pylori-targeted primers were used  according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions with some modification . Two hunEach DNA specimen was amplified using the Ion 16S\u2122 Metagenomics Kit . The amplicons were purified and prepared for the sequencing library by using the Ion Plus Fragment Library Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. The library was sequenced by using the Ion PGM system (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and the Ion PGM Hi-Q sequencing kit following the protocol of the kit , 18.The operational taxonomic unit of each sequence was determined by the Ion torrent server with the Greengenes database . The min2 test was performed. A probability value  less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Statistical analysis was performed using the software KaleidaGraph . Mean values were compared among subjects using the Kruskal\u2013Wallis test between all groups. For comparing categorical data, the \u03c7H. pylori-infected children and their family members were tested for microbiota analysis. The details are shown in Table H. pylori-infected mothers and three H. pylori-infected fathers, four H. pylori-uninfected siblings, and one each uninfected father and mother, as well as five index children were tested. All five H. pylori-infected index children had a H. pylori-infected mother and/or father but no H. pylori-infected sibling.The 18 fecal specimens from 5 H. pylori infection and age, the subjects were divided into H. pylori infected and non-infected, and the subgroups were also divided into parent and child groups. In these four groups of subjects, the abundance of Bacteroidetes or Firmicutes and the ratios of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes were compared . H. pylori was not detected in H. pylori-negative and -positive subjects at all from fecal microbiota.The average relative abundance of each bacterial family, genus, and species was compared among the four groups. At the family level, abundances of  Figures A\u2013C. At tn Figure D. Higher Figures E,F. At tn Figure G. Highers Figure H, and Cln Figure I. TuriciH. pylori status and age groups. As shown in Figure H. pylori-negative parents than in those from H. pylori-positive parents. These results remained significant even when the comparisons were performed at family and genus levels  of Manhattan distances highlighting similarities between fecal specimens of the 16 family members is shown in Figure PC1 and PC2 represent the first two highest discriminating axes. At both levels of species and family, family 2 was divided and separated from other families Figure . PCoA plHelicobacter positive index children in the five families. However, one (family 1) of four mothers was H. pylori negative, and the other four members were H. pylori positive.Manhattan distances at the bacterial family level between family members in each family are shown in Table H. pylori-positive parent to children in family 1, the distance between the H. pylori-positive parent to the index child  of human and animal subjects and that the eradication of H. pylori infection induces an increase in BMI  were shown between index and H. pylori-infected mothers (three cases) and father (only one case). These data showed that the similarity of microbiota was related to transmission of H. pylori infection.In this study, we also focused on the similarity of the index child and other family members, especially H. pylori-negative siblings and H. pylori-positive parents were compared to those between index children and H. pylori-positive parents and shown to be shorter with the exception of family 2, where all three family members were similar to each other. In family 5, the H. pylori-positive index child was similar to the H. pylori-positive father, and the H. pylori-negative sibling showed a similar microbiome to that of the infected mother implying father-to-child transmission.The Manhattan distances between H.\u2009pylori and that similarity of microbiota could be considered a risk factor. However, it is possible that the similarity in microbiota is also an effect of H. pylori infection. This possibility is worthy of further exploration.In conclusion, our data support the idea that the intestinal microbiota may contribute to intrafamilial transmission of This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of ethical guidelines for clinical research in Japan. All experiments were performed in accordance with the principles of Declaration of Helsinki with written informed consents. The study protocol (H22-047-02) was approved by the ethics committees of Kyorin University.Conceived and designed the experiments: TO, SKikuchi, SKamiya, and MO. Wrote the paper: TO, CZ, YL, and SKamiya. Metagenome analysis: TO, EN, FH, and HY. Analyzed the data: TO and HY. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: SKurata and TH.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Manchurochelys manchoukuoensis. Several juvenile features are uncovered, such as a small and circular carapace , wide vertebral scales, and lateral carapacial fontanelles. In contrast to the adult morphology, which has an oval carapace, closed lateral fontanelles, and longer vertebrals 2\u20134, the juvenile of M. manchoukuoensis is more comparable to that of Sinemys lens, except for earlier occurrence of the well-ossified carapace of the latter. Differs from Changmachelys bohlini, and Ordosemys liaoxiensis, in which the circular carapace is relatively independent of ontogenetic age, and the lateral fontanelles are only closed in adult stage of O. liaoxiensis. Therefore, the trajectory of ontogenetic change appears to be highly diversified in the sinemydids.A small juvenile turtle is described from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, shedding light on the juvenile morphology and ontogeny of  Manchurochelys manchoukuoensis, Ordosemys liaoxiensis, Liaochelys jianchangensis, Xiaochelys ningchengensis) have been discovered from the Jehol Biota and a large number of well-preserved fossils have been described , however, the neurals are varied in shape and size . The lasFollowing the neural row, two suprapygals are developed. The first suprapygal is distinctly smaller than the second one. However, it is proportionately smaller than the suprapygal I of PMOL-AR00008 . The pygAs a juvenile specimen, the costal plates are not fully ossified at their distal ends. Therefore, the lateral fontanelles are present between the costals and peripherals. In contrast, the fontanelles are closed in the adults , in which the vertebrals 2\u20134 are longer than wide . The firThe articulated cervicals form a S-shaped cervical series \u2013 3. The The third cervical is relatively shorter than the axis. The neural spine of the third cervical is also broken off. Based on its remains, the neural spine is relatively reduced, and only present on the anterior half of the neural arch. As in the axis, the shelf-like ridge is developed which is parallel to the posterior margin of the neural arch. In the fourth cervical, the left side is somewhat damaged and the left prezygapophysis and postzygapophysis are broken off. The neural spine is low. The posterior margin of the neural arch is V-shaped as a result of the deeply divergent postzygapophyses. The V-shaped posterior margin is highlighted in the fifth and sixth cervicals . Due to Seven caudal vertebrae are preserved in articulation extending from the carapace. The posterior half of the first caudal is exposed. Its anterior part is still overlapped by the carapace. The transverse process extends more laterally than posteriorly. The second caudal is slightly displaced from its original position, and exposed in posterior view. The posterior articular facet of the centrum is a shallow concavity, implying a presence of an opisthocoelous or amphicoelous centrum. The neural canal is relatively smaller than the centrum. The third caudal is wholly exposed in dorsal view, although the posterior part of the neural arch is broken off. The prezygapophyses are nearly paralleled to each other. The articular facet is strongly oblique. The transverse process is positioned more posteriorly than on the first caudal. The process extends more posteriorly than laterally, and well beyond the level of the vertebral body. The transverse processes reduce their size gradually in the succeeding caudals, and appear to be absent in the sixth or seventh caudals. The neural spine is well preserved in the sixth caudal. The spine is low, broad and rounded.Another segment of the caudal series includes 12 vertebrae, possibly representing the distal caudals. This segment is displaced from the anterior portion. The first vertebra of the segment is strongly reduced, and is roughly half the length of the sixth caudal of the anterior portion. The complete number of caudals is therefore uncertain now. These caudals are also more or less damaged. They are exposed in lateral view, and have a distinctly curved ventral margin.In the forelimb, humerus bears an expanded distal end. The ectepicondyle foramen is open. The ulna and radius are slender and rod-like. They are subequal with a length of 10.4 mm. The ulna is relatively stronger than the radius. The manus is poorly preserved on both sides.The hindlimb is well preserved on the right side. The tibia and fibula are about 13.4 mm long. The tarsals are positioned between the tibia and fibula and metatarsus. However, a further identification of the tarsal elements is difficult. Metatarsals I-IV are rod-like. The metatarsal I is stout with a length of 5.7 mm. The metatarsals II\u2013IV are slender and long. Of these, the metatarsal III with a length of 8.1 mm, is the longest. The ansulate bone is large and hook-like. The pedal formula is 2-3-3-3-3. The digits gradually elongate from the digit I to reach the maximum length (16.2 mm) in the digit III, and then digits IV and V become shorter. In contrast, the digit V is 12 mm long and much more slender than other digits. In each digit, the phalanges decrease distally in size. The claw is well developed in anterior four digits. However, the ultimate phalanx is needle-like in the digit V.Sinemys lens, Changmachelys bohlini and Ordosemys liaoxiensis. In contrast to PMOL-AR00007, the juvenile carapace of S. lens is well developed even in the smallest individual (less than 50 mm in carapace length), while the carapace of C. bohlini retains large lateral fontanelles throughout the whole growth series , a circular carapace, lateral carapacial fontanelles, and wide vertebral scales. Few juveniles of sinemydids are known, except for h series . TherefoManchurochelys manchoukuoensis in having a short midline contact of the prefrontals, a postorbital-squamosal separation, a relatively elongated crista supraoccipitalis, and a smaller anterior suprapygal. Also, the specimen is excluded from Sinemys spp. in having a medial prefrontal contact, an elongate crista supraoccipitalis, presence of a cervical scale, a pygal, and eight neurals, and absence of the lateral spine on peripheral 7; Dracochelys bicuspis in having a short medial contact of the prefrontals, a shallow nuchal emargination, eight neurals, a contact of the first peripheral and the first costal, and upturned peripherals. Moreover, the fossil differs from Ordosemys spp., Liaochelys jianchangensis, Xiaochelys ningchengensis, C.\u00a0bohlini, Kirgizemys spp., Judithemys sukhanovi, and Macrobaena mongolica in not having a postorbital-squamosal contact. In particular, the specimen is distinct from Ordosemys spp. in lacking a preneural plate, but having a long supraoccipital crest, a postorbital-squamosal separation, a broad contact of the first peripheral and the first costal, and a small first suprapygal; L. jianchangensis in having a long supraoccipital crest, and a postorbital-squamosal separation; X. ningchengensis in having a postorbital-squamosal separation, and a small first suprapygal; C. bohlini, Kirgizemys spp., J. sukhanovi, and M. mongolica lacking a broad medial contact of the prefrontals, broad interorbital roof (M. mongolica), and two subequal suprapygals (unknown in C. bohlini). Therefore, it is reasonable to assign the juvenile specimen (PMOL-AR00007) to M. manchoukuoensis.Besides these ontogenetic features, PMOL-AR00007 shows a high similarity with M. manchoukuoensis. Besides the small size, the juvenile features are remarkable in carapace morphology, such as a circular outline, open lateral fontanelles, and wider vertebral scales. In the adult specimen (PMOL-AR00008), the carapace is oval and longer than wide; the lateral fontanelles are completely closed in the well-ossified carapace; among the vertebral scales, vertebrals 2\u20134 are longer than wide  provides an opportunity to understand the juvenile morphology and ontogeny of han wide . The simhan wide , which imys lens . HoweverSinemys lens, the type species of the family Sinemydidae. All individuals of S. lens come from a single formation and greatly differ in size, and are interpreted to represent an ontogenetic series . The comparative study of M. manchoukuoensis and other sinemydids indicates the trajectory of ontogenetic change appears to be highly diversified in the sinemydids. Of these, the ontogenetic pattern of M. manchoukuoensis is more comparable to that of Sinemys lens, except for earlier occurrence of the well-ossified carapace of the latter. In Changmachelys bohlini and Ordosemys liaoxiensis, the different ontogenetic patterns are also known, such as the circular carapace is relatively independent of ontogenetic stage, and the lateral fontanelles are only closed in adult stage of O. liaoxiensis. In contrast to other taxa poorly-known in ontogenetic change, this diversification of the sinemydids is preliminary in our study and will be highlighted by future studies.Based on the juvenile specimen, our study firstly reveals the juvenile morphology and ontogeny of"}
+{"text": "This study was conducted in order to understand the implementation quality of the Secondary 1 Program of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S.  in the first year of the Full Implementation Phase. Classroom observations of 137 units in 85 schools were conducted under the Co-Walker Scheme. Results showed that the overall level of program adherence was generally high, with an average of 86.57%. Thirteen aspects concerning program delivery were significantly correlated. Multiple regression analyses revealed that (1) overall implementation quality was significantly predicted by interactive delivery method, use of positive and supportive feedback, opportunity for reflection, degree of achievement of the objectives, and lesson preparation; whereas (2) success of implementation was significantly predicted by student interest, interactive delivery method, use of positive and supportive feedback, opportunity for reflection, and degree of achievement of the objectives. In general, the present study suggests that the implementation quality of the Project P.A.T.H.S. is good."}
+{"text": "There is an error in affiliation 3 for author Darren P. Baker. Affiliation 3 should be: Sanofi Genzyme, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.There is an error in the caption for"}
+{"text": "Babesiosis is a globally important zoonotic disease caused by tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan of the genus Babesia (phylum apicomplexa). In China, there are five species that infect cattle buffalo and cause great economic loss, which include Babesia bigemina, B. bovis, B. major, B. ovata, and B. orientalis. Among them, B. orientalis is the most recently identified new Babesia species epidemic in China. This review summarized the work done in the past 33 years to give an overview of what learned about this parasite. This parasitic protozoan was found in 1984 in Central and South China and then named as B. orientalis in 1997 based on its differences in transmitting host, morphology, pathogenicity and characteristics of in vitro cultivation when compared with B. bigemina and B. bovis. It was found that Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides is the transmitting vector and water buffalo is the only reported host. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene also confirmed that B. orientalis is a new species. After species verification, four diagnostic methods including semi-nest PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay, reverse line blot hybridization assay, and real-time PCR were established for lab and field use purposes. Genomic sequencing was conducted and the complete genomes of mitochondria and apicoplast were annotated. Future work will be focused on developing effective vaccines, identifying drug targets and screening useful drugs for controlling B. orientalis in water buffalo. Babesia orientalis is a tick-borne apicomplexan parasite infecting red blood cells and causing water buffalo babesiosis. It is one of the most important diseases of water buffalo in central and south China, resulting in huge economy loss annually . Phylogenetic analysis based on the nuclear 18S rRNA genes, the amino acid sequences of mitochondrial cox1 and cob genes and heat shock protein 70, confirmed that B. orientalis is a new species which is distinct from B. bigemina and B. bovis , possibly by convenient transportations of water buffalo from south to north because more and more bridges built on the river make the river no longer a natural barrier. In 2011, 14% (16/114) field samples collected north of Yangtze River were positive by real-time PCR   and health water buffalo RBCs (donor of RBC) were needed. According to the record, infected water buffalo blood could be stored for 20 days in 4\u00b0C, the parasites still alive for setting up cultivation. Whereas health water buffalo RBC could be only stored for 6 days in 4\u00b0C before use ( in 1991 . The medn (MASP) . The parn (MASP) . For setfore use ,b.Babesia and Theileria. Thus, low sensitivity and specificity is one of the most important reasons for developing other testing method. Since 2002, useful serological and molecular methods have been developed for B. orientalis. The first and only serological method was latex agglutination test (LAT) which was established based on in vitro culture excreted antigens of B. orientalis . The sequencing also demonstrated that B. orientalis harbors two extranuclear organelles, mitochondrion and a semi-autonomous plastid\u2013like organelle named apicoplast, which is similar to the other members of apicomplexa parasites. The entire mitochondrial genome is a linear form with 5996 bp in length. It contains three protein-coding genes, cox1, cob, and cox3, in accordance with the mitochondrial genomes of other apicomplexa parasites. Multiple sequence alignment showed that B. orientalis mitochondrial genome is similar to that of the related apicomplexa parasites  pathway. There are seven enzymes work in MEP pathway, including DXS, DXR/IspC, IspD, IspE, IspF, IspG, and IspH, which is similar to previous reported apicomplexan MEP pathway . The results demonstrated that the existence of MEP pathway in B. orientalis and could be a potential drug target for controlling water buffalo babesiosis.The first reported genome of  8.6 Mbp . After tectively . The genarasites . The apiarasites . Further pathway . It was  pathway . The genB. orientalis include three elements, water buffalo, the vector R. haemaphysaloides and the parasites. Control the ticks will be the most efficient way for controlling tick-borne diseases. There are variety of chemicals can reduce the tick populations directly. However, it is impossible to eradicate all the ticks in nature. The other strategy is to control B. orientalis in water buffalo. It was reported that the secretory antigens derived from in vitro cultivation could induce protection to the virulent of B. orientalis, and could be used as a vaccine to prevent the disease  diminazene aceturate is the recommended treatment.Targets for controlling the transmission of  disease , 2002. W disease . AnotherB. orientalis in 1997. Many studies have been done, such as diagnostic methods, vaccine development, genome sequencing, and most importantly, in vitro cultivation was successfully established as it is the basic and core technique for Babesia research. However, little is known about the biology and pathogenesis of the parasite at molecular level. What is the molecular mechanism of R. haemaphysaloides transmits B. orientalis to water buffalo? How does B. orientalis interact with the host, invade red blood cells, grow and proliferate? Several antigens, such as AMA1, RAP1, BoP34, etc., have been identified and presumed to play important roles in B. orientalis invasion of RBC (in vitro cultivated parasites, is expensive and difficult to obtain. Further research will be focused on the understanding of the invasion functions, developing effective vaccines, identifying drug targets and screening useful drugs for controlling B. orientalis in water buffalo, and also the biology and molecular mechanism of vector transmission.It has been more than 30 years since the parasite was discovered in water buffalo in Hubei province, China, and 20 years since it was named as n of RBC ,b. ThereB. orientalis research. QL was a Ph.D. student in the lab from 2001 to 2006. She did the first phylogenetic study and established semi-nested PCR. BY worked in the lab before he retired, he investigated the epidemic areas, studies life cycle and pathogenicity of B. orientalis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.LH wrote the draft of the manuscript. JZ and MH revised the manuscript. LH, YZ, MH, RF, and JZ are presently working in Parasitology lab, Huazhong Agricultural University, China. They contribute the basic need for The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer ME-G and handling Editor declared their shared affiliation, and the handling Editor states that the process nevertheless met the standards of a fair and objective review."}
+{"text": "Sorex genus are an evolutionarily successful group that includes more than 77 species widely distributed in Eurasia and North America. The genus is one of the rare cases where karyotypic changes reflect well the evolutionary relationships among its species. The taxa showing the greatest variation in karyotype are usually classified into the Sorex araneus group. Its evolution was associated with chromosomal rearrangements, which could have promoted fast diversification of this group into many chromosomal races and species. These processes were additionally complicated by introgressions of mitochondrial DNA, which made the evolutionary history of this group quite complex and difficult to infer. To tackle the problem, we performed multi-method phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome b that is considered a good molecular marker available for many representatives of Sorex. The results were compared with phylogenies based on chromosomal rearrangement data and put into temporal and spatial context using molecular dating and historical biogeography methods. We complemented the study with the estimation of diversification rates within the S. araneus group as well as comparing the results with paleontological records and climatic oscillations within the last 4 million years. Based on the gathered data, we proposed a hypothetical scenario for the evolution and geographic dispersion of species belonging to the S. araneus group. The shrews began to diversify about 2.7 million years ago in Eurasia and then migrated at least twice to North America. The evolution of shrews was driven by Pleistocene glacial and interglacial cycles, which increased their speciation rate and the emergence of new lineages. The migrations of populations were accompanied by introgressions of mitochondrial DNA into native shrews and occurred at least twice.Shrews of the  Sorex genus, though very common, are unusual because their complex evolution can be deduced from analyses of their karyotypes. This genus has had great evolutionary success and currently includes more than 77 species widely distributed in Eurasia and North America Sorex by e et al. , i.e. 0.e et al. , phylogee et al.  to the me et al. .18O curve [18O records within the same overlapping periods.The maximum clade credibility tree calculated in Beast with associated branching times was used to estimate the diversification rate in R package with LASER 2.4 . To test8O curve , which iSorex: S. araneus Cordon race, S. antinorii, S. coronatus, S. daphaenodon, S. granarius, S. maritimensis, S. samniticus, S. satunini, S. tundrensis from Kemerovo and Tomsk were compared in terms of chromosomal whole-arm rearrangements. The Cordon race was selected as the representative of S. araneus because it shows the most primitive karyotype, which is characterized by polymorphic metacentric fusion j:l and more acrocentric chromosomes than other races [Ten representatives of er races , 35. Theer races , 77\u201379, er races . We analS. araneus taxa, we carried out likelihood analysis of geographical range evolution (Lagrange) using the dispersal-extinction cladogenesis (DEC) model [S. granarius was placed as the basal lineage to the other members of S. araneus, i.e. before the divergence of S. daphaenodon, as was indicated by the phylogeny based on chromosomal rearrangements. In the model, we determined ten biogeographic regions which are inhabited currently by shrews of the S. araneus group: Eastern, Central and Western America, Northern and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, Caucasus as well as Apennine and Iberian Peninsula. We assumed up to three areas in the ancestral distributions. Range and dispersal constraints were set according to the adjacency of these regions.In order to reconstruct the ancestral geographic distributions of C) model  implemenC) model . The stuS. araneus group, we applied seven approaches based on a popular mitochondrial marker cytochrome b. All methods produced very similar and resolved trees with moderately to very well-supported clades  S. maritimensis and S. arcticus, as well as (2) S. asper and S. tundrensis. Both of them are significantly supported by all methods.To determine phylogenetic relationships within the d clades . The earS. araneus and closely related species, which is very significantly supported by the Bayesian approach and moderately by other methods  and the clade comprising other S. araneus samples (topology t1) were rejected by two and four test, respectively. The location of this haplotype before the divergence of S. coronatus, S. antinorii, S. granarius and S. araneus (topology t5) is less likely and rejected by five tests. Only two positions were not significantly worse than the best tree topology: the grouping of the haplotype B with the whole clade of S. granarius and S. araneus (topology t3), and its clustering with the latter clade, including in addition, S. antinorii (topology t4). Both hypotheses assuming the monophyly of the two S. satunini haplotypes (topologies t6 and t7) were significantly rejected by all tests applied.The placement of haplotype B as a sister clade to the group of S. araneus group was revised several times. S. tundrensis was initially considered a subspecies of S. arcticus and obtained species status after morphometric [S. maritimensis was included within S. arcticus as a subspecies until it was elevated to species status [S. antinorii was also formerly known as the Valais chromosome race of S. araneus and the species rank was obtained after Brunner et al. [S. araneus group. It may also help to recognize the introgression of mtDNA.The taxonomic status of members within the hometric  and genehometric , 23. Sims status , 38. S. r et al.  revision\u22125, respectively) than the null model assuming that the entire sample comes from a single species with uniform branching. The single GMYC method recognized 17 potential species, the multiple-threshold GMYC method 16 species and the ABGD method found 12 species. The results of various ABGD analyses were consistent and did not depend on an a priori threshold value on the maximal distance.We applied ABGD and GMYC methods . Both GMS. samniticus, S. asper, S. daphaenodon and the S. satunini haplotype A were also recognized as separate clusters. The ABGD and single GMYC methods separated S. arcticus and S. maritimensis but the multiple GMYC considered them as one species, which agrees with the former classification, when S. maritimensis was the subspecies of S. arcticus. The recognition of species within S. araneus and closely related taxa is the most variable. The ABGD produced one cluster including S. coronatus, the haplotype B of S. satunini, S. antinorii, S. granarius and S. araneus. The GMYC methods discriminated S. granarius together with S. araneus Carlit race as one cluster and the other S. araneus as the second one. The S. satunini haplotype B and S. antinorii were also separated by the single GMYC method but the multiple GMYC clustered them into one group. The single GMYC method assigned all samples of S. coronatus to the separate cluster, whereas the multiple GMYC separated the most diverged basal sequence as a singleton.Three outgroup shrews were identified as separate species in all three approaches . Well esS. tundrensis was not recognized as one group but was split into several clusters , a decrease in this rate transpired (to 1.433), which further declined ca. 48 kya (to 0.375)  gives no evidence for the significant slowdown in the diversification. Among tested diversification models, yule4rate turned out the best-fitting with the lowest AIC . The mod375) see . Interes375) see  correspo375) see . In factSorex, we reconstructed their relationships using Bayesian (BA) and maximum parsimony (MP)  and lacks t+u fusion, which is a common feature of S. tundrensis and all other S. araneus representatives. The two S. tundrensis differ by three unique fusions c+l, h+m, and h+p [Using chromosomal whole-arm rearrangement data available for ten representatives of ony (MP)  methods.ntatives , 24\u201326. -banding . In one ne clade . S. mari and h+p .S. araneus and closely related taxa is occupied by S. granarius, which besides the t+u fissions does not have any other chromosome rearrangements (e.g. a+f fusion) typical of subsequently diverged members. The common grouping of these members is supported by BA and all consensus MP trees. The next separated lineage is S. daphaenodon, which apart from the a+f and t+u fusions, has three other unique ones . All trees with moderate support clustered S. satunini and S. coronatus sharing a unique j+n fusion. The position of S. antinorii is less stable. In BA and two MP trees, S. antinorii groups with the Cordon race. However, in the MP trees assuming ordered characters S. antinorii clusters with the clade S. satunini + S. coronatus. This inconsistency may result from the exclusive presence of l+o fusion in S. satunini and S. coronatus in a monomorphic state and in S. antinorii in a polymorphic state. Simultaneously, the S. araneus, S. antinorii and S. satunini are characterized by b+c fusion, which is absent from S. coronatus.In contrast to the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree, the basal position to the other members of S. araneus lineages were widespread in the whole of Eurasia, from Northern Asia to Western Europe, as these regions were selected as the most probable for the basal node (S. maritimensis and S. arcticus) branches off from this node. A common ancestor of these shrews probably lived in Northern Asia, from where it migrated to Western and Central America across a then-existing land bridge in the place of the current Beringia Strait. The whole Eurasian region was also a diversification centre for further emerged lineages. After the separation of S. tundrensis and S. asper, the ancestors of other current Sorex lineages occupied the region of Europe.The historical biogeography analysis implies that the ancestor(s) of present sal node . The nexS. araneus group, we gathered all the available data and studied it using different methods. The phylogenetic tree based on cytochrome b, provided a well-resolved topology recovered by many methods used. Our results are generally in agreement with other phylogenies based on a smaller number of sequences or simpler approaches [Sorex [In order to reconstruct the evolutionary history within the proaches , 34, 36.s [Sorex , and as S. samniticus to the members of the S. araneus group in the mtDNA tree agrees with its placement in the trees based on karyotypic data. Chromosomes of this species are fully acrocentric, have not been subjected to rearrangements and show substantial homologies to the members of S. araneus group, which implies that S. samniticus represents the ancestral state in relation to the other taxa [S. araneus, S. antinorii and S. coronatus in mandibular characters as well as body mass and measures [The basal position of her taxa , 24\u201326. her taxa , 37, andmeasures .S. granarius. This species is grouped with significant support with the Carlit race of S. araneus in the mtDNA tree, whereas in the karyotypic trees, it represents a lineage that evolved at the base of the S. araneus group. Assuming that the karyotypic trees represent true relationships between Sorex lineages, the best explanation for this inconsistency is the introgression of mtDNA from the subpopulation of S. araneus to S. granarius [S. granarius from the other members of the S. araneus group in the karyotypic trees well agrees with its clear difference in morphology [S. araneus group and also varies from them in many characteristics of skull and mandible. Discriminant and principal component analyses based on these features clearly separated S. granarius and S. coronatus, which live in sympatry [The subsequently diverging lineages also show the same branching order in the mtDNA and karyotypic trees with the exception of ranarius , 37. Theranarius  and Taberanarius  for a smrphology . It is tsympatry , 85.S. araneus to the Northern Ciscaucasian population of S. satunini [S. satunini sequences are separated in the mtDNA tree into two clades corresponding to the haplotype A and B  [S. satunini is a relatively small population characterized by low polymorphism in microsatellite and morphometric mandibular traits, which is a consequence of its small population size, partial isolation, and genetic drift [Another introgression of mtDNA was suggested to have gone from an ancestor of satunini , 36. In  A and B . The hap A and B . Consequistocene . In agreic drift . The samS. granarius and S. araneus Carlit race were recognized as one cluster by two GMYC methods and the S. satunini haplotype B and S. antinorii were grouped together in the multiple GMYC approach. Interestingly, the ABGD method did not separate S. coronatus, the S. satunini haplotype B, S. antinorii, S. granarius and S. araneus into individual clusters. This may result from the quite recent differentiation of these taxa and might suggest that some hybridization potential between them was retained. Actually, such a phenomenon was reported for S. antinorii and S. araneus [S. coronatus to S. granarius was also proposed [The two cases of introgression are confirmed by the species delimitation analyses.  araneus \u201344 and tproposed .Sorex araneus taxa  to the Late Pleistocene in Europe and Caucasus Mountains [Sorex form Pliocene of Europe , resembling S. runtonensis [S. subaraneus from the Early Pleistocene deposits  of France or even Pliocene  of Slovakia [S. runtonensis and S. subaraneus are highly polymorphic and could be regarded as a morphometrical continuum of the same species. They may represent ancestors or old remains of the lineages leading to current species. Other detailed studies are required to solve the taxonomic position of these two taxa [Based on available data as well as performed phylogeographic analyses and molecular dating estimates, we decided to propose a hypothetical scenario for the evolution and geographic dispersion of axa Figs  and 9. Mex genus , which iex genus . The emendidates . The oldountains , 89, 90,tonensis . AlternaSlovakia . Under tS. araneus group were probably widespread in the whole of Eurasia. A relict lineage that diverged as the first about 2.7 Mya and survived in the Apennine Peninsula up to the present is represented by S. samniticus (S. runtonensis and S. subaraneus known since the Early (ca. 1.1 Mya) and Late Biharian (ca. 0.75 Mya) of Italy, [S. samniticus lineage implying its continuity in the Apennine Peninsula.The ancestral populations of the mniticus . Unfortuf Italy, , represeS. arcticus and S. maritimensis, lineages emerged also within the Early Pleistocene S. runtonensis or S. subaraneus forms, likely in North-eastern Asia and then migrated across the Beringia Strait into North America about 2.7 Mya  of Colorado and Virginia in USA [The extant  2.7 Mya . This ana in USA , 94\u2014Fig a in USA , which cSorex differentiated into the west and east lineages , with which it shares similar mandibular size and proportions [S. tundrensis is an eurytopic taxon and has diversified into several lineages since ca. 0.870 Mya, which corresponds well with its fossil records known from Moneron Island and dated to the Early Pleistocene (ca. 0.700 Mya) [S. tundrensis several clusters. Although some cytogenetic studies proposed the existence of several species within the Holarctic shrew [S. tundrensis was widely distributed also across Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum [About 2.2 Mya, Eurasian lineages . The extportions . S. tund700 Mya) , 97. The700 Mya) , 39. In ic shrew , additioic shrew , 39. Eco Maximum .S. daphaenodon that spread across Central and Eastern Asia. It must have reached the Far East before 900 kya because its oldest remains are dated to this time in Kolyma Lowland deposits [S. satunini and Western European S. coronatus  deposits from the Baccano maar area in central Italy [S. araneus should be most probably assigned to S. antinorii [S. antinorii lineage. It agrees with our estimation of S. antinorii differentiation dated to about 0.56 Mya.The European populations separated then into the ancestors of  990 kya . Some Mincestors . S. antial areas , 101. Thal Italy . Howeverntinorii . Consequntinorii  can in fS. araneus could occupy Eastern Europe as it is suggested by the basal placement of Russian sequences in the phylogenetic trees Click here for additional data file.S2 Table(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S3 Table(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S1 Fig(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S2 Fig(PDF)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "One might say that history repeats itself. The best confirmation of that fact is the 18th International Symposium on Advances in Extraction Technologies\u2014ExTech\u20192016 and the 22nd International Symposium on Separation Science\u2014ISSS\u20192016 which took place at the Culture and Congress Center in Toru\u0144, 3\u20136 July 2016. One more time, over 350 specialists from 41 countries specialising in analytical chemistry, particularly the physicochemical methods of separation, met in the Gothic city of Toru\u0144 to summarise their achievements and to present new concepts both in the theory and practice of separation, enrichment, isolation and determination of the entire range of chemical substances. For the first time in history, the two great symposia ExTech and ISSS have been combined as one event. The former pertains to the methods of sample preparation based mainly on the extraction techniques. The latter deals with the physicochemical methods of separation and determination of organic and inorganic substances of different molecular mass and structure, both individual substances and their derivatives occurring in different matrices. The symposia were organised by the Committee of Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Chair of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry of the Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Central European Group for Separation Science (CEGSS). The honorary patronage of this scientific event was assumed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Marshal of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province, Mayor of Toru\u0144, and His Magnificence Rector of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru\u0144.The program of the symposium was exceptionally rich. It included 49 plenary and panel lectures as well as 22 oral announcements mostly presented by young scientists. Moreover, during the four subject sessions, there were 258 poster presentations. An integral part of the conference were workshops and the exhibition of 17 manufacturers and distributors of equipment, reagents and accessories. During the symposium, particular attention was drawn to the accomplishments of the founders and pioneers of both extraction science  and chromatography (Prof. Mikhail Tswett). The first session was devoted to the theoretical achievements and fundamental aspects in the field of separation methods. It began with an insightful lecture by Prof. J. Pawliszyn (Canada) concerning the accomplishments and the future of sample preparation technology. Professor P. Jandera (Czech Republic), laureate of the European Tswett-Nerst award, presented the advances which have been made in multi-dimensional separation techniques. A new concept in characterising stationary phases and columns used in the so-called fast chromatography was presented by Prof. A. Felinger (Hungary). Professor O. J. Schmitz (Germany) presented new methodological solutions in the use of coupled separation techniques (LC\u2013MS) for determination of biologically active substances.Similarly, the other sessions brought numerous innovative and interesting solutions and proposals. They concerned such issues as new advances in sample preparation for the needs of biological and environmental analysis including analytics of food and natural products . A particular emphasis was placed on the application of multi-dimensional systems and coupled and combined systems in the determination of biologically active substances on the cellular level (metabolism and omics)  and monitoring changes which take place in the metabolic pathways and biogenic changes .The research paper speeches concerned miniaturisation and robotisation both in the sample preparation and determination of analytes on the sub-ultra traces . These subjects well correspond with the issues connected with developing new generation of materials such as packings, analytical columns and columns used in micro- or nano-scale . The so-called chip laboratory (pill-lab) is a challenge not only for researchers studying miniaturisation and robotisation of the combined process of sample preparation and final determination . This issue was superbly presented in the research paper presented by Prof. Z. Brz\u00f3ska (Poland), who pointed out the possibilities of using these solutions in modern analytics.The solutions aimed at the application of these achievements for the determination of toxic substances of endo- and exogenic origin or xenobiotics in different matrices, particularly in water, were presented by Prof. H. Lee (Singapore), Prof. M. Bruzzonitti , Prof. D. Knapp (Germany), Dr. V. Comann (Romania) or Dr. M. Gerstiuk (Ukraine), in cosmetics (Prof. M. Llompart from Spain) or monitoring of technological processes (Prof. E. Rosenberg from Austria). All this was perfectly complemented by works devoted to the theoretical considerations containing description of separation mechanisms presented by: Prof. S. Pedersen-Bjergaard from Norway, Prof. I. Malinowska (Poland), Dr. T. Edge (UK), Prof. H. Bagheri (Iran), Dr. J. Weiss from Germany, Dr. D. Berek from Slovakia and Prof. J. Koziel (USA).J. Mazina, A. Tretjakova, P. Saar-Reismaa, J. Gorbatsova, M. Kulp, M. Vaher, E. Erme & M. Kaljurand, Technical University, Tallin (Estonia), poster S1-P71,M. G\u0142adysz, M. Wo\u017aniakiewicz, P.M. Nowak & P. Ko\u015bcielniak, UJ Krak\u00f3w (Poland), poster S1-P34,T. Hajek, P. Jandera & M. Stankova, University of Pardubice (Czech Rep.), poster S2-P17,M. Skoczylas, Sz. Bocian & B. Buszewski, UMK Toru\u0144 (Poland), poster S2-P35,M. Matczuk, J. Legat & M. Jarosz, Politechnika Warszawska (Poland), poster S3-P17,C. Molins-Legua, P. Camping-Falco, Y. Moliner-Martinez, J. Vordu-Andres, J. Pla-Tolos & M. Munnos-Ortuno, University of Valencia (Spain), poster S3-P19,E. Gijonfriddo, E.A. Souza-Silva, S. De Grazia, X. Li & J. Pawliszyn, University of Waterloo (Canada), poster S4-P17,L. Rivoira, S. Studzi\u0144ska, M. Szultka-M\u0142y\u0144ska, M. C. Bruzzonitti, M. Ligor & B. Buszewski, University of Torino /UMK(NCU) Toru\u0144 (Poland), poster S4-P33.The presented subject matter was also well suited by short oral announcements made by young researchers (20 papers) and research news presented in the form of posters (258). The latter were also accompanied by short oral presentation in front of a panel of judges headed by Prof. T. G\u00f3recki. The jury evaluated the scientific innovation, the form and manner of the presentation. The winners/laureates of the contest were:The material and book prizes were funded by: Springer, Wiley\u2013VCH, Polygen company, Polish Chemical Society and the Committee of Chemical Analytics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.M. Buszewska-Forajta & R. Kaliszan, Gda\u0144ski Medical University (Poland), OP-7,G. A. Gomez-Rios, N. Reyes-Garces, E. Boyaci & J. Pawliszyn, Waterloo University (Canada), OP-12.The jury also awarded two prizes for the oral presentations of young researchers:The prizes in the form of the covered registration fee at the next conferences of ExTech 2017  and ISSS 2017  were sponsored by the organising committees of these symposia. Moreover, the organising committee of ITP 2017 in Gda\u0144sk awarded a prize to L. Rivoira  by financing the participation in this conference.During ExTech 2016 & ISSS 2016, apart from the up-to-date and abundant scientific program, the organisers provided the participants with an extensive and attractive cultural offer and the presentation of the traditions of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region and the city of Toru\u0144. The opening concert by S\u0142awek Wiercholski and Nocna Zmiana Bluesa band at the Jordanki Congress and Culture Center does not require any comment. It was an excellent prelude to the working sessions of the symposium. Similarly, the performance given by the Culture Center from \u015awiecie presenting the folk dance, songs and customs of Poland and the region in the setting of the open-air Ethnographic Museum showed the richness and diversity of Polish culture.The show also included a performance by a traditional gypsy band as well as young musical and vocal talents during a common feast, which warmed up the atmosphere of the meeting. Similarly, the participants enthusiastically received the performance of the Toru\u0144 singer M. Lubomski and his band given after the official gala dinner at Jordanki Congress and Culture Center. The participants thoroughly enjoyed the delicious dishes served by Go\u0142\u0119biewscy catering company and the excellent music by Rumi\u0144scy band. An important element of the program was the post-conference sightseeing tour of Toru\u0144 Along the Gothic Trail including a visit to the Live Museum of Gingerbreads. Despite the rainy weather, the participants enjoyed the tour which was confirmed by numerous letters and expressions of thanks for the organisation and the warm familiar atmosphere. This gives us enormous satisfaction of the well-done important tasks that we were entrusted with and makes us committed to live up to the expectations of the future.All this would not have been possible without the invaluable financial support of the government institutions, local and regional authorities and commercial companies (Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Marshal of Kuyavian-Pomeranian region, Mayor of Toru\u0144, Polish Academy of Sciences, companies such as: LECO-Polska, Perlan Technologies, Shim-Pol, AlChem, VWR, TZMO, La Rive and many others. The organisers and the participants express their gratitude for this support on numerous occasions.Prof. Dr. Bogus\u0142aw Buszewski, DSc.Chairman of the Scientific and Organising CommitteeToru\u0144, 15 July 2016ExTech\u20192016 & ISSS\u20192016"}
+{"text": "Nuttallides truempyi, Oridorsalis umbonatus, Bulimina trinitatensis, the Bulimina simplex group, the Anomalinoides spissiformis group, pleurostomellids, uniserial lagenids, stilostomellids and lenticulinids were ubiquitous during the early Eocene (lower-middle Ypresian). Aragonia aragonensis, the Globocassidulina subglobosa group, the Cibicidoides eocaenus group and polymorphinids became ubiquitous during the middle Ypresian. The most abundant early Ypresian taxa were tolerant to stressed or disturbed environments, either by opportunistic behavior  and/or the ability to calcify in carbonate-corrosive waters (N. truempyi). Nuttallides truempyi, T. selmensis and other buliminids  were markedly abundant during the middle Ypresian. Contrary to the long-lived, highly diverse and equitable Velasco fauna, common and abundant taxa reflect highly perturbed assemblages through the earliest Ypresian, with lower diversity and equitability following the PETM extinction. In contrast, the middle Ypresian assemblages may indicate a recovering fauna, though to some extent persistently disturbed by the lower-amplitude Eocene hyperthermals . We propose the name \u2018Walvis Ridge fauna\u2019 for future reference to these Ypresian deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblages.The early Eocene greenhouse world was marked by multiple transient hyperthermal events. The most extreme was the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum , linked to the extinction of the globally recognised deep-sea benthic foraminiferal Velasco fauna, which led to the development of early Eocene assemblages. This turnover has been studied at high resolution, but faunal development into the later early Eocene is poorly documented. There is no widely accepted early Eocene equivalent of the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Velasco fauna, mainly due to the use of different taxonomic concepts. We compiled Ypresian benthic foraminiferal data from 17 middle bathyal-lower abyssal ocean drilling sites in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, in order to characterise early Eocene deep-sea faunas by comparing assemblages across space, paleodepth and time.  Benthic foraminifera may constitute more than 50% of the total eukaryotic biomass at oceanic depths >1000 m , and areAnomalinoides capitatus and Hanzawaia ammophila; ),Benthic foraminiferal taxa were assigned to microhabitats based on their test morphology: epifaunal species are characterised by milioline coiling, planoconvex and biconvex trochospiral tests, biconvex planispiral, rounded and flat tests, tubular, and leaf-like forms, and infaunal taxa mainly have cylindrical, spherical, ovoid, unilocular globose, rounded planispiral and streptospiral shapes, and also include taxa with a neck e.g., \u2013104). Ho. Ho104])Multivariate analyses, including cluster and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), have been performed to assess the early Eocene benthic foraminiferal assemblages, using PAST software v. 3.04 . These tBoth analyses were carried out for the intervals corresponding to the lower and middle Ypresian. The lower Ypresian dataset includes 29 species groups from 14 sites , and theThe taxonomy of some of the most common early Eocene species Figs \u20136, whichBolivinoides and Bolivina , Bolivinoides decoratus  and Bolivinoides cf. decoratus . According to the type description, B. decorata has an elongated test, broad at the apertural end and tapering to rounded point at the aboral extremity, and a surface ornamented with prominent, oblong tubercles arranged in oblique rows [The que rows .Bolivina and Bolivinoides are included in the B. huneri group  [Bolivina huneri (at Site 550), Bolivinoides huneri (at Sites 1262 and 1263) and Bolivinoides crenulata/Bolivina huneri (at Site 401).D\u2019haenens et al.  suggesteNP10-11) , and morB. huneri and B. cf. decoratus groups are somewhat similar, but can be distinguished based on the typical ornamentation of their tests. Although the ornamentation may be slightly blurred in some cases, B. decoratus does not show the pattern of irregularly rounded depressions as in B. crenulata, neither the irregularly anastomosing costae of B. huneri. For this reason, we allocated these species to different groups.The species included in the Virgulina fusiformis by Cushman [This group includes species origninally recognised as  Cushman . The typVirgulina was deemed invalid because it was used to define a genus of a trematode worm, and Fursenkoina was proposed as the new name for this genus [Stainforthia, possibly based on the arrangement of the earlier chambers. Fursenkoina is described as biserial throughout [V. fusiformis. Stainforthia has chambers that are triserially arranged in the early stage, at least in the microspheric generation, followed by a twisted biserial arrangement [Fursenkoina fusiformis and Stainforthia fusiformis were included in this group.The name of the genus is genus . Speciesroughout , but thiangement . SpecimeBulimina elongata and B. thanetensis , however, showed that this twist is not clearly present in some specimens, which thus can be easily confused with B. elongata. Bulimina thanetensis may have become extinct during the early Ypresian, slightly after the start of the PETM , w, wBulimiB. thanetensis  is long and slender, with a markedly twisted test. The first chambers are very small, increasing slowly in size towards the middle part of the test, where they start to increase in size more rapidly, and are more inflated, thus the sutures are also more marked. The holotype slightly differs from deep-sea forms in its more rounded, squat chambers, and less-prominent sutures [B. thanetensis have been found at Maud Rise , whr e.g., , 118), a, aB. thaB. elongata are deposited at the AMNH or NMNH, but we observed diverse Eocene specimens identified as B. elongata . We found a large variety in the width of the test, and in the length-width ratio. Only five specimens from slides CC 59031 and CC 59026 show truly long and slender tests with nearly parallel lateral sides, slightly inflated chambers and slightly depressed sutures. We also checked some hypotypes and plesiotypes from younger time intervals, but these specimens have a more ovate form and flush sutures, in contrast with the Eocene specimens. N\u00f8rvang [B. elongata occurs in the microspheric form, and thus these specimens do not correspond to the genera Caucasina as suggested by others [Neither the holotypes nor other primary types of  N\u00f8rvang  suggestey others .Bulimina cf. simplex  at Site 401 (B. elongata), but do not have a truly long test. However, they do not have the bulging and protruding chambers which are typical for B. simplex (see B. simplex group).Based on the specimen figured in D\u2019haenens et al. , specimeSite 401  were incBulimina simplex, B. bradburyi and B. tuxpamensis), and without ornamentation or other specific features .According to the original description of otruding . On the chambers , and the sutures . This auB. bradburyi and B. tuxpamensis during the examination of the paratypes of the first species  and the plesiotypes of the second one . However, the plesiotypes of B. simplex  are in general more slender than B. bradburyi and B. tuxpamensis, and show a broad variety of test-shapes. Some have a narrow test at the initial end, with greatest width at the apertural end, whereas others have a more fusiform test. The shape of the chambers varies, from square-rounded and inflated, to longer and more inflated.We noted the above differences between Bulimina prolixa and Pyramidina rudita. Other Ypresian buliminid species such as B. semicostata, B. virginiana, B. farafraensis and B. alazanensis also have bluntly-edged triangular cross-sections, but they can be easily distinguished by their costate ornamentation.The group contains triserial species with blunt-edged triangular cross-section, without costae, e.g., B. prolixa is longer and narrower than P. rudita, and its sutures are slightly depressed. We examined several paratypes of B. prolixa . The specimens have a slender test with triangular cross-section, although they may vary from a typical buliminid shape (largest width close to last chamber) to somewhat fusiform (largest width closer to mid-test).Based on the original description of Cushman and Parker , B. prolP. rudita has a rougher surface but smaller test, with distinct, depressed and sigmoidal sutures [Pseudouvigerina. According to these authors, this genus includes turrilinids with pore mound ornamentation, but their illustrated specimens have a more elevated and pyramidal apertural face than the specimens in Ypresian samples. Moreover, P. cristata [Pseudouvigerina, has an aperture surrounded by a neck , in con Cushman  points od Tappan  mention r et al. . We did u et al. , and theu et al. , and retBulimina semicostata and B. jarvisi, which have a test with coarse perforations and irregularly-shaped, in some cases anastomosing costae  and cotypes of B. semicostata , B. jarvisi is narrower and longer than B. semicostata, and has more inflated chambers and more depressed sutures, in agreement with the original description of Cushman and Parker [B. jarvisi proportionally cover a larger area of the test than in B. semicostata. This ornamentation is finer in B. jarvisi than in B. semicostata [The typical chambers . Based od Parker . The cosicostata .B. asperoaculeata and B. glomarchallengeri. Bulimina asperoaculeata  shows less distinctive costae and deeper sutures than B. jarvisi [B. semicostata may be confused with B. glomarchallengeri, which also slightly resembles the juvenile specimens of B. callahani, but B. glomarchallengeri has more inflated chambers. According to Olshanetskiy [B. glomarchallengeri had its first appearance during the late Eocene, later than the range of B. semicostata.Additional species that may be related to this group include  jarvisi . The micanetskiy , B. glomB. virginiana, B. farafraensis and B. alazanensis) are not included in this group because they can be easily distinguished from B. semicostata or B. jarvisi based on the general morphology of their test. For example, the hypotype of B. virginiana  has a small, narrow test, clearly longer than wide, triangular in cross-section with concave sides and fine costae over the whole test. Some specimens of B. virginiana from ODP Site 1051 and DSDP Site 550 have flat rather than concave sides. Both B. alazanensis and B. farafraensis have a somewhat larger width/length ratio, sometimes with a small spinose projection at the initial end, but the former species has prominent, continuous and more pronounced longitudinal costae, whereas B. farafraensis .Other Ypresian buliminids with costate tests  shows n et al.,  pointed to LeRoy , B. faraPraebulimina reussi (more inflated form) and Bulimina kugleri  was common in the Maastrichtian and became extinct at or close to the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary globally [Praebulimina and Bulimina, however, have not been clearly described in the literature, and not been observed by all authors.This group has a complex record in the taxonomic literature, and includes buliminids with a typical fusiform shape, smooth test, inflated chambers and depressed sutures, resembling globally , 136, alglobally  reportedB. kugleri is characterised by a marked fusiform shape, with long inflated chambers, and the greatest width in the middle part of the test, with an aperture characterised by a high, arched, curved opening at the base of the inner margin of the last chamber [B. kugleri, but that they are smaller than the type specimens.The species  chamber . The hol chamber . Some of chamber . This auP. reussi rapidly flare from the pointed initial part, and the test has its broadest part in the last whorl [Praebulimina reussi has a subterminal, comma-shaped aperture. We observed three plesiotypes, one of which  has a markedly pointed initial part with small chambers that increase gradually in size, but the chambers rapidly increase in size at approximately one third of the test, resulting in very inflated chambers. The initial part of the other two plesiotypes  is less pointed, the chambers do not abruptly increase in size, and the greatest width occurs in the middle part of the test. We observed that the last chambers of P. reussi are occasionally elongate and inflated, resembling B. kugleri. Similarly, Alegret and Thomas [P. reussi may vary in elongation of the test, ranging from low and globular to elongate and fusiform. In the latter case, these two species may be distinguished because B. kugleri does not show the small, low and compressed early chambers of P. reussi.Chambers of st whorl . Praebuld Thomas  suggesteP. reussi as the species Praebulimina carseyae in their Maastrichtian material [B. ovula Reuss were later renamed P. reussi (Morrow)  e.g., , 30) bec becP. re\u2019Orbigny . There tntricosa  as synoni .P. reussi and B. kugleri, the fusiform buliminid group includes similar Ypresian specimens that have been assigned different names, such as Bulimina sp. 1 (Bulimina kugleri (ovula), Bulimina trihedra, Fursenkoina sp. 2 and Fursenkoina sp. 3.In addition to na sp. 1 , BuliminGlobocassidulina subglobosa  at Site 752 by Nomura [G. subglobosa.The group includes specimens identified as y Nomura , which ay Nomura : Plate 5Pullenia jarvisi, P. subcarinata and P. americana, although their original descriptions indicate they are different species. Pullenia jarvisi has a planispiral test, which is completely involute, biumbilicate and somewhat depressed, with a lobulate outline and about five slightly inflated chambers, separated by depressed sutures. The aperture consists of a low slit extending from one umbilicus to the other, with a strongly convex apertural face [Pullenia subcarinata has a planispiral convex test with a non-lobate outline, slightly keeled, and convex umbilicus [P. americana, which is actually a junior synonym of Pullenia quinqueloba Cushman (not Reuss), has a planispiral, completely involute, much compressed and slightly umbilicate test, peripherally rounded. Pullenia americana has 5 to 6 somewhat inflated chambers, separated by slightly depressed and curved sutures, and an elongate aperture at the base of the apertural face, low at the sides and considerably higher in the middle [P. subcarinata and P. americana have commonly been confused and misidentified in the literature, despite these differences. For example, the SEM images of P. subcarinata in Nomura and Takata [P. jarvisi because of their slightly lobate outline, somewhat depressed sutures and a last whorl with five chambers. Additionally, the upper part of the last chamber is not acute, as in the type figure of P. subcarinata. On the other hand, we expected to observe a higher apertural face than depicted in the SEM image of the specimens named P. americana by Nomura [P. jarvisi. Due to inconsistencies in the identification of these specimens, we decided to include them into a single group, but other flat Pullenia species such as P. quinqueloba (Reuss) and P. salisburyi are excluded as they may be distinguished from this group mostly by their higher apertural face. Likewise, synonyms of the species that we considered misidentified should be detached from this group (e.g. P. quinqueloba).We included into this group the species ral face . Pullenimbilicus . This spe middle . We thind Takata  resembley Nomura , and we P. jarvisi in Arregu\u00edn-Rodr\u00edguez and Alegret [Pullenia sp. 1 in Alegret and Thomas [Pullenia, because they are not truly planispiral, but should be assigned to Clinapertina subplanispira. Our data from DSDP Site 550 have been modified accordingly in the In addition, we found that many specimens assigned to  Alegret , and Puld Thomas  do not bAbyssamina incisa and A. poagi , with the last chamber more pronounced than in the holotype of A. poagi  but less than in the holotype of A. incisa , and with the degree of depression of the sutures intermediate between both holotypes.According to Schnitker and Tjalsma , A. inciAbyssamina quadrata is somewhat similar to the species of this group, but it can be easily distinguished by its almost planispiral test. Abyssamina quadrata has slightly depressed sutures, as does A. poagi [A. quadrata  than in A. poagi, but it does not look as pronounced as in A. incisa, because all chambers in A. quadrata are inflated. The globular outline of A. quadrata is clearly observed in the images shown by Holbourn et al. [Abyssamina poagi differs from A. quadrata in its longer and narrower chambers, which tend to overlap in the umbilical region, by its more strongly curved umbilical sutures and by its shorter, wider aperture [A. quadrata slightly resembles small and rounded specimens of Pullenia jarvisi, but the aperture in A. quadrata is asymmetrical, whereas it runs from umbo to umbo in P. jarvisi.A. poagi , and hasn et al. . Abyssamaperture . Schnitkaperture  pointed Quadrimorphina profunda also resembles the abyssaminid species, although this species has a low trochospiral test, compressed laterally, with 31/2\u201341/2 chambers in the last whorl. Its involute side greatly resembles a four-chambered Abyssamina. The main differences with the Abyssamina species are that Q. profunda is trochospiral, with a strongly evolute side (absent in the abyssaminids) that exposes earlier whorls, it has a peripheral aperture with a tendency for extending somewhat onto the evolute side, and it does not show an extension through the umbilical side, as in the abyssaminids. Thus, we did not include it into this group. The figured A. poagi specimen in Holbourn et al. [Q. profunda, in view of the shape of its last chamber extending over the evolute side.n et al.  might, iEilohedra weddellensis and Alabaminella weddellensis are generic assignments used for the species originally described as Eponides weddellensis   . The ori sutures . Our obs sutures  mention A. praeacutus, its periphery is rounded, but the figure of the apertural view in the original description of Vasilenko [A. praeacutus and A. praespissiformis by Nomura and Takata [A. spissiformis. Due to the lack of consistent identification of these species, we included them in one group.According to the type description of asilenko  shows a d Takata  and D\u2019had Takata , respectA. ammonoides, which has been commonly identified in the Cretaceous and Paleocene , whereal . Due tol  is a junior synonym of Anomalinoides rubiginosus [A. rubiginosus ranges from the Upper Cretaceous to the upper Paleocene, and Alegret et al. [Specimens called iginosus , 10, chaiginosus  and Bolliginosus  pointed t et al. , 39 suggt et al.  and Holbt et al. , howeverAnomalinoides capitatus differs from A. rubiginosus in the imperforate periphery of the early chambers, fewer chambers (5\u20136) in the final whorl, which increase gradually in size, and in the marked sutures varying from thin and depressed in the final chambers to thick and raised in the earlier ones. Van Morkhoven et al. [A. rubiginosus, A. capitatus, A. semicribratus, and A. globosus represent a chronocline from the Late Cretaceous to the present. Thus, the specimens called A. capitatus/danicus by Nomura [n et al.  considery Nomura  may corry Nomura  recognisCibicidoides and Anomalinoides, typically with an unequally biconvex to nearly planoconvex test with numerous  chambers in the last whorl. After careful examination of the data from the study sites, we included Cibicidoides micrus, Anomalinoides cf. acutus, Cibicidoides subcarinatus and C. ungerianus into this group  and two paratypes  of C. micrus, and observed a depressed spiral suture that delimits a circular protuberance formed by a small edge-like extension at the base of the chambers. This feature is more clearly seen in the holotype, but difficult to observe in one of the paratypes, and it was not observed in the specimens identified by Arregu\u00edn-Rodr\u00edguez and Alegret [According to the description of Berm\u00fadez , C. micr Alegret  at Site C. micrus at DSDP Site 550 and ODP Site 1051 closely resemble those called A. cf. acutus at ODP Sites 1262, 1263 and 690 [Anomalinoides sp. B in Cretaceous-Paleogene sediments at ODP Site 1262 [A. acutus [C. ungerianus and C. subcarinatus respectively, are more similar to C. micrus or A. cf. acutus than to the type figures and descriptions of these taxa. Cibicidoides ungerianus has an acute and carinate periphery, but the specimens illustrated in D\u2019haenens et al. [Cibicidoides subcarinatus has an equally biconvex test with a subcarinate periphery and limbate, comma-shaped sutures, whereas the specimens figured by Nomura and Takata [After reviewing our material, we recognise that specimens called  and 690 , 62 and ite 1262 , but the. acutus . Further. acutus  and Nomu. acutus , we suggs et al.  do not sd Takata  show a mCibicidoides by the elevations of shell material on the dorsal side, and the occurrence of an umbo on the ventral side. Cibicidoides alleni and C. dayi are included in this group.Species of this group are distinguished from other biconvex C. dayi has a strongly depressed spiral suture around a prominent umbo instead of a true elevation of shell material at the base of the chambers on the dorsal side; in addition, its umbo on the ventral side is rather indistinct. In the photographs of type specimens of C. dayi , an umbo on the ventral side may be observed only on specimens with a marked spiral suture, whereas the umbo is indistinct in other specimens.The general morphology of both species is similar, but according to Alegret and Thomas  C. dayi Anomalinoides trinitatensis by Takeda and Kaiho [C. alleni and C. dayi). In the original description of Nuttall [A. trinitatensis also shows a growth of shell material on the dorsal side and a boss on the ventral side, but it has a more planoconvex test. However, specimens in Takeda and Kaiho [A. trinitatensis, in having fewer but more inflated chambers, than those in the type figure, and there is no umbo on the ventral side.Specimens identified as nd Kaiho  are incl Nuttall , A. trinnd Kaiho  differ fCibicidoides micrus also has a depressed spiral suture on the dorsal side, but it is not included into this group because of its smaller size and flatter test, and it was included in the group of small Cibicidoides/Anomalinoides.Cibicidoides mundulus, C. praemundulus, C. pseudoperlucidus and C. proprius  is not a differentiating feature of these two species. However, Alegret and Thomas [C. alleni also differs from C. proprius in the calcite ridge along the spiral side, and in the lack of an acute periphery as in the latter species. For the purpose of this study, we consider these two species  sufficiently distinct to be separated into different groups .The species  Brotzen  described Aubert  suggested Thomas  documentCibicidoides eocaenus in D\u2019haenens et al. [Cibicidoides howelli , deposited at the NMNH, should be included in C. proprius, because they lack the rounded last portion of the test and have an acute periphery. Based on the SEM images in D\u2019haenens et al. [C. eocaenus) should be included in C. proprius, due to their resemblance to the paratypes of C. howelli described by Alegret and Thomas [C. mundulus group.Specimens called s et al.  were re- howelli  Tables. M . AlegreM , its umbilical side is somewhat cone-shaped, and the spiral side is somewhat less convex. The chambers (12\u201315) are inflated, separated by curved and limbate sutures. Additionally, C. eocaenus has a distinct spiral suture line and frequently a prominent umbilical umbo [C. eocaenus is not included in the Cibicidoides with an umbo group because of its characteristic cone-shaped umbilical side, which makes them easy to distinguish.The species cal umbo . In spitC. eocaenus and C. tuxpamensis may be conspecific. The latter species is very similar to C. perlucidus, characterised by its umbilical plug and acute periphery, but they differ because C. tuxpamensis has a more rounded periphery. According to these authors, there are gradational variations between these two species, which may be considered as ecophenotypic variants and the names perlucidus and tuxpamensis may be used to refer to the periphery of each morphotype. Following this criterion, Arregu\u00edn-Rodr\u00edguez and Alegret [C. eocaenus perlucidus and C. eocaenus tuxpamensis to designate specimens with an acute and rounded periphery respectively at Site 550 , which has an unequally biconvex test, which is more convex on the ventral side, with an acute and slightly lobulate periphery [The original description of ral side  , but in which the first chambers of the last whorl do not have a clearly trapezoidal shape on the ventral side, as in the type specimens, and with more chambers. These specimens have been called Osangularia sp. 1 at DSDP Site 550 [N. umbonifera .Additionally, we observed specimens that resemble Site 550  and at Obonifera . AccordiT-shaped , but Nutral face . The apeNuttallinella may be distinguished from Nuttallides based on the presence of an umbilicus\u2014rather than a boss\u2014on the ventral side [N. umbonifera, however, have been identified as Nuttallinella ripleyensis or Nuttallinella sp. at ODP Site 1262 [N. umbonifera, and their sutures on the dorsal side are less oblique. Neither of these two species are included in this group because they are not present in the early Eocene.The genus ral side . Cretaceite 1262 . These sNuttallides umbonifera? , Nuttales sp. 2 , Osangulia sp. 1 , Osangularia sp.  and Eponelevatus  should bHanzawaia mantaensis at the AMNH (No. 19954), and were able to identify the holotype shown in the type figure, which is stored in the same slide as several syntypes .In the studied material, this species has been found to be common only at ODP Site 1051. We examined several type specimens of The holotype has a planoconvex test with an acute periphery. The dorsal side is flat and evolute. It shows numerous  narrow chambers in the last whorl, separated by curved, limbate sutures. The ventral side is convex and involute, and the sutures are curved and depressed. According to the original description  and to HH. mantaensis, and we consider the specimens from Site 1051 also as juvenile forms.The specimens identified at ODP Site 1051 do not exactly agree in all features with the holotype, but are more similar to the smaller syntypes in the slide, with a somewhat more convex ventral side, somewhat wider chambers, less raised sutures and a less pronounced umbilicus on the dorsal side, although the proloculus is pronounced . ConsideN. truempyi and Oridorsalis umbonatus, and the B. simplex group, pleurostomellids and uniserial lagenids are ubiquitous , whereas Bulimina trinitatensis and the A. spissiformis group, the P. jarvisi group, lenticulinids and stilostomellids are present in all regions, although not at all sites  are abundant or very abundant, and only 5 ~17%) show a common relative abundance. These 29 taxa are represented in 14 ocean drilling sites from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans  and Q. profunda (taxon 1) are abundant at the SE Atlantic sites , but common or present at the seamount sites.Three clusters  are recognised in two separate branches in the dendrogram . One cluQ. profunda and N. truempyi are markedly more abundant than all other species included in the 95% confidence ellipse . Nuttallides truempyi is very abundant in the East Pacific Rise sites, and abundant at Shatsky Rise (Pacific), SE Atlantic and Indian sites. The species distribution across coordinates 2 and 3  and at the East Pacific Rise sites. On the other hand, S. brevispinosa is very abundant at Site 690 (Southern Ocean) and abundant at the other Southern Ocean site, as well as at most Shatsky Rise sites . Inside the confidence ellipse the distribution of the species is mostly associated to the geographic regions where they are abundant, at least considering those species abundant in one region only  than the lower Ypresian, with 42 species or taxa groups. The proportion between abundant (or very abundant) and common species is more balanced than in the lower Ypresian, with 25 taxa (>59%) abundant or very abundant, and 17 (~40%) common. The species ll sites .The dendrogram shows three clusters and two separate branches . One braQ. profunda, pleurostomellids and N. truempyi  than thi; e.g., ), and ali; e.g., ).The fact that the \u2018seamount cluster\u2019 includes sites at great distance from each other (Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) suggests that these assemblages may have been controlled by parameters specific to the seamount setting , independent of their geographic location. Such assemblages are strongly dominated by cylindrical infaunal taxa (such as stilostomellids), which seem to prefer relatively high organic carbon flux regularly delivered to the seafloor in non-seamount settings . HoweverEpistominella exigua . For this time interval, we have no data from other North Atlantic sites to test hypotheses about the parameters controlling the benthic assemblages.North Atlantic Site 401  does not cluster with other Atlantic sites, and has an about equal abundance of infaunal and epifaunal taxa , in contd supply , 175), tQuadrimorphina profunda, N. truempyi, T. selmensis and S. brevispinosa are the most notable species, as inferred from the NMDS plots , 36Quadr regions , which ae waters , 39.T. selmensis and S. brevispinosa may have behaved as opportunistic taxa, blooming in response to environmental perturbations associated to the PETM. Both species tolerate stressed/disturbed environments  may have been an opportunistic species, reported from a wide paleodepth range and dependent on food supply, and commonly abundant just after the Paleocene-Eocene extinction [Q. profunda is an opportunistic species that may have become more tolerant to stressed conditions after the PETM, thus accounting for its location relatively close to the other opportunistic species  peaked in abundance together with other opportunistic taxa across the H2 event at DSDP Site 550 [On the other hand, s e.g., , 176) an anT. sels , althouee e.g., , 178). O ellipse . Sprong tinction , 139. Adtinction  suggeste species . FollowiSite 550 .Siphonodosaria subspinosa, Strictocostella pseudoscripta [Assemblages in the middle Ypresian interval have a higher diversity  than those from the lower Ypresian, and higher equitability, i.e., a similar number of abundant and common taxa despite the smaller number of studied sites (9), and the occurrence of several lesser hyperthermal events . The hioscripta ). This soscripta , 62, 63.N. umbonifera group and the G. subglobosa group, but Site 550 does not have abundant B. virginiana, and neither other species such as E. exigua, the B. elongata group or the C. mundulus group, probably due to its greater depth (see below). Despite their seamount setting location, Site 690 is separated from Site 865 in the middle Ypresian  , possibly indicating that Site 690 and Site 550 (which with it clusters) were more susceptible to environmental perturbations during hyperthermal events, with more pronounced effects at great depths (Site 550) and higher latitudes (Site 690). This relation between fluctuations in abundance of opportunistic taxa and hyperthermals is inferred, for example, from major assemblage changes documented during the ETM2 and H2 events (including variations in relative abundances and decreased number of specimens) at Site 550 [As in the lower Ypresian, the sites generally cluster largely by geographical location rather than bathymetry, with a North Atlantic and an Atlantic cluster, and separate branches for Indian and Pacific Oceans. The exception appears to be the clustering of North Atlantic Site 550 with Southern Ocean Site 690 (high latitude cluster), whereas Sites 550 and 401 are clustering far apart, though they are in relatively close geographic proximity  . Site 69Site 550 . FurtherThe middle Ypresian assemblage in the Indian Ocean differs from the other assemblages, as in the lower Ypresian, possibly because the site is much shallower , with a higher food supply and more stable seawater carbonate saturation.B. virginiana, N. truempyi, T. selmensis and the B. cf. decoratus group, with the first species showing palaeogeographic and paleobathymetric restrictions. Bulimina virginiana has been documented from shallower depths along the Northeast coast of the United States , a, aB. virB. virginiana might indicate higher food supply at North Atlantic Sites 401 and 1051, considering that it is a buliminid taxon that lived at shallower, more eutrophic depths. This interpretation is supported by the opposite location of N. truempyi and B. virginiana in the NMDS plot .Abundant MDS plot , which mnditions , 182. Th species , becauses , which s , but its abundance in assemblages with abundant oligotrophic taxa at Site 550 [B. crenulata and B. huneri (which resemble B. decoratus) might indicate a lower food flux than other buliminids. The proximity with the opportunistic T. selmensis [B. cf. decoratus group might have had an opportunistic behavior. These taxa, like T. selmensis, are biserial with an ornamented wall.The Site 550  suggestsSite 550 , 185 argelmensis  in the Nsensu lato , in the uniserial groups , or the pleurostomellids. The dominance of infaunal groups, which has been linked to some combination of high food\u2014low oxygen conditions  inX model, , 187), bX model, , 189). OX model, , carbonaX model, , or chanX model, , 185).Despite these complexities, food supply to the deep sea overall is expected to have been lower in warmer than in cooler periods of Earth history , due toThe high abundance of infaunal taxa in the warm Paleogene oceans has been linked to lower oxygen conditions rather than to a high food supply , 191, duIn addition, the occurrence of multiple short-lived hyperthermal events during the early Eocene , associAnother common feature in the assemblages across both time intervals is the fact that neither the species (and/or groups of species) nor the number of taxa with a global distribution  differ significantly: only 4 taxa that were not ubiquitous in the lower Ypresian became ubiquitous in the middle Ypresian, and 1 group from the lower Ypresian was no longer widely distributed in the upper interval. We suggest that the palaeogeographic distribution of benthic assemblages did not change significantly within the early Eocene (lower and middle Ypresian), although we have data on fewer sites for the middle Ypresian interval . Our present dataset indicates that the relative abundance of benthic foraminifera in the Ypresian was linked mainly to geographic regions , and to a lesser extent to specific environmental settings (seamounts). Sites on depth transects  generally group closely together, whereas sites at similar depths in different regions  do not cluster together . This obN. truempyi, abyssaminids and/or buliminids  as some of the most important species. We also confirm the abundance of buliminid taxa . Furthermore, the abyssal Barbados fauna  from the middle Eocene-Oligocene contrasts to both Ypresian assemblages by its decreasing abundance of N. truempyi (which disappeared at the end of the Eocene together with Abyssamina species), lower abundance of buliminids, and dominance of G. subglobosa [Our assessment of benthic foraminifera across the two Ypresian intervals provides new insights into the main structure and composition of early Eocene global assemblages. Most published compilations have mainly focused on the major extinction across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary e.g., , 27, 31), 3127, 3s e.g., , 139). O. ON. truaxa Figs . In addibglobosa . TherefoBenthic foraminiferal assemblages from Walvis Ridge across the lower and middle Ypresian intervals may be considered as representative deep-sea fauna Figs  and 9, rN. truempyi, Q. profunda, T. selmensis, A. aragonensis, O. umbonatus, N. robusta, pleurostomellids, lenticulinids, and those species comprised into the informal taxonomic groups called fusiform buliminids, B. simplex, G. subglobosa, and A. spissiformis. Other common taxa included in this fauna are C. subplanispira, C. complanata, C. inflata, A. quadrata, E. exigua, S. rugosa, B. trinitatensis, uniserial lagenids, stilostomellids, and the species included in some informal groups such as N. umbonifera, N. havanense, A. incisa-poagi, B. cf. decoratus, B. elongata, costate buliminds, F. fusiformis, and S. brevispinosa. Species such as T. brevispira, B. grata, H. ammophila, A. dissonata, polymorphinids, and those included in the informal groups called P. jarvisi, flat Gyroidinoides, C. eocaenus, C. mundulus, small Cibicidoides/Anomalinoides, E. weddellensis, B. beaumonti, and B. huneri are considered as accessory taxa in the Walvis Ridge fauna.Specifically, the most common taxa that characterise the Walvis Ridge fauna include Not all species included into this fauna shown a global distribution at lower bathyal-abyssal paleodepths (1500\u20133500 m), but similar assemblages can be recognised in other Atlantic regions and in the equatorial Pacific during the lower-middle Ypresian (\u223d56\u201350.7 Ma ).Our study synthesizes and evaluates, for the first time, early Eocene (Ypresian) benthic foraminiferal assemblages living in a greenhouse world with superimposed, short-lived warming events, after a significant extinction. Thus, this taxonomic and paleoecologic compilation constitutes a tool for reconciling different taxonomic concepts and provides an analysis of benthic foraminiferal diversity variability in space and time, and recovery and diversification from PETM extinction.Variations in early Eocene benthic foraminiferal assemblages at the studied sites in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans are mainly correlated to differences in palaeogeography , and to a lesser degree to paleobathymetry.The lower Ypresian assemblages are characterised by lower diversity and equitability, i.e., high dominance of abundant species (or groups of taxa) that reflect a perturbed fauna, which resulted from the global extinction associated to the PETM. The most abundant species in this interval may have had an opportunistic behavior and were tolerant to disturbed environments. In the middle Ypresian interval, benthic foraminiferal assemblages reflect a recovering fauna, as expressed in higher diversity and increasing numbers of common taxa, and less affected by environmental perturbations despite the repeated occurrence of hyperthermal events of lesser magnitude than the PETM. The increased diversity and equitability resulted from migration from shallower waters, return of Lazarus taxa from refugia, and evolution of new taxa. We propose the name \u2018Walvis Ridge fauna\u2019 for future reference to the early Eocene (Ypresian) deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblages, which lived in a greenhouse world with superimposed hyperthermal events, during a phase of recovery from the PETM extinction.S1 AppendixMost common benthic foraminifera during the early Eocene and other species mentioned in the text.(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S1 Fig(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S2 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S3 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S4 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S5 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S6 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "A total of 52 schools participated in the Experimental Implementation Phase of the Project P.A.T.H.S. After completion of the Tier 1 Program, 8,057 students responded to a Subjective Outcome Evaluation Form (Form A) to assess their views of the program, instructors, and perceived effectiveness of the program. Based on the schools' evaluation reports, results of secondary data analyses on four open-ended questions showed that: (a) students felt that they had learned things at the personal, interpersonal, familial, and societal levels; (b) they appreciated the program design, instructors' performance, learning process, and program effectiveness; (c) they generally had positive comments on instructors attitude and teaching process; and (d) they made some suggestions on how the program and its implementation could be improved. The present study, based on qualitative data of subjective outcome evaluation, provides additional support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong."}
+{"text": "On page 7 of the PDF, the first two paragraphs of the Acknowledgments section should read as follows.Volume 3, no. 2, e00095-18, 2018, We acknowledge discussions with the Terence Hwa lab at the University of California, San Diego, where this work was initiated.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 31700039 to M.Z. and 31700089 to X.D.), by startup funding from the Central China Normal University, and by U.S. National Institutes of Health grant R01GM095903 through Terence Hwa. M.Z. and X.D. especially thank the Institute of Science and Technology Development of the Central China Normal University for funding support."}
+{"text": "Studies on malaria vectors in the Pantanal biome, Central Brazil, were conducted more than half a century ago.To update anopheline records and assess receptivity and vulnerability to malaria transmission.Five-day anopheline collections were conducted bimonthly in Salobra, Mato Grosso do Sul state, for one year. Indoors, mosquitoes were collected from their resting places, while in open fields, they were captured using protected human-baited and horse-baited traps near the house and at the Miranda River margin, respectively. Hourly biting activity outdoors was also assessed. Secondary data were collected on the arrival of tourists, economic projects, and malaria cases.Anopheles darlingi was the predominant species, followed by An. triannulatus s.l. Hourly variation in anopheline biting showed three main peaks occurring at sunset, around midnight, and at sunrise, the first and last being the most prominent. The highest density of all species was recorded near the river margin and during the transition period between the rainy and early dry seasons. This coincides with the time of main influx of outsider workers and tourists, whose activities mostly occur in the open fields and frequently start before sunrise and last until sunset. Some of these individuals originate from neighbouring malaria-endemic countries and states, and are likely responsible for the recorded imported and introduced malaria cases.A total of 24,894 anophelines belonging to 13 species were caught. The main Brazilian malaria vector Pantanal is a malaria-prone area in Brazil. Surveillance and anopheline control measures must be applied to avoid malaria re-emergence in the region. The main malaria-endemic area in Brazil lies in the Amazon Region; this region accounts for 99% of Brazil's  annual malaria cases , b. Howehttp://www.ibge.gov.br/home/), the Migratory Efficiency Index of MS in 2009 was 0.0712, which is considered high migratory turnover. The main economic activities of MS are agriculture (including livestock farming) and tourism. The tourist attractions in the Pantanal area are seasonal and bring in high revenues.The influx of malaria-infected people from malaria-endemic regions is a key contributing factor to MS and Pantanal's vulnerability. According to the IBGE  (t biome) .2, with extensively flooded areas and lowheight shrubs characteristic of Cerrado (Savannah-like vegetation) subject to well-defined periods of flooding and drought. Ecotourism, fishing, hunting, and free-range cattle breeding attract tourists from other parts of Brazil and abroad. There is also a great influx of people into Pantanal for work .The Pantanal biome is a vast flat marshland of 150,355 kmsalobra means \u2018brackish\u2019 in Portuguese and refers to the salinity of the river water . Approximately 37% of Miranda's population lives in rural areas (IBGE - Available from: http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/). The human population of Salobra is mainly concentrated on the banks of the Miranda River , a village situated at the margin of the Miranda River, in the municipality of Miranda, MS, Brazil . The coler water . The muner water . Mirandada River . The Panda River . In Pantda River  and the da River . The dryda River . RecordsAnopheline collections - Mosquitoes were collected in September and November 2010, and January, March, May, and July 2011 , and larval chaetotaxy. Some of the mosquito samples transferred live to the laboratory were used to obtain offspring for confirmation of species identification using morphological characters .undation   from September 2010 to July 2011 ; among tAnopheles deaneorum Rosa-Freitas and An. oryzalimnetes Wilkerson and Motoki. Regarding the Oswaldoi complex, only An. konderi s.l. Galv\u00e3o and Damasceno could be confirmed to occur in the area. As expected, the species comprising the Triannulatus complex were detected: An. triannulatus s.s. (Neiva & Pinto), An. halophylusAn. triannulatus C An. arthuri Unti and An. galvaoi. Since only a few mosquitoes could be analysed by molecular methods, the results concerning species belonging to these complexes are hereafter referred to as An. albitarsis s.l., An. oswaldoi s.l. + An. konderi s.l., An. triannulatus s.l., and An. galvaoi + An. arthuri (http://cculi.fiocruz.br/).Morphological and molecular identifications revealed the presence of 13 species or species complexes in Salobra \u2013III. Mol arthuri \u2013IV. VoucAn. darlingi Root and An. triannulatus s.l., which together constituted 82.9% of the total specimens captured in Salobra. Species captures at lower frequencies were An. albitarsis s.l. (4.5%), An. oswaldoi s.l. + An. konderi s.l. (2.1%), An. mattogrossensis Lutz and Neiva (1.4%), An. galvaoi + An. arthuri (0.7%), and An. rondoni (Neiva & Pinto) (0.6%).The most frequent species or species complexes were An. darlingi was the predominant species from the late rainy to early dry season, while An. triannulatus s.l. was the prevalent anopheline from the late dry season to the beginning of the rainy period , while the most frequent species at peridomicile were An. darlingi and An. triannulatus s.l. .Among the 12,283 anophelines caught in the sunset collections, the largest portion was caught extradomicile , 60% of which were . at 28% . Only 0.An. darlingi, An. triannulatus s.l., and An. albitarsis s.l. - displayed some differences in their peaks of hematophagic activity among species as well as according to the season. For some anopheline species, the number of specimens captured did not exceed 25, making it difficult to assess their peaks of hematophagic activity.A total of 10,686 anophelines was caught in the three 18-h collections performed to characterise the biting peak in March, May, and July 2011. Hourly variation in anopheline collections essentially showed three main peaks of hematophagy, occurring at sunset, around midnight, and at sunrise . HoweverAn. darlingi and An. triannulatus s.l. in these two samplings varied from 38 to 40% and 33 to 60.2%, respectively.Ovaries of a total of 309 anophelines collected extradomicile were dissected in May 2011  and July 2011 . The proportions of parous females of Table I). In 2010, almost 70,000 tourists visited Brazil, with MS being the entryway (Table II), 39 of which were autochthonous or introduced cases in or near Miranda, the municipality where Salobra is located; 433 were imported malaria cases   , b. Most52 years .An. darlingi, as well as species belonging to the Albitarsis, Triannulatus, and Oswaldoi complexes , the landscape and the dry/rain regimen result in flooding of vast lowlands at the riverbanks, creating abundant and diverse breeding sites for mosquitoes, especially anophelines. This condition favours the diversity of anopheline fauna, as revealed by the detection of 13 species in this study; among these, An. darlingi. Coincidently, the number of tourists/visitors and outsider workers attracted by temporary farming and other activities peaks in the region in this period  in the transition between the rainy and dry seasons (May) as well in the early dry season (July). This biting pattern was previously observed elsewhere (All anopheline species, most markedly lsewhere . Notablylsewhere . This palsewhere .An. darlingi, considered the main malaria vector in Brazil, other anophelines such as An. triannulatus s.l. and An. albitarsis s.l. were observed at relatively high frequencies in Salobra. These species are considered putative secondary vectors and can sustain malaria transmission, especially when present at high densities (Besides ensities .In conclusion, in Pantanal, a malaria-prone area in Brazil, the high density of anophelines that are competent malaria vectors combined with the seasonal influx and movement of people increase the possibility of malaria-infected individuals moving from malaria-endemic regions to this receptive area and reinforce the vulnerability of this large area to malaria transmission. Continuous epidemiological surveillance should be carried out to prevent the recurrence of malaria outbreaks and the reestablishment of endemic malaria in Pantanal."}
+{"text": "Chaeropus ecaudatus, is one of the most enigmatic Australian marsupials, which went extinct in the late 1950s probably as a result of European colonization. It is unusual in being the only marsupial to have evolved reduction of digits on both fore and hind feet, with the forefeet being pig-like (two toes) and the hind feet being horse-like (one toe). According to molecular phylogenetic analyses, Chaeropus diverged from other bandicoots (Peramelidae), and the bilbies (Thylacomyidae) by the mid-Late Oligocene. This is considerably earlier than suggested by the fossil record, with the current oldest specimens being Late Pleistocene in age. Here, I report the oldest fossils of Chaeropus, representing a new species, Chaeropus baynesi from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene (2.47\u20132.92\u2005Ma) Fisherman's Cliff Local Fauna, Moorna Formation, New South Wales, Australia, and extending the fossil record of the genus and family by at least 2 million years. Chaeropus baynesi is less high crowned than C. ecaudatus and lacks lateral blade development on lower molars, suggesting that it was unlikely to be grazing. This suggests that Chaeropus must have adapted rapidly to the drying conditions and changes in environments, and would have become a grazer in a very short period of time.The pig-footed bandicoot,  Left m2 ; left worn m2 Type locality and age. Fisherman's Cliff Local Fauna, Moorna Formation, New South Wales, Australia. It is Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene in age (2.47\u20132.92\u2005Ma).Diagnosis. The metaconule of the M3 of C. baynesi is less distinct as a cusp than that of C. ecaudatus, but the postmetaconule crista ends more posteriorly. The cristid obliqua on the m2 of C. baynesi differs from that of C. ecaudatus in being less developed , and ending in the centre of the tooth, instead of the lingual margin of the tooth. Overall, the teeth of C. baynesi are smaller in size and less high crowned than C. ecaudatus.Etymology. Named in honour of Dr Alexander Baynes for his contribution to the fossil record of Chaeropus.Description. The M3 is wider than it is long and distinctively high crowned, but less so compared with C. ecaudatus . StA is worn on the tooth. Both the parastylar and metastylar shelves are short but wide. The postparacrista ends at the base of an oval shaped StB. StD is also oval in shape and connects to the premetacrista lingually. A small StE is present posterior to StD, but no stylar crest is present. The protocone is low on the crown. The preprotocrista ends at the anterolingual base of the paracone. The postprotocrista joins the premetaconule crista posterobuccally. A distinct crest runs buccally from the junction of the postprotocrista and premetaconule crista on the talon between the paracone and metacone, and may be the continuation of the postprotocrista. The metaconule is not distinct and the postmetaconule crista continues to descend the talon posteriorly to end at the lingual base of the metacone. Tooth dimensions are 2.41\u2005mm in length and 3.08\u2005mm in width for NMV P38490.Chaeropus, but unlike Isoodon, the enamel does not cover part of the root. The anterior cingulum is short but wide. The trigonid is short, with the paraconid\u2013metaconid being shorter than the protoconid\u2013paraconid and protoconid\u2013metaconid distances. The talonid is wider than the trigonid, with the hypoconid posterobuccal to the protoconid. Cristid obliqua is poorly developed compared with C. ecaudatus, and ends in the centre of the tooth. The posthypocristid is straight and ends at the posterior most corner of the tooth, where the small hypoconulid is located. The entoconid is large, almost triangular in shape, with buccally orientated preentocristid. Tooth dimensions are 2.71\u2005mm in length, 1.69\u2005mm in trigonid width, and 1.89\u2005mm in talonid width for NMV P38492, and 2.75\u2005mm in length, 1.72\u2005mm in trigonid width, and 2.04\u2005mm in talonid width for NMV P38496.The m2 is short but wide. The crown is higher on the buccal side than the lingual side, as is typical of 3.C. baynesi described here shows some of the typical synapomorphies for Chaeropus [. The upper and lower molars are high crowned, though less so that in C. ecaudatus. The upper molar lacks anterior and posterior cingula as in C. ecaudatus but this feature is also found in Perameles. In the lower molars of C. baynesi, high crown is achieved by the increase in height of the buccal cuspids, as in C. ecaudatus, unlike Isoodon or Macrotis, which achieve high crown by having enamelled roots. Another Chaeropus synapomorphy found in C. baynesi is the triangular/tear-shaped entoconid , which is conical in Perameles, Isoodon and Macrotis, and oval in New Guinea bandicoots . The only synapomorphy that C. baynesi is lacking is the development of the cristid obliqua which is lower and ends further buccal.The material of haeropus . The uppC. baynesi are also slightly smaller than C. ecaudatus, suggesting that it was a smaller animal. For example, the length and width of the M3 ranges between 2.8\u20133.31\u2005mm and 3.82\u20134.44\u2005m, respectively, in C. ecaudatus , significantly larger than the 2.41\u2005mm in length and 3.08\u2005mm in width of C. baynesi. The same is true for the m2 of C. ecaudatus  which is also larger than the m2 of C. baynesi . The exact body mass of C. ecaudatus is unknown, although it has been estimated at between 200\u2005g [Chaeropus baynesi is likely to have been below 200\u2005g considering it has smaller teeth than C.ecaudatus and therefore a smaller body mass.The teeth of en 200\u2005g  and 300\u2005C. ecaudatus have been conflicting, some anecdotes reporting flesh [C. ecaudatus may have been the smallest mammalian grazer to have ever existed. Chaeropus baynesi, however, is unlikely to have been a grazer, but more likely to be a mix-feeder or even omnivorous. Not only it is smaller than C. ecaudatus, it also has shorter crowns, suggesting that it would wear its teeth down faster under the same diet, and therefore has a shorter life. The poor development of the cristid obliqua on lower molars of C. baynesi provides one less blade for shearing of food, one of the important features found in C. ecaudatus to be able to reduce grasses to fine particles [Reports of the diet of ng flesh  or insecng flesh , and othng flesh ,17. Thoung flesh . Small-bng flesh , or evenng flesh . With itarticles .Chaeropus baynesi is a member of the Fisherman's Cliff Local Fauna in the Moorna Formation, Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene in age [C. ecaudatus is also known from [C. baynesi is especially valuable for the understanding of the evolution of this group. With only 2 million years separating C. baynesi and C. ecaudatus, it is clear that evolution of herbivory in this group was quite rapid, and probably linked climate change during the Pleistocene, though, it is quite extraordinary for such a small mammal to have become a grazer.e in age . The loce in age . This isown from , suggestown from . While town from ,13. With"}
+{"text": "Moschus. Here we present a comprehensive description of cranial material, including the ear region and the dentition, of fossil moschid material from the Middle Miocene locality Steinheim am Albuch . This study provides the first exhaustive dataset for the cranial osteology of Micromeryx flourensianus, the most likely oldest true moschid. It furthermore reveals the presence of a second, so far undescribed moschid species, we here name Micromeryx? eiselei, in the abundant material from the locality. The two taxa can be clearly distinguished by characters of the skull, the ear region, the dentition, as well as by size. This evidences the sympatric occurrence of two moschid species in the locality Steinheim am Albuch.Moschids are enigmatic pecoran ruminants whose phylogeny is still not fully understood. So far we know only little of the family\u2019s early evolutionary history and the origin of the modern genus,  Moschus Linnaeus, 1758. Moschidae are small pecoran ruminants with elongated upper canines in males lacking any cranial appendages. Moschus remains the only surviving genus of the family. It is restricted to montane woodlands in Asia 50], for Nomenclatural actshttp://zoobank.org/\". The LSID for this publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:86EDF102-759B-4A77-83C7-7FAE99074C5A. The electronic edition of this work was published in a journal with an ISSN, and has been archived and is available from the following digital repositories: PubMed Central, LOCKSS.The electronic edition of this article conforms to the requirements of the amended International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and hence the new names contained herein are available under that Code from the electronic edition of this article. This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix \"MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758CETARTIODACTYLA Montgelard, Catzeflis and Douzery, 1997RUMINANTIA Scopoli, 1777MOSCHIDAE Gray, 1821Micromeryx Lartet, 1851Genus Micromeryx flourensianus Lartet, 1851Type species: Holotype: hitherto not determined  MNHN Sa 2957); material from Sansan  under revision; partly figured in Filhol ; stored at MNHN.NMB Sth.834 (compressed skull of skeleton); Sth.804 (fragments of upper and lower jaw of skeleton), NMB Sth.811 and Sth.812 ; NMB Sth.828a, NMB Sth.865, NMB Sth.866, SMNS 40500\u20131 , SMNS 46123 , SMNS 15776 , SMNS 12966 (fragmented mandibula with worn and fragmented post canine toothrow and incisor fragments), SMNS 46116 (right lower jaw fragment), SMNS 40252 , SMNS 42920 , SMNS 43062 , SMNS 46083 (maxilla fragment).NMB Sth.834 and NMB Sth.865, NMB Sth.866, SMNS 40500\u20131, SMNS 46123 comprise adult specimens. NMB Sth.828a and NMB Sth.811 were juveniles or at young adults. The more complete skull NMB Sth.834 was enclosed obliquely and was strongly fractured and fragmented.Micromeryx flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. possessed an elongated and low skull, with a broadened cranium and a facial part distinctly narrowing to anterior, similar to the modern genus Moschus. As the best preserved skull (NMB Sth.834) is strongly compressed estimations on the skull size are enhanced, but it appears to have been only slightly smaller than the modern Moschus moschiferus. A roughly rounded shape can be reconstructed for the orbita (observable in NMB Sth.834 and NMB Sth.811). Its relative size (in ratio to skull size) appears a little larger than in the modern Moschus.Generally Occipital Figs  and 4. The partes laterales and the squama occipitalis of the occipital can be observed in NMB Sth.834, where they are obliquely compressed. A narrow, but distinct crista nuchae  appearsx daamsi . The areC. elaphus.The pars basilaris shows a smooth surface, except of the two concave surfaces for the muscle insertion with the distinct posteromedial tuberculi musculares and the posterior protuberantia at the suture to the partes laterales . We coulSphenoid Figs  and 5. In NMB Sth.811 the ala ossis presphenoidalis forms the lower part of the medial wall of the orbita and meets the frontal here in an s-shaped suture line with the frontal reaching more ventral anteriorly. As in Moschus the ala ossis presphenoidalis is dorsoventrally higher than in C. elaphus, where the palatine more strongly intrudes into the medial wall of the orbita in dorsal direction. A relatively large foramen opticum  is located posterior to two smaller foramina. The anteroposteriorly oriented foramen orbitorundum is observable in NMB Sth.811 . The lamina vaginalis encloses the processus styloideus at least proximally. Thus the thympanohyal vagina is not fully visible from lateral view. However, as the lamina is fragmented the full extent cannot be reconstructed. The processus styloideus is separated from the processus jugularis of the occipital, comparable to the situation in Moschus. In C. elaphus this feature was variable in the studied specimens. There appears to be no contact between the tympanic bulla and the occipital in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.x daamsi . The bulPars petrosa and bony labyrinth Figs  and 8. The petrosal and bony labyrinth of M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. were both described in detail by M. floure unclear ,53). M. ocristid . M. sorihe genus . M. flouonoideus .M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. and M.? eiselei in the cranium, mandibula, dentition, and especially in the ear region are too large to ascribe them to intraspecific variability. Both taxa are furthermore represented by both sexes and different ontogenetic stages. These differences are sufficient to clearly distinguish between the two species.In summary the morphologic differences between The main differences are:M.? eiselei but absent in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.crest on the pars basilaris of the occipital present in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.processus jugularis more slender in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.tympanic bulla less rounded in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.petrosal less wide in ventromedial-dorsolateral direction in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.posterior bulla articulation in petrosal larger in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.anterior process of the tegmen tympani more delicate in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.tegmen tympani dorsomedially-ventrolaterally wider in M.? eiselei, divergent in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.course of the vestibular aqueduct with respect to the common crus parallel in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.vestibular aqueduct longer in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. in contrast to straight long endolymphatic sac in M.? eiseleishort pouch shaped endolymphatic sac triangular in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.general tooth size larger in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.posterior part of the upper P3 slightly more elongated in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.labial wall of upper P4 with stronger relief in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A.labial wall of upper molars more pillar-like in M.? eiselei than in M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. (less distinct feature)p3 slightly more slender with a more open anterior valley and a less bulky mesolingual conid in M.? eiselei than in the ones of M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. (less distinct feature).metastylid and anterior cingulids stronger in the lower molars of Moschus in:Both taxa differ from the genus the arrangement of the foramina for the nervus hypoglossusthe course of the suture line between maxilla and palatinethe morphology of the petrosalthe position of the foramina mentaliaa less shortened premolar rowa simpler morphology in the p4the presence of an external postprotocristidless increase in tooth crown height.M.? eiselei and Moschus distinguishing both from M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. These are:There are however characters shared by the crest on pars basilaris of the occipitalthe parallel course of the vestibular aqueduct with respect to the common crusthe longer vestibular aqueductan elongated endolymphatic sac.Micromeryx? eiselei from Steinheim a. A. cannot be assigned to any known Micromeryx- or Hispanomeryx-species. It possesses a unique combination of characters in cranial, mandibular, and dental morphology: large size of teeth, the presence of a strongly pronounced external postprotocristid, a distinct lateral extent of the processus coronoideus, and a wider p4 than that observed in M. styriacus. Therefore, we consider it reasonable to erect a new species, although the postcranial material has not been analysed yet. M.? eiselei clearly differs from Moschus in the morphology of the cranium and the dentition. Interestingly, the characters shared by M.? eiselei and Moschus are only characters of the ear region and the basicranium, which are considered to be less plastic than e.g., dental data. However, considering the evolution of Pecora, some characters of the ear region are plesiomorphic [M. flourensianus from Steinheim a. A. and M.? eiselei might prove less stable than it now appears. However, the revision of the type material of M. flourensianus as well as a full analyses of the postcranial and the ear regions of more fossil Moschidae is in progress, but not yet completed. Therefore, we can assign M.? eiselei to a new species but not to a new genus, and thus decided with reservations to leave it in the genus Micromeryx at present.omorphic , and thuMoschus. Dental and cranial characters as well as features of the ear region reveal the presence of at least two species at the locality.The small ruminant remains from the Middle Miocene locality Steinheim a. A. can be assigned to Miocene Moschidae closely related to the living genus Micromeryx flourensianus from Steinheim a. A., is similar to the type material of M. flourensianus from Sansan, but differs by the presence of an \u201cevolved\u201d dentition. The larger taxon, Micromeryx? eiselei clearly differs from all Miocene Moschidae and is therefore referred to a new species.The smaller of the two, Hispanomeryx due their size and described as sympatric with Micromeryx flourensianus by Aiglstorfer et al. [The two moschid taxa described here from Steinheim a. A. originate from the same layer in the stratigraphic column based on the biostratigraphy of the embedded gastropods. The fossil assemblage shows a high percentage of semi-articulated partial skeletons and is embedded in lacustrine sediments, it did not result from a fluvial accumulation and represents an autochthonous taphocoenosis. Thus, independent of the further taxonomic status, there are two sympatric moschid species recorded from Steinheim a. A. This confirms once more that the co-occurrence of two moschid species is rather a more common than an exceptional phenomenon for the Miocene. However, it is the first time that this observation is made with unambiguous remains for European material outside of Spain  fragmentary teeth were tentatively assigned to? r et al. ; with thM. flourensianus and the Central/Western European record of the family. Combining the data published here with the study of the type material, and postcranial remains, as well as with data for the ear region of more Miocene Moschidae will improve the knowledge on the early evolutionary history of the family and the origin of the recent genus Moschus.The exhaustive description of the morphology of the ear region combined with data on cranial, mandibular, and dental material represented here is the first step towards a better understanding of the possibly oldest moschid species, S1 Text(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S1 File(NEX)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.S2 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Improving research practices is a community project, and as such we are excited to have received many responses to our paper . Overallcan still be published, right alongside pre-registered analyses. They are an important tool for generating new hypotheses, but they should be distinguished because they are, by definition, influenced by viewing the data. Lastly, researchers do not need to worry about protecting their ideas: preregistrations can be embargoed for up to 4 years on the Open Science Framework or as long as desired on AsPredicted.org. Besides, opening up preregistration (or part of it) right at conception could promote collaboration, mirroring the approach taken in epidemiology . As lonM.I. was funded by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council  awarded to T. Burke. I.S.W. was funded by an ERC grant to B. Pujol (ANGI 681484)."}
+{"text": "Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium infecting 28% to 84% of subjects, depending on the population tested. However, the implication of H. pylori in cardiac arrhythmia is poorly understood. We performed this meta-analysis with an aim to identify the association between arrhythmia and H. pylori. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library databases to select studies on the association between arrhythmia and H. pylori. In the arrhythmia group, 392 (58.1%) were H. pylori-positive and in the control group 640 (47.8%) were H. pylori-positive. Compared to the controls, the infection rate of H. pylori was higher in patients with arrhythmia than in controls (odds ratio (OR) = 1.797, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.081\u20132.988, p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis indicated that H. pylori infection was a risk factor for atrial fibrillation in Asia and Africa. Therefore, a correlation between H. pylori infection and arrhythmia may exist and H. pylori eradication may decrease the occurrence of arrhythmia, especially in Asia and Africa.Arrhythmia is a common disease around the world and  Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been noted to be associated in previous studies. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the relationship within H. pylori infection and arrhythmia.Arrhythmias are common and are increasing, particularly atrial fibrillation. Arrhythmias may be divided into different categories based on various criteria. For instance, based on the beating rate, arrhythmias include bradyarrhythmia and tachyarrhythmia. In addition, arrhythmias can be divided into supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias depending on the pathogenic area . The lifH. pylori is a Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterium and has been identified as the main pathogen for gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer [H. pylori is also found to be associated with arrhythmia. In 2005, Montenero et al. revealed for the first time a highly significant correlation between H. pylori infection and atrial fibrillation [H. pylori strains were related to idiopathic dysrhythmias [H. pylori infection [H. pylori is implicated in the pathogenesis of arrhythmia is inconclusive. Recent studies have suggested that some microorganisms\u2019 infection could contribute to the development of arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation, through the inflammation cascade . H. pyloc cancer ,6,7. Besillation . Other ghythmias . Howevernfection . Thus, wH. pylori. The findings strengthening the association between arrhythmia and H. pylori infection could provide a new approach for treatment of stubborn arrhythmia.We conducted this meta-analysis to obtain a more comprehensive estimate of the association between arrhythmia and The meta-analysis was carried out according to the guidelines of the PRISMA statement and MOOSE ,12. We sH. pylori infection and arrhythmia; (3) H. pylori infection was diagnosed through the urea breath test (UBT) and/or serology and/or histology and/or culture in both case and control groups; (4) the studies were published in English. Articles were excluded if they were any of the following: (1) review articles, meta-analyses, letters, commentaries, or abstracts presented in conferences; (2) duplicates or continued work of previous publications; (3) studies without complete data; (4) not in English.Two reviewers (Jin Yan and Qiang She) checked the abstracts of the studies and read the full-texts if necessary to identify the final included studies. When disagreement appeared, we discussed and consulted the third reviewer (Yifeng Zhang). In addition, we turned to the original authors for more detailed data if necessary. Eligible studies strictly met the following criteria: (1) the studies utilized a case-control, prospective, or cross-sectional study design; (2) the studies contained sufficient data for investigating the association between To ensure the quality of the meta-analysis, the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale (NOS) was used and each item in the NOS was assessed for all included studies. The final score ranged from zero to nine stars for each study and a score of five stars or more was regarded to be optional ,14. Two H. pylori infection detection, arrhythmia group with H. pylori (+/\u2212), control group with H. pylori (+/\u2212), clinical characteristics of the populations, and other substantial information.After quality assessments, all authors extracted information from each paper and organized the data in Excel  independently. The following data were retrieved from each study: the first author, the year of publication, the country and continent, study design, study size, type of arrhythmia, diagnosis method for H. pylori infection and arrhythmia. Heterogeneity was assessed by the test of inconsistency index (I2) and the Cochran-Q method. I2 value more than 50% or p value less than 0.1 suggested the presence of heterogeneity and the random effects model was applied. We also performed subgroup analyses to seek the sources of heterogeneity. In addition, sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate whether omitting one study in each turn substantially altered the main results. Finally, the publication bias was analyzed by the funnel plots . Statistical analysis was conducted utilizing Stata 12.0  software.In this meta-analysis, we calculated dichotomous variables using the odds ratio (OR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI) to measure the strength of the association of Helicobacter cinaedi with atrial arrhythmias, and in the other paper we failed to extract sufficient data [The review process is shown in ent data ,15. Thusent data ,18,19,20H. pylori infection, and the number of H. pylori positive and negative subjects in arrhythmia and control groups. Demographic characteristics including age and gender are shown in The eligible articles were published from 2006 to 2015 accumulating 675 arrhythmia patients and 1339 controls. All the included studies were conducted using a case-control study design. The studies\u2019 characteristics are presented in H. pylori infection (58.1%), compared to 47.8% in the control group (640/1339). There was significant heterogeneity in the included studies . Therefore, we used the random-effects model. The obtained pooled OR was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.08\u20132.99) (p = 0.024). Thus, we conclude that there may be a relationship between H. pylori infection and risk of arrhythmia.In the seven eligible studies, 392/675 patients in the arrhythmia group were positive for 08\u20132.99)  and the H. pylori infection correlated with idiopathic dysrhythmias . In the other six studies investigating the relationship between H. pylori infection and atrial fibrillation, the pooled OR was 1.53 . We also found that the subgroup of the region played an important role in the heterogeneity of the results. Compared to those studies in America  and Europe , investigations in Asia  and Africa  revealed that H. pylori was significantly related to atrial fibrillation. In addition, there was no significant heterogeneity in separated sub-groups   . We furtp > 0.1) , indicatp value was 0.23. Thus, there was a publication bias in this meta-analysis.To investigate the potential publication bias present in this study, the included studies were evaluated using Begg\u2019s test. As shown in H. pylori infection and arrhythmia with a total of 2014 subjects. Overall, the H. pylori infection rate in arrhythmia patients  was significantly higher than that in control individuals  , indicating that H. pylori may be related with arrhythmia. In these seven studies, six studies investigated the association between H. pylori infection and atrial fibrillation, a common type of arrhythmia. However, the result was not significant . Then we divided the studies according to their origin and found that H. pylori infection was significantly associated with atrial fibrillation in Asia and Africa, but not in Europe and North America. This result suggested that H. pylori infection might play a role in the development of atrial fibrillation in the Asian and African population. In this study, a total of seven case-control studies published between 2006 and 2015 that met our study criteria were included in this meta-analysis. We provided an overview of the relationship between H. pylori infection can induce arrhythmia via activating inflammatory process. H. pylori is a bacterium that colonizes in the gastric epithelium and has been identified as a group 1 carcinogen for gastric cancer [H. pylori infection, the correlation between H. pylori and arrhythmia has begun to emerge, but the conclusion remains under debate. For example, in Italy, Montenero et al. have shown that atrial fibrillation significantly correlates with H. pylori infection; however, Platonov et al. did not find such a correlation [H. pylori infection, inflammation, and arrhythmia, and they have found that tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, which are markers reflecting the degree of inflammation, were closely related to the type and the duration of atrial fibrillation [H. pylori virulence factor cytotoxin-associated gene A showed ability to cross-react with the antigens of endothelial cell membranes [H. pylori is both an inflammatory agent and an immune regulator, with virulence factor vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) efficiently blocking proliferation of T cells by inducing a G1/S cell cycle arrest [H. pylori might modulate a T helper (Th) 1/Th2 balance and H. pylori VacA to induce Th1 suppression and might abrogate T regulatory cell functions, subsequently resulting in an increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation [Arrhythmia is a common disease that badly influences the quality of life . Researcc cancer . With threlation ,10. In oillation ,26. In aembranes . On the e arrest ,28,29. HH. pylori. In Asia and Africa, the H. pylori infection rate was higher than that in western countries, which could be related to the different standards of hygiene and socioeconomics [H. pylori infection in Asia and Africa, but not in developed countries in Europe or North America.We also found heterogeneity in our analysis. Among these seven studies, six studies were about atrial fibrillation and one study investigated idiopathic dysrhythmias. The result for atrial fibrillation was not significant. Then, we also applied subgroup analysis based on origin and found that the continent where the study was conducted also presents a source of heterogeneity. The results were consistent with the different infection statuses of conomics . TherefoH. pylori infection and therefore the control group should be socioeconomically matched to the arrhythmia group. Thirdly, when serological tests of H. pylori infection are applied, it was difficult to distinguish between past and active infection conditions. Fourthly, although we conducted an intense search in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, there might still be published studies in other databases that we missed. Also, we only reviewed papers written in English. A publication bias was found in the meta-analysis. Thus, a further systematic review extended to other languages should also be considered. In addition, some studies with negative results might not have been published, which could cause unavoidable publication bias in our study.Our meta-analysis also has some limitations. Firstly, all included studies were case-control studies and the quality of this type of study was not as high as that of randomized clinical trials. Secondly, the socioeconomic status of the subject has been identified as a high risk factor for H. pylori should be considered as one of the risk factors for atrial fibrillation in Asia and Africa and may also be related to idiopathic dysrhythmia. However, large-scale and prospective studies examining the precise role of H. pylori in the development of arrhythmia will still be needed to further corroborate our conclusions. Our findings suggest that in Asia and Africa, eradication of H. pylori should be considered as an appropriate therapeutic regimen for some intractable atrial fibrillation cases.In conclusion, our study demonstrates that"}
+{"text": "Carex (Cyperaceae). In four important sections of the northern regions , the frequent occurrence of hybrids often renders the identification of \u201cpure\u201d species and hybrids difficult. In this study we address the origins and taxonomic rank of two taxa of section Vesicariae: Carex rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis. The origin and taxonomic status of C. stenolepis has been the subject of substantial debate over the years, whereas C. rostrata var. borealis has received very little attention in the years since its first description in the 19th century. By performing an extensive sampling of relevant taxa from a broad distribution range, and analyzing data from fifteen microsatellite loci developed specifically for our study together with pollen stainability measures, we resolve the hybrid origins of C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis and provide new insights into this taxonomically challenging group of sedges. Our results are in accordance with previous findings suggesting that C. stenolepis is a hybrid between C. vesicaria and C. saxatilis. They are also in accordance with a previous proposition that C. rostrata var. borealis is a hybrid between C. rostrata and C. rotundata, and furthermore suggest that both hybrids are the result of multiple, recent  hybridization events. We found little evidence for successful sexual reproduction within C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis, but conclude that the common and recurrent, largely predictable occurrence of these taxa justifies accepting both hybrids as hybrid species with binomial names. There are, however, complications as to types and priority names, and we therefore choose to address these problems in a separate paper.Hybridization is frequent in the large and ecologically significant genus  Carex (Cyperaceae). As an example, among the more than one hundred Carex species present in Norway, approximately 60% partake in some degree of hybridization, producing 113 hybrid combinations C. rostraHylander  providesC. stenolepis samples included in the study of Ford et al. [C. stenolepis (incl. C. grahamii) consists of largely sterile hybrids and should not be regarded as a \u201cgood\u201d species . Furthermore, considering the use of potential pollen stainability measures, they pointed out that \u201cwhile this technique allows for the detection of obviously sterile pollen grains it cannot be considered a precise estimate of fertility since stained grains are not necessarily viable\u201d, thereby regarding pollen stainability as a rough measure of pollen sterility rather than fertility. Ford et al. [Even though some of the d et al.  had quitd et al.  found thC. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis can exhibit moderately high levels of pollen stainability, this does not necessarily indicate that the taxa are able to reproduce sexually. Sexual reproduction depends, in the final instance, not on production of pollen grains but on production of seeds. According to P.W. Ball in [C. stenolepis but was unable to find plants with well-formed and mature achenes. Hylander [C. stenolepis plants with seemingly empty perigynia, but argued that this was not necessarily a sign of hybridity, as failed fruit set could be due to external factors such as frost or flooding, and that fruit set frequently fails also in other species of section Vesicariae. An additional factor may be failing pollination due to weather conditions in the comparatively short period with male anthesis.While it is clear that individual plants of both  Ball in , B.A. FoHylander  also fouC. rostrata, C. rotundata, C. saxatilis, and C. vesicaria), the hybrid index results and the data on pollen stainability reported in both this study and the study of Ford et al. [C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis are sexually reproducing species. It is therefore very unlikely that many if any of the stands have undergone significant evolutionary changes after the hybridization events. The very low number of private alleles in the two hybrid taxa compared to the high number of alleles shared with their respective parents indicates that the observed stands are based on single hybridization events, with little subsequent introgression with their parents and little or no stabilization by independent sexual processes. The STRUCTURE analysis clearly showed that both C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis combine approximately equal amounts of genetic material from their parents; again signifying recently formed hybrids.Although we agree that fruit set often can fail even in the four primary species  ranged from a rather modest 17 to 154 years old, the age of two clones of C. ensifolia Turcz. ex Ledeb. subsp. arctisibirica Jurtz. (= C. bigelowii Torr. subsp. ensifolia (Turcz. ex V. Krecz.), on the authority of [Vesicariae are largely clonal and able to form widespread and dense mats perhaps consisting of only a single genet . This is true also for the hybrids C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis.The frequent and extended stands of both our hybrids are due to frequent co-occurrence of the parents, frequent hybridization, and extensive clonal growth of the hybrids. One explanation why r et al.  estimateority of ) was estC. rostrata var. borealis as an understorey in swards of C. rostrata, is a common situation, and C. stenolepis is rarely found within or close to stands of either C. saxatilis or C. vesicaria. However, it is important to note that the dispersal ability of such hybrids is very limited. The perhaps only possible diaspores are rhizome fragments, and the most likely agents of dispersal are water or birds.If the predominant mode of reproduction in these plants is asexual , their success does not rely much on production of viable pollen or successful fruit set. One might argue for the treatment of these taxa as hybrid species as they are widespread and form constant \u201cpopulations\u201d  over a long period of time, certainly centuries and probably millennia. Given the long period of time involved, the parental species may have disappeared whereas the hybrids have remained, especially as the mires change during paludification and acidification. It is unlikely that competition plays any significant role. Co-occurrences, e.g., with Carex rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis have been treated rather different taxonomically. Whereas the latter has been extensively discussed in numerous floras and other publications, the former has received almost no attention in the years since its description. Carex rostrata var. borealis has been, and still is, regarded merely as a variety of C. rostrata by the majority of authors, the exception being Elven [C. stenolepis has rather focused on whether it should be accepted as a sexually reproducing species  or  or Carexs . As theC. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis are swarms of clonal hybrids that have been formed multiple times across various locations. Contrary to Hylander\u2019s [C. stenolepis plants are (at least) vegetatively very similar to one another, we found that the morphology of C. stenolepis varied quite a lot between locations, more so than the morphology of C. rostrata var. borealis did (field observations by A.T.M. Pedersen and R. Elven). Nevertheless, it is fairly easy to correctly identify both hybrids and to distinguish them from their parents. Also, C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis are much more common than other hybrids in section Vesicariae, and unlike these, they are significant constituents of the Fennoscandian mire vegetation, with regular and to a large degree predictable occurrence within consistent ranges, preferring habitats overlapping with, but not identical to, those of any of the four parents , but not in the swamps that C. vesicaria prefers).The results from this study affirm that both lander\u2019s  claim thC. rostrata var. borealis together with a morphological review of this hybrid, and a reassessment of the nomenclature of what currently passes as C. stenolepis, will be presented elsewhere .Cayouette and Catling  wrote: \u201cS1 Fig(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S2 FigMarkers Carspe_6867s and Carspe_2310c were excluded from this analysis as they did not amplify in all samples.(TIF)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Taenia taeniaeformis (T. taeniaeformis). Cysticercus fasciolaris (C. fasciolaris), the larval stage of T. taeniaeformis, develops in small rodents which act as intermediate host. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of C. fasciolaris in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in the densely human populated parishes, St. George's and St. David's of Grenada, West Indies. One hundred and seventy rats were trapped near the residential areas from May to July, 2017 and examined for C. fasciolaris in their liver. Of the 170 rats 115  were positive for the larval stage of T. taeniaeformis. One to three cysts were observed in each liver, containing a single larva in each cyst. The prevalence was 77.9% in St. George and 59.1% in St. David which is a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the two parishes under study. Based on gender, prevalence in males was 60.9% and females 74.7%. Significant difference was observed between young and adult rats (p = 0.03). Prevalence in young rats was 45.0% compared to adults (70.7%). Further study of risk assessment in the cat population in areas of the present research is strongly suggested.Cat is the definitive host of Taenia taeniaeformis is a cestode parasite found in the intestine of cats as final host. Wild rodents, mainly mice, various species of rats, and voles act as intermediate host for the parasite. The intermediate hosts get infected through ingestion of contaminated feed, water, and beddings from eggs of the parasite voided by cats. Eggs develop into larval form (metacestodes) in the liver of intermediate host. The larval form of T. taeniaeformis is called C. fasciolaris. Taenia crassicollis, Hydatigera fasciolaris, Strobilocercus, and bladder worm are synonyms of Cysticercus fasciolaris [ C. fasciolaris develops mainly in the liver of rodents and contains larval stages of the parasite. Occasionally cysts also develop in the abdominal wall and kidney, filled with purulent exudate without larvae [ T. taeniaeformis have been reported [ C. fasciolaris. Although rare, humans get infected with eggs of T. taeniaeformis from cats [ciolaris . C. fasct larvae . A smallreported \u20135. Cats rom cats .T. taeniaeformis has been reported in rodents and cats worldwide. The report of C fasciolaris particularly, in brown rats (R. norvegicus), is from India [ Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) in lung/heart of R. norvegicus [ C. fasciolaris in the liver of (29.6%) rats were also reported. As far as authors are aware, there is no published report of C. fasciolaris in brown rats in other Caribbean nations. The aim of this report is to estimate the prevalence of C. fasciolaris in brown rats from Grenada and compare with the previous report.om India , 8, Koreom India , Malaysiom India , Serbia om India , and USAom India . In Grenrvegicus , lesionsThe project (Detection of zoonotic pathogens in brown rats in Grenada) was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC # 16009-R) of St. George's University Grenada.2. The country with low hills, small trees and shrubs, and tropical climate is most suitable for the existence of brown rats. The country is divided into six parishes. The parishes of St. George and St. David were selected for sampling because of their dense human population compared to the other four parishes.Grenada is the southernmost country in the Caribbean Sea with an area of 348.5\u2009Km (R. norvegicus) belong to genus Rattus under the family Muridae [Brown rats or Norway rats Muridae . They ar Muridae . l \u00d7 15\u2009cm w \u00d7 15\u2009cm h) with cheese and or various local fruits as bait. Attempts were made to trap the rats near the residential buildings. Trapping in both parishes was conducted near 10-meter periphery of human dwellings. Traps were placed in the evening and visited next day during the morning. Traps with rats were covered with black cloth and transported to the necropsy laboratory of the school of veterinary medicine, St. George's University, Grenada, and transferred to the anesthesia machine. Rats were anesthetized using isoflurane in oxygen via anesthesia machine (portable vet anesthesia machine isoflurane vaporizer VET CE), manufacturer DRE .One hundred and seventy rats were collected live from 1st May to 14th July, 2017, using live traps .The data was analyzed by the statistical analysis: Fisher's exact test, using graphical statistical software  positivity. The results for the prevalence are included in  C. fasciolaris by parish was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Risk factors being similar in both parishes, this difference in prevalence is not well explained. Further research involving more number of rats is suggested to answer the difference. Previous researchers reported in brown rats a prevalence of 100% in the Philippines [ A. cantonensis in brown rats, researchers found 29.6% rats also infected with C. fasciolaris. Variations in the prevalence of C. fasciolaris in different countries indicate infection risk factors, including seasonal variation in the infection pressure on the intermediate hosts [Out of 170 brown rats examined, 115 showed lesions oflippines , 33.3% ilippines , and 29.te hosts . PrevaleOn gross examination of liver of infected rats, one to three cysts were found in each liver . Size of C. fasciolaris. The wall of cysts varied in thickness from thin connective tissue capsule in mature C. fasciolaris and thick wall of connective tissue in juvenile C. fasciolaris. These findings are consistent with Lee et al. [Histopathology of the liver showed minimal pathological lesion in the liver parenchyma, except in and around the cysts. The cysts had a central lumen which containede et al. . Similare et al.  we also  C. fasciolaris according to gender in the present study is included in  C. fasciolaris in 66.7% male and 89.5% female in St George's parish compared to 56.3% male and 62.2% female in St David's parish. In our study, there was no significant statistical difference between male and female. Lee et al. [ C. fasciolaris among male and female rats. However, contrary to our findings Rodr\u00edguez-Vivas et al. [The prevalence ofe et al.  also reps et al.  found hi C. fasciolaris in young and adult rats are tabulated in p < 0.05). Our observation is in accordance with previous researchers [The results for prevalence ofearchers , 16, 18.earchers  indicate T. taeniaeformis, there is a need of risk assessment of the rat as well as cat population in these two parishes. This study has found strong evidence to educate the community regarding proper maintenance of hygienic conditions in and around their dwellings to prevent the survival and proliferation of the rat population.The Grenadian community likes cats as a pet. However, these pets are not always confined inside the home resulting in roaming behavior near and around the residential areas. The population of cats in the study areas of St. George's and St. David is not known. Since rats are the intermediate host and are the final host for"}
+{"text": "Haemonchus contortus, have caused serious losses in livestock production, particularly after the emergence of resistance to conventional anthelmintics. The search for new anthelmintic agents, especially those of botanical origin, has grown substantially due to the perspective of less contamination of meat and milk, as well as other advantages related to their cost and accessibility in less developed countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro anthelmintic activity of essential oils of the plant species Citrus aurantifolia, Anthemis nobile and Lavandula officinalis against the main developmental stages of the parasite H. contortus.Infections of sheep with gastrointestinal parasites, especially C. aurantifolia, A. nobile and L. officinalis, respectively. Different concentrations of each oil were tested in vitro for their capacity to inhibit egg hatching (EHT), larval development (LDT) and adult worm motility (AWMT) using a multidrug-resistant strain of H. contortus (Embrapa 2010). The IC50 values obtained for the oils of C. aurantifolia, A. nobile and L. officinalis were 0.694, 0.842 and 0.316 mg/ml in the EHT and 0.044, 0.117 and 0.280 mg/ml in the LDT, respectively. The three oils were able to inhibit adult worm motility completely within the first 8\u201312 h of observation in the AWMT.Plant species were selected based on substantial ethnopharmacological information. Analysis of the composition of each oil by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) demonstrated the presence of limonene (56.37%), isobutyl angelate (29.26%) and linalool acetate (35.97%) as the major constituents in H. contortus. Furthermore, this study is of ethnopharmacological importance by validating the anthelmintic activity of the oils studied. Although new experiments are necessary, these data contribute to the development of pharmaceutical-veterinary products for sheep farming by opening up new therapeutic possibilities against gastrointestinal infections caused by H. contortus.The present results demonstrate significant anthelmintic activity of the three oils against the different developmental stages of  Haemonchus contortus , completely inhibiting motility within the first 8\u201312 h of observation. In addition, a marked overall inhibition of motility of 50% or higher was observed for all oils within the first 2\u20134 h of the experiment , is advantageous for the choice of substances to be tested in vivo . These aontortus .Haemonchus contortus strain, Embrapa 2010, is known to be resistant to the main classes of commercially available anthelmintic drugs, such as benzimidazoles, macrocyclic lactones and imidazothiazoles [For the development of new anthelmintic agents, it is important that the parasite species, and even its strain, be the most representative of the livestock in reality, especially when this type of economical activity faces different challenges . Haemonchiazoles . In facthiazoles .Essential oils consist of a mixture of volatile and lipophilic compounds with a strong and characteristic odor. Terpenes and terpenoids are their main chemical constituents. These compounds differ by the presence of an oxygen atom in terpenoids and a methyl radical in terpenes . In viewH. contortus, have been described for a large number of essential oils such as those of Croton zehntneri [Eucalyptus staigeriana [Cymbopogon martinii and Mentha piperita [Lippia sidoides [Thymus vulgaris [Human knowledge of essential oils originated in the pre-Christian era . Anthelmehntneri , Eucalypigeriana , Cymbopopiperita , Lippia sidoides  and Thymvulgaris .L. officinalis was more effective in the EHT than the oils of C. aurantifolia and especially of A. nobile. In fact, the IC50 value of the L. officinalis oil was about 2.0\u20132.5 times lower than that of the other two oils tested . Limonene is characteristic of species of the genus Citrus [L. officinalis (0.52%)  Table . Myrceneis Table . Borneolis Table . Except Lavandula [L. officinalis   and isoamyl angelate (15.27%) (Table Linalool acetate and trans-sabinene hydrate are the major constituents of plants of the family Lamiaceae, especially in the genus avandula . These wH. contortus. For example, limonene is found in the oils of different plants with anthelmintic activity, such as Lippia sidoides, Cymbopogon martinii, Mentha piperita and Eucalyptus staigeriana [Citrus sinensis, causing 100% inhibition of H. contortus eggs and larvae in vitro at most concentrations tested [Ascaris lumbricoides [A. nobilis and L. officinalis. This compound is well known to be effective against the egg and larval stage of H. contortus [In addition to the representative importance of major constituents of each oil studied, some of these compounds possess known anthelmintic properties, highlighting their potential importance in final anthelmintic activity. The evidence for the activity of such compounds can be direct or indirect, as observed for igeriana , 29, 34.s tested . Linalooontortus .H. contortus because of the advantages of these agents, such as low cost and easy access, especially in less developed countries with biodiversity [In view of the economic impacts of gastrointestinal infections on sheep farming, which are increasingly aggravated by anthelmintic resistance, the identification and development of new therapeutic options for prevention, control or eradication of this problem is essential , 36. In iversity . Since biversity . Finallyiversity .C. aurantifolia, A. nobile and L. officinalis as anthelmintics. This is the first study testing the essential oils of these plants against H. contortus, highlighting their ethnopharmacological use and pharmaceutical-veterinary value.The application of ethnopharmacological/chemotaxonomic-based strategies is important to optimize studies of botanical anthelmintic agents in order to increase the success of developing new plant-derived or herbal agents of interest for the pharmaceutical-veterinary industry . AlthougC. aurantifolia, A. nobile and L. officinais essential oils against the main developmental stages of the parasite H. contortus. It highlights the importance of promising medicinal plants and theirs chemical compounds for the development of new potential anthelmintic agents.This study reveals the in vitro effects of"}
+{"text": "Mathematical modeling has become a valuable tool for the analysis of dynamics of infectious disease and for the support of control strategies development in recent years. This work highlights the conceptual ideas and mathematical tools needed for infectious diseases modeling. The main convergence of this was on the dynamics of infectious diseases, the analysis of transmission patterns in various populations, and methods to assess the effectiveness of control strategies such as HIV, childhood infections, influenza, and vector borne infections. It was concerned with qualitative behaviors of infectious disease model. The qualitative behavior of model includes positivity, uniqueness, local stability, global stability, bifurcation analysis, control of diseases, and existence of solutions. This study provided a platform for the discussion of the major research challenges and achievements on qualitative behaviors of infectious diseases and their control. Due to the availability of a lot of applications of this study, many authors contributed.G. R. Phaijoo and D. B. Gurung demonstrated that dengue is spreading in new areas due to people movement. They considered a multipatch model to assess the impact of temperature and human movement on the transmission dynamics of dengue disease. Dynamics of vector and host populations are investigated with different human movement rates and different temperature levels.N. Pipatsart et al. discussed adaptive random network models to describe human behavioral change during epidemics and performed stochastic simulations of SIR epidemic models on adaptive random networks.C. Burgess et al. derived risk-based immunization by deployment to polio-endemic regions, which is sufficient to prevent transmission among both deployed and nondeployed US military populations.T. Tilahun et al. analyzed a compartmental nonlinear deterministic mathematical model for the typhoid fever outbreak and optimal control strategies in a community with varying population.L. Worden et al. extended an approximation technique of the long-term behavior of a supercritical stochastic epidemic model, using the WKB approximation and a Hamiltonian phase space, to the subcritical case.S. Anis et al. discussed some of the genetic properties on the basis of algebra.Finally, A. Miao et al. proposed a stochastic SIR model with vertical transmission and vaccination. They showed that large noise can lead to the extinction of infectious diseases, which is conducive to epidemic diseases control.Gul ZamanIl H. JungDelfim F. M. TorresAnwar Zeb"}
+{"text": "We would like to issue a corrigendum concerning the following points. Please note that these corrections are not related to the analysis of the data and the presentation of the results, nor they affect in any way the conclusions of our article. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused.1. The following authors with the affiliations shown below should be added to the author list of the paper, between C. Sanz (first author) and E. Tagliazucchi (last author) in the following order:federicozamberlan@hotmail.comFederico Zamberlan. Affiliation: Departamento de F\u00edsica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Email: research@erowid.orgEarth Erowid. Affiliation: Erowid Center, Grass Valley, CA, USA. Email: research@erowid.orgFire Erowid. Affiliation: Erowid Center, Grass Valley, CA, USA. Email: Thus, the author list of the article should read as follows:\u201cC. Sanz, F. Zamberlan, E. Erowid, F. Erowid, E. Tagliazucchi\u201dThe reason for this correction is the re-evaluation of the merits of the contributors that were originally mentioned in the \u201cAcknowledgments\u201d section of the manuscript. After friendly discussions with E. Erowid and F. Erowid, we reached the agreement that their role in the creation, curation and interpretation of the online database, as well as in the ensuing scientific discussion, should be acknowleged with co-authorship. The addition of F. Zamberlan to the author list is based on similar contributions, related to our local version of the database (creation and curation) and on his scientific input, in all cases fundamental for the research conducted.2. The following sentence should be added in the Materials and Methods\u201d section, \u201cCorpora Selection\u201d sub-section, right before the sentence: \u201cWe discarded reports that resulted\u2026\u201d:https://erowid.org/general/about/about_copyrights.shtml).\u201d\u201cOur research relied upon Erowid's reviewed and edited collection of experience reports, and followed Erowid's terms of use that require researchers to coordinate with Erowid's research team in order to avoid misinterpretations of their data (The reason for this correction is to encourage future researchers to comply with Erowid's terms of use. Such compliance is necessary to acknowledge the efforts of the Erowid team, and to avoid misinterpretations of the reports, thus improving the overall scientific accuracy of the resulting manuscripts.3. The \u201cAuthor contribution statement\u201d section should be changed as follows to reflect the changes in authorship:\u201cCS and ET analyzed the data. ET designed the study and wrote the paper. EE and FE designed the Erowid experience report collection system and have managed the collection of psychoactive-related experience reports since 1995. FZ contributed to data analysis, data interpretation, and to the creation and curation of a local database of experience reports.\u201d4. The \u201cAcknowledgments\u201d section should be changed as follows to reflect the changes in authorship:www.erowid.org and www.dreamjournal.net.\u201d\u201cET was supported by a Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie individual fellowship. FZ was supported by a CONICET doctoral fellowship. We acknowledge insightful discussions with Facundo Carrillo, Mariano Sigman, and Diego Fernandez Slezak. We also thank the curators and contributors of We apologize for these mistakes, which do not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. All authors approved this corrigendum.The original article has been updated.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Oral metastases occur more commonly in bone, but can also manifest in soft tissues and eventually resemble a reactive lesion. Few cases of oral metastases mimicking reactive lesions in soft tissues have been reported to date.We report a metastasis of gastric carcinoma (GC) to the oral mucosa without bone involvement in a 43 yom clinically and microscopically mimicking a reactive lesion. The patient related that the lesion had 1 month of evolution, and the ulcerated area suggested the lesion was related to trauma.The histopathological examination of the lesion revealed an exuberant granulation tissue with few neoplastic cells, and the initial diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma was considered. In a second analysis, clusters of clear cells morphologically similar to degenerating mucous cells or macrophages, positive for Cytokeratin (CK)-20, and CDX2 were found. At the moment, it was confirmed the presence of a primary GC in the patient.A palliative radiotherapy/chemotherapy was started.However, the patient died 3 months after the diagnosis of oral metastasis.This report highlights the importance of careful clinical and microscopic examinations in cases of oral metastasis that may mimic a reactive lesion. It is also important to consider that approximately 25% of the oral metastases comprise the first evidence of an undiscovered malignancy at a distant site.,4Metastatic tumors of the mouth represent only 1% of all malignancies affecting this region. Usually oral metastases involve the jawbones and more rarely the soft tissues. Metastases in oral soft tissues usually manifest as ulcerated lesions or masses causing swellings. In the mouth, a few cases of metastases resembling pyogenic granuloma were reported, and it seems that this type of presentation is more common in the skin.,6Concerning the oral mucosa, the most common sites for metastasis are the gingiva, followed by the tongue and with less frequency the remaining oral soft tissues.,2 Oral metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma (GC) are rare, although this malignancy represents the fourth most common cancer in man and the second most frequent cause of human cancer death.,8The major primary sites presenting metastases to the mouth include lungs, kidney, liver, and prostate for men, and breast, uterus, ovaries, kidney, and colorectum for women.In this report, we describe a metastatic oral mucosa lesion from gastric adenocarcinoma, clinically and microscopically resembling a pyogenic granuloma.2The authors read the Helsinki Declaration and followed its guidelines in this study.Our service received a biopsy of a 43-year-old male for evaluation of an exophytic ulcerated mass involving the posterior region of the right mandible, with clinical hypothesis of a pyogenic granuloma or peripheral giant cell lesion. According to the patient, the lesion had 1 month of evolution, and the ulcerated area suggested the lesion was related to trauma -7, CK20, and CDX2, many positive for Ki-67, and negative to CD68 Fig. . After a3; however, it uncommonly causes distant metastases, usually involving bones of the vertebrae, pelvis ribs, and skull,,10 and rarely the gnathic bones. In this report, we describe a metastasis of a gastric adenocarcinoma into the buccal mucosa of a 43 yom that initially was considered as pyogenic granuloma. The lesion was ulcerated and exophytic involving the molar area of the right mandible. Histopathological examination of the biopsy disclosed an exuberant granulation tissue covered by fibrinopurulent membrane, with few clear cells considered as macrophages. A second analysis was performed, and small clusters of clear cells presenting a degenerative aspect were found. By immunohistochemistry, it was concluded that these clear cells represented metastasis of a GC. Isolated clear cells of the first analysis also proved to be neoplastic gastric cells. The diagnosis was clinically confirmed as the patient presented a primary adenocarcinoma of the stomach. This case illustrates that oral metastases may mimic reactive lesions both clinically and microscopically urging the necessity of careful examination. The first analysis displayed mainly granulation tissue, as the lesion was ulcerated due to dental trauma and this is common in many lesions of the mouth, indicating necessity of deeper biopsies. In fact, small and superficial biopsies are common for oral lesions, frequently difficulting the correct diagnosis.GC is the fourth most common cancer in humans and the second cause of cancer death,12 but glandular pattern and nests of epithelial gastric cells also have been reported.\u201315 However, on the present case predominated an exuberant granulation tissue, suggesting a reactive lesion as pyogenic granuloma, and only on second analysis clusters of clear cells were more evident that represented metastasis of a gastric adenocarcinoma.Metastatic GC to the oral cavity tends to present signet ring cell, These lesions showed no bone involvement, as the present case, indicating a probable predilection of GC to metastasize to soft tissues of the oral cavity. Sauerborn et al have revised the cases of gastric metastatic carcinoma to oral soft tissues. In 18 cases reported, 10 occurred in the mandibular region, whereas 6 involved the maxilla, one each the tongue and soft palate. However, it was not reported that these lesions resembled benign reactive lesions. Furthermore, the histologic aspect of these reported cases was all compatible with adenocarcinomas, whereas in the present case only few cells were initially found immersed in a granulation tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a metastatic GC to oral cavity mimicking a pyogenic granuloma.Metastatic GC to the oral cavity was previously reported including gingiva, soft palate, and soft tissues of the mandible. In the oral soft tissues, angiogenesis associated with chronic inflammation is very common, and this can facilitate the metastatic process, particularly the gingiva and adjacent tissues. Other studies correlated tooth extractions as a promoting factor in the metastatic process, supported by the same hypothesis of chronic inflammation caused by this procedure.The mechanisms of the metastatic process to the oral soft tissues are not fully understood. The ability of the primary tumor to stimulate angiogenesis and invade adjacent vessels has been considered crucial for spreading and distant colonization by the neoplastic cells, resulting in metastasis. However, this process comprises a complex biological cascade as the neoplastic cells acquire high ability for motility and invasion, survival, and proliferation.Overall, a bad prognosis is expected for metastatic neoplasms to the oral cavity, and death is common after a few months of the initial diagnosis. However, palliative treatment is important to improve life quality and pain relief.In conclusion, oral metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma is rare, and it may eventually mimic a reactive process, difficulting the diagnosis as illustrated in this report.Conceptualization: C.D. Soares, L.M.R. Paranaiba, M.G.F. Carvalho.Data curation: C.D. Soares, M.G.F. Carvalho.Formal analysis: M.G.F. Carvalho.Funding acquisition: J. Jorge, O.P. Almeida.Investigation: C.D. Soares, M.G.F. Carvalho.Methodology: C.D. Soares, L.M.R. Paranaiba, M.G.F. Carvalho.Project administration: J. Jorge, M.G.F. Carvalho, O.P. Almeida.Resources: M.R. Melo-Filho.Supervision: B.A. Rocha.Writing \u2013 original draft: C.D. Soares, M.G.F. Carvalho.Writing \u2013 review & editing: J. Jorge, M.G.F. Carvalho, O.P. Almeida."}
+{"text": "The institutional affiliation number 4 for the sixth author, Tero A. H. J\u00e4rvinen, is incorrect. The correct affiliation is: Departments of Orthopedics & Traumatology and Anatomy, Medical School, University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital, Finland.In addition, funding organizations for the sixth author were incorrectly omitted from the Funding Statement. The following sentence should be included with the Funding Statement: \"T.A.H.J. is funded by the Academy of Finland, Instrumentarium Research Foundation, Sigrid Juselius Foundation and Finnish Medical Foundation.\""}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium abscessus, a rapid-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium, has been the cause of sporadic and outbreak infections world-wide. The subspecies in M. abscessus complex  are associated with different biologic and pathogenic characteristics and are known to be among the most frequently isolated opportunistic pathogens from clinical material. To date, the evolutionary forces that could have contributed to these biological and clinical differences are still unclear. We compared genome data from 243 M. abscessus strains downloaded from the NCBI ftp Refseq database to understand how the microevolutionary processes of homologous recombination and positive selection influenced the diversification of the M. abscessus complex at the subspecies level. The three subspecies are clearly separated in the Minimum Spanning Tree. Their MUMi-based genomic distances support the separation of M. massiliense and M. bolletii into two subspecies. Maximum Likelihood analysis through dN/dS  identified distinct genes in each subspecies that could have been affected by positive selection during evolution. The results of genome-wide alignment based on concatenated locally-collinear blocks suggest that (a) recombination has affected the M. abscessus complex more than mutation and positive selection; (b) recombination occurred more frequently in M. massiliense than in the other two subspecies; and (c) the recombined segments in the three subspecies have come from different intra-species and inter-species origins. The results lead to the identification of possible gene sets that could have been responsible for the subspecies-specific features and suggest independent evolution among the three subspecies, with recombination playing a more significant role than positive selection in the diversification among members in this complex. Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing species of non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). In 2011, this species was divided into two subspecies, M. abscessus subsp. abscessus and M. abscessus subsp. bolletii . We included strains from different parts of the world to increase the likelihood of identifying subspecies-specific characteristics instead of just clonal traits.Of the 243 genomes examined, 12 were from clinical strains isolated between 2009 and 2011 in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These strains were subjected to whole genome shotgun sequencing using the Illumina Genome Analyzer IIX platform, as described previously . For thein silico inter-subspecies and intra-subspecies comparisons, a single pseudo-contig for each of the 243 genomes was generated by using \u201cNNNNNCACACACTTAATTAATTAAGTGTGTGNNNNN\u201d as a linker between contigs. The insertion of this 36 bp pseudo-molecule introduces a stop codon in any of the six open reading frames, and hence will not affect the annotation of each genome , assuming Chi-square distribution with degree of freedom of 1  is greater than one. The genes with significant traces of positive selection were further analyzed with the Bayes Empirical Bayes (BEB) method, to retrieve the positions of amino acids on the genes that were substituted owing to selection forces  in CodeML of PAML on the dataset . In the dom of 1 . Genes wn forces . The genn forces .2 (Max \u03c72)  , and Pai(Max \u03c72) . NSS is M. abscessus and M. massiliense were selected as representatives for comparisons. The selection was based on the mean MUMi (indicating the average genomic distance between paired strains in a group), with five genomes each from the strains with the highest, median and lowest mean MUMi values. The intention of the selection was to maximize the inclusion of strains with high genetic diversities. Since there were only 16 M. bolletii strains, all M. bolletii genomes were included for the genome-wide alignments (Supplementary Table S1). (2) Only the LCBs with a minimum size of 500 bp which were shared by all the strains were used for the analysis. An in-house Biopython script was written to separate each LCB from the XMFA alignment file. (3) The sequence of each LCB was then identified from the genomes that were not used in the Mauve alignment. Each of the resulted LCB was manually curated to remove artifacts, and concatenated to form super-sequences. The super-sequences and a PhyML generated super-sequences SNPs tree were subjected to recombination study in the ClonalFrameML  as defined by the progressiveMauve algorithm . Owing tlFrameML .M. abscessus complex isolated from multiple countries. The subspecies for each of the 243 strains was identified in silico using the concatenation of the 50 proposed informative genes previously reported . The MST illustrates the relationships of data based on the shortest possible distance between two data points. Strains from the same subspecies would have low dissimilarities and short genetic distances from each other, and hence, are expected to form a cluster. Based on this classification, 16 strains in our study clustered as M. bolletii, 138 as M. massiliense, and 89 as M. abscessus.The genomes used in this study comprised the three known subspecies of reported . The resM. massiliense strains compared to M. abscessus and M. bolletii. These observations suggest that the evolution of the M. abscessus complex is not clonal but is driven by the genetic characteristics of each subspecies within the complex.On the MST, the size of each circle corresponds to the number of genomes within respective nodes. Generally, strains within the same subspecies were clustered together without passing through any node from other subspecies. The MST was constructed with 100 bootstrap replications and each bootstrapping tree was consistently observed to have 110 nodes. All edges were supported with high bootstrap replication values at a minimum of 90% (represented in solid lines), except for 11 edges with lower bootstrap values of 50\u201370% (represented in dotted lines). The lower confidence edges were distant from the edges connecting the different subspecies. Hence, there were no strains with questionable subspecies status. No sign of geographical clustering among the strains was observed. The MST also highlighted the greater diversity among Supplementary Table S2). The inter-subspecies interquartile range for M. bolletii \u2013 M. massiliense, M. bolletii \u2013 M. abscessus, and M. abscessus \u2013 M. massiliense were 0.2326, 0.2072, and 0.2222, respectively. Hence, the genomic distances between M. massiliense and M. bolletii were longer than the distances between M. massiliense and M. abscessus or M. bolletii and M. abscessus. The taxonomic separation of M. massiliense from M. bolletii has been proposed by several research groups based on the analysis of core sequences with ANI as well as linear and network phylogenies , the MUMi of M. bolletii skewed toward the higher values of the box, reflecting a relatively conserved genetic content in this subspecies. In contrast, the MUMi of M. abscessus was skewed toward the lower values in the boxplot, indicating that the majority of the M. abscessus strains have longer genomic distances from each other. The MUMi of M. massiliense, however, showed a symmetrical distribution, indicating the presence of roughly equal numbers of conserved and diverse strains.The intra-subspecies interquartile range of MUMi was 0.0998 in M. massiliense, 14 in M. abscessus and 18 in M. bolletii, that could have undergone positive selection , during the course of divergence among the three subspecies.Our Maximum Likelihood analysis through dN/dS calculation on each of the 1,090 non-paralogous core genes in our dataset supports the presence of genes that have undergone selective pressure. It has been said that the dN/dS ratio is not sensitive enough to detect gene sets that have undergone positive selection among closely related species . However2) and a p-value cutoff at 0.01, only four out of 18 positively selected genes in M. bolletii (Supplementary Table S3) and 2 out of 14 genes in M. abscessus (Supplementary Table S4) were identified as having undergone recombinations. None of the positively selected genes in M. massiliense (Supplementary Table S5) showed evidence of recombination.Based on the results of the three independent recombination methods  in positive selection analyses . On the Acinetobacter baumannii , and probable endonuclease activity .In each M. abscessus complex, suggesting the occurrence of recombination events  were detected from the 1,407 LCBs generated by progressiveMauve. The lengths of recombinations ranged from 2 to 34,082 bp. The ratio of rates at which polymorphisms were introduced by recombination and mutation was R/theta = 0.14, whereas the ratio of recombination and mutation (r/m) was 1.99. Hence, recombination caused two times more polymorphism than mutation. From the illustration in Figure 3, extensive recombination was observed in the three putative ancestral nodes leading to the three subspecies. Since there are long evolutionary distances separating the three putative ancestral nodes, it is not known whether the accumulation of the recombinations occurred after the subspeciation event or was responsible for the independent emergence of the three subspecies.Apart from Darwinian evolution, recombination has been proposed as the alternative event for evolution . Recent n events . In thisM. massiliense (r/m = 2.17), with almost equal effect of substitutions and mutations in M. abscessus (r/m = 1.41) and M. bolletii (r/m = 0.95). We predicted 675 recombination events in M. abscessus, 387 in M. bolletii and 786 in M. massiliense. The analysis on recombination segments identified the origins of approximately 23% of total recombination segments in M. abscessus , 16% in M. bolletii  and 17% in M. massiliense . There were 33 segments in M. abscessus, 4 in M. bolletii and 11 in M. massiliense that could not be confirmed to be from an intra- or inter- subspecies origin. The segments that could not be found within the M. abscessus complex might have been acquired from foreign origins. However, we did not find insertion sequences (ISs) that could have contributed to the recombination events found in the M. abscessus complex. Neither did we find any CRISPRs that could have prevented the entry of foreign genetic material at the recombination sites. It is possible that novel genetic mechanisms are involved in these recombination events.Besides computing the whole population genome-wide recombination structures, subspecies- specific recombinations were also investigated by r/m estimations. The results suggest a higher recombination impact among Salmonella variants (Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains (M. abscessus complex which differ in their drug susceptibility and invasiveness, with M. massiliense reported to be the least associated with antibiotic resistance but the most frequently isolated from clinical material, and M. bolletii being the most frequently associated with multiple antibiotic resistance but the least frequently isolated from clinical specimens (Speciation genomics has contributed immensely to the understanding of bacterial evolution and diversity . It has variants  and drug strains . In thispecimens . We trieM. massiliense cluster, there is a wider spread of genotypes than in the other two subspecies. This feature indicates higher allelic variability among M. massiliense genomes. In contrast, M. bolletii showed the least allelic variation. Supported by our data on MUMi evaluation of both core and accessory genomes, the low median intra-subspecies index indicated that M. bolletii is conserved compared to M. massiliense and M. abscessus. This could be reflected in its low prevalence in infections. Using the same data, the inter-species distance appears longer between M massiliense and M. bolletii than between either of them and M. abscessus. This provides another reason to consider M. massiliense and M. bolletii as distinct subspecies.The MST showed the strains to be clustered according to the subspecies they belong to rather than by their countries of origin. Within the M. abscessus complex has been discussed by other researchers (The impact of the accessory genome on the evolution of the earchers . In thisM. massiliense (M. abscessus complex.From the ratio of synonymous and non-synonymous mutations and the evaluation of amino-acid changes based on BEB, we speculated site-specific positive selection resulting in amino acid substitutions. The biological significance of these substitutions is not known, but two proteins involved, the 30S ribosomal protein S3 and thymidylate kinase, were previously found to contain specific signatures for the classification of siliense . We woulM. abscessus complex is driven more by recombination than positive selections. Interestingly, our data revealed three independent recombination landscapes in the three subspecies. In a previous study (M. abscessus was the highest among the three subspecies. In the current study, M. massiliense appeared to be the most highly affected by recombination, followed by M. abscessus and M. bolletii, in descending order. The difference could be due to the use of different datasets. M. massiliense compared to that in M. abscessus is also supported by our previous network phylogenomics analysis (M. abscessus complex evolution for pathoadaptation. M. massiliense strains isolated from different countries (M. massiliense strains could also be the result of horizontal transfer and recombination involving common genetic determinants for infectivity. This could illustrate the advantage conferred by a high recombination rate on the pathoadaptation of M. massiliense.Our overall results suggest that the evolution of the us study , the impanalysis . Neverthountries  and thisountries . On the M. abscessus complex has been shaped by recombination more than Darwinian selection, and that each subspecies of the complex appears to have evolved independently. The proteins we identified to have undergone positive selection and recombination are expected to facilitate future studies on the functional significance of proteins in the M. abscessus complex.Our findings suggest that the diversity of the Planned and conceived the experiments: JLT and YFN. Performed the experiments: JLT and YFN. Analyzed the experiments: JLT, KPN, CSO, and YFN. Drafted the manuscript and contributed to the data interpretation: JLT, KPN, CSO, and YFN. All authors read, critically revised and approved the final manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Political change in the 1990s in Southern Africa influenced the long awaited formation of a children\u2019s surgical association in Africa. Here, within is the historical account of the formation of the Pan African Association of Paediatric Surgeons (PAPSA). The basis of the argument for the formation of PAPSA was that paediatric surgeons from Africa have a wealth of experience and special knowledge of diseases affecting children in the African continent which differ substantially from those encountered in other regions of the world. This historical account is mainly from documentation by 2 of the organisations founding members.The online version of this article (10.1007/s00383-018-4248-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Political developments in Southern Africa during the early 1990s excited the World. Talks were being held for the release of Mr. Mandela and the opportunity arose for change. As this \u2018wind of change\u2019 swept across Africa, two leading paediatric surgeons from South Africa, namely, Prof. S. Cywes and Prof. M. R. Q. Davies, proposed that colleagues in Africa should be approached with the view of establishing a representative African Paediatric Surgical Association or group (Supplementary Appendixes 1 and 2).During the 38th British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) conference in Budapest 1991, Prof. H. Rode and Prof. S. Hamdy took the concept further and discussed this \u201cembryo concept\u201d of an Association representing Africa with nine paediatric surgeons from Africa who attended the 38th BAPS meeting. The core group were: P. Beale, R. Brown, S. Cywes, G. P. Hadley and H. Rode from South Africa; H. Hamdy from Egypt; A. Hesse from Ghana; M. Oliver from Zimbabwe and P. Carneiro from Tanzania , Prof. Keith Aschcraft, who responded on the 30 July 1991 stating \u201cIt was the consensus of the Executive Committee that such an alliance would be a very positive thing in the health and well-being of African children. We would therefore be pleased to help in any way that we could.\u201d These sentiments were prophetic in that WOFAPS gave their full and unending support during the development phases of the as yet to be established Association (Supplementary Appendix 3).Profs. H. Rode, and S. Hamdy constructed a draft proposal in the form of \u201cCall for Input\u201d which was sent to surgeons in Africa on the 17 October 1991 for ideas and to test the waters for such a proposal (Supplementary Appendix 4). This concept was fully endorsed by African paediatric surgeons who were mainly from Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Malawi, Egypt, South Africa and the Northern Mediterranean coast of Africa. Support from Prof. J. Kyambi, from the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi was crucial and played a significant role in the milestone of the organisation as he was well known in the field of children\u2019s surgery in Africa. Also the political climate change in South Africa allowed for engagement with South African surgeons who were previously wrapped up in political sanctions (Supplementary Appendix 5).In December 1991, the Egyptian Association also gave their support for the fledging Association which now had support from both North and South of the equator. On 28 June 1992, Prof. Hamdy received communication and an invitation from the International College of Surgeons (Prof. Refaat Kamel) for the still-to-be Association to become an affiliate member. This further supported the widespread enthusiasm for the proposed new African Paediatric Surgical Association.Additional support for the proposal was received from paediatric surgeons from North Africa especially from Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. The suggestion was also tabled that the first meeting of the Association should coincide with the International College of Surgeons meeting scheduled for 28 November 1992 in Cairo. Unfortunately, this did not materialise as the basic ground work for the new Association was still incomplete. It took another 2\u00a0years before the establishment of the Pan African Paediatric Surgical Association (PAPSA) could be celebrated.Further support was given by Prof. J. Boix-Ochoa, secretary/treasurer of WOFAPS, on 16 October 1992 and Prof. Ashcraft also offered to assist in organizing a scientific conference in Nairobi during the latter half of 1993 or early in 1994. Throughout the initial phases, the vital role played by WOFAPS must be emphasised in their unyielding academic and financial support for the concept.It was importance that the Association be owned by surgeons from Africa and not be seen as solely South African-based. It became clear that an Association representing Africa would be a feasible endeavour and was long overdue. However, from early on, reservations were expressed of linking PAPSA with other Associations and the prevailing idea was for the Association to be non-aligned and independent. This did not, however, exclude combined meetings with the reservation that PAPSA would only participate as an independent Association.As the current methods of communication at that time  were slow and cumbersome, opportunities were sought to meet for further discussions, where paediatric surgeons assembled during regional conferences. As this initiative was new for paediatric surgery in Africa, all efforts were directed towards inclusiveness. Two further opportunities presented when paediatric surgeons from Africa assembled at regional conferences. Many attended the South African Paediatric Surgical Association\u2019s biannual meeting in the Transkei, South Africa, in July 1992, and fruitful discussions ensued, especially with surgeons from Kenya and Ghana. It was during a meeting of the International Federation of Surgical Colleges in Cape Town that Prof. Rode spoke with Prof. O. Ayaji, the President of the College of Surgeons of West Africa. Long and fruitful discussions followed regarding the concept and implementation of the proposed Association which was seen as a strengthening of the role paediatric surgery could play in improving the health of its children. Another step forward with support from West Africa.A suitable geographical place on the Continent of Africa had to be found, where a meeting of paediatric surgeons could take place and the idea further developed. Nairobi being in a central position in Africa, was considered as a possible venue for the launching of the Association. Such an opportunity presented itself during the ano-rectal workshop held by Prof. A. Pena in November 1992, at the Jomo Kenyatta Hospital, Nairobi, under the auspices of Prof. J. Kyambi from the University of Nairobi.The momentum was unstoppable. The ano-rectal workshop in Nairobi in November 1992 brought 30 paediatric surgeons from East, Central and Southern Africa together. Prof. J. Kyambi played a pivotal role in all the negotiations for the formation of PAPSA. Delegates met to discuss and finalise the concept and establishment of an African Association for Paediatric Surgery. Again, the desire was expressed to form an Association amongst people with a common goal and regional interest and that membership should encompass all paediatric surgeons from Africa. A steering committee was constituted to oversee the initiation of the Association on the 3 November 1992. South Africa was reluctant to drive the Association and was, therefore, pleased when very competent people from Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana were elected to the steering committee to oversee the formation of the Association. A strong request was made that all future official committees should be representative of the continent as a whole. Prof. Boix-Ochoa was informed on the 30 November about the developments, the elected steering committee and the immediate goals of the Association to be formed in the near future. The centre of Africa thus became the birth place of PAPSA.Finally, after many months of anxiety, ground work preparation, consultations, letters, faxes and telephone calls, the letter sent out from the interim secretary on 15 July 1993 read \u201cIt is with great pleasure that we announce the formation of the Pan African Paediatric Surgical Association (PAPSA) and advise you of its Inaugural Meeting scheduled to be held in Nairobi from 9 to 11 March 1994.\u201dThe minutes of the first meeting to consider the establishment of a Pan African Surgical Association in November 1992 is appended (Supplementary Appendix 6). The office bearers were Interim Chairman: Prof. J. Kyambi, Kenya; Vice chairman: Prof. J. Shija, Tanzania; Secretary: Prof. H. Rode, South Africa and two additional members: Dr. A. Hesse, Ghana; Dr. Ndingo, Kenya. Resolution: that PAPSA should be established within 1\u00a0year and that the concept of PAPSA be promoted at all forums. The World Federation of Associations of Paediatric Surgeons endorsed the formation of PAPSA. Four immediate goals were identified:to promote and maintain the highest clinical and ethical standards;to encourage and arrange regular meetings for the interchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge and expertise;foster professional relations with Paediatric surgeons throughout the world;to promote the practice, research and the advancement of study in Paediatric Surgery.Outstanding were the final structure and function of the Association and the formalization of the constitution. On 25 May 1993, Profs. Kyambi and Prof. Rode posted a letter of invitation to surgeons in Africa to become members of the fledging Association (Supplementary Appendix 7). The response was overwhelming. An important next step was to constitute a proposed constitution as was legally required. Many African colleagues contributed to the final constitution of the Association, especially Profs. Shija, Davies, Cywes, Kyambi, Rode, Oliver, and Hamdy.In correspondence with the South African Department of National Health and Population Development on 13 November 1992, the interim secretary again defined the mission of PAPSA: \u201cTo serve the children of Africa, to encourage the study of paediatric surgery, to promote and maintain the highest clinical standards, to encourage research within Africa and to have regular conferences for the interchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge and expertise\u201d.On 17 February 1993, a formula was presented regarding the first meeting scheduled for 9\u201311 March 1994 in Nairobi, with the theme \u201cTowards the improvement of paediatric surgical care for the children of Africa\u201d.This was soon followed by a meeting of interested people during the BAPS conference in Manchester in July 1993 when the Association was discussed with the President of WOFAPS, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Maier, who expressed his delight about the founding of PAPSA. In attendance at the meeting were Profs. J. Kyambi, J. Shija, S. Hamdy, H. Rode, and Dr. L. Ekiabi by invitation.It was resolved to finalise the constitution for ratification and to solicit membership for the fledging Association from surgeons in Africa. The inaugural meeting was scheduled for 9\u201311 March 1994 and five invited guests were identified as a measure of the widespread acceptance of the concept of an independent Association representing the interests of Africa. These were Profs. W. Maier (WOPCES), J. Boix-Ochoa (WOFAPS), J. Kyambi (PAPSA interim President), K. Ashcraft (Past President APSA), and J. J. Corkery (President BAPS). They were individually acknowledged because of their support and direct involvement in establishing PAPSA.Despite all the logistical difficulties in the African continent, the concept was approved; an interim committee formed; a constitution written; and the inaugural meeting of PAPSA scheduled for the 9\u201311 March 1994 in Nairobi with Prof. Kyambi as first Chairman and primary organiser. He deserved much credit for all his endeavours to form a fertile field for the initiative during the changing phase in Africa.Information about PAPSA was posted on the 25 May 1993 to most of the established Paediatric Surgical Associations in the World and paediatric surgeons on the African continent. They all responded enthusiastically and gave their full support to the new Association. Summarizing their sentiments, Prof. Andrew Pinter wrote the following on 3 August 1993: \" We are deeply convinced that the PAPSA will contribute not only to the maintenance of the highest clinical and ethical standards, but will promote the better understanding amongst the nations and people of Africa, and furthermore, it will strengthen the friendship amongst the paediatric surgeons of the world. Additional interest in the Association came from Francophone countries in West Africa, America, Europe, Canada, England, Scotland, China and India, as well as many other centres in Africa. The widespread support was most encouraging and heart-warming.Recognition of the important and crucial role surgery played on the African continent was not freely forthcoming from International bodies. The reservations WHO and UNICEF had about the position of paediatric surgery in Africa was mentioned in two letters dated 6 September 1993 and 3 March 1994. In 1993, Prof. Kyambi wrote \u201cI am much too aware that the international bodies, that is UNICEF and WHO are not keen to support surgical programs. Somehow the concept they have is that surgery is too sophisticated for developing countries and they put their entire support for Paediatric programs, Mother and Child and Child Survival Programs. They forget that surgery is also geared to child survival. We still have a lot to do\u201d. It took over 20\u00a0years for the international bodies such as WHO to understand the need of the surgical child through the launch of the Lancet Commission in 2015 [In 1994, Prof. K. Mukelabai, Regional Adviser for Primary Health Care, wrote to Prof. Kyambi \u201cIt is important to remind all the eminent paediatric surgeons at your meeting that the major causes of childhood mortality and morbidity in Africa are all preventable \u2026. Both medical and surgical complications of these diseases are difficult to treat in the late stages\u201d. On a very positive note, however, acknowledgment of the important role surgery played during childhood was emphasised by Prof. F. Bassani, Deputy director of UNICEF Geneva, in a letter to Prof. S. Cywes on the 9 September 1993 in which he categorically stated that UNICEF is committed to help the African Child towards a better future and pledges their participation towards the foundation of the new Pan African Paediatric Association. The regional UNICEF office in Nairobi assisted PAPSA with a sum of USD 3000.As this was a new initiative for Africa, sponsorship was initially difficult to obtain. The interim secretary had tried his best, pleaded, threatened, prayed, and cursed, given up hope, but eventually, with the help and encouragement of all involved with this venture, succeeded in securing financial backing. The first budget submitted was: Expenditure USD 2577.10 and Income USD 19,342.00. Very generous and essential financial support of USD 10,000 was received from WOPSEC (Prof. C. Ghinelli); Department of Foreign Affairs South Africa SAR 11,844; South African Association of Paediatric Surgeons SAR 6000; UNICEF USD 3000; ten pharmaceutical firms (USD 1730.00); SAIDIA SAR 6076; and a personal contribution from Prof. H. Rode, SAR 5642.The Centre for Postgraduate Studies of the University of Cape Town was appointed as congress organisers. The centre\u2019s professional attitude and guidance towards the financial concerns, organisational structure, and personnel communications directly ensured the eventual success of the conference. The British Association of Paediatric Surgeons offered two Heinz Scholarships to PAPSA following the Inaugural meeting and two trainee surgeons, Drs. Q. Ossenou from Coter de\u2019Ivoire and J. N. Muturi from Kenya, were the successful candidates.The final announcement was posted in January 1994. The organizing committee of the meeting was Prof. J. Kyambi, J. M. Ngungu, S. A. Safwat, N. N. Wachira, G. C. Anangwe, S. M. Barrack, P. Ochola-Abila, and Lt Col(Dr)BN Waitara. All of them subsequently played leading roles in PAPSA for many years to come.The Inaugural meeting of PAPSA was held on 9\u201311 March 1994 at the historical Hotel Inter-Continental in the centre of Nairobi. The theme of the congress was \u201cTowards the improvement of paediatric surgical care for the children of Africa\u201d .The official opening of the conference was an illustrious occasion. The Master of Ceremony was Mr. P. Ochola-Abila and the welcoming address was given by Prof. Kyambi (Interim President) followed by addresses by executives from Ministry of Health, Republic of Kenya (Hon. J. Angatia), SAIDIA (Mr. B. Kliplagat), WOFAPS (Prof. C. Ghinelli), WOFAPS (Prof. W. Maier), Minister of Health and Director of Medical Services (Prof. G. B. A. Okelo). Three keynote addresses were given by Prof. S. Cywes from South Africa, Prof. J. Shija from Tanzania and Prof. Nabham Kadah from Egypt. Prof. J. J. Corkery, President of BAPS, was the after conference dinner speaker. Other important delegates were Dr. E. Kruger (South African Embassy), Prof. Makelabai (UNICEF), Prof. Chube (WHO), and Dr. R. Leakey (SAIDIA).The minutes of the first Exco and inaugural meetings of PAPSA on the 9 and 11 March 1994, respectively, are appended (Supplementary Appendix 8 and 9). Prof. J. Kyambi was the first President with Prof. J. Kaddah Vice president and Prof. H. Rode as Honorary Secretary/Treasurer. Ten members were elected: S. Bankole (Ivory Coast), S. Cywes (South Africa), M. Davies (South Africa), H. Hamdy (Egypt), A. Hesse (Ghana), S. Mutumba (Uganda), P. Nmandu (Nigeria), M. Oliver (Zimbabwe), A. Safwat (Kenya), and J. Shija (Tanzania). More than 80 surgeons attended the 3-day conference Fig.\u00a0.The Francophone countries were not present at this stage of our evolution, although they have voiced an interest. It was also resolved that PAPSA should have biennial meetings with the venues rotating on a regional basis. The Association\u2019s constitution was ratified after minor changes from the original submission. Of great importance was that there would always be geographic representation.Dr. A. S. Safwat was the treasurer for the first meeting and his hard work and enthusiasm has made organizing the meeting relatively stress free. The conference was successfully concluded with a budget of SAR 82,437.86. In addition, the financial invoice of the 9 February 1994 indicated the complexity of arranging the first meeting of the Association.Many surgeons contributed to the planning of the first scientific program, as it had to be specific to the needs of Africa. These included Profs. M. Davies, J. Shija, H. Hamdy, S. Cywes, J. Kyambi, and executive members from other International Associations. The presentations all addressed surgical conditions commonly seen in Africa, including oncology, trauma, congenital abnormalities, infections, orthopaedic conditions, and paediatric surgical experiences in emerging countries. Debate was vigorous and informative and the keynote presentations were relevant to our problems. Delegates retired after three historical days of scientific deliberations, new friendships were made, while old ones were renewed and strengthened. Upon departure, there was a realisation that Africa now has an Association to benefit the children of Africa. PAPSA was born and it then needed hands to nurture, feed, and mature the child. The second meeting was scheduled for 1996 in Cairo, followed by the third meeting in Cape Town in 1998  on 14 July 1995 and the key role that WOPSEC played in the establishment of the Association was acknowledged.Despite many obstacles, uncertainties and doubt the mission was accomplished. An independent Association was established, representing men and women who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of improving the surgical care of African children, which they so richly deserved. PAPSA  has cleaAs so little was known about paediatric surgery on the continent, delegates considered it important to establish a basic data base for the Association, looking at manpower, facilities, patient numbers and profiles, surgical procedures, training facilities and mortality data. Unfortunately the means of communication were very basic, with telephone, letters and the occasional fax, which made it virtually impossible to obtain and distribute the information at the time. This would be for the future.This is as accurate as we could reconstruct the periods preceding the establishment of PAPSA and the inaugural conference.Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 1031 KB)Supplementary material 2 (DOCX 476 KB)Supplementary material 3 (DOCX 927 KB)Supplementary material 4 (DOCX 1080 KB)Supplementary material 5 (DOCX 1419 KB)Supplementary material 6 (DOCX 913 KB)Supplementary material 7 (DOCX 672 KB)Supplementary material 8 (DOCX 734 KB)Supplementary material 9 (DOCX 1122 KB)"}
+{"text": "In the original article, one of the authors, Dr. Dimah Z. Habash, is missing from the authors list from one of the references. The correct reference, which was cited as \u201c\u201d in the original text, is the following:J. Exp. Bot. 53, 979\u2013987. doi: 10.1093/jexbot/53.370.979Miflin, B. J., and Habash, D. Z. (2002). The role of glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase in nitrogen assimilation and possibilities for improvement in the nitrogen utilization of crops. The authors apologize for the mistake. This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way.The original article has been updated.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Capillaria hepatica is a zoonotic parasite in humans and animals and has a worldwide distribution. However, infections in mammals apart from rodents, which are natural hosts of the parasite, have rarely been reported. This report describes the first known case of C. hepatica infection in a horse in Japan.C. hepatica eggs.A 3-year-old filly without clinical signs was presented at a slaughterhouse in Japan. Gross examination revealed white to tan nodules 0.5 to 1.5\u00a0cm in diameter in the parenchyma of the liver. Histologically, the nodules had mature fibrous capsules and consisted of multifocal to coalescing granulomatous inflammations with numerous nematode eggs. The eggs were barrel shaped with an opercular plug on each end and double-layered shells; these findings are consistent with the features of C. hepatica infection in a horse in Japan. The pathological findings confirmed the presence of this pathogen in this part of the world, and they highlight the importance of this nematode in the differential diagnosis of hepatic granulomatous lesions in horses.To our knowledge, this is the first case of  Capillaria hepatica  is a nematode in the family Capillariidae and a zoonotic parasite with a worldwide distribution. The usual hosts for the parasite are rodents, especially wild rats and mice [C. hepatica infections in humans, 163 cases, including 72 genuine infections have been reported in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Oceania, especially in tropical and temperate zone [C. hepatica is direct [and mice , but theand mice . In a reCapillaria hepatica is a zoonotic nematode that inhabits the liver of the host during the adult stage of the life cycle. The presence of worms and eggs can provoke focal necrosis, fibrosis, and inflammatory reaction in the liver [C. hepatica infection in horses is relatively rare and only two cases have been reported, in the United Kingdom and Canada [C. hepatica infection in a horse in Japan.he liver  and resuhe liver . Howeverd Canada , 6. ThisThe subject was a 3-year-old female Thoroughbred presented at a municipal slaughter plant in Japan. It was in good body condition, showed no signs of illness, and passed ante-mortem inspection. On gross examination, within the liver there were multifocal, firm, homogenous white to tan nodules 0.5 to 1.5\u00a0cm in diameter scattered in the parenchyma. On the cut surface, the nodules were rich in fibrous tissue with partial calcification. The nodules were harvested from the horse, fixed in 20% neutral buffered formalin, and sent to the Equine Research Institute of the Japan Racing Association for histological examination. After fixation, the nodules were decalcified in Morse\u2019s solution. All samples were embedded in paraffin wax, cut at 4\u00a0\u03bcm, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin.C. hepatica on the basis of their morphological characteristics.Histological examination revealed multifocal to coalescing, partially calcified granulomatous lesions in the hepatic parenchyma. Each lesion measured up to about 1.5\u00a0cm and contained nematode eggs surrounded by a fibrous capsule Fig.\u00a0; they meCapillaria hepatica is a parasitic nematode with a worldwide distribution [C. hepatica in rodents is unknown, but the eggs or adult worms, or both, have been reported in mice and rats [C. hepatica [C. hepatica in Japan. However, to our knowledge, C. hepatica in horses has not been reported in this country. In horses, hepatic capillariasis is rare and only two cases have been reported\u2014in the United Kingdom and Canada [ribution . Rodentsand rats , 8. Morehepatica . Sekikawhepatica  reportedd Canada , 6. The C. hepatica occurs via the ingestion of embryonated eggs in the environment. In human cases, unsanitary practices, poor hygienic conditions, and the presence of dense rodent populations are thought to be predisposing factors of infection. [Infection with fection. . In addifection. . This hifection. . Childrefection. . The habfection. . TherefoLiver biopsy remains the gold standard method for the diagnosis of hepatic capillariasis , althougC. hepatica infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatic granulomas in horses.This paper provides the first report of hepatic capillariasis in a horse in Japan. Although further investigations are needed to determine the prevalence of the nematode in horses, our findings indicate that"}
+{"text": "Telmatoscopus albipunctatus, a cosmopolitan fly, is widely distributed throughout moist environments. It is one of the most medically important insects  that may potentially cause myiasis. Urinary myiasis and other sites of infestation, including the intestine, nasal passages, lung, and derma, have been reported. This is the first case report of a Chinese middlescent woman infected with T. albipunctatus in Guangzhou, China. In the present report, a 50-year-old woman came to The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, because larvae were found when urinating in the morning; this had occurred every two days within the past two months. She complained of frequent micturition and urgency. Urine tests indicated that all indexes were normal except for slight urinary tract infection. Subsequently, the larvae were sent to the diagnostic section for parasitic infection in the Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. The stereoscopic microscope and transmission electron microscope were used for morphological observation. On this basis, the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene was specifically amplified by PCR. Sequence analysis of the PCR product and phylogenetic analysis were used to identify the species. Morphological analysis combined with molecular biology methods indicated that the insect was the fourth instar larvae of T. albipunctatus. Our results show that this was a case of a 50-year-old woman infected with T. albipunctatus larvae in her urinary tract, and the findings suggest that clinicians should be vigilant for this infection. Psychodidae is a cosmopolitan fly that is tiny and hairy. It belongs to the family Nematoceran and is a medically important insect, especially in urban areas. Most of the adults are distributed throughout houses, stinking ditches, or septic tanks, and the larvae are bred in moist environments such as toilets and bathrooms . The . The T. unctatus . Therefounctatus .T. albipunctatus in her urethra. The patient was diagnosed by a morphological examination combined with molecular biological techniques, which provided a more sensitive diagnosis method and timely, effective treatment for the disease.In this report, we first present a 50-year-old woman in Guangzhou, China, who was infected with the fourth instar larvae of A 50-year-old woman who lives in a small town came to The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, because of a urinary tract infection she had had for two months. She complained of frequent micturition and urgency. In addition, three to five larvae had been found in her morning urine, which had occurred every two days. According to the urine tests, all indexes were normal but accompanied by a slight urinary tract infection. Because this case was rare in the clinical context, it was difficult for the urologist to identify the larvae. To make an exact diagnosis, a morning urine sample was collected in a clean specimen container following the guidance of a nurse in the hospital and subsequently sent to the diagnostic section in the Department of Parasitology of the Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of Medicine in Guangzhou, China.The larvae were dark brown, slender, and three to four millimeters long by gross observation. In addition, the two terminals were thinner than the body. Subsequently, a stereoscopic microscope and transmission electron microscope were used for further identification. As shown in Figs Psychodidae.The next step was to clarify the larval species. All the procedures were followed as previously described . BrieflyCOX1) gene product was sequenced by the company Majorbio. Finally, after homology searching with the Nucleotide BLAST in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi), the sequence exhibited 96% homology with T. albipunctatus COX1 gene (Accession No. AB907184.1). The alignments displayed the following: score = 760 bits (411), expect = 0.0, identities = 415/417 (99%), gaps = 0/417 (0%), and strand = Plus/Plus. All these data, ultimately, finally indicated that the larvae were fourth instar larvae of T. albipunctatus.To confirm the PCR result, genetic sequencing was performed to clarify the larval species. The purified cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 . Phylogenetic analysis was used by comparing of sequences that were downloaded from GenBank (AB907184.1, KJ909532.2, KM873618.1, KF289767.1, JQ609303.1, KC404846.1, GQ255652.1, and JQ416156.1; T. albipunctatus reference sequence (Finally, the obtained sequence of sequence .T. albipunctatus.Based on our diagnosis, the patient was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics for one week, which significantly alleviated the symptoms of frequent micturition and urgency. No larvae could be found in the urine at her last visit. In summary, all the results proved that the larvae in this case were T. albipunctatus is a primitive dipteran of the family Psychodidae whose breeding environment is partial to rotten and wet vegetation. The larvae of T. albipunctatus are commonly found in sewage, bathrooms, and toilets ..T. albipAll these cases indicated that poor sanitation and unhygienic domestic environments, including adverse living conditions, overcrowding, poor ventilation, and inadequate sewage systems, create higher risks for urinary myiasis . Thus, eT. albipunctatus, little has been reported regarding cases with infection by this insect, and many clinicians lack the ability to accurately identify these insects. In addition, the morphology of this larva causing urinary myiasis is similar to that of other insects such as Muscidae, Phlebotomidae, Culicoides, and Culicidae. Thus, the diagnosis of T. albipunctatus remains particularly low in sensitivity, and the delay in suboptimal antiparasitic care is common [Psychodidae by stereoscopic microscope and transmission electron microscope. Molecular biological methods of sequence analysis and phylogenetic analysis made us sure that it was the larvae of T. albipunctatus. All these combinatory methods could be used to increase efficiency and precision of diagnosis.Because of the conventional control measures used to kill s common 8]. Ther. TherT. T. albipunctatus infection.Overall, through a morphological examination in combination with molecular biological methods, we accurately diagnosed the patient as having a The acquisition of samples was approved by the medical research ethics committee of Sun Yat-sen University. Informed consent was obtained from the subject, and the experiments were conducted according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this Case Report and any accompanying images.T. albipunctatus is one of the medically important insects, especially in urban environments, that may potentially cause myiasis.T. albipunctatus in Guangzhou, China.This is the first case report about a Chinese middlescent woman infected with T. albipunctatus.Combined with the results of morphological characteristics, PCR amplification, and phylogenetic analyses, we confirmed the larvae were T. albipunctatus.Clinician should pay attention to the infection of"}
+{"text": "Mr. T is a 78-year-old male who initially presented with stage IV oligometastatic non\u2013small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with adrenal metastasis. He is a retired pharmacist who comes to appointments with his wife. His medical history includes hypertension, emphysema, esophageal reflux, and hyperlipidemia. He initially presented with abdominal pain. Upon workup, a CT image of the chest and abdomen revealed a solitary adrenal metastasis and one lung lesion. He had laparoscopic resection of the adrenal metastasis. However, shortly afterward, he was found to have metastatic disease in the surgical bed and progression of the lung mass.Mr. T was started on pemetrexed (Alimta) and carboplatin for six cycles, followed by maintenance pemetrexed. He then developed brain metastases and underwent gamma knife treatment to three brain lesions. Subsequently, he was started on gemcitabine and carboplatin for progression of disease in the chest. After four cycles, he went on to receive maintenance gemcitabine.After 2 months of maintenance gemcitabine chemotherapy, Mr. T began to complain of lower extremity swelling, erythema, and minor discomfort. He denied difficulty walking and did not have a fever. After treatment with oral cephalexin, the lower extremity edema improved, and he remained on chemotherapy. However, 4 weeks later, the swelling and erythema in his lower extremities recurred .Treatment with further cephalexin did not improve his symptoms, and he was switched to oral clindamycin. Four days after initiation of clindamycin, his symptoms continued to worsen, manifesting as increased discomfort, increased edema, and now difficulty walking and inability to wear shoes.While Mr. T has a history of hypertension, there is no history of other cardiac disease or congestive heart failure. Nonpitting edema, progressive from +1 to now +3, and erythema were present in both of Mr. T\u2019s legs, with the left greater than the right. The edema did not improve with elevation of his legs, and his feet did not fit into his shoes. He described the pain as minor, about 3 out of 10, though at this point he was experiencing some difficulty walking.Mr. T was afebrile, with a normal white blood cell count. Respiratory, cardiac, and neurologic exams were within normal limits. Doppler ultrasound of the lower extremities was performed and found to be negative for thrombosis. Mr. T was then admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics and continued workup.Pseudocellulitis. Pseudocellulitis is simply a noninfectious cellulitis. Gemcitabine has been known to cause a rash in 30% of patients, yet less than 1% are grade 3 , diphenhydramine, and corticosteroids in some cases . Mr. T wThis case is an example of a rare side effect of chemotherapy that required further investigation and a review of case reports in the literature to make a diagnosis and a treatment decision."}
+{"text": "Ralstonia solanacearum species complex phylotype IV strains, which have been primarily isolated from Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia, have undergone recent taxonomic and nomenclatural changes to be placed in the species Ralstonia syzygii. This species contains three subspecies; Ralstonia syzygii subsp. syzygii, a pathogen causing Sumatra disease of clove trees in Indonesia, Ralstonia syzygii subsp. indonesiensis, the causal pathogen of bacterial wilt disease on a wide range of host plants, and Ralstonia syzygii subsp. celebesensis, the causal pathogen of blood disease on Musa spp. In Indonesia, these three subspecies have devastated the cultivation of susceptible host plants which have high economic value. Limited knowledge on the ecology and epidemiology of the diseases has hindered the development of effective control strategies. In this review, we provide insights into the ecology, epidemiology and disease control of these three subspecies of Ralstonia syzygii. Ralstonia solanacearum species complex, is a serious disease of crop plants in Indonesia. Ratus spp.), stem borers , bacterial rice blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae), the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) and the oriental leafworm moth (Spodoptera litura and S. exigua).Indonesian agriculture is dedicated to the production of food crops for local consumption by an ever expanding population , agriculMusa spp., called blood disease, was first reported on Selayar Island, South Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) in 1906 by Syzygium aromaticum trees, Sumatra disease or wooden vessel bacteria on S. aromaticum, was first observed in Sumatra, Indonesia in 1975  is a molecular approach used to compare the overall similarity of whole genomes among different organisms .Recently, members of the revision . The recectively . This cl strains . Of the rganisms . The DDHrganisms . Howevergenicity . R. syzyw Guinea  and has w Guinea . R. syzynd Japan , Korea  gene sequence data has been used to establish the evolutionary history of the R. solanacearum species complex and to determine the phylotype to which a strain belongs . All strains of R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis cluster together into a monophyletic group with certain R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains from Indonesia. In contrast, strains of R. syzygii subsp. syzygii exhibit a greater degree of diversity in egl sequences but the largest level of genetic diversity in the species is present in strains belonging to R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis. Analysis of egl gene sequence data using different phylogenetic methods, including Maximum likelihood, Neighbor joining, unweighted pair group method (UPGMA), and minimum evolution, produce congruent phylogenies (results not shown) but are not able to resolve the three subspecies with certain strains of R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis being closely related to R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis and others more closely related to R. syzygii subsp. syzygii . By employing multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) R. syzygii were examined by MLSA results similar to the analysis of egl sequence data were found. MLSA was not able to clearly delineate the three subspecies of R. syzygii and certain R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains from Indonesia clustered with R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis or R. syzygii subsp. syzygii strains  and the 16S\u201323S intergenic spacer (ITS) region  region  and also) region , pulsed-) region .Figure 2). However, the leaves may also wilt suddenly and turn brown, but stay attached to the branch. Affected twigs turn reddish brown and progressively die back . Symptoms typically progress to lower branches until the whole crown is affected, and the tree dies within 6\u201318 months . The discolouration of the xylem can be traced down the trunk into one or more major roots  has been described as the primarily vector in Java , and the vascular tissue throughout the plant exhibits a reddish discoloration, which emits reddish-brown bacterial ooze when cut , can spread the pathogen rapidly over great distances . The disease symptoms caused by R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains on solanaceous crops are no different from those described in the past for R. solanacearum . Internally the vascular tissue becomes progressively discolored in the early stages of infection with portions of the pith and cortex becoming involved as disease develops until complete necrosis occurs.nacearum . The extR. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains have only been isolated from S. tuberosum  was found to not to cause wilting of Cucumis melo, Anthurium andraeanum, Musa spp. and S. tuberosum but retained pathogenicity for S. lycopersicum  than R. pseudosolanacearum strains (28\u00b0C).There is little literature describing the epidemiology and ecology of  of time . Unlike nditions . In compHindola spp., and most probably contaminated agricultural tools. Therefore local agricultural departments in Indonesia recommend that agricultural tools used for field work should be disinfected between uses, infected plants should be eradicated and insecticide should be applied to minimize the spread of the disease by insect vectors. Although several insecticides have been tested without effective control, aldicarb and carbofuran granules have provided effective control from 7 to 35 and 28 to 217 days after treatment, respectively (Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis and rhizobacteria which produce indole acetic acid and dissolved phosphate could inhibit the growth of R. syzygii subsp. syzygii. However, the agropolitical challenges of S. aromaticum cultivation in Indonesia has made the application of any disease management strategies difficult (All known clove varieties appear equally susceptible . As indiectively . It has ectively . Antibioectively . Biologiifficult .Hindola spp that may be potential as biological control of the insect vector were identified. H. fulva was found in the population with the unknown species of Hindola, Hindola sp. in Bengkulu, Sumatra, and Indonesia. Stylops sp. was found to parasitize the nymphs and adults of Hindola spp. The nymph of family Tettigoniidae was also found and assumed as the predator of Hindola sp. nymphs (Hindola spp. (Acmopolynema was the parasite of Hindola spp. in Java, Indonesia (R. syzygii subsp. syzygii is a potential natural biological control agent of the insect vector. Hindola spp. eggs collected from clove and 60\u201380% of eggs collected from the clove related tree, Xanthostemon chrysanthus, were parasitized by Acmopolynema.Some natural enemies of . nymphs . On the ola spp. . A membendonesia . This paMusa spp. may be susceptible to blood disease as no Indonesian cultivars of Musa spp. have been found to be resistant (It is thought that all edible esistant . Howeveresistant .Restricting the movement of planting material from infected areas has been successful in limiting the spread of the disease. A quarantine imposed by the Dutch to limit the spread the disease from Sulawesi was effective for over 60 years until the disease eventually spread to Java around 1987. From this point onward the pathogen has spread rapidly over the Indonesian archipelago and more recently Malaysia.Musa paradisiaca variety from Sulawesi, and \u201cPisang Sepatu Amora\u201d may be suitable because these cultivars abort the male bud, blocking insect transmission (Removal of the male flower has been found to be effective in controlling the spread of disease as has the use of cultivars that abort the male bud . The culsmission .Musa spp. plants or plant parts out of infected areas, using disease free-planting materials, removing male buds immediately after the emergence of the last fruit, pesticide application as soon as the symptoms appear to reduce vector related spread and sterilizing the knives for harvesting.A combination of basic quarantine and sanitation practices has been suggested to reduce the spread of blood disease . These mBacillus sp and Bacillus subtilis isolated from Musa troglodytarum (Musa spp., therefore the biological control of insects associated with Musa spp. is potential for limiting the rate of blood disease spread. Cosmopolites sordidus, the Musa spp. and plantain root and corn borer insect, is not only potential in damaging banana plantation, but also increases the spread rate of blood disease (Beauveria bassiana (Biological control of blood disease was suppressed by the application of endophytic bacteria including odytarum . Since t disease . This in disease  and Beaubassiana .S. tuberosum cultivars to R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis. R. pseudosolanacearum and R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains against several Japanese varieties of S. tuberosum and breeding lines and indicated that R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains show high virulence to the breeding lines carrying bacterial wilt resistance conferred from the wild Solanum sp., Solanum phureja, which is resistant to R. pseudosolanacearum strains. Several wild species of S. tuberosum such as S. phureja, Solanum stenostomum, and Solanum commersonii have been used as genetic resources to breed for resistance to bacterial wilt worldwide, and certain new S. tuberosum varieties with a high level of resistance have been identified. However, the high levels of resistance of these new S. tuberosum varieties have only been confirmed against R. pseudosolanacearum or R. solanacearum strains. R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis strains have not been commonly used as targets in breeding for bacterial wilt resistance, most probably because this organism has only recently been identified as a taxonomic group within the R. solanacearum species complex and the restricted distribution  of thisRalstonia syzygii with its three subspecies, R. syzygii subsp. syzygii, R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis, and R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis, is a phenotypically, genotypically and pathogenically diverse member of the R. solanacearum species complex. The members of this species have devastated agricultural commodities including S. aromaticum, Musa spp., and solanaceous vegetables in Indonesia. As the diseases caused by these pathogens continue to constrain agricultural production, effective disease management strategies are required.R. syzygii subsp. syzygii, which causes Sumatra disease of cloves, and R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis, the causal pathogen of banana blood disease, have restricted host ranges and geographic distribution, R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis affects many solanaceous crops in several countries in Asia.While R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis is limited although it is assumed to behave similarly to R. solanacearum and R. pseudosolanacearum. Several disease management strategies have been developed and deployed to exclude, prevent and eliminate the pathogen. However, further work is required to confirm the efficacy of current control strategies and to improve implementation to achieve sustainable disease management solutions.Information related to the epidemiology and ecology of R. syzygii subsp. syzygii and R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis are insect transmitted pathogens. The dissemination of R. syzygii subsp. syzygii depends primarily on transmission via the insect vectors H. fulva and H. striata that feed on xylem sap while R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis can be disseminated non-specifically by insects visiting Musa spp. male buds of infected plants. While control of the diseases caused by R. syzygii subsp. syzygii and R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis is possible by the use of insecticides this approach is not widely used in Indonesia. Both R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis and R. syzygii subsp. syzygii can also spread through contaminated farm tools, plant material, and other human activities.Both Musa spp. plants or plant parts out of infected areas has not been applied effectively in Indonesia due to the difficulties in enforcing quarantine restrictions. The lack of success in the management of these bacterial diseases should become a lesson that promotes the improvement of future control strategies for these important plant diseases.As bacterial wilt pathogens are also soil-borne they are difficult to control and successful management usually depends on the eradication and sanitation practices. The application of biosafety practices on infected farms is highly recommended for the management of bacterial wilt diseases. In the face of the high demand of clove for national cigarette production the Indonesian government has preferred to import clove from other countries. This policy has adversely affected the industry and the management of Sumatra disease of clove tree has been hindered because the Indonesian policy does not prioritize the expansion of domestic clove plantations. For blood disease of banana, preventing the spread of the disease by prohibiting the movement of IS and MF: study conception and design of the work. IS, SS, and MF: analysis and interpretation of data. IS and MF: drafting of manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content. IS, SS, and MF: final approval of the version to be published. IS, SS, and MF: agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "There are unorganized, published documents about the ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in northeastern part of Iran. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution and characteristics of larval habitats of Culicidae in Kalaleh County.Larvae were collected using dipping method and adults by human landing catch technique during April\u2013October, 2012. Larval habitat characteristics were recorded such as vegetation status, and sunlight, water situation. Lacto-phenol and de Faure\u2019s media were used for conserving and mounting samples. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software, version 11.5.Culiseta, Culex, Anopheles and Ochlerotatus genera and 14 species including An. superpictus, An. maculipennis s.l., An. hyrcanus, An. psudopictus, An. claviger, Culex pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. perexiguus, Culiseta longiareolata, Cs. subochrea, Ochlerotatus caspius, Oc. echinus and Oc. geniculatus. Culex pipiens larvae were predominant (27.6%) and Cs. subochrea (1%) was found as the lowest species in terms of number. In the adult form, Cx. pipiens (28.9%) was predominant whereas, Cs. subochrea and Cx. perexiguus were reported to have had the lowest frequency.Out of the 395 larvae collected, 332 were adult mosquitoes comprising; An. superpictus and An. maculipennis species as the main vectors of malaria in north of Iran were reported in permanent habitats with clear water and vegetation, full and partial sunlight situations and muddy as well as sandy substrates that are important in larvicide application programs. Exclusive studies are necessary to diagnose An. maculipennis species complex using molecular and morphological analysis in the future.The larvae of  Culicidae family is one of the largest and most medically important families of Diptera. By now, 64 species and 3 subspecies have been identified in seven genera and 16 subgenera in Iran . HabitatAnopheles species in the near East of Iran. Culex species. Larval habitats of Cx. pipiens were previously studied in Tehran Province . The samples were collected in plain, slope and mountainous areas. The province is bounded by Caspian Sea and Mazandaran Province in the West, Semnan Province in the South, North Khorasan Province in the East and Turkmenistan Country in the North . Most paSampling was carried out using dipping method for collecting mosquito larvae and night catch for adult collection. Larval sampling method was carried out using standard dipper of 350ml. Each habitat was sampled in different parts of the larval habitats for 10 times. In order to clarify the samples collected, they were conserved and transported to the laboratory in vials containing lacto-phenol solution. The vials were labeled based on sample\u2019s date code and their associated habitats. Features such as larval habitat status , vegetation type, substrate type, habitat types and position of the sunlight were recorded on special forms. The night catch method was carried out using suction tubes from animal baited traps. Animal baited collection was conducted from 18.00 PM to 03.00 AM monthly in fixed animal shelters randomly placed in each village. Sample containers were protected from light and heat and were transferred to the Laboratory of School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, where the authors identified the specimens using the taxonomic keys of Culex, five species of Anopheles, two species of Culiseta and three species of Ochlerotatus were identified. The species of mosquito larvae which were reported included: An. superpictus Grassi, An. maculipennis s.l, An. hyrcanus , An. psudopictus, An. claviger (Meigen), Cx. pipiens Linnaeus, Cx. theileri Theobald, Cx. hortensis Ficalbi, Cx. perexiguus Theobald, Cs. longiareolata (Macquart), Cs. subochrea (Edwards), Oc. caspius s.l , Oc. echinus (Edwards) and Oc. geniculatus (Olivier). All the species were found in adult forms except Cx. perexiguus.Overall, 395 larvae and 332 adult mosquitoes in 4 genera and 14 species in seven sampling places were found in this area. Four species of Culex pipiens and Cs. longiareolata were the dominant species reported. The larvae and adult species of Cx. theileri, Cx. pipiens, Oc. caspius and Oc. echinus in all larval habitats were collected and presented in Cx. pipiens larvae with the other Culicidae species was more than the other species  including: An. hyrcanus var. pseudopictus (in the now An.pseudopictus), An. pulcherrimus, An. superpictus, and An. maculipennis group  (in and An. sacharovi). Anopheles pulcherrimus was reported from Ali-Abad of Golestan Province by An. maculipennis, An. sacharovi, An. persiensis based on molecular identification and ITS2 sequences in Mazandaran Province which was bordered with Golestan. An. melanoon, An. persiensis and An. pseudopictus species in Mazandaran Province.Ae. vexans, Oc. geniculatus, Oc. pulcritarsis, Oc. echinus, Cx. hortensis, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. perexiguus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Culiseta longiareolata, Cs. subochrea. An. claviger, An. maculipennis, An. plumbeus, An. superpictus, Cs. annulata, Cs. longiareolata, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. pipiens, and Oc. geniculatus in Neka County, Mazandaran Province. An. claviger, An. maculipennis, An. superpictus, An. pulcherrimus, Cx. hortensis, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. modestus, Cx. perexiguus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cs. longiareolata, Oc. caspius and Ur. unguiculataAn. claviger was collected in permanent and stagnant habitats with muddy substrate, clear water, without vegetation. This species was only collected from natural habitats. In parallel, larval habitats of this species were reported in spring pools with partial sunlight, slow running water and shaded streams in Iraq and western Iran  in Sari, Babolsar, Mazandaran Province.In this present study, ubstrate . In paraubstrate . At leasAn. messeae and An. melanon from Guilan Province, and An. sacharovi and An. hyrcanus in Golestan Province. This species has been identified in Guilan Province  also cited the occurrence of Province , MazandaProvince . Anopheleviously . An. sacrovinces . Presentechnique . Anophelus areas . AlthougAnopheles superpictus was reported as one of the main malaria vectors and salivary infection was found as ranging from 0.65 to 4.6% . This species with An. maculipennis was considered as the malaria vector during the outbreak of the diseases which had occurred in Azerbaijan at the borderline of the country, Armenia, and Turkey countries in 1990. However, after the independence of the southern republics of the former Soviet Union, Iran was threatened by imported malaria cases . By now, there are no reports about the genotypes of this species in Golestan Province. However, it needs to be studied in the future.ia cases . In presern Iran . Moreoveern Iran , Zarrin-ern Iran , Ardabilern Iran , Rasht Cern Iran  and in Iern Iran . Three gAn. hyrcanus was found as the dominant species in larval habitats followed by An. maculipennis in Kalaleh County. An. hyrcanus larvae were collected from habitats with varieties of 95.5% permanence, 88% stagnant water, and were only collected in clear water, natural habitats without vegetation. Different sunlight situations characterized the larval habitats of this species. The current species prefer the permanent habitats to temporary larval habitats. Moreover, An. pseudopictus prefers the habitats with slow running water while An. hyrcanus prefers the stagnant water habitats.In our study, An. hyrcanus, An. peditaeniatus and An. pseudopictus have been reported in Iran  and adult (28.9%) stages. Further support to this result also came from previous study, Cx. pipiens was reported as the dominant species in Yazd Province  annulata, Cs. (Culicella) morsitans and Cs. (Culiseta) subochrea , located in the western part of Iran. They prefer the habitats with turbid water to clear water and full sunlight habitats to shaded habitats. In Hamadan area of western Iran, the larval habitat of this species was reported as the same larval habitat in our study in turbid to clear water and full sunlight habitats. Unlike the previous study, we found more larvae in shaded habitats (By now, 5 species of ubochrea . In our Province . AssociaProvince . In our Province . This sphabitats  while alhabitats .Ochlerotatus including Oc. caspius, Oc. echinus and Oc. geniculatus were collected; Oc. echinus and Oc. geniculatus in tree hole habitats in northern part of Iran. In our study, all the current three Ochlerotatus species preferred the permanent habitats with slow-running water and muddy bed. In addition, Oc. echinus preferred the clear water habitats while Oc. caspius preferred the larval habitats with turbid water and Oc. geniculatus was found in habitats without vegetation.In our study, 3 species of Ochlerotatuscaspius was reported as a potent vector for Rift Valley fever viruses as well as Dirofilaria immitis in the world (Cx. theileri was next in abundance after this species (he world . This sphe world . In our he world , Zarrin-he world , Guilan he world , Bushehrhe world , Easternhe world  and varihe world . In Kurd species .Ochlerotatusechinus was distributed in the Mediterranean region, north of Africa and southern Europe. In our study, out of the 9% total larvae collected from adult catches using animal baited traps in various areas of Golestan Province-northern Iran, 7.8% were Oc. echinus. In parallel, this species was reported in Mazandaran Province (Province . This spProvince .Ochlerotatusgeniculatus was distributed in the Palearectic Region, Europe, North of Africa and Southeast Asia. In our research, this species comprised 1.5% of the larval collection and 3.9% of adult catches by animal baited traps in various areas of Golestan Province, northern Iran. This species was reported for the first time in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran (ern Iran . This spern Iran .Anopheles were found in a lot of areas in the county. The larval habitats of Anopheles were found and reported in permanent habitats with clear water. Besides, the larvae of An. superpictus and An. maculipennis species which are the main vectors of malaria in the north of Iran were reported in habitats with vegetation, under full and partial sunlight situations and muddy and sandy substrates that are important in larviciding programs. Bionomic studies of other mosquitoes need to be more rigorously studied in the future. Also, more studies should be obtained in order to complete information about of bionomics of mosquitoes in other parts of Iran.The present investigation indicates some biological characteristics of mosquitoes in the northern areas of Iran. Because of diversity in larval habitats and variety in species of mosquito in the County, results of this study could be useful in vector control programs. Several species of"}
+{"text": "Rodents are an important source of zoonotic diseases for human. The aim of this study was to determine the infectivity of rodents with intestinal helminths in North Khorasan Province, Iran.One hundred and thirteen rodents were collected using different collection methods such as kill and live traps, digging of their burrow, filling of their hiding places with water and hand net during 2011\u20132013. Their alimentary canals were removed in the laboratory and helminths were determined in the department of parasitology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences.Aspiculuris tetraptera, Hymenolepis diminuta, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Protospirura Seurat, Rictolaria ratti, Skrjabinitaenia lobata, Streptopharagus kuntzi, Syphacia obvelata, Taenia taeniaeformis, Trichuris muris, Cysticercus fasciolaris, Acanthocephal. spp and Trichuris spp. Some of them were reported for the first time in new host in Iran. S. obvelata and A. tetraptera were the most frequent parasites and P. Seurat, R. ratti and C. fasciolaris were found only in one rodent.Thirteen species of helminths parasites were found in 13 species of rodents, including This is the first study to investigate the intestinal parasites in rodents in this area. Among different species identified, some of helminths were reported in new host. Rodents are the most widely distributed and largest group of small mammals in the worldwide  and haveThe helminth faunas of small mammals have been studied and documented in many countries \u20136 and thTrichosomoides crassicauda were the most prevalent species of helminth parasites  viteae  viteae . Eleven  of Iran . Further of Iran .Although some investigations have been carried out on rodent parasites in Iran, there is still paucity of data regarding the parasites of rodents in northeast of Iran. This study aimed to investigate helminth infections among rodents of North Khorasan Province, northeast of Iran.2.The study was conducted from 2011 to 2013 in North Khorasan Province, northeast of Iran with 36\u00b042\u2032 to 38\u00b014\u2032N and 56\u00b003\u2032 to 58\u00b003\u2032E . The totThe samples, which included rodent carcasses, were provided after an assessment of rodent fauna in North Khorasan Province as part of another research project carried out in Vector-borne diseases research center, Bojnurd, Iran . The speRodents were anesthetized and killed by chloroform inhalation. The parasites were isolated from rodent intestines. At necropsy, their alimentary canals were removed and the contents of each part were washed in the laboratory, and the lining membrane of intestines was gently scraped with a scalpels blade and the contents were examined under a stereomicroscope. The large worms were collected from the washed materials.The parasites were transferred to School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences for parasites identification. Cestodes were stained with carmine acid and the nematodes were cleared in lactophenol and were identified based on morphological characteristics . The rodSpecimens\u2019 collection was performed in accordance with the procedures approved by the Ethical Committee of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences.One hundred and thirteen rodents belonging to thirteen species were captured. The microscopic examination of gastrointestinal tract contents revealed the presence of thirteen species of different helminths. Fifty-eight specimens were observed which carry one or more helminth species, resulting in a prevalence of 51.3% .M. persicus , M. musculus (70%) and Allactaga elater (61.5%), respectively. In addition, S. obvelata were found in one Ellobius fuscocapillus.The most diversified parasites were detected in persicus . The higS. obvelata and A. tetraptera were more frequent and P. Seurat , M. musculus (70%) and A. elater (61.5%). However, parasitic infections were not found in Microtus paradoxus and Dryomys nitedulaand.The highest rates of parasitic infection were seen in M. persicus. R. ratti and S. lobata were seen in M. persicus for the first time in Iran. The result of the present study showed that this rodent species was infected with S. obvelata, T. muris, H. diminuta, Trichuris spp., C. fasciolaris and Acanthocephala spp. This result is similar with those of previous studies in Iran (Considering the variation of parasites, eight species of helminth were found in  in Iran , 11.Trichuris spp., S. obvelata, S. lobata, A. tetraptera and Acanthocephala spp. from Meriones lybicus in different parts of Iran (N. brasiliensis and S. kuntzi were seen in Meriones lybicus for the first time in Iran.Several researchers have isolated  of Iran , 15. In S. obvelata, A. tetraptera, Acanthocephala spp., S. kuntzi, T. taeniaeformis and N. brasiliensis were reported in Nesokia indica for the first time in Iran. S. obvelata was reported in N. indica using histopathology method (y method .S. kuntzi in Rhombomys opimus for the first time in Iran. S. obvelata, A. tetraptera and S. lobata have been reported previously (This study reported eviously .M. musculus three species of helminth were found: S. obvelata, A. tetraptera and P. Seurat. Beside, this study is the first to report P. Seurat in this species in Iran. In Kermanshah and Hamadan provinces, west of Iran, S. obvelata was previously isolated from this species (S. obvelata was isolated from M. musculus in Ahvaz city southwest of Iran (, S. obvelata and A. tetraptera were found in M musculus (S. obvelata in M. musculus in Korea (In  species , 11. S.  of Iran . However of Iran . In Brazmusculus , 19. Resin Korea .Cricetulus migratorius of Tabriz city. In present study, we also isolated A. tetraptera from this rodent species (Endoparasites were reported in  species .T. muris and S. obvelata were observed in Apodemus witherbyi for the first time in Iran. In Khorasan Razavi Province, Echinococcus multilocularis infection was identified in this species ( species , but in M. paradoxus, A. elater, C. elburzensis, E. fuscocapillus, C. mistax and D. nitedula, were observed in North Khorasan Province. The following helminths were found in the above listed rodent species, with the exception of M. paradoxus and D. nitedula, for the first time in Iran: S. obvelata in Ellobius fuscocapillus; H. diminuta, A. tetraptera, S. obvelata and T. taeniaeformis in A. elater, A. tetraptera and S. obvelata in C. mistax, and S. obvelata in C. elburzensis. Besides, Syphacia spp. was found in E. fuscocapillus in Afghanistans (S. obvelata and T. taeniaeformis were isolated from A. elater in Mongolia, which is in line with the results of this study (The species of rodents, such as anistans . S. obveis study .Understanding of rodent parasitic fauna in different zoogeographical regions can fill the gap of information concerning the possible potentials for transmission of zoonotic helminthes to humans in the given areas. Northeastern Iran is a region with unanswered questions upon the issue. Since long time ago, the study of parasitic fauna in rodents in North East of the country has been always an attracting subject to parasitologists interested to recognize the role of rodents in zoonotic infection transmission. Further studies are required to answer some other remained questions including seasonal prevalence of each helminth, and to determine the role of paratenic and intermediate hosts involved in the lifecycle of our reported parasites. Thirteen species of parasites have been naturally found in the captured rodents in this part of Iran."}
+{"text": "Brucella isolation. Antibodies against Brucella were not detected in feral or domestic pigs. Likewise, brucellosis seroprevalence in horse and water buffalo farms was estimated in 6.5% and 21.7%, respectively, with no Brucella isolation. Six cetacean species showed positive reactions against Brucella antigens, and B. ceti was isolated in 70% (n = 29) of striped dolphins . A steady increase in the diagnosis of human brucellosis cases was observed. Taking into account the prevalence of brucellosis in the various host mammals of Costa Rica, different measures are recommended.Brucellosis has been an endemic disease of cattle and humans in Costa Rica since the beginning of XX century. However, brucellosis in sheep, goats, pigs, water buffaloes, horses and cetaceans, has not been reported in the country. We have performed a brucellosis survey in these host mammal species, from 1999\u20132016. In addition, we have documented the number of human brucellosis reported cases, from 2003\u20132016. The brucellosis seroprevalence in goat and sheep herds was 0.98% and 0.7% respectively, with no  Most of the inhabitants are located in the Central Valley, flanked by the volcanic chain and the mountain range. The country is divided in six administrative areas: Chorotega, Central Pacific, Brunca, Central, Northern Huetar and Caribbean Huetar. CR has two ocean fronts: the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In addition, there is the Cocos Island located in the Pacific Ocean ).Strong positive RBT and iELISA reactions were obtained in sera from 37 out of 38 striped dolphins stranded at the Pacific coast of CR . Thirty-iagnosis . All of us spp.) ,27,30,316 type P , correspB. neotomae isolates [B. abortus.According with the Costa Rican National Reference Bacteriology Laboratory (INCIENSA), the number of human cases reported by the health centers over 12 year (2003\u20132015) period corresponded to 124 patients : fifty oisolates , all othFor most of the history of CR, sheep and goats have been raised in very low numbers and the dairy products and meat of these animals barely consumed . Until 1Brucella infections. Bacteria displaying similar antigenic determinants as smooth brucellae may be the source of false positive reactions [B. abortus infections cannot be ruled out, since this bacterium is highly prevalent in CR [B, abortus or any other brucellae from the tissues of goats and sheep. Although B. melitensis may be present in some Central American countries [B. melitensis free countries.An epidemiological survey for caprine and ovine brucellosis was performed from 2015\u20132016. Although we detected a minor number of RBT positive reactions in small ruminants, they were regarded as false positives. In spite of the high specificity and sensitivity displayed by the RBT under controlled conditions with a limited number of known sera, this assay is not perfect and some non-specific reactions are expected to occur under field conditions. Therefore, exhaustive clinical, pathological and epidemiological investigations in the serologically positive sheep and goats were carried out, all rendering negative results for the presence of eactions . In addiountries , this baountries . FollowiB. abortus infected cattle and the reported cases of abortions compatible with clinical disease; we believe that some water buffalo populations are infected with Brucella in CR. Moreover, a significant number of the CR water buffalo population originates from Trinidad-Tobago, country endemic for water buffalo brucellosis [Brucella from water buffalos may be related to the natural resistance of these animals to brucellosis in relation to other bovines [Similar to goats and sheep, the number of water buffalos has steadily increased in CR during the last ten years. In 2006 the number of water buffalos in CR was close to 615 animals ; in ten cellosis , 38. The bovines .B. suis was isolated from a domestic pig in the Central region of CR in 1984 [B. suis is currently infecting pigs in the country. in 1984 . Since tBrucella hosts and commonly they do not have the ability to transmit the bacterium to other animals or humans. Therefore, horses are not of epidemiological relevance in keeping the bacterium life cycle; however, these animals are sentinels for the presence of Brucella in other animals, mainly in cattle. Like humans, they become infected by contact with abortions or with infected cattle, and display a wide range of clinical manifestations including articular swelling and general weakness [Brucella, may be an indication of the high seroprevalence of Brucella infections in cattle [Horses are not primary weakness . The facn cattle , includiB. ceti infections in dolphins stranded in the CR Pacific coast were detected for the first time in 2004 [B. ceti active infections have been only documented in striped dolphins from the Pacific Ocean of CR. All B. ceti isolates belong to the same MLVA16 type P. This bacterial group corresponds to a particular cluster distinct from other B. ceti strains isolated in various oceanic latitudes, and it is a hallmark for S. coeruleoalba infections in the Eastern Tropical Pacific [B. ceti organisms were isolated suffered from neurobrucellosis [B. ceti and that many of the stranding events were due to brain infections, as recorded in other latitudes [ in 2004 . A total Pacific . Moreovecellosis . It seematitudes . The suratitudes .Brucella organisms. Here, we reported a steady increase in the number of human brucellosis cases during a lapse of 12 years. Whether the steady increase of human brucellosis reports corresponded to improved diagnosis or to intensification in the number of cases, is not known. The number of human brucellosis cases due to B. abortus is consistent with the high prevalence of bovine brucellosis in CR, and the absence of B. melitensis in sheep and goats, and B. suis in pigs, two Brucella species that display a higher zoonotic potential than former bacteria [B. neotomae [B. canis [Brucella species that are considered of low zoonotic risk.In a previous study in the Central region , in which 71% of the human population consumed unpasteurized dairy products; an overall seroprevalence of 0.87% was detected . Howeverbacteria . In CR tB. canis , which wB. melitensis infections. This seems to be also the case for B. ovis in rams and B. suis for pigs. Consequently, humans are also free of these bacterial species. However, with the increasing number of small ruminant species in the country the risk of Brucella infections arriving from other latitudes requires permanent surveillance, improved management and sensitive and specific diagnostic tools.From the epidemiological perspective, it seems that the population of sheep, goats and pigs in CR are free of Domestic ovine, caprine and swine herds are free of brucellosis in CR.Brucella infections in water buffaloes is highly suspected in CR.The presence of B. abortus infections in horses is highly suspected in CR.The presence of B. ceti cluster type P.Striped dolphins from the Pacific Ocean of CR are the main host of The main clinical symptom found in striped dolphins corresponded to neurobrucellosis.B. abortus, has steadily increased since 2005 in CR.Detection of human infections, due to Brucella infections in different hosts inhabiting CR is relevant for understanding the impact that brucellosis has in the country and for prevention measures.Estimating the presence of"}
+{"text": "Adelges tsugae Annand, HWA) remains the single greatest threat to the health and sustainability of hemlock in the eastern USA. The loss of hemlock trees leads to further negative impacts on the diversity and stability of ecosystems in the eastern part of North America. It is, therefore, urgent to develop effective control measures to reduce HWA populations and promote overall hemlock health. Currently available individual and integrated approaches should continue to be evaluated in the laboratory and in the field along with the development of other new and innovative methods.Hemlock woolly adelgid ( Tsuga genus in the Pinaceae family. The Tsuga genus contains nine species -4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-yl} nitramide), a chloronicotinyl insecticide, is used for controlling sucking insects, soil insects, termites, and some chewing insects. It is one of the essential insecticides for HWA control in eastern hemlocks in the southern Appalachians [Current HWA control is largely focused on using either chemical or biological methods ,83. Preslachians ,94,95. Ilachians . As a melachians ,98. Imidlachians ,104,105.lachians , which alachians . Researclachians ,103,107.Benton et al. analysed the levels of imidacloprid and its metabolites in the foliage of hemlocks growing in the GSMNP to understand the longevity of imidacloprid treatments. Four to seven years post basal drench treatment, imidacloprid and olefin were still detectable in more than 65% of branchlets, although the levels were below the LC50 for HWA . While tIn 2013, the European Commission adopted a proposal to restrict the use of three insecticides, including imidacloprid, for two years due to the uncertainty about their chronic risk to ecological system . ImidaclChemical control as a stand-alone treatment is not a feasible option in a forest setting due to geographical constraints, or the height of the trees when bringing in equipment is inconvenient . In addiA. tsugae has no known parasitoids and no specific pathogens, so the search for natural enemies is limited to predators [Laricobius rubidus (LeConte), fed a diet of HWA completed development to the adult stage on A. tsugae as well as it did on its primary host Pineus strobi Hartig [L. rubidus has the potential to contribute to the biological control of A. tsugae in the eastern United States. Scymnus suturalis Thunberg moves among eastern white pine, Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and eastern hemlock depending on the presence of adelgid prey; however, this predator is not found on eastern hemlock after July [S. suturalis for a source of adelgid eggs throughout the summer may limit its effectiveness as a predator of A. tsugae [The discovery and utilization of effective biological control agents is critical to help restore hemlock forests ,93. A. tredators . The fewredators . Evidenci Hartig . Therefoter July . The app. tsugae . Another. tsugae .Sasajiscymnus tsugae, a native predator of HWA in Japan was initially imported to and studied in New Jersey. Field evaluations demonstrated that S. tsugae could establish, locally disperse, and survive heat waves in southern states and severe winters in northern states [S. tsugae have been released at more than 400 sites on federal and non-federal lands from South Carolina to Maine [S. tsugae that recovered from the lower crown were relative low [S. tsugae on hemlock trees recovery.An effective biological-control agent should not disturb or disrupt the integrity of other aspects of its native habitat . The iden states . Since 1to Maine . Howevertive low . More reLaricobius nigrinus beetles, which are native to the northwestern United States and Canada, and feed exclusively on adelgids, have also been used for the biological control of HWA. After approval for release in 2000, L. nigrinus were distributed throughout the invasion range of HWA and isolated populations have established from the southern Appalachians to New England [S. tsugae, there is evidence that L. nigrinus can exert substantial mortality on HWA and its preference to feed on HWA over other adelgids, making it a viable biological control candidate [Laricobius osakensis, a species related to L. nigrinus, is a voracious predator of HWA widely spread in Japan. Recently, Arsenault, et al. have shown that L. osakensis, reared in the laboratory in North Carolina with little to no prior exposure to field environmental cues, responded preferentially to odours produced by eastern hemlock (regardless if it was infested by HWA or not) and moved promptly onto it [L. osakensis relies on volatiles produced by HWA\u2019s host trees to locate potential prey. The phenology of L. osakensis is highly synchronous with the life cycle of HWA, making it a good candidate for biological control of HWA in North America [ England ,129,132.andidate . Laricob America ,134,135.L. nigrinus on hemlock has been reported between L. nigrinus, the predator introduced from western North America and L. rubidus [Laricobius species [L. osakensis and L. nigrinus will mate but produce only sterile eggs. This is fortunate because L. osakensis appears to be a better HWA predator than L. nigrinus [Recently evidence has emerged indicating imported predator beetles could hybridise in the field with native species of HWA predators. Widespread hybridisation with asymmetrical introgression towards  rubidus ,133,136. rubidus , and uni rubidus ,137,138; rubidus ; enhance rubidus ; decreas rubidus ,141,142  species . It was nigrinus ,144.S. tsugae and L. nigrinus. In the laboratory setting, S. tsugae showed increased activity during the day and at higher temperatures, while L. nigrinus showed increased activity during the night and in spring-like conditions. In a field study, it was found S. tsugae and L. nigrinus established two years after release onto eastern hemlocks indicating these two predators can survive and coexist. This is encouraging because they differ temporally in their occurrence and predation of HWA with L. nigrinus active from late fall to spring and S. tsugae from spring to early summer [Ideally, a combination of predators should be used to control HWA populations as opposed to one single species. Flowers and colleagues  studied y summer . These ry summer . More reA long-term, sustainable, and cost-effective approach to control HWA will have to integrate chemical control, biological control, and host-plant resistance methods into one comprehensive management programme ,146,147.Laricobius species; and the combination may result in suppression of HWA populations below damaging levels. Hemlock woolly adelgid remains the single greatest threat to the health and sustainability of hemlock in the eastern USA. Currently along with the development of other new and innovative methods, available individual and integrated approaches should continue to be evaluated not only in the laboratory but specific emphasis should also be focus on their application and effectiveness in the field.The introduction of the combination of multiple specialist predators is a promising biological intervention strategy. However, how to translate and test a successful laboratory story in the field on a much larger scale at various geographical locations, and how to effectively evaluate predators\u2019 behaviour in the field, including their immigration and emigration propensity in response to prey abundance or intraspecific and interspecific predator cues, is still largely unaccomplished . Further"}
+{"text": "Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2016, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 115\u2013137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000116), there is an error in Results section labeled Test phase. In Experiment 4, the study performed an exploratory post-hoc test of the go reaction times in the training phase, contrasting stop-associated and go-associated items. Control items were excluded. Instead of reporting the results of the full analysis , the authors incorrectly reported the results of this post-hoc analysis in http://hdl.handle.net/10871/17735) is also correct. The interaction between image type and block is no longer significant when control items are included . However, this does not alter the conclusion that encouraging subjects to attend to the items influenced retrieval of stimulus-stop associations: the authors still found a reliable effect of item type in the p(respond|stop) measure during training, a reliable effect of item type during the test phase for go reaction times, and a numerical trend in the test phase for the p(respond|stop) measure. The numerical trends in go RT during training  are also consistent with the idea that learning influenced performance in this task. The correct table is presented below.In the article \u201cShould I Stop or Should I Go? The Role of Associations and Expectancies\u201d by Maisy Best, Natalia S. Lawrence, Gordon D. Logan, Ian P. L. McLaren, and Frederick Verbruggen ("}
+{"text": "Harmonia axyridis  has been introduced either intentionally or accidentally in different areas outside its native range, where it is often regarded as invasive. Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) has been recorded to parasitize H. axyridis in the field, both in the native and introduced areas, Italy included. The percent of parasitism found in our field investigation was low (four percent). The effect of exposure time of H. axyridis to D. coccinellae and the impact of parasitization on host longevity, oviposition capacity and egg fertility were evaluated in the laboratory. The acceptance and suitability of H. axyridis as host for D. coccinellae were then studied, in comparison with the native coccinellid Adalia bipunctata (L.), which shares the same ecological niche. The effects of parasitization on female longevity and reproduction capacity in the exotic vs. the indigenous lady beetle were also investigated. The overall results showed that D. coccinellae negatively affected the fitness of H. axyridis, more than that of A. bipunctata. The parasitoid may thus play a marginal role in controlling the populations of the Asian lady beetle, without representing a threat to A. bipunctata. Harmonia axyridis  (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), an active predator of aphid and coccid pests originating from Asia H. axyridd States . The Asily shown , as wellly shown ,40. Our ly shown ,41,42, H authors .H. axyridis was also a poor host for D. coccinellae in the laboratory. The overall results of our study, however, indicated a better possibility of adaptation by D. coccinellae to H. axyridis in the laboratory than in the field. In the experiment aimed at evaluating the effect of exposure time on the development and yields of D. coccinellae in the exotic lady beetle, the rates of parasitism (which ranged from 18% to 36%) were higher than those found in wild samples. The greatest parasitoid yield was obtained with the exposure time of 1 h, which could represent the optimal time to maximize parasitoid production, at least with the host/parasitoid ratio used in this experiment (10:1). The 24-h and, especially, the 5-min treatments gave lower yields. The parasitoid development times were similar between the hosts exposed for 1 h and 5 min and were consistent with those observed, at 24 \u00b1 2 \u00b0C, in Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake, a suitable host for D. coccinellae [D. coccinellae is a solitary parasitoid, superparasitism may occur and a single host may thus contain more than one egg and/or first instar larva, but only one larva survives to the second instar [The investigations carried out by de Castro-Guedes and de Almeida  showed tcinellae . Converscinellae . Althougd instar ,46. The d instar ,47,48.D. coccinellae on H. axyridis longevity, oviposition and egg fertility, both the male and female coccinellids exposed to parasitoid lived shorter than the controls, although, for females, no significant difference was found. This finding is in line with the observations reported by Hodek and Hon\u011bk [D. coccinellae, as previously shown by Berkvens et al. [D. coccinellae but not successfully parasitized). These data suggest that the parasitoid larval development, though incomplete , was sucapacity .D. coccinellae [Egg fertility was the only parameter negatively influenced by male exposure. The oviposition of unfertile eggs by the non-exposed females paired with exposed males was expected, since host castration was found to be induced by cinellae   to the parasitoid. It has to be stressed that none of the A. bipunctata exposed to D. coccinellae was successfully parasitized in this experiment, whereas 20% H. axyridis produced the parasitoid cocoon. Yet, exposure to parasitoid significantly affected the female reproductive capacity of both species, but especially of H. axyridis.The results of the tests aimed at evaluating the effects of D. coccinellae negatively affected the fitness of H. axyridis, more than that of A. bipunctata. The parasitoid may thus have a minimal impact on the Asian lady beetle population, without changing the invasiveness status of the exotic coccinellid species. The impact of this parasitoid alone, though marginal, may, however, be higher in biodiversity scenarios where other antagonists, including generalist predators [H. axyridis was demonstrated by field data using molecular gut-content analysis [In conclusion, redators  and pararedators ,51 contranalysis . Many faanalysis , the co-analysis  and the analysis . Howeveranalysis ."}
+{"text": "The intent of this study was to evaluate the program effectiveness of the Project P.A.T.H.S.  (Secondary 1 Curriculum) by analyzing 207 school-based program reports, in which program implementers were invited to write down five conclusions based on an integration of the subjective outcome evaluation data collected from the program participants and program implementers. Secondary data analyses were conducted and 1,855 meaningful units were extracted from 1,035 \u201caggregated\u201d conclusions. Among them, about 27 and 18% were related to perceptions of the program and implementers, respectively, and most of them were positive in nature. About one-third was related to perceived effectiveness of the program, and most of them referred to enhancement of students' development in societal, familial, interpersonal, and personal aspects. However, difficulties encountered during program implementation (3.34%) and recommendations for improvement (18.11%) were also reported. The present study replicated the findings reported in previous studies and suggests that the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. is beneficial to the development of the program participants."}
+{"text": "Toxins, I am pleased to announce the winners of the Toxins Travel Awards for 2017. We had originally planned to fund two awards, but the overall quality of the applications was stellar, and we couldn\u2019t narrow down the winners to just two! We sought additional funding from leadership at MDPI, and I am delighted that they honored our request to fund three Toxins Travel Awards this year.As Editor-in-Chief of Travel Awards were granted to: Dr. Marco Pirazzini, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Cesare Montecucco\u2019s lab in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy; Dr. Natalie Saez, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Glenn King\u2019s lab in the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Australia; and Ms. Rachel A. Miller, Ph.D. student in Dr. Martin Wiedmann\u2019s lab, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, USA . Clostridium botulinum. In particular, Dr. Pirazzini is interested in intracellular routing and processing of BoNTs, including the translocation of the catalytic subunit within the cytosol and the reduction of the interchain disulphide bond. His work has important implications for the development of inhibitors of BoNTs. Dr. Pirazzini has co-authored 19 papers, including 7 first author publications. He has published in such high impact journals as Nature Reviews of Microbiology and Cell Reports. Dr. Pirazzini will use his Toxins Travel Grant to present work at TOXINS2017, sponsored by the International Neurotoxin Association in Madrid, Spain, January 18-21, 2017.Dr. Marco Pirazzini has worked in Dr. Cesare Montecucco\u2019s lab, at the University of Padova first as a Ph.D. student and then as a Postdoc. He received his Ph.D. in Biosciences and Biotechnology: Cell Biology in 2013. Under the supervision of Dr. Cesare Montecucco, his focus of research, starting from the PhD, is the study of the molecular mechanism of action of botulinal neurotoxins (BoNTs) expressed by Toxins entitled \u201cSpider-venom peptides as therapeutics\u201d is one of the 10 most highly cited articles in the journal. Dr. Saez will attend the 19th International Society on Toxinology World Congress on Animal, Plant and Microbial Toxins, Hainan, China, 24\u201330 October 2017.Dr. Natalie Saez received her Ph.D from University of Queensland, Australia in 2013, where she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Glenn F. King. Her Thesis involved a detailed study of the molecular basis by which the tarantula toxin PcTx1 inhibitors acid-sensing ion channel 1a. Upon completion of her PhD, she joined the European VENOMICS Project, was involved in the recombinant production of animal venom peptides for the research and development phase of this project. Dr. Saez returned to Dr. Glenn King\u2019s lab after completion of the project, she continued to pursue her interest in the exploration of animal venoms for the discovery of new therapeutics. Her work focuses on understanding the interactions of toxins with ion channels, in particular acid-sensing ion channels and voltage-gated sodium channels. In Dr. Glenn F. King\u2019s letter of support, he wrote \u201cI believe that Dr. Saez is an extremely talented young scientist with a very bright future in the field of toxinology\u201c. Dr. Saez has co-authored 11 peer-reviewed papers. Her review in Salmonella infections. She also studies the distribution, regulation, and contributions to pathogenicity, of the toxins that are produced by Bacillus cereus group species. Ms. Miller\u2019s Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Martin Wiedmann, writes: \u201cRachel is an outstanding student and constantly challenges herself in every aspect of her academic life.\u201d Ms. Miller has co-authored 8 papers, including 4 as first author. She will present her work at ASM Microbe (joint meeting of ASM and ICAAC) in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1\u20135 June 2017.Ms. Rachel A. Miller started her Ph.D. in 2012, in Dr. Martin Wiedmann\u2019s laboratory, where her research focuses on the role of the cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) in the pathogenesis of nontyphoidal Toxins Travel Awards. We are grateful to all who submitted applications\u2014thank you for letting us get to know you and your work. The future of toxinology looks very bright indeed. Once again, we are grateful to MDPI for their generous support of young scholars, helping to share their work on an international stage.The editors, managing editor and editorial board members congratulate Dr. Pirazzini, Dr. Saez and Ms. Miller on winning 2017"}
+{"text": "Leishmania that infected phlebotomines in Caxias, Maranh\u00e3o, Brazil, an area that is highly endemic for leishmaniasis. Sandflies were captured in light traps located in the peridomiciliary environments of randomly selected houses in urban and rural settings between 1800 and 0600 hours on new moon days between March 2013 and February 2015. DNA extracts from 982 engorged female sandflies were submitted to fragment length polymorphism analysis to identify infecting species of Leishmania, and blood sources were identified for 778 of these specimens. Infection by Leishmania infantum was detected in Lutzomyia longipalpis, Lu. whitmani and Lu. termitophila; L. infantum/L. braziliensis in Lu. longipalpis, Lu. whitmani and Lu. trinidadensis; L. shawi in Lu. longipalpis; L. mexicana in Lu. longipalpis; L. braziliensis in Lu. longipalpis and Lu. whitmani; L. guyanensis in Lu. longipalpis and Lu. termitophila; L. amazonensis in Lu. longipalpis and L. lainsoni or L. naiffi in Lu. longipalpis, while Lu. longipalpis and Lu. trinidadensis were infected with unidentified Leishmania sp. Blood sources were identified in 573 individual phlebotomines and the preferred hosts were, in decreasing order, chicken, dog, rodent and human with lower preferences for pig, horse, opossum and cattle. Lu. longipalpis and Lu. whitmani performed mixed feeding on man, dog and rodent, while Lu. longipalpis was the most opportunistic species, feeding on the blood of all hosts surveyed, but preferably on dog/chicken, dog/rodent and rodent/chicken. Our findings reveal the concomitant circulation of Leishmania species that cause visceral leishmaniasis and tegumentary leishmaniasis in the study area, and explain the occurrence of autochthonous human cases of both clinical forms of leishmaniasis in Caxias, Maranh\u00e3o. The results support our hypothesis that, in the municipality of Caxias, transmission of Leishmania occurs in close proximity to humans.The aims of the study were to determine the blood feeding preferences of sandflies and to identify species of  Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) and transmitted by hematophagous sandflies of the subfamily Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae)[Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, and American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), which manifests in cutaneous, mucocutaneous and diffuse forms [The leishmaniases are a group of neglected tropical diseases caused by protozoa of the genus chodidae). The dischodidae). The epichodidae). In the se forms ,4.Lutzomyia longipalpis, an anthropophilic phlebotomine that is widely distributed throughout the country, and Lu. cruzi, which is prevalent in some municipalities in the central-west region [L. infantum are domestic dogs and other wild canids [In Brazil, the principal vectors of the AVL pathogen are t region ,6. The md canids .Leishmania species responsible for tegumentary forms of the disease in humans. Six of these species belong to the subgenus Viannia: L. (Viannia) braziliensis, L. (V.) guyanensis, L.(V.) lainsoni, L.(V.) naiffi, L.(V.) shawi and L.(V.) lindenbergi, while L.(Leishmania) amazonensis belongs to the subgenus Leishmania [Lu. intermedia, Lu. neivai, Lu. whitmani, Lu. umbratilis, Lu. flaviscutellata, Lu. antunesi, Lu. migonei, Lu. fischeri, Lu. pessoai, Lu. wellcomei, Lu. complexa, Lu. ayrozai, Lu. paraensis, Lu. amazonensis, Lu. hirsuta hirsuta, Lu. ubiquitalis, Lu. gomezi and Lu. tuberculata [Regarding ATL, Brazil is the country with the greatest variety ishmania ,7. The serculata .Leishmania species within Brazil is not yet fully know, the geographical spread of leishmaniasis has expanded over recent years in several states, including the northeastern state of Maranh\u00e3o where AVL and ATL are endemic and widespread [Leishmania have already been identified in Maranh\u00e3o as, for example, Lu. whitmani infected with Leishmania sp. [Lu. longipalpis infected with L. infantum [Lu. longipalpis naturally infected with the AVL pathogen was 0.76% in the municipality of Caxias, Maranh\u00e3o, where both AVL and ATL are prevalent. Despite this low infection rate, AVL endemicity in the area was sustained as demonstrated by the notification of 45 human cases of the disease during the year of the study [Leishmania responsible were not identified.Although the distribution of despread . Phlebotania sp.  and Lu. infantum ,12. Accohe study . In addiLeishmania sp.  associated with these sandflies and to determine the blood food sources of the infected insects. Molecular techniques afford high sensitivity in detecting Leishmania sp. and identifying the blood source of infected phlebotomines. Such information facilitates the understanding of vector competence, transmission dynamics and the ecoepidemiology of leishmaniasis, thereby increasing our knowledge of how species interact with their natural habitat and assisting in the guidance of disease control and surveillance [Considering that 91 phlebotomine species are distributed within the different ecosystems of Maranh\u00e3o [eillance \u201317.Leishmania that infect phlebotomines and on the blood food sources of these vectors in the cerrado area of Caxias, Maranh\u00e3o. Our results support the hypothesis that, in the municipality of Caxias, the transmission of Leishmania occurs in environs close to human dwellings. We have verified this hypothesis by carrying out an ecological study in which we have determined the frequency of phlebotomine species and identified the host preferences of the sandflies in urban and rural settings of Caxias.Few studies have focused on the identification of species of Didelphis albiventris) was authorized by the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals in Research of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (license no. 37950\u20131), while the collection of phlebotomines was approved by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conserva\u00e7\u00e3o da Biodiversidade (authorization no. 46319\u20131).Details of the project were submitted to and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Estadual do Maranh\u00e3o (protocol no. 909.095). The collection of blood samples from the marsupial  located in the eastern mesoregion of Maranh\u00e3o State. The municipality comprises an area of 5,150,647 kmabitants . The warabitants , and then = 10) and in the rural district of Bom Jardim (n = 10). Sampling was performed near the shelters of domestic animals, when present, with the aid of Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-type light traps placed at a height of 1.5m above ground.The entomological study was carried out on new moon days during the period March 2013 to February 2015 with collections performed from 1800 to 0600 hours. Phlebotomines were captured in the vicinity of 20 houses selected at random in the urban neighborhood of Salobro . All phlebotomines were identified according to the Young and Duncan  classifi5'-GTGGCCGAACATAATGTTAG-3' and 5'-CCACGAACAAGTTCAACATC-3' to amplify a 200 base pair (bp) fragment from the cacophony gene IVS6 region in New World sandflies [Lu. longipalpis, and a negative control comprising a reaction mixture without DNA, were used in the amplifications.DNA was extracted using the Gentra Puregene Blood Kits , used according to the manufacturer's instructions, and extracts were stored at -20\u00b0C until required for analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In order to serve as a control for the extraction procedure, and to exclude the possibility of PCR inhibition, DNA samples were submitted to PCR analysis using the primers andflies . A positLeishmania DNA by amplification of a 300\u2013350 bp fragment of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) using the primers 5\u2019CTGGATCATTTTCCGATG3\u2019 (LITSR) and 5\u2019TGATACCACTTATCGCACTT\u20193 (L5.8S) [HaeIII digestion) and the band patterns were compared with those obtained from the DNA of the World Health Organization Leishmania strains reference L. amazonensis (IFLA/BR/1967/PH8), L. guyanensis (MHOM/BR/1975/M1176), L. braziliensis (MHOM/BR/1975/M2903), L. lainsoni (MHOM/BR/81/M6426), L. naiffi (MDAS/BR/1979/M5533), L. shawi (MCEB/BR/1984/M84408), L. mexicana (HMOM/BZ/1982/BEL21) and L. infantum (MHOM/1973/BH46), which had been characterized in the Laboratory of Leishmania Biology, Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Biol\u00f3gicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.DNA samples was screened for the presence of  (L5.8S) ,23. PCR  (L5.8S) , and the (L5.8S) . The ITS\u2122 PCR beads  and primers described previously [cytB) gene. The cytB-PCR amplicons were submitted to RFLP analysis (HaeIII and MboI digestion). Amplification and restriction products were subjected to electrophoresis on 5% polyacrylamide gel [Didelphis albiventris) , pig (Sus domesticus), cattle (Bos taurus), human (Homo sapiens), rodent (Mus musculus), dog (Canis familiaris), chicken  and horse  .In order to test for the presence of DNA from the blood of vertebrate hosts, samples of sandfly DNA were submitted to PCR analysis using PuRe Taq Ready-To-Goeviously  for the mide gel , and themide gel . The banwww.labimage.net, was employed. This software is able to determine the size of each DNA fragment (band) selected in the gel constitutive of each DNA band in comparison with the fragments of the 25 bp and 50 bp DNA ladder .To assure reproducible results, all reactions were performed at least in three independent experiments. The gels were carefully analyzed to determine the PCR-RFLP restriction patterns. To perform data analysis the LabImage-1D Gel Analysis software, Version 2.7.2 , available at the website The 200 bp-fragment from the cacophony IVS6 region of phlebotomines could be amplified in all of the sandfly DNA samples studied, thus confirming the high quality of the extracted DNA and the absence of PCR inhibitors.Lu. longipalpis (n = 763), Lu. evandroi (n = 3), Lu. sordellii (n = 1), Lu. lenti (n = 1) and Lu. whitmani (n = 1), while 213 were collected in the rural area and comprised the species Lu. longipalpis (n = 175), Lu. whitmani (n = 23), Lu. trinidadensis (n = 6), Lu. termitophila (n = 5), Lu. lenti (n = 3) and Lu. sordellii (n = 1).Of the 982 female phlebotomines dissected, 769 were collected in urban settings and comprised the species Leishmania sp. presenting an overall infection rate of 5.2% (Leishmania identified by ITS1-PCR-RFLP were L. infantum (n = 28), mixed L. infantum/L. braziliensis (n = 8), L. braziliensis (n = 3), L. shawi (n = 3), Leishmania sp. (n = 3), L. mexicana (n = 2), L. guyanensis (n = 2), L. amazonensis (n = 1) and L. lainsoni or L. naiffi (n = 1) , but rates varied substantially among species of sandfly with Lu. termitophila presenting the highest frequency of infection (40.0%), followed by Lu. trinidadensis (33.0%). Lu. whitmani (17.0%) and Lu. longipalpis (11.0%). Infection by L. infantum and mixed infection by L. infantum/L. braziliensis were the most frequent.According to ITS1-PCR analysis, 51 of the 982 female sandflies were positive for  of 5.2% , Fig 2A. (n = 1) . In the cytB-PCR-RFLP band patterns following MboI and HaeIII digestion (Sources of blood feed could be identified in 73.7% (573/778) of engorged female sandflies, most of which were collected in the urban area . The Considering sandflies that had simple feeding , food soWith regard to sandflies that had fed on two hosts (mixed feeding) , prefereLu. longipalpis fed on the blood of all of the vertebrate hosts studied but showed a single source preference for, in decreasing order, chicken, dog, rodent and human. Furthermore, this phlebotomine fed on eight host combinations in the urban area and five host combinations in the rural area, with the predominance of dog/chicken followed by dog/rodent. In the rural area, Lu. whitmani exhibited a single source preference for human, dog, chicken, and rodent blood, in decreasing order, and for dog/rodent and dog/chicken combinations. The only example of an engorged Lu. whitmani female captured in the urban area has fed on a dog/rodent combination. The single source preferences of Lu. evandroi and Lu. lenti in the urban area were dog and rodent, respectively, while dog was the preferential host for Lu. termitophila, Lu. trinidadensis and Lu. sordellii in the rural area. A dog/rodent combination was established as the blood source for Lu. trinidadensis, Lu. termitophila and Lu. lenti that had fed on two hosts in the rural area. As shown in Leishmania-infected blood in engorged sandflies were dog, rodent and human, independent of the number of vertebrate hosts or Leishmania species.Females of Leishmania infection in the canine reservoirs coupled with the L. infantum-infection rates in Lu. longipalpis (AVL vector) of 2.0 and 7.0% in urban and rural areas, respectively, and the L. braziliensis-infection rate in Lu. whitmani (ATL vector) of 4.0% [Between March 2013 and February 2015, 107 human and 2,380 canine cases of AVL were recorded in the municipality of Caxias, together with 62 human cases of ATL [ of 4.0% ,27,28.L. infantum infection was detected in the AVL vector Lu. longipalpis and in non-vectorial species such as Lu. whitmani and Lu. termitophila. The natural infection of Lu. longipalpis by L. infantum has been described in various AVL-endemic regions of Brazil [Lu. longipalpis and of infected canine reservoirs, which are widely distributed in the State [In the area encompassed by the present study, f Brazil \u201333, inclf Brazil , and thef Brazil . Indeed,he State .Lu. longipalpis by L. infantum is low, even in areas with high AVL endemicity. However, based on the high degree of anthropophilia, vectorial capacity, simultaneous presence of vector and disease, and the abundance and spatial distribution of the vector observed in the present study, it is possible to state with certainty that Lu. longipalpis plays a key role in the AVL transmission cycle in the municipality of Caxias where prevalence rates of human and canine cases are elevated.In nature, the infection rate of Lu. whitmani and Lu. termitophila by L. infantum was detected for the first time in the rural area of Caxias during the present study. This finding is important since Lu. whitmani was the second most abundant species of sandfly in the study area, particularly in the rural setting. On the other hand, the high rate of infection (20%) of Lu. termitophila by L. infantum must be examined carefully since only one specimen was infected. Natural infection of Lu. whitmani and Lu. termitophila by L. infantum was first recorded by Saraiva et al. [L. infantum naturally infecting the phlebotomines Lu. migonei and Lu. cortelezzii, both species of which are vectors of ATL in Brazil while the latter is a proven vector of ATL in Argentina [Infection of a et al.  in the srgentina \u201338.L. infantum in sandflies that are not considered to be vectors of AVL demonstrates the ability of a range of phlebotomine species to acquire L. infantum infection. The importance of these parasite-phlebotomine associations, even if they occur only occasionally, requires further study in order fully to understand their implications regarding the ecoepidemiology of leishmaniasis. However, the conclusion that a species of sandfly is a vector in the leishmaniasis cycle cannot be based exclusively on the occurrence of natural infection by the causative agent. Together with the natural infection factor, a vector of Leishmania sp. must fit the criteria described by Killick-Kendrick [The finding of infection by Kendrick .Lu longipalpis naturally infected by L. braziliensis, L. amazonensis, L. mexicana, L. shawi, L. guyanensis and L. lainsoni or L. naiffi in Maranh\u00e3o, in an area of cerrado that is not within the Amazon region. However, it is important to emphasize that Lu longipalpis was the most abundant and widespread sandfly species in the study area and appeared to be perfectly adapted to domestic and anthropic settings.We report here for the first time the occurrence of Lu longipalpis naturally infected by L. braziliensis has been described in other regions of Brazil [Lu. longipalpis naturally infected by L. amazonensis has been established in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul [L. amazonensis is the causative agent of ATL, including the anergic or diffuse cutaneous forms of the disease, and its vectors are normally Lu. flaviscutellata and Lu. olmeca in the Brazilian Amazon region [L. amazonensis have been reported in all geographical and ecological regions of Maranh\u00e3o [The presence of f Brazil ,40, whilo do Sul ,42. L. an region . These tMaranh\u00e3o ,45.Lu. longipalpis infected by L. mexicana has not been previously reported in Brazil, L. mexicana-infected humans have occasionally been recorded [Lu. longipalpis naturally infected by L. shawi, neither in Maranh\u00e3o nor in other Brazilian regions, suggesting that this phlebotomine does not form part of the L. shawi transmission cycle outside the Amazon region, where the normal vector is Lu. whitmani. Although we found Lu. longipalpis infected by L. guyanensis in the rural area of Caxias, this species of Leishmania is usually restricted to recently colonized areas of the Amazon region, where Lu. umbratilis and Lu. anduzei are the main vectors [L. guyanensis has also been detected in Minas Gerais in a pool of sandflies that are not considered to be vectors of ATL [While the occurrence of recorded . There a vectors  and eden vectors ,48. The s of ATL .L. lainsoni, or possibly L. naiffi, is reported here for the first time outside the Amazon region of Brazil. The main vector of L. lainsoni in the Amazon is Lu. ubiquitalis, although there are reports of the occurrence of L. lainsoni-infected Lu. davisi in the state of Amazonas [L. lainsoni-infected Lu. nuneztovari anglesi in Bolivia [L. lainsoni in South America, which has now been shown to extend to Caxias in the state of Maranh\u00e3o. The main vectors of L. naiffi, a Leishmania generally found in the Amazon region, are Lu. squamiventris, Lu. paraensis and Lu. ayrozai [Lu. davisi and Lu. hirsuta hirsuta, none of these sandflies have been identified in the Caxias area [The presence of Amazonas \u201352 and o Bolivia . Moreove Bolivia . These f ayrozai . Althougias area ,57.L. braziliensis-infected Lu. whitmani was confirmed at the site of the present study. This phlebotomine is a natural vector of L. braziliensis in various Brazilian regions [L. braziliensis is distributed throughout the ATL-endemic zone of Brazil, from north to south of the country and in both new and well-established settlements, and is commonly associated with the presence of a range of domestic, synanthropic and wild animals.The presence of  regions , especia regions ,28, and  regions , generalLu. longipalpis, Lu. whitmani and Lu. trinidadensis co-infected by L. infantum/L. braziliensis, examples of which have not been recorded recently, is reported herein for the first time in Caxias. There is, however, no evidence that Lu. whitmani and Lu. trinidadensis are involved in the transmission of L. infantum or that Lu. trinidadensis plays a role in the transmission of L. braziliensis to humans. Although reports of mixed infections are available, including that of Lu. flaviscutellata by L. braziliensis and L. amazonensis [Leishmania are more common than the literature would suggest, particularly in foci where the two species overlap.The presence of zonensis , we beliLeishmania sp., which can be attributed to the presence of unidentified species of Leishmania or other trypanosomatids. These problems could not be resolved using the PCR-RFLP technique owing to the small amount of DNA available or to the presence of degraded DNAIn the present study, three sandfly females were classified as infected by Leishmania transmission, interactions between Leishmania vectors and reservoirs and the anthropophilic attraction of vectors [L. donovani transmission areas has been associated with increased risk to humans in some studies and with decreased risk in others, showing that the relationship between mammals and phlebotomines is complex and can affect the abundance, aggregation, feeding behavior and infection rates of the vector [The blood food sources of female sandflies were identified in the present study since this information can improve our knowledge regarding  vectors ,61. Furt vectors . For exae vector .Lu. longipalpis was the most opportunistic species, since it fed on the blood of all vertebrate hosts tested, but exhibited a preference for chickens, dogs rodents and humans, and, to a lesser extent, pigs and horses. Chickens were also the preferential source of blood for female sandflies when all identified species were considered together. Chickens are very common in rural and urban settings, and chicken coops represent attractive areas for phlebotomines to rest and reproduce [Leishmania, they may be important in the maintenance and domiciliation of vectors by attracting mammalian reservoirs to the vicinity [Leishmania has already been detected in Maranh\u00e3o [In the present study, eproduce \u201366. Althvicinity . It is pvicinity . Galati vicinity  called aMaranh\u00e3o .Although horses were not high on the preference list of phlebotomine food sources, the intense movement of these animals between rural villages, and even in the urban periphery, could be a risk factor for leishmaniasis. Indeed, clinical cases of naturally acquired leishmaniasis have occasionally been found in horses in transmission areas in Brazil, specifically S\u00e3o Paulo  and MinaLeishmania vectors [Considering mixed blood feeding, the dog/rodent combination was the most frequent blood source for female sandflies. This type of feeding behavior reflects the adaptability of sandflies and indicates that these insects can adjust their feeding patterns according to availability, accessibility, abundance, size and biomass of vertebrate hosts . Under c vectors .Lu. longipalpis and Lu. whitmani were found to be infected by L. infantum and L. braziliensis, and Lu longipalpis and Lu. trinidadensis were co-infected by L. infantum/L. braziliensis. We also observed that, occasionally, Lu. evandroi and Lu. sordellii performed single feeding on dogs and Lu. lenti fed on rodents, either alone or in combination with dogs, but without infection by Leishmania. From an epidemiological viewpoint, it would appear that these species of phlebotomine are not involved in the Leishmania transmission cycle in Caxias.Preferences for dogs, rodents and humans, along with the observed mixed feeding behavior, constitute an important epidemiological factor in Caxias since, in our study, L. infantum. Since infection rates are commonly high among canine populations in endemic areas, and a large proportion of affected animals are asymptomatic [L. braziliensis in Brazil [L. braziliensis in dogs has been amply described [L. amazonensis [L. infantum/L. braziliensis [Leishmania that cause ATL are always lower in dogs than in humans. It may be that dogs, similar to humans, are victims of the disease and not just carriers of parasites in nature.Among domestic animals, dogs are the species most commonly affected by leishmaniasis and have long been recognized as the main domestic reservoirs of ptomatic , dogs reptomatic . Furthern Brazil \u201378, evenescribed \u201379, and zonensis  or co-iniliensis  have beeL. braziliensis in nature [Leishmania sp. since they represent an important link between domestic and wild environments [Results of a study conducted in northeastern Brazil strongly indicated that some small rodents are involved in the maintenance of n nature , reinforronments .Lu longipalpis fed on the blood of opossum in the peridomicile, even at low frequency, is most interesting because it establishes a connection between the domestic and wild cycles of AVL and, according to Cabrera et al. [Our observation that a et al. , may givLu. longipalpis and Lu. whitmani feed on human blood as well as on the blood of one or more hosts  that inhabit the environs of rural and urban dwellings. Such findings provide strong evidence that these phlebotomines exhibit anthropophilic behavior and support our original hypothesis that, in the municipality of Caxias, transmission of Leishmania occurs in close proximity to humans (i.e. inside or near domiciles). However, the observations reported herein of natural infection of non-vectorial sandflies by Leishmania sp. do not prove the participation of such species in the transmission of AVL and ATL in Caxias.In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that Leishmania, with the potential to cause different clinical manifestations, which can be transmitted by different vectors and maintained by several mammal reservoirs. In spite of the high number of human cases and considering that current control and prevention methods have not been shown to be effective, new strategies for appropriate intervention and control should be developed to avoid propagating even to non-endemic areas. From this perspective, has become increasingly important to study essential issues involved in the transmission, such as the natural sand fly infection rates of the vectors by Leishamania sp., the geographical distribution of these parasites in potential vectors and the study of their blood meal sources, which are important tools for eco-epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis.In Brazil, the transmission cycles of leishmaniasis have been found to have a focal distribution in specific geographic areas. Leishmaniasis is characterized by complex and specific epidemiological profiles for each local of transmission, involving several species of Our findings have important implications relating to the epidemiology of leishmaniasis especially regarding vector competence, knowledge of which is vital for successful vector surveillance and control.S1 Table(XLSX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Despite the significant progress made in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, there is still a high rate of vaginal dysbiosis in Kazakh women. The use of antibiotics in the treatment of vaginal dysbiosis contributes to the elimination of pathogens as well as microflora, which can lead to a decrease in local immunity and more favorable conditions for infection spread. The most physiologically safe and promising method for the restoration of vaginal biocenosis is the use of probiotics administered by a vaginal route.We have allocated 64 of cultures of Lactobacillus from the vaginal epithelium of healthy women of reproductive age and women with diagnosed bacterial vaginosis (BV). Identification of cultures was performed by PCR analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA. Evaluation of biological significance was determined by the following criteria: high antagonistic activity against Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella ozaenae, and Staphylococcus aureus; and production of hydrogen peroxide, resistance to antibiotics, adhesive activity. We studied the symbiotic relationship of selected biologically active of cultures to each other and received options for consortiums with properties of probiotics through co-cultivation.Results of genotyping showed that the isolated lactobacilli belong to the seven species: L. fermentum, L. salivarius, L. gasseri, L. crispatus, L. jensenii, L. plantarum, and L. delbrueskii. L. fermentum, L. salivarius, L. gasseri, and L. jensenii occur in women with suspected BV. The highest percentage of occurrence in the vagina of healthy women was L. fermentum (28%). Most strains of lactobacilli possess high inhibitory activity for all test-strains, except Candida albicans (37.5%). 56% of studied cultures revealed high adhesion to human erythrocytes. All lactobacillus strains were resistant to metronidazole, 80% to kanamycin, 57% to vancomycin, and sensitivity to roxithromycin, amoxiclav, ampicillin was diagnosed in all strains. 50% of cultures showed a moderate sensitivity to gentamicin and cefazolin. In a study of peroxide-producing activity, 80% of the cultures exhibited peroxide-producing activity. As a result of screening, the 7 most active strains of lactobacilli were selected for development of 10 variants of probiotic consortia. Also, there was increase of adhesive activity in the consortia compared to other components. These consortia can be used for the treatment of BV in addition to metronidazole.The probiotic consortia identified in this study had high antagonistic, adhesive properties, and resistance to metronidazole. These probiotics can potentially be used for the development of biological products for the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis."}
+{"text": "Mosquito nets containing synergists designed to overcome metabolic resistance mechanisms in vectors have been developed. These may enhance excitability in the mosquitoes and affect how they respond to CDC light-traps. Investigating the behaviour of vectors of disease in relation to novel mosquito nets is, therefore, essential for the design of sampling and surveillance systems.\u00ae long lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) and Olyset Plus\u00ae LLIN containing piperonyl butoxide (PBO) synergist. Nets were rotated daily between the nine rooms over nine nights. A further series of experiments using the nets on alternate nights in a single room was undertaken during the short rains. Anopheles gambiae s.l. were collected in CDC light-traps, a window-trap and Furvela tent-trap. Anopheles gambiae s.l. were identified to species by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).In an initial experiment in Muleba, Tanzania, nine bedrooms from three housing clusters were sampled. CDC light-traps were operated indoors next to occupied untreated nets (UTN), OlysetAn. gambiae s.l. were An. gambiae s.s., the remainder being Anopheles arabiensis. The number of mosquitoes collected from 81 light-trap collections was greater in the presence of an Olyset  relative to an UTN. In a second experiment, in the wet season 84% of the 180 An. gambiae s.l. identified were An. arabiensis. The number of An. gambiae s.l. collected from a light-trap compared to a tent-trap was significantly higher when an Olyset Plus net was used compared to an UTN. Survival of the mosquitoes in the window trap was not reduced by the use of an Olyset Plus net in the bedroom relative to an Olyset net.In the initial experiment 97.7% of the 310 An. gambiae or An. arabiensis collected in light-traps when a treated net is used requires further experimentation and may be because of a heightened escape reaction on the part of the mosquito.Mosquitoes entering bedrooms, even those susceptible to pyrethroids, were not killed by contact with an Olyset Plus LLIN. The enhanced numbers of  Anopheles arabiensis collected in households with light-traps in the presence of deltamethrin-treated or UTNs, however, reported no significant difference in numbers caught . There was no significant difference (p\u00a0>\u00a00.05) between the numbers of C. fuscopennata .Three-hundred-and-three (97.7%) of the 310  gambiae . In the An. arabiensis was relatively stable. The proportion of engorged and part-fed female mosquitoes was significantly different when sampling was performed with an UTN relative to an Olyset or Olyset Plus . Despite the provision of sugar solution and usage of a conical collection bag, only 10% of the mosquitoes were alive in the morning. The proportion of An. arabiensis collected alive or dead was not affected by the type of net in use . The total nightly indoor collection (light-trap and window-trap), which was always small compared to the light-trap, was also independent of the net in use.During the sampling conducted during the short rains, the population of An. arabiensis were collected in the light-trap compared to the tent-trap  whereas the numbers collected when an Olyset LLIN or UTN was present were not significantly different  and , respectively  An. gambiae in the dry season and susceptible An. arabiensis in the wet season, were caught when an UTN was used compared to the standard Olyset or Olyset Plus. If, as seems reasonable based on previous hut trials in Benin [An. gambiae s.l. entering houses, deterrent effect [The results obtained from both sets of experiments indicate that the type of mosquito net in use affected the numbers of mosquitoes caught by light-traps. Surprisingly, significantly fewer mosquitoes, both resistant in Benin , the nett effect , and theAn. arabiensis population was susceptible to pyrethroids [An. gambiae in Muleba is highly resistant to this group of insecticides [The results of the bioassay conducted with the standard Olyset in the wet season indicated that the ethroids . On the cticides , 14, 27.In many areas people may possess LLINs but may not use them. Non-LLIN-using households may be at a greater risk when PBO-containing nets are used by their neighbours, as they may be when topical repellents are used . Distrib"}
+{"text": "AbstractPtychadena of the herpetological collection of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid reveals the first record of Ptychadenaschillukorum from Mauritania, extending the known distribution range of the species in West Africa more than 450 km northwards. A key is provided for the four Mauritanian species of Ptychadena to solve problems in identification encountered in previous studies.The study of specimens of the genus  Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 is a genus of medium-sized Afrotropical frogs that comprises 50 known living species , P.bibroni , P.tellini  ), P.longirostris , P.oxyrhynchus , P.trinodis , P.mascareniensis , P.tournieri , P.stenocephala , P.submascareniensis , P.retropunctata , and P.schillukorum  ) ) . At the bibroni . PtychadPtychadenatrinodis differs from the other two species of Ptychadena recorded in Mauritania by the presence of a tarsal tubercle and by very large inner and outer metatarsal tubercles; in Mauritania it has been reported in two localities: Guelta Oumm Lebare and Guelta Metraucha. Ptychadenacf.mascareniensis is cited only at one locality in Mauritania: Zoueina; it differs from P.bibroni by a very subtle outer metatarsal tubercle, lack of supernumerary tubercles on toe IV, dorsal median ridges that reach the posterior edge of the eyes, different webbing formula (22/3\u20133 in P.cf.mascareniensis and 2\u201321/3 in P.bibroni), and by a continuous lateral ridge which is broken in P.bibroni. Ptychadenabibroni is known by two records in Mauritania: Kaedi and Mahmo\u00fbd\u00e9 Lake PtychadenPtychadena). Only Hoplobatrachusoccipitalis, Sclerophrysxeros, and Tomopternacryptotis, are present across the north in the Saharan realm  and on field data obtained by RM.In this note, a new species record of Ptychadena held at the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid (MNCN-CSIC) were examined. Thirty-one specimens were collected in Mauritania: one specimen of Ptychadenatrinodis  were collected in October 1998 by RM, a few days after a (rare) event of rainfall in Southern Mauritania in the proximities of Aleg . Additionally, 10 individuals (MNCN 43846\u201343855) were collected in October 2006 by J. M. Padial and I. De la Riva in Aleg surroundings  . In this work the criteria of Padial and De la Riva considering the presence of P.cf.mascareniensis in Mauritania are followed.The poor conditions in which we found the specimen of  la Riva  makes it la Riva . Unfortu la Riva  of the sPtychadenaschillukorum from Mauritania fitted with the description of the species  event of rainfall that caused the formation of shallow pools and the growth of herbaceous vegetation on the normally barren sand Fig. . Other atis Fig. .Ptychadena  while in P.trinodis a fine white-yellow vertebral line and light colored lateral ridge is generally present. Ptychadenaschillukorum differs from P.bibroni by its more compact body, shorter legs, lack of supernumerary tubercles on toe IV, always interrupted dorsal ridges, by its inconspicuous outer metatarsal tubercle and by thigh pattern, that is speckled in P.schillukorum and usually with yellow longitudinal and irregular line in P.bibroni. Finally, P.schillukorum is distinctive from P.mascareniensis by its compact body shape, dorsal and lateral ridges, always interrupted, and shorter legs.The four Mauritanian species of a Figure  are easiPtychadena species that occur in Mauritania is presented.Based on Ptychadenaschillukorum may be discovered in the future. Molecular studies of P.schillukorum should be carried out to know how complex is the species across their distribution (expected to be high or a group of species as suggested by Studies concerning amphibian fauna in Mauritania are scarce, suggesting that other populations of PageBreak"}
+{"text": "Papuanella  was established by Papuanella is currently recognized as a valid genus within the subfamily Papuininae of the family Camaenidae . Species included in the genus as defined by O.ogeramuensis , comb. n., and O.finisterrensis , comb. n.nclature , the namOgeramua is named for Ogeramua, Papua New Guinea, the type locality of its type species, and is to be treated as feminine in gender.The epithet"}
+{"text": "Dr. Navnendra Mathur (28.09.1951 - 03.07.2009)What does one say about a dedicated academician, an astute clinician; a versatile professional well versed in Orthopedics, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a great endearing colleague and friend!Dr. Navnendra Mathur did his MS Ortho from SMS Medical College, Jaipur, in 1980. He then did his DNB in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1986. The following year he was selected for the prestigious IOA Johnson and Johnson Fellowship. After a stint as orthopedic specialist at King Fahd Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia he returned to join as Assistant Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He rose to the post of Professor and Head of Department, Physical Medicine; Director of the Rehabilitation Research Centre set up by his mentor Dr PK Sethi.Dr. Navnendra was virtually obsessed with the study of spinal injuries and presented many outstanding papers on the subject at national and international conferences including the International Spine and Spinal injuries Conference at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi; International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul, Asian Oceana Conference of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Nanking, China and ASCON at Vietnam last year. He was also slated to attend the International Spine meet at Hong Kong this month. A life member of IOA, Dr Mathur has to his credit more than 25 publications in international and national Orthopedic and Physical medicine journals.Born in November 1951, Dr. Navnendra had yet to complete 58 years. He passed away on July 3, 2009. He is survived by his wife Dr. Sushma, a CGHS GDMO, and two daughters."}
+{"text": "Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Europe is transmitted by the ixodid tick vector Ixodes ricinus. A. phagocytophilum causes a disease with diverse clinical signs in various hosts. A great genetic diversity of the groESL operon of A. phagocytophilum has been found in ticks elsewhere. In Slovenia, the variety of the groESL operon was conducted only on deer samples. In this study, the prevalence of infected ticks was estimated and the diversity of A. phagocytophilum was evaluated. On 8 locations in Slovenia, 1924 and 5049 (6973) I. ricinus ticks were collected from vegetation in the years 2005 and 2006, respectively. All three feeding stages of the tick's life cycle were examined. The prevalence of ticks infected with A. phagocytophilum in the year 2005 and in the year 2006 was 0.31% and 0.63%, respectively, and it did not differ considerably between locations. The similarity among the sequences of groESL ranged from 95.6% to 99.8%. They clustered in two genetic lineages along with A. phagocytophilum from Slovenian deer. One sequence formed a separate cluster. According to our study, the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in ticks is comparable to the findings in other studies in Europe, and it does not vary considerably between locations and tick stages. According to groESL operon analysis, two genetic lineages have been confirmed and one proposed. Further studies on other genes would be useful to obtain more information on genetic diversity of A. phagocytophilum in ticks in Slovenia.Ticks act as vectors of many pathogens of domestic animals and humans.  Ixodes ricinus [I. ricinus feeds on livestock, deer, dogs and a wide variety of other species, including humans [I. ricinus is a confirmed vector of the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum [A. phagocytophilum, the agent of granulocytic anaplasmosis, was formerly known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent (HGE agent), Ehrlichia phagocytophila and E. equi [A. phagocytophilum causes a disease with diverse clinical signs in various hosts from asymptomatic to life-threatening [A. phagocytophilum, the groESL operon is widely used as the 16 S rRNA gene is too conservative [groESL sequences of A. phagocytophilum in ticks has also been described in Germany [A. phagocytophilum was estimated and the diversity of the groESL operon of detected DNA of A. phagocytophilum was evaluated.Ticks and tick-borne diseases affect animal and human health worldwide. A vector of many diseases in Europe and Slovenia is  ricinus . It can  ricinus . Ticks' g humans . I. ricitophilum . The tictophilum . A. phag E. equi . A. phageatening . No fataeatening . Importaeatening . The wileatening . The preeatening . To descervative . It has ervative . An imme Germany . The var Germany . In a pr Germany . The tic2 over 100 m of vegetation [16 S rRNA was examined [16 S rRNA of genus Anaplasma sp. and Ehrlichia sp., was used [groESL operon. A nested PCR would amplify a 1296-bp fragment of groESL operon of A. phagocytophilum variants [A. phagocytophilum, grown in a HL-60 cell culture, was used as a PCR positive control. If a pool of adult ticks was positive, the stored half of each dissected tick from a pool was used for DNA extraction and further amplifications. All amplicons of groESL operon were further analyzed by sequencing on both strands with the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction Kit . The sequences were analyzed with computer programs of the Lasergene 1999 software package  based on Clustal W algorithm [\u00ae Excel Add-In, developed by Brad Biggerstaff, CDC, Fort Collins, CO). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 17.0 . P values of 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant.The study was performed in the years 2005 and 2006 at 8 locations in Slovenia. The criteria for selecting the locations were the tick-borne pathogens' presence in human patients or a higher altitude of the location compared to others. Ticks were collected at forest edges by dragging a flag with a surface of 1 mexamined . For thewas used . All poslgorithm . The dislgorithm  and the lgorithm  was usedI. ricinus ticks were collected by flagging vegetation in the years 2005 and 2006, respectively. Ticks were separated into pools: 252 pools in 2005 and 442 pools in 2006  p. ticks , only I.16 S rRNA of Anaplasma sp. was detected in 26 pools of adult and nymphal stages of ticks . Probably, a novel genetic lineage of the groESL operon of A. phagocytophilum was found. To obtain more information about genetic diversity of A. phagocytophilum in I. ricinus in Slovenia, additional genetic markers, such as ankA and msp4, should be analyzed.In one pool of nymphs from Mozirje, a I. ricinus nymphal and adult stages are responsible for the transmission of the pathogen as A. phagocytophilum was present in both stages. There was no significant difference in the prevalences of A. phagocytophilum at different locations and in both years. The prevalence of infection in ticks did not differ considerably from the reports from elsewhere in Europe. With this study, we have confirmed that I. ricinus is a vector of a variant of A. phagocytophilum that causes the disease in humans and dogs. The sequencing of the groESL operon has demonstrated a great diversity of A. phagocytophilum in Slovenia. With phylogenetic analysis, two genetic lineages have been confirmed and another has been proposed. Further phylogenetic studies of several other genes, such as ankA and msp4, might be useful to obtain more information about genetic diversity.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.KSS conducted the laboratory study and drafted the manuscript. MS was involved in laboratory study. DD facilitated the molecular laboratory study. NK conducted the field study and did the statistical analysis. TAZ was involved in the project design and participated in drafting the manuscript. All co-authors have read the manuscript."}
+{"text": "He studied at Carmichael Medical College, Kolkata, and completed his M.B.B.S. in 1952. He joined Patna University in 1954 for a postgraduate degree in General Surgery and graduated with an M.S. (Ortho) degree from Patna in 1957.Dr. Mahendra T. Mehta was the first Orthopedic Surgeon of Gujarat and the President of the Indian Orthopedic Association from 1988 to 1989. He was born in Zariya, Bihar on February 5His first research project, 'Diaphysecomy and Bone Regeneration' initiated in Patna in 1955, was supported by a scholarship from Lady Tata Memorial Trust. He joined Sheth Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital in 1957 and later in 1961, joined Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad as an Honorary Orthopedic Surgeon. He continued his research here with a research grant from Gujarat University, and finally presented his work at the SICOT meeting in Copenhagen in 1975.He had a great interest in C.T.E.V and considered manual correction and maintenance with a plaster cast to be a mainstay in its management. Armed with the training imparted by his mentor, Dr. B. Mukhopadyay, he started anterolateral decompression for Pott's Paraplegia in 1957 in Ahmedabad. In the late 1950s, he gave up immobilization and accepted active mobilization for tuberculosis of joints. He was awarded the B. N. Mehta Oration Award in 1974 after his presentation of his work on bone and joint tuberculosis.He was a teacher to hundreds of students, yet his humble words to his family in the last week of his life were, 'I am a student and I have yet to learn a lot.' Not only was he a host for many medical students, doctors, and visiting orthopedic surgeon friends, but he also looked after all Johnson and Johnson fellows during their visits to Ahmedabad. Family members concede: 'He taught us to transform relations to dear ones and dear ones to great relationships'. His family has lost a most dear one, but feels his presence all the time, even after his death.He offered deep insights into orthopedics as a member of the Advisory committee appointed by the IOA in 1980 for the standardization of a postgraduate (PG) degree in orthopedics in India. The committee brought in the idea of a PG work book, a precursor of the log book. He served B. J. Medical College and Civil Hospital as an Honorary Professor of Orthopedics from 1961 to 1981, and served various hospitals in Ahmedabad, including the Cancer Hospital in Ahmedabad.He was a recipient of P. R. Trivedi (1980) and Dr. Katrak (1982) Oration Awards. He was the founder President of the Gujarat Orthopedic Association. He published, 'Forty years of Orthopedics\u2014As I Saw It' in February 1998. It's a small book, but a treasure of precious thoughts.He has made a great difference for many lives, not only as an orthopedic surgeon, but also as a great human being. In his death on August 14, 2008, Yasubhabhi has lost a partner who greatly loved her and always took her with him on all his travels. In his death, we orthopedic surgeons in Gujarat have lost a father, who kept all of us together in our nest.May God Almighty rest his soul in Eternal Peace."}
+{"text": "Amaranthus cruentus L.  and nightshade, Solanum macrocarpon L.  were examined on the development and demographic parameters of the spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae). This mite was recently identified as a pest of the two leafy vegetables which are widely used in West Africa. The experiments were conducted at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Benin, West Africa, in a growth chamber at 27\u00b0C, 70% \u00b110% RH and 12:12 (L:D). Immature development of T. ludeni was shorter on A. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon, whereas female longevity was the same on the two vegetable crops. Total fecundity per female was higher on A. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon, largely due to longer survival of adult female T. ludeni on the former; however, no differences were observed in the daily fecundity of T. ludeni on the two plant species. The comparison of intrinsic rates of natural increase (mr), the net reproductive rates (oR) and the survival rates of adult stage of T. ludeni on the two vegetable crops suggests that T. ludeni performs better on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus. Reasons for the lower rate of population growth observed on amaranth should be studied in more details as this could be used in IPM strategies such as intercropping to reduce pest density and in developing biopesticides for use against T. ludeni in vegetable farms in Africa.It is well recognized that the quality of host plants affects the development and survival of plant-feeding arthropods. The effects of two leafy vegetable crops, amaranth,  It is now well recognized that host plant quality can affect several life-history characteristics of their herbivores, by impairing growth, lowering resistance to disease and reducing fecundity . AlteratIn the prevailing vegetable cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa, several vegetable crop species are grown in close proximity in small lots. The crops are attacked by several pest species , and theTetranychus urticae Koch and T. ludeni Zacher are the most important on many vegetable crops  in the family Tetranychidae are among the most important crop pests worldwide. The subfamily Tetranychinae includes a number of economically significant species of which le crops . These tle crops . Tetranyorldwide . In Indiand okra . Controland okra , which hand okra , observele farms  with theTo overcome the problems of resistance development in spider mites, the search for more durable crop protection solutions based on IPM systems in vegetable farms is necessary . HoweverReproduction in spider mites is very sensitive to a wide variety of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions. Intrinsic factors that influence life table parameters of tetranychid mites include mite strain and level of inbreeding, colony density, age of females and of the population, fertility status of the females and various behavioural parameters . ExtrinsAmaranthus emeritus L.  and nightshade, Solanum macrocarpon L. , locally known as \u2018Gboma\u2019, are respectively the first and second most commonly grown and consumed leafy vegetable crops species in southern Benin , in a field at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Cotonou Station in Benin. These mite colonies were maintained indoors on potted plants of S. aethiopicum at 26 \u00b1 1\u00b0C and 65\u201385% RH for 2 weeks  cut from S. aethiopicum were transferred singly using a camel hair brush onto fresh leaf discs (22 mm in diameter), cut from each of A. cruentus and S. macrocarpon, respectively. These leaf discs were kept on water saturated cotton wool in Petri dishes (15 cm in diameter). Water was added each day as needed to ensure adequate moisture for the leaf discs and to maintain a water barrier to restrict mite movement. These rearing units were kept in a growth chamber at 27\u00b0C, 70% \u00b1 10% RH and 12:12 (L:D). Leaf discs were replaced twice weekly to maintain freshness of leaves, thereby preserving host-plant attributes. Observations were made everyday at 06:00 hours and 18:00 hours and the developmental stage reached by each individual was recorded until all adults emerged. Individuals that escaped from leaf discs were not included in the analysis.To determine the developmental time of immature stages of To determine the life table characteristics of the herbivorous mite on each of the two vegetable crops, 25 deutonymphal  females see  were ranThe Student t-test in SAS  was usedA. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon . Similarly, total duration of development from egg to adult was also shorter on A. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon . On both vegetable crops, the longest stage was the egg that had a developmental time that was generally more than two fold longer than any of the other stages.Except for egg and larval stages that had the same duration on the two vegetable crops, the other life stages were shorter on T. ludeni, and the length of the pre-oviposition and oviposition periods did not differ significantly between the two vegetable crops tested; however, T ludeni had a longer post-oviposition period on A. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon (P < 0.05). The total number of eggs laid per female was lower on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus (P < 0.05); however, daily egg production was similar on the two vegetable crops .The longevity of adult female le crops . Egg prole crops . Peak feT. ludeni decreased considerably on A. cruentus after nine days whereas on S. macrocarpon, the decrease began after five days and became more pronounced after 12 days , net reproductive rate (oR), female progeny, and the survival rate at adult stage of T. ludeni differed between the two host plants. Parameters such as mr, oR and female progeny were respectively 1.24, 2.55 and 2.35 fold higher on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus. Similarly, the survival rate of immatures to the adult stage was 72% on S. macrocarpon while it was 45% on A. cruentus; and doubling time was shorter on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus.Life table parameters are presented in S. macrocarpon, than on A. cruentus. The production of females seems constant on S. macrocarpon with a trough only on day 19, followed immediately by a rapid increase at the end of the experiment. On A. cruentus, the production of females showed an overall decreasing trend with a trough around day 11 after which it reached a peak before decreasing, starting from day 16 to the end of the experiment.The temporal fluctuations of the percentage of female progeny  against T. ludeni feeds, survives and develops on the two vegetables A. cruentus and S. macrocarpon, and that host type can greatly affect its development, fecundity and life-table parameters. Indeed, the results showed that the host plant had substantial effects on the intrinsic rate of natural increase (mr), the net reproductive rate (oR), female progeny, and the survival of the adult stage.Our study shows that Phaseolus vulgaris L., mean duration of developmental stages for female T. ludeni was 9.98 days  ulmi  ulmi . Lewontius) ulmi , and Wreus) ulmi , showed A. cruentus compared with S. macrocarpon, life table parameters such as number of progeny per female , survival of immatures to the adult stage, proportion of females in the progeny and net reproductive rate were higher on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus. This suggests that egg viability was lower on A. cruentus than on S. macrocarpon. Indeed many eggs of T. ludeni on A. cruentus failed to hatch  confirm these suggestions, as it was higher on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus. However, the data found in this study are lower than the 0.273 observed on cotton at 28\u00b0C by da Silva  was higher on to hatch , and juvrocarpon . The tem species . With S.da Silva , but fal species .A. cruentus may be due to its chemical composition as it may contain some so-called digestibility reducers known to exert sublethal effects by impairing herbivores' growth. Several studies have shown that population density and fecundity of various tetranychid mites on various host plants depend on plant quality (mr) of T. urticae on bean leaves and the potassium content of the leaves (see review by A. cruentus shows that its potassium content is much higher than that of S. macrocarpon (mr of T. ludeni on A. cruentus. Furthermore, some secondary plant metabolites such as phenolic compounds are also known to adversely affect pathogens and insect/mite populations (T. ludeni on A. cruentus compared with S. macrocarpon.The high mortality recorded during the immature stages on  quality . Some ch quality . Nitrogerocarpon , and thiulations , and thiT. ludeni used in these experiments came from S. aethiopicum, a solanaceous species close to S. macrocarpon. These mite populations might have, therefore, developed an adaptation to solanaceous species and this could enhance their performances on S. macrocarpon compared with A. cruentus, an Amaranthaceae. The higher net reproductive rate and the shorter doubling time of T. ludeni on S. macrocarpon may explain the relatively higher densities of T. ludeni generally observed on solanaceous plants in the field (The population of he field . It is whe field .T. ludeni are dependent on host-plant quality. Demographic parameters of this mite pest are better on S. macrocarpon than on A. cruentus, suggesting that S. macrocarpon is more suitable to T. ludeni than A. cruentus. This differential suitability of host plants to the mite is an important factor to consider while exploring IPM solutions for T. ludeni. For example, intercropping and/or rotation of A. cruentus and S. macrocarpon could be used to break the dissemination of T. ludeni within a vegetable farm. Moreover, a full knowledge of the chemical composition of potential host plants and/or non-host plants of the mite pest, and of how this can affect the growth of the mite might be an important key for developing biopesticides for a cheaper and environmentally safer control of mite pest on vegetable farms in Africa.This study shows that population density and fecundity of"}
+{"text": "Arvid Carlsson was born in Uppsala, Sweden in 1923. Dr. Carlsson, a pharmacologist, is best known for his contributions on the neurotransmitter, dopamine, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for Medicine/Physiology. The co-recipients were Dr. Eric Kendel and Dr. Paul Greengard.Dr. Carlsson entered Medical School in 1941 and his education was interrupted by several years of service in the Swedish armed forces. In 1951, he finished the M.L. degree, now equivalent to M.D. in North America. Later, he became a Professor at the University of Lund. In 1959, he moved to Goteborg University.In 1957, Dr. Carlsson showed that dopamine was a neurotransmitter in the brain and not just a precursor of norepinephrine.3 He did Dr. Carlsson was also instrumental in developing the \u2018dopamine theory of schizophrenia\u20195 and theDr. Carlsson was also among the first researchers of the antidepressant compound, zimeldine, which was the first selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor. The precursor of this drug was brompheniramine. Here, one should note that he did substantial work on the synthesis and metabolism of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) in the central nervous system. However,In the aging brain, there is a reduction of the levels of several transmitter substances and of the activities of enzymes involved in their synthesis and/or catabolism. CarlssonIt is interesting to note that Dr. Carlsson opposed fluoridation of water as it is a violation of modern pharmacological principles, and he succeeded in his campaign along with hundreds of other scientists. It is also important to note that the incidence of dental caries was the same in Sweden as compared to fluoridated countries such as the USA. As British Columbia in Canada was considering fluoridation of water, Carlsson said, \u2018I would advise against fluoridation. He reiterated that individual prophylaxis (treatment) is preferable on principle grounds and that it is equally effective\u2019."}
+{"text": "Anopheles gambiae s.s mosquitoes are important vectors of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and malaria in Ghana. To better understand their ecological aspects and influence on disease transmission, we examined the spatial distribution of the An. gambiae (M and S) molecular forms and associated environmental factors, and determined their relationship with disease prevalence. Published and current data available on the An. gambiae species in Ghana were collected in a database for analysis, and the study sites were georeferenced and mapped. Using the An. gambiae s.s sites, environmental data were derived from climate, vegetation and remote-sensed satellite sources, and disease prevalence data from existing LF and malaria maps in the literature. The data showed that An. gambiae M and S forms were sympatric in most locations. However, the S form predominated in the central region, while the M form predominated in the northern and coastal savanna regions. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses identified temperature as a key factor distinguishing their distributions. An. gambiae M was significantly correlated with LF, and 2.5 to 3 times more prevalent in the high LF zone than low to medium zones. There were no significant associations between high prevalence An. gambiae s.s locations and malaria. The distribution of the An. gambiae M and S forms and the diseases they transmit in Ghana appear to be distinct, driven by different environmental factors. This study provides useful baseline information for disease control, and future work on the An. gambiae s.s in Ghana. Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) contains seven species, of which An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s), An. arabiensis and An. melas are three of the major vectors of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and malaria caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, and Plasmodium falciparum respectively in West Africa An. gambiae s.l and the An. funestus to be the major vectors of LF in the southern coastal zone and in the northern region of the country The mosquito Anopheles vectors prioritizes the use of insecticide treated materials and indoor residual spraying. However, the efficiency of these interventions will depend on information on the distribution and abundance of the main vectors, the specific molecular forms of An. gambiae s.s and the levels of insecticide resistance within them Vector control is considered an important tool for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and other insect vectors An. gambiae complex in Africa An. gambiae s.s covered 11 sites across different ecological zones of the country An. gambiae S form predominated across the country, except in the arid north where only the M form was found. While this was the first major attempt at presenting the geographical distribution and ecological variations in An. gambiae s.s in Ghana, it is not known how these data compare with other An. gambiae s.s data, whether there are specific environmental factors driving the distributions of the M and S molecular forms, and if there are any associations with LF and malaria distributions Studies on the distribution of the An. gambiae s.s in Ghana, and aimed to i) examine the spatial distribution of the An. gambiae M and S forms across the country, ii) identify key environmental factors associated with their distribution, and iii) determine their relationship with LF and malaria prevalence distributions. It is envisaged that this information will help develop a comprehensive profile on the ecology of An. gambiae s.s in Ghana, which will assist researchers and the diseases control programs in the country.In order to better understand the ecological aspects of this important vector, their influence on the epidemiology of LF and malaria, this study collated data on The Republic of Ghana is a developing West African country bordered to the north by Burkina Faso, to the east by Togo, to the West by Cote d'Ivoire and to the south by the Gulf of Guinea An. gambiae s.l in Ghana were identified from various sources including published articles in peer-reviewed journals, unpublished works from MPhil and PhD theses held at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Accra-Ghana, as well as on-going studies at NMIMR. The collated data spanned from 2001 to 2008. Information on the location, study period, sample size, collection method, mosquito species and molecular forms, from each study were collated into a database. Various collection methods including; human landing catches, pyrethroid spray catches, larval collections and aspirators were used, depending on the location of the study sites and the objectives of the various studies. However, irrespective of the collection method, data collected from the same location in different years were considered separately. With the exception of few sites, most locations (i.e collection site) in the database were geo-referenced using the latitude and longitude coordinates obtained by cross-checking the names with data from the GEOnet Names Server Entomological studies on An. gambiae s.l, and the different prevalence distributions of An. gambiae M and S across the country were mapped. Mosquito collection methods were also compared, to highlight differences in sampling. Second, spatial analysis of the An. gambiae M and S prevalences were examined using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and Statistics tools . The Moran's I statistic was used to determine spatial autocorrelation patterns i.e. clustered, dispersed, random, and the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic was used to identify the specific locations where high and low prevalences were clustered  +1.96 and \u22121.96 standard deviations). In addition, the kernel density estimation (KDE) method, non-parametric way of estimating the probability density function, was used to create a continuous surface representing the high to low density distributions of each molecular form.All data were imported into the geographical information systems software ArcGIS 9.2  for mapping and spatial analyses. First, the overall distribution of the An. gambiae M and S in Ghana, specific data on elevation, vegetation, precipitation, temperature and humidity were obtained for each location (i.e. collection site), and compiled into a database, for descriptive and statistical analyses in SPSS 16.0 .To examine environmental factors associated with the prevalence distributions of Elevation data were derived from the U.S Geological Survey's ETOPO2 Digital Elevation Model available from ESRI . The elevation at each collection site was determined by importing the digital elevation map into ArcGIS 9.2 and extracting the underlying value (metres). Vegetation and climate data were based on the mean annual values for the specific year of study, obtained from the best available sources via the Climate Data Library of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society An. gambiae M and S, and each environmental variable was examined using bivariate correlations, Pearson's correlation coefficient . Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was then used to identify the environmental factor that would best predict the distribution of each molecular form. To account for environmental variables that may be highly correlated with each other, the level of colinearity tolerance in the stepwise regression procedure was set at \u22650.8 and only variables above this threshold were accepted in the models. Second, to better understand the environmental parameters associated with the An. gambiae M and S forms, mean environmental measures between high and low prevalence sites were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.First, the relationship between An. gambiae M and S prevalence and the distribution of disease, maps on the LF prevalence P. falciparum prevalence W. bancrofti seroprevalence data collected in 2000 from 401 villages throughout Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo P. falciparum malaria prevalence map was modelled on extensive data obtained from children aged 2\u201310 years in non-epidemic periods, using a generalized linear mixed model To examine the relationship between the An. gambiae s.s collection sites were used as focal points, whereby the underlying disease prevalence data could be compared with the entomological data. The LF and malaria prevalence data, corresponding to the latitude and longitude of each mosquito collection site, were extracted and exported for descriptive and statistical analyses, which included bivariate correlations, and comparison of means between high and low prevalence sites of the An. gambiae M and S forms.The Further, it was of particular interest to explore the entomological and environmental characteristics in different LF transmission zones based on the prevalence data map in Gyapong et al. 2002 An. gambiae species complex database contained 143 records with a total of 12,607 mosquitoes, reflecting both larval and adult catches. From this, the distribution of An. gambiae s.l was mapped , followed by An. melas  and An. arabiensis . The map indicates that the distribution of An. gambiae s.s was widespread, while An. melas was primarily found along the coastal Savanna zones, a predominantly marshy environment, and An. arabiensis mainly in the northern savanna zone. Anopheles funestus, the second most important vector of malaria and lymphatic filariasis in Ghana, was also recorded in 9 sites with a total of 1,825 mosquitoes. Refer to supplementary data File S1 \u201cAnopheles distribution records in Ghana\u201d for further information on An. funestus and other Anopheles mosquito species, collection sites and coordinates, year and month of collection (where available), collection methods, numbers collected and identified, and the data sources.The collated s mapped . The mosAn. gambiae s.s data, a total of 70 collection sites had information on the M form  and S form . The collection sites were located predominately in three geographical regions i.e. the south eastern, central western and north central. The distribution of An. gambiae M and S forms varied across the country in different proportions .Of the portions . Figure An. gambiae M  and An. gambiae S  forms. The resultant Z scores of the Getis-Ord Gi* hot spot analyses (using inverse-distance weighting), indicated similar trends with significantly different clustering of high and low prevalences of the An. gambiae M and S forms. These spatial trends were overlaid a density distribution surface map shown in While, it is possible that the geographical grouping of collection sites may influence trends, the spatial analyses carried out in this study indicated a positive spatial autocorrelation or clustering for both the An. gambiae M and S forms, and the environmental variables are shown in An. gambiae M form was significantly positively associated with temperature (r\u200a=\u200a0.51), and negatively with elevation (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.28), precipitation (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.33), and humidity (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.26). This contrasts to the An. gambiae S form, which was found to be significantly negatively associated with temperature (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.58), and positively with elevation (r\u200a=\u200a0.30) and rainfall (r\u200a=\u200a0.41). Interestingly, elevation, precipitation and temperature correlations increased when data were stratified by the two main collection methods, HLC and larval collections  and for An. gambiae S, 36%  of the variance in the model  between elevation, precipitation and temperature for both An. gambiae M and S forms between the high and low prevalence areas.For each molecular form, comparisons of environmental measures between locations with significantly high and low prevalences, defined by positive Z scores (\u2265+1.96) and negative Z scores (\u2264\u22121.96) respectively, are shown in An. gambiae M and S forms was plotted across a range of environmental groupings , while An. gambiae S form was significantly negatively associated with LF (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.48), but positively with malaria (r\u200a=\u200a0.26). Interestingly, correlation analysis between each mosquito species, and each disease indicated significant negative associations between An. gambiae M and An. gambiae S (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.76), and between LF and malaria prevalence (r\u200a=\u200a\u22120.41).The relationship between the An. gambiae M and S sites (as described above). Overall, locations with high An. gambiae M prevalences (Z scores\u2265+1.96), were found to have significantly higher LF prevalences (20%) than those locations with low prevalences (Z scores\u2264\u22121.96), by these species (2.4%) and/or where the prevalence of An. gambiae S form was significantly high (2.2%). No significant differences were found between malaria prevalence and each mosquito species  and temperatures (26.8\u00b0C) were found to be significantly higher (\u00b12SE), and An. gambiae S prevalence (25.6%) significantly lower, than those found in medium transmission  and low transmission  zones. In the zero/low transmission zone, precipitation measures (2.83 mm) were found to be significantly higher (+2SE), than those in the medium transmission (2.34 mm) to high transmission (1.99 mm) zones  zones . Refer tAn. gambiae s.l in Ghana et al. attempted a broader coverage, this study represents the first nationwide review aimed at identifying the distribution of the various member species of the An. gambiae s.l, the molecular forms of the An. gambiae s.s, together with key environmental drivers and how they may relate to diseases. This study confirms previous observations that An. gambiae s.l is the major human biting mosquito species in Ghana An. gambiae s.l, An. gambiae s.s is the predominant species An. gambiae s.l found in Ghana are An. arabiensis and An. melas.Most entomological studies on An. gambiae M and S forms varied significantly across the country. The two molecular forms were found sympatrically in most locations, except in some areas in the middle region of the country where only the An. gambiae S form was observed, and in certain areas in the northern savanna and coastal savanna areas where only the An. gambiae M form was observed. This is confirmed by the spatial analysis and high Z score values in An. gambiae M/S form dominant areas. Also, the clustering remained relatively consistent irrespective of the different collection methods. Along the coast and in the northern savanna, the An. gambiae M form was predominant and clustered, while the S molecular form was most common and clustered in the middle belt. This positive spatial autocorrelation indicates that An. gambiae M/S distributions are geographically defined, and nearby areas are likely to comprise the same or similar species compositions, than those further away. The distribution of each species is also influenced by distinct and geographical related environmental factors and habitat characteristics. For example, the dominance of the An. gambiae M form in the northern and coastal savanna areas may be due to the wide presence of permanent breeding conditions provided by irrigation facilities An. gambiae S form in the middle region of the country may be explained by the fact that this region is mountainous, forested, with lower mean temperatures and the highest recorded rainfall in Ghana, which supports the findings of our study. In sub-Saharan Africa the abundance and distribution of Anopheles mosquito species is dependent on environmental factors and ecological zones An. gambiae M and S forms, which appear to be driven by a range of environmental factors. The relation between human population density and vector distribution is an indirect one and difficult to measure. However, it may be inferred that the NDVI, which is a measure of vegetation greenness and density, is somehow affected by the degree of land occupancy and exploitation by humans through the action of occupation and clearance for agricultural and developmental purposes.The distribution of the An. gambiae S form in a larger part of the country from this study confirm suggestions that the An. gambiae S form, has broader environmental ranges, and therefore is found in more locations than the M form An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.sAn. gambiae M form was more prevalent and seemingly better adapted to higher temperatures, than the S form. This is in agreement with the suggestion that the An. gambiae M form shows a more latitudinal range in West Africa than the S form Variations in the vector population densities of these two molecular forms have been observed in populations in Mali and Cameroon as well as between the various chromosomal forms in Mali An. gambiae S form, whilst high LF prevalence and high transmission zones were associated with high temperatures and significantly high An. gambiae M prevalences. This relationship between An. gambiae M and S forms with LF and malaria supports previous studies that suggest the Mopti form of An. gambiae s.s is more associated with W. bancrofti than malaria transmission An. gambiaeAn. gambiae Mopti chromosomal form dominant areas The mosquito vectors' association with each disease might explain the negative association between LF and malaria described by Kelly-Hope and colleagues An. gambiae M and S forms in Ghana, highlighting the environmental factors that may play a role in determining their distributions. The information provided also marks a beginning in understanding the LF disease distribution pattern in Ghana relative to the forms of the An. gambiae s.s. Despite the limitations of this study in using previously modeled LF and malaria data, these results are very useful for disease control and allocation of resources, especially for LF, which together with its vectors appear to be restricted to hotter, less elevated regions of the country. Another limitation to this study is the small number of sites involved in the analysis of the An. gambiae M and S distribution. This coupled with their uneven distribution between the southern half and the northern half of the country could introduce potential bias in the analyses. Undertaking spatial statistical analysis with a larger dataset in the future, and further modeling their distributions through ecologic niche modeling The results from this study provide useful information on the distribution of the File S1Data file for Anopheles mosquito species, collection sites and coordinates, year and month of collection (where available), collection methods, numbers collected and identified, and the data sources.(0.04 MB XLS)Click here for additional data file.File S2Summary of entomological and environmental variables in different LF transmission zones.(0.08 MB DOC)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "In biopsies from the oral mucosa of 235 cases in which the diagnosis was lichen planus, keratosis or leukoplakia, mitotic values were calculated for the stratum basale  and the stratum spinosum (M.V. spinous). The mean M.V. basal was significantly different from the mean M.V. spinous in the keratosis and leukoplakia groups, but not in the lichen planus group. Within the keratosis and leukoplakia groups, M.V. basal and M.V. spinous were significantly correlated. When each of the mean M.V.s was compared with the M.V.s for the other diagnostic groups, various significant differences were found. The M.V.s were examined in relation to the type of keratinization, the presence of acanthosis or atrophy, and the patient's age, but the M.V.s were not significantly related to these features."}
+{"text": "The Magpie Trial, a randomised trial comparing magnesium sulphate with placebo for women with pre-eclampsia. This paper describes methods used for follow up in the UK, and presents additional data collected.In the UK 774 women and their 827 children were included; excluded were women discharged without a surviving child and families who opted out. General practitioners were sent a questionnaire when the child was around 18 months old. When the child was two years, or older, questionnaires asking about the health of the women and children were posted to families. A sample of families was offered a home visit, during which the child was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.Of the women, 12 were lost to follow up and three died. Of the children, 12 were lost to follow up, 5 were excluded and 19 died. General practitioners returned 688/759 (91%) questionnaires, as did 619/759 (82%) women. Responses were largely comparable. 32 women had serious morbidity potentially related to pre-eclampsia. 30% of children were reported to have been admitted to hospital. There were no clear differences between the randomised groups in the child's behaviour, women's fertility or use of health service resources.Data presented here provide further reassurance about the longer term safety of magnesium sulphate when used for women with pre-eclampsia. Postal questionnaires in the UK to assess the longer term health and wellbeing of women and children recruited to trials are feasible, and can achieve a high response rate. Responses from families and general practitioners were comparableTrial registration number of the Magpie Trial [ISRCTN86938761] Pre-eclampsia; a multisystem disorder of pregnancy usually associated with raised blood pressure and proteinuria, complicates 2\u20138% of pregnancies. Althougin utero exposure to magnesium sulphate is associated with an increase in the risk of death or neurosensory disability for the child [The Magpie Trial compared magnesium sulphate with placebo for women with pre-eclampsia. This rahe child  , or in he child .For the follow up study; methods for tracing and assessing families were developed that could be implemented across 19 countries and a range of settings.,12 NeverBetween July 1998 and November 2001, 804 women were recruited to the Magpie Trial at 67 UK hospitals. Follow up was from October 2002 until May 2004. Thirty women were excluded from tracing leaving 774 eligible for follow up  with som1) Does your child play happily with toys for up to 10 minutes?2) Is your child frightened in new situations?3) Does your child play happily with other children if you are around?4) Does your child cling to you when you are with other people?5) Does your child settle easily to sleep throughout the night?Options for response to questions 'Yes' 'Sometimes' 'No'6) Has your child been prescribed any medicines to be taken for more than two weeks?If yes, please give their names ..................................................................7) Over the last 3 \u2013 6 months have you taken your child to the general practitioner?If yes, how many times and what for ............................................................The accompanying women's questionnaire asked women about their own health, again with additional questions used only in the UK:1) Have you used contraception since your child was born?If yes which ones ................................................................2) Did having pre-eclampsia (toxaemia) contribute to your choice?If yes, please explain how ...........................................................3) Have you tried to get pregnant again since your child was born?If no, did having pre-eclampsia contribute to your decision?Please explain ...................................................................4) Have you seen anyone else about your health, or how you feel, since your child was born?If yes, who and what for? .......................................Options for response to questions 'Yes' or 'No'Women were also asked about their experience of participating in the Magpie Trial. Responses to these questions are part of a qualitative analysis of participants' views of being in the trial, and are reported elsewhere .Children were considered 'screen positive' if they failed the ASQ, if the ASQ could not be scored, or if the child passed an ASQ for a younger age group. The families of these children were contacted by telephone and offered a home visit for further assessment. Children were considered screen negative if they passed the ASQ for their own age group, or for an older child. Screen negative children in the north east of England were offered a home visit.The aim of the home visit was to confirm whether or not the child had neurodevelopmental delay, or any other significant problem. If so, to collect information that would, if possible, establish a diagnosis. Families were asked about the child's current health and development, and the child was tested using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) . These aDuring the home visit we took the opportunity to measure the woman's blood pressure, and to ask her about her health. Home visits lasted approximately two to three hours. All assessments were blind to the allocated treatment.Responses by the general practitioner and the family were described and compared for both women and children. As information was collected from general practitioners earlier than from families, the aim was to assess whether these responses were comparable and whether differences could reasonably be expected to be due to the time difference. Data assessing the child's behaviour, the woman's fertility, and their use of health service resources were compared between the two allocated treatment groups.Of the 774 UK women included in follow up, 12 were lost to follow up and three died after discharge from hospital  after the child was born (adjusted for gestation at birth up to 24 months). There was no difference in the response rate between the two allocated groups. In addition, there were no clear differences between women who responded to the questionnaire (n = 619) and those who did not (n = 140) in characteristics at trial entry, outcome at delivery or outcome at discharge following delivery (data not shown).Of women included in the UK follow up, three quarters (74%) were primiparous, a quarter were less than 34 weeks gestation at trial entry, just over half (56%) had labour induced, two thirds (61%) were delivered by caesarean section and nearly half (46%) had severe pre-eclampsia (data not shown). For 132 children the family did not complete the questionnaire; but for two the families contacted us to say the child had severe disability and request that they have no further assessment. The remaining 130 children were no more likely to have developmental delay, reported by the general practitioner, than those children for whom the family completed a questionnaire (data not shown).Overall for 688/759 (91%) women the general practitioner's questionnaire was completed. The majority (62%) responded after the initial questionnaire, some practices requiring reminders (34%). Fifty-one practices requested, and were sent, a copy of the trial consent form; of these 36 responded by returning the completed questionnaire. Payment was requested and provided for 36 practices . Five practices gave no response. No general practitioner could be identified for three women. The general practitioner's questionnaires were completed 23 months  after the child was born (adjusted for gestation at birth up to 24 months). Based on information provided by the general practitioner we did not contact four families: the reasons were recent marital breakdown (2), recent death of husband (1) and drug addiction (1).Questionnaire responses were available from both general practitioners and women for 551/759 women Table . For theOverall serious morbidity potentially related to pre-eclampsia was reported for 31 (4%) women recruited in the UK; of whom 26 had severe hypertension (defined as taking two or more antihypertensives at time of completing questionnaire), six had renal problems, and one woman had had a stroke. Other morbidity was reported for 331 (44%) women, this included: minor ailments  for 235 (31%) women, major psychiatric illness (psychosis or depression requiring treatment) for 144 (19%) and minor psychiatric illness (stress or anxiety not requiring treatment) for 49 (6%). Women's reporting of their fertility since the Magpie Trial and family history of pre-eclampsia and use of health care resources are in Table Over 30% of children were reported to have been admitted to hospital: chest infection and minor surgery being the most common reasons. Other morbidity was reported for 149 26%) children, this included: minor ailments . Prescribed medication for more than two weeks was reported for 126 (25%) children: these included vitamins (29%), asthma treatment (25%) and antibiotics (19%)  receptors in the brain, the pathway for anoxic cell damage, we hypothesized that al delay . These aThe high response rate to the postal questionnaires is a key strength of our study. By sending questionnaires to both the families and general practitioners we were able to achieve 98% follow up. For families we were unable to contact, or who did not respond to the questionnaire, information was provided by their general practitioner. Comparison of these responses is reassuring, in that they are largely comparable. This is consistent with the agreement between a parental questionnaire and paediatric assessment for children with a high prevalence of impairment . The maiThe follow up study did not begin until after recruitment closed, as this was when funding was secured. Nevertheless, use of the Office for National Statistics ensuring complete ascertainment of mortality, and accessing the National Health Service Tracing Scheme enabled us to trace all but four surviving mothers and their four children. An additional advantage of the separate system for ascertaining deaths was that unnecessary distress of contacting families if the child had died could be avoided, and if the mother died an appropriate approach could be made to the child's current carer.Fewer families responded to the questionnaires than did the general practitioners. Our children's questionnaire asked for the child's current height and weight, information that was often missing from questionnaires returned. Some families told us they delayed returning questionnaires in order to take the child to a clinic to be weighed and measured. It is seems likely that this delay contributed to the non-response. As the data for height and weight were incomplete, they have not been reported. Our impression is that women and families largely valued being contacted for the follow up study. Only 12 families chose to opt out. Women returning the questionnaires, and being contacted for a home visit, often expressed their appreciation of our continued interest in their, and their child's, health and welfare. In addition, the questionnaire to women included three questions about their views of participation in the Magpie Trial, these data are reported elsewhere.Data presented here provide further confirmation of the considerable morbidity experienced by women following childbirth. There is a growing awareness of the high level of health problems women experience, even after an uncomplicated pregnancy and childbirth . Around Magnesium sulphate reduces the risk of eclampsia  without The authors declare that they have no competing interests.RMDS wrote the first draft of the manuscript, with input from LD. All authors participated in reviewing and revising the manuscript and approved its final version.The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:"}
+{"text": "Anopheles minimus complex (Cellia: Myzomyia), An. minimus and Anopheles harrisoni, respectively former species A and C. Because the morphological identification of both sibling species is difficult and may lead to misidentifications, accurate data on their respective distribution are missing. This is of fundamental importance since the two species seem to exhibit differential vectorial capacities for malaria transmission.The distribution of anopheline mosquitoes in Vietnam was examined, with a particular interest for the two sibling species of the An. minimus s.l. were carried out in 23 sites throughout northern, central and south-eastern regions of Vietnam.Large entomological surveys based on cattle collections and molecular identifications of An. minimus and An. harrisoni were mapped. It is noteworthy that there was a high specific biodiversity at each study site. Anopheles minimus s.l. and Anopheles sinensis were the main anopheline species in the northern region, whereas Anopheles aconitus and Anopheles vagus were the most frequent ones in the central region. The southern limit of An. harrisoni was increased to the latitude of 11\u00b0N. Sympatry between both sibling species has been extended to new provinces.Based on previous molecular works and our data, the distribution of anopheline species and the relative densities of Malaria transmission is still high in central Vietnam and along bordering countries. Therefore, it is important to know and map the precise distribution of the main and secondary malaria vectors in Vietnam for applying efficient vector control programmes. Moreover, these maps should be regularly updated and linked to environmental characteristics relative to disease epidemiology, and environmental and climatic changes occurring in southeast Asia. Anopheles minimus s.l.  is composed of three sibling species, An. minimus (former species A), Anopheles harrisoni (former species C), and An. minimus species E [Anopheles minimus and An. harrisoni can be sympatrically distributed over the southeast Asian mainland whereas species E is restricted to the Ishigaki Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, a malaria free region [An. minimus and An. harrisoni are missing [Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles pampanai and Anopheles varuna, are common [The main malaria vector pecies E . Anophele region ,3. Becaue region , accurate common ,6. Recene common -10.Anopheles minimus s.l. occurs in hilly, forested areas [An. minimus s.l. are streams or canals, with slow-running water partially shaded by grassy margins [An. minimus s.l. and Anopheles dirus s.l. occur [ed areas . Norther margins . In centl. occur ,11. The l. occur ,13.An. minimus was molecularly reported in 17 provinces; and An. harrisoni confirmed in nine provinces  to compile a distribution map for the two members of the Anopheles minimus complex, based on previous records and 23 new study sites.Since these sibling species may exhibit different vectorial capacities ,15, it iA total of 23 sites in 15 provinces were selected for mosquito collections in different geographical areas of northern, central and south-eastern Vietnam  Table . MosquitAn. minimus, An. harrisoni and associated anopheline species . One aconitus , may havaconitus . The An.Based on morphological identifications, a total of 19 anopheline species were collected and identified throughout the northern to south-eastern regions of Vietnam Table  out of tAn. minimus s.l. were DNA-extracted and identified as An. minimus or An. harrisoni for all the sites, except five sites with samples not available and three sites with no An. minimus s.l. populations (Table An. minimus samples (two An. minimus s.l instead of two An. aconitus) were noticed for the VSLA site (northern region). No sites with An. harrisoni only were found neither for the northern region nor the central one . This may reflect a competition between these two sibling species which needs to be further investigated. Molecular species identifications were intentionally not carried out for the Dirus and Maculatus complexes, because the Minimus complex was targeted. Recently, Obsomer et al.[A total of 706 ns Table . Only twe Figure . Intereser et al. publisheAnopheles minimus s.l. and An. sinensis were the main species collected on cattle over the northern region, followed by An. aconitus and An. jeyporiensis  and one site (VTHB) presented a very low density . Actually in Vietnam, An. minimus s.l. is commonly found at an altitude ranging from 200 to 800 meters and becomes quite rare at altitudes above 1,500 meters [An. minimus s.l. in the VTHB site (only three specimens) may be due to very recent agricultural changes linked to modified irrigation systems that may have disturbed the mosquito larval habitats, phenomenon also observed in Thailand [An. sinensis and Anopheles philippinensis, the latter species having much lower densities in all the other sites and is known to occur in agricultural areas [The VNAA village is surrounded by pine plantations. The overall number of anophelines collected was low (204 specimens during six nights) and itude 1,26 m. Actu0 meters . The lowThailand  and IndiThailand . The maial areas .An. harrisoni , whereas An. minimus was present in 13 out of 15 surveyed sites. Anopheles harrisoni was the predominant species of the complex in three sites only, two in the Son La Province (VSLA and VSLB), and one in the Lang Son Province (VLSB).Five sites out of 15 were negative for et al.[An. minimus only in their two sites in Lao Cai Province. However, one site (VLCA) was found positive for both sibling species in this province. Further south, the two sites VTHA and VNAB showed two different situations in the hilly areas of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces, respectively sympatric populations and An. minimus only.Regarding the distribution reported in previous studies in northern Vietnam Figure , the reset al. reportedAn. minimus and possibly An. harrisoni, represents a permanent threat for the resurgence of malaria in this region with the movement of infected human populations from endemic areas such as central Vietnam and bordering countries.In northern Vietnam, malaria is relatively well controlled but still occurs at the border of China and Laos . HoweverAnopheles aconitus and An. vagus were the most frequent species in these regions (Table Anopheles dirus s.l. was found in low densities in two sites only (VGLA and VPYA) (Table ns Table . AnophelA) Table . It occuA) Table .An. minimus s.l. and four sites among the seven had low densities ranging between one and six specimens (Table Anopheles harrisoni was recently found in Khanh Hoa Province [An. minimus which was reportedly the dominant species until 1999 [An. harrisoni to Binh Duong Province (VBGA), located in south-eastern Vietnam, at a latitude of 11\u00b0N, less than 100 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. This is a new site where An. minimus and An. harrisoni are sympatric.One site (VKTA) was negative for ns Table . AnophelProvince   and Thailand [am Table . Anophell region -27, and Thailand ,25,28,29An. minimus s.l. and An. sinensis were the main species in northern Vietnam, whereas An. aconitus and An. vagus were dominant in central Vietnam. Anopheles minimus and An. harrisoni of the Minimus complex are present over the northern, central and south-eastern Vietnam, down to latitude 11\u00b0N. Malaria transmission is still high in central Vietnam and along bordering countries. Future entomological surveys in the surrounding countries and, on a larger scale throughout southeast Asia, are required to molecularly identify the different members of the Minimus and Aconitus Subgroups to clarify the precise distributions of each member and to improve vector control strategies.Based on cattle collections, Compiling distribution maps based on large sample collections is not an academic exercise. Knowing precise and accurate geographic distributions of vector species is an important prerequisite for: (1) an adequate choice of zones where vector control actions should focus, (2) a better selection of future study sites for entomologists working on secondary or local vector species, (3) studies on anopheline biodiversity relating to environmental and climatic changes, (4) analyses of landscape-species associations, and (5) modelling malaria risk maps or comparison of predictive ecological maps with field observations.Since malaria transmission still occurs in central Vietnam and population movement from the centre to the north are important, vector control measures must be maintained. In addition, entomological, epidemiological and climatic data need to be integrated into a Geographic Information System to follow the future trends of the disease and to assess the malaria risk zones. These maps should be regularly updated and linked to environmental characteristics of disease epidemiology relating to environmental and climatic changes occurring in southeast Asia.The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.CG participated in the spatial and data collections in northern Vietnam, carried out the molecular identification of the Minimus samples, analysed and interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript. CVN coordinated the spatial data collections in northern and central Vietnam and made substantial intellectual contributions to the paper. THD coordinated all the entomological surveys and contributed to the content of the paper. MC  and SM initiated the study and revised the paper critically for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "To view the changing perspective of Psychiatry in Rajasthan, we must begin with the story of establishment of lunatic asylums in Rajputana states. It was after the treaty of alliance signed between the native states of Rajputana and the East India Company (1803-1818) that each native state created/established an asylum for detention and care of the lunatics. Initially the lunatics were seen in dispensaries and detained in jails tied with chains. An asylum outside the jail was first established in 1881 in Jaipur state. Ajmer had an asylum inside jail in 1865 (Hendley 1900). Forty unfortunate lunatics were incarcerated inside \u2018cells\u2019 in this asylum, which was situated near Ghatgate (Jaipur). In year 1894, another enclosure in a walled garden near Central Telegraph Office, Jaipur in the southern part of the city was used as asylum by Jaipur state. Here the lunatics were left to enjoy the Open Court Yard and a \u2018Baradaree\u2019, no cots were provided but the atmosphere was more humane and sympathetic towards the unfortunate lunatics who were confined in this asylum. Food and protection were provided by the jail department till 1922, when this asylum was shifted to a Dharamshala situated near Chandpole Gate opposite the present Janana Hospital. Here the lunatics were again put in cells. The medical supervision was provided by the part-time doctors from the jail department. Administration, watch and ward of asylum remained under the jail department till year 1943 .In 1943, Jaipur state enacted Jaipur Lunacy Act for detention and treatment of lunatics; the criminal procedure code 1926. Jaipur State was amended for the detention and care of the criminal lunatics 1943 (C.P.U. 1943). From the year 1944, the Mental Hospital Jaipur (Lunatic Asylum) started running as an independent hospital under Medical Department of Jaipur State. Till 1922, the control of lunatic asylum was placed under the Rajputana Agency, but after 1922 the administration of lunatic asylum was transferred to Jaipur Durbar. The annual returns from these asylums show a high mortality of lunatics admitted there in, on account of diarrhea, dysentery and fever. Under orders from Jaipur Durbar, the lunatics could be released from asylums for the care of relatives and friends if assured for kind sympathetic care and protection from doing harm to others. All lunatics were admitted under court orders.th century that psychoanalytic explanations came in and the last four decades have seen tremendous scientific advancements in understanding of human behavior through biopsychosocial research. The treatment of mental disorders has also been revolutionized in the last four decades and as a result to this the specialty is now a very fast growing subject.The discipline of psychiatry is rather a new specialty of medical science. Though understanding of human mind has existed from times immemorial in different philosophical and religious schools, in the middle ages, due to lack of knowledge, superstitions like evil spirits dominated the explanation for various mental disorders. It is only in the late 19As a result of research in mental health, now intricate complexities of the human mind have been understood in terms of neuroelectrical and neurochemical changes occurring in the brain. Specific change occurring with different mood states has been identified and an intervention to bring desired changes in human behavior is now possible. Mental illnesses once thought incurable are now treatable. Mental illness is now considered like any other illness and there is no reason that it should be concealed, and like patients with physical disorder the mentally ill after treatment can be rehabilitated and made useful citizens.Psychiatric Centre, Jaipur is the premier institute of the state for treatment and care of mentally ill. Founded in 1952, the institution has completed 53 years of its existence. Like the discipline of Psychiatry, the initial development was rather slow. But after its recognition as a postgraduate teaching department of the medical college in the year 1980, development has been seen in certain areas of its growth.It is one of the six attached hospitals of S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur. The center was started with a bed strength of 180 with an outpatient attendance of 190 per annum and annual turnover of 105 indoor patients in the year 1952. At present the hospital has a total bed strength of 320 . The hospital has an annual turnover of average 4000 indoor patients and an outpatients' attendance of nearly 40,000 per annum.The catchment area of the hospital is whole of Rajasthan and adjacent states of U.P., Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and State of Delhi. The admission facilities in the center are free to every person irrespective of the state. The medicines are distributed free of cost to all the indoor as well as outdoor patients.A 20-bedded emergency ward was started in the year 1981 for the patients requiring urgent care and management. The admission facility in the emergency ward is available round the clock. A separate 12-bedded de-addiction ward was also started in the year 1986 to meet the special needs of the drug-addicts.The outpatients department of the Center is run by consultants, civil assistant surgeons and postgraduate students. At present there are three Associate Professors, six Assistant Professors, five CAS and nine postgraduate students. There are posts for two clinical psychologists and two psychiatric social workers, who collaborate with the professionals for the psychological testing and psychosocial therapies.The Center has facilities for routine biochemical and pathological testing. Special investigations like EEG, ECG, X-ray, serum lithium estimation and CAT SCAN etc. are either available at the Center or at SMS Hospital. A Bio-feedback apparatus has been added to the department in the year 1996-1997.There is a separate rehabilitation center for occupational therapy, where patients are given opportunity to work and learn some skills according to their aptitude and therapeutic needs, patients are being involved in the work of carpentry, canning, gardening, painting, in kitchen work, making paper bags for the distribution of medicines in the outpatients department. The rehabilitation therapy department needs to be better equipped to be helpful in the long-term rehabilitation of patients.A regular General Hospital Psychiatric Clinic is being run at S.M.S. Hospital by the consultants and senior postgraduate students from the department. A 20-bedded de-addiction ward has been started at SMS Hospital. It meets the needs of those drug-addicts who do not want to get admitted at the Psychiatric Center. The need for such a facility was long felt.The postgraduate course in psychiatry was started at Jaipur in the year 1979. So far 80 postgraduates have passed out from the department and three new students are registered every year for the M.D. Degree in Psychiatry. Most of the students who have passed out from this center are working in different positions at various places in the state, outside the state in India and abroad.The department is imparting training to both undergraduates and postgraduate student. The training involves theory classes as well as clinical work in outpatient departments. The postgraduate teaching also includes regular case conferences, seminars, tutorials and review of research articles from journals, etc. The postgraduate students also undergo training in Neurology, Neurosurgery, Child Psychiatry, De-addiction Center and Neuroradiology.The institution as a postgraduate and undergraduate teaching department has established itself as one of the important training center in North India. Professors of these departments act as external examiners in about 8-10 universities of the country and this institution has been recognized as an National Board of Examination Center for the National Academy of Medical Science (Dip. NB). Students from all over the country come here for writing the examinations.The students of B.Sc. Nursing come to the center for their practical training in psychiatry. The students of Psychology and General Nursing, from within the state and outside, visit the center for the purpose of teaching and clinical work.The center has also been recognized as one of the five regional center for the implementation of National Mental Health Program (NMHP) of India in the year 1996-1997. Two training programs for the trainers have been organized in the same year, wherein doctors from all the six medical colleges and five district headquarters received the training. Sikar was identified as the district for the implementation of District Mental Health Program under NMHP. Under the training of trainers program supported by Government of India, Psychiatrists from Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi were trained.The department also organizes de-addiction camps in the community with the co-operations of voluntary organization. The center was also given the responsibility of training of doctors from PHC's in de-addiction management.School Mental Health Program has also been initiated by the department and an awareness building program for mental illnesses and drug abuse prevention in school going children has been initiated. A training program for the school teachers was also organized for their orientation and role as counselors in emotional and behavioral problems of school children.There are ample opportunities for research in Psychiatry and related disciplines in behavioral sciences at the center. The postgraduate students through their work on the dissertations are also taught the basic principle of research methodology.The center has been actively involved in psychiatric research. Two projects supported by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one projects supported by Mental Health Foundation, United Kingdom (Jaipur-London project) apart from the regular departmental research have been completed. The center has also participated in the World Health Organization (WHO) field trials for International Classification of Diseases, putting this department on the world map of Mental Health.Some projects and papers frequently quoted/cited are:-Gehlot PS, Gautam S, Gupta SD. ICMR Epidemiological study of mental illness in a migrant urban population (1981-1983).Gautam S. ICMR Project on Primary Mental Health Care comparative study of efficacy of Training Material and Development of record system (1983-1984).Gautam S, Nijhawan M. Burden on families of schizophrenic, cancer and chronic lung disease patients. Indian J Psychiatry 1984;26:156-9.th Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society at Vishakhapatnam Jan. 1985.Gautam S. Development and Evaluation of Training Programmes for Primary Mental Health care. Indian J Psychiatry 1985;27:51-62. Received \u201cBhagat Award\u201d for best research paper by scientist under 35 years at 37Gautam S, Nijhawan M, Kamal P. Standardisation of Hindi version of Goldbergs, General Health Questionnaire. Indian J Psychiatry 1987;29:63-6.Gautam S, Nijhawan M. Communicating with cancer patients. Br J Psychiatry 1987;150:760-4: Included in Year Book of Psychiatry and Applied Mental Health 1989.Gautam S. Tilak Venkoba Rao Oration (1989): Post Partum Psy. Syndromes: Are they biologically determied? Indian J Psychiatry 1989;31:31-42.Batra L, Gautam S. Psychiatric morbidity and personality profile in divorce seeking couples. Indian J Psychiatry 1995;37:179-85.Gautam S, Batra L. Sexual behaviour and dysfunction in divorce seeking couples. Indian J Psychiatry 1996;38:109-16 (Marfatia Award Paper of IPS.)Gaita S, Agarwal R, Sharma H. Election: A stressful life event. Indian J Psychiatry 1997;39:329-32.Gautam S, Guptal D, Batra L, Sharma H, Khandelwal R, Pant A. Psychiatric morbidity among victims of bomb blast. Indian J Psychiatry 1999;41:41-5 (Frequently quoted in Disaster Management).Gautam S. IPS Presidential address: Mental Health in ancient India and its relevance to modern psychiatry. Indian J Psychiatry 1999;1:5-18.Apart from this many other research activities are going on in the center. Nearly 200 scientific research papers have been published and presented by the members of the faculty in National and International journals and conferences. Author has received various prestigious awards namely Bhagwat Award, Marfatia Award, Tilak Venkoba Rao Oration Award, Poona Psychiatric Association Award at National Level and International New Horizon Award for work in de-addiction and drug awareness.World Psychiatric Association Symposia and Regional conference 1986, 1998.National Conferences of Indian Psychiatric Society 2003.North Zone Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society 2003.National Mid-term CME of Indian Psychiatric Society (Tradition was initiated from Jaipur) 1990 and 1996.National workshop on \u2018Psychiatry Law and Society\u2019 of Indian Psychiatric Society 1989.National Workshop on \u2018Clinical Practice Guidelines for Psychiatrists in India\u2019 of Indian Psychiatric Society 2004 and 2005.Training of Trainers Program supported by Government of India organized in 1996, 1997. Trainees included psychiatrists from Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.Several State Conferences and Workshops of Rajasthan Psychiatric Society have been organized .National Mental Health Program: More than 500 doctors, MPW and community leaders have been trained by this department under National Mental Health Program.Established in 1952 as UG Department of Psychiatry under Department of Medicine, S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur, the department was running inpatient, Outpatient department and undergraduate medical education up to 1979.Important dignitaries who visited the departmentDr. N.N. Wig, Professor Dmirtus, P.G.I. Chandigarh and Advisor to W.H.O. Regional Center, Alexandria (in 1979 for the inspection of department).Linda B. Johnson, President - American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1986.Prof. Costa Stefanis,  President, World Psychiatric Association (W.P.A.) in 1986.Dr. J.S. Bajaj, Member Planning Commission - Govt. of India in 1986.Prof. Schulsinger, Secretary General (W.P.A.) in 1986.Prof. Abdul Rasheed Chaudhary, President, Pakistan Psychiatric Association in 1986.Late Justice B.P. Beri, Chairman - Beri Commission and Former Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court in 1989.Dr. Robert Passnav, President, American Psychiatric Association in 1987.Dr. Melvin Sabshin, Medical Director, American Psychiatric Association in 1986.Prof. G.N.N.R. Reddy, Director  in 1987-1989.Dr. S.M. Channabasavanna, Vice Chancellor (NIMHANS) in 1987Dr. Norman Sartorius, President World Psychiatric Association in 1997 and 1998.Prof. R. Srinivasmurthy, Regional Advisor (WHO) and Former Prof. and Head (NIMHANS), Bangalore (1986-1987) visited in 1998.Prof. Juan Mezzich - USA, Current President (WPA) visited in 1998Prof. Mario Maz (Germany)-President Elect. (WPA) visited in 1998Padamshree Dr. Mohan Agashe-Film Actor and Professor Head Psychiatry, Pune in 1998Prof. H.M. Gadhvi, Senior consultant, London U.K. visiting Professor-1999-2006.Superintendents, HOD and Professors of Psychiatric Center and their TenureDr. B.K. Vyas 24.07.1967 to 31.12.1978Dr. P.S. Gehlot 01.01.1979 to 30.04.1984Dr. J.N. Vyas 28.05.1984 to 03.10.1989Dr. G.B. Advani 04.10.1989 to 18.01.1990Dr. J.N. Vyas 19.01.1990 to 05.05.1990Dr. G.B. Advani 06.05.1990 to 23.02.1996Dr. Shiv Gautam 01.03.1996 to 25.07.2000Dr. L.N. Gupta 25.07.2000 to 19.01.2001.Dr. Shiv Gautam 20.01.2001 to till dateWaiting Hall in the OPD - Psychiatric Center, JaipurPsychiatric Center, Jaipur OPD - Reception, Registration and Drug Dispensing at single windowReception, Psychiatric Center, Jaipur (Front View)OPD Block, Psychiatric Center, Jaipur (Front View)Geriatric Care Center, Psychiatric Center, JaipurDisplay at the Rehabilitation Center, Psychiatric Center, JaipurPaintings made by patientsSome products made by patients at the rehabilitation center"}
+{"text": "Because of their peculiar sociocultural background, healthcare workers in sub-Saharan African subcultures may have various conceptions on different aspects of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), such as etiology, treatment and issues of prognosis. These various conceptions, if different from current knowledge in literature about ASD, may negatively influence help-seeking behavior of parents of children with ASD who seek advice and information from the healthcare workers. This study assessed the opinions of healthcare workers in Nigeria on aspects of etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism, and relates their opinions to the sociodemographic variables.Healthcare workers working in four tertiary healthcare facilities located in the south-east and south-south regions of Nigeria were interviewed with a sociodemographic questionnaire, personal opinion on etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism (POETPCA) questionnaire and knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHW) questionnaire to assess their knowledge and opinions on various aspects of childhood autism.A total of 134 healthcare workers participated in the study. In all, 78 (58.2%), 19 (14.2%) and 36 (26.9%) of the healthcare workers were of the opinion that the etiology of childhood autism can be explained by natural, preternatural and supernatural causes, respectively. One (0.7%) of the healthcare workers was unsure of the explanation of the etiology. Knowledge about childhood autism as measured by scores on the KCAHW questionnaire was the only factor significantly associated with the opinions of the healthcare workers on etiology of childhood autism. In all, 73 (54.5%) and 43 (32.1%), of the healthcare workers subscribed to the opinion that childhood autism is treatable and preventable respectively. Previous involvement with managing children with ASD significantly influenced the opinion of the healthcare workers in subscribing to treatability of childhood autism, while working experience of less than 6 years among the healthcare workers significantly influenced the opinion of the healthcare workers in admitting to believing in the preventability of childhood autism.In designing policies and programs to change negative opinions or beliefs of healthcare workers about childhood autism, there is a need for baseline information such as this survey. Changing the negative opinions or beliefs of the healthcare workers about childhood autism should encourage appropriate help-seeking behavior among parents of children with ASD who may be seeking advice or information from the healthcare workers. This would encourage early interventions, which are essential to prognosis of childhood autism. Adequate and necessary dissemination of information to clients in a healthcare system is part of the essential ingredients of ensuring optimal healthcare performance ,2. InforHelp-seeking behavior and pathway to care are extremely influenced by the opinions or beliefs of the clients and caregivers on the etiology of a particular disorder. Help-seeking behavior and the pathway to care among clients utilizing mental healthcare systems has consistently been noted to be influenced by cultural perspectives and beliefs of clients and caregivers on the etiology of the particular mental disorder in question -6.In the context of sub-Saharan Africa, where healthcare workers living among the general population in the community often play a pivotal role in offering medical advice and providing information on healthcare related issues to people in their immediate community, healthcare workers' cultural perspectives and their opinions or beliefs on etiology of developmental disorders such as ASD would greatly influence the help-seeking behavior of parents of children with ASD living around them in the immediate community.Childhood autism is a developmental disorder that had been observed to have better prognosis with early intervention, which is often achieved through early recognition and diagnosis -9. The nGiven the peculiar subcultures of sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, where knowledge and awareness about childhood autism is still relatively low and there exists an imperative need for education of healthcare workers and the public to raise levels of awareness, it is of paramount importance to have some insight into the baseline opinions of healthcare workers in this environment on etiology and issues relating to prognosis and preventability of childhood autism.This study therefore assessed the baseline opinions of healthcare workers working in tertiary healthcare facilities in the south-east and south-south regions of Nigeria on the etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism. It also examined the associations between sociodemographic variables of the healthcare workers and their opinions on issues of etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism.The locations of the study were four tertiary healthcare facilities located in the south-east and far south regions of Nigeria. Two of these tertiary healthcare facilities are specialized psychiatric hospitals, while the other two are the pediatric departments of two university teaching hospitals. The healthcare facilities where participants were interviewed were University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, both of which are located in Cross River State (south-south region of Nigeria), and Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital (EBSUTH), Abakaliki, Ebonyi State and Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Enugu State, both of which are located in the south-east region of Nigeria.Participating healthcare workers were nurses, either working at the two specialized psychiatry facilities or working in department of pediatrics of the two university teaching hospitals involved in the study. The educational qualifications of the nurses were mostly diplomas in general and psychiatric nursing, and they had been working in their various areas of specialty for at least 1 year. The study was a point survey of opinions of healthcare workers on some aspects of ASD. A point-sampling method that involved all nurses in their duty posts in the four different institutions on the particular day the data were collected was employed. Therefore, all nurses in their duty posts in the four different institutions on that particular day were interviewed.Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, New Haven, Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria.This was used to obtain sociodemographic information of the healthcare workers such as sex, age, marital status, and area of specialty, among others.This questionnaire was designed to obtain information from healthcare workers about their opinion on etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism. The first part of the questionnaire dealt with opinions of the healthcare workers on the etiology of childhood autism. In this part of the questionnaire, healthcare workers were requested to make a choice from a list of four options as to their own opinion on what they thought could be the causal explanation of childhood autism. The four options were: natural causes, preternatural causes, supernatural causes and not sure. For each option they chose, they were further requested to explain or specify what they meant. The second part of the questionnaire dealt with the opinion of the healthcare workers on treatability and preventability of childhood autism. It contained the following questions:\u2022 In your own opinion, do you think childhood autism can be treated?\u2022 In your own opinion, do you think childhood autism can be prevented?Both questions had the answer options of 'YES' or 'NO', and also further options or space for the healthcare workers to explain or state the reasons for their choice (see Appendix 1).The KCAHW questionnaire measures knowledge about childhood autism aimed at early recognition and diagnosis of ASD among healthcare workers. It is a self-administered questionnaire that contains a total of 19 questions. Each of the questions has three options to choose from, with only one of these three options being correct. The correct option on each question attracts a score of 1, while the other two incorrect options each attract a score of 0. The questionnaire is further divided into four domains. Domain 1 assesses areas of impairment in social interaction and contains eight questions. Domain 2 addresses impairment in areas of communication and language development and contains one question. Domain 3 assesses areas of obsessive and compulsive patterns of behavior found in children with ASD and contains four questions. Domain 4 addresses information on what type of disorder childhood autism is, possible comorbid conditions, and onset of childhood autism in affected children, and contains six questions. Therefore, the KCAHW questionnaire contains a total of 19 questions and possible maximum and minimum total scores of 19 and 0, respectively, when the individual domain scores are added together. The content of the questionnaire and a reliability test for the questionnaire have been described in detail in a previous study . This quThe three questionnaires were distributed to the participating healthcare workers to complete. It was ensured that the questionnaires were completed there and then and collected back immediately from the healthcare workers because they were meant for a point-of-time assessment of opinions on aspects of ASD and knowledge about childhood autism.The data were analyzed using SPSS v.15 . The chi square test was used to determine possible significant associations between sociodemographic variables and opinions of the healthcare workers on issues of etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism. The opinions of the healthcare workers on etiological explanation, treatability and preventability of childhood autism were also related with the mean score of the healthcare workers on the KCAHW questionnaire. p Values \u2264 0.05 were considered significant.A total of 134 healthcare workers, which represented the total population on point sampling of the four different institutions studied, consented to participate in the study. There were 71 (53.0%) males and 63 (47.0%) females. The mean age of the participants was 35.89 \u00b1 7.56 years. The mean score of participated healthcare workers on the KCAHW questionnaire was 12.35 \u00b1 4.40. Other sociodemographic variables are shown in Table A total of 78 (58.2%) of the healthcare workers were of the opinion that the etiology of childhood autism is natural, while 36 (26.9%) and 19 (14.2%) subscribed to supernatural and preternatural causes, respectively. One healthcare worker (0.7%) was not sure of the etiology of childhood autism. Those healthcare workers that subscribed to natural causes were likely to attribute the etiology of childhood autism to genetics, birth injury, and maternal infections during pregnancy among other reasons. Those who subscribed to both preternatural and supernatural causes were likely to give explanations such as lineage curses, enemies, and action of the devil, among others.Opinions of the healthcare workers on etiology of childhood autism were only significantly associated with their scores on the KCAHW questionnaire. Healthcare workers having the mean score and above on the KCAHW questionnaire were more likely to subscribe to natural causes for childhood autism compared to those who had scores lower than the mean score on the KCAHW questionnaire  = 3, p value = 0.014). Table A total of 73 (54.5%) of the healthcare workers were of the opinion that childhood autism is treatable, while 43 (32.1%) of the healthcare workers were of the opinion that childhood autism is preventable. The healthcare workers that subscribed to the opinion that childhood autism is treatable cited special education and behavioral therapy among others as possible modalities of treatment. The healthcare workers who were of the opinion that childhood autism is preventable cited avoiding maternal infection during pregnancy, avoiding birth injury, pleasing the ancestral spirit and avoiding sins, among others, as modalities of prevention.A significant association was found between the opinions of healthcare workers on explanation of the etiology and treatability of childhood autism, with those healthcare workers who subscribed to natural causes for childhood autism being more likely to have the opinion that childhood autism is treatable . There was also a significant association between the opinions of healthcare workers on explanation of the etiology and preventability of childhood autism, with those healthcare workers admitting to natural and preternatural causes more likely to subscribe to the opinion that childhood autism is preventable .Opinions of healthcare workers on the treatability of childhood autism showed significant association with being previously involved with management of children with ASD, with those healthcare workers who have had previous involvement in managing children with ASD more likely to subscribe to the opinion that childhood autism is treatable when compared to those who had not been involved before in the management of children with ASD . Opinions of the healthcare workers on treatability of childhood autism showed near-significant association with geographical region, with the healthcare workers located in the south-east region of Nigeria more likely to express the opinion that childhood autism is treatable compared to those located in the south-south region of the country . Near-significant association was also found between opinions of the healthcare workers on treatability of childhood autism and their scores on the KCAHW questionnaire, with those healthcare workers having the mean score and above on the KCAHW questionnaire more likely to subscribe to the opinion that childhood autism is treatable when compared to those who had scores lower than the mean score on the KCAHW questionnaire . Table A significant association was found between the opinions of healthcare workers on the preventability of childhood autism and years of working experience, with those healthcare workers with working experience below 6 years more likely to express the opinion that childhood autism is preventable . Near-significant association was found between opinions of the healthcare workers on preventability of childhood autism and gender, with females more likely to subscribe to the opinion that childhood autism is preventable compared to males . Near-significant association was also found between opinions of the healthcare workers on the preventability of childhood autism and age group, with those healthcare workers below 40 years of age more likely to express the opinion that childhood autism is preventable . Table Childhood autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, where a definitive etiology is still obscured. What is certain to date is that it occurs as a result of developmental problems in the brain that affect phenotypic areas of communication and social interaction, and it brings about restricted areas of interest or repertoire in the affected child . A bioloAnother interesting finding of this study was that the more apt the healthcare workers were at being able to recognize the symptoms of childhood autism (as reflected by their scores on the KCAHW questionnaire), the more likely they were to express an opinion of natural causes as explanation for the etiology of childhood autism. Promoting knowledge among healthcare workers about childhood autism through continuing education and special training would not only help in early recognition and diagnosis, but also positively influence the help-seeking behavior of parents of children with ASD who would come into contact with these healthcare workers.Current knowledge advocates a multidisciplinary approach to the management of childhood autism. This management approach incorporates special education, behavioral therapy, social and communication skill training and psychotropic medications, if indicated . With eaAbout 55% of the healthcare workers that participated in this study were of the opinion that childhood autism is treatable. This gave us some hope in the sense that these healthcare workers would be able to reassure parents of children with ASD and give appropriate information that would be necessary to their seeking help. However, what is lacking in most third-world regions such as Nigeria is a multidisciplinary approach to the management of children with developmental disabilities in general, largely due to the absence of trained professionals and lack of facilities for special needs of children with developmental disorders.About 32% of the healthcare workers subscribed to the opinion that childhood autism is preventable. The premise for this position among the healthcare workers was often based on the theory of insult to the developing brain, either as a result of maternal infection, intrauterine infection or physical trauma to the brain from delivery or birth complications, and also the theory of supernatural causes as explanation for the etiology of childhood autism, which rest on (lack of) forgiveness of sins and trespasses, and cutting off links with cursed ancestral spirits among others. Current knowledge however has not afforded the scientific community the opportunity of knowing the definitive etiology of ASD and therefore definitive steps that are needed to ensure prevention also remained obscured.Significant associations existed between the healthcare workers' opinions on the etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism. Essentially, the opinions of the healthcare workers that participated in the study on the etiology of childhood autism had significant influence on their opinions about whether childhood autism is treatable and/or preventable. This finding is in line with the general phenomenon that the etiology of any disorder often influences its treatment and preventability.The opinions of the healthcare workers on whether childhood autism is treatable or can be managed were significantly influenced by previous involvement with managing children with ASD. Those healthcare workers who had been involved in the management of children with childhood autism were more likely to show optimism that the condition can be managed or treated.The opinions of the healthcare workers on whether childhood autism is preventable were significantly influenced by number of years of working experience of the healthcare workers, with those who had less than 6 years work experience more likely to subscribe to the opinion that childhood autism is preventable. The reason for this finding is not clear, but it could be due to the limited experience of these healthcare workers in working with children with developmental disorders.The significance of this baseline study is in assessing the areas where attention needs to be focused among healthcare workers in changing their negative attitudes and beliefs on various aspects of childhood autism; a process that is envisaged as necessary in promoting care for children with ASD and other developmental disorders in this environment. More attention therefore needs to be focused on specialized training on ASD for healthcare workers working with children and adolescents in this environment.The present information on the opinions of the participating healthcare workers on various aspects of childhood autism serve a baseline on which future policies and programs to change negative opinions and beliefs of healthcare workers in this environment on various aspects of childhood autism can be based.Changing the negative opinions or beliefs of the healthcare workers about childhood autism would encourage appropriate help-seeking behavior among parents of children with ASD, who would be seeking advice or information from the healthcare workers. This would encourage early intervention, which is essential to the favorable prognosis of childhood autism.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.All authors contributed to the conception of the study. MOB was involved with writing the initial draft of the manuscript. MOB, AOA, POE, JE, KOO, JUO and GMO were involved in revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final draft of the manuscript.Kindly answer the following questions to the best of your opinion. Please do not consult formal textbooks to answer these questions. Thank you for your time.1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In your own opinion, what is the likely causal explanation of childhood autism among the possible causal explanations listed below (tick one and give reasons for your choice)a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Natural causes (specify)...............................................................b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Preternatural causes (specify).........................................................c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Supernatural causes (specify).........................................................d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not sure (specify).......................................................................2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the questions below tick one appropriate option to the best of your opinion:i.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In your own opinion, do you think childhood autism can be treated?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(a) YES\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(b) NO (specify why).................................................................ii.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In your own opinion, do you think childhood autism can be prevented?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(a) YES\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(b) NO (specify why)..................................................................."}
+{"text": "The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is a widespread but controversial school-based drug prevention program in the United States as well as in many other countries. The present multivariate meta-analysis reviewed 20 studies that assessed the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program in the United States. The results showed that the effects of the D.A.R.E. program on drug use did not vary across the studies with a less than small overall effect while the effects on psychosocial behavior varied with still a less than small overall effect. In addition, the characteristics of the studies significantly explained the variation of the heterogeneous effects on psychosocial behavior, which provides empirical evidence for improving the school-based drug prevention program. Drug abuse is a prevalent problem affecting young generations worldwide . In respdrug use, which includes tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs; and (b) the improvement of psychosocial behavior, which includes social skills , self-esteem, attitudes towards drug use, attitudes towards police, and family bonding. The program is normally taught by a police officer; and the core curriculum has 17 lessons, usually offered once a week for 45 to 60 minutes [et al. [The D.A.R.E. program was designed to help elementary and junior high school students resist the peer-pressure of experimenting with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. The D.A.R.E. program aims to reduce drug abuse among children by providing them with information that encourages them to make healthy decisions. Its effectiveness has been assessed by its two major outcomes: (a) the reduction of  minutes . This tyAlthough there seems to be great support for the D.A.R.E. program, the literature revealed inconsistent research results concerning the program\u2019s effectiveness. For example, some studies found that the D.A.R.E. program did not work , 8\u201315; wet al. [Considering the tremendous investment of time and money in the D.A.R.E. program, these inconsistent findings necessitate a conclusive synthesis of the research to assess the effectiveness of the program. To date, only two published research syntheses or meta-analytic reviews exist that solely focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program , 10. Unfet al. , 37. Weset al. , on the et al. . Becauseet al.  serves aThe purpose of this multivariate meta-analytic review was to: (a) quantitatively synthesize updated evaluation studies of the D.A.R.E. program, and (b) simultaneously synthesize all the outcomes of the D.A.R.E. program. Specifically, this review addressed the following three research questions: (a) Did the effects of the D.A.R.E. program on the outcomes vary across the studies? (b) What was the overall effect of the D.A.R.E. program on the outcomes? (c) What study characteristics explained the variation of the effects of the D.A.R.E. program on the outcomes?Using the terms \u201cDrug Abuse Resistance Education,\u201d \u201cD.A.R.E.,\u201d and \u201cschool-based drug prevention program\u201d as keywords, an extensive literature search in the PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, PUBMED, SOCIAL SCIENCE INDEX, SOCIAL SCIENCE INDEX CITATION, and DIGITAL DISSERATIONS databases produced 198 relevant studies published between January 1983 and December 2005. Of the 198 studies, 73 were found to be quantitative studies on the D.A.R.E. program. After applying the criteria for inclusion described below, 20 final studies were selected for this meta-analysis.d [d is a standardized mean difference between the treatment group and the control group. That is,x\u0304t is the mean of the treatment group, x\u0304c is the mean of the control group, and sp is the pooled standard deviation. Whether the study utilized an experimental or quasi-experimental design was the second criterion because these designs are more rigorous and provide more valid research results than other less scientific designs. The third criterion necessitated that the study evaluated at least one of the outcomes on drug use and psychosocial behavior. The fourth and final criterion called for studies where the effect of the D.A.R.E. program could be independently evaluated. That is, whether the studies provided a D.A.R.E. treatment group and a comparable control group.The first criterion for inclusion required the study to have sufficient quantitative information for calculating the outcome measure or the effect size of the outcome: Cohen\u2019s d . Cohen\u2019sOutcome measures. The outcome measures for the present review were two sets of effect sizes: one was for drug use and the other for psychosocial behavior. Each effect size in the former set was the average Cohen\u2019s d for all the available drug use outcomes , and the latter for all the available psychosocial behavior outcomes . Different effect size measures calculated from various statistical methods in the studies were converted to Cohen\u2019s d. In line with the previous reviews [ds of the outcomes across the studies were calculated at the longest follow-up, which ranged from 0  to 10 years. reviews , 10, theStudy characteristics. The following study characteristics were recorded for the analysis: Name of first author, year of publication, sample size, statistical method , year of D.A.R.E. curriculum, follow-up time, proportion of female participants, and proportions of ethnic groups. The selection of the study characteristics was partially guided by the pervious reviews and partially based on common information available in the studies.Each value of the variables of the study characteristics and outcome measures needed to be recorded or coded from the 20 studies. A concurrent double coding was performed independently by the researchers. Each researcher spent more than forty hours, equivalent to five full-time work days, on coding the 20 studies. Then, the researchers engaged in extensive discussions to compare every coded item. No variable was finalized until reaching an agreement.d = 0.20, 0.50, and 0.80 are considered small, medium, and large effect, respectively. 95% confidence intervals of the effect sizes were also computed. The confidence intervals showed whether the effect sizes were heterogeneous across the studies.Descriptive analysis was first conducted for each of the two outcomes, drug use and psychosocial behavior, by calculating the unweighted mean effect size of the outcome. According to Cohen\u2019s guideline , d = 0.2Q-statistic was computed for each of the two outcomes, drug use and psychosocial behavior. The test for the Q-statistic provided statistical evidence for the heterogeneity of the 20 studies. If the test was significant, a random-effects model was tested, and the weighted mean effect size was calculated to provide a more valid estimate for the mean effect size than the unweighted mean effect size from the descriptive analysis.In terms of inferential analysis, a Hedges and Olkin\u2019s  Q-statisweighted regression model to explain the variation in the heterogeneous effect sizes. Following Hedges\u2019 [t-test for individual regression coefficient was adjusted as follows:s.e. is the original standard error given by common computer programs, and MSError is the mean square value for errors from the analysis of variance for the regression given by the computer programs. Note that some study characteristics had missing values that resulted from unavailable information, and they were replaced by means [In the case of heterogeneous effect sizes, the study characteristics were entered into a  Hedges\u2019  suggestiby means  because by means \u201345.Test of homogeneity. Under the null hypothesis of H0: \u03b81 = \u2026 = \u03b820 = \u03b8, the Hedges and Olkin\u2019s [Q-statistic values of QTotal were 13.34 with df = 17 (p = 0.71) and 96.61 with df = 12 (p < 0.0001) for drug use and psychosocial behavior, respectively. The homogeneity test results showed that the effect sizes across the 20 studies were statistically heterogeneous for psychosocial behavior, but not for drug use. This inferential finding was consistent with the descriptive finding demonstrated in the confidence interval plots above. By testing a random-effects model for psychosocial behavior under H0: \u03b8 = 0, a z = 2.92 (p < 0.01) indicated that the weighted average effect size of the 20 studies from the random-effects model was statistically different from zero but was still 0.10, a less than small effect. Olkin\u2019s  Q-statisWeighted regression analysis. Because the effect sizes were heterogeneous for psychosocial behavior, a weighted regression analysis was conducted to identify the study characteristics that explained the heterogeneity. R2 = 89.8%). Specifically, the longer follow-up time  and the more rigorous statistical method  the study used, the less effect of the D.A.R.E. program would be found for psychosocial behavior; whereas the later D.A.R.E. year , the more White students , and the more Black students  the study had, the more effect of the D.A.R.E. program would have on psychosocial behavior.By including more updated studies and analyzing the study characteristics related to the outcomes of the D.A.R.E. program on both drug use and psychosocial behavior, this present multivariate meta-analysis provided a more comprehensive review than previous ones on the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program; and therefore, the present review helps us to better understand the widespread, expensive, but controversial D.A.R.E. program. The results of the present review revealed that the effects of the D.A.R.E. program on drug use were homogeneous but less than small, which confirmed the findings in the literature \u201311, 13. For the heterogeneous effects of the D.A.R.E. program on psychosocial behavior, the present review found that the study characteristics explained most of the variation of the effects. The heterogeneous effects suggest that some studies showed larger effects than others. By examining the specific characteristics of the studies that had larger effects, which was executed in the weighted regression analysis, future program implementations can learn from those effective studies for improving the program effects. Among the significant study characteristics, follow-up time and statistical method were negatively related to the effects; and D.A.R.E. year, percent of White participants, and percent of Black participants positively related to the effects.et al. [These findings provided some important implications. First, the validity of long-term effects might be threatened by maturity and history. This point was also noted in the previous reviews , 10 but et al. . The newet al. . Some otet al. . As suchd = 0.05); on the other hand, the school-based drug intervention program also had a less than small effect on improving psychosocial behavior (Cohen\u2019s d = 0.10). The analysis from this review also identified areas in the new versions of the D.A.R.E. program that need improvement. It would be, however, more important if the new versions of the D.A.R.E. program could transform the improved psychosocial behavior into the students\u2019 actions of reducing drug use\u2014the ultimate outcome.In sum, the effects of the D.A.R.E. program appear to be different on drug use and psychosocial behavior. The results of the present review provide an evidence-based interpretation to the inconsistent conclusions found in the previous research that was conducted on the D.A.R.E. program. This study found that, on one hand, the D.A.R.E. program had a less than small effect on reducing drug use (Cohen\u2019s"}
+{"text": "Anopheles lesteri, Anopheles sinensis and Anopheles pullus, have long been suspected malaria vectors. However, opinions about their vector ability are controversial. The present study was designed with the aim of determining the susceptibility of these mosquitoes to a Korean isolate of Plasmodium vivax. Also, An. sinensis is primarily suspected to be vector of malaria in Korea, but in Thailand, the same species is described to have less medical importance. Therefore, comparative susceptibility of Thai and Korean strains of An. sinensis with Thai strain of P. vivax may be helpful to understand whether these geographically different strains exhibit differences in their susceptibility or not.Following its recent re-emergence, malaria has gained renewed attention as a serious infectious disease in Korea. Three species of the Hyrcanusgroup, An. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus was studied by feeding laboratory-reared mosquitoes on blood from patients carrying gametocytes from Korea and Thailand.The comparative susceptibility of P. vivax, oocysts developed in An. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus. Salivary gland sporozoites were detected only in An. lesteri and An. sinensis but not in An. pullus. Large differences were found in the number of sporozoites in the salivary glands, with An. lesteri carrying much higher densities, up to 2,105 sporozoites in a single microscope field of 750 \u00d7 560 \u03bcM, whereas a maximum of 14 sporozoites were found in any individual salivary gland of An. sinensis. Similar results were obtained from a susceptibility test of two different strains of An. sinensis to Thai isolate of P. vivax, and differences in vector susceptibility according to geographical variation were not detected.In experimental feeding with Korean strain of An. lesteri indicate that this species is highly susceptible to infection with P. vivax. Anopheles sinensis appears to have a markedly reduced ability to develop salivary gland infection, whilst in An. pullus, no sporozoites were found in the salivary glands. Provided that the survival rate of An. lesteri is sufficiently high in the field, it would be a highly competent vector of vivax malaria.The high sporozoite rate and sporozoite loads of  Plasmodium vivax malaria has re-emerged in many malaria-endemic areas, where the disease was believed to have been eradicated [adicated . In Soutadicated -5. In thadicated . As a reAnopheles sinensis, Anopheles lesteri, Anopheles pullus, Anopheles sineroides, Anopheles kleini and Anopheles belenrae [Anopheles koreicus and Anopheles lindesayi japonicus [So far, eight anopheline mosquitoes have been reported from South Korea. Six of these species belong to the Hyrcanus group: belenrae -10. Two aponicus .An. sineroides, because these species are very rare in Korea, Japan and China and, are thus considered medically less important [An. belenrae and An. kleini [An. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus are controversial. Anopheles sinensis has long been considered a primary and strong vector in Korea and Japan [Since vivax malaria has been recognized as an endemic disease particular to countries in the Far East Asia, including Korea, efforts to find the main vector(s) have continuously proceeded from Korea, Japan and China ,11-13. Hmportant ,14,15. A. kleini , the bit. kleini . The resnd Japan ,15,17, wnd Japan ,19.An. lesteri has been considered a minor and weak vector in Korea and Japan, studies in China showed that it was an important vector [An. pullus may also be found [Although t vector . Conflicbe found ,4, with be found . Thus, tAn. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus were experimentally infected with a Korean isolate of P. vivax and the malarial susceptibility of these species was analysed based on their ability to develop oocysts in the midgut and sporozoites in salivary glands. To substantiate the findings of the above experiments and to further understand and verify the existing differences in vector abilities of two geographically distant strains of An. sinensis from Korea and Thailand, experimental infections were conducted with a Thai isolate, and the ability of both these strains to develop oocysts and sporozoites was determined.In this study, three species of the Hyrcanus group, Anopheles raised in the laboratory were An. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus. Among these, An. sinensis and An. pullus were collected from Paju City, Gyeonggi-do Province, while An. lesteri was collected from So-Rae District, Incheon City in South Korea. The Thai strain of An. sinensis was collected from Mae Tang District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Anopheles cracens was in a free-mating colony established for more than two decades in the insectariums of the Department of Parasitology, Chiang Mai University, Thailand and was used as a control, since it is known to be highly susceptible to P. vivax [et al [Three mosquito lines of the Korean P. vivax . These cx [et al  in an inP. vivax was supplied by the National Institute of Health (KNIH), from a patient seeking treatment at Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do province. The Thai strain of P. vivax was obtained from malaria patient infected in Mae Tang District of Chiang Mai Province. Informed consent was obtained from the patients before collection and the study protocols were approved by Internal Review Board of Korea National Institute of Health and Thailand Office for Vector Borne Diseases Control, Department of Communicable Diseases Control, Ministry of Public Health. Giemsa staining of the blood film was performed and gametocytes were counted. The gametocyte density of the Korean isolate of P. vivax was 36 gametocytes/200 White Blood Cells (WBC) while that of the Thai strain was 26 gametocytes/200 WBC.Blood containing gametocytes of Korean et al [Three to five days old females were used for infection. To enhance their willingness to feed, the mosquitoes were starved for 12 hours prior to infection and were transferred to paper cups of size 8.5 cm in diameter and 11 cm in depth . The mosquitoes were fed on infected blood containing gametocytes through an artificial membrane feeding technique described by Chomcharn et al . The mosAn. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus were infected with Korean isolate of P. vivax, while strains of An. sinensis from Thailand and Korea together with An. cracens were infected with Thai isolate of P. vivax.Unfed mosquitoes were removed and the fully engorged females were carefully handled and were kept in the insectary. Mosquitoes were then fed on cotton patches, which were soaked in 5% sucrose solution and changed every day, until the mosquitoes were dissected. During infection, three lines of the Korean mosquito: Eight and 14 days after feeding, mosquitoes were dissected to detect oocysts in the midgut and sporozoites in the salivary glands respectively. Counting of oocysts in mosquitoes was followed by examining wet mounts of the midgut stained in 0.1% mercurochrome and freely moving sporozoites were carefully detected from salivary glands placed in a drop of phosphate buffered saline .An. lesteri and An. sinensis, two methods were used: 1) for An. lesteri, micrographs were taken at 100\u00d7 magnification using a camera (Motic Cam 2000) mounted on a compound microscope (Leica DM 2500) and counting of sporozoites was performed within a captured micrograph, the corresponding area of which was approximately 750 \u03bcm \u00d7 560 \u03bcm; 2) sporozoites were counted from whole salivary glands from An. sinensis and were compared to the sporozoite loads within a single microscopic field of An. lesteri. The above counting and comparative procedures were developed because in highly infected An. lesteri, the direct counting of several hundreds of moving sporozoites while observing through the microscope was difficult. It was sometimes impossible to count all of them from salivary glands while in An. sinensis any such possibilities were less and few numbers of sporozoites were directly counted by changing fields. Depending on counting, mosquitoes were graded as 1+ (1\u201310 sporozoites), 2+ (11\u2013100 sporozoites), 3+  and 4+  [To explore differences in densities of the salivary gland sporozoites between Leica DM 00 and coP. vivax. However, An. lesteri was highly susceptible, in that all nine mosquitoes carried oocysts (100%). Compared to An. lesteri, fewer percent of An. sinesis (87%) and An. pullus (83%) developed oocysts.As indicated by oocysts developed in the midgut, infections were detected in all three species eight days post feeding with Korean strain of An. lesteri contained oocysts. However, fewer An. sinensis and An. pullus do so. In addition, when detached salivary glands of the infected mosquitoes were examined, nine out of 14 An. lesteri (64%) and only two out of 19 An. sinensis (11%) contained sporozoites, while the examined salivary glands of all 6 An. pullus lacked sporozoites  and the other had 2+ (11\u2013100 sporozoites). While the lowest and highest numbers of sporozoites counted in one microscopic field of An. lesteri were 78 and 2,105. Among 9 infected An. lesteri, one had gland index of 2+ (11\u2013100 sporozoites), four were with 3+  and remaining four were with 4+ , respectively. When compared to An. sinensis, the lowest and highest numbers of sporozoites of An. lesteri, even in a single microscopic field, were 5\u2013150 times more intense.Even if few numbers of w Figure . The higP. vivax, equal percent of An. sinensis from Thailand and Korea (88%) develop oocysts, except differences were seen in number of the midgut oocysts they carried. All seven dissected specimens of An. cracens (100%), the control species, produced higher number of oocysts compared to both strains of An. sinensis.When mosquitoes were dissected eight days after feeding with Thai strain of An. sinensis while only one out of 20 specimens of Korean strain (5%) contained salivary gland sporozoites. Furthermore, salivary gland sporozoites were detected from of all An. cracens (100%), the control species  and also pointed out that An. sinensis, due to its zoophilic behaviour, is an inefficient vector responsible for maintaining a low malaria endemicity in the broad flat rice plains of south China. Similarly, Harrison [An. lesteri might well be a more efficient vector than An. sinensis. Lately, Liu [Anopheles anthropophagus (synonymized as An. lesteri) [P. falciparum gametocytes and also reported the natural infection rates of An. lesteri to be higher than An. sinensis in China. With such findings and along with other essential parameters , An. lesteri was considered to be 20 times more efficient as a malaria vector than An. sinensis in malaria infected regions in China [An. sinensis were reported in 1962 [An. sinensis followed by An. pullus . These early studies supported the primary and secondary vector status of An. sinensis and An. pullus.Ho et al  showed tHarrison  opined tely, Liu  recordedlesteri)  from expin China . In Sout in 1962 . In a si in 1962  also repAnopheles was based on Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Most of these studies indicated An. sinensis to be a vector [et al [An. kleini and An. pullus to be stronger vectors than An. sinensis. Because Circumsporozoite Protein (CSP) detected by ELISA can equally be detected from developing oocysts, and sporozoites present in haemocoel, positive results from the test do not always indicate that the salivary glands are infected with sporozoites [In recent years, much of the understanding of vector susceptibilities of Korean a vector ,29,30, wr [et al  reportedrozoites . Thus, iAn. lesteri, An. sinensis and An. pullus) were experimentally infected with an indigenous Korean isolate of P. vivax. After eight and 14 days post-infection, examination of midguts showed the presence of high number of oocysts in all three species. However, there were differences in their innate ability to develop sporozoites in the salivary glands. Sporozoites in salivary glands were detected from An. lesteri and An. sinensis but not from An. pullus. Though, sporozoites were detected from An. sinensis, they were very few as compared to An. lesteri. The maximum number of sporozoites in a salivary gland of An. sinensis was 14, which corresponded to the findings of Rongsriyam et al [et al [An. sinensis can be assumed to play less important role in initiating infections when compared to An. lesteri.In this study, three Korean species of Hyrcanus group (am et al . Assuminl [et al  reportedP. vivax at 25\u00b0C is completed within 9 days [An. lesteri, very few number of An. sinensis contained salivary gland sporozoites however no sporozoites were detected in An. pullus. This suggests that developmental transitions couldn't proceed from oocysts to sporozoites formation in An. sinensis and An. pullus. Beier et al [Because sporogony in n 9 days , fourteeer et al  describeAn. lesteri. Therefore, future studies regarding survival rate of An. lesteri in wild population can be more supporting evidence for this study. In Korea, the present study is the first of its kind, comparing the malarial susceptibilities of these members through successful malaria development within lab-raised clean colonies. The results are well congruent with Chinese and Thailand reports. So, the outcomes of this study have significant bearings within entire temperate regions where these species are abundant.In addition to demonstrating sporozoites in salivary glands following laboratory infection, it is necessary to consider the natural survival rates of malaria vectors. At present, there are no connected reports with the matter in An. lesteri, as readily as in the well-recognized vector. Big differences were seen in the rate and densities of sporozoites between An. lesteri and An. sinensis, whereas sporozoites were not detected from salivary glands of An. pullus even after 14 days of oocysts development. Also, geographically distant strains of An. sinensis from Korea and Thailand were similar in their ability to support malaria development. Therefore, An. lesteri is highly susceptible to P. vivax malaria as compared to An. sinensis and An. pullus.Under laboratory conditions, salivary gland sporozoites were developed in An. lesteri is a potential malaria vector and its presence may be described as an under-rated public health threat. However, comparative susceptibility of the remaining members of the Hyrcanus group will be important in future to understand their role in malaria epidemiology in Korea.Thus, The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Anopheles mosquitoes. DJ and MHP conducted all experimental studies under the supervision of MGS and WC. Malaria-infected blood was obtained from WC, WS, TSK and JYK. DJ drafted the manuscript with MHP. All the authors read the manuscript.MGS designed the present study. Prior to this experimental work, WC facilitated DJ and MHP for training on malaria susceptibilities and improved lab colonization of"}
+{"text": "Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus mosquito species complexes are the primary vectors of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. To better understand the environmental factors influencing these species, the abundance, distribution and transmission data from a south-eastern Kenyan study were retrospectively analysed, and the climate, vegetation and elevation data in key locations compared.The An. gambiae sensu strict, Anopheles arabiensis and An. funestus entomological inoculation rates (EIRs), were used as focal points for spatial and environmental analyses. Transmission patterns were examined for spatial autocorrelation using the Moran's I statistic, and for the clustering of high or low EIR values using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. Environmental data were derived from remote-sensed satellite sources of precipitation, temperature, specific humidity, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and elevation. The relationship between transmission and environmental measures was examined using bivariate correlations, and by comparing environmental means between locations of high and low clustering using the Mann-Whitney U test.Thirty villages in Malindi, Kilifi and Kwale Districts with data on An. arabiensis and An. funestus transmission, but not of An. gambiae s.s., which was found to be widespread across the study region. The spatial clustering of high EIR values for An. arabiensis was confined to the lowland areas of Malindi, and for An. funestus to the southern districts of Kilifi and Kwale. Overall, An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis had similar spatial and environmental trends, with higher transmission associated with higher precipitation, but lower temperature, humidity and NDVI measures than those locations with lower transmission by these species and/or in locations where transmission by An. funestus was high. Statistical comparisons indicated that precipitation and temperatures were significantly different between the An. arabiensis and An. funestus high and low transmission locations.Spatial analyses indicated positive autocorrelation of These finding suggest that the abundance, distribution and malaria transmission of different malaria vectors are driven by different environmental factors. A better understanding of the specific ecological parameters of each malaria mosquito species will help define their current distributions, and how they may currently and prospectively be affected by climate change, interventions and other factors. Plasmodium falciparum malaria is primarily transmitted by mosquito species belonging to the Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus complexes [An. gambiae sensu lato and An. funestus are present, as they tend to exploit different breeding habitats and peak at different times, thereby prolonging the transmission period. Generally, Anopheles gambiae s.l. are most abundant during the rainy season, and An. funestus is predominant at the end of the rains and beginning of the dry season [et al [An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus, and compare climate, vegetation and elevation data derived from remote-sensed satellite sources in key locations.In sub-Saharan Africa, omplexes -4. The iomplexes . High ley season -3. The en [et al , provideet al [An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus at 30 villages in the Malindi, Kilifi and Kwale Districts along the south-eastern coast of Kenya. Mosquito collections between June 1997 and May 1998 indicated that An. gambiae sensu stricto, Anopheles arabiensis and An. funestus were the main malaria vectors, with differing geographical abundance and transmission patterns over the 200 km study area. Interestingly, An. gambiae s.s. was found to be widespread, whereas An. arabiensis was mostly confined to Malindi in the north and An. funestus to Kwale in the south. Preliminary climate analyses by Mbogo et al [An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus, however, these varied by species and between districts, and climate data were limited to one meteorological station in each district.The study by Mbogo et al  providesgo et al , found pet al [An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. funestus clustered locations were carried out.The recent advances in space technology and increased public access to remote-sensed satellite data provide a cost-effective and efficient alternative to examine relationships between climate, the environment and mosquito vectors of human disease ,8. This et al  study, cAn. gambiae s.l and An. funestus . Third, the spatial patterns of An. gambiae s.s, An. arabiensis and An. funestus transmission were examined in ArcGIS using Spatial Analyst tools . The Moran's I statistic was used to determine spatial autocorrelation patterns i.e. clustered, dispersed, random, and the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic was to identify the locations with high and low clustering  -1.96 and +1.96 standard deviations). The distributions of clustering across the study area were highlighted in relation to elevation, using a 3D wireframe map created in the surface mapping programme Surfer 7.0 . Mean environmental measures between high and low clustering trends were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. All statistical analyses were performed in Microsoft Excel and SPSS 16.0 .First, the average number and daily EIRs of le et al ), and clle et al ), and eaClimate and vegetation data corresponding to the 30 mosquito collection sites (i.e. latitude and longitude), and original time period i.e 1997-1998) were obtained from the best available sources, accessed via the IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society 97-1998 w-12. VegeAn. gambiae s.l., had significantly (95% CI) higher precipitation, but lower temperature, specific humidity, NDVI and elevation measures than the 10 sites from Kwale District in the south, where An. funestus was most prevalent. Overall, these trends are supported by the correlations between the three main species, and each environmental variable  and An. arabiensis (r = -0.385) were negatively correlated with An. funestus, which is in accordance with observations by Mbogo et al [The findings of these analyses suggest that the different mosquito species compositions found in Malindi, Kilifi and Kwale Districts during 1997 and 1998 may be related to their different climate and topographical profiles. Figure go et al .An. arabiensis  and An. funestus , but not for An. gambiae s.s. . The resultant Z scores of the Getis-Ord Gi* hot spot analyses (using inverse-distance weighting), indicated similar trends with significant spatial clusters of high and low EIR values found for An. arabiensis and An. funestus but not for An. gambiae s.s. The clustering trends are shown in Figure An. gambiae s.s, 17 locations had positive Z scores (ranging 0.38 to 1.73) predominantly in the north, while the remaining 13 locations had negative Z scores (ranging -0.16 to -1.70) predominately in the south. For An. arabiensis, six locations with high EIR values were significantly clustered (Z scores \u2265 1.96) in Malindi District, and two with low EIR values (Z score \u2264 -1.96) in Kwale District. This contrasts to An. funestus, which had five high EIR values significantly clustered in Kwale District, and five with low EIR values in Malindi District.Spatial analyses indicated positive spatial autocorrelation or clustering for An. gambiae s.s and An. arabiensis showed similar environmental trends, with locations with higher transmission having higher precipitation, but lower temperature, humidity and NDVI measures than those locations with lower transmission by these species and/or where transmission by An. funestus was higher. Notably, locations with higher An. arabiensis transmission trends had markedly low elevations, also illustrated in Figure An. gambiae s.s there were no significant differences , while for An. arabiensis precipitation and temperatures were found to be significantly different, and for An. funestus precipitation, temperatures and humidity were found to be significantly different between the higher and lower transmission locations.For each species, comparisons of environmental measures between locations with high and low transmission trends are shown in Table An. gambiae s.l and An. funestus can have distinct ecological niches and requirements within a relatively small geographical area. This is supported by other entomological studies carried out in the region, which highlight the heterogeneous nature of these species' seasonality, host feeding preferences [An. gambiae s.s larvae mostly occur in open shallow sunlit puddles and pools close to homesteads, whereas An. funestus larvae prevail in permanent vegetated aquatic habitats such as stream pools of rivers. In general, malaria transmission by An. funestus predominantly occurs in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, and the fact that Kwale District was less urbanized than the other districts [An. funestus prevailed in this region. Furthermore, the presence of both An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus, whose ecological requirements may be complementary to each other [These simple comparative analyses of 30 sites across three districts in Kenya indicate that ferences -16, bodyferences  and the ferences -20. For istricts ,22, may ch other , may alsAn. funestus but not by An. arabiensis [An. funestus than for An. gambiae [Changes in the local environment are important to understand because they can create, or reduce the number of, suitable breeding sites for local vectors, thereby affecting their abundance and transmission patterns. In central Kenya, the introduction of irrigated rice cultivation appeared to reduce the risk of malaria transmission by abiensis , and in  gambiae . Along t gambiae , agricul gambiae ,27, whicAnopheles species, and a change in mosquito composition and biting times of An. gambiae s.l. [An. funestus with a shift among the outdoor resting females from endophagy on humans to exophagy on animals [An. funestus can be readily eliminated from an entire area by IRS programmes. However, this vector can reappear and become widespread again, sometimes with resistance to the insecticides used in the spray campaign [Similarly, the impact of interventions such as insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) should be considered as they may affect species differently, especially if distributed widely over large geographical areas. The introduction of ITNs in Kilifi and Kwale District during the 1990s significantly reduced the number of indoor-resting iae s.l. , and in  animals . However animals ,30 and e animals -33 have campaign -36. Thiscampaign , especiacampaign .An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, An. gambiae s.s had no significant clustering or environmental differences between high and low transmission locations. The reasons for this may be related to its wide distribution and ability to exploit a range of habitats [An. gambiae s.s have shown to have differing spatial distributions and environmental parameters [An. gambiae S form has been detected in two locations [An. gambiae s.s forms is crucial, especially as An. gambiae s.l appears to be the main vector of both malaria and lymphatic filariasis in Kilifi and Kwale Districts [Although there was considerable overlap between habitats -3,18, burameters -41, and rameters . In thisocations , therefoistricts ,44,45.et al [An. arabiensis, as shown in other East African countries [An. gambiae s.l and An. funestus is difficult, and studies have shown great variability depending on the sampling technique used, and whether interventions such as ITNs are present and acting as a deterrent [An. arabiensis is also an important consideration as they prefer to feed on these animals over humans and other livestock [et al [An. gambiae s.l and An. funestus across a diverse ecological range using a standard sampling technique.The study by Mbogo et al  collecteountries . In geneeterrent ,28,47-49ivestock ,50,51. Ak [et al  is one oet al [An. gambiae and An. funestus complexes in one region of Kenya. It exemplifies what can be done with existing entomological data contained in the literature and elsewhere, and how modern satellite and GIS technologies in public health research may be exploited, especially for climate sensitive diseases in developing countries, such as malaria [Malaria transmission is complex, and more knowledge on the relationship between the environment, mosquito vectors, human disease and demography in sub-Saharan Africa will help implement appropriate control measures in a rapidly changing landscape. This is particularly important in areas already reporting changes in transmission intensity ,53, and et al  aimed to malaria ,55.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.LKH identified data sources, designed the study, carried out the data analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. JH participated in the interpretation of the results and editing of the manuscript. EM conceived the idea for the study, and contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "According to entomological studies conducted over the past 30 years, there was low malaria transmission in suburb of Dakar but little evidence of it in the downtown area. However; there was some evidence of local transmission based on reports of malaria among permanent residents. An entomological evaluation of malaria transmission was conducted from May 2005 to October 2006 in two areas of Dakar.Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozo\u00efte indexes were measured by ELISA, and the entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were calculated for both areas. Molecular assessments of pyrethroid knock down resistance (Kdr) and of insensitive acetylcholinesterase resistance were conducted.Mosquitoes were sampled by human landing collection during 34 nights in seven places in Bel-air area (238 person-nights) and during 24 nights in five places in Ouakam area (120 person-nights). Mosquitoes were identified morphologically and by molecular methods. The Anopheles gambiae s.l. respectively were caught in Bel-air and Ouakam. Three members of the complex were present: Anopheles arabiensis (> 98%), Anopheles melas (< 1%) and An. gambiae s.s. molecular form M (< 1%). Infected mosquitoes were caught only during the wintering period between September and November in both places. In 2005 and 2006, annual EIRs were 9,5 and 4, respectively, in Bel-air and 3 and 3, respectively, in Ouakam. The proportion of host-seeking An. gambiae s.l. captured indoors were 17% and 51% in Bel air and Ouakam, respectively. Ace 1 mutations were not identified in both members of the An. gambiae complex. Kdr mutation frequency in An. arabiensis was 12% in Bel-air and 9% in Ouakam.From May 2005 to October 2006, 4,117 and 797 An. melas in Dakar.Malaria is transmitted in Dakar downtown area. Infected mosquitoes were caught in two subsequent years during the wintering period in two distant quarters of Dakar. These data agree with clinical data from a Senegalese military Hospital of Dakar  where most malaria cases occurred between October and December. It was the first detection of  Plasmodium falciparum by Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Dakar were reported in different studies [Anopheles arabiensis was the main vector in this area [An. arabiensis as the vector [An. arabiensis were caught, and none of them were infected by P. falciparum [intra-muros (i.e. in the down-town area) and that the infections occurred in the suburbs or inland. Nevertheless, human malaria cases were reported in autochthonous people who had not been outside Dakar for at least one year, suggesting that malaria was transmitted in Dakar [In the sixties, the relative seriousness of malaria and the seasonal transmission of  studies -4. Immun studies . Malaria studies . In the his area . In the e vector . During lciparum -10. Base2.Located at 14\u00b040'20\" North, 17\u00b025'22\" West (the westernmost point of Africa), Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, has 1,030,594 inhabitants and covers the major part of the Cap Vert Peninsula. The altitude does not exceed 104 m. The population of the Dakar area is estimated to be 2.45 million people, representing 20% of the Senegalese population. The estimated population density is 12,233 inhabitants/kmThe study was conducted in two districts of Dakar: Bel-air in the east of the city and Ouakam in the west Figure . Bel-airThe Cap Vert Peninsula is located in the Atlantic Sudan zone. Two distinct seasons exist: a hot and wet season from June to November (maximum average temperature 28.2\u00b0C in October) and a cool and dry season from December to May (minimum average temperature 20.4\u00b0C in February). The first rains generally occur at the end of June or the beginning of July, and the last occur at the beginning of October. In 2005 and 2006 (the period covered by the study), the average rainfall was 525 and 350 mm, respectively.Sampling by human landing of malaria vectors was carried out both indoors and outdoors. Collectors gave prior informed consent and received anti-malaria prophylaxis and yellow fever immunization. Collectors were organized in teams of two for each collection point. Replacement of workers within a team was done every two hours from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM. Teams of collectors were rotated among the collection points on different collection nights to minimize sampling bias. Landing catches were performed at seven points (two places indoors and five outdoors) in two periods, from May 2005 to May 2006 and from September to October 2006, during 34 nights in Bel-air (i.e. 238 person-nights). In Ouakam, human landing collections were performed at five points (two indoor and three outdoor locations) for two periods, from July 2005 to May 2006 and from September to October 2006, during 24 nights (i.e. 120 person-nights).et al [Mosquitoes were recorded by the location and hours of capture. They were sorted by genera, and anopheline mosquitoes were identified morphologically following the Gillies and Coetzee keys and by software from Hervy et al ,12. Culiet al . All mosP. falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP)[A. gambiae complex caught during the dry season, a random sample of females caught during the rainy season, together with all CSP-positive anopheline, were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at the species and molecular forms levels [Kdr and Ace1 mutations were carried out on these mosquitoes as previously described [Heads and thoraces of anopheline females were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for ein (CSP). All fems levels . Moleculescribed ,17.An. gambiae s.l. biting activity is sufficient for transmission only during the end of the rainy period; the EIR calculated for this period will be considered as the annual EIR. Conformity of Kdr and Ace1 frequencies with Hardy-Weinberg expectations was tested using a Pearson chi-square test considered significant when P < 0.05. Endophagic rates were compared using a chi-square test.The human biting rate (HBR) was expressed as the number of female anopheline bites per human per night. The CSP index was calculated as the proportion of mosquitoes found to be positive for CSP. The entomological inoculation rate (EIR) was calculated as the product of the HBR and the CSP index of mosquitoes collected on humans. The Rainfall data were graciously provided by the National Weather Agency.Culex quinquefasciatus, 13.9% Culex tritaeniorynchus, 7.1% An. gambiae s.l., 2.2% Aedes aegypti; Tables A total of 69,082 mosquitoes were caught  were caught between July and December. The peak of biting occurred in September and October, at the end of the winter period (rainy season): 67% and 87% of mosquitoes were caught during these two months in Ouakam and Bel-air, respectively. During this period in 2005, in Bel-air, the average biting rate for An. gambiae s.l. was 112 bites per person per night, with a peak of 181 bites per person per night; in Ouakam, the average biting rate for An. gambiae s.l. was 19.7 bites per person per night, with a peak of 37.2 bites per person per night. During September-October in 2006, the average rates in Bel-air and Ouakam were 19.1 and 10.4 An. gambiae s.l. bites per person per night, respectively. The distribution of An. gambiae s.l. bites by hour is shown in Figure The biting activity at the two sites from May 2005 to May 2006 is shown in Figure An. gambiae s.l. caught indoor and outdoor were 121 and 115, respectively in Ouakam and 115 and 540, respectively in Bel air. The proportion of host-seeking An. gambiae s.l. captured indoors were 51% and 17% in Ouakam and Bel air, respectively. . From December 2005 to May 2006, none of the 16 mosquitoes were positive for CSP. In September and October 2006, three specimens among 1,068 were positive. The CSP index was 0.28% (CI95% = 0.06\u20130.82).In Bel-air, 3,049 Infected mosquitoes were identified only between the end of the rainy season. In 2005 and 2006, annual EIRs were 9.5 and 4 infective bites for a person without protection, respectively.An. gambiae s.l. collected by human landing catch were processed by ELISA for P. falciparum antigen detection in 2005, and 217 were processed in 2006. From July to the middle of September 2005, none of the 279 mosquitoes were positive. From the end of September to December, two specimens among 310 were positive. The CSP index was 0.64% (CI95% = 0.08\u20132.30). From December 2005 to May 2006, none of the 9 mosquitoes were positive. In September and October 2006, two specimens among 1,068 were positive. The CSP index was 0.96% (CI95% = 0.12\u20133.40). In 2005 and 2006, annual EIRs were 3 and 3 infective bites for a person without protection, respectively.In Ouakam, 589 An. gambiae s.l. captured before September 2005 , a random sample of the mosquitoes caught from September to December 2005 (346 from Bel-air and 216 from Ouakam), a random sample of the mosquitoes caught in September and October 2006 (137 from Bel-air and 134 from Ouakam), and all CSP-positive specimens were identified at the species level. In Bel-air, three members of the complex were present in 2005: An. arabiensis (97.8%), Anopheles melas (2.0%) and An. gambiae s.s. molecular form M (0.2%). In 2006, only An. arabiensis (98.5%) and An. gambiae s.s. molecular form M (1.5%) were present. In Ouakam, and only An. arabiensis was present in 2005. In 2006, one specimen of An. melas was caught. Emerging adults and all CSP-positive specimens were An. arabiensis.Using rDNA-PCR, all specimens of Kd-wr and Ace1 mutations. Ace 1 mutations were not identified in any members of the An. gambiae complex either in Ouakam or in Bel-air. The Kdr-w mutation frequency in An. arabiensis was 12% in Bel-air and 9% in Ouakam . The genotypic frequencies are shown in Table All CSP-positive mosquitoes per site and a random sample of 100 PCR-identified mosquitoes were tested for the P. falciparum-infected Anopheles have been caught during two rainy periods consecutively in two quarters of the town. All infected An. gambiae s.l. were caught only during the rainy period. The seasonal transmission occurs in the end of the rainy season from September to November. In August 2005, very heavy rains (278 mm of water in six days) flooded many parts of the city. Many potential breeding sites were created, and the An gambiae s.l. aggressiveness was high, with a peak of almost 200 bites per person per night in September. This abnormal situation in Dakar, due to an exceptional climatic event, could have led to an exceptional malaria transmission. However, the catch of infected Anopheles during the 2006 winter proved that malaria transmission is not exceptional and occurred each year during this period. These data agree with clinical data from a Senegalese military Hospital of Dakar , where most malaria cases occur between October and December.Malaria transmission is a reality in Dakar. An. arabiensis were infected. Anopheles arabiensis is the main member of the gambiae complex in Dakar and, according to its abundance and to the results of this study, is the main malaria vector. The presence of An. melas was detected in Dakar for the first time in the present study. Nevertheless, this vector was not found to be infected with P. falciparum. Until now, An. melas had been reported only in the mangrove swamps of the Delta's Saloum  and in the Senegal River delta  [Anopheles pharoensis nor An. gambiae molecular form M caught in Dakar were infected with P. falciparum. The aggressiveness of An. arabiensis was higher in Bel-air than in Ouakam, but EIRs were very high in the two quarters. An. arabiensis is more endophagic in Ouakam. This behavior allows for an easier access to a human blood meal that may explain the similar EIRs observed for the two quarters.Only specimens of Senegal) ,19. In aAn. gambiae s.l. aggressiveness lasts for a little longer than one month  are caught [An. arabiensis population, and to assess the gene flow between the urban and rural populations of Senegalese An. arabiensis.This situation questions the origins of these anopheline populations. Are there autochthonous populations from Dakar growing during the rainy season, or are they coming in from other areas of Senegal? Populations of y season . In Bark seasons . They coe caught . FurtherKdr) to pyrethroids and DDT of An. gambiae s.l is an increasing problem. Two mutations at the same locus in the voltage-gated sodium channel are known to confer knock-down resistance to a wide range of pyrethroids and DDT [Kdr-w and Kdr-e) in An. gambiae s.s. as well in An. arabiensis [An. arabiensis insecticide susceptibility in the area of Dakar. In 1987, bioassays were conducted in two places in the suburbs of Pikine and of Thiaroye [An. arabiensis was found in Dakar [Kdr-w frequency of 0.12 in Bel-air and 0.09 in Ouakam. The populations were not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for Kdr in either site (P < 0.0001). This disequilibrium could be due to local selection pressure by the agricultural use of pyrethroids in market gardens.Pyrethroids are the main insecticide used in malaria vector control, including indoor residual spraying and impregnated materials . Pyrethroids have the advantage of acting very rapidly as insecticides, with both knockdown and lethal effects at dosages under the threshold of mammalian toxicity . Since 1 and DDT -37. Thesabiensis -41. TherThiaroye , where iin Dakar . Our datKdr mutation has been shown to be closely associated with DDT and pyrethroid resistance in several An. gambiae populations (particularly the molecular S form) [Kdr in conferring resistance in An. arabiensis remains unclear [An. arabiensis in Dakar. However, this is the first report of the Kdr-w mutation in An. arabiensis in Dakar. Resistance to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides is also widespread in West Africa. The presence of an insensitive acetylcholinesterase in populations of An. gambiae s.s. of both forms was revealed by biochemical assays. The ACE-1-R mutation has also been detected in the two molecular forms of An. gambiae s.s in many West African countries [An. arabiensis at present. Our results are consistent with these data.The  S form) -37. Howe unclear ,45 As a ountries ,46. ThisAn. arabiensis.In terms of effective vector control at the military camps and in town, choice of insecticide should depend on the results of susceptibility tests on P. falciparum isolates collected in Dakar [Plasmodium falciparum infections observed in Dakar during the rainy season. Are they due to autochthonous parasites transmitted during the winter or to parasites imported from the suburbs by commuters, as suggested by Vercruysse? [Malaria prevalence is very low in Dakar and its urban periphery ,8,10. Nein Dakar -50. Signcruysse?  In Senegcruysse? ,52.Urban malaria is considered to be an emerging problem in Africa. In 2003, 39% of Africa's people lived in urban settings; by 2030, 54% of Africans are expected to do so . With thAn melas and An gambiae s.s. in Dakar. Entomological studies are long, difficult and require time and special expertise but they are indispensable to understand the dynamics of malaria transmission in urban settlements and to monitor the increase of the insecticide resistance in urban mosquitoes. The study showed a difference in host finding behaviour between the two quarters: An. arabiensis are more endophagic in Ouakam than in Bel air. This difference of behaviour has an impact on the malaria transmission level. With a lower biting activity during the transmission season, the Annual EIR in Ouakam remains as high than in Bel air. Indoor vector control measures will probably not have the same impact in the two quarters. The misuse of impregnated bed nets during this period is probably riskier in Ouakam.The results of this study confirm that the vector complex situation in African towns is always changing, with the description of Malaria is transmitted in Dakar. This seasonal transmission occurs only during the two last months of the rainy season. The transmission level could be very high. Further studies have to be conducted in other parts of Dakar to assess the risk of transmission, to understand the role of permanent and temporary pools, the impact of urban farming and to discover the origin of the Dakar anopheline populations.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.FP was responsible for the study design, supervision of data collection, analysis, interpretation and production of the final manuscript and revisions. GT contributed to the supervision of data collection, the data analysis, interpretation and production of final manuscript. BP contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis, interpretation and production of final manuscript. LG contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis, interpretation and production of final manuscript. VM contributed to the data analysis and to the preparation of the final manuscript. FJ contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis. KP contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis. FB contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis. JFT was contributed to overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. CR was contributed to overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. CS was responsible for overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Malaria remains a major threat, to both travellers and military personnel deployed to endemic areas. The recommendations for travellers given by the World Health Organization is based on the incidence of malaria in an area and do not take the degree of exposure into account. The aim of this article is to evaluate the exposure of travellers by entomologic methods, which are the commonly used measures of the intensity of malaria transmission.From February 2004 to June 2004, five groups of 30 military personnel were stationed in up to 10 sites in western C\u00f4te d'Ivoire, from one week to several months. Adult mosquitoes were collected by human landing catches at each site during the five months and the level of exposure to malaria transmission of each group was estimated.The level of transmission varied from one site to another one from less than one to approximately more than 100 infective bites per month. In the majority of sites, at least two anopheline species were involved in transmission. The cumulative EIR over the study period varied according to the groups from 29 infected bites per person/per mission to 324.The level of malaria transmission and malaria risk varies widely (varying by a factor of eleven) between groups of travellers travelling in the same region and at the same time. Physicians involved in travel medicine or supporting expatriated populations or refugees should consider this heterogeneity and emphasize the importance of combining appropriate measures, such as chemoprophylaxis and protective measures against mosquitoes. Plasmodium sp. to anti-malarial drugs has led to an increasing interest in anti-vector protection measures [et al suggested that entomological inoculation rate (EIR) be used as a predictor of risk for non-immune persons [Malaria remains a major threat, both for travellers and for military personnel deployed each year to endemic areas. In France in 2007, up to 4,400 cases of malaria were estimated to have been imported, including 333 cases in military personnel . Chemoprmeasures . The maimeasures ,10. Seromeasures -15. For measures . Rombo e persons . However persons  has neve persons ,18. In f persons -24. ThesThe aim of this study was to estimate the level of exposure to malaria transmission of different groups of travellers with different travel itineraries during the same period in the same rural area in western C\u00f4te d'Ivoire by entomological methods.Plasmodium falciparum transmission area during the dry and rainy seasons [A company of 149 French soldiers, made up of five platoons of about 30 persons, was engaged in peace-keeping operations during a five-month period (from February to June 2004) in several rural areas in Western C\u00f4te d'Ivoire . Clinical malaria attacks were defined by the association of fever and Plasmodium infection. They were reported to the military epidemiological surveillance system.The soldiers used anti-malarial prophylaxis, including chemoprophylaxis of 100 mg of doxycycline daily, permethrin-impregnated battle dress, and deltamethrin-impregnated bed nets and repellents at night. The Army provided prophylactic drugs, anti-vectorial equipment and repellents. The military doctor for the company followed all subjects during their tour of duty and one month after their return. In the field, all fevers were recorded and Plasmodium infections were systematically investigated using rapid diagnostic test .This camp was situated at the eastern outskirts of Zoukougbeu village, bordered by the A6 main road going to Daloa.This is a small village surrounded by forest and cocoas plantations. The camp was situated at the northern outskirts of the village, near the entry, and was bordered by the path going north to Logouale and degraded forest.This is a big village on the northern side of Mont Peko that is surrounded by degraded forest and cocoa plantations. The camp was situated at the Western outskirts of the village and was bordered by a little stream, houses, and the path going to Dieouzon.The site called Danane was in fact situated two kilometers South of Danane. The camp was bordered by the A701 main road going from Danane to Bouenneu. Two villages were situated near (< 500 m) the camp.The site called Duekoue was in fact situated about three kilometers South of the Duekoue city, in a wood factory surrounded by forest and bordered by the A7 main road going to Guiglo.Anopheles gambiae s.l., Anopheles funestus s.l. and Anopheles nili s.l. by sites. Locally recruited collectors were organized into teams of two for each collection point. Workers in each team were switched out every hour from 6:00 PM to 7:00 AM. Teams of collectors were rotated among the collection points on different collection nights to minimize sampling bias. Collectors gave prior informed consent and received anti-malarial prophylaxis and yellow fever immunization.Adult mosquitoes were collected by human landing catches one to two nights per week at each site during the five-month study period. Sampling was carried out at four points (two indoors and two outdoors). The total person-nights of capture indoors and outdoors at each site during the mission are shown in additional file et al [The species of mosquitoes were recorded by day, site, and hours of capture. They were sorted by Genus and anopheline mosquitoes were identified morphologically following the keys of Gillies and Coetzee  and usinet al . Culicinet al . All mosPlasmodium falciparum was tested for using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) [P. falciparum CSP, when there were less than 100 specimens or at least a random sample of 100 specimens by species and sorted by season (rainy or dry season).The presence of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of  (ELISA) ,30. All For each site and month of capture, all the specimens were analyzed for molecular identification if they were fewer than 100. When they were more than 100, a random sample of 100 specimens was considered for the molecular analysis. Moreover, all CSP positive specimens were identified by molecular methods.An. gambiae complex, the An. funestus and An. nili groups were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [Anopheles gambiae s.s. were molecularly distinguished into molecular forms [Females belonging to the on (PCR) -33 at thar forms . When M/ar forms ,35. DataAn. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. and their respective CSP rates.The human biting rate (HBR) was expressed as the average number of female anopheline bites per person per night during the dry season and rainy season. Specific CSP rates were calculated per species, per site and per season as the proportion of mosquitoes found to contain circumsporozoite antigen by ELISA. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were calculated by the exact binomial method. Comparisons of these proportions were performed by Chi-square . Specific entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were calculated as the product of the HBR per site, per season for The malaria attack rate was calculated as the ratio of the number of clinical malaria cases to the number of soldiers participating in the mission.Anopheles, 20.8% were Culex, and 2.3% were Aedes, mainly Aedes aegypti (41.8%). In Logouale, the number of catching points was reduced to two (one indoors and one outdoors) after the first collection night due to the high number of Anopheles sp caught in this place. Anopheles were caught indoors (48% of captured specimens) as well as outdoors (52%). Of the 6,435 female anopheles collected, 65.2% were An. gambiae s.l., 19% An. funestus s.l. and 13.7% An. nili s.l. They were found at all sites, except in Zoukougbeu and Douekoue where An. nili was not caught. Other anopheline species were captured, including Anopheles pharoensis , Anopheles hancocki (mainly in Guezon), Anopheles dureni and Anopheles ziemanni.During the five-month period, a total of 12,520 female mosquitoes were caught during 81 collections nights (195 person-nights of capture) at ten different localities: 51.4% were An. gambiae s.l. collected, 1,626 were identified by PCR. They were all An. gambiae s.s. with An. gambiae s.s. M form (48.2%), M/S form (0.3%) and S form (51.5%). Out of the 1,219 An. funestus s.l. collected, 695 were identified by PCR, 99.1% were An. funestus s.s and 0.9% Anopheles leesoni . Out of the 880 An. nili s.l. collected, 396 were identified by PCR. They were all An. nili s.s.Out of the 4,197 An. gambiae s.s. captured at each permanent site, more than 90% in Bangolo and Guezon, 68% in Kahin, and 15% in Logouale were identified. Anopheles gambiae s.s., identified as the S molecular form, was most common in Guezon and Kahin, while the M molecular form was most common in Logouale . In Guezon, An. gambiae s.l. was exo-endophagic  and An. funestus s.l. was more endophagic (37% of bites occurred outdoors vs. 63% indoors. p < 0.05). In Kahin, An. gambiae s.l. and An. nili s.l. were exophagic and An. funestus s.l. was exo-endophagic. For An. gambiae s.l., 64% of bites occurred outdoors vs. 36% (p < 0.05). For An. nili s.l., 60% vs. 40% outdoors (p < 0.05), and for An. funestus s.l. 47% vs. 53% . In Logouale, An. gambiae s.l. and An. nili s.l. were exo-endophagic and An. funestus s.l. was exophagic. For An. gambiae s.l., 52% of bites occurred outdoors vs. 48% . For An. nili s.l., 42% vs. 58% , and for An. funestus s.l., 75% vs. 25% (p < 0.05).In Bangolo, An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. bites per hour per site is shown in Figure An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus s.l bites increased gradually between 7:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. reaching different peaks at each site. In Bangolo, the peak frequencies of bites were between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., in Guezon between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., and in Logouale and Kahin between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.The distribution of An. nili s.l. bites was observed to increase gradually between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. at all sites, and to peak between 11:00 p.m. and 00:00 a.m. and then decrease.The frequency of An. gambiae s.l. populations were found to be infected at both permanent sites and their CSP rates did not differ significantly between sites (p = 0.67). An. funestus s.l. populations were found to be infected at all sites except Logouale and their CSP rates did not differ significantly among sites (p = 0.36). Whatever the period, An. nili s.l, was found to be infected only in Kahin with a significant decrease between the dry and rainy period (p = 0.04). The CSP index for An. gambiae s.l. between the dry and the rainy season did not differ significantly. For An. funestus s.l., the CSP rates did not differ significantly between the dry and the rainy season expect in Kahin where it decreased in the rainy season (p = 0.03).Ninety of the 2,905 (3%) anopheline vectors were found to be positive by ELISA for circumsporozoite protein detection. The results by sites and by species are shown in Table An. gambiae s.l. caught during the five months at each site were identified at the species and molecular level and were all tested for CSP. None of the three M/S hybrids was infected. The difference between the CSP rates for An. gambiae M and S molecular form was not significant at any site. The CSP rates of An. gambiae M and S forms varied between the permanent sites from 1.75% to 10% . Five cases occurred in returnees: two cases in platoon 5 and 3 and one case in platoon 1. The malaria incidence rates were of 4.1% in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire and 3.4% after returning in France .The findings of this study clearly show that the level of malaria transmission and malaria risk varies widely (varying by a factor of eleven) between groups of travellers travelling in the same region and at the same time. Currently, the World Health Organization  and travAn. nili that thrive on the border of the river. This study confirms that, in wet savannah areas or in mountainous forested areas of C\u00f4te d'Ivoire, the rainy season, which occurs for most months in the year, allows the breeding sites to retain water much longer and thus sustain more substantial residual vector populations capable of ensuring malaria transmission even during the dry season [P. falciparum detection than the salivary glands detection that was used in previous studies.The level of transmission varied greatly from one site to another. These results are consistent with studies conducted in other parts of Africa that showed an important heterogeneity in malaria transmission between rural areas -43 and wy season -46. In ay season . Travel y season  and Man y season ,46, respy season -49, to gAn. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s. were individually the only significant malaria vectors at three sites , in the other sites, the transmission was carried out by a vector association of at least two anopheline species, as previously described in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire [An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s,. with An. nili s.s. in a few places. In Guezon, An. funestus s.s. was the main vector during both dry and rainy seasons, and An. gambiae s.s was involved in transmission only during the rainy season. In Bangolo, An. gambiae s.s. was only found infected during the rainy season. The few human landing collections conducted here during the dry season did not allow P. falciparum-infected specimens to be caught, but An. gambiae s.s. was probably involved in malaria transmission in the dry season too. On the other hand, only a few specimens of An. funestus s.s., including one infected specimen, were caught in Bangolo, and these were only caught during the rainy season. Anopheles funestus s.s. was also only involved in malaria transmission as a secondary vector during the rainy season. In Logouale, An. gambiae s.s., An. funestus s.s. and An. nili s.s. were present during the dry and rainy seasons, but only An gambiae s.s. seemed significantly involved in malaria transmission. Indeed, the low An. funestus s.s. and An. nili s.s HBRs did not allow them to play a significant role in malaria transmission. In Kahin, An. gambiae s.s., An. funestus s.s. and An. nili s.s. were involved in malaria transmission during the dry and rainy seasons. Anopheles gambiae s.s was the main vector during the rainy season. Anopheles nili s.s was the main vector during the dry season. During this period, the EIR was above 60 infective bites by An. nili s.s. Anopheles nili breeding sites were probably located on the borders of the local river. During the wet season, the increase in the river water level probably destroyed most An. nili larval habitats. This is probably the explanation for the An. nili EIR and overall EIR decrease in Kahin during the rainy season. Others species were caught such as An. leesoni, An. hancocki, An. pharoensis and An. ziemanni, but none of them were found to be infected. During the study, in most of sites, the three dominant vectors bit humans as often indoors as they did outdoors.Although d'Ivoire ,50-52. TAn. nili s.l. bites occurred in the first part of the night. In Kahin, four of the ten infected An. nili were caught between 9.00 p.m. and midnight These findings  could limit the impact of insecticide-treated mosquito nets for local populations or travellers when they are exposed to An. nili bites. Furthermore, this study showed that 4% of bites occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. At the four permanent sites, three of the 27 infected An. funestus and 10 of the 53 infected An. gambiae were caught 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Consequently, measures for anti-vector protection used in French military from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., such as the wearing of long-sleeve clothes or the use of repellents, have been prolonged till 7:00 a.m. daily. These results showed that malaria transmission also occurs in the first hours of the day. Entomological studies often stopped the captures on 6:00 a.m., and, in some parts of Africa, they are probably underestimating the level of transmission.Most of et al in Cameroon [An. gambiae s.s. population composition between the dry and rainy seasons, as described by Della Torre et al in Burkina Faso [An. gambiae s.s. between western C\u00f4te d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.The M form was predominant in sites where vegetation cover was deeper, like in Logouale and Douekoue. The S form was predominant in mountainous areas where forest cover was highly degraded (Guezon and Bleni Mehouin). In other places, the S-part of the population increased with anthropic modifications of the environment. This result is consistent with data from Wondji Cameroon . The varCameroon . Interesina Faso . This diAlthough exposure to malaria transmission is high, very few malaria cases occurred among the soldiers. Eleven cases were recorded: 54.5% of which occurred in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire and 45.5% after returning to France. These proportions are similar to those observed for the French Army from 1998 to 2006 . The attMalaria transmission in rural area is highly heterogeneous. The malaria exposure of travellers is highly dependent on this heterogeneity. Physicians involved in travel medicine or supporting expatriated population or refugees should emphasize the importance of vector control measures in protecting these populations (expatriated population or refugees) or counsel travellers before their stay in malaria transmission area. In addition, anti-vectorial measures are actually the only recommended measures for protection against vectors that transmit other pathogens, such as arboviruses.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.EOP: Contributed substantially to conception, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, preparation of the manuscript CR: conceived of the study, and participated in its design and coordination, data collection and critically reading the manuscript for important intellectual content. BK and CP: carried out data collection and trained the field staff. FJ, RG, VM and MB: processed entomological specimens in the laboratory, compiled the data and carried out statistical analyses. JPB: Participation in study design, coordination and critically reading of the manuscript. FP: Contributed substantially to conception, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, performed the statistical analysis and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.This study was supported by D\u00e9l\u00e9gation G\u00e9n\u00e9rale pour l'Armement  with the valuable assistance of the veterinary Chief Claire Dane.An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. and number of species identified by molecular methodsBy site, HBR, CSP and monthly EIR of . The data provided in a table represent the results of human landing catches at each permanent and temporary sites realized from February to June 2004. The total Person-night of capture in dry season/rainy season (PNC), mean daily human biting rates (HBR), circumsporozoite protein rates (CSP) and entomological inoculation rates infective bites per person per month (EIR) of An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. in each site are shown. The species identified by molecular methods and their number found in each site are presented too. 95% C.I.: 95% confidence interval.Click here for fileAn. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. from February to June 2004By permanent site, monthly HBR of . The data provided represent the mean daily human biting rate (HBR) of An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus s.l. and An. nili s.l. calculated by month, from February to June 2004, in four permanent sites. PNC: Total Person-night of capture.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "In recent years, human cyclosporiasis has emerged as an important infection, with large outbreaks in the United States and Canada. Understanding the biology and epidemiology of Cyclospora has been difficult and slow and has been complicated by not knowing the pathogen s origins, animal reservoirs (if any), and relationship to other coccidian parasites. This report provides morphologic and molecular characterization of three parasites isolated from primates and names each isolate: Cyclospora cercopitheci sp.n. for a species recovered from green monkeys, C. colobi sp.n. for a parasite from colobus monkeys, and C. papionis sp.n. for a species infecting baboons. These species, plus C. cayetanensis, which infects humans, increase to four the recognized species of Cyclospora infecting primates. These four species group homogeneously as a single branch intermediate between avian and mammalian Eimeria. Results of our analysis contribute toward clarification of the taxonomic position of Cyclospora and its relationship to other coccidian parasites."}
+{"text": "He was born on 22nd September 1949. Dr. Gurwara passed his MBBS, DA and MS (Anaesth.) from M.L.N. Medical College, Allahabad, and joined M.L.B. Medical College, Jhansi, in 1976 as a lecturer. Thenceforth, on being promoted, he went on to become the head of the department and served as the head since July 2000 and retired from active service on 30th September 2009. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. He was an active life member of ISA and was instrumental in the creation of Jhansi city branch being its first secretary and then president. He remained a patron of the branch till his end. He organised the annual conference of UP chapter ISA in 1987 and had been its Vice President twice.With profound grief, ISA, Jhansi city branch of UP chapter, informs the sad demise of Dr. A. K. Gurwara, Rtd. Professor and Head, Department of Anaesthesia, M.L.B. Medical College, Jhansi, on 10"}
+{"text": "Anopheles longipalpis is morphologically similar to the major African malaria vector Anopheles funestus at the adult stage although it is very different at the larval stage. Despite the development of the species-specific multiplex PCR assay for the An. funestus group, the genomic DNA of Anopheles longipalpis type C specimens can be amplified with the Anopheles vaneedeni and Anopheles parensis primers from this assay. The standard, species-specific An. funestus group PCR, results in the amplification of two fragments when An. longipalpis type C specimens are included in the analysis. This result can easily be misinterpreted as being a hybrid between An. vaneedeni and An. parensis. Anopheles longipalpis type C can be identified using a species-specific PCR assay but this assay is not reliable if other members of the An. funestus group, such as An. funestus, An. funestus-like and An. parensis, are included. The present study provides a multiplex assay that will identify An. longipalpis along with other common members of the African An. funestus group, including Anopheles leesoni.An. funestus, An. funestus-like, An. parensis, Anopheles rivulorum, An. vaneedeni and An. leesoni) in the An. funestus group and An. longipalpis type C from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia were used for the study. A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay was designed based on the DNA sequence information in the GenBank database.A total of 70 specimens from six species (EcoRI digested only An. longipalpis type C and An. funestus-like after the species-specific An. funestus group PCR assay. The An. longipalpis and An. funestus-like digestion profiles were characterized by three fragments, 376 bp, 252 bp and 211 bp for An. longipalpis type C and two fragments, 375 bp and 15 bp for An. funestus-like.The enzyme, An RFLP method for the group was developed that is more accurate and efficient than those used before. Hence, this assay would be useful for field-collected adult specimens to be identified routinely in malaria vector research and control studies. Anopheles funestus group originally consisted of nine species [An. funestus and eight minor or non-vectors, Anopheles aruni, Anopheles parensis, Anopheles vaneedeni, Anopheles confusus, Anopheles rivulorum, Anopheles leesoni, Anopheles brucei and Anopheles fuscivenosus. Subsequent studies on the systematics of the group have resulted in a reclassification of the group with An. funestus, An. aruni, An. parensis, An. confusus and An. vaneedeni being grouped together as members of the \"An. funestus subgroup\", An. rivulorum, An. rivulorum-like, An. brucei and An. fuscivenosus forming their own subgroup, and An. leesoni being classified with the Asian Anopheles minimus subgroup [An. funestus-like [An. funestus subgroup.The  species ,2: the msubgroup . Recentltus-like , and thiAnopheles longipalpis being one of these [An. funestus is very high. To further complicate the issue, molecular studies on this taxon have revealed at least two cryptic species, one from South Africa (Type A) and the other from Zambia (Type C) [In addition to the 10 species mentioned above, there are closely related species that are not included in the group because of morphological differences in the adult females - (Type C) .An. longipalpis has not been well studied despite the fact that it is widely distributed in eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to Angola and South Africa [An. longipalpis from indoor and outdoor collections on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria and outdoors in Tanzania. Adugna and Petros [An. longipalpis specimens containing human blood meals from their collections in Ethiopia. Recently, Kent et al [An. funestus and Anopheles arabiensis in Zambia, it is predominantly zoophilic with only a small number feeding on humans. The species has never been implicated as a vector of malaria or involved in malaria transmission [The adult biology of h Africa ,2,6. Smih Africa ,8 reportd Petros  also fount et al  reportedsmission ,2,10,11.An. longipalpis are morphologically characterized by maxillary palpal length and pale basal and apical bands spanning the hind tarsal joints [An. funestus due to similarities of wing venation, palpal banding patterns and small body size. Currently, there are two identification methods for field-collected specimens of An. longipalpis. The first method, suggested by Kent et al [An. longipalpis using the species-specific PCR assay for the An. funestus group from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA [An. longipalpis type C which correlates with An. parensis and An. vaneedeni due to sequence similarity among these species. However, this analysis would lead to misidentification with hybrids of An. parensis and An. vaneedeni, although these have never been found in nature. The second method is a species-specific PCR assay for An. longipalpis from the ITS2 region developed by Koekemoer et al [An. funestus group are included such as An. funestus, An. funestus-like and An. parensis. Hence, this study proposes a new method for the molecular identification of An. longipalpis type C and six members of the An. funestus group using a Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) that is more accurate and efficient than currently used methods.Although adult l joints ,2, this nt et al , is to ithe rDNA . The asser et al , but thiAn. longipalpis type C specimen available. Initially, specimens were identified morphologically using the keys of Gillies and Coetzee [An. longipalpis where the method of Collins et al [et al [An. funestus-like and the method of Koekemoer et al [Mosquitoes were collected from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia Table . There w Coetzee . All DNA Coetzee  except Ans et al  was usedl [et al  for An. er et al  for the et al [et al [An. funestus-like 390 bp fragment of Spillings et al [An. rivulorum 411 bp fragment of Koekemoer et al [EcoRI enzyme lies within the An. funestus-like and An. longipalpis type C fragments amplified by the methods of Spillings et al [et al [An. funestus-like and An. longipalpis type C directly. A total volume of 25 \u03bcL for each PCR reaction contained 1 \u03bcL of the genomic DNA of an individual mosquito, 1 \u00d7 PCR Buffer, 0.2 mM of each dNTP, 0.26 pM  of each primer, and 1 unit of Taq DNA polymerase. The PCR cycling conditions were as follows: a 2 minute 94\u00b0C followed by 35 cycles of 30 seconds at 94\u00b0C, 30 seconds at 50\u00b0C and 40 seconds at 72\u00b0C; there was a final extension step of 10 minutes at 72\u00b0C. After amplification, 1 unit of EcoRI in 1 \u00d7 buffer EcoRI (Roche Diagnostic) was added to the PCR reactions and digestion carried out at 37\u00b0C for a minimum of three hours. Digested fragments were electrophoresed through an ethidium bromide 2.5% agarose gel and photographed under ultraviolet light illumination using a gel imaging system.Although the method of Spillings et al  can be cl [et al , they regs et al  is closeAn. funestus group and An. longipalpis type C, resulted in different sizes of DNA fragments as recorded in Table An. longipalpis type C were amplified after the species-specific An. funestus group PCR. The restriction enzyme digested only the fragments for An. funestus-like and An. longipalpis type C. There were restriction sites at position 375 in An. funestus-like and at position 376 in the large fragment of An. longipalpis type C , An. funestus-like (375 bp) and An. rivulorum (411 bp) are close to each other. However, individuals that do not amplify at all may need additional processing using the An. longipalpis type A primers [The assay for the et al [An. longipalpis type C is similar to the sequences of An. parensis and An. vaneedeni in the An. funestus subgroup. These three species are almost identical at the adult stage with only a few minor differences [An. longipalpis was not included in the An. funestus group because of its very different larval morphology [et al [An. longipalpis type A, which is close to Anopheles pampanai and Anopheles varuna in the Asian An. minimus group based on the DNA analysis of the ITS2 region. They suggested that An. longipalpis type C should be placed in the An. funestus group supported by sequence similarity to both An. parensis and An. vaneedeni. Furthermore, Kent et al. [An. longipalpis type C were the same as the diagnostic amplicons for a hypothetical An. parensis/An. vaneedeni hybrid although no such hybrids have been recorded in nature. However, further investigation of An. longipalpis is still required with more field specimens.Koekemoer et al  reportedferences ,2. Howevrphology ,3. Koekey [et al  indicatet et al.  also repAn. funestus group and An. longipalpis type C.The application of the method described is expected to greatly improve the efficiency of large-scale analysis of field-collected samples of the The authors declare that they have no competing interests.KSC designed the study, developed the new RFLP assay and drafted the manuscript. MC and LLK assisted with analysis of the data and helped draft the manuscript.All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Solanum tuberosum L.) consists of a large number of tuber-bearing wild Solanum species under Solanum section Petota. One of the major taxonomic problems in section Petota is that the series classification (as put forward by Hawkes) is problematic and the boundaries of some series are unclear. In addition, the classification has received only partial cladistic support in all molecular studies carried out to date.The secondary genepool of our modern cultivated potato  were genotyped using over 200 AFLP markers. This resulted in the largest dataset ever constructed for Solanum section Petota. The data obtained are used to evaluate the 21 series hypothesis put forward by Hawkes and the 4 clade hypothesis of Spooner and co-workers.The aim of the present study is to describe the structure present in section We constructed a NJ tree for 4929 genotypes. For the other analyses, due to practical reasons, a condensed dataset was created consisting of one representative genotype from each available accession. We show a NJ jackknife and a MP jackknife tree. A large part of both trees consists of a polytomy. Some structure is still visible in both trees, supported by jackknife values above 69. We use these branches with >69 jackknife support in the NJ jackknife tree as a basis for informal species groups. The informal species groups recognized are: Mexican diploids, Acaulia, Iopetala, Longipedicellata, polyploid Conicibaccata, diploid Conicibaccata, Circaeifolia, diploid Piurana and tetraploid Piurana.Petota.Most of the series that Hawkes and his predecessors designated can not be accepted as natural groups, based on our study. Neither do we find proof for the 4 clades proposed by Spooner and co-workers. A few species groups have high support and their inner structure displays also supported subdivisions, while a large part of the species cannot be structured at all. We believe that the lack of structure is not due to any methodological problem but represents the real biological situation within section  Solanum tuberosum L.) consists of a large number of tuber-bearing wild Solanum species which grow in various habitats from the southern states of the USA to the most southern parts of Chile and Argentina. These wild species are important as a resource for valuable traits that can be used to improve the quality of the cultivars, including resistance against important diseases like Phytophthora infestans and potato cyst nematodes (Globodera spp.). Therefore it is no surprise that the wild relatives of the cultivated potato have since long drawn the attention of many plant breeders and botanists. To benefit most from the possibilities that the secondary genepool has to offer, it is necessary to have a good insight in the taxonomy. The classical treatments of potato taxonomy are from Correll [The secondary genepool of our modern cultivated potato  whose accessions did not cluster all together and 48 species whose accessions were mixed with accessions of other species. The latter was often the case with species that occur in South America, the borders of many of these species are not clearly recognizable from the NJ tree.S. nigrum, S. chaparense, S. sitiens, and S. fraxinifolium 2) North and Central American diploid series Polyadenia, Pinnatisecta, Bulbocastana and Morelliformia, 3) Circaeifolia and Piurana accessions, 4) Longipedicellata accessions, 5) Demissa and Conicibaccata accessions but without S. demissum and S. semidemissum, 6) S. verrucosum accessions, 7) Tuberosa from Bolivia, Argentina and Chile plus some accessions from other series such as Yungasensa, 8) accessions from cultivated Tuberosa species and wild Tuberosa from Peru, 9) accessions from Tuberosa and Megistacroloba, 10) accessions from S. acaule (and its subspecies), S. albicans, S. demissum, S x semidemissum and S. edinense.Above the species level, a few clusters of species groups can be distinguished in the large NJ tree . Roughly, the following groups can be found in the NJ tree of the large dataset: 1) an outgroup with Because of the size of the dataset, it proved impossible to analyze it with cladistic methods nor to analyze it for statistical support. A condensed dataset was created by choosing a representative genotype from all the available accessions (see methods section for exact details). This condensed dataset consisted of 916 genotypes.A single ratchet parsimony search consisting of 200 iterations yielded a Maximum Parsimony (MP) tree of 9669 steps. Furthermore, 20 individual independent ratchet searches each consisting of 50 iterations also yielded a MP tree of 9669 steps.Figure When comparing the NJ and the MP jackknife trees it is apparent that a large part of both trees consists of a polytomy. However, some structure is still visible in both trees, supported by jackknife values above 69. The following groups can be recognized in both the NJ jackknife tree and the MP jackknife tree:1) Mexican diploid species, with a jackknife support of 73 for the MP tree and 99 for the NJ tree; the substructure found within the Mexican and Northern American diploids is almost the same for both trees.Longipedicellata, with a jackknife support of 100 in both trees.2) A group of tetraploid Mexican/North and Central American species belonging to series S. acaule, S. demissum, and closely related species with a jackknife support of 100 in the MP tree and 99 in the NJ tree.3) A group consisting of accessions of Circaeifolia, with a jackknife support of 100 in both trees.4) A group consisting of the species belonging to series S. paucijugum, S. tuquerrense, and S. solisii, tetraploid species belonging to the series Piurana, with a jackknife support of 96 in the NJ tree and 92 in the MP tree.5) A small group of accessions belonging to There are also differences in group structure between the two trees. There are a number of groups that have good jackknife support in the NJ tree but are not supported in the MP jackknife tree:Demissa with a jackknife support of 79. In the MP tree only 2 species that are part of this group were found in one small clade: S. schenckii and S. hougasii.1) A group of hexaploid Mexican species belonging to series Conicibaccata has a jackknife support of 82 in the NJ jackknife tree. In the MP jackknife tree the same accessions are part of the polytomy. These clades represent the subgroups found within the Conicibaccata group in the NJ tree. Only one subgroup is not represented by a similar clade in the MP jackknife tree.2) A group of accessions from species belonging to series Piurana has a jackknife support of 69 in the NJ tree. In the MP tree, the jackknife support was low, so this group collapsed and 4 out of 5 supported subgroups found in the NJ jackknife tree are visible as supported separate small groups in the MP jackknife tree.3) A group of species belonging to series Conicibaccata, S. buesii, S. sandemannii and S. laxissimum with jackknife support of 92.4) A group consisting of accessions from diploid species of series S. medians, S. sandemanii, S. weberbauerii and an unknown species with a jackknife support of 85.5) A group which contains accessions of Lactuca species, sufficient phylogenetic signal was present and concluded that in practice the influence of possible limitations of AFLP, such as co-migration of nonhomologous fragments is limited. However, he stresses that the conclusion only applies to datasets with closely related species. Moreover, Kardolus [Solanum section Petota the AFLP technique is suitable up to the species level. The AFLP method has since then successfully been used in more studies on potato taxonomy [One of the arguments against the use of AFLP is the possible bias caused by homoplasy ,19,20. Ntaxonomy -24.S. demissum and S. acaule, the group of S. circaeifolium, the group of S. commersonii and the group of S. schenckii and S. hougasii. Then there are groups that are not supported in the MP jackknife tree  species do form a separate cluster.From the present results it is clear that there is no absolute relationship between EBNs and the groups found. In the group which contains Petota. Furthermore, there is a lack of support for the relationships between the different groups that were found in the NJ and MP trees. It is important to differentiate between these two phenomena because the causes underlying both cases could be different.With regard to the overall structure of the section as found in this study two main observations can be made. There seems to be a lack of supported structure, especially in the South American part of section The AFLP jackknife NJ tree and the jackknife MP tree in this study shows a lack of structure or rather, an unresolved structure for the part of the tree which contains South American species while the other part of the tree shows several well supported groups.Tuberosa different genotypes of the same species are not always grouped together and are scattered among genotypes from other species. He claims that the cause of this phenomenon is not the lack of resolution of AFLP, but the overclassification of a group of species, the so-called brevicaule-complex. The cpDNA RFLP studies of Spooner and Sytsma [Kardolus et al.  mentioned Sytsma , and Spod Sytsma  also shoSolanum section Petota and found high bootstrap values for the branch uniting all the South American species in three different types of dendrogram . However, the two subgroups within the South American clade that they distinghuished (variants C1 and C2) often show polytomies and resolution within the groups is mostly lacking.Volkov et al.  comparedLupinus. This would point at a rapid and recent diversification in the Andes. The authors also suggest that Lupinus is probably only one example of many plant radiations that followed the final uplift of the Andes. They assume that many of these plant radiations are yet unknown. It is possible that the factors underlying the Lupinus diversification are also responsible for the Solanum section Petota diversification. According to Hughes and Eastwood [Outside the field of potato taxonomy, researchers have reported similar patterns. Hughes and Eastwood  report aEastwood  these faS. etuberosum, S. palustre and S. fernandezianum which connects to the main branch of the NJ jackknife and MP jackknife tree with respectively 100 or 98 support value, none of the branches connecting two or more groups have jackknife support of 69 or higher. That is the reason why in the schematized jackknife NJ and jackknife MP trees these branches collapse in a polytomy. Contrastingly, the branches of the groups that can be recognised within the polytomy do have jackknife support, although not all species can be put in groups as discussed previously.Except for the outgroup consisting of Petota taxonomy by Kardolus et al. [Petota. Bootstrap support above 70 were given for a NJ tree branch connecting the outgroup of S. etuberosum and S. brevidens, for a branch connecting the outgroups, and for the Mexican diploids and S. circaeifolium and S. circaeifolium subspecies quimense with the other part of the tree. In the cpDNA RFLP studies on the South American part of section Petota [S. cardiophyllum and S. bulbocastanum) is connected to the other clades with a bootstrap value of 87, and Clade 3 (mainly accessions belonging to series Piurana) and Clade 4 (the rest of section Petota) are connected to each other with a branch with 96 bootstrap support.In the first study on the use of AFLP in s et al. , it provn Petota  only a fPetota in general. This indicates that our and previous results represent the real biological situation in Solanum section Petota. Since the phylogenetic signal is clearly present in our data as shown in the well-supported groups in the present study, the lack of structure in parts of the tree is not caused by the lack of phylogenetic signal in AFLP markers.We can conclude from these previous results that it is indeed difficult to find good support for the backbone structure of section Petota in 21 series. Although a few of the series seem to form natural groups, the majority of the series as proposed by Hawkes [Petota.As outlined in this paper and in other earlier studies, there are no results that support the classification of section Petota in informal species groups, following the approach of Spooner et al. [We propose to divide section r et al.  who consr et al.  and Knapr et al. ,30 who ar et al.  if applir et al. .In total, the NJ jackknife tree can be partitioned into 10 species groups. It would be possible to construct more species groups based on the structure shown in the various trees made in the present study, but these groups would then not be supported by bootstrap or jackknife supports.Although a closed classification following the rules of the Botanical Code is desirable, it seems in this case difficult to apply. In the present study, many species cannot be accommodated in groups. These species do not automatically form a group themselves, but are intentionally left unclassified.We suggest recognizing the following informal species groups as shown in the NJ jackknife tree Figure :This group contains the species groups of Spooner et al. : PinnatiS. semidemissum, S. demissum and S. x edinense. The other group shows a jackknife support of 98 and contains S. juzepczukii, S. albicans and the three subspecies S. acaule subsp. acaule, S. acaule subsp. aemulans, S. acaule subsp. punae.In our study this group contains 2 supported subgroups, one branch with jackknife support of 96 containing the species S. schenckii, S. hougasii, that form a strongly supported cluster together (jackknife support 100) and a cluster containing the species S. iopetalum, S. brachycarpum, S. guerreroense (jackknife support 90). All species were formerly designated by Hawkes [Demissa which also included the species S. demissum and closely related species. The species in our group are the same as in the species group Iopetala designated by Spooner et al. [S. brachycarpum as a synonym of S. iopetalum.This group contains the species y Hawkes  to serieLongipedicellata. The species included in this group are S. fendleri including S. fendleri subsp. arizonicum, S. stoloniferum, S. hjertingii,. S. papita, S. polytrichon, S. leptosepalum, and S. matehualae. The species S. leptosepalum, S. fendleri, S. papita, and S. polytrichon have been reduced as synonyms of S. stoloniferum [S. matehualae is reduced as synonym of S. hjertingii [As the name does suggest, this group contains species that were formerly placed by Hawkes  in the soniferum . The speertingii .Conicibaccata. According to the present study the group consists of S. flahaultii, S. moscopanum, S. orocense, S. sucubunense, S. tundalomense, S. oxycarpum, S. longiconicum, S. garcia-barrigae, S. otites, S. oxycarpum, S. agrimonifolium, S. moscopanum, S. subspanduratum, S. paramoense, and S. colombianum.This group contains species placed there by Spooner et al. , complemConicibaccata can be put in the species group Conicibaccata there are a few species that form a separate group. This group consists of the diploid species S. buesii, S. sandemanii, and S. laxissimum.Although most of the series Piurana as the contents of the group are roughly similar: S. piurae, S. acroglossum, S. blanco-galdosii, S. irosinum, S. chomatophilum, and S. paucissectum from series Piurana and S. chiquidenum from series Tuberosa.This species group was not designated by Spooner et al. . The namPiurana series [S. paucijugum, S. tuquerrense, and S. solisii.The situation as described before for the Conicibaccata group also applies partly for the Piurana group. There are a few species from the formerly designated a series  that forS. circaeifolium, S. soestii, S. capsicumbaccatum and S. circaeifolium subsp. quimense. The contents is conform Hawkes' series Circaeifolia.This group consists of S. macropilosum and S. verrucosum. The species S. macropilosum was reduced to a synonym of S. verrucosum by Spooner et al. [This group contains only 2 species; r et al. .Solanum section Petota accessions ever analysed simultaneously. All other previous studies used datasets that included less variation and fewer species. Because of the thorough sampling, it is possible to propose species groups without too many reservations. A number of species groups coincide with certain series recognized by Hawkes [Solanum section Petota is highly unbalanced. A few species groups have high support and their inner structure displays also supported subdivisions, while a large part of the species cannot be structured and they seem to be all equally related to each other and to the supported groups.As far as we know, this paper treats the largest collection of y Hawkes . HoweverSolanum section Petota cannot be structured or subdivided. We even doubt that it would be possible to find more resolution with other methods or more markers, and we consider it likely that the polytomy is indicative of the real situation in section Petota. A relatively fast spread of tuber-bearing Solanum species over South America, due to the geographic conditions in the Andes [It might be difficult to accept that a part of genus he Andes , combineSolanum clones was grown in vitro for at least 6 weeks on MS medium supplemented with 20% sucrose [In total 951 accessions representing 196 different taxa, species, 15 subspecies and 17 hybrids were sampled. We tried to include as many species as possible from various gene banks. In principle, at least 5 accessions from each available species and 5 individual plants per species  were included. Seeds were surface-sterilized and sown in vitro at 25\u00b0C. The collection of individual  sucrose  at 18\u00b0C. sucrose .S. spec.. The accessions which labels were changed are indicated in Additional file Additional file EcoRI/MseI AFLP primer combinations: E32/M49 and E35/M48. The protocol of Vos et al. [The samples were fingerprinted with two s et al.  was usedThe dataset in this study originally contained 4929 genotypes. This large dataset was analyzed with NJ and UPGMA. Because of the size of the dataset, it proved impossible to analyze it with cladistic methods nor to analyze it for statistical support, even using the SARA supercomputer (see below). It was sheer impossible for a personal computer to do any further analyses apart from the NJ and UPGMA, and for the SARA computer cluster it would have taken many months/years of computing time.For further analysis a condensed dataset was created by carefully choosing a representative genotype from all the available accessions. This condensed dataset consisted of 916 genotypes. The condensed dataset was used in both phenetic and cladistic analyses and in the resampling methods.S. sitiens, S. nigrum, S. chaparense, S. lycopersicoides, S. canense, S. fraxinifolium). The outgroup species S. etuberosum, S. palustre and S. fernandezianum were retained in the dataset.Besides choosing only one genotype per accession to represent the accession in the condensed dataset, other adjustments were made to create this dataset. All the 22 known interspecific hybrid accessions were removed, 23 other accessions were completely removed because of the extreme heterogeneity of the accession (possibly resulting from a mixture of species) in both the NJ and the UPGMA trees. Species labels of 49 accessions were changed based on their position in the NJ and/or UPGMA tree (not shown) and visual inspection of the plants in the experimental field or greenhouse in 2005 and 2006. In total 11 outgroup accessions were removed because preliminary AFLP results showed these outgroups to be too distant (Both the phenetic and the cladistic analyses were conducted using PAUP 4.0 Altivec  on the TThe cladistic analysis heuristic searches were done by using PRAP, Parsimony Ratchet Analyses using PAUP, a program that writes commands for PAUP. The commands in PRAP describe how PAUP should carry out parsimony ratchet searches . By usinFor the MP jackknife analysis, we followed the conclusions drawn by Muller  that usiMJ carried out the phenetic and phylogenetic analyses and drafted the manuscript, RVB and BV participated in coordination and design of the study and participated in drafting the manuscript, RH chose the plant material and participated in coordination and design of the study, VV and MV coordinated and carried out the growing of the material, MS and RM carried out the AFLP analyses. All authors read and approved of the final manuscript.Symbols used in additional file 1. # recorded hybrid, removed in 916 dataset. $ complete accession removed in the 916 dataset because of conflicting positions in NJ tree. & removed outgroups in 916 dataset: S. lycopersicoides, S. nigrum, S. chaparense, S. sitiens, S. canense, S. fraxinifolium. * the label of this accession was changed in the 916 dataset after checking the position in the large NJ tree and checking morphology in the greenhouse/field.  the number in parentheses indicates the number of accessions used for the 916 analysis in case of removal or change of accessions. Abbreviations for Genebank source codes: CPC: Commonwealth Potato Collection, UK. CGN: Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands. cgn: cgn receipt number, Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands. PI: Plant Introduction number, USA. GLKS: Gross Lusewitz, Germany.List of material used in the AFLP analyses. List of material used in the AFLP analyses. Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, Dipylidium caninum, Leishmania infantum, Dirofilaria immitis, and Dirofilaria repens) are of zoonotic concern. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of fleas as vectors of pathogens of zoonotic relevance  in this country. While some arthropod vectors  are present in certain Italian regions throughout the year, others  are most active during the summer season. Accordingly, control strategies, such as those relying on the systematic use of acaricides and insecticides, should be planned on the basis of the ecology of both vectors and pathogens in different geographical areas in order to improve their effectiveness in reducing the risk of infection by vector-borne pathogens. This article reviews the current situation and perspectives of canine and feline vector-borne diseases in Italy.In Italy, dogs and cats are at risk of becoming infected by different vector-borne pathogens, including protozoa, bacteria, and helminths. Ticks, fleas, phlebotomine sand flies, and mosquitoes are recognized vectors of pathogens affecting cats and dogs, some of which (e.g.,  Canine and feline vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are caused by a wide range of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths, which are transmitted by a variety of vectors, such as ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and phlebotomine sand flies. Some VBDs might be life-threatening in cats and dogs, they might develop after long incubation period making their diagnosis challenging, particularly because their clinical signs are not pathognomonic ,2. In adIn Italy, as well as in many other European countries, the aforementioned key information on parasitic arthropods and the pathogens they transmit is scant, anecdotic, and often outdated . This isThe present article reviews the current situation and perspectives of canine and feline VBDs in Italy. Additionally, the risk of transmission of vector-borne pathogens through different seasons is discussed in order to afford the implementation of effective control programs.Italy is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, the land between the peninsula and the Alps, and two main islands (Sicily and Sardinia). The country has a territory of 301,230 sq km, of which 294,020 sq km is land. It is geographically differentiated into three main areas which include administrative regions, namely northern , central , and southern Italy  including Sicily and Sardinia islands  dogs and cats are often present in urban and rural areas representing a public health concern in Italy . Stray dCats and dogs living in public shelters in Italy may be at high risk of acquiring vector-borne pathogens, mainly because they are often untreated against ectoparasites, thus, representing an easy feeding source for them. In addition, the general conditions of these animals  may contribute to susceptibility to some VBDs. Likewise, when infected, free-roaming cats and dogs are often neither monitored nor treated against vector-borne pathogens.vice versa poses a risk for the introduction and dissemination of exotic pathogens if competent vectors are present. In a recent study, it was found that 62% of dogs infected by Babesia canis had a history of travel to East European countries .D. immitis were thought to be more active during the summer months, mainly in humid climate areas of northern Italy and, at a lesser extent, in the remaining part of the Peninsula [A. albopictus, a known vector of D. immitis and D. repens [A. albopictus has adapted to the relatively low winter temperatures of Italy, rapidly increasing its populations through the country, developing many generations over the year in central and southern regions and overwintering as eggs in colder northern regions [A. albopictus has a diurnal activity pattern [Dirofilaria spp. in areas where both A. albopictus and other nocturnal mosquitoes  occur in sympatry [For a long time, mosquito vectors of eninsula . However. repens ,42, duri. repens . In addi regions . In cont pattern . This posympatry .P. perniciosus (the most important vector of L. infantum in the Mediterranean area) is restricted to June and early October [The occurrence and spread of canine leishmaniosis in a given area depends on several factors, including vector abundance and biting rates. In Italy, the activity of phlebotomine sand flies is seasonal and restricted to the summer months -47. Inde October . The act October ,47.P. variegata has been studied in an area in southern Italy where T. callipaeda is highly endemic [P. variegata has a seasonal pattern from May to October, being more active during July and August, at 20-25\u00b0C and 50-75% of relative humidity [The ecology and distribution of  endemic . It has humidity .E. canis infection in dogs estimated by serological surveys varied from 14.9% in southern Italy [E. canis infection among 601 Italian dogs estimated by real-time PCR was lower than that recorded by serology, indicating that the infection is most prevalent in southern (9.7%) than in central (8%) and northern (2.9%) Italy [E. canis infection varies among foci according to local factors . Anaplasma platys infection has been molecularly detected in kennelled dogs in central (23%) [E. canis and A. platys may also occur as recorded in a dog population from southern Italy where 44.4% of individuals infected by A. platys were co-infected with E. canis [Rhipicephalus sanguineus, a proven vector of E. canis, has been suspected to act a vector of A. platys in Italy [E. canis and A. platys adds weight to this hypothesis. Similarly, high prevalence rates of anti-R. conorii antibodies (up to 74%) have been detected in dogs [R. conorii (56%) and A. phagocytophilum (3.7%) in dogs [Bartonella spp. DNA [Bartonella sp. (strain HMD) has been detected in five dogs, one of which was co-infected with B. vinsonii berkhoffii (genotypes II and III) [Bartonella species, some of which being of human health concern .It is difficult to assess the actual prevalence of infection by different vector-borne pathogens in cats and dogs in Italy due to the limited amount of data as well as to the difficulties in comparing information from studies using different diagnostic tools. Indeed, the prevalence of infection by vector-borne pathogens can also vary according to geographical region. For instance, the prevalence of rn Italy  to 46.7%rn Italy . Convers%) Italy . Indeed,al (23%)  and soutal (23%)  as well al (23%) . In addiE. canis . Rhipicein Italy  and the  in dogs . A study in dogs . In a respp. DNA . Moreoveand III) . These dBabesia protozoa infecting dogs in Italy [Babesia antibodies in dogs with a decreasing trend from central to northern areas [Babesia spp. infection [Babesia gibsoni in Italy has recently been supported by molecular data [Babesia spp. in blood samples from dogs with clinical signs compatible with VBDs have shown that B. canis is mainly detected in northern Italy (29.1%) whereas B. vogeli was detected mainly in central and southern Italy (16.3%) [There are limited data on in Italy -54. In arn areas . In the nfection . The occlar data . Again, D. repens has been considered for a long time to be mainly diffused in southern regions, D. immitis is endemic in northern regions with prevalence rates ranging from 22 to 80% [D. immitis showed a relevant prevalence increase in endemic areas [D. immitis has also become endemic in central regions such as Tuscany and Umbria [A. reconditum (16.5%) followed by D. repens (1.4%) and D. immitis (0.5%) in Campania [D. immitis and D. repens has been also recorded in Apulia and Calabria with prevalence rates up to 1.6% [D. repens in northern Italy [D. immitis recently detected in southern regions [Dirofilaria spp. throughout the whole country. Until now, D. immitis infection in cats has been diagnosed mostly in northern Italy where the prevalence is about 18% in pet cats [While canine dirofilariosis by 2 to 80% ,56 in doic areas . Furtherd Umbria . A recenCampania . The occ to 1.6% . The sprrn Italy  and the  regions  indicatepet cats .T. callipaeda has also been found among different wildlife species, which have been implicated as its reservoirs [The highest prevalence of canine thelaziosis has been reported in some areas of southern Italy (Basilicata region), reaching up to 60% in certain municipalities . In thisservoirs .For long time, stable endemic foci of canine leishmaniosis have been reported in southern and central Italy, with seroprevalence rates reaching up to 53.1% in some foci . In a stA. phagocytophilum, Bartonella henselae, B. vinsonii berkhoffii, B. burgdorferi, Coxiella burnetii, R. conorii, and R. felis), nematodes , tapeworms (D. caninum), and L. infantum. In most of the cases, cats and dogs are unlikely to represent important reservoir hosts and their role in the transmission of these pathogens to humans is probably minor. On the other hand, cats and dogs may play a key role in the zoonotic cycle of transmission of some pathogens, such as B. henselae and L. infantum, respectively.Many vector-borne pathogens infecting cats and dogs in Italy may also be a threat to human health. These include many bacteria  of public health concern in Italy [Dogs are primary hosts of vector-borne pathogens that may occasionally affect humans in Italy, including . repens ,66, and llipaeda . Most iminfantum ,68,69, winfantum . Althougin Italy ,66. In p. repens  and dogs. repens . Similarountries . Althougin Italy , their rB. henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae in Italy [L. infantum has long been discussed [L. infantum infection to P. perniciosus under laboratory conditions [R. felis (the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever in humans) in fleas (C. felis and C. canis) collected from cats [Cats have been found infected by emerging human pathogens, such as in Italy , and migiscussed  and a renditions . Recent rom cats ,27. HoweConsidering the zoonotic relevance of many vector-borne pathogens infecting cats and dogs in Italy, the control of VBDs they cause should not be only of veterinary concern but also a public health priority.The control of VBDs requires a holistic approach, considering the distribution, and the ecology of the vectors and of pathogens they may transmit and the infection progression in infected animals. The current strategies for the control of arthropod vectors in dogs and cats have recently been reviewed elsewhere ,74. The The prevention of VBDs can be achieved by means of systematic application of acaricides and/or insecticides, prophylactic administration of drugs, and vaccination. However, as discussed previously in this review, the occurrence and the risk of acquiring VBDs in Italy can vary according to the geographical and seasonal distribution of their respective vectors. Thus, the success of any prevention strategy depends on the appropriate use of commercially available tools, which should not only consider the manufacturer's instructions but also the available information on the vector ecology in a given area or region.D. immitis and D. repens has long been recommended for dogs in highly endemic areas of northern regions [E. canis [L. infantum in dogs [B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, but not against the other species. The decision to vaccinate against Lyme borreliosis should be made based on a risk assessment of the individual dog that includes information about where the dog lives and how often it frequents a tick-infested area. As far as cats, no studies are available in the literature about the prevention of VBDs.In Italy, the chemoprophylatic use of ivermectin against third- and fourth-stage larvae of  regions . In soutE. canis  and L. i in dogs ,76. In IR. felis) almost no information is available.Undoubtedly, the general picture of the VBDs affecting dogs and cats in Italy is complex mainly due to the limited amount of published data on ecology and distribution of arthropod vectors and the pathogens they transmit in northern, central and southern areas of the country. Gaps in our knowledge are even worse for vector-borne pathogens infecting cats; for some of which  [R. sanguineus in southern Italysuggests that unrecognized vector-borne pathogens may exist, which could complicate the diagnosis and management of other endemic VBDs in dogs and cats. Furthermore, considering the importance of R. sanguineus as vectors of R. conorii and the medical relevance of R. conorii infection in Italy [Among arthropods parasitizing dogs and cats in Italy, ticks are the most important vectors of pathogens. Indeed, ticks are proven vectors of a large number of pathogens, present in a wide geographical distribution and, most importantly, they are active during the whole year. In particular, due to its high degree of adaptability to different microenvironments and its capability to occasionally feed on hosts other than dogs, d humans ,11. Furtnt years ,77. For ngestion  and a rern Italy . Furtherain HMD)  in salivin Italy ,81, furtAs a priority, it is necessary to establish effective national surveillance systems based on a regional level that, using standardized diagnostic procedures and protocols, could provide a clear picture on vector-borne pathogens circulating among dogs and cats (both pet and free-roaming ones) in different Italian regions. Data on the distribution of arthropod vectors  and the pathogens they transmit would not only allow the assessment of the risk of the introduction of exotic pathogens into non-endemic areas but, more practically, could provide information to veterinarians and pet owners on timing and protocols that should be chosen for preventing VBDs in different Italian regions. In this regard, it is crucial to translate that data from research into changed practices by veterinarians and to ensure owners' compliance.An affordable and reliable control of canine and feline VBDs should also be part of a strategy for the management of zoonotic infections in order to reduce the risk of pathogen circulation between pet animals and humans. However, these actions cannot be disconnected from political initiatives to reduce the number of free-roaming dogs and cats in Italy and to improve vector control programs in public kennels. Finally, it is crucial to implement a permanent surveillance system to prevent the entry and exit of exotic vector-borne pathogens through dogs and cats travelling with their owners to and from Italy.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.DO and FD-T contributed equally to conceiving and writing this article."}
+{"text": "Most research pertaining to childhood obesity has assessed the effectiveness of preventative interventions, while relatively little has been done to advance knowledge in the treatment of obesity. Thus, a 4-week family- and group-based intervention utilizing group dynamics strategies designed to increase cohesion was implemented to influence the lifestyles and physical activity levels of obese children.This paper provides an overview of the rationale for and implementation of the intervention for obese children and their families. Objectives of the intervention included the modification of health behaviors and cohesion levels through the use of group dynamics strategies. To date, a total of 15 children  and their families have completed the intervention (during the month of August 2008). Physiological and psychological outcomes were assessed throughout the 4-week intervention and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up periods.It is believed that the information provided will help researchers and health professionals develop similar obesity treatment interventions through the use of evidence-based group dynamics strategies. There is also a need for continued research in this area, and it is our hope that the Children's Health and Activity Modification Program (C.H.A.M.P.) will provide a strong base from which others may build. Canadian children are becoming progressively overweight and obese. In 2004, 26% of children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 were either obese or overweight . A seconprevention of obesity in youth ) worked together to complete a \"C.H.A.M.P. Family Action Plan\" that included the following prompts: (a) These are the reasons my family is involved in C.H.A.M.P.; (b) Our family's top 3 goals for the next 4 weeks are...; and (c) State the actions your family will take over the next 4 weeks to reach your goals. Insofar as the last element is concerned , families were asked to outline: the During the family education sessions and the follow-up booster sessions, weekly messages, resources, and handouts regarding healthy living, ideas for physical activity, and motivation were provided to families (parents were provided with C.H.A.M.P. binders in which to store this information). These sessions also allowed parents and guardians to openly share and discuss their successes and difficulties in the home environment, and to ask questions to other group members or health care professionals. To further enhance communication among children, family members, and camp/research staff during the 4-week intervention, a weekly newsletter containing pictures, information about the previous week, health-related information, and upcoming events was provided to families. Each newsletter also contained a page entitled \"The Fabulous You\", which was dedicated to recognizing an outstanding accomplishment for each child during the previous week. As mentioned previously, families also received bi-monthly newsletters containing health- and program-related information following completion of the formal 4-week intervention.One of the primary purposes of both the family-based education sessions and the follow-up booster sessions was to provide families with an opportunity to meet, communicate, and interact with other individuals in a similar situation to themselves. Thus, all aspects of the family-based sessions centred around communication, feedback (where necessary), and social support. For example, parents were asked to share their contact information with one other C.H.A.M.P. family to enhance accountability for their family goals, and to increase communication, interaction, and support among families. Parents also participated in focus groups during which they were encouraged to openly share their perceptions of and experiences with the program. Finally, parents provided weekly feedback  to researchers about their involvement in the program.Open lines of communication were also maintained among counselors, program staff, and families throughout and following the 4-week program. When necessary, parents were provided with verbal or written updates regarding their child, and families were also given contact information for two counselors and several members of the research team. Following program involvement, families were contacted by program staff on a regular basis as a means of communication and support, and to relay friendly reminders for program-related events, sessions, and research assessments.For all family-based sessions, barriers to physical activity and healthy eating were identified and group discussions were implemented to create solutions for overcoming such challenges.To increase physical activity, group support, and family commitment, all families were provided with a one-month membership  at the YMCA in London, Ontario. In addition, one of the follow-up booster sessions consisted of a family-based aerobics/strength training session for children, siblings, and guardians. Finally, families were provided with coupons and information for family-friendly activities  that could be utilized following involvement in the 4-week program.z), waist circumference, lean body mass, body fat percentage , and specific fitness indices . Fasting blood sample measurements yielded values for total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides, insulin, serum glucose, and HOMA-IR. Additionally, vessel wall imaging (VWI) was conducted on all children to monitor plaque formation, vessel elasticity, and capillary function, thus providing an estimate of cardiovascular health. As mentioned previously, semi-structured focus groups were also conducted with children and parents to gain qualitative information pertaining to participants' experiences with and the perceived impact of the program. Finally, self-report measures included children's health-related quality of life (measured via the PedsQL 4.0) [A mixed methods  approach was taken in the collection and evaluation of data generated from the intervention and follow-up assessments. Several outcomes were assessed at various time points including standardized body mass index (BMI-run test . ObjectisQL 4.0) -40, the sQL 4.0) , questiosQL 4.0) , task ansQL 4.0) , and perRate each of your C.H.A.M.P. camp-mates on how much of a friend they are to you\". Children were shown pictures of all C.H.A.M.P. participants, and asked to rate each child on a scale from 1 (\"very good friend\") to 5 . The remaining 15 questions were answered on a five-point response scale , with a corresponding graphic scale containing faces with a range of emotional expressions  adapted from Wong and Baker [the total C.H.A.M.P. population , the C.H.A.M.P. teams , and the C.H.A.M.P. counselor groups . As can be seen in Table S1 (additional file Cohesion was measured using an 18 item questionnaire developed specifically for the present research and modified from the Sports Cohesiveness Questionnaire . The firnd Baker . These qIn summary, this article has provided a rationale for the creation of C.H.A.M.P., a background in the area of childhood obesity, and an overview of the group dynamics strategies used to facilitate cohesion among children and family members. All of the information needed to create and implement a similar group-based program has been discussed: study design, components of the intervention, recruitment, and measurement procedures. Although data analyses from Year 1 are not complete, preliminary results appear promising and anecdotal reports from children, guardians, and counselors have been positive. Additionally, the first year of this pilot project has provided valuable information regarding what aspects of the intervention appear to be most and least effective. The results of the analyses will help further the knowledge in family- and group-based interventions aimed at the treatment of overweight and obese children. Results of the intervention will be available in late 2009, and will be disseminated to relevant community and government organizations, and published in academic journals. In the meantime, it is hoped that the issues discussed provide guidance to those undertaking similar trials with children. Ultimately, it is our goal to utilize the results of the 2-year pilot project to offer C.H.A.M.P. on an annual basis with a larger number of children and families across a broader range of ages, settings, and communities.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.SB, JI, RP, HP, and KS were all involved in the development of the program. They provided support and expertise related to the design and implementation of the study. LM, SB, AC, and SS participated in the writing of the manuscript, while JI, RP, HP, and KS provided revisions and comments, and approved the final version. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:Table S1.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Sir,It seems that the authors were completely oblivious of the landmark paper which was published by Dr. A. D. Dias on the \"SEPA\" flap.st paper was published in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery 1984;37:256-61 as \"The Superficial External Pudendal Artery (SEPA) axial pattern flap\". In this paper, the anatomy of the flap was studied in 12 cadavers and the flap has was clinically in six patients. A bilateral SEPA flap was also described. Moreover, the anatomical position of the flap makes it possible to immobilize the hand in a much more comfortable and natural position than that assumed in a groin flap. As the flap can be rotated to almost 180 degrees on either side, it is very suitable for defects in the genital region. Thus, it can be used for skin cover in the second stage repair of hypospadius, or a urinary fistula, or in difficult repairs in a hypospadic cripple. It can also add bulk to a hypoplastic penis and its use in epispadias repair is very convenient. The flap is also useful for degloving injuries of the penis and scrotum, in reconstruction of an amputated penis and in the correction of certain contractures in the groin.The 1A second paper: \"The Anatomical basis of the SEPA flap\" by U. A. Patil, A. D. Dias and R. L. Thatte was published in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery 1987;40:342-7.A third paper: \"The use of the SEPA flap in the repair of defects in the hands and fingers\" by A. D. Dias, R. L. Thatte, U. A. Patil, L. D. Dhami, S. Prasad was also published in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery 1987;40:348-59.I hope that I have placed the subject in the proper perspective."}
+{"text": "To the Editor: Tickborne rickettsioses are caused by obligate intracellular gram-negative bacteria that belong to the spotted fever group of the genus Rickettsia. These zoonoses share characteristic clinical features, including fever, headache, rash, and sometimes eschar formation at the site of the bite  of rickettsia, as described (ompA gene (R. montanensis DNA]) were included in each test. The sequences of PCR products were obtained and compared with those available in GenBank  similarity with R. conorii (GenBank accession no. AY346453); those of a 340-bp segment of gltA showed 100% similarity with that of R. conorii (AE008677). The sequences of a 517-bp segment of ompA and a 341-bp segment of gltA amplified from A. lepidum showed 100% similarity to the corresponding sequences of R. africae .One specimen of R. conorii, the agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, in Uganda. Although the main vector of this rickettsia is Rh. sanguineus, the few ticks of this species we tested were negative (R. conorii in Ha. punctaleachi, although it has been detected in the closely related Ha. leachi in Zimbabwe (Ha. punctaleachi prefers warm and humid conditions but can exist wherever rodent hosts for its immature stages and canine hosts for its adult stages are present (R. conorii in Ha. punctaleachi does not mean that this tick is an efficient vector (To our knowledge, this is the first detection of R. africae, the agent of African tick bite fever, in Djibouti. R. africae was also detected in 1 A. lepidum collected in Sudan (A. variegatum and A. hebraeum with high infection rates throughout sub-Saharan Africa (A. lepidum, which coexists with A. variegatum in limited locations, is chiefly a cattle parasite. It will also attach to smaller domestic animals and a few wild herbivores, but it attacks humans less frequently than A. variegatum or A. hebraeum. A. lepidum occurs in a variety of climatic regions but most commonly inhabits semiarid regions in eastern Africa. The cattle in our study had been imported from Ethiopia, and the ticks may have infested these animals before their arrival in Djibouti. Indeed, in 1973 Burgdorfer obtained an isolate from A. variegatum in Ethiopia, which was thereafter shown to be indistinguishable from the rickettsia described as R. africae (R. africae in Djibouti and that it could affect their patients, both local and international, including French and American soldiers based in this country (This is also, to our knowledge, the first detection of R. conorii and R. africae in Uganda and Djibouti, respectively. However, healthcare workers who treat persons who live in or have traveled to these countries should be alert for spotted fever group rickettsial infections in their patients (Because we did not do systematic sampling, our results cannot address the prevalence and distribution of"}
+{"text": "P. K. Sethi 1927-2008Kisse poonche hamne kahan woh chehra-e-roshan dekha haiMehfil mehfil ghoom chuke hain, gulshan gulshan dekha haith November, 1927 in Varanasi. He attended St. John's School (1932-1933), Balwant Rajput Intermediate College (1934-1942), and Agra College (1942-1944). He attained his MBBS (1949) from Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, with honors in Surgery and six other subjects and completed MS in General Surgery (1952). He obtained FRCS in 1954. On his return to India, Dr. Sethi joined as a lecturer in Surgery at the SMS Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, with which he remained associated till his retirement in 1982. He started and developed Orthopaedic Department and Rehabilitation Unit from scratch.Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi was born on 28Dr. Sethi sometimes met his amputees whom he had fitted with prosthesis, but who were not wearing it. He soon realized the reason was the foot piece, which did not fit their milieu. He set out to solve the rural patients' need for a foot piece that would look like a bare foot, would be waterproof and durable and flexible enough to allow for ease of walking over uneven ground and for its wearer to squat and sit cross-legged. Finally, it should be made of inexpensive, readily available materials. Thus, began the journey of the development of the Jaipur foot. Ram Chandra, a master craftsman whom Dr. Sethi affectionately referred to as \u201cMasterji,\u201d produced an aluminum die. Dr. Sethi, drawing on the experience in Sri Lanka of surgeon G. M. Muller, decided to pack the die with rubber. Knowing \u201cnext to nothing about rubber,\u201d he asked Chuga Bhai, owner of a one-man tire retreading shop near the hospital to vulcanize the foot, but it was too heavy. The doctor and the craftsman produced modification after modification. Finally, the SACH foot assembly was eliminated completely and different components were used. The final product had flexibility and resilience, simulated subtalar, ankle, and torsional movement and it was durable. Dr. Sethi's desire and hope was that the Jaipur model of uniting the skills and services of doctors, craftsmen, and volunteers be duplicated throughout India so that the handicapped can be served closer to their homes.He presented his first scholarly paper on the Jaipur foot at the Association of Surgeons of India's annual conference, Bangalore (1970). That same year, he reported on the foot at a meeting of the British Orthopedic Association at Oxford, England and received a standing ovation. The Western India Orthopedic Society presented Dr. Sethi with a Gold Medal in 1973. Dr. Sethi was asked to give the lead talk at the First World Congress on Prosthetics and Orthotics held in Montreux, Switzerland (1974). He was conferred Padma Shri in 1981, Ramon Magsaysay Award, Manila (1981), Guinness Award for Scientific Achievement (1982), D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Rajasthan University (1982), and R.D. Birla Award for Outstanding Medical Research (1983). He delivered the Gandhi Memorial Oration (1988), Raman Research Institute, Bangalore and was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1989). He was awarded the Knud Jansen Medal and Oration, World Congress in Prosthetics and Orthotics, Kobe, Japan (1989). He received the Dr. B.C. Roy National Award as Eminent Medical Man (1989), and an Honorary Fellowship, Indian Orthopaedic Association (1999).His research endeavors were not limited to the Jaipur foot alone. Dr. Sethi and Prof. S.C. Lakkad of IIT Mumbai worked on using carbon fiber composites for fabricating light-weight calipers, a spin-off of aerospace, and defense technology for social welfare initiated by the former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, then Director of Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). This was standardized by DRDO and Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, in 1994. Till now 9000 polio patients have benefited all over the country with this technology.His excellent professional knowledge was indisputable. He spent at least 1 or 2 h every single day in the Robert Heilig library of SMS Medical College. He was an avid reader. He was a Member of an elite book lovers club, which included luminaries of the Rajasthan University as Dr. Daya Krishan, a professor of Philosophy; Prof. Unnithan, a musicologist; Dr. Mukund Laat, a physicist; Prof. Loknathan, Dr. Rao of Malviya Engineering College, who was also a scholar of nature study; Ms. Hemlata Prabhu, a professor of English, and Mr. Anil and Mrs. Otima Bordia. This diverse group met once a month to review a book, be it the latest best seller, fiction or nonfiction, on literature or arts, metaphysics or philosophy, on management or behavior, and so on. No wonder that his personal library is probably among the best individual collection of books.The first qualities of the heart a surgeon must possess and which he did in ample measure was humility. It is reflected in his response to the citation for the R.D. Birla National Award, which seemed to come straight from the heart. \u201cThe RD Birla Smarak Kosh has honoured our small team of doctors and artisans and the community of my town of Jaipur without whose help and contribution it would not have been possible. For years our work went unnoticed because there was nothing exotic or glamorous about the simple, almost austere technology which was associated with it\u2026.the present award has lent credibility and legitimacy to the kind of clinical research which is meaningful and relevant for our country's needs. Hopefully our research institutions and planning bodies would now be compelled to carry out some hard reappraisal of their priorities.\u201dIn qualities of the hand, he was a master craftsman. At surgery, he invariably meticulously planned his case. He used to tell us that, no matter how many times he had performed an operation, he will review it before coming for surgery. His dissection was meticulous, patiently executed, and no step skipped. He would set out problems and tasks and indicate a line along which they may be approached.Dr. Sethi had a very versatile personality, coupled with a charming and pleasant countenance. Many of his postgraduates joined Orthopaedics not out of a genuine love or craze for the subject, but because of the charisma of this man, Dr. P. K. Sethi. I was one among them. In the words of William Shakespeare \u201cHere was a Caesar. When comes such another.\u201dth January, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Sulochna; three daughters, Lata, Nita and Amrita; and a son, Harsh.Dr. P. K. Sethi passed away in the early hours of 6"}
+{"text": "You have achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play.Warren Beatty.Quoted in Deccan chronicleth Oct 2009Bengaluru Edition, 19What a wonderful year it was! I have picked up the quote above simply because the exhilaration of many positives we had over shadowed all the toil it entails in getting the journal in shape and in time. Before I get to mention the Pubmed Central indexing of our journal, there are a few points to be certainly noted.The journal is getting released each time, in time. The final issue of the last year 51(4) was in web by early December and the New Year Issue, Jan \u2013 March 2010 is already in web in the second week of Jan 2010. I will assure you, being certain of continuity in the office, that the April-June issue will be ready by February 2010.The special supplement of Dementia under the guest editorial of Dr. K.S. Shaji is a big hit and is already well quoted.I must thank Dr. Sudheer Kumar, Organizing Secretary, ANCIPS, 2009 at Agra for the timely arrangement made for the publication of abstracts in April supplement.Apart from the many indexing agencies quoted in the general information sheet in the journal, the crowning glory as the indexing of our journal at Pubmed Central. I must thank our president, Dr. E. Mohandas, Immediate Past Presidents Dr. P.C. Shastri and Dr. Indla Ramasubba Reddy and the incoming president Dr. Ajit Avasthi at the outset. Dr. Govind M. Bang, Honarary General Secretary, Dr Asim Kumar Mallick, Honarary Treasurer deserve special mention. I am grateful to our editorial office bearers, Dr. G. Swaminath, Dr. Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Dr. G. Prasad Rao, Dr. Ajith V. Bhide and Dr. Sandeep Grover, Editorial board members, Journal Committee members, National and International Advisory Board members, the reviewers and the authors who made this possible. Ultimately much of the credit must go to Dr. Sahu and his team at Medknow Publications, Mumbai, who are responsible for this achievement. My sincere thanks also go to Prof Mario Maj, Dr. J. Mezzich and the world Psychiatric Association (WPA), in particular Dr. Helen Hermann, Dr. Jair Mari, Dr. Vikram Patel, Dr. Christian Keiling and others. Very specifically I am grateful to Prof Maj and all in the task force, as well as observer Dr Shekhar Saxena, consultant Prof Norman Sartorius, Anna Engstrom and those in WPA Who have helped including members of the executive committee for support and advice.The major success of indexing goes to Dr. Sahu and his team. I like to quote his letter Which also makes our responsibilities increase many told:th September 2009Dated 11http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmedandterm=%22Indian%20J%20Psychiatry% 22 [Journal]). All the articles will get linked to IJP's website in next three to four days.\u2018We are pleased to inform that the Indian Journal of Psychiatry is now indexed with PubMed. One can search the articles published in IJP from 2009 onwards from PubMed  and searchable separately from Entrez PubMed. we will provide the back volumes to PMC in a couple of weeks so that all the articles from 2007 of IJP are available in PubMed. Older issues will be added over a few months.The full text of IJP is also archived with PMC  of the online tools for this purpose.http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/self-faq/#self-archiving to learn more about archiving.If your institution has an open archive repository, you can put the PDF of your article in the archive with a link to the article on the journal's website. Check http://www.opendoar.org/find.php and http://opcit.eprints.org/explorearchives.shtml#disciplinary.Deposit the article in a subject based OAI-PMH compliant repository. You can find subject wise list of repositories from Link your paper from as many websites as possible using citation and social book marking tools such as GetCited, CiteULike, Connotea, Zotero, etc. The URLs for registering with few of these sites arehttp://www.getcited.org/add/http://www.citeulike.org/registerhttp://www.connotea.org/registerhttp://www.indexcopernicus.com/info.php?id=1http://www.zotero.org/http://www.stumbleupon.com/sign-up.php?pre2=hp-joinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthamoeba\u2014keratitis#References [Ref. 5] or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallermann-Streiff\u2014syndrome#References.Link the article from an appropriate topic in the wikipedia e.g. http://www.nihms.nih.gov/db/sub.cgi to submit your paper.As an author you can also deposit your paper with the NLM's PubMedCentral, if you have received an NIH grant. Use the myNCBI link on Link the paper from your personal / institution web pages.The future Is very encouraging. A significant overhaul of our boards is on the agenda. The steps are being taken to strengthen the editorial office further so also the clearing of the backlog. You might have already noticed the increase in the number of pages of each issue, being around 100 pages. The new initiatives in the form of \u201cAnnotations of Indian Psychiatry\u201d and \u201cThe ICONS of Indian Psychiatry\u201d are Slated for the release in January, coinciding with ANCIPS 2010 at Jaipur. I am confident that they will go a long way in enhancing our impact factor at Science Citation Index.Ultimately, I have the satisfaction of mission accomplished. I am confident the New Year will be the beginning of an arduous travel ahead for the much more to be achieved. Well begun is war already half won! To repeat, you can certainly expect more from us!Personally, and on behalf of the editorial team, I wish you a happy reading and a happy new year.Long Live IJP and IPSDr. T. S. Sathyanarayana Raoth December 200910"}
+{"text": "Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) species complex, namely A. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) and Anopheles arabiensis. Historically, the former species was proportionately dominant in indoor resting collections of females.High coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets in Asembo and low coverage in Seme, two adjacent communities in western Nyanza Province, Kenya; followed by expanded coverage of bed nets in Seme, as the Kenya national malaria programme rolled out; provided a natural experiment for quantification of changes in relative abundance of two primary malaria vectors in this holoendemic region. Both belong to the A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis sampled from inside houses were obtained from the literature from 1970 to 2002 for sites west of Kisumu, Kenya, to the region of Asembo ca. 50 km from the city. A sampling transect was established from Asembo (where bed net use was high due to presence of a managed bed net distribution programme) eastward to Seme, where no bed net programme was in place. Adults of A. gambiae s.l. were sampled from inside houses along the transect from 2003 to 2009, as were larvae from nearby aquatic habitats, providing data over a nearly 40 year period of the relative abundance of the two species. Relative proportions of A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis were determined for each stage by identifying species by the polymerase chain reaction method. Household bed net ownership was measured with surveys during mosquito collections. Data of blood host choice, parity rate, and infection rate for Plasmodium falciparum in A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis were obtained for a sample from Asembo and Seme from 2005.Data of the relative abundance of adult Anopheles gambiae s.s. adult females from indoor collections predominated from 1970 to 1998 (ca. 85%). Beginning in 1999, A. gambiae s.s decreased proportionately relative to A. arabiensis, then precipitously declined to rarity coincident with increased bed net ownership as national bed net distribution programmes commenced in 2004 and 2006. By 2009, A. gambiae s.s. comprised proportionately ca. 1% of indoor collections and A. arabiensis 99%. In Seme compared to Asembo in 2003, proportionately more larvae were A. gambiae s.s., larval density was higher, and more larval habitats were occupied. As bed net use rose in Seme, the proportion of A. gambiae larvae declined as well. These trends continued to 2009. Parity and malaria infection rates were lower in both species in Asembo (high bed net use) compared to Seme (low bed net use), but host choice did not vary within species in both communities .A. gambiae s.s. population occurred as household ownership of bed nets rose in a region of western Kenya over a 10 year period. The increased bed net coverage likely caused a mass effect on the composition of the A. gambiae s.l. species complex, resulting in the observed proportionate increase in A. arabiensis compared to its closely related sibling species, A. gambiae s.s. These observations are important in evaluating the process of regional malaria elimination, which requires sustained vector control as a primary intervention.A marked decline of the  Recent progress in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality in Africa is founded upon expanded coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets , indoor residual spraying, and combination drug therapy . For thiAnopheles species show elevated activity due to the excitation effects of the active ingredients in some insecticide formulations of indoor residual sprays or insecticide-treated bed nets, resulting in their movement away from the sprayed walls or treated nets, with or without having obtained a human blood meal [Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus population density declined markedly in a randomized evaluation trial of permethrin-treated bed nets in treatment compared to control villages in western Kenya [Vector populations can respond behaviourally, numerically, or evolutionarily to insecticides implemented against them in malaria control programmes. With regard to behaviour, females of some ood meal -8. With ood meal -11. For rn Kenya , an effern Kenya . Evolutirn Kenya .Anopheles gambiae s.l. mosquitoes to long-term implementation of insecticide-treated bed nets in western Nyanza Province, Kenya. This species complex contains six species whose members are indistinguishable morphologically but which differ in certain behavioural and ecological attributes that are important to their vectorial capacity for malaria and for sampling [Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles arabiensis are the two most common members of this complex and the only two found in western Kenya; A. gambiae s.s. feeds mostly on humans, whereas A. arabiensis feeds mostly on cattle and other animals, less so on humans, making it a less efficient but still capable malaria vector [In the present study, research was focused on the population numeric responses of sampling -18. Anopa vector ,18.Anopheles vectors of malaria diminished substantially, villagers' health improved, and child mortality declined [A. funestus diminished to negligible levels, when bed nets were used at high coverage in the trial in western Kenya, whilst mosquitoes of the A. gambiae s.l. complex persisted as transmission declined [et al [A. gambiae s.s. was significantly less in Asembo (51.2%) compared to Seme (77.4%), suggesting that the greater number of permethrin-treated bed nets in Asembo was disproportionately affecting populations of the former species. Building upon this observation, we postulated that populations of A. gambiae s.s. would decline when bed nets were owned and used at high rates, compared to the local sibling species, A. arabiensis. The increasing and well-documented patterns of bed net coverage in Asembo and Seme allowed a test of this hypothesis by measuring changes in numbers of adult and larval mosquitoes of both species over several years. Further, historical data were obtained to examine multi-decadal trends in changes in the proportions of these two species as the national malaria campaign in Kenya resulted in increases in bed net ownership regionally.The region where the research reported here was conducted, in the Asembo Bay area of Nyanza province in western Kenya, has been an area of active research on effectiveness of insecticide treated bed nets in reducing malaria transmission, and malaria-related morbidity and mortality in people ,19-21. Ideclined ,20. Popudeclined . In sampd [et al  observedhttp://www.nmcp.or.ke.This study was conducted in Kisumu and Bondo districts in western Nyanza Province, Kenya, extending west of the city of Kisumu to the community of Asembo Figure . StudiesA. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis. Adult females were sampled from 20 houses in four discrete sites each along the sampling transect in 2005 [2 for the years 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively, with equal areas sampled in Asembo and Seme, and minimally 100 houses sampled. The reason was that A. gambiae s.s. had become progressively rarer and mosquitoes overall less abundant, requiring greater sampling area to find individuals of this species. Adult females were sampled in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 from inside houses using either aspiration by hand or the pyrethrum spray catch method for purposes of determining the proportions of the two species as well. Anopheles gambiae s.l. were identified by PCR [A. gambiae s.s. or A. arabiensis. Adult mosquitoes sampled from subsets of compounds along the transect in Asembo and Seme in 2005 [Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites [In 2003, larval mosquitoes were sampled quantitatively using area samplers ,27 from  in 2005 . The samd by PCR ,30, as A in 2005  were dis in 2005  analysed in 2005 , and tesrozoites .Bed net ownership in Asembo and Seme was assessed during indoor adult mosquito collections by noting presence or absence of a net, or from cross-sectional surveys conducted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additional data of bed net ownership from 2003 for Seme were provided by Dr. Mark Polhemus of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Kisumu, Kenya.A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis were obtained from indoor collections from nine published studies conducted from 1970 to 2002 in villages in this area  than Asembo . Further, density of A. gambiae s.l. larvae was lower in Asembo than in Seme in each of the two transect sweeps. It was higher overall in the second transect sample compared to the first, likely representing population growth during the course of the rainy season that year . In the first transect sample, the proportion of A. gambiae s.s. larvae relative to A. arabiensis was 16.7% in Asembo but 59% in Seme  with transect sampling position from Asembo to Seme . Density of adult female A. gambiae s.l. inside houses was lower in Asembo than Seme, and the proportion of them that were A. gambiae s.s. was lower within Asembo (27.0%) compared to Seme (58.4%) .In 2003, when bed net coverage was high in Asembo but low in Seme  Figure . The proA. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis in larval and adult female stages in Asembo and Seme are shown in Figure A. gambiae s.s. was lower in Asembo compared to Seme initially and then equalized in later years when A. arabiensis dominated both stages. Within Seme, the proportion that was A. gambiae s.s. decreased markedly from 2003 to 2008 . Anopheles gambiae s.s. larvae were significantly less abundant in 2006 compared to 2003 . Anopheles gambiae s.s. larvae and adults were rare in both Asembo and Seme in 2007, when bed net coverage was high in both areas . The remainder was A. arabiensis. Of 3,185 larvae identified to species in the same year, 26 (0.8%) were A. gambiae s.s., equally from Asembo and Seme. Species composition differed significantly between 2003 and 2007 in Seme, with the proportion of A. gambiae s.s. being much lower than expected for adults  and larvae . In 2008, the proportions of larval and adult A. gambiae s.l. that were A. gambiae s.s. remained low in Asembo, but were higher in Seme compared to 2007  were A. gambiae s.s. , the remainder being A. arabiensis. Of 497 larvae identified as A. gambiae s.l., 456 produced PCR amplicons; only 41 (9.0%) of these were A. gambiae s.s. . The proportion that was A. gambiae s.s. in 2008 was lower than expected compared to 2003 for adults  and larvae . In 2009, only one of 94 (1.1%) adult, female specimens that reacted in PCR was A. gambiae s.s.; the others were A. arabiensis. The proportion of A. gambiae s.s. was significantly lower in 2009 than in 2003 . An additional 128 females that were identified morphologically as A. gambiae s.l. did not react in PCR; due to a storage problem, no A. gambiae s.l. larvae reacted in PCR from 2009 samples, thus, the ratio of A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis for larvae in that year could not be calculated.The relative proportions of 8 Figure . SpeciesA. gambiae s.s. in Asembo (n = 329) and A. arabiensis (n = 207)  than Seme  although these differences were not significant . A total of 149 A. gambiae s.s. and 153 An arabiensis were tested for blood host  and A. gambiae s.s on humans ; there were no significant differences in host choice within species between the two sites ; however, host selection was significantly different between mosquito species without regard to study sites .In 2005, the proportion of females in the parous condition was lower in Asembo compared to Seme for both ) Figure . Based ot Figure . AnophelData of daily rainfall and average daily temperature from 1990 to 2009 in Kisumu airport showed no aberrant trends Figure .A. gambiae s.s. in samples of females collected indoors, was high relative to A. arabiensis from 1970 to 1998, but thereafter declined . Any sampling bias would likely be against A. arabiensis females in indoor collections due to their relatively reduced likelihood of entering and resting in houses, compared to A. gambiae s.s. females [A. arabiensis is highly unlikely to be an explanation for the trend. As larvae of these species show no habitat segregation in this study area [A. gambiae s.s. in the study area, but persistence of A. arabiensis. Larval sampling facilitated delineation of this process and should prove useful to others who wish to compare relative changes of the two species under similar conditions.Historical review of data on the relative proportions of  females ,18,30 thudy area ,35, chanA. gambiae s.s. coincided geographically and temporally with scale-up of national programmes leading to high rates of household ownership  of bed nets, suggesting that presence of the bed nets in most houses caused the observed population decline. Alternative explanations seem less likely. First, biased sampling, if having an effect, would have worked against the trend. Second, there was no evidence of an environmental or climate change that could have affected the species distributions locally; indeed, temperature and rainfall were consistently within a normal range across a two decade period . Thus, ownership does not equate to use. Nets in Asembo were retreated at regular intervals by house to house campaigns through 2003. Thereafter, retreatment was available at central locations at regular intervals and the service was free through 2007, but retreatment rates (not quantified) were certainly never 100% . In Seme, household ownership of nets increased through efforts by the Kenya Ministry of Health yet remained incomplete after the second roll-out  persisted, and residual malaria transmission was attributed to A. arabiensis [Anopheles darlingi) were originally numerous but disappeared, whereas larvae and adults of a zoophilic species, Anopheles aquasalis, persisted [The decline of an anthropophilic, anopheline mosquito species; and corresponding proportionate rise of a zoophilic one; during malaria vector control has rarely been reported in Africa. In the Pare-Taveta region of northern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya, indoor residual spraying with dieldrin resulted in the near elimination of atically . Even thnto 1966 , demonstvery low ,30, nor iae s.s. , but speiae s.s. . In Soutabiensis . Howeverersisted .A. gambiae s.s. in western Kenya has been associated with a simultaneous decline in malaria prevalence from 70% between 1997-1999 [et al [A. gambiae s.s., leaving residual transmission by A. arabiensis (see Additional File A. gambiae s.s. to A. arabiensis under conditions where both species occur and are transmitting malaria may be a useful relative index of programme effectiveness in places where the former species has been historically the dominant vector, as was the case in parts of southern Africa [et al [A. arabiensis becomes the dominant vector, if elimination is to be achieved; the opportunity to test this hypothesis is now available. The need for alternative control methods for A. arabiensis is also apparent.The marked decline in 997-1999  to ca. 2997-1999 , when th9 [et al  could no9 [et al . Howevern Africa . With wia [et al  proposedRecent perspectives on the process of elimination propose a shift from population-based coverage of interventions to a clinical surveillance-based system with expanded drug treatment . ResultsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.A. gambiae s.l. complex with PCR. MJH, JEG, DM, WAH, and JMV obtained data of bed net ownership. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.MNB, JEG, WAH, JMV, and EDW designed the study and wrote the manuscript. MNB, DKM, FM, MRO, JEG, and EDW sampled and processed mosquitoes; DKM, LK, MRO, and EDW identified mosquitoes of the Anopheles gambiae s.l. complex from indoor collections in western KenyaHistorical records of . List of references and summary of historical data used for composition of Figure Anopheles gambiae sensu lato complex identified as either Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto or Anopheles arabiensis.Click here for fileEstimation of vectorial capacity. For illustrative purposes, vectorial capacity was calculated for A. gambiae s.s. and A. arabiensis before and after scale-up of bed nets, using data from Asembo and Seme.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "He completed his schooling from Tadikonda, in Guntur district. He completed his MBBS from Guntur Medical College, Guntur in 1990 and later did his DA from the same institute. Dr. Syam Babu was Life member of the ISA, Guntur branch. He left for his heavenly abode on 29th May 2010. At that time, he was working as a consultant anaesthesiologist at the Amaravathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Guntur.Dr. Syam Babu was born on 2Dr. Syam Babu is succeeded by his wife, Mrs. P. Swarna Latha, who is working as a junior lecturer and two children, N. Sunder Emmanuel and N. Sarah Supriya.May his soul rest in peace."}
+{"text": "Microarray experiments are multi-step processes. At each step\u2014the growth of cultures, extraction of mRNA, reverse transcription, labelling, hybridization, scanning,and image analysis\u2014variation and error cannot be completely avoided. Estimatingthe amount of such noise and variation is essential, not only to test for differentialexpression but also to suggest at which level replication is most effective.Replication and averaging are the key to the estimation as well as the reduction ofvariability. Here I discuss the use of ANOVA mixed models and of analysis of variancecomponents as a rigorous way to calculate the number of replicates necessary todetect a given target fold-change in expression levels. Procedures are available in thepackage YASMA (http://www.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/wernisch/yasma.html) for the statisticaldata analysis system R (http://www.R-project.org)."}
+{"text": "Plasmodium falciparum. However, screening of Haitian refugees in Jamaica in 2004, by microscopic examination, identified P. falciparum, P. vivax, and P. malariae. PCR confirmed the P. malariae and P. falciparum but not P. vivax infections. DNA sequencing and rRNA gene sequences showed transmission of P. malariae. This report confirms that P. malariae is still being transmitted in Haiti.Since 1963, reported malaria transmission in Haiti has been restricted to  Plasmodium malariae and 1 P. vivax) were reported  of the 869 million persons live in areas where ecologic conditions have been propitious for the transmission of malaria  was chosen by the Ministry of Health for inclusion in this aspect of the study. These samples included 30 P. falciparum. P. malaria, or P. vivax by using either the single-round PCR protocol of Padley et al.  were sent to the Heath Protection Agency, Malaria Reference Laboratory, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, for species confirmation by PCR. DNA was extracted from 105 filter-paper blood spots and tested for DNA from P. vivax were found with PCR. The absence of P. vivax was verified by species-specific real-time PCR, as described by de Monbrison et al. .Four P. malariae rRNA gene sequences in GenBank, and to that of P. brasilianum that had been isolated from a monkey in French Guiana  by using the program T-Coffee (http://ca.expasy.org/tools/#translate). The alignment produced is presented in the P. malariae rRNA gene sequences in GenBank and with that of the indistinguishable simian parasite, P. brasilianum  because the population is immunologically naive and the competent vector,"}
+{"text": "Glenn H. Dillon, Ph.D. requested the full retraction of the above review article (Mol Vis 2008; 14:Dr. Dillon states that one of the faculty of University of North Texas Health Science Center, Dr. Lazlo Prokai, found that data from Dr. Prokai's laboratory was included in this review article without his knowledge or attribution. Dr. Dillon states that evidently this was done inadvertently, as Drs. Prokai and Agarwal were collaborators, and that the particular data in question were apparently generated by another individual.Dr. Agarwal, corresponding author, also requests that this article be retracted, stating the error of inclusion of these data.On this basis, The Editors formally retract this article from Molecular Vision.Sincerely,The Editors"}
+{"text": "Dr. C. H. Metgud completed MBBS in the year 1980, DA in 1984, and MD Anaesthesiology in 1990, from J. N. medical College, Belgaum . From 1991 to 2005, he worked as teaching faculty of Anaesthesiology holding various hierarchical positions at J. N. Medical College, Belgaum. From July 2005 to May 2010, he served as Professor and Head of Department of Anaesthesiology at Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, Belgaum, and played a pivotal role in setting up the Department of Anaesthesia and ancillary departments in newly established Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, Belgaum. To his credit, there are 21 publications at international/ national level. He had also delivered guest lectures at various platforms on various topics of anaesthesiology. He was an active member of ISA Belgaum city branch. May his soul rest in peace."}
+{"text": "In 2007, the Urological Society of India [USI] completes 16 years of its existence as an independent society. However, it was conceptualized many years before and the man responsible for this was none other than Dr. G. M. Phadke, the founder President of the USI. The seeds of the Association of Genitourologic (GU) Surgeons were sown during a meeting of the Association of the Surgeons of India [ASI]. Along with Dr. H. S. Bhat, Dr Colabawalla and Dr. S. Mansingh, Dr. G. M. Phadke started this association and became its founder President.The first sectional meeting of this association took place in Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore in 1963, with Dr. H. S. Bhat as the organizing Chairman and Dr. Ashok Bhajekar as the organizing secretary. Needless to say, this was just the beginning of what is now known as the Urological Society of India (USI).Dr. G. M. Phadke was born in 1901 into a prominent zamindar family in Khandesh. He was a bright and ambitious student and had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. After completing his matriculation at the age of 19, he left for the UK to pursue higher education.The next 12 years that he spent in the UK were momentous for him as they moulded his character and gave direction to his life. Dr. Phadke graduated from the prestigious University College Hospital, London and obtained a fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Besides pursuing his medical studies, he also excelled in golf, skiing and ballroom dancing. After gaining considerable surgical experience, Dr. Phadke returned to India at the advice of his mentor, the famous neurosurgeon, Sir Wilfred Trotter.On his return from the UK in 1933, Dr. Phadke joined King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Mumbai as Assistant Surgeon. He got married in 1933 and Ajit, his son (now an eminent urologist himself) was born in 1935. He started the Colony Nursing Home in the heart of Matunga in 1935 in collaboration with Dr. V. N. Shirodkar. With his humane approach and exceptional surgical skills, Dr. G. M. Phadke soon became the most sought-after surgeon of his time. His fame, reputation and loyalty to his profession earned him patients nationwide including many prominent personalities.His career took an interesting turn when a senior venereologist colleague, Dr. A. P. Pillay started referring a lot of men with \u201cinfertility\u201d and obstructive azoospermia to him for further treatment. In the twentieth century, smallpox was a common disease in India. Dr. G. M. Phadke and his colleague, Dr. A. M. Phadke, were the first to report that smallpox was the most common etiological factor for obstructive azoospermia in India. They also showed that vasoepididymal anastomosis was successful in improving sperm counts.Around the same time, the association of Planned Parenthood [APP] from New York was trying to gain a foothold in India. In collaboration with Dr. G. M. Phadke and Dr. V. N. Shirodkar, APP started the Family Planning Association [FPA]. Interestingly, Dr. Phadke was also instrumental in advocating vasectomy as a highly effective and harmless family planning operation. He also busted several myths about vasectomy and convincingly demonstrated its successful reversibility (VVA). The Films' Division of India even made a documentary film entitled, \u201cRole of vasectomy in the family planning campaign in India\u201d with Dr. G. M. Phadke's help. Although andrology was his initial interest, urology soon became equally important. In the early 50's, Dr. Phadke went back to England and learned retropubic prostatectomy from the famous Dr. Terrence Millins. He was also very fond of performing Johanson urethroplasty for treating urethral strictures.He joined Bombay Hospital in 1950 and continued to offer his dedicated services until 1964. He was very fond of teaching small groups of medical students. His simple words and tricks of wisdom made his bedside clinics a big hit in KEM Hospital. With his love for teaching, he made a mark at the national level. Attending the annual conference of the ASI was an annual pilgrimage for him. He was elected as the President of the ASI in 1957 and later was responsible for starting a separate section on urology.Apart from urology, Dr. G. M. Phadke was an avid fan of music and in particular, enjoyed listening to Marathi Natya Sangeet. He was one of the trustees of Marathi Sahitya Sangh and enjoyed watching Marathi plays. In addition to his professional excellence, he was also a great humanitarian and never charged any money for his professional services from teachers or performing artistes. Although his professional commitments did not allow him to spend much time at home, he was very particular about having at least one meal every day with his entire family in attendance including his ageing mother.Dr. G. M. Phadke passed away following a massive myocardial infarction in 1964. Apart from his innumerable grateful patients and students, the USI also owes a lot to this legendary figure and salutes his spirit. The USI has instituted a traveling fellowship and an oration in memory of Dr. G. M. Phadke."}
+{"text": "The growth of s.c. Walker 256 carcinoma was found to be independent of secondary growths induced by i.v. injection. Tumour cells injected i.v. lodged mainly in the lungs, with small clusters of cells in the lymph nodes. The rate of cellular proliferation of these secondary growths of Walker carcinoma was significantly higher than that observed in the s.c. tumour. In addition, host lung tissue was found to inhibit the development of metastases, and it is postulated that the host tissue may produce a diffusible inhibitor and that differences in the effectiveness of these humoral factors may account, in part, for locational differences in tumour growth patterns."}
+{"text": "B. cepacia, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus are the most important infectious agents in cystic fibrosis patients. However, healthcare professionals must pay attention to emerging infectious agents in these patients, because they represent a potentially serious future problem. Therefore, these pathogens should be pointed out as a risk to these patients, and hospitals all over the world must be prepared to detect and combat these bacteria.Cystic fibrosis is the most common and best known genetic disease involving a defect in transepithelial Cl- transport by mutations in the CF gene on chromosome 7, which codes for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR). The most serious symptoms are observed in the lungs, augmenting the risk of bacterial infection. The objective of this review was to describe the bacterial pathogens colonizing patients with cystic fibrosis. A systematic search was conducted using the international bibliographic databanks SCIELO, HIGHWIRE, PUBMED, SCIRUS and LILACS to provide a useful and practical review for healthcare workers to make them aware of these microorganisms. Today,  Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal genetic disease in North America, affecting 1:2000 Caucasian individuals . This diStaphylococcus aureus and Hemophilus influenzae are the most common bacteria isolated from the sputum, but in the second and third decade of life, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the prevalent bacteria. In Germany, analysis of the sputum from CF patients during a period of 12 months showed the presence of P. aeruginosa in 50% of these individuals, S. aureus in 63.3%, Haemophilus influenzae in 16.6%, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in 15% and nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) in 13.3% [During the first decade of life of CF patients, Due to this succession of bacterial populations in CF patients and due to the importance of these pathogens in prognosis, the objective of this article was to review and identify known and emerging bacterial pathogens associated with pulmonary problems and involved with cystic fibrosis. For this objective, a systematic search was conducted using the international bibliographic databanks SCIELO, HIGHWIRE, PUBMED, SCIRUS and LILACS. The uniterms Cystic fibrosis, infection and antibiotic therapy were used in a retrospective search between 1990 to 2007. Any articles with this theme, reporting bacterial pathogen associated with CF patients with no distinction of sex and age were selected and only the articles describing pathogens and the antibiotic therapy were really used.Mycobacteria in the CF population [et al. [S. aureus and a low one of P. aeruginosa when compared with patients without NTM, indicating that the presence of these bacteria may be taken as a good prognostic sign [The nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of microorganisms that is very common in chronic pulmonary diseases. The increase in the life expectancy of CF patients has also increased the prevalence of pulation . The cli [et al.  found thtic sign .Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium avium, and Mycobacterium intracellulare [et al. [M. fortuitum, M. gordonae and M. kansasii. Today, the NTM more likely associated with the disease is Mycobacterium abscessus [M. avium, combined therapy with rifampicin, clarythromycin and ethambutol must be extended 12 months after negativation. M. abscessus infection is particularly resistant to therapy. Usual treatment is a one month course of intravenous imipenem or cefoxitin plus amikacin followed by oral clarithromicin plus ethambutol for at least 12 months after negativation. In case of local lesions, surgery is an option [The most common NTM infecting CF patients are ellulare , but Ser [et al.  identifibscessus . The idebscessus . TreatmePseudomonas aeruginosa [S. aureus is a co-infective pathogen associated with P. aeruginosa. Together, the inflammatory process is more intense due the additive effect of these two pathogens [S. aureus was the causative agent of several deaths in children with CF. Today, this risk is not so serious, but CF patients not given the correct antibiotic therapy show a higher prevalence of S. aureus in the nasal epithelium when compared to treated patients [S. aureus remains in the patient for 1\u20132 years [Usually, this is the first pathogen to infect and colonize the airways of CF patients, being the most common pathogen . This miruginosa . Howeverathogens . Before patients . About t\u20132 years .S. aureus (MRSA) has become a major nosocomial pathogen with a progressive increase in prevalence also in CF populations. The acquisition of MRSA occurred only in adulthood [pvl, is a matter of concern [Methicillin-resistant dulthood . In Eurodulthood . MRSA is concern ,21.S. aureus constitute a bacterial population with distinctive phenotypic traits of S. aureus populations from CF patients [et al. [Small colony variants (SCVs) of patients . These ppatients , but Sad [et al.  isolatedP. aeruginosa is an oxidase-positive Gram-negative motile rod [et al. [P. aeruginosa, but Burns et al. [P. aeruginosa. The capacity of this bacterium to develop biofilm is a characteristic that allows it to survive for very long periods in the lungs of CF patients [tile rod . Vonbergtile rod  showed ttile rod . Aaron e [et al.  showed ts et al.  found thpatients .P. aeruginosa can be differentiated in terms of its morphotypes, including mucoid, not mucoid and those with biofilm, which vary their patterns of susceptibility to antibiotics. This differentiation causes several problems in the treatment, because is necessary identify the morphotype to choose the treatment strategy [Isolated from strategy ,32.Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is a complex of Gram-negative rod, aerobic, mesophilic and chemoorganotrophic [B. cepacia), II (B. multivorans), III (B. cenocepacia), IV (B. stabilis), V (B. vietnamiensis), VI (B. dolosa), VII (B. ambifaria), VIII (B. anthina), IX (B. pyrrocinia) [otrophic . This isotrophic ,35: genorocinia) .Burkholderia, as Burkholderia gladioli and Burkholderia pseudomallei, which are distinct from the Burkholderia cepacia complex have also been reported in patients with cystic fibrosis [B. cepacia complex are very resistant to antibiotic therapy because its genome is very plastic and suffers several mutations and adapts itself, making it a hard challenge for treatment. Its resistance is mainly due the production of enzymes with capacity to inactivate the substances used in the treatment [Infected CF patients show high levels of BCC in the salivary fluid, indicating the possibility of indirect transmission by kissing and sexual contact , but thefibrosis -42. Membreatment . By thisreatment .P. aeruginosa [This bacterium is a Gram-negative rod, anaerobic, motile, oxidase and catalase positive and lactose non-fermentative. It is usually distributed in the environment, but can be a human pathogen causing bacteremia, meningitis and pneumonia . This isruginosa ,46.et al. [Inquilinus, belonging to \u03b1-proteobacteria and further identified as I. limosus. This bacterium is a mesophilic Gram-negative rod, non-spore forming. Due to its recent characterization, we have little knowledge about its natural habitat, prevalence and pathogenicity, but CF patients infected with this bacterium have been identified in hospitals in France, Spain and Germany [Coenye et al.  in 2002  Germany ,49.Ralstonia, mainly due to their difficult identification, where they are usually misidentified as P. fluorescens or a member of the Burkholderia cepacia complex [These bacteria are Gram-negative and non-fermentative rods, and little is known about the natural occurrence and the pathogenicity of bacteria from the genus  complex -54.et al. [Reports indicate a low prevalence of pathogen from this genus in CF patients, but Coenye et al.  showed tet al. [P. aeruginosa. This finding is very important due to the fact that these patients are first infected with P. aeruginosa, indicating that the latter pathogen may act as a starting point for P. apista infection.This is a Gram-negative and non-fermentative bacterium that over the years has shown a growing isolation frequency among CF patients, representing a possible emerging pathogen in these patients ,56. Atkiet al.  analyzedThis microorganism is considered a transient pathogen in CF patients , mainly S. maltophilia is a pathogen of CF patients with a very constant incidence [S. maltophilia were older, showing a high rate of prior co-infection with P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia, but the prevalence of this pathogen in CF patients has been growing in the last years [This is a Gram-negative and non-fermentative rod that is frequently isolated from hospitals ,62. S. mncidence . Goss etst years .H. influenzae [This bacterium usually infects younger CF patients. In Brazil, 20.4% of CF children between 6 and 12 years old are infected by fluenzae . This bafluenzae .et al. [S. aureus, which can be a potential zoonotic infectious agent, aggravating the CF patient situation.This is a Gram-negative coccobacillus, non spore-forming, strictly anaerobic, and catalase and coagulase positive . This baet al. , reporteCystic fibrosis is characterized by chronic pulmonary infection with acute pulmonary exacerbation (APEs), where antibiotic therapy is necessary against opportunistic infections .P. aeruginosa was the most important risk factor for pulmonary deterioration [P. aeruginosa as a microbial marker.Previous studies have indicated that the presence of mucoidal ioration ,71. By tPseudomonas aeruginosa. Mulheran et al. [Gentamicin and tobramycin are recognized as standard antibiotics for the treatment of CF patients infected with n et al.  observedn et al. . When thn et al. ,75.Pseudomonas aeruginosa, when the drug is administered by ultrasonic nebulization or intravenously, but these levels decrease after the second administration [Tests with animals have shown the augmentation of the amykacin concentration in the lung against stration .P aeruginosa, such as the use of polymyxins combined with a \u03b2-lactamic are useful in antipseudomonial therapy, as shown in the work of Dong & Chung-Dar [Antibiotic combinations against hung-Dar .P aeruginosa. Wagner et al. [P aeruginosa PAO1, affecting bacterial growth and the expression/exportation of products that stimulates the immune system such as pyocyanin.Azithromycin displays interesting therapeutic results in the treatment of CF patients infected with r et al.  reportedP aeruginosa infection: total eradication, using heavy doses of antibiotics with adverse symptoms, or the management of the infection, with a higher risk to develop the resistance? Few years ago, the eradication of chronic P. aeruginosa infection was considered impossible [et al. [et al. [P. aeruginosa (after eradication) were different of the first ones and more sensitive to the antibiotics, showing that persistent populations of P. aeruginosa in the airway would increase the antibiotic resistance with time because of prolonged exposure to antibiotics, as in the case of management, indicating the eradication as the most interesting strategy.Other point of discussion is the objective of the treatment of possible , but Ho  [et al.  e Pitt e [et al.  showed tB. cepacia, commonly resistant to several antimicrobial drugs used by CF patients, the better treatment choice is a drug combination. Combinations of two antibiotics from different classes such as meropenem-minocycline, meropenem-amikacin and meropenem-ceftazidime or three different antibiotics such as tobramycin, meropene and an additional antibiotic were more effective than the use of any antibiotic alone [P. aeruginosa by Dong et al. [For other microorganisms such as ic alone . Similarg et al.  who showet al. [in vitro effectiveness of 150 antimicrobial peptides in multidrug resistant strains of P. aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Achromobacter xylosoxidans and S. aureus. A better activity was observed for several peptides compared to most of the antibiotics used in the clinic. Similar results were obtained by Etienne et al. [However, new therapeutic perspectives are needed, such as from the work of Zhang et al.  who evale et al.  who usedThe quality of life and life expectancy of CF patients have improved considerably as a result of the control of bronchopulmonary bacterial colonization and acute infectious exacerbations -85.These reports indicate the necessity for more research into the discovery and rational design of new antibacterial drugs that will be more efficient in combating infections in cystic fibrosis patients. However, the use must be well defined. Our search indicates that the combination of 2 or more antibiotics may represent an interesting alternative in the CF treatment, colonized for any bacterial pathogen.Other point of interest is the indication of aerosolized and biofilm-inhibitory drugs may control and avoid the colonization of the respiratory tract by several pathogens cited in this study. Maybe, using this several approaches, we will maximize the control of the colonizers and the infections that affect the CF patients.Several factors affect transmission, such as the type of bacterial strain, the immune state of the patient and the use of contaminated medical equipment. Therefore, all CF patients infected or colonized the major pathogens cited in this article must be isolated in a single room because they represent sources for nosocomial transmission of the microorganism to other patients during the treatment ,55.Although the epidemiology of bacterial pathogens in CF patients has become more complex, the life expectancy of these patients continues to increase. This has led to a better control of the transmission of these pathogens by the separation of adults and children with CF in different treatment centers. Furthermore, the utilization of basic preventive guidelines , combined with disinfection techniques to be applied at home or hospital make control easier. These precautions help reduce the impact of infections in CF patients. In addition, educational programs to support administrative measures, guidelines for the control of nosocomial infections and the assistance to healthcare workers and to the families of the patients to show the importance of these measures are essential tools for blocking the transmission of these bacterial pathogens to CF patients.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.VSFS and GFG contributed to conception and design, designed the review, carried out the literature research, and manuscript preparation. HDMC contributed to conception and design, carried out the manuscript editing and manuscript review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Urban malaria is a major health priority for civilian and militaries populations. A preliminary entomologic study has been conducted in 2006-2007, in the French military camps of the two mains towns of Gabon: Libreville and Port-Gentil. The aim was to assess the malaria transmission risk for troops.Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozo\u00efte (CSP) indexes were measured by ELISA, and the entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were calculated for both areas. Molecular assessments of pyrethroid knock down (kdr) resistance and of insensitive acetylcholinesterase resistance were conducted.Mosquitoes sampled by human landing collection were identified morphologically and by molecular methods. The Anopheles gambiae s.s. S form was the only specie of the An. gambiae complex present and was responsible of 9.4 bites per person per night. The circumsporozo\u00efte index was 0.15% and the entomological inoculation rate estimated to be 1.23 infective bites during the four months period. In Port-Gentil, Anopheles melas (75.5% of catches) and An. gambiae s.s. S form (24.5%) were responsible of 58.7 bites per person per night. The CSP indexes were of 1.67% for An. gambiae s.s and 0.28% for An. melas and the EIRs were respectively of 1.8 infective bites per week and of 0.8 infective bites per week. Both kdr-w and kdr-e mutations in An. gambiae S form were found in Libreville and in Port-Gentil. Insensitive acetylcholinesterase has been detected for the first time in Gabon in Libreville.In Libreville, Malaria transmission exists in both town, but with high difference in the level of risk. The co-occurrence of molecular resistances to the main families of insecticide has implications for the effectiveness of the current vector control programmes that are based on pyrethroid-impregnated bed nets. P. falciparum and malaria transmission is perennial and was considered until today as hyperendemic ) for An. gambiae s.s and 0.28% (CI95% [0.03-1.02]) for An.melas. The respective weekly EIR for a person who did not protect himself during the week of study were of 1.8 infective bites per week for An. gambiae s.s and of 0.8 infective bites per week for An. melas. We tested all the 54 PCR-identified An. gambiae s.s and 96 of the PCR-identified An.melas for the kdr and ace1 mutations. The genotypic frequencies are shown in Table Kdr-e and kdr-w resistance alleles were present in S forms with a higher frequency of the kdr-w allele (68%) than the kdr-e allele (31%). None Kdr mutation was found in An.melas. Both An.gambiae s.s. and An.melas tested for insensitive AChE were found to be susceptible.In total, 6,396 mosquitoes were caught  and their compliance to malaria chemoprophylaxis. 80% of bites are occurring in the second part of the night. During this period, most of soldiers are sleeping in mosquito-proofs buildings and are so protected. Only the outside sentinels are probably exposed to mosquito bites and to malaria vectors.In Libreville, < 4/year . In Portescribed ,29. Extrescribed . The malAn. gambiae molecular form S were present . Contrarily to a previous study in Libreville, kdr allele was present both in Libreville and Port-Gentil, and as already described in neighbouring countries , the kdr-w allele was the most frequent both in Libreville and Port-Gentil [kdr alleles was similar in the two military camps of Port-Gentil and Libreville but there was a statistically significant difference with the historical data in Libreville . This difference is possibly due to sampling bias or to variations in the repartition of kdr alleles in An. gambiae s.s. populations between quarters in Libreville. Both kdr-w and kdr-e mutations have been tightly linked with DDT and pyrethroid resistance phenotypes in field populations of An. gambiae s.s [kdr-e and kdr-w alleles at high frequencies in these populations has implications for the effectiveness of the current vector control programmes, that are based on pyrethroid-impregnated bed nets both for French forces and for the Libreville or Port-Gentil inhabitants. Currently, the impact of kdr on the efficacy of ITNs is unclear with contradictories studies [As reported previously in Gabon in Libreville and in the inlands, both kdr-w and kdr-e mutations in t-Gentil ,32. The biae s.s -36. The  studies -39. Neve studies . TherefoAn. gambiae. A low level of insensitive AChE was detected in Libreville with an allele frequency of 0.4. None insensitive AChE was detected in Port-Gentil but there was no statistically difference in the ace1 mutation frequency between Libreville and Port-Gentil. Complementary studies have to be conducted to monitor the possible existence of a resistance to organophosphates and carbamate insecticides in urban An.gambiae s.s. form S populations in Gabon. If carbamates remain a viable alternative in front of the low level of insensitive AchE and in the Gabonese context of a probable high resistance to pyrethroids, their extensive use alone would probably conduct to select multi-resistant specimens of An.gambiae s.s. form S in Libreville and Port-Gentil. This possibility has to be taking in account before implementing vector control programmes both in military camps and in towns. The use of a combination of pyrethroids and organophosphates in mixture, mosaic or in parallel on different supports has been proposed against pyrethroid-resistant malaria vectors [An. gambiae has shown no benefits compared to classical long-lasting insecticidal nets [It was the first time that a molecular screening was conducted in Gabon to assess the presence of an insensitive acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in populations of  vectors -43. A nedal nets ,45.Anopheles melas is clearly involved in malaria transmission in Port-Gentil, but further studies in different parts of Libreville are necessary to understand its involvement or not. Until today, molecular screenings of resistance in Gabon have only concerned kdr mutation. Here is the first report of insensitive acetylcholinesterase in Gabon. This paper highlights the worrying level of pyrethroids resistance of An. gambiae s.s. for most of 50% of Gabon's population. There is a lack of entomological data to understand the dynamic of urban malaria in Gabon. Further studies have to been conducted in different areas of theses towns including central and peripheral districts, coastal and inland districts, modern and traditional districts. The situation of insecticide resistance has to be clarified in using molecular tools and insecticide bioassays in different districts of each town.According to literature, this was the first time that entomological studies on malaria transmission were conducted in the main towns of Gabon, which represent more than 50% of the total population. Malaria transmissions exist in both towns but with high difference in the level of risk. In urban areas, malaria transmission is highly focused and a single study in one area of a town is not sufficient to assess the global level of transmission. And one should not minimize the possible impact of the vector control programme implemented in the camps all year round. In Libreville, the risk is comparable to other big African cities, but seems very low according to the equatorial situation and the previously described hyperendemic transmission. Nevertheless, these results are concordant with the clinical statements made by physicians and researchers in Libreville that all concluded to a decrease in malaria transmission since 2000 in Libreville -11. In PThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.JRM was responsible for the supervision of data collection, analysis, interpretation and production of the final manuscript and revisions. TC contributed to the supervision of data collection, the data analysis, interpretation and production of final manuscript. FJ contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis. BP contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis, interpretation and production of final manuscript. RA FJ contributed to the supervision of data collection, to the data analysis. CR contributed to overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. MK contributed to overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. FP was responsible for overall scientific management, analysis, interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript and revisions. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Growth of isogeneic transplants of a spontaneous murine adenocarcinoma, which is virtually devoid of tumour-specific transplantation antigens, is inhibited by i.v. injection of C. parvum 3 days after tumour inoculation, or by mixing a small dose of C. parvum with the tumour inoculum. Moreover, the therapeutic effect of cyclophosphamide, followed by i.v. or i.p. injection of C. parvum 5 days later, on established transplants of the same tumour is greater than that of cyclophosphamide alone. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that in both situations  the effect of C. parvum is largely due to activation of macrophages or macrophage precursors. They have the important practical implication that adjuvant therapy with C. parvum may be of value, even with tumours which are devoid of TSTA."}
+{"text": "Angiostrongylus cantonensis is emerging in mainland China. However, the distribution of A. cantonensis and its intermediate host snails, and the role of two invasive snail species in the emergence of angiostrongyliasis, are not well understood.Eosinophilic meningitis (angiostrongyliasis) caused by A. cantonensis was carried out using a grid sampling approach . One village per grid cell was randomly selected from a 5% random sample of grid cells located in areas where the presence of the intermediate host snail Pomacea canaliculata had been predicted based on a degree-day model. Potential intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis were collected in the field, restaurants, markets and snail farms, and examined for infection. The infection prevalence among intermediate host snails was estimated, and the prevalence of A. cantonensis within P. canaliculata was displayed on a map, and predicted for non-sampled locations. It was confirmed that P. canaliculata and Achatina fulica were the predominant intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis in China, and these snails were found to be well established in 11 and six provinces, respectively. Infected snails of either species were found in seven provinces, closely matching the endemic area of A. cantonensis. Infected snails were also found in markets and restaurants. Two clusters of A. cantonensis\u2013infected P. canaliculata were predicted in Fujian and Guangxi provinces.A national survey pertaining to A. cantonensis and two invasive snail species, indicating that a considerable number of people are at risk of angiostrongyliasis. Health education, rigorous food inspection and surveillance are all needed to prevent recurrent angiostrongyliasis outbreaks.The first national survey in China revealed a wide distribution of  Angiostrongylus cantonensis). This parasite is endemic in Southeast Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, and on Pacific Islands. Moreover, the disease is emerging in mainland China, which might be related to the spread of two invasive snail species . Thus far, the biggest angiostrongyliasis outbreak in China occurred in 2006 in Beijing, involving 160 patients. However, detailed information about the national distribution of A. cantonensis and its intermediate hosts is still lacking, and the importance of the two invasive snail species for disease transmission is not well understood. Therefore, a national survey on the distribution of A. cantonensis and its intermediate hosts in China was carried out in 2006/2007. It was found that A. fulica and P. canaliculata were implicated in most angiostrongyliasis outbreaks, and that the distribution of A. cantonensis closely matched that of these snails. The two invasive snail species facilitated the expansion of the parasite, thus probably leading to the emergence of angiostrongyliasis, a previously rare disease, in mainland China.Eosinophilic meningitis is caused by the rat lungworm ( Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is considered an emerging infectious disease in mainland China Pomacea canaliculata, and took place in the capital Beijing in 2006 Eosinophilic meningitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by A. cantonensis in 1946 A. cantonensis live in the pulmonary arteries of its definitive hosts, i.e., rodents, especially rats, which pass infective first-stage larvae (L1) in their feces. The life cycle also involves mollusks, harboring larval stages. In humans, larvae fail to mature, and hence humans and their excreta play no role in the transmission and direct dissemination of the parasite. Humans become infected by ingesting third-stage larvae (L3) in raw or undercooked intermediate host mollusks  or paratenic hosts  A. cantonensis it is difficult to control this parasite Achatina fulica and P. canaliculata, are believed to be closely associated with angiostrongyliasis in China. These snails were imported into mainland China in 1931 The parasite was first described by Chen based on worm specimens collected from pulmonary arteries of rats in Guangzhou (Canton) A. cantonensis. Here, we report the design and key findings of this survey. Moreover, predictions are made for the spatial distribution of A. cantonensis and its intermediate hosts. Finally, recommendations are offered for the prevention of angiostrongyliasis.In response to the recent angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Beijing that had received considerable national and international attention and mass-media coverage, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of China launched the first national survey on Angiostrongylus cantonensis in China\u201d has been approved by the institutional ethics committee of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Shanghai (ref. no. 2006030101). Animal experiments were carried out in adherence to institutional guidelines for animal husbandry.The project entitled \u201cThe first national survey on A. cantonensis and its definitive and intermediate hosts in mainland China was implemented in two phases over a 1-year period, i.e., between September and November 2006, and between March and October 2007. Considering that the distribution of A. cantonensis is affected by several environmental and ecological factors, the potential distribution of the parasite was first determined. Temperature was selected as the main factor to predict the potential distribution of the parasite and two invasive snail species in China. Since revealing the distribution of both the parasite and two snail species implicated in its transmission was the main aim of this survey, the widest potential distribution of P. canaliculata, which has previously been regarded as the most important intermediate host, delineated the survey region. The potential range of P. canaliculata in China was predicted using a degree-day model based on temperature data obtained from 149 observing stations across China The first national survey pertaining to A. cantonensis. Some insectivores also serve as suitable definitive hosts Rattus norvegicus) and insectivores  were trapped in fields and in residents' houses. All captured animals were euthanized and dissected to determine the presence of adult A. cantonensis in their hearts and lung arteries.Rats are the definitive hosts of P. canaliculata and Bellamya aeruginosa), terrestrial snails  and certain terrestrial slugs were collected from the surroundings of the study villages, and from restaurants and markets in the capital town of the counties, and snail farms across the study area, and examined for the presence of A. cantonensis larvae. Up to 100 specimens of each species were collected at each study site. The intermediate hosts were artificially digested using routine procedures (incubation in a solution containing 0.2% pepsin and 0.7% hydrochloric acid at 37\u00b0C for 2 h) P. canaliculata, a recently developed method relying on specific lung tissue features of this species was employed A. cantonensis larvae were then directly observed under a microscope. Paratenic hosts were also collected from markets and restaurants, and examined for L3 using an artificial digestion method.Freshwater snails  rats. The animals were then maintained in the laboratory to confirm the identity of adult worms.A. cantonensis endemic if the parasite was detected in any kind of animals captured in the field. The geographic locations of these sampling sites were linked to an existing geographic information system (GIS), using the software ArcGIS version 9.1 . Subsequently, ordinary kriging, a statistical technique for spatial prediction A. cantonensis infection prevalence in P. canaliculata was produced.An area was considered A. cantonensis in China was implemented in 164 counties belonging to 19 provinces. A detailed list of the surveyed locations is available from the corresponding author upon request. Various mollusks were collected, belonging to one of the three following groups: (i) freshwater snails, (ii) terrestrial snails, and (iii) terrestrial slugs. All collected specimens were deposited in the \u201cPreservation Center for Parasite Specimens in China\u201d (http://www.psic.cn), and further details are available from this center upon request. Overall, 11,709 P. canaliculata were screened, 6.8% of which harbored L3 of A. cantonensis. The prevalence among the other freshwater snails  was only 0.05%. Of 3,549 A. fulica examined, 13.4% were infected. The infection prevalence among the 1,421 other terrestrial snail specimens was only 0.3%. Finally, 5,370 terrestrial slugs were dissected, revealing an infection prevalence of 6.5%. Hence, the endemicity of A. cantonensis in mainland China is primarily attributable to P. canaliculata, A. fulica and terrestrial slugs . None of the 46 insectivores (Suncus murinus) were infected. The 652 paratenic hosts collected during the survey included frogs, shrimps, crabs, toads and fish. No A. cantonensis was found in any of these animals.Of the 711 potential host animals trapped during the field surveys, 32 were found to be infected with A. cantonensis prevalence in P. canaliculata in China, using an ordinary kriging approach with a spherical model, highlighted two potential clusters with prevalences of 19\u201328% in Guangxi province and 28\u201340% in Fujian province, respectively (The prediction map of the ectively .A. cantonensis at county level in China. The parasite was identified in 59 of the 164 surveyed counties (36.0%). Most of the A. cantonensis-endemic areas were defined by infections in P. canaliculata and/or A. fulica snails. Only in three counties infected rats were found, but the presence of the parasite in intermediate hosts could not be ascertained. Seven provinces in southeastern China  were identified as A. cantonensis endemic.P. canaliculata was introduced in Zhongshan city, Guangdong province in 1981 P. canaliculata is now well established in southern China in a band spanning northeast-southwest. A separate endemic area is located in the Sichuan basin. The snail now colonizes almost the entire Pearl River valley, the Southern River system and the Southeast River system. The snail has also been observed in mountainous areas at high elevations in Yunnan province. Moreover, P. canaliculata snails have crossed from the Pearl River valley into the Yangtze River valley, and already inhabit the southeast section of the latter.A. fulica has a more focal distribution than P. canaliculata, although the former species had been introduced into China half a century earlier than the latter. At present, A. fulica is known to occur in the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, and Guangxi, in the southern areas of Yunnan and Fujian provinces, and in one county of Guizhou province. Unlike P. canaliculata, A. fulica occurs only south of 25\u00b0 N latitude, and does not appear to be associated with major river networks.P. canaliculata snails were found on markets and/or in restaurants in 21 counties, whereas A. fulica snails were detected in three counties only. Infected P. canaliculata and A. fulica were found in nine and two counties, respectively. Additionally, two native freshwater snail species, i.e., B. aeruginosa and Cipangopaludina chinensis, were commonly found to be on sale in many markets and restaurants. C. chinensis is one of the key intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis in Taiwan and, in the current survey, infected specimens were detected in one restaurant in Fujian province. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. cantonensis-infected C. chinensis from mainland China. On two markets in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, infected B. aeruginosa snails were detected.P. canaliculata (located in Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces) and one for A. fulica (in Zhejiang province) were identified during this survey. None of the snails collected in these farms was infected with A. cantonensis.Only two commercial snail farms for A. cantonensis is endemic in Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean. To date, more than 2,800 human cases have been reported A. fulica (intermediate host) especially during World War II Eosinophilic meningitis caused by A. cantonensis and its hosts in China reported here indicate that there is a need for strengthening food safety inspections and food-borne disease surveillance. Long-distance trade, biological invasion and animal migration are contributing to the emergence of new diseases and the re-emergence of diseases that have previously been controlled The results of the first national survey on the distribution of A. cantonensis-endemic area is very wide, covering seven southern provinces. However, not a single snail or rat infected with A. cantonensis was found in Yunnan province. This observation comes as a surprise, since the parasite was first documented in Yunnan some 20 years ago The results of the national survey can be summarized as follows. First, the A. cantonensis-infected P. canaliculata and A. fulica clearly destined for human consumption were recorded. This observation suggests that the transmission of A. cantonensis to humans is ongoing, and that the health education and awareness raising campaigns initiated after the 2006 outbreak in Beijing \u2013 targeting consumers, health personnel and officials alike \u2013 must be improved since they appeared to have failed yet to stop the sale and consumption of infected snails. It follows that the impact of the previous health education campaigns through mass media to change human behavior has probably been overestimated, because angiostrongyliasis outbreaks continued in Guangdong province in 2007 Second, several freshwater and terrestrial snail species were found on local markets and in restaurants, and A. cantonensis infection. For example, the consumption of raw or undercooked freshwater snails is held responsible for the early-2008 angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali. As a direct consequence of the booming inland tourism in China, the interest in minority dishes is growing, and ethnic dining has become popular among tourists and wealthy urban residents alike. Travelers to endemic regions with a tradition of preparing snails for human consumption should be better informed about the risks associated with certain dishes, and food inspection and hygiene regulations need to be enforced.Third, culturally-routed dietary habits of certain ethnic groups increase the risk of A. cantonensis in China, the two invasive mollusk species P. canaliculata and A. fulica, play a central role. A range of mollusks can serve as intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis and were examined during the national survey. The prevalence of A. cantonensis infection among P. canaliculata, A. fulica and terrestrial slugs was found to govern the endemicity of this parasite in China. However, terrestrial slugs had rarely been found to be associated with human angiostrongyliasis; the only exception being their occasional use in local traditional medicine P. canaliculata and A. fulica are probably responsible for most angiostrongyliasis cases in China. Both snails not only expand their range, but also frequently go on the table for human consumption.Fourth, among the different factors facilitating the spread and transmission of P. canaliculata and A. fulica have facilitated the spread of the endemic area of A. cantonensis rather than the introduction of a new pathogen. Man-made ecological transformations and climate change are important drivers of the spread of exotic species and their establishment in new areas A. cantonensis in at least two ways. First, the invasion of these snails facilitates the establishment of the life cycle of the parasite and thus increases the chances for an exposure of native mollusks to A. cantonensis in existing endemic areas. Previous experiments indeed documented a superior susceptibility of these snails to A. cantonensis compared to native snails A. cantonensis since they rapidly expand their range, resulting in the local establishment of the snail and \u2013 sometimes \u2013 the parasite life cycle in previously non-endemic areas.Interestingly, A. fulica was recorded for the first time in mainland China in 1931 A. fulica were accidentally imported from Singapore with shipments of plants, and that an initial snail population became established in Xiamen (Amoy) A. fulica spreads across southern China, probably facilitated by the rapid expansion of long-distance trade and an increasing demand for farmed plants going hand-in-hand with China's ongoing economic development. It has even been speculated that A. fulica invaded China more than once. For example, the snail populations in Yunnan province might derive from trade with Indochina (Mekong basin) rather than eastern China A. fulica in mainland China was only noted when a parasitologically-confirmed case of angiostrongyliasis found in 1984 could be linked to this snail A. fulica snails is generally less popular than that of P. canaliculata in mainland China.P. canaliculata was deliberately introduced into China for human consumption. The invasion process can be stratified into three stages, i.e., (i) introduction, (ii) establishment, and (iii) spread P. canaliculata was emphasized by the first major angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Wenzhou in 1997 A. cantonensis and the area where P. canaliculata breed two or even three generations per year A. cantonensis largely depends on this freshwater snail for its expansion in China. Although P. canaliculata in the whole endemic area of A. cantonensis were found to be infected, point prevalences of infection are heterogeneous: two heavily endemic areas could be identified in the provinces of Fujian and Guangxi, respectively. The snail is indeed responsible for many sporadic cases recorded throughout Fujian province. However, it remains to be investigated why no angiostrongyliasis cases have been observed thus far in Guangxi province.The freshwater snail A. fulica and P. canaliculata appear to have contributed to the emergence of angiostrongyliasis in China, several characteristics of P. canaliculata suggest that this species is mainly responsible for the spread of A. cantonensis. This claim is supported as follows. First, the aquatic P. canaliculata probably spread along waterways, accelerated through flooding events. This might partly explain why P. canaliculata more rapidly expanded its range than A. fulica, which appears to largely depend on human-facilitated transport. Second, the area colonized by P. canaliculata also expands far beyond that of A. fulica despite a considerably longer presence of the latter in China. Third, the consumption of P. canaliculata is more popular than that of A. fulica. During the national survey, for example, P. canaliculata was on sale in 21 counties, while A. fulica was only noted in three counties.Although both A. cantonensis and its hosts in China. The results indicate a need for more pointed attention to this emerging threat through awareness-raising campaigns among the medical community, the establishment of a hospital-based sentinel surveillance system, improved community-based health education and strengthening of food safety inspection. A number of pressing research questions could also be identified. For example, the model for predicting the prevalence of A. cantonensis within P. canaliculata identified two high-prevalence clusters. However, the accuracy of this prediction has not been assessed since no ground truthing of the predictions has been made thus far. The small-scale distribution, the range of hosts and the host-parasite compatibility should also be investigated to deepen our understanding of the transmission dynamics.The national survey shed light on different important aspects regarding the distribution of A. cantonensis and two invasive snail species, i.e., P. canaliculata and A. fulica, and the pivotal role of these invasive snails for the transmission of this parasite. The results of the survey also suggest that people are at risk of angiostrongyliasis through consumption of raw or undercooked snails infected with A. cantonensis that are found in many markets and restaurants. Continued health education, rigorous food inspection, and hospital-based surveillance are needed to prevent recurrent angiostrongyliasis outbreaks in China.In conclusion, the first national survey revealed the distribution of"}
+{"text": "Dear Friends,During my tenure of 14 years as the secretary of the ISP from 1994-2006 and an additional year 2007, then President Elect 2008, and President 2009, I have seen ISP rise and reach the zenith of success and popularity on not only the national but also the international front as well .th year of new BDS course.Perio subject exam to be kept on 5JISP has to be made quarterly issue.I have gone through a tortuous road and its ups and downs as a secretary but without all the support and backing from several people, I would not have been able to take ISP to this pedestal.Today I am immensely happy to thank and acknowledge all the people without whom I would not achieved this success.I would like to remember and express my gratitude towards the founding members of ISP, late. Dr. G. B. Shankwalkar and Dr.Lalit Guglani, for their dynamism and vision. They always serve as a source of inspiration for me. I thank all my office bearers during my tenure as Secretary: Dr. SA Kale, Dr. CP Boghani, Dr. PJ Chitnis, Dr. Ajay Kakar, Dr. A Kumarswamy and during my Presidential tenure: Dr. MM Dayakar, Dr. CD Dwarkanath, Dr. Pravin Kudva, Dr. Santosh Sridhar, Dr. Mathai Thomas, Dr. Anirban Chatterjee and Dr. Arunachalan.I should not forget to acknowledge all my postgraduates and staff who were always there to help me and shore up in all situations. Without their help, it could not have been possible to run the ISP office effectively. I am profoundly thankful to Dr. Nirmala, Dr. Natasha, Dr. Ashwini, Dr. Rajesh Gaikwad, Dr. Pranita, Dr. Neha Mehta, Dr. Prajakta Nayak, Dr. Rajeev Chitguppi, Dr. Gauri Satarkar, Dr. Om Bhagele, Dr. Srinivas, Dr. Farah, Dr. Sameer Dalvi, Dr. Roshni Thakur, Dr. Akash Akinwar, Dr. Ranjit Bapat, Dr. Javed Sayyed, Dr. Vivek Dave, Dr. Yadav Rathod. Dr. Rupasi Kudle, Dr. Jyoti Jonnala, Dr. Mukesh Chute, Dr. Tanay Gunjikar and my assistant Girish Jethwa who have helped me persistently for ISP.I appreciate the assistance rendered by all of them. I am also thankful to Colgate & Palmolive for sponsoring most of the ISP activities, Mr. Arekar, legal advisor and auditor A. W. Ketkar.Last but not the least I would like to express my gratitude towards my wife Dr. Nutan Pol for being so patient to support and encourage me in this long journey. My life is blissful and contented due to my sweet and adorable daughters Dr. Samruddhi, Sukhsiddhi and Sanmati. I am thankful to them for making me comfortable and peaceful at home after my busy life after taking charge of ISP for 17 years.This is just the beginning and the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of dreams and conclude with my favorite hopeful sher -Ek Nayi Subah, Ek Nayi Asha, Ek Nayi Umeed, Ek Nayi Soch, Ek Baar Phir Asman Chhune ki Koshish, Kamayab Hone ki Chahat - Naye Saal ki Subah ki Pehle Kiran ke Saath\u2026\u2026Happy and Prosperous New Year"}
+{"text": "Prof. A. K. Gupta, M.S, F.R.C.S, M.Ch.Orth 1917-2007th December 2007, just after his 90th birthday. He fought an extended battle against cancer in the last two years of his life. Throughout his active life, he displayed admirable qualities of responsibility and commitment to both patient care and teaching.Professor Arun Kumar Gupta, the doyen of Indian Orthopaedics, died on 30th December 1917. He entered Patna Medical College and obtained M.B.B.S. (1941) and M.S. General Surgery (1944). He then joined the Indian Army and served in India, Singapore and Malaysia. He left the Short Service Commission of the Army in 1947 and went to the UK, where he worked at United Liverpool Hospital. He obtained M.Ch. (Orth) from Liverpool (1951) and F.R.C.S. (1952) from Royal College of Surgeons, England. He was full of national pride and so returned to India in 1953 to join Irwin Hospital  in Delhi where he remained till 1955. His next appointment was as Lecturer of Orthopaedics at S.N. Medical College, Agra from 1955 to 1957. He then moved to G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur, as Reader in Orthopaedics and was responsible for establishing the Department of Orthopaedics there. He became Professor and Head of the Department in 1959, a position he held till his retirement in 1976. The course for M.S.Orth. degree was started at Kanpur in 1960 and in the next 15 years till his retirement, 38 M.S. and 36 D.Orth surgeons were trained. Most of his students achieved senior professional and academic positions in India and overseas.Prof. A. K. Gupta was born on 17Prof. A. K. Gupta had a positive and optimistic attitude, and did not believe in wasting time and complaining about problems. He never appeared rushed and no one ever heard him speak in a harsh voice to anyone around him. He had appropriate facial expressions, body movements and a friendly attitude, which are ingredients of lasting relationship. He was a dedicated teacher, tireless surgeon and a respected leader. Educating orthopaedic residents never took a backseat to anything. Prof. Gupta was a lifelong scholar. He read voraciously and had broad depth of knowledge of orthopaedics as well as of literature and current events.Prof. A. K. Gupta had wide-ranging clinical interests, but the topics very close to his heart were rickets and osteomalacia, paediatric femoral neck fractures, osteotomies around hip, correction of foot deformities and hand and lower limb deformities of poliomyelitis, and Hansen's disease.st Annual Conference of Indian Orthopaedic Association in 2006 at Delhi. \u201cA.K. Gupta Trophy\u201d is awarded to the best chapter of IOA, and the best paper presented at UP Chapter of Indian Orthopaedic Association (UPCON), gets \u201cA.K. Gupta Gold Medal\u201d. UPCON - 2008 and the January 2008 issue of Bone and Joint Diseases were dedicated to the memory of Prof. A. K. Gupta.He played an active role in Indian Orthopaedic Association and was its Secretary from 1963 to 1966 and then held the chair of vice-president in 1967. He was honoured with Presidency of Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) in 1975-1976 and was awarded the highest honour of \u201cIOA - Lifetime Achievement Award\u201d at the 51Prof. A. K. Gupta spent a lot of time trying to impart compassion as a surgical skill. He was a very loving man and will be missed dearly not only by his family, but also by his students and all who ever came in contact with him."}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex genome. This region consists of 36 bp repetitive sequences separated bynon-repetitive unique spacer sequences. Around this region there are several genescoding for proteins of unknown function. To determine whether the M. smegmatis, M.avium, M. marinum and M. leprae genomes contain sequences and ORFs similar tothose of the DR locus of the M. tuberculosis complex, we analysed the correspondingregions in these species. As a first step, some conserved genes that flank the DR genes were used as markersto locate the corresponding orthologues in M. smegmatis, M. avium, M. marinum andM. leprae in silico. Most of these M. tuberculosis marker genes have highly similarorthologues located in the same order and orientation in the other mycobacteria. Incontrast, no orthologues were found for ORFs Rv2801\u2013Rv2824, suggesting that thesegenes are unique to M. tuberculosis within the genus Mycobacterium.We observed thatin M. smegmatis and M. avium, Rv2800 and Rv2825 are adjacent.This observation was experimentally confirmed by PCR. In conclusion, as the DR locus and the ORFsaround it are absent in M. smegmatis and M. avium and, as it is possible that thesespecies are older than M. tuberculosis, we postulated that the DR locus was acquiredby the M. tuberculosis complex species or by an ancestor bacterium.The direct repeat (DR) region is a singular locus of the"}
+{"text": "Correction to:British Journal of Cancer (2008) 98, 1085\u20131093. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6604281During revision and subsequent submission of the above paper to the journal, an author's name, Rajmohan Murali, was omitted from the authors list. The complete list of authors is given above."}
+{"text": "Simulum damnosum Theobald sensu lato (s.l.) is the vector of the parasitic filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus Leuckart which causes onchocerciasis. In order to understand the vector population dynamics, a preliminary 12 months entomological evaluation was carried out at Abeokuta, the Southwest Zone of Nigeria, an onchocerciasis endemic area, where vector control has not been previously initiated. S.damnosum s.l. flies were caught on human attractants between 700 to1800 hours each day, for 4 days each month, from August 2007 to July 2008. The flies caught were classified as either forest-dwelling or savanna-dwelling groups based on the colour of certain morphological characters. Climatic data such as rainfall, humidity and temperature were also collected monthly during the period of survey.S. damnosum s.l. The highest percentage of forest-dwelling group was caught in the month of August 2007 (78.06%) and the least percentage of forest-dwelling groups was caught in November 2007 (8.14%). The highest percentage of savannah-dwelling group was caught in the month of November 2007 (91.86%) and the least percentage of savannah-dwelling group was caught in August 2007 (21.94%). There was no significant difference between the population of forest and savannah-dwelling groups of the fly when the means of the fly population were compared (P = 0.830). Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between monthly fly population with monthly average rainfall , but no significant relationship with monthly average temperature . There was also a significant relationship between monthly fly population and monthly average relative humidity . There was no significant correlation between the population of forest-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l. and monthly average rainfall  and monthly average temperature  but there was significant correlation with monthly average relative humidity . There was significant correlation between savannah-dwelling group and monthly average rainfall , and monthly average relative humidity  but there was no significant correlation with monthly average temperature A total of 1,139 flies were caught, 596 (52.33%) were forest-dwelling group while 543 (47.67%) were savanna-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l. were caught biting in the study area. This could have implications on the transmission and epidemiology of human onchocerciasis if not monitored.The results from this study showed that both the forest and the savannah dwelling groups of  Simulium damnosum Theobald complex are the only vectors of Onchocerca volvulus Leuckart, filarial parasite causing the human onchocerciasis in West Africa [S. damnosum sensu lato (s.l.) [S. damnosum s.l. and that these were related to savannah and forest environment [S. damnosum s.l that transmit the forest and savannah strains of Onchocerca volvulus has being considered very essential in the study of transmission and epidemiology of human onchocerciasis [\u00ae) drug, a microfilaricide, as there is no vector control. Therefore, the present work is aimed at identifying S. damnosum s.l sibling species biting at Iwofin River in order to provide data on the vector in Abeokuta southwestern zone of Nigeria, which can be useful for vector control of this disease in the future.The t Africa . Onchocet Africa . The preo (s.l.) . Early fironment -6. Severironment ,8. Thereerciasis . In addierciasis -12. In AP = 0.830). Table S. damnosum s.l. population with average temperature, relative humidity and average rainfall during the period of study. The populations of the forest-dwelling group were higher than those of the savannah-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l. from August 2007 to September 2007, but from October 2007 till June 2008, population of the savanna strains was higher than that of the forest flies. In July 2008, population of forest-dwelling group increased beyond that of the savannah-dwelling group. The highest percentage of forest-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l flies was caught in the month of August 2007 (78.06%) and the least percentage of forest-dwelling groups of S. damnosum s.l. flies was caught in November 2007 (8.14%). The highest percentage of savannah-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l. flies was caught in the month of November 2007 (91.86%) and the least percentage of savannah-dwelling groups of S. damnosum s.l. flies was caught in August 2007 (21.94%). Figure S. damnosum in the study area.Out of 1,139 flies caught at Iwofin River, 596 (52.33%) were identified as forest-dwelling group while 543 (47.67%) were identified as savannah-dwelling group. There was no significant difference between the population of the forest and savannah groups caught when there means was compared  and average relative humidity and fly population  but no significant relationship between average temperature and fly population . Also there was no significant relationship between forest-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l. with average rainfall  and average temperature  but there was significant relationship with relative humidity. However, there was significant relationship between savannah-dwelling group and monthly average rainfall , and monthly average relative humidity  but there was no significant correlation with monthly average temperature .The relationship between monthly average rainfall, average temperature, average relative humidity and fly population using spearman non parametric correlation analysis showed that there were significant relationship between average rainfall and fly population  than in the dry season (November 2007 to February 2008). This may have resulted from the stimulus of increased oxygen content of the water during rainy season which causes fly to emerge from pupae coupled with increased amounts of nutrients and availability of pre-imaginal sites, all of which enhance pre-imaginal development of y season . The raiy season . This phelopment . Howeverood meal . The strhumidity ,27.S. damnosum s.l. were caught biting in the study area. There is therefore a need for systematic monitoring of the population of S. damnosum s.l. in order to establish a possible invasion and breeding of savannah-dwelling group of S. damnosum s.l.in this area. Early warning of changes in species composition of S. damnosum s.l. is very important in the detection of any trend of change in transmission and epidemiology of onchocerciasis.The finding from this study shows that, both the forest and savannah dwelling groups of S. damnosum s.l in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State located in the southwest zone of Nigeria. The region lies between altitudes 59 m - 62 m. The area is situated in the forest zone of Nigeria. However, the vegetation is that of a derived savannah, consisting of many grasses and few trees due to local deforestation such as land cultivation, pastoral farming and logging.The study was carried out at Iwofin River . Iwofin River is a fast flowing river that begins at Iwofin and empties into Oyan River. It is a breeding site of S. damnosum s.l. flies were caught on human attractants. Two human attractants were stationed alternatively for one hour from 0700 and 1800 hour at a location few meters from the breeding site of S. damnosum s.l. on Iwofin River. The Human attractants sat on a bench with their legs exposed. Any fly perching on the exposed parts was caught before it fed by inverting a small glass tube over it. The caps of the tube were then immediately replaced. All tubes containing flies were labeled to indicate time of capture. Each fly was caught with a separate tube. Collections were made on two consecutive days at every fortnight making a total of four days of collection every month from July 2007 to August 2008.Adult female of S. damnosum s.l. flies caught were identified immediately on the field with the aid of field microscope using taxonomic keys [th abdominal segment setae and scutella setae. The flies were classified as a member of either the forest-dwelling group or savannah-dwelling group. A S. damnosum s.l. with a pale colour for all the morphological characters mentioned above is classified as a member of the savannah-dwelling group while a fly with a dark colour for any or all of the morphological characters is classified as a forest fly [Adult females of mic keys  that focrest fly . Flies tS. damnosum s.l. The data were collected every month from the Hydrology department of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, Abeokuta.Monthly average temperature, monthly average rainfall and monthly average relative humidity of the study area were collected to determine its influence on population dynamics of The authors declare that they have no competing interests.EUF and OAS initiated the study, EUF and OAS designed the study. OAS collected the data and EUF, MCF, ACO and IOA supervised the data collection. OAS and EUF did the data analysis and interpretation; OAS and EUF wrote the manuscript. OAS, EUF, MCF, IOA and ACO reviewed the manuscript.S. damnosum s.l. bite and were treated with ivermectin before and after the study.Approval for the study was obtained from the Ogun State Ministry of health and individuals used as human attractant were informed of the consequences of"}
+{"text": "Correction to: British Journal of Cancer (2008) 98, 1594. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.660433998, issue 9, have requested a corrigendum to show the complete author list for the letter. This is now shown above.The authors of the above Reply to Letter to the Editor, originally published in volume no."}
+{"text": "Dr. Stanley J. Ball was not included in the author byline. He should be listed as the seventh author and affiliated with School of Life Sciences, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom. The contributions of this author are as follows: Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools."}
+{"text": "Soon, I realized that editor of \u2018Lung India\u2019- the hallmark research journal, is a seat with more responsibility and challenges than laurels. To follow the benchmark set by the vanguard editors like Late Prof. C. V. Ramakrishnan, Prof. C. N. Deivanayagan, Prof. V. K. Vijayan, Prof. S. R. Kamat, Prof. P. S. Shankar, Prof. P. Ravindran and Prof. S. K. Jindal, who are luminaries and the vow to make the journal more useful to readers, is a tough challenge. But it can be accomplished with the combined vision and humble efforts of the editorial board.We have thought to introduce the concept of section editor in the journal to harness the potential of entire board. It is very encouraging that we are receiving a number of innovative suggestions. Let us dedicate our wisdom and efforts, in a collective pack, to take \u2018Lung India\u2019 to new heights.We have also planned to include color pictures to improve visibility of the articles from now onwards. This will be on shared basis. Fifty percent (INR 1000 for a colored page) of charges will be borne by the willing author.Abstracts of Lung India articles published after 2004 are available on PubMed. We are trying to upload on PubMed, all the articles published in the Lung India since its inception. For this purpose hard copies of all previous issues of Lung India were provided with generous help from Prof. S. R. Kamat.I solicit your thoughtful suggestions and the research articles which I am confident, would, for sure, help making the journal more purposeful."}
+{"text": "Correction to Escalada F, Marco E, Duarte E, Muniesa JM, Boza R, Tejero M, C\u00e1ceres E. Assessment of angle velocity in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Scoliosis 2009; 4:20. After publication of this work , we noteThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.FE conceived and designed the study, performed analysis and interpretation of data, carried the assessments and gave final approval of the version to be published. EM contributed to acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data and was involved in drafting the manuscript. RBe contributed to design, analysis and interpretation of data and reviewed the article critically for important intellectual content. ED and JMM revised critically for important intellectual contents. RBo and MT contributed to acquisition of data and analysis. EC participated in its design, revised critically for intellectual contents and gave final approval of the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "To the Editor:Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is a bacterium and a potential agent of bioterrorism. The most frequent signs of infection in domestic animals are abortion and reduced fertility  are possible mechanical vectors of C. burnetii because this organism survived 32 days in house flies and viable bacteria were shed by flies for 15 days , a garbage bin of elephant feces , and a barn at a ranch . We sequenced 1,100 bp of the 16S rRNA gene from select DNA extracts, which were 99% identical with that of C. burnetii strain NC 002971.Five of 363 flies were positive for etii DNA . These fC. burnetii in flies from a zoo, a ranch, and carrion in a forest. Laboratory data on house flies, which shed live C. burnetii for 15 days after exposure, suggest that related flies  might also harbor viable C. burnetii. On the basis of our field data, S. calcitrans and Lucilia spp. should be studied as mechanical vectors of C. burnetii. Unlike many enteric bacteria, which require large inocula to cause disease, C. burnetii can be infectious at the level of 1 bacterium  in maintenance or transmission of C. burnetii is unknown. This fly is an obligate ectoparasite of sheep. It feeds on sheep blood, and feces from sheep keds can accumulate in the wool of sheep. Testing of sheep keds from infected sheep would help understand whether keds play a role in the epidemiology of C. burnetii.The role of the sheep ked ("}
+{"text": "Miniopterus schreibersii, found in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia Minor, could also form such a complex. Populations of M. schreibersii decline in most of the European countries and the species is currently listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List. Finding that M. schreibersii is not a single species, but a species complex, would have a considerable impact on its conservation strategies, as the abundance of each component taxon would be much smaller than the one estimated for the nominal species.Two or more species are cryptic, if they are morphologically similar, biologically distinct, and misclassified as a single species. Cryptic species complexes were recently discovered within many bat species and we suspect that the bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii in Asia Minor consists of two genetically diverged lineages, which are reciprocally monophyletic on three mitochondrial DNA markers, have a diagnostic set of multilocus allele frequencies, and show a marked difference in their population structures. The lineages differ slightly in their size, wing shape, and echolocation call parameters. Although these differences are sufficient to discriminate between the lineages, they are not fully diagnostic in reference to individuals. We suggest that the lineages endured the major Northern Hemisphere glaciations in different glacial refugia and colonized Asia Minor after the last glacial maximum. The lineages are allopatric, which is neither delineated by the presence of geographical barriers nor associated with the specific climatic conditions, and which we link to competitive exclusion.M. schreibersii in Asia Minor is represented by two cryptic species. Our results imply that the distributional range of the nominal species is almost exclusively limited to Europe and the coastal zones of Asia Minor. As populations of M. schreibersii seem to be much smaller than currently assumed, conservation strategies regarding this taxon need to be revised. The exact distributional range and the vulnerability of the suggested sister species to M. schreibersii is yet to be assessed.The distinctions between the lineages comply with most of the criteria required for species delineation imposed by various species concepts. Accordingly, we conclude that  Cytb) . Our data were analyzed together with 39 sequences reported previously  or FST/[1- FST]) against the logarithm of geographical distance , two sequences from Iran [GenBank: FJ028638 and FJ028640], and two sequences from Nagorno-Karabakh [GenBank: FJ028634 and FJ028635], which represent samples collected near the type localities of M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus . The mitochondrial differentiation between the M. schreibersii lineages is particularly striking in the light of the similarity observed within each of them; there is only a shallow differentiation in the control region and almost no differentiation in Cytb between colonies of M. s. schreibersii sampled in Anatolia, Iberia, or Maghreb [M. s. pallidus [Cryptic species complexes, in which the component taxa have not diverged morphologically too much, are very difficult to identify and their discovery is frequently a matter of chance. In a recent study investigating the contribution of the 28 Iberian bat species to the cryptic diversity in Europe, almost 20% of the Iberian bats showed considerable mitochondrial discontinuities either within the Iberian or between Iberian and other European samples . One of  Maghreb ,9,45. A M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus in Anatolia show visible differences in their population genetic structure. The colonies of M. s. schreibersii reveal the moderate differentiation in the control region sequences accompanied by the very strong correlation between the genetic and geographic distances. At the microsatellite level, the differentiation is weak but the association between the genetic and geographic distances is still strong. The results are in concordance with the ones reported for M. s. schreibersii from Portugal, which were linked to female philopatry and a mainly male-mediated gene flow [M. s. pallidus show only a weak differentiation in the control region sequences and no significant correlation between the genetic differentiation and geographic distance. The latter outcome, however, should be taken with a caution as the small number of colonies could profoundly affect the significance of the correlation. At the microsatellite level, the colonies of M. s. pallidus do not reveal any indications of population structuring. Both the differentiation between the colonies and the association between the genetic and geographic distances are virtually zero, suggesting no constrains imposed on gene flow.The extant colonies of ene flow . On the M. s. schreibersii in Karanl\u0131k and M. s. pallidus in Asarini and Delikli deserve a special attention  and has narrower and more elongated wings (higher tip and aspect ratio indices). There are also significant differences in echolocation call parameters between the lineages. Although, in principle, higher aspect ratio and tip indices are associated with swifter flight [M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus are relatively small and the ranges are overlapping. Indeed, even though wing morphology and echolocation call parameters are sufficient to discriminate between the lineages, they are not fully diagnostic in reference to a single individual. In consequence, the observed dissimilarities can probably only minutely affect the foraging performance of bats, resulting in a considerable overlap in their ecological niches and leaving them prone to an intensive inter-lineage competition. A similar situation is found in European Plecotus species: echolocation signals of P. macrobullaris are more similar to allopatrically occurring P. austriacus than to co-occurring P. auritus, although P. macrobullaris is genetically closer related to P. auritus [M. schreibersii complex [Morphologically, r flight  and varir flight , the dif auritus ,50. In f complex  and may Cytb and ND2 data, M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus diverged after the onset of the major Northern Hemisphere glaciations in the Lower or Middle Pleistocene [M. s. schreibersii survived the major glaciations in a single glacial refugium in the north-western Anatolia/Balkans and rapidly colonized Europe ca. 15 kyr BP [M. s. schreibersii and a few colonies might have survived the last glacial maximum in one of the south Anatolian refugia, located along the Mediterranean Sea coast. The latter hypothesis is supported by the earlier expansion time estimated here for the south Anatolian population (ca. 21 kyr BP) than for the European expansion. Considerably less can be conjectured about the history M. s. pallidus; it probably survived the major glaciations in refugia located somewhere on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the eastern part of the Caucasian refugium. It is unlikely that M. s. pallidus endured the glacial periods in Colchis, a western part of the Caucasian refugium, as this region is presently occupied by M. s. schreibersii and it is dubious that the former replaced the latter. Miniopterus s. pallidus possibly expanded to Anatolia after the climatic change that followed the end of the last glacial maximum, ca. 13 kyr BP. The late colonization of the Central Anatolian Plateau may be a result of the high altitude of the region (and more severe climatic conditions) and the scarcity of suitable underground habitats. The lineages came to contact in the Central Anatolia. Probably, when they met, M. s. schreibersii had already established colonies on the Central Anatolian Plateau and along the Mediterranean Sea coast.According to the estimates based on the istocene . The lin5 kyr BP . Asia MiM. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus is neither delineated by the presence of geographical barriers nor associated with the specific climatic conditions. Although most of the known colonies of M. s. schreibersii are found in coastal, low altitude locations with the wet Mediterranean or Black Sea climate [M. s. pallidus mainly occupies semiarid regions of higher altitude, the colonies in Asarini and Delikli are located near, or on, the Mediterranean Sea coast exhibiting the wet Mediterranean climate, on the altitudes of ca. 1600 m and 200 m. Therefore, it is plausible to conclude that both lineages are fully capable of utilizing both inland and coastal habitats, and have similar ecological niches.Spatial separation of  climate ,12, the M. s. pallidus possibly replaced some colonies of M. s. schreibersii. The replacement rather than a sympatric coexistence of the lineages could be caused by the morphological similarities between the lineages and resulting competitive exclusion [M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus are the result of the historical and ongoing expansion events, and interlineage competition rather than the outcome of climatic preferences as suggested by Bilgin et al. [We suggest that in its southwards expansion, xclusion . Accordin et al. .M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus form two separately evolving lineages, making them potentially different species [In the light of available evidence,  species . The lin species ,12, have species ,55. The  species ,57. Furt species ,59.M. s. pallidus and M. s. schreibersii seem to be sufficient to recognize M. schreibersii in Asia Minor as a cryptic species complex and to grant M. s. pallidus a full species status, a sister taxon to M. schreibersii. Still, we do not know about the mechanism of reproductive isolation between M. s. schreibersii and M. s. pallidus, which probably includes a difference in mating calls, and we know very little about their ecological divergence. Further and more extensive studies are needed to clarify these points.The distinctions between M. schreibersii. The distributional range of the nominal species, M. s. schreibersii, is mainly limited to Europe and the coastal zones of Asia Minor; an area much smaller than currently recognized by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [M. schreibersii, including stable populations in the Balkans and Turkey, is estimated to be approaching 30% [M. s. pallidus, the decline rate of M. s. schreibersii might already be much higher than estimated by the IUCN Red List. Accordingly, a thoughtful revision of all conservation strategies regarding M. s. schreibersii might be crucial to preserve this taxon. The presence of M. s. pallidus in Asia Minor requires a protection program, which would estimate abundance of its current populations, identify possible threats, and assess its conservation status.The results of this study are particularly important for the conservation of the  Species . The rathing 30% . HoweverM. schreibersii may be indicative for other bat species, which persisted through the major glaciations in the Anatolian refugia. Here, potential candidates are Rhinolophus euryale and R. ferrumequinum. Both species consist of considerably diverged matrilineal lineages [Finally, the case of lineages ,61 and eAF designed the study, carried out the field work, performed statistical analyses of molecular data, and drafted the manuscript. TP carried out the field work and analyzed morphological and echolocation data. T\u00d6 carried out the field and molecular laboratory work. E\u00c7 participated in the design of the study, carried out the field work and helped in drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.List of haplotypes analyzed in this study.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Oxygen delivery is essential to sustain all vital functions. Vertebrate organisms have, therefore, evolved sophisticated and tightly regulated mechanisms to ensure continuous red cell synthesis. Chronic or acute blood losses trigger multiple feedback mechanisms aimed at increasing erythropoiesis and minimizing the damage associated with profound anemia and hypoxia. Iron is an element of paramount importance for erythropoiesis, being an essential part of the hemoglobin metalloprotein that ensures oxygen absorption, transport, and delivery. Therefore, it is not surprising that iron absorption and transport are closely linked to the demands of erythropoiesis. However, the mechanisms underlying this interconnected relationship have only recently started being understood. The focus of this special issue is on iron metabolism, erythropoiesis, and their close association, with a special emphasis on proteins regulating iron metabolism and how erythropoiesis affects their expression. The mechanistic view will be integrated with the clinical observations in disease such as myelodysplastic syndromes, sickle cell anemia, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, and anemia of inflammation. And finally, in light of these new discoveries, new potential therapies for well-known disorders such as beta-thalassemia will be discussed. In the last decade, new discoveries have fueled the field of iron metabolism. The papers by H. Li and Y. Z. Ginzburg,E. Nemet\u03b2-thalassemia. Improved knowledge on proteins that interconnect iron metabolism and erythropoiesis is opening new prospective to develop new therapies, such as in beta-thalassemia. The review by L. Melchiori et al.  providesThe interdependence of erythropoiesis and iron regulation extends beyond normal metabolism to include several pathological conditions. Diseases that are primarily associated with erythroid defects often lead to iron overload, maldistribution, or deficiency. The reviews by E. Messa et al.  and by MDiamond-Blackfan anemia is a rare congenital pure red-cell aplasia that presents during infancy. D. Chiabrando and E. Tolosano's  review fFinally, the review by E. A. Price and S. L. Schrier  providesWe hope that this special issue will stimulate curiosity, interest, and new research directions in exploring the field of iron and erythropoiesis, with the ultimate goal to develop new drugs and improve the management of disorders associated with altered iron metabolism, abnormal erythropoiesis, and anemia of inflammation. Stefano RivellaElizabeta NemethJeffery Lynn Miller"}
+{"text": "Bats comprise the second largest order of mammals. However, there are far fewer morphological studies of post-implantation embryonic development than early embryonic development in bats.Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus, Hipposideros armiger and H. pratti), representing the two suborders Yangochiroptera and Yinpterochiroptera. Using an established embryonic staging system, we identified the embryonic stages for M. schreibersii fuliginosus, H. armiger and H. pratti and described the morphological changes in each species, including the development of the complex and distinctive nose-leaves in H. armiger and H. pratti. Finally, we compared embryonic and fetal morphology of the three species in the present study with five other species for which information is available.We studied three species of bats (As a whole, the organogenetic sequence of bat embryos is uniform and the embryos appear homoplastic before Stage 16. Morphological differentiation between species occurs mainly after embryonic Stage 16. Our study provides three new bat species for interspecific comparison of post-implantation embryonic development within the order Chiroptera and detailed data on the development of nose-leaves for bats in the superfamily Rhinolophoidea. M. schreibersii fuliginosus, H. armiger and H pratti, which belong to the superfamilies Vespertilionoidea and Rhinolophoidea respectively [The Chiroptera is the second largest order of mammals with over 1100 species . Althougectively , to inveM. schreibersii fuliginosus, Schreibers's long-fingered bat, is widespread from the temperate zone to the tropics in the Old World [ld World ,12. In tld World ,14. Normld World .H. armiger, the great leaf-nosed bat, is widely distributed in subtropical and tropical zones of Asia [ of Asia . At lowe of Asia ,17 and e of Asia .H. pratti, Pratt's leaf-nosed bat, has been found in a few Asian countries and is distributed across the same latitudes as H. armiger [ armiger . Althoug armiger , it has Here we compare morphological changes during embryonic and fetal development for the three bat species, describing the differentiation and development of the face and limbs, and comparing them with information already available for five other bat species. By adding the two hipposiderid species studied in this paper, representatives of another superfamily have been considered Fig. .M. schreibersii fuliginosus, H. armiger and H. pratti possess bicornuate uteri and are monotocous. H. armiger were in torpor on 19 Feb 2009 and 4 March 2008. On other capture dates, the three species of bats had already aroused. We obtained embryos from 24 M. schreibersii fuliginosus in nine stages of development , 26 H. armiger in 11 stages  and 12 H. pratti in nine stages  and three neonates of M. schreibersii fuliginosus. Because they were resected for mRNA extraction, the limbs of a few specimens are missing  and some limb information is lacking. Table M. schreibersii fuliginosus examined, a fetus was present in the right horn of uterus, whereas in all gravid H. armiger and H. pratti it was in the left horn of uterus. The crown rump length (CRL) and uterus diameter (UD) progressively increased during embryonic development .Stage 11 Fig. : the chaH. armiger at Stage 14 (see above results).Stage 14 Fig. : specimeStage 15 Fig. : the bodStage 16 Fig. : a pair H. armiger, H. pratti had a transverse fold and a main nose-leaf in the middle of the face. Beside the main nose-leaf, one fold was seen on each side of the cheek. The primordium of the frontal sac was present in the middle of the forehead. Vibrissal follicles emerged between the main nose-leaf and the mouth. The uropatagium enclosed the whole tail by the end of this stage.Stage 19 Fig. : the eyeStage 20 Fig. : eyelidsStage 22 Fig. : in the Stage 23: the overall appearance of the embryo was similar to the former stages. The shield between the eyes was larger but the genital tubercle was maintained.H. pratti and H. armiger at this stage  developed faster than those captured after arousal. We captured dozens of H. armiger from the same cave and maintained them for another study. When kept cool during January and February, they became torpid even if food was provided. This suggests that these bats hibernated as did populations of the same species at lower latitudes (23\u00b0N) [M. schreibersii fuliginosus [For the three species in this study, late embryonic stages and fetal stages were obtained mainly from April to June Table . Embryons (23\u00b0N) ,17. Althiginosus .C. perspicillata than in other species. In some instances, for example Stage 15, the common features are listed as lens vesicles and auditory hillocks. Although these terms were not present in the descriptions of all the bat species considered, we listed them for most species in which these features are described.As a whole, the organogenetic sequence of bat embryos is uniform and the embryos appear homoplastic before Stage 16 when the nose-leaf begins to form in some species. There are many common features at the same stage for all the bat species studied, summarized in table H. armiger, H. pratti and C. perspicillata). The earliest differences are evident early in embryonic Stage 14 when nasal pits are identified. In H. armiger and H. pratti these appear as round depressions, whereas in C. perspicillata they are relatively small and in other species are long grooves. More evident differences of the face start from Stage 16 when the nose-leaf primordia are formed in H. armiger, H. pratti and C. perspicillata. Although H. armiger and H. pratti are phylogenetically close, their nose-leaves develop distinct morphologies. There are four main differences of nose-leaves between these two species. First of all, H. armiger develops four folds on each side of the cheek, whereas H. pratti develops two. Secondly, H. pratti develops an evident fold under each eye, whereas H. armiger does not. Thirdly, the transverse bilobed shield between the eyes is much larger in H. pratti than in H. armiger. Finally, the part of the main fold above nostrils is bigger in H. armiger than in H. pratti. In contrast, M. schreibersii fuliginosus and M. natalensis are also phylogenetically close and their embryonic development and adult morphology are similar.However, there are also many specific features for each species. Besides the CRL, UD and somite count, the most profound developmental differences are expected to be in craniofacial development, which is more complex in species possessed of nose-leaves (C. perspicillata and M. rufus) reopen at embryonic Stage 22 and the others never open during prenatal development. The uropatagium does not enclose the whole tail in M. rufus and R. amplexicaudatus, but does so in other species. Many other differences occur mainly in the timing of organogenesis. For example, the foot plate formed one stage later in H. pratti than in other species. The uropatagium encloses the whole tail later in M. schreibersii fuliginosus, M. natalensis and P. abramus than in C. perspicillata because of the longer tails in the former three species.The eyelids of all eight bat species close before Stage 20, but two of them , upper jaw and the lower jaw is formed. Our study provides three new bat species for interspecific comparison of post-implantation embryonic development within the order Chiroptera and detailed data on the development of nose-leaves for bats in the superfamily Rhinolophoidea.An illustration of phylogenic relationships of the eight bat species, which were studied for embryonic staging systems, was represented based on previous publications ,22.M. schreibersii fuliginosus, H. armiger and H.pratti roost in a large cave at Anhui province of China . During an investigation of infectious diseases of bats, a total of 75 female M. schreibersii fuliginosus, H. armiger and H.pratti were captured using hand or mist nets on 4 March 2008, 28 April 2008, 22 May 2008, 19 Feb 2009, 24 April 2009 and 4 June 2009.All procedures involving animals were carried out in accordance with the Policy on the Care and Use of Animals, approved by the Ethical Committee, State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Several ten thousands of After capture, these bats were kept in a flight room (4 \u00d7 4 \u00d7 2.5 m) which was covered with wire netting on the wall and roof to allow the bats to hang. The room was kept dark all day and the temperature was maintained between 18 and 24\u00b0C. Plastic bowls (12 \u00d7 7 \u00d7 5 cm) for water and food hung on the wall and were 12 cm from the roof. Water was freely available. A diet of mealworms mixed with powdered multivitamin and calcium tablets was provided in the bowls from 2000 h to 0800 h. In the beginning, some of the bats needed to be fed by hand but after several days, they could find food by themselves, like the others.Bats in the captive colony were euthanized by decapitation. The reproductive tract was then dissected, measured, and further dissected to expose the conceptus. After dissection, specimens were fixed overnight in Bouin's fluid then washed with several changes of 70% ethyl alcohol and stored at room temperature until use. Before being photographed, specimens were cleared in 0.1% ammonium hydroxide in 70% ethyl alcohol. The whole bodies of the specimens were photographed from the lateral view, ventral view and dorsal view. Close-up of the forelimb, hindlimb and face were also photographed.Because the bats were already pregnant when they were caught, it was difficult to determine the exact duration of pregnancy. Thus, bat embryos were staged using the system developed by Cretekos et al  accordinM. schreibersii fuliginosus at Stage 15 and H. armiger at Stage 18 were fixed overnight in Bouin's solution and cartilage stained with Alcian blue. The detailed staining method for the bat embryo is the same as for the mouse embryo [Embryos of e embryo .We summarized features in each stage for the three bat species from this study and used the data of other five species from previous publications -8. If alZW conceived and designed the study, identified the stages of bat embryos, and drafted the manuscript. NH carried out the experiments and fed the bats. PAR participated in the preparation of figures and critically revised the manuscript. BR participated in the preparation of figures. GH helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "AMA PRA Category 1 Credits\u2122. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. All other clinicians completing this activity will be issued a certificate of participation. To participate in this journal CME activity: (1) review the learning objectives and author disclosures; (2) study the education content; (3) take the post-test and/or complete the evaluation at http://www.medscape.com/cme/eid; (4) view/print certificate.Medscape, LLC is pleased to provide online continuing medical education (CME) for this journal article, allowing clinicians the opportunity to earn CME credit. Medscape, LLC is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide CME for physicians. Medscape, LLC designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:Identify the most common baseline human papillomavirus (HPV) status of couplesSpecify the most common mode of transmission of HPV between couplesDescribe the role of anatomic sites in the transmission of HPVIdentify behavioral factors associated with the transmission of HPVD. Peter Drotman, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Emerging Infectious Diseases. Disclosure: D. Peter Drotman, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.Charles P. Vega, MD, Associate Professor; Residency Director, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Irvine, California, USA. Disclosure: Charles P. Vega, MD, has disclosed that he has served as an advisor or consultant to Novartis, Inc.Brenda Y. Hernandez, PhD, MPH; Lynne R. Wilkens, DrPH; Xuemei Zhu, MD; Pamela Thompson, MPH; Katharine McDuffie, BS; Yurii B. Shvetsov, PhD; Jeffrey Killeen, MD; Lily Ning, MD; and Marc T. Goodman, PhD, MPH, have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Lori E. Kamemoto, MD, MPH, has disclosed that she has received grants for clinical research from GlaxoSmithKline, and is on the speakers\u2019 bureau for Merck.Disclosures: http://www.medscape.com/cme/eid. Credit cannot be obtained for tests completed on paper, although you may use the worksheet below to keep a record of your answers. You must be a registered user on Medscape.com. If you are not registered on Medscape.com, please click on the New Users: Free Registration link on the left hand side of the website to register. Only one answer is correct for each question. Once you successfully answer all post-test questions you will be able to view and/or print your certificate. For questions regarding the content of this activity, contact the accredited provider, CME@medscape.net. For technical assistance, contact CME@webmd.net. American Medical Association\u2019s Physician\u2019s Recognition Award (AMA PRA) credits are accepted in the US as evidence of participation in CME activities. For further information on this award, please refer to http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2922.html. The AMA has determined that physicians not licensed in the US who participate in this CME activity are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits\u2122. Through agreements that the AMA has made with agencies in some countries, AMA PRA credit is acceptable as evidence of participation in CME activities. If you are not licensed in the US and want to obtain an AMA PRA CME credit, please complete the questions online, print the certificate and present it to your national medical association.To obtain credit, you should first read the journal article. After reading the article, you should be able to answer the following, related, multiple-choice questions. To complete the questions and earn continuing medical education (CME) credit, please go to Which of the following was the most common human papillomavirus (HPV) status at baseline in the current study cohort?A. Both partners HPV-negativeB. One partner HPV-negative and one HPV-positiveC. Both partners HPV-positive with the same HPV typeD. Both partners HPV-positive with different HPV typesWhat was the most common means of HPV transmission in the current study?A. Male-to-female transmissionB. Female-to-male transmissionC. Male auto-inoculationD. Female auto-inoculationmost accurate?Which of the following statements about anatomic sites of transmission of HPV in the current study is A. Most women obtained infection from the glans of the penisB. The female anus was not a significant site of transmission to menC. There were no cases of transmission from the women\u2019s hands to the men\u2019s genitalsD. Among men, the rate of auto-inoculation was comparable to the rate of transmission from womenmost significant in the risk for HPV transmission?Which of the following factors from the current study was A. Frequency of condom useB. Length of relationshipC. Any history of anal intercourseD. A history of genital herpes"}
+{"text": "Erwinia includes plant-associated pathogenic and non-pathogenic Enterobacteria. Important pathogens such as Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight and E. pyrifoliae causing bacterial shoot blight of pear in Asia belong to this genus. The species E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae are epiphytic bacteria and may represent antagonists for biocontrol of fire blight. The presence of genes that are putatively involved in virulence in E. amylovora and E. pyrifoliae is of special interest for these species in consequence.The genus E. pyrifoliae strain Ep1/96 with a size of 4.1 Mb and of the non-pathogenic species E. billingiae strain Eb661 with a size of 5.4 Mb, de novo determined by conventional Sanger sequencing and next generation sequencing techniques. Genome comparison reveals large inversions resulting from homologous recombination events. Furthermore, comparison of deduced proteins highlights a relation of E. billingiae strain Eb661 to E. tasmaniensis strain Et1/99 and a distance to E. pyrifoliae for the overall gene content as well as for the presence of encoded proteins representing virulence factors for the pathogenic species. Pathogenicity of E. pyrifoliae is supposed to have evolved by accumulation of potential virulence factors. E. pyrifoliae carries factors for type III secretion and cell invasion. Other genes described as virulence factors for E. amylovora are involved in the production of exopolysaccharides, the utilization of plant metabolites such as sorbitol and sucrose. Some virulence-associated genes of the pathogenic species are present in E. tasmaniensis but mostly absent in E. billingiae.Here we provide the complete genome sequences of the pathogenic E. pyrifoliae and underlines the epiphytic localization of E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae as a saprophyte.The data of the genome analyses correspond to the pathogenic lifestyle of  Erwinia comprises essentially plant-associated bacteria. Two species, Erwinia amylovora and Erwinia pyrifoliae, are connected with \"pome fruit\" diseases, fire blight of apple, pear and some ornamentals and Asian pear blight, respectively  and Hrp-associated enzymes [HAE]), which contain effector proteins and enzymes involved in systemic virulence  of three investigated chromosomes.Click here for fileChromosome maps of the three investigated species highlighting the conserved protein-coding gene content and the individual set. PDFs are of high resolution and allow enlarging regions of interest.Click here for fileE. pyrifoliae, E. billingiae and E. tasmaniensisGenes with potential impact for virulence in pathogenic erwinias encoded in the genomes of .Click here for fileE. pyrifoliae, E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae or in assembly of the T6SSA scheme for involvement of proteins from .Click here for file"}
+{"text": "A.D.M.E. Osterhaus wishes to declare, for the avoidance of any misunderstanding on competing interests, that he founded and is chief scientific officer of Viroclinics, a company set up in collaboration with Erasmus University. However, for clarification, no materials or support were received from the company, and no agreements were in place concerning the execution or publication of this work."}
+{"text": "In mice, i.v. C. parvum induces intravascular coagulation. This is a prolonged reaction lasting up to 7 days. It results in thrombosis in hepatic vessels with consequent hepatic necrosis, and thrombosis in pulmonary and splenic vessels. This may be important in the assessment of the tumour-inhibitory activity of C. parvum."}
+{"text": "Anopheles mosquitoes is a prerequisite for effective management of malaria vector control programmes. The most reliable existing means to measure mosquito density is the human landing catch (HLC). However, the HLC technique raises major ethical concerns because of the necessity to expose humans to vectors of malaria and a variety of other pathogens. Furthermore, it is a very arduous undertaking that requires intense supervision, which is severely limiting in terms of affordability and sustainability.Frequent, sensitive and accurate sampling of A community-based, mosquito sampling protocol, using the Ifakara tent trap-B (ITT-B) and standardized resting boxes (SRB), was developed and evaluated in terms of the number and sample composition of mosquitoes caught by each, compared to rigorously controlled HLC. Mosquitoes were collected once and three times every week by the HLC and the alternative methods, respectively, in the same time and location.Anopheles gambiae s.l. as well as 26,315, 13,258 and 4,791 Culex species respectively. The ITT-B was three- and five-times cheaper than the HLC per mosquito caught for An. gambiae and Cx. Species, respectively. Significant correlations between the numbers caught by HLC and ITT-B were observed for both An. gambiae s.l. (P < 0.001) and Cx. species (P = 0.003). Correlation between the catches with HLC and SRB were observed for Cx. species (P < 0.001) but not An. gambiae s.l. (P = 0.195), presumably because of the low density of the latter. Neither ITT-B nor SRB exhibited any obvious density dependence for sampling the two species.Overall, the three traps caught 44,848 mosquitoes. The ITT-B, HLC and SRB caught 168, 143 and 46 SRBs exhibited poor sensitivity for both mosquito taxa and are not recommended in this setting. However, this protocol is affordable and effective for routine use of the ITT-B under programmatic conditions. Nevertheless, it is recommended that the trap and the protocol be evaluated further at full programmatic scales to establish effectiveness under fully representative conditions of routine practice. Monitoring and evaluation of malaria control interventions and their associated impact on malaria burden is essential for understanding progress, successes and challenges in any malaria control effort . In ordeIn urban Dar es Salaam, the Urban Malaria Control Programme (UMCP) relies upon the human landing catch (HLC) for entomological surveys of malaria vectors, transmission intensity and for evaluation of regular larvicide application -6. NonetElsewhere, resting boxes have been used to sample mosquitoes, relying on the widely observed phenomenon that they congregate in diurnal resting places which are dark and cool . Boxes aA new device for outdoor sampling adult mosquitoes called the Ifakara tent trap-B (ITT-B) has been developed and evaluated in both rural and urban Tanzania . This trAn. gambiae complex that predominantly feed out-doors  [An. gambiae s.l. mosquitoes even after aggregation by station-week so no logical comparison could be made and these data were discarded. Since divisions by zero gives infinite values, data for several week-site observations were sorted by the sum of the catches for the traps  and then aggregated by this sum with the mean of each of the two catches as the summary variables. The mean catch of the alternative collection methods divided by the mean catch of the reference method was treated as the dependent variable with a log link function and a gamma distribution for An. gambiae s.l. and a normal distribution for Cx. species. The sum of the alternative and the reference methods was treated as a continuous independent variable in the model.To allow direct comparison with HLC conducted in the same area and in the same week, data was first aggregated by station and week, giving a total of 48 mean catches for matching station-week combinations over a period of 30 weeks. Prior to this analysis step, the numbers in each catch (x) were normalized by transforming to logAn. gambiae s.s. versus An. arabiensis, respectively, as described previously [To test for consistent variations in species composition, sporozoite prevalence and abdominal condition of the mosquitoes sampled by the different traps, binary logistic regression in SPSS was used. Each outcome was treated as a binary variable with trap design as an independent categorical factor in the model. The results of abdominal status and sibling species identity were expressed as binary outcomes: fed  versus non-fed (gravid or unfed) and eviously . Althoug\u00ae (artemether-lumefantrine).Informed consent was obtained from all the participants, namely the household owners and the mosquito catchers. Moreover, thick and thin blood smears were taken from all the participants whenever they complained of fever to examine the presence of malaria parasites. When found positive, they were treated with CoartemCx. species, 0.8% An. gambiae s.l., 0.2% Aedes species and 0.1% An. coustani. The ITT-B, HLC and SRB accounted for 59%, 30% and 11% of the total number of mosquitoes caught respectively. Over the entire sampling period, the SRB caught only 46 and 4,791 An. gambiae s.l. and Cx. species, respectively. The total catches of Cx. species and An. gambiae s.l. are outlined in further detail in Table S1  . Analysis using binary logistic regression showed no significant difference in proportion of An. gambiae s.s. versus An. arabiensis sampled by the three traps.Of the 268 female d Table S  to determine density dependence relative sampling efficiency of the ITT-B and the SRB for . Statistical analysis to indicate the sampling efficiency of the ITT-B and the HLC in terms of the vector density.Click here for fileAn. gambiae s.l. and Cx. species and the influence of each trap on the fed mosquitoes determined by binary logistic regressionAbdominal condition scored by the three traps for . The data represent statistical analysis of the abdominal status of the three traps.Click here for fileAn. gambiae complex for the ITT-B, HLC and SRB and the influence of each trap upon the proportion of An. gambiae s.s. sampled, as determined by binary logistic regressionSpecies composition of . The data presented is a summary of statistical analysis of the species composition of the three traps as determined by PCR.Click here for fileAn. gambiae s.l. and Cx. speciesComparative evaluation of cost effectiveness of the ITT-B and the HLC for weekly sampling and sampling a single . A summary of the cost of using the ITT-B and the HLC for sampling An. gambiae s.l. and Cx. species.Click here for file"}
+{"text": "Plasmodium cynomolgi and P. vivax, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences of Plasmodium spp. We found that these orangutans are not hosts of P. cynomolgi and P. vivax. Analysis of >1 genes is needed to identify Plasmodium spp. infecting orangutans.After orangutans in Indonesia were reported as infected with  Plasmodium cause malaria and are usually host specific. For example, humans are natural hosts for P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malaria, and P. ovale, and orangutans are naturally infected with P. pitheci and P. silvaticum  genes that are developmentally regulated , and is not the macaque malaria parasite, P. cynomolgi, as previously reported (.The VS63 sequence is clearly not Plasmodium spp. isolated from orangutans in Kalimantan, Indonesia, are P. cynomolgi or P. vivax, as previously reported by Reid et al. (. Before any conclusion about the identity of the malaria parasites infecting orangutans and their corresponding SSU rRNA gene sequences can be derived, a second or third gene of malaria parasites from these orangutans needs to be analyzed and the morphology of the corresponding blood stages needs to be described. Our study underscores the importance of using orthologous genes and sequence data from as many species as possible when inferring species within a genus from phylogenetic trees.Phylogenetic analyses of the SSU rRNA genes indicate that none of the"}
+{"text": "This is a commendable uncommon publication with lot of historical information, covering at depth various aspects of an Indian mental hospital from the perspective of its evolution, development, and administration. Choosing to write about this hospital was relevant for many reasons. Significantly, the hospital \u2018is one of the largest in south Asia\u2019, more than 200-years old. The author has rightly chosen and covered the activities of the hospital during 1950s, a turning point in the history of medical treatment of the mentally ill. It should interest intelligent lay persons and psychiatrists, particularly the younger generation, interested in historical aspects of development of a mental hospital services. The shrewdly selected 1950s was a crucial period of \u2018chemical revolution\u2019 in psychiatric management, when tranquilizers, antidepressants and anxiolytics were introduced. This had changed the face of mental hospitals, and \u2018psychiatry became more humane\u2019 and modern. As the author notes, \u201ca recall of the history of this hospital reflects the evolution in the management of mental diseases in South India during the last two centuries.\u201d \u2013 also true for India and many places in the world.The first edition of 2004 had nearly 80 pages, dealing with the developments during 1950s. In the second edition of 2008, 50 more pages are added as part-II, dealing with various developments from 1957\u20132007. Thus, the book has become an updated publication of contemporary value. A publication on historical aspects is difficult to be flawless. The possible inaccuracies have been minimized by certain approaches.The author worked in the hospital, for two decades, with three superintendents, from 1955\u20131978 with two gaps of total four years. First, for two years between 1956 and 1958, for postgraduate (PG) training in AIIMH, Bangalore; and the second one, for two years between 1960 and 1962, to UK under the Colombo plan. On his return, he started the speciality clinics, especially child guidance clinic. He is considered as \u2018Father of child psychiatry\u2019 in India. As a unique coincidence, the author's illustrious father was the President, Corporation of Madras, 1925 and was official visitor to this hospital.Authenticity is added to the book with original articles of two persons who were associated with the development of the hospital in part-1; and articles of three superintendents in part-2. First article of part-1 is of Dr. N. Subramaniam, first RMO of the hospital, while the second article is of Dr. A. S. Johnson, superintendent from 1949\u20131957.Part-2 has articles from three ex-superintendents: Dr. Sarada Menon,1961-1978; Dr. Ponnudurai, who has given a resume of the years from 1983\u20132007; and Dr. S. Nambi has covered comprehensively the role of the hospital in the activities of \u2018The Indian Psychiatric Society\u2019, appendix-III. Appendix-I has a list of illustrative deputy superintendents and medical officers of significance, with a note about them. Appendix-II has a useful write-up on Ancips-1957 conducted by the hospital.The part-1 of the book has eleven chapters. Chapter-1, \u2018The Beginnings of the Hospital\u2019 is an extract from the book \u2018Old Madras\u2019 of Justice W. S. Krishnaswami Naidu, president of the hospital advisory committee, 1977\u20131981; has a short note on how the institution began. Chapters 2 and 3 have been taken from the souvenir of the hospital centenary celebrated in 1971. Chapter-2 is the article of Dr. N. Subramaniam, first RMO of the hospital, from 1954 for 16 long years. He had contributed a lot to the hospital in the areas of patient care and streamlining the administration. He has depicted a coherent history of the institution from its inception. The article has a detailed in-depth thorough description of the contributions of authorities, including the four superintendents he worked with. Chapter-3, the article of Dr. A. S. Johnson, superintendent 1949\u20131957, surveys the developments of that period. Chapters 4\u201311 are contributions of the author himself. Chapter-4 covers admission procedures, services organized, and varieties of treatments offered in 1950s. Chapters 5\u201310 gives an insight of infrastructural facilities and services provided in various wards and blocks, for different categories of patients like the \u2018Back\u2019 wards for chronically ill patients, women, criminal patients, mentally challenged, and mentally ill leprosy and tuberculosis (TB) patients. Chapter-11 describes the roles of the hospital staff \u2013 doctors, nurses, warders, etc., and quarters provided for staff.Part-2 relates to 1957\u20132007, the next 50 years. The book has a thoughtful substantial contribution of 82 photos of the hospital blocks/wards, a ground plan of the hospital, and 29 photos of authorities up to 2007. The photographs are illustrative and educative, graphically reflecting the infrastructures and the activities of the hospital. Laborious effort must have gone into collecting them. Relevant photos of the blocks are suitably published at the end of each chapter. The hospital began functioning during the time of East India company, in 1794, as a modest private unit on a leased 45-acres land for 20 inmates and run by Dr. V. Connolly. Later Dr. Dalton, superintendent, rebuilt it, and had 54 inmates; it was popular as \u2018Dalton's Mad Hospital\u2019. In 1867, Government sanctioned a lunatic asylum on 66.5 acres of land. It functioned from 1871, having 145 inmates. In the year 1922, it was designated as \u2018Government Mental Hospital\u2019 in tune with the developments in psychiatric speciality; many developments followed thereafter. Dr. H. S. Hens man, superintendent 1924\u20131936, and Dr. G. R. Parasuram, deputy superintendent, improved the institution. They worked as a \u2018dual team\u2019 though had different temperaments. Dr. Hens man was a strict disciplinarian remembered for his morning hospital rounds as a \u2018religious ritual\u2019; and Dr. Parasuram builtup excellent tradition of doctor\u2013patient relationship. Dr. Dhairyam, superintendent 1939\u201349, took a lead role in facilitating \u2018voluntary board admissions\u2019 that modified the application of the Indian lunacy act, 1912, encouraging many other psychiatrists and institutions in India to follow it. He introduced convulsive therapy, Insulin Coma therapy, and trials of indigenous medicines. Dr. A. S. Johnson, 1949\u201357, improved standards of patient care, planned numerous expansions and improvements, and rearranged wards. \u2018Open hospital\u2019 system was introduced, removing physical restraints. He introduced decentralization \u2013 with 13 medical officers, each one independently in charge of a ward. Psychiatric outpatient clinics were introduced in the two General hospitals of Madras, to promote referrals and reduce overcrowding in the mental hospital. Indian Red Cross Society started a 12-months course in social work at the hospital to improve patient care. Undergraduate (UG) teaching of psychiatry, for two weeks, was also started. Dr. T. George, superintendent 1957\u201361, provided new drugs, active treatment for all patients, a psychologist, and a separate new TB ward. With starting of AIIMH, Bangalore, Dr. Bushanam and Dr. O. Somasundaram were deputed for PG studies, who then returned in 1958.Part-1: The author was himself a witness and contributor to many developments and could objectively describe the contents of the book in the chapters 4\u201311. Initially involuntary admissions later became more voluntary. Aggressive patients were isolated in single rooms. There were regularly 20\u201325 admissions. Treatment methods included pre-phenothiazine days, oral and parenteral barbiturates, paraldehyde, and chloral hydrate; Insulin coma therapy, Insulin histamine therapy for refractory schizophrenics, straight ECT's, injection Largactil;and serological test and LP for CSF examination in case of syphilitic patients. The \u2018Back\u2019 wards were for chronic cases. Care was custodial but humane.There was often a need for physical restraints and isolation in single rooms. There were separate blocks for patients with common problems in long-term care. Blocks were named, the \u2018Itch\u2019 for scabies, and \u2018Diarrhoea\u2019, \u2018Vigilance\u2019 for suicidal and homicidal cases. Separate wards were organized for women, mentally abnormal offenders, and psychiatric patients with mental retardation, leprosy, and TB.In the ward for criminal lunatics, impulsive and aggressive patients and cases of psychopathic temperament were also kept. On advice, the author injected two minims of turpentine to produce sterile abscess for the aggressive. The ward had a few cases of GPI, confirmed by serology and CSF with Lange's colloidal curve in the paretic, leutic forms. Penicillin replaced the arsenicals. For the mentally challenged cases, a \u2018school\u2019 was established. For Leprosy patients, expert's view was taken to separate the noninfective from infective cases. The author took the initiative and introduced antileprosy treatment \u2013 using chaulmoogra and hydnocarpus oils. For hypopigmented patches, intradermal ECCO injections were given, and antimony for lepromatous reactions. For TB cases, \u2018sanatoria\u2019 measures and treatment with Streptomycin, PAS, and Isoniacid were effective. Regarding the staff, the \u2018superintendent\u2019 had the key role, and was assisted by a deputy superintendent and medical officers. Initially, the attendants were designated as \u2018warders\u2019 \u2013 disturbed patients often manhandled. Things improved later, nurses were sanctioned and classes in psychiatric nursing introduced. After 1955, doctors and nurses were deputed for training in AIMH, Bangalore. Staff had quarters.Part-2, 1957\u20132007: Dr. Sarada Menon, superintendent 1961\u201378. A three-unit system, in the outpatient and inpatient, was a dynamic useful change from the vertical system to horizontal system of shared work, ensuring continuity and better standards of patient care. New introductions were diagnostic procedures, clinical societies, refresher courses for general practitioners, medical library, departments of clinical psychology, EEG, and radiology. More medical and regular staff was sanctioned. Various administrative buildings were added including the outpatient block, and \u2018day\u2019 and \u2018night\u2019 hospital services started. Temporary discharge system was promoted to send many more inpatients home. By effectively screening admissions and improving care and discharge procedures, she could bring down the number of occupants from 2800 to 1800, the sanctioned strength. Teaching psychiatry to UG medical students was enhanced from two to four weeks, and teaching was offered to social workers from various universities. Teaching was assigned to medical officers and regular staff meetings ensured shared responsibility and interaction.Also, part-2 of the book has an article on contribution of the author to the hospital development, as superintendent 1978\u20131983, besides his many-sided contributions from 1955\u20131978. The important events were: the beginnings of NMHP, increase in admission units from three to seven, MCI approval for Ph.D. training and for examinations in DPM and MD in psychiatry, hostel for PG students, two important \u2018the Madras Longitudinal Study\u2019 and \u2018ICMR sponsored mutlicentric study\u2019, course and outcome of schizophrenia, IPS conference 1982 in Madras, and release of the first Tamil book on psychiatry award winner \u201cPsychiatry and its modern treatment\u201d authored by Prof. O. Somasundaram and Dr. Jeyaramakrishnan.In the chapter on \u2018Introduction\u2019, the author takes a stand against Western trend of downsizing mental hospitals and the fashion of \u2018no more new mental hospitals\u2019. Rightly, he advocates \u2018well managed\u2019 small institutions. He is in favor of Italian model with good backup of community mental health services; and the approach of Japan, which continues to keep \u2018the so-called socially hospitalized patients\u2019 for social reasons, and not for clinical reasons. The useful role of general hospital psychiatry units and need for mental hospitals in India for rehabilitation services for the severely mentally ill, unlike in the West, has been well noted. An insightful objection is taken about \u2018unprecedented deinstitutionalization without community services\u2019 in West, resulting in patients turned homeless; a case of human right violation. The author hopes that the mental hospitals in India will receive better funding and modernization. Truly, this hospital has a place of distinction in South Asia for high standard of PG training in psychiatry. This commendable and resource book deserves to be should be kept, as a ready reckoner, in all the psychiatric centers in India. Keeping its long-term use in mind, I would like it to be a bound edition."}
+{"text": "Behningia baei, new species, is described from larvae taken in Thailand. The new species is differentiated from congeners primarily by its labial palps, labrum, and base of the mid legs. It is the first species of the genus Behningia, and only the second species of the family Behningiidae, to be taken from the Oriental biogeographic region. Larvae previously regarded as B. tshernovae Edmunds and Traver are considered to be assignable to B. lestagei Motas and Bacesco.A new species of primitive tuskless burrowing mayflies ,  Behningia . Other material: six middle instar larvae with same collecting data as holotype; three with same depostion as holotype, and three deposited in the Wilbur Enns Entomology Museum, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A. For comparative purposes we also examined larval material at Purdue of other Behningia species larvae as follows: B. lestagei Motas and Bacesco, Poland, Warta, Ostrowska, 11-VI-1960, 12-VI-1904; and B. sp. A, Poland, Warta, Kuczki, 22-VI-1958.Etymology: The species is named for Professor Jae Bae, our esteemed ephemeropterist colleague from Seoul, Korea.Behningia baei represents the only known species of the genus Behningia outside the Palearctic, and only the second species of Behningiidae known from the Orient, where Protobehningia merga Peters and Gillies is also known from Thailand. The cladistic evidence is compelling that Behningia and the Nearctic genus Dolania are sister genera and represent a clade opposite the more plesiotypic Protobehningia Tshernova   . The forB. baei with other species of Behningia are based on material we have of B. lestagei and a presumably unnamed species very similar or equivalent to B. ulmeri Lestage, which we refer to as B. sp. A, in addition to published data currently associated with Behningia larvae. As further shown below, no essential basis has been found for recognizing the larvae previously associated with B. tshernovae as being different than the larvae of B. lestagei. The type of B. tshernovae is based on adults figured by Tshernova . In B. sp. A, the emargination is somewhat deeper and more narrowly V shaped than in B. ulmeri. In B. lestagei , the emargination is shallow, narrower, and more U shaped than in B. ulmeri. One other feature that may be of some limited use in diagnosing B. baei is the size of the mid trochanter relative to the mid coxa. In B. baei (B. ulmeri (Figure 5b in B. sp. A, the trochanter is considerably longer than the coxa; whereas, in B. lestagei, the trochanter is highly reduced (Fig. 14 in We have also found the labrum to be of some use in distinguishing  B. baei , the lab B. baei , B. ulme"}
+{"text": "Computational biology can be considered a supradisciplinary field of knowledge that merges biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science into a broad-based science that is important to furthering our understanding of the life sciences. Although a relatively new area of research, it is recognized as a crucial field for scientific advancement in developing countries. This Perspective introduces our vision of the role of computational biology in biomedical research and teaching in Cuba. Except where individuals are directly quoted, any opinions expressed herein should be considered those of the authors.  This led to investment in computing resources in the main Cuban universities and research centers, providing Beowulf-like computer clusters for massive data processing, the inauguration of the National Bioinformatics Center (BIOINFO), and a joint effort to increase scientific human resources in a transdisciplinary way.The opportunity to perform good science and to obtain important results that would directly impact Cuban society was a strong motivator. Today this implies identifying scientific problems with the greatest impact on human health, environmental concerns, sustainable production of food, and so on.In addition to the investments made by different Cuban government agencies to create the above-mentioned significant computing facilities in some centers, a policy of establishing links to important foreign centers was promoted with scientific institutions in the United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and Spain. There are also scientific joint programs of co-tutorial doctorate education with Spain in this field. This cooperation encourages not only the exchange of scientific results of mutual benefit, but also graduate and Ph.D. education, mostly involving short-term student exchanges.Based on this framework, Cuban researchers have organized and attended different seminars and international activities focused on computational biology in the last few years. These meetings, summarized in One of them, the Seminars of Advanced Studies on Molecular Design, organized by the laboratory of one of the authors (LAM) at the University of Havana, has been held since 1986. In the beginning, these seminars were mostly dedicated to theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling. Since 2002, they have focused on life science applications. These meetings have provided a great opportunity to join top-level specialists and Ph.D. students for stimulating presentations and discussions. Among the oldest activities are the biotechnology congresses, sponsored by the CIGB, which began to include relevant computational biology topics in the late 1990s.These international activities also led to the organization of national meetings, such as the Colloquium on Systems Biology in Cuba: Challenges and Opportunities, held at the University of Havana in 2004, and the National Seminar on Bioinformatics, held at the Center of Molecular Immunology in 2005. Binational meetings have also been held with specialists from the UK, France, Belgium, and Spain, promoting very fruitful discussions with Cuban science leaders and graduate students.Almost all of the computational biology specialists leading research groups in Cuba hold a Ph.D. degree. Most performed their Ph.D. work only partly in Cuba, with the majority of the work done in Europe and to a lesser extent in Mexico and Brazil. The backgrounds of these scientists cover: sequence and 3-D structure analysis, functional residue prediction, comparative 3-D modelling, molecular dynamics simulations, molecular docking, mathematical model of T cell\u2013mediated suppression, and studies of transcriptional regulation networks, as well as statistical and programming skills.Interestingly, this initial group of computational biology specialists graduated in different fields , rather than in computational and biological disciplines as occurs in other places . In receThe diversity of graduating fields in computational biology explains the wide range of subjects and research topics currently under development in Cuba. These topics include: systems biology, the use of mathematical and statistical approaches to neurobiology, structure-based drug design, proteomics and genomics, mathematical biology, phylogenetic analysis of species unique to the region, protein\u2013protein and protein\u2013membrane interactions, computational genomics, protein design, and parallel processing of large datasets. A list of universities and research institutes developing comprehensive computational biology activities in the country is shown in To develop a new multidisciplinary field of research in a country like Cuba, as elsewhere, requires the promotion and sponsorship of Master's and Ph.D. programs, either in Cuba or in foreign countries where the science is better developed.Following this approach, four institutions\u2014the Virtual Center of Bioinformatics, the Faculty of Biology at the University of Havana, BIOINFO, and the Central University of Las Villas\u2014have created Master's and Ph.D. programs. The Virtual Center of Bioinformatics at the University of Havana also established conditions for national and international cooperative doctorate education. These programs have produced new scientific leaders, fast and relatively costless high-tech research results benefiting not only Cuban but also international cooperating institutions, and long-term cooperative projects.Considering the role of computational biology in biomedical discovery, food production, agricultural research, and education, Cuban scientists view these programs as very important. Additionally, through this program, computational biology teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels is receiving special attention. The first attempt at undergraduate education was an accelerated course on bioinformatics, organized by the CIGB, the Cuban Neuroscience Center, the University of Havana, and the Institute for Nuclear Sciences and Technology (ISCTN) for outstanding students in their final years of various majors.At present, several career curricula from different Cuban universities include computational biology\u2013related topics. For example, all undergraduate students of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Havana take computer science, operating systems, elementary programming, and statistical courses as part of their basic training. In the case of the biochemistry major, as explained by Dr. Mayra Tejuca during the Third Symposium on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held in Havana in October 2006, the new biochemistry study plan will allow students to choose other courses. These courses will include: Introduction to Bioinformatics, Computation, Advanced Statistics, Computational Study of Proteins, Computational Genomics, and Introduction to Systems Biology. Similarly, a computational engineering major at the University of Informatics Sciences (UCI) has an undergraduate curriculum that includes natural sciences. The purpose is to prepare engineers for interacting with basic field scientists to perform research and development on biological systems.At the postgraduate level, an M.Sc. degree course organized by ISCTN in collaboration with the UCI is under development. Furthermore, three international cosponsored programs for a Ph.D. degree have been established. The first one, developed by the Universit\u00e4t Hasselt, Germany, and the University of Havana, Cuba, will provide a Ph.D. degree in Statistical Medicine and Bioinformatics. The second one, sponsored by the University of Valencia, Spain, and the Institute of Technology \u201cJos\u00e9 A. Echeverr\u00eda,\u201d Cuba, will provide a Ph.D. degree on Parallel and Distributed Processing on Computers and Development of GRID Applications for Bioinformatics. Finally, the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and the University of Havana have recently initiated a cosponsored Ph.D. program in Bioinformatics. More recently, a Ph.D. program in Molecular Biosciences with new knowledge fields in Structural Biology, Bioinformatics, and Systems Biology has been initiated at the Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, sponsored by the CIGB and the Center of Molecular Immunology.We believe that these meetings and teaching activities will provide more biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and chemists with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in bioinformatics, while fewer and fewer jobs are available in these more traditional disciplines. With an increased number of computational biologists with M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees, Cuba will hopefully host future meetings and contribute to scientific progress in computational biology.Computational biology represents a significant opportunity for a country like Cuba, where highly qualified human resources are available but funds to invest in equipment are scarce. In addition, the decentralized and noncompetitive cooperation between scientists and scientific institutions that has been budding recently creates a starting point for a promising national research field whose results will be useful not only scientifically, but for Cuban society as well. In the course of these developments, disciplinary barriers are being overcome, with scientists as educators implementing multidisciplinary programs in higher education. They have been reflected in the newest study plans for the Faculties of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at the University of Havana that began in 2006. Thus, Cuba appears to be on the way to making a significant contribution to this new field of computational biology.\u2002Tirso Pons Hern\u00e1ndez is the founder and group leader of the Laboratory of Computational Biology and Protein Design at the Center for Protein Studies, University of Havana. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Nuclear Physics from the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Havana, in 1991, and received a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Havana in 2003. He is also adjunct professor at the University of Havana Biochemistry Department, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Bioinformatics. Dr. Pons was a visiting scientist at Dr. Alfonso Valencia's lab (CNB-CSIC) at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and at Dr. Gert Vriend's lab at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. He is a member of the Cuban Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and has also received an invitation to become a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. Dr. Pons has received five Biomedical Science awards from the Cuban Academy of Sciences related to his scientific research.Luis Alberto Montero-Cabrera has been Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Havana since 1983. He graduated from the University of Havana in 1969 and got his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, in 1980, before returning to Cuba and founding the Laboratory of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Havana in 1986. Professor Montero teaches computer science for chemists in theoretical and physical chemistry, and has published abundantly in peer-reviewed journals in his fields of research, including science policy. He is chairman of the Scientific Council of the University of Havana 2006\u20132010 and has taught postgraduate courses in seven countries within Europe and in America, as well as authoring or adapting more than 15 computer programs in theoretical chemistry. Professor Montero has been awarded the honorary degrees \u201cCarlos J. Finlay\u201d for scientific research and \u201cFrank Pa\u00eds\u201d for education. Both recognitions are among the highest Cuban national awards.Juan P. Febles Rodr\u00edguez has worked as a Computing Professor at the Universidad de Matanzas since 1974. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from the Central University of Las Villas, Santa Clara, in 1974, and received a Ph.D. in Informatics from the Institute of Technology \u201cJos\u00e9 Antonio Echevarr\u00eda,\u201d Havana, in 1986. He took postgraduate courses at the Instituto Superior Polit\u00e9cnico de M\u00e9xico (1979\u20131980) and at the Erevan Institute of Technology in Armenia (1984). In September 1996, he began working as Advisor at the Centro de Cibern\u00e9tica Aplicada a la Medicina, Instituto Superior de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas, Havana, and was appointed Head of the Center in December 1997. He also teaches M.Sc. and Ph.D. courses in several universities in Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and Guatemala. In the last five years, he has developed research projects in the areas of artificial intelligence, medical informatics, distance education, bioinformatics, and computer networks. He is currently Head of the National Scientific Program for Information Technology and a member of several national scientific groups. \u2022 Centro de Cibern\u00e9tica Aplicada a la Medicinahttp://www.cecam.sld.cu/\u2022 Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnologyhttp://bio.cigb.edu.cu/index.htmlhttp://www.biocomp.cigb.edu.cu/\u2022 Center of Molecular Immunologyhttp://www.cim.sld.cu/\u2022 Centro de Qu\u00edmica Farmac\u00e9uticahttp://www.cqf.sld.cu/\u2022 Cuban Neuroscience Centerhttp://www.cnic.edu.cu/\u2022 National Bioinformatics Centerhttp://www.bioinfo.cu/\u2022 Centro Nacional de Gen\u00e9tica M\u00e9dicahttp://www.sld.cu/sitios/genetica/\u2022 Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuariahttp://www.censa.edu.cu/\u2022 Finlay Institutehttp://www.finlay.sld.cu/\u2022 Instituto Superior de Tecnolog\u00edas y Ciencias Aplicadashttp://instec.bioinfo.cu/\u2022 Institute of Technology \u201cJos\u00e9 Antonio Echeverr\u00eda\u201dhttp://www.cujae.edu.cu/\u2022 Central University of Las VillasFaculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Scienceshttp://www.mfc.uclv.edu.cu/\u2022 University of HavanaFaculty of Chemistryhttp://www.fq.uh.cu/investig/lqct/Faculty of Biologyhttp://fbio.uh.cu/bioinfo/http://fbio.uh.cu/cep/index.html\u2022 Universidad de Orientehttp://www.uo.edu.cu/"}
+{"text": "Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. The disease is responsible for serious economic losses to the equine industry. It principally affects donkeys, horses, mules, and zebra but DNA of the parasites has also been detected in dogs and camels raising doubt about their host specificity. The disease is endemic in tropical and temperate regions of the world where the competent tick vectors are prevalent. Infected equids remain carrier for life with T. equi infection, whilst, infection with B. caballi is cleared within a few years. This review focuses on all aspects of the disease from the historical overview, biology of the parasite, epidemiology of the disease , vector, clinical manifestations, risk factors, immunology, genetic diversity, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan protozoan parasites,  Babesia and Theileria . T. T23]. Tlication . The firlication   was unable to control parasitaemaia due to T. equi [T. equi. Furthermore, equine peripheral blood lymphocytes have the capacity to proliferate in the presence of T. equi lymphoblastoid transformed stimulator cells [in vitro. In addition, a delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity and inhibition of leukocytic migration was observed in donkeys infected by T. equi [T. equi infection in equines. Furthermore, a direct relationship seems to exist between the antibody titers and parasitemia in horses [T. equi produces antibodies against equine merozoite antigens (EMAs) which are proteins highly expressed on merozoites [Adaptive immunity could be vital for the successful protection against EP mostly by derstood ,38. Expe T. equi . This wa T. equi . It was or cells . Finding T. equi . Observan horses . Horses rozoites . T. equi whereas IgG(T), majorly IgG5 and to a lesser extent IgG3 levels increase during chronic infection when the level of parasitemia is low [Seven unique equine immunoglobulin G have been discovered in the equine genome. Their roles in antibody response during infection and persistence is yet to be elucidated . Immunoga is low . These aa is low . These aB. caballi is lacking as compared to T. equi infected horses. In endemic areas, maternal antibodies in colostrum protect the young foals from infection in their first 1\u20135 months. In most cases, they can be protected until 9 months of age [B. caballi infection. In experimental B. caballi infection in horses, it was observed that nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF\u2013\u03b1) and other cytokines enhanced protective response when produced in optimal amount that neutralized the parasites [Information on protective immunity against s of age . When ths of age . Finallyarasites .T. equi and B. caballi respectively [Following tick transmission, the incubation period is approximately 15 and 20 days for ectively . In endeectively . Manifesectively . Clinicaectively . Donkeysectively ,44. In aectively . Most equids regardless of the clinical form of infection exhibit some degree of anemia which is the result of hemolysis of infected erythrocytes. At the initial stage, it is normocytic followed by macrocytic as the number of reticulocytes increases in circulation . The eryT. equi infection.Biochemical changes associated with infection with EP have been investigated in several studies involving equids. Fluctuations in these parameters are affected by a whole range of factors such as exercise, nutrition, weather, hydration status, concurrent presence of other infectious or non-infectious agents, and the general state of health of the study subjects most especially under natural conditions. This could be responsible for the various variations reported by different researchers. A significant decrease in the total protein and an increase in bilirubin, aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), creatinine kinase and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was observed in racing horses clinically affected by babesiosis . In anotB. caballi and T. equi) in Spain had higher serum bilirubin, Urea, AST, GGT, and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations. They attributed the higher increase in the bilirubin concentrations to be an indication of hemolytic anemia which is a characteristic of EP. In another study, increased bilirubin, alteration of serum phosphorus and hypoalbuminemia was observed in equine piroplasmosis [Furthermore, Camacho et al.  reportedlasmosis . Concluslasmosis . Death usually occurs in the peracute form due to multi organ dysfunction which may be unconnected with systemic intravascular coagulation . Other fLesions observed following histopathology includes centrilobular necrosis of the liver and microthrombi within the liver and lungs . In addiB. caballi and T. equi. Conformation alteration in the erythrocyte membrane protein and lipid content lead to reduced microvascular blood flow [T. equi infection. While as in the case of B. caballi infection, microvascular occlusion has been observed due to clumping of parasitized erythrocytes [T. equi and B. caballi infection [Hemolytic anemia is one of the consequences of the infection of the erythrocytes by the blood parasites ood flow . Also, tood flow . Continuhrocytes . Thrombonfection . The patnfection . A schemB. caballi and T. equi) is dependent on the availability of competent tick vectors that are capable of transmitting these pathogens to equines . Various attempts have been made in recent times to list tick species that have been implicated as competent vectors responsible for transmission of EP parasites in the equidae [Hyalomma, Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus are the three well known vectors that have been incriminated as the biological vector for T. equi and B. caballi [Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis and Ixodes are suspected but not confirmed [Ticks play a vital role in the stable maintenance and natural transmission of the piroplasms involved in equine piroplasmosis. The global distribution and spread of EP  and  respectively. In addition, Qablan et al., [B. caballi. Bhoora et al., [T. equi group  in Jordan [T. equi groups  in Switzerland [T. equi in zebra than horses in South Africa. Only recently, Manna et al.,  reported and A, B, and B2  et al.,  in South et al., ,116,118 tzerland . One inttzerland ,114. Furtzerland . These ftzerland ,119 on ttzerland  observedConclusively, genetic diversity plays an important role in influencing disease transmission, pathogenicity and the degree of sensitivity of the diagnostic system . B. caballi and T. equi, which are responsible for EP in equines, were traditionally thought to be highly host-specific [According to Criado-Fornelio et al., , \u201cthe unspecific . Recent specific ,123,124.T. equi was amplified in a South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris) [Molecular techniques with sequencing of the PCR products have enabled the detection of these piroplasmids in other animal species outside the traditional equids  such as in dogs ,125,126 restris) . The epiIn vitro cultures of blood from suspected EP parasite infection are also useful if parasitemia is low in the animal [In vitro culture has been employed successfully for the identification of B. caballi and T. equi in blood samples in carrier equids [Microscopy is one of the readily available techniques for the identification of parasites within the erythrocytes if they are present. This can be achieved with the use of a thin blood smear stained with any of the Romanosky\u2019s stains most especially 10% Giemsa solution . It is me animal . In vitrr equids . The onlB. caballi and T. equi piroplasms. Some of these diagnostic assays include the compliment fixation test (CFT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the immunochromatographic test (ICT), Western blot, and indirect immunofluorescence assay [Several serological assays have been developed to increase diagnostic sensitivity in equids chronically infected with ce assay ,132. Eacce assay . Serologce assay . NeverthB. caballi and T. equi infected horses [T. equi and B. caballi) [This technique remains the serologic test of choice for the confirmation of EP. In the recent past, it used to be the officially acceptable test recommended by OIE for the screening of horses before entering EP free nations . This asd horses ,134. Somcaballi) ,135. CFTB. caballi or T. equi, antibody responses occur at about 3\u201320 days post infection and can still be detected during the chronic period of infection [The IFAT is more sensitive as compared to CFT. It also has high specificity and it is a supplementary test when the results obtained by CFT are inconclusive ,18. The nfection . Test seT. equi infection was developed by Knowles et al [T. equi EMA-1 and monoclonal antibodies that are specific [T. equi. EMA-1 is a protein found on the surface of erythrocytes infected specifically with T. equi and possesses an epitope that is conserved worldwide and is immunodominant [T. equi can be detected with cELISA at day 21 after experimental infection and 5 weeks post tick transmission [B. caballi compared to CFT [B. caballi and T. equi before international transport to non-endemic nations [Antibodies to parasites responsible for EP can be detected using ELISA, although, cross-reactivity is not uncommon . The usees et al  in 1991 specific . It is tdominant . Infectesmission . Productsmission . In an ed to CFT . FinallyThe ICT is based on lateral/capillary flow technique whereby antibodies or antigens are mounted on a paper strip or nitrocellulose membrane . The ICTB. caballi and T. equi infections in equids and tick vectors. It augments diagnostic results and therefore is regarded as a supplement to microscopy and serology. Variations of PCR including conventional PCR, nested PCR, real-time PCR, and reverse line blot hybridization have been employed in various epidemiological investigation of EP [T. equi and B. caballi respectively and further reported that they have superior detection efficiency as compared to in vitro cultures and conventional PCR [Detection of pathogens using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more sensitive than any other methods and is best for diagnosis of animals in chronic infection with EP. It has been extensively used in research settings for the detection of both on of EP ,113,118.on of EP . Alhassaon of EP  developeonal PCR . The useT. equi are more difficult to treat than B. caballi infections [B. caballi and T. equi infections [T. equi and B. caballi parasites during the chronic stage of infection [B. caballi is 2 mg/kg in two doses at 24 h interval and 4 mg/kg in four doses at 72 h interval for T. equi [in vitro, clotrimazole, ketoconazole, and clodinafop-propargyl [Treatment of equids with EP is a means of reducing the clinical signs and case fatality rate. Infection with fections . A few dfections . Howeverfections  but in nfections . The usenfection . Accordinfection , the rec T. equi . All tre T. equi , and oxy T. equi . Althougropargyl ; artesunropargyl , as wellropargyl ,145.Successful control and prevention of EP is dependent on the proper control of the vectors. This remains a big challenge more especially in tropical and subtropical regions. The use of acaricides has been widely adopted for the control of the vector while prophylactic treatment of horses has also been adopted by the locals in some endemic areas. This method has helped to a great extent in reducing the burden of tick infestation on susceptible animals. In the short term, tick control on horses and donkeys has been achieved using classes of acaricides such as organophosphates, pyrethroids, and amidines . Isolated cases have been reported mostly linked to blood contaminated equipment or due to blood transfusions ,45. TherIt is becoming glaringly obvious that many disease pathogens that affect the health of livestock, human, wildlife and even plants globally are transmitted via specific arthropod vectors. Unarguably, the first arthropods to be recognized as vectors of disease to humans and animals were ticks . Tick-boBabesia caballi and Theileria equi which were thought initially to only specifically affect equines but recently DNA of these piroplasms has been detected in dogs and camels [Recent evidence has proved otherwise from the earlier belief that piroplasms were host specific. d camels ,127. TheAdditionally, the complex interwoven relationship contributing to the increase in arthropod vectors and vector-borne disease patterns is unequivocally linked to climate change. The distribution of ticks is intertwined to climatic factors such as humidity, temperature, vegetation cover, and land use among others. Climate change related to global warming is expected to influence the distribution of vectors and reservoir hosts which will ultimately affect the epidemiology of the vector-borne pathogens . In receFinally, there is an urgent need to search for alternative biomolecules that will assist to overcome the current problems of acaricide resistance due to inappropriate application and use and treatment failures because of the development of pathogen resistance to the available drugs. This has a resultant perpetuation of infection in the ticks for na\u00efve equids to become infected. Furthermore, veterinarians with expertise in equine medicine are few, more especially in resource poor countries where local quacks without the requisite training are involved in the treatment and management of diseases of equines. Effects of global warming and climate change on the distribution of tick vectors will need to be monitored as this might result in further distribution of EP into new territories. With the 4th Industrial revolution on the horizon, developing countries need to step up on the use of modern technology for control of EP, by this era the majority of EP endemic countries should be using a combination of conventional microscopy, molecular diagnostic techniques, geographical information system (GIS), drones, mathematical modelling to mention but a few techniques for the monitoring of control strategies against EP vectors and the disease itself."}
+{"text": "Tengchong County was one of the counties located at the China-Myanmar border with high malaria incidence in the previous decades. As the pilot county for malaria elimination at the border area, Tengchong County is aiming to be the first county to achieve malaria elimination goal. A cross-sectional entomological survey was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of elimination approach and assess the receptivity of malaria reintroduction.Light traps associated with live baits were used to investigate the abundance of adult mosquitoes in nine villages in Tengchong County. Light traps were set to collect adult mosquitoes in both human houses and cowsheds from dusk till dawn in each site.Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from May to December in two villages. Of the mosquitoes were captured, 24.2% were in human houses and 75.8% in cowsheds. The peak of abundance occurred in July for An. sinensis and in September-October for An. minimus (s.l.) Ten Anopheles species were collected, the most prevalent being An. sinensis (50.3%), An. peditaeniatus (31.6%) and An. minimus (s.l.) (15.8%), contributing to 97.6% of the sample. Potential breeding sites were also investigated and a total of 407 larvae were collected, with An. sinensis (50.1%) and An. minimus (s.l.) (46.2%) as predominant species. Ponds and rice fields were the two preferred breeding sites for Anopheles mosquitoes; however, the difference between the number of adults and larvae captured suggest other breeding sites might exist. Both An. sinensis and An. minimus (s.l.) were found zoophilic with human blood index as 0.21 and 0.26, respectively. No Plasmodium positive Anopheles specimens were found by PCR among 4,000 trapped mosquitoes.A total of 4948 adult An. sinensis, associated to rice fields, is particularly worrying. Sustained entomological surveillance is strongly suggested even after malaria elimination certification.Although no indigenous malaria cases have been reported in Tengchong County since 2013, there is still a risk from the presence of vectors in the context of human population movements from neighboring malaria endemic areas. The presence of  Malaria is the deadliest vector-borne disease in tropical and subtropical areas, with a number of confirmed cases estimated at 216 million with 445,000 deaths in 2016 . HoweverTengchong County (TCC) is located in the southwest of Yunnan Province at the China-Myanmar border Fig. . Because2 with a population of 6.68 million inhabitants and an international borderline with Myanmar of 148 km . Mountains cover 84% of the territory with a maximum elevation of 3780 m  around the selected villages were investigated for larvae. The hand dipper sampling method was used to collect larvae  [28S rDNA sequences were run to identify the sibling species of the An. minimus, An. culicifacies and An. fluviatilis complexes and An. maculatus group [All potential terbody) . The morus group \u201324.Anopheles species were aggregated to analyze seasonal fluctuations. The resting behavior and breeding preference of adult mosquitoes were explored by analyzing the adult and larval composition in each study place. The adult population density for each Anopheles species was calculated as the number of females per trap per night (f/t/n). The overall (pooled) Anopheles density was calculated by summing captured individuals of all Anopheles species. Species richness was measured by the number of species and the indices described below. Generally, species diversity is an indicator of the wellbeing of an ecosystem [Monthly abundance data of each cosystem . Simpsoncosystem . The larThe indices were calculated as follows:Simpson\u2019s diversity index: pi\u00d7ln\u2009piShannon-Wiener\u2019s index: H\u2009=\u2009\u2009\u2212\u2211\u2009pi is the fraction of a species which belongs to the i-th species and N is the number of species (pi\u2009=\u2009Ni/N).where H/\u2009ln\u2009SEvenness index: E\u2009=\u2009H is the Shannon-Wiener\u2019s diversity index and S is the total number of species observed in a given place.where Plasmodium spp. test while the abdomen was used for blood-meal identification. DNA extraction was conducted with QIAamp DNA Mini Kit  according to the supplier. PCR tests for blood source identification were conducted as previously described [Captured mosquitoes were dissected into different segments under light microscope. The head and thorax were separated for escribed \u201329. PrimMosquitoes were collected by six collectors using an aspirator in different locations, including human houses and cowsheds Fig. . The colhttp://www.gadm.org). The relief model was prepared using SRTM 90m digital elevation data v4.1 [Administrative spatial data were obtained from the GADM database of Global Administrative Areas (ata v4.1 . Land coata v4.1 . Data weThe diversity of species measured by the Simpson\u2019s diversity index (D) and the Shannon-Wiener\u2019s index (H), both for human houses and cowsheds, was at the highest in Man Lve and Nong Ling at the beginning of the fall, i.e. September-October, although the trend was already visible in August Table . The divAn. sinensis , An. minimus (s.l.)  and to a lower extent An. peditaeniatus . Three other species were collected, i.e. An. splendidus , An. culicifacies (s.l.)  and An. aconitus , but in very limited numbers. Anopheles sinensis was mostly present from June to August with a peak in July but remained present until November  was less prevalent but displayed a bimodal curve with two peaks in July and September. Anopheles peditaeniatus was recorded only from July to October with a maximum plateau in August and September. The survey of mosquito prevalence in cowsheds yielded a slightly different pattern  and An. peditaeniatus, but with different ratios than in human houses. Anopheles sinensis was still the most prevalent , followed by An. peditaeniatus  and An. minimus (s.l.) . Three more species were detected in cowsheds at a lower extent: An. splendidus , An. culicifacies (s.l.)  and An. argyropus . The main three species were recorded for the same period as in human houses. An. sinensis was mostly present from June to September with a peak in July; An. peditaeniatus was recorded from July to October, with a peak in August, and An. minimus (s.l.) displayed the same bimodal curve with peaks in July and September  were not found in Man Lve.The collection of adult mosquitoes in the village of Man Lve Fig.  was condern Fig. . The firber Fig. . Anopheln = 479) was in the same range as in Man Lve, with the same three main species, i.e. An. sinensis , An. peditaeniatus , and An. minimus (s.l.) . Unlike in houses in Man Lve, An. peditaeniatus was the second most prevalent species. The main difference was the population size in cowsheds: 22 in Man Lve and 112 in Nong Ling , although less than in Man Lve. The ratio between cowsheds and houses in Nong Ling was only 2.4 (1169/479). The most prevalent species in cowsheds was An. peditaeniatus  followed by An. sinensis  and An. minimus (s.l.)   displayed a plateau covering September and October. Beside these three dominant species, four more species were also collected such as An. culicifacies (s.l.) , An. liangshanensis , An. maculatus (s.l.) and An. splendidus  in human houses. Anopheles aconitus and An. argyropus, rare in Man Lve, were not found in Nong Ling.Adult mosquitoes were collected in the village of Nong Ling Fig.  over the69) Fig. . The bimAn. sinensis , An. peditaeniatus  and An. minimus (s.l.) . They contributed for 97.7% of the total Anopheles mosquitoes collected. An. sinensis was the predominant species in both human houses  and cowsheds . However, An. minimus (s.l.) was the second largest mosquito species in human houses . The PCR analysis of the 647 specimens of An. minimus (s.l.) indicated that 64.8% (419/647) were An. harrisoni (former An. minimus species C [An. minimus (former An. minimus species A) , while 79.9% were isolated from cowsheds (686/859) ; Yan Si (n = 123); Man Lve (n = 184); and Nong Ling (n = 306). The most frequent species in the 9 villages were also An. sinensis , An. minimus (s.l.)  and An. peditaeniatus . Anopheles sinensis was found in all the sites investigated and An. minimus (s.l.) in all but one site, Man Duo  and 35.Plasmodium parasite was detected in any captured mosquitoes (Table An. sinensis and 194 were An. minimus (s.l.) With respect to An. sinensis, 88 individuals (87.1%) were parous while 180 (92.8%) An. minimus (s.l.) mosquitoes were also found parous.No es Table . Out of An. sinensis was found more zoophilic (27.3%) than An. minimus (s.l.) (10.7%). Anopheles minimus (s.l.) displayed more mixed blood meals, either animal/animal (13.1%) or animal/human (14.3%) than An. sinensis  (Table An. sinensis and An. minimus (s.l.) are 0.21 (28/132) and 0.26 (44/168), respectively.A total of 300 blood samples from trapped mosquitoes were tested. y) Table . The humAnopheles species were identified among the fourth instar larvae and pupae collected , i.e. An. sinensis, An. minimus (s.l.), An. culicifacies (s.l.) and An. peditaeniatus. Anopheles sinensis  and An. minimus (s.l.)  were the predominant species , pool, ditch and rice field  is one of the major malaria endemic counties in Yunnan Province with both smission , 14, 18.smission . After 2Anopheles species or complexes were previously recorded as predominant malaria vector in TCC, i.e. An. minimus (s.l.), An. dirus (s.l.), An. sinensis and An. liangshanensis (syn. An. kunmingensis) [P. falciparum malaria with a local transmission in TCC at high altitude (> 1700 m), due to its greater susceptibility to P. falciparum compared to P. vivax [An. liangshanensis populations in line with the number of local P. falciparum malaria cases [Anopheles dirus was found neither at the adult nor larval stage in this study. This indicates that the population density of An. dirus has decreased and might now play a negligible role in malaria transmission. Similar results were reported in neighboring counties [An. dirus initially present as the primary malaria vector has disappeared [An. dirus might not only be due to vector control activities (particularly the use of LLIN/ITN) but also to the destruction of breeding sites such as forests to develop plantations of cash crops.Four ngensis) , 44. TheP. vivax . Howeveria cases , 46. Anocounties  and in Hcounties  where Anappeared , 43. TheAn. sinensis was found to be the predominant species in both human houses and cowsheds. This differs significantly from previous reports from neighboring counties [An. minimus (s.l.) was the predominant taxon. This is particularly important because An. sinensis displays specific traits making it a potential threat for malaria elimination. First, An. sinensis is associated with rice fields [An. sinensis has been reported as resistant to insecticides such as pyrethroids and Malathion [An. sinensis displayed a similar tropism to humans as An. minimus (s.l.). These traits, combined with the predominant abundance of An. sinensis in TCC, are major concerns for the success and sustainability of malaria elimination. The exact role of An. sinensis in malaria transmission in TCC and, more widely in Yunnan Province, should then be thoroughly investigated. Moreover, regular movements of populations across the China-Myanmar border, owing to the existence of endemic malaria in Myanmar [An. sinensis. This threat must thus be further assessed and modeled while scenarios of risk management must be developed. Furthermore, An. minimus (s.l.), another malaria vector in TCC, was consistently found in this study with two peaks of density during the year. A large part of the An. minimus (s.l.) population (64.8%) belonged to An. harrisoni. This could explain the lower local malaria transmission in TCC since An. harrisoni was reported to be more exophagic and zoophilic than An. minimus, its sibling species [An. harrisoni was also reported to be more adaptable to the environmental changes and flexible in its trophic behavior than An. minimus [An. minimus and An. harrisoni was reported to be a consequence of vector control measures in Southeast Asia [An. minimus (s.l.) found in this study may have resulted from vector control measures, as well as environmental changes increasing the proportions of An. harrisoni versus An. minimus. Unfortunately, PCR techniques for identification of the Anopheles complexes were not used in previous routine surveillance and there is thus a lack of detailed information about the initial distribution of An. minimus (s.l.) [An. minimus (s.l.) This indicates that more detailed integrative analyses should be conducted to better understand the mechanisms involved in the dynamic of vector populations. A closer attention should also be brought to PCR species identification, an approach to be implemented in routine surveillance at malaria elimination stage and post-elimination stage. Despite the decrease of population density of An. minimus (s.l.) in TCC, the ecological behavior such as resting or blood-seeking behavior was found to be similar as previously described prior to population decrease [An. sinensis and An. minimus (s.l.) in potentiating malaria transmission should not be ignored. Owing to its zoophilic diet preference and considering the lack of competence for transmission of malaria parasites, An. peditaeniatus was not previously reported as a malaria vector [P. falciparum in one specimen of An. peditaeniatus was recently confirmed by ELISA in Indonesia [An. peditaeniatus was the second largest population of adult mosquitoes found in this study, further investigation should thus be conducted to monitor the risk of malaria transmission by this species in TCC. Another aspect to consider is the discrepancy between the number of adults and larvae of An. peditaeniatus captured. Only three fouth-instar larvae of An. peditaeniatus were identified out of 199 Anopheles larvae indicating a very low prevalence in all the breeding sites investigated. Conversely, there is a high prevalence of adults in cowsheds. This suggests that the actual breeding sites of this species were most likely missed. It is therefore essential to investigate thoroughly all possible breeding sites for An. peditaeniatus.In this study, counties , where Ae fields  and theralathion , 49. Thi Myanmar , 6, incr species , 50\u201352.  minimus , 53\u201355, ast Asia . Comprehast Asia . The coms (s.l.) . It is tdecrease . Furthera vector . Howeverndonesia . Since AAn. peditaeniatus was found in large number in only three localities out of nine and at low level in two more. The two main vectors, An. sinensis and An. minimus (s.l.), were present in all localities and in all but one, respectively. Nevertheless, the main difference is the species richness and the number of individuals between human houses and cowsheds, which might be linked to Anopheles blood preference or more favorable living conditions. Although some predominant Anopheles species are known as zoophilic, a reduction of livestock may favor malaria re-emergence as some species are quite ubiquitous like An. sinensis [Environmental factors should also be considered when conducting entomological survey. sinensis . Furthersinensis .Plasmodium-infected mosquito was found, the high parous rate of An. sinensis (87.1%) and An. minimus (s.l.) (92.8%) suggests a high daily survival probability [An. minimus complex and An. sinensis across TCC and the border areas; (iii) Evaluation of the length of the possible transmission season for P. falciparum and P. vivax; and (iv) Evaluation of the vectorial capacity of An. minimus, An. harrisoni and An. sinensis.Although no bability . ContinuAnopheles populations, and the risk posed by secondary vectors and insecticide resistance, further efforts should be devoted to surveillance, monitoring and development of scenarios for timely response to imported malaria cases. A specific attention should be paid to local environments and variation of vector prevalence when developing scenarios. Large-scale analysis might not be accurate and reliable enough. Precise actions from both local CDC and national program at this border area will be essential for the success of sustainable malaria elimination.TCC was granted the malaria elimination certificate by Yunnan provincial authorities in 2016. However, considering the increasing mobility of the local populations, the border location with Myanmar, the positive vector competence of local"}
+{"text": "Lutjanus analis and 19 of Lutjanus jocu, of which 46 isopods from 3 different species were collected, i.e. Rocinela signata, Cymothoa excisa, and Excorallana richardsoni. The species R. siganata and E. richardsoni are reported for the first time in L. jocu. A significant relationship between the parasite R. signata and the size of the fish L. jocu was also observed. The isopod C. excisa is considered an incidental finding in L. analis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of this species in fish from Brazil. The three species of isopods are new occurrences in the State of Sergipe, northeast region of the country. An additional morphological characteristic observed in the dorsal setae of pleotelson in specimens of E. richardsoni was that one end of this structure wws bifid. This information contributes to the current body of knowledge of the morphology of this particular species.Parasitic isopod species are poorly known in the northeastern coast of Brazil. In this sense, this study presents novel records of Isopoda of the families Aegidae, Cymothoidae, and Corallanidae. A total 69 specimens of Lutjanus analis  - and the \u201cDent\u00e3o\u201d - Lutjanus jocu . These two species are important fish resources in the State of Sergipe, northeast region of the country [Lutjanidae is a family of cosmopolitan fish that occur most often in regions of tropical and subtropical seas of Australia, Africa, North America and South America. In Brazil, several species of this family are widely explored by artisanal fishermen. Because of their generalistic carnivorous behavior, they play an important role in the ecological control of other populations in reef environments of coral reefs. On the Brazilian tropical coast, 15 species of fish belonging to Lutjanidae have been reported including the \u201cCi\u00f3ba\u201d - country . BesidesCuvier, 128 - and  country \u201314. HoweFor this survey, fish were purchased monthly according to the supply and availability at the Municipal Fishing Terminal of Aracaju, SE, Brazil (10\u00b054\u203217\u2032\u2032S 37\u00b02\u203256\u2032\u2032W) between March 2015 and October 2016 directly from artisanal fishermen working along the northeastern coast of Brazil in the Western Atlantic. These fish were shipped to our laboratory and identified at the species level according to the taxonomic keys published by , and Sil L. analis, and 19 specimens of L. jocu were analyzed, of which 13.8% were parasitized by at least one species of isopod. We found a total of 46 specimens of parasites which belonged to the families Aegidae, Corallanidae and Cymothoidae. Cymothoa excisa Perty, 1833 , Rocinela signata Schioedte & Meinert, 1879 and Excorallana richardsoni Lemos de Castro, 1960 were the species of parasites from these three families that were found in the fish examined. R. signata was the species of greater prevalence in both L. analis and L. jocu, followed by E. richardsoni and C. excisa . The parasite was found in males and females of two host species: L. analis - 4 isopods in two male specimens and in L. jocu - 6 isopods in 5 male specimens and 1 isopod in 1 female specimen. A male of L. jocu had 2 species of isopods in its gills: R. signata and E. richarsoni.The speciesThe following are the morphological characters and taxonomy of the specimens found in the fish examined:Aegidae Leach, 1815Rocinela Leach, 1818Rocinela signata Schioedte & Meinert, 1879 Location: Northeastern Coast, Aracaju, SE, Brazil.Cymothoidae Leach, 1818Cymothoa Fabricius, 1793Cymothoa excisa Perty, 1830 Location: Northeastern Coast, Aracaju, SE, Brazil.Corallanidae Hansen, 1890Excorallana Stebbing, 1904Excorallana richardsoni Lemos de Castro, 1960  including Cavalcanti et al. [ R. signata in L. synagris with 10% of parasitized fish and a mean intensity of 1.25. The parasite has a distribution from Central America to South America, and has been recorded by Hermida et al. [ L. analis, corroborating the registry in the same host of the present study, these authors showed a prevalence of 3.3% and an average intensity of 1.00. Similar results were obtained in the present study, The most recent record of parasitism was published by Cardoso et al. [ Pseudupeneus maculatus Bloch, 1793 with a prevalence of 8.3%, an average intensity of 1.1, and a variation of 1 or 2 parasites per fish. In the present survey, a lower prevalence of isopods was observed in the fish examined. The gill chamber was the preferred site of infestation for the parasite R. signata. The fish L. jocu is reported here as a new host for R. signata.Lima et al.  recordedi et al.  that reca et al.  in L. ano et al.  in the c R. signata had the same number of antenulla segments and antenna flagella as described by Brusca and Iverson [ R. signata is an isopod frequently found in fish in northeast Brazil. As other isopods, R. signata have a negative impact on fish's health. It induces slow growth and respiratory problems and cause injury to the host especially when large numbers of parasites are observed. In cases of severe parasitic infestation, opportunistic secondary fungal and bacterial infections may occur, which is most observed in confinement situations. However, because they are coastal fish, it was not possible to measure such disturbances, since parasite intensity and host immunity are also a determining factor for the occurrence of infections in aquatic populations.Specimens of Iverson  with 4 a Iverson  and Herm Iverson , R. signCymothoa excisa is a species of isopod that has low specificity, and in the world is already known occurring in several vertebrates, in fishes has been reported in 6 different families of fish including Lutjanidae [ Micropogonias furnieri (Sciaenidae) . The occurrence of C. excisa in L. analis is in agreement with previous studies published by Weinstein [ Lutjanus, in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and Panama, where it was also recorded in three other species of Lutjanidae: Lutjanus synagris, L. mahogoni and Ocyurus chrysurus [ L. analis in Brazil. Although they are protandritic animals, becoming functional males in one part of the cycle and later becoming functional females [tjanidae , 27. In tjanidae  in Microeinstein  and Bunkeinstein . These ahrysurus . However females , accordi females , isopods L. analis and L. jocu which are both reef fish species, still have some differences regarding habitat: L. analis has preference for sandy bottoms with vegetation, estuaries, and regions near mangroves whereas L. jocu prefers coastal waters, particularly estuaries, and occasionally rivers. C. excisa was found only in L. analis, in this sense, Weinstein [Allen  states teinstein  explain  E. richardsoni was also found only in male L. jocu. Barriga and Briones [ Excorallana in the east coast of Mexico; 7 species were identified: E. acuticauda Miers, 1881; E. delaneyi Stone and Heard, 1989; E. oculata Hansen, 1890; E. subtilis Hansen, 1890; E. sexticornis Richardson, 1901; E. tricornis tricornis Hansen, 1890; and Excorallana sp. Luque et al. (2013) reported Excorallana sp. on the body surface of Ageneiosus inermis Linnaeus, 1766, and C. excisa in the buccal cavity of Micropogonias furnieri Desmarest, 1823. To date, these are the only records of these two parasites of fish in Brazil. Koening [ Excorallana oculata along the northeast coast of the country from the State Amap\u00e1 to the State of Esp\u00edrito Santo.The species Briones  reported Koening  document E. richardsoni is distributed in the States of Amap\u00e1, Par\u00e1, Maranh\u00e3o, Cear\u00e1, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Esp\u00edrito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro. The first report of this isopod in the country was published by Koening and Coelho [In Brazil,d Coelho  in the Sd Coelho  in the S E. richardsoni are in agreement with those presented by Silva and Souza-Filho [ Excorallana have bifid setae with mid-apical setae in the dorsal pleotelson region (In the present study, the morphological characteristics ofza-Filho . Menziesza-Filho  describen region . In our n region , arrow.  R. signata presented the highest infection rates in L. analis and L. jocu. The presence of E. richardsoni and R. signata in the State of Sergipe, which lies on the northeast Brazil's Atlantic coast, may have occurred due to the migratory habit of the fish since this ectoparasites has been previously recorded in waters of the State Alagoas, northeastern region of the country, thus increasing its geographical distribution. Although the bifid end of the dorsal setae of the pleotelson is not a definitive morphological character used for the taxonomic identification of E. richardsoni, this particular feature was observed in all specimens examined in this study. The present survey presents the first report of three species of isopods in the state of Sergipe, the first record of Cymothoa excisa in Lutjanus analis in the country. We describe Lutjanus jocu as a novel host for Rocinela signata and Excorallana richardsoni.In conclusion, low levels of isopod infection were found in the fish species studied."}
+{"text": "Schistosoma. Worldwide, an estimated 250 million people are infected with these parasites with the majority of cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Within Asia, three species of Schistosoma cause disease. Schistosoma japonicum is the most prevalent, followed by S. mekongi and S. malayensis. All three species are zoonotic, which causes concern for their control, as successful elimination not only requires management of the human definitive host, but also the animal reservoir hosts. With regard to Asian schistosomiasis, most of the published research has focused on S. japonicum with comparatively little attention paid to S. mekongi and even less focus on S. malayensis. In this review, we examine the three Asian schistosomes and their current status in their endemic countries: Cambodia, Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Thailand (S. mekongi); Malaysia ; and Indonesia, People\u2019s Republic of China, and the Philippines (S. japonicum). Prospects for control that could potentially lead to elimination are highlighted as these can inform researchers and disease control managers in other schistosomiasis-endemic areas, particularly in Africa and the Americas.Schistosomiasis is an infectious disease caused by helminth parasites of the genus  Schistosoma. Six species of schistosomes infect humans: Schistosoma mansoni , S. haematobium , S. intercalatum and S. guineensis , S. japonicum (Asia), and S. mekongi , and previously Thailand whose current status is transmission interruption) [S. malayensis, which is thought to be closely related to S. mekongi, is endemic in Malaysia [S. japonicum, S. mekongi, and S. malayensis, which cause intestinal schistosomiasis. The three Asian schistosomes are all zoonotic, whereas the remaining species infecting humans are generally considered human-only parasites, with some notable exceptions [Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus ruption) ,2,3. A sMalaysia . In thisceptions ,7,8,9,10S. japonicum eggs in a mummy [Schistosomiasis has a long history in Asia with the first descriptions and reports of the disease in modern times appearing in the early 1900s, although it is thought to have been endemic for at least 400 years earlier in Japan, and at least 2200 years ago in the People\u2019s Republic of China (P.R. China) after the discovery of  a mummy ,12,13,14 a mummy . Current a mummy . Conside a mummy . Old cha a mummy .The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current status of schistosomiasis in Asia, with a particular focus on endemic countries in the region and the unique challenges they face. Our review also aimed to identify current knowledge gaps and future research needs as the affected countries move toward the ultimate goal of control and elimination of this persistent and debilitating disease.Schistosoma is a group of parasitic blood flukes, or flatworms, of the class Trematoda. Unique amongst the trematode class, schistosomes have separate sexes as adults, whereas all other trematodes are hermaphrodites. The Asian schistosomes discussed in this review are considered zoonotic, unlike schistosome species occurring elsewhere, which are largely human-only excepting some hybrid forms in Africa [S. mansoni infecting non-human primates in Africa and the Caribbean, and rats in Guadeloupe and Brazil [S. japonicum is the most cosmopolitan, with 46 mammalian definitive hosts identified thus far, whereas S. mekongi has been found in dogs, and S. malayensis in rodents, specifically Rattus muelleri [S. mekongi, but, to date, no natural infections have been identified in these hosts [The genus n Africa ,9,10,18,d Brazil ,8. S. jamuelleri ,20,21,22se hosts . Morpholse hosts .The schistosome lifecycle is complex with an intermediate molluscan host, definitive host, and seven lifecycle stages involving both asexual and sexual reproductive phases . An in-dS. japonicum is the most prevalent of the Asian schistosomes. It is endemic in P.R. China, the Philippines, and small foci occur in Indonesia. There are 46 known mammalian definitive hosts of S. japonicum, although water buffalo and cattle have previously been shown to be the major reservoirs of infection [S. japonicum was first identified in Japan in 1901, whereas the last new human case was recorded there in 1977. S. japonicum parasites in P.R. China and the Philippines have distinct genetic differences, resulting from geographic isolation over time. In general, the strain of S. japonicum in P.R. China is more virulent than the parasite in the Philippines; additional genetically variant geographic isolates are known to be present in both countries [nfection ,28,29. Sountries ,31,32.S. mekongi was first identified in 1857 [S. japonicum, S. mekongi differs in a number of characteristics that indicate it is a distinct species. These differences include the morphology of the testis and ovary in adult worms [S. mekongi are smaller and more round than those of S. japonicum , and studies have found Oncomelania spp. snails to be refractory to infection with S. mekongi [Apart from human infection,  mekongi .S. malayensis is zoonotic and is primarily a parasite of the rodent R. muelleri , and the third \u2018chronic\u2019 stage ,37. As tThe initial disease phase begins as a skin rash caused by an immune reaction to the penetrating cercariae , I. AfteA number of diagnostics are available, including coproparasitological examination (CopE), as well as molecular and immunological diagnostics. CopE methods rely on direct detection and visualization of parasite eggs in feces and include the Kato-Katz (KK) thick smear procedure, which is a mainstay of control programs due to the relative ease of performing the test at low cost, although it lacks sensitivity in low-intensity infections ,47 and FSensitive and specific diagnostic procedures are required to monitor the success or failure of schistosomiasis control programs as well as to determine whether control efforts have resulted in elimination. However, the most sensitive diagnostics, involving molecular or immunological techniques, can be expensive and require specialized facilities and equipment and trained personnel to perform the procedures ,76.S. japonicum and S. mekongi [Laboratory studies and clinical trials have shown that praziquantel, a pyrazinoisoquinoline derivative, is a safe and highly efficacious oral drug that is active against all schistosome species, although it is less active against juvenile schistosomes compared with adult worms and eggs ,79,80,81 mekongi ,78. Praz mekongi . A singl mekongi .Treatment with praziquantel does not prevent reinfection  and is tDue to the requirement of an intermediate host snail, schistosomiasis is a focal disease, occurring in areas where snail habitats and susceptible transmitting snails are present. This means that village-level prevalence can be very high, whereas country and province prevalence can be low. Demographic factors such as age, sex, and occupation are strongly associated with risk of infection ,88. OpenSnail habitats generally occur in still or slow moving water bodies such as streams, lakes, dammed waterways, and rice fields. The susceptible snails also have a preference for vegetation and snail control measures can include the removal of this vegetation.S. japonicum hosts, bovines, particularly water buffalo, are considered the most important for transmission due to the high levels of schistosome eggs they excrete into the environment [S. japonicum infections, and hence are considered to be the most important reservoir hosts [S. japonicum in P.R. China include goats, pigs, and dogs due to their close contact with humans and water [Of the 46 known ironment ,90 and tir hosts ,89,90,91ir hosts ,93. Othend water .S. japonicum [S. japonicum in water buffalo  in the Philippines has been reported to be as high as 80%, particularly in agricultural areas, and water buffalo are thought to be a major reservoir [S. japonicum for much longer. Although studies suggested that water buffalo exhibit some age-acquired resistance to infection and self-cure [In Indonesia, 13 mammalian species, mostly wild animals , but also cattle, water buffalo, horses, and dogs, have been identified as susceptible hosts for aponicum . The preeservoir . In bothelf-cure ,97,98, telf-cure .S. japonicum and S. mekongi, bovines could act as reservoir hosts of S. mekongi but, to date, this has not been demonstrated. A range of potential animal hosts have been examined for S. mekongi, but currently dogs are the only animal species that have been confirmed as natural hosts of this species [Due to the close genetic relationship between  species .S. japonicum, with the exception of P.R. China, which has practiced both chemotherapy of bovines and removal of the animals, facilitated by mechanization of agriculture  [S. mekongi has been highlighted as a priority. This has been proposed as part of community-led initiatives to eliminate schistosomiasis that combine deworming with water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions: community-led school, water, sanitation, and hygiene (CL-SWASH) activities [In regards to control, little has been done to target definitive hosts of ractors) ,100,101.ractors) . In Lao tivities .Animal vaccines against schistosomiasis have been developed and used in controlled trials ,106,107.S. japonicum are amphibious and belong to the genus Oncomelania, with species dependent on geographical location. Studies investigating the susceptibility of snails from different geographic locations to cercariae from disparate locations have produced mixed results, indicating a certain amount of genetic drift of the parasite [Oncomelania hupensis nosphora and O. hupensis formosana, are still present [The intermediate snail hosts of parasite ,112. Alt present .Oncomelania hupensis have been identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics [O. h. guangxiensis and O. h. tangi [O. h. hupensis and O. h. robertsoni as the dominant sub-species [O. h. hupensis is the most widely distributed [S. japonicum infection rates in Oncomelania snails in endemic regions of P.R. China in the last decade. One study in the marshland regions along the Yangtze River [In P.R. China, four sub-species of the intermediate host eristics ,115,116,h. tangi  leaving -species . Of thestributed . Few stuze River  examinedze River . An earlze River . Accordize River . Howeverze River . As snaize River ,120.S. japonicum is O. h. quadrasi. It is amphibious but prefers an aquatic environment, such as wet soil surfaces, swamps, rice fields, ponds, and stream banks, thus making chemical snail control difficult due to the risk of contaminating the water or food source [S. japonicum infection in the snail intermediate hosts in the Philippines is poorly understood. One study, conducted in Samar province, found a mean infection rate of 1.09% across 147 sites with higher infection among snails located in irrigated compared to rain-fed villages [In the Philippines, the sole intermediate host snail for d source . The curvillages . More revillages .S. japonicum is O. h. lindoensis, which is located focally around Lake Lindu. In 2011, the prevalence of infected O. h. lindoensis snails in Lindu Valley was 3.6% and 4.0% in Napu Valley, although the prevalence has fluctuated between 0 and 13.4% in Napu Valley and between 0% and 9.1% in Lindu Valley since 2005 [In Indonesia, the intermediate snail host of nce 2005 . Prevalence 2005 .S. mekongi are Neotricula spp., and endemic areas are closely associated with the Mekong Delta where these snails occur. The prevalence of infected snails in Lao PDR was quite low, 0.01% on the Mekong Islands [Neotricula aperta snail density in Thailand decreased between 2005 and 2011 in the downstream area of the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric dam, which began operation in 2010 [Oncomelania snails in low-land areas was initially seen in P.R. China after the building of the Three Gorges Dam [The intermediate hosts of  Islands  and 0.22 Islands . Neotric in 2010 . A similrges Dam . HoweverControl of intermediate host snails is an important aspect of schistosomiasis control programs, particularly as the stage of the lifecycle occurring in snails is asexual and involves an exponential increase in parasite numbers. Snail control measures previously implemented in Asia have involved environmental modification and chemical mollusciciding. The snails live in vegetation around rivers and lakes and removal of this vegetation can lead to removal of the snails themselves. This method was used with great success in Japan in combination with mollusciciding. In Japan, the most common method of environmental modification was the use of concreting canals where the snails lived . This meMollusciciding has also been used in P.R. China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, although to a limited degree in the latter two countries. Environmental contamination with chemical molluscicides is an important issue, and a number of previously used compounds have been abandoned due to these concerns and as a result of the damage they cause to the environment. In the schistosomiasis foci in Indonesia, the snail habitats occur close to the Lore Lindu National Park, which precludes the use of molluscicides  and enviNeotricula spp., the intermediate host snails of S. mekongi, exhibit a different ecological niche than those transmitting S. japonicum in that, rather than being present in marshlands and rice fields, these snails are primarily found in shallow areas of rivers (particularly the Mekong River) and tributaries. Thus, snail control for S. mekongi has largely been deemed infeasible [feasible , althougfeasible .S. japonicum transmission are related to distance to a snail habitat or those that influence snail habitats, such as the building of dams. The majority of S. japonicum-endemic zones are within 1 km of water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or wetlands [The majority of environmental factors associated with wetlands ,132. Envwetlands ,134, seawetlands .S. japonicum, and might account for 95% of the snail habitats [Oncomelania snails survive best at areas of low elevation\u2014one of the potential environmental factors associated with high prevalence of snails in marshy areas. A study on snail habitats in mountainous and hilly areas identified a maximum elevation of 2300 m above sea level for snail survival [Oncomelania snails are amphibious; yet, require water to survive. A distance of \u22641000 m from the nearest stream was found to be ideal for snail habitats [In P.R. China, endemic areas occupy three different geographical landscapes: (1) marshland and lake areas, (2) mountainous and hilly areas, and (3) water network areas. Of these, marshland and lake areas are characteristic of the major endemic foci for habitats ,87. Oncosurvival . The samhabitats .As the marshy and lake areas are categorized by the presence of water bodies, more areas are available for the snails to exist. The area of these landscapes, which cover the four provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Hubei, is vast, complicating snail control in these locations . MountaiO. h. hupensis as well as O. h. robertsioni and O. h. guangxiensis [Oncomelania spp. snails. The decrease in flooding events has decreased the density of snails in some areas, although in others, the density appears unchanged, or is on the increase [Local epidemic outbreaks and the geographic distribution of snail hosts are heavily influenced by flooding events caused by the Yangtze River as they facilitate snail dispersion to new localities such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands ,137. Largxiensis . The Thrincrease .S. japonicum infection: 80% in Mindanao, 18% in Visayas, and 2% in Luzon [S. japonicum infection prevalence differently in the three main regions of the Philippines [O. h. quadrasi include flood plains, forests, and swamps, whereas man-made habitats resulting from agricultural development are thought to be important habitats . These snails are generally found on banks but also occur in shallow water (depth <20 cm) [O. h. quadrasi snails prefer areas shaded by vegetation where the temperature is relatively stable and cool.In the Philippines, more than 3000 bodies of water are thought to be infested with snails susceptible to in Luzon . Endemicin Luzon ,82. Envilippines . As is tlippines . Some dilippines . A confo <20 cm) . O. h. qS. japonicum in snails from this area ranged from 0 to 13.4% in the Lindu Valley and 0 to 9.1% in the Napu Valley, although human prevalence remained <1% as of 2006 [Endemic regions of Indonesia are located in marshland areas around Lake Lindu and Napu and Bada valleys. Prevalence of  of 2006 .S. mekongi transmission occurs in the Mekong Delta. In Khong and Mounlapamok districts in Lao PDR, 202 villages are situated along the Mekong River with 114 currently or previously endemic for schistosomiasis. The only villages with zero prevalence for S. mekongi are in parts of the river where the riverbed is sandy, which is not conducive to the intermediate host snail, or those villages that are more than 6 km away from the river [he river .Limited information is available regarding risk factors and snail intermediate hosts in Myanmar . The curS. japonicum. Infection with S. japonicum is strongly associated with age, sex, and occupational exposure. Males aged 40 years and above who engage in fishing, farming, and herding are at greatest risk of infection [In P.R. China, transmission usually occurs across two distinct seasons , coincidnfection . DefecatIn the Philippines, there is no distinct dry season on the main endemic islands of Leyte and Samar and the province of Mindanao. Hence, transmission is not as variable by season as in P.R. China and occurs all year round . The mosRattus have been suggested as the primary source of transmission, with a peak prevalence of 20% found in one endemic village [R. exulans, R. hoffmani, R. chysocomus rallus, R. marmosurus, and R. celebensis [Whereas 13 species of mammalian hosts have been identified in Indonesia, limited research has been undertaken on their involvement in transmission. Rodents of the genus  village . Primarylebensis . Reservalebensis ,93. As iS. mekongi is matched with the lifecycle of the snail. During times of high water levels (2\u20133 m), the majority of available snails are young, while in times of low water , the snails have matured to adults capable of carrying the infection. Peak transmission of S. mekongi in Cambodia occurs between February and April coinciding with peak water use for fishing [The transmission season for  fishing ; whereasIn Malaysia, the wet season differs between the southwest where the monsoon season is May\u2013October, and the northeast where the monsoon season runs from November to March, and the typhoon season occurs from April to November. It is therefore difficult in the absence of yearly surveys to pinpoint when transmission in Malaysia might peak, but it is certainly influenced by rainfall brought by the monsoons and typhoons.Preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel has been the mainstay of schistosomiasis morbidity control and, in addition to targeting mammalian and snail hosts mentioned earlier, efforts to control transmission have also included programs aimed at improving WASH and health education. Until relatively recently, the role of WASH in schistosomiasis control was limited ,147,148,Health education is important not only for educating the public on risk reduction measures and changing behavior, but has also been found to facilitate diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment . ThroughS. japonicum, there is the rationale for the development and deployment of a transmission-blocking anti-S. japonicum vaccine targeting bovines [Research is ongoing for the development of schistosomiasis vaccines targeting humans and, unlike the African schistosomes, the zoonotic nature of the Asian schistosomes allow for the targeting of animal hosts. With bovines, particularly water buffalo/carabao confirmed as the major reservoirs of  bovines ,166,167. bovines  and clusNotably, most prevalence estimates reported are based on microscopic detection of schistosome eggs in stool samples, usually using the KK thick smear technique ,168,169.S. japonicum in P.R. China and the Philippines occurred around the same time in the early 1900s [The first reports of ly 1900s ,172 and ly 1900s .S. japonicum was once found in Japan, the last reported human case was in 1977, and elimination of schistosomiasis was declared in 1996 [Oncomelania nosphora, is still present [As indicated in the species name,  in 1996 . There w in 1996 . Due to  present . In addiOncomelania snails bred, began in 1938 and was the primary method used [Environmental modification in the form of concreting canals, where the hod used . In addihod used . Land ushod used . EducatiS. japonicum is predominantly found in areas along the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River Valley in the southern part of the country where the climate and environment are highly suitable for the propagation of Oncomelania snails. Endemic regions are concentrated in the lake regions and in the mountainous region in the western part of the country [S. japonicum was endemic in 12 provinces, but due to political will and sustained efforts, primarily through snail control and preventive chemotherapy, five provinces have achieved transmission interruption. Of the remaining seven provinces, four  achieved transmission control  by 2014, whereas Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hunan are still in the infection control stage  [In P.R. China,  country . Until ranimals) ,175. In animals) . In 2016Control approaches in P.R. China have been extensive due to the strong commitment by the national government. Funds from a 10-year World Bank Loan Project (WBLP) implemented in the 1990s  were putS. japonicum is distributed throughout all three major island groups , although the majority of cases occur in Mindanao and the Visayas [S. japonicum is more widespread in the Visayas compared to Luzon and Mindanao, where it is more focal [In the Philippines,  Visayas ,180  in 1991, which was financially backed by a World Bank loan. The focus shifted to active case finding and mass drug administration with praziquantel; WASH interventions and snail control were included as additional measures. Drug coverage of the target population was reported to be 100% during the 1990s . However50 years ,183,184.50 years ,183.In the Philippines, niclosamide has been banned for use in snail control under the Clean Water Act . So, whiS. japonicum infection in animals by strengthening veterinary health teams in priority areas through capacity building and operational research and moving toward implementation of WASH programs, as outlined during the 17th Meeting of the Regional Program Review Group on Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Western Pacific (175). These efforts are laudable and it can be anticipated that WASH will feature more prominently in the Philippines than in the past [The success of P.R. China\u2019s efforts since after the launch of the WBLP compared to the Philippines is largely attributable to the Chinese targeting both human and animals for chemotherapy as opposed to humans only in the Philippines, which ultimately proved to be far less effective . The Phithe past . Lessonsthe past ,96.S. japonicum has fluctuated over the last decade, prevalence tends to be higher in Napu Valley and overall appears to demonstrate an upward trend. Up to 2005, control efforts had decreased prevalence from 37% to 1% or less in Napu and Lindu valleys, but in the period from 2008 to 2011, prevalence varied between 0.3% and 4.8% in Napu and 0.8% to 3.2% in Lindu [In contrast to P.R. China and the Philippines, schistosomiasis in Indonesia is endemic in three comparatively small, isolated highland regions surrounding Lore Lindu National Park in central Sulawesi. These areas include marshes around Lake Lindu, particularly in the villages of Anca, Langko, Tomado, and Puro\u2019o; Napu Valley  located in Lindu . When Bain Lindu .Schistosomiasis control strategies set by the National Objectives for Health (NOH) directive for 2011\u20132016 varied based on the degree of endemicity, but overall took a multifaceted approach. Control objectives included mass drug administration coverage of 85% of the entire population in high endemic areas, active selective treatment in moderate endemic areas, and passive selective treatment in low endemic areas. Preventive chemotherapy has been supplemented with strategies that also focused on treating domestic animals, snail control, health education, improving water, and sanitation, and monitoring and evaluation and capacity building  in an efS. japonicum and S. mekongi [n = 315), whereas 302 cases were identified between 2016 and 2018 [S. mekongi prevalence of 3.9% (n = 205) in the Bago Region of Myanmar [Myanmar has been previously thought to be non-endemic for schistosomiasis, although there have been some historical unconfirmed reports of the presence of both  mekongi . Recent  mekongi . Serologand 2018 . The WHOand 2018 . Recentl Myanmar ,197.A recent schistosomiasis outbreak occurred in Rakhine State with >400 confirmed cases and >800 suspected cases as of August 2018 . RakhineS. japonicum has been definitively diagnosed in Myanmar. Until the status of schistosomiasis is further clarified, ideally by molecular methods with which S. mekongi has already been confirmed, we rely on early reports that suggest both species are present [It is not immediately clear from published reports if  present ,197.The first case of schistosomiasis occurring in Cambodia was identified in 1968 in Eastern Cambodia and was seemingly confined to Vietnamese fishermen living in raft houses. Prevalence among children was higher (14\u201322%) than in adults (7\u201310%) . At presControl of schistosomiasis in Cambodia has been impacted by political unrest and upheaval through the 1970s and 1980s . It was S. mekongi, described as a S. japonicum-like infection, was reported in 1950 in Thailand [The first case of Thailand . This \u2018pThailand . ThailanThailand .S. mekongi in 1957 in a patient who had been living in Paris for nine years, but had spent the first nine years of life in Lao PDR [S. japonicum-like egg. It was not until 1966 that a second case was identified in Lao PDR and, in 1969, an epidemiological survey determined a prevalence of 14.4% (n = 72) on Khong Island. As with S. japonicum, hepatosplenomegaly was associated with infection [Lao PDR followed Thailand in the identification of  Lao PDR ,199. Thinfection ,199,204.nfection .n = 994) in humans and 14.7% (n = 68) in dogs for S. mekongi [n = 29,583) of collected snails being positive [A study examining the prevalence of a range of parasites in islands of the Mekong in Lao PDR performed in 2011 determined a prevalence of 22.2%  [S. malayensis.Schistosomiasis resembling  autopsy . Previouingapore . A reviein 1988) ,207. No in 1988) . The strin 1988) , and likS. malayensis were identified in patients who were deceased with schistosomiasis identified in autopsies, although not as the reported cause of death [S. malayensis have been aboriginal Malaysians (Orang Asli) living in rural areas and patients were either previously or concurrently co-infected with other infectious diseases. The first case identified in a living patient occurred in Selangor State and the patient presented with hepatosplenomegaly [Until 1978, all cases of of death ,208. In nomegaly ,208.S. malayensis has only been recorded sporadically in humans, with few recent accounts of infected individuals. The most recent identification of infection in humans was reported in a pathology report of an individual in 2011 [In the meantime,  in 2011 . In this in 2011 .Multi-component, intersectoral, and integrated control approaches provide a promising path forward for the elimination of schistosomiasis in Asia. Behavioral changes that prevent infection, such as avoiding the practice of open defecation and contact of open freshwater bodies in endemic areas, are necessary. However, without accompanying infrastructure, such as toilets provided in WASH programs, these behaviors will continue. Combined with chemotherapy of both humans and reservoir hosts , snail control, animal vaccination, health education, and WASH targeting multiple points in the schistosome life cycle will significantly impact the prevalence and re-infection of schistosomiasis. The success achieved in P.R. China in schistosomiasis control and elimination is due to the commitment and support of the Chinese government, including the removal of water buffalo\u2014a major reservoir host in P.R. China\u2014from endemic areas, thus effectively removing them from the transmission cycle. Without such governmental support, sustaining control programs is difficult, particularly those that include more than preventive chemotherapy and require considerable resources to implement, such as required for CL-WASH. There is a niche role for health education that is missing from many schistosomiasis control programs, as knowledge remains limited about the parasite and which behaviors lead to infection in endemic populations.S. mekongi, particularly for S. malayensis, the number of human cases, and the role played by animal reservoirs in transmission. Thus, assessing the true importance of schistosomiasis in the countries where these two schistosome species are endemic is difficult.Limited data are available on prevalence for S. japonicum prevalence is conceivably underestimated, both in P.R. China and the Philippines, due to the lack of sensitive diagnostics used in control programs. While P.R. China closes in on elimination targets, the use of sensitive diagnostics will be important to determine whether elimination has indeed occurred and to prevent re-bounding infections after treatment and the cessation of the control program. A recent study in P.R. China found a human prevalence <1% by the MHT but 11% by qPCR [The true  by qPCR . AlthougFuture challenges for schistosomiasis control and elimination include climate change and the potential spread of the disease to new areas ,211,212."}
+{"text": "Fungal infections affect over a billion people, with mortality rates estimated at 1\u20132 million per year . AdvanceGalleria mellonella, that is one of the most common insect invertebrate models used in biomedical research. G. mellonella is an insect with functional similarities to the innate immune response of mammals. In this review, the authors outline the immune response of G. mellonella with a focus on the cellular process of phagocytosis, nodulation, and encapsulation, as well as other responses, such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), melanization, clotting, free radical production, and primary immunization. The main advances in the G. mellonella model are also discussed, including the sequencing of its genome and the availability of transcriptomic data. Notably, recent results from transcriptomic analyses reveal that the immune system of G. mellonella can distinguish between specific classes of pathogens.Pereira et al.  present G. mellonella respond to infection by different fungal pathogens. For example, after infection by Candida albicans, the hemocytes of G. mellonella induce nodulation around C. albicans cells and this process is accompanied by early melanization. The immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus also results in the formation of melanized nodules and accumulation of antimicrobial peptides. Interestingly, infection with non-lethal inocula of C. albicans or A. fumigatus is enough to protect the larvae against a subsequent infection with lethal inocula. Interestingly, in the case of Cryptococcus neoformans, the infection in G. mellonella is not accompanied by early melanization due to the presence of the capsule and to the different cell wall composition. In the infection by C. neoformans, fungal cells are avidly phagocytosed by G. mellonella hemocytes, but can survive and replicate after internalization, behaving as intracellular pathogens similar to infection processes in mammals. Moreover, Singulani et al. [G. mellonella against other important fungal pathogens, including Paracoccidioides spp., Histoplasma capsulation, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Sporothrix spp, and Talaromyces marneffei.Extending the Pereira et al.  report, i et al.  highlighG. mellonella, this model creates the possibility of determining the efficacy of antifungal agents by evaluating both larval survival, as well as by monitoring the immune response associated with the infection process [G. mellonella model for the study of antifungal treatments. Many topics are discussed in this article, such as the assays to test relative toxicity in vivo, to identify the optimum combinations of antifungal drugs for resistant microorganisms, to study the mode of action of different classes of compounds, and to establish dosages prior to use in mammals. In another article, Cruz et al. [G. mellonella larvae infected with C. albicans, and reached the same efficacy as fluconazole. Among them, compound 2 (2-((2-(hexan-3-ylidene) hydrazino)-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-thiazole) showed the most promising results and was identified as a potential candidate for further studies in murine models.Given that several fungal infections can be studied in  process . In this process  explore z et al.  show ineG. mellonella model has been widely adopted by many researchers around the world [G. mellonella for research, including age, size, availability of food, reared techniques, physical stress to transportation, incubation temperature, storage time, and possible residual levels of antibiotics and hormones. The authors suggest solutions on how to address these issues such as the pathological scoring system using automated real-time imaging, and developing of a standard well-characterized G. mellonella strain for research. While research and standardized procedures advance rapidly to make G. mellonella a robust and consistent infection model [Tenebrio molitor  as a potential model for the study of pathogenic fungi. This insect host has similar characteristics to G. mellonella, however its breeding in laboratory conditions is less laborious. These authors outline the first studies with T. molitor involving C. albicans, C. neoformans, Malassezia furfur and Fonsecaea pedrosi, and discuss the advantages of this model for the study of fungal virulence, mycotoxin effects, host immune responses, and the efficacy of antifungal agents.The he world ,20,21,22he world ,23,24. Ion model  present Caenorhabditis elegans is approached by Elkabti et al. [Candida spp. infections. A great focus is given to the development of new visualization techniques to enhance capturing infection processes within live worms, tracking of nematodes, and the automation of high throughput assays. Other interesting topics are also discussed, such as the recent studies on the microbiome of C. elegans in nature, and the use of this model to identify molecular mechanisms involved in the development of drug resistance. In another article, Rosowski et al. [In addition to insect model hosts, the nematode i et al.  who desci et al.  present Acanthamoeba spp., a free-living protozoa also used as a model host for fungal pathogens [To complete this special issue, Casadevall et al. raise important aspects in relation to athogens . The artOverall this special issue highlights the consensus regarding the alternative model hosts, such as amoebae, insects, worms, and zebrafish that are valuable and reliable tools to study fungal pathogenesis, but there are still several challenges and unexplored fields to be conquered."}
+{"text": "AbstractHymenophyllaceae collected on Ambon and Seram islands, the Moluccas, Indonesia, during 1983\u201386. The collection is composed of forty-seven species and one variety belonging to seven genera. The dataset is deposited in GBIF and available at https://www.gbif.jp/ipt/resource?r=seram_hymen.Identifications are given for 713 specimens of  The flora of Seram and Ambon islands, the Moluccas, covering bryophytes, pteridophytes and seed plants, was investigated during field expeditions in 1983, 1984\u201385 and 1986. As the Moluccan islands, in particular Seram, have been explored very sparsely, the expeditions aimed to make general collections of the land plants in the area. More than 11,000 field numbers of vascular plant and 5,000 bryophyte specimens were collected, mainly from east, central and west Seram .PageBreakfying our collections. Hymenophyllaceae, were already published by M. Kato and his collaborators , Indonesia.Hymenophyllaceae.PageBreakAmbon and Seram islands, the Moluccas, Indonesia. The collection route map for the 1983 trip is given in Hymenophyllaceae, were collected in Seram and Ambon islands on the expeditions 1983\u20131986.Pteridophytes specimens, including those of Hymenophyllaceae remained unprocessed. After identification of the specimens by the authors, following the classification system by The pteridophyte flora of Ambon and Seram (Ceram) was comprehensively explored in the 1980s and was studied by M. Kato and his colleagues during 1985 and 2007. Most of the pteridophyte collections have already been studied, but the specimens of Hymenophyllaceae for Flora Malesiana, this taxonomically interesting family has been revised and the taxonomy of the species has been determined, including the identification of the collections cited here. A modern system, including information based on molecular systematics, was proposed by The field research was organised as a joint survey by the Botanical Gardens, the University of Tokyo and Herbarium Bogoriense, LIPI. Along with the work on the See C.apiifolia (C. Presl) Copel.47. Object name: A Specimen List of Hymenophyllaceae of Seram and Ambon collected on Indonesian-Japanese botanical expeditions 1983\u20131986Character encoding: UTF-8Metadata Language: EnglishPageBreakResource Language: EnglishType: OccurrenceSubtype: SpecimenData License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0Thesaurus: GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: https://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml"}
+{"text": "I was saddened and quite shocked when I received the phone called informing me that Professor Zhengyi Wu had died. It was the evening of June 20th, 2013. I had just got off a plane from Tibet and turned on my mobile phone. Prof. Wu had been unwell for nearly a year. I knew that this would happen one day, but refused to believe it would really come to pass. A few days ago, some students and I were on a field trip in Tibet. Sitting in our jeep, I watched the mountains and roadside as we drove, and tried to identify the plants along the route. The mountain roads in Tibet seem to always make my students sleepy. I woke them up. I told them that I had heard this first when Prof. Wu was on a field trip to Tibet. During the trip, he always kept an eye on the surroundings outside the vehicle, observing plants and taking notes. At the end of each day, he would prepare a check-list of plants for the region through which he had travelled. Back home it was the middle of the night, and I was awake. My thoughts had turned to my relationship with Professor Wu , volume one, general overview  , written by Qing dynasty botanist Qiyong Wu, and The Illustrated Book of Japanese Botany. In middle school, he was fortunate to meet two Biology teachers: Mr. Shou Tang, his primary middle school Biology teacher, and Mr. Yao Tang, his middle school Biology teacher. They introduced him to fieldwork, and taught him to recognise plants and collect plant specimens. Profoundly inspired by his teachers, he decided to become a botanist. In 1933, he entered Tsinghua University in Beijing and received his BA in Biology four years later. By that time, the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression had begun, and it was not possible to pursue research in botany. He moved, together with his University, to Kunming, Yunnan Province, which was home to the front during the war. He taught at National Southwestern Associated University and was a staff member at the Medicinal Plant Institute of the National Ministry of Education. During the war, teaching and research conditions were very poor. Regardless, Wu still tried his best to use his botanical knowledge to serve his country. Prof. Wu and other colleagues published a book called ICONES Plantarum Medicarum e libro Tien-Nan-Pen-Tsao Lanmaoano Tom 1 (\u6ec7\u5357\u672c\u8349\u56fe\u8c31)\u00a0. At the time, medicine was badly needed but in extremely short supply. Their research, which identified medicinal plants around Kunming, was able to help. Twenty-six medicinal plants, including a new genus, Psammosilene, W. C. Wu et C. Y. Wu were described in the book, which included hand-drawn illustrations. Everything required for publication\u2014writing, drawing and printing\u2014all had to be done by themselves.The manuscript was finally completed, but I made one request. I asked Prof. Wu to write an autobiographical note for the book. He was happy to comply. One week later, Prof. Wu gave me his autobiographical note. When I read it, I was deeply moved. Prof. Wu was born in 1916. He developed an early interest in botany, inspired by his home garden and two books: Florae Republicae Popularis Sinicae (FRPS) in 1987, and 82 books made up of 54 volumes were published under his editorship . During the compilation of FRPS, he also chief edited another two great works: Flora Yunnanica and Flora Xizangica. In order that FRPS could be understood by non-Chinese speakers, Prof. Wu and Peter H. Raven became the co-chairs of the joint editorial committee. All 25 volumes of Flora of China were published in 2014, one year later Prof. Wu passed away unfortunately (Zhou and Sun, Since then, Prof. Wu started his scientific career which spanned over 70 years. Many articles have recorded his contributions to botanical studies already, here I only want to emphasise his contributions in plant taxonomy and phytogeography. Prof. Wu became the fourth editor in chief of the Editorial Committee of The Areal-Types of Seed Plants and Their Origin and Differentiation. He proposed about origin and differentiation of distribution pattern of many seed plants from China. This hypothesis became a big legacy to biogeograpical research. Many research projects were proposed based on Prof. Wu\u2019s hypothesis (Zhou and Sun, By compiling the FRPS Prof. Wu and his colleagues answered the big question of how many plant species we have in China. His phytogeographcial research answered the next big question: \u201cwhere are these plants growing\u201d. His contribution to phytogeography has been recorded in the above-mentioned book We hope he will be remembered in the history of botany forever."}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium houstonense belongs to the unnamed third biovariant complex of the Mycobacterium fortuitum group, which are sorbitol positive. To date, there have been few reports of human infection induced by M. houstonense worldwide.Historically M. houstonense and Escherichia coli. An implant bone plate had been embedded for internal fixation during surgery on the humeral fracture previously. A week later E. coli was isolated from the skin wound secretions. Cefoperazone-sulbactam was used for treatment for two weeks but the infection was not controlled, with a subsequent risk of deep wound infection. External fixation of the fracture was then performed instead of internal fixation. Ten days later, M. houstonense was isolated from new wound secretions. M. houstonense was identified by the molecular sequencing method. The TREK Diagnostic System was used to test the susceptibility to antibiotics by the microbroth dilution method. Levofloxacin and amikacin were used for treatment according to the results of the susceptibility test and the patient\u2019s condition obviously improved.We describe the case of a 68-year-old man with surgical wound infection, following an open humeral fracture, caused by M. houstonense following open humeral fracture. The combination of levofloxacin and amikacin was effective in the treatment of M. houstonense infection.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in China of human surgical wound infection caused by  Mycobacterium fortuitum group, the Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus group and the Mycobacterium smegmatis group [M. fortuitum group comprised M. fortuitum (formerly M. fortuitum biovar fortuitum), Mycobacterium peregrinum (formerly M. fortuitum biovar peregrinum) and the taxon known as the unnamed third biovariant complex. The M. fortuitum third biovariant complex mainly included sorbitol positive and sorbitol negative organisms, represented by Mycobacterium houstonense and Mycobacterium bonickei, respectively.Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) can produce colonies that do not appear or slowly appear with pigmentation on various solid media within 7\u2009days (most within 3 to 4\u2009days), and contain mycobacterial acid and maintain amylase activity for 3\u2009days or 2\u2009weeks , 2. Tradis group . HistoriMycobacterium species: M. senegalense, M. mageritense, M. septicum, M. porcinum, M. neworleanense, M. brisbanense, M. houstonense and M. bonickei [At present, based on the evolution of 16S ribosomal gene (rDNA) sequencing, the unnamed third biovariant complex includes the bonickei , 4. AmonM. houstonense was first reported by the CDC (USA) and was isolated from the face wound of a patient who lived in Houston, Texas, so was named Mycobacterium houston [M. houstonense have been in the USA and Australia [M. houstonense in China. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of M. houstonense in China. houston , 5. To dustralia . Here weA 68-year-old man had an open fracture of the right humerus due to a fall. The patient was sent to the hospital as an emergency case. The doctor performed debridement and suture of the patient\u2019s wound. When all of the test indexes were normal, surgery of the humeral fracture was undertaken. Large bone defects in the middle and lower parts of the humerus were found during the operation. Fig.\u00a0 After prEscherichia coli was isolated from the wound secretion by culture. E. coli isolates were multidrug resistant as determined by antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the disk diffusion test. The procedure and interpretation of the results of the antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted in accordance with the CLSI 2018 guidelines [A week later, wound secretions exuded through the original drainage tube. idelines . AntimicTwo weeks later, the drainage tube had been closed but yellowish cloudy secretions exuded on the lateral side of the arm incision. The doctors suspected that the deep wound was infected, therefore, re-debridement of the patient\u2019s wound and external fixation of the fracture were performed Fig.\u00a0.Fig. 3ExM. fortuitum group using an IVD-MALDIBIOTYPER . The isolated strain was identified as M. houstonense by sequencing analysis. Monoclonal colonies were scraped and genomic DNA of the isolate was extracted using a commercial kit . Primer design was based on the reports of Lane(1991) and CLSI MM18-A, and the primers for 16S rRNA PCR were as follows 27F: AGAGTTTGATMTGGCTCAG, 1492R: TACGGYTACCTTGTTACGACTT. The amplification conditions for PCR were based on those of previous reports [M. houstonense (GenBank accession no. NR_042913.1).Ten days later, another secretion from the wound was observed Fig.\u00a0. RGM werM. houstonense by the microbroth dilution method. The antimicrobial drug sensitivity results were interpreted according to the CLSI M24 A2 guidelines [M. houstonense was only sensitive to levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and amikacin.The TREK Diagnostic System  was used to test the antimicrobial drug susceptibility of idelines . The resA daily intravenous drip of 0.3\u2009g of levofloxacin and injection of 100\u2009ml of sodium chloride, and injection of 0.2\u2009g of amikacin and 250\u2009ml of sodium chloride twice a day, were used for treatment. Three weeks later, the wound was healing well and no secretions were detected.M. houstonense in China. Reports of infection induced by M. houstonense are scarce throughout the world. The mechanism of infection with this organism remains unclear. Some studies have reported the isolation of M. houstonense from freshwater fish and fish products, especially retail frozen fish [M. houstonense. However, in this case, the patient had not recently been exposed to fish products. In the first report of M. houstonense in the USA, M. houstonense was isolated from a wound in the patient\u2019s face [M. houstonense often inhabits water, soil and dust. Healthcare-associated outbreaks and community-acquired diseases of RGM are usually related to the pollution of water or soil [M. houstonense after an open fracture.To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of zen fish . Freshwat\u2019s face , 5. Simi or soil . Steppin or soil . In thisM. senegalense that was originally found in Africa and has never been described elsewhere [M. houstonense have mostly been reported in the USA and Australia to date. This is the first study to report the existence of M. houstonense in China, widening the regional distribution of M. houstonense throughout the world.RGM are widely distributed and human infections due to RGM have been reported in most geographic areas of the world , with thlsewhere . AccordiMany experimental methods have been reported for drug susceptibility tests of RGM, such as agar disk elution, the E-test, broth microdilution and agar disk diffusion. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. The microbroth dilution method is recommended by the CLSI as a RGM drug sensitivity test, and is currently considered the gold standard. In the CLSI M24 A2 guidelines, the break points of the MIC method for amikacin, tobramycin, cefoxitin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, doxycycline, imipenem, meropenem, linezolid and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole were specified . In thisM. houstonense infections. For the treatment of RGM, therapeutic regimens frequently vary depending on the nature of the disease. Single drug therapy for small or localized lesions is usually effective. However, in the case of diffuse or pulmonary infections, it is necessary to combine oral and injectable antibiotics [M. fortuitum group showed >\u200990% susceptibility or intermediate susceptibility to amikacin, cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin, gatifloxacin, imipenem, levofloxacin, linezolid, sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and\u2009<\u200990% susceptibility or intermediate susceptibility to clarithromycin, doxycycline and vancomycin [M. houstonense isolate 14,133 appeared susceptible to clarithromycin (MIC <\u20094\u2009\u03bcg/ml), but overnight incubation in clarithromycin (0.1\u2009\u03bcg/ml) increased the clarithromycin MIC to >\u2009128\u2009\u03bcg/ml [erm genes are inducible at the molecular level. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when interpreting the drug sensitivity of macrolides. M. houstonense is known to express the intrinsic macrolide erm gene, so inducible drug resistance may occur affecting the macrolide susceptibility results [M. houstonense was only susceptible to levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and amikacin. In this case, the patient was treated with a combination of levofloxacin and amikacin intravenous drip according to the drug sensitivity results. The therapeutic effect was good. However, a standardized treatment for M. houstonense remains to be proposed.Little is known about potential antimicrobial therapies to treat ibiotics . A reporncomycin . As prev results , 13. OurM. houstonense.A slight wound infection induced by RGM can heal itself and minor wound infections can be resolved be surgical debridement . Many caE. coli and M. houstonense. As the first report of infection caused by M. houstonense in China, it aids our understanding of the distribution of M. houstonense throughout the world.This case report describes an open fracture infection caused by combined infection of"}
+{"text": "Following publication of the original article , the autBH and JB conceptualised the study. JB supervised data collection, PH, AD and GGP analysed and interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript. BH, NW, and CS revised the manuscript critically. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The (incorrect) text in this section says:PH drafted the manuscript. BH, NW, and CS revised the manuscript critically. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.BH and JB conceptualised the study. JB supervised data collection, PH, AD and GGP analysed and interpreted the data and As such, please be advised that the correct text (*correction in bold) is:"}
+{"text": "Cronobacter sakazakii was from a can of dried milk in 1950, although these organisms have likely existed for millions of years. In 1980, John J. Farmer III, proposed the name Enterobacter sakazakii for what had been known as \u201cyellow-pigmented E. cloacae,\u201d in honor of Japanese bacteriologist Riichi Sakazaki. Over the next decades, E. sakazakii was implicated in scores of cases of meningitis and sepsis among infants, frequently in association with powdered infant formula. In 2007, the genus Cronobacter was created to accommodate the biogroups of E. sakazakii, with C. sakazakii as the type species. The genus was named for Cronos, the Titan of Greek myth, who devoured his children as they were born (The first documented isolation of what would become known as ere born ."}
+{"text": "Trypanosoma that are transmitted cyclically by tsetse flies, mechanically by other haematophagous flies, or sexually. Trypanosoma congolense (subgenus Nannomonas) and T. vivax (subgenus Dutonella) are genetically and morphologically distinct from T. brucei, T. equiperdum and T. evansi (subgenus Trypanozoon). It remains controversial whether the three latter taxa should be considered distinct species. Recent outbreaks of surra and dourine in Europe illustrate the risk and consequences of importation of equine trypanosomosis with infected animals into non-endemic countries. Knowledge on the epidemiological situation is fragmentary since many endemic countries do not report the diseases to the World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE. Other major obstacles to the control of equine trypanosomosis are the lack of vaccines, the inability of drugs to cure the neurological stage of the disease, the inconsistent case definition and the limitations of current diagnostics. Especially in view of the ever-increasing movement of horses around the globe, there is not only the obvious need for reliable curative and prophylactic drugs but also for accurate diagnostic tests and algorithms. Unfortunately, clinical signs are not pathognomonic, parasitological tests are not sufficiently sensitive, serological tests miss sensitivity or specificity, and molecular tests cannot distinguish the taxa within the Trypanozoon subgenus. To address the limitations of the current diagnostics for equine trypanosomosis, we recommend studies into improved molecular and serological tests with the highest possible sensitivity and specificity. We realise that this is an ambitious goal, but it is dictated by needs at the point of care. However, depending on available treatment options, it may not always be necessary to identify which trypanosome taxon is responsible for a given infection.Equine trypanosomosis is a complex of infectious diseases called dourine, nagana and surra. It is caused by several species of the genus  Trypanosoma. They give rise to important economic losses in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Nevertheless, they can be considered as animal diseases that are seriously neglected, both by the scientific community as by veterinary authorities and regulatory organisations. The situation is aggravated by the reluctance of many endemic countries to notify dourine and surra to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Major obstacles to the local and global control of equine trypanosomosis are the lack of vaccines, the inability of drugs to cure the neurological stage of the infections, the inconsistent case definitions and the limitations of current diagnostics. Recent outbreaks of surra and dourine in Europe illustrate the risk and consequences of importation of equine trypanosomosis with infected animals into non-endemic countries. In view of the ever-increasing movement of horses around the globe, there is not only the obvious need for reliable curative and prophylactic drugs but also for accurate diagnostic tests and algorithms. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the existing knowledge on the aetiology of equine trypanosomosis and the taxonomic status of the infecting trypanosomes, the geographical distribution, prevention and treatment options and diagnostic tools. We further discuss the issue of imperfect case definitions and propose research to address the limitations of current diagnostics.Equine trypanosomosis is a complex of infectious diseases called dourine, nagana and surra that are caused by several closely related species of Trypanosoma, including T. evansi, T. equiperdum, T. brucei, T. vivax, T. congolense and T. cruzi. Infections of horses with T. cruzi are very rare and are not further considered here [T. evansi), \u201cdourine\u201d (T. equiperdum) and \u201cnagana\u201d  but careful examination of published and unpublished data reveals that for all these three diseases, the clinical signs observed, including ventral oedema, emaciation, anaemia and neurological symptoms, can be very similar and are certainly not pathognomonic [Equine trypanosomosis is an infectious disease that is caused by several species of the genus red here . Historignomonic \u20137.Trypanosoma brucei and T. congolense are the only species that are confined to the distribution of tsetse flies (the vector) in sub-Saharan Africa. Trypanosoma equiperdum is transmitted sexually, and T. evansi is transmitted mechanically by blood-sucking flies, vampire bats, and possibly sexually [sexually , 9.T. evansi via contaminated meat or carcasses is well documented but normally does not occur in equines [Trypanosoma vivax can be transmitted both cyclically by tsetse flies and mechanically by other haematophagous flies. The global distribution of T. equiperdum, T. evansi and T. vivax is much wider, including Africa and Latin America for T. vivax, Africa, Latin America and Asia with sporadic import cases in Europe for T. evansi and worldwide, except Oceania, for T. equiperdum [T. brucei, T. congolense, T. equiperdum and T. vivax in horses. However, evidence is increasingly being published on horses infected with T. evansi, T. equiperdum and T. vivax in Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Jordan, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South East Asia, Sudan, Venezuela, etc. [Oral transmission of  equines , 11. Tryuiperdum , 13. Mosuiperdum . From reuiperdum \u201315. No sla, etc. \u201325.T. congolense, all the other trypanosomes are known to reside mainly in extravascular spaces of many tissues and organs, including the central nervous system. Evidence is accumulating that none of the aforementioned drugs is effective in the neurological stage of the disease since none is able to cross the blood-brain-barrier in sufficient amounts [T. evansi) in Spain was brought under control upon treatment with melarsomine hydrochloride  of all parasitologically confirmed and suspect animals  as well as of all animals that were in direct or indirect contact with the index case [T. equiperdum), occurred in Italy in 2011 and illustrates the risk of importation of equine trypanosomosis with infected animals into non-endemic countries [Vaccines against equine trypanosomosis do not exist. Chemotherapy of equine trypanosomosis consists of treatment with diminazene diaceturate, isometamidium chloride, quinapyramine chloride/quinapyramine sulphate combination, suramin or melarsomine hydrochloride. Except for trypanosome strains that display an innate or acquired resistance, these drugs are able to clear the parasites from the blood circulation . However amounts , 27\u201330. dex case . The latdex case , 32. Anoountries . That ouountries , 33, 34.Trypanosoma congolense (subgenus Nannomonas) and T. vivax (subgenus Duttonella) are species that are clearly separated, both genetically and morphologically, from the other taxa within the genus Trypanosoma. On the other hand, whether T. brucei, T. equiperdum and T. evansi, traditionally grouped together under the subgenus Trypanozoon, can be considered distinct species remains controversial. Morphologically, T. brucei can be distinguished from the latter two taxa by its pleomorphic nature with long slender, intermediate and short stumpy trypomastigote forms present in the mammalian host. The short stumpy forms are those that will initiate infection in the vector of nagana, the tsetse fly [Trypanosoma equiperdum and T. evansi are monomorphic and display only long slender forms, although in T. evansi, intermediate forms may sometimes be found [T. equiperdum and T. evansi, and the fact that genetic differences to T. brucei are small, have led to proposals that they should be classified as subspecies or strains of T. brucei [T. equiperdum isolates are in fact misidentified T. evansi strains, and that T. evansi and T. equiperdum evolved separately and on more than one occasion from T. brucei [T. evansi is further divided into T. evansi type A and type B, the latter so far only isolated from camels in eastern Africa [T. equiperdum strains can be divided in at least two and maybe more clades of distinct evolutionary origin [T. equiperdum strains from outbreaks in Italy and in Mongolia may even further complicate the taxonomic situation [Trypanosoma taxa that may cause trypanosomosis in equines.etse fly . Trypanobe found . Lack of. brucei \u201338. Othe. brucei . Today, n Africa . The \u201ctry origin . Newly iituation , 16. TabDiagnosis of equine trypanosomosis can be challenging due to the absence of specific clinical signs, and because parasitaemias in infected hosts are usually below the detection limit of parasitological tests and can even be below the detection limit of molecular DNA tests . TherefoClinical signs of nagana, dourine and surra vary with disease stage , infecting strain and variable intra- and inter-species susceptibility of the host.T. brucei, T. equiperdum or T. evansi, ataxia and paralysis of the hind quarter and lips usually precede death. The clinical course of the disease and long-term outcome depend on the parasite strain involved and the immunological status of the host. Other equine diseases that share some clinical signs with trypanosomosis are equine viral arteritis, equine infectious anaemia, contagious equine metritis, anthrax [For example, donkeys can carry an infection without developing classical signs of the diseases . Typical anthrax .T. vivax and T. congolense from the Trypanozoon species based on morphology, but this is not evident for the species within the subgenus Trypanozoon. In case of a microscopic trypanosome-positive specimen, species identification is best performed with a combination of molecular tests that have also the advantage of having a lower detection limit than microscopic parasite detection and that are able to detect mixed infections that may remain cryptic by microscopic examination [For microscopic parasitological diagnosis, the most common biological fluid examined is blood, but parasites may be detected in lymph aspirated from superficial lymph nodes, cerebrospinal fluid, milk and vaginal or preputial discharges , 49, 50.mination .18S and ITS1 sequences within the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus as well as satellite DNA are preferential targets for species-specific molecular diagnostics because of their multi-copy nature and the possibility to discriminate the taxa of the subgenus Trypanozoon from T. congolense and T. vivax [Trypanozoon is more challenging. PCR tests based on the mitochondrial DNA of these parasites (kinetoplast DNA or kDNA) can potentially distinguish T. evansi and some T. equiperdum from T. brucei by the absence of the maxicircle component of kDNA, and identify T. evansi type B by presence of the type B minicircle [T. evansi strains are naturally akinetoplastic (i.e. complete lack of kDNA) so that molecular tests targeting kDNA have limited value. Some authors claim that T. evansi type A can be identified by the presence of the type A-specific RoTat 1.2 variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) gene and T. evansi type B by the presence of the type B-specific JN 2118HU VSG [T. brucei has not been investigated extensively. Furthermore, the VSG repertoire is subject to recombination and therefore inherently unstable, and other researchers have shown that some Kenyan Trypanozoon isolates with type A minicircles appear to lack the RoTat 1.2 gene, while the JN 2118Hu VSG gene was also found in T. b. gambiense type II [T. brucei from T. equiperdum, which means that the epidemiological context has to be taken into account to identify the trypanosome species in an infected horse.A plethora of molecular diagnostic tests has been described which target DNA sequences that are specific at different taxonomic levels and which use diverse technology. The most commonly used test formats are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR). The T. vivax , 51\u201354. nicircle , 55, 56.18HU VSG \u201359. Howe type II . UnfortuT. congolense and, to a lesser extent, T. vivax, Trypanozoon trypanosomes are primarily tissue parasites; parasitaemia is often very low and seldom reaches the threshold of current parasitological or even molecular diagnostic tests, especially in asymptomatic carriers. Therefore, antibody detection tests are available and can provide indirect evidence of infection.In contrast to T. equiperdum infection [T. evansi infection, OIE recommends IFAT, an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA/RoTat 1.2), a card agglutination test for trypanosomosis using T. evansi antigen (CATT/T. evansi) and immune trypanolysis (IT) [T. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense, OIE recommends using IFAT and ELISA [The complement fixation test (CFT) and the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) are the only OIE recommended tests for nfection . For T. sis (IT) . For infnd ELISA .T. evansi type A [T. evansi test is a direct agglutination test that makes use of the same T. evansi RoTat 1.2 clone used in the IT test, but the preparation of the reagent exposes other surface antigens as well, resulting in some cross-reactivity with T. vivax and T. equiperdum [The IT test detects exclusively antibodies that recognise one single multi-copy epitope at the surface of the RoTat 1.2 VSG expressing i type A . As a reuiperdum , 65, 66.in vivo (mice or rats) or propagated in vitro [T. equiperdum strain, has the advantage that it, to a certain level, also reacts with antibodies against T. evansi; however, this also entails the risk of false positive reactions [T. equiperdum infection is considered non-curable, any false positive reaction will have serious consequences . Reactivity of CFT with horses infected with T. brucei, or even with T. congolense or T. vivax, seems possible but remains undocumented. An additional problem with CFT is that reactivity may vary in function of the trypanosome strain used to prepare the antigen and of the VSG expressed by the trypanosomes at the moment of harvesting. Efforts to harmonise the antigen preparation of CFT in the diverse laboratories around the world are challenged by the fact that, within the subgenus Trypanozoon, genetic distinction between T. equiperdum, T. evansi and T. brucei is blurred, as discussed above [T. equiperdum for the purpose of CFT antigen preparation. It is this strain that is now used by the European Reference Laboratory for Equine Diseases in France, the National Reference Laboratory for Dourine in Germany and the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories [T. equiperdum isolates have not been fully typed; whether they may serve as reference strains for the Asian region remains to be investigated [Other serological tests use crude preparations derived from bloodstream form trypomastigotes grown in vitro , 68. Theeactions . Since Ted above , 69, 70.ed above , the conratories , 68. Newstigated .T. evansi (other than RoTat 1.2), T. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense have not been defined. Furthermore, as a result of antigenic variation, it is not possible to control the particular VSG that is expressed at the moment of antigen preparation. Since this VSG accounts for 10% of the protein content of a bloodstream form trypomastigote, it is a major, yet undefined, component of crude antigen preparations for IFAT and ELISA. Other proteins in crude trypanosome antigen preparations may cross-react with antibodies unrelated to infection with trypanosomes [Similar to the CFT, the trypanosome strains used for IFAT and ELISA for anosomes .Trypanozoon parasites that can be reliably distinguished from T. brucei and T. evansi and (ii) if CFT, IFAT and PCR exist that are fully specific for these parasites. Unfortunately, both conditions are not fulfilled.Case definitions with unequivocal criteria to identify a case of dourine, surra and nagana are essential to estimate the impact of these diseases on the horse population, to guide surveillance, control and prevention strategies, and to choose among treatment options, the latter taking into account that treatment success is largely dependent on the stage of the diseases rather than on the infecting trypanosome strain. An attempt at such case definition was made during the dourine outbreak in Italy in 2011; subsequently, the same case definition was adopted by the OIE Terrestrial Manual , 33. AccT. evansi (anti-horse IgG whole molecule), CATT/T. evansi, PCR-TBR (i.e. PCR targeting Trypanozoon-specific satellite DNA [Trypanozoon spp. (sic) if it is positive to PCR-TBR and/or if Trypanozoon parasites are observed by microscopic examination. An equid is considered as seropositive to surra if it is positive to ELISA-T. evansi and/or CATT/T. evansi; in this case, the animal should be tested for CFT-dourine, and, if it is positive for CFT-dourine, it is also considered as seropositive to dourine; if it is negative to CFT-dourine, it is considered as seropositive to surra only [Trypanozoon taxa, but the definition of seropositivity is questionable and does not take into account possible cross-reactions with T. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense. It also disregards the possibility to use more specific tests such as the IT and the ELISA/RoTat 1.2 to rule out or suggest infection with T. evansi type A. Both may miss T. evansi type B infections, but T. evansi type B has so far only been isolated from dromedary camels in Kenya and Ethiopia [According to the OIE Terrestrial Manual , an equilite DNA ) and micrra only . This \u201ccEthiopia , 56.T. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense, the OIE Terrestrial Manual does not provide any case definition.For equine infections with In order to improve the specificity of diagnostics for equine trypanosomosis, the focus should be on molecular and serological tests.T. congolense, T. vivax and Trypanozoon taxa. However, within Trypanozoon, no single test is able to identify each taxon unequivocally. On the other hand, for the purpose of international movement of horses, it seems sufficient to use a combination of genus- and subgenus-specific molecular tests. As qPCR is becoming the standard now, the conventional PCR tests might be transformed into qPCR to improve standardisation and sensitivity. In any case, given the usually low parasitaemia in clinically healthy, yet infected, equines, the negative predictive value of molecular tests is inherently low.Molecular tests can identify with relatively high sensitivity and excellent specificity T. congolense and T. vivax, recombinant fragments of respectively Cathepsin B1 and the cytoskeleton associated protein GM6 are used in the VeryDiag test [T. vivax Cathepsin L has some diagnostic potential [Trypanozoon, many common proteins have already been expressed as recombinant antigens with proven diagnostic potential, in particular the invariant surface glycoproteins 65 and 75 , the cytoskeleton associated protein GM6 and, more recently, a T. equiperdum protein that exhibits homology with the regulatory subunit of mammalian cAMP-dependent protein kinases [Trypanozoon infections in general, irrespective of the infecting trypanosome species and geographical origin. In case there is a need to detect T. evansi type A specific antibodies, a recombinant fragment of VSG RoTat 1.2, expressed in different systems, has shown its diagnostic potential [Regarding serological tests, improvements are possible with respect to test format and antigens. CFT and IFAT should be replaced by techniques that are less complex and easier to standardise, such as ELISA for high throughput or immunochromatography for individual testing. Important to keep in mind, however, is the market failure that prevents commercial companies to invest in the development of such tests. The diagnostic specificity of antibody detection tests is largely defined by the antigen preparation. Therefore, the use of crude antigen preparations should be discouraged, and initiatives to replace them with recombinant or synthetic peptides should be supported. For iag test . Also, rotential . For the kinases \u201386. Noneotential , 87\u201389.Trypanozoon. We propose to conduct studies into (i) improved molecular tests with the highest possible sensitivity; and (ii) improved serological tests with the highest possible specificity. For the proper evaluation of these diagnostics, it will be necessary to establish a panel of representative trypanosome strains, and their corresponding DNA/RNA, as well as a panel of biological specimens (serum/plasma/blood) from horses naturally or experimentally infected with T. vivax, T. congolense and representative Trypanozoon taxa.To address the limitations of the current diagnostics for equine trypanosomosis we recommend not to aim for the distinction between taxa within the subgenus"}
+{"text": "S stereochemistry at the point of attachment of the 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl substituent, the 1R stereochemistry of the 2-methoxyphenol attachment point was omitted. In the structure of quebrachitol the stereochemistry that distinguishes this particular compound from other O-methylinositol isomers was not indicated. Finally, a double bond was missing in the structure of oxoputerine. The corrected The authors wish to inform readers that there are several minor errors and omissions in the chemical structures shown in Mitrephora species mentioned in our paper, including the title species M. vulpina, has changed, and the names M. vulpina C.E.C. Fisch, M. zippeliana and M. diversifolia are no longer used, while the species M. thorelii Pierre is now M. tomentosa Hook f. & Thomson. Readers are advised to consult a recent monograph on this genus [Finally, we have been alerted by Prof. Christophe Wiart (University of Nottingham) that the taxonomy of several of the is genus  for the"}
+{"text": "AbstractAsclepiassyriaca L. in Lithuania revealed the occurrence of a new alien plant species, the North American native Asclepiasspeciosa Torr. , in southern parts of Lithuania \u2013 the first report of the latter species in Europe. Interestingly, a thorough analysis of herbarium specimens revealed that A.speciosa had first been collected in Lithuania in 1962, but the specimen was misidentified at the time as A.syriaca. The newly discovered population of A.speciosa occupies mesic grasslands, tall-herb fringe communities and arable field habitats. Sexual reproduction of this species was not recorded; it spreads locally by means of vegetative reproduction. We present here an exhaustive analysis of morphological characteristics and differences between A.speciosa and A.syriaca and other species of the genus, as well as a key for identification of alien Asclepias species in Europe. We predict that the effect of A.speciosa on native habitats and communities, and its economic impact, are comparable to those of the highly invasive A.syriaca. Although A.speciosa currently occurs very rarely as an alien species in Europe, its existence in other regions of Europe is highly probable.Studies on populations of  Asclepias L. s. str.  includes about 120 species native to the Western Hemisphere. Most of the species are distributed in North America and the Caribbean, ten species occur in South America  Schltr., have also been reported as alien naturalized species in several countries of southern Europe (Gomphocarpus R.Br. (Gomphocarpusfruticosus (L.) W.T.Aiton and Gomphocarpusphysocarpus E.Mey., respectively) .In Europe, three alien species of the genus riaca L. . Anothern Europe ; howeverctively) . About an Europe . The mos.syriaca , whereasf Europe . BecauseA.syriaca on native plant communities in Lithuania, because available information on this species was only fragmentary. Over several decades, A.syriaca had been reported to occur at several localities in southern Lithuania, and it has been recognized as a naturalized species . Research on morphological characteristics, flowering, and habitats was performed on 26\u201328 June and 20 September 2018. For comparison of morphological features, we selected a population of A.syriaca located in a similar habitat in the village of Me\u0161ku\u010diai, Kai\u0161iadorys district . In each population, we studied characters of 30 flowering shoots.The population of Plants for the study were selected randomly from all over the colony, with a distance of at least 2 m between sampled plants. Stems were cut at ground level with garden shears. Stem height was measured from the soil level to the apex with a precision of 1 cm, using a measuring tape. The number of leaf pairs on the stem was counted, including wilted and fallen leaves. In cases where some of the lower leaves were fallen, their number was determined by leaf scars on the stem. Leaf measurements with a precision of 0.1 cm were taken from the leaf that was situated closest to the middle of the stem. The length and width of the leaf blade, length of the petiole, and diameter of the lowermost inflorescence were measured using a ruler. The length of the leaf blade was measured from the leaf base at the junction with the petiole to its tip, whereas the width of the leaf was measured at its widest point. The number of developed inflorescences on the stem was counted. The diameters of the inflorescences were measured at their middle part and the number of flowers was counted.Asclepias species stored at the Herbarium of the Institute of Botany of the Nature Research Centre (BILAS), Vilnius, Lithuania. Specimens collected during this research were also deposited at the same herbarium.We studied the herbarium specimens of A.speciosa and A.syriaca was tested by applying a 2-sample t-test. All calculations were performed using PAST 3.20 ; the specimen was identified by V. Galinis as A.syriaca . This record was also mentioned by BILAS. Based on the information provided by A.speciosa was erroneously considered as the first record of A.syriaca in Lithuania ; however, it was also erroneously identified as A.syriaca . Just a few days later, A.speciosa was collected by \u017d. Sinkevi\u010dius . More than a decade later, in 2004, a specimen of A.speciosa was collected by V. Ra\u0161omavi\u010dius  and also identified as A.syriaca. Therefore, A.speciosa has been present in southern Lithuania in the vicinity of the \u017duvintas Biosphere Reserve for at least 56 years and at its recently identified locality for at least 26 years.A new locality for A.speciosa  in the mire of \u017duvintas, although the exact size of the population was not given. The label of the herbarium specimen of A.speciosa collected by M. Lapel\u0117 in the vicinity of the village of Liepakojai indicated that plants were abundant, but the size of the colony was not specified. The herbarium label of the specimen collected in 2004 by V. Ra\u0161omavi\u010dius noted that this species formed a colony; however, once again, the size of the stand and density of the colony were not recorded. During the present study in 2018, the area occupied by A.speciosa in the vicinity of the village of Liepakojai was measured. A dense stand of A.speciosa in a mesic meadow and at the edge of a woodland .Both species also differ in the number of flowers in the inflorescence. Although the diameter of the inflorescence is almost the same in both species Table , those oA.speciosa and A.syriaca. The leaf blade of the middle cauline leaves of A.speciosa is broadly ovate or elliptical, widest at its slightly cordate base, whereas the leaf blade of A.syriaca is ovate or elliptical, with a rounded or slightly cuneate base, and is widest near its middle . The hoods of A.speciosa are much longer (10\u201313 mm) than in both other species and differ in shape, having prolonged acute apices rather than short rounded apices.A.speciosa in Lithuania was recorded in 1962 in the district of Alytus. Considering information provided on herbarium labels, this species has been recorded in two separate locations in what is now the \u017duvintas Biosphere Reserve and in its vicinity, on the outskirts of the village of Liepakojai. Therefore, the currently studied colony of A.speciosa has existed for at least 26 years and this species can be considered as naturalized in Lithuania. Although the time of its introduction into Lithuania is unknown, we suppose that A.speciosa might have been introduced at the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century as an ornamental plant at the nearby Rie\u010diai Manor Park  inflorescences (In its native habitat of Washington State (USA), individual reproductive shoots of escences . In the escences . Such diA.speciosa grows in a broad range of moisture conditions. Usually it is found in moderately wet but well-drained soil, though quite frequently it is found in riparian sites and sub-irrigated or occasionally flooded habitats. Occasionally, populations of this species can also be found in very dry sites  is at approximately 50\u00b0N (A.speciosa from southern Manitoba west to British Columbia and south to Minnesota to northwestern Texas and California (A.syriaca (A.speciosa in Lithuania, it can likely invade a broad range of grassland habitats, some types of wetland, many anthropogenic habitats, and become a weed of arable lands, particularly in the Pannonian and Steppic biogeographical regions of Europe. The effect of this species on habitats, their biodiversity and economic impact can be considered comparable to that of A.syriaca. A major obstacle to the spreading of this species is the apparent absence of sexual reproduction in the studied populations in Europe. However, further observations on the fruit setting and possible sexual reproduction of the plant in Europe are required.The northern limit of the native distribution of ely 50\u00b0N . Therefolifornia , one canlifornia . Potenti.syriaca . Based oA.speciosa is a very rare alien species and Lithuania is the first documented country of occurrence in Europe. However, the possibility that this species already occurs in other regions of Europe cannot be excluded. It is possible that this species has been overlooked due to resemblance with the quite variable and similar A.syriaca, particularly when plants are examined at the vegetative stage. Therefore, botanists and ecologists should pay particular attention to species of the genus Asclepias in nature, as well as critically review herbarium specimens. It seems unlikely that A.speciosa has only been introduced into Lithuania.Currently,"}
+{"text": "The Upper Mississippian Bluefield Formation of the Mauch Chunk Group in southeastern West Virginia is known for its preservation of a variety of invertebrate taxa and early tetrapod trackways, but no lower actinopterygian remains have been formally described from these Carboniferous rocks. Here, the first lower actinopterygian fish is described from the Bluefield Formation of West Virginia. This fish is represented by a nearly complete articulated specimen with a three-dimensional snout and an unobstructed view of the gular and branchiostegal region. This new taxon is defined by a unique set of characters, which include features of the snout, circumorbital series, cheek, and operculo-gular region. These features make this fish different and distinct from previously described Carboniferous fishes. Some of the morphological features of note include the presence of a distinct lacrimal, premaxillary, ventral rostral and dorsal rostral bones, a narrow infraorbital ventral to the orbit, and a large crescent shaped infraorbital that contacts a single dermosphenotic. There is an anteriorly inclined hatchet-shaped preoperculum and six small suborbital bones anterior to the expanded region of this bone that filling the space between the preoperculum, dermosphenotic, and infraorbital. Posterior to the preoperculum, there is a single wedge-shaped dermohyal and a series of three rectangular anteopercular bones. The anteopercular bones extend halfway down the anterior border of the rectangular operculum. A median gular, two pairs of lateral gulars, and at least eight branchiostegal rays are present. The heterocercal caudal fin is deeply cleft and inequilobate. The scales have pectinated posterior margins and bear diagonal ridges of ganoine. The description of this new taxon represents the first actinopterygian and the first vertebrate body fossil described from the Bluefield Formation and the second actinopterygian taxon described from the Mauch Chunk Group in West Virginia. The body plan of modern fishes is thought to have originated within a grouping of lower actinopterygian fishes collectively referred to as palaeoniscoids . Though The Upper Mississippian Bluefield Formation is the basal-most formation in the Mauch Chunk Group in the Appalachian Basin . In soutHylopus hamesi have been described from the Bluefield Formation , Lawrence, Kansas, USA.The specimen was examined by stereomicroscopy. To aid in visualization of features, the specimen was viewed under 70% ethanol or shaded with magnesium oxide. Illustrations were prepared using a camera lucida and digital illustrations were constructed using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator programs. Photographs were taken with a Canon XSi Digital SLR camera with a macro lens. When possible, morphometric measurements and meristic counts were taken following the scheme of http://zoobank.org/. The LSID for this publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0F2C9D33-9584-4739-B914-5C4C243E0B1F. The online version of this work is archived and available from the following digital repositories: PeerJ, PubMed Central and CLOCKSS.The electronic version of this article in Portable Document Format (PDF) will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and hence the new names contained in the electronic version are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone. This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix Lower actinopterygian skull bones have been identified differently by various researchers See  is accepDiagnosis. As for the type and only speciesType and only Species.Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. spEtymology. After the Bluefield Formation where the specimen was recovered from.Etymology.mercerensis in reference to Mercer County, West Virginia where the specimen was recovered.Diagnosis. Based on the unique combination of the following characters: Absence of complex bones in the snout and the presence of distinct and separate lacrimal, premaxillary, and dorsal and ventral rostral bones; narrow rectangular infraorbital ventral to the orbit; large crescent shaped infraorbital posterior and posteroventral to the orbit that contacts a single Y-shaped dermosphenotic dorsally; six small rectangular suborbital bones arranged in two distinct rows; wedge-shaped dermohyal posterior to a hatchet-shaped preoperculum; a row of three rectangular, ganoine-bearing anteopercular bones that extend down half the depth of the operculum; rectangular anteriorly inclined operculum with a diagonal ventral margin, suboperculum that is taller posteriorly than anteriorly and shorter in height but wider in length than the operculum; maxilla with a deep posterior plate, a rounded posteroventral process, and a narrow anterior arm that extends to the anteroventral margin of the orbit; a single median gular, two pairs of lateral gulars, a series of at least eight branchiostegal rays; inequilobate and deeply cleft heterocercal caudal fin with an elongated caudal peduncle; anteriorly placed and mid-body scales with pectinated posterior margins and diagonal ridges of ganoine.Holotype and only specimen. KUVP 155843  in age and are good comparisons for this newly described fish. The condition of the bones of the snout, infraorbitals series, suborbitals, and anteopercular bones in B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. is compared to that of Bear Gulch actinopterygians and other Carboniferous fishes in the sections below to highlight how this new taxon is distinct from previously described actinopterygians.Bones of the snout. The snout of Carboniferous lower actinopterygians is characterized by a great deal of anatomic diversity in terms of the numbers and identities of its bones of this region. Carboniferous actinopterygians differ from Devonian fishes in that there are numerous Carboniferous species with separate and distinct lacrimal and premaxillary bones, a condition not seen in Devonian fishes (Canobius ramsayi (Kalops (Lineagruan (Beagiscus (Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. is an example of another Carboniferous actinopterygian with separate lacrimal and premaxillary bones (Bluefieldius n. gen. and the genera Kalops and Paratarrasius from the Bear Gulch Limestone (Bluefieldius n. gen. (Kalops and Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. differ in the shape of the lacrimal bone (Kalops (B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. (Bluefieldius n. gen. n. differs from Kalops in regard to the absence of supraorbital bones (n fishes . Lower a ramsayi  and Bear (Kalops , Lineagrneagruan , and Beaeagiscus . Bluefiery bones ,  4. Theimestone ; Fig. 8.imestone . The elo n. gen. . Kalops . n. sp. . In addial bones .Infraorbital bones.B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. has one large crescent shaped infraorbital bone in the posteroventral corner of the orbit (B. n. gen. shares with many Devonian and Carboniferous genera such as Mimipiscis (, Moythomasia (, Howqualepis (Mansfieldiscus (Gonatodus (Woodichthys (Wendyichthys (, Cyranorhis (, Lineagruan, and Beagiascus (Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. differs from these Devonian and Carboniferous fishes in regards to the composition of the bones of the snout and other features of the cranial bones. It is important to note that the contact between the large crescent shaped infraorbital and the dermosphenotic is another feature that sets Bluefieldius n. gen. apart from the genus Kalops (. Kalops has a series of small infraorbital bones separating the crescent shaped infraorbital in the posteroventral corner of the orbit from the dermosphenotic (he orbit ,  4, 8. mipiscis , Moythomthomasia , Howqualqualepis , Mansfieeldiscus , Gonatodonatodus , Woodichdichthys , and theyichthys , Cyranorranorhis , Lineagragiascus . Bluefies Kalops . Kalops phenotic .Suborbital bones. Suborbitals are anamestic bones that are found posterior to the circumorbital bones, separating these bones from the preoperculum. Suborbital bones are uncommon in Devonian fishes; they are absent in, among others, Cheirolepis (Moythomasia durgaringa (Mimipiscis (Gogosardinia (Moythomasia nitida (Osoriochthys marginis (Mesopoma carricki (Wendyichthys and Cyranorhis (Lineagruan (Paratarrasius (Kalops (Beagiascus (Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp., with six small suborbital bones (irolepis , Moythomrgaringa , Mimipismipiscis , and Gogsardinia . The onla nitida  with onemarginis  which hamarginis . Suborbicarricki  and the ranorhis , are chaneagruan , or a moarrasius , Kalops  (Kalops , and Beaagiascus . Bluefieal bones ,  4, is Anteoperular bones.Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. is characterized by the third condition\u2014there is a series of anteopercular bones posterior to a wedge-shaped dermohyal and anterior to the operculum (Lambeia pectinatus from the Albert Shale Formation (Paratarrasius (Lineagruan and Beagiascus (Bluefieldius n. gen. differs from Lineagruan and Beagiascus in the extent of the anteopercular bones. In B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp., the anteopercular bones extend down to about half the height of the operculum; in Lineagruan, Beagiascus, and Lambeia the anteopercular bones extend down the entire height of the operculum, or even to the ventral margin of the suboperculum (Bluefieldius n. gen. and Lineagruan. The anteopercular bones, though ornamented with ganoine, are thin and delicate in Lineagruan judithi whereas the anteopercular bones in Bluefieldius mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. are of the same thickness as the surrounding bones, a condition similar to that seen in Lambeia (Paratarrasius has anteopercular bones that do not extend down to the ventral margin of the operculum (Bluefieldius n. gen. in terms of size, shape, and number (perculum ,  4. Thiormation  and the arrasius  and Lineagiascus . Bluefieperculum . The thi Lambeia . Paratarperculum , but thed number .B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. is defined by a unique set of cranial characteristics including morphological characters of the snout, the circumorbital series, suborbital bones, and anteopercular bones. The combination of these specific characteristics separate B. mercerensis n. gen. n. sp. from previously described lower actinopterygian fishes and warrant the description of a new taxon.A new lower actinopterygian genus and species is described from the Upper Carboniferous Bluefield Formation of West Virginia. This new genus is represented by a well preserved articulated specimen which represents the first vertebrate body fossil from the Bluefield Formation and the first described actinopterygian. Lower actinopterygian fishes are characterized by a great deal of anatomic and taxonomic diversity that is not well understood. We have neither a stable classification scheme nor strongly supported hypotheses of relationships for lower actinopterygian fishes. This lack of understanding has been attributed to the need for more well-preserved fishes to be described or redescribed and a better understanding of morphological characters among lower actinopterygians . Taxonom"}
+{"text": "This article has been retracted: Due to numerous examples of splicing and transposition of data into figures, as well as other errors, the authors believe that retraction of this paper is the only responsible and logical course of action. As a result, all authors have agreed to the retraction of this paper from Oncotarget.1094-1108. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.378Original article: Oncotarget. 2011; 2:1094\u20131108."}
+{"text": "The evolution of elongated body forms in tetrapods has a strong influence on the musculoskeletal system, including the reduction of pelvic and pectoral girdles, as well as the limbs. However, despite extensive research in this area it still remains unknown how muscles within and around bony girdles are affected by these reductions. Here we investigate this issue using fossorial amphisbaenian reptiles, or worm lizards, as a model system, which show substantial variation in the degree of reductions of girdles and limbs. Using iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT), we analyze the composition of the shoulder muscles of the main clades of Amphisbaenia and their outgroups relative to the pectoral skeleton.Bipes is the only taxon that retains forelimbs and an almost complete pectoral girdle. All other amphisbaenian families show more variation concerning the completeness of the pectoral girdle having reduced or absent girdle elements. Rhineura, which undergoes the most severe bone reductions, differs from all other taxa in possessing elongated muscle strands instead of discrete shoulder muscles. In all investigated amphisbaenians, the shoulder muscle agglomerate is shortened and shifted anteriorly relative to the ancestral position as seen in the outgroups.All investigated amphisbaenian taxa retain the full set of 17 shoulder muscles, independent of the degree of limb and girdle reductions, whereas in some cases muscles are fused to complexes or changed in morphology relative to the ancestral condition. Our results show that pectoral muscle anatomy does not necessarily correspond to the loss or reduction of bones, indicating a decoupling of the musculoskeletal system. Muscle attachment sites change from bones to non-skeletal areas, such as surrounding muscles, skin or connective tissue, whereas muscle origins themselves remain in the same region where the pectoral bones were ancestrally located. Our findings indicate a high degree of developmental autonomy within the musculoskeletal system, we predict that the observed evolutionary rearrangements of amphisbaenian shoulder muscles were driven by functional demands rather than by developmental constraints. Nevertheless, worm lizards display a spatial offset of both pectoral bones and muscles relative to the ancestral position, indicating severe developmental modifications of the amphisbaenian body axis.The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1303-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. In tetrapods, the evolution of elongated body forms is tied to substantial modifications of the musculoskeletal system and has shown to be strongly correlated with the reduction of limbs \u20137. Limb Bipes, possesses forelimbs [Bipes retaining large parts of the bony shoulder girdle and Blanidae still having ossified clavicles and scapulocoracoids, whereas Trogonophidae only possess bony scapulocoracoids and poorly ossified remnants of the sternum; Amphisbaenidae show either no or only very small bony scapulocoracoids and Rhineuridae do not retain any element of the pectoral girdle  lifestyle. Next to their snake-like appearance, amphisbaenians are anatomically characterized by a strongly reinforced skull that is used as a digging tool, the loss of the middle ear, and the reduction of the eyes , 24\u201329. orelimbs , 30, 31.Meroles cuneirostris, as outgroup taxon for comparison.For our study we used diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT), a recently developed technique for the 3D visualization of metazoan soft tissues \u201340. As w2O dest; 0,149\u2009g/l in 100\u2009ml H2O\u2009=\u2009~\u20090,15\u2009w/v I in H2O), and applied this method to individuals belonging to five amphisbaenian species, Rhineura floridana, Bipes biporus, Blanus strauchi, Trogonophis wiegmanni and Cynisca leucura, which are representatives of the five major clades of Amphisbaenia, respectively  [Meroles cuneirostris, see Additional file C. leucura, 33\u2009days for B. biporus, 72\u2009days for T. wiegmanni, 79\u2009days for R. floridana, and 86\u2009days for M. cuneirostris. After completed staining, specimens were scanned using a Phoenix X-ray Nanotom computed tomography machine at MfN using 90\u2009kV, 110 MA and 1000\u2009ms for R. floridana and 40\u2009kV, 250\u2009\u03bcA und 1250\u2009ms for all other specimens, with a resolution between 4 and 8\u2009\u03bcm. The resulting 3D model was visualized and analysed using the software Volume Graphics 2.0. Muscle terminology follows Jenkins and Goslow (1983) [We used a personally developed protocol for diceCT visualization (iodine-potassium iodine solution from stock solution diluted with HCynisca)  (see AddCynisca) \u201344, we uw (1983) . The ideWe used the software Mesquite (version 3.10)  to optimBones of the shoulder girdleBipes biporus is the most complete among all amphisbaenians [sternum (st), which is accompanied posteriorly by an extremely long, also calcified and cartilaginous xiphoid process (xp). There is no connection between the sternum and the ribs. Anteriorly it is connected to the well-developed scapulocoracoids (scc) [humerus (hu). Distally, the scapulocoracoids articulate with the cartilaginous, but calcified, rectangular [suprascapulae (ss). The suprascapulae are situated dorsally to the scapulocoracoids and possess an anteroventral process, which extends medial to the clavicles (cl), but does not contact them. The latter are reduced, small, slender and rod-like bones that are connected to the shoulder girdle only via ligamentous connections to the sternum [Bipes biporus is positioned relatively close to the head at the level of the 3rd cervical vertebra [hyoid (hy) is also marked in all specimens.The shoulder girdle of baenians , 48  [Among amphisbaenians, Bipedidae are the only family with forelimbs  and posspiphyses . The bonpiphyses . Bipes b3, 3, 3) . For a cMuscles of the shoulder girdleBipes biporus, as well as those of the other amphisbaenian taxa, was made on the basis of their bony attachment sides, their overall topological arrangement, and generally by outgroup comparison. Because all respective muscle are described in detail for Meroles cuneirostris  and an interior  layer.M. latissimus dorsi (m ld) occurs as a large, flat, dorsolateral muscle, similar to that of Meroles cuneirostris, but a little smaller relative to the other muscles. Posterior it is attached to the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex. It lies distally to the M. deltoideus clavicularis and arises from a dorsal layer of connective tissue as well as from the surface of the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex and runs ventrally to insert into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus.The M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius are shown as separate muscles for Bipes canalicatus [, and also are divided into several portions. In our scans of Bipes biporus, M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius definitely form a large fibrous complex (m etc) with some fibres interacting, and no clear division can be made. Our observation is in accordance with Bolk et al. [Bipes biporus this complex forms a relatively large muscle unit, which lies distally and anteriorly to the M. deltoideus clavicularis. The complex covers most of the M. deltoideus clavicularis and expands laterally and anteriorly in form of a flat layer that extends beyond the level of the M. deltoideus clavicularis. Similar to Meroles cuneirostris, in which both muscles are separate, the complex runs relatively far anterior, i.e. it covers the area from the second vertebra to the posterior part of the skull and covers also parts of the hyoid. The M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius complex arises from a dorsal layer of connective tissue near the skin and inserts into the cranium.The alicatus , and alsk et al. , state tM. omohyoideus und M. sternohyoideus form a complex (m osc) in Bipes biporus. This complex runs in a layer proximal to the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex. Similar to the latter, it arises from the upper third of the lateral body half from an inter-muscular area of connective tissue and runs to the hyoid. Together with the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex it is one of the most anteriorly positioned muscle units of the shoulder girdle.As mentioned above, M. deltoideus\u00a0scapularis (m ds) is a flat muscle that arises from the suprascapula and runs to the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, where it also inserts. It is smaller than the M. deltoideus scapularis of Meroles cuneirostris and much more posteriorly located.The M. deltoideus\u00a0clavicularis (m\u2009dc) is located, which runs distal to the suprascapula and extends beyond its level both anteriorly and posteriorly. It arises from the suprascapula and inserts into the scapulocoracoid as well as into the surface of the adjacent M. supracoracoideus anteriorly and M. deltoideus scapularis posteriorly. In comparison to the M. deltoideus clavicularis of Meroles cuneirostris, the M. deltoideus clavicularis of Bipes biporus exhibits no twist around its own axis. It is a long, flat muscle that is located not only anteroventrally, as in Meroles cuneirostris, but also dorsally to the M. deltoideus scapularis. It forms a muscle layer that is bordered distally by the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex as well as by the M. latissimus dorsi, and proximally by the suprascapula.Dorsal to M. deltoideus scapularis and M. serratus anterior the M. supracoracoideus (m supc) is located. It is a long, flat muscle that runs between the attachment of the humerus to the shoulder girdle and the scapulocoracoid, from which it arises. Proximally it is strongly associated with the M. scapulo-humeralis anterior, from which it is also difficult to separate, at least in the contact zone. This observation is in accordance with Bolk et al. [Meroles cuneirostris there is a strong association between the M. supracoracoideus and the M. scapulo-humeralis anterior, but they can be much better separated from each other than in Bipes biporus. Here, the M. supracoracoideus runs with a twist around its own axis in direction of the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, where it also inserts.Anteroventrally to the M. deltoideus scapularis the k et al. , who staM. pectoralis\u00a0(m p) consists, like in Meroles cuneirostris, of diverse layers, which partly overlap each other. As a superficial muscle it arises from a layer of connective tissue between skin and sternum and runs across the sternum and inserts into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus. Both anterior and posterior to the humerus it extends far dorsally and covers the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius- complex anteriorly. Posteriorly it is connected to the M. latissimus dorsi. It runs distally to the M. coraco-brachialis longus.The flat Subjacent muscle layersThe subjacent pectoral muscles are also positioned in two layers in all non-rhineurid amphisbaenians, an exterior  and an interior  layer.M. serratus\u00a0anterior superficialis (m sas) is located. It is a flat muscle that runs proximally from the suprascapula to the scapulocoracoid and inserts into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus.Proximal to the M. deltoideus scapularis the M. scapulo-humeralis anterior (m sha) runs proximal to the M. supracoracoideus and ventral to the M. deltoideus clavicularis. It arises from both the clavicle and the scapulocoracoid, runs directly along the scapulocoracoid and inserts into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus.The M. scapulo-humeralis posterior (m shp) is located proximolaterally, whereas both are strongly associated with each other. The origin of the M. scapula-humeralis posterior lies on the scapulocoracoid and its insertion is found on the surface of the adjacent muscles, i. e. M. subcoraco-scapularis, M. coraco-brachialis brevis and M. coraco-brachialis longus.Relative to the latter muscle, the M. levator scapulae (m ls) is located, which arises from the lateral process of the atlas in the same way as in Lacertidae [Meroles cuneirostris, in which it is located anterior to the M. serratus anterior superficialis.Proximal to the suprascapula, the certidae . It runsM. coraco-brachialis brevis (m cbb) is located below the articulation of the humerus to the shoulder girdle. It is a flat, bulky muscle that runs ventrally to the M. supracoracoideus and M. scapulo-humeralis anterior, as well as the M. omohyoideus and the M. sternohyoideus-complex. It arises from a layer of inter-muscular connective tissue and inserts into another layer of connective tissue as well as into the surface of the adjacent M. coraco-brachialis longus.The M. coraco-brachialis longus (m cbl) is located. It is larger than the former muscle and arises from the scapulocoracoid, inserting into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, where it is positioned adjacent to the M. biceps brachii.Proximally, deep below the M. coraco-brachialis brevis, the Bipes biporus is the M. subcoraco-scapularis (m subcs), an aggregation of M. subcoracoideus and M. subscapularis [Meroles cuneirostris. It arises from a ventrally positioned layer of connective tissue inside the body and inserts into the deltopectoral crest of the humerus and is positioned ventrally to the M. serratus anterior superficialis.One of the most proximally situated muscles of apularis , which rM. sternocoracoideus (m sternc) is found, which is relatively large compared to Blanus and Trogonophis. It arises in a layer of connective tissue near the sternum and runs around the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, where it inserts.Laterally to the M. subcoraco-scapularis the Muscles of the upper forelimbM. biceps brachii (m bb), the M. brachialis\u00a0(m b) and the M. triceps (m\u2009t). They all run along the humerus in a similar way and with identical attachment sites as in Meroles cuneirostris  it is apparent that there is variation in both the presence of vestigial clavicles and in the size of the scapulocoracoids: In some specimens the clavicles are absent; in other specimen the scapulocoracoids are smaller than described in the literature. This variation most likely explains the absence of clavicles and the reduced size of the scapulocoracoids in our stained specimen.Several authors , 30, 53 lavicles . In our Muscles of the shoulder girdleOverview of present musclesBlanus strauchi all muscles of the shoulder girdle are present, consisting of nine superficial  are absent.All nine superficial see Fig.\u00a0a, b and Superficial muscle layersM. latissimus dorsi is a prominent, flat, dorsolaterally running muscle, which is larger than in Meroles cuneirostris, Bipes biporus and Blanus strauchi. It arises dorsally from a layer of connective tissue and runs ventrally, i.e. directly next to the similarly flat complex of M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius, which results in the absence of any sharp division between the two muscles units. It inserts into another ventral layer of connective tissue near the skin.The M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex represents a superficial muscle mass that arises from the vertebral column, runs anteroventrally, and inserts near the cranium. Furthermore, the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex is the most anteriorly situated muscle mass, similar to Blanus strauchi, but is smaller than in the latter. The M. latissimus dorsi and the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex of Trogonophis wiegmanni run far ventrally, similar to Bipes biporus. Another important difference is that the M. latissimus dorsi and the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex are located directly next to each other in Trogonophis wiegmanni, whereas in Blanus strauchi there is no association between the M. latissimus dorsi and the M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius complex.The M. omohyoideus and M. sternohyoideus form a complex, whereas it seems that the M. omohyoideus adapts to the course of the M. sternohyoideus, because the complex arises from the scapulocoracoid and runs anteriorly to insert into the hyoid. In contrast, the course of the M. omohyoideus and M. sternohyoideus-complex is dominated by the M. omohyoideus in the other examined taxa. The M. omohyoideus has generally been described to arise from both the clavicles and the interclavicle in squamates [Trogonophis wiegmanni the clavicles are reduced, whereas the scapulocoracoids and a cartilaginous sternum are still present (see above). The muscle complex arises from the scapulocoracoid, which is why we assumed that the M. sternohyoideus is the more dominant part within this complex. Because the complex consists of two long, parallel running muscles, one can assume that there was a fusion with the M. omohyoideus. A differentiation between the M. omohyoideus and the M. sternohyoideus is therefore not possible.Also quamates , whereasquamates . In TrogM. deltoideus\u00a0scapularis is dorsally overlain by the M. latissimus dorsi. The muscle shows a more strand-like morphology than in Blanus strauchi. Also, the fibre orientation of the M. deltoideus scapularis of Trogonophis wiegmanni is clearly different from the dorsoventral orientation seen in Blaunus strauchi. In Bipes biporus the M. deltoideus scapularis arises from the suprascapula, whereas in Trogonophis wiegmanni it arises from the surface of the M. levator scapulae and M. longissimus. The M. longissimus is a skeletal muscle of the back and runs in direction to the head. It belongs to the epaxial ancestral muscles, which are situated dorsally to the transverse processes of the vertebrae [The massive and large ertebrae . The oriM. deltoideus\u00a0clavicularis is found. It arises from the scapulocoracoid and joins the whole course of the M. deltoideus scapularis with parallel-running fibres, until it also ends in the already mentioned area of connective tissue near the cranium. It inserts also in parts into the ventrally running M. supracoracoideus. The M. deltoideus clavicularis also is covered by the M. latissimus dorsi dorsally and by the M. pectoralis ventrally.Ventrally to the M. deltoideus scapularis the narrow, elongated M. supracoracoideus is located ventrally to the M. deltoideus clavicularis that arises from the scapulocoracoid, joins the course of the M. deltoideus scapularis and the M. deltoideus clavicularis, and inserts near the cranium, but a bit further anteriorly than the latter two. The M. deltoideus scapularis, the M. deltoideus clavicularis and the M. supracoracoideus all diverge strongly from their morphology in Meroles cuneirostris and Bipes biporus. While they represent a fan-shaped structure in Meroles cuneirostris and Bipes biporus, they appear as elongated muscle strands in Trogonophis wiegmanni.The M.\u00a0pectoralis\u00a0completes the shoulder muscle complex ventrally. It arises from the scapulocoracoid near the sternum and runs in form of several thin, partly overlapping layers across the scapulocoracoid anteriorly. The muscle reaches far dorsally, even more than in Blanus strauchi. In its dorsal region it is in contact with the M. latissimus dorsi, which is slightly overlain in the area where both muscles meet. The M. pectoralis inserts into a layer of connective tissue near the skin.The Subjacent muscle layersM. serratus\u00a0anterior superficialis is located proximally to the M. deltoideus scapularis, by which it is also almost completely covered. In its morphology it is quite similar to that of Blanus strauchi. It arises posterior to the origin of the M. levator scapulae on the first vertebra and runs caudally, where it inserts near the scapulocoracoid on the surface of the M. scapulo-humeralis anterior and the M. scapulo-humeralis posterior. As in Meroles cuneirostris, fibres run parallel with a posteroventral to anterodorsal propensity.The M. scapulo-humeralis anterior is located, representing a relatively small, elongated muscle, which is covered distally by the M. deltoideus scapularis and the M. deltoideus clavicularis. It arises from the scapulocoracoid and runs anteriorly to the M. serratus anterior superficialis, where it also inserts. The muscle is similar to the M. scapulo-humeralis anterior of Blanus strauchi, whereas in Trogonophis wiegmanni it runs more distally.Lateral to the M. serratus anterior superficialis the M. scapulo-humeralis posterior is situated, which is completely covered by the distally running M. deltoideus clavicularis. It arises near the scapulocoracoid and runs anteroproximally into the center of the body to insert into an area of connective tissue near the M. coraco-brachialis brevis.Ventrally to the M. serratus anterior superficialis the elongated M. levator scapulae belongs to the most proximally situated muscles and arises from an inter-muscular area near the lower level of the cranium. Shortly behind its origin it makes a half-turn around its own axis and runs posteriorly with a dorsal drift, inserting into the surface of the M. longissimus. With respect to its position relative to the cranium, the M. levator scapulae of Meroles cuneirostris and Trogonophis wiegmanni superficially show similarities, although the insertion areas are different. While the M. levator scapulae of Meroles cuneirostris inserts into the scapula and sternum, in Trogonophis wiegmanni this insertion is into the surface of the M. longissimus. The insertion into another muscle is similar to the situation in Blanus strauchi, in which the M. levator scapulae inserts into M. supracoracoideus (see above). The M. levator scapulae is also similar to that of Blanus strauchi with regards to its shape and cranial origin near the hyoid.The M. coraco-brachialis brevis strongly differs in morphology from Meroles cuneirostris and the other examined amphisbaenians. In Meroles cuneirostris it is a relatively large and spacious muscle, whereas in Trogonophis wiegmanni it is rather small and oval in shape. The muscle is situated relatively medially inside the body and is not in contact with any other muscle except for the M. coraco-brachialis longus. It arises and inserts into connective tissue, close to the M. scapulo-humeralis posterior.The M. coraco-brachialis longus arises in the ventral region of the body near the skin. It shows a skewed anterodorsal course and is of trapezoid shape, whereas its apex points anteriorly. It inserts into a layer of connective tissue near the origin of the M. levator scapulae. In Trogonophis wiegmanni this muscle is large in comparison to the other examined species.The M. subcoraco-scapularis is a combination of the M. subcoracoideus and M. subscapularis [Trogonophis wiegmanni there is a visible border between these two units. The larger, bulkier of the two originates from an area of connective tissue near the M. deltoideus clavicularis and runs distally from there to another intramuscular bundle of connective tissue inside the body near the M. serratus anterior superficialis. The other, smaller and more elongated part is situated rather proximally and arises from the surface of the M. omohyoideus and M. sternohyoideus-complex, running in direction towards the M. scapulo-humeralis posterior, where it inserts inside connective tissue situated between the latter and the M. serratus anterior superficialis. A reliable separation of the two units into M. subcoracoideus und M. subscapularis, respectively, is not possible due to the non-skeletal origin and insertion areas in Trogonophis wiegmanni. Therefore, both parts are here treated as M. subcoraco-scapularis.The apularis . In TrogM. sternocoracoideus arises from the sternum and runs along and inserts into the scapulocoracoid, arching slightly anterior. Especially in Trogonophis wiegmanni it represents the linkage between sternum and scapulocoracoids as described by Gans [Trogonophis wiegmanni the M. sternocoracoideus is a relatively small muscle that is strongly associated with the M. omohyoideus und M. sternohyoideus-complex, by which it is also covered distally.The  by Gans . In TrogBones of the shoulder girdleCynisca possesses no shoulder girdle elements, but Zangerl [Cynisca leucura as small, rod-like, bony structures that we interpret as scapulocoracoids, which are located at the level of the third vertebra , four pectoral strands  and one discrete muscle (dm).Within the ancestral shoulder region of see Fig.\u00a0a are preThe 1st lateral muscle runs as a thick and large muscle from the spinal process of the third vertebra, ventrally to the 1st dorsal strand, and inserts near the anterior end of the 3rd neck muscle inside a narrow area of connective tissue in the postcranial region directly behind the skull.The 2nd lateral muscle is a thin layered muscle that arises from both the skin and an aponeurosis at the level of the third vertebra, running anteriorly to the lower postcranial region behind the skull, where it inserts into the cranium through slender fibres. It partly covers the course of the 1st lateral muscle. It is surrounded by the 1st lateral muscle and the 7th lateral muscle dorsally as well as by the 3rd lateral muscle ventrally.The 3rd lateral muscle runs ventrally to the 2nd lateral muscle, which it also partially covers. It arises ventrally to the origin of the 2nd lateral muscle from both the skin and an aponeurosis right beneath the skin, running anteriorly to the same lower postcranial region as the 2nd lateral muscle, where it inserts into an area of connective tissue near the skin. The 3rd lateral muscle shows mostly the same shape as the 2nd lateral muscle, including the overall elongated and thin-layered condition.The 4th lateral muscle is very thin and flat. It arises from an area of connective tissue near the skin and runs anteriorly to insert inside an inter-muscular region at the level anterior to the transverse process of the first vertebra. The muscle becomes slightly broader anteriorly. It is surrounded by the 3rd lateral strand dorsally and the 1st pectoral strand ventrally.The 5th lateral muscle is very similar to the 4th and strongly associated with it. It has the same origin and follows its course proximally to insert partly into the same inter-muscular region as the 4th lateral muscle as well as inside the surface of the 4th lateral muscle. It is thin and very flat. Distally it is partly overlain by the 1st pectoral strand.The 1st pectoral strand runs ventrally to the 4th and 5th lateral strands and arises at the posterior level of the third vertebra from a tiny inter-muscular region. It is fibrous and thin and runs along the transverse process of the third to first vertebrae along the vertebral column. It becomes flatter and broader anteriorly, until it inserts inside an inter-muscular region at the level of the transverse process of the first vertebra.The 2nd pectoral strand runs ventrally to the 1st pectoral strand, with which it is strongly associated. At some points, the 1st and 2nd pectoral might be even seen as a single muscle. The 2nd pectoral muscle arises from second rib at the level of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly to insert into the skin at the level of the transverse process of the first vertebra. Like the 1st pectoral strand, it is overall very flat.The 3rd pectoral strand is a bulky muscle that runs proximal to the 1st and 2nd pectoral strand, by which it is also partly overlain. It arises from the second rib at the level of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly to insert into an inter-muscular region near the lateral postcranial region right behind the skull. It partly encases the 4th pectoral muscle which is orientated proximally.The 4th pectoral strand runs proximally and ventrally to the 3rd pectoral strand. It arises ventrally from the transverse process of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly to insert near the postcranial region into the transverse process of the 1st vertebra as well as into an inter-muscular region near the lateral postcranial region. It consists of a flat and thin muscle layer that tapers along the transverse processes from the third to the first vertebra. It is the most ventrally positioned muscle.discrete muscle in Rhineura floridana is positioned relatively far anterior within the animal. It arises from a tiny inter-muscular region near the skin at the level of the first vertebra. It is a small, elongated muscle that runs anteriorly and inserts into inter-muscular region near the skin. It has no connection to the other muscle strands and shows a dorsally trending course towards the cranium. It is smaller than all other muscles described above.The only Subjacent muscle layers of the considered shoulder girdle regionRhineura floridana there are eight subjacent muscle strands .Within the ancestral shoulder girdle region of see Fig.\u00a0b, consisThe 6th lateral strand is a short, but massive muscle. It arises from an inter-muscular region near the lateral side of the anterior end of the neural spine of the second vertebra and runs anteriorly, passing the neural arch of the first vertebra laterally and inserting into the lower cranium.The 7th lateral strand is more elongated than the 6th. It arises from a rounded elevation on the neural arch of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly along the vertebral column, covering the third to first vertebra. It touches the 6th lateral strand near the latter\u2019s point of origin and inserts into the lower cranium distally to the insertion of the 6th lateral strand.The 8th lateral strand is not as large as the 7th lateral strand. It originates from the transverse process of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly along the transverse processes of the second and first vertebrae, inserting into an inter-muscular region anteriorly to the transverse process of the first vertebra. It is distally overlain by the 2nd and 3rd lateral strand.The 9th lateral strand runs ventrally to the 8th lateral strand, to which it is also very similar. It tapers along the transverse processes of the vertebral column anteriorly to the transverse process of the first vertebra, where it inserts into the 8th lateral strand slightly posterior to the latter\u2019s insertion side. The 8th and 9th lateral strands are partly associated. The 9th lateral strand is also distally overlain by the 2nd and 3rd lateral strand.The 10th lateral strand is a very small and short muscle. It arises from the beginning of the second rib near the vertebral column at the level of the third vertebra and runs anteriorly to insert into the beginning of the first rib near the vertebral column. Due to its position, the 10th lateral strand can be seen as an inter-rib muscle, because it links the second and first rib with each other.The 11th lateral strand is an elongated, slender muscle strand and larger than the 10th lateral strand. It arises from the distal tip of the second rib at the level of the third vertebra and runs anteroproximally to the 5th lateral strand, inserting into an inter-muscular region near the insertion of the first rib at the level of the second vertebra.The 12th lateral strand is situated anteriorly to the 11th lateral strand and is of largely similar size. It arises from an inter-muscular region near the 3rd lateral strand and runs anteriorly towards the cranium to insert into the first vertebra laterally.The 13th lateral strand arises from the head of the second rib and runs anteriorly to the head of the first rib, where it also inserts. It is a small muscle similar to the 10th lateral strand, but it runs more ventrally, on the ventral side of the ribs. It might be viewed as an inter-rib muscle, because it creates a linkage between the first and second rib. Distally it is completely covered by the 2nd pectoral strand.Rhineura floridana that features 18 muscles within the pectoral region, all amphisbaenian taxa examined in this study possess the ancestral number of 17 shoulder and pectoral muscles. Some of these muscles occur as complexes, such as the M. omo- and sternohyoideus- complex and the M. episternocleidomastoideus and trapezius complex. In some cases the muscles are also strongly associated with the surrounding neck- and dorsal musculature, with which they seem to form a functional unit. This applies especially to the M. episternocleidomastoideus and trapezius-complex, the M. omo- and sternohyoideus-complex, the M. deltoideus scapularis, and to the M. levator scapulae. In all examined amphisbaenians as well as in Meroles cuneirostris, the M. latissimus dorsi, the M. episternocleidomastoideus and the M. trapezius-complex form an outer muscle arrangement dorsally, whereas the M. pectoralis covers the pectoral region ventrally. In Blanidae, Trogonophidae and Amphisbaenidae, the dorsally covering muscles are elongated ventrally and approach the dorsally elongated M. pectoralis laterally. In Blanus there is no uninterrupted outer muscle cover, whereas in Trogonophis and Cynisca there is an continuous cover in form of a thin external muscle layer, which surrounds the entire pectoral area right beneath the skin. A notable feature observed in all amphisbaenian taxa is that the shoulder girdle agglomerate is shortened and shifted anteriorly relative to the ancestral position as seen in Meroles cuneirostris , sacral and caudal series based on changes in skeletal morphology and integration with the appendicular skeleton. Both the number of regions, their morphologies, and the number of elements composing them are variable across taxa , 59. In Hox gene expressioni, whereas the appendicular skeleton, including the sternum, ventral ribs, girdles, limbs, and most associated muscles, are patterned from lateral plate mesoderm by distinct Hox expression [The relationship of the pectoral girdle to the axial skeleton in amphisbaenians is similarly spatially offset, suggesting dissociation between developmental domains. Dorsal vertebrate and ribs are patterned from paraxial mesoderm by collinear pression . These tpression \u201366 with pression , 65. Heapression  suggesteBipes a restructuring of the shoulder muscles can be observed, which is likely due to the loss of humerus and forelimbs. In the original condition of a quadrupedal tetrapod, the M. deltoideus scapularis, the M. deltoideus clavicularis, the M. latissimus dorsi, the M. supracoracoideus and the M. pectoralis are closely associated with the deltopectoral crest of the humerus and play an important role in locomotion [Bipes, the attachment sites of the respective muscles have changed relative to the ancestral condition due to the reduction of the humerus. It is likely, therefore, that the function of the single shoulder muscles in Blanus, Trogonophis, Cynisca and Rhineura is no longer the ancestral, humerus-associated function. The muscles that originally served as retractors and protractors of the humerus [Evolutionary dissociation, such as developmental repatterning of one domain relative to another, is a potential mechanism for spatial reorganization of tissues . In the comotion , 68, 69. humerus  are veryRhineura is a special case and may require additional investigations), but the muscles within each layer have different developmental origins and can be considered either axial shoulder or intrinsic limb muscles [Although the functional role of the different shoulder muscles is still unknown for Amphisbaenia, we also predict that the evolutionary rearrangement of the muscles was not primarily driven by developmental constraints but by functional demands. This view is supported by the observation that there is a clearly visible division into two muscle layers, a superficial and a subjacent layer, which appear as clearly separated, ring-like structures in axial view. Both layers contain the same muscles across the different species , implies that also other representatives of Amphisbaenidae, including the shovel-headed forms, will show a similar pattern that is different from that of Rhineura. Although further studies (and more taxon sampling) are required, we thus consider our observations sufficient support for the hypothesis that shovel-headed morphologies evolved convergently and independently within Amphisbaenidae and Rhineuridae, contradicting previous assumptions about a monophyletic origin of shovel-headed amphisbaenians [The results of our study also represent the first, at least indirect, morphological support of the molecular-based hypothesis that shovel-headed amphisbaenians evolved independently, i.e. shovel-headed taxa other than e former . Shovel-e former . If shovbaenians .Using the pectoral region of amphisbaenians as a model system, our study provides novel insights into the relationship between muscles and bones during the reduction of shoulder girdle and limbs, indicating that muscle attachment sites that were originally connected to an ancestrally present bone shift to non-skeletal areas such as surrounding muscles, skin or connective tissue. At the same time, muscle origins themselves remain in the same region where the respective bones were ancestrally located. From this follows that pectoral muscle anatomy does not necessarily correspond to the loss or reduction of bones, indicating a decoupling of the musculoskeletal system. Also, we identified a relative anterior shift of the position of both pectoral bones and muscles relative to the ancestral position as seen in other squamates, suggesting fundamental developmental modifications during the evolution of the amphisbaenian body plan. We predict that the observed evolutionary rearrangements of shoulder muscles in worm lizards were likely driven by functional demands rather than developmental constraints. Furthermore, our study provides indirect morphological support for shovel-headed morphologies to have evolved convergently and independently across Amphisbaenia.For future studies increased taxon sampling would be preferable, especially with respect to shovel-headed forms. In addition, studies on other limb-reduced lizard taxa, such as representatives from Scincidae or Gymnophthalmidae, may provide further, independent insights into to the modifications of the musculoskeletal system during the evolutionary transformation of the squamate body axis.Additional file 1:Table S1. Species table. Table contains information about all specimens used in the study, abbreviations: FMNH: Florida Museum of Natural History, MfN: Museum f\u00fcr Naturkunde Berlin. (DOCX 14 kb)Additional file 2:Text\u00a0S2. Pectoral muscle morphology in Lacertidae (Meroles cuneirostris). Text contains detailed information about pectoral bones and muscles in Meroles cuneirostris, abbreviations: cc: coracoid, cl: clavicles, dc: deltopectoral crest of humerus, hu: humerus, hy: hyoid, m b: M. brachialis, m bb: M. biceps brachii, m cbb: M. coraco-brachialis brevis, m cbl: M. coraco-brachialis longus, m dc: M. deltoideus clavicularis, m ds: M. deltoideus scapularis, m e: M. episternocleidomastoideus, m etc: M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex, m ld: M. latissimus dorsi, m ls: M. levator scapulae, m o: M. omohyoideus, m p: M. pectoralis, m sas: M. serratus anterior superficialis, m sha: M. scapulo-humeralis anterior, m shp: M. scapulo-humeralis posterior, m sternc: M. sternocoracoideus, m sternh: M. sternohyoideus, m subcs: M. subcoraco-scapularis, m supc: M. supracoracoideus, m t: M. triceps, m tp: M. trapezius, ss: suprascapulae, st: sternum, v: vertebra. (DOCX 35 kb)Additional file 3:Figure S3. Skull, anterior part of the vertebral column and pectoral region of Meroles cureirostris. A: lateral view, B: ventral view. Abbreviations: cc: coracoid, cl: clavicles, hu: humerus, hy: hyoids, icl: interclavicle, s: scapula, st: sternum, v: vertebra. (TIF 4277 kb)Additional file 4:Figure S4. Pectoral muscles of Meroles cureirostris, A: muscles of the upper forelimb of Meroles cureirostris, B: superficial pectoral muscles of Meroles cureirostris, C: distal subjacent pectoral muscles of Meroles cureirostris, D: superficial and subjacent pectoral muscles of Meroles cureirostris, E: medial subjacent pectoral muscles of Meroles cureirostris. Array shows anterior direction, abbreviations: dc: deltopectoral crest of humerus, hu: humerus, m b: M. brachialis, m bb: M. biceps brachii, m cbb: M. coraco-brachialis brevis, m cbl: M. coraco-brachialis longus, m dc: M. deltoideus clavicularis, m ds: M. deltoideus scapularis, m e: M. episternocleidomastoideus, m etc: M. episternocleidomastoideus and M. trapezius-complex, m ld: M. latissimus dorsi, m ls: M. levator scapulae, m o: M. omohyoideus, m p: M. pectoralis, m sas: M. serratus anterior superficialis, m sha: M. scapulo-humeralis anterior, m shp: M. scapulo-humeralis posterior, m sternc: M. sternocoracoideus, m sternh: M. sternohyoideus, m subcs: M. subcoraco-scapularis, m supc: M. supracoracoideus, m t: M. triceps, m tp: M. trapezius. (TIF 1862 kb)Additional file 5:Table S5. Pectoral muscle origins and insertions. Table contains information about pectoral muscles origins and insertions for all amphisbaenian families. (DOCX 15 kb)"}
+{"text": "Oxalis corniculata L. is a weed with a world-wide distribution and unknown origin. Though it belongs to a section of the genus from South America, the evidence that this species came from there is weak.O. corniculata using herbarium specimens, historic literature and archaeobotanical research. We also summarized ethnobotanical literature to understand where this species is most used by humans as a medicine.We reviewed the evidence for the origin of O. corniculata occurred in Europe before the 15th century. Nor is there reliable evidence that it occurred in North or South America before the 19th century. However, there is direct archaeobotanical evidence of it occurring in south\u2013east Asia at least 5,000 years ago. There is also evidence from historic literature and archaeobotany that it reached Polynesia before European expeditions explored these islands. Examination of the traditional use of O. corniculata demonstrates that is most widely used as a medicine in south\u2013east Asia, which, while circumstantial, also points to a long association with human culture in this area.Despite numerous claims that it is native to Europe there is no strong evidence that O. corniculata is south\u2013east Asia. This is consistent with a largely circum-Pacific distribution of section Corniculatae of Oxalis. Nevertheless, it is likely that O. corniculata spread to Europe and perhaps Polynesia before the advent of the modern era through trade routes at that time.The most likely origin for  Oxalis corniculata L. is obscure or unknown. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus from material from the Mediterranean region and some authors suggest that this region is the native range  and the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.) have been explained this way . Of these, O. exilis and O. filiformis are 20th century introductions with relatively narrow distributions (O. corniculata it is important to establish the time of introduction of O. stricta and O. dillenii to Europe.Europe has five extant species of ibutions . Owing tibutions . TherefoO. stricta (O. stricta) was so well established in Europe that O. europaea Jord. He did so based purely on the geographic grounds that the Linnaean O. stricta was North American. He did not give any morphological characters that separate them. Herbarium specimens do exist of O. stricta collected in Europe before 1854, but these are few and only date from earlier in the 19th century  in medieval herbals from the 13th to 15th centuries. In each case only one taxa is illustrated. In Europe we would expect at least one taxon, the native O. acetosella L. This species is quite distinct from O. corniculata in having white flowers, short globular pods, a scaly creeping rhizome and no stem. The illustration in the 15th century Codex Bellunensis and an unnamed codex have no flowers, but depict the scaly rhizome and the lack of stem, which suggests this is O. acetosella   . This isOxalis section Corniculatae remain rare. The RADAR database in the Netherlands contains four records, the earliest of which are from a site that spans the 17th and 18th centuries   . Thunberniculata . The nexniculata , but theO. corniculata and two new species O. procumbens and O. radicosa. O. procumbens and O. radicosa as distinct species. Oxalis procumbens is said to grow in fields and fallow land at altitudes above 1,000 m in tropical Africa and O. radicosa has a larger distribution spanning much of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Examples of specimens are in O. corniculata  Small, O. grandis Small, O. colorea  Fedde, O. stricta, O. suksdorfii Trel., O. dillenii, O. albicans Kunth, O. pilosa Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray, O. californica (Abrams) R.Knuth and O. texana  Fedde. Furthermore, in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean there are other species, O. filiformis, O. rugeliana Urb. and O. thelyoxys Focke  are from 1815 to the 1830s  and Daxi culture   . Then ar7 seeds) . There a7 seeds) . The papO. corniculata the only other possibility is that these are seeds of O. stricta, which is believed to be native to China ; in the Philippines in the 1st millennium BC and in Vietnam between 3,450 and 3,250 BP  (tterfly) . This spO. corniculata we discovered a total of 182 publications containing 892 remedies for ailments at different locations. It is evident from this map that Asia is at the centre of where O. corniculata is used medicinally  and Tahiti (1769) when they were explored during the scientific expeditions of Captain James Cook  about 10 million years ago. Therefore, there is no reason to presuppose that O. corniculata s.s. evolved in South America. Furthermore, additional resolution of the phylogeny of the section Corniculatae is needed. Corniculatae and only two of the North American species.O. corniculata, there is no convincing evidence for its occurrence here earlier than the Renaissance. In contrast, there is clear evidence of O. corniculata in eastern Asia occurring for several thousand years. Archaeological evidence supports this conclusion. Furthermore, early specimens, literature and anthropogenic usage are consistent. This conclusion also makes sense regarding the proximity of its nearest relatives. These are native to Australasia, North America and South America. This means, if one accepts the eastern Asian origin of O. corniculata, that then Oxalis section Corniculatae has a largely circum-Pacific distribution, which we find rather more parsimonious than one member of the section naturally occurring in relative isolation in Europe.Although Europe has often been suggested as the origin of O. corniculata. Although this evidence is weak these results are consistent with a native origin of O. corniculata in Asia and there is little support for an origin elsewhere.There is undoubtedly considerable bias in the publication of ethnobotanical literature and in the intensity of collection of specimens from different parts of the world. In general, native plants are more often used in traditional medicines, but that is probably because there are more available . Plants O. corniculata into the Pacific islands with Polynesian voyagers is also consistent with an east Asian origin. Mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome studies of Polynesians traces their origins back to Taiwan, the Philippines and Melanesia  Schott (taro) to these island  and the reopening of the silk routes at this time. However, the possible earlier presence of O. corniculata in Carthage indicates an earlier introduction to the Mediterranean Basin. It is interesting that peach stones also occur in the Carthage deposits. Peaches (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) were introduced to Europe by the 1st century AD and peaches also have an Asian origin (rections . We accen origin . Coincidn origin . TherefoO. radicosa and O. procumbens has been established. In the case of South Africa, Cape Town was originally founded 1652 and was an important trading port for the Dutch East India Company during the 17th and 18th century. As such, it is not hard to envisage that O. corniculata was introduced there. Nevertheless, the testimony of Floras indicates that even if O. corniculata was present in Africa before the modern era, it has become more common and today has a wider distribution than previously.The situation in sub-Saharan Africa is still unclear and may only be resolved once the taxonomic position of O. calachaccensis, which is indistinguishable morphologically and genetically from O. corniculata. Its presence in Bolivia suggests that O. corniculata is either native to South America, or that the specimens described as O. calachaccensis are in fact introduced O. corniculata. Certainly, Knuth described O. calachaccensis from plants collected comparatively recently (O. calachaccensis are modern introductions and that O. calachaccensis should be considered a synonym of O. corniculata.In South America the final difficulty is the status of recently . We are O. corniculata globally. Taxa tend to be most genetically diverse in the area of their origin (O. pes-caprae L. (Relying upon physical evidence to determine the native origins of plant has its limitations and biases. A complementary method would be to examine the genetic diversity of r origin  and suchaprae L. . It is hO. corniculata is lost to time, we have shown that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it is in fact native to East Asia and unlikely to be native to Europe. Many of the details of the global colonization by species of section Corniculatae remain a mystery, particularly in Africa and Australasia. Furthermore, it is hoped that this paper will raise awareness of the issues, so that new archaeological discoveries of O. corniculata remains are recognised for their importance in understanding the biogeography of this species.While many authors assume that the origin of"}
+{"text": "Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica are two main species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran. Recently, Crithidia spp. has also been reported in the wound of patients with CL. In this study, we determined the species causing CL in the southern of Iran and the role of Crithidia spp. in creating skin ulcers.Leishmania species and then to identify Crithidia spp.In this cross-sectional study from Apr to Sep 2016, 66 patients with CL referred to Diagnostic Lab of Leishmaniasis, Valfajr Health Center, Shiraz, Iran, were selected. After DNA extraction from the Giemsa stained smears, all samples were amplified in two separate steps using specific primers, firstly, to differentiate L. major and L. tropica were responsible for 60 and 6 cases, respectively. Moreover, in two patients, mixed infection with Crithidia was confirmed. In mix infection cases, the morphology of the cutaneous ulcers was not different from the wounds of other patients.Two species Leishmania major is responsible for the most common CL in southern Iran. In addition, in two patients with L. major and L. tropica, mix infection with Crithidia was confirmed. The potential role of Crithidia as the main factor for CL and the probability of this parasite to have synergistic effects on Leishmania, as a hypothesis, requires more comprehensive researches on the ambiguity of this protozoon. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the six important diseases in tropical and subtropical regions which WHO has recommended and supported researches on its various aspects , 2.Leishmania  are also considered to be infectious agents of the Leishmania culture medium  and informed consent was signed by each of the patients.In this cross-sectional study, in a period of 6 months from Apr to Sep 2016, patients with cutaneous ulcers referred to the Diagnostic Lab of Leishmaniasis, Valfajr Health Center, Shiraz, Iran were tested. Smears of them from exudates of margin of the wounds were prepared and stained with Giemsa. Finally 66 patients with CL were selected. Then a questionnaire containing demographic information and some of the variables such as age, sex, etc. were completed separately for each patient.DNA was extracted from the Giemsa stained smears using the commercial kit . Briefly, the smears on the slides were scratched and collected by lysis buffer into the microtubes and after the addition of proteinase K, incubated initially for 1 h at 60 \u00b0C and then 10min at 70 \u00b0C. By addition of absolute ethanol and transferring the samples to the column, the rest of the process was carried out according to the kit\u2019s manufacturer\u2019s protocol.L. major, L. infantum and L. tropica, and in the next step, in order to identify Crithidia spp., CRF and CRR primers were used in this purpose. Further details about the sequence of primers used and the PCR programs adjusted for the amplification of both genomic pieces, has been presented in All extracted DNA samples were PCR-amplified in two separate steps. First, a pair of primers LIN4R and LIN17 were used to detect and differentiate of three species -values were considered as statistically significant.The results and data of the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS software version 18 and chi-square test and P-values. At levels < .05, the PL. major and L. tropica were responsible for 60 and 6 cases, respectively , the morphology of the cutaneous ulcers was not different from the wounds of the other patients.In two patients with mix infection Leishmania spp. (Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the vector-borne diseases and is caused by various species of nia spp. , 25. Estnia spp. .The isolation and mass cultivation of parasite in order to determine the species is not only very time-consuming but also is expensive , 27, theL. major, L. infantum and L. tropica create a specific band in the 650, 720 and 760 bases, respectively. The specificity of 100% has been reported for PCR tests using primers LIN4R and LIN17 to detect Leishmania in atypical cases (The success of DNA extraction from these smears has already been studied . Furtheral cases , 30.L. major and in other areas, L. tropica plays a role in causing disease, although, in southern regions such as Fars Province, considered as one of the most important foci in Iran, both species are listed as endemic factors (Crithidia spp. has been reported from cultivation of cutaneous ulcers of patients (In some endemic and hyper-endemic regions of Iran  factors , 31. Recpatients , 16.Crithidia spp. in cutaneous lesions, samples were again amplified with two specific FCR and PCR primers. In two CL cases, there was a mix infection by Leishmania and Crithidia and, as shown in Crithidia spp. are classified in flagellate subphylum and are often considered as insect parasites (Leishmania, they are usually associated with together (Crithidia spp. are considered as infectious agents of the Leishmania culture medium. Crithidia lucilia and C. fasciculata are two important species of this genus (In this study, in order to determine the role of arasites . Since ttogether , 18. CriLeishmania and Crithidia, as well as to study the molecular diversity and the interaction between this parasite and the host (L. major and L. tropica species, Crithidia spp. has also been proven in the wound of patients with CL, and interestingly, even in some of these reports, Crithidia has been reported as the only factor isolated from the wound of mentioned patients. In a study to investigate the polymorphism of two species L. tropica and L. major in the central and desert regions of Iran, Crithidia has been isolated from 6 of 215 and 3 of 125 patients with cutaneous ulcers in Isfahan and Bam, respectively. Molecular analysis of Crithidia-positive samples using BLAST software has shown that their sequence is 97 % similar to C. fasciculata and 90% to C. lucilia (Over the past 20 years, various methods have been developed to determine the different subspecies of the host \u201334. In rL. major and then L. tropica. Moreover, in two patients with L. major and L. tropica, mix infection with Crithidia was confirmed. And more importantly, the potential role of Crithidia as the main cause of the cutaneous ulcers or the probability to have synergistic effects on Leishmania cutaneous ulcers, as a hypothesis, needs more comprehensive researches on the ambiguity of this protozoon.The main cause of CL in southern Iran is primarily"}
+{"text": "In the Funding section, one of the grant numbers from the funder Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan is missing. The correct grant numbers are: Kakenhi 25293124 to K.F., 17K15456 to Y.Y. and 18J20651 to K.M."}
+{"text": "Ostertagia leptospicularis draws special attention due to its presence or absence among the same host species in different European countries. Therefore, this paper focuses mainly on the host specificity among nematodes of the subfamily Ostertagiinae. The second aim of this study is to assess the possibility of treating O. leptospicularis as an Ostertagia species complex.Nematodes of the subfamily Ostertagiinae appear to be rather specific to a species or family of hosts, but some are observed in a wide variety of hosts. The nematode post-mortem examinations of domestic and wild ruminants (n = 157), as well as bibliographical references (n = 96), which were pooled and discussed. The research area was limited to European countries, hence the studied ostertagiine species are limited to native ones; likewise, the host species. Special emphasis was placed on the mean abundance values that allowed a typical host or hosts for each nematode species to be specified. Correspondence analysis was performed to confirm the stated host specificity.Data were gathered from Ostertagia leptospicularis, similar to Teladorsagia circumcincta, may represent a potential species complex. This nematode, as the sole member of the subfamily Ostertagiinae, occurs in almost all representatives of the Bovidae subfamily, as well as in the Cervidae.The analysis revealed that nematodes of this subfamily tend to use ruminants from a particular subfamily as their principal host. The results indicate that O. leptospicularis is not strongly connected to any host or is comparably associated with a very wide and diverse group of hosts . The Ostertagia complex may have particular cryptic species or strains typical for any individual host or group of hosts. Such a conclusion requires further investigations on a wider scale.Despite the stated narrow host specificity, the results obtained may suggest that  Parasites are able to colonize one or more host species, and therefore can be classified as specialists, specific for a species or a family of hosts, or generalists, capable of infecting a wide variety of hosts . GeneralTeladorsagia. Results of advanced morphological analyses confirmed by molecular techniques revealed a significant intraspecific diversity in the populations of these nematodes. Until recently, Teladorsagia circumcincta  was treated as a single species that occurs in various hosts (both domestic and wild ruminants). However, some studies on the genus Teladorsagia have demonstrated the existence of two distinct strains within its domestic hosts. The first one was found in sheep and goats, while the other occurred only in goats. In the case of wild ruminants , the nematode regarded previously to be T. circumcincta was discovered to be a distinct species, named Teladorsagia boreoarcticus Hoberg, Monsen, Kutz & Blouin, 1999 to emphasize its origin from a geographically isolated region [Teladorsagia species complex, with particular cryptic species (or strains) [Marshallagia marshalli Ransom, 1907, due to its presence in several host species [Ostertagia; however, such data are not yet available [The ostertagiine taxonomy is complicated, mainly for the species of strains) . Even le species . Similarvailable .Ostertagia leptospicularis Assadov, 1953 especially seems to be a generalist, but such a statement requires broader analysis. From an epizootiological point of view, it is desirable to know which parasite species are more prone to interspecific transmission (i.e. host switching) [Generalist species seem to be able to easily colonize different host populations and pose a serious health risk due to their higher pathogenic effect . Nematoditching) . Such knO. leptospicularis as an Ostertagia species complex.The aim of the present study is to evaluate host specificity among Ostertagiinae, and assess the possibility of treating post-mortem (pm) examination of domestic and wild ruminants from southern Poland, Slovakia and Germany to characterize the parasitic fauna. Only results on the subfamily Ostertagiinae were taken into account. The second step focused on collecting similar data from other European countries and pooling them with those obtained from the pm examinations. The third step was performing the correspondence analysis.Several parasitological approaches were combined for this investigation. The first step was the pm examinations were carried out on 157 animals . The number of animals included in the further analysis is shown in Table Ostertagia leptospicularis / O. kolchida Popova, 1937; O. ostertagi  / O. lyrata Sjoberg, 1926; O. antipini Matschulsku, 1950 / O. lyrateformis ; O. drozdzi Jancev, 1977 / O. ryjikovi ; O. gruehneri Skrjabin, 1920 / O. arctica Mitzkewitsch, 1929; Teladorsagia circumcincta / T. trifurcata ; Spiculopteragia boehmi  / S. mathevosiani Ruchliadev, 1948; S. asymmetrica  / S. quadrispiculata ; S. houdemeri  / S. andreevae ; Mazamastrongylus dagestanica ; M. marshalli / M. occidentalis Ransom, 1907. The majority of the references were gathered using the Web of Science Core Collection citation database.Additional data were collected from 96 bibliographical references , in which at least one species of the subfamily Ostertagiinae derived from domestic or wild ruminants during the pm examinations and the literature were analyzed by pooling the prevalence (P) and all values relating to the intensity of infection . Special emphasis was placed on the mean abundance (MA), i.e. the total number of individuals of a particular parasite species in a sample of a particular host species, regardless of whether or not the host was infected. MA is equivalent to the mean intensity multiplied by P, and therefore is very valuable if biodiversity is considered [The data obtained from the nsidered .In case of ostertagiine species, the identification of males (m) is more reliable; thus, most of the analyzed data applied only to them. However, the total number of females (f) was calculated if the mean intensity of infection and sex ratio were determined. Consequently, it was possible to calculate the actual intensity of females and males in a species for some bibliographical references. As the majority of the papers provided information about the mean intensity of infection, the formula \u2211f + \u2211m / examined animals or \u2211m / examined animals, where \u2211f and \u2211m are the summed intensity of each sex in a host sample was applied, and the MA was calculated and used in further analyses that allowed the principal host/hosts for each nematode species to be specified. If a major and minor form of one species was included separately, only the major one was counted with the total intensity calculated for both.The correspondence analysis was performed using Statgraphics Centurion XVI software to confirm host specificity. The MA was used as the measure characterizing the association between the rows and columns in the contingency table.pm examinations of 157 animals are shown in Table O. leptospicularis, O. ostertagi, O. antipini, O. drozdzi, T. circumcincta, S. asymmetrica, S. boehmi and M. marshalli. Four of the species (approximately 4050 specimens) were derived from roe deer. The majority of nematode species were found in more than one host species; however, S. antipini and M. marshalli only occurred in roe deer and Tatra chamois, respectively. Spiculopteragia boehmi was the most common parasite species in the Cervidae family, whereas T. circumcincta was the most common in the Bovidae. The prevalence varied from 1.3% (S. asymmetrica infecting roe deer) to 100% . The highest intensity of infection (reaching 829 specimens) with O. ostertagi was in cattle, and the lowest (just 3 specimens) with M. marshalli in Tatra chamois. Interestingly, O. leptospicularis was the only species that was found in both the representatives of the Bovidae (i.e. cattle and sheep) and Cervidae (i.e. roe deer).The results obtained from the pm examinations in 17 countries , whereas Cervidae in 16 countries . The most abundant data were available for roe deer, while those for European bison, Alpine ibex, Pyrenean ibex and reindeer were limited due to their narrow range of occurrence.The comparison of bibliographical data collected showed the differences in the occurrence of ostertagiine species among European ruminant host species Table . AccordiO. drozdzi, S. houdemeri and M. dagestanica are observed only in cervids. Within the countries studied, the most commonly occurring species were O. leptospicularis and T. circumcincta, found in 12 and 13 host species, respectively. Conversely, O. drozdzi and O. gruehneri were found only in two.The parasitic fauna of European cervids consists of eleven species of the Ostertagiinae, and therefore can be considered as more diverse than that of the bovids (eight species); O. leptospicularis was found in almost all representatives of the family Cervidae, with most reports concerning roe deer. Wild and domestic ruminant hosts from Poland and Germany had very similar parasitic faunas. Nevertheless, they varied in some findings, including those referring to O. leptospicularis. The majority of the differences presented concerned the composition of ruminant fauna in both countries . Despite the broad examination of cattle in both countries, O. leptospicularis was noted only in Germany . Lack of this nematode in Polish cattle, or in cattle from other European countries, infers that more attention should be dedicated to this species.In many countries, Both the correspondence map Fig. , as wellM. marshalli and T. circumcincta are most strongly associated with small ruminants (i.e. species of the subfamily Caprinae). This close connection is also observed between O. ostertagi and other bovids (i.e. those of the subfamily Bovinae). However, cattle seem to be a more typical host (the distance between the cross and square is shorter for O. ostertagi and cattle than for O. ostertagi and the European bison). Nematodes of the genus Spiculopteragia, as well as O. drozdzi, show the strongest link to Cervinae representatives, while O. gruehneri, O. antipini and M. dagestanica to those of the subfamily Capreolinae .The correspondence analysis divided the Ostertagiinae and their hosts into clearly distinct groups Fig. . Based oO. antipini and moose, S. houdemeri and sika deer, as well as O. drozdzi, S. asymmetrica and fallow deer . Such data do not provide a clear overview of host specificity. According to these outcomes, members of the subfamilies Bovidae and Cervidae have different helminth fauna, characterized by specific dominant species, which depends on several factors .Some ruminant species have already been treated as the principal host of Ostertagiinae nematodes, but only on the basis of observations of T. circumcincta, O. ostertagi and M. marshalli. The first two are the most important gastrointestinal parasites of domestic ruminants [Teladorsagia circumcincta is the dominant species in all bovids, while M. marshalli seems to be almost entirely restricted to hosts that are well adapted to a cold climate (i.e. representatives of chamois and ibex) [O. leptospicularis and S. boehmi from roe and red deer and in this way enriched the parasitic fauna of the abomasal nematodes with those typical for representatives of the family Cervidae [Among bovids, the most frequently found nematodes are uminants \u201317. TelaCervidae , 19.Spiculopteragia are generally restricted to cervids, although records of infected bovids in Europe have been documented [S. asymmterica; however, it can be found in sympatric species, such as red deer, roe deer or even European bison if they co-occur with the principal host [O. antipini, M. dagestanica and the largest species of Cervidae, moose, which has currently arisen as its principal host [Cross-transmission is highly visible among cervids, and therefore these hosts are successfully used for studies on formatting the parasitic fauna of ruminants. All representatives of the family Cervidae are the principal hosts of particular ostertagiine species. The origin of such a relationship is dated to over ten million years ago, when the cervids of the subfamily Paleomericinae divided into two lineages, and since then, nematodes and their hosts evolved in parallel. A high degree of co-evolution is also seen among bovids , 20. Thecumented . Fallow pal host . The sampal host . These npal host , 24, 25.Representatives of the family Cervidae  migrate seasonally, which encourage the possibility of parasite transmission not only to other wild ruminants, but also to livestock , 26. ThiOstertagia leptospicularis circulates among cervids, cattle and sheep. This species is not very host-specific; nevertheless, it seems to have mostly adopted roe deer [O. leptospicularis was noted as having become an outstanding and unique species. The equal distance from O. leptospicularis to roe deer and European bison on the correspondence map may suggest that this nematode is not strongly connected to any of the hosts, or that it may be comparably associated with very a wide and diverse groups of hosts.roe deer , 16. BasO. leptospicularis. Ostertagia leptospicularis seems to have a principal host among members of both subfamilies the Bovidae and Cervidae. If the confirmed host specificity can be considered an indication of the species diversity among the Ostertagiinae in ruminants, then O. leptospicularis could be treated as a candidate for an Ostertagia species complex. Further investigations  should firmly establish if, as with T. circumcincta, this nematode represents another species complex with particular cryptic species/strains typical for any individual host/group of hosts, or, as the sole member of the subfamily Ostertagiinae, is a generalist, capable of infecting a wide variety of hosts.The analyses conducted confirmed that nematodes of the Ostertagiinae appear to be specific for a species or family of hosts (i.e. ostertagiines of a particular genus are most strongly connected to hosts from a particular subfamily). For the majority of them, a principal host can be indicated, except for"}
+{"text": "Toxoplasma gondii. The disease is distributed worldwide and can affect all warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans. The present review aimed to collect, compile and summarize the data on the prevalence of T. gondii infection in humans and animals in the five North African countries . Published data from national and international databases were used. Distribution patterns and risk factors for T. gondii infection are discussed, focusing on biotic and abiotic factors. This review is a comprehensive epidemiological analysis of T. gondii infection in North Africa and will therefore be a useful tool for researchers. It can also be used to propose or enhance appropriate national toxoplasmosis control programs.Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan,  Toxoplasma gondii was discovered in North Africa, more precisely in the Pasteur Institute of Tunis. In fact, during experiments on leishmaniosis, Nicolle and Manceaux observed an arc-shaped protozoan in tissues of a North African rodent, the gundis (Ctenodactylus gundi) [Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) based on its morphology  and its host.s gundi) . It was T. gondii is the agent of toxoplasmosis. It infects all warm-blooded animals including birds and mammals [The protozoan  mammals . Toxopla mammals . The his mammals , 98, 126Toxoplasma infection in North African countries is not well understood since few studies are available for the whole region.North Africa, a south Mediterranean region, lies between Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. It represents a specific agro-ecological and socio-economic context, leading to specific epidemiological patterns for several human and animal diseases. The past and current status of Toxoplasma infection in five North African countries , where several studies have been published in the grey literature but are not available to international readers.This review aimed to collect, update and analyse the epidemiological data on North Africa includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt . All couBased on the latest United Nations estimates, the current population of North Africa is 192,517,616 as of November 2017  Table 1Table 1. In North African cuisine, the most common staple foods are fish, seafood, goat meat, lamb, beef, dates, almonds, olives, various vegetables, and fruits. Because the region is predominantly Muslim, pork is not consumed, and animals are totally bled when slaughtered. Meat is predominantly consumed cooked in sauce, but undercooked grilled lamb is consumed during the Muslims\u2019 sacrifice feast, and very often in restaurants at the side of the road .Livestock  play an important role in food security, nutrition, and the economies of North African countries by supporting rural livelihoods and employment, and ensuring access to animal source foods (ASF) . In the Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate apicomplexan intracellular protozoan; it has a cosmopolitan distribution [T. gondii involves (i) felines, essentially domestic cats, as definitive hosts in which sexual reproduction occurs, and (ii) intermediate hosts, where asexual reproduction occurs; the latter consist of all warm-blooded animals, including birds and mammals, with T. gondii being most common in sheep [T. gondii consist of three forms: (i) tachyzoites present during the early infection period, (ii) bradyzoites present in the intermediate hosts as tissue cysts, and (iii) sporulated oocysts containing sporozoites, shed as non-sporulated oocysts by the final hosts with feces [T. gondii  ingestion of oocysts of y felids , 102,  study was performed in humans and animals from five North African countries; (ii) both serologic and molecular techniques were considered; (iii) only natural infection by T. gondii was taken into consideration; (iv) studies carried out with vaccine assays were not taken into consideration; (v) in each country, information regarding prevalences of infection by T. gondii were organized by species, starting with humans then animals; and (vi) only articles written in English and French were considered.A literature review on the seroprevalence and the molecular prevalence of T. gondii infection in humans was studied for the first time in 1969 by Le Viguelloux and Epardeau [T. gondii antibodies in 1,026 human sera from Rabat city [T. gondii antibodies detection among pregnant women in Fes city [Toxoplasma infection increases with age [T. gondii (rapid and complete sporulation). Regular contact with the land  was retained as a major risk for T. gondii infection in Rabat city [p\u00a0<\u00a00.01), while the consumption of raw meat, contact with cats, and level of hygiene were not significant. Toxoplasmosis was also studied in HIV-infected patients in the city of Marrakech and its surroundings [T. gondii in 95 HIV-infected adults of different ages. Seroprevalence was estimated to be 62.1%.All investigations carried out in Morocco in both humans and animals were based on serological tests using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seroprevalence of Epardeau . A high Fes city . Among twith age , 83\u201385. with age . The autbat city , 85. In T. gondii infection in livestock species; only sheep and goats were concerned  [T. gondii occurring in Morocco using 15 microsatellite markers, and referred to a human strain of type III genotype [Few studies have targeted oncerned . The serng ELISA . Using te (8.5%) . One stugenotype .Figure 1T. gondii in Algeria was published in 1955 by Balozet [T. gondii antibodies in 10% and more than 30% in humans and dogs, respectively. Schneider et al. [T. gondii infection [The first paper studying  Balozet . It was r et al.  found hir et al.  found thr et al.  found lor et al. . The resnfection . Genotypnfection .T. gondii in animals in Algeria (T. gondii in sheep were low (8.28%) in Eastern and South Algeria, and in Djelfa locality (11.6%) using ELISA and immunofluorescent antibody tests (IFAT), respectively [T. gondii infection, namely season, origin of animals, and absence of abortion history. Concerning the season, summer, spring and autumn were characterized as more suitable periods for oocyst survival. The authors also suggested that the high relative humidity that typifies Northern Algeria  enhances oocyst viability since infection rates were higher than in the south. The presence of T. gondii antibodies in goats has only been investigated using IFA testing in a study carried out by Dechicha et al. [T. gondii in cattle was lower than that reported for sheep and goats. This emphasises the lower susceptibility of cattle to T. gondii compared to small ruminants. Other studies were conducted in cats, horses and donkeys. The seroprevalence in cats was comparable to that in humans, and the two species shared the same genotype, i.e. genotype II [Only serological studies have been performed to detect  Algeria . Seropreectively , 37. Throtype II , 129.FigT. gondii as a parasite of food origin [T. gondii infection increased with age. This pattern was later confirmed in a larger survey including 142 individuals from the northern parts of the country using ELISA and IFAT [The first study concerning human infection was published in 1970 followed by many other studies in humans , 81, or d origin . In the d origin  using thand IFAT . This epand IFAT , 114. Thand IFAT , 56, 111and IFAT . ToxoplaToxoplasma gondii infection has also been studied in animals and several studies were conducted in sheep , living area , diet (consumption of lamb meat), drinking water source, and contact with cats. Recently, T. gondii DNA was detected in 9.9% of the umbilical cord of neonates, indicating a high level of congenital toxoplasmosis [T. gondii infection in psychiatric patients in Tripoli was estimated and this prevalence was significantly higher than in the control group. The authors explain this as a causal relationship between toxoplasmosis infection and psychiatric diseases [The first serological survey on human infection was carried out by Khadre and El Nageh  in Tripolasmosis . In 2014diseases . NeverthT. gondii infection in animal species  [To the best of our knowledge, there are few studies in Libya related to  species . Indirectensive) .Figure 5T. gondii infection exceed 200 articles and clearly show it is widespread in the country. Nevertheless, many studies were not taken into consideration to respect the imposed criteria in this review. The seroprevalence of T. gondii in humans is high, reaching 59.6% [T. gondii genotypes I and II were reported in Egyptian patients [T. gondii DNA was detected in several population groups: in children and their mothers , and in inhabitants and workers [T. gondii infection rates [T. gondii in Egyptian cats reached 97% [Toxoplasmosis was declared for the first time as a \u201cnew disease\u201d in Egypt in 1952 . Egyptiang 59.6% , 72, 130on rates , 73, 76.T. gondii in sheep has shown a downward trend in recent studies, at 17.65% [T. gondii prevalence was comparably low. Toxoplasma gondii in chickens, ostriches and ducks was also reported [T. gondii from chicken samples belonged to genotypes II and III, while in ducks, the genotype was type III. Several studies were performed in camels, horses, donkeys and stray dogs [In small ruminants, high prevalence of infection was reported, reaching 98.4% and 41.7% by serological tools, and 67.6% and 25% by molecular methods in sheep and goat samples, respectively  , demonstrating that the epidemiological cycle of this protozoan is very well maintained in this region.T. gondii infection in humans was almost equal in the five countries . This is a concern since T. gondii infection is widespread in food animals consumed in North Africa, especially chicken, camel, sheep, and goat meat [T. gondii infection, there was heterogeneity in the molecular and serological prevalences estimated in the five North African countries, which is correlated with the techniques used. In fact, serological methods appear to lack sensitivity and specificity, even though the qualitative detection of antibodies remains a standard tool. At the same time, there are differences within the serological techniques. Moreover, Dubey et al. [For human infection, there was broad diversity in sampling in the five countries. Only in Egypt, a variety of animal species was screened for the presence of oat meat . In bothy et al.  found thIn many studies conducted in the five countries of North Africa, age was a major risk factor. Higher levels of positive results were found in older animals. This is consistent with many studies conducted in France and Iran for example , 66. TheFarm management is also a risk factor. For example, in Algeria, sheep are reared in extensive systems and fed on fresh bulk feed or pasture, which are a greater risk as sources of contamination .Generally, in North Africa, trends indicate that production systems have become more intensive: agricultural by-products, non-conventional sources of feed, and commercial concentrates are increasingly used. The use of concentrates represents a risk factor since contaminated grain could be responsible for the rapid spread of infection in a flock . WidesprT. gondii to humans via meat or milk consumption, or by the prominent role of cats in the contamination of the environment by oocysts, studying prevalence rates of animal toxoplasmosis will be helpful to estimate the rate of human toxoplasmosis [Since animals play an important role in the transmission of lasmosis .T. gondii prevalence in wild felids.In the five North African countries studied, little is known about the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in wild animals. In fact, there is no information about Toxoplasma, the presence of T. gondii in Africa could be due to the spread of this parasite from the Americas to Asia via the Bering Strait. It is believed that this parasite entered Africa around 1.5 million years ago [Concerning the evolutionary history of ears ago . Only geears ago .T. gondii infection patterns between the populations of the Mediterranean basin could be explained by human travel and trade within these regions [The similarities in  regions , 91. Mor regions , 124.T. gondii infections and their complications is prevention. The preventive measures depend strongly on the knowledge of women about toxoplasmosis. However, this remains a major problem in the North African context since, within the same country, there are considerable differences in the socioeconomic status of women.In North African countries, no specific national programs against toxoplasmosis are currently in place. The major tool for avoiding congenital Even though serological screening for the infection is highly recommended during the first antenatal care visit, an analysis of the current situation indicates that a control program for human toxoplasmosis is lacking and pregnant women are not sufficiently aware of all the infection routes.T. gondii is fairly well documented in most countries, little information is available to quantify the resulting impact for the livestock sector and for public health. Having better impact data would make it easier to convince decision makers to invest in toxoplasmosis control and prevention. In addition, more in-depth epidemiological studies are needed to inform the design of regional strategies and to guide implementation of control programs involving both the medical and veterinary sectors.Toxoplasmosis represents a significant health threat to both humans and livestock, inducing high morbidity and economic losses. While the occurrence of Given the involvement of the environment in the transmission cycle, attention should also be given to environmental sampling in order to develop adequate transmission models between animals, the environment and people, providing the basis for a real One Health approach in the control of toxoplasmosis."}
+{"text": "In the last decade, extended-spectrum cephalosporin and carbapenem resistant Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) have been extensively reported in the literature as being disseminated in humans but also in animals and the environment. These resistant organisms often cause treatment challenges due to their wide spectrum of antibiotic resistance. With the emergence of colistin resistance in animals and its subsequent detection in humans, the situation has worsened. Several studies reported the transmission of resistant organisms from animals to humans. Studies from the middle east highlight the spread of resistant organisms in hospitals and to a lesser extent in livestock and the environment. In view of the recent socio-economical conflicts that these countries are facing in addition to the constant population mobilization; we attempt in this review to highlight the gaps of the prevalence of resistance, antibiotic consumption reports, infection control measures and other risk factors contributing in particular to the spread of resistance in these countries. In hospitals, carbapenemases producers appear to be dominant. In contrast, extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) and colistin resistance are becoming a serious problem in animals. This is mainly due to the continuous use of colistin in veterinary medicine even though it is now abandoned in the human sphere. In the environment, despite the small number of reports, ESBL and carbapenemases producers were both detected. This highlights the importance of the latter as a bridge between humans and animals in the transmission chain. In this review, we note that in the majority of the Middle Eastern area, little is known about the level of antibiotic consumption especially in the community and animal farms. Furthermore, some countries are currently facing issues with immigrants, poverty and poor living conditions which has been imposed by the civil war crisis. This all greatly facilitates the dissemination of resistance in all environments. In the one health concept, this work re-emphasizes the need to have global intervention measures to avoid dissemination of antibiotic resistance in humans, animals and the environment in Middle Eastern countries. DandachIn this context, Middle Eastern countries are thus of special interest. The dissemination of MDROs in this region of the world involves an interplay of over/misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals, the absence of infection control measures and most importantly the recent continuous population mobilization due to socio-economic conflicts and multiple war crises. In this review, our aim is to describe the epidemiology of extended spectrum cephalosporin, carbapenem and colistin resistant GNB in humans, animals and the environment in the Middle Eastern area. The Middle East includes 15 countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Sultanate Oman, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. Our attempt is to highlight the gaps in bacterial resistance reports, antibiotic consumption data as well as infection control measures in this distinct area of the world.Extended spectrum cephalosporins and penicillin\u2019s have been widely used in clinical settings due to their wide spectrum of activity as well as their negligible toxicity compared to other antimicrobial agents . Their uKlebsiella spp., resistance to extended spectrum beta lactams is mainly mediated via the production of CTX-M variants    and to aCTX-M-2) , TEM genCTX-M-2)  and otheCTX-M-2) . pAmpC beumoniae . PFGE aneumoniae . This isreported . Mehrganfections . Similarhia coli . It is wnic ones . These Etestines . Moreove in Iran . Statistctamases . Moreovella spp. . The higlla spp. ; this islla spp. . Other E cloacae . On the nd GES-1 . This isnd GES-1 . Only onpatients .E. coli and K. pneumoniae is mainly mediated via CTX-M-group1 (CTX-M-15 and CTX-M-1) and CTX-M-group2. Others include PER and OXA-10 in E. coli  at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. In this center, the incidence of COBSI has increased 2.7-fold over a 7 year period. This increase appears to be correlated with the clonal expansion of ST131 E. coli strains carrying the blaCTX-M-14 and blaCX-M-15 genes , sulfonamide (sul1 and sul2), TET [tet(A)], macrolides (mphA), and trimethoprim (dfrA17), resistance determinants , VIM (VIM-1 and VIM-4), and IMP  that modifies the organism\u2019s genomic structure  and VIM variants   . Only twruginosa . Akhi etenotypes  were detenotypes .K. pneumoniae were the most common GNB resistant to carbapenems . In non-fermenters, OXA-23, OXA-24, and OXA-58 were detected in A. baumannii with no evidence of clonal dissemination   , b, Enteter spp. , and C. freundii  suggestsirabilis , VIM-2/Valestine  and NDM-alestine .E. coli and E. cloacae clinical isolates, respectively , NDM-1, and OXA-48 E. cloacae in Kuwaiti hospitals  , and OXA-48 carbapenemases were detected in clinical isolates of clonally unrelated  strains . In one eumoniae . Moreoveospitals , 2017b. d VIM-2) . On the  strains . The P. nd ST654 . In factnd ST654 .K. pneumoniae and others   are the most common carbapenem resistance genes detected in Enterobacteriaceae . These irogenes) . In factl center . In one as 93.2%  whereas as 93.2% . Furtherlla spp. . Indeed,lla spp. . Moreoveth MDROs . On the  and IMP . Clonal  and IMP . In one detected .P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii, respectively  were detected in genetically variant ectively , 2018. Isettings .K. pneumoniae  were found between these strains and the ST147 K. pneumoniae strains isolated in South Korea. Interestingly, one of the Korean isolates was from a patient transferred from the United Arab Emirates. This reveals the huge capacity of the ST147 K. pneumoniae clone in maintaining itself over a long period of time in addition to its ability to be transmitted internationally , OXA-48 and to a lesser degree KPC, are the predominant carbapenemases detected in clinical isolates of eumoniae , 2017a. eumoniae . ST147 itionally . Similaraumannii , 2015b. aumannii . AccordiE. coli and K. pneumoniae) is mediated via the production of NDM (NDM-1 and NDM-7) and OXA-48 carbapenemases  and E. cloacae strains , VIM (VIM-1 and VIM-2), IMP, SIM, and GIM , NDM (NDM-1 and NDM-5), and OXA-48 are the predominant carbapenamases detected in Enterobacteriaceae . Molecul strains . The polhospital . Isolatehospital  and othehospital ; and ST1onged to . Polyclotophilia . In non- and GIM . High ge and GIM . As for  and GIM . On the ruginosa . The majruginosa .mcr-1 producing E. coli isolated from a clinical setting occurred in 2016. This strain co-produced the CTX-M-15 and had a sequence type of ST1011 which was previously detected in an avian E. coli strain within this same country. This finding could be a direct manifestation of a zoonotic transmission of mcr-1 from animals to humans  with mutations in the mgrB, phoQ, pmrA/B genes in a hospital in Beirut. In Israel, one study reported the case of an Israeli patient with prior colistin administration during hospitalization and subsequent isolation of colistin resistant K. pneumoniae from his stool, supporting the theory of colistin resistance emergence as a result of antibiotic overuse in hospitals  with minimal side effects and optimal outcomes  were associated with the mcr-1 gene being on an Incl2 plasmid type  as well as carbapenem resistant non-fermenters (CR-NF) was reported in several studies . Accordingly, nasal and rectal screening was performed for all NICU patients. In addition, contact isolation precautions were implemented as well as an intensive infection control program was performed for all staff personnel. Subsequently, after 1 month, no infection/colonization with CRE was observed  was correlated to an ICU stay, ampicillin carbapenem use, mean daily antibiotic use, presence of underlying diseases, surgical intervention and nasogastric tube placement  in a post-acute care hospital (PACH) from 65% in 2008 to 80% in 2013. The acquisition source of more than 50% of the carriers was the PACH itself  hand in a Kuwaiti hospital. This highlight the important role that the health care personnel can play as vectors and reservoirs from which bacterial resistance can spread. This is especially true when non-adherence to proper sanitation and hand hygiene occur. In Qatar, only one study reported the fecal carriage of MDR ESBL E. coli in food handlers  SHV and TEM ESBL type . Fouda e country .E. coli strains in broiler farms. The plasmid mediated AmpC beta lactamase genes blaCMY-2 and blaDHA-1 were also observed   and SHV-12 were the only ESBL types detected in  Chicken . Similar Chicken . In Leba Chicken . On the d ST156) . This emE. coli strains belonging to the B1 phylogenetic group isolated from cattle with bovine mastitis  have been isolated from broilers, drinking water and workers in chicken farms  in sewage systems  in instruments that are frequently used for the care of patients such as dressing sets, suction tubes, hand-washing sinks and faucets. The occurrence of MDROs in the aforementioned surfaces raise the chance of acquisition and HGT of resistance genes among patients, health care personnel and visitors, creating thus a significant source of hospital acquired infections  from hospital environmental samples  from a hospital environment as well as from patients respiratory tracts; the high similarity of MDR patterns suggest the persistence of these MDRO in the environment is responsible for their high colonization rates detected in the respiratory tracts of ICU patients.In Iraq, only one study revealed the detection of ESBL  samples . InteresIn the gulf, one study in the KSA found ESBL producing GNB in hospital sewage. The sewage tank might play a significant role in the dissemination of MDROs, especially if it enters the sea and beach recreational activity areas, subsequently affecting the community population .Nowadays, antibiotics are among the most common drugs prescribed worldwide. Between 2000 and 2010, antibiotic consumption increased by 20 billion standard units . The groIn the Middle East, studies have shown that SM is highly prevalent. In Iran, SM ranges from 35.4 to 83%, 32 to 42% in Lebanon, 32 to 62% in Jordan, 98% in Palestine, 85% in Syria. In the Gulf, SM rates were as high as 89.2% in the United Arab Emirates, 48% in the KSA and 60% in Yemen . This isBesides SM, inappropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals is another reason behind the dissemination of MDROs in the Middle East. Indeed, ASP, although implemented in some hospitals in several countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, the KSA, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman; these are still in their infancy . BarrierFurther research assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of antibiotic prescription among expatriates is crucial for the adoption of successful programs, in order to promote the rational use of antimicrobial agents in the Middle East . FurtherUnfortunately, it is evident that MDROs are nowadays disseminated in animals and the environment as it has been reported worldwide . SimilarThis review shows the extensive dissemination of ESBL and carbapenemase producing GNB in Middle Eastern hospitals. The prevalence of these MDROs is less well documented in animals and the environment. However, studies reported that ESBL is common in livestock whereas carbapenemases are scarce. In the environment, to some extent both groups (ESBL and carbapenemases) were reported equally. This emphasizes that the environment plays a double route in the transmission of resistant organisms from humans to animals and vice versa. In some countries especially in the gulf, nothing is known about the spread of MDROs in animals nor the environment; therefore, a clear conclusion cannot be drawn. One major mediator of MDROs spread in the Middle East is the recent population mobilization due to the socio-economic crisis and the Syrian war. This conflict promotes the introduction of resistance genes not previously reported in those countries. The emergence of colistin resistance is another major issue. In most of the epidemiological studies, colistin susceptibility is assessed by the Kirby-Bauer technique. This method is unreliable and might underestimate the real prevalence of colistin resistance in all ecological niches.ID, AC, JH, and JM wrote the manuscript. ZD corrected the manuscript. All authors approved and revised the final version of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "AbstractDonaciaclavareaui Jacobson, 1906 and Donaciafukiensis Goecke, 1944 have been confused for decades. Finally, D.fukiensis was synonymized with D.clavareaui by D.fukiensis because it was stored in an inaccessible collection. D.fukiensis as a distinct species, also without direct access to the type series. The synonymization by Chrysomelidae (Chrysomelidae (D.fukiensis is now accessible, it has been possible to proof that D.fukiensis is a distinct species, and a lectotype has been established from the series of seven syntypes. Donaciakweilina Chen, 1966 and D.mediohirsuta Chen, 1966, which were split from the mixture of D.clavareaui and D.fukiensis, are now also synonymized with D.clavareaui, because their characters are the same or within the variation range of the characters of D.clavareaui. Furthermore, a distribution map is provided with the reliable records known to date.The East Palaearctic species omelidae  and the omelidae . Because Donaciaclavareaui Jacobson, 1906, D.fukiensis Goecke, 1944, D.kweilina Chen, 1966, and D.mediohirsuta Chen, 1966 all have in common that their pronotum is pubescent while their elytra are glabrous. All other East Palaearctic Donacia species have either hairs on both pronotum and elytra or no hairs.The East Palaearctic species of D.clavareaui and of D.fukiensis are very detailed  it is not possible to distinguish these two species with the described characters alone. Worse, each description leads to D.clavareaui and to D.fukiensis without any contradiction. Therefore many misidentifications occurred, especially in specimens from China. Subsequently in the identification key of D.fukiensis was considered to occur in China, which resulted in further identification errors. D.kweilina and D.mediohirsuta from this mixture. D.fukiensis with D.clavareaui. D.fukiensis as a distinct species, but in the main comprehensive books on Palaearctic Chrysomelidae . NMB-FREY0000001: \u2642 \u201cKuatun 2300m) 27,40 n. Br. 117,40 \u00f6. L.; J. Klapperich [leg.] 7.5.1938 (Fukien)\u201d. 300m 27,43 \u2642, \u2640\u2640 7.5.1938, 3 \u2642\u2642, \u2640 27.04.1938 (other data same as lectotype) \u201dASIZ except for two paratypes in ISAC.The type specimens are kept in Taxon classificationAnimaliaColeopteraChrysomelidaeChen, 196622\u00b01'N, 100\u00b048'E, 1200 m a.s.l.China: Yunnan, Shishong-Baana (Xishuangbanna), \u2640 \u201cYunnan: Shishong-Baana, 15.5.1958\u201dASIZ.The type specimen is retained in D.kweilina and D.mediohirsuta are analysed by the detailed first description of The characters of the type specimens of Donacia species known to date are listed. The specimens indicated with \u201cdet. E. Geiser\u201d or \u201cvid. E. Geiser\u201d were examined.In Table D.clavareaui from Kjachta (Russia) in south-east Siberia. It could be easily distinguished from all other Donacia species known by its pubescent pronotum combined with glabrous elytra. In the subsequent decades several Donacia specimens from East Asia where identified as Donaciaclavareaui.Donaciinae specialist, examined specimens of D.clavareaui in the collection of the Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn (Germany). He recognized that the specimens from Fujian (south-east China) were different in some characters which are typical for species limitation in Donacia. In 1944 Goecke published the description of the new species D.fukiensis which he split from D.clavareaui.In the 1940s Goecke, a world-renowned D.fukiensis from D.clavareaui. He also published no identification key. Both descriptions match with both species . This resulted in many misidentifications of East Asian specimens.The description of Chrysomelidae of China and Korea\u201d. Because there were so many Chinese specimens misidentified as D.fukiensis they assumed that D.clavareaui was restricted to Siberia. Therefore their identification key contains only D.fukiensis. The characters they mention in their key are applicable to both species. Their key became famous and widespread. Subsequently almost all specimens of D.clavareaui outside Siberia were identified as D.fukiensis from then on.In 1961 Gressitt and Kimoto published their comprehensive volume \u201cThe D.fukiensis, some specimens have different characters. He split two new species, D.kweilina and D.mediohirsuta, off from what was actually still a mixture of the two species D.clavareaui and D.fukiensis.Donacia. He investigated the type specimen of D.clavareaui which has been stored in the collection of the MNHN Paris. He also intended to investigate the type specimen of D.fukiensis stored in the collection Goecke which was then part of the private Coleopterea Museum Frey in Tutzing, Bavaria. Due to the special situation of the Museum Frey (see next chapter) no research on type or other specimens was possible at that time. Therefore Askevold studied series of D.fukiensis from Japan and China, which in fact were D.clavareaui. He concluded that there are no differences to the type specimen of D.clavareaui (he was right!) and therefore erroneously synonymized D.fukiensis with D.clavareaui. In 1990 Askevold published his comprehensive revision of the genus Donacia which has been widely used as a reference since.In the 1980s Askevold worked on his comprehensive revision of the genus Donaciinae of China. They recognized some differences in the specimens labelled D.clavareaui from Fujian as compared with specimens from other parts of China (as Goecke did more than 50 years before). Therefore they intended to study the type specimens of D.fukiensis from Goecke in Museum Frey. At that time, once again no loan of specimens was possible, but for a short period during the quarrels about the Frey collection it was stored at the ZSMC (see next chapter). Martin Baehr, the curator of Coleoptera section in Munich was in charge; Cong and Yu wrote to Baehr and asked him to check some critical characters at the syntype specimens of D.fukiensis, and Baehr confirmed these characters. D.fukiensis from synonymy and published the first identification key to distinguish D.clavareaui and D.fukiensis; they also included D.kweilina Chen, 1966 and D.mediohirsuta Chen, 1966. They also published accurate distribution data of these four species as far as they were substantiated.In the 1990s Cong and Yu worked on a list of the Chrysomelidae  and Silfverberg is a specialist for Criocerinae und Galerucinae. Both wrote the Donaciinae chapter as no Donaciinae specialist was available and they both referred to the last comprehensive work on Donaciinae  was the owner of a clothes-producing company (\u201cLodenfrey\u201d). He had an ardent interest in beetles, and attended and paid for field trips worldwide to collect beetles; he also bought collections from specialists. Near his house in Tutzing  he established a private museum and employed up to five scientists and assistants. When the pecimens .Chrysomelidae specialists, Jan Bechyne and Gerhard Scherer. When Georg Frey died in 1976, a quarrel began in the Frey family. The sons of Georg Frey intended to donate the whole collection to the ZSMC, because that had been the will of their father they argued; but the widow of Georg Frey began negotiations and finally sold the whole collection to the Natural History Museum of Basel, Switzerland. This started a conflict which involved the Frey family, the Munich State collection, several Switzerland institutions, and German Government institutions. The latter declared this beetle collection a national treasure which must not be transferred outside the borders of Germany. In 1992 the widow died and the collection was clandestinely transferred to the ZSMC before the Basel Museum received information on her death. The legal dispute continued and from 1995 onwards the collection was stored in boxes in Weil am Rhein, Germany, a city near Basel at the Swiss border (https://kaeferfuerbasel.ch/die-sammlung-georg-frey/]). These incidents were the reason that between 1976 and 1998 it was impossible for long periods to borrow specimens and even to visit the collection to examine it in situ.In the decades after the WWII scientific institutions like natural history museums had insufficient and often only provisional storage facilities. At the Museum Frey the Goecke collection was well maintained as Frey employed the then-s border . In 1997D.clavareaui in Latin and D.fukiensis in German, both languages being widely used in science at the time. For traceability the original descriptions and their translations are shown in Appendix 1, 2.The head, antennae, legs, and pronota are very similar, but their elytra are strikingly different. The main character differences are\u2013 Shape of the contour of the elytra\u2013 Punctures of the elytra\u2013 Elytral epipleura\u2013 Elytral apex\u2013 Female: last sternite\u2013 Male: aedeagusDonacia. There are some well-established species in Donacia which differ in much more subtle characters. Therefore it was correct that D.fukiensis as a valid species. Now that the type series of Goecke is available to scientists, I was able to designate a lectotype from the seven syntypes on which the description of Goecke had been based  and Appendix 4 (for D.mediohirsuta). Donaciakweilina is known only from the type series  in Ibariki-ken in Honshu, Japan. According to Bienkowski (2014)D.clavareaui also feeds on Isolepisfluitans (L.) R.Br. (syn. Scirpusfluitans). D.clavareaui in Korea on Scirpusmaritimus L. The food plants of D.fukiensis, D.kweilina, and D.mediohirsuta are unknown.The larva of D.clavareaui and D.fukiensis are compared directly, the differences are striking, especially of the elytra. Although the first descriptions of these species are comprehensive and detailed, they both described both species. Furthermore, it was not possible to create a reliable identification key without correctly identified specimens to hand. This created a vicious circle and caused decades of misidentifications, as well as the splitting of new species from a conglomerate of what was in fact two species. The situation was worsened by the inaccessibility of the type series of D.fukiensis in the Frey collection for a long period.If specimens of Donacia species. Donaciafukiensis may be also hidden within specimens of Plateumaris.If specimens are identified incorrectly, all further studies on ecology and distribution are useless. In Figure D.clavareaui from its food plant. According to GBIF  Scirpusfluviatilis occurs outside of North America only in Japan and Korea and some spots on the east coast of Australia. The data provided by KewScience  indicate further records from New Zealand, but no records in Asia; GBIF shows only one record of Isolepisfluitans from Ceylon. Scirpusmaritimus is widespread, but there is only one record from China and none from Russia. It is very likely that D.clavareaui feeds on Scirpus sp. sensu lato.It is also very difficult to infer the distribution of D.fukiensis and to analyse the DNA of both species, to include them in the phylogenetic tree published by Donacia it is likely that they are not closely related.Although both species are rare, I hope this paper will trigger some interest to examine the fauna more carefully during field trips in this area. If recent sample sites are known, it would be possible to find the food plant and larvae of"}
+{"text": "AbstractHaemaphysalischordeilis  and Haemaphysalisleporispalustris , were known to occur in the United States, and neither was considered to be of significant medical or veterinary importance. In 2017\u20132018 established populations of the Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalislongicornis Neumann, 1901, were detected in the eastern US for the first time. Haemaphysalislongicornis has the potential to be a significant threat to human and animal health, and the urgent need to determine the full extent of its distribution and host range requires availability of a straightforward and practical guide to differentiate it from native species. We created a pictorial dichotomous key to all stages of Haemaphysalis spp. known to occur in North America with scanning electron photomicrographs of all H.longicornis life stages, including rarely seen males, to aid researchers in differentiating these species. The largely Neotropical species Haemaphysalisjuxtakochi Cooley, 1946, with established populations in Mexico and sporadic detections in the US on migrating birds is also included.Until recently, only two haemaphysaline species,  Haemaphysalis ticks are known to occur in the United States: the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalisleporispalustris  and the bird tick, Haemaphysalischordeilis   (Francisellatularensis) and of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (Rickettsiarickettsii) have been isolated from this tick  . Haemaphd hares) . Its fuld hares) . The agehis tick  althoughn Canada . BecauseHaemaphysalisjuxtakochi Cooley, 1946  was detected in Ohio, USA, on a white-tailed deer at a deer-checking station  climate change is predicted to alter the distribution of many tick species  unlike some of the exotic species imported by birds  as it continues its invasion of North America, H.longicornis may eventually be collected farther south, coinciding with H.juxtakochi\u2019s existing range.In order to study potential impacts of  species , therefoby birds , H.juxtaH.longicornis were obtained from US National Tick Collection archives for imaging. Males, females, and nymphs were sent from a laboratory colony started with specimens collected in Jeju-teukbyeoljachido, Republic of Korea (Accession # RML48803). Larvae originated from a colony started with specimens from Queensland, Australia (Accession # RML58949). Specimens were coated with gold and imaged with a JEOL JSM-6610LV scanning electron microscope  .Specimens of H.juxtakochi (adult), H.leporispalustris  and H.chordeilis  were obtained from the US National Tick Collection archives (http://www.discoverlife.org).Additional photomicrographs of A literature search was conducted and key characters useful for distinguishing the four species were gleaned from the following: Adults Fig. Nymphs Fig. Larvae Fig. Haemaphysalis that may be encountered in North America in all life stages. Previously, readers would have had to peruse keys from several distinct parts of the world in order to compare the morphology of these four species, e.g. US keys containing H.chordeilis , with over 160 additional species in the Old World (Haemaphysalis species establish themselves in North America, this key will require revision.However, as ld World , includild World , careful"}
+{"text": "A method for analysing the hadronic resonance contributions in  Decays with a mentclass2pt{minimdictions . Global cument}\u03c3 \u201317.In this paper, the possibility that hadronic resonances are interfering with the short-distance amplitude and mimicking physics beyond the SM is considered. This is because in addition to the short-distance contribution to mentclass2pt{minimThe approach presented in this paper models the hadronic contributions originating from charm and light quark resonances as Breit\u2013Wigner amplitudes. This approach is inspired by Refs. , 19 and plitudes . The levThese non-local contributions are difficult to calculate and to date there is no consensus as to whether the deviations seen in global analyses can be explained by the these intermediate hadronic contributions, or by physics beyond the SM. Differentiating between these two hypotheses is of prime importance for confirming the existence and subsequently characterising phenomena not predicted by the SM. More detailed discussions on this point can be found in Refs. , 21\u201328.Due to the more complex amplitude structure of the decay, for each resonant final state there are three relative phases and magnitudes that need to be determined instead of one in the case of the plitudes \u201332 can bThe level of An increasingly large part of the discrepancy in - decays , 33, 34.This paper is organised as follows: Section\u00a0B-meson, z function is given byThe differential decay rate of ervables . Each of in Ref. . The dec in Ref. , that ex in Ref. . The decing Ref. , the forrom Ref.  and the in Refs. , 37.The functions of Refs. \u201320. In pp is the momentum of the muons in the rest frame of the dimuon system evaluated at q, and The rom Ref. , the resrom Ref. . The runThis isobar approach, although not rigorous, it provides a model for the strong phase variation of the amplitude across the full It is customary that for each helicity amplitude, the expressions of the non-local components V denotes any Measurements of In order to assess the impact of the resonances appearing in the dimuon spectrum of orations , 31, 39 orations , 32, thein Refs. \u201342.For the decay ansition , 43, 44.No measurements exist for final states involving the  in Ref. . The valmentclass2pt{minimThe study presented in Ref.  providesFigure\u00a0 in Ref. . The rel in Ref. . The preentclass1pt{minima of Ref. . However in Ref.  are knowurements . Howeverurements  did not z-expansion truncated after the second order as in Eq.\u00a0 decays , 56 willThe statistical precision on the angular observables is estimated by generating values for the non-local parameters of mentclass2pt{minimBy the end of Run2 of the LHC, the dominant theoretical uncertainty of the angular observables in the tainties , be possRecent tests of lepton universality in mentclasspt{minimament}C9\u03bc , 59. TheThe model of entclass1pt{minima in Ref.  with the by Ref. .An empirical model to describe the hadronic resonance contributions in of Refs. , 28. TheThe lack of knowledge of the longitudinal phase differences between In addition, the resonant contributions to the decay provide large strong-phase differences that enhance sensitivity to CP violating effects. In this way, there is no need to rely on a time dependent analysis to a In the SM, observables such as  in Ref.  and in t"}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-018-33783-3, published online 19 October 2018Correction to: Christian Scheurig-M\u00fcnkler was omitted from the author list in the original version of this Article. This has been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.The Author Contributions section now reads:Dr. Alexander Reshetnik: conception of study design, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article.Dr. Christopher Gohlisch: writing the article; acquisition of data.Dr. Christian Scheurig-M\u00fcnkler: acquisition of data; interpretation of data, providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described; final approval of the version to be published.Dr. Maximilian De Bucourt: interpretation of data; providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described; final approval of the version to be published.Prof. Dr. Walter Zidek: providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described; final approval of the version to be published.Dr. Markus T\u00f6lle: providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described; final approval of the version to be published.Prof. Dr. Markus van der Giet: conception of study design, interpretation of data; revising the article."}
+{"text": "BH, as the consultant gynaecologist, consented patients and conducted the hysterectomies. AA, as the consultant histopathologist, reviewed and released cervical tissue under ethical approval to FM's study. CB was responsible for donor recruitment, consenting and clinical administration of the study. JF and RW collected tissue, JF, RW and FM prepared and cryopreserved it. JF undertook the viability experiments described and JM performed the tissue sectioning and H&E staining. JF, RW and FM wrote the manuscript; all authors approved the final version.JF and FM were responsible for designing the research project. FM secured the grant funding and national and local ethical approval for the project. Mr Bill Hunter was mistakenly omitted from the original version of the manuscript; this corrigendum rectifies this error.The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2017.06.004.DOI of original article:"}
+{"text": "Bioengineered veins can benefit humans needing bypass surgery, dialysis, and now, in the treatment of varicose veins. The implant of this vein in varicose veins has significant advantages over the conventional treatment methods. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), vein patch repair, pulmonary embolus, and tissue-damaging problems can be solved with this implant. Here, the authors have proposed biomedical microdevices as an alternative for varicose veins. MATLAB and ANSYS Fluent have been used for simulations of blood flow for bioengineered veins. The silver based microchannel has been fabricated by using a micromachining process. The dimensions of the silver substrates are 51 mm, 25 mm, and 1.1 mm, in length, width, and depth respectively. The dimensions of microchannels grooved in the substrates are 0.9 mm in width and depth. The boundary conditions for pressure and velocity were considered, from 1.0 kPa to 1.50 kPa, and 0.02 m/s to 0.07 m/s, respectively. These are the actual values of pressure and velocity in varicose veins. The flow rate of 5.843 (0.1 nL/s) and velocity of 5.843 cm/s were determined at Reynolds number 164.88 in experimental testing. The graphs and results from simulations and experiments are in close agreement. These microchannels can be inserted into varicose veins as a replacement to maintain the excellent blood flow in human legs. Generally, microfluidic systems consist of microchannels, micropumps, microneedles, micro-chambers, micro-sensors, and micro-mixers. Microchannels can be categorized and designed in any alphabetical letter shape. Some are designed with shapes, like straight, square, serpentine, rectangular, curved, curvilinear, coil, trapezoidal, parallel, spiral, and sine wave. They can also be designed in mixed shapes with an alphabetical letter shape. On the basis of design, microchannels can also be fabricated in alphabetical letters of English e.g., T shape and Y shape. A microchannel classification is shown below in Bioengineered veins give new hope for people lacking healthy and strong veins. There are several main challenges in the implantation of bioengineered veins for medicinal treatments. One of them is that the implanted veins were being rejected by the human body. The humanoid immune system attacks these external objects, perceiving them as harmful invaders. Finally, the first bioengineered vein was implanted successfully, marking a breakthrough in bioengineered humanoid tissues in 2013 . MicroflThe complete historical development of microchannels was presented by Kandlikar and Grande (2003) . MicrochThe design of microchannels helps to analyze the fluid flow and mixing of two or more fluids. Many scientists have worked on fluid flow analysis. Straight and serpentine microchannels were used by Afzal and Kim (2014) for the analysis of flow and mixing of non-Newtonian fluids . MicrochAn important and promising use of microchannels is to examine the mass flow rate. The flow rate was generated thermally, due to the direct relation of the mass flow rate and increased temperature. Cubaud et al. 2016) have examined the behavior of threads of viscous fluids, influence of fluid injection schemes, and flow rates experimentally . Law et  have exaThe sinusoidal design and the miniaturized form of the microchannels have been used to separate the small particles from larger particles successfully. Liu et al. (2015) used straight rectangular microchannels for the sheathless separation of bacteria and red blood cells, by using viscoelastic effect technique . Liu et Many other scientists worked on other research parameters of microchannels. Lau et al. (2016) have demonstrated a solution for high throughput of fluids at micron level on the basis of flow cytometry. The existing demonstrations of optofluidic time-stretch imaging were based on the inertial flow microfluidic platforms ,29,30,31The sinusoidal design of microchannels has better capabilities for cell sorting, cell focusing, fluid flow and heat transfer. Tayyaba et al. (2013) simulated the sinusoidal microchannel for cell sorting systems . SinusoiThere is widespread use of microchannels in bioengineering technology. The microchannels can also be designed like the structure of veins and arteries. These microchannels are used as bioengineered blood vessels. These vessels are also the integral part and an important innovation in the field of tissue engineering and biomedical engineering. Bioengineered vein implants have proven to be a landmark in tissue engineering. All the veins, including tortuous veins, carry blood from the heart to the other parts of the body and back. There are one-way valves in veins. The valves prevent backward blood flow. The major function of the valve is to make the flow consistent in one direction. Due to the failure of valves and the inconsistency of flow, the blood is collected in the veins and overfills them. Therefore, the veins become dilated, swelled, and enlarged. Often it brings pain, heaviness, aches, bluish\u2013purple or red color, discoloration, ulcers, sores, blood clots, and chronic inflammation in human legs . These tThe conventional treatment of such diseases is ligation and stripping. Today, there are also minimally invasive methods as an alternative of surgery, such as endovenous ablation with laser or radiofrequency, and foam sclerotherapy. These treatments may cause bruising and swelling . To overThere are many complications and risks of varicose vein surgery, such as listed below.Wound complicationsLeakage of lymph from the groinDeep vein thrombosis (DVT)Pulmonary embolusVascular injuryDamaged femoral veinVein patch repairThese problems often occur after or during surgery. The issues often arise in lymphatic system after ligation and stripping. The lymphatic system is a part of the circulatory and immune system. This system is disturbed because of chylous leakage, due to surgical procedures in lymphatic system. After surgery, the blood clots are formed in the vein, which are called DVT, usually occurring in the legs. This clot can cause pulmonary embolus and vascular injury. Patient cannot walk with the damage of femoral vein patch after surgery. There are also other treatments like sclerotherapy, radiofrequency treatment, and endovenous laser treatment, but they are very costly. In radiofrequency treatment, the electric signals are produced in the varicose vein to reduce the pain, and the problem may persist even after this treatment. Therefore, it is not considered a successful treatment. The costly laser treatment is also used for stripping veins ,57,58,59In this study, fuzzy logic control (FLC) has been used to estimate the flow rate and velocity of an ascending sinusoidal microchannel. The system has four inputs and two outputs. The inputs are taken as Reynolds number, pressure, curve height, and % loss. Here, % loss means friction and surface roughness. The outputs are taken as flow rate and velocity. Three membership functions are taken for each parameter of inputs and outputs in this microchannel system. The ranges of membership functions are presented below with each parameter of inputs and outputs for ascending sinusoidal microchannel system in In FLC, rule tables are needed to describe the parameters (three inputs and two outputs) with three membership functions . When flThe Hagen\u2013Poiseuille equation is used for each and every rule of flow rate and velocity . This eqHere, 4). Therefore, 81 rules are prepared by MATLAB rule editor and viewer with the help of IF-AND-THEN logic [The number of inputs are four, and each input has three membership functions. The formula for the number of rules is membership functions to the power of inputs  and 4.65 (cm/s), respectively. MATLAB simulated values for flow rate and obtained velocity are 5.11 (0.1 nL/s) and 4.55 (cm/s) respectively. The minor error percentages in the values for flow rate and obtained velocity are 0.78% and 2.19%, respectively. The results are in close agreement. Now in the next section, ANSYS Fluent simulation has been presented to verify the MATLAB results for the ascending sinusoidal microchannel system.After the successful simulation of MATLAB FUZZY LOGIC with Mamdani\u2019s model, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been performed for the ascending sinusoidal microchannel. Here, the blood is taken as the non-Newtonian flowing fluid. The flow rate and blood velocity for the ASMC have been determined. The commercial CFD software ANSYS Fluent has been used for simulation. For velocity parameter, different values like 0.02 m/s, 0.03 m/s, 0.04 m/s, 0.05 m/s, 0.06 m/s, and 0.07 m/s, have been used. While, for pressure difference, values like 1 kPa, 1.1 kPa, 1.2 kPa, 1.3 kPa, 1.4 kPa, and 1.5 kPa, have been used . These a2/s2 and 4 m2/s3. In the set up section, the fluid temperature has been taken as 320 K. In calculations, the Reynolds number for the microchannel was determined by the following equation: The computational domain of ASMC is represented in three dimensions (3D). The channel has been designed with three ascending curves of increasing radii, by using design modeler tool. The length of the channel has been taken as 51 mm. The model is sinusoidal in shape, with the dimension of 0.9 mm for width and the same for depth. The model consisted of inlet, outlet, and the wall. For accurate results, mesh independence has been carried out by varying the cell density of the model for similar boundary conditions. This procedure has been followed for fine mesh tetrahedrons to discretize the computational domain. The meshing has been done for up to 7524 elements and 2541 nodes. Moreover, a high-resolution scheme has been selected as the solving option. The model has been set for two domains, like fluid and solid. In the fluid domain, blood has been used as fluid. Besides, silver has been used in the solid domain. Here, flow regime has been applied at the inlet of microchannels, with normal velocities of 0.02 m/s, 0.03 m/s, 0.04 m/s, 0.05 m/s, 0.06 m/s, and 0.07 m/s. In the set up section of ANSYS Fluent, turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent dissipated rate have been set at 5 md is diameter and r is the curvature radius of the microchannel. K-epsilon viscous model has been considered in the set up tool of Fluent. Amongst all models at the back end of the ANSYS, the K-epsilon model has been found accurate in predicting the fluid flow [In this equation, uid flow ,74,75,76uid flow . For theuid flow . The flohe fluid .The contour plot illustrates different values of velocity and pressure inside the microchannel. The pressure is generally increased at the inlet of the channel, and decreased at the outlet. It is clear from the above figure that the pressure drop increases due to an increase in the Reynolds number. It is noted that the higher Reynolds number is actually affecting the pressure drop. The high-pressure fluid pushed the fluid to flow along the microchannel and come out from the outlet region. When the fluid with constant properties flows through the channel, a linear relationship is expected between pressure drop and Reynolds number. However, there are three ascending curves used in this research work. So, when the fluid passes through all the curves, the graph shows a small rise in pressure drop. The simulation has been carried out to identify flow rate, pressure drop, and velocity in the ascending sinusoidal microchannel. In the above Micromachining is the most diverse category of manufacturing processes available for the fabrication of parts with dimensions of less than 1 mm. Machining is a process in which a cutting tool is used to remove small chips of material from the work piece . First oThe fabricated ascending sinusoidal microchannel was tested for its flow rate and velocity. Actual values of pressures and velocities were used as in ANSYS Fluent simulation. MP 6 micropump was used along with the other experimental apparatus. Pure blood could clot in the MP 6 micropump. Therefore, an anticoagulant heparin was used and mixed in the blood as a blood thinner. It prevented blood clots forming in the MP 6 micropump. MP6 could measure flow rate up to 0\u20137 mL/min, and could apply pressure up to 550 mbar  pressure. There were ports on the microcontroller through which the desired pressure could be made. The microchannel was covered tightly with the glass sheet with glass glue, to avoid the escape of blood out of the channel. Flow rate and velocity were determined at the output. The experimentally obtained values are in agreement with the simulated values. The testing apparatus is shown in The bioengineered strategies and plans are made before the implantation. Before the implant, the selected area would be shaved, washed, cleaned, and anesthetized. The ASMC (bioengineered vein) will be separated from the silver substrate and implanted into the vein through a thin tube fabricated from medical grade materials, called a catheter. The surgery is similar to an angioplasty technique. In this procedure, blood thinner medication should be used before surgery to diminish the possibility of blood clots. The person will lie straight on an operation table during the procedure. Once the patient is on the implant procedure, a cut is made near the varicose veins. The surgeon then implants the bioengineered vein. The electronic devices will monitor the blood pressure and the heart rate. Satisfactory flow of blood will be restored after the implant, if the surgeon is satisfied with the implant.In the MATLAB FUZZY LOGIC simulation, the flow rate and velocity were found to be 5.11 (0.1 nL/s) and 4.55 (cm/s), at Reynolds number 160, respectively. In the ANSYS Fluent simulation, the flow rate and velocity were found to be 6.0 (0.1 nL/s) and 6.088 (cm/s), at Reynolds number 161.33, respectively. The results of two simulations were found to be in close agreement. MATLAB is a parametric estimation tool, and it performs a significant role in describing the behavior of the system through mathematical models, while ANSYS Fluent is the most general purpose powerful computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package. Fluent has extensive physical modeling capabilities, through which the fluid flow can be modeled precisely for microchannels. The discussion has been presented in the following four easy steps.The direct relation of Reynolds number and the pressure difference is discussed here with some experimental deviations. The reasons for these deviations were the frictional factor in the path of the fluid, and the ascending nature of the microchannel . The friIn The Dean number and the corresponding Reynolds number has been calculated for all three curves of ASMC. For the first 5 mm curve of ASMC, the Dean numbers were 10.347, 19.737, 29.01, 40.875, 49.407, and 58.404. For the second 6 mm curve of ASMC, the Dean numbers were 9.3123, 17.7633, 26.109, 36.7875, 44.4663, and 52.5636. For the third 7 mm curve of ASMC, the Dean numbers were 8.6225, 16.4475, 24.175, 34.6625, 41.1725, and 48.67. This data clearly shows that the Dean number and Reynolds number are in direct relation. It also shows that the Dean number decreases with the increase of radius of curvature. From Equations (2) and (3), it is clear that the Dean number has an inverse relation with viscosity of fluid. Therefore, the Dean vortices are not very prominent.The biomedical application of the fabricated and tested ASMC is the implantation of bioengineered veins in varicose (tortuous) veins. All surgical problems can lead to a main problem of stopping the blood flow through the great saphenous vein. Actually, this ligation stops the blood flow through this passage now. There are other natural smaller tortuous veins in legs for blood flow. If blood flows from these smaller tortuous veins, then quantity of flowing blood becomes large. Therefore, pressure of blood can be disturbed in these tortuous veins. Persistence of pressure to the femoral nerve and in these tortuous veins can prevent blood from flowing. The decreased or increased blood flow can result in damaging of tissues. The recovery from varicose vein surgery is also very slow and painful. The stripping and ligation of great saphenous vein can also cause problems in doing extensive exercise . The bloThere is an urgent need for implantation of such biomedical devices in order to improve the current biomedical condition of old age patients. The majority of these bioengineered veins are made of metal and metal alloys. The corrosion issue was the first to be reported. The concerns about corrosion implications from these implants are minor as compared to the relief that patients feel and get from the anticipated beneficial effects . Silver The comparison between simulated values and experimental values has been presented in In the MATLAB simulation, at 160 Reynolds number, the flow rate and velocity are 0.511 nL/s or 5.11 (0.1 nL/s), and 0.0455 m/s or 4.44 (cm/s), respectively. In the ANSYS Fluent simulation, at 161.3 Reynolds number, the flow rate and velocity are 0.6 nL/s or 6.0 (0.1 nL/s), and 0.06088 m/s, respectively. In the experiment, at 164.88 Reynolds number, the flow rate and velocity are 0.5843 nL/s or 5.843 (0.1 nL/s), and 0.05843 m/s or 5.843 (cm/s), respectively. The experimental and simulated results are found in close agreement for other Reynolds numbers, which are also used in this research. In the next section, a comparison of simulated and experimental values of this research work with the previous research of other microchannels, has been given. However, there is still no research data available on the flow rate and velocity measurement for ASMC and comparisons; that is the novelty of this research. The measurements of flow rate and velocity for other types of microchannels are available ,68,90,91The purpose of this research was the simulations, fabrication, and testing of ascending sinusoidal microchannels. The research work includes computer simulations for blood flow rate and velocity using MATLAB FUZZY LOGIC and ANSYS Fluent. Furthermore, a bioengineered vein (silver based three curved ASMC) is fabricated to calculate the flow rate and velocity of human blood. Moreover, a comprehensive comparison has been presented between simulated and experimental values. Silver is a low cost and biocompatible material. Bioengineered veins can be implanted in the varicose (tortuous) veins that lead to better blood flow. These bioengineered veins can also be fabricated with other biocompatible materials, like polymers. These bioengineered veins can be made with any vein length, shape, and design. This is the novel solution of better blood flow through the ligated great saphenous vein. A bioengineered vein of similar length and diameter can also be fabricated and implanted in place of ligated saphenous veins. This research posed some limitations. Firstly, this channel was limited to a single-phase laminar flow regime, and neglected the venous leaflet valve. Secondly, the natural elasticity of the vein is neglected in this study, and third, is the frictional factor used in this research. In future, we will simulate a model that will consider all these limitations, in order to produce more physiological results."}
+{"text": "We retract this article. The sequences were submitted to the NCBI GenBank  by the primary author, Mohamed E. Megahed, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Suez, Egypt. Unfortunately Dr. Megahed has been instructed by NIOF, Suez, Egypt, not to share the raw sequence data under the Law No. 82/2002 and via a declaration of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture & Land Reclamation. Due to this inability to share the raw sequence data, we are retracting the article.Volume 7, no. 9, e00809-18, 2018,"}
+{"text": "Salmonella spp., S. enterica serovar Typhimurium and S. enterica serovar Enteritidis in various (food) matrices. Early and fast detection of these pathogens facilitates effective intervention and prevents further distribution of contaminated food products on the market. Three primer and probe sets were designed to target the invA gene, the STM4200 gene, and the SEN1392 gene to detect and differentiate Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium, and S. Enteritidis, respectively. The multiplex qPCR targeting these three genes was optimized for efficiency and linearity. By testing 225 Salmonella isolates and 34 non-Salmonella isolates from various sources the inclusivity and exclusivity were determined. The inclusivity of the multiplex qPCR was 100% for all Salmonella isolates, including 72 S. Typhimurium isolates, and 53 S. Enteritidis isolates. The exclusivity for Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium, and S. Enteritidis was 100%, 94.6%, and 100%, respectively. No positive results were reported for non-Salmonella isolates. The limit of detection (LOD) for the qPCR was determined for the matrices poultry, minced meat, egg, herbs/spices, powdered milk, fish, animal feed, boot-socks with chicken feces and chicken down. LOD values for qPCR and the conventional culture methods were similar, except for the matrix boot-socks and down, for which the LOD for the conventional culture methods performed better than the qPCR method. In conclusion, the multiplex qPCR assay developed allows for rapid screening of Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium, and S. Enteritidis in various (food) matrices.A multiplex quantitative PCR (qPCR) was developed and evaluated for the simultaneous detection of  Salmonella gastroenteritis and 155,000 cases of mortality occur worldwide ,12:i:- was the third most commonly reported serovar in the EU, followed by S. Infantis in fourth place. in 2011 ,10. MonoS. enterica subsp. enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis ,12:i:\u2212. The qPCR method developed by Silva et al.[Salmonella spp. and S. Enteritidis, but is not able to detect S. Typhimurium. The qPCR presented here has selectivity comparable to the qPCR described by Park and Ricke [Salmonella isolates, whereas the presented qPCR in this manuscript was validated using 225 isolates of which 72 S. Typhimurium isolates and 53 S. Enteritidis isolates.Malorny et al.  was the t et al.  offers ava et al. includesnd Ricke , howeverSalmonella spp. and detection after enrichment was performed using the qPCR and the ISO and MSRV method. The results per matrix, contamination level and method are displayed in For official control purposes it is necessary to know which level of contamination in a sample, before enrichment, will be detected by the method. Therefore, 10 different matrices were artificially contaminated with three levels of Salmonella have been performed [Salmonella spp., S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium in one reaction, instead of just detection of Salmonella spp. [S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium [The presented result suggest that the qPCR method can be used to screen the matrices, with the exception of the matrix down, followed by isolation of the bacterial strain using culture-based methods for the enrichments that had a positive result in the screening. This method with screening of enrichment broth allows negative samples to be identified faster in comparison to culture-based method, since enrichment followed by screening takes 24 h, whereas enrichment followed by selective enrichment using the ISO method or the MSRV method takes at least 48 h. Cooled storage of the enrichment broths prior to DNA extraction for a maximum of 48 h gave identical LOD values compared to direct testing of the enrichment. This allows laboratories to store enrichment broths during weekends or holidays, without a negative effect on the sample result. Although earlier validation studies for screening of enrichments for presence of erformed ,32,34, tlla spp.  or S. Enhimurium .In silico BlastN analysis indicates primers and probe sets to be highly specific for their targets, and no a-specific signals were expected based on the results. Constructed standard curves showed the qPCR was highly efficient. There was a linear relationship between cell numbers and Cq-values both with and without matrix. The inclusivity of the multiplex qPCR was 100% for all Salmonella isolates, including 72 S. Typhimurium isolates, and 53 S. Enteritidis isolates. The exclusivity for Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium, and S. Enteritidis was 100%, 94.6%, and 100%, respectively. No positive results were reported for non-Salmonella isolates.S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis, it is a robust tool to easily detect both strains as requested by regulation No 2073/2005. Since the serovars S. Derby, S. Goldcoast, and S. Rissen are not excluded by the STM4200 primer set, further confirmation of the isolated strains needs to be performed, identical to the confirmation for conventional culture methods.Due to the ability of the method to differentiate Salmonella in various (food) matrices. By using the multiplex qPCR method, instead of conventional culture methods, for screening of enrichments broths, the analysis time of samples is reduced from 48 h to 24h. This method therefore facilitates effective and faster intervention when contaminated food products are on the market.The LOD of the multiplex qPCR method is comparable to the ISO method and MSRV method, and allows for detect of low levels (around or below 10 CFU/25g) of"}
+{"text": "Okenia taxa inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their general taxonomy, varies according to different specialists. So far, eight valid species have been reported from the area: Okenia aspersa , Okenia cupella , Okenia elegans , Okenia hispanica Vald\u00e9s & Ortea, 1995, Okenia impexa Er. Marcus, 1957, Okenia leachii , Okenia mediterranea , and Okenia zoobotryon . Of these, only three  have their type localities in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the others were described from different biogeographic areas and later included in the Mediterranean biota. We carried out a review on Mediterranean Okenia species through an integrative approach, based on a wide literature search and a morphological and molecular analysis of available type material and samples collected recently. The present study confirmed the presence of O. aspersa, O. elegans, O. hispanica, and O. mediterranea in the Mediterranean Sea, although leaving remaining questions about some of those taxa. The distribution of O. cupella, O. impexa, and O. zoobotryon is limited to the western Atlantic, and of O. leachii to the eastern Atlantic. All specimens previously identified as O. cupella, O. impexa, and O. zoobotryon by different authors in the Mediterranean Sea were repeatedly misidentified. Thus, we describe Okenia problematica sp. nov. and Okenia longiductis sp. nov., from the \u201cMediterranean\u201d Okenia cupella/impexa and O. zoobotryon. We also consider here Okenia pusilla Sordi, 1974 a nomen dubium and include a redescription of the holotype of O. cupella. A molecular phylogeny, including all the sequenced Okenia species, was performed in order to evaluate the evolutionary relationships of the newly described species with the other congeneric taxa.The precise number of  Okenia Menke, 1830 (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) includes around 50 valid species worldwide and is composed by small to medium-sized sea slugs, whose distribution spans from cold, temperate, and tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean to the north and south Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea, and bathymetric range goes from the intertidal to the 160 meters depths of Okenia vancouverensis   was suppressed in 1974 under ICZN Opinion 1014 [O. hispanica. Despite being described more than 20 years ago, it is still only known from its holotype [O. hispanica is a truly Mediterranean endemism or the knowledge of its distribution is still incomplete; new collections are also required to evaluate its phylogenetic relationships with congeneric taxa. Finally, the external and internal anatomy of the O. mediterranea specimen studied here did fit well with that previously described by Cervera et al. [O. mediterranea is made up of two different morphs highly variable in their external anatomy and colour pattern. Unfortunately, the original description lacks detail of its internal anatomy, and therefore a topotype is needed to evaluate putative taxonomic differences between these colour morphs.Unfortunately, the elusive character of pecimens \u201318, 85. ion 1014 , and thuholotype , 74, 123holotype \u2013125, altholotype . Taking a et al. . Howevera et al.  and Cerva et al.  already Okenia in the Mediterranean Sea, by i) recapitulating all the known records of species within this genus, and highlighting the questionable ones; ii) restricting the taxonomically validated records to O. aspersa, O. elegans, O. hispanica, and O. mediterranea, although leaving doubts on some of those taxa; iii) adding O. problematica sp. nov and O. longiductis sp. nov to the present Mediterranean biota; iv) resolving the status of some intricated taxonomic problems, and proposing Okenia pusilla as a \u201cnomen dubium\u201d. Finally, it restricts the presence of O. cupella, O. impexa, and O. zoobotryon to the western Atlantic, and of O. leachii to the eastern Atlantic. A comparative table highlighting main external diagnostic characters and radular formula of Okenia species living in the Mediterranean is reported in In summary, the present study significantly clarifies the biodiversity of the genus"}
+{"text": "AbstractAmaryllidaceae tentatively assigned to the tribe Clinantheae, Pamiantheecollis Silverst., Meerow & S\u00e1nchez-Taborda, is described from the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental in the department of Cauca, Colombia. The new species differs from the two hitherto known species of Pamianthe in its yellow flowers and in its nearly obsolete perianth tube. The near loss of the perianth tube may be correlated with a change in pollinator. The new species lacks a bulb; it produces a large number of winged seeds that are wind-dispersed. A key to the species of Pamianthe is provided. This is the first record of the genus Pamianthe for Colombia. The phylogenetic position of the genus Pamianthe is discussed.A new saxicolous species of  Amaryllidaceae J. St.-Hil. is a cosmopolitan family represented in Colombia by nine native genera and 26 native species, including a monotypic endemic genus, Plagiolirion Baker  Stapf, P.cardenasii Traub, P.parviflora Meerow, P.peruviana Stapf, and P.quitoensis (Herb.) Stapf. Pamianthequitoensis was transferred to the genus Leptochiton Sealy, as L.quitoensis (Herb.) Sealy, and P.andreana is considered a synonym of this species. Pamianthecardenasii has been placed in the synonymy of P.peruviana , known from Per\u00fa and Bolivia. The new species described in this paper is the third species of the genus and the first record from Colombia. It is also the first species of the tribe Clinantheae, to which Pamianthe has been assigned .DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing protocols were as described in nantheae  using thnantheae . A brancnantheae , followeTaxon classificationPlantaeAsparagalesAmaryllidaceaeSilverst., Meerow & S\u00e1nchez-Tabordasp. nov.urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77193890-1Pamiantheparviflora Meerow and P.peruviana Stapf in having a yellow perianth and staminal cup (versus white) and in nearly lacking a perianth tube. Additionally, it differs from P.parviflora in having shorter pedicels, a longer ovary, and more numerous ovules, and from P.peruviana in having much longer pedicels, more flowers per umbel, much shorter tepals, a shorter staminal cup that is not exserted from the perianth, and a smaller fruit.This species differs from both J. A. S\u00e1nchez-Taborda 2870 . GPS coordinates are withheld to discourage poaching; they are available to bonafide researchers upon request.COLOMBIA. Cauca: Municipio Argelia, road between Nuevo Horizonte and La Monta\u00f1a, north of the Serran\u00eda El Pinche, Cordillera Occidental, western slope Fig. , 2839 m,Terrestrial saxicolous herbs Fig. ; bulb abPamiantheecollis is known only from the type locality . However, this species does not grow within closed forest. The seeds of P.ecollis, which are adapted for anemochory, and a photograph of the population at the type locality , indicate that this species inhabits open areas on steep banks near creeks. Plants from the type collection were growing near a waterfall. Plants from a later collection, from which herbarium specimens were not prepared, were growing on an apparently disturbed, open slope on rocky substrate. The roots of the plants are superficial, immersed in a thick layer of moss, and grasp the surface of the rock. Thus, this species is a lithophyte.ity Fig. . The genPlants were collected in flower in February and in fruit in August.e (without), collum (neck), adjectival collis, referring to the almost absent perianth tube of this species.The specific epithet is from Latin, Since nothing is known of the distribution of this species apart from the type locality, it is best to place it in the category Data Deficient , 2017.Clinantheae places the new species of Pamianthe as sister to P.peruviana with 92% jackknife support, in a subclade that is sister to a second subclade comprising Clinanthus Herb. and Paramongaia Velarde. However, with ITS there is no support for Pamianthe as part of Clinantheae , two lobes or teeth between each two staminal filaments, and the staminal filaments strongly curved inward, as well as numerous, biseriate, winged, wind-dispersed seeds. Leaf width and the conspicuous midvein are similar to that of P.peruviana. It differs from both of the two hitherto known species in having a yellow perianth and staminal cup (versus white in the other two species) and in its nearly obsolete perianth tube. Moreover, P.parviflora has a shorter ovary (10 mm versus 40 mm in P.ecollis) and fewer ovules per locule (about 20 versus about 100 in P.ecollis). Pamiantheperuviana additionally differs in having fewer flowers , shorter pedicels (1.5\u20133 cm long versus 7\u20139 cm long in P.ecollis), free tepals much longer , staminal cup 8 cm long and long-exserted (versus ca. 0.5 cm long and included in P.ecollis), and larger fruit .P.peruviana, which contains three nectar-bearing internal channels  perianth tube in channels , may be Gilliesia Lindl. (Amaryllidaceae of closed lowland tropical forest, such as Eucharis Planch. & Lind., are relatively few per locule, subglobose, and wingless, and probably are bird-dispersed, and in one case possibly water-dispersed (The glandular papillae Fig.  on the aa Lindl. . The flaispersed .Clinantheae, which is sister to the tribe Hymenocallideae (Pamianthe may represent the remnants of a once more broadly distributed epiphytic and lithophytic lineage in the tribe that were isolated as the Andes rose to their present position, and moist forests contracted on the western slopes. We are confident that rigorous analysis of our next generation sequence data will successfully resolve the current ambiguous phylogenetic position of the genus.The allideae , was not"}
+{"text": "Palvennia hoybergeti, is based on the single holotype specimen (SVB 1451) with an incomplete skull. A newly discovered specimen (PMO 222.669) with a disarticulated but largely complete skull and anterior postcranium is described, which considerably expands our knowledge of this taxon. Two additional new ophthalmosaurid specimens with pectoral girdles from the same member are described. The taxonomic utility of the ophthalmosaurid pectoral girdle is contentious, and an assessment of seven pectoral girdles from the Slottsm\u00f8ya Member provides a basis for addressing this question via a 2D landmark principal component analysis of baracromian coracoids. The analysis reveals a taxonomic signal in the coracoids but also highlights the degree of individual variation. Commonly used phylogenetic characters do not fully encapsulate the degree of variation seen in coracoids and in some cases combine analogous features.The Late Jurassic Slottsm\u00f8ya Member Lagerst\u00e4tte on Spitsbergen preserves a diverse array of marine reptiles, including four named taxa of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs. One of these,  Ichthyopterygia was one of the major secondarily aquatic vertebrate clades that existed during the Mesozoic. Fossils are found from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) to the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). The Late Jurassic was an interval with great species richness of thunnosaurian ichthyosaurs that evolved an elongated skull with an enormous eye and forefins larger than hindfins .Palvennia hoybergeti (The Slottsm\u00f8ya Member Lagerst\u00e4tte (SML) on Spitsbergen, Norway  and 2, iybergeti  based onOphthalmosaurus icenicus was erected on the basis of characters in the pectoral girdle and forefin  will be used in the text. The ichthyosaur specimen PMO 222.669 was collected in 2011 and PMO 224.250 in 2012. The stratigraphic position of the specimens was determined with a total station. The specimens were collected in protective plaster jackets and transported to NHM in Oslo for mechanical preparation. PMO 222.669 was largely covered in siderite, gypsum, and barite, and an air scribe and a sand blaster were used to remove the matrix. The taphonomy and stratigraphic position of the specimens has previously been discussed in The taxonomic utility of the post-Triassic ichthyosaurian pectoral girdle has been challenged . BecauseOphthalmosaurus and Stenopterygius coracoids can be separated on the basis of this method. The two genera were chosen for this purpose as they are known from multiple specimens. Coracoid landmarks were digitized from photographs either taken by the authors in museum collections or provided by colleagues. Only adult specimens where all landmarks could be scored were included. Photographs were taken from directly above the element to reduce distortion. Both left and right coracoids were used and mirrored to ensure comparable values. Six landmarks were selected  were not included in this study due to a lack of data or insufficient photo quality.A total of 30 specimens were included in the analysis , with thes level . In addiIchthyosauria De Blainville, 1835Neoichthyosauria Sander, 2000Thunnosauria Motani, 1999Ophthalmosauridae Baur, 1887Palvennia hoybergetiDruckenmiller et al., 2012Remark: Several elements from the P. hoybergeti holotype (SVB 1451) that were not included in the original description , whereas in Mollesaurus periallus it is dorsoventrally taller than anteroposteriorly long  and unique character combination: relatively short rostrum with snout ratio of 0.59 (relatively longer in hekiodon ); very lnapartei ); strongextremus ); narrownapartei ); frontaicenicus ); long ficenicus ); *very ustralis ); extracs densus ) and laceriallus ); lateraextremus ); anterihrisorum ); short s densus ); gracilicenicus ); anteronapartei ); medialpondylus ); facet nsolitus ); proximustralis ); absencpondylus ); phalanustralis ).Based on the orientation of the articulated skull roof, braincase, and vertebrae as preserved in the excavation site, PMO 222.669 landed on its dorsal side on the sea floor after death . The speP. hoybergeti and is relatively large compared to other SML specimens, which also support an adult stage  (O. icenicus and Cryopterygius kristiansenae (Platypterygius hercynicus (The preservation of the premaxillae in PMO 222.669 is superior to that seen in the holotype of VB 1451) . They ariansenae . The latrcynicus . In the rcynicus .Athabascasaurus bitumineus, O. icenicus, and Leninia stellans  in having an unusually large parietal foramen bordered by the frontals anteriorly and laterally and the parietals posteriorly, which is autapomorphic for this taxon. The frontals do not contact the supratemporal fenestra, which is similar to the situation in stellans  but diffstellans , 2012.Platypterygius australis , the postorbital bar in y narrow . The posiansenae . The antustralis  and inststellans . The crostellans . From thustralis . The eleicenicus . In lateP. hoybergeti (SVB 1451) , but in contrast to Cryopterygius kristiansenae, which is nearly straight  . In overstraight . The jugtumineus . The substellans . It lackemaxilla . In PMO ustralis , and insPlatypterygius australis, O. icenicus, and Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi  L.L. Delsett, personal observation)  , but becirjukovi , and somrvation)  and Simbirjukovi . On the ustralis . The antnapartei . In ventnapartei .O. icenicus and Gengasaurus nicosiai , the pterygoid is only partially known  . The hyoid is oval in cross-sectional shape, differing from that of Platypterygius hercynicus and Sveltonectes insolitus, which are circular in cross-section for parts of its length  . It was VB 1451) . The hyoicenicus  and moreJ. lundi  and one s length . In medircynicus  and is rO. icenicus, the most robust portion of the element makes up the posterolateral corner of the cranium. From the posterolateral portion, the anterior ramus extends on the lateral side of the supratemporal fenestra and meets with the postfrontal anteriorly. The supratemporal does not contact the frontal in contrast to Platypterygius hercynicus , the basioccipital lacks exposure of extracondylar area in posterior view   , in contnsolitus . The forentrally . The eleextremus .O. icenicus and Athabascasaurus bitumineus  . Two fortumineus . The holforamina , probablforamina . Only onextremus . The venicenicus .P. hoybergeti (SVB 1451) due to poor preservation. In posterior view, the element is pentagonal with a straight ventral margin. The incomplete medial margin is the longest. The element possesses a small, medially directed process probably for articulation with the exoccipital. This morphology differs from Acamptonectes densus, which lacks this process and instead has a concave medial margin  was originally interpreted to be a left as it was found disarticulated on the left side of the skull . HoweverJ. lundi  in contrlekseevi . In anteicenicus . In ventustralis . L. stelosaurids , 2013. IP. hoybergeti (SVB 1451), the quadrates were not described due to poor preservation   . The vens densus . Medial s margin  whereas s margin . In vents margin . On the s margin , but it nicosiai . On the O. icenicus , the left splenial is partly visible in ventral view of the skull. The anterior end is forked as in ustralis , but thee dorsal . The maiustralis . The posvisaurus , and frorior end . The venustralis . In latesis ends . The eleO. icenicus  disarticulated splenial, similar to icenicus  and Platustralis . The eleJ. lundi . The dorustralis . Betweenustralis . The preSveltonectes insolitus   . Many roPlatypterygius hercynicus ; L.L. Delsett, personal observation). The anterior edge is thickened, and the facets for the scapulae are elongated. The posterodorsal tip of the clavicle is dorsoventrally narrow, and widens gradually anteriorly, resembling PMO 222.667, in contrast to the clavicle of J. lundi, which widens more abruptly anteriorly , L.L. Delsett, personal observation)   and morelekseevi . It has nsolitus  and PMO nsolitus . Ventral 222.667  and Platericanus . The gle , L.L. Delsett, personal observation) and N. enthekiodon  dorsal and ventral sides . Its plicenicus . Two paiructures .P. hoybergeti holotype) with the exception of Cryopterygius kristiansenae, which has two facets on one humerus and three facets on the other in addition to several other ophthalmosaurids, for example, Caypullisaurus bonapartei, Acamptonectes densus, and Undorosaurus  and five (on the left) elements, representing metacarpals and phalanges. The elements are circular or oval in dorsal view, not squared as in ustralis , Platyptrcynicus , and Svensolitus . An inteextremus . Some fon natans  have a rTwo small elements were found associated with the left forefin, out of which one has the shape of half an oval and could represent the pisiform. The other is circular in dorsal view and probably a phalanx.P. hoybergeti  or possibly earliest Berriasian (Early Cretaceous). 39.1 m above the echinoderm marker bed   . The ulnSveltonectes insolitus and O. icenicus and . As themosaurus . The int gradual . The gleschensis  where thschensis . Both thhrisorum . The scaArthropterygius chrisorum where this is absent in caudal centra . The visceral surface is concave, but lacks the narrow trough of J. lundi . The intercoracoid facets are dorsoventrally thick near the symphysis and larger ventrally than dorsally. Similar to PMO 222.669, the glenoid and scapular facets well demarcated and have a more acute angle than in Arthropterygius chrisorum .PC1 explains 35.0%, PC2 22.0%, and PC3 16.5%, and the remaining PCs each explain less than 10%, of the variation. Increasing values of PC1 scores describe an increasing anteroposterior length: mediolateral width and a mediolaterally narrower posterior portion, an increasing demarcation of the glenoid and scapular facets, as well as an increasingly mediolaterally narrower anterior notch. PC2 is related to the relative size of the anteromedial process, and PC3 describes mostly the shape of the anteromedial process. In the discriminant analysis, the groups with specimens of Arthropterygius chrisorum, Acamptonectes densus, PMO 222.667, and O. icenicus specimens. The latter type is found in Sveltonectes insolitus and Paraophthalmosaurus kabanovi, and in the SML material PMO 222.658.PC1 manages to separate coracoids that have a distinctly different outline; namely, specimens with a more rounded, equal-sided coracoid can be distinguished from those that are longer than wide, and narrower in the posterior half than in the anterior half. The former are represented by K. nui (PMO 222.655)  , or coveP. hoybergeti, an ophthalmosaurid previously described from the SML (P. hoybergeti (SVB 1451)  . The latVB 1451) .K. nui   .O. icenicus, Cryopterygius kristiansenae, and Acamptonectes densus  foramen  and a cf. Leptonectes specimen also possess enlarged parietal foramina that are egg-shaped and bilobed, respectively  and O. icenicus (Brachypterygius and Caypullisaurus (same refs). Based on the new material, P. hoybergeti possesses the ophthalmosaurine synapomorphy of a supratemporal-stapes contact (P. hoybergeti. A peripheral groove on the basioccipital is often considered an ophthalmosaurine trait and is also present in this specimen, but extremely shallow.icenicus . The oth contact . However contact , 2014a, Ophthalmosaurus and Stenopterygius specimens (Ophthalmosaurus is relatively large, but the specimens do form a cluster. Four of the SML specimens (Cryopterygius kristiansenae holotype cluster inside, together with the Acamptonectes densus and U. gorodischensis holotypes. Except from this, the SML specimens are well separated from each other. The coracoid of Cryopterygius kristiansenae cannot be separated from the variation within Ophthalmosaurus, as suggested earlier (U. gorodischensis and Cryopterygius kristiansenae share many similarities on the coracoids, which is consistent with other features, and Cryopterygius might be a junior synonym of Undorosaurus (PC1 and PC2 almost separate the groups of pecimens . The morpecimens \u201322 fall  earlier . The holrosaurus .Stenopterygius is the lack or reduction of a posterior notch of the coracoids (Ichthyosaurus (Stenopterygius is not separated from ophthalmosaurids in this analysis. The specimens of Stenopterygius in this analysis have a squarer outline than the ophthalmosaurids and a more demarcated glenoid facet at its posterior margin.A diagnostic character for the genus oracoids . This feyosaurus  and mighStenopterygius and Ichthyosaurus, for instance in the shape and size of the anterior notch (Stenopterygius this is not a consistent relationship (The analysis confirms that there is a significant degree of variation in the outline of the coracoids, as shown by the plot and the relatively low values of the principal components . Individor notch . Howeveror notch . This cationship .Sveltonectes insolitus, PMO 222.667, PMO 222.669, and Cryopterygius kristiansenae represent all four possible combinations of strong/slight dorsal expansion and large/small extent of the dorsolateral flange (O. icenicus and Acamptonectes densus, in the latter probably due to ontogeny (In the scapulae, the acromion process is an important feature, phylogenetically and functionally. A \u201cprominent\u201d acromion process is a synapomorphy of Baracromia , but eval flange  and 22 (l flange . The acrontogeny .Clavicles and interclavicles are rarely preserved and studied because they are more fragile than the scapula and coracoid . The SMLP. hoybergeti is now better understood based on an almost complete partly disarticulated skull and a complete pectoral girdle with two forefins and two distinctly different Ophthalmosauridae indet. specimens add to the knowledge about variation in pectoral girdle and forefin morphology.Three ichthyosaur specimens from the important Late Jurassic\u2014Early Cretaceous SML on Spitsbergen provide new information about cranial and pectoral features in ophthalmosaurids and represent valuable data points in the understanding of the ichthyosaur distribution during this critical time. The species Individual variation in ichthyosaur skeletal elements is currently not well understood. To gain a more quantitative understanding of coracoid outline variation, a PCA of 2D landmarks from six SML specimens and 24 other baracromian specimens was conducted for the first time and provided a valuable input to the debate on the amount of phylogenetic value in the coracoid in post-Triassic ichthyosaurs. Future studies should aim to include a large number of specimens and use quantitative approaches to reveal phylogenetic and evolutionary patterns.10.7717/peerj.5776/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.5776/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.5776/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.5776/supp-4Supplemental Information 4Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Large vaginal cysts during pregnancy are rare and can mislead Obstetricians to a false diagnosis, that of \u201cProtruding membranes\u201d. Aspiration of the cyst can be easily performed, resulting in the\u00a0collapsing of the\u00a0cyst and an uneventful\u00a0vaginal\u00a0delivery can be conducted. The patAccording to the literature, this is one of the few incidences reported,None declared.IKP: handled the patient in the Emergency Room, conceived and wrote the clinical case. IC: treated the patient, provided critical revision of the article. PK: treated the patient, provided critical revision of the article. SM: treated the patient. NT: collected the data. MB: collected the data. KN: was responsible for patient's labor. EP: was responsible for patient's labor. MD: co\u2010wrote the clinical case. ZF: handled the patient in the Emergency room. GM: performed histological analysis of the vaginal cyst. DL: provided final approval of the version to publish."}
+{"text": "The use of multiple technologies in the service of social relations in widely evident. It is not at all clear, however, that we recognize the fundamental changes in social relations that are occurring as a result. Some changes are quite positive, e.g., low cost maintenance of geographically distant but emotionally close relationships. Others can be quite negative, e.g., the lost ability to gauge emotional reactions through face-to-face contact, often resulting in unnecessarily hurtful behaviors. Preliminary data indicate that people selectively use different forms of communication under positive circumstances, e.g. to transmit good news; or negative circumstances, e.g. resolve a dispute/express anger and dependent on the nature or closeness of the relationship e.g., parent, spouse, child. We need to be mindful of the good, the bad, and the ugly of technology; and, its specific effect on the relationships of and with older people."}
+{"text": "Plasmodium. Our analysis identifies three discrete malaria transmission systems related to the Amazon rainforest, Atlantic rainforest and Brazilian coast, respectively. The Amazonian system accounts for 99% of all malaria cases in the country. It is largely due to autochthonous P. vivax and P. falciparum transmission by mosquitoes of the Nyssorhynchus subgenus, primarily Anopheles darlingi. Whilst P. vivax transmission is widespread, P. falciparum transmission is restricted to hotspot areas mostly in the States of Amazonas and Acre. This system is the major source of P. vivax exportation to the extra-Amazonian regions that are also affected by importation of P. falciparum from Africa. The Atlantic system comprises autochthonous P. vivax transmission typically by the bromeliad-associated mosquitoes An. cruzii and An. bellator of the Kerteszia subgenus. An. cruzii also transmits simian malaria parasites to humans. The third, widespread but geographically fragmented, system is found along the Brazilian coast and comprises P. vivax transmission mainly by An. aquasalis. We conclude that these geographically and biologically distinct malaria transmission systems require specific strategies for effective disease control.Malaria remains a serious public health problem in Brazil despite a significant drop in the number of cases in the past decade. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of malaria transmission in Brazil to highlight the epidemiologically most relevant components that could help tackle the disease. We consider factors impacting on the malaria burden and transmission dynamics including the geographical occurrence of both autochthonous and imported infections, the distribution and abundance of malaria vectors and records of natural mosquito infections with  Between 2010 and 2015, there has been a significant worldwide drop in malaria clinical cases and mortality, reaching 21% and 31% in Africa and 29% and 37% in South America, respectively. Nonetheless, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 212 million estimated cases and 429,000 deaths in 2016, 90% of them in Africa, and 71% of them concerning children under the age of five [Brazil has a centenary history of fighting malaria. In 1905, the first antimalarial campaign was carried out in Brazil, during the construction of the port of Santos \u20135. DespiAn. arabiensis in Northeastern Brazil by boats arriving from Africa in the 1930s is held responsible for some 14,000 deaths in 1938\u20131939. At the time, An. arabiensis was not recognized as a separate species; and all the species comprising the, what is now known, An. gambiae sensu lato species complex were collectively called An. gambiae [The introduction of  gambiae . With ab gambiae \u201310. None gambiae ,11. ThisP. falciparum and P. vivax displayed similar rates, and the program soon led to reduction of P. falciparum cases, even though the total number of cases remained relatively high [After this period of decrease in the number of cases, new malaria outbreaks were recorded in the 1960s-70s . During ely high ,14,15.10P. vivax recrudescence [The last 30\u00a0years saw fluctuations in the number of malaria cases, with peaks of around 600,000 cases in 1998\u20132000 and 2004\u20132006 due to reasons that are not fully understood but thought to be linked to environmental changes, poor management of fish farming, human migration and descence ,8. This descence ,16\u201318. MMalaria is a serious public health problem in the Amazonian region where 99% of all cases are recorded . The higP. falciparum cases in these two States were as high as 75% of all P. falciparum cases in the country. Of these, about 60% were in the neighboring municipalities of Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), Rodrigues Alves (AC), M\u00e2ncio Lima (AC), Atalaia do Norte (AM), Guajara (AM), Ipixuna (AM), Eirunepe (AM) and Benjamin Constant (AM)  and 2016 . Today, Cruzeiro do Sul alone accounts for about 30% of all P. falciparum cases in the country and together with its neighboring Rodrigues Alves and M\u00e2ncio Lima account for about 50% of all P. falciparum cases. Other P. falciparum hotspots are Porto Velho (RO), Itaituba (PA) and Anajas (PA) [In 2015\u20132016, the States of Amazonas and Acre together reported 60\u201370% of malaria cases in the Amazonian Region and the entire country. In particular, ant (AM) . Five ofjas (PA) .P. falciparum cases in the westernmost part of the Brazilian Amazon are poorly understood and thought to be multiple. The high disease transmission dynamics are thought to be affected by the extensive anthropogenic environmental changes in conjunction with the booming of fish farming in the region, which are likely to have extended the habitats and increased the density of vectors, rendering vector control tools insufficient. Human migration between municipalities, states and countries may also be an important factor and is analyzed later in this paper.The reasons for the persistently high and relatively increasing rates of P. falciparum is responsible for the majority of severe malaria cases and deaths, the greatest DALYs burden is inflicted by P. vivax that accounts for about 90% of all the cases in Brazil [P. vivax infections presents many challenges, owing to the P. vivax unique biological characteristics that include early blood stream production of gametocytes that are infectious to mosquitoes, low parasitaemia that can be undetectable by light microscopy, hypnozoites that can become active after months and sometimes years of latency, and asymptomatic infections that are common favoring the maintenance of the parasite reservoir. A recent study in Remansinho  revealed that 65% of the cases tested positive for P. vivax with PCR presented no malaria symptoms, while 54% of them could not be diagnosed by conventional microscopy [P. vivax parasitaemia and the presence of symptoms was observed. Considering that only microscopy-confirmed cases are treated, both asymptomatic and oligosymptomatic  cases are a major challenge that needs urgent attention.Even though n Brazil ,23. Contcroscopy . StrikinP. vivax, occur every year. These cases often show low parasitaemia of very short duration that cure spontaneously [IgM and IgG antibodies for P. vivax, P. malariae and P. falciparum were detected among people with no obvious malaria symptoms, suggesting elevated exposure rates [P. falciparum and P. vivax was verified in healthy blood donors from the S\u00e3o Paulo State, which were associated with forest environment and fragmentation [Asymptomatic and oligosymptomatic cases are also a problem in States spanning the Atlantic rainforest, where atypical autochthonous cases, mostly diagnosed as aneously \u201329. In tre rates . Similarre rates \u201329. Addientation .P. vivax malaria, and to a lesser extent to P. falciparum that is restricted to short distance movement , and is related to poverty that forces families to move in search of work and better opportunities [Human population movement is a key challenge in tackling malaria transmission in Brazil. Whilst temporary movement, mostly associated with business, holidays or social visitations, could contribute to small-scale outbreaks in malaria-free areas, long-term and continuous migration can significantly contribute to the observed and stable malaria transmission dynamics. We propose that the latter is mostly associated with tunities .P. falciparum cases in Acre seen in the last decade. This pattern of malaria migration was followed by the States of Par\u00e1 and Mato Grosso, the latter exporting about one fifth of all its cases, mostly to the State of Rond\u00f4nia.Although the majority of malaria cases in the Brazilian Amazon are autochthonous, case importation between States can provide important insights into disease transmission dynamics . BetweenP. falciparum hotspot . The same species are present in Southeastern States that are run by the Atlantic rainforest, and some are also found further south. Most of these species persist but are more scarcely detected in the Midwestern and the non-Amazonian Northeastern States, while other species of the Nyssorhynchus subgenus become more prevalent. Of the Anopheles subgenus, An. mattogrossensis, An. mediopunctatus and An. peryassui are also found in all the Amazonian States but Tocantins, with no or scarce detection in the remaining Northeastern and the Midwestern States. Some of the species persist in Southeastern and Southern States, again suggestive of their forest-related habitats. Species of the Kerteszia subgenus, especially An. bellator and An. cruzii, are widely distributed in Southeastern and Southern States but scarcely found in Amazonian States.The highest vector diversity is documented in the Amazonian and the Southeastern regions for both of the Plasmodium infection using ELISA detection of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), microscopy and/or PCR. Of these, 16 were of the Nyssorhynchus subgenus, 7 of the Anopheles subgenus and 4 of the Kerteszia subgenus. The majority of mosquitoes for which the species of Plasmodium harbored was determined were found positive for more than one of the three human parasites circulating in Brazil, i.e. P. vivax, P. falciparum and P. malariae  out of 37 of these mosquito species were tested positive to date for natural An. darlingi in the State of Acre where it is thought to be the primary vector, altogether reinforcing our view that malaria transmission in the Brazilian Amazon is poorly studied and understood.With regards to the geographical distribution of malaria-positive mosquitoes, 10 species were found in the States of Amap\u00e1 and Par\u00e1, 9 in Amazonas and S\u00e3o Paulo, 7 in Esp\u00edrito Santo, 6 in Rond\u00f4nia, 5 in Roraima, 3 in Santa Catarina, 2 in Acre, 2 in Rio de Janeiro, 2 in Paran\u00e1, and 1 in each of Alagoas, Cear\u00e1, Maranh\u00e3o, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe. To the best of our knowledge, no data is available for the remaining States, including the Amazonian States of Mato Grosso, where numerous autochthonous cases are recorded every year, and Tocantins, while the data for Acre and Maranh\u00e3o are outdated. Characteristically, there is no report of infected An. darlingi is susceptible to cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and alpha-cypermethrin, whereas An. marajoara displayed higher tolerance to these chemicals [Very little is also known about insecticide resistance among vector species. We were able to identify only a recent report for the State of Amap\u00e1 demonstrating that hemicals .Nyssorhynchus subgenus, while species of the Anopheles subgenus play a lesser role, mostly confined to the State of Amazonas. The second, geographically more limited and epidemiologically of lesser significance system coincides with the Atlantic rainforest, where species of the Kerteszia subgenus appear to play an important but not the sole role. The third, less discernible, not continuous and mostly P. vivax transmission system can be identified as overlapping with the Brazilian coast, especially in the Northeastern and Southeastern territories. It is vectored by An. aquasalis of the Nyssorhynchus subgenus, which breeds exclusively in brackish waters [In conclusion, when analyzed together with the malaria case incidents, these data reveal three discrete malaria transmission systems in Brazil . The firh waters \u201346. Thish waters . Below wAn. darlingi, which is highly anthropophilic with crepuscular biting activity usually extending throughout the night [An. darlingi populations with outdoor resting behavior [An. darlingi natural infection by Plasmodium mostly ranges from 0 to 10% but can reach over 20% depending on the area, year and season [The primary vector in the Amazonian rainforest is he night \u201350. It cbehavior . Immaturbehavior . Howeverbehavior . The detd season \u201357.An. darlingi is often found in greater abundance and higher proportion than any other species [An. darlingi abundance is seen between June and August, during the transition between the rainy and dry seasons [An. darlingi groups were found to be associated with different peak periods: the first in the rainy season and the second in dry environment [Across the Amazon,  species ,58. In A seasons . Howeverironment .An. darlingi, other Nyssorhynchus species also involved in the Amazon malaria transmission system are An. albitarsis s.l., An. braziliensis, An. nuneztovari s.l., An. oswaldoi s.l. and An. triannulatus s.l., which are mostly of local relevance. An. marajoara and An. janconnae, for example, which belong to the An. albitarsis s.l. complex [Plasmodium [Anopheles braziliensis, An. nuneztovari s.l, An. oswaldoi s.l. and An. triannulatus s.l. are present in most Amazonian States and considered as secondary vectors because they are mostly zoophilic and exophilic [Besides  complex , are conasmodium ,55,62,63xophilic \u201357,64\u201371Most autochthonous cases in the extra-Amazonian region in the period of 2007\u20132016 were recorded in the State of Esp\u00edrito Santo (ca. 400 cases), corresponding to 60% of the State\u2019s total number of cases . A high An. aquasalis is present all along the Brazilian coast and may account in part for the autochthonous cases mentioned above. According to Coutinho [An. aquasalis mosquitoes captured in the State of Rio de Janeiro. This mosquito is also held responsible for the last large outbreak in the State of S\u00e3o Paulo in 1986, which occurred in the urban coastal area of Guaruj\u00e1 and resulted in 24 autochthonous cases.As mentioned above, Coutinho , an infeKerteszia subgenus are thought to be the main vectors. Bromeliad malaria is a term coined by Downs & Pittendrigh [An. cruzii and An. bellator, are found. This, combined with the high rates of imported malaria cases from Amazonian States and Africa, make such areas potential hotspots for seasonal outbreaks.In recent years, the majority of cases in these areas were associated with the Atlantic rainforest, where mosquitoes of the tendrigh  to descrtendrigh \u201376, becatendrigh . DespiteAn. cruzii is also a natural vector of the simian malaria parasites, P. simium and P. brasilianum [An. cruzii is held responsible for transmission of simian malaria to humans in or near fragments of the Atlantic forest. For years, simian Plasmodium species were thought to routinely infect humans and lead to infections of low parasitaemia that cure spontaneously [P. brasilianum and P. malariae, and between P. simium and P. vivax are thought to have led to misdiagnosis between simian and human malaria. Indeed, using molecular markers, Brasil et al. [P. simium in the State of Rio de Janeiro in 2015 and 2016, which were originally diagnosed as P. vivax.Besides being a vector of human malaria, silianum ,65,77\u201379aneously . Extensil et al.  identifiThere are three geographically and biologically distinct malaria transmission systems in Brazil, each maintained by different mosquito vectors and having different eco-epidemiological characteristics, thus requiring tailored control strategies.An. darlingi. The second, less prominent but stable system is associated with the Atlantic rainforest and involves the bromeliad-associated mosquitoes An. cruzii and An. bellator. The third, less discernible system, responsible for alarming P. vivax outbreaks, is found along the Brazilian coast and involves An. aquasalis.The first and most important system is related to the Amazon rainforest and primarily involves 99% of malaria cases in Brazil are recorded in the Amazon rainforest transmission system, affecting mostly the States of Amazonas and Acre. This system is poorly studied and understood.P. vivax malaria remains the leading infection, the presence of P. falciparum malaria hotspots requires special attention. The most prominent hotspot involves the westernmost municipalities of Acre and Amazonas.While Human migration is thought to have a major influence on malaria transmission dynamics throughout Brazil.P. falciparum cases from Peru. The latter may contribute to the P. falciparum hotspot referred to above.High incidence of malaria case importation is detected between Amazonian states but also from neighboring South American countries, particularly P. vivax imported from the Brazilian Amazon whereas Africa is the main origin of cases in states where P. falciparum is the majorly imported parasite.In the extra-Amazonian region, malaria is mostly due to Importation of malaria parasites from Africa may represent an epidemiologically relevant route for the reintroduction of chloroquine-resistance."}
+{"text": "In the original article we neglected to indicate that both Dr. Nada Alaaeddine and Dr. Jean Luc Davignon contributed equally to this work.Author Contributionstatement, which appears below:A correction has also been made to the \u201cSS designed the study, performed experimental work, analyzed and interpreted the data, and wrote the manuscript. NA and J-LD designed the study, interpreted the data, and critically revised the manuscript. EC, ArC, and AlC provided SF samples. OE and KD performed experimental work. BR, YD, and VT-S interpreted the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. NA and J-LD contributed equally to this work and both head their corresponding labs.\u201dThe authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated."}
+{"text": "There was an error in the Funding statement. The correct version is:This study was funded with grant UL-2010-4667 from the Dutch Cancer Society and with an unrestricted grant from Merck, Sharpe & Dohme (MSD). P.G.G., A.G.E. and S.M. are researchers employed by MSD. They have contributed to this study by critical appraisal of the data and the manuscript and by sharing expert opinion. Furthermore, MSD had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Annals of the ACTM, in the previous year. The Award had been established in honor of Emeritus Professor John M Goldsmid, who was the Inaugural Editor of the Annals, from 2002\u20132008. He was also ACTM President 1998\u20132000 and was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the College in 2001. The award now continues to be presented in the College's new official publication, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. For many years, The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine (ACTM) has awarded the John M Goldsmid Award for the best paper published in its official journal, the We are pleased to announce the \u201cJohn M Goldsmid Award\u201d for 2018. Nominations, chosen from all papers published in 2016\u20132017, were made by the Editorial Board. Following review by the Editorial Board, the three top-voted articles as follows, have each won the \u201cJohn M Goldsmid Award\u201d for 2018:Amal K. Mitra and Anthony R. MawsonNeglected Tropical Diseases: Epidemiology and Global BurdenTrop. Med. Infect. Dis.2017, 2, 36. doi:10.3390/tropicalmed2030036https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/2/3/36Sarah L. Smiley, Andrew Curtis, and Joseph P. KiwangoUsing Spatial Video to Analyze and Map the Water-Fetching Path in Challenging Environments: A Case Study of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Trop. Med. Infect. Dis.2017, 2, 8; doi:10.3390/tropicalmed2020008https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/2/2/8Four Thousand Years of Concepts Relating to Rabies in Animals and Humans, Its Prevention and Its Cure Trop. Med. Infect. Dis.2017, 2, 5; doi:10.3390/tropicalmed2020005https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/2/2/5Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease and the scientific research field. On behalf of the Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Editorial Board and the College, we would like to congratulate these teams for their excellent work. The winners of the 1st prize will receive a cash honorarium of 500 CHF. All the authors will be each offered the privilege of publishing a paper free of charge in open access format in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, after the usual peer-review procedure. A certificate will be given to each of the Award recipients.We believe that these three exceptional papers make valuable contributions to Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, and to thank the Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Editorial Board for voting and helping with this \u201cJohn M Goldsmid Award\u201d.We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the nominated research groups of the above exceptional papers for their contributions to Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease are committed to meeting the needs of the science community by providing useful and timely reviews of all manuscripts submitted and providing an open access journal for your results. Please consider submitting your work to Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, and we look forward to announcing your paper as a Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Best Paper in the future.The Editorial Board and Editorial Staff at Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Editorial Board"}
+{"text": "AbstractEremobatesdocolora Brookhart and Muma, E.scaber (Kraepelin), and Hemerotrechadenticulata Muma. It is expected that as many as four additional species may be found in Canada. Only one Barcode Index Number is currently known from Canadian specimens.The Solfugae fauna of Canada includes three known species:  Solifugae, commonly known as camel spiders, wind scorpions, or sun spiders, is a relatively small order with over 1100 described species, about 200 of which occur in North America  and Hemerotrechadenticulata Muma from British Columbia, have been recorded from Canada, all in the family Eremobatidae (E.gladiolus Muma and Holmberg and Buckle (1982)PageBreak added E.pallipes (Say), E.scaber (Kraepelin) and the genera Eremochelis and Hemerotrecha from Canada. Subsequently, E.gladiolus was synonymized with E.scaber by E.pallipes and Eremochelis was based on misidentification.The arachnid order  America . The ordobatidae   System from British Columbia, represented by one Barcode Index Number (BIN) Table . These sSolifugae are best adapted to desert and semi-desert environments and are not well adapted to cold or temperate regions , has been reported from a high elevation site (3670 m) in Chile (The low species diversity of this order of arachnids in Canada can be attributed to the lack of suitable habitats and climatic conditions in these northern latitudes for a group adapted to dry, warm, xeric conditions with open, sandy soils . Solifug regions , althougin Chile . Future"}
+{"text": "Last autumn, Moscow geneticists had the pleasure to meet Helen Muller, daughter of Professor Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist, educator, and Nobel laureate, best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation (X-ray mutagenesis). In search of materials for a book that she is writing about her father, Helen Muller visited the institutions of Russian Academy of Sciences, associated with the presence of H.J. Muller in Moscow in the 1930s.Drosophila Fall\u00e9n, 1823 to Russia. In February 1933, H.J. Muller was elected foreign corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, succeeding the honorary membership of T.H. Morgan in 1932 (www.ras.ru), also at the instigation of N.I. Vavilov.The scientific career of Hermann J. Muller (1890\u20131967) began in Columbia University, New York under the supervision of one of the founders of cytogenetics, E.B. Wilson. Muller remained as a postgraduate in the same university through 1912\u20131916, and in 1918\u20131920 became an assistant of T.H. Morgan, whose theory of chromosomal heredity  they expFor four fruitful years Hermann J. Muller worked at the Institute of Genetics, founded by N.I. Vavilov in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg , and moved with his Laboratory of Genes and Mutagenesis to Moscow in 1934. His colleagues were M.L. Bel\u2019govsky, A.A. Prokofieva-Bel\u2019govskaya, Y.J. Kerkis, N.N. Medvedev, K.V. Kosikov and others, well-known Soviet geneticists. Together with his scientific successes, during the last two years of his work in the USSR, Muller devoted much effort to the public defence of the chromosome theory of heredity from the anti-genetic attacks of T. Lysenko. As a consequence of this opposition to Lysenko, H.J. Muller was forced to leave USSR in 1937.www.ras.ru) in recent times (1990). In the 1960s, the rehabilitation of the name of N.I. Vavilov should be proceeded in different ways, including the naming of the new academic Institute of General Genetics, situated close to where Vavilov used to work (www.vigg.ru).Two places related to Hermann J. Muller\u2019s work in Moscow were visited by his daughter last Autumn. Muller\u2019s lab was situated in a building, which continues to be part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The old building at number 33 Leninsky Avenue is that one from which academician Nikolai I. Vavilov departed for his last expedition in 1940 and never returned. In protest against the expulsion of N.I. Vavilov, Hermann Muller, already a Nobel laureate (1946), refused membership of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Muller\u2019s name was, however, added to the Academy (http://vigg.ru/istorija-instituta/muzei-ni-vavilova/). On 27 September 2018 Helen Muller gave a lecture at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, at Leninsky Avenue, 33 (http://sev-in.ru/ru/node/804) in the same conference hall familiar to both Vavilov and Muller (Fig. Helen Muller, emeritus Professor of Sociology from the University of New Mexico, visited the N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics and memorial museum with portraits of Vavilov\u2019s collaborators, including, of course, H.J. Muller ("}
+{"text": "AbstractCopepoda recorded in different regions in Ecuador  is here provided. We revised all published records, critically evaluated the validity of each taxon and provided short taxonomic and biogeographical remarks for each one. A total of 27 taxa have been reported, including species and records at the generic level only. The species and taxa identified only up to the generic level belong to five families and 14 genera. The Cyclopoida is the most diverse group with 16 records belonging to species (or identified to the generic level only) and eight genera, followed by the Harpacticoida with six species, one identification to the generic level only, and four genera, and Calanoida with four species belonging to two genera. A total of 18 taxa are recorded for the Andes. Six have been recorded in the Amazon, two are recorded for the coastal region, and six for the Galapagos. One species is shared between the Amazon and the Andes. One species is shared between the coastal region and the Amazon. Seventeen are only reported from the Andes and four are only reported from the Amazon. At the current status of the knowledge, any attempt to analyze and generalize distributional patterns of copepods in Ecuador is premature due to the scarcity of available information, and evidently there is an urgent need for more extensive field collections. A few working hypothesis for future studies are identified.An annotated checklist of the free-living freshwater  Copepoda from the Neotropical region are those by th century , Canthocamptidae (109), Diaptomidae (82), and Parastenocarididae (65) (approximate number of species is within parentheses). The calanoid and cyclopoid fauna is relatively well known for the Neotropical region. As for the Harpacticoida, despite recent advances in taxonomy and zoogeography of the Parastenocarididae  and to the inclusion of Ecuador as a hotspot of biodiversity for plant and vertebrate species . Here we adopt the classifications of Poecilostomatoida families within Cyclopoida.The list of the copepods of continental Ecuador and Galapagos Islands compiled herein is based on literature data, including theses and taxonomic and ecological publications. The current valid species names and combinations are mostly based on The geographic distribution of the freshwater taxa within the country is described by dividing continental Ecuador into three subregions  and eight genera, followed by the Harpacticoida with six species, one identification to the generic level only, and four genera, and Calanoida with four species belonging to two genera  campaneri (Bryocamptus from a lake in the state of Rio de Janeiro (Attheyella (Chapuisiella) fuhrmanni   broiensis Reid, 1994. According to Bryocamptus do not occur south of the northern limit of the Eocene-Miocene submergence of Central America. Zealand , and a sampaneri , from Ce Janeiro  are a mid, 1914) . BryocamDistribution. Collected from lagoons of the islands of Santa Cruz and Floreana, Galapagos Archipelago. Distribution. Andes (C.deitersiecuadorianus).Remarks. Originally described from Ecuador. Length of males reaching 620 \u03bcm long, females 750 \u03bcm long. Asymmetry is observed in the armature of the female P5 basoendopod. Both males and females show variability in the armature of the antennal exopodite. In males, P3exp-3 may be variable in armature. C.deitersi  has been recorded from Ecuador (C.deitersiecuadorianus), Venezuela  is lower than in Cuba (10) and Brazil (9), but higher than in Suriname (2) and Argentina (2). However, these data are not the result of extensive research and sampling of all biomes and environments. Thus, we cannot draw any biogeographical pattern from this study. Only one species is known from each of the following Neotropical countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay. The French islands Bonaire and Martinique are also inhabited by one species each.\u201d Groundwater, benthic habitats of high Andean lakes, and aquatic habitats within rainforests are potential habitats for harpacticoid copepods and particularly for Elaphoidella Chappuis, 1929. Other still poorly investigated biotopes are phytotelmata and semiterrestrial habitats, which would no doubt yield new species of copepods (According to copepods .Distribution. Andes (surroundings of Antisana volcano >3000 m a.s.l.) ( a.s.l.) .Remarks.Acanthocyclops Kiefer, 1927 specimens from Ecuador possessed a spine formula of the \u201cvernalis type\u201d (2.3.3.3). However, two, three, three, and three spines on the terminal exopodal segments on P1 to P4, respectively, may occur in both A.robustus and A.vernalis Fischer, 1853, which are currently considered distinct from one another.Acanthocyclopsrobustus is supposedly restricted to the northern Holarctic region  and A.skottsbergi Lindberg, 1949 for which the generic affinities of which are still under debate. However, a few species ,which are apparently closely related to the A.vernalis-robustus group, have been described from Mexico  and Honduras ; the geographic distribution is still poorly understood of these species . The occurrence of Acanthocyclops in South America may raise intriguing questions of the taxonomic identity and evolutionary origin of these taxa.The genus is most diversified in the northern temperate region. So far reported from South America, there are only two species, here not including the southern South American Distribution. Coastal ., Russia , needs r, Russia , and allDistribution. Coastal and Amazon   .Remarks. The species range is likely restricted to South America. Mesocyclopsmeridianus , which was described from San Bernardino, Paraguay, is morphologically highly similar to M.pseudomeridianus Defaye & Dussart, 1988 , M.brasilianus Kiefer, 1933 , M.varius Dussart, 1987 , and M.meridionalis Dussart & Frutos, 1985   with old or scarce original material to resolve possible synonymies. The meridianus-brasilianus-pseudomeridianus lineage (=? M.meridianus) and the venezolanus-varius lineage (=? M.venezolanus) differ from each other in the shape of the lateral arms of the seminal receptacle (M.meridianus and M.brasilianus to be distinct species and put M.varius and M.venezolanus in synonymy with M.brasilianus.gentina) . Some olus-clade  is conficeptacle . Guti\u00e9rrM.aspericornis  but excludes M.ogunnus Onabamiro, 1957, which is a supposedly recently introduced species. More extensive sampling will likely reveal more species in Ecuador.The genus is distributed worldwide and is represented by 13 native species in South America, most of which (10 of 13) are endemic to the continent. This number included Distribution.Metacyclops are the dominant cyclopoid taxa in glacial lakes in the tropical Andes ; M.leptopustotaensis Reid, Arevalo & Fukushima, 1990 ; and M.leptopusvenezolanus Kiefer, 1956 . The latter subspecies was considered by M.mendocinus rather than a lineage within M.leptopus. For more comments on the taxonomic relationships of M.leptopus, see M.mendocinus. of Peru , 1927. CDistribution.Originally described from northern and western Argentina (Jujuy and Mendoza Provinces) , this spRemarks. The remote mid-Atlantic islands of the Azores harbour a subspecies, M.mendocinusinsularis Defaye & Dussart, 1991, which suggests that this species has good capacity for dispersal. Metacyclopsmendocinus, along with M.leptopus, belongs to a group of species that are predominantly Neotropical in distribution. They share the 12-segmented state of the antennule and two terminal spines on the terminal endopodal segment of P4  and members of the M.leptopus-complex . M.mendocinus appears to be eurytopic, while M.leptopus apparently inhabits relatively pristine lakes at mostly high altitudes. Accordingly, the records from Andean Ecuador might refer to M.leptopus rather than M.mendocinus (nt of P4 . The relndocinus .Distribution.Microcyclops sp. (\u201cprobably a native species\u201d), inhabiting temporary freshwater pools in Isla Santa Cruz, tortoise reserve (120 m a.s.l) in the Galapagos Archipelago. Species of Microcyclops were the dominant Cyclopoida in glacial lakes in the tropical Andes  and Amazon   .Remarks. This species was originally described from Santa Lucia, Southern Uruguay. M.alius is a junior synonym of M.dubitabilis  . In a revision of the American Microcyclops, M.dubitabilis (Kiefer 1934) , see M.dubitabilis stretches from Florida Keys, USA   .Remarks. The type locality is Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil , temporary pools, 120 m a.s.l. , which has as its type locality Regensburg, Germany, is a nomen dubium, and its use should be avoided   . The ideDistribution. Andes . The general distribution of this species is poorly understood. Records from Mexico are instead another species  in the American Eucyclops.Distribution. Amazon   .Remarks.Macrocyclopsalbidus s. s. is considered to be cosmopolitan (but see Karanovic and Krajicek 2012) and have been reported from several countries in South America, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, possibly Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela . Macrocyclopsalbidusprincipalis is endemic to the Brazilian Amazon, Venezuela, and Colombia .Remarks. This is one of the few truly cosmopolitan species in the Cyclopidae , the Azores in the Atlantic, Crozet and Amsterdam islands in the southern Indian Ocean, and Tahiti and Easter Island in the Pacific .Remarks. The valid name is P.hardingi for the Paracyclops originally described by Paracyclopsfimbriatusandinus Lindberg, 1957 is a junior homonym of P.andinus Kiefer, 1957, and P.hardingi was proposed as a replacement name  and Lake Huampucocha (Jun\u00edn) , as well as from various water bodies near Lake Titicaca   .Remarks.Ergasilidae are parasitic copepods, parasitizing mainly freshwater sometimes marine coastal fish. The overwhelming majority of the South American ergasilid species (69 of 75) are known from Brazil . Boeckellaoccidentalisintermedia, yet neither Distribution. Amazon  and N.nordestinus  that they could be considered as variations of a single polymorphic species. However, this subspecies is currently considered to be a valid taxon . Having examined only 38 crustacean samples, Our knowledge on the free-living freshwater copepod fauna from continental Ecuador and Galapagos Archipelago, in comparison to other countries in tropical South America, is relatively recent and rather limited. Countries with ecosystem diversity similar to that occurring in Ecuador have their biodiversity much better documented. For example, a checklist of the free-living copepods of the continental waters of Colombia  reportedCopepoda. The recommendations of Cladocera, including specimens suitable for molecular studies, also hold true for the copepods. From among the four lake provinces [Paramo, Andean , Amazonia, and coastal plains and Andean foothills; Ecuador is a region with high species richness and high rates of endemism . DussartA taxonomic and zoogeographic revision of the inland water copepods of Ecuador, using both morphological and genetic information, might allow us to test of some major questions of copepod biogeography and evolution Table . To date"}
+{"text": "Radix et Rhizoma Nardostachyos include Nardostachys jatamansi and N. chinensis. Traditionally, the two plants have been used to treat many diseases. Because of their special aroma, they are also commonly used in the food and cosmetics industry. Recently, N. jatamansi and N. chinensis have been overexploited due to their economic importance, resulting in a sharp decline in their wild resources. Predicting potential distributions of the genus Nardostachys under different climate scenarios and understanding its preferred habitat are of great significance for their conservation, artificial cultivation, and assessment of their value.The medicinal plants of Nardostachys under current and future climatic conditions based on two representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) for the 2050s and 2070s. These data were used to study the effects of climate variables.The Maxent model was used to predict the potential geographical distributions of the genus N. chinensis presents a relatively stable growth compared to N. jatamansi. In addition, precipitation plays a crucial role in modeling the effects of climate change on the genus Nardostachys. This study provides theoretical guidance for the cultivation of N. chinensis.The results show that the potential distribution of the two species will increase, thus more suitable habitats will be present in China. The suitable habitat for  Radix et Rhizoma Nardostachyos include Nardostachys jatamansi and N. chinensis   .Fritillaria cirrhosa, Lilium nepalense, Phellodendron amurense Rupr, and Atractylodes lancea , Specimen Resources Sharing Platform for Education (http://mnh.scu.edu.cn/), and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (https://www.gbif.org/). The literature used was open-source and available worldwide. In the absence of specific geographical coordinate records, Google Earth 7.0 was utilized to find the approximate latitude and longitude according to the described geographical location. After duplicate and invalid records were removed, the sampling points of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis were 183 and 60, respectively. We obtained sampling points from the specimen database and literature, and all the specimens collected in the specimen database are wild. In accordance with the requirements of the Maxent software, the distribution records of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis were organized into .csv format files including the species name and distribution point longitude and latitude, with the east and north latitudes positive and the west and south latitudes negative.Occurrence records of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis. Refer to other literature, 19 bioclimatic variables with 2.5-min resolution of the current conditions and future conditions (2050s and 2070s) were downloaded from the WorldClim-Global Climate Data (http://worldclim.org/)  . The 2.5im.org/) . These vim.org/) . The 19 im.org/) .https://github.com/mrmaxent/Maxent/blob/master/ArchivedReleases/3.3.3k/maxent.jar). Maxent was used to predict the current and future potential distributions of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis based on the occurrence records and climate data. The logical output (results are expressed in terms of probability) was selected to assess the likelihood of the presence of a species in each grid cell. A total of 25% of the occurrence records were chosen as the test set, and the remaining parameters were the default settings  of N. jatamansi under the RCP2.6 emission scenario will continue to grow. However, the range of suitable areas under the RCP8.5 emission scenario was significantly reduced and was significantly lower than the current level. The results showed that the climate-suitable area decreased in the 2070s under the RCP8.5 climate scenario compared to the current period.By 2070, the area of suitable habitats for N. chinensis under RCP2.6 also continued to increase, relative to the 2050s and the present. Suitable areas of N. chinensis under RCP8.5 still increased compared to the present. However, suitable areas of N. chinensis under RCP8.5 decreased from the 2050s.Suitable areas of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis were simulated by the Maxent model, which automatically predicted the contribution percentage of each variable to the forecasted results. N. jatamansi and N. chinensis in their current distribution range. Among them, precipitation of the driest period (Bio14) was the largest contributing factor when modeling the distributions of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis.A total of 19 bioclimatic variables from the BIOCLIM climate dataset were used as the background environmental data, such as temperature and rainfall. These variables are comprehensive conclusions and quantitative descriptions of the climatic environment in the regions containing the targeted species. The potential distributions of N. chinensis , precipitation of the driest quarter (Bio17), and precipitation of the driest period (Bio14) were the main variables in the simulation of hinensis . Howeveratamansi .N. jatamansi and N. chinensis. Response curves indicated the correlation between the environmental variables used for prediction and the probability of the presence of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis. In N. jatamansi and N. chinensis. The distribution probability of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis increased with the increase of variable value. After exceeding this peak, the distribution probability decreased with the increase of the value for environmental factors, indicating that N. jatamansi and N. chinensis have some adaptability to these variables. When the probability is greater than 0.5, the corresponding ecological factor value is more suitable for the growth of the plant.N. chinensis and 0\u201310 mm for N. jatamansi. The optimum range of precipitation of the driest month is very narrow, indicating that N. jatamansi and N. chinensis were sensitive to precipitation.The prediction showed that the best ranges for these indicators were precipitation of the driest month, one to five mm for 2 concentration, and the changes in certain climatic resources changed the dynamics and balance of different species, thereby affecting their productivity , the density of N. jatamansi has increased significantly with altitude was revealed on a west-facing slope. And the north and west-facing slopes in the alpine zone of this region are broadly considered as the shady areas with low light and high moisture (valerian species (N. jatamansi and N. chinensis compared to temperature and other environmental variables.According to the results of above forecase, we can conclude that precipitation of the driest period is the most important environmental factor affecting the growth of moisture . The adv species . These rN. jatamansi and N. chinensis were sensitive to precipitation. Thus, this showed that research on water management should be strengthened for future cultivation practices.The analysis for the response curves showed that the probability of species presence changed as a result of the dominant environmental variables. The results indicated that Nardostachys species and prediction of their potential distributions under current and future climate conditions are reliable. Considering the effects of climate change, N. chinensis is more suitable for cultivation. In addition, precipitation of the driest period is an important factor in the impact of climate change on N. jatamansi and N. chinensis. It is of great significance to study the impact of climate change on the genus Nardostachys to predict their potential distribution in the future for the protection, sustainable use, and value assessment of these biological resources. It is essential to conduct future studies on the effect of watering of N. chinensis for developing effective techniques to cultivate N. chinensis. The study will provide references for the cultivation planning and resource utilization of N. jatamansi and N. chinensis.The results of this Maxent simulation of climate change impacts on the distribution of two"}
+{"text": "Toxoplasma gondii as a food-borne pathogen, the infection of it in food animals has relation with human toxoplasmosis, but the trends and epidemiological features of T. gondii infections in food animals are rarely studied in China. The aimed of this study was to assess the epidemiology and risks of T. gondii in sheep, goats, swines, chickens, yaks, cattle and humans from 2000 to 2017 and to explore prevention and control strategies. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infections in food animals is 23.7% , which is significantly higher than that in humans  (P < 0.0001). Compared the prevalence of T. gondii infections in animals and humans sampled from 2000 to 2010, it was significantly increased in the period 2011 to 2017 (P < 0.0001). Compared the food animals from non-Yangtze River, animals from regions of the Yangtze River have high seroprevalence rates for T. gondii (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, samples from the western to eastern regions of the Yellow River showed an increase in seroprevalence for T. gondii (P < 0.0001). It was speculated that T. gondii oocysts may be transmitted by water and annual precipitation possible help the oocyst spread and retain accessible for potential hosts. Effective prevention and control strategies are including water filtration or water boiling, inactivating oocysts from feline\u2019s feces, monitoring birds and rodents. Chinese 1 (ToxoDB#9) is the predominant genotype in food animals from China. Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common zoonoses around the world, affecting warm-blooded animals, including humans  to 7.9% (2001\u20132004)   and humans with T. gondii infection, mainly focusing on epidemiological data such as seroprevalence, risk factors, and genotypes in order to provide suggestions on the prevention and control of this foodborne pathogen.Raw or undercooked meat consumption is significantly associated with human fections . This is01\u20132004) , 2011. T90\u20132010) . Pan et T. gondii were collected (2000\u20132017). The references were obtained from Baidu Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, VIP Chinese Journal Database, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The literature includes criteria were published in English and Chinese, the seroprevalence of T. gondii reports was limited to the detection of specific anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin (Ig) G in serum. The criteria used to exclude the reviewed studies and duplicated reports in the same research group, incomplete original data and the reports published before 2000.All the data about food animals and human with Toxoplasma immunoglobulin (Ig) G in serum is currently the most widely used method of detecting T. gondii in China, which include indirect hemagglutination (IHA), enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), modified agglutination test (MAT), latex agglutination test (LAT), and test paper. However, there were few studies compared the sensitivity and specificity of serologic assays for T. gondii in different hosts and serological detection methods. Apparent seroprevalence was used to estimate the epidemiological regularity of T. gondii infection. The results only represent rough estimates of T. gondii infection in China.Serological detection of specific anti-T. gondii seroprevalence with geographic locations and years. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Graphs were generated using Graph Pad Prism 7.0 software .To further show epidemiological regularity with geographical differences in China, the country was divided into seven geographical areas. Statistical analysis was performed by the GraphPad Prism 4.0 software . The data were analyzed by the Chi-square test to determine the association between T. gondii, which spread oocysts by fecal excretion . The seroprevalence for T. gondii in sheep has been estimated to be 11.8% , which is lower than that in other countries (Supplementary Table S1).Sheep and goats are highly susceptible to d humans . Based od humans , an epidountries  . Figure 1 shows that sheep from eastern coastal locations have the highest prevalence rates, higher than that of sheep from the west part  (Supplementary Table S2). The altitude of eastern coastal provinces is lower than western provinces, and most rivers flow from west to east, into the sea. A previous survey suggested that T. gondii oocysts could thus be transported via freshwater runoff into the ocean , where pork may be eschewed for religious or economic reasons. Mutton is the main ingredient of hotpot, wherein the meat is frozen, sliced, and boiled 3 s to 2 min for eating. No reports describing that hotpot could effectively inactivate T. gondii were identified.ii cysts . TherefoToxoplasma gondii could cause abortion and neonatal mortality in goats , which is higher than that of sheep . In East China, mutton mainly comes from sheep, and very little breeding for goats, so there were few available reports on the prevalence of T. gondii in goat from East China. The seroprevalence rates for T. gondii infection in goats from south-west of China was higher than other parts . Compared the prevalence of T. gondii infection in goats sampled from 2000 to 2010 , the prevalence rate was decreased from 2011 to 2017  . Gender, season, age, geographical origin, the presence of cats, hygiene, and abortion history are risks for T. gondii infections in goats. Goat meat and milk contaminated T. gondii may have potential threaten for healthy consumers.in goats . Althoughe world , investiT. gondii was isolated from retail pork samples  (Supplementary Table S4). The prevalence of T. gondii varies widely among sample sources. Overall, the infection of T. gondii in swine from free-ranging and animal hospitals is higher than that of farms and slaughterhouses . The pigs from Chongqing were the most severely infected with T. gondii, whereas those from Sichuan, Guizhou provinces showed moderate degrees of infection . In general, the level of T. gondii infection in most areas of China is moderate and may be related to the presence of cats and dogs, the size of farm, age, breeding density, and insects, the frequency of scavenging, and management and transport of pigs , it was significantly increased in the period of 2011\u20132017  . This may be related to the increased number of cats and the underestimate of T. gondii oocysts in the environment.The overall seroprevalence for ountries . Furtherf values . Neverthf values , and lowf values  and Canaf values . In ChinT. gondii strains have been isolated from chickens  in free-ranging chicken, 6.3%  in caged chickens, and overall prevalence in chickens of 19 provinces is 12.8%  (Supplementary Table S5). The epidemiological data of T. gondii are presented in Figure 1. In general, the level of T. gondii infection in most areas of China is slight and may be related to the source of chickens; the prevalence of T. gondii infections in most free-ranging chickens is higher than that of caged chicken. Compared the prevalence of T. gondii infections in chickens sampled from 2000 to 2010 , the prevalence rate was decreased dramatically in the period of 2011\u20132017   , which may be related to improved management and intensive farming.The estimated seroprevalence for Bos grunniens) is a long-haired bovid that is distributed in the Himalayan region of south-central Asia. China has 1.3 million yaks in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which include wild yak and domestic yak, accounting for 90% of the world\u2019s yak population  and 13.5%  respectively from China\u2019s 20 Provinces . The overall prevalence of the T. gondii was 10.6%  in cattle from China, which is lower than that reported in Estonia 16.8% (743/3991) (P < 0.001) (P = 0.5723)  , and sim 0.5723) .T. gondii and good hosts for N. caninum, T. gondii infections could cause abortion, resulting in substantial economic losses and an increased potential in transmission to other animals and humans . For 2000\u20132017, the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in Chinese is 8.2%  , which is relatively lower than that of France (61.0%), Brazil (84.5%), United States (38.0%), and India (24.0%) , low level of education, non-Han people, eating raw and undercooked meat were the most important risk factors. In addition, the prevalence of human T. gondii infection increased from West China to East China, which coincides with the incidence of T. gondii infection in food animals. Further, consistent with that in food animals, compared the prevalence of T. gondii infections in human from 2000 to 2010 , the seroprevalence rate for human T. gondii infection significantly increased in the period of 2011\u20132017 , , which may be related to changes in eating habits , increased proportion of meat in people\u2019s diet, and the increased number of pet cats in the past few decades. A recent review of T. gondii infections in China also showed the same trend ( (24.0%) . The preme trend .T. gondii infection in food animals from China was subclinical. Cases reports with evidence of toxoplasmosis were only found in swine  were derived from the cats  were characterized (Supplementary Table S8). Four genotypes have been identified in China, ToxoDB#9 (Chinese1) was the predominant genotype (78.57%), and ToxoDB#9 T. gondii also appears in Colombia , it was showed East\u2013West genotype gradient of Chinese 1. The geographical distribution of T. gondii genotypes may reflect that the continuum with West China for East China and the circulation of strains though Silk Road or maritime coastal road. More epidemiological studies are required to confirm this hypothesis and to clarify the route of propagation of T. gondii genotypes in China.Information on the genotypes of st China . The atyancestor . AccordiToxoplasma gondii is responsible for 20.7% of foodborne deaths due to known infectious agents , which include 31 provinces (Supplementary Table S9). The Yangtze, Yellow and Pearl River are three of the longest rivers in China and thus are the most important water source for the Chinese. The Yellow River runs from west to east, and the food animals from these regions showed increased seroprevalence for T. gondii. Compared the prevalence of T. gondii infection in food animals from Yellow River upstream , the seroprevalence rate for T. gondii infection were increased in food animals from Yellow River midstream  and downstream  (P < 0.0001). Meanwhile, during 2000\u20132010 annual accumulated, Yellow River downstream region maximum, minimum and average precipitation  was higher than midstream region  and upstream region . .s agents . The disT. gondii than non-Yangtze River regions , and much prefer Yellow River regions   and Pearl River regions  . Moreover, food animals from Pearl River regions have higher seroprevalence for T. gondii than Yellow River regions . During 2000\u20132010 annual accumulated, Pearl River region maximum, minimum and average precipitation  was higher than Yangtze River region  and Yellow River region . . Results suggested that T. gondii oocysts may be transmitted by water, and annual precipitation possible help the oocyst spread and retain accessible for potential hosts, which in turn has fueled efforts in designing prevention and control strategies, including water filtration or water boiling, inactivating oocysts from felines, and monitoring birds and rodents.The Yangtze runs from the west to the east across central China, and food animals from these regions  have higher seroprevalence for T. gondii infection from food animals and humans was showed and analyzed, the sensitivity and specificity of serologic assays in different hosts and different serological detection methods were not evaluated. In order to get a clearer picture of the true prevalence of T. gondii infection in China, apparent seroprevalence need proceed by Bayesian statistics for all unknown parameters  in the future  and humans from China, and showing the epidemiological distribution of T. gondii. The predominant genotype of T. gondii in food animals from China is Chinese 1 (ToxoDB#9). The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infections in food animals is 23.7%, which is three times of that in humans. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infections in animals and humans was significantly increased in the period of 2011\u20132017 when compared with data from 2000 to 2010 (P < 0.0001). Further, food animals from regions of the Yangtze River have higher seroprevalence rates for T. gondii than ones from non-Yangtze River (P < 0.0001), suggesting T. gondii oocysts may be transmitted by water and annual precipitation possible help the oocyst spread and retain accessible for potential hosts. This suggestion was confirmed by data within the Yellow River regions, where an increasing trend in seroprevalence for T. gondii (P < 0.0001) was found from upstream western to midstream and downstream eastern regions. Therefore, effective prevention and control strategies are proposed to include water filtration or water boiling, inactivating oocysts from feline\u2019s feces, monitoring birds and rodents.YY conceived and designed the review. HD and YY drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript, critically reviewed the draft, and approved the final version of the manuscript.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Mining is the extraction of materials of economic importance from the earth. It is an important source of employment and economic development. However, mining activities can impact on biodiversity, the environment, and human health, mainly through the emission of large quantities of heavy metals. Our objective was to investigate the impacts of gold mining on the Balochistan gerbil, a rodent that inhabits the natural environments of Saudi Arabia. Our results demonstrate the accumulation of heavy metals in the soil, in Arabian boxthorn plants, and in the different tissues of the gerbils. In addition, the gerbils exhibited liver, kidney, and lung injury associated with decreased antioxidants. These data may be of public interest and may call attention to the evaluation of the impacts of gold mining on the environment and nearby communities.Gerbillus nanus, in relation to organ dysfunction and redox imbalance. Soil samples, Lycium shawii, and G. nanus were collected from a site near a mining plant, and a control site. Soil and L. shawii samples from the mining site showed significantly higher cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and vanadium (V) levels. Hepatic, renal, and pulmonary Cd, Pb, Hg, Zn, Cu, Fe, As, and V concentrations were significantly higher in G. nanus from the mining site. Markers of liver and kidney function were elevated in serum, and several histological manifestations were observed in the liver, kidney, and lung of G. nanus from the mining site. Malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels increased, and glutathione and antioxidant enzymes decreased in the liver and kidney of G. nanus. In conclusion, mining practices trigger tissue damage and oxidative stress in G. nanus that live close to the mining site. These findings can represent a scientific basis for evaluating the environmental and health impacts of mining on nearby communities.Mining can impact the environment, biodiversity, and human health through direct and indirect practices. This study investigated the effects of gold mining on  Mining refers to the extraction of geological materials such as minerals, coal, limestone, and other materials of economic interest from the earth. Mining activities include both small- and large-scale activities, and have a significant contribution to economic growth and development. However, mining activities can impact the environmental and social systems, living standards, health, and traditional practices of nearby communities ,2,3. EroThe widespread contamination of the environment with heavy metals (HMs) is one of the main consequences of mining . Owing tGerbillus nanus) in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). G. nanus belongs to the murid subfamily Gerbillinae [Given the hazardous impact of mining, and the resulting HM waste on the environment, society, and health, we investigated the effect of mining on the Balochistan gerbil . This city is one of the large governorates in Saudi Arabia, and hence selected for the study.Site 1 (Mining): Located 500 m away from the gold mine, between E45\u00b0 05\u2032 and N23\u00b0 47\u2032.Site 2 (Control): Located 20,000 m away from the gold mine, between E45\u00b0 06\u2032 and N23\u00b0 36\u2032.The investigated gold mine site is located southwest of Al-Quway\u2019iyah city. The samples were collected from two sites, as follows :Site 1 (n = 8) and Lycium shawii (Arabian boxthorn) (n = 8) were collected from both sites for the determination of HMs. Eight G. nanus were collected from each site with the help of specific rodent traps and transferred to the laboratory. The animals were sacrificed under anesthesia, and blood and tissue samples were collected for analysis. The protocol and procedures were approved by the institutional animal ethics committee of King Saud University (No. KSU-20165).Samples of the soil at 20 cm depth .The concentrations of HMs were determined in the soil, Serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, urea, and uric acid were measured using Biomerieux  reagent kits, following the manufacturer\u2019s instructions.Samples from the liver and kidney were homogenized in phosphate buffered saline (10% w/v) and centrifuged, and the supernatant was used for the assays. Malondialdehyde (MDA) , nitric G. nanus were fixed with 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed for paraffin embedding. 5 \u03bcm sections were cut, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), and examined using a light microscope.Samples from the kidneys, liver, and lungs of t-test, and a p value <0.05 was considered significant.Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 7  and expressed as means \u00b1 standard error of means (SEM). All statistical comparisons were performed using p < 0.05) at the mining site, when compared with the control site  when compared with the corresponding control site animals  in G. nanus from the mining site , NO, and cellular antioxidants in the liver and kidney. G. nanus from the mining site showed a remarkable increase of hepatic (p < 0.001) and renal (p < 0.01) LPO (p < 0.01) in G. nanus from the mining site  LPO A. Similaing site B. When cG. nanus, with an emphasis on HM accumulation and redox imbalance. To evaluate the emission and distribution of HMs at the mining site, we determined the concentrations of Pb, V, Cu, As, Zn, Cd, Fe, and Hg in soil, L. shawii samples, and different organs of G. nanus. Pb, V, Cu, As, Cd, and Hg were increased in both the collected samples of soil and L. shawii. Fe and Zn concentrations were not significantly increased in soil and L. shawii, respectively. These findings show the effect of mining on the soil profile, as well as on plants growing in the areas nearby.This study evaluated the impact of mining activities in Al-Quway\u2019iyah, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on G. nanus. Besides their environmental impact, these HMs have proven to be a major threat to the body and its proper functioning [G. nanus were observed. These hazardous effects are directly connected to the accumulation of HMs in different tissues of G. nanus.Despite their negative impact on the ecosystem and adverse health effects, exposure to HMs continues to increase in many regions . Here, Pctioning . AccordiPb contamination [G. nanus from the mining site. The accumulation of Pb in the liver and kidney elevated transaminases, ALP, and renal function markers, along with the histopathological changes indicated by the injury of liver and kidney tissues. In this context, in vivo studies have demonstrated both hepato- and nephrotoxicity in rodents exposed to low concentrations of Pb [G. nanus, demonstrating an oxidative stress status. Furthermore, Pb concentration was increased in the lungs of G. nanus, which showed dilation of alveoli, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and congestions. The relationship between lung injury and Pb accumulation was supported by the findings of Li et al., who demonstrated increased Pb concentration in the lungs of rats following exposure to atmospheric fine particulate matter [Pb, Cd, As, and Hg were demonstrated to be common HM pollutants produced through various human activities, including mining, and are all hazardous to human health. Pb is a highly toxic HM whose widespread use has resulted in health problems as well as environmental contamination. It has been estimated that 540,000 deaths per year, particularly in developing countries, occur due to mination  and thatmination . The mosmination , and thins of Pb ,33,34. Tns of Pb . It can ns of Pb . In addins of Pb . Accordie matter .L. shawii samples from the mining site. In addition, Cd concentrations were increased in different tissues of G. nanus, and its accumulation was associated with oxidative stress, hepato-/nephrotoxicity, and lung injury. Although the exact mechanisms of Cd toxicity have not been fully elucidated, the role of oxidative stress has been well-acknowledged. Cd produces hydrogen peroxide, which acts as a source of free radicals generated via Fenton reaction [G. nanus from the mining site, and was a result of the binding of Cd with the thiol groups of these enzymes [G. nanus showed lung injury associated with elevated Cd concentrations. The potential of Cd to provoke pulmonary toxicity has been supported by studies reporting bronchial and pulmonary irritation, transient bronchial inflammation [Cd is a highly toxic, nonessential HM and a serious environmental pollutant. When released into the environment, Cd can remain for several decades in the soil and sediment because of its lack of degradability ,40. It hreaction . Its toxreaction ,44. Uponreaction . Within reaction . Cd bindreaction . The act enzymes . In addi enzymes . The obs enzymes . Furtherammation , diminisammation , and priammation  followinL. shawii, and different tissues of G. nanus collected from the mining site. As is extensively available in different forms and possesses toxic and carcinogenic effects [G. nanus has a role in the observed oxidative stress and hepato-/nephrotoxicity. Recent reports have shown As-induced hepatic, renal, and pulmonary manifestations in experimental animals [Mining is one of the major sources of As and Hg pollution. Accordingly, As and Hg were found in high concentrations in the soil,  effects . The tox effects . The tox effects . Therefo animals ,56,57.G. nanus contributes, at least in part, to liver and kidney injury and redox imbalance.Hg is a well-known HM pollutant, and its toxicity is commonly responsible for acute HM poisoning. Although neurotoxicity is the most common effect of Hg and methylmercury, which induces LPO and cell death , it can L. shawii, and different tissues of G. nanus from the mining site. V is an environmental pollutant that possesses hazardous effects, and the inhalation of vanadium pentoxide dust has caused occupational toxicity [G. nanus that live close to the mining site.V, Cu, Zn, and Fe were the other HMs shown to accumulate in the soil, toxicity . Liver itoxicity , and inhtoxicity ,64. Cu etoxicity . Zn is atoxicity . Iron istoxicity , as welltoxicity  and nephtoxicity . TherefoL. shawii from the mining site, which demonstrates the negative environmental impact of mining. G. nanus living at the mining site exhibit hepato- and nephrotoxicity, and lung manifestations. The deleterious effects of mining activities on G. nanus were associated with oxidative stress and the depletion of antioxidants. These results demonstrate the environmental and health impacts of mining and can provide a scientific basis for evaluating the effects of mining on nearby communities.These findings highlight the hazardous effects of mining activities on soil, plants, and animals. HM concentrations were higher in the soil and"}
+{"text": "Coenobita rugosus, C. brevimanus, and C. cavipes are the three most common species of terrestrial hermit crab. Because the mechanisms that contribute to the sympatry of these three species of crab have not been identified, this study investigated the three most likely explanations: niche differences, competition, and predation. The results showed that the three species displayed niche differences in terms of seasonal activity, habitat, utilization of shells, and food preference, suggesting that competition for resources is avoided. The habitat of terrestrial hermit crabs in Taiwan is closely associated with that of humans. Our study helps improve our understanding of the ecology of terrestrial hermit crabs and their conservation.Terrestrial hermit crabs play a significant role in coastal ecology. For example, as seed dispersers and debris scavengers in coastal forests, they accelerate the decomposition of organic substances. In the Indo-Pacific Ocean,  Coenobita rugosus, C. brevimanus, and C. cavipes, regarding (1) ecological niche differences , (2) ecological niche overlap and competition for resources, and (3) ecological niche overlap and predation.Terrestrial hermit crabs are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. They play major roles in ecosystems and substantially contribute to nutrient cycling and seed dispersal in coastal forests , 2. TerrC. rugosus, C. brevimanus, C. cavipes, C. violascens, and C. purpureus [C. rugosus, C. brevimanus, and C. cavipes are abundant in Taiwan and distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean.In Taiwan, five species of terrestrial hermit crab have been recorded: urpureus , 7\u20139, buClibanarius digueti and Paguristes perrieri differ, resulting in foraging niche differences and sympatric survival in the same habitat [Coenobita clypeatus has a competitive relationship with ants regarding food, but because of temporal variation in foraging activity and complementary foraging strategies, competition was limited [For hermit crabs, niche differences may relate to habitat, shell type, diet, or seasonal activity. If no niche differences occur, the crabs must compete for resources. Although distance from shore and elevation may be independent, because further distance from the sea does not necessarily mean higher elevation , our stu habitat . Morriso limited .Pagurus hirsutiusculus in comparison with areas where empty shells were not placed [Shells are in limited supply but are indispensable to the basic survival of hermit crabs. During the process of growth, hermit crabs continue to change shells to suit their body size. The main functions of hermit crab shells are 1) to prevent loss of water; 2) to protect against predatory attacks; and 3) to provide enough room to hold the eggs of female crabs \u201319. Plact placed . This int placed , 22. Sevt placed , 23\u201325, t placed .C. rugosus, C. brevimanus, and C. cavipes). We expected that differences between the species regarding seasonal activity, habitat preference, availability and type of shells, and food preferences would all to some extent contribute to the sympatry of these species.The aim of our study therefore was to investigate the sympatric mechanisms for three species of terrestrial hermit crab . The authority, Kenting National Park Headquarter, responsible for protected area of land or sea, as well as concerned with protection of wildlife. We confirmed that the field studies did not involve endangered or protected species.C. rugosus, C. brevimanus, C. cavipes, C. violascens and Birgus latro. The survey methods used for the preliminary investigation were sampling and measurement of crabs that had been caught and collected. The survey locations were: (A) Houwan, (B) Qingwashi, and (C) Gangkou, located in the east, west, and south, respectively . It has a tropical climate and is rich in uplifted coral reef, tropical rainforest, coastal forest, and sand beaches, and is habitat for ectively .Rice bran was used to lure and catch the crabs. In preparation for this, raw rice bran was fired at a low heat for about five minutes until it became fragrant . Before Species investigations were conducted at the three locations once during 1st-3rd of April, 8th-10th of July, 6th-9th of October in 2017, and 29th-31st of January in 2018. Percentages by season and species were then used to explore whether temporal niche differences was observed, using the following equation for each species: The quantity of catch for the season/the total quantity of catch throughout the year x 100%. The Chi-squared test was used to ascertain whether different species showed differences in seasonal activity.After measuring the latitude and longitude of each sample site, the data were imported into Google Maps to calculate the distance between traps. The Chi-squared test was then used to ascertain whether different species showed niche differences in terms of their habitat (distance from the sea shore and elevation).The mature animals differ in body size between species, which may be one reason to select different species of shells. Such differences may be displayed earlier in development and we therefore, for this comparison, selected crabs in sizes in the range of overlap between the three species of 0.7\u20131.3cm. Only individual hermit crabs whose shells fitted their entire body well, without any soft tissues exposed and able to close the opening with their chelae, were used for this analysis. The species of shell used by the crabs were determined. The Kruskal-Wallis was then used to assess differences in preferences between the three crab species of similar body size for shells of the same Family. Additionally, shell width as a measure of shell size was included in Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to determine whether the three species displayed significant differences regarding their preferences for shell size in the same body size of three species .We used a field experiment to test preference for food. The experimental steps were as follows:Cololabis saira) and banana were used as the experimental treatment following Burggren and McMahon (1988) [Fish . The numbers of C. rugosus and C. brevimanus also differed significantly, and C. rugosus was closer to the shore . The numbers for C. cavipes and C. brevimanus did not differ significantly  , 988, C. r = 0.08) .C. rugosus and C. cavipes were significantly different as well  and C. rugosus was closer to the sea shore. The same applied to C. rugosus and C. brevimanus, and again C. rugosus was significantly closer to the sea shore . At this distance, the numbers of C. cavipes and C. brevimanus were significantly different as well   . TherefoWe can see the distribution of three terrestrial hermit crab species in terms of distance from the shore in Shells are vital for terrestrial hermit crabs, because they protect the soft tissues of the animal. This study also explored if different terrestrial hermit crab species with bodies of the same size range showed niche differences in terms of shells and suitable opening sizes. The shells carried by individual hermit crabs as well as the relationship between body size and shell were analyzed to determine each species\u2019 preferred family of shells.C. rugosus preferred the shells of Family Muricidae and Neritidae; C. cavipes preferred the shells of Family Achatinidae and Ampullariidae; and C. brevimanus preferred the shells of Family Babyloniidae and Turbinidae  and the freshwater mollusk like Apple Snail . Possible reasons for this are that large shell widths in marine snail species are uncommon, or that C. cavipes dwells predominantly on land and can only obtain terrestrial mollusk shells.Regarding shell selection, the mollusk shell preferences of the three terrestrial hermit crabs differed as follows: rbinidae . The resC. cavipes and C. rugosu, followed by C. brevimanus.Significant differences existed between crab species and preference for shell species . The three species of crabs also preferred significantly different shell width  of the three species of crab differ in size when comparing crabs with the same overall body size . The cheC. rugosus and C. cavipes exhibited no difference in food preference ; nor was there any difference between C. rugosus and C. brevimanus . However, differences existed between C. brevimanus and C. cavipes in that C. brevimanus preferred fish while C. cavipes preferred fruit   . We can C. brevimanus preying on C. rugosus Click here for additional data file.S2 File(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S3 File(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S4 File(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S5 File(PDF)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "AbstractLeucosoleniidae, Leucosoleniaqingdaoensissp. nov., is described. This new species was collected in a scallop-breeding pond from the Yellow Sea and preserved in 75% ethanol. This sponge consists of a dense reticulation of ascon tubes, with the surface minutely hispid and the consistency soft and fragile.A new species of Leucosolenia reported from the Pacific Ocean are also made.Spiculation of the new species consists of diactines, which are smooth, straight or sometimes slightly curved, triactines of two types, and tetractines with short and curved apical actines; spiculation also slightly overlaps and is somewhat irregularly assembled. Together these form a thin layer of skeleton, with a small number of cells, which results in a transparent, white sponge. As a typical asconoid feature, all internal cavities of the sponge are lined with choanocytes, and there is no fully developed inhalant system. Comparisons with other  Leucosoleniidae is characterised by a branched and rarely anastomosed cormus and asconoid aquiferous system; there is neither a common cortex nor a delimited inhalant or exhalant aquiferous system  were reported from the Japanese waters . Leucosoleniamacquariensis Dendy, 1918 was reported from the west coast of Macquarie Island; L.australis Br\u00f8ndsted, 1931 was reported from Comau Fjord; L.albatrossi H\u00f4zawa, 1918 was reported from Copper Island and the Komandorski Islands; L.echinata Kirk, 1893 and L.rosea Kirk, 1896 were reported from New Zealand; L.lucasi Dendy, 1891 was reported from Port Phillip Heads, Australia; L.nautilia Laubenfels, 1930 was reported from California, USA; and L.feuerlandica Tanita, 1942 was reported from Tierra del Fuego, South America. The Leucosolenia species reported from the coasts of Japan account for most species. The type specimens of new species were found in the Yellow Sea, very close to Japan.The localities of the 15 known species of Marine Biological Museum of the Institute of Oceanology in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), Qingdao, China.The specimens were collected in a scallop-breeding pond from the Yellow Sea and were preserved in 75% ethanol. Two specimens were deposited in the For examination of the spicules, a small piece of specimen was cut and placed in a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube to which 1000 \u00b5L of sodium hypochlorite solution was added . The mixSEM) was performed with a Hitachi S3400N. Preserved spicules for SEM were adhered to stubs with double-sided carbon conductive tape and coverslip. After dehydration, the spicules were coated with gold in a Hitachi MC1000 (LOPES 2018).Scanning Electron Microscopy  with a micrometric eyepiece. The length from the tip to the base and the thickness at the base of each actine were measured. The reported numbers refer to the range of measurements for each spicule type. Photographs were taken with a stereomicroscope (Zeiss Stemi 2000-c) and an optical microscope (Nikon Eclipse Ni-U) equipped with a digital camera to evaluate difference between the length of the unpaired and paired actines of each type of triactine. For comparison with the new species, we only selected those species of Calcaronea Bidder, 1898Subclass Leucosolenida Hartman, 1958Order Leucosoleniidae Minchin, 1900Family Leucosolenia Bowerbank, 1864Genus Taxon classificationAnimaliaLeucosolenidaLeucosoleniidae2214C588-8741-5B07-8578-D62F623CBE67http://zoobank.org/F0C1D83E-3940-4D4C-B0BB-60A379ED507DHolotype: MBM181606, scallop-breeding pond on southeastern Shandong Peninsula, China, June 1988, 0\u20130.3 m depth, collected by Shue Li, 35\u00b058'N, 120\u00b011'E. Paratype: MBM181476, Zhonggang, Qingdao, China, 7 June 1984, 0\u20130.6 m depth, 36\u00b006'N, 120\u00b021'E.Qingdao, Yellow Sea.The name is derived from the type locality, Qingdao, China.The sponge is arborescent, consisting of many thin-walled tubes, which are copiously ramified but never anastomosed. The sponge occurs as growth form. The oscula are terminal on erect tubes. The color of the sponge is white after being preserved in alcohol and in vivo. The external walls of the tubes are hairy, with diactines protruding at right or oblique angles from the body; the surface is minutely hispid, and the consistency is soft and fragile. The holotype measures 21.32 \u00d7 3.38 mm (height \u00d7 width). The wall of the sponge body is very thin, and there is no fully developed inhalant system, the gap between the skeleton and the cell on the wall arrange evenly Fig. ; only a The skeleton consists of multifarious diactines, sagittal triactines of two types, sagittal tetractines with bent apical actines and triactine-like basal actines; together these form the wall of the ascon-type sponge body.In the apical osculum Fig. , there aIn the sponge body Fig. , the triIn the root-like structures Fig. , the arrBy observing the sponge tissue taken from different parts, it is clear that as the diameter of the tubes decreases, the contents of small diactines and small triactines increase. This observation can suggest that in the growth zone spiculogenesis is more intense.Diactines. There is only one type of diactine  exhibit only regular (equiangular and equiradiate) spicules. This characteristic does not fit the description of Leucosolenia, L.qingdaoensis sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from the 12 species of Leucosolenia reported from the Pacific Ocean. The skeletal compositions of these species are shown in Table Three species described by Tanita (L.ventosa and L.rosea, there is no record of diactines, and in L.mollis and L.nautilia, there are two types of diactines. The triactines of L.ventosa are 2\u20138 times thicker than those in the new species; the triactines of L.rosea are 10\u201335 times thicker than in the new species; and L.mollis only has one type of triactine and all rays being nearly equally thick. The diactines of L.nautilia are extremely large, with a length of 1 mm and a thickness of 20 \u00b5m (L.nautilia differs from the new species by having only one type of triactine.The new species exhibits one type of diactine. In of 20 \u00b5m , while iL.albatrossi and the new species is obvious. The diactines of L.albatrossi are club-shaped, while the diactines of the new species are spindle-shaped.The difference between L.macquariensis, L.tenera, and L.eleanor. The new species have two types of sagittal triactines, while L.macquariensis and L.tenera only have one type of sagittal triactine, with rays of approximately equal length. Leucosoleniaeleanor have both sagittal and regular triactines.The sagittal triactines of the new species distinguish it from L.feuerlandica, is distinct from that species. Additionally, the triactines of the new species are sagittal, and the actines straight or undulated. However, the triactines of L.feuerlandica are pseudoderm sagittal and are tripod-shaped.The new species, with slender and long diactines, the longest diactines 5 times longer than those of Leucosoleniaechinata, L.lucasi, and L.qingdaoensis sp. nov. have many features in common, including their body shape, colour in alcohol, general arrangement, shape of diactines, and apical ray, but they show important differences in the shape of their triactines. The new species has two types of triactines; L.lucasi and L.echinata only have one type of triactine. The triactines of L.lucasi are sagittal, but the three angles are roughly equal; the triactines of L.echinata are generally regular, and frequently slightly sagittal, with the oral angle largest and the basal ray longest."}
+{"text": "Panax ginseng. We used bibliometrics to analyze 3974 papers collected from the Web of ScienceTM Core Collection database during 1959\u20132016. The number of publications showed a steady growth before 2000 and exponentially increased in stage III . Research on P. ginseng was conducted in 64 countries, mainly in Asia; in particular, 41% and 28% of the publications were from South Korea and China, respectively. The institutions from South Korea and China had high publication output and close cooperation and provided the majority of financial support. All top 10 authors and four of the top 20 journals in terms of number of publications originated from South Korea. The leading research subjects were pharmacology (39%), plant science (26%), and integrative complementary medicine (19%). The hotspot of P. ginseng research transformed from basic science to application, and multidisciplinary sciences will play a substantial role in the future. This study provides a comprehensive analysis to elucidate the global distribution, collaboration patterns, and research trends in the P. ginseng domain.This article aims to understand the global and longitudinal trends of research on  Panax ginseng is a perennial herb that belongs to the Araliaceae family and is distributed in 35 countries, mainly in Asia, particularly South Korea and China [P. ginseng has been used as traditional medicine because of its heart-protective [P. ginseng has exponentially increased; more than 3400 articles, including 242 reviews, have focused on P. ginseng. However, few studies on P. ginseng employed bibliometrics analysis. In 2010, Kim [P. ginseng research from the global and longitudinal perspectives is crucial.nd China . Since aotective , anticanotective . Since tP. ginseng research, which is a complex and multidisciplinary research field evolving rapidly since 2000.Bibliometrics analysis can be used to delineate development trend of an academic research domain, explore current research emphasis and hotspot, and predict future research focus and achievement ,7. This P. ginseng between 1959 and 2016. This paper aims to reveal the intellectual landscape of P. ginseng and identify cooperation patterns, significant authors and papers, and emerging trends.In this study, we perform a bibliometric analysis of global research on TM Core Collection database. \u201cPanax ginseng\u201d was chosen as the search topic, and the retrieval time span was set to 1900 to 2016. A total of 3974 records were obtained between 1959 and 2016. Every bibliographic record in SCI contains the author, title, source, abstract, keywords, and cited references of a study.Data were retrieved from the Web of ScienceA total of 64 countries, 9612 authors, 999 journals, 6609 keywords, and 13 languages were counted by HistCite software, a tool used for literature and statistical analyses. The original records were visually analyzed using the information visualization software CiteSpace V, which was invented by Dr. Chen Chaomei from the Drexel University. CiteSpace is the most advanced and distinctive information visualization tool that can reveal the intellectual landscape and detect recent emerging trends.P. ginseng generally increases annually. Since 1959, when German scientist PETKOV W [P. ginseng, 3974 papers were published until 2016. Based on the number of publications, the past 60 years can be preliminarily divided into three stages, namely, stage I, 1959\u20131979; stage II, 1980\u20131999; and stage III, 2000\u20132016. Stage I (1959\u20131979) was considered the budding period, when less than 10 papers were published annually. Stage II (1980\u20131999), also known as the development period, began in 1980, when the number of annual publications reached 10. Stage III (2000\u20132016) or the boom period is the phase when an increased number of scholars began to focus on P. ginseng research.PETKOV W ,9 starteAccording to publication category b, the 39P. ginseng research was conducted in 64 countries. In the first tier, South Korea ranked first in terms of research output by contributing 1632 articles (41.1%), and China ranked second with 1191 publications (27.5%). In the second tier, 396 papers originated from the USA and 381 papers from Japan. In the third tier, India, UK, Canada, and Russia published 127, 109, and 79 papers, respectively.Based on the heat map of the geographical distribution of research countries a, Asia, P. ginseng during these years. Scholars from Saudi Arabia started showing interest in ginseng research from 2013 and contributed 13 publications.Burst detection is a computational technique used to identify abrupt changes in events and other types of information . A burstAs shown in P. ginseng research. Of these organizations, eight originated from South Korea and two, namely, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jilin University, were from China. Similarly, the top 10 sponsor organizations comprised 70% Korean institutions and 30% Chinese institutions . The National Natural Science Foundation of China funded for 263 papers, accounting for almost half of the articles funded by the top 10 sponsor organizations.P. ginseng research individually rather than cooperating with other institutions.TM Core Collection was assigned with one or more subjects. A total of 120 unique subject categories were found ,\u201d published in Nature on 1980 had an impact factor of over 40.P. ginseng worldwide showed a high growth between 1959 and 2016 and surged since 2000. Asia, especially South Korea and China, are the most active countries on P. ginseng research because this herb is mainly distributed in these countries . The amounts of P. ginseng produced in China and South Korea account for more than 55% and 34% of the total world output [P. ginseng research all originate from South Korea and China. Hence, these two countries provide stronger financial support for P. ginseng research than the other countries. However, Japan greatly contributed to study of P. ginseng during 1973\u20132001. Saudi Arabia showed great interest in P. ginseng research since 2013, and most of the publications from this country are related to ginseng extracts.The number of research on The global cooperation pattern of different institutions is as important as the research output. Generally, institutions in South Korea and China have the highest number of publications and closest cooperation worldwide. Institutions from Japan, Russia, and UK exhibit less cooperation with the other countries. The USA belongs to the top publishing country but does not appear in the cooperation network . This fiP. ginseng and published 41% of the total articles obtained. Korean authors, namely, KIM DH and KIM SH, submitted many publications and had high citations. In particular, KIM SH had burst during 2009\u20132016 and will become an important scholar in the P. ginseng domain in the near future.Korean scholars conducted numerous studies on P. ginseng research. China has abundant resources, a large number of research funding support, and high cooperativeness with other countries and thus exhibits high potential on P. ginseng research.China ranks second in terms of the quantity of publications. However, no institution on China belonged to the top 10 highest publishing journals. China still needs to improve the quality of P. ginseng research. Pharmacology, pharmacy, plant sciences, chemistry, integrative & complementary, biochemistry and molecular biology are the leading disciplines. Chemistry is the core discipline, which connects many other disciplines. Plant sciences are closely linked to integrative & complementary medicine, which have close cooperation with chemistry and medicine. Interestingly, chemistry is a bridge between these important subjects, like pharmacology & pharmacy, chemistry and medicinal. P. ginseng research. According to the clustering results of topics, numerous scientists focused on ginseng root, extracts, and cells that including cell activity, induction of ginseng cells and treatment of cells. At a fine-grained level, keywords with high frequency of occurrence indicate hotspots, such as ginsenoside, rat, cell, extract, expression, in vitro, and apoptosis. Inflammation, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, compound k, and metabolite have the strongest burst since 2000. Therefore, these keywords will be the central concern of P. ginseng research in the near future. By analyzing disciplines, topics and key words, it's not difficult to find that the future study of P. ginseng may be biased towards clinical research and application, such as clinical neurology, toxicology and polymer science. Ginseng root, extracts  and treatment of inflammation, Alzheimer\u2019s disease would continue to be the research hotspots.TM Core Collection database of P. ginseng research during 1959\u20132016. The research output showed a steady growth, and Asia, especially South Korea and China, was the most active area. A close collaboration was found between these countries. Our study reveals the intellectual landscape and detects emerging topics and trends. This study can help people who are unfamiliar with the active area of P. ginseng research to elucidate the global situation and overall structure of this domain. This paper also provides research hotspots, structured knowledge, and emerging trends with regard to P. ginseng research.We utilized the visualization software CiteSpace to analyze the bibliographic data collected from the Web of Science"}
+{"text": "AbstractFrankliniella are almost all originally from the New World. Although eleven species in this genus have been listed from China before, only seven species here are recognised. The records of F.pallida and F.tritici from China are rejected as inadequately supported, F.hainanensis is a new synonym of F.schultzei, and F.zizaniophila is now considered a member of the genus Iridothrips. An identification key for the seven species is provided here, two of them are widespread across the Palearctic (F.intonsa and F.tenuicornis), one is presumably Oriental (F.lilivora), and four are introduced from the Americas .Species of the genus  Frankliniella is one of the most species-rich genera of Thysanoptera, with 238 species listed currently .In China, the Western Flower Thrips, iculture , both foiculture . Originaiculture . A recenliniella , but thiliniella . Severalom China , but it F.schultzei, one species described from Hainan as F.hainanensis is here recognised as a synonym of that widespread tropical pest species. A further difference from the checklist provided by F.zizaniophila is now considered a species of Iridothrips  was recorded from China  and ANIC . Observations were made with a Nikon Eclipse 80i phase contrast microscope, and the illustrations taken through a Leica DM 2500 microscope with DIC illumination using Automontage software, although Figure Nomenclatural details for all taxa mentioned in this paper are available in Remarks. Native to Central America and the Caribbean where it is one of the most common flower-thrips, this species has been studied in tropical areas in China from Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan as well as Taiwan  and Korea (Frankliniella species by the anterior position of the mesonotal median setae, and the position of the metanotal median setae behind the anterior margin (Fig. nd Korea . There agin Fig. .Remarks. Originally from the western parts of North America, it is now widespread across temperate parts of the world (occidentalis is also known to function as a predator of spider mites on leaves (he world . It caushe world . Althougn leaves . In Chinn leaves . The spen leaves , mainly n leaves , and a wn leaves . It is nn leaves . The darn leaves , while pn leaves . A furthn leaves .Remarks. Commonly known as the Tomato Thrips, this species has probably been transported by human trade in plants for many years. As a result, its country of origin remains unclear, and could have been either South America or Africa. A species from China, F.hainanensis (schultzei according to its original descriptions and illustrations, which was also indicated by hainanensis and confirmed that it is a new synonym of schultzei. A further species described from Taiwan, F.gossypii (schultzei by schultzei shares with occidentalis the remarkable ability to act as a predator of leaf mites (nanensis  might begossypii , was recaf mites . The speaf mites , but molaf mites .Remarks. This is one of the few species of Frankliniella that breeds on grasses, including cereal crops, and is one of the main pests that feed on young leaves of Zeamays in northern China (rn China , b. It orn China , and in rn China  require rn China . MoreoveRemarks. This yellow species is closely associated with crops of Zeamays, on which it is reported to be a virus vector in addition to causing feeding damage to young leaves (Poaceae. It is widespread in tropical areas around the world, and in China is reported from Hainan and Taiwan. In most parts of the world it is easy to recognise from other pale coloured Frankliniella species by the presence of one or two discal setae on the second abdominal sternite (Fig. g leaves . It presite Fig. ."}
+{"text": "Triatoma rubrovaria  is the most important species in epidemiological terms in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, due to its wide geographical distribution in this state, followed by T. carcavalloi  and T. circummaculata . Structural analysis of the ventral region of the head (rostrum and buccula), thorax (stridulatorium sulcus and scutellum), and external female genitalia of adults of T. rubrovaria, T. carcavalloi, and T. circummaculata is described here. Scutellum, head, rostrum, and part of the thorax (prosternum) containing the stridulatory sulcus, in both male and female, and the sixth abdominal segment of the female, containing the external genitalia, were processed for scanning electron microscopy studies as routine. Morphological differences in the analyzed structures for all the three Triatoma species studied were detected under scanning electron microscopy. This study confirms the grouping of the T. rubrovaria, T. carcavalloi, and T. circummaculata in \u2018T. rubrovaria subcomplex' by their morphological similarities.In Brazil, Trypanosoma cruzi  , with risk factors strongly associated with low socioeconomic factors, besides being considered a neglected and endemic tropical disease in 21 countries of the Americas. This disease is mainly transmitted through the feces of triatomines. These insects have, as main biological characteristic, hematophagy in all phases of nymph and adult [Chagas disease is a parasitic, systemic, and chronic disease caused by the protozoan Chagas, 909  is the most important species in epidemiological terms in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, due to its wide geographical distribution in this state, followed by Triatoma carcavalloi  and Triatoma circummaculata . These species have wild habits, live in sympatry, and invade the human home frequently, due to changes in environments produced by anthropic activities, as well as the elimination of Triatoma infestans  from the domicile leaving available niche [Currently, the subfamily Triatominae is composed of 154 species \u20137, whichThe taxonomy of Triatominae is based on the external morphological characters and indicated the importance of the stridulatory sulcus, which varies in the form, length, number, and space of the sulcus , 11. The T. maculata , T. pseudomaculata , and T. arthurneivai , with the evolutionary relation of the first species, in relation to the last ones, being questioned [ T. rubrovaria [In cytogenetic, molecular, and morphometric analyses of the head, including the antennas, thorax, and abdomen, it was demonstrated that it is possible to distinguish completely betweenestioned \u201315. Isoebrovaria . Study obrovaria .Triatoma  genus presents specific patterns in scutellum, not only in shape and length, but also in the cuticular structure, central depressions, projections, and processes that allow its use in species differentiation [ T. ryckmani Zeled\u00f3n & Ponce, 1972 [ T. guazu Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979 [ Triatoma [ Meccus St\u00e5l, 1859, species [Laporte, 32 genus ntiation ; shape ace, 1972 ; charactky, 1979  and otheTriatoma  and six  species ; and imp species . T. rubrovaria, T. carcavalloi, and T. circummaculata using SEM, showing clear distinctions in relation to those characters.In the last years, the external genitalia of females have been studied in more detail with the use of SEM. The use of this tool made it possible to characterize several species of the subfamily Triatominae , 25\u201329. The thirty specimens  were obtained from colonies started with specimens collected in the field and domiciliary of the municipality of Encruzilhada do Sul, State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) , and maintained at 26\u00b0C and 70% RH (relative humidity) at the Laborat\u00f3rio Interdisciplinar de Vigil\u00e2ncia Entomol\u00f3gica em Diptera e Hemiptera, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro.For the ultrastructural analysis, we separated the scutellum, the head, the rostrum, and part of the thorax (prosternum) containing the stridulatory sulcus, in both male and female, and the sixth abdominal segment of the female, containing the external genitalia. These structures were washed in distilled water and dehydrated in increasing alcoholic series at the concentrations of 7.5%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 90%, and (3 times for) 100% by immersion for 10 minutes at each concentration.The structures were mounted in aluminium stubs adhered to an adhesive double-sided tape and left in the incubator at 60\u00b0C for 2 hours for drying and in a desiccator containing silica gel until metallization. The structures after drying were pulverized with gold and later and the analysis was performed by the Scanning Electron Microscope JEOL 6390LV of the Electron Microscopy Platform, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ.Until the 1960s, the taxonomy of triatomines was used as basic criterion for external and chromatic morphological characters, but during the last decade, SEM has been used as an important tool for Triatominae systematics, justifying the status of cryptic species and their complexes , 30, 31. T. carcavalloi   . In T. rriations . Compari Triatoma revealed important characteristics, especially the form of central depression and the posterior scutellar process [ T. tibiamaculata, T. eratyrusiformis, and T. sherlocki [ T. carcavalloi, T. circummaculata, and T. rubrovaria. Of these three species only one presented the cordiform form, T. circummaculata (which can be used to differentiate it from the \u2018T. rubrovaria subcomplex' species) [A morphological analysis of the scutellum of eight species belonging to the genus process . Of all herlocki . In our species) . In addi T. rubrovaria than in T. carcavalloi and T. circummaculata ( T. carcavalloi and T. rubrovaria (Figures  T. circummaculata ( T. carcavalloi presents a triangular shape, which differs from T. circummaculata and T. rubrovaria which are more extended. There is a difference in the length of the VIII gonapophyses of these three species; in T. circummaculata it is much smaller. The lateral expansions of IX sternite are perceptible in all three species and follow the same format as the VIII gonocoxites (In ventral side the line separating the VII sternite and the pair of VIII gonocoxites has greater curvature inmaculata . In the maculata . The basocoxites . Panstrongylus, Rhodnius, and Triatoma as well as the taxonomic identification of 12 species of Rhodnius, whose identification by general external morphology causes doubts [ T. carcavalloi, T. circummaculata, and T. rubrovaria species that live in the same ecotype and are very morphologically similar.The study of the external morphology of females in triatomines was reevaluated, when it verified the relevant taxonomic differences in the genitalia of the females through scanning electron microscopy, which allowed the differentiation of the species of the generas doubts . In this T. rubrovaria, besides the bristles are seen cuticular structures similar to spines (Figures In the three species, the base of VIII gonapophyses shows short and smooth bristles, whereas in the other segments of the genitalia, long and fluted bristles are seen Figures , but onl Figures . T. carcavalloi, T. circummaculata, and T. rubrovaria in the \u2018T. rubrovaria subcomplex', conceptualize the morphological differences of these species, and contribute to an earlier diagnosis in the endemic areas of Chagas disease in Rio Grande do Sul.These results reinforce the status of"}
+{"text": "C. elegans as a model for the question of nutritional science is a controversial topic. The discussion makes clear that C. elegans is its own best model for revealing, via genetic approaches, biological principles of nutritional behavior, and the biochemical function of vitamins. In this case, the model has a discovery function. Worm research serves also in the identification of nutrition-dependent pathways that could be used for novel approaches in human nutritional studies. This heuristic function of the model guides the applied nutrition research in an innovative direction. Since the nutrition and metabolism for the worm and man differ from each other somewhat strongly, results of nutritional studies in C. elegans are not directly applicable to human nutrition. In general, the C. elegans model is primarily appropriate for explaining the causality of general species\u2019 nutritional phenotypes. Experience tells us that the analysis of drastic nutritional phenotypes in C. elegans has the potential to enrich the canon of knowledge of nutritional science.The suitability of  Caenorhabditis elegans is widely used as a model organism for studying specific genetic, biochemical, and environmental factors that affect several adaptive behaviors , nutrient sensing, lipid storage, and aging. Nevertheless, the suitability of C. elegans as a model for the question of nutritional science still remains controversial.The nematode An appropriate model is a simplified version of reality whose essential characteristics match the facts being examined. The fundamental discipline of nutritional science, nutritional biology, has a goal of explaining species general nutrition-dependent phenotypes . As a stThe classical area of nutritional science is the biochemistry of nutrition. Its objective is to deliver the foundation for nutritional physiology. Since the relevant enzymes are evolutionarily preserved, the results of nutritional biochemistry have a general application across species. In comparison to nutritional biology, the degree of epistemic reduction in biochemistry is significantly larger.Great similarities with the biochemistry of nutrition are exhibited by molecular nutrition research, the most modern area of nutritional science. Its purpose is to explain the influence of nutrition on gene expression, transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes.C. elegans model offers a range of genetic methods that are suitable for nutritional science. The available mutants and sources of C. elegans RNA mediated interference (RNAi) are appropriate to identify genes that are important for a certain phenotype induced by a nutritional intervention .The Escherichia coli expressing target-gene double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) permits quick and effective analysis of gene function after post-transcriptional silencing [C. elegans research. From a classical genetic point of view, RNAi knock-down leads to a reduction-of-function of a gene and not to a complete loss of gene function. Therefore, the interpretation of RNAi experiments with respect to pleiotropic effects should be considered.RNAi by feeding ilencing .This metilencing ) or to silencing ). The laC. elegans mutants [Through this, the function of a gene is, with respect to a reactive answer, directly examined. This epistatic approach is preferred in order to explain a nutritional phenotype on the level of an organism (a population). In comparison, applying omics technologies, only the transcripts, proteins, and metabolites (whose amounts have changed via a nutrition intervention) can be identified. However, their functional meaning remains unclear and should be explained with the application of mutants or RNAi-treated worms. For this, CRISPR/Cas-9 methods are available which allows the easy production of the desired  mutants .C. elegans, this adaptive behavior was explained by neural networks and central neurotransmitters  [C. elegans avoids novel foodstuff and prefers familiar food sources [C. elegans. Recently, in worm research, the question why hungry males chose procreation when faced with the choice of food vs. a female, has been addressed [sex-over-foods neurons have been shown to be generated in the adult stage via trans-differentiation of glial cells. The phenotypes of the foraging strategies, as well as the neuronal mechanisms, are present in many species. C. elegans is therefore a perfect model for decoding the principles of nutritional behavior. More specifically, the C. elegans model has a discovery function. In addition, the entire neuronal wiring diagram of C. elegans\u2014the connections and circuitry of all the worm\u2019s neurons\u2014is known. It is therefore expected that, with the help of C. elegans, further substantial developments in the explanation of nutritional behavior can be targeted.An important area of nutritional biology is the increased foraging activity that is observable when there is a waning supply of food. In rotonin) , 7. Othe sources . Responsddressed . The resC. elegans, the nematode is not suitable as a model for nutritional geometry. In contrast, D. melanogaster is a proven model for such research [The geometry of nutrition is another central area of nutritional biology . Its theresearch . AccordiC. elegans is not suitable, because of its substantial dificulties in using synthetic media. In comparison, the fly model is well applicable for such studies. Recently, it was shown via D. melanogaster that bromine fulfilled a vital function for the integrity of connective tissue [C. elegans is surprisingly rare. However, a vitamin B12-independent pathway for the degradation of uneven numbered fatty acids was identified in C. elegans [C. elegans is therefore an appropriate model for understanding the biochemical function and regulation of vitamins. This also applies to other biochemical research areas, for example, the identification of nutrient transporters [C. elegans model has a discovery function that can be fulfilled mainly through genetic application. For further biochemical analyses of gene products, C. elegans is rather inappropriate. Meanwhile, heterologous expression systems are more suitable for this purpose. Nevertheless, for an ideal situation, the genetic applications of C. elegans should be combined with those of classical biochemistry.A central question in the biochemistry of nutrition deals with the function of micronutrients. Therefore, an ideal model for the biochemistry of nutrition would deal with enzymes that are important for the nutritional physiology of other species. The biochemical function of vitamins and trace elements, that define their vital necessity, is the central focus of nutritional science. Several essential functions of micronutrients are documented from worm to man. For the functional explanation of trace elements and ultra-trace elements, e tissue . Researc elegans . This alsporters . In the C. elegans studies dealing with the subject of dietary restriction and the effects of secondary plant substances [C. elegans  are conserved at molecular level up to humans. Nevertheless, molecular nutrition research is limited when it comes allocating the identified signaling pathway in a physiological situation in humans. Since the physiological differences between worm and human are rather large. Thus, at the level of nutritionally relevant organs  and hormones , the worm is far from being a suitable model in this context. The signaling pathways identified in C. elegans can serve as approaches for establishing new questions in human nutrition. From this point of view, molecular nutrition research in C. elegans has a heuristic function; means, the model can guide the applied nutrition research in an innovative direction.Molecular nutrition research serves to identify the nutritional relevant signaling pathways. In molecular nutrition research, a model is suitable when a nutritional stimulus  triggers a signaling pathway that is crucial for many species, including humans. In the past years, there has been a plethora of bstances , 16. TheQuestions in the area of human nutrition meet the composition and impact of diets on humans. This biomedically oriented research area aims to explore the prevention and therapeutic potential of nutritional habits, food, and nutrients. A model is suitable for such research when it represents prominent aspects of human nutrition and metabolism.C. elegans is protein-rich, fat-, and carbohydrate-poor. While humans jettison the amino nitrogen of protein metabolism as urea, worms do so in the form of ammonium [C. elegans, for example, with regard to dietary restriction or the modulation of certain macronutrients  relationship is about 80:10:10. In comparison to humans, the nutrition of ammonium . In addiammonium . This mee intake ), are onC. elegans is that of forward genetics. With the use of random mutagenesis, a significant amount of mutants can be produced to be examined with respect to a phenotypic characteristic . The geC. elegans consists mostly of bacteria which grow in laboratories on agar plates. The use of axenic, synthetic, and/or liquid media causes drastic phenotypic changes  in the worm [C. elegans, it is therefore generally important to use bacteria as unique source of food. In consequence, this limits drastically the quantification of food intake, digestion, and energy balance. The possibilitiy of targeted changes in the bacterial food is also rather limited. Because of these methodical limitations, C. elegans is not a suitable model for research in which a clear characterization of nutrition physiology is required. One important exception here is the examination of the functions of vitamins. The use of vitamin-deficient bacteria  inducesC. elegans research is quite limited. Qualitative changes  in the food sources are possible. However, this disadvantage can be, upon closer inspection, an advantage; in C. elegans, studies should be designed and further developed to focus mainly on extreme nutritional phenotypes. Experience teaches us that only such model investigations have the power to enrich the canon of knowledge of nutritional science [Altogether, the possibility for modulation in food in  science .C. elegans model is primarily appropriate for explaining the causality of general species\u2019 nutritional phenotypes. Experience tells us that the analysis of drastic nutritional phenotypes in C. elegans has the potential to enrich the canon of knowledge of nutritional science. In contrast, the use of the C. elegans model for other questions in nutritional science  is rather limited, because the metabolism as well as the nutrient intake differs markedly between worm and man.In conclusion, the"}
+{"text": "Candida spp., including C. auris, a multidrug-resistant yeast with the potential for nosocomial transmission that has rapidly spread globally. The use of mould-active antifungal prophylaxis in patients with cancer or transplantation has decreased the incidence of invasive fungal disease, but shifted the balance of mould disease in these patients to those from non-fumigatus Aspergillus species, Mucorales, and Scedosporium/Lomentospora spp. The agricultural application of triazole pesticides has driven an emergence of azole-resistant A. fumigatus in environmental and clinical isolates. The widespread use of topical antifungals with corticosteroids in India has resulted in Trichophyton mentagrophytes causing recalcitrant dermatophytosis. New dimorphic fungal pathogens have emerged, including Emergomyces, which cause disseminated mycoses globally, primarily in HIV infected patients, and Blastomyceshelicus and B. percursus, causes of atypical blastomycosis in western parts of North America and in Africa, respectively. In North America, regions of geographic risk for coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis have expanded, possibly related to climate change. In Brazil, zoonotic sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis has emerged as an important disease of felines and people.The landscape of clinical mycology is constantly changing. New therapies for malignant and autoimmune diseases have led to new risk factors for unusual mycoses. Invasive candidiasis is increasingly caused by non-albicans  In clinical mycology, as in other facets of healthcare, the only thing constant is change. Medical advances have improved and prolonged lives, but have also increased the pool of individuals vulnerable to fungal disease; among these, new therapies for old diseases\u2014such as monoclonal antibodies for autoimmune disease and small-molecule inhibitors (e.g. receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors like ibrutinib) for B-cell malignancies\u2014have resulted in reports of atypical and unusually severe fungal infections . At the Aspergillus and Cryptococcus . In. InC. au to date . The imp to date ,23, the  to date , the pro to date ,26, and  to date . Rudramunfection . Despite studies . CollectC. neoformans was a rare cause of human disease. However, the recognition of meningoencephalitis and other infections caused by this opportunistic organism increased in light of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. Another species, C. gattii, has become an important cause of disease in both immunocompromised and immunocompotent hosts with geographic tropism, notably the Pacific Northwest coast of North America . T. TSporot to 2014  and the  to 2014 . Between to 2014 ."}
+{"text": "Dear Editor-in-ChiefStrongyloides stercoralis, a soil-transmitted helminth, is one of the most important gastrointestinal parasites. Due to its complex life cycle, particularly endogenous autoinfection, this parasite is able to develop into its host, which leads to the persistence of chronic infection for several decades or results in hyperinfection. It is also found in other mammals including dogs, considered as a zoonotic infection  gene and the whole genome sequence of individual and dogs . Moreoveand dogs .S. stercoralis genotypes and the zoonotic transmission of this parasite to humans in Iran. The aim of the present study was the molecular typing of a S. stercoralis isolated from a patient with gastrointestinal manifestations from Babol, northern Iran.To the best of our knowledge, there is no documented data on S. stercoralis rhabditiform larvae using the agar plate technique . The sequences were analyzed with Chromas (v.2.6.4) software and compared with the reference sequence in GenBank database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/). A multiple sequence alignment was generated using the ClustalW alignment tool of the MEGA v.6. The maximum likelihood method and 1000 bootstrap replicates were used to perform phylogenetic analysis  was observed between the partial sequence of the Cox1 genes obtained in our work and the key reference sequences deposited in GenBank from Myanmar . Substitution mutation of thymine (T) to cytosine (C) in positions 5785, 5791, 5819 and 6145, T to adenine (A) in position 6259, A to guanine (G) in positions 5834, 5873, 5929, 6058, 6148 and 6262, G to A in positions 5884 and 6305, C to T in position 5818, 6203, 6298 and 6314, were seen. Besides, a G was inserted at position 6302. Two out of 18 point mutations were non-synonymous, which occurred in positions 5834 and 5873 (A to G) causing valine to substitute isoleucine. The position of these point mutations and the insertion of the guanine are shown in type 1&2 . This seS. stercoralis from Iran. Further genotype study of S. stercoralis isolates to better understand the phylogenetic relationships among S. stercoralis isolate, and also to evaluate the potential of zoonotic transmission is recommended.In conclusion, based on our best information, this is a new haplotype of"}
+{"text": "Yponomeuta evonymella), which has moved from its native host plant, bird cherry (Prunus padus), to a new, widely distributed plant that is invasive in Europe, black cherry (P. serotina). We attempted to verify the reasons behind this host change in the context of the enemy-free space hypothesis by focusing on parasitoids attacking larval Y. evonymella on one of three host plant variants: The primary host, P. padus; initially P. padus and later P. serotina (P. padus/P. serotina); or the new host, P. serotina. This experiment investigated if changing the host plant could be beneficial to Y. evonymella in terms of escaping from harmful parasitoids and improving survival rate. We identified nine species of parasitoids that attack larval Y. evonymella, and we found that the number of parasitoid species showed a downward trend from the primary host plant to the P. padus/P. serotina combination to the new host plant alone. We observed a significant difference among variants in relation to the percentage of cocoons killed by specific parasitoids, but no effects of non-specific parasitoids or other factors. Total mortality did not significantly differ (ca. 37%) among larval rearing variants. Changing the host plant caused differences in the structure of the parasitoid complex of Y. evonymella but did not improve its survival rate. This study does not indicate that the host expansion of Y. evonymella is associated with the enemy-free space hypothesis; we therefore discuss alternative scenarios that may be more likely.Recently in Poland, cases of host expansion have frequently been observed in the typically monophagous bird-cherry ermine moth ( Plants and the herbivores that feed on their tissues and sap have coevolved, creating a relationship wherein plants produce new defences and herbivores attempt to mitigate those defences to further feed on the plants. Generalists, which include polyphagous and oligophagous insects, feed on a wide range of hosts because they are not specialised to feed on a particular range of plants, whereas specialists are insects that are monophagous. When choosing their host, monophagous insects search for the best food quality and the best environment in terms of the survival of their offspring (see preference-performance hypothesis). An insect\u2019s choice of host plant depends not only on the insect\u2019s food preferences but also on its ability to use the host . The situation therefore depends on the chemical composition of the new host plant as well as the availability of the host species in the insect\u2019s habitat ,2,3. UndYponomeuta evonymella (L.) , which feeds on the European bird cherry (Prunus padus L.) and, recently, also on the non-native, invasive black cherry (P. serotina Ehrh.). Y. evonymella is a moth native to the temperate zone in Europe, Siberia, India, and China. In Europe, it is the most common lepidopteran species that feeds on P. padus leaves [Y. evonymella, when considering mass and survival of insects, concentrations of defensive compounds, and the toughness of leaves [P. serotina shrubs when they were in close proximity to branches of P. padus [P. padus (where they hatch) onto P. serotina during the early stages of larval development is often due to extensive defoliation of P. padus shrubs. Recently, we have observed more and more Y. evonymella egg clusters being oviposited on the stems of P. serotina [In this study, we focused on the bird-cherry ermine moth s leaves ,19,20,21f leaves . Larvae P. padus . Larval serotina . Prunus L., play a key role in the species composition of the understory [P. padus and the closely related P. serotina. Bird cherry is a species native to Europe which has a wide geographic range that extends from the southern to the northern limits of the continent [In European forests, plant species of the family Rosaceae, including the genus derstory . Particuontinent ,26. In continent . Both spontinent ; howeverP. padus, which begin to appear very early (earlier than P. serotina leaves), are heavily attacked by herbivores. This shrub is a suitable source of food for 28 herbivorous insect species, four of which are considered to be host specific [Gonioctena quinquepunctata (F.), Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), and Y. evonymella, attack P. padus every year and in great abundance, causing meaningful damage by consuming half of the total amount of a shrub\u2019s leaves or even causing total defoliation [Y. evonymella individuals increases, and, every twenty years, gradations appear [Y. evonymella are substantially reduced by natural enemies, such as bird predators and parasitoids. Historically in Europe, 34 parasitoids and 15 predators of Y. evonymella have been reported [Yponomeuta provides information concerning 60 species [Y. evonymella in Europe are Ageniaspis fuscicollis Dalman , and Diadegma armillata Grav. , whereas in Korea the most important parasitoid species are D. armillata, Herpestomus brunnicornis Grav. , and Zenillia dolosa Meig.  [The leaves of specific . The mosoliation ,28. Evers appear . Populatreported . A recen species . The maihinidae) .Y. evonymella in light of its recently discovered colonisation of a new host plant. The aim of this study was to determine if larval stage-specific parasitism is the main reason for the observed change of host plant exhibited by Y. evonymella. Employing an experiment based on three variants of larval feeding\u2014on the primary host P. padus, partly on P. padus and later on P. serotina (P. padus/P. serotina), or on the new host P. serotina\u2014we attempted to explain this larval behaviour by posing a question: Is the observed host expansion of Y. evonymella associated with the enemy-free space hypothesis\u2014does Y. evonymella feed on P. serotina to avoid parasitoids? In this study, we investigated the parasitoid complex of Y. evonymella (L.) , which primarily feeds on bird cherry P. padus L. [P. serotina Ehrh. [This study was carried out on a herbivorous insect, the bird-cherry ermine moth padus L.  but is lna Ehrh. . During Y. evonymella was studied in Poland in 2014 in Kobylepole Forest . The research was carried out on two species of undergrowth shrubs: Black cherry  and bird cherry . Our previous field investigations conducted in Kobylepole Forest were indicative of the abundant presence of both species of Prunus in the forest\u2019s undergrowth layer. Both investigated understory shrubs grow in mid-fertile soil under the canopy of coniferous forests and mixed forests consisting of various tree species (mainly Pinus sylvestris L. mixed with Quercus robur L.). In the late summer of 2013, 24 typical shrubs (12 of P. padus and 12 of P. serotina) growing in temperate shade  were randomly chosen so that their canopy dimensions, ages, and heights (3\u20135 m) were similar. Larval stage-specific parasitism of Y. evonymella in this field experiment, we used larvae in the L1 stage of development (before their emergence from under the domed refuges covering egg batches), which we collected in the autumn of 2013, because searching for larvae was simpler in the leafless period. Twenty-four shoots (10\u201315 cm) with egg batches collected from shrubs of P. padus growing in Kobylepole Forest were overwintered in external controlled conditions by placing the shoots vertically in a pot filled with sand and covering them with a plastic net that guaranteed good ventilation and protection from insectivorous birds. In the spring, the collected shoots containing egg batches were attached randomly with coated wire to places on shrubs of P. padus or P. serotina where eggs are usually laid , at the time when larvae of this species begin to feed (mid-April 2014). Moreover, during a field inventory process held in Kobylepole Forest (beginning of May 2014), we marked 12 places where we noticed that larval Y. evonymella that had originally been grazing on P. padus had spontaneously moved to shrubs of P. serotina in their close vicinity. In summary, we created three different variants of larval rearing: On the primary host P. padus, initially on P. padus and later on P. serotina (P. padus/P. serotina), and on the new host P. serotina alone.To identify and estimate the number of natural parasitoids of Y. evonymella individuals but also the emergence of parasitoids. Moths that had just emerged were removed the same day, sex was determined, and further tests\u2014irrelevant to the current study\u2014were conducted. The parasitoids that emerged were kept for further identification. We also determined that there were a number of cocoons from which moths did not emerge because of other factors .When the first larvae began to pupate (beginning of June), the pupae and individual larvae of the last stadium (5th instar) were collected and moved to the laboratory. Shoots with aggregates of pupae were cut out of the shrubs and placed separately in one-litre plastic containers. Larvae that did not manage to pupate in the field had access to leaves of the proper shrub species. The vast majority pupated within 24 h, although some larvae did not pupate in the entire time of the experiment, which is a peculiar defence mechanism of this species, as some larvae entwine their cocoons with those of the colony to the end of their life in an effort to protect themselves. As the containers were filled with collected material, we placed them in a room with stable temperature and light conditions . Every container was checked daily to observe and record not only the emergence of mature forms of Y. evonymella, these pupae were moved to another separate vessel to avoid accidental infection of healthy pupae. Similarly, when polyembrionic A. fuscicollis was observed, pupae with visible marks showing emergence of this parasitoid were taken out of the container, but they were not included in this study because they are egg parasitoids. When we observed that Dipteran larvae emerged from pupal p < 0.05). The average total parasitism was calculated by adding the percentage of parasitism of each parasitoid. A standard deviation (SD) was given for each mean value. All calculations were performed using JMP Pro 13.0 software .The percentage of parasitism of each parasitoid species was calculated by dividing the number of individual pupae killed by the parasitoid by the number of pupae collected for the host variant in nature. The average parasitism of each parasitoid species was calculated by averaging the percentage of parasitism of each parasitoid species for each host-plant variant. The total mortality was obtained by adding the percentage of parasitism of each parasitoid species to the percentage of pupae killed by other factors. To evaluate the importance of each parasitoid, we identified significant differences in percentage of parasitism using the Kruskal\u2013Wallis Test and Dunn\u2019s Test   and Baryscapus evonymellae (Bch\u00e9.) , as well as six taxa from the family Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera), including Agrypon anxium (Wesm.), D. armillata (Grav.), H. brunnicornis (Grav.), Itoplectis maculator (F.), Lissonota sp. Grav., Dirophanes invisor (Thunb.), and Pimpla turionellae L.The structure of the onymella . The maiP. padus than when they fed on P. serotina. There was a downward trend in the number of parasitoid species present, from the primary host plant variant of larval rearing (P. padus) to the partial variant (P. padus/P. serotina) to the new plant (P. serotina). All nine parasitoid species found were present in samples reared on P. padus, seven were present when larvae were reared partly on P. padus and P. serotina, and five were present when larvae were reared on P. serotina alone. The total mortality for each larval rearing variant, however, was not significantly different, with ca. 37% mortality among larvae feeding on P. padus, 32% among those on the P. padus/P. serotina variant and 38% among those on the P. serotina variant . On larvae reared first on P. padus and then P. serotina, B. evonymellae and P. turionellae were absent. In turn, in larval samples reared only on P. serotina, B. aurulenta, H. brunnicornis, I. maculator, and D. invisor were absent. Bactromyia aurulenta and B. evonymellae were the most abundant general parasitoid on both larvae raised on only P. padus and those raised on a mix of P. padus/P. serotina, whereas in the case of larvae raised on P. serotina alone, the most common parasitoid was A. anxium  and mortality due to other non-studied factors  for each larval rearing variant were not significantly different (Yponomeuta Latreille (including mono- and oligophagous) and another group of non-specific parasitoid species (polyphagous). The specific parasitoid group included B. evonymellae and H. brunnicornis. All other parasitic species found were placed in the non-specific group. A closer look at the results  was lower than the percentage killed in the P. padus alone and the P. padus/P. serotina variants (both \u201ca\u201d). Furthermore, there were no differences among variants regarding the percentage of cocoons killed by non-specific parasitoids or other factors or regarding the number of non-parasitised cocoons. The total percentages of parasite-caused mortality (\u03c7ifferent . Based o results  showed aY. evonymella), and the composition of the moth\u2019s parasitoid complex, depending on the larval\u2013host plant variant. We were searching for an explanation of a phenomenon that has been observed in nature over the past ten years: Y. evonymella more and more frequently utilising a new plant, P. serotina [Y. evonymella hatches and feeds on P. padus, but it often also moves to the shoots of P. serotina shrubs, where it may then feed and pupate. A recent study confirmed that Y. evonymella egg clusters are also observed on the stems of P. serotina [Y. evonymella in terms of reduced larval stage-specific parasitism. Thus, our study does not support our prediction that larval Y. evonymella feed on P. serotina solely to avoid parasitoids and predators. In a broader sense, the observed host expansion of Y. evonymella does not appear to be associated with the enemy-free space hypothesis [Y. evonymella is simply the expansion of its food base.In our study, we investigated the connections among a host plant, the monophagous bird-cherry ermine moth . Because feeding on P. serotina does not affect the duration of larval development [As insects are strongly dependent on their preferred food ,33, feedd cherry . Taking defences ,16. It cng hosts . As the elopment , there ielopment ,36. Takielopment ,37, althY. evonymella does not appear to be related to an attempt to escape from parasites, which makes alternative scenarios more likely. In situations where the optimal host is a rare species or there is heavy competition for food, the cost of feeding on the optimal host may be large enough for an insect to promote the strategy of increasing the number of potential host plants through the use of new species [Y. evonymella may also restrain inter- and intraspecific competition [Prunus serotine, in its European range of occurrence (in contrast to P. padus), is attacked by a smaller number of herbivorous species, as evidenced by a lower level of damage to its leaves [P. padus (where they hatch) onto P. serotina during the early stages of larval development is often observed due to extensive defoliation of P. padus shrubs. This presents an opportunity for the moth population to avoid starvation and competition with other folivorous species. Utilising P. serotina may also be beneficial for Y. evonymella as an opportunity to improve geographical and ecological expansion, as it is known that a wider diet allows herbivores to broaden their range [P. serotina, invasive black cherry is a widespread species [P. padus is an increasingly rare species and is much more demanding in terms of soil humidity and nutrient requirements [P. serotina, in comparison to the more outcompeted main host plant P. padus, provides an alternative food source in the case of the total defoliation or disappearance of the primary host plant.Based on the literature, the impact of alien plants on insects and their host selection preferences is well known, as can be evidenced by the large number of publications in this field ,41,42,43petition . Prunus s leaves . Larval ir range , and somir range . In the  species . Simultairements . In summYponomeuta evonymella is a species with a large range of occurrence (from Europe to East Asia), and its parasitoid complex appears to differ among geographic regions. Observations in Scandinavia have reported that Yponomeuta populations display regular cycles of intensification in occurrence, with strong gradations [Y. evonymella was in a transitional period between outbreaks, as indicated by the observed total larval parasitism (ca. 37%). The nine identified species of parasitoids found attacking our studied population of Y. evonymella represent ca. 15% of all species currently known to attack Y. evonymella [adations . The coladations . The traadations  and appradations . The resonymella . P. padus alone or on a mix of P. padus and P. serotina, the most important species of parasitoid are B. aurulenta and B. evonymellae. In contrast, when larvae fed on only P. serotina, the most common general parasitoid was A. anxium. Our study showed that, when rearing larvae on Agrypon anxium  is a polyphagous larval/pupal parasitoid. In the past, it did not have a meaningful influence on the population of Y. evonymella in Poland [P. serotina (more than 15-fold higher than in the P. padus variant). The possible reason for such a high percentage of parasitism in this variant is puzzling. As A. anxium is a polyphagous species, and many other species of herbivorous insects have adapted to grazing on the leaves of the alien P. serotina [A. anxium is the main specialist parasitoid of any of these insect species.n Poland  and indun Poland . In the serotina ,52,53, iHerpestomus brunnicornis is an endophagous parasitoid of Yponomeuta species, attacking mainly fifth instar, prepupal, or pupal hosts [Y. malinellus Zell. [Herpestomus brunnicornis is widely distributed in Europe and causes low levels of parasitism in Y. evonymella [P. padus alone and those feeding on P. padus/P. serotina, but it was absent in larvae feeding on P. serotina alone. In a study [H. brunnicornis caused relatively high parasitism (6.8%) of pupal Y. evonymella, but it only caused 0.3% of parasitism in larvae. al hosts , althougus Zell. . Herpestonymella . In the  a study  conducteBaryscapus evonymellae (syn. Tetrastichus evonymellae) is distributed in Nearctic and Palearctic regions. It is an important endoparasitoid of Yponomeuta spp. [D. armillata . We observed a greater share of this species in relation to total parasitism, as well as a downward trend\u2014although insignificant\u2014in parasitism when the food plant shifted from the original to the new host.n Europe ,57, althn Europe . In relan Europe , the levItoplectis maculator (syn. Ichneumonid maculator) is a polyphagous endoparasitoid that typically attacks different small members of Lepidoptera , Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera [P. serotina. Diptera . It is d Diptera . In the Lissonota are oligophagous, koinobiont endoparasitoids of larval Lepidopterans [Lissonota species occurs in the Old World, where the taxonomy of this genus has been comparatively better studied [All species in the genus opterans . These p studied .Dirophanes invisor  is a polyphagous species distributed widely in Europe [n Europe ,63. Pimpla turionellae (syn. Ichneumon turionella) is a polyphagous endoparasitoid, as well as a facultative hyperparasitoid [Y. malinellus, Tortrix viridana L.) and occurs in the Palearctic. rasitoid ,59,63. IB. aurulenta is a polyphagous, larval parasitoid that attacks many species in the genus Yponomeuta, but it has also been recorded on 19 other species [B. aurulenta caused low parasitism (averaging 1%) in larval Y. evonymella on P. padus [P. padus alone (ca. 6.9%) and on a mix of P. padus/P. serotina (ca. 12%) was meaningful; however, in the P. serotina alone variant, the effect was absent. The tachinid  species . In a KoP. padus , and, inP. padus . In our Y. evonymella parasitoids (nine species) observed in this study may be caused by the relatively small research area in an urban impact zone, as well as the fact that individuals were collected in a commercial forest stand with a simplified species structure of trees and shrubs. Despite this limitation, we believe that we correctly selected our research area because it is one of the places where this natural ecological process of host plant change from P. padus to P. serotina was first observed in Y. evonymella, and relatively long ago [The great impact of a specific site on the level of parasitism and the species composition of parasitoids is well known . The lowlong ago ,27.Y. evonymella outbreaks are characterised by approximately 50% parasitisation of the population in Central Europe [Furthermore, in one of the three years of previous experiments , we founl Europe  and apprl Europe , and ourY. evonymellus. We made a decision to collect all the necessary egg batches from P. padus at the stage before the winter diapause, into which the L1 larvae enter. The search for egg batches on P. padus is much simpler because there are one hundred times more eggs on its branches than on those of P. serotina. In the pilot study, we were able to find only three egg batches , which was too small a sample size. With this study, we faced a classic trade off: We could perform an experiment by collecting egg batches from P. padus, but we had to remain aware that we would then not be able to understand the variability among all stages of development . Thus, when polyembrionic A. fuscicollis was observed, pupae with visible marks showing emergence of this parasitoid were taken out of the container, and they were not included in this study .Finally, we would like to note that we were aware that it would be very difficult to perform an experiment to additionally capture the seasonal phenology and stage-specific parasitism of Y. evonymella but did not improve its survival rate. This study indicates that the host expansion exhibited by Y. evonymella is not associated with the enemy-free space hypothesis. We identified nine species of parasitoids that attack larval Y. evonymella and found that the number of parasitoid species trended downwards from the primary host plant to the P. padus/P. serotina combination to the new host plant alone. We observed a significant difference among variants only in relation to the percentage of cocoons killed by specific parasitoids, but no effects of non-specific parasitoids or other factors were observed. Total mortality did not significantly differ (ca. 37%) among larval rearing variants. In summary, changing the host plant caused differences in the structure of the parasitoid complex of"}
+{"text": "The functioning of attention is complex, a primordial function in several cognitive processes and of great interest to neuropsychology. The Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A) is a continuous computerized performance test that evaluates some attention components such as response time to a stimulus and errors due to inattention and impulsivity.1) To evaluate the applicability of T.O.V.A in Brazilian adults; 2) To analyze the differences in performance between genders, age ranges, and levels of education; 3) To examine the association between T.O.V.A variables and other attention and cognitive screening tests.The T.O.V.A was applied to 63 healthy adults (24 to 78 years of age) who also underwent the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Digit Span and Digit Symbol  and the Trail Making Test.the T.O.V.A was little influenced by age or education, but was influenced by gender. The correlations between some T.O.V.A variables and the Digit Symbol and Trail Making test were weak , but significant (p<0.05). There was no correlation with the Digit Span test.The T.O.V.A showed good applicability and proved adequate for evaluating attentional processes in adults. In most models, attention is portrayed as a complex system that allows the individual to filter relevant and irrelevant information, maintain and process mental representations, and monitor and modulate responses to stimuli. Attention, therefore, usually refers to a multifactorial set of processes that goes beyond the simple ability to encode information. Attention includes several processes, such as sensory selection , response selection , and attentional capacity .,Continuous Performance Tests  such as the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A)Frequently, the Digit Span,The T.O.V.A is a 21-minute computerized test in which a simple geometric stimulus is used to measure the response to visual stimuli. It can be used in serial evaluations and assists in the detection of attention disorders. The test involves the presentation of two distinct situations: the display of a target stimulus , upon which the individual must press the microswitch, and the presence of a different stimulus  for which the subject must not press the microswitch. Being computerized battery, it offers advantages such as ease of application and handling, less influence of the examiner, automatic generation of report with results, and accuracy in recording of reaction time (\u00b11 millisecond).This test can also be used to monitor the response to drug treatment because it has negligible test-retest effects.,Additionally, the test is expected to be little influenced by education because the instructions and stimuli involved in the test are simple. The test has been mainly used as a clinical outcome variable for interventions aimed at reducing symptoms in ADHDNo studies conducted in Brazil on the T.O.V.A were found. Thus, the objectives of the present study were: 1) to evaluate the applicability of the T.O.V.A in Brazilian adults without chronic diseases; 2) to investigate whether the T.O.V.A scores vary between the sexes, age groups and education; and 3) to investigate the association between the scores generated by the T.O.V.A and other attention tests.The sample consisted of 63 adults with a mean age of 52.05 (\u00b114.43) years and a mean educational level of 13.13 (\u00b14) years. Participants were individuals included in the CHEST-BR study,The test starts with a three-minute training phase,commission error and considered a measure of impulsiveness.,The participant is not informed about the structure of the test and usually does not know that the test consists of two parts: during the first half of the test lasting 10 minutes), the target appears in 22.5% of the trials. During the second half (same length of time), the target appears in 77.5% of the trials. The increasing frequency of the target implies that the examinee must respond more quickly. When the subject does not respond to the target, this response is called an error of omission and is a measure of inattention; and when the examinee responds to a non-target, the response is called a  minutes,prime, and an attentional performance score. The measures are outlined below:In addition to the primary variables, the T.O.V.A generates secondary variables that include variability in response time (consistency), response time, the D-Omission Errors: considered a measure of inattention. The subject does not respond to the predetermined target; that is, the subject fails to press the T.O.V.A microswitch when the target is displayed. The omission score is calculated as the ratio between the number of correct responses to the target and the subtraction of the actual number of targets displayed from the number of anticipatory responses to the targets.Commission Errors: considered a measure of impulsivity or behavioral disinhibition. The subject is unable to inhibit the response and incorrectly responds to a non-target stimulus, pressing the button when a non-target is displayed. The commission score is calculated as the ratio between the number of incorrect responses to the non-targets and the subtraction of the actual number of non-targets presented from the number of anticipatory responses made to non-target stimuli.Response time variability: a measure of time differences for correct responses given by the subject, denoting the consistency in the speed of correct responses. The faster the subject, the lower the variability.Response time: the average time a subject takes to respond correctly to a target by pressing the microswitch from the moment the target is presented. The response time score is the average of the response times (correct responses), calculated as the sum of all times divided by the number of correct responses to the target, expressed in milliseconds (ms) for each quartile, half and total time of the test.D-prime: a response sensitivity score that reflects the ratio between the rate of correct responses and the rate of \u201cfalse alarm\u201d. It is considered a measure of decrease in performance over time, that is, the rate of decline of performance throughout the task. This measure is derived from the Signal Detection Theory and helps to distinguish individuals without impairment from those diagnosed with attention disorders.Attentional Performance Index: the result of the comparison of the performances of the studied subjects on the T.O.V.A versus an American sample identified as having ADHD. Positive indices are suggestive of no attention impairment. The formula used to derive the score is as follows: response time in z score  + D-prime in z score  + variability in response time in z score . In subjects with ADHD, the index is expected to be negative, although not specific to this disorder because attentional impairments may be present in various conditions.The T.O.V.A has some criteria invalidating the test run: response time or variability equal to zero in any quartile of the test, interruption of the test by the examinee, excessive anticipatory responses and 100% omission/commission errors in any quartile of the test. More information is available on the www.tovatest.com.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Canadian Stroke Network Vascular Cognitive Impairment Harmonization Standards,Each subject completed the T.O.V.A, along with the following tests: Digit Span and Digit Symbol - subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults,The local ethics committee approved the protocol, and all participants agreed by signing the Informed Consent Form (ICF).The clinical evaluation with ergometric test, echocardiogram and application of the neuropsychological battery lasted about 150 minutes and was performed at the INCOR. Cardiologists were responsible for the clinical evaluation. The neuropsychological battery lasted about 90 minutes and was applied by neuropsychologists. Although the T.O.V.A was self-administered, the examiner remained present for any unforeseen events.The sample was divided between men and women to assess whether there were gender differences in the T.O.V.A variables. Two age groups were then created to differentiate young/middle-aged adults from elderly subjects (<60 years and \u226560 years), and two educational levels . The Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze the differences between age and education groups, given none of the variables had a normal distribution, as tested with the Shapiro-Wilks test. Additionally, Spearman correlations were performed to evaluate the association between T.O.V.A variables and the other attention and global cognition tests. R software version 3.4.3 was used for statistical analyses. Statistical significance was set at 5%.Men and women differed in age and education; men were younger (p=0.025) and higher educated (p=0.034). On the subanalysis of the Attentional Performance Index, 36.5% of the individuals had a negative result on this variable .A difference between the sexes was observed on the T.O.V.A for the variables Response Time and Omission Errors (p<0.05) .There were no significant differences on the T.O.V.A in relation to the educational levels (p>0.05) .The analyses indicated significant, although weak, correlations  between the General Attention Index and age; between Total Response Time Variability and scores on the Trail Making Test part A and Digit Symbol; and between Total Commission Errors and scores on the Trail Making Test part B and Digit Symbol .The objective of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of the T.O.V.A in Brazilian adults without chronic diseases and to examine their scores on variables such as sex, age group and education. The association between the scores generated by the T.O.V.A and other attention tests was also examined. The results indicated that, on most variables, the T.O.V.A was little influenced by age or education. For some specific measures (Response Time and Omission Errors), there were significant differences between the sexes.In the original T.O.V.A standardization study,,In a review on continuous performance tasks,The authors of the T.O.V.A affirm that the test is slightly influenced by education.The Attentional Performance Index reflects the comparative performance of the subject relative to an American clinical sample with ADHD, where positive indices are suggestive of no attention impairment. A proportion (36.5%) of the present sample had a negative Attentional Performance Index. The criterion adopted to define our population as healthy was the absence of chronic diseases (such as hypertension and diabetes). However, conditions associated with attentional impairments such as traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, medication, learning disorders and sleep disorders,,Consistent with previous studies,There was an association of the variable Commission Errors with the Digit Symbol test and the Trail Making Test Part B . Both attentional tests and commission errors are tasks requiring flexibility and inhibitory control.However, no significant correlations were observed on the Digits Span test, a traditional test that evaluates attentional amplitude and cognitive flexibility, even on separate analysis of forward and backward order or total score . In summary, the correlation analyses suggest that the T.O.V.A and Digit Span test assess different aspects of attention; the T.O.V.A has a greater contribution of alertness than other aspects related to the Digit Span test, such as operational memory.In conclusion, the T.O.V.A showed good applicability and was adequate for evaluating attentional processes in adults. Because this is a computerized test, it offers advantages such as precision of the measures evaluated, number of variables generated, and automation of results. Furthermore, the test proved to be little influenced by education or age.The study had limitations related to the small size of the sample and the fact that a specific instrument to track attention complaints was not applied. However, the Attention Performance Index suggested that a percentage of the participants may present attentional changes according to the T.O.V.A. Future studies should be performed with more comprehensive samples that allow generalizality to other populations."}
+{"text": "The Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology recognizes outstanding early-career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology. The lecture will be given by the 2018 Baltes Award recipient, Frank Infurna, PhD, of Arizona State University. This session will also include the presentation of the 2019 Baltes Award. The 2019 Baltes Award recipient is Allison Bielak, PhD, of Colorado State University. Supported by the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation."}
+{"text": "Engraulis japonicus was the most abundant species of all teleost fishes. The E. japonicus was captured in every season and contributed the most to the abundance of ichthyoplankton, which was greater than that of previous years. This result may be due to the periodic fluctuations of E. japonicus or from the displacement of spawning grounds offshore for environmental reasons. The diversity indices of the assemblage were significantly different among seasons, with the number and abundance of the species peaking in the spring, while richness, evenness and diversity indices peaked in the autumn. The species richness of the ichthyoplankton varied from 0.74 to 1.62, the Pielou evenness index varied from 0.10 to 0.49 and the Shannon\u2013Wiener index varied from 0.19 to 1.04. The results of CCA analysis showed that the major factors affecting the ichthyoplankton assemblage differed throughout the seasons. Chla was the key factor affecting the ichthyoplankton in 2012. These seasonal and inter-annual variations likely resulted from migrations associated with fish spawning as well as the environment. Compared with data from previous studies, the relationship between the assemblage structure of ichthyoplankton and corresponding environmental variables have undergone a decline.Seasonal variations of the ichthyoplankton assemblage and its relationship with the environment were analyzed based on four seasonal surveys during 2012. Historical data was collected to be compared with results from previous years in order to indicate the seasonal and inter-annual variation of the ichthyoplankton assemblage in the Yangtze Estuary and the adjacent waters. A total of 3,688 individuals belonging to 5 orders, 9 families, and 15 species were collected. No samples were collected in the winter cruise. In 2012, all samples were separated into four ecotypes, which is comparable with the historical data from previous years. The  The Yangtze Estuary is a transitional region between freshwater and the sea, which is in an advantageous geographical location with a distinct ecological environment. Profiting from the freshwater runoff of the Yangtze River, the Taiwan Warm Current, the East China Sea Coastal Current, and the Yellow Sea Coast Current, the Yangtze River has become an excellent spawning and nursing ground for an array of economic fish species and a crucial fishery ground in China . HoweverThe spatial and temporal variation of ichthyoplankton assemblages has been widely studied in the field of marine ecology such as . With beA total of 40 sampling stations were located at the Yangtze Estuary and its adjacent waters  . SamplesAt the laboratory, fish eggs and larvae were counted and sorted to the lowest possible taxonomic level at each station according to the morphological characteristics found in the literature . These wThe abundance of ichthyoplankton was standardized and expressed as the total number of individual fish eggs and larvae per 10 min-trawling (ind/trawl). The dominant species were determined using the Index of Relative Importance (IRI) developed by N\u2217100% and F\u2217100% are the relative abundance and frequency of occurrence, respectively. The IRI of the dominant species should be greater than 100.D), Shannon-Wiener index , and Pielou\u2019s evenness (J\u2032) were calculated for each station. Related equations were as follows .The homoscedasticity was measured with the method Levene\u2019s test, after which a one-way ANOVA was performed to assess the difference in abundance, biomass, species richness, and biodiversity index among four cruises. When a significant difference was detected, the Duncan\u2019s test was applied for multiple comparisons. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was applied to analyze the correlation between environmental factors and the distribution pattern of ichthyoplankton assemblages. To eliminate the effects of a few dominant species, numerous zeros in the species data, and a highly variable value in environmental data, all data matrix were transformed by log(http://www.canoco5.com/).All maps were drawn with Surfer 8.0 and statistical analyses were performed with PRIMER 5.0 , SPSS 16.0  and CANOCO 4.5  for feeding as they hit adulthood then returns to estuary or coastal waters for spawning and breeding includes The greatest number of species were collected in the spring, including 3 brackish water species, 4 coastal species, and 3 marine species.This was followed by autumn with 9 species collected, including 4 brackish water species, 2 coastal species, and 3 marine species, The least number of species were caught in the summer, including 1 fresh water species, 1 marine species, 3 brackish water species, and 3 coastal species. In the summer, ichthyoplankton assemblages were dominated by brackish water and coastal species, while coastal species and brackish water species were dominant in the spring and autumn months, respectively.E. japonicus, C. mystus, A. commersoni, A. bleekeri, and C. spinosus were widespread species, which were captured in all four seasons.Conversely, 7 species  were captured only in single season; S. japonicus, L. polyactis and M. monodactylus were only collected in the spring, P. engraulis was only collected in the summer, and S. acua, H. sajori, T. japonicus were only captured in the autumn. The distribution pattern of ichthyoplankton assemblages varied with seasonal changes due to the ecological habits of the species as well as their tendencies toward differing seasonal compositions.E. japonicus and C. nasus were the dominant species which contributed the most (98.63%) to the total abundance, followed by E. japonicus which occupied 93.80% in the spring, as indicated in E. japonicus occupied the greatest proportion of the abundance in the spring and autumn. The characteristics and composition of the dominant species and the variation in the degree of dominance showed a distinct difference during three investigations, which indicated the seasonal variations in the ichthyoplankton assemblage structure.The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) was used to discuss the dominant species. Species with an index greater than 1,000 and a range from 100 to 1,000 were considered a dominant species and common species, respectively. These factors combined indicated the important species. A clear variation occurred in the composition of the dominant species in every season . E. japoThe spatial distribution of the ichthyoplankton abundance in the Yangtze Estuary in 2012 showed significant seasonal variation , with thE. japonicus, followed by A. bleekeri, C. mystus, C. spinosus, and L. polyactis. In total, 366 individuals were recorded in the summer, including 120 fish eggs and 246 larvae, which were primarily distributed in the river channel and the southern and eastern portions of the study areas. E. japonicus had the greatest number of larvae, followed by P. engraulis and C. mystus, which shared a similar distribution range. Only 76 larvae were collected in the autumn, and no fish eggs; these were mainly distributed in the river channel and the southern portion of the study areas, with the C. nasus as the majority, followed by E. japonicus, A. bleekeri, A.commersoni, and H. sajori.A total of 2,604 individuals were captured in the spring, including 317 fish eggs and 2,287 larvae. Larvae were widespread, with the exception of the river channel and the northern locations of the investigation areas. The most widely distributed species was F\u00a0=\u00a04.601, P\u00a0=\u00a00.0095\u00a0<\u00a00.01).The statistical result of Levene\u2019s test  indicated that the difference of homoscedasticity of the index is not significant. We then used the One-way ANOVA test for further analysis. The One-way ANOVA test revealed that a significant difference occurred among three diversity indexes during four seasons . Furthermore, H\u2032 and J\u2032 between spring and summer as well as J\u2032 between summer and winter also occurred with a significant difference. However, no significant difference was detected for D between spring and summer  as well as for D  and H\u2032  between summer and autumn.According to the results, autumn presented the highest diversity indexes while spring presented with the lowest . FurtherP\u00a0<\u00a00.05). As shown in the diagram, the first axis was strongly correlated with Chla, SPM, TP, COD, DO, and the remaining environmental factors displayed a higher correlation with axis 2 than axis 1. SPM, Chla, TP, and temperature exerted a positive effect on the first axis.In addition, depth showed a positive correlation and TN showed a negative correlation with the second axis, respectively. The CCA ordination plot of sampling stations  and the second axis  of the CCA plot explained 14.4% of \u201cspecies data\u201d variation and 65.6% of variation in \u201cspecies-environment relation\u201d. The species-environment correlation coefficients of these two axes were 0.832 and 0.621, respectively. The Monte-Carlo test  indicatestations  revealedE. japonicus showed a strong relationship with dissolved oxygen and was less affected by the remaining factors, while S. japonicus was mainly affected by TP, which indicated that the distribution pattern of different species belonging to the same ecotype may be affected by different environmental factors. L. polyactis and A.commersoni also revealed a significant positive correlation with dissolved oxygen and were mainly distributed in the region of higher dissolved oxygen content. C. spinosus showed a distinct distribution pattern positively associated with the higher value of Chla, SPM, and temperature. The distribution pattern of C. nasus was positively correlated with deeper and higher concentration of nutrients areas.As shown in the CCA ordination plot of ichthyoplankton species , the corH. sajori (hesa), A. bleekeri (Albl), M. monodactylus (Mimo), and S. acua (syca) had a positive correlation with pH and salinity but A. bleekeri had lower demand for pH and salinity than the other three species.Species such as The ichthyoplankton assemblages in estuaries are complex both in species composition and distribution. Studies show that the organization of ichthyoplankton in estuarine systems is influenced by the interactive effects of a multitude of biotic and abiotic processes. Biological factors include the location, timing and manner of spawning, larval life history, larval behavior, rates of predation, and feeding . PhysicaP. engrauli was collected. This phenomenon indicated that the composition and numbers of fresh water species have been experiencing a significant decline due to the impact of anthropogenic activity and a change in the natural environment. In the last decades, many scholars have reported the community structure and biodiversity of ichthyoplankton assemblages and their relationship with environmental factors. The study of E. japonicus, which was the commonly identified member of the ichthyoplankton assemblages (E. japonicus resources have declined dramatically based on the comparison in May of 1999, 2001, 2004, and 2007 (E. japonicus resources in every season of 2012 was increasing, which was not consistent with the previous results. E. japonicus resources had relatively steady fluctuations in quantity as a result of climate and environment changes, which were mainly caused by water circulation and fluctuations in temperature. Although Watanabe did not point out the duration of the fluctuation, this conclusion was also supported by the investigation results in this study.The abundance of ichthyoplankton assemblage in this study was highly concentrated on the dominant species, emblages . E. japoand 2007 , and Mayand 2007 . NeverthBased on the results of this study and the comparison with the results of other scholars, the community structure of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Yangtze Estuary have fluctuated greatly over a short period of time .This phenomenon is related to the use of coastal water in different months by dominant species for breeding and feeding . HoweverA. bleekeri, C. mystus, and E. japonicus were the dominant species in the spring, E. japonicus, C. mystus, and S. elongata were the dominant species in the summer, and H. prognathous, E. japonicus and C. stigmatias were the dominant species in the autumn. As for 2012: E. japonicus was the dominant species in the spring, E. japonicus and C. nasus were the dominant species in the summer, and A.\u00a0bleekeri was the dominant species in the autumn.In this study, the biodiversity indexes in each season showed significant difference, but all the indexes were relatively low . The invE. japonicus in the spring, accounting for 93.80% of the total abundance, the diversity indexes in the spring was less than summer and autumn.Most of the marine fish\u2019s spawning season occurred in the spring and summer, which brings the abundance of ichthyoplankton assemblages to their maximum point in this period . In thisThe seasonal variation of biodiversity in the estuary is mainly dependent upon the selection of reproductive areas by grown fish  as well Distribution pattern of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the estuary were affected by both abiotic factors and environmental factors . In geneAcross the four surveys conducted in 2012, 3,688 individuals of 15 species were collected. We found that significant seasonal differences occurred in the species number and abundance of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Yangtze Estuary with low biodiversity. Chla was the key environmental factor affecting the assemblage structure of ichthyoplankton in 2012, which was different than the results of previous research.With the rapid development of industrialization, urbanization, and marine fishery, ichthyoplankton resources are declining significantly, which may strengthen the trend toward the simplification of fishery resources in the Yangtze Estuary. Protection of fishery resources and continuous tracking and monitoring are imperative in the Yangtze Estuary.10.7717/peerj.6482/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.6482/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.6482/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "AbstractPolyonyxsocialissp. n. from the South China Sea of Vietnam is described. The new species was collected in a previous study that compared the vertebrate and invertebrate symbiont communities living in the tubes of two syntopic species of the polychaete genus Chaetopterus. Polyonyxsocialissp. n. inhabits the tubes of the smaller polychaete species as a heterosexual pair, and frequently shares the cavity of the host\u2019s tube with a larger porcellanid, P.heok, also present as a male-female pair, and with a species of trinchesiid nudibranch. Less frequently, the new species shares its host with a heterosexual pair of a larger species of pinnotherid crab. Polyonyxsocialissp. n. belongs to the P.sinensis group, a world-wide distributed morphological line within the heterogeneous genus Polyonyx. Most species in this group are obligate commensals of chaetopterid polychaetes. The crabs have a transversally cylindrical habitus, which enables them to move laterally along the worm tubes with ease. Polyonyxsocialissp. n. is a relatively small species that lives attached to the inner walls of the polychaete tube. The small size and flattened chelipeds and walking legs of the new species confers it an advantage to cohabiting the same worm tube with larger decapod species occupying most of the tube\u2019s cavity. Polyonyx Stimpson is a diverse and heterogeneous taxon containing more than 30 species worldwide, most of which distributed in the Indo-West Pacific (IWP)  considered the P.denticulatus group as the new genus Aliaporcellana, which was later redefined by The porcellanid genus iculatus , P.dentiPolyonyxsinensis group, which is worldwide distributed, though most of the species in this group have an Indo-West Pacific (IWP) distribution. According to this author this group contains species with a \u201cpronounced tendency towards commensalism\u201d. Indeed, most species in this morphological line are commensal  and D Martin , and has been deposited in the Naturmuseum Senckenberg (SMF), Frankfurt a.M., Germany. Colour photographs were provided by T Britayev, and are included in the description. Measurements of carapace length and width (in mm) of type individuals follow collection information.Material of Taxon classificationAnimaliaDecapodaPorcellanidaehttp://zoobank.org/C8712225-9D4B-40AA-87CA-0B6FCDB3174AHolotype: female, SMF 52400, South China Sea, south coast of Vietnam, Nhatrang Bay, Tre Island, Dam Bay, 6\u20138 m, silty sand, hand collection from tube of Chaetopterus sp. No 66, cohabiting with a pair of pinnotherid Tetrias sp., coll. Britayev and Martin, 15.04. 2016; 4.0 mm x 4.3 mm  the narrower carapace, with the rostrum being less transverse, 2) the extremely extended and forwardly directed lobes on merus and carpus of the chelipeds, 3) the wide and flattened merus of the walking legs, and 4) the extremely fine and transparent fringes of setae on the chelipeds.The new species is morphologically similar and probably systematically close to us tubes . The newCurrently known only from the Vietnamese coast of the South China Sea.Polyonyxsocialis sp. n. inhabits as a heterosexual pair the tubes of one of two syntopic species of Chaetopterus, which according to P.heok and of the tergipedid nudibranch Phestilla sp. In one case Polyonyxsocialis sp. n. shared its host with a male-female pair of the pinnotherid crab Tetrias sp. Interestingly, P.socialis sp. n. was not found in the tubes of the larger polychaete Chaetopteruscf.appendiculatus Grube, 1874, which is ecologically close to the porcellanid\u2019s host. The inhabitants of the larger polychaete were either the porcellanid Eulenaioscometes  and the polynoid polychaete Ophthalmonoepettiboneae Petersen & Britayev, 1997, or the carapid fish Onuxodonfowleri (P.socialis sp. n. in the smaller and not the larger polychaete species may be explained by the crab\u2019s host specificity, or by a lower tolerance of Chaetopteruscf.appendiculatus and its commensal inhabitants to sharing the space inside the tube.nfowleri . The preP.socialis sp. n. are distinctive characters within Polyonyx, even when comparing the species with the morphologically closest P.boucheti and P.utinomii, and to all other tube-dwelling species of the genus. These characters are most likely adaptations to living tightly attached to the walls of the worm tube without being perceived as an obstacle for the larger crabs inhabiting the same tube. The new species is therefore morphologically adapted to cohabiting with a heterosexual pair of a congeneric larger crab, what is quite exceptional. The West Atlantic representative of the P.sinensis group, P.gibbesi Haig, 1956 inhabits the polychaete host Chaetopterusvariopedatus (Pinnixachaetopterana Stimpson, 1860, which also inhabits the polychaete tube as a heterosexual pair (The extremely broadened chelipeds and walking legs of opedatus  as a malopedatus , and verual pair . Studiesual pair  revealedual pair . The casPolyonyxsocialis sp. n. and P.heok comprise the first pair of porcellanid crabs observed to share the same host."}
+{"text": "Polygonum is the largest genus of Polygonaceae and 5 species are reported in Tunisia. In order to characterized flower, seed, and fruit development in Polygonum, flower and fruit of Polygonium equisetiforme (var. graecum and peyerinhoffi), P. aviculare and P. maritimum, collected from Tunisia, were examined. Flowers are composed of five oblong tepals. P. equisetiforme and P. aviculare have whitish-pink distylous flowers with dimorphism of style, filament and anther height, pollen diameter and stigma size. In contrast, P. maritimum shows white homostylous flowers. The floral vasculature showed that the tepals are inserted in one whorl and their traces arise independently in 3+2 manner. The eight stamens are arranged in a 5+3 manner and the staminal bundles arise independently in the two whorls. The epidermis and endothecium cells width were higher in P. maritimum and the lowest endothecium width was observed in P. aviculare. Polygonum aviculare and P. equisetiforme showed circular pollen with shallow colpi and trilobite pollen shape with deep colpi, while P. maritimum rarely showed shallow colpi. The ovule is anatropous with basal placentation in P. equisetiforme and P. aviculare and apical placentation in P. maritimum. The young seed coat was formed by an endotesta with thick-walled cells, a mesotesta and exotesta with thin-walled cells and a tegmen composed of radially elongated cells. The fruits of the studied species are trigonous with ovate-lanceolate shape. In P. aviculare, the exocarp is thicker compared to the two other species, in P. equisetiforme, the mature exocarp consists of smaller rectangular cells with narrow cavities, and in P. maritimum showed a thinner exocarpIn conclusion, P. equisetiforme and P. aviculare are a typically distylous species from the morphological point of view and we discussed the significance of heterostyly in Polygonaceae. From this first morpho-anatomical study of Polygonum species in North Africa, we can conclude mainly that there is no significant difference between P. equisetiforme var. graecum and var. peyerinhoffi supporting a taxonomic grouping of these two varieties. Polygonaceae are a large and cosmopolitan family of herbs, shrubs, climbers or trees which comprise approximately 30 to 49 genera and about 750 species , these thin-walled invaginations of the outer periclinal walls of exocarp cells, possibly ease absorption of water for germination and might serve for penetration of water to the inside of cells. [Polygonum species .The achene sizes of the studied species are between 1.9\u20134.05 mm (length) and 1.46\u20132.98 mm (width). e Greene . Achene e Greene . When thathogens . The funcies 60. , these tPolygonum equisetiforme and P. aviculare are a typically distylous species from the morphological point of view. Long and short morphs differ in stigma height and width, filament length and stamen height, and pollen grain size. P. maritimum is homostylous. The tepal vascularization is ensured by a single main vein in P. maritimum and by. one main vein and two secondary veins in the other species. In the mature anther, the epidermis and endothecium cells width were higher in P. maritimum than in P. aviculare. The detailed anatomy of the seed and achene anatomy clarified the close resemblance of these Polygonum species. Our investigation provides the first floral vasculature study of P. equisetiforme showing that the tepals traces usually arise independently. The eight stamens are arranged in 5+3 manner and the staminal bundle arises independently.P. equisetiforme, so it seems that it is not a question of two separate varieties but a simple adaptation to the climatic conditions. Indeed, P. equisetiforme var. peyerinhoffi has a creeping port that makes it easier to absorb the maximum amount of moisture and to reduce the contact with the open air to minimize transpiration, which is consistent with [The results of this anatomical study showed that there is no significant difference between the two varieties of ent with  systemat"}
+{"text": "AbstractEupsophus (ground frogs) inhabits exclusively the temperate forests of southern South America (Chile and Argentina). The current delimitation of the genus was reached in the late 1970s, when only two species were recognized, but since then the number of described species steadily increased, reaching a maximum of 11 by 2012. Subsequent studies that applied explicit species delimitation approaches decreased the number of species to six in 2017 and raised it again to 11 the following year, including an undescribed putative species. Despite these taxonomic changes, the two species groups traditionally recognized, roseus and vertebralis, have been maintained. Another recent contribution to the taxonomy of the genus was the explicit recognition of the extremely high level of external phenotypic variation exhibited by species of the roseus group, which undermines the utility of some diagnostic characters. Here we provide a critical review of the extensive taxonomic and systematic literature on the genus over the last six decades, to examine the evidence behind the recurrent taxonomic changes and advances in its systematics. We also update and complete a 2017 review of geographic information, provide additional qualitative observations of external characters commonly used in the diagnoses of species of the roseus group, and reassess the phylogenetic position of a putative new species from Tolhuaca (Chile), which was not included in the last species delimitation study. The present review shows that: 1) there is no congruence between the patterns of phenotypic and genetic/phylogenetic differentiation among species of both groups; 2) in the roseus group, the intraspecific variation in some external characters is as high as the differences described among species; 3) there is little morphological and bioacoustic differentiation within species groups, and inconsistencies in the chromosomal evidence at the genus level; 4) under the latest taxonomic proposal (2018), species of the roseus group still lack consistent and reliable diagnoses and their distribution limits are poorly defined; and 5) the population from Tolhuaca represents an additional undescribed species under the most recent taxonomic framework. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for the taxonomy and biogeography of the genus, pointing out some areas that require further research to understand their patterns and processes of diversification.The genus  Alsodidae, which currently is represented there by two sister genera, Alsodes Bell, 1843  is found exclusively in temperate forests, inhabiting mainly the forest floor , E.calcaratus , E.insularis , E.migueli Formas, 1978, E.contulmoensis Ortiz, Ibarra-Vidal & Formas, 1989, E.nahuelbutensis Ortiz & Ibarra-Vidal, 1992, E.septentrionalis Ibarra-Vidal, Ortiz & Torres-P\u00e9rez, 2004, E.altor Nu\u00f1ez, Rabanal & Formas, 2012, and a putative new species from Villarrica, Chile) and vertebralis  (Temperate forests of southern South America (Chile and Argentina) are home to a reduced but evolutionarily diverse group of amphibians . The mosst floor . Recentlterature , accorditerature  are arras, 1989) .Eupsophus has a long and complex taxonomic history. Among the currently valid species, the first two were described in the nineteenth century under other genera: Cystignathusroseus and Cacotuscalcaratus  insularis is currently recognized. The use of the name Eupsophus, coined by Alsodes, Batrachyla, Phrynopus, Thoropa; e.g., E.roseus and E.vertebralis). Since 1978, when E.migueli was described , but one of them, E.queulensis, was synonymized with E.septentrionalis by The genus escribed , the numroseus group. Two of these studies . E.queulensiswith E.septentrionalis and suggested that the population from Tolhuaca, also located in the Chilean Andean foothills (38\u00b013'S), would correspond to an undescribed species related to E.roseus. More recently, During the last six decades, morphometric, immunological, chromosomal, bioacoustic and molecular  approaches have been applied, separately or in combination, to the taxonomy and systematics of these frogs  in this group. On the other hand, the taxonomic proposal by The application of molecular approaches and integrative taxonomy to the discovery and delimitation of species has drastically changed our estimates of amphibian diversity at global and local levels . Recent ed above , the des applied , and the applied , based oaracters  and moleEupsophus was roseus group , information about the genus, in its current definition  are Eupsophus and was the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the genus until E.roseus as Cystignathusroseus), E.calcaratus as Cacotuscalcaratus), E.insularis as Borborocoetus (Cystignathus) insularis), E.vertebralis and E.roseus, the latter as E.grayi), E.insularis as subspecies of E.grayi), E.migueli), E.calcaratus and E.insularis), E.emiliopugini), E.contulmoensis), E.nahuelbutensis), E.septentrionalis), E.queulensis, synonymized with E.septentrionalis by E.altor). Other studies of Eupsophus with a taxonomic and/or systematic focus have used different approaches: Our literature review was focused on (but not restricted to) taxonomic, genetic and phylogenetic studies in which phenotypic and/or genetic variation within and among on e.g., , is easiWe compiled literature records to define the geographic ranges of the 11 species recognized by roseus group  vary at the intrapopulation level. Here, we provide additional examples of intrapopulation variation in the first three characters. The observations were made in two undescribed and two type localities , including less than 20 live specimens per locality. All specimens were released at the same capture site after being photographed.E.roseus. E.roseus. th generation. The first 25% of generations were conservatively discarded as burn-in after observing the stationarity of ln-likelihoods of trees in Tracer v1.7 .cer v1.7 . ConvergEupsophus, because they combined several invalid  into two taxa, which represent the two species groups currently recognized , most of them derived from or closely related to E.roseus. One additional species from Isla Wellington (southern Chile), closely related to E.calcaratus, was proposed by E.calcaratus). All descriptions and revalidations  were primarily motivated by observations of differences in external morphological characters and in some cases also internal ones. Other types of characters were added in some descriptions and diagnoses . They extracted the information mainly from the original diagnoses, but also used other two sources for E.roseus, E.calcaratus and E.insularis, since the original descriptions and diagnoses of these species are very brief and were made under generic names no longer used. The two additional sources are E.calcaratus and E.insularisare revalidated, and roseus group: 1) in some cases, characters that varied in the type series were used; 2) the great heterogeneity in number and type of characters used, which makes it difficult to identify the differences among the species; and 3) the four characters most frequently included in the diagnoses vary widely at the intraspecific level. Here  or these could be differentiated only by the body coloration pattern , which has been described as variable in most species  from being later included as a diagnostic character for several species of the group . There are also previous literature records of variation in the other three characters mentioned. The coloration of the iris has been included recurrently in the descriptions and diagnoses of the species of the roseus group, so it was considered a useful character to distinguish certain species . The shape of the distal end of the xiphisternum is the osteological character most frequently included in descriptions and diagnoses , but in E.insularis it is truncated and slightly notched (E.migueli it is notched (E.emiliopugini). However, one study  and of E.migueli , finding four types of xiphisternum  in E.migueli and three in E.roseus (notched condition was not found). Although in both species the rounded xiphisternum was the most frequent condition, this example demonstrates that intrapopulational variation in osteological characters may be detected when a large number of specimens is examined. up Table . Moreovelcaratus , E.emiliiopugini  and E.alis group , but als.migueli , E.calcalcaratus , E.contulmoensis , E.nahuebutensis  and E.serionalis . Correa es Table . In contellowish . Iris cops Table . For exae former  and shore former ; Table 1 notched   and the other species  that the genus contained at that time. E.grayi , but in those groups of populations he mixed several species that were described later. Subsequent studies on adults have applied multivariate statistical techniques , but they have been carried out with a small number of species  and populations (no study included more than one population per species). Despite these limitations, morphometric differences have been observed between the species groups , but scarce differences within them.Morphometric approaches have usually been used to infer, implicitly or explicitly, the relationships among species or to discriminate  them. Also, they have been used in conjunction with allozymes (see below) to evaluate explicitly the agreement between morphological and genetic evolution in the genus . The firs groups , and nots groups . In partEupsophus currently recognized are shown in Table E.nahuelbutensis has not been described, although roseus group, 28 in the vertebralis group; E.migueli, E.insularis, E.septentrionalis, E.roseus the sex chromosomes do not differ in form, but can be distinguished by their constitutive heterochromatin patterns  or several localities  can be compared. Almost all karyotypes of the same species described by different authors differ in chromosomal morphology and position of the secondary constriction, and even in the presence or absence of this last structure , so that intrapopulation and/or intraspecific variation is revealed only when different studies are compared. The levels of variation in chromosome morphology and position of the secondary constriction within a same species  are as high as the levels of variation observed among species of the same group , and less differentiation between E.septentrionalis and its geographically closest congeners, E.contulmoensis and E.nahuelbutensis, were reported. These allozyme patterns, particularly the almost fixed differences between E.septentrionalis and E.roseus, were used to support the specific status of E.septentrionalis  using two restriction enzymes.Since the mid-1970s, several immunological techniques and enzymatic systems  were used to solve taxonomic and systematic problems of the anurans of the temperate forests of South America, including the genus  enzymes , 1986 has groups  than wits groups . In fact.migueli , and E.cbutensis  are almorionalis ; Table 1omosomal  and bioaomosomal  evidenceomosomal  used thiStudies with DNA sequencesEupsophus, its phylogenetic position with respect to other anuran groups, the phylogeographic history of one of its species  and its species diversity with species delimitation approaches  as \u201cdiagnostic of species lineages\u201d . E.altor, performed a phylogenetic analysis with a fragment of the control region , in which a sister relationship between E.altor  and E.migueli was recovered , but an examination of the sequences of E.altor; see comment in Eupsophus and Alsodes with mitochondrial and nuclear genes, including the 11 nominal species of Eupsophus recognized at that time, and in some cases more than one locality per species . E.roseus , and estimated the phylogenetic relationships within the genus, using mitochondrial and nuclear sequences and including a greater number of specimens and localities than roseus group consistent with that of E.calcaratus in a different position with respect to previous studies . They also obtained a weak support for an alternative position of E.septentrionalis, which is congruent with previous hypothesis  and E.contulmoensis + E.nahuelbutensis, the position of E.calcaratus as sister taxon of all the other species of the roseus group), with the notable exception of E.septentrionalis, whose position fluctuates between studies  is uncertain, since both have not been included simultaneously in any study  had distributions surrounded by populations of other species according to literature records. On the other hand, E.calcaratus). Although roseus group have restricted distributions, maintaining the same pattern of overlap between some species that is derived from the accumulated information of the literature    marks thopugini) .roseus group is the same as that of the genus  generated with point occurrences and areas, respectively. roseus group and the Chilean portion of the distribution. However, their maps (their fig. 2) were only intended to represent the boundaries among species that can be inferred by combining all the occurrence points collected from the literature. roseus group exhibited a high degree of overlap, including several cases of the presence of more than one species in the same locality reported in the same or different publications .One of the six species of the Taxon classificationAnimaliaAnuraCycloramphidaeValdivia , b; locaE.migueli, E.contulmoensis, E.nahuelbutensis and E.altor), without clarifying the level of sympatry between them. In fact, E.roseus has been recorded in the type localities of some of these species: M.N. Contulmo , and includes the few confirmed localities from Argentina (see below). Also, this map covers completely the distribution ranges of E.migueli and E.altor, and the continental area where E.insularis has been recorded (see below). According to E.roseus in Chile would be the Calle-Calle River basin (approximately 39\u00b050'S), from where would be replaced by E.calcaratus southwards. The map of the E.roseus further south, until Cordillera Pelada  and demonstrated that effectively there are populations of E.calcaratus north of some localities of E.roseus. Taken together, these last two studies show that both species are present in Chile between 39\u00b055' and 40\u00b020'S approximately, although the degree of sympatry between them is currently unknown. Until 1996 , E.roseus was considered as the only species of the genus in Argentina  shows that this species reaches further south through the Chilean Andes, which suggests the need to reevaluate the taxonomic status of the populations located in Argentina at the same latitude.The distribution range of this species is the most difficult to define from the literature, because its distribution limits differ among sources and four species were described within its range in Chile , recently reported by E.roseus, but in this case these findings are supported by molecular evidence. Together with Naguil\u00e1n  and the Osorno coast (40\u00b049'S). Only two localities outside this area are known, Tolhuaca , on the western margin of the Andes, and Puerto Blest in Argentina 107; , on the Taxon classificationAnimaliaAnuraCycloramphidaeLa Picada ; localitEupsophusemiliopugini would be distributed both on the coast and the Andean zone, mainly in Chile, between 40\u00b011' and 45\u00b030'S, although it would be in sympatry with E.vertebralis in a small area of the Chilean Coastal Range (see above). In Argentina, it is present on the northwest and southwest coasts of Lago Puelo , but as E.roseus because they make up a well-supported monophyletic group with specimens from the type locality of that species . The two new localities where phenotypic observations were done for this review (see below) are also included here.The two undescribed species mentioned in the recent literature Fig.  are knowEupsophus species , no specimens with the iris orange like E.roseus were observed.One of the contributions of eli Fig.  were coleli Fig. . At Mehuroseus group as well-supported clades , but the topology within this group is variable among analyses, including some polytomies, and only partially congruent with previous phylogenetic studies , which was reduced to 998 when cutting ends with gaps . The four analyses  recovered the two species groups and all the currently recognized nominal species of the ies Fig. . Figure sis Fig.  is the pEupsophus with respect to its sister genus, Alsodes, is now well established based on morphological, chromosomal, bioacoustic, developmental and molecular phylogenetic evidence . These and additional examples from other populations show that variation in body coloration is widespread in the genus, but this phenomenon has rarely been recognized in the literature (E.insularis and E.migueli). These high levels of variation in diagnostic characters have deep consequences for the current taxonomy , suggesting strongly observer biases  described within of the distribution range of E.roseus, whose limits and degree of sympatry have been never precisely established. The records compiled here also show an overlap between the distribution ranges of E.roseus and E.calcaratus, which is partially supported by molecular evidence but does not coincide with the previously established limits  have \u201crestricted distributions\u201d, which implies that the genus would have a highly fragmented distribution at present. This pattern is incompatible with the information available since there are historical records of E.roseus , field identification would be reliable only within the assumed distribution ranges and, as we have demonstrated, there has not been consensus about them. Therefore, inconsistent diagnoses, field misidentifications and misleading geographic data might be intimately linked, explaining most cases of sympatry and range overlap inferred from the compilation of localities. In turn, erroneous geographic data might influence the identification of atypical specimens, particularly in the distribution limits and unexplored zones. The problem of field misidentification is expected to persist under the most recent taxonomic arrangement  and, as we pointed out above, the diagnoses of Eupsophus species are unreliable and their geographic boundaries are still poorly defined.This review summarizes six decades of taxonomy and systematic research on angement  since thEupsophus. However, except for roseus group  has important consequences for the biogeography and taxonomy of the genus. Historical records and intermediate undetermined populations show that this pattern of isolated species does not adequately reflect the distribution of the genus, but more importantly, some of these populations occupy intermediate phylogenetic positions between some narrow-range species of the roseus group, decreasing the genetic divergence among them (Eupsophus, whether molecular or not, should take into account the incongruities between the patterns of molecular, morphological, bioacoustic and chromosomal divergence and incorporate more intermediate populations to obtain a more accurate estimate of its species diversity.In this context, phylogenetic and species delimitation studies with DNA sequences have emerged as an independent and powerful way to reassess the taxonomy of ong them . The lat"}
+{"text": "Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the seven important types of microbial resistance. This meta-analysis study was conducted to identify the prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli in Iran during 2007\u20132016.Cefepime-resistant 2) between the reviewed studies. The collected data were categorized into different subgroups on the basis of the year of study and province. Data analysis was performed using the Statsdirect software.Studies published were searched in Persian databases  and international databases . The selected studies included all types of laboratory methods. Moreover, the random effects model (DerSimonian Laird method) was used to addresses the high heterogeneity , ranging from 25%  in 2009 to 61.95%  in 2016.Overall, 516 articles were selected from the searched medical databases. After reviewing and applying the inclusion criteria, irrelevant papers were excluded and the remaining 26 studies were meta-analyzed. The overall prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli in Iran has had an increasing and alarming trend during the recent years. Therefore, it is necessary to use practical strategies and interventions to control and monitor cefepime-resistant E. coli in the country.The prevalence of cefepime-resistant  E. coli is one of the most important germs. Escherichia coli is a gram negative bacteria, anaerobic, spore free, and normal flora that is the main cause of more than 80% of the acquired urinary tract infections  is one of the most important challenges facing the public health and is introduced by (WHO) as a growing major health threat. Given the increasing spread of AMR in the world, the WHO recommends controlling and monitoring AMR and the use of antibiotics , 2. Cefefections . Infectiountries . DiarrheE. coli transmission , studies performed on non-humane samples, and studies with duplicated data were also excluded.Exclusion criteria: Studies that did not estimate the prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli without especial antimicrobial susceptibility test type were included.Initially, the Persian and English databases were separately searched by two of the researchers. To select the related papers, their title, then their abstracts, and finally their full text were reviewed. At each stage, in case of controversy, consensus was achieved through consulting with the supervisor of the research team to make a final decision. The lists of references of the selected studies were also evaluated and the relevant articles were included in the study. All studies that estimated the prevalence of cefepime-resistant Data on authors\u2019 name, date of publication, time of study (year), place and type of study, sample size, gender, mean age of samples, and type of antibiotic resistance were extracted from the selected cross-sectional studies performed on human samples. The collected data was entered into Statsdirect software for final analysis.Strobe checklist was used to assess publication bias and quality of the selected studies . Strobe After evaluating the aforementioned cases, the studies were divided into three groups: studies with high, moderate, and low bias. Low-bias and high-quality studies are studies that meet all the seven items listed in Strobe checklist. Studies with moderate bias and moderate quality are studies that meet six items of Strobe checklist. Studies with high bias and low quality are studies that do not meet two or more items of Strobe checklist. The criteria used to measure bias in the selected studies include: bias in outcome evaluation, bias in exposure assessment, sample size calculation, information bias, and selection bias. All stages of the quality assessment of the articles were also conducted by two researchers independently. PRISMA checklist (2009) was used to assess the quality of systematic review and meta-analysis .E. coli calculated as P (ratio) with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. To test heterogeneity, Q test was used at an error level of less than 10%, and its quantity was calculated using I2 index. I2 is an index used for estimating the variance between studies. Considering the results of heterogeneity test, random effects model was used for data analysis at a confidence interval of 95% (2) in the study, the data was analyzed using DerSimonian Laird method. Data analysis was also performed on subgroups there were determined based on the province of residence and year of study. Beg rank correlation test was used to measure publication bias. A P-value<0.1 indicates a significant bias. A funnel plot was used to evaluate the publication bias. In addition, a significance level of \u03b1=0.05 was used in bilateral statistical tests . The level of heterogeneity in the prevalence rates was 96.5%, which is consistent with the Cochrane definition in 2008 E. coli iE. coli was 61.95%  in 2016 and 25 %  in 2009. The heterogeneity among the studies  was calculated through the quantitative evaluation via Beg test= . Considering province of study, the prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli was estimated to be 70%  in Markazi and 15.32%  in Kerman and there was a heterogeneity between the studies   .E. coli. Beg test was used for quantitative evaluation of the publication bias .A funnel graph was used to show the distribution bias in studies conducted on the prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli at a confidence interval of 95%, each study was excluded and the results were compared with and without the results obtained through the analysis of all the studies. After the exclusion of each of the studies one by one, the results of susceptibility analysis showed that none of the studies alone had a significant effect on the overall prevalence . The lowest and highest sample sizes were observed in the provinces of Mazandaran and East Azerbaijan, respectively. From among the ten studied years, the highest prevalence rate was observed in 2016, indicating an increase in the resistance to antibiotics in recent decades. The highest and lowest prevalence rates, respectively, were 61.95%  in 2016 and 25%  in 2007.Twenty six studies had been conducted to determine the prevalence of cefepime-resistant 04 cases . The oveE. coli in Iran was inconstant and varied from 15.32% to 100%    . In Maza87, 100) . The lowE. coli was studied. In all provinces of Iran, no study had been performed on the prevalence of cefepime-resistant E. coli. However, an overall estimation in the country could be obtained from the prevalence rates reported in the nine studied provinces. In all the studied years, no study was performed on cefepime-resistant E. coli. In these studies, no special and unique laboratory method was applied. Moreover, in meta-analysis studies, there is always the possibility of losing some articles taken into account.This study had some limitations, for instance no specific species of E. coli in Iran is high and has an increasing trend. This increasing trend is a challenge to be resolved. It is necessary to adopt appropriate measures and interventions.The prevalence of cefepime-resistant Ethical issues  have been completely observed by the authors."}
+{"text": "Sporothrix schenckii, a dimorphic organism that was first described more than a century ago in human and rat specimens [Sporothrix have been changing significantly, and sporotrichosis is now considered a zoonotic disease, caused not only by one fungal species, and is associated with high morbidity rates, and, in the immunocompromised host, mortality caused by this infection is usual [Sporothrix genus, but a handful of them, namely the pathogenic clade composed of S. schenckii, Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix globosa, and Sporothrix luriei, are related to sporotrichosis [Sporotrichosis is a neglected, deep-seated fungal infection traditionally associated with pecimens . Since tpecimens . Howeveris usual ,4,5. Thurichosis . This SpS. brasiliensis has only been found in Brazil, whereas S. globosa predominantly in Asia; S. schenckii, on the other hand, is distributed worldwide [S. schenckii is indeed the most prevalent species isolated from clinical specimens collected in Mexico, with the absence of S. brasiliensis and an anecdotic isolate of S. globosa [So far, orldwide . As a co globosa .Sporothix spp. [Since the first description of the disease, its diagnosis has relied on the clinical manifestations, the direct examination of biological specimens, and the culturing of the microorganism . Howeverhix spp. . The michix spp. . The culhix spp. . Moreovehix spp. . The stuhix spp. .Sporothix spp. has been traditionally related to vegetal tissues, debris, and decaying matter; this is the reason sporotrichosis is known as the rose pickers\u2019 disease or the gardener\u2019s disease [S. brasiliensis [The natural niche of  disease ,3,4. Mosiliensis . The curiliensis . One proiliensis . Here, diliensis .Sporothrix genus are poorly understood and limited information is currently available. Here, Ram\u00edrez-Soto et al. report a retrospective study aiming to establish the environmental conditions of the geographical locations where these organisms have been isolated from soil samples [Sporothrix was commonly isolated, and S. schenckii was the most frequent species retrieved from these samples with an estimated temperature ranging from 6.6 \u00b0C to 28.84 \u00b0C and a relative humidity between 37.5% and 99.06% [Sporothrix spp., Batista-Duharte et al. studied the effect of the exposure to mercury (II) chloride on the susceptibility to sporotrichosis [The specific environmental and ecological aspects of the natural habitat of the pathogenic species of the  samples . Sixteend 99.06% . To provrichosis . This harichosis . The merrichosis .Sporothrix spp., as discussed here by Garc\u00eda-Carnero et al. [Sporothrix vaccine [Sporothrix response [S. schenckii cell wall proteins and then cocultured with splenocytes. As a result, the activated dendritic cells stimulated a cytokine profile suitable for the activation of the Th1 cell population, suggesting the cell wall preparation could lead to the establishment of a protective antifungal response [The antifungal repertoire to treat sporotrichosis usually depends on the clinical form of the disease, the longevity of the infection, the presence of other chronic illnesses in the patient, and the fungal species. Terbinafine, potassium iodine, and some azoles are among the drugs with good antifungal activity against o et al. . Due to  vaccine ,21,22,23 vaccine . Here, Qresponse . Mouse bresponse . Since tSporothrix spp. or any other pathogen requires basic knowledge of the host\u2013pathogen interaction, the main determinants that assist the invader in colonizing and damaging tissues, as well as the antigenic molecules this may possess and which are therefore recognized by elements of the immune response. Here, Concei\u00e7\u00e3o-Silva and Morgado and Garc\u00eda-Carnero et al. summarize the current knowledge on the recognition of Sporothrix by the host immune system and identify the challenges that should be addressed in the near future [Without doubt, the development of rational strategies to generate protective immunization against r future ,16."}
+{"text": "Phlebotomus vector species with proven or suspected vector competence for five Leishmania pathogens occurring in Eurasia and Africa. A GIS-based spatial overlay analysis was then used to compare the distributional patterns of vectors and pathogens to help evaluate the vector species\u2013pathogen relationship currently found in the literature. Based on this single factor of vector incrimination, that is, co-occurrence of both vector and pathogen, most of the pathogens occurred with at least one of the associated vector species. In the case of L. donovani, only a not yet confirmed vector species, P. rodhaini, could explain the occurrence of the pathogen in regions of Africa. Phlebotomus alexandri and P. longiductus on the other hand, proven vector species of L. donovani, do not seem to qualify as vectors for the pathogen. Their distribution is restricted to northern latitudes and does not match the pathogen's distribution, which lies in southern latitudes. Other more locally confined mismatches were discussed for each pathogen species. The comparative geographical GIS-overlay of vector species and pathogens functions as a first indication that testing and re-evaluation of some pathogen\u2013vector relationships might be worthwhile to improve risk assessments of leishmaniasis.Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease with a broad global occurrence and an increasing number of recorded cases; however, it is still one of the world's most neglected diseases. We here provide climatic suitability maps generated by means of an ecological niche modelling approach for 32  The transmission can either be zoonotic and/or anthroponotic through the bite of an infected female phlebotomine sandfly [Phlebotomus [Leishmania species: L. major, L. tropica and L. aethiopica (being main causative parasites) as well as L. infantum and L. donovani. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), another common and more severe form of leishmaniasis, is only associated with the Leishmania species L. infantum and L. donovani [. The specific Leishmania species cause different clinical symptoms in humans [Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease with a broad global distribution and an increasing number of recorded cases worldwide ,2. Howev sandfly . In Euraebotomus . Cutaneodonovani \u201311. The n humans ,13.A successful transmission requires the presence of pathogen, vector and host species . Thus, wLeishmania life cycle is the reservoir host [Leishmania spp., among them rock hyraxes , rodents, foxes, dogs, cats and other domestic animals [Leishmania species considered here, L. donovani and L. tropica are assumed to be anthroponotic with humans as reservoir hosts, having human-to-human transmission through the vector, but there is some evidence for the possible involvement of zoonotic transmission as well [Another important component required for the completion of the oir host . General animals . Among t as well . Althoug as well ,16.Leishmania parasite species and their associated vector species (Phlebotomus spp.) as well as their interrelationship. Most of these vector species are considered to be pathogen-specific , accounting for the distributional patterns of the five  species ), which  species , which ePhlebotomus vector species and the distributions of pathogens. For the distribution of the vector species, we used an ecological niche modelling approach to establish climatic suitability maps, whereas for the distribution of pathogens we referred to pre-existing polygon data.We focused on the comparison between the geographical distributions of 2.2.1.Phlebotomus vectors and Leishmania pathogens in Eurasia and Africa were gathered from the literature. Each vector species was linked to the pathogens it is able to transmit  approach. The occurrence data for ecological niche modelling of the Phlebotomus species was mainly obtained from [Phlebotomus species used for ecological niche modelling.Occurrence point data, and no polygon data, was available for the different ned from  and suppned from \u201336). Ele2.3.axent . This resolution is in accordance with the resolution of the occurrence records. Data represent averages for 1960\u20131990. Four temperature variables and four precipitation variables, reflecting the mean, minima, maxima and variability of annual patterns, were considered. More specifically, annual mean temperature (bio01), temperature seasonality, i.e. the standard deviation of monthly temperature (bio04), maximal temperature of the warmest month (bio05), minimal temperature of the coldest month (bio06), annual precipitation (bio12), precipitation seasonality (bio15), precipitation of the wettest month (bio13) and precipitation of the driest month (bio14) were chosen as predictive variables. These variables were considered to be ecologically relevant for the sandfly species [axent deals well with intercorrelation, so there is less need to remove correlated variables [We used the maximum entropy modelling approach implemented in the software Maxent , downlo species \u201341. Someariables . Other faxent default settings were made: use of only linear, quadratic and product features (cf. [axent model.The following modifications of the Mres (cf. ), maximuLeishmania pathogens and the vectors, binary climatic suitability maps were created, using equal training sensitivity and specificity threshold [To allow for a comparison of the polygonal distribution areas of the hreshold , whose ghreshold . This thhreshold .2.4.Leishmania pathogen were displayed as hatched areas  were displayed in red and the areas with the associated ed areas . Maps fo2.5.et al. [The distributional patterns of vector species indicate different climatic requirements, which are usually presented in one-variable response curves. These curves reflect the modelled niche functions (i.e. species\u2013environment relationship) considering only one specific variable and one species. The occurrence points for the pathogens were derived from overlapping the disease occurrences provided by Pigott et al.  with theet al. ,22\u201324.L. donovani and its associated vector species, considering annual mean temperature.The one-variable response curves were exemplarily displayed for 2.6.axent [We used the maximum entropy modelling approach implemented in the software Maxent  , and the five pathogen species (Leishmania spp.) are summarized in Phlebotomus species, the present core distribution lies outside the considered study area, e.g. P. chinensis and P. wui with a core distribution in China. For other species, only poor distributional information is currently available . As a result, 16 out of 48 Phlebotomus species were not taken into account for further analyses due to the limited number of available occurrence records within the study area.We accounted for 48 mpetence \u201321,49,50Leishmania species [P. alexandri has been suggested to transmit L. donovani and L. infantum in parts of China and other countries; P. sergenti is considered a transmitter of L. tropica and L. aethiopica in parts of Ethiopia; P. duboscqi is considered vector-competent for L. major and might additionally be a competent vector for L. infantum in Gambia; P. longiductus is suspected to be vector-competent for L. infantum and for L. donovani in China. P. aculeatus is suspected to transmit L. aethiopica in Kenya according to [L. tropica according to [Most of the considered vector species are considered pathogen-specific, i.e. they are vector-competent for only one  species . However species  and the  species , a few erding to  or L. trrding to .3.2.Phlebotomus species reflect the observed occurrence distributions well . For most species, the modelled area reaches beyond the area with observed occurrences .The models of climatic suitability for all considered 32 Phlebotomus species, followed by annual mean temperature (bio01). The temperature variables generally showed higher contributions to the Maxent models than the precipitation variables, with some exceptions. In the case of P. chadii, P. langeroni, P. mongolensis, P. similis and P. transcaucasicus precipitation of the driest month (bio14) was modelled to be the first or second most important predictor variable. The permutation importance values are summarized in electronic supplementary material, table S2.Considering the average rank over all considered vector species, temperature seasonality (bio04) and minimal temperature of the coldest month (bio06) were identified as the variables best explaining the distributional patterns of 3.3.L. major, L. infantum and L. donovani overlaps greatly with areas projected to be climatically suitable for at least one of the associated vector species  and Leishmania donovani (c)). However, there are quite a few regions that have been modelled as climatically suitable for vector species without occurrence of the pathogen. Leishmania aethiopica is only known from Ethiopia and adjacent areas in Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya. Only parts of these regions are modelled to provide climatically suitable conditions for at least one of the associated vector species (d). Similarly, L. tropica matches the distributions of the associated vectors only in some areas (Eurasia and Morocco); in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, and in Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan the pathogen is assumed to occur but none of the associated vector species seem to find climatically suited habitats there (e). Species-specific vector distribution patterns and observed occurrence points provide further information .The distribution patterns of the five pathogen species are largely in accordance with those of the associated vector species . The obsL. major a and Leidonovani c). Howev species d. Similats there e. Specie3.4.L. donovani and its associated vector species. The associated vector species of L. donovani might be classified into two groups P. martini , and P. rodhaini for which vector-competence has only been assumed [P. rodhaini goes beyond the area of the other species of the southern group , whereas curves for species found in more tropical climates with monotonously increasing temperature niche curves are more similar to the optimum curve of the pathogen L. donovani  values of above 0.88 for all species, the modelling results could be used as estimators for the distributional patterns of the considered vector species. For some Phlebotomus species, the area with modelled climatic suitability goes beyond the area with observed occurrence. Reasons for this could be the following: (i) a sampling bias for some of the species in the occurrence data, i.e. the species have been recorded only in some parts of its distributional range; (ii) insufficient time or dispersal barriers like oceans or mountain ranges might have prevented species to reach all places with suitable climatic conditions (so far); (iii) disregarding one or more factors others than climate being important drivers for the distributional patterns may yield an overestimation of the potential distribution.As patterns of modelled climatic suitability reflected the observed occurrences of the 32 4.2.Leishmania pathogens are in good accordance with the areas modelled to be climatically suitable for at least one of the associated vector species. However, small areas at the edges of a pathogen distribution seemingly lack suitable habitats for the associated vectors. This is most obvious for the southern edge of L. major, L. aethiopica and L. tropica. In the case of L. major, the vector distribution (proven and suspected vectors) does not entirely cover the distribution of the pathogen. The southern edge of the L. major distribution lies in the vegetation zone covered by tropical rainforest, and may be the habitat of a currently unknown vector species for this pathogen. Another reason might be an underestimation of the climatic suitability for a vector species, which was lost due to dichotomy usage. Furthermore, P. ansarii, suspected to be vector competent for L. major, but not considered here due to the lack of occurrence records, has only been reported for Iran, so far [L. aethiopica, the currently known distribution is relatively small in comparison to the other Leishmania species. Records of L. aethiopica are currently restricted to the highlands of Ethiopia and Kenya [P. aculeatus which is assumed to be vector-competent for L. aethiopica and known to occur in Kenya [P. aculeatus has been questioned by Krayter et al. [P. aculeatus and P. pedifer. Phlebotomus pedifer, as well as P. longipes, are the two main vectors for L. aethiopica [P. pedifer, 14 for P. longipes) Thus, the distribution of these species might be underrepresented in these data, which may have led to an underestimation of the area with modelled climatically suitability for these species.In general, the distributional patterns of the , so far . In the nd Kenya . The afoin Kenya . Howeverr et al. , referrithiopica , but theL. tropica is largely covered by area modelled to be suitable for P. sergenti (except the area around Kenya). Besides P. sergenti, the two vector species with suspected vector competence, P. chabaudii and P. simici, were considered in the GIS-overlay in figure\u00a02e. The discrepancies in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, and in Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan are likely to be explained by the fact that a number of known vector species  were not considered in the modelling due to lack of occurrence data. Especially for a sandfly as a species of small body size, a potential sampling bias due to an underestimation of occurrences in certain areas is quite likely.The distribution of L. major, the observed pathogen distribution area covers parts of the Sahara desert with extreme climatic conditions, hostile for many species and requiring species to be adapted. Among the seven associated vector species of L. major, P. bergeroti was the only one with modelled climatic suitability in the central parts of the Sahara.For all species, the area modelled to be climatically suitable for the vector species reaches beyond the observed pathogen distribution area. The most plausible explanation might not generally be an erroneous vector\u2013pathogen association, but rather that the vector species is able to occur under a broader temperature range compared to the pathogen, which may require higher temperatures for its development and transmission . AnotherL. donovani and its associated vector species, which can be distinguished into two groups according to the vectors' distribution pattern: one group occurring further north in the study area  and a second group occurring further south in the study area . This separation of the associated vector species into two groups can also be found regarding the one-variable response curve with the annual mean temperature as explanatory variable. Species of the first group show optima under lower temperatures, whereas the niches of the second group, including L. donovani, show optima at warmer temperatures. The vector species of the \u2018southern\u2019 group are modelled to co-occur with L. donovani, whereas P. alexandri and P. longiductus of the \u2018northern\u2019 group do not show any overlap with the observed pathogen distribution.We had a closer look at the distributional patterns of P. argentipes, P. martini, P. orientalis and P. rodhaini is in good accordance with the observed distribution of the pathogen, i.e. the area modelled to be climatically suitable for at least one of the associated vector species covers and extends beyond the known pathogen distribution. However, distinguishing between proven and suspected vector species it becomes obvious that some parts of the observed pathogen distribution cannot be explained when only Phlebotomus species with proven vector competence  are taken into account. Phlebotomus celiae, another proven vector species for L. donovani, which has not been considered in the modelling due to the lack of occurrence data, might fill in this gap. However, P. celiae occurs in savannah and forest areas in Kenya and Ethiopia [Phlebotomus vansomerenae is also suspected to act as a vector for L. donovani in Kenya [Phlebotomus rodhaini, on the other hand, is another suspected vector and was modelled to find suitable climatic conditions in large parts of the pathogen's distribution. Based on two female individuals of P. rodhaini infected with L. donovani and caught in eastern Sudan, Elnaiem et al. [P. rodhaini being a possible vector of L. donovani for animal reservoir hosts but questioned its role in human infections. Among the considered 32 sandfly species, P. rodhaini is the only occurring vector species in some areas, and its role as an important vector seems evident. However, there may also be another disregarded vector-competent species that occurs in the region.The area modelled to be climatically suitable for the species of the second southern group with Ethiopia  and is oEthiopia . Phlebotin Kenya . Phlebotm et al.  suggeste4.3.Phlebotomus vector species and the distributions of their associated Leishmania pathogens and should lead to a better understanding of the vector\u2013pathogen relationship, which could yield a better development of vector and disease surveillance and control programmes. However, the study is faced with some challenges, e.g. dealing with two different levels of distributional data: observed occurrence records (point data) for vector distribution and expert-based distribution areas (polygon data) for pathogen distribution. In order to bring this data into line, we have carried out an ecological niche modelling approach. In ENM approaches, some aspects should be kept in mind when interpreting the modelling results, but do not reduce the overall validity of the study. Models are only as good as the data they are based on. When using occurrence records as distributional data, one is usually confronted with a sampling bias that is also reflected in the modelling results. In some regions, the modelled vector distribution may be overestimated, as the species may be absent due to dispersal limitations (due to barriers like oceans or mountains) or due to relevant ecological factors disregarded in our approach . The inclusion of vegetation indices (e.g. enhanced vegetation index (EVI)) and soil factors as predictor variables could have improved the modelling. The disregard of species' mobility in our approach could have been partly overcome by restricting the considered areas to those accessible for the respective sandfly species. But we decided in favour of a uniform approach for all species.The purpose of the study was to compare the geographical distributions of P. langeroni, P. pedifer and P. salehli), that it could reasonably be considered insufficient for the application of ENM. We decided to keep these species in our study in order for it to be as comprehensive as possible for the vector species.Besides these limitations, the model could result in an underestimation of the vector species' distribution in other regions for several reasons. These could be due to model overfitting or due to an underrepresentation of the species\u2019 distribution in the occurrence data (indicated e.g. by a low number of occurrence records or occurrence records being clustered in a certain region). For some species, the number of available occurrence records is so low . A poteet al. . In addiof India , but thiApart from the challenge that distributional data of different levels (point data versus polygon data) were compared, the available data refer to different time scales. Thus, the approach is based on the assumption that the spatial distribution patterns of the different components (vectors and pathogens) have not changed over time. This is a strong assumption, especially for species with low dispersal ability such as sandflies. Data availability remains a crucial limiting factor in correlative modelling approaches.5.Distribution areas of pathogens that do not overlap with areas modelled to be suitable for vector species might hint towards incomplete entomological fieldwork of vector reporting, e.g. in remotes areas. Thus, further monitoring the current distribution of sandfly species is of great importance and the joint actions of public health and veterinarian authorities in the sense of a \u2018One health approach\u2019 should be strengthened. Ecological niche modelling accounting for interactions among hosts, vectors and parasites offer powerful approaches for identifying regions potentially at risk for infection. Our approach can support risk assessments of leishmaniasis and thereby potentially help contain the disease. However, much more detail and consideration of other risk factors (e.g. human socioeconomic variables), are required for full development of risk maps . If data"}
+{"text": "Arnica chamissonis Less.) is a valuable plant species used in the pharmaceutical industry due to the content of many pharmacologically active substances and the similarity of its chemical composition to that of Arnica montana\u2014a medicinal plant commonly used in pharmacy and cosmetics. The similarity of the two plant species implies that chamisso arnica can be a pharmaceutical substitute for the mountain arnica, i.e., an endangered and endemic plant species in Europe. Chamisso arnica extracts exhibit anti-inflammatory and antiradical activity and possesses high antioxidant properties that might be helpful in preventing or delaying the progress of free radical dependent diseases. The attributes of A. chamissonis are mainly related to the content and chemical composition of essential oil. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of essential oil derived from A. chamissonis flower heads under a nitrogen impact. The experiment was performed on experimental fields in mid-eastern Poland on two soil types (sandy and loamy soils). The nitrogen fertilizer was applied as ammonium sulfate . Collection of flower heads was carried out in the full flowering phase, which was characterized by the highest content of essential oil. The chemical composition of essential oil was examined using GC-MS. Among the 75 ingredients of the volatile oil of chamisso arnica flower heads, alpha-pinene, cumene, p-cymene, germacrene D, spathulenol, decanal, caryophyllene oxide, beta-pinene, and benzene acetaldehyde were present at relatively high levels. Both the nitrogen application and the soil type had an effect on the oil concentration and the yield of the main constituents  with pharmacological value. Different levels of nitrogen application could be considered as a relevant way to modify the chemical composition and to increase the essential oil production.Chamisso arnica ( Melissa officinalis L. plants. Other authors reported that the nitrogen application contributed to an increase in the leaf fresh weight and the EO content in Mentha spicata L. [Mentha piperita L. [Satureja hortensis L. and Chamomilla recutita L. Rauschert [Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart. Similarly, Bufalo et al. [Ocimum basilicum L., and Nurzy\u0144ska-Wierdak [Origanum syriacum L. var. aegyptiacum Tackh and demonstrated a decrease in the biosynthesis of a-terpinene and p-cymene in contrast to thymol and carvacrol. Frequently, an increase in nitrogen doses causes an increase in the EO yield due to the higher flower yield in the absence of an influence of this nutrient on the EO concentration in tissues, as demonstrated in the case of Matricaria recutita L. [Essential oils (EO) are important secondary metabolites of plants. They have been used for centuries not only in different fields/branches of industry but also in ethnobotanical medicine . The quaicata L. , the dryerita L. , as wellauschert ,22. On tauschert  showed ao et al.  did not -Wierdak  found th-Wierdak , who dem-Wierdak  showed autita L. .Arnica chamissonis Less.) is an herbaceous perennial herb and a medicinal plant that is widely used as an herbal remedy. Its occurrence range extends from the Alaskan Archipelago south to the San Bernardino Mountains in California and from the southern Rocky Mountains to New Mexico [A. chamissonis are mainly related to the content and chemical composition of EO. Given its content of numerous pharmacologically active substances [Arnica montana, i.e., a medicinal plant rich in secondary metabolites [A. chamissonis seeds than extracts of A. montana seeds. Either alone or in combination with other active compounds, the former can be used in cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications. It should also be stressed that A. montana does not show yield stability in the conventional European agricultural conditions, as shown by field trials conducted in France, Germany, and Switzerland, in contrast to A. chamissonis [A. chamissonis a suitable species to substitute A. montana for pharmaceutical purposes [A. chamissonis raw material and introduction of this plant species to cultivation tests on different soil types can help to reduce the pressure on the endangered and highly valued medicinal A. montana [Chamisso arnica  to evaluate the influence of different nitrogen doses and soil type on the quantity, chemical composition, and yield of EO in the flower heads of A. chamissonis.While analyzing the aforementioned examples of the role of nitrogen in crop generation and modification of the chemical composition of EO in medicinal and aromatic plant species, it can be expected that the modification of the nitrogen level may result in a higher EO yield and new EO quality in the case of r demand , a new cfficient ,29; therfficient ,58,59,60A. chamissonis and the EO yield under nitrogen fertilization applied into the two different soil types are presented in \u22121 resulted in an increased crop yield of A. chamissonis flower heads from 1210 to 1941 kg ha\u22121 and from 994 to 1563 kg ha\u22121 on the loamy (L) and sandy (S) soils, respectively.The content of EO in the flower heads of \u22121 also resulted in enhanced accumulation of EOs in the A. chamissonis flower heads . A further increase in the N dose up to 120 kg ha\u22121 had no effect on the content of volatile oils in the A. chamissonis flower heads in any soil type. The N fertilization differentiated the EO yield significantly , i.e., by ca. 90% and by ca. 86%, respectively. The EO content and yield were higher in the raw material taken from plants growing on the L soil than on the S soil at each fertilization level. Moreover, the level of the essential oil yield in A. chamissonis flower heads cultivated without fertilization on the L soil was comparable with that on the S soil at the 30 kg ha\u22121 N rate.The increase in the N rate from 0 to 90 kg haficantly . An incrA. chamissonis flower heads , an over 2-fold higher yield of alpha-pinene, cumene, germacrene D, beta-pinene, and p-cymene and over 12-fold higher amounts of benzene were recorded in the case of flower heads of arnica plants growing on the L soil in comparison to the plants from S soil. In contrast, the spathulenol yield was higher in plants growing on the S soil than on the L soil. The yield of decanal and caryophyllene oxide in the control samples was similar in the raw material obtained from the two soil types. In the case of plants cultivated on both L and S soils, the increase in the N dose caused an increase in the yield of the EO components.Among the nine main components of the volatile oil from the ceeds 3% , alpha-pceeds 3% . There w\u22121 on the S soil resulted in a higher yield of alpha-pinene (from 196.82 to 542.30 g ha\u22121), cumene (from 149.37 to 252.92 g ha\u22121), germacrene D (from 74.55 to 153.68 g ha\u22121), spathulenol (from 101.23 to 129.13 g ha\u22121), decanal (from 85.27 to 112.66 g ha\u22121), caryophyllene oxide (from 77.57 to 126.84 g ha\u22121), and beta-pinene (from 30.53 to 78.23 g ha\u22121). An increase in the N dose to 60 kg ha\u22121 on this soil type resulted in an increase in the p-cymene yield from 70.83 to 183.20 g ha\u22121; however, a further increase in the N dose caused a statistically significant decrease in this EO component. In the case of benzene acetaldehyde, the yield increased with the increase in the N dose to 90 kg ha\u22121, whereas the increase in the N dose to 120 kg ha\u22121 did not cause a significant increase in the yield.The increase in the N rate from 0 to 120 kg ha\u22121 resulted in a growing yield of cumene (from 205.52 to 366.10 g ha\u22121), p-cymene , beta-pinene (from 65.96 to 122.15 g ha\u22121), and benzene acetaldehyde (from 62.49 to 147.21 g ha\u22121). In the case of alpha-pinene, the N dose 90 kg ha\u22121 caused an increase in the yield from 482.65 to 894.17 g ha\u22121, whereas the application of 120 kg N ha\u22121 did not cause a further increase in the yield. The yield of the other main components of the volatile oil of A. chamissonis growing on the L soil also increased under the N fertilization: germacrene D (from 90.74 to 161.82 g ha\u22121), spathulenol (from 73.79 to 139.90 g ha\u22121), decanal (from 81.63 to 130.85 g ha\u22121), and caryophyllene oxide (from 72.52 to 154.86 g ha\u22121). Of note, the N dose of 120 kg ha\u22121 caused a statistically significant decrease in these EO components  G. Don [A. montana populations have shown chemical diversity [Seventy-five compounds constituted from 93.91 to 99.96% of the total EO in the flower heads in thium L.  or Achilolium L. . Howeversum spp.  and Tanalgare L. . The com\u0107 et al. , Kowalsk\u0107 et al. . In our \u0107 et al. , boron f\u0107 et al. . It shou\u0107 et al. . On the i et al. , who invlefolium , A. absisinthium , Artemisgaris L. , or Heli) G. Don . Similariversity ,45,67.Centaurea spp. [Eupatorium intermedium DC. [Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. [Cupressus sempervirens L. cone EO and Pistacia vera L. [Santolina africana Jord. et Fourr. [Senecio vernalis Waldst. & Kit. grown in Turkey [As demonstrated in this paper, the nitrogen application modified the EO composition. However, very interesting is the fact that the proportion  of the main EO components from the flower heads of this species, i.e., alpha-pinene, caryophyllene oxide, and germacrene D, is similar to the chemical oil profile in such species as rea spp. , Eupatordium DC. , and Copii Desf. . Alpha-p vera L. ,82. In tt Fourr. . Alpha-pn Turkey .A. chamissonis genotype was cultivated in the same site and on the same sandy soil, and the flower heads were collected in the full flowering phase, which is characterized by the highest content of EO, but in different weather conditions. Probably, this factor, regarded as a determinant of the quantitative and qualitative EO composition [In the present study, monoterpene hydrocarbons were the most abundant group, representing from 47.01 to 53.74% in the EO obtained from plants cultivated on the L soil and from 35.71 to 48.21% in EO obtained from plants cultivated on the S soil. The second largest group comprised sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, which accounted for 10.96\u201313.87% and 11.65\u201319.15% in the EO obtained from plants cultivated on the L and S soil, respectively. Additionally, based on the comparison of the control samples from the two soil sites, it can be concluded that L soils, which are rich in macroelements and are more fertile than S soils, favor production of monoterpene hydrocarbons rather than sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. In this case, the habitat characteristics ,17 seem position , had theA. chamissonis flower heads with content exceeding 3%, there was a relatively high yield of alpha-pinene, cumene, p-cymene, germacrene D, spathulenol, decanal, caryophyllene oxide, beta-pinene, and benzene acetaldehyde. It is worth emphasizing that, already in the control sample (0 kg N ha\u22121), the yield of alpha-pinene, cumene, germacrene D, beta-pinene, and p-cymene was over 2-fold higher. The yield of benzene acetaldehyde was over 12-fold higher in the EO of flower heads in plants growing on the L soil in relation to the S soil; in contrast, the spathulenol yield was higher in plants growing on the S soil than the L soil. The yield of decanal and caryophyllene oxide in the control samples was similar in the raw material obtained from the two soil types. Both in the cases of plants cultivated on the L soil and on the S soil, the increase in the nitrogen dose caused an increase in the yield of the EO components.Among the nine main ingredients of the volatile oil of \u22121 in the S soil resulted in a higher yield of some components of EO, including alpha-pinene, cumene, germacrene D, spathulenol, decanal, caryophyllene oxide, and beta-pinene. In turn, the increase in the N dose to 60 kg ha\u22121 and 90 kg ha\u22121 in this type soil caused an increase in the p-cymene and benzene acetaldehyde yields, respectively.The present study showed that the increase in the N rate from 0 to 120 kg haA. chamissonis flower heads, as in the case of boron fertilization [The successive N fertilization caused an increase in the alpha-pinene concentration in the EO of lization . TherefoA. chamissonis EO determine the biological activity of formulations derived from this plant raw material. There are sparse data on A. chamissonis volatile oils despite the fact that the EO contributes to all medicinal properties of the plant. Alpha-pinene, germacrene D, p-cymene, and caryophyllene oxide are the main components of essential oils in Arnica spp. [A. chamissonis EO is the primary compound present in numerous medicinal plant species belonging to the Asteraceae family, e.g., Chrysanthemum coronarium L. [Eupathorium buniifolium Hook. Ex Hook & Arn. [Monticalia greenmaniana (Hieron) C. Jeffrey [Ducrosia anethifolia Boiss [A. chamissonis raw material and the high yield of this compound, especially under the nitrogen fertilization, make this plant very interesting as a source of important secondary metabolites that can be produced in field conditions, but definitely on very fertile nutrient-rich soils with a granulometric composition of clay. Decanal is another compound exhibiting antibacterial [A. chamissonis oil. It is one of the main components found in some plant species, e.g., A. montana [The compounds present in the ica spp. ,17. Alphica spp. , anti-inica spp. , antimicica spp. ,85, antiica spp. , anticanica spp. , and antica spp.  propertiarium L. , Eupathok & Arn. , and Mon Jeffrey , or repria Boiss . Moreoveia Boiss . Alpha-pia Boiss . The higacterial , antioxiacterial  activiti montana ,17. Cary montana ,47. This montana ,49,50.A. millefolium [A. vulgaris [E. intermedium [M. greenmaniana [S. africana [Cananga odorata Hook. F. & Thomson flowers [C. odorata flowers is an important raw material for the cosmetic and perfume industry [A. chamissonis flower heads, especially under N fertilization, makes the plant species attractive for use in the cosmetic and perfume industry. Given the similarity of the chemical composition of oils characteristic for both arnica species , it can be suggested that the analyzed group of secondary metabolites should exhibit common biological properties, and both boron [A. chamissonis flower heads and essential oil-generating factors.Germacrene D is a nonoxygenated sesquiterpene present as a dominant component in the EO of plant species in the Asteraceae family, e.g., lefolium , A. vulgvulgaris , E. inteermedium , M. greenmaniana , and S. africana . It is wafricana , were alafricana , antifunafricana , antibacafricana , antioxiafricana . This bi flowers ,90 with th boron  and nitrArnica chamissonis Less. species used in the experiment was identified by Anna Rysiak, a taxonomist from the Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University in Lublin based on the reference material from the collection of medicinal plants of the Department of Industrial and Medicinal Plants of the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. In 2017, the raw material for the chemical analyses was taken from 2-year-old A. chamissonis individuals from two experimental fields at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin located in the eastern part of Poland. The first experimental field  was located on sandy (S) soil , and the other experimental field  was located on loamy (L) soil . The sandy soil was characterized by moderate content of organic matter , moderate phosphorus , low potassium , and very low magnesium levels , with very acidic reaction. In turn, the loamy soil was characterized by high content of organic matter (1.88%), very high phosphorus (258 mg kg\u22121), high potassium (39 mg kg\u22121), and moderate magnesium levels (51 mg kg\u22121), with neutral reaction.The A. chamissonis flower heads were collected in the full flowering phase. This phase is characterized by the highest content of EO in the flower heads [er heads . The floTwenty grams of powdered chamisso arnica inflorescences were submitted to water-distillation in a Deryng apparatus with 500 mL water for 3 h according to the Polish Pharmacopoeia VI . The metThe chromatographic analysis was performed according to procedures described previously ,17. The 12 and C19) according to procedures described by Kowalski and Wawrzykowski [The qualitative analysis was carried out on the basis of MS spectra, which were compared with the spectra of the NIST library  and withzykowski .p < 0.05. The statistical analyses were carried out using the Statistica 6.0 software. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied in order to explain the relationships between oil ingredients and to show variability factors. Prior to the PCA, the data on the EO content and oil yield of the main components (over 3%) were centered. The analyses were carried out using the statistical package (MVSP) program version 3.1. [The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and subsequent Tukey\u2019s tests were used. The differences were considered significant at ion 3.1. .Arnica chamissonis are mainly related to the content and chemical composition of essential oil. Among the 75 ingredients of the essential oil from A. chamissonis flower heads, alpha-pinene, cumene, p-cymene, germacrene D, spathulenol, decanal, caryophyllene oxide, beta-pinene, and benzene acetaldehyde were characterized by relatively high levels. Both the nitrogen application and the soil type, which had not been tested so far, had an effect on the concentration and yield of the main constituents, such as alpha-pinene, decanal, and germacrene D, i.e., molecules of high pharmacological value. Different levels of nitrogen application can be considered as a relevant way to modify the chemical composition and to increase the raw material and essential oil production. In further studies of factors modifying the EO chemical composition and influencing the EO concentration and yield of the main and very important EO compounds, attention should be paid to the simultaneous use of nitrogen and other microelements to achieve synergistic results. The flower head yield, EO concentration, and essential oil yield obtained in the presented study show that the climatic conditions of mid-eastern Poland are favorable for A. chamissonis and a wide range of pharmacologically active substances can be produced by this plant species in this region of Europe.The attributes of"}
+{"text": "Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, also known in Australia as Daintree ulcer or Bairnsdale ulcer. This destructive skin disease is characterized by extensive and painless necrosis of the skin and soft tissue with the formation of large ulcers, commonly on the leg or arm. To date, 33 countries with tropical, subtropical and temperate climates in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Western Pacific have reported cases of Buruli ulcer. The disease is rarely fatal, although it may lead to permanent disability and/or disfigurement if not treated appropriately or in time. It is the third most common mycobacterial infection in the world after tuberculosis and leprosy. The precise mode of transmission of M. ulcerans is yet to be elucidated. Nevertheless, it is possible that the mode of transmission varies with different geographical areas and epidemiological settings. The knowledge about the possible routes of transmission and potential animal reservoirs of M. ulcerans is poorly understood and still remains patchy. Infectious diseases arise from the interaction of agent, host and environment. The majority of emerging or remerging infectious disease in human populations is spread by animals: either wildlife, livestock or pets. Animals may act as hosts or reservoirs and subsequently spread the organism to the environment or directly to the human population. The reservoirs may or may not be the direct source of infection for the hosts; however, they play a major role in maintenance of the organism in the environment, and in the mode of transmission. This remains valid for M. ulcerans. Possums have been suggested as one of the reservoir of M. ulcerans in south-eastern Australia, where possums ingest M. ulcerans from the environment, amplify them and shed the organism through their faeces. We conducted a systematic review with selected key words on PubMed and INFORMIT databases to aggregate available published data on animal reservoirs of M. ulcerans around the world. After certain inclusion and exclusion criteria were implemented, a total of 17 studies was included in the review. A variety of animals around the world e.g., rodents, shrews, possums (ringtail and brushtail), horses, dogs, alpacas, koalas and Indian flap-shelled turtles have been recorded as being infected with M. ulcerans. The majority of studies included in this review identified animal reservoirs as predisposing to the emergence and reemergence of M. ulcerans infection. Taken together, from the selected studies in this systematic review, it is clear that exotic wildlife and native mammals play a significant role as reservoirs for M. ulcerans. Mycobacterium ulcerans in 1896. Later, in the late 1930s, two general practitioners, Drs. J. R. Searl and D. G. Alsop, working in rural Victoria, Australia, noticed a group of cases of mysterious skin ulcers around the town of Bairnsdale [M. ulcerans as the causative organism of the mysterious skin ulcer [M. ulcerans infection was identified in the Buruli County of Uganda  in the 1960s and the disease was termed \u2018Buruli ulcer\u2019 (BU) thereafter [Sir Albert Cook, a British missionary doctor appointed at the Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, first noted the skin ulcer caused by in ulcer . The firM. ulcerans are prevalent in Australia only, where several cases of BU have been described in both native wildlife and domestic mammal species such as koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) [Pseudocheirus peregrinus) [Trichosurus cunninghami) [M. ulcerans in Victoria [There have been several known outbreaks of Buruli ulcer around the world and each outbreak has its own unique characteristics in terms of epidemiology and the animals reported to be involved in transmission ,5. The Winereus) ,13, commegrinus) ,15, a moinghami) ,15, two inghami) , an alpainghami) , four doinghami)  and a cainghami) . Recent Victoria .Mycobacterium ulcerans\u2019) AND , accessed on 6 May 2018. The title and abstract of each of the articles were initially scanned to ensure that the included articles met the aim and scope of the systematic review. Articles that were deemed irrelevant to the aim of this systematic review or out of the research scope were excluded. For those articles that were not clear by the title and abstract, the full text was retrieved and further analyzed in order to determine if they met the inclusion and exclusion criteria below. The studies that reported only experimental or laboratory exposure of M. ulcerans in animals were excluded. The search strategy exclusively focused on potential animal reservoirs, not the vectors. The detection of the causative agent had to be confirmed by culture of bacteria and/or PCR. To be considered positive a sample needed to be confirmed either by culture of bacteria or positive for IS 2404 and reconfirmed by KR and IS 2606. Undoubtedly, PCR targeting IS 2404 is highly specific for detecting M. ulcerans in clinical specimen [M. ulcerans from environmental samples, confirmatory PCR targeting two additional insertion sequences, IS 2606 and the ketoreductase B domain (KR), is essential to differentiate M. ulcerans from other environmental mycobacteria that may carry IS 2404 and other non-mycolactone-producing mycobacteria [M. ulcerans. There were no language restrictions. Risk of bias was assessed by one reviewer on the basis of independent factors such as sample size, location and nature of infection. The PRISMA guidelines developed by the Centre for Review Dissemination (CRD) were used as the methodology for the systematic review . A reviespecimen . Howeverbacteria . Thus, IThe total number of discovered articles in MEDLINE database was 351. Three hundred and fourteen articles were excluded after reading the title and abstracts as they were not relevant to the research question. Full texts of thirty-seven studies were retrieved in portable document format (PDF) for further analysis. Of these remaining 37 studies, 19 were excluded as they clearly did not meet inclusion criteria . One additional duplicate article was excluded as well. The remaining 17 studies from the PubMed database were included for systematic review. There were no additional articles in INFORMIT that did not appear in the initial MEDLINE search results. The flow chart for study selection process is shown in Out of the 17 included studies, ten were conducted in Australia, two in Ghana and one was conducted in each of Ivory Coast, North America, United States, Benin and Japan. The basic characteristics of selected studies for review are shown in M. ulcerans around the world recorded to date. This is essential for understanding the epidemiology and mode of transmission of the disease, which subsequently aids in prevention, control and elimination strategies.This systematic review assessed the potential animal reservoir of M. ulcerans infection in four koalas in 1980 at Raymond Island, Australia [M. ulcerans. Diagnosis was made on pathological and bacteriological examination; the PCR-based method used for the identification of M. ulcerans from clinical and environmental samples was only implemented in 1996 [M. ulcerans in Australia have been reported in marsupial species such as koalas [M. ulcerans DNA [M. ulcerans DNA in this study, suggesting terrestrial mammals such as possums are potential reservoirs of M. ulcerans in southeast Australia. Several studies have identified possums (both ringtail and brushtail) as potential reservoirs since then [M. ulcerans in Victoria, a study conducted by Roltgen and colleagues (2013) in northern Queensland, Australia, detected M. ulcerans DNA from two bandicoot faecal samples, suggesting the possibility that bandicoots are a potential reservoir of M. ulcerans in Far North Queensland [Out of 17 studies included in this review, 10 were conducted in Australia. In Australia, the disease is more prevalent in the southeastern state of Victoria and in Far North Queensland. After the detection of ustralia , the ent in 1996 . Non-hums koalas , ringtais koalas ,15,31, hs koalas , alpacass koalas  and catsrans DNA . Only 1%M. ulcerans, but no specific DNA was detected from any of their samples [Thryonomys swinderianus (agouti) were reported positive for M. ulcerans in a study conducted by Bi Diangon\u00e9 Tian and colleagues (2014) from the Ivory Coast [M. ulcerans in Africa. However, RT-PCR targeting IS 2606 was not conducted to confirm M. ulcerans. A faecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for M. ulcerans conducted by Tobias and associates suggested no evidence of association between domestic animals and M. ulcerans in endemic and non-endemic villages in Ghana [M. ulcerans-positive DNA or cases in non-human species, suggesting that transmission dynamics may be different in Africa and Australia or, alternatively, a host animal is yet to be identified in Africa.Out of the 17 studies included in this review, four were conducted in West African countries: two in Ghana ,25, one  samples . Despitery Coast . They suin Ghana . Unlike M. ulcerans DNA or cases in non-human species in any country other than Australia. A study conducted by Heckert in 1997 at Chesapeake Bay, USA detected a new Mycobacterium species from wild striped bass [M. marinum, M. ulcerans, and M. tuberculosis. Similarly, Sakaguchi and associates reported an atypical mycobacterial infection in an Indian flap-shelled turtle (Lissemys punctata punctata), imported from India to Japan in an aquarium [rpo\u03b2 gene revealed the isolate had 89\u2013100% homology to M. ulcerans and M. marinum. Again, this study could not differentiate M. ulcerans from mycolactone-producing M. marinum (MPMM). Appleyard and Clark (2002) reported a new Mycobacterial species, namely \u2018Mycobacterium visibilis\u2019 from three cats initially suspected of having M. ulcerans infection [No study has reported ped bass . This neaquarium . A PCR anfection .M. ulcerans from clinical and environmental samples, there has been a significant increase in overall knowledge of BU. There is no record of direct human-to-human transmission of M. ulcerans, unlike tuberculosis and leprosy. Australia is the only country where non-human cases of BU have been identified, with small mammals, especially possums and, to some extent, bandicoots, being implicated as potential reservoirs of M. ulcerans. Despite there having been several outbreaks in African countries, no non-human cases have been recorded so far and there is no evidence of any animal acting as a potential reservoir for this organism. None of the studies included in this review discussed strain variation of M. ulcerans in different geographical regions leading to an increase or decrease in susceptibility among animal or human population. Compared to other mycobacteria, such as M. tuberculosis, there is very little genetic diversity among isolates of M. ulcerans. Some variation among the strains of M. ulcerans from Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Western Pacific has been recorded; however, the linkage between these various strains and virulence in human or animal population has not been recognized so far. Remarkable differences in the type of mycolactone produced by M. ulcerans in different geographical location has been recorded. African strains produce more mycolactone variant A and B, whereas strains from Australia produce more mycolactone variant C. However, this variation has nothing to do with host susceptibility to M. ulcerans; rather, it determines cytopathogenecity and thus clinical presentation of disease.Human cases of BU have been reported in more than 30 countries from Africa, America, Asia and Oceania. Since the implementation of PCR-based methods for the detection and identification of This systematic review suggests the need for extensive laboratory and field research focusing on domestic animals and wildlife to elucidate their roles in BU-endemic countries."}
+{"text": "Pyrus hopeiensis is a valuable wild resource of Pyrus in the Rosaceae. Due to its limited distribution and population decline, it has been listed as one of the \u201cwild plants with a tiny population\u201d in China. To date, few studies have been conducted on P. hopeiensis. This paper offers a systematic review of P. hopeiensis, providing a basis for the conservation and restoration of P. hopeiensis resources. In this study, the chloroplast genomes of two different genotypes of P. hopeiensis, P. ussuriensis Maxin. cv. Jingbaili, P. communis L. cv. Early Red Comice, and P. betulifolia were sequenced, compared and analyzed. The two P. hopeiensis genotypes showed a typical tetrad chloroplast genome, including a pair of inverted repeats encoding the same but opposite direction sequences, a large single copy (LSC) region, and a small single copy (SSC) region. The length of the chloroplast genome of P. hopeiensis HB-1 was 159,935 bp, 46 bp longer than that of the chloroplast genome of P. hopeiensis HB-2. The lengths of the SSC and IR regions of the two Pyrus genotypes were identical, with the only difference present in the LSC region. The GC content was only 0.02% higher in P. hopeiensis HB-1. The structure and size of the chloroplast genome, the gene species, gene number, and GC content of P. hopeiensis were similar to those of the other three Pyrus species. The IR boundary of the two genotypes of P. hopeiensis showed a similar degree of expansion. To determine the evolutionary history of P. hopeiensis within the genus Pyrus and the Rosaceae, 57 common protein-coding genes from 36 Rosaceae species were analyzed. The phylogenetic tree showed a close relationship between the genera Pyrus and Malus, and the relationship between P. hopeiensis HB-1 and P. hopeiensis HB-2 was the closest. Pyrus belongs to the Pyrus ssp. of the Maloideae subfamily (Rosaceae), which mainly includes temperate fruit trees. There are more than 30 species in this genus, and 13 species are present in China P. hopeieingzhong  revealedPyrus. The pollen morphology of P. sinkiangensis is similar to that of the Western pear, indicating a close relationship [P. calleryana has many primitive characteristics, and it is a primitive species of Pyrus in China. The pollen morphology of P. bretschneideri, also present in China, has the characteristics of both P. pyrifalia and P. ussuriensis, and may be a natural hybrid of P. pyrifalia and P. ussuriensis. Cytological markers enabled the analysis of the number, banding, karyotype, and meiosis behavior of the chromosomes. P. phaeocarpa has a similar karyotype to that of P. betulifolia, and those of P. sinkiangensis, P. hopeiensis, and P. serrulata were also similar [P. bretschneideri and P. pyrifolia were closely related. However, these methods have few characteristic sites, poor polymorphism, and low accuracy, and provide a limited amount of information. To date, the relationships among Pyrus species, their origin, evolution of cultivation systems, and the origin of some suspicious species and hybrids remain unclear.Pollen morphological identification, cytological markers, isozymes, and other methods have also been studied with a view to classifying tionship . The pol similar ,33. In 1 similar  proved, Pyrus. However, there remain some deficiencies in the study of the interspecific relationships and origins of hybrids. Results based on random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) showed that the origin of P. sinkiangensis involved the crossing of many Eastern and Western pear species and that the genetic relationship between P. bretschneideri and P. pyrifolia is very close [P. hopeiensis, P. betulifolia and P. phaeocarpa were closely related to each other. In the same way, P. phaeocarpa is considered to be a hybrid of P. betulifolia and P. ussuriensis, whereas P. hopeiensis is a hybrid of P. phaeocarpa and P. ussuriensis. In a study using RAPD, P. hopeiensis and P. phaeocarpa shared some spectral bands with P. betulifolia and P. ussuriensis [P. ussuriensis and P. hopeiensis using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, which is consistent with the results in our study [In recent years, molecular markers based on DNA, such as restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have been used to investigate the genetic relationships, genetic diversity, and germplasm of ry close . RAPD, iuriensis ,37,38. Zur study .trnS-psbcc, trnL-trnF and accD-pasI) [Pyrus. Phylogenetic trees based on combinations of the sequences of trnL-trnF and accD-psaI in the chloroplast non-coding regions have further confirmed the theory of an independent evolution of the Oriental pear and the Western pear from the background of matrilineal evolution, and have shown the close relationship between P. bretschneideri and P. pyrifolia [trnL-trnF region of cpDNA showed that P. sinkiangensis is closely related to the Western pear and the Oriental pear; the relationship between P. betulifolia and P. ussuriensis is close; P. bretschneideri is a hybrid of P. ussuriensist, P. phaeocarpa, and P. pyrifolia; and that the Western pear and Oriental pear are related to each other [Pyrus. However, no comprehensive and systematic cpDNA sequence analysis of Pyrus exists in China. To further our understanding of the inter-species relationships of Pyrus and to reveal the origin of hybrids and explore the evolutionary model of Eastern and Western pears, a wider range of representative species and varieties of Eastern and Western pears must be selected, and the nuclear gene fragments inherited by their parents should be combined, especially the low copy nuclear gene introns.Because the chloroplast genome is the second-largest genome after the nuclear genome, it is maternally inherited in most angiosperms; thus it reflects the maternal evolutionary history, and this helps us to understand the maternal ancestors of suspected hybrids. The coding and non-coding regions of the chloroplast genome evolve at different rates, making them suitable for systematic research at different levels. The coding region is highly conserved and is only suitable for phylogenetic studies of families, orders, and higher taxonomic levels, whereas the non-coding regions are less constrained by function and the rapid evolutionary rate is suitable for plant phylogenetic studies at interspecific and subspecies levels. At present, the successful design of a set of universal primers for the chloroplast gene non-coding regions (such as cD-pasI)  has madeyrifolia . A studych other . The seqP. hopeiensis HB-1, P. hopeiensis HB-2, and three local Pyrus species, P. ussuriensis Maxin. cv. Jingbaili (which belongs to the P. ussuriensis family), P. communis L. cv. Early Red Comice  and P. betulifolia (most widely used in northern China as pear rootstocks) in Changli, Hebei Province and were stored before being transported to ORI-GENE Ltd., a science and technology company based in Beijing, China, for chloroplast genome sequencing.In early May 2017, fresh leaves were collected from The total DNA of fresh young leaves was extracted using a plant DNA extraction kit . Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to detect DNA integrity, and purity and concentration were ascertained. The Illumina HiSeq platform was used to sequence the total DNA. After sequencing, the raw data was initially screened to remove low quality regions affecting the data quality and subsequent analysis needed to obtain the expected clean data. The SOAPdenovo2.01  oligonuchttp://ogdraw.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/index.shtml) based on the annotated results.CpGAVAS  was usedhttps://sourceforge.net/projects/kakscalculator2) was then used to calculate Ka/Ks, which was used to analyze the selection pressure on different Pyrus species during the evolutionary process. Chloroplast genome sequences of 36 Rosaceae species were selected from NCBI and 57 common protein coding genes were used to explore the evolution of the Pyrus chloroplast genome, using Arabidopsis thaliana as the outgroup. The taxonomic status was confirmed. The annotated files of all of the genomes were downloaded from NCBI and the protein sequences of any genes shared among the chloroplast genomes of all of the species were extracted. Each gene was placed in a file in which each genome contained only one protein sequence. MUSCLE was used to make multiple sequence alignments for each file. The first and last sequences were aligned according to the genome source to obtain a growing alignment sequence: final.fa. MEGA7.0 software was then used to construct a neighbor-joining tree and the CGView Server was used to analyze the genetic variation among the chloroplast genomes of the five Pyrus species.The protein and coding sequences (CDS) of each sample were extracted from the annotated files of each sample and the pairwise protein sequences aligned using MUSCLE software. The aligned protein sequences were converted to DNA sequences using PAL2NAL. KaKs_Calculator2.0  softwareP. hopeiensis chloroplast genomes. The length of the chloroplast genome of P. hopeiensis HB-1 is 159,935 bp, which is 46 bp longer than that of P. hopeiensis HB-2. The SSC and IR regions of the two Pyrus genotypes were the same length, with the only difference present in the LSC region. A total of 118 genes were identified in P. hopeiensis HB-1, and it only lacked the MATK protein-coding gene that was associated with biosynthesis in P. hopeiensis HB-2. The GC content of P. hopeiensis HB-1 was only 0.02% higher than that of P. hopeiensis HB-2. A total of 11 genes in the chloroplast genome of P. hopeiensis HB-1 contained introns, and an additional trnI-TAT gene not present in P. hopeiensis HB-2. ycf3 is the only gene that contained two introns. The chloroplast genome structure and size, gene species, gene number, and GC content of P. hopeiensis were similar to those of the other three Pyrus species investigated. Almost all of the protein coding sequences and amino acid codons showed an obvious codon preference. Selection pressure analysis revealed that the chloroplast genomes of different pears were affected by different environmental pressures during the evolutionary process, which may account for the differences in gene numbers among the five Pyrus species. Phylogenetic analysis strongly supports the status of Pyrus in the Rosaceae. This study adds to our knowledge of the molecular evolution of Pyrus, and will be of use for the genetic breeding and chloroplast engineering of Pyrus.In this study, we reported the de novo sequencing results of"}
+{"text": "The authors apologise for the following error:A. sylvaticus used in the study was \u201cderived from wild-caught animals collected from a woodland in the Wirral, UK around 5 years ago\u201d.It was mistakenly stated that the colony of et al., 2010), and then a subset of the wood mice was brought to the University of Edinburgh from Liverpool around 6 years ago.Rather, the outbred colony was originally established by J. Clarke in 1995 at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, and was maintained with occasional introductions of wild wood mice. The wood mouse colony moved to the University of Liverpool, Faculty of Veterinary Science around 10 years ago  Pathogenesis of a Model Gammaherpesvirus in a natural host. Journal of Virology84(8), 3949\u20133961.In addition, an update is available for a reference that was in preparation at the time of publication :Clerc M, Babayan SA, Fenton A and Pedersen AB (2019) Age affects antibody levels and anthelmintic treatment efficacy in a wild rodent. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife8, 240\u2013247. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2019.03.004"}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-018-32694-7, published online 26 September 2018Correction to: In the original HTML version of this Article, H. M. Ogmundsdottir was incorrectly listed as one of the corresponding authors. The correct corresponding authors for this Article are M. H. Ogmundsdottir and E. Steingrimsson. Correspondence and request for materials should be addressed to mho@hi.is or eirikurs@hi.is. This error has now been corrected in the HTML version of the Article; the PDF version was correct from the time of publication."}
+{"text": "Leishmania spp. are known to cause disease in man and animals. Rats are considered important reservoir hosts and transmission takes place through the bite of female sand fly, Phlebotomus spp. To the best of our knowledge, there is no published information on Leishmania infection in rats in Grenada. This study was conducted to estimate the antibodies for visceralizing Leishmania spp. (VL) in rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Grenada.R. norvegicus) were trapped live from two parishes (St. George and St. David) in Grenada. Following anesthesia, blood was collected from the heart through thoracic puncture. The serum was collected after the centrifugation of blood. Serum was tested for antibodies to VL. with a commercially available immunochromatographic dipstick test which is licensed for use in animals and humans.A total of 146 brown rats . No significant differences were found between sexes and young or adults. The prevalence between parishes (St. George and St. David) was also not significant.The seroprevalence of antibodies against R. norvegicus) in Grenada are exposed to Leishmania spp. The rats could play an important role in the transmission of leishmaniasis to humans and other animals in Grenada.The results show that rats ( Leishmania. Leishmania spp. are insect-vectored intracellular protozoan parasites causing disease in humans and animals  in Grenada) was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC # 16009-R) of the St. George\u2019s University, Grenada.The project  with cheese and various local fruits as bait. Attempts were made to trap the rats from and near the residential buildings. Traps were placed 2 days per week in the evening and visited next day morning. Traps with rats were covered with black cloth and transported to the necropsy laboratory of the School of Veterinary Medicine and transferred to the anesthesia machine. Rats were anesthetized using isoflurane in oxygen through portable vet anesthesia machine isoflurane vaporizer VET CE., manufacturer DRE et al. [The anesthetized rats were examined for their physical health and weighed. Gender was also recorded. Rats <100 g were grouped as young and over 100 g as adult, following the methodology used by Panti-May et al. . Blood wSera were separated from the blood by centrifugation at 1500 g for 15 min at room temperature and stored at \u221280\u00b0C till tested.Leishmania spp. with a commercially available immunochromatographic (ICT) dipstick test which is licensed for use in animals and humans . The qualitative ICT is based on recombinant antigen K39, an immunodominant amastigote protein, to detect antibodies specific to VL species [Rats were tested for antibodies to visceral  species . The ICT species ,15. Rat http://www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/contingency2).The data were analyzed by the Fisher\u2019s exact test, using GraphPad statistical software (Leishmania spp. were detected in 34 of 146 brown rats (23.3%) (CI 95% from 16.70 to 30.99). The serological results according to parish, sex and age are presented in Antibodies to R. norvegicus. Di Bella et al. [R. norvegicus in Italy using indirect immunofluorescent techniques. In the same study, they found 57.55% seropositivity by IFA and 45% by molecular technique in Rattus rattus. A much lower prevalence of Leishmania spp. in 1 of 16 (6.25%) in R. norvegicus in Greece was found by Papdogiannakis et al. [et al. [R. rattus in Brazil using ELISA test. However, they found a lower prevalence with indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) (3.3%) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (7.1%). The results of previous researchers show that variation in the prevalence of Leishmania spp. in rats (R. rattus and R. norvegicus) differs with different diagnostic techniques and in different geographic regions.There are limited studies on leishmaniasis in a et al.  reporteds et al. . They us [et al.  in R. raet al. [VL can be diagnosed by cytologic or histopathologic identification of organisms, isolation of amastigotes, detection of serum antibodies, or PCR . Weese eet al.  recommenet al. ,15. The et al. ,22 usingR. norvegicus) under study. Milena et al. [R. rattus in Turkey, although rats harbored live parasites capable of infecting sand flies. Similarly, Ashford [R. norvegicus but maintained longer infectivity for sand fly vectors. In other studies [We did not observe any clinical signs of leishmaniasis in brown rats . In our study, we did not find statistically significant differences in the age and sex of rats. Further, research involving a higher number of rat samples might answer this difference in sex and age.Caldert et al.  reportedR. norvegicus) from Grenada. The seroprevalence of VL found in the present study suggests that rats are frequently exposed to the parasite in Grenada. Although there is no report of human leishmaniasis in Grenada, the presence of moderate prevalence of antibodies against Leishmania spp. in R. norvegicus on the island could suggest rats may play a role in the transmission of VL to humans. Rats live in close proximity to humans, and they could play a role in the epidemiology of the parasite in Grenada and the Caribbean nations. Therefore, regular active surveillance for Leishmania spp. in rats and phlebotomine sand flies in Grenada is warranted. The results show that rats (R. norvegicus) in Grenada are exposed to Leishmania spp. The rats could play an important role in the transmission of leishmaniasis to humans and other animals in Grenada.This is the first report of antibodies to VL in brown rats (RNS planning and overseeing of the research project and manuscript writing; KT helped in trapping the rats, anesthesia, and collection of blood; and ARD and NC performing ICT, interpretation of data, and review of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Spartina alterniflora invasion on macrobenthos have long been of concern; however, there is currently no unified conclusion regarding these effects. Most studies on crabs focus on one species or limited habitat types, and assessments of the community-level effects of S. alterniflora invasion considering multiple species and habitat types have rarely been conducted. In this study, we sampled crabs along a habitat gradient from the shoreline to inland areas on the Yellow Sea coast, including the mudflat, S. alterniflora marsh, Suaeda salsa marsh and Phragmites australis marsh. A total of 10 crab species were found among all habitats, with five species in the mudflat, six species in S. alterniflora marsh, seven species in S. salsa marsh and four species in P. australis marsh. The Shannon index values for the crab communities were similar between S. alterniflora marsh and S. salsa marsh, and these values were significantly higher than those for the mudflat and P. australis marsh. However, the total biomass of crabs was highest in the mudflat, and Metaplax longipes, Philyra pisum and Macrophthalmus dilatatus exclusively preferred the mudflat. The analysis of principal components and similarities showed that the crab community structure in S. alterniflora marsh was most similar to that in S. salsa marsh, while the crab community structure in the mudflat was most different from that in the other habitat types. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of crabs varies across a habitat gradient after S. alterniflora invasion and that the crab community in S. alterniflora marsh is slightly different from that associated with the local vegetation but shows a large difference from that in the mudflat. This study indicates that some crab species may have adapted to habitat containing alien S. alterniflora, while other crab species reject this new marsh type. The effects of the distribution of crabs after S. alterniflora invasion on the regional ecosystem need further study in the future.The effects of  Spartina alterniflora (Poaceae), which is native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, is one of the most notable plant invaders, with strong fecundity and ecological adaptability  to identify the differences in crab community structure in different habitats after S. alterniflora invasion and (2) to identify the temporal and spatial trends shown by crabs according to habitat type. This study may provide more detailed information for future research on the effect of S. alterniflora invasion on macrobenthos.In this study, we selected one area of Field work was conducted in the core area of Yancheng National Nature Reserve  in Jiangsu Province, China, from April to September in 2017. The reserve is a typical intertidal wetland located along the Yellow Sea coast in eastern China (two to four m above sea level); it has high biodiversity and serves as an important stopover for a variety of migratory shorebirds . The ann2 quadrats (1 \u00d7 1 m) in each of three habitat types , and the distance between each quadrat was not less than 20 m. Within each quadrat, the number of culms was recorded, and 10 culms were randomly selected to measure the height using measuring tape. The number of culms per unit area represented the plant density.A satellite image of the study site was first obtained from Google Earth Pro , followed by a landscape-scale analysis of the vegetation types . Then, sS. alterniflora, S. salsa, P. australis). In our study area, the mean high tide level was approximately 4.68 m, and the mean low tide level was approximately 1.09 m. The sampled mudflat was approximately 1.5\u20132 m above sea level and bare at low tide; the other three sampled habitats were approximately three to four m above sea level and flooded at high tide. From April to September 2017, pitfall traps were used to catch crabs once a month according to methods described in other recent studies  was performed to reduce the dimensions of the crab data to graphically analyze the patterns of the crab community structure according to habitat type. Each community was plotted as a point in space created by the first two PCA axes. Then, we tested for differences among habitats using one-way analysis of similarities (ANOSIM)  and usedP. australis marsh had the greatest plant height , and S. alterniflora marsh had the greatest population density . The plant height and density in S. salsa marsh were significantly lower than those in the other two habitats.In the different habitat types, there were significant differences in the plant height and stem density . P. austS. alterniflora marsh, seven species in S. salsa marsh and four species in P. australis marsh. Most species belonged to the phytophagous group, while the carnivorous group was represented by one species, and the omnivorous group contained two species . However, the Shannon diversity index value was lowest for the mudflat, and S. salsa marsh had the highest biodiversity   .S. alterniflora marsh included E. sinensis, Chiromantes haematochir, Chiromantes dehaani, H. tientsinensis, Sesarma plicata and Uca arcuata , and the biomass of H. tientsinensis in S. alterniflora marsh was significantly higher than that in the mudflat but lower than that in S. salsa marsh . C. haematochir and C. dehaani were found in all habitat types except the mudflat, and the biomass of these two species in S. alterniflora marsh was not significantly different from that in the other habitat types . S. plicata and U. arcuata were only found in S. alterniflora marsh and S. salsa marsh, the biomass of S. plicata in S. alterniflora marsh was lower than that in S. salsa marsh , while the biomass of U. arcuata in S. alterniflora marsh was greater than that in S. salsa marsh  (The crabs in  arcuata . With th< 0.001) .S. salsa marsh were the most widely scattered and covered the largest area across the coordinate axis, while the points representing those in the mudflat were the most concentrated and covered the least area on the coordinate axis. The area containing the points representing S. alterniflora marsh had the largest overlap with that of S. salsa marsh but had the lowest overlap with that of the mudflat  . The difference between S. alterniflora marsh and S. salsa marsh was the smallest, but it also reached a significant level    . There w< 0.001) .S. alterniflora marsh and S. salsa marsh was the lowest (30.8%) . The species that were responsible for the high dissimilarity (79.91%) between S. alterniflora marsh and the mudflat were P. pisum, M. dilatatus and U. arcuata . The species responsible for the dissimilarity (79.91%) between S. alterniflora marsh and P. australis marsh were U. arcuata, E. sinensis and C. dehaani   . The spectively) .E. sinensis represented the most biomass in May and July, and the biomass in P. australis marsh was always significantly higher than that in the three other habitats in all months (C. haematochir represented the most biomass in July, and the biomass in S. alterniflora marsh was the highest in July and September but was lower than that in other habitats in April, May and June (C. dehaani represented the most biomass in July, and the biomass in S. alterniflora marsh was the highest among all habitats in June and July (H. tientsinensis represented the most biomass in June and July, and the biomass in S. alterniflora marsh was the highest in June, while the biomass in S. salsa marsh was the highest in July among all habitats (S. plicata represented the most biomass in July, and the biomass in S. alterniflora marsh was always significantly lower than that in S. salsa marsh in all months (U. arcuata represented the most biomass in July, and the biomass in S. alterniflora marsh was always significantly higher than that in S. salsa marsh in all months (M. longipes represented the most biomass in May and July, while P. pisum and M. dilatatus represented the most biomass in June and July (C. dilatatum was only found in S. salsa marsh and represented the most biomass in September (The multiple bar charts showed that the compositions of the crab communities in each habitat type did not change in different sampling months, but the biomass of individual species changed over time . The biol months . C. haemand June . C. dehaand July . H. tienhabitats . S. plicl months . U. arcul months . Of the and July . C. dilaeptember .S. alterniflora invasion has resulted in local biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation (S. alterniflora invasion on macrofaunal species has not been reached (S. alterniflora invasion can facilitate some taxa, such as fishes and crabs (S. alterniflora can supply palatable food for C. dehaani and S. plicata (U. arcuata is positively correlated with S. alterniflora cover (S. alterniflora marsh was lower than that in S. salsa marsh but greater than that in the mudflat and P. australis marsh. The total biomass of crabs in S. alterniflora marsh was lower than that in the mudflat but higher than that in P. australis marsh and S. salsa marsh. The Shannon diversity index value of crabs in S. alterniflora marsh was higher than that for the mudflat and P. australis marsh and lower than that for S. salsa marsh. Therefore, we think that exotic S. alterniflora can offer suitable habitat for some crab species, especially those in the phytophagous group. For example, C. haematochir, C. dehaani and U. arcuata were more abundant in S. alterniflora marsh than in the other habitat types.Although many studies have suggested that radation , a unifi reached . Recent nd crabs . Some st plicata  and thatra cover . AccordiS. alterniflora can create suitable environmental conditions that are consistent with the habitat requirements of some crab species (S. alterniflora is more competitive than native plants, especially in the mudflat and S. salsa marsh, and rapidly replaces these two habitat types (M. longipes, P. pisum and M. dilatatus only preferred the mudflat habitat (S. alterniflora accelerated sediment deposition and increased the elevation in invaded areas (S. salsa marsh (C. dilatatum was only found in S. salsa marsh (S. alterniflora marsh does not provide the preferred food of this species. The loss of suitable habitat may cause the dramatic decline of populations of these crab species. The crab community structure in S. alterniflora marsh was significantly different from that in the mudflat according to the results of the PCA, ANOSIM and SIMPER (S. alterniflora marsh hosts a considerable number of crabs, this habitat containing exotic vegetation may not perform the same ecological function as the mudflat.Despite the fact that  species , invasioat types . Accordiat types ; for exa habitat ; Fig. 4.ed areas . The Shasa marsh , and C. sa marsh ; Fig. 4,d SIMPER ; Table 3S. alterniflora invasion on the distribution of crabs may have a major impact on other related biological groups in the food web (S. alterniflora is not suitable for medium and large shorebirds (S. alterniflora marsh (S. alterniflora marsh is rich in crab resources according to our results, it seems to offer little help to migratory birds. Many plovers and dunlins prefer to forage on the mudflat (S. salsa marsh (Grus japonensis foraging on H. tientsinensis (S. alterniflora invasion may seriously damage the feeding habitat of these waterfowl and cause a decrease in some bird populations because of the inadequate food supply. In contrast, the adverse foraging environment of S. alterniflora marsh may provide crabs with a refuge from birds (Exotic plant invasions may have a cascading effect on higher trophic levels and ultimately impair overall biodiversity . The efffood web . The wetfood web . During food web . Many storebirds , and mosra marsh . Therefo mudflat , and somsa marsh , such assinensis . S. alteom birds , resultiS. alterniflora has seriously encroached on the mudflat and native vegetation. Our results reveal that the crab community in S. alterniflora marsh is slightly different from that associated with the local vegetation but shows a large difference from that in the mudflat. This study indicates that S. alterniflora marsh can offer suitable habitat for some crab species, while some habitat-specific crab species reject this new habitat. The effects of the distribution of crabs after S. alterniflora invasion on the regional ecosystem will need further study in the future.This study examined the distribution of crab communities along a habitat gradient from the shoreline to inland areas on the Yellow Sea coast in China, where the invasion of 10.7717/peerj.6775/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Panax species, including Panax japonicas (T. Nees) C. A. Meyer and Panax japonicas var. major (Burkill) C. Y. Wu & K. M. Feng distributed in low- and middle-latitude, Panax zingiberensis C. Y. Wu & K. M. Feng and Panax stipuleanatus C. T. Tsai & K. M. Feng in low-latitude regions of China based on seven bioclimatic variables and 600 occurrence points. Results indicate that areas of P. japonicus and P. japonicusvar. major are 266.29 \u00d7 105 and 77.5 \u00d7 105 km2, respectively, which are mainly distributed in China and America. By contrast, the areas of P. zingiberensis and P. stipuleanatus are 5.09 \u00d7 105 and 2.05 \u00d7 105 km2, respectively, which are mainly distributed in Brazil and China. P. japonicus has the widest distribution among the four species. The data also indicate that the mean temperature of coldest quarter is the most critical factor. This scientific prediction can be used as reference for resource conservation of endangered plants and as a guide to search for endangered species in previously unknown areas.Global biodiversity is strongly influenced by the decrease in endangered biological species. Predicting the distribution of endangered medicinal plants is necessary for resource conservation. A spatial distribution model\u2014geographic information system for global medicinal plants (GMPGIS)\u2014is used to predict the global potential suitable distribution of four endangered  Panax  species are the important medicinal resources in the world. Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolium are distributed at high-latitude regions. By contrast, some endangered Panax species such as P. japonicus and P. japonicus var. major found in middle- and low-latitude regions, have been recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. P. japonicus is known as \u201cthe king of herbs\u201d in Chinese folk, and has been included in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia as a traditional Japanese medicine. P. zingiberensis and P. stipuleanatus distributed in low-latitude regions are also used widely as traditional ethnic medicines. Panax species are popular due to their potential medicinal properties  by computing the following:Step 1: Linear normalization is performed on the original data. Suppose that (2)Di to represent that cluster. Conceptually, the critical of a cluster is its marginal value di. The range can be defined in various ways, such as by the polyhedron assigned to the cluster. The difference between an object p \u220a Di and di, the representative of the cluster, is measured by dist , where dist  is the Euclidean distance between two points, x and y. The quality of cluster Di can be measured by the within-cluster variation, which is the sum of the squared error between all points in Di and the range di, defined as follows:E is the sum of the squared error for all points in the data set, p is the point in space representing a given object, and di is the range of cluster Di . Anewmin is the minimum value after standardizing the layer; Anewmax is the maximum value after standardizing the layer.In our study, an improved k-means was adopted to evaluate the ecological suitability models. A range-based partitioning technique uses the critical size of a cluster (3)dMin, dMax], the grid was classified, and the most similar ecological area was discovered.According to the results of the distance calculation [(4)The suitable soil layer and climatic factors in the Euclidean distance layer were intersected.The GMPGIS aim to predict the distribution of medicinal plants. Firstly, to eliminate the influence of a different method, the processing of ecological factors must be standardized. Secondly, to improve the k-means, a range-based technique is adopted to evaluate the ecological suitability models and to make them more adaptable to potential distribution prediction. Thirdly, the clustering layer is reclassified, and the potential distribution of areas is discovered. Fourthly, the suitable soil layer are intersected with the climatic factors in a Euclidean distance layer. The main steps of the model by ArcGis 10.2 are as follows:The data of sampling points and environment variables were imported into the MaxEnt software. Parameter settings were as follows: the training set is 75% of the sampling point data, the test set is the remaining 25% used to examine the predictive ability of the model, and the jackknife was used to test the weight. The threshold-independent receiver operating characteristic and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values were calculated by MaxEnt. The results were analyzed by ArcGIS 10.2, and the maps of ecologically suitable regions for endangered plants were obtained based on the main ecological factors.Panax species. Hidden information can be revealed by the suitability analysis of producing areas from the geographic information system for Chinese traditional medicines. This study greatly improves the management level and application value of the resource information for traditional Chinese medicines, and provides a reference for resource conservation, introduction, and cultivation of endangered Panax species. This study is just for protection of the species, and the scientific research, it is not open to other harmful behavior.The growth of endangered medicinal plants requires appropriate ecological conditions. Their quality are closely related to ecological factors such as climate and soil. The suitability distribution analysis of medicinal plants has been based on the traditional experience, single ecological factor, and single origin studies. Therefore, traditional analysis shows low efficiency and poor accuracy. GMPGIS can combine the attributed and graphic data with powerful spatial data management, analysis and mapping ability. The prediction of potential suitable distributions is conducive to the conservation of biological diversity. The results of the present analysis include output maps, charts, and other forms, which reduce the statistical and mapping work, and achieve the visualization of regionalization for these"}
+{"text": "Phil-Ok Koh was not included as an author in the published article. The corrected Author Contributions Statement appears below. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.FA and GL managed the experimental work. FA and GL performed surgery, western blot, morphological experiments; performed data analysis. AZ, P-OK, MA, LA, FL, TL, XY, YJ and SL supported the study, designed study, and wrote the manuscript. YJ and SL are the corresponding authors, reviewed and approved the manuscript and held all the responsibilities related to this manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript."}
+{"text": "Glossina spp.) using stationary targets might fail because smaller, less mobile individuals are unlikely to be killed by the targets. If true, tsetse caught in stationary traps should be larger than those from mobile baits, which require less mobility on the part of the flies.It has been suggested that attempts to eradicate populations of tsetse  and ~10% for females ; for G. pallidipes the figures were ~50% for males  and ~75% for females . As expected, flies of the smaller species  were less likely to be captured using stationary, rather than mobile sampling devices. For flies of a given sex and species the situation was more complex. Multivariable analysis showed that, for females of both species, wing lengths changed with ovarian age and the month, year and method of capture. For G. pallidipes, there were statistically significant interactions between ovarian age and capture month, year and method. For G. m. morsitans, there was only a significant interaction between ovarian age and capture month. The effect of capture method was, however, small in absolute terms: for G. pallidipes and G. m. morsitans flies caught on the mobile vehicle had wings only 0.24 and 0.48% shorter, respectively, than flies caught in stationary traps. In summary, wing length in field samples of tsetse varies with ovarian age, capture month and year and, weakly, with capture method. Suggestions that a target-based operation against G. f. fuscipes in Kenya caused a shift towards a smaller, less mobile population of tsetse, unavailable to the targets, failed to account for factors other than capture method.Sampling tsetse in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe, we found that the number of tsetse caught from stationary traps, as a percent of total numbers from traps plus a mobile vehicle, was ~5% for male G. f. fuscipes populations in Kenya.The results are consistent with the successful use of targets to eradicate populations of tsetse in Zimbabwe. Until further, more nuanced, studies are conducted, it is premature to conclude that targets alone could not, similarly, be used to eradicate The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3274-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Glossina spp.) is important in determining the epidemiology of the potentially fatal diseases caused by the blood parasites (Trypanosoma spp.) which male and female tsetse can transmit when feeding on humans and livestock ),G. f. fuscipes, which does not use odour in host location in the manner of G. m. morsitans and, particularly, G. pallidipes. The proportion of the population trapped per target is thus much smaller for G. f. fuscipes. The target density required to achieve a desired rate of population reduction is thus much higher for G. f. fuscipes than for the Zimbabwe species. This implies that G. f. fuscipes need not travel so far as G. pallidipes in order to find a target, so reducing any selection against large and relatively mobile individuals. Various considerations suggest, anyway, that more data need to be produced before one could unequivocally attribute the size changes recorded in the recent study on G. f. fuscipes in Kenya to the use of targets in the control campaign [The situation might be different for campaign . First, campaign . If thatEven if the results are accepted at face value, it appears that the 19-months of suppression due to targets deployed on Big Chamaunga Island reduced the mean size of female tsetse on the island by only about 1% . This verelative sizes of tsetse caught using mobile and stationary baits. Results from our study suggest that such effects are unlikely. Thus, as with most field situations in most environments, there are major, annual, cyclical changes in the weather at Rekomitjie, and these are associated with changes in vegetation and in animal abundance and distribution. During the course of the study there were also major differences between years in the temperatures measured at the station. As indicated by our results . Figure S3. Artificial refuge - photograph and plan. Text S2. Tsetse life-cycle. Text S3. Ovarian dissection: estimation of fly age. Figure S4. Diagrammatic representation of the relative sizes of oocytes of female tsetse (Glossina spp) during successive ovulation cycles. Text S4 Climate profiles at Rekomitjie Research Station. Figure S5. Average monthly maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall for the period 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1993 at Rekomitjie Research Station. Table S1. Multivariable analysis of the effects of ovarian age, month, year and method of capture, and interactions between age and the three other variables, on the mean wing length of female tsetse captured in the field at Rekomitjie Research Station, 1989\u20131993. (DOCX 961 kb)"}
+{"text": "Fracture of the talar body is rare, it reaches articular congruence and determines the ankle's functional prognosis. The authors report a case of a combination of a sagittal talar body fracture with fracture of the medial malleolus in a 52-year-old following a road traffic accident. The association talus body fracture with a medial malleolus fracture is exceptional. Stable internal fixation can yield good functional results. The incidence of talar fractures is lower (0.3%) and talar body fractures are the most frequent  . A combiMKL, 52 year-old man, official, without medical history, was the victim of a traffic accident (motor vehicle accident) driving home blunt trauma of the right ankle with pain and overall functional impairment. The mechanism associated dorsiflexion, inversion and axial compression. Clinical examination revealed a large inflammatory ankle. The medial malleolus was very painful on palpation. There was no open wound, or neurovascular disorders. Radiographic and CT scan showed an ankle fracture oblique to the medial malleolus and a sagittal talar body fracture . A firstet al. [Fractures of the talus are rare , they are often associated with fractures of the neck of the foot, including a broken ankle in 26 % of cases -5. The cet al.  and B acet al. . Vasculaet al. . The preet al. , 6, 13. et al. , 15. It et al. , 16. Poset al. . Surgicaet al. , 15, 18 et al. . The choet al. . The ostet al. , is replFracture of the talus body is rare. The association with a medial malleolus fracture is exceptional, but providential infact it protects vasculature fragments detached and offers for one day an anatomic reconstruction of the talus. A support with rapid restoration of articular congruence and stable internal fixation can yield a good functional outcome.The authors declare no competing interests."}
+{"text": "Addendum to:npj Precision Oncology; 10.1038/s41698-017-0008-z; Published online 03 April 2017.npj Precision Oncology is publishing an Editorial Expression of Concern on the manuscript \u2018Birinapant sensitizes platinum-resistant carcinomas with high levels of cIAP to carboplatin therapy\u2019 from La et al., because of a letter requesting retraction communicated to our journal by S. Memarzadeh, a corresponding author of this manuscript. Concerns have been raised regarding the identity of the cell lines used for the experimental work in Fig. 1d, and the reporting of the survival of cells presented in Fig. 2a. We understand that this is subject to an ongoing review, and we will continue to monitor the situation and update this statement accordingly. The authors have been informed of this statement. V. La, R. Fujikawa, M. Nunez, L. Bainvoll, L. Hwang, K. Faull and S. Memarzadeh agree with this editorial expression of concern. We were unable to obtain a response from D. M. Janzen and G. Lawson."}
+{"text": "Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is a devastating invasive pest of ash trees. This wood-boring insect is native to Asia and established in European Russia about 20 years ago. It severely damages Fraxinus pennsylvanica plantations and quickly spreads. In 2019 we first detected A. planipennis in Ukraine. More than 20 larvae were collected from under the bark of F. pennsylvanica trees on 5 September 2019 in the Markivka District of the Luhansk Region. The coordinates of the localities of collection were 49.614991 N, 39.559743 E; 49.614160 N, 39.572402 E; and 49.597043 N, 39.561811 E. The photos of the damaged trees with larval galleries, exit holes and larvae are presented. It indicates that A. planipennis is established in the east of Ukraine. This fact is important for development of quarantine protocols to prevent or at least slow the further spread of this invasive pest in Europe. Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), is native to China, Russian Far East, Japan and Korea [F. pennsylvanica in an ever-expanding outward range [A. planipennis should be carefully monitored, because it poses a serious threat to F. pennsylvanica plantations in Europe [A. planipennis was recorded only in European Russia. In 2018, it was recorded in the very south of the Voronezh Region of Russia, i.e. near the border of the Luhansk Region of Ukraine [A. planipennis into another country is crucial for plant quarantine protocols. Thus, we decided to look for the pest in the Luhansk Region of Ukraine.The emerald ash borer (EAB), nd Korea . Since ind Korea . Similarrd range ,4. The sn Europe . Before  Ukraine . InformaA. planipennis locality in Russia [F. excelsior and F. pennsylvanica) were examined for the characteristic D-shaped exit holes. Three trees of F. pennsylvanica damaged by A. planipennis were detected. These trees were situated at the edge of the forest belts and had a diameter of 7\u201310 cm. Characteristic D-shaped exit holes were situated at a height of 50\u2013200 cm. The infested trees had dying of upper branches, reduced foliage density  and fewer seeds. This information was included to the paper posted as a preprint to bioRxiv on 2 July 2019 [Between 20 and 22 June 2019 ash trees in the Starokozhiv Forest and the field shelter belt in its vicinity (the Markivka District of the Luhansk Region of Ukraine) were examined by A.N. Drogvalenko. This locality was chosen for the survey because it is just about 25 km from the nearest known n Russia . The steA. planipennis. And since we had no specimens or photos for confirmation, our record of A. planipennis in Ukraine was considered unreliable [Immediately following the appearance of this preprint on the Internet, the National Plant Protection Organization of Ukraine conducted an official survey in the same area and did not detect reliable . A descrA. planipennis, and to collect larvae from under the bark. Larvae were identified by an illustrated guide to distinguish emerald ash borer (A. planipennis) from its congeners in Europe [Between 4 and 6 September 2019 A.N. Drogvalenko visited the Markivka District of the Luhansk Region of Ukraine again and repeated the survey of the ash trees. His aim was to take photos of the exit holes, larval galleries and larvae of F. pennsylvanica trees, heavily infested with A. planipennis, were found in this region (The same three infested trees and more than 40 other s region . More thF. excelsior were detected in spite of this ash species being common in this forest.No infestations of Since the examined trees are heavily infested and some larvae are of the last instar, it is obvious that the infestation is at least two years old. The finding of EAB in Ukraine is not surprising. By 2019 EAB has spread to 14 regions of European Russia: Bryansk, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Moscow, Orel, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Tver, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh and Yaroslavl . The disA. planipennis is established in Ukraine. It should be taken into account in plant quarantine protocols of European countries.There is no doubt that"}
+{"text": "These articles have been retracted: On April 10, 2018, based on concerns regarding image duplication across different articles, Oncotarget requested that The Ethics Committee of the Division of Life Sciences of Academia Sinica initiate an investigation into two Oncotarget papers by Ho, et al (https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.2804 and https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.10427). After a series of Committee meetings, preliminary investigative reports, and multiple correspondence emails between the Committee and corresponding authors, the Committee made the following conclusions:https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.10427, and two pairs of panels   in Fig. 6A in https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.2804 appear to be duplicated use of images from the same mice. The Committee finds that these results are falsified and may be misleading.1. Four pairs of panels , ,  and  in Fig. 7A, in 2. The corresponding authors of these papers, Drs. Chi-Ming Liang and Shu-Mei Liang, and the first author Ming-Yi Ho, all agreed that Dr. Ho is responsible for the execution of the experiments and providing the data. The committee concluded that Dr. Ho is thus responsible for research misconduct. Drs. Liang CM and Liang SM are responsible for the failure of proper mentoring/supervision."}
+{"text": "AbstractAliaporcellanaspongicolasp. n. from the Philippines and Indonesia is described. The new species has been frequently photographed by divers because of its striking coloration, but has not been described yet. Aliaporcellanaspongicolasp. n. is in fact a widespread commensal of barrel sponges of the genus Xestospongia and other sponges. Morphological characters and ecological information of all described species of Aliaporcellana, and of other porcellanids associated with sponges and soft corals, suggest that all members of the genus are commensals, and that similar morphological adaptations to dwelling on these hosts have evolved independently in different evolutionary lines within Porcellanidae. Aliaporcellana was established by Porcellana Lamarck and to one of three natural groups within Polyonyx Stimpson, designated by P.denticulatus Paul\u2019son 1875, group. A diagnostic character considered by Aliaporcellana is the dactylus of all walking legs bearing two or more distinctively well-developed fixed spines. Aliaporcellana contained nine species until Polyonyxdenticulatus group, which now includes the type A.suluensis (Dana 1852), A.pygmaea (de Man 1902) and A.telestophila ] and in Indonesia by C.H.J.M. Fransen . The holotype is deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Philippines (NMCR). Color photographs of the holotype and of the live crab in the field were provided by G. Paulay, and were included in the description. Measurements of carapace length and width (in mm) of type individuals follow collection information.We found the new species in material collected in the Philippines by G. Paulay  and on other types of sponges, like the \u201clarge, grey foliose sponge\u201d, on which the crabs from Sulawesi included in this study, were found. PageBreakThe porcellanid lies in the sponge\u2019s folds, where it is most protected from predators  refers to the sponge-dwelling habit of the new species.The name Aliaporcellanaspongicola sp. n. is considerably variable in the shape of carapace and the degree of spination on body and extremities. As in other porcellanid species, the spines are more defined in smaller specimens. The new species is distinguished from A.pygmaea and A.kikuchii by the lack of acute spines on the dactylus of the smaller cheliped .cheliped , and by cheliped . Aliapor Figures , 3a, whi Figures  and is aPageBreakAliaporcellanaspongicola sp. n., the genus now comprises six species.With the description of A.telestophila is the only species of the genus reported to live as commensal , instead. Up to now, ommensal . JohnsonA.suluensis collected from sponges in Saudi Arabia, and of all other Aliaporcellana species, led us to conclude that perhaps all species of the genus are commensals. We base our conclusions on the well-developed, fixed spines on the dactylus of the walking legs, a character present in all Aliaporcellana species (see Figures Pachychelesackleianus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880, Polyonyxhendersoni Southwell, 1909 and P.splendidus Sankolli, 1963; see Aliaporcellana are commensal of sponges or octocorals, and that this morphological trait has evolved independently in different evolutionary lines within Porcellanidae. Aliaporcellanaspongicola sp. n. probably lives in male-female pairs, as A.telestophila does on the octocoral Solenocaulon (Our own observations of the morphology and ecology of nocaulon .Aliaporcellana species are needed to confirm the commensal status of the genus.The association between crab and sponge may be easily overlooked because sponges are often attached to each other and to rocks, and are damaged when the rocks are lifted. More collection data of other"}
+{"text": "Please download this article again to view the correct version. To request data access, contact the CIDRZ Ethics and Compliance Committee Chair/Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Roma Chilengi, Roma.chilengi@cidrz.org), or the Secretary to the Committee/Head of Research Operations, Ms. Hope Mwanyungwi, Hope.Mwanyungwi@cidrz.org), mentioning the intended use for the data.This article was republished on 7"}
+{"text": "Synechococcus sp. and Nodularia spumigena filtrates on several aspects related to the physiology of the target species: population growth, cell morphology, and several indexes of photosynthesis rate and respiration. The target species were the following: two species of green algae  and two species of diatoms . These four species coexist in the natural environment with the employed strains of Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena employed. The tests were performed with single and repeated addition of cyanobacterial cell-free filtrate. We also tested the importance of the growth phase in the strength of the allelopathic effect. The negative effects of both cyanobacteria were the strongest with repeated exudates addition, and generally, Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena were allelopathic only in the exponential growth phase. O. submarina was not negatively affected by Synechococcus filtrates in any of the parameters studied, while C. vulgaris, B. paxillifer, and S. marinoi were affected in several ways. N. spumigena was characterized by a stronger allelopathic activity than Synechococcus sp., showing a negative effect on all target species. The highest decline in growth, as well as the most apparent cell physical damage, was observed for the diatom S. marinoi. Our findings suggest that cyanobacterial allelochemicals are associated with the cell physical damage, as well as a reduced performance in respiration and photosynthesis system in the studied microalgae which cause the inhibition of the population growth. Moreover, our study has shown that some biotic factors that increase the intensity of allelopathic effects may also alter the ratio between bloom-forming cyanobacteria and some phytoplankton species that occur in the same aquatic ecosystem.Only a few studies have documented the physiological effects of allelopathy from cyanobacteria against coexisting microalgae. We investigated the allelopathic ability of the bloom-forming cyanobacteria  Cyanobacteria are capable of producing a variety of metabolites for which toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial organisms has been demonstrated ,3,4,5,6.The mode of action of allelopathic compounds depends on the interrelationship between the different organisms, and the activity of released allelochemicals. The mechanism and exact mode of action of many of these chemical compounds are still insufficiently understood . In the Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena. Also, we studied some biotic factors that could affect the strength of allelopathy, such as specificity of donor and target organisms and growth phase of the donor species. The allelopathic ability was tested on the growth, cell morphology, photosynthetic performance, and respiration rate of a set of species of green algae (O. submarina and C. vulgaris) and diatoms (B. paxillifer and S. marinoi) that coexist with the employed strain of cyanobacteria in the natural environment.The goal of this work was to examine mechanisms of action, at the level of cell main physiological processes of allelochemicals from the bloom-forming cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. from the exponential growth phase significantly decreased the growth of green alga C. vulgaris, as well as diatoms B. paxillifer and S. marinoi, but not green alga O. submarina. N. spumigena, however, showed a negative effect on all the species tested  and 55%  for single and multiple exudates additions, respectively. On the seventh day, the growth in this microalga was, relative to the control, 72%  and 33%  for single and repeated filtrate addition, respectively. B. paxillifer growth was not so strongly inhibited as the other two species, showing a single significant effect for the repeated filtrate addition in the seventh day, being 83% relative to the control . The growth of S. marinoi was affected by Synechococcus sp. filtrate already at day 3, being, relative to the control, 57%  and 43%  with single and repeated additions of the filtrate, respectively. On the seventh day, the growth was reduced by 32%  and 44%  with single and repeated additions of the filtrate, respectively. O. submarina growth was not significantly affected by Synechococcus sp. filtrate.The growth of N. spumigena showed a greater negative impact on tested microalgae than Synechococcus sp. filtrate. On the first, third, and seventh day, the growth of S. marinoi was reduced by 70% , 65%  and 39%  with single additions of filtrate, and by 52%  and 19%  with repeated exudates additions on the third and seventh day of the experiment. In C. vulgaris, the highest decrease in growth was observed, for the single and repeated filtrate addition, after 7 days of the experiment, being 24% and 59%, respectively, relative to the control . In this same species, the single and repeated addition experiment showed a significant reduction of growth in the third day, for which the growth was, relative to the control, 33%  and 37% , respectively. The growth of B. paxillifer and O. submarina were affected already at the seventh day by N. spumigena filtrate, being, relative to the control, 87%  and 97%  for single filtrate additions and 83%  and 89%  for repeated exudates additions, respectively.Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena cultures in the stationary phase did not have a negative allelopathic effect on tested microalgae . Furthermore, the growth of S. marinoi was affected on the seventh day by N. spumigena exudates, being, relative to the control, 85%  for filtrate additions.Surprisingly, the filtrate of the C. vulgaris, B. paxillifer, and S. marinoi) also experienced abnormal morphological changes , 84%  and 64% , respectively for Synechococcus sp. and 68% , 81%  and 58% , respectively for N. spumigena. No negative effect was observed against O. submarina.The same species whose growth was the most affected by filtrates , 83% , and 44% , relative to the control. Furthermore, for the N. spumigena filtrate the significant negative effect was found for two tested diatoms: B. paxillifer and S. marinoi in the single filtrate addition experiment, for which it constituted 75%  and 45% , respectively, of the control. For this same parameter, in the repeated addition experiments, the values of pm for C. vulgaris, B. paxillifer, and S. marinoi were significantly different from the control by the seventh day, when they constituted, relative to the control, 52% , 80% , and 50% , respectively for Synechococcus sp. exudates and 51% , 75% , and 67% , respectively for N. spumigena filtrate. There was no significant effect of cyanobacterial filtrate on the pm value of O. submarina, .For single filtrate addition acquired from \u03b1 parameter, for B. paxillifer, in the single addition assay, it was 80% relative to the control . For this same species, it was not found a significant effect in the repeated addition experiment . For single filtrate addition acquired from N. spumigena, the values of pm in O. submarina, C. vulgaris, and B. paxillifer constituted, respectively, 92% , 42% , and 70% , relative to the control. There was no significant effect of repeated filtrate addition obtained from Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena on the \u03b1 parameter of the tested microalgal species .Regarding the Synechococcus sp. exudates did not cause a significant effect in the parameter Ek for any of the species tested . However, for single filtrate addition acquired from N. spumigena, the values of Ek in O. submarina and C. vulgaris constituted, respectively, 102%  and 280% , relative to the control. In the repeated exudates addition assay, the Ek values of C. vulgaris and S. marinoi were, relative to the control 49%  and 45% , respectively for Synechococcus sp. exudates and 63%  and 44% , respectively, for N. spumigena filtrate. There was no significant effect of repeated filtrate addition acquired from Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena on the Ek of the O. submarina and B. paxillifer .The single addition of Rd) the only significant negative effect of Synechococcus sp. filtrate was found for S. marinoi in the single exudate addition assay, for which it constituted 38% of the control . In the same single filtrate addition experiment, in O. submarina, the effect was significantly positive, being 17% higher than the control . Repeated addition of Synechococcus sp. exudates did not cause a significant effect in the parameter Rd for any of the species tested . Regarding the Rd parameter, for the diatoms B. paxillifer and S. marinoi, in the single addition experiment with exudates from N. spumigena, the reduction was 62%  and 55%  relative to the control. In the same experiment, in C. vulgaris, the effect was significantly positive, being 264% higher than the control . A significant effect of N. spumigena in the multiple exudates addition treatment was found only for S. marinoi, for which it constituted 217% of the control .For the dark respiration  are hypothesized to be the main reasons explaining the differences in susceptibility to allelochemicals . These dChlorella vulgaris and the diatom Skeletonema marinoi. Previous studies also reported detrimental allelopathic impact of cyanobacteria on green algae [Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena allelochemicals may differ between species within this group. The susceptibility of C. vulgaris and S. marinoi could be a consequence of its small cell size (less than 5 \u00b5m), and hence, relatively large surface to volume relationship, which enhances the efficiency of uptake of extracellular molecules [Synechococcus sp. exudates had no allelopathic impact on the abundance of Oocystis submarina. This could be due, at least in part, to the formation of colonies with thin, hyaline mucilaginous envelope. However, N. spumigena was characterized by a stronger allelopathic activity than Synechococcus sp., showing a negative effect on all tested species. This may be due to the release of higher amounts of allelochemicals or more potent compounds than those secreted by unicellular picocyanobacterium Synechococcus sp.We detected that population growth was the most negatively affected variable in the green alga en algae ,25,26,27en algae ,20,27,28en algae ,30,31. Tolecules . ConversA greater amount of allelopathic compounds present in the filtrate should have a stronger effect on target organisms ,33,34. WSynechococcus sp. and N. spumigena using non-axenic cultures. Heterotrophic bacteria may mediate allelopathic interactions between different species by altering cyanobacterial allelochemicals or releasing chemical substances on their own [We examined the allelopathic ability of heir own . Howeverheir own  revealedSynechococcus sp. and N. spumigena were more allelopathic in exponential than in the stationary growth phase. Suikkanen et al. [N. spumigena and K. brevis, respectively, from the exponential phase of growth, had a detrimental allelopathic effect, whereas the exudates from stationary phase did not show this same effect. Schmidt and Hansen [A relevant biotic factor influencing allelopathic interactions is the growth phase of the donor organism. The release of allelopathic compounds by donor organisms could depend on their growth phase . In thisn et al.  and Kuban et al.  also shod Hansen  concluded Hansen . Authorsd Hansen .Among the allelopathic effects detected in our study, there was physical damage to cell structures in three species, as observed by light and epifluorescence microscope. Other authors have described as well morphological changes or physical damage to cells caused by allelopathic activity ,41,42.Population growth and physical damage to cell structures could be end-of-chain  effects. As a consequence of allelochemicals effects at the metabolic or physiological scale , general cell processes would be negatively affected, and the ultimate consequence could be physical cell damage and growth inhibition. However, it is also possible that cell physical damage was the proximal effect of allelochemicals, and then would come improper functioning of metabolism and physiological processes. This would be the case if allelochemicals were some sort of cytolytic compounds, not rare among phytoplankton ,44.pm was shown to be the most sensitive parameter to detect allelopathic effects. The parameter Ek is a photosynthetic characteristic that is independent of algal biomass [Ek and pm values, and a minimal change in \u03b1, indicates that agents other than main pigment concentration are impacting the photosynthetic performance of light-harvesting and energy transduction in microalgae. In our work, we assumed that this factor could be cyanobacterial allelopathy. Besides, the \u03b1 parameter was also significantly reduced. The \u03b1 parameter is the maximum light utilization (assimilation of CO2) coefficient. Allelochemicals may inhibit the CO2 assimilation rate by modifying the stomata function, as suggested by Zhou and Yu [Rd parameters were observed. Respiration process can be directly disadvantaged through many modes of action. Secondary metabolites can both uncouple oxidative phosphorylation and inhibit mitochondrial electron transport.We also tested the photosynthetic and dark respiration rates, to evaluate the effects on physiological processes in more detail. The inhibition of photosynthesis via the secretion of allelopathic compounds may be another effective strategy for cyanobacteria, as demonstrated by Ma et al. . It is w biomass ,46. Moreu and Yu . Much ofu and Yu . In thisOne of the most unfinished tasks in the study of allelopathy is to identify the compounds responsible for the observed effects, where only a few works exist that have resolved this issue . CyanobaSynechococcus sp. and Nodularia spumigena employed were CCBA-124 and CCBA-15, respectively, and the target microalgae were the green algae Oocystis submarina CCBA-01 and Chlorella vulgaris CCBA-80, and the diatoms Bacillaria paxillifer CCBA-14 and Skeletonema marinoi CCBA-98. All these strains were isolated from the Baltic Sea and were maintained as unispecies cultures in the Culture Collection of Baltic Algae (CCBA).The strains of \u22122s\u22121, measured with a quantum-meter  with a cosine collector. All the target cultures employed in the experiments were kept under the same conditions at least 7 days prior to the experiments.These strains were grown in f/2 culture medium  in 25-mLSynechococcus sp. and N. spumigena cultures were gently filtered using a 0.45-\u00b5m filter . The cell abundance in the donor cultures was about 107 mL\u22121 for Synechococcus sp. and 106 mL\u22121 for N. spumigena. Prior to the experiments, the concentrations of nutrients (N-NO3 and P-PO4) in the cyanobacterial cultures were measured using DR6000 Spectrophotometer  according to Grasshoff [Allelopathic effects were tested in conformity with the methods from \u015aliwi\u0144ska-Wilczewska and Lata\u0142a  with cerrasshoff . Then, tSynechococcus sp. and N. spumigena cultures from exponential growth phase were kept in a culture room at 8 PSU, 20 \u00b0C and 190 \u03bcmol photons m\u22122s\u22121 with a 16:8 h light:dark cycle for one week, while cyanobacterial cultures from stationary growth phases were kept in the same conditions for three weeks. The cyanobacterial growth phases were determined by monitoring cell abundances. In the repeated filtrate addition experiments, the filtrate was daily renewed by replacing 2-mL of cell suspension from the experimental flasks with an equal volume of fresh filtrate  or filtered f/2 medium (for the controls). All the experimental treatments had three replicates. The initial concentration of the experimental cultures was 0.8 \u00b5g Chl a mL\u22121. In the case of cultures obtained from the stationary growth phase, the Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena were first diluted with the f/2 medium to obtain a suitable concentration of Chl a and then filtered to obtain a cell-free filtrate. This concentration was low enough to represent relevant environmental conditions and high enough to be measured properly. The experimental duration was 7 days.We performed two kind of experiments: (a) single addition (at the beginning of the experiments) of cell-free culture filtrate from the cyanobacteria; and (b) repeated addition (daily) of culture filtrate. The last experiments were aimed to simulate continuous release of allelochemicals. Treatments were executed by adding the cell-free filtrate (V = 2 mL) to 25-mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing cell suspensions of the target species (V = 20 mL). Controls consisted in the addition of filtered f/2 medium (V = 2 mL) to 25-mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing cell suspensions of the same microalgae species (V = 20 mL). Separate treatments were prepared with exudates from cyanobacterial cultures in exponential and stationary phases of growth. \u22121) and optical density (OD). In order to fit this model, cyanobacterial and microalgal cells were counted under the microscope in a B\u00fcrker counting chamber [\u22121 and OD. The linear regression models for Synechococcus sp. and N. spumigena were chosen based on the model proposed by Barreiro Felpeto et al. [Cell abundances were assessed by measuring optical density (OD) at 750 nm with a Multiskan GO spectrophotometer  and then transforming these values to cell abundances with a previously fitted linear regression model between cell abundance  and therefore, the same single cell cannot be viewed under a light microscope.Cell morphology of target species was examined in samples from the seventh day of the experiment with repeated additions of cell-free filtrate. The analysis followed the method from Barreiro Felpeto et al. . The samSynechococcus sp. and N. spumigena cell-free filtrate in exponential growth phases. Measurements of oxygen production were carried out on the seventh day of the experiment with a Clark-type oxygen electrode . Experimental data were fitted to the photosynthesis irradiance response curves (P\u2013E curves) using the equation from Jassby and Platt [pm, maximum light utilization coefficient\u2014\u03b1, light saturation index\u2014Ek, and dark respiration\u2014Rd.Oxygen production of target species were examined in the experiments with single and repeated additions of nd Platt  with sofnd Platt , the part-tests were used to determine whether the photosynthetic parameters of the target microalgae species, when treated with cyanobacterial exudates, differed from the control on the last day of the allelopathic assay. Data are showed as means \u00b1 standard deviations (SD). Levels of significance were: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. The statistical analyses were executed using Statistica\u00ae 13.1. .Repeated measures ANOVA, with time (days) as covariate, was used to test the effect of cyanobacterial filtrate on growth of the tested microalgae. A post-hoc Tukey\u2019s HSD test was used to determine significant differences between control and allelopathic assay. Differences in the abundance of the recognized morphological types of cells were analyzed with a Mann\u2013Whitney test. The"}
+{"text": "AbstractSarothrogammarusyiiruaesp. nov., is described from Xinjiang, China. The new species is characterized by the absence of eyes; having the palm of the propodus without a mid-palmar spine on gnathopods I\u2013II; a weakly concave coxal plate IV; narrow bases of pereopods V\u2013VII; a peduncle of uropod I without a basofacial spine; uropod III longer than uropods I\u2013II, a scale-like inner ramus, and a biarticulate outer ramus with distinct second article. Detailed morphological comparisons with related species are discussed. Genetic distances of the new and related species are provided as proof of species identification.A relic amphipod of the Tethys,  Sarothrogammarus-group in Pamir and a brackish genus, Rhipidogammarus Stock, 1971 along the Mediterranean coast . The genus Comatogammarus is distinguished from Sarothrogammarus in having filtrative setae on pereopod IV; while the genus Barnardiorum differs from Sarothrogammarus in having a vestigial second article on uropod III. Up to now, there are eight species recorded in Pamir: Comatogammarusferghanensis , Barnardiorumruffoi , B.shadini , Sarothrogammarusasiaticus Martynov, 1935, S.multipennatus Karaman, 1969, S.lindbergi Karaman, 1969, S.afghanus , and S.trichiatus Stock, 1971. They were all reported from Afghanistan or Tadzhikistan.Sarothrogammarid amphipods are considered relics of the Tethys fauna , 1995, can coast . This dian coast . The freSarothrogammarusyiiruae sp. nov. was found from the east margin of Pamir. In the current paper, the new species is described and illustrated. The genetic distances between the new species and known species are calculated to confirm the species delimitation.To explore the retreat route of the Tethys, an expedition was organized along the south side of the Tian Shan, China in 2014. A new species of Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS), Beijing.The specimens were collected with a fine-meshed hand net. Samples were preserved in 95% ethanol in the field and deposited in a -20 \u00b0C refrigerator for long term preservation. The body length was recorded by holding the specimen straight and measuring the distance along the dorsal side of the body from the base of the first antenna to the base of the telson. All dissected appendages were mounted on slides and were drawn using a Leica DM2500 compound microscope equipped with a drawing tube. Terminology and taxonomic descriptions follow the literature . The terCOI) and nuclear 28S rRNA were amplified to confirm identifications. Genomic DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing procedures were performed as in Partial fragments of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit .Four males, two females, and two juveniles, same data as for preceding. Two males were used for molecular analysis, but no variation was found between them. Sequences were submitted to GenBank , 8.0 mm., 7.0 mm. in genitive case.The specific name is named in honor of Ms Menghe Yiiru, lovely daughter of the collector Meng Kaibayier, for their kind support of This species was collected from a stream, rising in snow-capped mountains.Sarothrogammarus according to the scale-like inner ramus of uropod III and the narrow bases of pereopods V\u2013VII. It is not a member of the genus Comatogammarus because pereopod V lacks filtrative setae. It is not assigned to the genus Barnardiorum because the second article of the outer ramus in uropod III is distinct rather than vestigial.The new species is assigned to the genus Sarothrogammarusyiiruae sp. nov. is most similar to S.trichiatus Stock, 1971 in having urosomites I\u2013III with setae on the dorsal margin and the shape of uropods I and II. Sarothrogammarusyiiruae sp. nov. differs from S.trichiatus (character states for S.trichiatus in parentheses) in the following: the absence of eyes (the presence of eyes); gnathopod II without mid-palmar spine ; pereopod III without filtrative long setae on merus and carpus (pereopod III with filtrative setae); second article of outer ramus in uropod III distinct, longer than adjacent spines . The comparison between the species of sarothrogammarids from the Pamir region is presented in the following key.COI and 28S sequences of sarothrogammarids from Pamir (Comatogammarusferghanensis (voucher number SLOCHN266), Barnardiorumshadini (voucher number SLOCHN263), and Barnardiorum sp. . Molecular analyses showed high interspecific divergence  for crustacean species delimitation (S.yiiruae sp. nov. being a new species.We downloaded om Pamir , includie Tables , 2. The mitation . The genmitation . Therefo"}
+{"text": "In the original article Intekhab Alam was not indicated as having contributed equally to the article. The author list above has been updated to reflect this. The corrected Author Contributions Statement appears below.in vitro assay and cell-based in vivo assay. SH and KK wrote manuscript.\u201d\u201cKK, SH, MC, and HK conceived and analyzed the experimental data. J-HL, BP, IA, and JS solved the crystal structure. J-HL and SK conducted TEM. KH, J-HL, SB, and JC conducted the Additionally, the city name in affiliation 2 was incorrectly given as Daejeon. The correct city name is Gyeonggi-do.The authors apologize for these errors and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest."}
+{"text": "Rattus norvegicus) are known to transmit zoonotic pathogens and diminish rat health. To the best of our knowledge, there is no published information regarding the prevalence of ectoparasites on R. norvegicus in Grenada. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and types of ectoparasites present on brown rats from Grenada.Arthropod ectoparasites  on common house rats or brown rats , fleas (3.4%), an unidentified larval tick (0.7%), and a mite in the family Myobiidae (0.7%). Infestation rates were higher in St. David Parish  than in St. George Parish  (p=0.001). When comparing sex and age, males had a marginal increase in infestation rate  compared to females  (p=0.054), and adults had an infestation rate of 90.7% (97/107) compared to juvenile rats who had a 66.7% (14/21) infestation rate.Over 2000 ectoparasites were collected from 149 of the 168 trapped rats (88.7%). Ectoparasites identified included mesostigmatid mites (found on 84.6% of infested rats), fur mites in the families Atopomelidae and Listrophoridae (67.1%), Brown rats in Grenada are heavily infested with ectoparasites, including known vectors of pathogens. Future studies will examine the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in these arthropods. Rattus norvegicus, the common house rat, can be found across the world densely populated in temperate climates. Rodent-human encounters are on the rise with continuous demolition of rat habitats [Yersinia pestis [Borrelia burgdorferi [Bartonella henselae [habitats . With inhabitats . Common a pestis , Borreligdorferi , and Barhenselae .Y. pestis infection being the bubonic form [B. henselae are reported in the US annually, according to the CDC [There is a reported average of seven cases of the plague annually in the United States with the most common manifestation of nic form . Centersnic form . An esti the CDC . All menR. norvegicus in the Caribbean region. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of external parasites on brown rats from Grenada, West Indies.There is a paucity of published research on the prevalence of ectoparasites on The project was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC #16009-R) of St. George\u2019s University (SGU), Grenada.2. The country, with low hills, small trees, shrubs, and a tropical climate, is suitable for rats. The country is composed of six parishes: St. Andrew, St. David, St. George, St. John, St. Mark, and St. Patrick. Landscape and climatic conditions are similar in all parishes. The populous parishes of St. David and St. George were selected for this study.Grenada is a southern Caribbean island with an area of 348.5 kmOne hundred sixty-eight rats were collected live from May to July 2017 using wood and wire mesh traps (45 cm l\u00d715 cm w\u00d715 cm h) baited with cheese or fruit. Traps were placed within 10 m of residential buildings twice weekly in the evening and collected the next morning. Species identification of the captured rats was achieved by evaluating their morphological characteristics. Attributes used to identify the brown rat include coat color, ear stature and color, and length of tail. Brown rats are stout in build with brown-gray coats, prominent bare ears that protrude past the head, and short tails in relation to the length of their body . Traps wet al. [et al. [The euthanized rats were examined for their physical health, weight, and sex. Rats below 100 g were grouped as a juvenile and over 100 g as an adult following the methodology used by Panti-May  [et al. . Externa [et al.  using 30Rats are known to normally harbor fleas, mites, and lice ,13. In tPolyplax spp. lice , fleas , an unidentified larval tick , and a mite in the family Myobiidae .The prevalence of ectoparasites on brown rats was evaluated in two human densely populated parishes in Grenada: St. David and St. George . Out of Rats in St. George Parish had an infestation rate of 79.7% (63/79), while rats in St. David had a 96.6% (86/89) infestation rate (difference: p=0.001). The prevalence in male and female rats in St. George and St. David is included in et al. [Previous researchers reported wide variations in the prevalence of positive brown rats for ectoparasites in different parts of the world. Reports from the following countries demonstrate the diversity in external parasite prevalence from Croatia 32.2% ; from Niet al.  linked tBartonella and two Rickettsia spp. in eight pools of tropical fur mites (Ornithonyssus bacoti) [Rickettsia typhi) and tularaemia (Francisella tularensis) [The most numerous ectoparasite present on rats were mesostigmatid mites, which were found on 84.6% of positive rats. Some mesostigmatid mites are of a human health concern as they act as vectors in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens . A study bacoti) . It is aarensis) .The second most prevalent ectoparasites found were mites of the family Atopomelidae and Listrophoridae, which were present on 67.1% of infested rats. These fur mites are obligate parasites found attached to the hair shafts of rats. Mites of family Atopomelidae and Listrophoridae feed on sebaceous secretions and tissue particles ,23. TheyPolyplax spp.) were found on six of the positive examined rats. These ectoparasites are reservoirs and are adept at spreading different zoonotic pathogens. In a Taiwan study, 11 out of 81 collected Polyplax spp. collected from R. norvegicus were PCR positive for Bartonella DNA [R. norvegicus revealed that 21.4% of rats were positive for external parasites. Polyplax spp. made up 23.5% of the external parasites. There are concerns that Polyplax spp. are vectors for zoonotic agents, such as Rickettsia spp. [Lice  were found on 3.4% of rats. Fleas transmit flea-borne spotted fever caused by Rickettsia felis [et al. [R. felis in St. Kitts, a neighboring island of Grenada, suggesting that the bacteria are present in cat fleas in the Caribbean. The cat flea is also known to transmit Bartonella spp. to humans [Bartonella [During our study, fleas . These mites can be found anywhere on the rodent body but are found mainly in dense areas along hair bases . Myobia st blood . These mdiseases .R. norvegicus is not commonly infested with ticks [Borrelia spp. (the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne relapsing fever), Anaplasma spp. , and Ehrlichia spp. (ehrlichiosis) [Anaplasma spp. and Ehrlichia spp. in Grenada [One rat (0.7%) was infested with a soft red larval tick from the family Argasidae. Soft ticks are found in close proximity of humans and animals in arid and semi-arid regions. There are 193 described species, 87 of which are found in the Caribbean, the South of Mexico, and in South America . Interesth ticks . Many zochiosis) . Previou Grenada ,35.et al. [et al.[et al. [et al. [et al. [et al. [With regard to the infestation rate by sex, our findings corroborate those reported by Paul et al.  and Stoj. [et al. who repo.[et al.  claimed  [et al. , Webster [et al.  found si [et al.  who foun [et al.  also obsR. norvegicus) in Grenada revealed the presence of four taxa of ectoparasites: mites, lice, fleas, and ticks. Several of these ectoparasites are a potential public health concern as they may serve as vectors of many zoonotic pathogens. With the rise in rodent-human contact due to the urbanization of the brown rat\u2019s habitats, these external parasites should be studied more. Accordingly, upcoming studies by our research group will examine the presence of pathogens in rat ectoparasites in Grenada. The Grenadian population should be educated regarding the health hazards associated with close contact with brown rats. Education of the public will be beneficial in implementing proper rat control in residential areas.This study of ectoparasites on brown rats (RNS: planned, supervised the research, and finalized the manuscript. KNT and NFR: collected and identified parasites from brown rats. KNT: drafted the manuscript. DMF: helped KNT and NFR in identification of ectoparasites and finalizing the manuscript. CCS and RDP: confirmed identity of ectoparasites. KT: collection of rats and helped KNT and NFR in collection of parasites. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Phaseolus vulgaris L. is one of the most consumed and documented legumes in regard to its grain composition, but little is known about P. coccineus L. To evaluate and compare the phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity between landraces of P. coccineus and P. vulgaris, a total of 14 accessions of P. coccineus and P. vulgaris were collected from farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico. Based on reference standards and spectrophotometry, the polyphenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents were quantified, and the antioxidant activity was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The results showed significant differences (p \u2264 0.05) between species and accessions, where P. coccineus and P. vulgaris significantly differed in their contents of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, as well as their antioxidant activity in the seed coat and cotyledons. Higher concentrations were found in the seed coat than in the cotyledons for both species. P. vulgaris had a higher anthocyanin content in the seed coat and a higher flavonoid content in the cotyledons than P. coccineus, but it did not for the other compounds tested. There was high variability among the accessions that were classified into four phenotypic groups: Two of P. coccineus, one of a P. coccineus\u2013vulgaris mixed group, and one group of P. vulgaris. Phaseolus (Fabaceae) includes more than 400 species, five of which are the best known, including\u2014in order of commercial importance\u2014Phaseolus vulgaris L., Phaseolus coccineus L., Phaseolus lunatus L., Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray., and Phaseolus dumosus Macfady. All have their origin, domestication and diversification in America. The first three have a worldwide distribution [P. vulgaris and P. coccineus are conserved in situ as part of the traditional cultivation systems, backyards and forests [The genus ribution ,2,3. In  forests .P. vulgaris is one of the most documented species of the genus Phaseolus in regard to grain composition, including its polyphenol profile [P. coccineus, the concentration of phenolic acids [P. vulgaris grains differ from those of P. coccineus. For example, cyanidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin, methyldelphinidin, and methylcyanidin anthocyanins are more common in P. coccineus, among others, whereas peonidin, petunidin and malvidin are more common in P. vulgaris [ profile ; phenols profile ,8,9; and profile . In the ic acids , proximaic acids ,13. In svulgaris ,15. ThisP. coccineus are distributed from Mexico to Central America. In Oaxaca, Mexico, both germplasm sources grow simultaneously in adjacent areas; the wild populations grow in natural vegetation zones, fences or back yards near cropping parcels, and farmers commonly move seed from wild populations to cultivated plots, promoting a continual gene flow [P. coccineus variants preserved on-farm have hybrid combinations of morphological and biochemical traits of seed between wild and cultivated forms. In the evaluation conducted by Quiroz-Sodi et al. [P. coccineus. Additionally, in the southern region of Mexico, which includes Oaxaca, farmers preserve in situ hundreds of landraces known regionally but not yet evaluated in terms of bioactive compounds, which are broadly used as food by rural communities. In such a communitarian context, it is relevant to evaluate the contribution of P. coccineus to the diet in terms of its beneficial potential for health and to compare their composition with P. vulgaris throughout the evaluation of secondary metabolites in the cotyledons and seed coat.Wild and cultivated ene flow . Therefoi et al. , they anP. coccineus and P. vulgaris landraces are cultivated traditionally in the central-south of Mexico and Central America under environmental conditions restrictive of soil fertility, without the use of agrochemical supplies under rain-fed conditions, and just for the use for self-consumption at the household level; all of these agroecological factors influence grain composition as well as genotype or variant cultivated [P. coccineus and P. vulgaris and to obtain estimators of the phenotypic variation inter- and intraspecific in terms of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity to propose strategies of direct use of such landraces or to start a plant breeding program.Hundreds of ltivated ,18. In altivated , but theltivated . Thus, iP. coccineus, even though it is poorly documented [P. coccineus, in addition to the grain [P. coccineus and P. vulgaris cultivated by indigenous communities of Oaxaca, Mexico.The bioactive compounds identified in the common bean are associated with biological activity in reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes, ischemic cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Parkinson\u2019s disease, stress, anxiety, depression, and digestive tract diseases, among others ,24,25,26cumented . In parthe grain . In thisPhaseolus coccineus L. (scarlet runner bean) and six P. vulgaris (common bean) accessions were collected in different indigenous communities of Oaxaca (13) and Veracruz (1), Mexico  according to the method described by Aquino-Bola\u00f1os et al. [A sample of 100 g of seeds from each accession was left to soak in distilled water for 12 h at 25 \u00b0C, followed by the manual separation of the seed coat from the cotyledons; after this separation, they were handled separately. Subsequently, a 3 g sample of seed coat and another similar portion of cotyledons were homogenized  with 25 mL of 70% acidified acetone , and the results were expressed in mg equivalents of gallic acid per gram of dry sample (mg GAE g\u22121 dw).nd Rossi , and theTotal flavonoids. The spectrophotometric evaluation of the total flavonoids was based on the method reported by Zhishen et al. [\u22121). The values were expressed in mg equivalents of catechin per gram of dry sample (mg CE g\u22121 dw).n et al. . The absMonomeric anthocyanins. The anthocyanin content was determined by the differential pH method described by Giusti and Wrolstad [\u22121 dw).Wrolstad . Two dilAntioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method reported by Brand-Williams et al. [v/v) methanol as the target. To quantify the antioxidant activity, it was performed based on the inhibition percentage of a standard 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) curve in a concentration range of 0.13\u20130.79 \u03bcmol equivalents of Trolox per mL. The results were expressed in micromoles of Trolox equivalents per gram of dry sample (\u03bcmol Eq. Trolox g\u22121 dw).s et al. . A 100 \u03bcp \u2264 0.05). Subsequently, a cluster analysis of hierarchical clustering was performed based on the averages of each variable by accession using the Ward method. Once the groups were defined, a canonical discriminant analysis was performed to test the variability and dispersion of accessions as a function of the phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS software [A database with all results was integrated, and an analysis of variance was performed using a completely random design with the nesting of accessions within species. Comparisons among species and accessions were made by the Tukey method  of the seed coat, and the polyphenols and antioxidant activity of the cotyledons were higher in P. coccineus than those in P. vulgaris. However, in regard to the monomeric anthocyanin content in the seed coat and flavonoids in the cotyledons, the concentrations were greater in P. vulgaris than those in P. coccineus  groups, an intermediate group called P. coccineus\u2013vulgaris (G3) because it was composed of two P. coccineus accessions  and two P. vulgaris accessions , and a fourth more compact group composed of four P. vulgaris accessions   a. These P. coccineus accessions are located predominantly on the left side and P. vulgaris accessions are on the right side. Thus, four P. coccineus accessions (G1), located in the upper left quadrant, differ from the group of P. coccineus located in the lower left quadrant (G2); then, there is an intermediate group near the center referred to as the P. coccineus\u2013vulgaris combined group (G3), and finally, four P. vulgaris accessions (upper right) are preferably associated with a higher anthocyanin content in the seed coat and higher flavonoids in the cotyledons. In contrast, P. coccineus showed a lower content of anthocyanins but higher concentrations of phenols and flavonoids, as well as a higher antioxidant activity.The scatter plot of the discriminant analysis presented in P. coccineus accessions had significantly greater seed length, width, thickness, weight, density and volume than those of P. vulgaris accessions. The different dimensions, among other factors, are due to characteristics inherent to the species and are influenced by agroecological factors, cultivation practices and places of origin [P. coccineus variations are highly preferred for the preparation of traditional dishes [In the general description of seeds, it was determined that f origin ,38,39. Tl dishes .P. vulgaris and P. coccineus in grain composition  and gallic acid  in the seed coat of P. coccineus relative to P. vulgaris. The differences found reinforce the theory that there is an ability to make different nutritional and nutraceutical contributions that are complementary to health through the consumption of P. vulgaris and P. coccineus because different bioactive compounds are concentrated in the grain.The significant differences found between position  suggest nd Islam  for flavP. vulgaris and P. coccineus, there was a greater accumulation or concentrations of polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins in the seed coat than in the cotyledons, and, specifically, the amount of anthocyanins in the cotyledons were below the estimated levels. This pattern was also reflected by the greater antioxidant activity in the seed coat than that in the cotyledons  and not in the cotyledons; in the latter structure, the carbohydrates and protein are accumulated instead [In both tyledons . Quiroz- instead .P. coccineus grains, and they differ from those found in P. vulgaris. Though specific anthocyanins were not tested in this study, it was determined that P. vulgaris presents a higher content of anthocyanins in the seed coat than that in P. coccineus, a pattern that is repeated with the flavonoid content in the cotyledons. The results are opposite in regard to the polyphenol content and antioxidant activity in the seed coat and grain, as well as the flavonoid content being higher in the seed coat of P. coccineus , as seen in P. vulgaris by Ombra et al. [P. vulgaris compared to those of P. coccineus, and this indicates that anthocyanins are determinants of the black color in the seed coat.Regarding the intraspecific variation of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, the results showed high variation in nd black . In the a et al.  in diffeP. coccineus stood out for their phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity in the seed coat and grain, and in the case of P. vulgaris, SS-02 was the best .The SMT, Z-03 and Z-04 accessions of the best . This inP. vulgaris accessions were homogeneous, having similarity in their composition, with an intermediate group of P. coccineus-vulgaris, and two groups of P. coccineus (P. coccineus accessions than that between P. vulgaris accessions, a fact that is confirmed in the scatter plot of the discriminant analysis (P. coccineus, independent of the P. vulgaris accession group, are noted. The diversity evaluated of P. coccineus and P. vulgaris with respect to seed composition reflects part of the genetic diversity present in Mesoamerica that was evaluated by Sicard et al. [The four phenotypic groups classified by the cluster analysis indicate that four occineus a. The reanalysis b, where d et al. .P. coccineus and P. vulgaris significantly differ in their contents of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, as well as their antioxidant activity in the seed coat and cotyledons. However, both species had greater concentrations in the seed coat than in the cotyledons. P. vulgaris had a higher anthocyanin content in the seed coat and a higher content of flavonoids in the cotyledons than that in P. coccineus, but it did not have such for the other compounds evaluated. There was high variability between the accessions evaluated, and, specifically, P. vulgaris accessions had slightly more than double the anthocyanins compared to those of P. coccineus. The variability measured between accessions was classified into four phenotypic groups: Two of P. coccineus, one P. coccineus-vulgaris combined group, and one group of P. vulgaris with greater homogeneity in phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Both species are a source of complementary polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins that can be used to improve the diet in rural communities where there is greater access to P. vulgaris and P. coccineus. Other studies are necessary to determine their potential in preventing some chronic degenerative diseases. Likewise, it is important to promote the cultivation of P. vulgaris and P. coccineus native species in their place of origin, enhancing them in situ and using them as a cheaper source of food.Based on the community of origin of the accessions and plant material evaluated to determine the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, it was concluded that"}
+{"text": "Schistosoma mansoni. The fight against transmission through the use of molluscicides is not recent and has been advocated as the only activity with the possibility of interruption of transmission in small, epidemiologically active outbreaks. Euphorbia milii var. hislopii (syn. splendens)  is the most promising for use in official schistosomiasis control programs according to the WHO. In this review, we show that an understanding of some how E. milii latex affects the snail vector and their parasites from a molecular level to field conditions is lacking. On the other hand, this type of treatment could also provide a rationale for the control of schistosomiasis and other parasitosis. Several publications contribute to enforcing the use of E. milii latex in endemic countries as a cheap alternative or complement to mass drug treatment with praziquantel, the only available drug to cure the patients (without preventing re-infection).Worldwide schistosomiasis remains a serious public health problem with approximately 67 million people infected and 200 million at risk of infection from inhabiting or transiting endemically active regions. Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East are the main transmission regions of  S. mansoni remains a serious public health problem with approximately 67 million people infected and 200 million at risk of infection from inhabiting or transiting endemically active regions [S. mansoni [S. mansoni infection is low, but this pathology presents the highest degree of socioeconomic impact of human helminthiasis [Worldwide schistosomiasis caused by  regions . Africa,nthiasis . Accordinthiasis , the ananthiasis ,5.S. mansoni life cycle, and although traditional models based exclusively on the use of schistosomicidal drugs in proven infected individuals have a significant impact on morbidity, the prevalence remains high after decades of treatment. In addition, the appearance of resistance in both laboratory and wild-type lines is an important factor in the search for and development of schistosomicidal compounds. Currently, the only compound used in humans for control and treatment of schistosomiasis is PZQ. Other schistosomicides such as niridazol, hicantone, and oxaminiquine were used in the last century but were abandoned due to their low curative efficiency, host side effects, and/or the appearance of parasitic resistance [S. mansoni strains [S. mansoni has the capacity to support different factors of stress. The rapid adaptability of the parasite to various treatment attempts or precautions deserves special attention from research teams from all over the world [For the control of schistosomiasis, World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the mass administration of the chemotherapeutic praziquantel (PZQ), control of snails, health education, and technical cooperation between health institutions and research to verify the elimination of infection . The comsistance . Aspectssistance . Thus, g strains ,10,11. A strains , this evhe world . In viewThe fight against transmission through the use of molluscicides is not recent and has been advocated as the only activity with the possibility of interruption of transmission in small, epidemiologically active outbreaks . The useBiomphalaria and Bulinus genus [Controlling or preventing morbidity in patients has not been a very successful strategy to limit schistosomiasis transmission in high-risk areas. Optimal disease prevention can occur only when parasite infection and/or reinfection is effectively impeded . In thisus genus . Molluscus genus , it is wus genus . In otheus genus . In Zimbus genus . Howeverus genus  highligh\u00ae) is recommended by the WHO as the only chemical molluscicide to be used for snail control despite reported cases of resistance in molluscs after two decades of repeated use [\u00ae has biocidal activity in non-target organisms such as plants and animals, genotoxicity, and a carcinogenic effect [Biomphalaria and Bulinus, are limiting factors for the official use of this compound in large-scale control programs [In this review, molluscicides will be divided into (i) chemical and (ii) phytochemical compounds. Among the chemical compounds, niclosamide (Bayluscideated use . Brieflyc effect . These fprograms .P. dodecandra (L\u2019Herit) , a member of the Phytolaccaceae, is one of the first plants systematically analyzed to be used as a phytochemical molluscicide [P. dodecandra are related to the high levels of triterpenoids, oleanoic acid, and mainly saponins [P. dodecandra berries results in a significant reduction of Bulinus truncatus population and, as a consequence, the transmission of schistosomiasis haematobium [Nowadays, research and developmental studies on low-dose compounds, biodegradable, low-cost, and less aggressive molluscicidal activity have been intensively investigated ,23,24. Auscicide . The gresaponins . In Ethimatobium ,29,30.Euphorbia genus presents more than 200 species, and it is an important source of medicinal resources for human and veterinary use, as well as in agriculture [Ricinus communis [Euphorbium compositum from the latex of Euphorbia resin\u00edfera, a nasal solution indicated for viral infections, rhinitis, and sinusitis, among others, Dysenteral\u00ae from the extract of E. hirta and indicated for the treatment of diarrheal diseases, and the root extract of E. kansui used as a purgative, among many others.On the other hand, iculture . In geneiculture ,32. Due iculture ,34,35,36communis . Others Euphorbia milii var. hislopii (syn. splendens)  is the most promising for use in official schistosomiasis control programs according to the WHO [Of the species belonging to this family,  the WHO ,38.Euphorbia milii is a shrub with alternating, simple leaves, unisex flowers, gathered in ciliary-like inflorescences with red bracts and campanulate shell with five apical glands [E. milii is a shrub originating from Inselberge, located on the central plains of Madagascar (Africa) easily cultivable, as it does not require soil care, fertilizers, and water [l glands . Commonlnd water . In genend water .E. milii latex, eight categories of milliamines were isolated and tested for their molluscicidal activity on Biomphalaria glabrata, with L-milliamine being the most efficient, with a lethality of 90% below 0.1 ppm [E. milii latex over the past several years; however, the research of molluscicidal activity was initiated by Vasconcellos & Schall [B. glabrata and B. tenagophila at concentrations lower than 0.5 ppm. Based on the promising results obtained, the Oswaldo Cruz Institute  deposited the patent for collection, use, and storage in 1998.Among the bioactive fractions of  0.1 ppm . Singh e 0.1 ppm  have des 0.1 ppm . A wide & Schall  against E. milii is a complex solution and when undiluted can cause inflammatory reaction in the mucous membranes and skin is integrated by the action of phorbol esters and proteases of low pH (4.5 to 5.5), as well as burning in the lips, in the tongue, and in the buccal mucosa in case of ingestion [The crude extract of ngestion . For usengestion , cutaneongestion , cytotoxngestion , embryo-ngestion , and econgestion . The molE. milii was tested against B. glabrata, B. straminea, B. tenagophila, B. pfeifferi, Bulinus sp., Pseudosuccinea columella, Melanoides tuberculata, and Achatina fulica [E. milii latex can also be used in the control of several parasites, such as S. mansoni, Fasciola hepatica, Paragonimus westermani, and Angiostrongylus sp. Furthermore, the proprieties of E. milii were tested against other invertebrates such as the Diptera Megaselia scalaris Loew 1866 and the Nematoda Heterodera cajanikoshi 1967 [Nowadays, the molluscicidal effect of a fulica ,52,53,54shi 1967 ,55.E. milii latex to niclosamide against the intermediate hosts B. glabrata and B. tenagophila, non-schistosomiasis related snails , and nontarget aquatic organisms such as oligochaete (Tubifex tubifex), planktonic crustacea , fishes , frog tadpoles (Rana catesbeiana), bacteria (Pseudomonas putida and Vibrio fischeri), algae (Selenas trumcapricornutum and Chlorella vulgaris), and mosquito larvae Anopheles albitarsis, Aedes aegypti, Aedes fluviatilis). In general, E. milii latex, as compared with the reference molluscicide niclosamide, is less toxic to non-target aquatic organisms and presents a higher degree of selectivity toward snails, which are intermediate hosts of Schistosoma trematodes.Oliveira-Filho and Paumgartten  comparedB. glabrata-S. mansoni model, the exposition to E. milli latex for 24 h at concentrations below 2 mg/L significantly affects reproductive biology, energy stocks, and excretory products of infected and uninfected snails. The physiological changes caused by E. milli latex were studied by Mello-Silva et al. [B. glabrata [S. mansoni, a similar mechanism is observed; however, infected snails are more sensitive to the compound and express, in the third week of infection, lower levels of glycogen in the digestive gland and cephalopedial mass [In the a et al. ,38. Afteglabrata ,57. In sial mass  attributS. mansoni-infected snails to the latex caused exhaustion of alternative sources of energy , as well as significant variation in the concentration of nitrogen degradation products. According to the authors, increases in urea level and simultaneous decreases in uric acid levels reflect the disturbance caused by latex poisoning in the snail\u2019s metabolism, especially in those infected. This suggests a change in the excretion pattern, moving from uricotelic to ureotelic. These results reflect the loss of the snails\u2019 ability to regulate their metabolism due to intoxication from E. milii latex exposure [E. milii latex on the control of B. glabrata populations in control actions of schistosomiasis [Mello-Silva et al.  observedexposure . This fasomiasis .E. milii latex is a plausible alternative in the control of schistosomiasis, De-Carvalho et al. [S. mansoni cycle. In graded concentration tests (from 10 to 100 mg/L), the authors did not observe lethal effects on eggs, miracidia, or cercaria. Although the concentration demonstrates no effect on the survival of S. mansoni, there is evidence of a positive correlation between exposure time and mortality of miracidia and cercariae [Since o et al.  analyzedercariae .S. mansoni cycle after contact of eggs, miracidia, and infected snails (1\u20138 weeks of infection) with the same latex. According to the authors, the exposure negatively influenced the development of the parasite in the intermediate host with a consequent reduction in the elimination of cercariae in all groups observed. Recently, Augusto et al. [Nevertheless, the toxic effects of the environment on parasitic forms go beyond the analysis of survival and mortality. Augusto et al.  studied o et al.  demonstrOn schistosomiasis control, despite the efficacy of mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns in reducing morbidity, a decrease in the transmission of the parasite was not achieved . TreatmeAnother important point that should consider before molluscicide application is linked to the cost-effectiveness of the compound to be used . MolluscE. milii latex as a molluscicide and as a schistosomastatic  on a large-scale project. Although some descriptions on the composition of this product can be found in the literature, there is still little information on the structural stability in different geographic regions, through the years and different seasons. This knowledge is essential in large-scale projects in view of variations in lethal power of the latex could affect the effectiveness of control actions, such as for latex supply and maintenance during the occurrence of control actions.The availability of modern technologies opens new horizons for understanding the effects of the In addition, studies on the phenotypic and physiological effect of latex on naive and infected snails are not uncommon in the literature; however, few studies at the molecular level can be found. Essentially, studies such as those on the immune response system and gene expression are needed to clarify the compatibility factors observed in previous works ,59,61. AS. mansoni cycle for a period of 14 months. However, both studies lack complementary information about the effects of latex on non-target organisms, on parasitic cycles, and on the physico-chemical properties of field solutions, among others.Field tests performed in Comercinho, the municipality of Vale do Jequitinhonha, northeast of Minas Gerais, eliminated the presence of the intermediate host mollusc for the period of three consecutive months . AccordiE. milii latex affects the snail vector and their parasites from a molecular level to field conditions is lacking. On the other hand, this type of treatment could also provide a rationale for the control of schistosomiasis and other parasitosis. Several publications contribute to enforcing the use of E. milii latex endemic countries as a cheap alternative or as a complement to mass drug treatment with praziquantel, the only drug available for curing patients (without preventing re-infection).In conclusion, an understanding of how"}
+{"text": "Lacerta group from the late Miocene (MN 13) of the Solnechnodolsk locality in southern European Russia. This region of Europe is crucial for our understanding of the paleobiogeography and evolution of these middle-sized lizards. Although this clade has a broad geographical distribution across the continent today, its presence in the fossil record has only rarely been reported. In contrast to that, the material described here is abundant, consists of a premaxilla, maxillae, frontals, parietals, jugals, quadrate, pterygoids, dentaries and vertebrae. The comparison of these elements to all extant green lizard species shows that these fossils are indistinguishable from Lacerta trilineata. Thus, they form the first potential evidence of the occurrence of this species in the Miocene. This may be also used as a potential calibration point for further studies. Together with other lizard fossils, Solnechnodolsk shows an interesting combination of survivors and the dawn of modern species. This locality provides important evidence for the transition of an archaic Miocene world to the modern diversity of lizards in Europe. In addition, this article represents a contribution to the knowledge of the comparative osteological anatomy of the selected cranial elements in lacertids. This study gives special emphasis to the green lizards, but new data are also presented for related taxa, e.g., Timon lepidus, Podarcis muralis or Zootoca vivipara. Although the green lizards include several cryptic species for which determination based on isolated osteological material would be expected to be difficult, our comparisons show several important morphological differences, although a high degree of variability is present.We here describe the first fossil remains of a green lizard of the  Lacerta. Molecular and morphological phylogenetic analyses show that Lacerta is the sister taxon to Timon [Although the fossil record of squamates is well documented in western and central Europe, many aspects of eastern Europe remain unknown. However, this area can be crucial for our understanding of the biogeography and evolution of this currently dominant group of non-avian reptiles \u20133. We heto Timon \u201317, 6.Lacerta cf.viridis have been described on the basis of several isolated jaw elements from the late Miocene (MN 11) localities of Kohfidish in Austria [L. agilis, L. schreiberi , L. strigata (the Caucasus green lizard), L. trilineata  and L. viridis. Based on morphological studies [L. trilineata was recently split into three species, L. trilineata, L. media (Levant green lizard) and L. pamphylica (Turkisch pamphylic green lizard). Within Lacerta viridis clade, two main lineages were recognized\u2014Western European lineage of L. bilineata and Eastern European L. viridis [Lacerta is a comparative study of extant taxa for the purpose of discovering characters useful in species level identification.The oldest finds of green lizards are documented from the lower Miocene (MN 4) locality Dolnice near Cheb in the Czech Republic . The old Austria . and Pol Austria . Nowaday Austria . However Austria  for whic Austria . Even th Austria  already  studies , L. tril viridis . The tax viridis , 25\u201327.  viridis , is almo viridis , 27\u201328. Pelobates, amphisbaenians and anguimorphs have recently been described [The Solnechnodolsk locality  is situated in the Northern Caucasus, 40 km NW of the city of Stavropol. In paleogeographical terms, it is located at the southern shore of the Pontian marine basin. The vertebrate fossils occurred as disassociated bones coming from fluviatile and lacustrine beds incised in middle Sarmatian (Bessarabian) limestones. Mostly preliminary accounts of the fauna have been so far published \u201331. The escribed . In addiThe aims of this paper are as follows: (1) to describe the fossil lacertid material from the late Miocene of Solnechnodolsk in detail; (2) to compare it with other lacertids, with the main focus on extant green lizards; (3) to do a comparative anatomy of selected cranial elements useful for diagnostic purposes in extant lizards. This will serve as a reference for other comparative anatomical studies of any other lacertids extant, or extinct .The lizard specimens described here are housed in the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, prefixed under individual GIN numbers. Since the site discovery in 2009, the material was sampled in 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2017 by expeditions from of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Fossils were extracted from sediments by screen washing with the mesh size 0.5, 0.7, and 1 mm. The excavated vertebrate material includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small and large mammals.Lacerta viridis , L. schreiberi , L. bilineata , L. pamphylica , L. strigata , L. trilineata , L. media , L. agilis , Timon lepidus (NHMV 10921\u20131), Podarcis muralis , Zootoca vivipara (NHMV 32438\u20131), Takydromus sexlineatus (DE 134), Meroles ctenodactylus (NHMV 31376); Psammodromus algirus (NHMV36038-2) and Gallotia stehlini (NHMV 11031\u20131).The following specimens of extant lizard species were used for comparison: Institutional abbreviations: DE, Department of Ecology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia; GIN, Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; NHMV, Museum of Natural History, Vienna; UF, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History (USA); UMJGP, Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria; ZSM, The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Munich, Germany.Lacerta viridis (DE 51) were photographed under a Leica M125 binocular microscope with axially mounted DFC 500 camera LAS software (Leica Application Suite) version 4.1.0 (build 1264).The specimens of extant lacertids see  were scaThe standard anatomical orientation system is used throughout this paper. The image processing program ImageJ  was usedSquamata Oppel, 1811 Lacertoidea Estes, Queiroz and Gauthier, 1988 Lacertidae Oppel, 1811 Lacerta Linnaeus, 1758 [us, 1758 Lacerta cf. trilineata Bedriaga, 1886 [ga, 1886 Figs 7Material\u2013\u2013One premaxilla GIN 1145/270, six right maxillae 1145/271-276, five right frontals 1145/277-281, one left frontal 1145/282, four parietals 1145/283-285, 304, one left prefrontal 1145/286, two right jugals 1145/287-288, one left jugal 1145/289, two right postfrontals 1145/290-291, one right quadrate 1145/292, one right pterygoid 1145/293, two left dentaries 1145/294-295, four right dentaries 1145/296-299.Locality and horizon\u2013\u2013Solnechnodolsk ; upper Miocene, MN 13.The premaxilla is a triradiate element . The nasMaxilla. The description is based on the specimen GIN 1145/271 , which The lateral face of the maxilla is pierced by 6 larger labial foramina arranged in a single line and several smaller, scattered in the anterior region. The posteriormost one of the larger series is located at the level between the 13th and 14th tooth position (counted from anterior) in 1145/271, or at the level of 7th tooth position (counted from posterior) in 1145/272. The nasal process bears attached osteodermal shields. At least two well separated osteoderms fused to lateral side of the ventral portion of the nasal process of maxilla can be identified here. They are seaparated by a sulcus. This sulcus has a posteroventral course and virtually points to the 4th labial foramen (counted from anterior). The sculpture of these osteoderms consists of densely spaced grooves, pits and ridges. The anteriorly located osteoderm is large. The length of its ventral margin forms 1/3 of the entire length of the sculptured region. The posteroventral process of maxilla does not gradually narrow to its end, but it is stepped. The notch located between the dorsal and ventral portions of the posteroventral process is shallow, weakly developed . The posPrefrontal. The left prefrontal is preserved  individual. This is also supported by the apparent presence of somewhat stronger degree of mid-constriction . The facet for the maxilla is well-developed here and reaches even further posteriorly than the facet for the nasal. This is not present in other Solnechnodolsk specimens, where this facet is reduced. The facet for the maxilla in GIN 1145/277 forms a similar condition to that in adult individuals of extant species L. pamphylica studied herein and to the frontals described from the lower Miocene of the Czech Republic [Lacerta usually have either a reduced or absent articulation facet for the maxilla . However in some cases, this facet can have a similar morphology to that of GIN 1145/277, e.g. the left frontal of L. viridis NHMV 40137. For this reason, we regard this difference between GIN 1145/277 and other Solnechnodolsk fossil frontals as a result of individual and/or ontogenetic variation.Republic . The froParietal. All parietals are incompletely preserved (Timon). Laterally located parietal shields appear to be large, however they are not completely preserved. Only the right one shows the lateral margin, which appears to be slightly concave medially. The frontoparietal shields are only partly preserved on the left side in 1145/283. However, this region is better preserved in 1145/285, showing that the interparietal shield was entirely restricted to the parietal bone ; upper Miocene, MN 13.Three dorsal vertebrae are preserved, of which the specimen GIN 1145/300 is almost completely preserved . In lateRemarks: The dorsal vertebrae of green lizards have tendency to uniform morphology, which encourages caution in assigning isolated vertebrae to particular species. The dorsal vertebrae from Solnechnodolsk show a high similarity to that of L. trilineata, rather than to e.g. L. strigata. The posterior centrosynapophyseal lamina is absent in L. strigata and the synapophysis here is small . There All fossil bones described here can be allocated to Lacertidae without doubt. They exhibit the following synapomorphies of Lacertidae, e.g., sulcus dentalis, lateral overlap of the posterodorsal margin of the dentary by the coronoid, maxilla-frontal contact, closure of the supratemporal fenestra, interparietal shield is restricted on parietal bone, and parietal cranial crests meet medially , 45. ThuLacerta agilis is traditionally called the sand lizard, it has been shown that this taxon branches within the green lizards [L. agilis, L. viridis, L. bilineata, L. pamphylica, L. strigata, L. schreiberi, L. trilineata and L. media  and, moreover, to record the distribution of some character states, we also used P. muralis  on the basis of dentition, sculpture of osteodermal shields and great similarity with the morphology presented by the extant green lizards (see below). Moreover they are comparable in size and come from a single site. Green lizards form a uniform group of lacertids. Their fossil record is rather poor see , what is lizards , 26. Forsee Figs \u201333. Timoson Figs  and 35.  muralis , Zootocavivipara , Takydrolineatus , Merolesdactylus , Psammod algirus  and Gallstehlini .Solnechnodolsk lacertid material can be allocated to green lizards without doubts. This can be supported by the combination of several features, e.g.:Timon lepidus, this anterior region of the frontal is short and the ratio of the anteroposterior length of the frontal shield vs. frontoparietal shield on frontal is approximatelly 1:1 (see [(1) The frontal bone. The anterior region in front of the sulcus interfacialis is long, forming more-or-less 2/3 of the anteroposterior length of the frontal. In 1:1  Premaxilla bears nine teeth. This is true for all green lizards . In T. lepidus, the parietal fossa has a somewhat peculiar morphology, with an additional posterior constriction of the parietal fossa. This gives a lens shape to this structure . However, it never reaches such a strong degree as in T. lepidus . Very unique morphology can be seen in the Oligocene durophagous lacertid specialist Dracaenosaurus croizeti, where the fossa is absent. In contrast, a parietal flange is present here [(3) Parietal fossa. This structure in the posterior ventral section of the parietal forms an area where the ascending process of the supraoccipital fits into a groove . In soml shield , 54. Not 35860\u20132  and L. sent here .T. lepidus or G. stehlini, but absent in Po. muralis, Z. vivipara, T. sexlineatus and M. ctenodactylus.(4) Medial expansion of the frontal process of the postfrontal, forming a broad area with a contact to frontal, is present. This is present in all green lizards, but is not unique to them . It is aLacerta, Timon, Anatololacerta, Gallotia, and Psammodromus algirus [Po. muralis and Z. vivipara. Among green lizards, the pterygoid teeth show several arrangements. The teeth on the Solnechnodolsk pterygoid are arranged strictly in a single line. This is present in several specimens of green lizards studied here. In others, teeth are arranged in the elliptical area, where the central region is wider; here at least two teeth can be found next to each other . Therefore, these two conditions seem to be a matter of individual (or ontogenetic) variations rather than being taxonomically important among green lizards. The second condition is also present in the specimens of T. lepidus and G. stehlini available to us. In Ps. algirus, teeth on pterygoid are arranged in a wide area and not in a single line. Because the clade Gallotiinae is sister to Lacertinae [(5) Pterygoid dentition. Teeth on the pterygoid are often found in species of  algirus , 55. Amocertinae , 56, we certinae , 57.In the following section, osteological differences which cannot be observed in the Solnechnodolsk fossils, but are present among green lizards, are discussed:Lacerta viridis and L. trilineata  have distictly laterally expanded cheeks relative to other taxa  Lateral expansion of cheeks in adults. In dorsal view, see Figs  and 26.  lepidus .L. agilis , L. pamphylica  and L. media  in L. trilineata seems to be the case of individual variation. The presence of both character states could reflect the topology of L. trilineata within green lizards (see (2) Osteodems covering cheeks laterally see Figs  and 10. geny see . Althoug6 mm see . However6 mm see . One posards see . But allL. schreiberi, fragmented discontinuous osteoderms in cheeks are present in NHMV 10809  evolved independently. Its absence in L. agilis, L. pamphylica and L. media is regarded as reversal.The cheeks are strongly covered by osteoderms in idus see , in contvivipara . In Gall algirus , but thestehlini . However goliath . The chaL. agilis  and L. media. In T. lepidus (G. stehlini (33A), the supraoccipital is completely covered by the parietal in dorsal view. In contrast to that, it is highly exposed in Po. muralis and Z. vivipara. Regarding the posterior region of the parietal, the Z. vivipara + Ta. sexlineatus clade can be characterized by the presence of a smooth area of the parietal table posterior to the ornamented region and by the presence of a short bilobed, posteriorly located process in the posterior mid-region.(3) In dorsal view, the supraoccipital in adults is highly exposed  The width of the supratemporal processes of the parietal Figs  and 20:  lepidus . Thus thstehlini .L. viridis  In lateral view, the skull is slightly depressed in the preorbital region, so the premaxillary region is slightly stepped Figs  and 10 imphylica , L. stri. agilis , as wellilineata . Howevereveloped . The pre lepidus . The dep algirus  and weakstehlini .L. trilineata, L. media, L. pamphylica  The position of the anterior mylohyoid foramen on the splenial relative to the anterior inferior alveolar foramen. The anterior mylohyoid foramen is located ventrally to the anterior inferior alveolar foramen, but its position varies Figs  and 25: L. agilis, L. viridis and L. strigata. It is located at the level of the dorsal process of coronoid or only slightly posterior to it in L. bilineata, L. pamphylica, L. schreiberi, L. trilineata and L. media. This second character state is also present in T. lepidus, whereas it is posteriorly located in Po. muralis and Z. vivipara, but anterior to the dorsal process of coronoid in G. stehlini.(7) The position of the posterior mylohyoid foramen on the angular relative to the top of the dorsal process of coronoid Figs  and 25: L. media in dorsal aspect  Among green lizards, the dentary of l aspect  is markel aspect . Althougped here .Lacerta agilis, L. strigata and L. media; whereas L. viridis is distributed in northern, western and southern regions  of the the Black Sea [L. trilineata can be found in southern and western areas around the Black Sea [L. trilineata among extant species. However, caution is needed here, because the sample size here does not fully allow to discuss the patterns of ontogenetic and sexual variation that must be present in these lizards and which would introduce more variation. For this reason, we decided to allocate this material as L. cf. trilineata. This combination of features is as follows:Today, the area to the east of the Black Sea (where Solnechnodolsk is located) is occupied by lack Sea , 59, 60.lack Sea . The lacL. trilineata. The process is very broad in Lacerta agilis  is similar to that of L. trilineata. However in L. schreiberi , the base of the process is already slightly expanded laterally, so the lateral margins of the mid-region of the process are slightly concave  The nasal process of premaxilla is moderately wide, gradually expanding laterally from its base in a posterodorsal direction. This is identical to that of a agilis , whereassee Figs  and 33K.rrow see . A distispanicus ) represeL. bilineata  The vomerine processes  are moderately long. They are small, not posteriorly expanded in the specimen NHMV 18599\u20131 of juvenile .L. trilineata . However, the notch appears to be fully absent in L. strigata (only weakly developed in NHMV 10917\u20131), and L. schreiberi . A strong notch is developed in L. pamphylica. The notch is usually shallow in L. media  The posteroventral process of the maxilla is stepped as it is in all green lizards studied here Figs  and 14. see also ). This c0137 see , but is  18599\u20131 , but not 18599\u20131 . This shT. lepidus  The posteroventral process rises anteriorly, gradually continuing to the nasal process. Where the two processes contact, only a small dorsal curvature is present . In L. trilineata, but not in L. media, L. schreiberi, L. pamphylica, L. bilineata. The separation of the anterior osteoderm by a sulcus is present in L. strigata and L. viridis as well. However, the anterior osteoderm in these species is distictly smaller in comparison to the dominant posterior osteoderm. In L. agilis, there is usually an absence of fused osteoderms  The presence of well separated osteoderms fused to the lateral side of the ventral portion of the nasal process of maxilla and the ratio of the anteroposterior length of the anterior osteoderm relative to the posteriorly located sculptured region. The anteriorly located osteoderm is large. The sulcus which separates the anterior osteoderm from the posteriorly located sculptured region, has a posteroventral course virtually pointed to the 4th labial foramen (counted from anterior). The anteroposterior length of its ventral margin forms 1/3 of the entire ventral margin of the sculptured region. Such a condition is present in erms see . In T. lis small .L. trilineata, L. viridis and L. bilineata. It is located at the level of around the 4th\u20135th tooth position in adults of L. strigata, 6th in L. agilis  The last labial foramen is located at the level of the 7th tooth position (counted from posterior). This is present in adults of L. trilineata, L. schreiberi, L. media and L. agilis. The opposite condition can be found in L. bilineata and L. strigata. These two rami are almost equally developed in L. viridis and L. pamphylica. In T. lepidus, the septomaxillary ramus of the premaxillary process is more robust relative to the external one.(7) The septomaxillary  ramus of the premaxillary process of the maxilla is larger and more robustly developed than the external one. This condition is present in L. trilineata. It is around 75\u00b0 in L. bilineata. 70\u00b0 can be found in L. media and L. viridis, whereas it is 67\u00b0 in L. strigata and L. agilis, 65\u00b0 in L. pamphylica and 60\u00b0 in L. schreiberi. It is 60\u00b0 in T. lepidus. It should be noted that the morphology of the Solnechnodolsk jugal slightly resembles that in the specimen NHMV 18599\u20131 of L. bilineata . In T. lepidus, the posteroventral process is broad and well developed (see (8) The angle between the central line of the posteroventral and postorbital process of jugal is around 78\u00b0 in both the fossil taxon and ilineata , but notilineata . In L. blunt see  and thislunt see . A condihreiberi , but heroped see .L. trilineata, L. viridis, L. bilineata, but is somewhat narrow in L. schreiberi, L. strigata, L media, L. pamphylica. In L. agilis, the postorbital process is moderately narrow if compared to others. In T. lepidus, the postorbital process is wide.(9) Width of postorbital process relative to posteroventral process: The postorbital process is wide in the fossil material studied here. The wide postorbital process is present in L. trilineata. The relative length of these two anterior processes varies among species: a) the anterolateral processes are long whereas the anteromedial ones are indistinct in adults of L. viridis, L. bilineata and L. pamphylica. L. bilineata deserves a comment here\u2014both processes are weakly developed and reach more-or-less the same level anteriorly in NHMV 18599\u20131  The length of the anterolateral process relative to the anteromedial process. Although only the base of the anteromedial process is preserved in the fossil material, it can be estimated that it did not reach the level of the anterior end of the anterolateral process, thus was shorter in comparison to the anterolateral process. This is identical to that of 99\u20131 see . However99\u20131 see , whereascies see ; b) the lis Figs  and 28E ata Figs  and 32A.L. trilineata. The most pronounced mid-constriction of the frontals is present in L. strigata and a distinct constriction can be also found in L. media. The widest frontals relative to their antero-posterior length is present in L. schreiberi and L. bilineata. In Timon lepidus and Zootoca vivipara, frontals are wide, however, they are constricted in Podarcis muralis. The marked constriction can be seen in Meroles ctenodactylus and a similarly strong constriction appears to be common in members of the tribe Eremiadini  The lateral mid-constriction of the frontal. The position and level of the constriction is identical to that of rus, see ).L. trilineata . In all other green lizards , or more or less in the mid-region . One exception is the specimen NHMV 35860\u20132 of L. bilineata, where the parietal foramen is located anteriorly to the mid-length of the interparietal shield. In T. lepidus, the interparietal shield is pierced in its anterior region  On the dorsal surface of the parietal, the interparietal shield is pierced by the parietal foramen in the anterior half of its anteroposterior length. This is identical to ulmensis ). The inL. trilineata, L. pamphylica, L. schreiberi and L. viridis, the interparietal shield is entirely restricted to the parietal by the frontoparietal shields that meet to form a medial suture that interpolates between the anterior margin of the parietal shield and the suture with the frontal bone. In L. agilis and L. bilineata the frontoparietals are in point contact, but this can vary. In L. bilineata, the interparietal reaches the frontoparietal suture in NHMV 35860\u20131, whereas it is fully restricted to the parietal table in NHMV 35860\u20132 . In the NHMV 39765 of L. strigata, a small anterior portion of interparietal shield continues on the posterior mid-region of frontals. However, in two other specimens, NHMV 10917\u20131 and 10917\u20132, the interparietal shield is completely restricted to the parietal table.(13) In the Solnechnodolsk fossils, as well as in 60\u20132 see . In L. mL. trilineata is moderately large, based on the specimen NHMV 27665  The occipital shield of the parietal in MV 27665 , occupinMV 27665 . The occMV 27665 . This casee Figs . The larsee Figs  and 32E.see also ) and extL. trilineata, L. media, L. pamphylica and L. viridis. In L. trilineata and L. media, the small mid-constriction is present and the posterior portion is equally wide as the anterior portion. Such constriction is also present in L. viridis and L. pamphylica, but here the posterior portion is slightly wider than the anterior one. In L. agilis (slightly concave margins) and L. bilineata (slightly convex margins or more or less straight margins), the whole parietal narrows anteriorly. In L. schreiberi, the lateral margins are more-or-less straight. In L. strigata, the lateral margins diverge laterally from each other anteriorly, thus the anterior portion appears to be usually slighty wider than the posterior one. In T. lepidus, the parietal table is anteroposteriorly long and slightly narrows anteriorly. The lateral margins of the parietal table are slightly concave in this taxon.(15) The lateral margins of the parietal are not completelly preserved and can be only estimated. However, they appear to have a lateral concave course similar to L. trilineata, L. viridis and L. bilineata and slightly similar condition can be observed in L. media. The diffence here between L. trilineata and L. viridis is in the course of the parietal crest. In L. viridis, the crest on each side continues anterolaterally in a more or less straight course. Thus, the virtual line extending anteriorly from the posterior section of the branch would meet the anterolateral corner of the parietal , the parietal crest on each side is angled approximately at the level of the anterior margin of the parietal foramen. Here, the parietal crest turns more anteromedial relative to its posterior section. Thus, the virtual line extending anteriorly from the posterior section  would not meet the corner of the parietal table, but would finish on its anterolateral side. This is identical to the condition present in the Solnechnodolsk parietal GIN 1145/283  On the ventral surface of the parietal in the Solnechnodolsk fossil lacertid, the parietal cranial crests converge strongly posteromedially, forming a distinct median crest slightly posterior to the parietal foramen (for this character see ). This isee also ). In L. /283 see . The conilineata  might sllica see . The ten 18599\u20131 . Among lsee Figs  and 28G.L. trilineata, L. viridis, L. bilineata, L. pamphylica, L. strigata and L. media, but not in L. agilis  The ventrolateral ridge in the internal region gradually disappears anteromedially. This character state can be observed in see also ) and in L. media here. This taxon is characterized by very narrow wedge shaped fossa, with an additional process located in the anterior end of the fossa  Parietal fossa\u2014in regard to the Solnechnodolsk parietals, we can exlude L. viridis; see L. agilis, partial fusion of these two elements has occured, with traces of the suture being easily recognized. However in L. schreiberi, the fusion is present in a stronger degree, where traces of the suture can be recognized only in the posterior region of the postorbitofrontal element  In Solnechnodolsk fossils, the postfrontal and postorbital are separated individual elements. This is present in all specimens of green lizards  The tympanic crest, which forms the anterolateral margin of the quadrate, is angled approximatelly in the mid-region. This is present in eri Figs  and 23. L. trilineata, L. viridis and L. media. However in the latter taxon, the quadrate is more robustly built if compared to other taxa. This difference between the width of the dorsal and ventral portion is not so pronounced in other taxa. In T. lepidus, the whole quadrate is robust.(21) In lateral aspects, the ventral half of quadrate  gradually markedly narrows ventrally. Thus this portion is much narrower than the dorsal portion. This condition is identical to that of L. viridis and L. trilineata. In contrast, unicuspidity is restricted only to the first two anterior teeth in L. agilis [(22) Number of unicuspid teeth. In the Solnechnodolsk material, bicuspidity sometimes starts with the 7th tooth, but this can be variable even in extant taxa. Kosma  stated t. agilis .L. trilineata and L. schreiberi, whereas it is present at the level of the 6th tooth position in L. bilineata, L. strigata, L. agilis, L. viridis. The alveolar foramen is located further anteriorly, at the level of the 8th tooth position, in L. pamphylica and at the level between 9th-10th tooth positions in L. media. Although the location of the alveolar foramen can be informative, it should be noted that the positions of the alveolar foramen in lacertids, like virtually all lizards, should not be interpreted as absolute due to its variations.(23) The position of alveolar foramen in dentary at the level of the 7th tooth position (counted from posterior). Such condition is present in Lacerta cf. trilineata\u2014it shows that the Solnechnodolsk lacertid material shares the complete combinations of character states  only with L. trilineata. According to Ahmadzadeh et al. [L. trilineata seems to have evolved and diverged in western Anatolia during the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene. Sagonas et al. [L. viridis and L. bilineata is also dated to the late Miocene (6.78 Mya). This is in a strong contradiction with the recently published results of Kornilios et al. [trilineata+pamphylica, occurred in parallel in the late Pliocene. All three studies used the same calibration points and the same data (mtDNA) for their time estimates, but differed in their inference methods. The Solnechnodolsk material shows support for the hypothesis of Sagonas et al. [L. trilineata already in the late Miocene.The detailed comparison above strongly supports an allocation of the Solnechnodolsk lizard fossil to h et al. , L. trils et al.  suggestes et al. . These as et al.  and formVaranus sp. in Solnechnodolsk suggests a mean annual temperature not less than around 15 \u00b0C [Lacerta trilineata occupies Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, sandy shores, arable land, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens. The diet of this taxon consists mainly of insects [Lacerta together with previously-described lizard fossils [Green lizards form a dominant component of the squamate paleofauna from the Solnechnodolsk locality , sh insects , 73. In Lacerta sp. [Lacerta sp.Lacertids are often reported from the fossil record of Europe , 74\u201377 aerta sp. . A localerta sp. . It shouerta sp. . The lacPlesiolacerta lydekkeri is regarded as in or close to the crown Lacertidae [Timon lepidus [carina maxillaris) starts from the supradental shelf at the level of the 4th tooth position; (7) the course of the maxillary crest\u2014its anterior section runs posteriorly almost in a horizontal level (this gives the appereance to this section as being depressed). It starts to rise posterodorsally at the level of the 6th tooth position; (8) similar ratio of the anteroposterior length of the frontal and frontoparietal shields; (9) fragmentation of the interparietal shield  the size of the elements, indicating animals with a similar large body size.In this section, previously described lacertid fossils from the European Cenozoic, which can may have strong affinities with modern lineages, are discussed. The Eocene taxon certidae . As was certidae , this ta lepidus . These sosition;  similar see e.g. ); (10) lGallotia, e.g. G. stehlini). It seems to be more plausible that such similarities might reflect possible relationship rather than represent just homoplasies. Plesiolacerta is also known from late Oligocene deposits of Germany, where the species P. eratosthenesi is described [Lacerta and Timon dates back to 18.6 Mya [Plesiolacerta has a close relationship to Timon, it would show a much longer evolutionary history of lineage. In comparison with other lizard lineages, this would be not so unusual- one example is the presence of the modern genus Ophisaurus  in the late Eocene [Timon lineage were recognized in deposits close to the Oligocene/Miocene boundary.These are not just shallow similarities, because some features e.g., additional posterior constriction of the parietal fossa, are present only in these two taxa and cannot be only a matter of a large size  from the late middle Miocene of Gratkorn in Austria, allocated to Lacertidae Vasilyan  deservesope, see ). TherefS1 DatasetThe CT data links for Figshare and Morphosource.(DOCX)Click here for additional data file."}
+{"text": "Reich, D. Guilligay, A. Pflug, H. Malet, I. Berger, et al.  made an impact on her by providing new grounds to study the influenza virus polymerase and its role in virus biology and evolution.Mathilde Richard works in the field of virology, more specifically on the evolution and pathogenesis of influenza viruses. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the two articles \u201cStructure of Influenza A Polymerase Bound to the Viral RNA Promoter\u201d by A. Pflug, D. Guilligay, S. Reich, and S. Cusack  and \u201cStructural Insight into Cap-Snatching and RNA Synthesis by Influenza Polymerase\u201d by S. Reich, D. Guilligay, A. Pflug, H. Malet, I. Berger, et al.  made an impact on her by providing new grounds to study the influenza virus polymerase and its role in virus biology and evolution.Mathilde Richard works in the field of virology, more specifically on the evolution and pathogenesis of influenza viruses. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the two articles \u201cStructure of Influenza A Polymerase Bound to the Viral RNA Promoter\u201d by A. Pflug, D. Guilligay, S. Reich, and S. Cusack (Nature 516:355\u2013360, 2014,  In 2014, the Cusack research group described the high-resolution structures of the influenza A virus and influenza B virus polymerases in complex with the viral promoter in two articles published back-to-back in Nature  using the ComplexLINK and MultiBac technologies . The genThis work has influenced me in two ways. First, it taught me that perseverance, resilience, and hard work are immense qualities for a researcher. I remember attending a lecture by Cusack in the late 2000s, early in my Ph.D. trajectory. He presented the structures of fragments of the influenza virus polymerase and reported that his group had been working on resolving the structure of the full complex for years but had been unsuccessful because of the technical difficulties of working with such large protein complexes. When this work was published, years after that lecture, I remember being very impressed and thinking, \u201cthat\u2019s it, they\u2019ve done it!\u201d Second, both the technological and theoretical advances from this work opened avenues for my own research. The improvement in the biochemistry of the influenza virus RdRp, i.e., the possibility of purifying and producing it in large and pure quantities, allows the development of new assays to study the RdRp in its full context, in the absence or in the presence of the nucleoprotein. Novel techniques that have been successfully used with other purified recombinant RdRps, such as single-molecule assays , 5, can In a broader perspective, these two articles are a game changer for the influenza virus field. The resolution of influenza virus RdRp structures provides an extraordinary basis for future work, both fundamental and applied. In fundamental studies, similar systems have since been used to resolve the structures of RdRps of other influenza viruses: that of the apo (unbound to promoter) influenza C virus RdRp , the inf"}
+{"text": "Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, 19.4% with Amblyomma hebraeum and 15.6% with Rhipicephalus decoloratus. Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi was recovered from horses in all nine provinces of South Africa and R. decoloratus in eight provinces. Donkeys were infested with eight tick species, and 81.6% were infested with R. evertsi evertsi, 23.7% with A. hebraeum and 10.5% with R. decoloratus. Several tick species collected from the horses and donkeys are the vectors of economically important diseases of livestock. Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi is the vector of Theileria equi, the causative organism of equine piroplasmosis. It also transmits Anaplasma marginale, the causative organism of anaplasmosis in cattle. Amblyomma hebraeum is the vector of Ehrlichia ruminantium, the causative organism of heartwater in cattle, sheep and goats, whereas R. decoloratus transmits Babesia bigemina, the causative organism of babesiosis in cattle.The aim of the study was to determine the species spectrum of ixodid ticks that infest horses and donkeys in South Africa and to identify those species that act as vectors of disease to domestic livestock. Ticks were collected opportunistically from 391 horses countrywide by their owners or grooms, or by veterinary students and staff at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria. Ticks were also collected from 76 donkeys in Limpopo Province, 2 in Gauteng Province and 1 in North West province. All the ticks were identified by means of a stereoscopic microscope. Horses were infested with 17 tick species, 72.1% with  Despite the long association between horses, donkeys and humans in South Africa, it is strange that so little attention has been paid to the ixodid ticks with which they are infested. With the exception of surveys on the ticks that infest donkeys in Botswana  and a tick belonging to the Haemapysalis leachi group were identified. Norval and his co-workers in Zimbabwe examined collections from 39 horses and 11 donkeys and identified Amblyomma hebraeum, H. rufipes, Haemapysalis truncatum, R. appendiculatus, R. decoloratus, R. evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus kochi, Rhipicephalus sp. , R. simus, Rhipicephalus turanicus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis in the collections from horses, and A. hebraeum, H. rufipes, R. appendiculatus, R. decoloratus, R. evertsi evertsi and R. simus in those from donkeys  spp., Rhipicephalus muhsamae and a tick they referred to as R. sanguineus from a total of 450 donkeys in a survey conducted in two districts in central Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. In the same region of Oromia, Kumsa et al. , Cape mountain zebras (Equus zebra zebra) and Hartmann\u2019s mountain zebras (Equus zebra hartmannae) than from domesticated horses or donkeys in South Africa or Namibia  collected ticks from horses presented for treatment at the university\u2019s Equine Clinic. Ticks previously collected from two horses in the Mountain Zebra National Park  and the collection of a male tick from a donkey is further proof of its presence there. R. zambeziensis is present in the Limpopo Valley and adjoining areas (Norval et al. R. appendiculatus. It is also a vector of East Coast fever (Lawrence, Norval & Uilenberg r et al. . Its prer et al.  as R. spR. evertsi evertsi was the most widespread. The prevalence of this tick is potentially important because it is the vector of the causative organisms of equine piroplasmosis. Various other tick species collected from the horses are important vectors of diseases in domestic cattle. Donkeys in Limpopo Province were infested with eight tick species of which R. evertsi evertsi was the most prevalent.Horses examined countrywide were found to be infested with a large variety of tick species of which"}
+{"text": "Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-018-34226-9, published online 25 October 2018Correction to: The original version of this Article contained a typographical error in the spelling of the author Emeline Julie Ribot, which was incorrectly given as Emeline Ribot. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article, and in the accompanying Supplementary Information file.The Author Contributions section now reads:O.K. and E.J.R. conceived the idea, carried out the experiments, analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript with assistance from all the authors. J.C.F. participated to the experiments and revised the manuscript. R.D. and S.M. participated to the experiments, contributed to discussions of results, coordinated and supervised the overall project. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript."}
+{"text": "Mosquito-borne pathogens are important causes of diseases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Knowledge of the mosquito fauna is needed for the appropriate control of the vectors that transmit the pathogens and prevent the diseases they cause. An important first step is to have an up-to-date list of the species known to be present in the country. Original occurrence records were obtained from published literature and critically scrutinized to compile a list of the mosquito species that occur within the borders of the Kingdom.Fifty-one species have been recorded in the Kingdom; however, the occurrence of two of these species is unlikely. Thus, the mosquito fauna of the Kingdom comprises 49 species that include 18 anophelines and 31 culicines. Published records are provided for each species. Problematic records based on misidentifications and inappropriate sources are discussed and annotated for clarity.Integrated morphological and molecular methods of identification are needed to refine the list of species and accurately document their distributions in the Kingdom. The KSA occupies the major portion of the peninsula (c.1.97\u00a0m\u00a0km2), and includes 13 provinces. Mosquito-borne pathogens cause several diseases in the KSA. Malaria has been considered an endemic disease in the country from as early as 1900 ..OchlerotAe. (Ochlerotatus) detritus 4. Ochlerotatus detritus).Records: , 7 (as OAe. (Ochlerotatus) caspius 5. Ochlerotatus caspius).Records: , 28\u201340; SubgenusStegomyiaTheobald, 1901Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti 6. Stegomyia aegypti).Records: , 41\u201349; Ae. (Stegomyia) unilineatus 7. Records: , 24, 50.GenusAnophelesMeigen, 1818SubgenusAnophelesMeigen, 1818An. (Anopheles) coustani Laveran, 19008. Records: , 51\u201354.An. (Anopheles) tenebrosus D\u00f6nitz, 19029. An. coustani var. tenebrosus).Records: , 31, 35;SubgenusCelliaTheobald, 1902An. (Cellia) arabiensis Patton, 190510. An. gambiae); ; ;  (requirexiguus); , 28; [30xiguus);   nebulosus Theobald, 190141. Records: , 24, 37.SubgenusMaillotiaTheobald, 1907Cx. (Maillotia) arbieeni Salem, 193842. Records: , 30, 36.Cx. (Maillotia) salisburiensis Theobald, 190143. Records: , 21, 24.SubgenusOculeomyiaTheobald, 1907Cx. (Oculeomyia) bitaeniorhynchus Giles, 190144. Records: , 26, 63.GenusCulisetaFelt, 1894SubgenusAllotheobaldiaBrolemann, 1919Cs.  longiareolata 45. Records: , 39\u201341.SubgenusCulisetaFelt, 1894Cs. (Culiseta) subochrea 46. Cs. annulata and Cs. subochrea); [ochracea annulata).Records:  (as Cs. ochrea); , 36, 40;ochrea);   tigripes 47. Cx. tigripes); [Records: , 22, 30 gripes); , 26, 36.GenusCoquillettidiaDyar, 1905Cq. (Coquillettidia) richiardii ?48. Mansonia sp.).Record:   unguiculata pefflyi Stone, 196149. Ur. unguiculata); [Records: , 31, 35 culata); .The ecological diversity of the KSA allows multiple opportunities for the evolution of variation in both mosquitoes and their pathogens. Large-scale movements of people, including the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, large-scale use of foreign workers and new developmental projects engender environmental heterogeneity and complex epidemiology. The wide variation in ecological settings may complicate the understanding of spatial/temporal characteristics and population dynamics of mosquito vectors of pathogens that cause diseases in humans.Anopheles species complexes in the country, including the An. gambiae, An. fluviatilis, An. culicifacies and An. subpictus complexes. The Afrotropical An. gambiae complex consists of eight species, which includes malaria vectors  and non-vectors (An. quadriannulatus and An. amharicus) [Anopheles arabiensis is the only member of the complex with a range that extends outside of Africa into the southwestern and western areas of the Arabian Peninsula, occurring in the KSA and Yemen, where it is the major malaria vector [An. arabiensis (often as An. gambiae) in different life stages [An. arabiensis (GenBank: KM068071) is the only member of An. gambiae complex present in the KSA [Investigators may be reluctant to conduct ecological studies in the KSA because field work is labour-intensive and time-consuming. Moreover, due to habitat heterogeneity, which in the KSA is often extreme, there are species of only seven mosquito genera in the country. Here we present the first complete list (see above) of the mosquito species that definitely are known to occur in the KSA. In some cases, ecological and morphological studies have shown that some species are members of species complexes. There are members of four haricus) , 71. Anoa vector \u201375. Moste stages , 30, 51. the KSA .An. fluviatilis complex is a group of mosquitoes that is widely distributed in southern and southwestern Asia and includes important malaria vectors [Anopheles fluviatilis S is mainly anthropophilic, endophilic and a very competent malaria vector [Anopheles fluviatilis (s.l.) was recorded in the eastern and western regions of the KSA by Mattingly & Knight [The  vectors . The com vectors \u201381. Anopa vector . Speciesa vector , 82. Ano& Knight  and Al-G& Knight . It is nAn. culicifacies complex consists of five sibling species, informally named species A, B, C, D and E, based on cytotaxonomic and molecular evidence [The evidence , 76, 83.evidence , 84, 85.evidence . Speciesevidence . The othevidence , 88. Avaevidence , but onlevidence . FurtherAn. subpictus complex consists of four species in India, informally denoted as species A, B, C and D, based on morphological, chromosomal and molecular differences [The ferences , 92. As ferences , it is nAnopheles stephensi is the main malaria vector in the eastern region of the KSA, but members of the An. fluviatilis and An. culicifacies complexes, which are important malaria vectors in other parts of Asia [An. stephensi, An. culicifacies (s.l.) and An. fluviatilis (s.l.) consist of different ecoforms that are restricted to rural or urban areas with different degrees of involvement in malaria transmission [Anopheles stephensi is a major vector in Asia and the Middle East, including, in addition to the eastern KSA, areas of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and southern China [mysorensis, typical and intermediate forms, which are based and distinguished on egg morphology [mysorensis forms are mainly found in rural environments [mysorensis form is mainly zoophilic and a poor- or non-vector [mysorensis form is an important malaria vector in India [cox1) did not reveal any differences between An. stephensi  in two distant cities of the KSA (Al-Ahsaa and Dammam) where different phenotypes might be present [ of Asia , 55, 74,smission , 76, 85.rn China . It inclrphology , 93\u201396. ronments . The blon-vector . In contin India . These d present .Anopheles azaniae was first encountered in Saudi Arabia during the collection of mosquitoes for Rift Valley virus isolation in the Jizan Region [An. dthali or An. rhodesiensis rupicolus. Anopheles azaniae was previously known to occur in neighbouring Yemen [An. azaniae [n Region , and subn Region  and Khatn Region . The recn Region , which in Region  is doubtng Yemen , where t azaniae . A singlCoquillettidia collected in the Eastern Province of the KSA was identified as a species of Mansonia in the study of Wills et al. [Cq. (Coquillettidia) buxtoni in Israel and Syria and Cq. (Coq.) richiardii in Iran, Syria and Turkey. With that in mind, it seems likely that the generic identification of Wills et al. [Coquillettidia as a subgenus of Mansonia. In view of the proximity of eastern areas of the KSA to Iran, we are confident that the mosquitoes identified as a species of Mansonia by Wills et al. [Cq. richiardii.A species of the genus s et al. . Accordis et al. , only tws et al.  was bases et al. , which ts et al.  were mosCx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus in the KSA are problematic. Culex pipiens generally occurs north of a line transecting the KSA between Jeddah in the west and Al-Hasa in the east. Culex quinquefasciatus occurs in the more southerly region of the Arabian Peninsula, with isolated populations of Cx. pipiens occurring in the southwestern mountains [Cx. pipiens or Cx. quinquefasciatus. Larvae and adults collected north of the hybrid zone that have been identified as Cx. quinquefasciatus are misidentified specimens of Cx. pipiens, and those collected south of the zone that have been identified as Cx. pipiens, with the possible exception of those collected in the southwestern mountains, are misidentified specimens of Cx. quinquefasciatus. Future studies based on dissections of male genitalia or DNA sequence analysis of larvae and adults are needed to substantiate species identifications and collection records. Culex quinquefasciatus is an important vector of the microfilariae that cause lymphatic filariasis.Many of the occurrence records for ountains . Introgrountains ). Both sountains , 103. ItCulex torrentium is listed as a species of the KSA in the online catalogue of the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit [Cx. torrentium in the KSA by these authors is based on unreliable characters of larvae and adult habitus principally using the keys of Harbach [Cx. pipiens complex with certainty based on features of the male genitalia. Additionally, Cx. torrentium is a Palaearctic species whose distribution only extends south into Turkey and possibly into northern Iran [Cx. torrentium in Iraq are doubtful, and the species is not now listed as present in that country [Cx. torrentium is excluded from the list of mosquito species known to occur in the KSA.ics Unit  based onics Unit , 19, Al ics Unit , 28, Kheics Unit , Alahmedics Unit  and Hassics Unit . However Harbach , 5. Thisern Iran , 105. As country , 107. FoCulex of the genus Culex occur in the southwestern Afrotropical Region of the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Cx. decens, Cx. duttoni, Cx. simpsoni and Cx. univittatus. These species were only known to occur in Yemen [Cx. simpsoni and Cx. univittatus, require confirmation because their identification was based on larvae and adults. They are only reliably distinguished from Cx. sinaiticus and Cx. perexiguus, respectively, based on the morphology of the male genitalia. Records of the two species in more northerly areas of the country are more doubtful.Four species of the subgenus in Yemen , 108 untin Yemen , Jizan  and Harbach (Cx. nebulosus and Cx. perexiguus). Use of the badly outdated keys of Hopkins [Cx. wigglesworthi, is problematic, nonetheless because it is a sub-Sharan species with closest records in southern Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya. Consequently, as it seems likely that the two larvae were misidentified specimens of either Cx. perexiguus or Cx. univittatus, Cx. wigglesworthi is excluded from the list of mosquito species known to occur in the KSA.Since nce 1953 , there ince 1953 , 67. On  Hopkins , Matting Hopkins  and Harb Hopkins , 5. The  Hopkins  for AfriUranotaenia  unguiculata in eastern and southwestern areas of the KSA. The authors, however, were apparently unaware of the earlier description of Ur. unguiculata pefflyi by Stone [Ur. unguiculata unguiculata, is present in the country, only the subspecies described and named by Stone [Alahmed , Alahmedby Stone , and theby Stone . Consequby Stone  is incluCulex, have not confirmed identifications with correlated diagnostic features of the male genitalia. Future studies in the KSA must overcome these shortcomings by individually rearing larvae to obtain adults of both sexes for integrated morphological and molecular study, and use the resultant unequivocal molecular markers for the identification of larvae and adults collected in subsequent studies. Based on currently available information, it is concluded that 49 species of Culicidae, 18 anophelines and 31 culicines, are present in various regions of the KSA.It is obvious from this study that researchers working in the KSA have generally been unaware of the limitations of available keys, have failed to critically evaluate published records and, at least in the case of"}
+{"text": "Cynomorium songaricum Rupr. is a well-known and widespread plant in China. It has very high medicinal values in many aspects. The study aimed at discriminating and predicting C. songaricum from major growing areas in China. An electronic tongue was used to analyze C. songaricum based on flavor. Discrimination was achieved by principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Moreover, a prediction model was established, and C. songaricum was classified by geographical origins with 100% degree of accuracy. Therefore, the identification method presented will be helpful for further study of C. songaricum. Cynomorium songaricum Rupr. of the family Cynomoriaceae is a desert, holoparasitic perennial plant found in China, Mongolia, Iran, and Afghanistan [C. songaricum grows in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu [C. songaricum, called Suo Yang in China, is a known food, nutrient, and a tonic herb for improving kidney and immunity function and treating constipation [C. songaricum to date [hanistan , 2. In Cnd Gansu   and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), were used for data analysis in this research. In addition, this study provided a simple approach for identifying the geographical origins of C. songaricum, and the acquired information can be used for evaluating the quality of C. songaricum growing in China.In this work, we first developed a method to discriminate and predict the geographical origin of C. songaricum samples were collected from different areas in China  (ongolia) . All of The electronic tongue system  consists of a reference electrode and seven liquid sensors  with a cross-selection function, a fully automated sample injector, and a personal computer with a software for sample injection, data acquisition, and chemometric analysis.Pieces of each sample (10\u2009g) were placed in a beaker, soaked with 200\u2009mL of pure water for 30\u2009min, and then decocted for 30\u2009min. The solution was filtered immediately. The residue was processed according to the abovementioned method twice. Afterward, all filtrates were combined. The obtained solution was placed into the special beaker of the electronic tongue and detected at room temperature.Each sensor collected data from each sample for 120\u2009s and was cleaned for 10\u2009s. Then, data were recorded by the data acquisition system. All assays were carried out in triplicate.C. songaricum originating from different places.In this paper, PCA and LDA were used to differentiate PCA is a multivariate statistical method that reduces the dimensionality of data while retaining most of the variation in the data . This apLDA is another commonly used technique for data discrimination and dimensionality reduction. LDA is strongly linked to regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA), which also aims at expressing one dependent variable as a combination of other measurements or features . The metC. songaricum groups where possible. The accumulated explained variance was 89.6%, which was distributed in 79.5% (PC1) and 10.1% (PC2). C. songaricum samples can be classified in general. Moreover, C. songaricum samples from Xinjiang are discriminated clearly between samples from other provinces. Similar samples appear in the same location of the graph. Thus, C. songaricum samples from Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia are similar. The chemical constituents of these samples may be similar as well.The first discrimination model was established using PCA to visualize the different C. songaricum samples by the LDA model. Compared with the PCA model, the LDA model shows a clearer discrimination among the eight types of C. songaricum. The explained variances by each discriminant function (DF) were 96.0% (DF1) and 2.9% (DF2). Each group of C. songaricum samples can be distinctly classified with others. As a result, the LDA model is a superior method to discriminate C. songaricum from different growing areas in China.C. songaricum samples. As shown in C. songaricum by geographical origins with 100% degree of accuracy.Given the good discrimination feature of the model, we used the LDA model to predict the geographical origin of unknown C. songaricum samples from different places of origin. PCA and LDA were used for discrimination. The LDA model shows a clearer discrimination than the PCA model. The eight groups of C. songaricum samples can be classified precisely using the LDA model. On this basis, we used the LDA model to predict the geographical origin of several unknown C. songaricum samples. A prediction model with 100% degree of accuracy was achieved. We present for the first time a method for the discrimination and geographical origin prediction of C. songaricum from different growing areas in China according to their flavor by an electronic tongue. The operations of data acquisition and processing are simpler and more convenient than the traditional chemical methods. The acquired information can be used for evaluating the quality of C. songaricum growing in China according to our previous work. Moreover, the identification and quality analysis method presented by us will be helpful for further study of C. songaricum. Further efforts should be focused on investigating the connection between the flavor and chemical constituents of C. songaricum samples and correlating electronic tongue signals with human perceptions of taste.We applied an electronic tongue to classify and predict"}
+{"text": "Liolaemus conspersus and L. hieroglyphicus, one syntype of Callopistes maculatus (here designated as the lectotype) and two syntypes of L. lineatus (one of which is herein designated as the lectotype). Reexamination of these specimens indicates that previous synonymies proposed for L. conspersus and two syntypes of L. hieroglyphicus are problematic; furthermore, more complex taxonomic work is needed to resolve this issue. Two rediscovered syntypes of L. lineatus differ in several scalation traits and are possibly not conspecific. The type specimens of several other species of lizards from Gravenhorst\u2019s collection  were not found and are probably lost.Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst\u2019s herpetological collection at the Museum of Natural History, University of Wroc\u0142aw included numerous important specimens of amphibians and reptiles. The majority, if not the entirety, of this collection has long been thought to be lost. However, we were able to rediscover some type specimens of lizards. The rediscovered specimens include the holotypes of  Liolaemus lemniscatusGerman naturalist Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst (1777\u20131857) was the founder and first director of the Zoological Museum at the University of Wroc\u0142aw . His main interests lay in entomology, particularly beetles and, later, ichneumonid wasps . HoweverLiolaemus, including all those named by Gravenhorst (except L. lemniscatus) were synonymised by L. oxycephalus  in an attempt to extract DNA. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful, so all descriptions and taxonomic assessments were made entirely based on morphology.A small amount of muscle tissue was taken from putative holotypes of http://zoobank.org/. The LSID for this publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3CDA8E5A-30C8-4847-B4A4-C644595361FC. The online version of this work is archived and available from the following digital repositories: PeerJ, PubMed Central and CLOCKSS.The electronic version of this article in portable document format will represent a published work according to the Reptilia Laurenti, 1768Squamata Oppel, 1811Teiidae Gray, 1827Callopistes maculatusGravenhorst, 1838Original name.Callopistes maculatusType specimens. Two syntypes  and Phymaturus flagellifer . They attempted to synonymise Callopistes maculatus with Callopistes palluma and designated a neotype (MNHNCL 2909) for the latter name. However, these proposals were later rejected . Posterior to the mental scale, there are four pairs of large chinshields. They are separated from the infralabials by one (anteriorly) or two (posteriorly) rows of sublabials. The first pair of chinshields contact at the midline, but the second and farther pairs are separated by small, oval gular scales (it is impossible to tell the exact number). The whole throat is covered by small, oval or roughly pentagonal, juxtaposed gulars, all about the same size. The interangular sulcus is absent and the intertympanic sulcus is present. Between the throat and the posterior surface of the arms, the scales are also juxtaposed, but larger; some of them are oval, elongated, pentagonal or hexagonal. The whole venter (behind the posterior end of the arms) is covered by large, rectangular, juxtaposed scales. Similar scales, though slightly smaller and imbricate, also cover the entire tail, forming numerous annuli. The dorsal surface of the forelimbs is covered by roughly round, juxtaposed or slightly imbricate scales. The ventral forelimb scales are much smaller, round and juxtaposed. The dorsal hindlimb scales are relatively large, quadrangular, juxtaposed or slightly imbricate. The posterior surface of the thighs is covered by much smaller, round or quadrangular, juxtaposed scales. The ventral thigh scales are roughly rectangular, juxtaposed or minimally imbricate. The ventral shank scales are much larger, rounded and juxtaposed . The subdigital lamellae on both the fore- and hindlimbs are impossible to count precisely because of the distortion of the specimen  collected by F.S. Scholtz in \u2018Cauquenes\u2019 . This specimen still exists in Wroc\u0142aw.Present name.Liolaemus conspersusRemarks. This species was described by Ptychodeira Fitzingerii (Liolaemus fitzingerii) by L. nigromaculatus  is 13. The interparietal scale is large , subtriangular, with slightly concave right and slightly convex left margins; it contacts six scales. The frontal scale is single, approximately dumbbell-shaped, with a straight anterior margin and a posterior margin forming an obtuse angle. Five scales separate the rostral from the frontal, and seven scales separate it from the interparietal. The rostral contacts the nasal at a point. Nostrils are directed laterally on the right side and dorsolaterally on the left, probably due to distortion of the specimen. The nasal is separated from the canthal by one scale, and contacts eight scales. There are eight scales between the external nares. There are five flat and long supralabials; the fourth one is located below the eye and has an oblique posterior border. There are five loreals, one of which contacts the subocular. There is one row of seven lorilabials between the supralabials and loreals, four of which contact the subocular. Five infralabials are present; the second one contacts four scales, including two other infralabials . There are five enlarged postmental scales (chinshields) on the right side; on the left, there are only four such scales, but the second one clearly originated by the fusion of two scales. The second postmentals are separated from each other by two gular scales. The anteriormost gulars are slightly elongated and juxtaposed, while the others are wider than they are long and imbricate. The auricular scale is not differentiated. Temporal scales have varying shapes: some are subtriangular, some quadrangular, some pentagonal and some hexagonal; all are juxtaposed and unkeeled. There are approximately 73 dorsal scales between the occiput and the anterior surface of the thighs. There are 115 ventral scales between the mental scale and the vent and 77 scales around the midbody. Most of the ventrals are quadrangular and juxtaposed or subimbricate, but some are pentagonal. The dorsal neck scales are rounded or lanceolate, strongly keeled, while the lateral neck scales are small and bead-like. The dorsal scales are larger than the dorsal neck scales but otherwise very similar . InterstThe dorsal colouration is light grey, with the tail being slightly more yellowish. There is no difference in background colour between the vertebral and paravertebral fields. Vertebral, dorso- and ventrolateral stripes are absent. Numerous dark spots or short stripes are faintly visible on almost the entire dorsum and limbs; they are much more visible on the dorsal and lateral aspects of the head. The antehumeral spot cannot be unambiguously identified. Several darker longitudinal stripes are faintly visible on the throat. Apart from that, the ventral colouration is uniformly grey-yellowish.Liolaemus conspersus does not have a patch of enlarged scales on the posterior surface of the thighs and its fourth supralabial scale is upturned, so its affiliation to the subgenus Eulaemus, and thus synonymy with L. fitzingerii, can be excluded  than any of the above-named lizards  than to L. flavipiceus but the converse is true for the number of midbody scales (L. buergeri has more than both L. conspersus and L. flavipiceus). It is also worth noting that L. flavipiceus is one of the few species in which males do not have precloacal pores . At present, we regard it as a species inquirenda, that is, a species of doubtful identity, needing further investigation  differ d traits , so theil scales . The numvipiceus . Howeveral pores . If the tigation .Liolaemus hieroglyphicusGravenhorst, 1838Original name.Liolaemus hieroglyphicusType specimen. A single specimen  collected by F.S. Scholtz before 1838 in \u2018Cauquenes\u2019 . This specimen still exists in Wroc\u0142aw.Present name.Liolaemus hieroglyphicusRemarks.Ptychodeira signifera (Liolaemus signifer) by L. olivaceus ; (3) the individual is a similar size and colour to those reported originally by ignifera   from the rostral. The frontal scale is hexagonal but with a nearly straight anterior margin, and is separated from the rostral by five scales. The rostral and nasal are in broad contact. The nasal is separated from the canthal by one scale. There are two pairs of internasals, the first one is in medial contact, the second pair is separated by one scale. Posteriorly, they contact two large, hexagonal frontonasals, also separated medially by one scale. There are five supralabials on both the left and right sides, the fourth one is located below the eye and has an upturned posterior margin. One row of lorilabials separates the supralabials from the loreals. The subocular contacts four lorilabials on the right side but only two on the left side. The loreal region is concave, and contains four loreals on the left and four on the right. The temporal scales are polygonal, some with a rounded posterior margin, juxtaposed or slightly imbricate, not keeled . The auricular scale is present, and its ventral border does not reach the auditory meatus midline. There are three enlarged supraoculars, with the first one being the largest. Seven supraciliaries are present. Four infralabials are present on the right side and five on the left side; the second one contacts four scales, including two other infralabials. There are four pairs of enlarged postmental scales (chinshields); the first pair is in contact, and the second pair is separated by two scales. Most gulars are oval, slightly imbricate.The nuchal and dorsal scales are imbricate, keeled and lanceolate with mucrons  brown stripes extending from the occiput to the preserved part of the tail, resembling a dotted line running along the spine. Similar stripes are also present in the temporal region. Numerous small brown spots occur on almost the entire pileus , the supralabials and the infralabials. The paravertebral fields are covered by many brown spots, usually one to two scales long and two to four scales wide. Whitish dorso- and ventrolateral lines are present. Between them, the lateral fields are also covered by brown-black spots, which are less numerous but larger than the paravertebral spots. The whole ventral body part is uniformly whitish.Liolaemus hieroglyphicus does not have a patch of enlarged scales on the posterior surface of the thighs and its fourth supralabial scale is upturned, so its affiliation to the subgenus Eulaemus, and thus synonymy with L. signifer, can be excluded  by its larger size , more loreal scales , fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe  and in the shape of the dorsal scales, which are more rounded and do not have a mucron in L. septentrionalis , but more subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe (24\u201328). The shape of the ventral scales is very variable in this species\u2014they can be triangular, subtriangular or rounded, as in L. hieroglyphicus. The lateral neck scales are markedly keeled in L. schroederi . Howevey keeled . It furte latter , while ihroederi , while in Region .Liolaemus hieroglyphicus is not synonymous with L. signifer, L. chiliensis or L. lemniscatus. It is similar to L. cyanogaster and L. schroederi (particularly the latter), but at present cannot be unambiguously synonymised with any of these. We regard it as a species inquirenda, that is, a species of doubtful identity, needing further investigation  collected by F.S. Scholtz in \u2018Valpara\u00edso\u2019, Chile.Present name.Liolaemus lemniscatusRemarks. The holotype of this species survived the war and was recently redescribed  of undetermined sex, collected by F.S. Scholtz in \u2018Valpara\u00edso\u2019, Chile. Two specimens  still exist in Wroc\u0142aw, and the two others are probably lost.Present name.Liolaemus nitidus . L. nitidus. Liolaemus lineatusLiolaemus lineatusLiolaemus nigroviridisAll specimens of livaceus   is a relatively large and robust lizard with a stout appearance  and 11. The dorsal scales are large, imbricate, strongly keeled and mucronate. There are 33 dorsal scales, 69 ventral scales and 46 scales around the midbody. The tail scales form numerous annuli, which are particularly visible from the ventral side. The ventral tail scales have smaller mucrons. The ventral scales (including the gulars) are also relatively large, lanceolate or rounded (particularly the gulars), imbricate and not keeled. There are 29 gular scales between auditory meatus. The posterior parts of the thighs are covered by much smaller, oval, juxtaposed scales. No precloacal pores are visible. The numbers of subdigital lamellae on the left forelimb are as follows: I-8, II-15, III-17, IV-21, V-12; on the right forelimb, they are: I-9, II-15, III-19, IV-20, V-11; on the left hindlimb, they are: I-13, II-17, III-21, IV-25, V-14; on the right hindlimb, they are: I-10, II-15, III-18, IV-25, V-14.The colour of the head and dorsum is blue-grey. Numerous darker spots are visible on the lateral side of the head; they cover the background colour on the pileus. The ventral body part is almost uniformly white-yellow, with the throat covered by several faintly visible darker longitudinal stripes.The type specimen of the third variety MNHUW 1323b) is much smaller than MNHUW 1323a  and 13. 23b is muThe dorsal and ventral scalation is very similar to the second variety\u2014dorsal scales are imbricate, lanceolate , keeled and mucronate , while the ventrals are large, flat, rounded  or lanceolate, imbricate and unkeeled. There are 33 dorsal scales, 64 ventral scales and 43 scales around the midbody. A total of 30 gulars are present between the auditory meatus. No precloacal pores can be observed. The number of scales between the posterior border of the auditory meatus and the shoulder is 16 on the left side and 18 on the right side. The numbers of subdigital lamellae on the left forelimb are as follows: I-9, II-15, III-18, IV-16, V-12; on the right forelimb, they are: I-9, II-14, III-18, IV-16, V-10; on the left hindlimb, they are: I-10, II-16, III-20, IV-26, V-14; on the right hindlimb, they are: I-11, II-15, III-21, IV-25, V-14.The colouration is very similar to the second variety. The dark stripes on the throat are much more visible in this specimen than in MNHUW 1323a. On the other hand, the spots on the lateral part of the head are better preserved in the type specimen of the second variety; however, this may be an artefact of preservation.Liolaemus nitidus have long been difficult to establish  and the contact between the nasal and rostral scales. In all 16 specimens of L. nitidus sampled by Troncoso-Palacios, the nasal and rostral scales are in contact; this trait is also apparently fixed in L. chiliensis . The synonymy of the third variety with L. nitidus is more problematic. It is more similar to L. chiliensis, a species with which it was synonymised by L. nitidus by the presence of contact between the rostral and nasal scales , Chile. We did not find this specimen and consider it to be lost.Present name.Liolaemus nitidus . This specimen is probably lost.Present name.Liolaemus nitidus  is consistent with L. unicolor but no unambiguous identification can be made. Therefore, this name must be considered a nomen dubium.Reptilia Laurenti, 1768Squamata Oppel, 1811Leiocephalidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989Leiocephalus schreibersii  by natural history dealer Ludwig Parreys (1796\u20131879) from Vienna. We did not find this specimen and consider it to be lost.Present name.Leiocephalus schreibersii  by a natural history dealer, Bescke; there are several naturalists with this name, so it is unclear whether one of them collected lizards for Gravenhorst. We were not able to locate any of these specimens and consider them to be lost.Present name.Chalcides viridanus , preferably also with molecular data, especially mitochondrial DNA, because there are several mitochondrial clades within this species.r islets . Populatr islets . The popr islets . Howeverr islets . Recentlr islets  suggesteLiolaemus, with an often controversial taxonomy  tend to have significantly fewer precloacal pores than do members of Eulaemus  or a few (L. lineatus) specimens and no new individuals have been reported for 180 years. However, there are several Liolaemus species that are currently considered valid and are known only from the type locality or only from the type specimen  of the Liolaemus nomina coined by nomina oblita (To the best of our knowledge, none (except a oblita .Callopistes maculatus and liolaemids Liolaemus conspersus, L. hieroglyphicus and L. lineatus. Reexamination of the morphology of liolaemids revealed several taxonomically informative differences between these specimens and their presumed senior synonyms. While the synonymy of L. lineatus with L. nitidus is supported, the same cannot be done for L. conspersus and L. hieroglyphicus and their supposed senior synonyms, so we regard them as species inquirendae. Unfortunately, our attempts at molecular analyses were unsuccessful, so resolving the status of these taxa requires further, more complex studies. Nonetheless, the rediscovery of these important specimens underscores the importance of natural history collections, and their proper management and protection, a point that was recently further strengthened by the tragic fire at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro in September 2018.We rediscovered several important specimens from the Gravenhorst\u2019s long thought to be lost herpetological collection at the University of Wroc\u0142aw: type specimens of the teiid lizard"}